Courtyard House: From Deputy Division Commander to Civilian, Progressing All the Way

Once the gears of a great power's rejuvenation begin to turn,

This requires someone to constantly add lubricating oil or use a knife to cut away the sand and gravel stuck in the gears.

Lin Yang slowly turned around and walked to the conference table.

On the table were the few rough porcelain teacups that Liang Qiming and the others had left behind.

The tea was filled with cheap tea dust, and the tea was completely cold.

Lin Yang glanced quietly at the teacups.

He stretched out his large, strong hands and picked up the nearest rough porcelain teacup.

Without the slightest hesitation.

Lin Yang flipped his wrist, the movement decisive and fluid.

Splash!

That cold, bitter cup of tea, representing the hypocrisy and weakness of the old bureaucrats,

He cleaned it up neatly and efficiently.

It was all poured into the rusty spittoon in the corner of the conference room.

The crisp sound of the teacup hitting the bottom of the spittoon was particularly jarring in the quiet First Conference Room.

Lin Yang didn't even glance at the few local officials who were trembling with fear. He grabbed a black jacket from the back of a chair next to him, casually draped it over his arm, and strode out of the large classroom filled with the bureaucratic atmosphere of the old era.

Shen Yan quickly gathered up the meeting minutes on the table and hurried after him.

Outside the corridor, the blazing southern sun streamed through the mottled glass windows, and the air was still filled with that damp, sultry, and salty smell.

Chen Feng stood guard at the stairwell like an iron tower. When he saw Lin Yang come out, he immediately straightened his back.

"Sir, the security perimeter of the Special Economic Zone has been thoroughly reviewed." Chen Feng reported in a low voice, his cold and hard face exuding a strong sense of menace. "The anti-sabotage team has been divided into four squadrons, patrolling the perimeter of major joint venture construction sites 24 hours a day. As for those local thugs and overseas spies who have been apprehended, their confessions have been extracted overnight, implicating several local protectors. The list is all here."

Chen Feng handed over a thin, confidential document.

Lin Yang didn't answer, he just glanced at it indifferently.

"Don't bother showing me the list. Give it to Shen Yan and have him pass it on to the disciplinary inspection department of the Joint Administration of the Special Administrative Region. Tell them that if these names are still on the roster within three days, I'll send my bodyguards to invite them for a chat."

Lin Yang walked steadily down the worn-out cement stairs.

"The special economic zone is set up. I've established the rules, and I've left you the knife. Chen Feng, you'd better keep a close watch on this place."

"As long as we're here, we'll hold the position!" Chen Feng slammed his feet together, making a solemn vow.

When He Yuzhu arrived at the jeep covered in yellow mud in the management committee compound, he had already opened the door and was holding onto the edge of the roof with both hands.

"Commander, shall we return to Dark Harbor Zero?" He Yuzhu asked.

Lin Yang sat in the back seat and shook his head.

"To the train station. Back to the special train."

Lin Yang leaned back in the leather seat, closed his eyes, and tapped his fingers lightly on his knees.

"The fire that started in the Southern Special Economic Zone has already spread across half the sky. Foreign investment has come in, and technological barriers have also been erected. As long as they play by the rules of 'market for technology,' this land will eventually incubate our own high-tech industrial clusters."

He slowly opened his eyes, his deep gaze seemingly piercing through the metal of the jeep, looking towards the distant northern hinterland.

"However, the faster the machines in the special economic zone run, the more terrifying their energy consumption becomes. Without electricity, these precision machine tools brought back from overseas are just a pile of scrap metal. Without steel, those skyscrapers that rise from the ground are just castles in the air."

Lin Yang turned to look at Shen Yan in the passenger seat.

"Shen Yan, has there been any fluctuation in the data from Handong recently?"

Shen Yan immediately opened the black confidential briefcase he never parted with and pulled out a thick report bound in a red folder.

"President, the economic data for Handong District over the past three months can only be described as a meteoric rise."

Shen Yan pushed up his black-rimmed glasses, his tone carrying a hint of undisguised amazement, but also a deep sense of worry.

"The 'North-to-South Power Transmission' mega-project promoted by General Manager Zhao Lichun in Handong is progressing at an alarming speed. He bypassed the traditional waterway coal transportation and directly built six mega-scale thermal power plants with a capacity of one million kilowatts at the pitheads of several super-large coal mines in Handong. This is equivalent to converting coal into electricity on-site and then transmitting it directly across thousands of kilometers to the southern special economic zone through an ultra-high-voltage transmission network."

"This solution is incredibly efficient, completely resolving the energy shortage in the special economic zone. But..."

Shen Yan paused slightly, his brows furrowing tightly.

"But what?" Lin Yang's voice was calm and unwavering.

"However, Chief Steward Zhao's style of doing things in Handong has already caused great controversy." Shen Yan gritted his teeth and reported the truthfully, "In order to forcibly push forward the construction of these six pithead power stations, he used almost cruel methods. Local resistance, environmental approvals, and even the relocation of dozens of existing villages, he adopted the 'act first, ask questions later' forced demolition model for all of them."

"What's even more terrifying is that, according to reports from our informants in Handong, Zhao Lichun is conducting a ruthless purge within the Handong officialdom, a 'those who obey me prosper, those who oppose me perish' approach. Any local official who raises objections to the Kengkou Power Station project, regardless of rank, is marginalized by him on some pretext, or even framed and imprisoned. Now, the entire administrative system in Handong has practically become Zhao Lichun's 'independent kingdom'."

The jeep bumped along the potholed dirt road.

A deathly silence fell over the carriage.

He Yuzhu, driving in front, couldn't help but sneer upon hearing these words: "That guy surnamed Zhao is getting bolder and bolder. Back in the days in the basement of the Ministry of Heavy Industry, he was beaten like a dead dog. Now that the leader has given him enormous power, he's acting like a local tyrant in Handong. Leader, should I lead a team over there and overturn his throne?"

Lin Yang ignored He Yuzhu's request to join the fight. He looked out the window at the construction sites rushing past, his eyes becoming incredibly dark.

Zhao Lichun is an exceptionally fine knife.

The reason Lin Yang defied public opinion and placed this ambitious and scheming man in Handong was because he valued Lin Yang's ruthless execution ability to achieve his goals.

Handong is a tough nut to crack. If the traditional moderates go there, they'll be devoured by the deeply entrenched local clan forces and outdated bureaucrats, leaving not even scraps. Only a dragon like Zhao Lichun can keep those local bullies in check.

He truly accomplished it. Six mine-mouth power plants with a capacity of one million kilowatts each—what an earth-shattering feat! With this almost tyrannical rule, he firmly safeguarded the energy lifeline of the Southern Special Economic Zone.

However, he committed the most fatal taboo in officialdom.

He distorted the "reform privileges" granted to him by Lin Yang into a personal weapon for establishing his own faction and eliminating dissidents.