Chapter 822: Response means

"Tide" is one of the largest newspapers in Denuozhou, known for its relatively neutral stance.

There is nothing absolute in this world, it's just that compared to some other newspapers with obvious political stances, they can treat some things that happen relatively rationally.

Those readers with political stances, besides reading the newspapers they like to read with obvious political stances, also want to see what the opposition and the neutral faction are saying and how they evaluate them.

Especially the neutral faction!

Some of them are afraid of being angered by not wanting to read newspapers with opposing stances, but neutral ones are different.

People soon realized the influence of "Tide" in Denuozhou. Supporters and members of the three major parties would send manuscripts with their own views, hoping to dye "Tide" the color they wanted.

Every day they handle many manuscripts, only a few can be used directly, and most still need to be re-investigated and modified.

The editor-in-chief poured out the things in the package and picked up one of the pages to read.

He picked it up casually, and he didn't know what was on it.

He frowned and read for a while, his expression became serious, and then he took the glasses placed at the corner of the table into his hand, unfolded them, and put them on the bridge of his nose.

Along with the slight opening and closing of his lips, he began to read the content on this piece of paper, and then quickly picked up another page.

He spent ten minutes reading a part of it, just a part.

Ten minutes later, he took off his glasses and rubbed his eye sockets, then rubbed his cheeks to let the whole person relax a bit.

"Who mailed this?", he looked at the editor-in-chief. The editor-in-chief shook his head, "It was placed with other news manuscripts."

He had actually read a part of it, so he brought it over.

The things recorded in it... are simply too shocking!

He only read half of one of the pages and didn't dare to continue reading, so he sent it over directly. He was afraid that something might happen to him.

Generally, the background of such explosive news is often the competition between some big forces.

The aftermath of the collision of forces of this size is enough to shake a small newspaper editor-in-chief to death.

So he gave this famous opportunity to the editor-in-chief, hoping that the editor-in-chief could hold on.

In fact, he overestimated the editor-in-chief, because the editor-in-chief might not be able to hold on either.

But he did want to report it if the content of these news was true.

He took a deep breath and lit a cigarette.

The warm light of the desk lamp shone on the smoke rising from the cigarette, which actually made it less obvious.

After smoking a few puffs, he called the director on duty during this period, and after the two communicated for a while, the editor-in-chief packed up the things on the table and went to see the director alone.

The editor-in-chief didn't know how the editor-in-chief and the director talked. Half an hour later, the president, as well as several directors and shareholders, all came over.

The editors and reporters who were still working at night felt a trace of tension.

They didn't know what happened, but they knew that this must be a big event, otherwise there was no need for so many "big shots" to appear here at the same time.

Before the newspaper is finalized every night, it is the busiest time for the newspaper office.

In fact, the newspaper office is not like what people imagine, all working during the day. Many people actually work at night.

On the one hand, writing requires summarizing and organizing the materials obtained and the results of interviews, and only after finding an entry point can one start writing.

So generally this time is at night.

They could write at home, but home lacked a certain atmosphere; conversely, the newspaper office had a better vibe. If there was anything they couldn't recall for a moment or needed to ask about, it was also more convenient.

Furthermore, if the draft was finished early, they might even make it into the next day's newspaper.

On the other hand, the last-minute withdrawal of articles and the insertion of new ones were very normal occurrences; these all required people to coordinate, as well as work.

Therefore, there were quite a few people in the office at night, and most people's attention was focused on the door of the conference room.

There were also some people who looked at the editor-in-chief from time to time, or even took the initiative to find him to inquire about information, because everything had happened only after he had delivered some materials to the editor-in-chief's office.

The editor-in-chief was very tight-lipped, not at all as bold as he had been when he was a reporter, daring to say anything.

After about forty minutes, the senior management of the newspaper came out of the conference room. The directors went to another room alone, and the editor-in-chief also called some editors into his office.

"You go and gather some documents and files, and see if we have them saved..."

He casually rattled off some content that needed to be investigated, basically all related to the highway serial killer case.

Except for the editor who knew why this was being done from the beginning, the other editors all thought that perhaps another serial killer had been caught!

This was big news!

People's level of attention to these matters was simply unimaginable; tomorrow's newspaper would definitely sell out.

If the newspaper sold well, they would get bonuses; they hoped even more than the boss that the newspaper would sell like crazy.

A group of people immediately began to work.

They had reported on many cases regarding the highway serial killer in the past, and the interview drafts and files for these cases had all been preserved.

Soon, the newspaper office obtained files on some past cases. After comparing the testimonies of some of the criminals, the editor-in-chief believed that the "news materials" mailed over were highly authentic.

This meant that this would be a super scandal, as well as a super bomb!

Whether this super bomb should explode, and whether it should be ignited by them, he was not yet clear; this was something the newspaper president, the board of directors, and the shareholders needed to think about, but he would become the guy holding the torch to light the fuse!

He was waiting, waiting for a phone call. As soon as the president notified him, he would change tomorrow's layout.

Before the printing plant started working, he would change the entire content, making the people of the whole state shocked for a whole day!

At this moment, the president, who could decide whether this news would appear in tomorrow's newspaper, was on the phone, talking to the company's true holder, a capital group from Denuozhou.

In the Federation, any person, organization, or company that dared to stand on a neutral position, and had grown very large without being swallowed by a certain camp, could be understood as having a backer behind them that allowed them to do so.

Of course, it was also possible that these things could not be decided in such a short time.

This was a very complex process; any political contest could not have a result just by a snap of the fingers.

The next morning, not a single newspaper reported any news related to the State Police Department's internal suspected major crimes, as if... all the newspaper offices had not received those news materials.

But in reality, the influence brought by this matter was still constantly spreading among some groups of people.

The Lieutenant Governor was the first to know about this; after seven o'clock in the morning, the phone kept ringing.

They were all calls from his friends and acquaintances; these people had learned about this through various channels, and then they urgently notified the Lieutenant Governor.

The candidate for the State Police Chief was recommended by the Lieutenant Governor, and at the same time, this part of the work was also his responsibility.

If such a huge scandal broke out in the State Police Department, if it were true, he would definitely have an inescapable responsibility.

If only one or two people called, then he might think that these one or two people were very well-informed.

But with so many people calling, he knew that this was Mayor Wei De forcing him to make a choice.

Whether to abandon, or to protect at all costs.

If he abandoned, what consequences would it bring?

If he protected at all costs, what would be the outcome?

He had to be fully psychologically prepared for his choice!

He had no heart for work all morning, constantly considering these matters.

He carefully recalled the relationship between himself and the State Police Chief; other than accepting the transfer of benefits, he had no further relationship with the State Police Department.

It could be said that he was the most innocent person in the whole affair!

He did not push these police officers to commit crimes, nor did he help them cover it up; he knew nothing!

The Lieutenant Governor took leave in the afternoon; he returned to his villa and called all his office members over.

The Lieutenant Governor had another office, or to put it more bluntly, he also had his own work team.

This team worked for him, not for the state government or any government agency.

These people were also responsible to him; he paid these people a salary every month; he was the boss, and these people were the employees.

These people were usually responsible for his various government tasks, and at the same time, they would also provide him with some intellectual assistance.

There were secretaries, drivers, bodyguards, and aides.

At this moment, he sat with his aides, discussing how to handle this matter.

"I am very passive now. Once people start discussing this matter on a large scale, and are guided to me by that bitch Wei De, when the gubernatorial election comes, our approval rating will be very terrible!"

"I am already fifty-five years old. If I lose this opportunity, the next time might be when I am in my sixties."

"I am not sure if I will still be competent for this job at that time. This is no less than the last attempt of my life, so I don't want it to fail."

The Lieutenant Governor looked at the highly paid aides in the conference room; they had outstanding performances in their respective fields and in terms of intelligence, otherwise he wouldn't have spent a lot of money to hire them.

"Come up with some ideas, think of a way, don't just sit there!"

Urged by him, the aides began to talk about their own thoughts.

Some advocated protecting the Chief, but not his job; this matter would definitely eventually implicate him, so let the Chief take all the blame himself and not let the problem continue to spread.

As long as it didn't implicate the Lieutenant Governor, the Lieutenant Governor could not only retreat unscathed from this matter but also protect the Chief.

This was a trade-off, a transaction.

The aides were unanimous in their view of the State Police Chief; he would definitely be implicated by Sheriff Ma Xiu, and Mayor Wei De had already started doing so.

The significance of forcibly protecting him was almost zero; protecting him would require spending a lot of manpower, material resources, and personal connections, but what could be gained?

Only infamy!

People would think he was an official who shielded corrupt officials, and they would be more inclined to vote for Mayor Wei De during the election.

Therefore, there was little point in protecting the Chief.

Regarding this point, the Lieutenant Governor had the same view, but he was very worried, "Every year, the Chief sends over a lot of benefits. I am worried that if he is too deeply implicated in the case, he might also, for the sake of self-preservation, say some things we don't want to see him say."

"If he is deeply implicated, what will be the result?"

"In a situation where we cannot interfere with judicial justice!"

He had to be prepared for the worst; once Mayor Wei De launched an attack, he would definitely not give him a chance to interfere with judicial justice.

As long as this case reached the litigation stage, under the scrutiny of so many people, even if the court and the judge knew him and had a good relationship, there would be no favoritism toward him.

Such a huge scandal could not be covered up at all; it might even become a national scandal, known to the people.

In this situation, who would dare to mess around?

Among the aides, there was one who had graduated from law school and had been studying the laws of Denuozhou, specifically providing legal advice and services to the team.

"This depends on whether he has concealed some truth from us. If he knew about some cases Sheriff Ma Xiu did and didn't stop the other party, then he might be charged with multiple crimes."

"For example, there will definitely be malfeasance, and the crime of shielding; if the judge wants to use them to establish authority and reflect the fairness and seriousness of the judiciary, he might also be sentenced as a co-conspirator."

"Because as a police officer, knowing that Sheriff Ma Xiu was doing this, he not only didn't arrest them but didn't stop them, and at the same time took a portion from the warehouses these people obtained and put it into his own pocket, he is a co-conspirator, and the charges might be even more serious."

"Like organizing and leading a criminal group, this is also a felony!"

The legal aide shook his head, "He might be sentenced to more than twenty years in prison, or even be sent to the electric chair."

After listening to him finish, the Lieutenant Governor's face turned ugly, and he asked, "If he wants to perform meritorious service and confesses some content that the court has not mastered, for example, with us..."

The legal aide suddenly didn't know how to speak, "He will definitely get a chance for a sentence reduction because of these meritorious performances, and sir, I think your guess is very likely to become reality."

"If the State Prosecutor's Office is in charge of this case, then they might induce confessions from Sheriff Ma Xiu and the Chief. Once these two cannot resist the induced confessions and confess some testimony unfavorable to you, they can get a huge sentence reduction while also framing some big trouble on you."

This was what the Lieutenant Governor feared most; "random biting" in political infighting was absolutely a super killer move!

Even if people believed that he was biting randomly and framing others without real evidence.

Before you could provide evidence to prove that you were indeed wronged, people would believe their nonsense and start spreading it.

It was easy to destroy the image of a public figure; as long as someone said they saw your secretary looking ugly and shaking, and your pants zipper was unzipped, that was enough.

What the truth was didn't matter; what mattered was what people wanted the truth to be.

The Lieutenant Governor's expression was somewhat grim, "So we have to find a way to make them shut up."

This was not a question, just a simple declarative sentence; the aides did not express any opinion regarding this issue.

Moreover, the Lieutenant Governor indeed had great legal risks, and he indeed received money.

No matter in whose name the Chief sent it, in short, he received it.

Another aide said, "We need to do two things now: make everyone who should shut up shut up, and we need someone who can more powerfully stop this matter to intervene."

"Although it looks very serious, before it completely erupts, there are still people who can press the stop button!"

The Lieutenant Governor looked at him, a guy older than himself; he also seemed to hear the meaning in the other party's words, "Are you asking me to go to the Governor?"

The aide did not deny it, "What we need to do is shift the contradiction, shift the contradiction between us and Mayor Wei De to the Governor."

"Once Mayor Wei De does something harmful to us, then the Governor will also be hurt by him, and he must consider whether to reach a compromise with us to ensure his own interests to the greatest extent."

The Lieutenant Governor seriously thought about what he said; this was the value of a large sum of money every month; his brain wasn't unable to think of it, but it was impossible to think of it so quickly.

Perhaps by the time he thought of it, everything that made him regret and be too late might have already happened.

The aide continued, "And with the Governor entering the game, some people who want to take advantage of our disadvantage to find benefits from us will consider whether they want to do so."

"At the same time, we can also give the Chief a clear signal: if he can shut his mouth, we can ensure the safety of him and his family to the greatest extent."

"If he bites randomly, then he will offend not only us but also the Governor, as well as Mayor Wei De and the Lanse family whom he has already offended."

"As long as he is not a fool, he should know how to choose."

The Lieutenant Governor nodded constantly while listening; this aide's idea was very good, "But how to achieve it?"

"How do we drag the Governor into the water?", he looked at this aide and the others.

At this moment, the aide pursed his lips, "It's actually not too difficult to do this; it just depends on whether you have the determination and courage."

Facing the other party's gaze, the Lieutenant Governor vaguely felt that this must be a very bold plan!

A group of people discussed for a long while, and finally, the Lieutenant Governor decided to take a risk.

Actually, it couldn't be called much of a risk, it's just... anyway, he would be implicated if he didn't take a risk, but if he took a risk, it was possible not to be implicated, which was not a bad thing after all...

(End of this chapter)