Chapter 889: The Mortal Lord Establishes a Military Situation

When Deng Chunning unfolded the battle plan in his mind, the smile on his face grew gentler, and his acting in this regard was still quite spot-on.

He picked up the tea cup in front of him and slowly blew on the tea leaves.

Then he spoke: "Comrade Dongfan, during your time in Wuzhou you've done a lot of work. You've handled that mess of the Zhao Group quite neatly. The province affirms that."

Lin Dongfan didn't respond, waiting for his "but".

Deng Chunning set down his tea cup.

Sure enough, a "but" came: "But, there are many unfavorable rumors circulating in society. They say you act autocratically in Wuzhou, refusing to listen to differing opinions. They say you and Comrade Qigang can't get along, with deep divisions in the team. Of course, these can be blamed on differing work methods. But..."

He paused briefly.

Deng Chunning stared straight at Lin Dongfan and thrust out his final sword:

"Are you getting too close to Ye Jiaying of the Mortal Group?"

"There are rumors that Ye Jiaying was once your first love girlfriend. Between you two, to this day you still maintain an unclear male-female relationship."

"Your personal conduct is improper, which is a problem."

"Furthermore, there are rumors that you abuse your authority to seek private gain for Ye Jiaying of the Mortal Group, using the Cloud Peak Mountain Villa project to secretly transfer benefits."

"Shouldn't you give the Provincial Committee an explanation for these matters?"

"What was bound to come and what wasn't, eventually came. Faced with Deng Chunning's ruthless thrust, Lin Dongfan fell into a brief silence."

"It wasn't that he had no recourse; he was mainly thinking—despicable people use despicable tricks, every move lethal! Should I use the Mighty Vajra Palm to meet force head-on, or the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth to redirect the firepower?"

"Social rumors, that's a soft blade!"

"If he directly defended his private relationship with Ye Jiaying, he'd likely only dig himself deeper, and a slip would land him in the predicament where the more you say, the more you lose."

"On this issue, Jiang Huantian surely wouldn't chime in."

"After all, these rumors really do exist in society; Jiang Huantian likewise needs an explanation from Lin Dongfan, otherwise it's hard to silence the myriad voices."

"Looks like the Mighty Vajra Palm can't be used."

"Only the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth will do!"

"Having thought this through in silence,"

"Lin Dongfan was just about to unleash the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth."

Deng Chunning then put on another crafty, worldly smile: "Of course, rumors aren't necessarily credible, but where there's smoke there's fire. For matters like this—being in a melon field under a plum tree—avoidance is still necessary."

"Upon hearing this,"

Lin Dongfan really wanted to retort: "Screw your melon field, screw your plum tree! If you really had evidence of me using power for personal gain, would I still have the chance to sit here reporting work? Damn!"

"Unfortunately, going all out isn't conducive to unity; using the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth feels better."

Lin Dongfan gathered his composure and replied calmly: "Deputy Provincial Governor Deng, I've actually heard those rumors myself. But I want to say that all this gossip arose after the Mortal Group swallowed the Zhao Group. The subcontractors, the Huang brothers, are still causing trouble to this day."

"'Comrade Dongfan, what do you want to say?' Jiang Huantian followed up, actually aiming to guide Lin Dongfan to elaborate on the issue."

Lin Dongfan said: "After the Zhao Group was annexed, many corrupt officials were implicated. Some feared that digging deeper into this corruption chain would unsettle them, so they lashed out like mad dogs. On one side they secretly aided, fanning the flames of societal rumors! On the other, they incited the Huang brothers to cause trouble and file lawsuits. All this is merely to drag me, Lin Dongfan, down from power and regain the lost control."

"!!!"

Upon hearing this, Deng Chunning was already gritting his teeth in secret, his face as black as coal.

Earlier, when he had unfolded the battle plan in his mind, Deng Chunning had rehearsed the whole war and anticipated multiple angles of sophistry Lin Dongfan might employ.

He never imagined that this guy Lin Dongfan would offer no explanation at all.

Not only that!

Lin Dongfan, that bastard, even threw a counter-thrust, directly questioning the motives of the questioners, implicitly saying that Deng Chunning is just a corrupt official who can't stay put.

Damn it!

One move of turning the tables actually pushed me, Deng Chunning, into the depths of passivity!

The more he thought about it, the more stifled Deng Chunning felt; having mixed in officialdom for most of his life, he never expected to capsize at the hands of a junior.

Deng Chunning suppressed his anger and glanced at the ambiguously smiling Jiang Huantian.

He also didn't know who Jiang Number One actually believed.

Helplessly,

Deng Chunning could only brace himself and clarify: "Secretary Jiang, although what Comrade Dongfan said is possible, this matter involves a lot, the trouble is big, and we can't hastily conclude. After all, if Comrade Dongfan truly walks upright and sits properly, there's no need to worry about others framing him."

"'Deputy Provincial Governor Deng, you really can sit and talk without your back hurting, huh.'"

This time Lin Dongfan wasn't polite, directly cutting in front of Jiang Huantian to strike back while he had the advantage.

Lin Dongfan smiled: "If I were to forcibly drop a drop of ink into your tea in front of you, could it still clear itself?"

"'Tea and people are two different matters,' Deng Chunning retorted with a cold face."

Lin Dongfan solemnly and sternly rebutted:

"'Ye Jiaying is a businessman, I am the mayor. She came to Wuzhou to invest, I am responsible for attracting investment. The purpose of official-business cooperation is to serve local economic development.'"

"'Those groundless accusations, on the surface, are smearing me, Lin Dongfan!'"

"'But actually!'"

"'This is destroying Wuzhou's business environment, hindering Wuzhou's economic development!'"

"'Have these people's hearts been eaten by dogs?'"

"'While eating the meat in their bowls, they're busy wrecking pots and tearing down stoves! I, Lin Dongfan, may fall, but can Wuzhou's economic pillar also fall?'"

Faced with this impassioned indignant rebuttal, Deng Chunning was so angry he nearly bit his own teeth loose.

Only at this moment did Deng Chunning belatedly realize that the reason he was struck powerless and unable to retaliate lay in his initial underestimation of Lin Dongfan's political wisdom.

Lin Dongfan is certainly not the brainless relation-holder everyone claims; this damn thing actually has brains!

In just a few words he turned the issue of his personal conduct into the questioners' problem, and elevated it to the political height of Wuzhou's economic survival!

Whoever questions him is disregarding Wuzhou's economic development.

Damn it!

I just stabbed you in the back with a sword, and you're already setting up a cannon to counterattack?

This leaves no way out for anyone!

At this moment, Deng Chunning really wanted to rush over and strangle Lin Dongfan—but he couldn't muster the courage; his position wouldn't let him act like a shrew cornered like a dog jumping over a wall.

The key is that Jiang Huantian has been sitting silently, seemingly intentionally leaving Lin Dongfan ample room to open fire.

After the pain, he pondered deeply for a while.

Deng Chunning suppressed his anger and forced a bitter smile: "Comrade Dongfan, don't get so worked up. The Provincial Party Committee has also been paying attention to the issues you raised. But having said that, since there are rumors targeting you, they definitely need to be quelled. What do you plan to do next? I hope you can come up with a proper solution."

Once the Cloud Peak Mountain Villa issue is resolved, these rumors will collapse on their own.

Seeing Deng Chunning reduced to having exhausted his tricks, Lin Dongfan also lost interest in beating a dog in the water, and turned his gaze to Jiang Huantian.

Speaking to Jiang Huantian: "If the Provincial Party Committee doesn't believe me, I'll issue a military order: within one month, if I can't get Cloud Peak Mountain Villa back to work smoothly, I'm willing to resign taking responsibility."

Resign taking responsibility?

At first hearing, this seems like a compromise Lin Dongfan would make when cornered with no options, but upon closer thought, Deng Chunning furrowed his brows.

How the hell is this being out of options?

Lin Dongfan, you damned bastard, you're really more cunning than a dog!

This military order.

It can both delay the Cloud Peak Mountain Villa resumption issue by a month, easing the dilemma of dual pressure from the Provincial and Municipal Party Committees!

It can also gain the Provincial Party Committee's trust and put the social rumors on hold.

This is truly killing two birds with one stone!

Deng Chunning gloomily glanced at Jiang Huantian's reaction, and as expected, Jiang Huantian soon nodded: "Since you have this determination, I'll look at your results in a month."