Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

Liu Qigang pushed back his chair, bowed slightly to the people on the stage, stood up, and walked towards the side door of the conference room.

No one looked up at him.

The main agenda of this expanded meeting of the Central Military Commission has been completed. It is routine for the person to leave the meeting midway to handle other matters and will not attract any unnecessary attention.

The side door opened and closed silently.

The corridor was well-lit, with an armed police sentry post every three meters. Liu Qigang walked along the dark red carpeted path, turned at the end, and pushed open a gray iron door without any markings.

Secure communications room.

The room was small, about ten square meters, with soundproofing and electromagnetic shielding on all four walls. In the center was a desk with three telephones of different colors on it.

The indicator light on one of the red phones is flashing.

Liu Qigang walked over, pulled out a chair, sat down, and picked up the receiver.

"Old boss, this is Qigang."

On the other end of the phone, the voice was old but strong, carrying the oppressive aura cultivated over many years in the center of power.

"Qigang."

Su Zhenhai sat in a grand chair in the main hall of the courtyard house, his left palm resting on the mahogany table, the age spots on the back of his hand clearly visible.

"There's something I need you to look into for me."

"Please speak."

"The deputy secretary of the Handong Provincial Military Region is named Shen Zhong."

When Su Zhenhai mentioned this name, his tone lowered slightly.

"After arriving in Handong, this person, relying on his military status, openly interfered with the local party committee's personnel appointments, causing chaos within the provincial party committee leadership."

"Zhao Lichun flew to Beijing today to report to me that this person caused chaos at the Standing Committee meeting, and even the Minister of Organization was won over by him."

Su Zhenhai paused.

"I want you to find out exactly where this Shen Zhong comes from, and who gave him the audacity to act so lawlessly in Handong."

"A major general dares to act so recklessly in the local area. My opinion is that he should be dealt with as appropriate, and it would be best to transfer him directly out of Handong."

Liu Qigang held the receiver but did not answer immediately.

He quickly went through the process in his mind.

The personnel files of generals at the rank of major general and above are considered core secrets within the Central Military Commission. Access to personnel files at this level requires, according to regulations, a special approval process from the General Office of the Central Military Commission.

This is not something he can decide to do alone.

"Old leader, I've noted down what you said." Liu Qigang carefully chose his words. "However, there's a strict internal approval process for checking the personnel files of major generals—"

"I know there are procedures involved."

Su Zhenhai interrupted him.

The tone remained unchanged, but this very "unchanging" tone created enough pressure.

"Qigang, this is to let you get some inside information and see what this person's background is like."

"It's not complicated. Just bring it up in the system and take a look."

Su Zhenhai emphasized the words "take a look".

"I'm calling you in a private capacity."

"When you were working under me, when did I ever make things difficult for you?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Qigang's lips twitched slightly.

"Former boss..."

Liu Qigang remained silent for a few seconds in the secure communications room.

He wasn't afraid of Su Zhenhai. He had been in the military system for so many years; what kind of pressure hadn't he endured?

But given Su Zhenhai's status and the fact that he had been mentored by him, he couldn't simply ignore the call.

"Okay, I'll take a look," Liu Qigang finally said. "But let me make it clear beforehand, I'm just taking a look to get a general idea of ​​the situation. If it involves anything deeper, I can't bypass the proper procedures."

"Okay." Su Zhenhai's voice finally softened a little. "You check first, and call me directly when you have the results."

"beep--"

The call has ended.

……

The main hall of a courtyard house.

Su Zhenhai put the receiver back on the mahogany base.

The movement of putting it down was neither too hard nor too soft, but the wrinkled hand lingered on the table for a moment before being withdrawn.

He turned his head and looked at Zhao Lichun in the chair opposite him.

From the moment Su Zhenhai picked up the phone, Zhao Lichun maintained the same posture—leaning forward with his hands on his knees, his whole body as stiff as a stick.

"I've already spoken to the Central Military Commission."

Su Zhenhai picked up the purple clay teapot on the table and poured himself half a cup of tea.

"If nothing unexpected happens, Shen Zhong will soon receive a transfer order—he'll be punished if necessary, or relocated if necessary."

When Zhao Lichun heard the words "transfer order," he leaned back in his chair.

The tension that had been building all night and all morning has finally eased.

He placed his hands on his knees and unconsciously rubbed them back and forth a couple of times; his palms were covered in sweat.

"Old Secretary," Zhao Lichun stood up, his voice filled with a sense of relief at surviving a disaster. "With your intervention, that Shen fellow won't be able to cause any trouble."

Su Zhenhai did not accept his compliment, but simply took a sip of his tea.

"Go and rest in the backyard first." Su Zhenhai waved towards the door, and a staff member in a Zhongshan suit immediately came in. "Take Secretary Zhao to rest. I'll have someone call you if there's any news."

Zhao Lichun nodded and said nothing more.

He followed the staff out of the main hall and walked along the veranda of the courtyard to the backyard.

As soon as I stepped out of the main hall, the cold wind of the capital rushed towards me.

Zhao Lichun let out a long breath.

The lump that had been pressing in my chest for nearly twenty hours finally dissipated most of its contents.

His mind began to work.

If Shen Zhong is transferred, He Xia will be the first to lose her position in Luzhou.

Wu Chunlin is the kind of person who will sway whichever way the wind blows. When Shen Zhong was around, he knelt before Shen Zhong, and when Shen Zhong was gone, he knelt back before him.

When the Standing Committee is reconvened, it will be perfectly legitimate to overturn He Xia's appointment on the grounds that "there are flaws in the organizational review process".

The situation in Hexi District is even simpler. Wang Jian, whom Liu Changchun planted, hasn't even established a firm foothold yet; removing him is no different than pulling out a weed.

The more Zhao Lichun thought about it, the smoother things became.

As he walked into the lounge, he had already begun to mentally draft a list—after the position of secretary of the Luzhou Municipal Party Committee became vacant, should Qian Shouyi fill the vacancy, or should someone more obedient be chosen?

He took off his coat and draped it over the back of the chair before lying down on the wooden bed in the side room.

As soon as my head hit the pillow, sleepiness washed over me.

This night's ordeal can finally come to an end here.

……

at the same time.

At the end of the corridor in the Central Military Commission office building is the secure communications room.

"beep--"

Liu Qigang put down the receiver.

He didn't get up immediately, but remained seated, his hands crossed on the table, staring at the soundproof wall opposite him for a long time.

Shen Zhong, Major General, Military Region of Handong Province.

Su Zhenhai made it sound so easy—"Let's get an internal look at the situation," "Let's take a look at the basic data."

But Liu Qigang has been in this position for so many years, he knows exactly what to listen to on the surface and what to think about more deeply.

Su Zhenhai didn't want "understanding the situation".

Su Zhenhai wanted a result.

"The investigation is complete. This person has no connections, so we can take action against him." — This was exactly what Su Zhenhai wanted to hear from him.

Liu Qigang stood up and opened the door to the communications room.

Outside the door, his confidential secretary was standing in the corridor with his hands behind his back, a major in his early thirties, not very tall, but very capable.

"Little Zhao."

Secretary, stand at attention.

"Take the key and go open the terminal in the secure room."

Liu Qigang paused for a moment.

"I want to use advanced privileges to check someone's profile."