Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1490 Undercurrents Rise and Thunderclaps

The elderly man who arrived was none other than Tao Changru, the current Chief of Staff of the Da Shun government.

As he walked over, Qiao Dingguo also stepped forward from the main seat and greeted him, "Political Chief."

Tao Changru nodded in response. He naturally walked to the head seat and gestured for everyone to sit down, saying, "Please sit down."

After he sat down, everyone else took their seats.

Tao Changru then said to Qiao Dingguo, "Dingguo, sit closer, I have some questions for you."

"it is good."

Qiao Dingguo stood up, and an internal staff member came forward to help him place a chair near Tao Changru. Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, he sat down again.

Tao Changru looked at the case files laid out on the table and said, "I just heard that these are the evidence materials?"

"Yes."

Just as Qiao Dingguo was about to send him detailed information through the boundary token, Tao Changru waved his hand, took out a pair of glasses from his chest and put them on. Then he picked up the materials on the table and placed them a little further away to read them.

He focused directly on several high-profile whistleblower reports with clear witnesses and targets.

Everyone remained silent.

Tao Changru served as Chief of the General Political Department for twenty years and enjoyed high prestige among the people. He had consistently maintained a balance of interests among various parties. He also had a good relationship with the advisory group and had even established personal friendships with several of them.

No one could figure out which side Tao Changru was leaning towards at this moment.

Although he is now retiring and has gradually delegated power to Qiao Dingguo in recent years, who can say for sure?

It is said that many advisors on the advisory board explicitly support him and hope that he will continue to sit in this position.

To serve in office until the centenary of the nation's founding is a political honor that is extremely difficult for a politician to resist.

This man was known for his cautious approach to politics during his tenure, and He Shugang was promoted and appointed during his time in office. Does he really want to see things turn out this way?

Some people had a subtle look in their eyes because this might involve the new and old factions, as well as the power struggle between the top and second-in-command in politics. It's really hard to say how things will develop.

Many people were already thinking about how they should express their opinions later.

Tao Changru looked at it for a while, then took off his glasses. "What I see here is that Minister He had privately contacted the federal intelligence agencies. The evidence is very strong. If it is true, it will not be tolerated no matter what the reason is."

But if he's innocent, we can't allow a ministerial-level official to be slandered, so this matter must be thoroughly investigated and clarified.

When he spoke, everyone below remained silent, and they all sat upright.

“In critical times, the operation of a vital department like the Security Affairs Department cannot be stopped, so let the deputy of the department take on the role concurrently.”

Tao Changru looked at Qiao Dingguo: "When the operations command center was established, who was responsible for coordinating the work?"

Qiao Dingguo said, "The person in charge of departmental communication is Vice Minister Ren Xinshan."

"Okay, then let him temporarily take on the responsibilities of the department."

Tao Changru turned to everyone and said, “Colleagues, although it is wartime now, the war is over after all. It’s just that the post-war work needs to be coordinated, so the command center has not been disbanded.”

However, while treating high-ranking officials according to wartime regulations might be nominally justifiable, it would be difficult to convince the public.

Qiao Dingguo remained silent, his expression as serious as ever, making it impossible to discern his thoughts.

Everyone listened attentively, but in reality, everyone was paying close attention, knowing that what came before was just a prelude, and what was to come was the key.

"Personally, I think it's inappropriate to draw a conclusion so quickly, and it's also unfair to our managers."

Tao Changru paused, then emphasized, "Let's have a meeting now to complete the relevant procedures."

He looked at Shen Changbin, the chairman of the inspection committee in charge of internal discipline: "Inspector Shen, what is the procedure?"

Shen Changbin replied with a serious expression: "For a department head like He Shugang, according to normal procedures, our Discipline Inspection Committee should investigate and submit materials, and then review them after obtaining approval from the State Council."

Although the materials are being submitted externally, they are sent by advisors from the highest advisory group and fall under the requirements and instructions of higher authorities, so this part is reasonable and we must respond.

Given the seriousness of the situation and its involvement with national security, the highest level of investigation should be initiated, and a temporary disciplinary review team should be formed by drawing senior executives from key government departments.

Under the supervision of the panel and our inspection committee, evidence was presented to him, and he was allowed to defend himself and explain each point.

Tao Changru gestured to the materials on the table and said, "Is all the evidence here?"

Shen Changbin replied, "I just checked, and all the existing submissions are there. It is possible that there will be further supplements during the trial process."

Tao Changru nodded: "Then immediately select department heads to form a review team."

Shen Changbin hesitated for a moment.

Tao Changru asked, "Any more questions?"

"Yes," Shen Changbin said truthfully. "Because the evidence we just presented involved people of high rank from various departments, it's hard to say that department heads weren't involved. So we asked them not to interfere or ask questions throughout the process."

Tao Changru looked at everyone present and said, "Those of you who are involved in this matter, please excuse yourselves." Several people felt relieved. This was giving them a chance to sort things out themselves, both to prevent the situation from escalating and to tell them that this matter would definitely be investigated.

"Report!" a confidential secretary suddenly called out.

Qiao Dingguo looked over and asked in a deep voice, "What is it?"

"The military submitted a report concerning the death of a military general, which may also be related to He Shugang."

The confidential secretary added, "Another secret service also provided intelligence, which corroborates each other."

Tao Changru remained noncommittal. He looked at the military officials present and asked, "Chief of Staff Xu, are you aware of this matter?"

Chief of Staff Xu immediately replied, "Political Chief, I am aware of this matter, and we have been investigating it for quite some time."

"If you have evidence, why are you only presenting it now?"

Chief of Staff Xu said without changing his expression: "The military had previously submitted evidence, but after review, it was ultimately rejected by the inspection committee on the grounds of insufficient evidence."

Some people within our organization were dissatisfied and had been secretly gathering evidence. This constituted illegal activity, and those involved have been punished. However, the evidence remained, and we believe it can serve as supplementary material and may be helpful in this investigation.

Tao Changru glanced at him a few times and said, “Since the military is involved, you don’t need to participate in this investigation. You don’t need to express your opinions; just listen in.”

Chief of Staff Xu said, "Yes, sir!"

Tao Changru instructed his confidential secretary: "Collect all the investigation files and evidence materials as supplementary evidence."

The confidential secretary responded and immediately went to handle it.

Tao Changru then turned to Shen Changbin: "Anything else?"

Shen Changbin said, "Next, we will proceed with the normal review process. For someone of He Shugang's level, there is a 60-day grace period for suspension. If the crimes he committed are confirmed within 60 days, he will be dismissed and detained in accordance with the law. If the evidence is insufficient or unfounded, the State Council must clarify the matter. During this period, no department may interfere or leak information."

"so be it."

Tao Changru turned his head and said, "Dingguo, the rest of the matter is in your hands. Handle it well."

Qiao Dingguo said "okay".

Tao Changru put away his glasses, stood up, and immediately his secretary called out, "Stand up!"

Everyone on both sides stood up immediately.

However, they now understand what General Tao meant.

They knew very well who was behind He Shugang. Doing this would obviously offend a lot of people. Tao Changru had been practicing his balancing act for twenty years, but he didn't expect that he would retire now and no longer maintain it.

Many people couldn't help but think that this person was probably taking on the troublesome task of handing over the position, paving the way for his successor.

Some observant people noticed that although the discussion focused on He Shugang from beginning to end, no one asked where He Shugang himself was.

Does that mean everyone sitting here is a smart person?
Watching Tao Changru walk out, the doors of the council hall closed again. Qiao Dingguo returned to his seat at the head of the table and said in a deep voice, "Please sit down. Let's discuss the follow-up group matters."

The news of He Shugang's suspension and investigation reached the main leaders of the Integration Faction and the Refinement Faction very quickly. There was no information barrier for the advisory group, and the upper echelons of the two factions were naturally able to learn about the situation immediately.

The leaders of both factions immediately held a meeting to discuss the matter, and they also invited some knowledgeable people from the military and government departments, including some who had just voluntarily recused themselves.

Feng Ziheng, the vice president of the Refinement School, asked, "Where is He Shugang now?"

The other person replied, "I don't know."

"Not sure?"

The person on the other end said, "He must have been taken into custody. It's very likely the military did it, otherwise I don't think a department head could disappear without a trace."

As everyone pondered, the entire process of He Shugang's arrest was almost airtight, with no abnormalities even observed in biological monitoring and information field feedback.

This must have been done by one of the advisors using their authority, and there was nothing they could do about it, because that's the power that advisory board members have.

Based on current information, He Shugang was likely abducted on his way back to the administrative department. What everyone saw at the end, including the meeting back at the department, was probably just a very realistic illusion.

This is Zhongjing. Even if we gave prior notice, it's impossible for those fighters bound by the secret ritual to make a move without leaving a trace. So the answer is simple: it must have been fighters from outside who took action, and they were of a very high level.

At this point, someone asked, "Where was Huang Quji when the incident happened?"

One knowledgeable person answered, "He had set off for the southern border before the incident to handle an international security matter."

Someone said, intentionally or unintentionally, "It's quite a coincidence in terms of timing."

A hush fell over the room.

……

……

(End of this chapter)