Chapter 1250

On this day, Lu Shaojun, the Deputy Secretary for Party and Mass Affairs of the Hudong Provincial Committee, took the initiative to come to the office of Governor Tian Chengzu, saying he wanted to exchange views on work with him. Tian Chengzu, of course, received Lu Shaojun very warmly.

Ever since his son Tian Xiaopeng met his Waterloo in Shangjun County, Tian Chengzu had been quiet for several months, rarely making his own voice heard in the province and making quite a few concessions to Gu Shanmin in various tasks. This was as it should be; having made a mistake, being a bit more honest was appropriate.

Of course, Gu Shanmin was still very mindful of the overall situation. He did not go too far and did not become aggressive just because of Tian Chengzu's concessions, still maintaining the balance of the political situation within the province.

Sometimes, balance is the best; if one family dominates, although you might feel good for a moment, this is not what higher-level leaders want to see, and in the long run, it will be even more disadvantageous to your development.

Also because Gu Shanmin was deliberately maintaining Tian Chengzu's face, Tian Chengzu had slowly recovered some of his vitality over these past few months, and his voice had become more frequent.

However, everyone in the high levels of the province could see that Tian Chengzu's political career would likely end with this Hudong governorship, while Gu Shanmin was very likely to go further.

Lu Shaojun was two or three years younger than Tian Chengzu. During the next leadership transition, he still had hope of moving up a step, and he most hoped to succeed Tian Chengzu as governor.

Usually, Lu Shaojun was still very low-key in the province, not arrogant or domineering, and his relationship with Tian Chengzu was decent; he still had quite a bit of affinity among his colleagues.

However, today when he came to Tian Chengzu's office and sat down, Tian Chengzu saw that there was hidden anger between Lu Shaojun's brows. Tian Chengzu smiled and said, "Comrade Shaojun, what's wrong today? You seem a bit unhappy."

Lu Shaojun frowned and said, "Governor, aren't you angry? The matters over in Qingyang are a bit excessive, aren't they?"

Among the several city leaders currently invited to "drink tea" by the Commission for Discipline Inspection in Qingyang City, two were Lu Shaojun's old subordinates, and one was Tian Chengzu's man. This time, they could be said to have suffered the heaviest losses, and now, the Commission for Discipline Inspection seemed to have no intention of stopping its actions in Qingyang City.

Tian Chengzu said, "Didn't the Commission for Discipline Inspection's handling of these cadres go through discussions by the Secretary's Office Meeting and the Provincial Standing Committee?"

Lu Shaojun said, "Pan Shizhong and the others indeed have problems, and they should be handled if they need to be, but now they are still expanding the scope. What do they want to do?"

Tian Chengzu still smiled and said, "Comrade Shaojun, keep calm. Anti-corruption and promoting integrity are very normal things."

Lu Shaojun said, "But if this continues, it will make the people of Qingyang City panic. What should be done about the work in Qingyang City? Governor, you should come out and speak."

Tian Chengzu knew in his heart that Lu Shaojun had been hurt. His influence in Qingyang City was the strongest; Lu Shaojun had served as the Qingyang Municipal Party Secretary, and he had the most old subordinates in Qingyang City. If the storm in Qingyang City continued to blow like this, Lu Shaojun would likely suffer heavy losses, so he couldn't sit still.

But given Gu Shanmin's current prestige within Hudong Province, Lu Shaojun didn't have the courage to come out and speak alone, and Gu Shanmin was in the right on this matter. Those cadres in Qingyang City were corrupt, broke the law, and tampered with the embankment; their records were stained, and the evidence was conclusive. Tian Chengzu and Lu Shaojun had both seen those materials.

Tian Chengzu felt shocked after reading those materials. He hadn't expected these people to be so bold as to dare to do such things. That was the Changjiangdaqiao embankment! They actually used bamboo strips to replace steel bars, lowered the cement grade, and the strength and quantity of the slope protection stones were also seriously insufficient. Could such an embankment withstand a flood?

If a major flood occurred, the embankment collapsed, and people died, were they not afraid of being held responsible?

Tian Chengzu certainly wasn't a spotless white lotus, but he reckoned he wouldn't dare to do such a thing. What kind of major matter was the Changjiangdaqiao embankment? Could such an idea even be entertained? They were probably numbed by the peaceful days of the past few years, creating the illusion that the Changjiang was very docile.

Lu Shaojun coming to find Tian Chengzu was likely to combine their forces to exert pressure on Gu Shanmin, making Gu Shanmin stop the investigation into Qingyang City from expanding further.

These days, many leaders from Qingyang City had come to the province to lobby. Quite a few had gone to Lu Shaojun, and naturally, several had come to Tian Chengzu. Therefore, Tian Chengzu didn't want this matter to expand further either. Now that Lu Shaojun had taken the initiative to find him, it was exactly what he wanted.

However, Tian Chengzu couldn't agree too readily. He had to play hard to get, making Lu Shaojun feel he owed him a huge favor so that he could profit from it and seek the greatest benefit for himself.

Tian Chengzu also frowned and said, "Comrade Shaojun, you have also seen those report materials and evidence. These people are simply too bold and reckless! I felt shocked after reading them!"

Lu Shaojun said, "They are indeed bold and reckless, but handling those few main culprits should be enough, don't you think? Governor."

Tian Chengzu furrowed his brows and pondered for a long time without speaking. Lu Shaojun became a bit impatient and said, "Governor, we must speak together this time, otherwise I'm afraid there will be no room for us to speak in the future."

Only then did Tian Chengzu nod and say, "Hmm, what you say makes sense. The matter in Qingyang City should not be expanded further. We must discuss this matter carefully."

Lu Shaojun was overjoyed and hurriedly nodded, saying, "Fine, Governor, let's discuss it carefully."

Just as Lu Shaojun was meeting with Tian Chengzu, Lu Zhenghong also met with Weng Guoying. After a conversation, he had a quite good impression of Weng Guoying. Weng Guoying's character and talent were quite good, and Weng Guoying's view that the Changjiang basin would experience a super-major flood in the next few years was also recognized by Lu Zhenghong.

Weng Guoying knew the water volume, water level, meteorological, and hydrological data of the past dozen years like the back of his hand; his logic was clear, and his reasoning was distinct. He was also the kind of very firm character who, once he had decided on something, couldn't be pulled back even by nine oxen. His tone was firm and very infectious.

After the conversation, Lu Zhenghong asked Weng Guoying to organize his views and arguments into a document and publish it in the internal reference. Weng Guoying nodded and agreed. For him, writing such an article was as easy as could be; these were all things he was confident about.

Finally, Lu Zhenghong smiled and said, "Comrade Weng Guoying, would you like to be transferred to work at the Provincial Water Conservancy Department?"

Weng Guoying's face was as calm as water: "Vice Governor Lu, my public position has long since been dismissed."