Special forces soldier demobilization: Starting from the county government compound, a meteoric rise

In the late autumn of the capital, fallen leaves swirl on the bluestone slabs of the alleyways.

In that courtyard house that had witnessed half a lifetime of vicissitudes, Liu Ming sat before the large rosewood desk in his study. Sunlight streamed through the lattice windows, dappling the thick manuscripts with their kraft paper covers.

This is "Jiangnan Years and Central Government Chronicles," which he wrote stroke by stroke over three years.

Or rather, this is his...memoir.

"Old man, are you writing about your scheming and plotting schemes again?"

Xi Wanqing carried in a steaming bowl of rock sugar pear soup. Although fine crow's feet had appeared at the corners of her eyes, her intellect and elegance had only become more captivating with the passage of time. She put down the bowl and casually flipped through the top page of the manuscript.

"What is meant by conspiracy and trickery?"

Liu Ming put down the wolf-hair brush in his hand, took off his reading glasses, and glared at his wife with annoyance.

"That's called wisdom. I'm leaving some 'secret tips' for those newbies who come later. So they don't get swallowed whole before they even make a splash when they enter this deep water."

"Yes, yes, you're the best." Xi Wanqing smiled and sat down next to him, her gaze falling on the paragraph he had just finished writing. "However, this last paragraph of yours is quite interesting."

Liu Ming followed her gaze and saw that the ink on the paper was still wet.

It contained his final summary of his life's ups and downs in officialdom.

Regarding...political maneuvering.

People say that power struggles are dirty. They think that power struggles are about forming cliques, eliminating dissidents, and setting traps for others in order to protect one's own official position.

Liu Ming picked up the bowl, took a sip of the sweet pear soup, and her eyes gradually became deep.

"That's what Luo Binwang thought too."

"Back in Jiangnan Province, he had connections everywhere. He used money to pave his way and fear to establish his authority. He turned the entire political and legal system into his own little territory. He thought that was what political maneuvering was all about."

"And the result?"

Liu Ming sneered, "In the end, he was in Qincheng Prison, and not even a single person could bring him a couple of clean sets of underwear. When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter; those who once fawned over him are now trampling on him more ruthlessly than anyone else."

"That's a despicable tactic."

Liu Ming put down the bowl and tapped her knuckles lightly on the table, making a "tap, tap" sound.

"Manipulating people's hearts for personal gain is like building a skyscraper on the beach. It may look glamorous, but one wave will wash it all away."

"And what about you?" Xi Wanqing looked at him. "You overturned the table in Ningzhou, played a double agent game in the provincial capital, and even spread false information in the central government to lure out the enemy. Do you dare say that the methods you used were any more noble than those of Luo Binwang?"

"There is no distinction between noble and despicable means."

Liu Ming shook her head, her eyes, weathered by life's experiences, gleaming with an extremely sharp light that seemed to see through the ways of the world.

"A knife can be used to kill, or it can be used to save lives. The key lies in the hand that holds the knife, and in the heart that beats for what purpose."

He stood up, walked to the bookshelf, and looked at the densely packed files.

"Back in Qingyun County, I used recording and surveillance to kill Diao Deliang. In Ningzhou, I used the power of foreign capital to crush Wang Dawei. In Yancheng, I used financial warfare to uproot the Zhao family."

"I also use tactics. Even more ruthless, more vicious, and utterly ruthless methods than them, leaving no way out."

"But why did I win?"

Liu Ming turned around, looked at Xi Wanqing, and spoke in a deep and powerful voice.

"Because I have nothing to hide."

"I want power. I want immense power. Because I know that only when I hold that knife in my hand will those man-eating demons dare not come out to harm the people."

"I want to implement new policies, I want to manufacture our own chips, and I want to dig out all the rotten roots of this land. These things cannot be accomplished by just shouting slogans. Nor can they be accomplished by just being lofty."

"Therefore, I must be more cunning than bad people and more ruthless than corrupt officials."

He walked to his desk, picked up the pen, and at the end of the passage, wrote two sentences heavily.

"A swift and decisive approach reveals a compassionate heart."

"Methods are techniques, intentions are principles. When the intention is righteous, the techniques are good; when the intention is evil, the techniques are evil."

Liu Ming put down her pen.

He exhaled a long breath, as if he had poured all the killing and scheming of his life into these two lines of text.

"Old man."

Xi Wanqing looked at the two lines of text, her eyes slightly reddening. She stepped forward and gently took Liu Ming's hands, which were covered with age spots and scars.

"You did it."

"You are not only a qualified wielder of the sword. You are also the most competent protector of the Way on this land of Kyushu."

Liu Ming grasped his wife's hand in return and smiled.

That was a truly magnanimous smile, a smile that came from having truly let go of all burdens and seen through the vanity of the world.

……

Decades later.

When this book, "Jiangnan Years and Central Government Chronicles," was partially declassified and placed on the desks of students at various levels of Party schools as internal reference material, it became a valuable resource.

Countless young cadres fell into deep thought as they looked at the final discussion on "power politics".

In that new era filled with temptations and challenges.

These words became a clear mirror hanging over their heads.

It is also a red line etched in their hearts.

"Methods are techniques, mind is the way."

A newly appointed young county party secretary solemnly copied this sentence onto the title page of his notebook.

He raised his head, looking out at the vibrant land, his eyes filled with unwavering determination.

"Don't worry, Mr. Liu."

He silently recited it in his heart.

"We will continue to protect this place."