Chapter 377: Chapter 368 Ironclad Evidence_1
Speaking, Chen Le pulled out a printed A4 paper from a notebook beside him, and recited it aloud, “As discussed in the Municipal Bureau of Public Security’s party group meeting and approved by the Municipal Organization Department, we hereby appoint Comrade He Qingjun, head of the Criminal Investigation Brigade, as the Director of the Guicheng District Public Security Bureau.”

The Criminal Investigation Brigade was originally a department with intensive work and scarce benefits. Any transfer for He Qingjun to a department such as economic investigations, public security, or traffic police would naturally provide a cushy role. The positions of district bureau directors are even cushier. As head of a district bureau means a step towards decentralization, no matter how one sees it, they would wield a larger influence regarding the bureau’s infrastructure development, equipment procurement, personnel recruitment, and dismissal. There are many benefits in all these aspects, and moreover, the authority is substantial. More importantly, the position of Secretary of the District Committee of Politics and Law in Guicheng District has always been vacant. By convention, the Director of Public Security is most likely to concurrently hold the position of Secretary of Politics and Law. Once He Qingjun enters the standing committee of the Guicheng District Committee, it would mean he had ascended to heaven in a single step.

In contrast, Jiang Bing, the current Director of the Guicheng District Public Security Bureau, wore a face of despair. However, there was no choice given that Jiang Bing was Guo Zhenbao’s man. Whose fault was it that he couldn’t read the situation? At this point, expecting someone else to speak for him was just impossible.

With Director Chen Le in full swing and even sending the Deputy Director to the Disciplinary Committee for a “tea chat,” would anyone else dare to object? Wasn’t that like signing their own death warrant?

Next, Chen Le announced personnel changes for two more individuals, all of whom were loyal followers of his. Now, they had all risen to key departments within the Municipal Bureau. The original officers were either dismissed or assigned as inspectors.

Looking at the cadre present, each one wearing a thoughtful expression; a smile, however, formed in Chen Le’s heart. In fact, these personnel assignments were planned long ago. After working in Liangxi City for such a long time and having already got the hang of things, these arrangements were already determined. At this moment, he was simply taking the opportunity to put them into effect. Now, looking at the results, it seems pretty effective. The arrest of Guo Zhenbao by the Disciplinary Committee had shocked everyone. Immediately after, the series of arrangements gave the impression of being last-minute decisions, instilling a sense of the highly elusive and deterrent nature of this process.

The events at the Municipal Public Security Bureau spread throughout Liangxi City in less than half an hour. During this time, many officers were moved. Some who were on the fence between Nie Zhenbang and Fan Changsheng finally made up their minds. Of course, there were still some cautious officers who wanted to wait until after the People’s Congress to decide, but they did not realize that by the time the People’s Congress took place, would they still have a chance?

Over at the city committee office building, in the office of Fan Changsheng, secretary of the Municipal Committee, someone suddenly pushed the door open from outside.

With a sullen look on his face, Li Guohua walked in indignantly. Nie Zhenbang’s consecutive actions had stripped Li Guohua of his scholarly demeanor, leaving him in an irate state. He exclaimed angrily, “This is absolutely outrageous. Nie Zhenbang and Lei Dingguo have truly gone too far. In doing so, they have shown no regard for us or the Municipal Committee.”

Fan Changsheng also looked none too pleased. Obviously, Fan Changsheng agreed with Li Guohua. The Deputy Director of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, a bona fide senior official at the department level, had been placed under “shuanggui” without him, as the municipality’s top officer, getting any prior notification. This was a blatant slap in the face. If he didn’t take any action now, he feared that no one in Liangxi City would take him seriously in the future.

Despite his anger, Fan Changsheng said calmly, “Guohua, keep your cool. This matter, although Lei Dingguo is responsible, it’s not entirely his fault. The Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission does have a certain degree of autonomy still.”

“Secretary Fan, if I may speak frankly, they are practically trampling our necks. If we don’t retaliate, we will be on the defensive.” Li Guohua spoke up again after a while.

Fan Changsheng held a pen in his hand, twirling it effortlessly on his thumb. This bore the marks of a scholar or an official—common people, who spend their days toiling away, would not have the mind for such trivialities.

Flaunting this skill, which he had honed for nearly thirty years, Fan Changsheng, after a pause, said calmly, “Guohua, calm down. What you need right now is calmness. You understand? This matter isn’t as simple as it seems on the surface.”

As Li Guohua listened to Fan Changsheng, he finally calmed down. He was by no means a fool. Back when he was at the Jingcheng Dynasty Club, he had backed Nie Zhenbang into a corner. Certainly, Nie Zhenbang had had his own reservations and considerations at the time, but overall, Li Guohua was quite competent.

Having calmed down, Li Guohua took a seat on the sofa. After a while, he said, “Secretary Fan, are you suggesting that this is a trap set by Nie Zhenbang and Lei Dingguo for us?”

At this point, Fan Changsheng nodded. Once the situation had been figured out, the initial rage subsided. Fan Changsheng still favored the sensation of being in control of everything and indifferently remarked, “Nie Zhenbang’s move is not a simple one. We are in a situation where we can neither advance nor retreat.”

I’m certain that Nie Zhenbang and Lei Dingguo have solid evidence on Guo Zhenbao. At this point, they are likely more than happy to see us intervene. If that happens, you and I might very well end up with culpability. Moreover, according to regulations, the City Disciplinary Committee has the legal right to intervene in investigations. After all, even the party committee cannot overly interfere with the Disciplinary Committee’s work. This is a matter of principle. If everything needs to be decided by the city committee, the Disciplinary Committee loses its essential purpose. Therefore, we won’t find any loopholes here, we will only invite trouble. Still, if we don’t do anything, our credibility will be damaged. They are playing a clever game.

As Fan Changsheng analyzed the situation, it unraveled like a movie for the second time. At this moment, Li Guohua also returned to his normal state, exuding the grandeur he had shown before.

After a moment of silcence, Li Guohua asked Fan Changsheng, “Secretary Fan, do you have any thoughts about the upcoming People’s Congress? I heard that Secretary Shen mentioned it at the provincial committee meeting.”

That remark made Fan Changsheng’s heart lurch. Shen Yanshuo had indeed brought up the topic of elections at the provincial committee meeting. However, in Fan Changsheng’s opinion, that was just a formality, but why is Li Guohua bringing this up now? Is he asking me to rally supporters for Nie Zhenbang’s postponed election?

Postponing an election within the system is a serious and egregious event, translating to explicit resistance against the party’s leadership and orders. This directly impinges on one’s political future. Although Secretary Shen is part of the Li faction, and I, as Shen’s confidant, also belong to the Li faction, I will never sacrifice myself for the sake of Li Guohua. If it comes to it, we can part ways. Even then, Shen won’t do anything to me, as he has many supporters in Jiangbei Province. If I am sacrificed this easily, it would make things difficult for Shen in the future.

As for the Li faction, no matter how powerful it is or what family it represents, it’s too far away for Fan Changsheng to consider at this moment. After a pause, Fan Changsheng slowly said, “Let’s not rush into this. We still have some time, we can wait and see. Now, we need to think about how to recover from the disadvantage created by Guo Zhenbao’s detention and investigation. If we let things go on like this, it will hinder our future work.”

At the same time, Fan Changsheng was discussing the matter with Li Guohua, at the city militia guesthouse that serves as a working point for the city Disciplinary Committee.

This was a designated workspace for the City Disciplinary Committee. Normally, the guesthouse would operate as usual when they didn’t have a case. However, it could be cleared out at any time if needed.

The entire top floor of the guesthouse was taken up by the City Disciplinary Committee. At this moment, in a spacious room, sat Hong Tianzheng and a staff member across a table, with Guo Zhenbao deflated and seated about three meters away.

As soon as Guo Zhenbao stepped in, the members of the City Disciplinary Committee began to apply immense pressure on him. The continuous fatigue tactics took a toll on him. After having read the anonymous letter, Guo regretted his greed.

Guo Zhenbao candidly confessed his verbal agreement with Zhang Debao and promised to immediately refund the fifteen thousand yuan to him.

However, Hong Tianzheng picked up a notebook and waved it at Guo Zhenbao, saying, “Guo Zhenbao, you sure are cunning. But have you ever thought that a man who ventures into the mountains will eventually encounter a tiger? Now, there is no way you can escape. Confess honestly what you’ve done during your tenure as the security squadron leader and deputy chief and executive deputy of the City Public Security Bureau. If you cooperate, you may have the chance of leniency. Otherwise, prepare to spend the rest of your life in prison.”

Guo Zhenbao, who was already psychologically weak, could barely stand up when he was taken away by the City Disciplinary Committee.

After being scared by Hong Tianzheng, Guo Zhenbao completely collapsed. He confessed everything like pouring beans out of a bamboo tube.

Hong Tianzheng stood up when he heard there was over two hundred thousand yuan of illegal money at Guo Zhenbao’s home. His usually calm face showed a hint of a smile. Immediately, he walked out of the room, gestured to someone and said, “Little Wu, send someone to search Guo Zhenbao’s home immediately. Let me know the results as soon as possible.”

With leaders like Hong Tianzheng and Lei Dingguo, the Liangxi City Disciplinary Committee is formidable. Within half an hour, Hong Tianzheng received a call. A joyful voice from the other end reported that indeed, 236,000 cash had been found under Guo Zhenbao’s bed. Hearing this news, Hong Tianzheng felt relieved. With this evidence, the case is ironclad. (To be continued. If you enjoy this novel, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote and support the author. Your support is my greatest motivation.)