Chapter 498: Crack Down on Black and Eliminate Evil

They say the bird that sticks out gets shot; being too outstanding, too dazzling is also an original sin. From the department level upward, each post is its own slot; the Municipal Party Secretary of Nanyuan City is vacant, so many people must have designs on the position. Rivals may not only be in Huayuan Province, but also in ministries.

The enemy hides in the dark while I am in the light; Lu Fan can only do his own work well now. Yet vigilance cannot be lacking; sooner or later we must root out this "bad seed"!

The campus bullying incidents in Nanyuan City repeatedly topped the hot search list, sparking widespread attention and discussion, and bringing a certain negative impact to Nanyuan.

The Municipal Party Committee and City Government discovered the issue promptly, did not evade, shirk, or pass the buck, and faced the problem with a highly responsible attitude, conducting an immediate in‑depth investigation of the bullying, fully grasping the whole story, and proactively publishing the facts to all sectors of society. They also dealt severely with the bullying students, strengthened supervision of schools, ensured similar incidents would not recur, and won public trust through transparent disclosure.

These reasonable, forceful, effective measures dispelled public misunderstanding, showed everyone Nanyuan's seriousness and resolve in handling bullying, successfully prevented further public opinion fermentation and spread, salvaged some reputation, and maintained Nanyuan's social stability and harmony.

On May 25, the Nanyuan Municipal Party Committee held a city‑wide mobilization meeting for the special campaign to crack down on black and eliminate evil; Mayor Lu Fan attended and spoke, the Municipal Party Committee Deputy Secretary Su Xiang Hai chaired the meeting, and Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary Fang Yang, Political and Legal Committee Secretary Yang Jiake, Public Security Bureau Director Tian Xuan and other leaders attended.

Political and Legal Committee Secretary Yang Jiake laid out arrangements and deployments for solidly advancing the "Six‑Clean" action and the "No‑Black" city creation, winning the special campaign to crack down on black and eliminate evil, and seizing comprehensive victory in the special struggle.

Vice Mayor and Public Security Bureau Director Tian Xuan gave concrete arrangements for the special operation: to conduct a sweep of irregularities and black‑evil issues in key industries, to crack down on online black‑evil illegal crimes, never allowing the internet to become a law‑less breeding ground; to strengthen grassroots infrastructure for combating black‑evil, eradicating the soil of its emergence at the source; to raise the public's awareness and ability to prevent, identify, and report black‑evil problems; and to continuously intensify the "Break‑the‑Net, Smash‑the‑Umbrella" effort, ensuring investigations go to the end with no tolerance.

Mayor Lu Fan said in his speech that the Municipal Party Committee and City Government attach great importance to this special operation; the Political and Legal Committee, public prosecution, judiciary and other departments must cooperate closely, trace clues, combat crime, dig up the "protective umbrellas", address the source, strengthen organization. June: tighten the stance, create an atmosphere where everyone calls for a crackdown; July: attack cases, raise public satisfaction; August: build mechanisms, achieve overwhelming victory; September: accomplish "clear the clues", "zero fugitives", "close the cases", "remove the umbrella network", "wipe out black money", "clean the industry source", ensuring Nanyuan's black‑evil forces are completely eradicated.

For black‑evil criminal cases, we will dig deep into the underlying corruption, and for the black‑evil "relationship networks" and "protective umbrellas", we will investigate to the end with no leniency. The special campaign to crack down on black and eliminate evil must achieve decisive victory, preserve good social order, boost public sense of safety and satisfaction, and let the people truly feel the new changes and atmosphere brought by the campaign.

Lu Fan stressed that cracking down on black and eliminating evil must enter campuses, safeguarding youth and fostering growth; the campus is also a 'battlefield'! We must resolutely curb campus bullying, create a safe and harmonious campus environment, protect minors' legal rights and physical and mental health. Students are encouraged to bravely seek help from teachers, parents, and public security authorities when bullied, and to boldly report and expose campus black‑evil activities, jointly building a safe and harmonious campus.

At the meeting, a reward mechanism was also announced: based on the effect of public tips on black‑evil crimes or "protective umbrella" clues, different rewards are given—organizations of a mafia nature receive 50,000–100,000 yuan; evil forces receive 10,000–50,000 yuan; suspects acting as "protective umbrellas" receive 5,000–30,000 yuan; public security agencies that capture members of black‑evil gangs based on tips receive up to 10,000 yuan; and verified reports of campus bullying receive 5,000–10,000 yuan.

After the meeting, Lu Fan immediately went to the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government to report his work; negative news about Nanyuan has been constant lately. Although the leaders have not asked too many questions, that does not mean they are not paying attention or are not dissatisfied; he must have the awareness to proactively go and receive criticism.

Besides, Lu Fan also wants to gauge from the side where the 'enemy' actually is! Who is most likely to become Municipal Party Secretary of Nanyuan, and whose suspicion is greatest!

Lu Fan first went to the Provincial Government to see Governor Liu Linghao; after all, he's 'one of our own', so the conversation is easier.

After meeting, Liu Linghao laughed, "Have you been a bit frazzled these past few days? It's nothing serious; just handle it, it's a minor matter, can't be aired publicly, and no one will care!"

Lu Fan hurriedly said, "Governor, please enlighten me!"

Liu Linghao thought briefly, then looked at Lu Fan with a hint of meaning and said, "At the last Standing Committee, someone suggested promptly appointing a Municipal Party Secretary for Nanyuan, and another proposed a candidate: Mayor Lei Xingxing of Zhoujiakou. Lu Fan, as the old saying goes, one must not have a harmful heart, but must be vigilant; even the deepest abyss has a bottom, but the human heart is unknowable!"

"Thank you for the guidance, Governor!" Lu Fan knew this person's background came from the Cyberspace Administration.

A toad lying on the foot—doesn't bite, just makes you feel uneasy!

Liu Linghao added, "Just speculation; perhaps there's someone else. After all, within a year or two, the only vacancy is the Municipal Party Secretary of Nanyuan, and many eyes are on it! Don't worry about these messy things; just do Nanyuan's work well. In Huayuan, this approach has no 'market'."

Lu Fan replied, "Thank you for the Governor's support and trust; however these matters also reminded me that Nanyuan's work still has shortcomings. This morning we held a 'Crack Down on Black and Eliminate Evil' mobilization meeting, with campus bullying as a key target. Through iron‑fisted rectification and heavy‑handed strikes, we opened the way and dismantled a batch of black‑evil gangs; guided by public opinion, we investigated and resolved tips from the masses; we cut off finances and blood, destroying the economic base of black‑evil; we smashed umbrellas and broke nets, investigating implicated officials; we treated both symptoms and roots, eradicating the soil that nurtures spread."

This operation will surely make Nanyuan's sky clear, markedly improve the public security environment, significantly boost public sense of safety and satisfaction, noticeably strengthen the people's rule‑of‑law awareness, and clearly optimize the economic and social development environment!

Liu Linghao nodded and said, "I trust your ability, Lu Fan. I recall you were promoted to a regular department head in February 2022, so your seniority is about right. To avoid prolonged uncertainty, I suggest you immediately assume the Municipal Party Secretary role; then others will have no ambitions, and you can devote your energy to the work peacefully."

Lu Fan felt a slight shock, thought for a moment, and replied, "Alright, I'll follow the Governor's arrangement!"

"Okay, tomorrow I'll talk with Secretary Tang Bing to push for it to be set at the next Standing Committee."

Near quitting time, Lu Fan went to Secretary Tang Bing's office. He first sincerely admitted his work mistakes, then gave a detailed report on Nanyuan City's special campaign to crack down on black and eliminate evil.

After hearing the report, Tang Bing said, "In the new media era, people can learn about and comment on news hotspots through many channels. Some media, seeking clicks and self‑interest, distort facts and maliciously fabricate information; if we fail to respond promptly, we deepen netizens' misunderstandings and cause adverse social impact. Nanyuan's handling of public opinion this time was strong, the measures appropriate, acting in line with the situation, turning passivity into initiative; the Provincial Party Committee is generally satisfied."

However, these matters also serve as a reminder: when facing emergencies, if sensitivity is weak and guidance weak, a minor issue can become a public‑opinion storm, a small case can trigger social unrest. In work we must ensure early warnings for problems, anticipate public‑opinion trends, have response plans, detect early, assess accurately, act quickly, and firmly hold the initiative.

After the work discussion, Lu Fan tentatively asked, "Secretary, the case of Wang Haiyang and his group is basically classified now; do you think we can allocate those corrupt funds to us? Nanyuan urgently needs this 'people's blood and fat' to improve livelihoods."

Tang Bing laughed, "You spare no effort for these funds! I've told you many times, right? The money has already entered the national treasury; I'll mention it at the next Standing Committee and try to tilt it toward Nanyuan. Lu Fan, I've thought it over, and we should promptly implement your appointment as Municipal Party Secretary; an empty post is easy for people to 'keep in mind'!"

Lu Fan replied, "I resolutely obey the Provincial Party Committee's decision, thank you for your support, Secretary!"

Tang Bing emphasized again, "Don't forget your commitment; I very much look forward to Nanyuan's GDP ranking second in the province this year. Also, the construction of Zhang Zhongjing National Medical University must accelerate, aiming to start enrollment by next autumn."

Lu Fan replied firmly, "Please rest assured, Secretary; I will spare no effort to promote all work, improve quality and efficiency, bring new achievements, and certainly not disappoint your expectations!"

Starting May 26, Nanyuan City launched a comprehensive publicity drive to facilitate the public's reporting of black‑evil crime clues; the Crack Down on Black and Eliminate Evil Office, the City Public Security Bureau's subordinate police stations, county public security bureaus and a total of 30 units quickly opened reporting hotlines and email boxes, and widely posted them on online platforms. Clues were broadly collected through public tips, police sweeps, industry self‑checks, and higher‑level transfers and supervision.

Mayor Lu Fan personally arranged, deployed, and participated, demanding that the special campaign to crack down on black and eliminate evil be treated as a major political task, tightly linking it with anti‑corruption and grassroots "fly‑swatting", striking early and small, eradicating evil completely, and resolutely winning this hard battle.

In just one week, Nanyuan City filed and investigated 15 organized crime cases, targeting 35 evil‑force groups and 32 evil gangs; more than 1,200 current cases of nine types—including provocation, extortion, mob fights, forced transactions—were collected. The next step is to push forward deeply and concentrate on case handling.