Nominal: The pinnacle of power began in the sixth province of Handong.

(Apologies to everyone, there was a problem with what I wrote earlier. Yi Xuexi was promoted to deputy secretary of Luzhou and acting mayor, which should be at the level of a full-fledged department director, not a deputy department director.)

Sha Ruijin looked at Yi Xuexi with considerable surprise.

Wasn't Yi Xuexi someone he promoted himself?

Why won't you even give me this much face?

Even though he was displeased, Sha Ruijin didn't intend to reveal everything at this moment, so he changed the subject:

"Haha, Secretary Yi is truly the benevolent official of Luzhou. Don't worry, I only have this idea; it hasn't actually been implemented yet."

To everyone's surprise, Yi Xuexi remained relentless, speaking sternly and forcefully:

"Secretary Sha, you weren't just speculating; you were testing my waters. So now, I'll make my stance clear—Luzhou Crescent Lake can only tolerate the existence of one food court. Once that food court is demolished, no other industrial projects can be built in or around Crescent Lake. If any new project wants to be established in Crescent Lake, I, Yi Xuexi, will be the first to object and will absolutely not approve it!"

Sha Ruijin was surprised.

He didn't expect Yi Xuexi to press on so relentlessly, even to lay his cards on the table and be so thorough in his words.

Is this Yi Xuexi really so reckless and unreasonable?

They don't care about social etiquette or manners at all, and just flip the table?

Only now, in his frustration, has Sha Ruijin come to understand one reason.

Yi Xuexi has not been promoted in 25 years. Besides not being liked by Zhao Lichun, the main reason is probably his personal reasons.

An official who is inflexible, unwilling to back down, and only knows how to be straightforward and rigidly adhere to the rules.

Which leader would like that?

Which leader would use it?

Even though Sha Ruijin rescued Yi Xuexi from stagnation for 25 years by promoting him two ranks ahead of schedule, it was still a significant achievement.

For a normal person, this is an immense favor, akin to having parents again.

They are easy to learn, yet they show no gratitude whatsoever.

At this moment, there is still a risk of a complete breakdown in relations!

Is it really so easy to learn that it's impossible to master?

Zhao Lichun's personnel decisions may actually have some merit.

Sha Ruijin suppressed his anger, pointed at Yi Xuexi, and said coldly:

"Comrade Yi Xuexi, watch your words. You are speaking to the provincial party secretary. As for the Crescent Lake matter, I don't think it will go through your approval, so you don't need to worry about it."

"I won't see you out."

After speaking, Sha Ruijin gestured for the guest to leave.

Yi Xuexi could only sigh helplessly and leave the secretary's office.

As Yi Xuexi entered and exited Sha Ruijin's office, he was seen by a plainclothes police officer in the corridor.

The officer went to the restroom and made a phone call.

Report to the other party what you just saw and heard.

The person he was reporting to was none other than Qi Tongwei!

Qi Tongwei listened patiently and then said:

"Very good, you can step down now. Zhang will go up in ten minutes."

After hanging up the phone, Qi Tongwei turned to look at Gao Yuliang sitting on the sofa and said excitedly:

"Teacher, it seems there's been a problem at work. Secretary Sha seems to be angry at Chongyi Study."

Gao Yuliang smiled wryly:

"You actually dared to send spies to monitor Secretary Sha's personnel movements; that's incredibly audacious. Fine, tell me about it."

Qi Tongwei reported everything the police officers had observed to Gao Yuliang.

In Qi Tongwei's view, Yi Xuexi was Sha Ruijin's henchman.

Sha Ruijin's outburst at Yi Xuexi demonstrates that Yi Xuexi's work has not achieved the results Sha Ruijin desired.

But Gao Yuliang felt that things were not that simple.

The shrewd and calculating man knew that Sha Ruijin wouldn't get angry over his subordinates' work.

Sha Ruijin only gets angry when someone challenges his authority.

Yi Xuexi happens to be someone who does this kind of thing, repeatedly contradicting his superiors and acting unilaterally. It's not surprising that he has now offended Sha Ruijin.

So.

What did Yi Xuexi do to offend Sha Ruijin?

In other words, what could have caused Yi Xuexi to revert to his old stubbornness and dare to contradict Sha Ruijin?

Gao Yuliang began to think carefully.

Yi Xuexi led the environmental inspection team to investigate the food court.

The food court has now been demolished, and Zhao Ruilong has compromised, even proposing to establish an environmental protection fund.

There was more or less an instruction from the old leader involved; otherwise, that little bastard Zhao Ruilong would never have let go of such a lucrative business.

In any case, the food court incident was a resounding success for Sha Ruijin and Yi Xuexi.

Having already achieved results, what could Yi Xuexi possibly do to offend Sha Ruijin?

As Gao Yuliang was pondering, Qi Tongwei interjected:

"Teacher, I'm actually quite surprised. Zhao Ruilong's cooperation in demolishing the food court and even setting up an environmental fund is not like what he usually does."

Gao Yuliang smiled to himself:

It wasn't cooperation; Zhao Lichun sensed the changing winds and ordered Zhao Ruilong to dismantle it.

The environmental protection fund was also used to whitewash Zhao Ruilong's actions.

Seeing that Gao Yuliang remained silent, Qi Tongwei continued speaking to himself:

"It's a pity. The food court was troublesome to build, and it's troublesome to demolish it now. But Crescent Lake has nothing but mountains, water, and vegetation, which is so boring. Luzhou used to have more income from the food court, but now it's likely to suffer a big loss, and even tourists won't want to go to Crescent Lake anymore."

Gao Yuliang heard Qi Tongwei's words.

His tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed.

He figured it out.

The disagreement between Yi Xuexi and Sha Ruijin is most likely about the future planning of Crescent Lake.

Sha Ruijin proposed a new project.

Yi Xuexi firmly disagreed.

The two then had a disagreement.

After thinking it through, Gao Yuliang slowly began to speak:

"It's probably work-related. Tongwei, get rid of the informants. Keeping them watching the secretary's office like this is too conspicuous. Although I know these people are your relatives you placed in the Public Security Bureau, didn't Minister Xia also say that personnel matters must be handled with utmost care?"

After Gao Yuliang finished speaking, he paused, then emphasized:

"You should also take some time to deal with all the relatives you've placed in the police force. Those who should be dismissed should be dismissed, and those who can be used should be transferred to other positions. They can't occupy the positions of regular police officers and can't withstand patrols."

Qi Tongwei nodded awkwardly. He knew that his teacher was doing this for his own good. Only by getting rid of these complicated relationships could he prevent people with ulterior motives from making a fuss about it.

Gao Yuliang remembered something and said again:

"By the way, Tongwei, you mentioned that middleman from the foreign forces... his name is Du Bozhong?"

Qi Tongwei said with some surprise:

"Yes, teacher, do you know him?"

Gao Yuliang narrowed his eyes slightly. He remembered that when Zhao Ruilong invited him to the Shanshui Manor for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, a business partner sat next to Zhao Ruilong, whose name seemed to be Du Bozhong.

It now appears that this person not only colluded with foreign forces, but also had an ambiguous relationship with Zhao Ruilong.

At the same time, if Zhao Ruilong is also colluding with foreign forces, this matter will be truly serious.

Zhao Lichun will truly face utter ruin.

We need to find someone who knows the facts.

Gao Yuliang told Qi Tongwei to go ahead with his work. After Qi Tongwei left, Gao Yuliang dialed a number on the phone:

"Hello, is this Cheng Du? This is Gao Yuliang from the Provincial Party Committee. Come to my office now."