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

The annual mini-holiday is over.

All the provincial party committee and government officials who were supposed to return have returned. With the new year comes a new look, and everyone is full of energy and high spirits.

Yes! Every single one!

The provincial government faction has always been incredibly powerful, needless to say. Even Li Dakang, the usually deadpan overlord of Jingzhou, had a smile on his face.

Jingzhou's development is wonderful.

Besides.

No one was more pleased with himself than Secretary Tian Guofu. With his chin slightly raised and his eyes looking down on the world, he received unprecedented praise from his venomous father-in-law, who urged him to continue his efforts and supervise all the bureau-level and above cadres in Handong.

However, there was one thing that bothered him:

Despite being stripped of his power and reduced to a mere figurehead, Gao Yuliang showed no signs of dejection. Instead, he dyed his black and white hair a glossy black, making him appear more than ten years younger.

If the tall plants don't grow taller, how can they possibly improve?

"It seems everyone had a good New Year."

Sha Ruijin smiled and greeted the Standing Committee members who had arrived at the meeting room door at the same time as they had agreed to meet earlier. He and the Tong brothers were united and had recovered a large number of resources. He was completely different from the discomposure he had shown when he returned to Handong a few days ago.

"Then let's have a meeting!"

Sha Ruijin waved his hand and was the first to walk into the conference room.

First, the Standing Committee members studied the spirit of relevant meetings held by higher authorities during the Spring Festival. Then, they entered into a formal discussion session, reviewing the Spring Festival security arrangements, studying the economic start in the first quarter of this year, and the progress of major projects, thus setting the tone for the province's key tasks for the year.

The atmosphere of peace came to an abrupt end as a consensus was reached on the overall strategic goals.

"Executive Director Lin!"

But then Tian Guofu skillfully pushed the notebook in front of him, leaned back in his chair, and turned to look at him intently.

Hey! They're here!

Shen Shanhe, who was sitting at the back eating sunflower seeds, suddenly lit up. It was a common understanding in Handong that Lao Tian would always cause trouble at every meeting, but he never expected that this time the target of the attack would not be rat poison or tall plants, but the bastard Lin Zhiyuan.

Hey!

Isn't this just the cycle of karma, where no one escapes the wrath of Heaven?

The Standing Committee members had mixed expressions, especially the two severely injured individuals, Gao Yuliang and Sha Ruijin. Gao Yuliang smiled and wiped his glasses again, while Sha Ruijin leaned back comfortably, finally getting his turn to be the top spectator.

Heaven has eyes!

"Secretary Guofu, do you have something to say?"

Lin Zhiyuan raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, there is!"

Tian Guofu felt a little uneasy under the astonished gazes of the crowd, but his father-in-law had said that if he was to supervise the entire Handong region, then he was to oversee the whole of Handong. He was still too soft and not tough enough when dealing with the provincial government faction.

However, a provincial discipline inspection commission secretary who follows the path of acting alone cannot have any weaknesses; otherwise, it is not called positive supervision but rather opportunism. In other words, if he cannot supervise Lin Zhiyuan or the provincial government faction, he is not worthy of advancement.

I, Tian Guofu, am only responsible to my superiors!

Tian Guofu gritted his teeth and told himself again and again, strengthening his belief. The pen clicked between his pale fingers. "Is there really a lot of work to be done at the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission? When Secretary Gao was in charge, problems frequently occurred. I can understand that he was old and frail and lacked energy. How come it is still not peaceful under the leadership of a young executive officer like you, Lin?"

Tian Guofu had no qualms about hitting tall plants, so he simply slapped people in the face and dragged Gao Yuliang out to give him a good beating.

The Standing Committee members almost lost their composure.

Gao Yuliang stopped wiping his glasses, his smile vanished, and he cast a cold glance at him.

Gou Dongxi!

If you're going to hit Lin Zhiyuan, then hit Lin Zhiyuan. Why do you have to kick him while he's down? You're just being a busybody.

"Everyone knows that Chen Hai and others, driven by revenge, have been recklessly attacking Comrade Hou Liangping, right? Now that you are concurrently serving as the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, shouldn't you protect the good cadres who have shed blood and sweat for the organization and nip this unhealthy trend in the bud?"

Tian Guofu raised his voice, seemingly to bolster his courage.

"Don't be nervous, Secretary Guofu."

Lin Zhiyuan's smile remained unchanged. "The conference room isn't big, and there aren't many people. We don't need such a loud voice, otherwise it will sound like your voice is trembling."

The others twitched at the corners of their mouths upon hearing this. Lin Zhiyuan, you're really something. Who told you to talk like that? Aren't you just directly implying that Secretary Tian is guilty?

If not handled properly, Tian Guofu, who had just escaped being labeled a "three-criticism secretary," would be burdened with other titles.

puff!

Fang Denggao finally couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry, I choked on my water. Please continue!"

Germ Rat Agent also curled his lip, "Tian Guofu, why don't you show that same reckless attitude you had when you were attacking me and the others!"

Why don't you go and do it!

"I would like to make a correction regarding what Secretary Guofu mentioned."

Lin Zhiyuan raised his hand to suppress the commotion in the room. "It is true that Chen Hai and others made a real-name report against Comrade Liangping. Their methods of obtaining clues were also illegal, but the clues they had were indeed related to Comrade Liangping."

"The reason why the provincial procuratorate did not accept any reports or tips recently is that the existing clues and evidence could not form a complete chain of evidence. This followed the judicial practice of presumption of innocence and was also based on basic trust in the organization's cadres."

"Regarding this issue, I had a phone conversation with Wen Jian of the Supreme People's Procuratorate. This phenomenon is by no means unique to Handong. The root cause lies in the integrity of the procedures. Cadres must report, and their units must verify, in order to prevent some unscrupulous individuals from making baseless accusations."

"But regarding this particular incident..."

"It's not that Chen Hai and others' reports were problematic, but rather that their methods of gathering evidence involved illegal acts such as violence and threats. Therefore, the Guangming District Public Security Bureau was responsible for their arrest and sent them for interrogation."

"As for how to prevent the occurrence of false accusations, this requires more comprehensive laws and regulations, as well as the joint cooperation, promotion, and improvement of the parties involved and relevant units, and of course, the routine verification by the discipline inspection department."

"Instead of being a Monday morning quarterback, waiting until all the underlying factors have come to light and the whole world knows before we start any so-called investigations."

"That's like patching up a rotten wall to fix a leak; that's not preventing problems before they arise."

"What do you say, Secretary Guofu?"

Lin Zhiyuan asked in return, unhurriedly.

Gee!

Tian Guofu gained nothing but criticism and was instead labeled as an incompetent hindsight expert.

"What Executive Director Lin said makes sense. I don't have a complete understanding of this case, and it's definitely not something that the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission did alone."

Tian Guofu immediately wrote a self-criticism.

Those who had been eagerly watching the spectacle looked disappointed. Tian Guofu, you can't do this either!

It posed no direct threat to Lin Zhiyuan.

It's better not to say anything.

At least they won't ruin the reputation they've worked so hard to build.

It won't be easy to stand it up again.

"but…"

Just a moment ago, Tian Guofu was bowing his head and admitting his mistake. He raised his head again, his eyes filled with murderous intent. "I have another matter to ask Executive Director Lin."

"What is the purpose of having a high-precision sniper rifle hidden in the back of Public Security Bureau Chief Qi Tongwei's car?"