Chapter 1085

Zheng Qiu beside also said: "Yeah, I thought it was something else? Just this small matter, you solemnly called us to the clubhouse. Had I known, I wouldn't have come; my flight tickets are already booked, I'm going to Las Vegas to play a couple rounds."

Old Guo, you're getting more timid with age; those who don't know might think our Provincial Party Secretary has been replaced, and we really ought to gather everyone here for a proper discussion. It's just a Deputy County Party Secretary—he's nothing like the Monkey King under the Five Finger Mountain; we can slap him however we want, can we even stir up this Five Finger Mountain of ours?

Guo Huai Xuan shook his head and said: "Do you think I'm someone who lacks composure and is timid? Su Yang is no ordinary person; wherever he has taken office, if there is any illegal or disciplinary misconduct, he will root it out completely."

Recently he has been working in Lieshan Xian, Ganzhou Sheng; there is a distillery in Lieshan Xian, the Shuanggou Daqu we all know, and the distillery owner can be described as someone who controls both the legal and illegal sides, a Local Tyrant, with even the leaders of the County Party Committee and County Government being his lackeys.

In less than two months, he was thoroughly dealt with. If that were all, we could just chalk it up to his dumb luck, or say he had a bit of skill.

But even more frightening is that, in their locality, there lurks a huge interest group formed by the former county magistrate, involving over half of the officials at Section Chief Level and above, including the subsequently appointed county magistrate, etc., and he again took them all down in one sweep.

Moreover, in this incident, it is said that higher-level power struggles were also mixed in; no matter how we say it, this bunch of people were all taken care of by him, and he ultimately only got removed from office.

And you know, starting from his first township posting, each time he ends up being removed from office, but not long after he is reappointed, and each time his position rises noticeably.

Before, he was merely the lowest-ranked deputy county magistrate on the standing committee, but upon arriving here, he suddenly became Deputy County Party Secretary and Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission.

If it were merely a Deputy County Party Secretary, it wouldn't matter—there's an Organization Department Head below and a County Party Secretary above, leaving him hollowed out with no say, so we wouldn't need to bother him; but he also holds the post of County Political and Legal Affairs Commission Secretary, a position that is comparatively important, for it is one that can direct the public security, procuratorate, and judiciary.

In our line of work, nothing else matters—you must keep the Public Security Bureau firmly in your grasp.

After hearing this, Chairman Huang merely said lightly, "So what? That's nothing special. You got one thing right: we must keep the Public Security Bureau in our hands."

Even if he becomes the Political and Legal Affairs Commission Secretary, what can he do? The public security, procuratorate, and judiciary personnel don't listen to him, so isn't he just being sidelined? Even if he holds the title of County Party Secretary, without personnel authority, isn't that just nonsense?

Frankly, this position poses less of a threat to us than if the Public Security Bureau Director himself came. Moreover, what difference does his arrival make? We've already got the Public Security Bureau under control—the director is our man; he's just a blind man's eyes, a deaf man's ears.

Zheng Qiu also said: "Yeah, I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill; people like him may have some influence elsewhere, but here he's a dragon that must be coiled, a tiger that must be crouched—if we're pleased we give him a bite to eat, if not we make him disappear."

Guo Huai Xuan said: "I haven't finished yet; don't jump to conclusions lightly, and don't look down on him."

First, he is a cadre transferred directly from elsewhere; you should know the significance of such transfers. Second, he is the son-in-law of Zhou Weiguo of the Zhou Family in Jingcheng, and I've heard the Zhou Family already intends to confirm him as a third-generation core member, while the Qiao Family is also putting great effort into cultivating him.

If something happens to him, it would be no less than punching a hole in the sky—consequences we couldn't bear. And everyone knows what position this Governor Zhou holds.

When he finished speaking, everyone indeed calmed down considerably; even the expressions of Huang Zongyuan and Zheng Qiu turned solemn. They are indeed ruthless, wealthy, and well-connected, but compared to the clans of Jingcheng, they actually amount to nothing—perhaps all that remains is their ruthlessness.

After a long while, Huang Zongyuan said: "Actually, it's not such a big deal; according to the information I've received, Governor Zhou Weiguo might be taken down, because for the past few days Jiangnan Province TV has had no news of him, and there are such rumors internally."

If he is taken down, then isn't this Su Yang just ours to manipulate? Some principles are surely transferable; think about it—if Zhou Weiguo is taken down, what use are their two families' deep foundations?

Moreover, while occupying Governor Zhou's position, he couldn't possibly have all friends around him. Now that he's no longer in that position, I imagine many would love to see him fall, and they might even come to us voluntarily to deal with this Su Yang.

Of course, my principle is that we don't provoke them proactively, but he had better not come provoke us either, otherwise we'll handle it as we always have.

The other two, upon hearing this, had their tense expressions ease a little: "Yeah, that way, I feel we've already found a solution to this problem."

Guo Huai Xuan said: "Even so, we still need to make some preparations. Su Yang has no obvious weaknesses, making it hard to find a opening through him, but he still has parents back home."

I think we should start with his parents, you know rural elders get thrilled over just two free-range eggs. We don't need to give them money directly—doing so might raise suspicion; better to arrange some people to run activities for them, like a shopping lucky draw, and make them win a big prize.

Zheng Qiu said: "Old Guo, you truly are our association's strategist; over the years, countless matters have succeeded thanks to your plans, turning danger into safety and bringing prosperity to our business. For this matter, I think we should follow your suggestion—you take full responsibility, and the association will cover any expenses."

Chairman Huang also said: "That's right, Old Guo has really put in a lot of thought for us these years; without him, we couldn't be enjoying foreign mares every day or going to Las Vegas, at least our days wouldn't be so carefree. At year‑end, when the association distributes dividends, I'll give Old Guo a larger share—I'll take charge of this."

What he calls the association's dividends is actually a so‑called organization formed by the local coal bosses; each coal boss contributes between one million and two million annually, and that money is used to win over and corrupt officials at all levels and for crisis public relations.

The reason they can be so powerful is fundamentally their unity; facing huge interests, they bind together into a group, and even when there are policies to rectify the coal industry, they prepare countermeasures in advance, thereby jointly resisting risks and maximizing profits.

This is precisely why the Xishan coal bosses differ from other coal bosses, and it is the core element that has kept them standing firm for all these years.

The matter having been said, Chairman Huang clapped his hands, and a few young women walked in from outside.

He then laughed and said: "All right, all right, the business is done—now we should enjoy ourselves. You all say imported milk is good, but that's just what we use for bathing and skincare; the milk we actually drink must be fresh and freshly produced. Come on, one each, drink your fill."