Chapter 472: No Way to Make Guo Liang Take the Fall!

On Sunday, Tang Ye accompanied Du Xi to lunch with her colleagues from the Municipal Public Security Bureau.

This group of veteran criminal police had long been familiar with Tang Ye, especially Du Xi's mentor, Captain Wu, who would jokingly call himself a "half-matchmaker" every time he saw Tang Ye.

He would always harp on about how, if not for his mediation, Tang Ye and Du Xi might not have ended up together.

When Tang Ye spent time with the criminal police, he would also participate in case discussions, and since the police knew he had participated in solving cases before, they did not hide the case details from him.

Watching Tang Ye talk freely with her colleagues and occasionally offer refreshing analytical perspectives, Du Xi felt full of pride.

Seeing this, Captain Wu laughed and teased, "Little Tang, if you hadn't been promoted so quickly, I would really love to poach you for our Criminal Police Team!" Du Xi immediately feigned dissatisfaction: "Mentor, I don't like hearing that; are you not satisfied with me?"

Captain Wu laughed heartily: "Although you are quite sharp, compared to your husband, you are still a notch below!"

Du Xi feigned anger: "Then I'm taking my annual leave tomorrow!"

Captain Wu then hurriedly tried to make peace: "Our team can't do without you; I was just joking, don't you go quitting on us!"

After the meal, Du Xi and Tang Ye returned to Xiyue Garden.

Just as they were about to "draw the curtains," Tang Ye's phone suddenly rang—it was a call from Guo Liang.

"County Magistrate Tang, I have something to report to you!" Guo Liang's voice was urgent. "Something major has happened with the demolition work for the Pinghu Resort Project! One household kept refusing the demolition terms, and yesterday, in order to rush the progress, the demolition work group broke into their home in the middle of the night to force the demolition. The demolition personnel held the homeowner's elderly mother in a water vat to force them to sign the agreement, and in a fit of rage, the homeowner grabbed a knife and stabbed two demolition personnel to death!"

Tang Ye gasped after hearing this: "How could things have escalated to this point?!"

"Fortunately, I have been hospitalized for the past few days," Guo Liang said with a tone of lament. "I heard that the homeowner's son is a lawyer in Beijing, and the reason they refused the demolition from the start was because they questioned the demolition standards. Now he has already contacted reporters in Beijing to intervene and investigate; I'm afraid this matter won't be small."

Tang Ye furrowed his brows tightly.

He knew that Guo Liang had previously been in charge of the land acquisition and demolition work, but had been hospitalized due to illness for the past few days, and the work had been taken over by another Deputy Town Mayor; he hadn't expected such a huge mess to occur right after the handover.

He understood Guo Liang's worry and immediately reassured him: "Don't worry, your transfer order is currently going through the procedures, and barring any accidents, it will be officially announced soon."

"Thank you, County Magistrate Tang!" Guo Liang sighed with relief.

Although he was in the hospital, he had been worried about being used as a "scapegoat."

Gu Lanping could easily use the excuse that his poor coordination in the early stages led to the loss of control over the land acquisition, leaving her unable to cope when she took over temporarily.

The next morning, Guo Zhengting knocked on the door of Shen Mingcheng's office with a gloomy expression and slapped a newspaper onto the desk.

Shen Mingcheng knew what Guo Zhengting was there for and glanced at him indifferently: "County Magistrate Guo, your temper is quite high; calm down, don't hurt your health."

Guo Zhengting's tone carried complaints: "Secretary Shen, late Saturday night, a vicious incident occurred in the Pinghu Resort Project due to forced demolition, and it has already been reported by Yanjing media; the impact online is extremely negative. I called you the first thing the night the incident occurred, but you didn't answer."

Shen Mingcheng's expression did not change: "I was attending a meeting in the Provincial Capital on Saturday and drank quite a bit of alcohol that night, so I didn't receive the call; that is my responsibility. However, regarding this matter, I have already communicated with the Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department on Sunday, and we will try our best to minimize the impact. In addition, I have also instructed Chen Zhihua that it must be handled properly."

Guo Zhengting was left speechless by Shen Mingcheng's nonchalant attitude.

When Du Chengfeng was in office, he was on call twenty-four hours a day, and whenever a sudden situation arose, he would always grasp the situation first before notifying him.

Now, compared to Du Chengfeng, Shen Mingcheng was worlds apart, and everything required him to push it forward.

He suddenly felt immense regret.

Back when Du Chengfeng was in office, he had always worked against him and complained about his interference in government affairs; looking back now, the work back then was so easy.

Guo Zhengting said in a deep voice: "The matter has already happened and cannot be solved with just a few words; someone must take responsibility."

Without waiting for him to finish, Shen Mingcheng interrupted with a serious tone: "The cadre in charge of the resort project's land acquisition and demolition in Pinghu Town is Guo Liang; since this happened, he must take responsibility."

Guo Zhengting looked at Shen Mingcheng in disbelief: "Secretary Shen, Guo Liang has been on sick leave for a week, and the decision for the forced demolition yesterday was made by Gu Lanping; how can the responsibility be pushed onto Guo Liang?"

Shen Mingcheng frowned and said: "Ice three feet thick is not formed in a single day. If Guo Liang had resolved the 'stubborn household' earlier, why would it have dragged on until Gu Lanping took over? Can he escape responsibility just by handing over a mess he couldn't clean up to someone else? This responsibility must be borne by Guo Liang; there is no room for negotiation."

Guo Zhengting stared blankly at Shen Mingcheng.

This decision was utterly absurd.

There were some things he could only keep to himself.

On the day of the incident, Gu Lanping did not arrive at the scene, but instructed the Demolition Team over the phone that the forced demolition must be completed that night, and that she would take the fall for anything that happened.

As a result, when something did happen, Gu Lanping went off the grid...

She had appeared at the County Party Committee Compound that day and headed to the Provincial Capital with Shen Mingcheng, and that night, she was spotted at the front desk of a hotel in the province checking in...

Even though it might be a rumor, it made Guo Zhengting feel a chill.

Being under a top leader like Shen Mingcheng was simply a nightmare for the common people.

He wanted to protect Guo Liang, but he was helpless.

With a matter of life and death, some cadre had to come out and take responsibility.

With Guo Liang caught up in this, his record was likely to be stained.

His path to promotion for the rest of his life would likely be cut off here.

Guo Zhengting left the office.

Shen Mingcheng rubbed his temples.

He hadn't expected the land acquisition and demolition work to result in a death.

This was unexpected for him, and he finally understood why Guo Liang's work progress had been slow before.

Some "stubborn households" simply couldn't be solved by high-pressure tactics.

These were just a bunch of unruly people who valued money over their lives!

In principle, this incident should have held Gu Lanping accountable.

But due to his relationship with Gu Lanping, Shen Mingcheng had to protect her, so he could only let Guo Liang come out to "take the fall."

A moment later, the office door was pushed open again.

Guo Zhengting had returned.

Shen Mingcheng looked at Guo Zhengting strangely: "What is it now!"

Guo Zhengting's tone was hurried: "Secretary Shen, the responsibility for the Pinghu land acquisition cannot be counted on Guo Liang!"

Shen Mingcheng looked at him, puzzled: "This matter is decided; there is no need to discuss it further."

He secretly pondered, Guo Liang isn't even a relative of yours.

Must you really tear off all pretenses with me just to protect him?

Guo Zhengting did not respond, merely placing a document in front of Shen Mingcheng: "Secretary Shen, this is a personnel transfer order just received by the County Party Committee Organization Department. Guo Liang has been transferred to Suiyuan County!"

"What?"

Shen Mingcheng suddenly looked up!

Staring at Guo Zhengting in disbelief...