Chapter 537: 494: The Central Decision (Seventh Update, Asking for Monthly Tickets) _1
Chapter 537: Chapter 494: The Central Decision (Seventh Update, Asking for Monthly Tickets) _1
Jingcheng
In the Dongcheng District, nestled deep within the Tanxiang Garden, there stands a four-sided Chinese courtyard occupying nearly five thousand square metres. Situated within this modern neighbourhood and surrounded by European-style villas, the courtyard stands out somewhat.
However, the architect conceived the design ingeniously, using a reasonable layout of mountains and waters to blend these Western and Eastern architectural styles harmoniously together.
The courtyard, having five entrances and arranged in a five-section layout, is comparable to a prince’s mansion. Upon entering, a Han white jade screen stands prominently, manifesting the extraordinary and luxurious taste of the courtyard’s owner.
Further inside, pavilions, terraces, towers, small bridges over flowing water present a scene of exceptional serenity and elegance. The style of the garden is designed according to the characteristics of gardens south of the Yangtze River, with a winding stream passing through the courtyard.
This is the core place of the Li family in Jingcheng. The Li family, being an indispensable force in the political system of Huaxia, has its nucleus here in this courtyard because, at this moment, the old master of the Li family is living here.
Even though it is late at night, the lights are still on in a study room deep in the courtyard. All the Li family members in Jingcheng have returned. Even Li Jiangshan, a member of the Political Bureau and the Secretary of the Hucheng Municipal Committee, has rushed back from Hucheng.
In the study, ancient charm abounds; the yellow pear wood bookcases are quite old, and the real ink slab on the table is surprisingly an antique as well.
At this moment, the old master of the Li family stands before the desk, his wolf hair brush gliding over the paper like floating clouds and flowing water, and the character for “calm” leaps out from the white paper.
“Did Cheng Fang go to WangHai?” Suddenly, in the quiet room, the old master asked.
This question startled Li Jiangshan and Li Jianghe. The tense and solemn atmosphere made these important members of the second generation feel somewhat shocked.
After a moment of silence, Li Jiangshan responded, “Yes, he was eager to leave and set off this morning.”
As his voice faded, Li Jianghe asked, “Father, what do you mean by Cheng Fang going over there?”
The old master slowly placed his wolf hair brush on the brush stand and said solemnly, “When God inflicts calamities, one can still live. When one brings calamities upon oneself, one cannot survive.”
He then raised his head to look at the two brothers and said severely, “Both of you, you must not let hatred blind your eyes. At this time, whoever steps in, is walking to his death.”
As he spoke, the old master’s face appeared somewhat forlorn. The Nie family and the Li family are mortal enemies. Unexpectedly, although Nie Huating is dead, his descendants manage to force the Li family into such a predicament.
The situation in WangHai is clear to the old master. Once a significant compromise occurred in the confrontations at the central level, especially after the eldest grandson Li Guohua encountered a scandal, the old master already knew that sacrifices would need to be made by the Li family.
Politics is different from warfare. Warfare is cruel, but it involves a direct confrontation of life and death. Politics, on the other hand, emphasizes compromise and ups and downs. Politics has always been about maintaining balance. Today, the Li family’s power has grown too great. Apart from the Li descendants, the factions of the Li family are spread throughout various industries nationwide, occupying leadership positions. The old master didn’t feel the danger before, but now that he knows, it’s too late.
The year of the leadership change is coming. The core leaders of President Yuan’s generation are preparing for Vice Chairman Shen’s succession. To maintain a balanced situation domestically, so as not to affect the position of the soon-to-be general secretary, this is precisely the root cause of the suppression that the Li family faces.
Otherwise, how could the Li family be restrained everywhere and dare not make any major moves now? The more they resist, the more severe the suppression will be. For now, the best approach would be to sit back and watch the changing situation.
As for Li Cheng Fang, without a doubt, he has already been abandoned by the old master. Compared to the entire Li family’s future and destiny, Li Cheng Fang seems insignificant.
…
Jingcheng
Within the Forbidden City
At this moment, in the heart and cerebral center of the entire nation of Huaxia.
A meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau is underway in the Jinghua Courtyard.
In the central seat sits the solemn-faced Secretary-General Yuan. To his left is the Chairman of the National People’s Congress, and to his right is Premier of the State Council, Yun Bo. The other six senior leaders are all present. The Secretary of Central Discipline Inspection Commission, Zhuang Aiguo, is also seated in his designated place, looking serious and steady.
“Comrades, the other day, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Committee of Minnan Province and Provincial Governor Jia Minfu, as well as Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Committee Qiao Yiren, specially came to Jingcheng to give a detailed report on the major smuggling case in WangHai City. I would like to hear your views on this matter.” Secretary-General Yuan got straight to the point.
“Secretary-General, comrades, allow me to say a few words,” Premier Yun’s clear voice rang out.
“I also heard Comrade Jia Minfu’s report on the major smuggling case in WangHai. To put it in a nutshell, it’s audacious and shocking. Such smuggling delivers a heavy blow to our national economy. Just considering the plastics industry alone, the domestic market for raw plastic materials has been monopolized by Eastern Sea Group. According to the national statistical agencies, the national development of the plastics industry is almost non-existent, and state-owned plastics enterprises throughout the country are nearly all in a state of loss and collapse. I assume we all understand the detrimental effects this has had. In my view, we must take serious action to investigate such smuggling cases that disrupt economic order and involve huge amounts of money. We must be ruthless, regardless of who is implicated or what level of leadership they are in. In a word, we must carry out a thorough investigation.” Premier Yun’s words succinctly expressed his stance for the first time.
Premier Yun, also known as “Iron-faced Premier” in the country, has served two terms and handled many cadres. He is known for his austere aura.
Chairman Guo, on the other hand, appears indifferent. It was a public secret that Old Yun and the Li family never saw eye to eye. At the root of it, Old Yun had a tough time when he was the secretary of the Hucheng municipal party committee because of Li Jiangshan. Although this wasn’t about settling personal grudges, Old Yun would certainly add fuel to the fire.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
In summary, Old Yun was viewed as a people’s Premier, whereas the Li family was an old and established family. There wasn’t much harmony between the two.
As for the Li family, Chairman Guo didn’t have much fondness for them either. At this moment, Chairman Guo was quite content to sit back and watch the fire across the river.
Looking at Zhuang Aiguo beside him, who was promoted by Elder Nie himself. Although he has been independent for a while, he still has an unwieldy tie with the Nie family. At this point, Zhuang Aiguo is sure to declare his supporting stance.
As expected, Zhuang Aiguo shuffled his body and slowly said, “The Commission for Discipline Inspection has also received a fair number of reports, some transferred to us from the WangHai City or Minnan Province Commission for Discipline Inspection, while others were sent directly to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. In general, borrowing Secretary-General’s words, this is a major smuggling case. According to the reports, many leaders of the entire team of WangHai City have been corrupted. One of the reports claimed that Comrade Shi Yiwu, the Secretary of Wanghaishi Municipal Party Committee, exclusively uses Bentley cars. These million-yuan vehicles used as official cars have greatly tarnished the reputation of the party and the government. Moreover, according to the reports, cases of corruption have appeared in various departments like Wanghai Customs, banks, NPC, public security, and even among party and government leaders. Although these accusations have not been confirmed, there’s never smoke without fire. My opinion is, we should seize this opportunity to carry out a thorough investigation and restore the integrity of WangHai City.”
With two senior officials clearly voicing their support, there wasn’t much suspense remaining in this matter. Subsequently, Vice Chairman Shen also declared his support.
After contemplating for a moment, Politburo Standing Committee member and Vice Premier Leng Yunfei also nodded his agreement, “I agree with Premier Yun and Secretary Zhuang.”
The Politburo Standing Committee consists of nine members and, so far, four have expressed clear support for the investigation.
This was inevitable, as the Li family is a massive entity with three members in the Politburo. They were in their heyday. Now, Vice Chairman Shen and Vice Premier Leng wanted to rise in rank and naturally had to suppress the Li family. The adage “A new emperor has his own courtiers” applied here, the Li family had to pave the way for them. This was inevitable.
At this moment, the other committee members’ attention was focused on Secretary-General Yuan. It no longer mattered whether the other Standing Committee members declared their stance or not. Consequently, Secretary-General Yuan also nodded his approval, “We should investigate. Local cadres have a tendency to cover up issues and maintain a facade of peace. I think this is a good opportunity to carry out a nation-wide ideological education campaign on the exemplary conduct of Party members. Under the current economic development trend, how to maintain our original aspirations and perform our duties is a major issue we are facing.”
As he spoke, Secretary-General Yuan looked at Zhuang Aiguo, “Comrade Aiguo, you are the Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. I think this case should be led by the Commission in collaboration with the National Customs, Central Bank, National Petroleum Corporation, Taxation Department, Ministry of Public Security and other departments. A special case group should be established and dispatched to WangHai City immediately!”
Establishing a joint investigation group is necessary. Some of the implicated entities are party and government departments, some are large state-owned enterprises, and some are vertically managed units. With such broad involvement, it would be impossible for the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection alone to conduct the investigation.
At this moment, Zhuang Aiguo solemnly nodded, “Please rest assured, Secretary-General, I will surely do a good job with the case group. I will strive to get to WangHai in the shortest possible time!”
…
February 26th.
Inside the office building of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Zhuang Aiguo signed off on the list of the case-group members, marking the official commencement of the investigation into the major smuggling case in WangHai.
PS: The current vote count is 489, just 11 votes away from 500 monthly votes. Siblings, can we have the eighth update arrive before 12 o’clock as scheduled???? (