Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

Office No. 1, Hantong Provincial Party Committee Compound.

Behind the large mahogany desk, Sha Ruijin leaned back in his chair, holding a red secure telephone in his hand. A few rare laughs broke the silence of the room, which had been quiet for a long time.

The voice on the other end of the phone sounded old but full of confidence.

"Ruijin, the people from the Organization Department of the Central Committee have already arrived in Handong. As for Li Dakang's nomination for governor, I used some old connections to suppress it according to the rules."

Sha Ruijin sat up straight and nodded repeatedly.

"Dad, it's still your intervention that's effective. Shen Zhong, relying on his military background, has been arrogant and domineering in Handong, wiping out our entire team. If Li Dakang were to take over, Handong would truly become their one-man show."

The old man on the other end of the phone snorted coldly.

"We can't touch Shen Zhong in military affairs; he's someone Old Xu personally protects. But in local economic matters and personnel appointments, we must follow the central government's rules. Li Dakang has a lot of taint on his record, with Ouyang Jing's case hanging over him, plus the Guangming Peak project being stalled, so he can't get promoted."

Sha Ruijin hung up the phone, exhaled a long breath, and felt that most of the gloom that had been weighing heavily on him these past few days had dissipated.

The military may be able to overturn the table, but within the system, procedural justice must ultimately be upheld. As long as things are played within the rules, Sha Ruijin hasn't lost.

On the other side, in the provincial government office building, is Liu Changchun's office.

Li Dakang stood in front of the desk, his chest heaving violently, his hands gripping the table so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"Governor of Changchun, we were already divorced when Ouyang Jing had her incident!"

"She was illegally lending money at the bank; the Zhong family forced her to! How can that be a reason to block me?"

Li Dakang's questioning echoed in the office, revealing his barely suppressed anger.

He worked tirelessly for days and nights, seizing Zhong family businesses and stabilizing the security and economy of Jingzhou. Just when the position of provincial governor was within reach, it was abruptly cut off by a procedural notice.

Liu Changchun sat in his chair, sighed, picked up his teacup, and did not reply.

Sitting next to him, Organization Minister Wu Chunlin closed the document in his hand and spoke slowly.

"Comrade Dakang, organizational procedures only consider objective facts. The absolute red line for cadre evaluation is clearly written: if a family member is involved in a serious case, even if the couple is divorced, the social impact remains."

Wu Chunlin opened another report and pushed it in front of Li Dakang.

"Moreover, Jingzhou's GDP has dropped by two percentage points month-on-month in the past few months. The Guangmingfeng project has been largely halted, and these are all pressing issues that are now on the table."

Li Dakang turned his head and stared intently at Wu Chunlin.

His eyes were red and bloodshot.

In recent days, he has used all his resources to seek revenge against the Zhong family, even at the cost of temporarily halting the economic operation of Jingzhou. While revenge may be satisfying, it has inadvertently tied his political future to a dead end.

Wu Chunlin's words were watertight, completely from the high ground of organizational discipline, leaving him no room for rebuttal.

Li Dakang gritted his teeth and swallowed back all the pent-up frustration.

He turned and strode out of the office, his leather shoes making a dull thud on the corridor floor tiles.

In the afternoon, the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee convened as scheduled.

Sha Ruijin sat in the main seat, a speech in front of him, looking very confident and spirited.

"Comrades, Handong has experienced a lot of turmoil recently, which has exposed serious problems in the construction of our cadre team."

Sha Ruijin tapped his fingers on the table and looked around the room.

"Some comrades are only concerned with charging into battle, but neglect the purity of the cadre ranks. Their family members are involved in major economic cases, which not only tarnishes the local area, but also seriously affects the steady progress of economic construction."

He picked up his teacup, took a sip of water, and continued his attack.

"Jingzhou, as the economic leader of Handong, has recently shown a very obvious lag, and it must take responsibility for this!"

The meeting room was completely silent.

Every sentence, though not mentioning Li Dakang, is a slap in the face to him.

Li Dakang sat to the side, his hands clasped tightly together under the table.

He tried to lash out several times, but Sha Ruijin only spouted platitudes and failed to pinpoint any wrongdoing. Within the system's rules, he was completely at a disadvantage and could only endure the beating.

Li Dakang picked up a fountain pen and scribbled furiously on the notebook, the pen tip even tearing the paper and leaving deep cuts.

The meeting ended, and everyone left one after another.

Li Dakang packed up his notebook and walked out with a dark expression.

Gao Yuliang, carrying a thermos, followed behind at a leisurely pace.

As Gao Yuliang reached the corner of the corridor, he stopped, turned his head to look at Li Dakang, and casually left a sentence.

"Secretary Dakang, it's tough being a loyal minister. You can't win against those who play the game of procedures above you just by being impulsive."

Li Dakang stopped in his tracks, watching Gao Yuliang's departing figure, his cheek muscles bulging violently.

Late at night, outside the gate of the Handong Provincial Military Region.

A black Audi sedan was parked outside the police cordon.

Li Dakang pushed open the car door and got out. The night wind blew coolly on his face, but it couldn't dispel the restlessness in his heart.

He walked up to the guard post and showed his identification to the sentry.

"I need to see General Shen. I have an emergency to report."

The fully armed sentry saluted, giving a flat and emotionless reply.

"Excuse me, the commander is conducting a simulation in the command center and no one is allowed to disturb him. Please wait outside."

Li Dakang stood there, looking at the brightly lit office building in the military region.

He, the dignified Party Secretary of Jingzhou City and a member of the Standing Committee of the Handong Provincial Party Committee, could only wait helplessly in the cold wind. And that wait lasted a full half hour.

The cold wind gradually cooled down his feverish mind.

He began to realize that he had been precisely manipulated by Sha Ruijin's father-in-law in this game.

Half an hour later, a military jeep arrived and took him into the military compound.

In the somber office, tactical maps covered an entire wall.

Shen Zhong, dressed in a black special forces uniform, stood in front of the map, marking it with red and blue pencils. He didn't even turn his head when he heard the door open.

Li Dakang stepped forward, his words carrying a hint of urgency.

"General Shen, Sha Ruijin has used Ouyang Jing's case and the Guangming Peak project to block my nomination as governor. The Organization Department of the Central Committee has already decided that this matter is procedurally flawless."

Shen Zhong put down his pencil, turned around, picked up a personnel report stamped with a top-secret seal from the table, and handed it directly to Li Dakang.

"Stop arguing, you've already lost your position."

Li Dakang stood still, without reaching out to take it.

Shen Zhong slapped the briefing onto Li Dakang's chest.

"Let's see who this new governor is."