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

Upon receiving the news.

Lin Zhiyuan was sitting in Wu Chunlin's office opening champagne, the opening match had come to a perfect end.

"Why did the person in charge of the gerbil poisoning operation flee immediately after taking office?"

Lin Zhiyuan shook his head and swayed his body, sipping the tea as if it were a vintage 82 Lafite.

"Get ready to answer the phone above!"

Wu Chunlin scoffed.

"Sigh, it's your senior who should be answering the phone."

Lin Zhiyuan shook his finger, "I only pointed out the unreasonable aspects of the new class monitor proposal, but you rejected the entire proposal, senior."

"Moreover, the list of 126 people was also compiled by you and Secretary Liao."

Wu Chunlin was also a student at Peking University, a few years ahead of Lin Zhiyuan, but Peking University itself is a label, especially for those at their level, most of them have some overlap.

For example, the phone call before I came to Handong and Li Daxun's recommendation both came from this good senior.

Wu Chunlin's expression was serious and he didn't smile. "I was just fulfilling my duty as the organization minister, and I had a reasonable explanation."

"Secretary Liao is a ruthless man!"

Lin Zhiyuan took a sip of tea and sighed.

"Um."

Wu Chunlin nodded in agreement. "To be honest, I always thought the old leader was quite weak. As the provincial party secretary selected by the organization, he always maintained the Zhao family's core group. Before leaving, he even picked out most of the department-level and above cadres with deep connections and excellent work skills from the mixed environment to curry favor with the new secretary."

"But now..."

"Hehe, I've only just figured out a bit of the old leader's methods and shrewdness."

"If Secretary Sha takes over, he can completely break free from the old stories of Handong and truly land safely; but if he is full of doubts as he is today, then this list of 126 people will be the fuse that kills the new secretary."

Even if Sha Ruijin really eliminates all of Zhao's faction's influence, he won't have the energy to pursue a former secretary who has been transferred out.

"You can still escape the fire."

"I've been by the side of the old Party Secretary for so many years, from being his secretary to being sent to a post outside the region, and now, I'm afraid I've learned less than half of the methods."

Wu Chunlin's voice was filled with endless sighs.

"Secretary Liao will always be Secretary Liao; he has never been anyone's subordinate."

Lin Zhiyuan laughed and said, "Otherwise, Governor Liu would not have been able to clean up the provincial government so smoothly over the past four years, after all, he was the newly appointed governor of Handong Province."

"Liu Kaihe will not be investigated by the higher-level discipline inspection commission."

"After nearly 20 years of management, Zhao Lichun's Handong Group was reduced to just four years later, with only Gao Yuliang's Handong University faction and Li Dakang's secretary faction remaining."

"Under pressure, he conceals his brilliance; in times of turmoil, he strategizes meticulously. Secretary Liao is a remarkable man!"

Lin Zhiyuan rarely admires anyone, but former provincial party secretary Liao Zhiping is definitely one of them. "His methods are more subtle than Governor Liu's and milder than Sha Ruijin's. I'm afraid Zhao Lichun might not even realize it now. Secretary Liao is the real number one person to oppose Zhao."

As expected, none of those who were able to secure a place under Zhao Lichun were ordinary people.

"What are your plans next?"

Wu Chunlin asked curiously, "Did they use the absence of Secretary Sha and Secretary Tian to lure that monkey in and kill Gao Yuliang?"

Gao Yuliang is not Li Dakang. Li Dakang is adept at opportunism and self-preservation, but Gao Yuliang is not. He was able to rise from an ordinary civil servant family. While he was certainly shrewd and talented, the real reason why every influential person ultimately placed their bets on him was his integrity: "To repay the emperor's kindness, I would die for him."

Even though he divorced Wu Huifen in order to get on the Zhao family's good side, he never mistreated Wu Huifen or the Wu family.

Their collaboration continues.

Although the marriage is over, Gao Fangfang is still alive, and the child is the ultimate guarantee for the alliance of interests.

and so…

Gao Yuliang might turn to Lin Zhiyuan for self-preservation, but he would never betray him or be 100% loyal, because he needs to be loyal to too many people and things.

"The Zhao family is very obedient now..."

Lin Zhiyuan didn't answer directly, but said something inexplicable.

But Wu Chunlin understood:

Zhao Lichun is under a lot of pressure right now. In order to seek external support, he will most likely signal Gao Yuliang to lean towards Lin Zhiyuan. However, the Shatin group will frantically try to win over any forces they can in order to counter Lin Zhiyuan.

In order to protect themselves, the Zhao family might try to shift the blame onto Gao Yuliang.

"By then."

Wu Chunlin's eyes lit up. "Gao Yuliang might now have the opportunity to openly and legitimately dismantle the Zhao family's dilapidated ship. This isn't his betrayal, but the Zhao family's betrayal."

"No one can find fault with him."

"So he has been frantically cleaning up any possible stains on his record recently, and has people protecting Gao Xiaoqin and her child to eliminate all worries. He is going all in and taking another gamble."

"If you win, you'll land safely; if you lose, you can choose to take either me or Sha Ruijin with you. Either way, you won't lose out."

Wu Chunlin seemed to have met another top chess player, radiating an excited and eager feeling.

He's also eager for the position of full-time deputy secretary!

"So one monkey isn't enough to deal with this old fox; we have to tear him apart completely."

Lin Zhiyuan leaned back in his chair, his arms closed, exuding a relaxed, vacation-like feeling. "Hou Liangping is the external knife, and Tian Guofu can be the internal hook."

"And you, senior..."

Lin Zhiyuan opened his eyes and stared straight at him, "Don't be like that good-for-nothing Tian Guofu, who only cares about the third-place position in the province. That kind of promotion path is too slow."

"Now, the career advancement for full-time deputy positions is more about transitioning to provincial governorships in other provinces, and then to provincial party secretaries. That way, your biggest advantage—age—is gone."

Wu Chunlin's lips twitched.

Good guy!

You think you're so great now, you don't even care about the provincial third-place finisher.

"Then you tell me! I want to hear your opinion."

Wu Chunlin said dismissively.

But their ears were already perked up, not wanting to miss any crucial details.

"The second-in-command of either the science and technology department or the industry and information technology department!"

Lin Zhiyuan said calmly.

"What?!"

Wu Chunlin suspected that there was something wrong with his ears. Although the second-in-command was at the same level as him, that was a ministry under the Academy, which was closer to the central government, had more opportunities, and held completely different power.

"What...what should I do?"

Wu Chunlin believed that his junior schoolmate wouldn't joke about something like this.

"We're hiring!"

Lin Zhiyuan chuckled, "With so many projects underway in Handong now, you need to recruit a bunch of capable... well, talented people. Especially in infrastructure and engineering fields."

"With the existing cadres and so many universities in Handong, aren't there enough for you to cause trouble?"

Wu Chunlin remained silent.

"This isn't enough!"

Lin Zhiyuan's eyes darted around, revealing a sly smile.