The game of power begins with the police officers at the local police station.

Diao Dalong, director of the Land and Resources Bureau, along with his staff, arrived at Yumi Village and issued notices to demolish the illegal structures to several households that were still illegally building.

Fang Qiang, the nephew of village party secretary Fang Yao, took the notice, glanced at it, tore it to shreds, and shouted, "If you're so capable, come and try to demolish it tomorrow!"

Diao Dalong said sternly, "The Land and Resources Bureau is officially notifying you to come and demolish the illegal structure tomorrow."

Fang Qiang sneered, "There are plenty of illegal buildings. Do you dare to demolish them? Let me tell you, none of the buildings near the highway have permits. If you're so capable, come and demolish them."

Fang Qiang completely disregarded Diao Dalong, the director of the land and resources bureau, and ordered the villagers to continue construction.

Diao Dalong ignored Fang Qiang and left with his staff.

The next morning, Diao Dalong led a construction team to demolish the illegally constructed house.

Fang Qiang thought Diao Dalong was just trying to scare him, but he didn't expect him to be serious. Three excavators arrived, and there were more than ten people in the demolition team.

Without uttering a single wasted word, they swiftly and decisively demolished the illegal structure that had just been built on the land next to Fang Qiang's house, leveling it to the ground.

The villagers were stunned and didn't come to their senses. When they finally came to their senses, they tried to stop them, but were restrained by two burly staff members.

Fang Qiang immediately called Fang Yao: "Second Uncle, something's happened. The Land and Resources Bureau came with an excavator and said our buildings are illegal and they're going to demolish them. The ones next to mine have already been demolished, and they're going to demolish mine soon."

Fang Yao was also taken aback, not expecting the Land and Resources Bureau to be so serious: "Didn't they issue a demolition notice in advance?"

"They notified me yesterday, but I thought it was just to scare me and didn't take it seriously."

"Are you an idiot? At this critical moment, you think I can scare you? If I had told you last night that you were ready, they wouldn't be able to demolish anyone's house."

"Now quickly call the villagers over, the more the better, mainly the elderly and children, to surround the illegally constructed houses and see how they demolish them."

After hanging up the phone, Fang Qiang saw that there were many people from the Land and Resources Bureau. By the time he called the elderly and children to come, the house would have already been demolished. He quickly called his cousin to call the able-bodied young men in the village who were at home. They were quick to work and would arrive soon.

When Fang Qiang saw the excavator approaching, he quickly led the villagers who were working on the site to stand in front of it and shouted, "If you're so capable, then run us over!"

Seeing that Fang Qiang had four or five people around him who were difficult to control, Diao Dalong called the excavator operator to demolish the other houses.

Just as an illegal structure was being demolished, four or five vans arrived, and dozens of people got out, carrying sickles and hoes, and surrounded the demolition team.

Seeing that something was wrong, Diao Dalong called Fang He, the head of the police station.

"Director Fang, we are on official business in Yumi Village and have been surrounded by villagers. Please come quickly."

"Chief Diao, what official business are you on?"

"If there are illegal structures next to the highway, our land and resources office will demolish them in accordance with the law."

"Director Diao, this isn't a city; it's rural housing construction. Is it really necessary to make such a big deal out of this?"

"Chief Diao, I called the police, but your officers didn't respond. If something happens, you will be held responsible."

Diao Dalong hung up the phone immediately and called Shi Fu.

"Secretary, our Land and Resources Bureau was carrying out official business in Yumi Village when we were surrounded by villagers. We called the police, but Chief Fang of the police station said that our Land and Resources Bureau was making a big deal out of the demolition of illegal buildings and that it was unnecessary, so he refused to send officers."

"Dalong, I'll call Chief Fang and tell him to dispatch officers immediately to ensure your personal safety."

Shi Fu hung up the phone and called Fang He.

"secretary"

"Director Fang, dispatch the police immediately. Make sure the safety of the land and resources bureau staff is ensured and arrest all the villagers who are causing trouble."

"Secretary, I'll personally lead a team there to find out what's going on."

Fang He hung up the phone and, with two police officers and four or five auxiliary police officers, rushed over.

When Fang Qiang saw his helpers arrive, he grabbed a hoe and shouted, "These sons of bitches, they just come up here and start demolishing houses! How hard it is for ordinary people to build a house! Smash their cars!"

Both families whose houses were being demolished were furious. They swung their hoes and smashed the car windows in a few blows. Others joined in, and the excavator operator was pulled off the vehicle and beaten. All three excavators had their windows smashed.

Diao Dalong shouted, "This is obstructing law enforcement, it's a crime, you'll go to jail, do you understand?"

Fang Qiang shouted, "Don't you know that the law doesn't punish the masses? Even if we beat you to death here today, we won't get away with it."

Fang Qiang was about to beat up Diao Dalong and other staff members of the Land and Resources Bureau when sirens blared and two police cars pulled up and stopped in front of them. Fang He, along with the police, got out of the cars.

Fang Qiang quickly stepped forward: "Brother, you've come at the right time. These people dug up the villagers' houses. They should be made to compensate for the losses."

Fang He and Fang Qiang were cousins ​​from different degrees of kinship. He glanced at the car with its broken windows and knew that Fang Qiang had caused trouble. He figured that as long as they surrounded the people, the nature of smashing the car would change.

Diao Dalong quickly said, "Director Fang, we were demolishing the illegal buildings in accordance with the law. They surrounded us, smashed our vehicles, and injured the excavator operator. Arrest them all."

Fang He stepped forward and pulled Diao Dalong aside: "Director Diao, this matter is not easy to handle. Look at so many villagers, it's a mass incident, and it will be difficult to handle if it gets out of hand."

Diao Dalong said coldly, "Director Fang, no matter how many people are here, they must be arrested if they break the law. Who smashed the car, who injured the excavator operator, bring them back for a thorough interrogation, and we can find out. Villagers who didn't participate can be released."

"I dare not arrest so many people. I can't bear the responsibility if it causes a mass incident."

"The local police station mainly focuses on mediation. I'll mediate for you, compensate you for the car repair costs, and cover the medical expenses of the injured excavator operator. What do you think?"

Diao Dalong shouted, "No, this is illegal and criminal. They are obstructing the land and resources bureau's law enforcement, injuring people, and disrupting official business. They must be arrested. I'll call the secretary to report this."

Diao Dalong took out his phone and called Shi Fu: "Secretary, our car was smashed by the villagers who were causing trouble, and they also injured the excavator operator. This is a crime. Director Fang said that this is a group incident and it is not advisable to escalate it. Mediation should be the main approach."

Upon hearing this, Shi Fu frowned. This Fang He often disobeyed orders; it was time to teach him a lesson.

"Let Director Fang answer the phone."

Diao Dalong handed his phone to Fang He: "Director Fang, the Party Secretary wants you to answer the phone."

Fang He took the phone: "Secretary..."

"Director Fang, the villagers obstructed law enforcement, injured people, and even smashed government vehicles. This is a provocation against the government and a crime with the characteristics of organized crime. They must all be arrested and thoroughly investigated."

"Secretary, I was there. It wasn't as serious as you described. It was just that the comrades from the Land and Resources Bureau came to demolish illegal buildings and had a conflict with the villagers. The villagers lost control for a moment and smashed the car windows. The two excavator operators who were injured were not seriously hurt; they just had some minor scrapes."

The police station usually handles these matters through mediation. There are dozens of villagers here; arresting them all would cause a public disturbance, escalate the conflict, and make the situation even more difficult to manage.

Shi Fu said coldly, "Arrest them all. Your police station just needs to enforce the law."

"Secretary, there are so many people, and our police station only has so many officers. We simply can't handle it. If the villagers resist, the situation will only get worse."