Chapter 420: Where Did People Actually Go?

When he heard Li Juzhang's words, Lu Cheng's first reaction was that the guy was dishonest and trying to gloss over it.

Lao Qian shared the same thought and scratched his head for a moment.

If the people were captured by the Railway Bureau, it would only require a phone call upstairs, and Lu Cheng wouldn't have to come in person at all.

But this involves the local Public Security department, which has no authority to take people away on demand and can only coordinate.

Yet in coordination, the initiative lies in the other party's hands.

Lao Qian could only communicate patiently: "Li Juzhang, you see, the Railway General Bureau has already informed your superiors and agreed to let us take the people away…"

Although Lao Qian's tone was calm, he still brought up the superiors, hoping to pressure Li Juzhang.

To their surprise, Li Juzhang seemed unfazed and laughed: "Hehe, you don't need to invoke the leaders to pressure me; I will certainly obey the higher‑ups' decision, so refusing to let you take the people away is exactly the higher‑ups' decision."

Damn, this just turned into a tug‑of‑war.

Bringing up the superiors not only failed, they even kicked the ball straight back to the higher‑ups.

Therefore, to get the people back, the Railway General Bureau must step in to coordinate.

Lao Qian wanted to curse, "damn it, the deal we made, why the sudden change?"

This is bullying; had we known this, there'd be no need to come all the way.

Having no other recourse, Lao Qian looked at Lu Cheng and gestured toward the telephone on the desk.

Lu Cheng understood his meaning: the Railway General Bureau still had to intervene, and it would be best to call in front of Li Juzhang now to avoid further back‑and‑forth.

And making this call, only Lu Cheng was the most suitable to do it.

Lu Cheng glanced at the phone and gave up.

He thought there was no point in calling now; the Railway General Bureau had already tried to coordinate, and the current situation only showed that they simply didn't want to cooperate, or outright refused to give you any face.

Letting the Railway General Bureau communicate again would mean groveling to them.

A proud Railway General Bureau lowering itself to beg others—whether they're willing or not, Lu Cheng wouldn't agree.

Lu Cheng was again representing the Railway General Bureau; if he couldn't even preserve this bit of dignity, how could he face Captain Lei again?

Since Li Juzhang kept flip‑flopping, Lu Cheng's attitude hardened as well.

"Li Juzhang, first I don't deny that there's something wrong with your arrest; after all, the Educated Youth did cause trouble, and you're also acting for social stability…

But you should also be clear that Knowledgeable Youth are a special group; they answered the nation's call to go down to the countryside, so dealing with their issues requires utmost caution."

Li Juzhang sighed: "Ah, I understand everything you say; in fact, it wasn't my desire to arrest them—it was an order from the higher‑ups. So tell me, what can I do?"

Lu Cheng muttered inwardly that the guy was truly obstinate, shoving all the stakes onto the superiors and constantly shifting blame upward.

"How about this, Li Juzhang: we do each other a favor. Let me take the people away first; I'll lead the Educated Youth heading to the Capital City back, and then I'll bring those few people back to you."

Since this Li Juzhang wanted to gloss over it, Lu Cheng was ready to do the same.

Openly snatching them away was impossible, so they would resort to a covert grab.

As long as he could first get the few military‑cap youths out, Lu Cheng had no intention of returning them.

When Li Juzhang turned back wanting the people, Lu Cheng mimicked him, pushing everything onto the higher‑ups.

Hearing Lu Cheng's words, Li Juzhang hesitated, then suddenly slammed the table.

"To be honest, it's not that I don't want to release them; the people simply aren't here with me. I can only say you're late—if you'd arrived half an hour earlier…"

Li Juzhang suddenly realized he'd said too much, immediately rephrased: "In short, your entanglement with me is useless."

Hearing this, Lu Cheng and Lao Qian exchanged glances, both doubting whether Li Juzhang was lying and merely trying to gloss over it.

Lao Qian, blunt as he was, said: "Li Juzhang, if you don't want to release them, just say so. At worst I'll ask the Railway General Bureau for another solution; you don't need to use this as an excuse to brush us off."

Just now he claimed the people weren't here; now he says this—clearly an attempt to gloss over it.

The military‑cap youth group of Educated Youth was the very bunch Li Juzhang arrested; if they're not with him, where else could they be?

Lao Qian didn't believe it at all, yet Li Juzhang's statement this time was indeed truthful.

"Look, do I really need to use this as an excuse? If I truly didn't want to release them, how could you possibly forcefully take them?"

It sounded as if there was some logic; indeed there was no need to lie.

Lao Qian was about to curse, "Why didn't you say the people weren't here earlier? It's just a waste of effort."

But now wasn't the time to complain; only Li Juzhang knew who had taken the military‑cap youth group.

Lu Cheng asked: "Li Juzhang, since the people aren't with you, where are they now?"

Lu Cheng expected Li Juzhang to answer readily, but instead he seemed apprehensive and just shook his head.

"I'm truly sorry, Lu Jingzhang, I really can't say, otherwise I'll face punishment."

Lu Cheng inhaled, not expecting the well‑planned approach to hit a snag at the first step.

Li Juzhang even mentioned facing punishment, making it clear that no matter what you say or who communicates, Li Juzhang cannot utter a single word.

This made Lu Cheng realize it must be an order from the higher‑up in the Public Security department; otherwise Li Juzhang wouldn't have mentioned 'facing punishment.'

The campaign started off poorly! Lu Cheng sighed, realizing he had to prepare to leave; staying any longer would only waste time.

Lu Cheng also had no intention of asking the Railway General Bureau to negotiate; it was obvious the Public Security folks didn't want to communicate—having taken the people away directly, further talks were futile.

Lu Cheng decided to solve it his own way, driving straight to the trouble‑making Educated Youth group to intercept them and give a proper persuasion.

Of course, the result was unlikely to be ideal; he might not even be able to stop them.

After all, that group was emotional; they wouldn't listen to his counsel, and a 20% success rate would already be good.

The pre‑arrival plan was to rescue the few military‑cap youths first, easing the emotional tension of the trouble‑making Educated Youth and reducing the escalating conflict.

In that case, Lu Cheng's persuasion would have a much higher chance of success.

But now the few military‑cap youths' whereabouts were unknown, and Li Juzhang seemed hesitant to reveal anything.

Thus Lu Cheng saw no point in staying any longer; having just signaled Lao Qian to leave, Yang Yin suddenly spoke up.

Lu Cheng had previously barred her from the work, but seeing him being harassed, Yang Yin couldn't hold back.

"Li Juzhang, may I say a few words…?"