Official statement: Tongwei is dead! You chose Ruijin, didn't you?

meeting room.

Qin Yuanzhou stopped and casually tossed the thin transcript of the conversation onto the table.

Zhou Zhengming locked the door behind him, his voice trembling with barely suppressed shock and excitement: "Team Leader Qin, this old fox... he really dares to spout nonsense! Sha Ruijin is allied with the Liang family? Hou Liangping is a puppet fed by the Liang family? Gao Yuliang's words have dug up Sha Ruijin's political ancestral grave!"

"Digging up ancestral graves?" Qin Yuanzhou picked up the now-cold tea from the table, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

"Zhengming, your perspective is still limited to the local level. Gao Yuliang's move wasn't just about digging up graves; he was telling us..."

Beneath the burning building in Handong, there weren't any fire hydrants buried at all, but rather a main natural gas pipeline that was leaking gas at an alarming rate!

Zhou Zhengming took off his half-rimmed glasses, took out a cloth and wiped them vigorously, trying to hide the turmoil in his heart.

That's a fucking venomous metaphor.

Sha Ruijin is the reckless fool who recklessly sets fire to the building with the imperial sword, while Hou Liangping is the hammer that smashes things aimlessly.

The hammer blow didn't kill Gao Yuliang; instead, it cracked the gas pipe in the foundation.

Now, the air throughout Handong is filled with a pungent smell that seems ready to explode at any moment.

"So...should we play it safe for now, or...?" Zhou Zhengming asked tentatively.

"Stable? Stable in what direction?" Qin Yuanzhou laughed, a laugh that carried a chilling sense of satisfaction.

"When the central government sends a supervisory team and this fire truck comes over, how can you put it in reverse when you see that the gas cylinder is about to explode?"

"Since Gao Yuliang has willingly handed over the fuse, let's close the doors and windows, turn on the valve, and see just how many shady cheats are hiding under the mahjong table in Handong!"

Zhou Zhengming understood instantly, and his blood began to rush.

Those who work in discipline inspection and supervision are most afraid of a monolithic organization and mutual cover-ups.

Now, in order to save his own life, Gao Yuliang has willingly become this troublemaker, which is practically a godsend for breaking the deadlock.

"Investigate!" Qin Yuanzhou uttered only one word, but it was resounding and carried a chilling aura of killing intent.

"Understood!" Zhou Zhengming immediately got into the zone, pulling out his notebook.

"I'll make the arrangements right away. Let's start by investigating those two precious sons of the Liang family who are still hanging around in the political and legal system!"

"It's not just about investigating them." Qin Yuanzhou extended his index finger and tapped it heavily three times on the table, as if striking someone's weak spot.

"After Sha Ruijin's arrival in Handong, investigate every single dinner and tea party related to the Liang family—who organized it, who paid the bill, which private restaurant it was at, who opened the car door, who lit the cigarette for them—leave no stone unturned!"

Qin Yuanzhou's tone suddenly turned chilling, as if a blade had been drawn: "And that Hou Liangping! From the moment he landed in Handong, besides in the office and interrogation room, make a list of everyone he's met, eaten, received cigarettes from, or collected materials from, especially those 'enthusiastic masses' who claimed to 'admire Director Hou's name' and proactively brought him clues—every single one of them!"

"What about Liang Qunfeng..."

"Once a person retires, the tea must cool; that's the rule. If he stays home peacefully, enjoying his grandchildren and writing his memoirs, no one will bother him."

Qin Yuanzhou's gaze was icy cold. "But if he dares to interfere in the current leadership's games, don't blame us for overturning him, wheelchair and all!"

Zhou Zhengming felt a surge of heat rush to his head.

Cool!

"I'll get on it right away!"

"Wait a minute," Qin Yuanzhou called out to him. "Do you really think that Gao Yuliang's tearful outburst just now was a genuine confession to the organization?"

Zhou Zhengming was taken aback and stopped in his tracks.

"He's risking his life as a pledge of loyalty, trying to shift the blame onto us," Qin Yuanzhou sneered.

"He sees himself as bait, hoping to catch the big fish that will kill him: Sha Ruijin, Li Dakang, and the Liang family. But we are the fishermen. The bait is taken, and the fish must take the bait, but we must hold the fishing rod and net firmly in our own hands."

He wants to muddy the waters and escape? Dream on! Let's just drain all the fishponds in Handong and see just how much silt is at the bottom!

Qin Yuanzhou stood up, walked to the window, and looked down at the several armed police patrol cars with flashing lights.

"Immediately encrypt and submit the materials. Don't use a bland title; get straight to the point—'Emergency Report on Sha Ruijin, the Principal Leader of the Handong Provincial Party Committee, Suspected of Seriously Violating Political Discipline and Colluding with Old Forces to Suppress Dissent.'"

"yes!"

Zhou Zhengming turned around, his steps brisk and powerful.

……

In a brightly lit confidential office, the telephone suddenly rang.

After the secretary finished the call, the color drained from her face at a visible speed.

Holding the urgent telegram that had just been ejected from the secure machine, he strode into the inner room and gently knocked on the door.

"Sir, Handong...Handong is in big trouble again!"

The leader, who had only lain down for less than two hours, suddenly sat up, threw on his coat, rubbed his throbbing temples, and his voice was filled with exhaustion and anger from being repeatedly tormented:

"Tell me, who jumped down from where this time? Did they hit the governor's car this time, or did they get caught on the flagpole of the provincial party committee building?"

The secretary choked on this hellish joke, then forced a smile and said, "Sir...Sir, he didn't jump this time. However, Comrade Qin Yuanzhou sent an urgent telegram, implicating the Liang family."

"Which Liang family?!"

"Liang Qunfeng, former secretary of the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission."

The room fell into a deathly silence.

The leader froze abruptly, his previously sleepy eyes suddenly flashing with a sharp glint.

Half an hour later, the lights in a top-secret conference room came on.

Several high-ranking executives, who had been urgently summoned from their beds, sat around an oval conference table.

After reading the first page of the telegram, the bigwig in charge of the organization slammed his purple clay teacup heavily onto the table with a loud bang, completely oblivious to the scalding hot tea splashing all over the table.

"Absurd! This is downright political paranoia!" The big boss's chest heaved with anger.

"What does he take Handong for? A turf war scene from the 'Young and Dangerous' movies? Teaming up with a retired gang leader to suppress current officials—this is replacing organizational review with factional infighting, and it's extremely egregious!"

The bigwig from the discipline inspection department, his face ashen, shoved his cigarette butt into the ashtray, sneering repeatedly.

"I said long ago that Sha Ruijin is a man with high theoretical level and can sing better tunes than anyone else, but he is too inexperienced in political skills and too presumptuous! Does he think that anti-corruption is like a dinner party? Does he think that by putting on a show of 'Sha-Li pairing' and finding 'Liang family army' as external support, he can sweep the hill?

Who in the Handong officialdom doesn't know how Qi Tongwei's tragedy came about? How will the cadres in Handong think that Sha Ruijin used the Liang family's poisoned knife to kill Gao Yuliang? This is telling cadres throughout the province that the anti-corruption campaign is just a change of personnel—those who obey me prosper, those who oppose me perish!

An elderly leader with graying hair was so angry that he slammed his fist on the table:

"Foolish! Naïve! Hopeless! Now look what's happened! That person jumped from the sixth floor, forcing themselves into the role of a 'victim of political persecution'! Sha Ruijin played his hand so badly, he didn't even see what his opponent was up to before revealing all his cards!"

"Suspension for investigation? I think that's too lenient!" The organization's leader's tone was icy.

"Notify Qin Yuanzhou that he is authorized to make arbitrary decisions and conduct an investigation without limits! Sha Ruijin himself shall be immediately subjected to joint questioning, with the level of questioning raised to the highest level!"

As for Liang's two sons, investigate them first! I want to see whether this day in Handong truly belongs to Sha Ruijin or the Liang family!

"What about Hou Liangping?" someone asked coldly.

"Hou Liangping?" The disciplinary inspector flipped through another report on Hou Liangping's case handling procedures, his face filled with disgust.

"A hothead who handles cases entirely based on 'intuition' and 'fills in the blanks' with 'brainstorming' of procedures! Who does he think he is? A high-ranking official wielding a whip? He talks about the rule of law when investigating others, but when it comes to his own cases, he ignores the two-person rule and the audio and video recording. When things go wrong, he immediately calls his wife, Zhong Xiaoai, and cries? What do you call this? Infantile anti-corruption?!"

The bigwig in the political and legal system shook his head, his tone filled with undisguised sarcasm:

"The Zhong family has truly lost face this time, thanks to this son-in-law. A self-proclaimed sword of justice was forged in the father-in-law's backyard."

The atmosphere in the conference room was extremely oppressive, yet it also exuded a chilling aura of impending swift and decisive action.

Those present were all strategic players with a global perspective. They knew better than anyone that Gao Yuliang's leap and Sha Ruijin's disastrous move had turned Handong into a massive political nuclear contamination zone.

This is no longer just about dealing with a few corrupt officials.

This is a declaration to the national officialdom of an absolute bottom line that cannot be challenged: no one can use anti-corruption as a tool for reshuffling power, and no one can put personal grudges and factional interests above organizational principles!

Anyone who dares to play like this will have their hand chopped off!

"Draft a telegram." The leader, seated at the head of the table, finally spoke, making the final decision.

"Tell Qin Yuanzhou, since someone poisoned the food at this banquet in Handong, then overturn the table completely. Starting tomorrow, all cadres at the deputy director-general level and above in the Handong Provincial Party Committee will have their vacations and travel canceled. Make them stand there and listen to the rules!"