Chapter 963: and translation of chapter title

Zhang Jiangbo's face still showed a calm, carefree expression, but inside he began to curse, having underestimated Su Yang's political wisdom and also underestimated that woman.

In his view, Chen Bo's affirmation was just a decorative vase, but he never expected that the woman was adept at exploiting gaps, and in this situation dared to stand on Su Yang's side; he would definitely have to deal with her.

But he did not state his position directly; instead he looked at Zhao Nanxing and said, "County Chief Zhao, then go ahead and voice your opinion."

Zhao Nanxing began weighing the situation on the spot; under today's circumstances, if they insisted on punishing Su Yang, they would have to take Yang Kang as well. Originally this was a dilemma he tried to shift onto Su Yang, but Su Yang rebounded it unchanged, and now the tables have turned on them.

If they seriously dealt with it as they intended, could Yang Kang endure it? Yet if they did nothing, wouldn't Su Yang escape this sanction unpunished? Their calculated resolve was swallowed down hard.

The key is that if Zhang Jiangbo spoke directly, anything would be fine; even if he dealt with Yang Kang, Yang Kang wouldn't dare speak up, and Zhang could later play the benevolent man to comfort Yang Kang. But now the result is that he has to speak himself.

If he wants to punish Su Yang, he must grit his teeth and also punish Yang Kang, which would be pushing Yang Kang toward Su Yang's side. Even if Yang Kang doesn't side with Su Yang, he might later stand directly with Zhang Jiangbo, leaving him and Zhang without any leverage in future benefit negotiations.

Yet if he doesn't punish Su Yang, he couldn't even answer himself. After weighing it repeatedly, he simply said, "Otherwise, let's all vote; even though it's an enlarged meeting, it doesn't prevent our standing committee from voting on the spot!"

He's truly a seasoned bureaucrat; he won't shoulder such a huge pot by himself, and no one should stand on the dry bank—everyone's a thousand‑year‑old fox, no one should be playing Liaozhai.

Su Yang silently laughed to himself, "Weren't you trying to set a trap for me? Weren't you trying to use a move on me? Yet when it falls on you, it seems you can't handle it either."

When Zhao Nanxing said that, someone on the spot immediately echoed, "Fine, then let's raise our hands to vote; after all, we still have to follow democracy."

Zhang Jiangbo gave a faint smile and said, "Since that's the case, regarding the handling of the responsible parties for this malicious incident, those who agree to treat it leniently and report it to the Municipal Party Committee for a decision, please raise your hand."

As soon as the words fell, Chen Bo was the first to raise his hand, followed by Hou Junlai, Zhou Yanru, and Bao Shuang also raising theirs.

Su Yang naturally didn't wait, because for him this was actually the best outcome. If Zhao Nanxing and Zhang Jiangbo truly wanted to involve Yang Kang, he could still accept it.

Of course, if this matter truly reaches the Municipal Party Committee standing committee, Su Yang is absolutely confident he won't be punished, because Mayor Wang, Minister Lu, or anyone will uphold justice for him, and with Zhao Kai and Secretary Zhao, that's three giants.

Even if Zhang Jiangbo tried to leverage his position to contact a few other standing committee members and stir something up, there would be no chance. Zhang Jiangbo does have some background and his status is genuine, but at the Municipal Party Committee standing committee, once the Municipal Party Committee Secretary and the mayor both nod, it's practically a done deal; others, even if they have the intention, lack the courage.

However, in the end, the development to this extent truly surprised him; he could only anticipate that when the ball is kicked back, regardless of Zhang Jiangbo or Zhao Nanxing, their expressions would be quite spectacular.

He could only foresee that when the final decision is handed down, it must not be too harsh, because that would bind him and Yang Kang together.

In just a few seconds, seven of the eleven standing committee members had already raised their hands; whether the remaining few raise theirs now is essentially meaningless.

So Zhang Jiangbo then said, "Since that's the case, the handling opinions regarding the person in charge of this road project and the main responsible persons of the township will be decided by the Municipal Party Committee standing committee; we will implement according to their decision."

Apart from that, there's the issue concerning the Public Security Bureau. I want to know what measures your Public Security Bureau took immediately, how you responded to the situation at the time, and why effective measures weren't taken to keep the matter within controllable bounds?

"The Public Security Bureau's Director Sun, right? Are you there?"

Zhang Jiangbo directly named him; he just slipped up with Su Yang, but Sun Chengjun must be punished this time, and normally Sun Chengjun's rank doesn't reach the Municipal Party Committee standing committee.

Sun Chengjun was naturally prepared; he stood up and said, "Secretary Zhang, I am Sun Chengjun. Regarding our Public Security Bureau's handling of this accidental homicide, the failure to act promptly and effectively is indeed our bureau's problem. As the Public Security Bureau Director, I am the primary responsible person, and if a punishment is required, I can accept it."

"However, I need to clarify something here: at the time of the incident, I was not on duty but on regular rest. The Public Security Bureau's work was handled by other comrades, and after the homicide occurred, the bureau arrived on the scene immediately, took appropriate action, and reported to the County Party Committee leadership and the Municipal Public Security Bureau at once."

"According to the report from the relevant Public Security Bureau comrades, the instruction was to tightly seal off the perimeter to prevent unrelated personnel from intervening; secondly, to have the appropriate government leaders and the leaders of Guantan Gou Zhen coordinate and comfort the residents, striving to prevent further deterioration and keep the incident within an acceptable scope. This follows normal procedures and complies with regulations."

"However, according to our Public Security Bureau's information, the higher‑level directive was to have the Armed Police intervene and use force to suppress, ultimately causing men, women, the young and old from the two clans of Guantan Gou Zhen—who originally did not want to be involved and had nothing to do with the incident—to all become participants."

"Furthermore, if leadership responsibility is to be pursued, I can't escape it, but our Public Security Bureau operates under the County Political and Legal Affairs Commission. If punishments are to be assigned, I wish to bear the responsibility that falls on me, and the leadership responsibility that belongs to the Political and Legal Affairs Commission should be shouldered by the relevant leaders."

"In summary, the County Party Committee and County Government may handle the Public Security Bureau and deal with me as the primary responsible person; I accept that, but I also must report to the Municipal Public Security Bureau, at least faithfully reporting our handling methods, plans, and the circumstances that occurred."

After Sun Chengjun's words, many present showed slight changes in expression. This Sun Chengjun is quite assertive—how can a County Public Security Bureau Director claim to be a Municipal Bureau Director? That's not right; even the Municipal Public Security Bureau Director wouldn't dare speak to a Municipal Party Committee Deputy Secretary like that.

Moreover, you're taking on every leadership responsibility, even dragging Secretary Qi of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission into it? This was originally Secretary Zhang's crushing bureau; all the punishments were essentially already decided, but now it seems a change may occur.