In name only: I will break the chess game in Handong!

Ji Changming suddenly straightened up and looked into the distance with deep, yet somewhat murky, eyes.

"It's easy for a person not to make a mistake for a day, and it's equally easy not to make a mistake for a year, but it's difficult to not make a mistake for ten or twenty years. I've been working for a full forty years now, and I can say that I, Ji Changming, have never made a mistake in my entire life."

What do you think I rely on?

Hou Liangping also stood up and shook his head.

"Quarterly inspection, please tell me!"

"One word: Push!"

"You must remember one thing: if the sky falls, there's always someone taller to hold it up. As long as you haven't reached the highest position, you can push your troubles away, whether you push them upwards or downwards."

But what should be pushed upwards, what should be pushed downwards, and what should be handled personally?

To put it another way, things with huge political risks are pushed upwards, things with less risk are pushed downwards, and things with no political risk are handled by ourselves.

Take the case of Yi Xuexi being reported, for example. You know that the new governor and Secretary Sha are not on good terms. Yi Xuexi's situation is also quite special. If our provincial procuratorate does not perform well, it is easy to incur the wrath of Governor Jianjun or Secretary Sha. In this case, we have to push it upwards.

Remember, there are methods and approaches to pushing.

After saying that, Ji Changming went to the table, looked at the red telephone, and picked it up.

"Hello, this is Ji Changming from the Procuratorate. Connect me to Secretary Chen of the Lüzhou Municipal Party Committee!"

Hou Liangping watched the whole scene unfold.

The call was quickly connected.

"Comrade Changming, is there something wrong that you're calling me?"

Chen Luo's voice came through the phone, and Ji Changming replied calmly, "Secretary Chen, I'm sorry to disturb your work at this time, but there are indeed some matters that need to be reported to you and the Provincial Party Committee."

"Comrade Changming, you speak."

"Secretary Chen, our Provincial Procuratorate's Anti-Corruption Bureau just received a letter of complaint against Yi Xuexi, the current Party Secretary of Guangming District, and his ex-wife. The letter alleges that Yi Xuexi's ex-wife, while in Luzhou, took advantage of Yi Xuexi's status and position to amass wealth through exorbitantly priced tea."

Secretary Chen, our procuratorate is well aware that with Chen Hai, the district head of Guangming District, transferred, Comrade Yi Xuexi is now solely responsible for the work of the district party committee and government. If problems are discovered at this time, it would be a significant trouble for both Guangming District and Jingzhou. Therefore, our procuratorate would like to consult you and the provincial party committee on whether to suppress the investigation for now or…”

"Yes, Comrade Changming, your procuratorate has considered this very carefully. I understand this matter and I will report it to the Provincial Party Committee. As for the specific work, your procuratorate can make its own decisions as appropriate."

After saying that, Chen Luo hung up the phone.

Seeing this, Ji Changming put down the phone and looked at Hou Liangping with a faint smile.

"Did you hear the conversation clearly just now?"

Hou Liangping nodded.

"Ji Jian, listen carefully!"

Ji Changming sighed.

"The most important thing about pushing upwards is not to be eager to shirk your responsibility, but to give a reasonable explanation for why you need to push upwards."

We can't handle the issue of easy learning because we're afraid it will affect hundreds of thousands of people in Guangming District.

Only by providing this reasonable explanation will the higher-ups not think that our procuratorate is just being lazy.

On the contrary, our procuratorate is a responsible and reliable institution!

"However, Secretary Chen is clearly an expert in this matter. He neither asked our procuratorate to conduct an investigation, nor did he say that our procuratorate was not responsible."

With just a statement about making a decision on the spot and reporting to the provincial party committee, Secretary Chen distanced himself from the problem. It's clear that Secretary Chen didn't want to get involved in Yi Xuexi's affairs.

"This matter is most likely that Secretary Chen reported it to the Provincial Party Committee under the guise of my report, putting Governor Jianjun and Secretary Sha into a power struggle. The ball is only half played; the other half depends on how Governor Jianjun and Secretary Sha play their moves."

Hou Liangping silently gave Ji Changming a thumbs up. This was the first time someone had truly taught him how to handle such a problem. It seemed simple, but making the wrong decision could affect one's entire future.

"No need to praise me, Liangping. There is one thing that we are similar in now, which is that we are both cadres without any background or connections. If we want to move up to a higher position, we have to rely on our steady work style to make the leaders above remember us. At critical times and in critical positions, cadres like us are needed. That is the opportunity."

Not seeking high-ranking official positions, but only retiring as a deputy provincial-level official—this is the greatest aspiration of cadres like us without connections.

What do you think?

Hou Liangping strongly agrees with this statement.

He is 42 years old now and has been in the deputy director-general position for less than a year. He will have to stay in this position for at least four or five years. He will be 46 or 47 years old before he can be promoted to the director-general level. The director-general level requires at least two positions and five or six years. He will be 52 or 53 years old before he has a slight chance of being promoted to the deputy provincial level.

He sounds young, but the deputy provincial level is a tough one, how can things go so smoothly?

Hou Liangping was already grateful to have reached the level of Chief Prosecutor Ji Changming by the age of fifty-seven or fifty-eight; his generation had already achieved a tremendous leap in social class.

His children will have an even higher starting point in the future. Even without the support of the Chung family, isn't he already a local bigwig?

Thinking of this, Hou Liangping suddenly understood.

"Thank you, quarterly inspection!"

Hou Liangping bowed directly to Ji Changming at a ninety-degree angle.

This made Ji Changming smile even more broadly.

"No need to thank me, Liangping. I actually disliked you when you came to Handong. You were reckless and caused trouble for me everywhere because you had some background. But you did help me. I have to thank you for Chen Yanshi's matter."

The Second Procuratorate… I haven’t had a good time these past few years! Of course, I’m not vying for power, but I’m the chief prosecutor! How can I stand it when everyone else doesn’t respect me?”

Even now, Ji Changming is very grateful that Hou Liangping taught Chen Yanshi a great lesson, allowing him to vent his anger and retire smoothly.

Hou Liangping remained silent. Had he stumbled upon a lucky break?

"Alright, stop standing there and get back to work. The higher-ups will give a response regarding Yi Xuexi's matter. Don't believe a word about 'decision on the fly.' Just wait for news from the provincial party committee."

Hou Liangping nodded and left the office.

The workday ended quickly.

Exhausted, Yi Xuexi finally returned home. When he opened the door, he saw Mao Ya already there, wearing an apron, with a sumptuous meal on the table.

"You're back, Lao Yi? Look, these are all your favorite foods. I haven't cooked for you for a while, and you've gotten so thin. I'll try to get you back to your pre-pregnancy figure in half a month."

Upon hearing this, Yi Xuexi showed no joy, only a feeling of being unable to breathe...