Chapter 659

In the afternoon, just before getting off work, Lu Fan dialed Secretary Li Xingyuan's phone and said in a low voice: "Secretary, the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee has received a large number of complaint letters about Comrade Xu Yan. In a responsible attitude toward cadres, we have already summoned Xu Yan for questioning, and his integrity assessment cannot be issued for the time being."

Hearing this, Li Xingyuan was greatly alarmed; he never expected Lu Fan's counterattack to come so swiftly, and it was steady, precise, and ruthless, striking directly at the vital point.

After some thought, Li Xingyuan replied: "We must act according to law and regulations, and carry out the work following due procedure."

"Please rest assured, Secretary, I will not undertake anything I am not confident about."

……

At half past five, Provincial Party Committee Secretary-General He Yuanhang pushed open Xu Yan's door for the third time, found that he still hadn't returned, and thus dialed Xu Yan's phone, but after ringing for several tens of seconds, no one answered.

This made He Yuanhang involuntarily become alert—how could someone get lost during a simple integrity assessment?

By sometime after six, still unable to contact Xu Yan, He Yuanhang could not sit still; he hurriedly got in touch with Li Yuening and Gu Yunhao, the three put their heads together, and they all guessed that Xu Yan had been detained by the Discipline Inspection Committee.

He Yuanhang suggested going to the Discipline Inspection Committee to demand the person's release, but Gu Yunhao stopped him, saying: "The situation is unclear; on what basis should we demand someone from the Discipline Inspection Committee, and in what capacity?"

Li Yuening suggested: "Xu Yan is a member of the Provincial Party Committee General Office; Yuanhang, you could demand his release."

Gu Yunhao said: "We also have to wait until tonight; if we still don't see Xu Yan after work tomorrow, and the Discipline Inspection Committee gives no response, we can directly call the police and have the Provincial Public Security Department look for him."

He Yuanhang said with slight worry: "What if Xu Yan talks nonsense tonight? I think we should get him out as soon as possible."

Gu Yunhao furrowed his brows and said: "If he's that spineless, he's just a useless person—what good is he? Let's wait until tomorrow; we'll look for him through proper channels. Even an ordinary person can hold out one night without issue."

He Yuanhang always felt something fishy about this matter; he had a feeling of trepidation. Recommending Xu Yan this time had earned him quite a few benefits!

……

At six in the morning, Du Wenlong, full of vigor, took over from Interrogation Room Chief Wang Shanshi and continued the surprise interrogation of Xu Yan.

After a night of intensive investigation and comprehensive, in-depth big-data analysis, the Discipline Inspection Committee had gathered some evidence of Xu Yan's corruption and embezzlement, although many leads were still under further investigation and verification.

In short, once Xu Yan was brought to the investigation base, Du Wenlong had no intention of letting him leave.

After taking his seat, Du Wenlong stared at the listless Xu Yan with a torch-like gaze; he saw Xu Yan's eyes bloodshot, his whole body slumped in the chair. After fourteen consecutive hours of interrogation, for Xu Yan, who was used to a life of comfort, it was nothing short of a nightmare.

"'Xu Yan, this is just the appetizer; from now on I'll serve you the main course! Your and your family's asset information has been pulled up, clearly mismatching your actual income—just three apartments in the urban area, your couple's income wouldn't be enough to buy them in two lifetimes, and your family still has over two million in deposits, and that's only the surface. Come on, let's go through it item by item; I have plenty of patience.'"

"'No…… impossible! Something must have gone wrong!' Xu Yan's emotions suddenly flared: 'You… you are arbitrarily detaining people, abusing extrajudicial punishment, knowing the law and breaking it, completely disregarding humanitarian principles—I… I will sue you! Let me go quickly!' He felt he was on the verge of collapse."

Life is like that—rises and falls happen too fast, it's truly exhilarating! Xu Yan yesterday afternoon was still in the excitement of being promoted and entrusted with important duties, full of vigor, planning to go to Ximeng to showcase his talents and usher in a glorious moment in his life. Yet in just a short night, he fell into the status of a prisoner; such a huge drop is hard for anyone to bear.

……

After finally making it to half past eight, still not seeing Xu Yan come to work, Provincial Party Committee Secretary-General He Yuanhang called Li Jiaxing, head of the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee's Party Conduct and Government Conduct Supervision Room, and said: "Comrade Jiaxing, I am He Yuanhang of the Provincial Party Committee."

Li Jiaxing hurriedly replied: "Secretary-General, may I ask what instructions you have?"

He Yuanhang, bearing a hint of superior's composure, said: "Yesterday afternoon, Comrade Xu Yan asked me for leave to go to the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee for an integrity assessment, but he has not returned yet. In a responsible attitude toward cadres, I would like to learn the situation."

Li Jiaxing replied: "Secretary Xu did indeed come to my office yesterday, but the integrity assessment for bureau-level leading cadres requires Secretary Du's approval; he stayed in my office for only two or three minutes before leaving, and I know nothing else about the situation."

Alright, I'll personally look for Du Wenlong!

After waiting a few minutes, He Yuanhang dialed Du Wenlong's mobile number; it rang for over thirty seconds before being answered, and a stern voice came through the phone: "Who is this?"

Alright, the number of a Provincial Party Committee Secretary-General, and you, a deputy secretary of the Discipline Inspection Committee, don't even have it saved? He Yuanhang, feeling somewhat helpless, announced himself: "I am He Yuanhang!"

"'Oh, Secretary-General, what instructions do you have?' Du Wenlong's voice remained casual."

He Yuanhang said patiently: "Yesterday afternoon, Comrade Xu Yan went to the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee, and he still hasn't come back to work today. So I'm calling you to learn the situation."

Du Wenlong replied nonchalantly: "Oh, I summoned him! Sorry, I forgot to notify your unit—look at my memory!"

Upon hearing this, He Yuanhang's eyes widened, his face filled with shock, and his voice involuntarily rose eight degrees: "What? On what grounds do you summon a deputy secretary-general of the Provincial Party Committee, a bureau-level official? What is going on here?"

Du Wenlong said in a tone of surprise, unhurried: "Why couldn't I summon him? Someone has filed a real-name report against Xu Yan, and the evidence is solid; the Discipline Inspection Committee has launched the corresponding investigation procedure—what's the problem? Isn't he still a Party cadre? When it comes to corruption issues, the Discipline Inspection Committee naturally has the authority and duty to investigate. Moreover, conducting a thorough and meticulous inquiry is also part of being responsible toward cadres."

He Yuanhang angrily retorted: "Don't you think you're being too arbitrary? Who gave you the right to investigate whomever you please?"

Du Wenlong responded righteously: "It is the Party Internal Regulations, the Disciplinary Punishment Regulations, the Supervision Law, the Accountability Regulations, the Rules for Discipline Inspection and Supervision Organs to Supervise Disciplinary Work, the Party Internal Supervision Regulations, and other Party and state laws that grant me this authority; the Discipline Inspection Committee has the right to investigate any corrupt individual."

"Good, good, good—I see you are lawless! Is the Discipline Inspection Committee still operating under the leadership of the Provincial Party Committee? Xu Yan is the secretary of the Ximeng Municipal Party Committee approved by a vote of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee, and yet you dare to investigate him privately…"

Du Wenlong directly interrupted: "Secretary-General, I'm in the middle of a case, very busy! If you have something to say, go find Secretary Lu; you leaders communicate among yourselves—I'm just a worker!" Having said that, he hung up the phone!

A mere deputy secretary of the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee actually dared to hang up on the phone of a Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee member and Secretary-General; He Yuanhang felt immense humiliation and cursed furiously: "Damn it, what nonsense! A lackey relying on others' power!"

After he had somewhat calmed down, He Yuanhang went straight to Secretary Li Xingyuan's office, pushed the door open, and said angrily: "Secretary, the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee is outrageous—Xu Yan went there yesterday for an integrity assessment, and unexpectedly he was subjected to an unfounded investigation; this is blatant retaliation, you need to rein it in!"

Li Xingyuan gave He Yuanhang a meaningful look, his eyes complex, seemingly containing sympathy and pity……

"Yuanhang, go notify everyone that an expanded Standing Committee meeting will be held at eleven, and all provincial-level leaders who are in town should attend."

"Okay, Secretary, I'll go notify them right away—what about Xu Yan's matter?"

"We'll talk about it at the meeting!"

……

Around ten o'clock, the head of the Cadre Bureau No. 2, Bai Chengzhi, holding the appointment documents, brought along Qinchuan Province Discipline Inspection Committee Deputy Secretary Wu Xiaohua and Emergency Management Department Director Zhang Rongqiu to Secretary Li Xingyuan's office.

Soon after, Governor Luo Shiyu and Deputy Secretary Lu Fan also entered the secretary's office.

Seeing the three "old acquaintances," Lu Fan merely gave a slight nod and offered a perfunctory greeting.

……

At eleven, the expanded meeting of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee commenced punctually.

He Yuanhang sat in his seat, seething with anger; he had already coordinated with Gu Yunhao, and later he would launch a challenge against the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee.

After the meeting began, Secretary Li Xingyuan said: "Comrades, please first have Bureau Chief Bai announce the superior's decision!"

As soon as his words fell, everyone's gaze turned to Bai Chengzhi; the situation clearly indicated a personnel reshuffle, yet not a whisper had leaked beforehand—this really carries an air of "strangeness"! Who exactly is to be adjusted?

Bai Chengzhi opened the document and began to read: "With organizational approval, Comrade He Yuanhang no longer serves as a member of the Standing Committee, committee member, and secretary-general of the Grassland Provincial Party Committee, and will be assigned elsewhere; Comrade Wu Xiaohua is appointed as a member of the Standing Committee and secretary-general of the Grassland Provincial Party Committee; Comrade Zhang Rongqiu is appointed as a member of the Party Group of the Provincial Government and nominated as a candidate for deputy provincial governor…"

Upon hearing this sudden news, He Yuanhang was struck as if by lightning; he froze on the spot, his face full of disbelief, unable to accept the fact for a moment. By rights, adjusting one's position should first involve seeking opinions—yet even this step was skipped?

The other leaders likewise wore looks of shock, each appearing bewildered and at a loss, especially Gu Yunhao and the others, who clearly had not anticipated such a "bizarre" change occurring.

The meeting had only one agenda item, brief but shocking; everyone seemed to have forgotten the matter of Xu Yan being "groundlessly" investigated by the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee.

After the meeting ended, Wu Xiaohua immediately proceeded with the work handover to He Yuanhang, because Bai Chengzhi still needed to send He Yuanhang to take up his new post; his next assignment is as a member of the Standing Committee and head of the United Front Work Department of the Xihai Provincial Party Committee, and the organizational decision must be obeyed without condition.

Zhang Rongqiu followed Lu Fan without reservation into the office, and upon entering said: "Thank you, Secretary, for your patronage—we can fight side by side again!"

Lu Fan laughed and said, "Since you're here, serve the grassland people well! At work, communicate more with Comrade Zi Ren, and report more to Governor Shi Yu."

Zhang Rongqiu laughed and replied, "Before coming, I did some homework; the secretary must often give pointers…"