Chapter 1026

Qi Guohui's brain was a bit slow to react—wasn't this just further boosting his arrogance?

Zhang Jiangbo smiled without speaking.

Zhao Nanxing explained, "It seems your two bouts of low blood sugar have affected your brain. We're a poor county; undertaking such a huge project is simply draining the finances. If someone with an agenda reports it upward, or even bypasses the province and reports directly to the capital, combined with heavy media publicity and the ensuing public outcry, what do you think the consequences would be?"

After a moment, Qi Guohui replied, "Exactly, this way Su Yang won't be able to just walk away. Later we can dig up some of his dealings with those investors, various publicity—he'll surely be done for. No, for such a big project, Secretary Zhang will be the primary responsible party, and you too must share responsibility—how could we let Su Yang bear it alone?"

Zhao Nanxing said, "Success depends on people. Now we must push him upward, making him feel that everything in Lieshan County is being handled by him, that all projects are under his direction, as if the county couldn't function without him. Once we've fully propped him up, we'll then slowly cut him with a dull knife; by the time he realizes, it'll be too late."

Zhang Jiangbo didn't speak, but lit a cigarette and smoked leisurely. Now is the time to step back and let Zhao Nanxing's group jump into action.

His greatest advantage is holding the concurrent high-ranking posts of Deputy Municipal Party Committee Secretary and County Party Secretary, theoretically giving him absolute speaking authority—of course, this is only an advantage in personnel matters.

Around Zhao Nanxing and his people there is a group, among whom a few are brainless, and when they undertake these foolish tasks they compete to be the most zealous. Moreover, Zhao Nanxing's people, although they haven't been in the county much longer than him, have fully allied with some local forces.

What he needs to do now is wait—for a suitable moment, wait until the Yingbin Dadao project erupts, then bring up the Sha He illegal mining issue again. By then, Zhao Nanxing and Su Yang will surely cross swords. Given Su Yang's temperament, he has already yielded once on this matter; if it blows up again, combined with Zhao Nanxing's group pressing step by step, he will definitely overturn the table.

At that point he will withdraw back to the city, while Zhao Nanxing's group will be completely overturned by Su Yang. And Su Yang, this officialdom killer's notoriety will be confirmed again; if not punished, he will also be transferred, and then those people in the county will not be able to defy him. In the smoke rings he exhales, he calculates not only Su Yang but also Zhao Nanxing's group.

Even in his view, as long as he achieves his goal, what are Zhao Nanxing's people worth? Moreover, his earlier words weren't finished; when the Yingbin Dadao project blows up, the Sha He illegal mining matter will also be reported simultaneously—he's basically killing two birds with one stone.

Originally those who had begun to waver, even started reporting work to Zhang Jiangbo's office—the township mayors, secretaries, and bureau chiefs—began running to Su Yang's side.

But Su Yang turned them all away at the door; he had already figured it out—if these people don't cause him trouble, he will absolutely not interfere in anything else, only needing to finish the few projects in hand and give the common people an explanation. Old Zhou said he would at most see a change by June; so before then, if nothing goes wrong, the highway should already be half-built, and the county's hardened road projects etc. would all be completed.

Preliminary work for this highway project proceeded very quickly, with formal groundbreaking half a month later. The municipal authorities attached great importance to it—Municipal Party Committee Secretary Zhaikai, Mayor Wang Huaizhong, and some members of the Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee attended. The newly appointed head of the Provincial Transportation Department, and even a bureau chief from the Ministry of Transport, also participated in the groundbreaking ceremony. This is unprecedented in the history of Lieshan County.

During this period, Su Yang could be said to have stolen the limelight, which left Zhang Jiangbo and Zhao Nanxing feeling resentful. Not only was the highway project like that, but even the Yingbin Dadao project—banks actively came forward to offer interest‑free loans, and of course this was aimed at Su Yang.

Three months later, the highway project was progressing steadily, while the hardening of all rural roads and the widening of the county seat's main thoroughfares were basically completed. However, the construction crews were no longer those of Hou Junlai and Zhou Yanru before, but had been replaced by the Xia Jian Eighth Bureau. This time the bidding followed regular procedures, but hardly anyone went to compete against them.

By late May, all roads were fully completed and opened to traffic. The Yingbin Dadao dual‑carriageway with eight lanes in each direction was basically finished; the imitation ancient gate tower at the county seat entrance had its main structure completed, and interior decoration was underway.

This period was the most stable time for all leaders in Lieshan County's history—even the Standing Committee wasn't convened. The calmer and more peaceful it was, the more one could sense the approaching storm.

Chen Bo sensed something unusual; he knocked open the door of Su Yang's office: "County Magistrate Su, lately those two in the county haven't been putting up any obstacles for you at work, have they? And on the Yingbin Dadao project, they even gave their unanimous approval, but I always feel they harbor no good intentions."

"I truly hope we can keep it this way; even if we give it two years, our county's economy will take off, and the common people will truly feel the changes brought by the state and policies."

Su Yang said: "As long as we finish these projects, let them toss and turn as they like. No matter what schemes they concoct, I don't care."

Actually, deep down, Su Yang is also waiting—waiting for these projects to be officially completed, waiting for Zhang Jiangbo and Zhao Nanxing and the like to stir up trouble again. Otherwise, the illegal sand mining in the Sha He would not be easy to expose.

Just from these brief words, Chen Bo keenly sensed something: "County Magistrate Su, compared to before you seem to have become a different person; you've let go of many things, which I can understand, but I absolutely do not believe Secretary Zhang and County Magistrate Zhao, that after suffering several setbacks in a row they would just forget about this matter."

"If nothing unexpected happens, they will surely still trip me up. I just can't figure it out—everything in the county is on the right track, and there won't be any new projects; where could they possibly find fault with me?"

Moreover, over the past period, Secretary Zhou and Secretary Hou have been getting close to them; of course, I've only heard about it, I haven't seen it myself. As for Secretary Zhou, I can't say much, but Secretary Hou shouldn't be like that—you said before that if there was one trustworthy person in the previous team, it would definitely be Comrade Hou Junlai.

Su Yang said: "When the sky wants to rain and the daughter wants to marry, it's not up to my will to decide everything. Fortunately, the things I wanted to do are basically done; only the milk factory remains unbuilt. I think they won't trip me up on this, after all, if it's done well, it will be a major industry for the county, concerning not only the common people's income but also the political performance of the entire Lieshan Xian County Party Committee and County Government leadership. I'm putting in the effort here while they enjoy the benefits there—how could that be bad?"

He was still speaking when the phone in his pocket suddenly rang; he glanced at the number, and his expression turned slightly unnatural.