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

The Chuzhou Municipal Party Committee and Government building was brightly lit. No officials had left work, nor did any dare to. Just like yesterday in Chuzhou, everyone was on edge, busy with their work.

A convoy of vehicles slowly came to a stop at the entrance.

Han Shiwei got out of the car first, opened the back door, and bowed respectfully, saying, "Secretary Gao, we've arrived at the Municipal Party Committee."

"Thank you for your hard work, Comrade Shiwei."

Gao Yuliang took a long stride down and solemnly said, "On behalf of the Provincial Party Committee, I entrust the Municipal Bureau to you. Please make sure that the comrades at the grassroots level remain calm, do not be arrogant, impatient, or panicked, and do your best to shoulder the heavy responsibility of maintaining stability."

"We guarantee the mission will be completed."

Han Shiwei saluted, glanced at the Jiangdong team members standing ten steps away who dared not approach easily before turning around, and without saying a word, got into the passenger seat and drove away with the convoy.

But two cars remained.

The two fully armed elite police officers who came down from above always kept a distance of no more than three steps.

"Secretary Gao, welcome to Jiangdong to oversee the overall situation."

Li Sheng, the full-time deputy secretary of the Jiangdong Municipal Party Committee who is temporarily in charge of the municipal party committee's work, and Qin Shuangbi, the mayor of Jiangdong, quickly stepped forward to greet them.

"Comrades Shuangbi and Lisheng, the situation in Jiangdong is urgent, so let's skip the formalities and convene a meeting of the Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee to brief them on the situation and let me meet the members of the Jiangdong leadership team."

Gao Yuliang's executive jacket seemed to blend into the darkness, his face appearing and disappearing intermittently, giving people a strange illusion.

The two groups of people seemed to be on different dimensions; what others saw was merely an illusion. It was precisely this indistinguishable sense of reality that brought greater pressure.

A calm voice rang out, getting straight to the point without beating around the bush.

"Okay, Secretary Gao."

"All members of the team are here."

Qin Shuangbi and Li Sheng exchanged a glance, both seeing the apprehension and unease in each other's eyes. They couldn't understand why this lone Secretary Gao, whose situation had been rumored to be dire before the new year, was even more terrifying than before.

However, they responded very quickly on the surface.

We have to hurry!

Whether it's Gao Yuliang, who was parachuted in from the provincial level, or the armed police officers protecting him, they all point to one thing: the provincial party committee has absolutely no trust in Jiangdong.

Apart from Cao Minde, the former secretary of the Jiangdong Municipal Party Committee, and Min Zhong, the executive vice mayor who was cooperating with the investigation by the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, and Qian Laizhi, the secretary of the Provincial Political and Legal Committee, the other nine members of the Standing Committee were present.

The meeting room was completely silent.

Only the dim, yellowish light from above fell on everyone.

Gao Yuliang sat upright in the main seat, his fingers tapping the table repeatedly. With each tap, the hearts of the people below became a little more unsettled.

His gaze swept across the entire room.

Ultimately, the focus shifted to Li Sheng, who, as the full-time deputy secretary who did not concurrently serve as the secretary of the municipal political and legal affairs commission, had always closely followed Cao Minde's propositions.

Calling him a confidant and spokesperson is not an exaggeration.

Li Sheng noticed the gazes directed at him and couldn't help but swallow hard, but he was also mentally prepared to make a clean break.

He had long anticipated that Cao Minde's downfall would inevitably drag him down with him.

But with his words stuck in his throat, Gao Yuliang's gaze shifted to Qin Shuangbi, the mayor of Jiangdong City.

"Comrade Shuangbi, as the deputy leader in charge of Jiangdong's economic development and social recognition, and also the superior of the Municipal Bureau, are you aware of Chang Hui's violations of rules and regulations? How much do you know about the Dark Night Club and its actual controller, Si Tianyu?"

Gao Yuliang asked.

"Secretary Gao, I don't know much about Comrade Chang Hui. He usually reports his work in the public security system to Secretary Qian Laizhi of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, and his reports to the municipal government are often just formalities."

Qin Shuangbi was nervous but not flustered, and reported on her work in an orderly manner. However, as she spoke, she glanced strangely at the person in the main seat.

This "good work style and habits" ultimately came from the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission and the Provincial Public Security Department, but with Gao Yuliang above them keeping things under control, the municipal governments of various cities have not dared to say anything for so many years.

"continue!"

Gao Yuliang's face twitched. It was all Qi Tongwei's fault, that stupid disciple. He had privately warned him countless times, but Qi Tongwei just wouldn't change his ways, and he was even affecting the cadres below him.

"Neither the Supervision Bureau, the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, nor the Procuratorate reported his misconduct, so I did not notice it in time."

"I apologize!"

"Secretary Gao, it was my dereliction of duty."

Qin Shuangbi bowed deeply, his attitude respectful and his words sincere, and one could vaguely see the shadow of an old friend in him.

Gao Yuliang rubbed his temples. He had left the provincial party committee, so why were there still familiar people and things everywhere?

"Sit down and talk."

Gao Yuliang spoke again.

Qin Shuangbi quietly wiped the sweat from his forehead, secretly marveling at how effective his senior brother's moves were. But now it was time to get serious.

"I am aware of the illegal operations of the Dark Night Club."

Qin Shuangbi's eyes flashed with a fierce light. Someone had to take the blame for what happened in Jiangdong. As the deputy squad leader, he couldn't escape it, but he would try to minimize the blame if possible.

"Subordinate cadres have repeatedly reported that he provides paid services, keeps unidentified thugs, and many cadres come and go for meals and drinks, which has a very bad influence."

"I have issued special operations orders to the municipal bureau several times and actively cooperated with the provincial government in carrying out the crackdown on organized crime. However, Chang Hui always submitted either minor issues that were not worth mentioning or excuses that the municipal bureau's main focus was on the Hundred Cities Campaign. I originally wanted to severely reprimand him for his inaction, but the municipal bureau repeatedly cracked cases in the Hundred Cities Campaign. Considering the overall impact, I had to suppress my thoughts."

"Secretary Qian even recommended him several times at the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee to take up the post of vice mayor in charge of political and legal affairs and petitions."

"I had no choice but to privately pull Secretary Li aside and have an internal talk with Cao Shu... Cao Minde."

"But Cao Minde rejected my proposal on the grounds that Chang Hui was highly professional and had received system commendation, and that gray areas should not be controlled too strictly."

"Si Tianyu himself maintained close contact with many cadres, and spent his days leading his subordinates to provoke trouble, provoke public officials, and threaten ordinary entrepreneurs. Each and every one of these acts was outrageous."

"Therefore, I wanted to shift my investigation from the Dark Night Club to Si Tianyu himself, but before I could take action, the news leaked out. The next day, Si Tianyu held a donation ceremony for 100 million yuan, making it known throughout the city."

"Investigating him at this time might trigger negative public opinion, so I have to postpone the plan again."

"Secretary Gao, Secretary Li can vouch for me. I swear by my faith and am willing to fully cooperate with the Discipline Inspection Commission's investigation. I absolutely have no dealings with Cao Minde, Chang Hui, Si Tianyu, or their ilk."

After listening to Gao Yuliang's long-winded explanation, he confirmed one thing: this guy had many minor flaws but no major problems.

Furthermore, regarding the current rectification campaign in Handong...

Qin Shuangbi can be trusted!

As for why?

Because this guy is just a smaller version of Li Dakang, and they have a close relationship.

Ha ha!

Old rival, it's time for your secretarial gang to surface.