Chapter 1424: Touching Tang Ye's Bottom Line!

Leaving the hospital, Tang Ye returned to the County Government and immediately made a phone call to Xia Xiang.

"Secretary Xia, please come to my office right away."

Xia Xiang had been feeling that something was going to happen, so he said softly, "Alright, I'll be there immediately."

One hour later, Xia Xiang knocked on the door of the County Magistrate's office.

"Secretary Xia, please sit." Tang Ye poured a cup of tea for Xia Xiang.

Xia Xiang took the teacup and took a sip.

Tang Ye asked softly, "I went to the hospital to see Ma Ran; he is very seriously injured."

Xia Xiang gave a bitter smile, "Indeed, I didn't expect those thugs to be so heavy-handed! I went to visit him at the hospital the very first moment I could."

A look of dissatisfaction appeared at the corners of Tang Ye's mouth, "Just visiting is not enough! Ma Ran, as a government cadre, was beaten and injured by thugs. This is a blow to the face of the government!

I asked Ma Ran, and he suspects that the person who hired the thugs is related to someone named Zhang Chong. Do you know Zhang Chong?"

Xia Xiang hurriedly explained, "I have met Zhang Chong a few times. Previously, when he came to our Lianhua Town to negotiate projects, we ate together a few times under the arrangements of the County Leaders."

Tang Ye's tone suddenly turned cold, "You don't have any conflicts of interest with him, do you?"

Xia Xiang's heart jumped at the question, and he hurriedly shook his head to clarify, saying urgently: "No, absolutely not! County Magistrate Tang, I swear to heaven, I absolutely do not have any interest dealings with him."

Tang Ye nodded slowly, "Then introduce the situation regarding Zhang Chong; what exactly is his background?"

Xia Xiang sighed softly, "This Zhang Chong has quite a background. His brother-in-law is a high-level executive at the City Urban Investment Company. Previously, when he hosted dinners, City Leaders were always in attendance. With my rank, my words carry little weight, and I couldn't even get a word in at the dinner table."

Tang Ye frowned, "City Urban Investment? Are you talking about Yang Bo?"

Xia Xiang nodded slightly, "Zhang Chong is a notorious gang leader in Xiyang City. The group he belongs to has a total of one hundred and eight people, and Zhang Chong is ranked eighteenth in the group, so everyone calls him 'Brother Eighteen'."

Tang Ye's face darkened, "One hundred and eight people—are they imitating *Water Margin* and planning to revolt?"

Tang Ye was usually gentle and refined in his speech, and rarely revealed his emotions so bluntly.

But Xia Xiang realized that today, Tang Ye was truly enraged.

The reason was simple.

Ma Ran was Tang Ye's trusted aide!

Attacking Ma Ran had touched Tang Ye's bottom line.

"In recent years, Zhang Chong has gradually abandoned his previous life of fighting and killing; his main business is now in livelihood projects, and he has also actively and proactively contacted government personnel," Xia Xiang hurriedly explained.

A cold sneer appeared at the corners of Tang Ye's mouth, "Times are changing, and thugs are upgrading too. In my view, no matter how they whitewash themselves, trash is always trash. Ma Ran mentioned a sum of money to me; do not disburse this money for the time being."

Xia Xiang frowned, "Leaders from both the city and the county have called me to urge me to disburse the funds as soon as possible."

Tang Ye said in a deep voice, "If anyone comes to you again, push them to me and say it is my requirement!"

Xia Xiang nodded, "Alright, I understand!"

"Ma Ran is a Deputy Town Mayor and represents the image of the government. Being broken in on and beaten into serious injury by a mob is extremely vile in nature, has a huge impact, and constitutes a serious provocation to the prestige of our Party.

Take a look at these documents."

Xia Xiang took the documents; they were all complaints regarding Ma Ran.

"County Magistrate Tang, the issues mentioned here are all groundless."

Tang Ye nodded, "Correct! My trip to Lianhua Town this time was to secretly verify whether the matters mentioned in the materials were true. The result surprised me. These matters are all rumors and slander. This shows that someone has long been dissatisfied with Ma Ran. I hope you will not take this lightly and must get to the bottom of this matter."

Xia Xiang hurriedly said, "I will have the Police Station investigate it seriously as soon as I return."

Tang Ye, of course, did not pin his hopes on Xia Xiang.

After Xia Xiang left, Tang Ye dialed Han Hu's phone number.

"County Magistrate Han, come to my office!"

"Ah? County Magistrate Tang, have you returned from Yanjing? When did you get back? I'm coming over right now!"

Tang Ye had been pursuing advanced studies in Yanjing for half a year, and Han Hu had also undergone changes; he had now been promoted to Deputy County Magistrate and concurrently Director of the Public Security Bureau.

Han Hu knew that his continuous promotions were mainly due to Tang Ye's approval.

Han Hu pushed open the office door.

Tang Ye asked Han Hu to sit and handed him a cigarette.

Han Hu hurriedly took out a lighter to help Tang Ye light his cigarette, then lit his own.

"I called you over because I want you to investigate a matter."

"What matter?" Han Hu said with a firm gaze, "Please give your orders."

Tang Ye said, "Ma Ran was beaten and is lying in the County Hospital receiving treatment."

Han Hu showed a look of surprise, "Director Ma was beaten? Who has such guts?"

Ma Ran was Tang Ye's Liaison Officer, after all; although he was posted to Lianhua Town, who wouldn't give him some face?

Tang Ye said, "I don't know who it is for now. According to Ma Ran's suspicion, it should be related to a person named Zhang Chong."

Han Hu thought for a moment and said in a deep voice, "I have some understanding of this person Zhang Chong; he is quite famous in Xiyang. He acts ruthlessly and is a figure in Xiyang. He is not hard to deal with; the one who is hard to deal with is someone else."

Tang Ye said, "Is it his brother-in-law, Yang Bo?"

Han Hu said, "It's not as simple as just Yang Bo. He has gathered a group of people around him."

Tang Ye sneered, "I heard; he participates in a gang, this gang has one hundred and eight people, and he is ranked eighteenth!"

Han Hu nodded, "In his earlier years, he opened KTVs, bars, and foot massage parlors. His establishments were involved in all sorts of illicit trades, and he led people to beat away all his competitors. Without his nod, no one dared to operate in the entertainment industry in Xiyang. Because it was a monopoly, and he was involved in illicit businesses, plus having people in the Public Security Bureau covering for him, he made a lot of money.

The more money he made, the more followers he had, and his ambition grew larger. He began to take on livelihood projects. As long as he set his sights on a project, no one else could participate, otherwise, he would have people beat you every few days, and calling the police was useless."

Tang Ye took a puff of his cigarette and continued to ask, "From a small-time thug to a gang leader, he has done so many evil things without ever being caught, and he has even monopolized resources and industries. The person behind him must not be simple, right?"

Han Hu nodded slightly, "The outside world says his brother-in-law is Yang Bo of the City Urban Investment. He does have an older sister, but she is only Yang Bo's mistress. Moreover, his true backer is not Yang Bo, but someone else. He has a very good relationship with a group of second-generation officials in Xiyang! Every business he does, he pulls in a group of second-generations to endorse him!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Ye suddenly fell silent for a few seconds, sensing that something was wrong.

"This case must be investigated secretly; do not make too much noise. You must arrest the suspects within the shortest possible time. At the same time, you must also investigate the mastermind behind this attack clearly—find out who ordered it and for what purpose!"

Han Hu observed Tang Ye's expression and mistakenly thought he was wary of those second-generation officials, so he nodded, "I understand. Please rest assured, County Magistrate Tang!"