In name only: In the name of Zhao Mengsheng's son!

Zhao Zhongxin disliked Chen Yanshi because, as a retired person, he believed that he should retire quietly, but he still acknowledged Chen's contributions to the revolution.

Chen Yanshi's speech was quite moving, after all, it was based on his personal experience. Whether the provincial standing committee members were faking it or genuinely moved, they all applauded Chen Yanshi and saw him out of the meeting room!

Then, Sha Ruijin made a statement regarding Chen Yanshi's alleged bribery.

"Our two comrades, the Director and Deputy Director of the Provincial Public Security Department, bear heavy responsibilities for maintaining social order and stability, but these two..."

When Sha Ruijin said this, Gao Yuliang was mortified, and Zhao Zhongxin was completely dumbfounded. Originally, Qi Tongwei was digging the soil alone, but now it had turned into Qi Tongwei and Hou Liangping digging together. He had completely forgotten about this! What a fucking embarrassment!

This incident made him suddenly understand Gao Yuliang's helplessness, shame, anger, and disappointment in the original work.

Li Dakang seized the opportunity. He was furious that Zhao Donglai reported that Qi Tongwei was not releasing people, and he said directly!

"Secretary Ruijin's suggestion is excellent, I agree, and I'll vote for him!"

"I don't know much about Comrade Hou Liangping, but as for Qi Tongwei? I can tell you all with certainty that this comrade got promoted through flattery and praise. Let me give you an example! Back when I was in the First Secretariat of the Municipal Party Committee, um..."

"Secretary Dakang, to be more specific, you were the secretary of Zhao Lichun, the municipal party secretary, back then!"

At this point, Gao Yuliang could no longer sit still and wanted to fight back. He wanted to tell Sha Ruijin that Li Dakang was Zhao Lichun's secretary!

"Ha, there's nothing to hide, everyone knows!"

Li Dakang was going all out to take down Qi Tongwei, mainly because he had already broken ties with Gao Yuliang and wasn't afraid of anything anymore. The most important thing was to get the support of Provincial Party Secretary Sha Ruijin!

"At that time, I was a secretary at the Municipal Party Committee, and Comrade Qi Tongwei was the deputy director of the Political Security Department of the Public Security Bureau. Comrade Zhao Lichun wanted to go home to pay respects at his ancestors' graves, and Comrade Qi Tongwei and I accompanied him. Comrade Qi Tongwei really did it. When we arrived at Zhao's graves, he knelt down with a thud and cried for real! Snot and tears were streaming down his face!"

Li Dakang was still talking and wanted to say something more, but Gao Yuliang coldly interrupted him.

"I don't know what Secretary Dakang is trying to say by crying at the grave? Is he saying that Qi Tongwei is a bad guy and should be shot? That's a bit much, isn't it? Hahaha!"

Gao Yuliang was genuinely angry and laughed, perfectly embodying a forced smile! The other members of the Standing Committee also sneered. They had heard Qi Tongwei crying at the grave to some extent, but they never expected Li Dakang to say it so bluntly.

Zhao Zhongxin couldn't hold back any longer and tapped his fingers on the table twice! Sha Ruijin was about to say it wasn't a big deal, but Zhao Zhongxin's words interrupted him!

"Comrade Dakang! Have you considered this? Did something happen to Qi Tongwei that day?"

Li Dakang wanted to say that his parents were still alive and that his family was a long-lived family, but Zhao Zhongxin didn't give him that chance and said directly!

"As far as I know, more than 2 years ago, around the time of the Qingming Festival, one of Qi Tongwei's teammates—to be precise, one of his anti-drug team members—sacrificed his life in the line of duty. Tell me, when he saw the mound of earth at the grave, did he think of his fallen teammate?"

At this point, Zhao Zhongxin glanced at the group of Standing Committee members, and everyone stopped laughing. Zhao Zhongxin's presence was too imposing, and his explanation was quite clear!

"And this look of grief for his teammates, in some people's eyes, 'Hmph, who is Qi Tongwei? He was shot three times at Lone Eagle Ridge, yet he didn't leave the front line. He's a drug-fighting hero!' But some people think that's just hype and flattery. I really don't understand. Don't you think I'm right, Secretary Sha?"

Upon hearing Zhao Zhongxin's words, Gao Yuliang felt as if he had drunk a cup of warm water in the dead of winter, feeling warm all over. He looked at Zhao Zhongxin with the kind of gaze Cao Cao would give Guan Yu. This student had truly inherited his mantle! His ability to argue was even better than his master's! So this is what it feels like to win without lifting a finger!

Li Dakang's face turned pale. He couldn't refute Zhao Zhongxin's words. Yes, Qi Tongwei did have a main job; he was a cadre. Flattery was just a side job, and he still had certain achievements! Moreover, he couldn't respond to Zhao Zhongxin's words for a simple reason: Zhao Zhongxin was too powerful. He couldn't confront him like he had confronted Gao Yuliang!

"Yes, I've heard about Comrade Qi Tongwei's matter too. The crying at the grave was probably a heartfelt expression, not something done to curry favor with anyone! But this Hou Liangping..."

Seeing that Qi Tongwei was speechless, Sha Ruijin turned his anger towards Hou Liangping. Zhao Zhongxin and Gao Yuliang fell silent. The two of them really had no way to defend Hou Liangping, because Hou Liangping's main job was flattery and praise, and being an official was just a side job!

Zhao Zhongxin said, "Brother, if you have any achievements or have done anything practical, I'll help you clean up the mess. I don't even have a single grain of rice in my hand, how am I supposed to catch chickens?"

Gao Yuliang glanced at Zhao Zhongxin as well. He didn't blame him; he didn't know how to clean up the mess either. But as a teacher, he had to clean up the mess. If he didn't push Hou Liangping upwards, these people would have to pull Hou Liangping downwards. The position of Director of the Public Security Bureau was too important.

However, because Zhao Zhongxin was present this time, there was no so-called debate among the scholars. Many provincial standing committee members glanced at Zhao Zhongxin but did not speak. The world is not about fighting and killing, but about human relationships and social interactions!

So it was just that Tian Guofu, that scheming scoundrel, and Li Dakang, that guy trying to curry favor with Sha Ruijin, who started to clash with Gao Yuliang! Gao Yuliang, as expected of a professor from Han University, managed to outmaneuver both of them! He talked about violating the Party Constitution and the national law!

Finally, Li Dakang couldn't argue any longer and said something.

"Since Comrade Hou Liangping hasn't broken any laws, shouldn't we follow the normal procedures to promote him to vice governor?"

This is just like elementary school students arguing. If they can't win the argument, they'll let the teacher decide! Sha Ruijin also glanced at Zhao Zhongxin. Since Hou Liangping didn't speak up to protect him, but only to protect Qi Tongwei, that didn't matter. Hou Liangping was the breakthrough point. To be honest, he didn't want to be enemies with Gao Yuliang. He just wanted to remove Zhao Lichun's roots in Handong. In the original story, as long as Gao Yuliang confessed, although his political future was gone, he could still land safely! At Gao Yuliang's age, there was no such thing as a political future anyway. It would be good enough if he could land safely.

But Gao Yuliang just couldn't let go of his so-called scholar's pride, nor could he let go of his so-called teacher-student relationship. He smoked all night and thought of the person who surrendered and was sentenced to 19 years. He chose to confront Sha Ruijin, the provincial champion!