In name only: The land of Handong, I shall rule its fate.

He left the procuratorate.

Tian Guofu went straight to the provincial party committee building to find his beloved rat poison.

"Comrade Guofu, why are you in such a hurry?"

Sha Ruijin seemed relatively relaxed today, after all, the Zhong family's monkey was taking office tomorrow.

A conversation with Hou Liangping.

Sha Ruijin had mentally rehearsed several times, trying to get Hou Liangping to bite off Li Dakang, who was full of flaws, so as to tear apart the seemingly indestructible provincial government system.

"Secretary Sha, please listen to this first."

Tian Guofu immediately took out a voice recorder and played it for the big boss.

"Um?"

Sha Ruijin also frowned, revealing deep disgust. Chen Yanshi had fallen, but he, Sha, was not!

So you want to eat the flesh and blood of the Chen family?

"Who is this woman? How dare she, in her capacity, order a provincial procurator general at the vice-ministerial level to interfere with the decisions of the procuratorate committee meeting?"

"What is the relationship between this person mentioned in the recording and Chen Hai?"

Sha Ruijin repeatedly questioned him.

Tian Guofu then relayed what Lü Liang had said, in a Chinese translation of the third version, to the boss.

"The four great families of Handong?"

After hearing this, Sha Ruijin was completely stunned.

He's been away from Handong for decades, and it feels so unfamiliar now.

He had always thought that this kind of local specialty was only available in the capital.

"The selection of cadres in the political and legal system is different from that of general cadres. It focuses on professionalism, and especially in the last century when graduates were guaranteed job placement, it was easy for clustering to occur."

"The same applies to the education system."

"Moreover, they have become increasingly powerful and more secretive. For example, Lu Yike broke with convention and went to the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Procuratorate, perfectly avoiding the bloodline inheritance phenomenon that would easily attract gossip from outsiders, but in reality, it is just a change in name only."

"This is the real reason why a retired judge dares to boss around the current chief prosecutor, because Yao Xinyi represents not just one person, but a family or even a community of interests."

"The chief prosecutors and presidents of the High Court come and go, but the ones who remain constant on the chessboard are them."

Tian Guofu, unusually serious, analyzed and explained the gravity of the situation.

"A wealthy nation!"

Sha Ruijin felt a bit tired. "Why do I feel that this seemingly upright and virtuous professor we chose has more problems, and more serious problems, than Li Dakang?"

"The ceiling for the judicial system is what it is; it's not as strong as other powerful departments."

"The Zhao family's main force, which is most worthy of our attention, is no longer in Handong."

Tian Guofu shook his head and said, "Secretary Sha, what I'm worried about is that if this recording falls into Governor Zhiyuan's hands, he will definitely not let go of this opportunity to strike at Gao Yuliang, and may even further implicate us."

"We must strike first."

"Of course, we can also abandon Gao Yuliang and kill this opportunist first."

Initial cooperation is one thing, but another.

But Tian Guofu's desire to kill Gao Zhiwu never changed.

"Get Gao Yuliang out of there, and then what?"

Sha Ruijin glanced at him. "Four of the current Standing Committee members in Handong are parachuted in."

"Gao Yuliang is finished. There's a high chance they'll select someone from the local area. It's not a good thing whoever comes up."

"Right now, it's just the two of us on the Standing Committee, working back-to-back. Most of the others are leaning towards Lin Zhiyuan. If another one comes up, we're afraid we'll be completely relegated to the background."

Tian Guofu was filled with resentment.

Are we just going to admit defeat outright? Or are we going to do everything in our power to protect Gao Yuliang, whose loyalty is unclear? No matter how you look at it, it's a losing proposition.

"hehe!"

Sha Ruijin gave a cold laugh. "Comrade Guofu, keep an eye on the provincial government. If Governor Zhiyuan doesn't make a move, then help him out and send the recording over there."

A ruthless, scarlet glint appeared in his eyes.

This was originally his final, deadly move, but he didn't expect to have to use it so soon.

"Have Governor Zhiyuan investigate thoroughly."

"It would be best if he were the one to knock Gao Yuliang away."

Sha Ruijin laughed, but his laughter was utterly cold. "He kicked out the leaders in Hanjiang, and now he's kicking out the leaders again in Handong. I don't believe the higher-ups have that much tolerance for Lin Zhiyuan!"

"At worst."

"Isn't Team Leader Xu still in Handong? Pass the message on to him."

"I believe Team Leader Xu won't let such a good opportunity slip by, after all, it's an enemy who blocked our way."

Tian Guofu trembled.

This is to use Gao Yuliang as a raft, both to eliminate Lin Zhiyuan, the biggest threat, and to smoothly purge the remnants of the Zhao family gang.

No! No! No!

It's likely that Sha Ruijin never truly intended to cooperate with Gao Yuliang; it was merely a matter of mutual support and interdependence.

Given the opportunity, it will be an absolute betrayal.

Because Sha Ruijin's sole and only mission in coming to Handong was to find something to hold against Zhao Lichun.

To uncover dirt on the Zhao family, Li Dakang and Gao Yuliang are unavoidable hurdles; the only question is whether their methods are mild or ruthless.

But now that Li Dakang has Lin Zhiyuan's protection, bringing the Zhong family's son-in-law here is just an open tactic. If something goes wrong, it could be another deadly move.

Using the provincial government faction to kill the political and legal faction, and then having the provincial government faction maintain the chaos and vacuum that would occur after the fall of the political and legal faction's leader.

This is even more ruthless than his plan.

After all, his goal from beginning to end has always been to get that position and to advance his career, while Sha Ruijin is unwilling to be second to anyone and is carrying out the bloodiest factional purge.

But it's alright...

Hey, he doesn't like the eloquent professors, and he dislikes the imposing Lin Zhiyuan even more. So why does he like this stubborn and self-willed gerbil?

Let's fight! Let's fight!

Assisting Sha Ruijin in leading the vanguard is merely a superficial act; his arrival in Handong is simply to act as a small messenger pigeon.

It would be best to destroy Handong!

While these schemes and plots were unfolding here, the atmosphere in the next office was rather strange.

Because a special financial approval slip was loudly delivered:

The financial approval process for converting the tennis court in the provincial party committee compound into a basketball court, initiated by the provincial party committee office, personally signed by Sha Ruijin, and agreed to by the sports bureau, has now reached the finance department.

The finance director keenly sensed the trouble and forwarded it to the provincial government office.

How can this be allowed!

Lin Zhiyuan asked with a serious expression, pointing to the note, "Where's the explanation for the necessity of the change of use?"

"This... Boss, no."

He scratched his head loudly.

If the provincial party secretary says he wants to approve a basketball court, who among the lower ranks would be foolish enough to stop him?

If they ask, just say it's been in disrepair for years!

There are many such reasons.

"Have the Finance Department send the note back, and in addition, inquire with the Sports Bureau and the Provincial Party Committee Office in my name."

"I can't explain it."

"Starting this month, the allowances will be suspended. Don't you know that the finances are tight right now, and every penny should be used wisely to develop the economy of Handong?"

"Converting a good tennis court into a basketball court is a waste of taxpayers' money."

"All they do is pander to certain leaders. They're so good at scheming, why can't they put their energy into developing the economy?"

"The original words are sent verbatim, without any changes."

Ps:

Thank you so much to the person who ate wafer biscuits for their love and support! *2

I'm experiencing some writer's block; the last few chapters were written in a more lighthearted style.