Chapter 1007: Sure Enough, There

In an instant, everyone pricked up their ears; evidently, today's heavyweight has arrived.

Su Yang let out a cold laugh in his heart: Zhang Jiangbo, making such a big move today, indeed must have been prepared; otherwise he'd be nothing but a complete fool.

Chen Bo's complexion gradually turned ugly; originally he thought that even if it were uncovered, what could be done? It would be nothing more than a trivial matter. Moreover, whether Su Yang could receive a record of demerit or a warning is not decided by the County Party Standing Committee; it must be raised to the Municipal Party Standing Committee.

If it truly reaches the Municipal Party Standing Committee, he knows even with his eyes closed that Secretary Zhao, Mayor Wang, or Minister Lu would not agree to punish Su Yang, and given the current state of the Municipal Party Standing Committee, anyone who forces the issue would only make things uncomfortable for themselves.

At their level, they cannot be dragged into trouble because of a power struggle in a single county. But if the province gets involved, it is entirely different, and even this incident would be escalated.

Sure enough, as soon as the call connected, the voice on the other end said: "Is this Secretary Zhang of Lieshan Xian? This is the Provincial Government Office. We have received a report that a vice county magistrate named Su Yang in your county has been brazenly taking bribes, opening a convenient door for companies lacking qualifications on public welfare projects, and even bypassing the most basic bidding procedures; this is a complete violation of the relevant regulations."

Zhang Jiangbo, after hearing this, said with great distress: "I'm sorry, Director Gao, I didn't expect such a severe problem to arise in our county. I bear responsibility for my oversight on this matter; I submit my self‑criticism to you, and also to the Provincial Government. Now that the issue has surfaced, we will actively cooperate with leadership at all levels to resolve it and minimize the impact. May I conveniently ask for the leaders' handling opinions?"

Zhang Jiangbo—if you say he lacks grassroots political wisdom, he truly does, because he has never done a single day of grassroots work. Yet he grew up in that environment; the scions of the capital's cultivation dynasties have been immersed from childhood, giving them an innate talent in this area.

His words sound like a cautious self‑criticism, trying to gauge the scale of handling this matter, even thinking of exonerating Su Yang, but in reality it is to publicly discipline Su Yang.

Director Gao on the other side said, "This matter has already caused a very severe impact; the Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission will directly intervene and investigate. It must be thoroughly clarified to give the vast Common People an answer."

Zhang Jiangbo said, "Alright, alright, I understand."

After hanging up, he pretended to be sincere and said, "County Magistrate Su, comrades, I was on speaker just now; I trust you all understood, right? I don't want this matter to blow up; if it can be resolved in our county, let it be resolved here, but the higher‑ups are already aware, and we have no choice but to handle it according to regulations."

"I hope Comrade Su Yang can also understand. Of course, if they are false accusations, I will certainly uphold justice for Comrade Su Yang."

At this moment, no one else responded, not even Qi Guohui, Jiang Tao, and the others, who all bowed their heads in silence. This is a serious showdown between masters; being caught in the middle could easily shatter them.

But Zhao Nanxing's face showed a faint smile: "Comrades, to be honest, I am reluctant to believe this matter is true. The contributions of Comrade Su Yang are evident to all; not only has he taken charge of these projects, he has also achieved great results in attracting investment, and he also bears the heavy responsibilities of applying for the highway project and the Yingbin Dadao project."

"If Comrade Su Yang truly gets into trouble, the work in our county will be significantly affected. Since we still have a bit of time, let's bring up the Yingbin Dadao project and the highway matter again, after all our standing committee comrades are all present now."

Chen Bo, hearing this, immediately became displeased: "County Magistrate Zhao, what do you mean by that? Are there times when members of our county party committee are not all present? The matter concerning Comrade Su Yang has not been defined; please do not insinuate here. I trust the organization will uncover the truth, will not wrong any good person, and will not let those villains pulling small moves behind the scenes go unpunished."

Zhao Nanxing completely ignored Chen Bo, because he knew how sharp Chen Bo's tongue could be; at the very least, he certainly wouldn't profit from it.

Zhang Jiangbo said, "Since that's the case, let me state my point: the Yingbin Dadao project not only needs to be built, but it should be built in a more grand and upscale manner, after all it is also the city's calling card."

"I've reviewed the design plans; a dual‑direction eight‑lane road is certainly feasible, but should we add something else? For example, we could build a replica ancient city‑gate tower, so that outsiders passing by can instantly see our county's historical depth and rich cultural atmosphere. County Magistrate Su, what do you think?"

Their move left many present bewildered; wasn't today aimed at County Magistrate Su? Why suddenly bring up these two projects? Yet Su Yang didn't think deeply at all, because in his view these are matters that will happen sooner or later.

He said, "When we were attracting investment, I promised the investors that we would definitely build a Yingbin Dadao. Since Secretary Zhang wants to add some replica ancient architecture on the original basis, I think that's acceptable."

Subsequently, others also voiced their agreement; on this matter, they only have the right to nod or shake their heads. Because they cannot bear the risk behind it—a poor county undertaking such a project is purely a vanity undertaking.

But likewise, if it is executed well in the future and becomes a performance project, they will not reap any benefit. Not to mention having Zhang Jiangbo, a city leader, here, and County Magistrate Zhao Nanxing; even without such people, it would still be Su Yang's matter, and they can only stand aside.

Zhang Jiangbo said, "Since that's the case, let this be settled; we will launch the project within the next two days via tender. Regarding the funds needed for the project, if necessary, have County Magistrate Su make a couple more trips to the bank, after all his relationship with the bank is quite good."

"Also, regarding the highway matter, I heard the preliminary work is almost complete; the current issue is the allocation of two hundred million in funds. As for this, I heard County Magistrate Su is fully responsible; I don't know how it stands."