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

At 9:40 a.m. the next day, only one person was sitting in the confidential conference room on the third floor of the Provincial Party Committee Office.

A freshly brewed cup of tea sat before Sha Ruijin, its broth clear and bright, but he didn't touch it. The red secure telephone on the table was lit, and the video terminal on the opposite wall was connected, showing two people sitting on the screen.

Deputy Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee in charge of relevant matters, and Executive Deputy Minister of the Organization Department.

The two men appearing in the same frame is something that has only happened twice in Sha Ruijin's more than twenty years of official career. The last time was during a conversation he had before taking up his post in Handong.

"Comrade Ruijin, we have reviewed yesterday's meeting minutes." The deputy minister of the organization department opened the document and spoke slowly, "The acting governor has suspended his duties, and the secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission has voluntarily retired. It is unprecedented in the past five years for a province to simultaneously lose the working capacity of two provincial-level leaders."

Sha Ruijin sat upright, his palms flat on the table. "I understand the concerns of the higher-ups. The problems in Handong were concentrated, but the provincial party committee has been keeping abreast of the situation. The out-of-control audit of Haiheng's outsourced operations, the political and legal security incident, and the risks of low-price acquisitions of state-owned assets were all stemmed under the leadership of the provincial party committee."

The deputy director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee pushed a briefing in front of the camera. "The word 'stop the bleeding' is well-chosen. My question is, who noticed the bleeding first?"

Sha Ruijin paused for a moment.

"The clues discovered by the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission during the investigation."

"Yes." The deputy director turned to the third page of the briefing. "Haiheng was exposed because Qi Tongwei raided the bonded warehouse. Xinheng was investigated because Qi Tongwei interrogated the data center at night. Ma's defection was orchestrated by Gao Yuliang. It was Gao Yuliang who presented irrefutable evidence at the joint meeting."

He closed the presentation and looked down at me through the screen.

"Comrade Ruijin, every attempt to stop the losses occurred after the people left behind by Shen Zhong took action. What was the provincial party secretary doing in the middle of this?"

These words were like a bucket of cold water. Sha Ruijin's shirt pressed tightly against the back of the chair, and he could feel the air conditioner vent pointing directly at the back of his neck, the coolness traveling down his spine.

"I need to explain," Sha Ruijin said in a steady tone. "After Shen Zhong was transferred, Gao Yuliang and Qi Tongwei's actions in the political and legal system were all carried out within the overall framework of the provincial party committee. The damage control was the result of the provincial party committee's collective decision, not the achievement of any one person."

The deputy minister of the organization department put down his pen and leaned back in his chair. "What is the date on Gao Yuliang's early retirement report?"

Sha Ruijin did not answer immediately.

"The day Shen Zhong was transferred," the vice minister finished for him, "a secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission had already written his resignation report six months ago, waiting for this battle to be over before leaving. As the provincial party secretary, did you know this beforehand?"

do not know.

These three words stuck in Sha Ruijin's throat. He knew what saying them would mean. A provincial party secretary's failure to oversee the dynamics of his team members was even more embarrassing than being sidelined.

"I bear responsibility for this," Sha Ruijin said, choosing a different wording. "I didn't keep track of Comrade Gao Yuliang's thoughts in time. The Provincial Party Committee hasn't been thorough enough in monitoring the ideological dynamics of its cadres."

The deputy director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee glanced at the vice minister, and the two exchanged a very brief glance.

"Comrade Ruijin, the higher-ups are not looking to hold any one person accountable." The deputy minister picked up his pen again. "But the situation in Handong is very delicate right now. The acting governor is under investigation, the political and legal committee has retired, and the provincial department is vacant. From the outside, it looks like the provincial party committee is making a tough decision, but those in the know can see that what has truly stabilized the situation is not the provincial party committee, but the space that Gao Yuliang has created by sacrificing his political life."

Sha Ruijin's fingers gently clenched on the table.

"The message from above is very clear." The deputy minister closed the folder. "First, Handong must be stabilized immediately, and factional infighting is strictly prohibited. Second, the selection of personnel for the provincial department must be finalized as soon as possible. Third, a self-examination report from the provincial party committee must be submitted within two weeks, focusing on how the outsourced audit was introduced, who signed off on it in the decision-making chain, and why there was no timely warning."

"I see."

"There's one more thing," the deputy director of the General Office of the Central Committee said in a calm voice, "Comrade Shen Zhong's work on the northern front will not be affected, and he must not be transferred or interfered with for any reason."

The image froze for two seconds.

Sha Ruijin nodded, "Of course. The exercises on the northern front are part of the overall national defense strategy, and the Provincial Party Committee fully supports them."

The traffic light went out. The screen went black.

The only sound in the conference room was the hum of the air conditioner. Sha Ruijin remained seated, his tea now completely cold. He reached for the cup, took a sip, and felt the bitterness spread across his tongue.

The secretary knocked lightly twice on the door.

"Come in."

The secretary handed over a document. It was the organizational notice officially announcing Chu Pingshan's retirement to the second line, which required the provincial party secretary's signature and seal.

Sha Ruijin picked up the pen and signed it with a steady hand. After signing, he pushed the notice back and suddenly asked a question.

"Have you received the latest briefing from the northern route?"

The secretary paused for a moment, then said, "It's here, on your desk."

Sha Ruijin got up and walked out. As he passed through the corridor, two discipline inspection cadres were putting away the sign-in book from yesterday's meeting room. They both straightened up when they saw him pass by.

No one greeted me. This silence was more unsettling than any greeting.

……

Back in his office, Sha Ruijin closed the door.

Three documents were on the table: a blank template for the provincial party committee's self-inspection report, a list of the acting governor's seal usage handed over by Chu Pingshan, and a thin briefing on the northern route.

He turned to the last page of the briefing.

A line of text is circled in red: "Major General Shen Zhong, the person in charge of joint exercise coordination, has arrived at the front-line command post, and the coordination work of all participating units is fully ready."

Sha Ruijin stared at the word "heavy" for a long time. The sunlight from the window shone on the table, making the red circled annotation particularly glaring.

He closed the briefing and tucked it at the bottom.

"The trouble in Handong isn't over yet," he said in a low voice, as if to himself. "We can't afford any more accidents on the northern front."

---

On the same afternoon, on the fourth floor of the provincial government building.

Chu Pingshan's office door was ajar, and there was no secretary on duty in the corridor. Usually, at least two people would stand in this spot, ready to hand over documents, answer the phone, or block visitors.

There's only an empty cardboard box standing at the doorway now.

Chu Pingshan stood in front of the bookshelf, one button undone on his suit jacket. His hand rested on the third shelf, where a row of folders were arranged by year.

Secretary Xiao Zhou came out of the inner room, carrying a stack of documents. "Governor Chu, would you like me to help you organize your personal belongings?"

"Need not."

Chu Pingshan's voice was flat. He pulled out a black notebook, A5 size, with a worn cover and curled corners.

Xiao Zhou glanced at the notebook and immediately looked away. Having worked in this office for two years, he had seen Chu Pingshan flip through it countless times, but he had never seen him let anyone touch it.

"Have you seen the organization's notice?" Xiao Zhou asked cautiously.

Chu Pingshan put the notebook into the inside pocket of his suit jacket. It fit perfectly against his chest.

"I've seen it."

He turned and looked around the office. A large desk, a dark leather swivel chair, and a map of the administrative divisions of Handong Province hanging on the wall. The labels for the thirteen cities on the map were re-painted after he took office, and each label had a small dot next to it; red indicated that the audit review had been completed, and blue indicated that it was in progress.

The red and blue dots are no longer relevant.

Chu Pingshan walked to the door without turning back. Two division-level cadres were walking towards him in the corridor. When they saw him, their pace slowed noticeably, as if they hesitated whether to greet him.

Chu Pingshan didn't give them a chance to make things difficult and went straight to the elevator.