Chapter 2322

Yuan Yifu could abandon his subordinates, but could he abandon his own brother?

Embezzling over ten thousand yuan in disaster relief funds was no small matter; it meant at least a few years in prison. Moreover, there could be no favoritism or perversion of the law, because it was not just Yuan Yilu involved in the embezzlement and misappropriation, but several others. If Yuan Yilu, whose case was the most serious, was not dealt with strictly, how could the others be handled?

Once this case was made public, the eyes of all the cadres and masses in the county would be fixed on Su Xinghui. If Su Xinghui let Yuan Yilu off, the prestige he had worked so hard to build would be greatly diminished.

Therefore, from every perspective, Su Xinghui had to investigate this case to the end. Even if Yuan Yifu really wanted to break with him, he could not worry about that; in that case, he would just have to deal with him as well.

Thinking of this, Su Xinghui immediately called Yin Xuewei, the Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, who arrived very quickly.

Yin Xuewei had once been a subordinate of Pan Anping, so he was one of the few members of the original Chongjin County Standing Committee who did not get along with County Party Secretary Yuan Yifu. This man was quite principled when it came to major issues. Of course, because Yuan Yifu was powerful, he could not change the outcome of some things on his own, but at the very least, his presence kept Yuan Yifu from going too far.

Now, as Su Xinghui had established a firm foothold in Chongjin County and Pan Anping had gradually faded from the county's political circle, Yin Xuewei had grown closer to Su Xinghui after several collaborations. He found that Su Xinghui was a very upright person and someone who could truly make Chongjin County a better place.

Yin Xuewei entered Su Xinghui's office. Seeing Su Xinghui's solemn expression, he asked, "County Magistrate, what has happened?"

Su Xinghui said, "Secretary Yin, there is a report here; please take a look at it first."

After handing the report to Yin Xuewei, Su Xinghui stood up to brew a cup of tea for him, then sat down opposite him.

As Yin Xuewei flipped through the report, he became increasingly shocked. As he read, he subconsciously reached into his pocket, wanting to take out a cigarette, but he immediately remembered that Su Xinghui never smoked in his office, so he put the half-removed cigarette pack back.

Su Xinghui said, "It's alright, Secretary Yin, go ahead and smoke."

Only then did Yin Xuewei take out the cigarette pack, pull one out, and gesture to throw one to Su Xinghui. Su Xinghui shook his head, so Yin Xuewei lit his own and took a deep drag.

Whenever he encountered major problems, he was accustomed to smoking a cigarette, feeling that it helped his mind stay calmer and his thinking clearer.

Su Xinghui did not speak, simply watching Yin Xuewei quietly.

After Yin Xuewei finished his cigarette and read the report, he looked up and said to Su Xinghui, "Was this report audited by the Audit Bureau?"

Su Xinghui nodded and said, "Yes, it was audited by Comrade Minxing and his team."

Yin Xuewei nodded. Their Discipline Inspection Commission had a close working relationship with the Audit Bureau. Corrupt elements were becoming increasingly cunning, and because their issues were often economic in nature, they had to be uncovered by professionals like those in the Audit Bureau before being handed over to the Discipline Inspection Commission for handling.

He was naturally very familiar with Cheng Minxing and admired his professional ability and work ethics. Since it was Cheng Minxing who had led the investigation, the authenticity of the report was beyond doubt.

Yin Xuewei said, "County Magistrate, this matter is quite thorny!"

Having worked in discipline inspection for so many years, Yin Xuewei naturally saw the crux of the matter at a glance. The other township and village cadres were easy to handle; the thorniest part of this was, of course, Yuan Yilu.

In fact, if it weren't for Yuan Yilu, the County Discipline Inspection Commission could have intervened directly. But precisely because of Yuan Yilu, this matter could not be handled so rashly; it had to go through Yuan Yifu.

Su Xinghui nodded silently.

Yin Xuewei's brain began to turn. He wondered if this was something Su Xinghui had orchestrated himself. Was uncovering Yuan Yilu's problems a way to fire at Yuan Yifu, so that once Yuan Yifu was down, Su Xinghui could succeed him as County Party Secretary?

It must be said that after working in discipline inspection for so long, such thoughts naturally arose in his mind; he had seen too many such things.

However, he immediately dismissed this thought. If Su Xinghui wanted to force a resignation, he wouldn't have had to wait until now. There had been many opportunities for him to drive Yuan Yifu out directly; it wasn't as if no one knew about the little tricks Yuan Yifu had played since Su Xinghui's arrival.

At the very least, Yin Xuewei knew that Yuan Yifu could not escape responsibility for certain matters. If he knew, could Su Xinghui not know?

Yet Su Xinghui had always prioritized the overall situation and had not haggled too much with Yuan Yifu. For the sake of the unity of the leadership team, he had always shown sufficient respect to Yuan Yifu, which was the point Yin Xuewei admired most about Su Xinghui.

If it were another County Magistrate, with the support of the Provincial Governor behind him and the favor of the Premier, could he have restrained his temper and not sought the position of County Party Secretary?

Given Su Xinghui's political achievements in Chongjin County and his seniority as County Magistrate, he was already fully qualified to serve as County Party Secretary. Yet he hadn't squeezed Yuan Yifu out to take the position himself. If one were to say that he was taking action against Yuan Yilu now just to force Yuan Yifu out, Yin Xuewei would be the first not to believe it.

Su Xinghui was not that kind of person. He wanted to investigate Yuan Yilu because the nature of Yuan Yilu's actions this time was too egregious; not investigating would not be enough to appease public anger.

After clearing his thoughts, Yin Xuewei said, "County Magistrate, give this report to me; I will take it to the Standing Committee meeting for discussion."

Yin Xuewei knew that only he could take this matter to the Standing Committee meeting. If Su Xinghui brought it up, it would make people think Su Xinghui had a hidden agenda and was targeting Yuan Yifu.

Although Yin Xuewei was now close to Su Xinghui, on the surface, they were only in a cooperative relationship. It would be better if he were the one to propose this matter, so he took the initiative to suggest that he be the one to speak.

Su Xinghui said, "Secretary Yin, is that necessary? Should I be the one to bring it up? You will be under a lot of pressure if you do this."

Yin Xuewei said, "It's alright, County Magistrate. I will bring this matter up; no need to say more. This is the duty of the Discipline Inspection Commission, and it's not a question of pressure. If I were afraid of pressure, I wouldn't be in this line of work. I'm taking this report!"