official career

“Jiang Longjun is indeed ruthless, but I don’t think things will necessarily go as he wishes. The Municipal Party Committee can’t make the decisions on matters concerning the Public Security Bureau alone. This matter also requires the approval of the Provincial Department. Even if Jiang Longjun manages to force this matter through the Municipal Party Committee, there will still be disputes if the Provincial Department disagrees,” Chen Guohua reminded Qin Feng.

Chen Guohua's idea was to have Qin Feng work on things at the provincial department, since Zhao Hongjian was the secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission and had a lot of influence over the provincial department.

“You’re right. He certainly won’t succeed so easily, but I won’t stop him so easily either.”

"It's like two kids fighting. If I can't win, I call their parents. Does that mean the other kid shouldn't call their parents? If I go to Secretary Zhao, does that mean Jiang Longjun shouldn't call the provincial government?"

"And who knows, maybe this was an order given to Jiang Longjun by the province?"

"Besides, the one who's most afraid of me having control of the Public Security Bureau isn't Jiang Longjun, but Yang Guoqiang. If I can take down the underground casino this time, I might target their DP business next time. I don't believe that those two old foxes, Yang Guoqiang and Jiang Longjun, aren't in cahoots in this matter," Qin Feng said.

Chen Guohua frowned, finally realizing the seriousness of the problem.

"But don't worry too much. Didn't you say that Secretary Zhao is the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission and the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee? He has a lot of influence over the Provincial Department, so I think we can still expect his opinion from the Provincial Department. Besides, this is an internal matter of the public security system. It's not legitimate for the Municipal Party Committee to forcefully pursue this responsibility, so it won't be easy for him to handle this matter. At least it won't be easy to get past Secretary Zhao at the provincial level."

"Besides, Jiang Longjun might not necessarily approve this matter from the municipal party committee. Guohua, have you been ignoring a key point I just mentioned?" Qin Feng said with a smile.

"What is it?" Chen Guohua asked.

"Who told me this news?" Qin Feng asked with a smile.

"You mean Tang Zeyan?"

"That's right, don't forget, it was Tang Zeyan who called me," Qin Feng said with a smile.

“But… Mayor, Tang Zeyan is also an old fox. He won’t do anything without a reason. He called you because he wants to curry favor with you, but I don’t think he would offend Jiang Longjun for this. Look at last time, he was all set with you, inviting you to dinner and sending you tea, but what happened? When it came to something that needed him to step up, he immediately went his own way.” Chen Guohua had a very low opinion of Tang Zeyan.

"This doesn't sound like something a veteran who's worked in the system for over twenty years would say. Tang Zeyan's actions aren't an isolated case. Aren't seventy or eighty percent of people in this circle like Tang Zeyan? It's human nature to seek advantage and avoid harm."

“But this time is different. Last time, Tang Zeyan was convinced that I was going to die, so he would definitely avoid me. But this time is different. Even if I lose this time, it won’t affect my fundamentals. And since I was able to win last time, Tang Zeyan naturally has a new opinion of me.”

"Tang Zeyan is also in a very awkward situation. He has also seen that the game in Shazhou is getting closer and closer to a showdown. If she can't choose sides in advance, he will definitely be the first to die," Qin Feng said.

When the eldest and second eldest brothers fight, the first to die are always the third, fourth, and fifth eldest brothers who haven't taken sides.

“Jiang Longjun doesn’t think much of him, and he doesn’t dare to get close to Jiang Longjun. His only choice is me, because he only has value when I need him.”

“Investing in me in this matter would be extremely profitable for him, because now it doesn’t matter much whether or not he offends Jiang Longjun.”

"The fact that he was willing to call me to discuss this matter shows his attitude. You may look down on Tang Zeyan's character, but you can't underestimate his ability to grasp the situation. Otherwise, how could he have gotten to this position?" Qin Feng said with a smile.

“If Tang Zeyan sides with you on this matter, then things will be much easier. On the municipal party committee side, you and Tang Zeyan are against it, and on the provincial department side, Secretary Zhao is there.” Chen Guohua was pleased.

“Not yet. He’s the Party Secretary of the city, and the power of the top leader is far greater than you imagine. That alone isn’t enough to completely secure this matter. At the very least, we need to prevent the Yang family from getting involved to increase our chances of success,” Qin Feng said.

Chen Guohua looked at Qin Feng with suspicion, increasingly unable to grasp Qin Feng's train of thought.

Qin Feng kept saying that Jiang Longjun and Chen Guohua were old foxes, but in Chen Guohua's eyes, Qin Feng was also becoming more and more like an old fox.

"Go find Jiang Yunpeng and tell him what I just told you. First, let him know what to do next, and second, reassure him and don't let this scare him. Tell him I'll handle this and he doesn't need to worry," Qin Feng instructed Chen Guohua.

"Make him do two things. First, intensify the pursuit of Yang Zhihao. Didn't we uncover a lot of other shady businesses of the Yang family and some criminals who haven't been formally charged yet when we raided the underground casino last time? We can take action now."

"Secondly, have someone keep a close watch on the Yang family's old residence. Openly monitor it and see how Yang Guoqiang reacts. If he doesn't back down on this, then have him send someone to knock on the door of the Yang family's old residence for a routine inspection and questioning. That old fox Yang Guoqiang will definitely know what to do then," Qin Feng said with a smile.

Looking at Qin Feng, Chen Guohua became even more convinced that Qin Feng was also an old fox.

"There's another matter I don't need to instruct him on. He Weifeng is an unstable factor, and he knows what to do," Qin Feng concluded.

Chen Guohua nodded: "Okay, I'll go find Comrade Yunpeng in a bit."

"I reckon Jiang Longjun will probably call us in a few days for a routine, small-scale briefing on this matter. I definitely can't stop him from doing so, but it would be best to stop him during the organization's review period, before the Party Secretary's office meeting. That way, the cost will be minimized, and I also need to teach Jiang Longjun a lesson. Otherwise, he can't just do whatever he wants to me, or break the rules between us. That won't do," Qin Feng muttered to himself, puffing on his cigarette.

Chen Guohua looked at Qin Feng but didn't quite hear what Qin Feng was saying. In his opinion, Qin Feng seemed to be talking to himself.

"Mayor, this..."

"Will the Municipal Party Committee's Finance and Economics Committee convene a meeting in a couple of days to discuss and review the new year's fiscal budget?" Qin Feng asked Chen Guohua, looking up at him.

"Yes, the day after tomorrow morning." Chen Guohua nodded; this was a major event recently.

"That's perfect timing. How about this, have Comrade Hu Haihui and Comrade Changjun come over?" Qin Feng said with a smile.

Chen Guohua didn't know what Qin Feng was up to, but since Qin Feng didn't say, he didn't feel comfortable asking.

Qin Feng will tell him what he wants to tell him. For example, regarding the matter of Wang Yalin mentioned earlier, if Qin Feng is unwilling to talk about it, he won't tell him even if he asks, so he won't ask.