Chapter 469: Stubborn Municipal Party Committee Leadership

At this moment, Zhou Hongtao really wished he hadn't been there, and hoped that Secretary Gao on the other side would, in a fury, hang up the phone, so he would have nothing to do.

Normally, if a superior didn't care about face, they would definitely hang up immediately; such a trivial matter wouldn't be repeated over and over again.

But he didn't expect that Secretary Gao on the other end was so persistent; he lingered there for several seconds, didn't hang up, and waited for him to speak.

He had to steel himself, pick up the phone, and say, "Hello, Secretary Gao, this is Zhou Hongtao."

"If you had called ten minutes earlier, we would have released the person outright."

"Now the procuratorate has taken over; just as you were on the phone, I immediately called the procuratorate as well."

"Although their work is specialized and we can't intervene directly, I think if I call them, they'll spare the face of our County Party Committee and County Government."

"But when I called the procuratorate, it happened that officials from the provincial procuratorate were on inspection, and this case collided with them."

"The procuratorate now has no room to maneuver at all; even if you try to push the case back, there's no chance. Why is this matter being rushed so tightly?"

"Alternatively, you could directly greet the provincial procuratorate officials, and I will take charge of the county procuratorate side. What do you think?"

"Ah, after you greet the provincial officials, I'll go straight to the county procuratorate and have them return the case."

"I am confident the procuratorate officials would never dare to make things difficult, and I can also give you a guarantee about Comrade Cui Mingjiu, who is originally a tested, hardworking, exemplary cadre willing to root himself in remote mountain villages."

"Therefore, I will not only let him continue as the township head of Xiushui Xiang, but also give him further important assignments; moreover, our county has several key cultivation slots in the Organization Department…"

Zhou Hongtao hadn't finished speaking when Gao Dalang abruptly smashed his phone onto the ground.

At this moment, Zhou Hongtao could imagine just how furious Gao Dalang must feel right now.

He never imagined that this trivial matter would involve him personally, being repeatedly slapped in the face, each blow harsher than the last, each stab piercing his heart.

At this moment, besides his raging anger, he felt only regret.

If he had let his secretary handle it, even if it failed and still bruised his face, it wouldn't have caused such a huge insult and injury.

At his rank, face is more important than anything else.

Fang Jingwen and Zhou Ruohan were now genuinely shocked, shocked to the extreme.

They both knew each other's backgrounds, and faced such an unreasonable demand from a leader trying to obstruct legal justice, they could indeed politely refuse.

Moreover, they spoke very elegantly and weren't afraid that Deputy Secretary Gao would later give them a hard time.

Of course, among the three of them, Fang Jingwen was the instigator who dragged everyone into trouble; she thought that if any problem arose, she and Zhou Ruohan would just face it.

The reason they also pulled Zhou Hongtao into the mess, so that everyone would share the fortune and the hardship together, was because they were comrades on the same front and needed to act in unison.

Her original intention was indeed to block Zhou Hongtao's way out, preventing anyone from pleading with him and putting him in a difficult position, and simply eliminate the issue.

But they never imagined that Zhou Hongtao would stab even more fiercely; they exaggerated the facts a bit, calling it irreversible, trying to kick the difficulty back to Secretary Gao.

As for Zhou Hongtao, it was merely a test among comrades in the team; after all, they thought Zhou Hongtao might find it hard to face this issue.

Who could have guessed that Zhou Hongtao's rhetoric would be even harsher; they had already dead-ended the conversation, dragging the procuratorate into it.

But Zhou Hongtao's move brought the provincial procuratorate in as well, essentially sealing the coffin.

And he explained it so reasonably: what does it mean that provincial procuratorate officials happened to be on inspection, that the matter was rushed so tightly, that he personally went back to the procuratorate to have the file returned?

The key shock for them was that Zhou Hongtao blatantly lied, which was one thing, but they had already started lying openly, each more outrageous than the last.

Honestly, Zhou Hongtao's reverse grandstanding is unprecedented; they've seen superiors paint big pictures for subordinates, but never a subordinate officer doing it for a superior—what is this?

He simply doesn't treat the leader as a human.

It's already been handed over to the procuratorate, and they've said provincial procuratorate officials happened to encounter the case, so the case is 100% unrecoverable.

And you still tell them you want to preserve Comrade Cui Mingjiu's township head position, that you intend to give him priority cultivation—almost as if the County Party Committee's Organization Department could make such special promotions, spouting nonsense.

Zhou Hongtao looked at Zhou Ruohan and Fang Jingwen's shocked gazes, spread his palms and said, "Are you really forced to act so dramatically? Isn't this all because you pressured me?"

Although my background isn't as strong as yours, I still have my own approach to political thinking, directional judgment, and positioning.

Otherwise I couldn't have attained the position of County Party Secretary.

You've spoken in such a way that even nine oxen can't pull it back; what else can I say?

While the three of them were stunned, Cui Mingjiu nearly fainted on the spot; in his life, the number of times he's blatantly lied is not few.

Because he constantly lies with his eyes open, the count of his blatant lies is considerable; he considers himself an absolute master in this field, yet compared with these others, what is he? Nothing at all.

He originally thought that once his senior brother acted, he would handle everything calmly and effortlessly.

But the current situation is hurried, stumbling and crawling.

"If Cui Mingjiu has any backing you think you can move, call now; I can let you use my phone to call."

"If not, you'd better explain plainly, because you've heard it: this matter has been fully uncovered and transferred to the inspection department. Moreover, officials from the provincial procuratorate also happened to encounter the case of you, a remote township head, openly assaulting and plotting against Poverty Alleviation Office staff."

"The difference between voluntarily confessing and stubbornly resisting lies in the sentencing: a few more years versus a few fewer years—choose yourself."

Fang Jingwen slipped her phone into her pocket and, expressionless, said.

She had handled countless major cases, but only the Cui Mingjiu case gave her an unprecedented sense of pleasure and relief.

At this point, Zhou Hongtao stopped staying silent, since he was forced into the situation, and said, "Confess quickly, or I can't guarantee I'll remain this courteous to you."