Nominal: Starting with an entrance exam for a PhD in Economics at Peking University

In the following days, Luzhou City suddenly became lively.

First, a bunch of posts popped up on local forums. The titles were all sensational: "Government forces businesses to close, business environment in Luzhou is worrying," "A food court with an investment of 2 billion yuan is going to fail, whose fault is it?" "Who is Yi Xuexi? How can he make thousands of families lose their jobs with just one sentence?"

Below the post, a swarm of online trolls flooded in, posting hundreds of comments criticizing the government and its leaders.

Then several local media outlets suddenly started paying attention to the matter. Reporters, microphones in hand, blocked the entrance to the food court, interviewing the "innocent merchants." One "honest" barbecue vendor said to the camera, "We've been operating legally for over ten years, why should we be shut down just like that? The government can't be unreasonable!"

On the third day, a group of reporters with accents from other places appeared in Luzhou.

Armed with their cameras and microphones, they wandered around the food court, interviewing vendors and taking photos. That very evening, several articles were published on social media.

The titles are quite clever: "A Food Court with a 2 Billion Yuan Investment Faces Closure: Who's Pushing for It?", "From 'Key Project' to 'Thorn in the Eyes': A Private Enterprise's Life-or-Death Crisis", "Behind the 'Environmental Storm' in Lüzhou: Is it Pollution Control or a Suppression of the Private Economy?"

The article is cleverly written. It avoids mentioning pollution altogether, only stating that "it is said" there are problems with emissions now, but investigations over the past decade or so showed emissions were within acceptable limits. The focus is entirely on how badly businesses are suffering, how much investment they've made, how many jobs they've created, and how unreasonable the government is. Finally, it doesn't forget to ask—"Do such stringent environmental requirements exceed national standards? Is there something else going on?"

Public opinion began to ferment.

Various media outlets and individuals, unaware of the full story, began to reprint the article, though with milder headlines, but the meaning was similar. Some people online started criticizing Yi Xuexi, saying that he was "making a big show of things as a new official, but it was the small vendors who were burned down."

Zhao Ruilong sat in his office, scrolling through comments on his phone, a slight smile playing on his lips.

He understands the power of public opinion.

Back in the Dafeng Factory days, wasn't that how Chen Yanshi fought against Li Dakang? Although he later lost control of the situation and got burned.

But since I'm not an official, as long as it doesn't get out of the country, what impact could it have on him?

He wanted to see if Yi Xuexi could withstand it.

While the propaganda war was raging, another group of people also arrived.

A group of young people dressed in various styles of clothing began to wander around the food court. They didn't speak or cause trouble, but simply stayed in a few fixed locations.

This was Zhao Ruilong's backup plan—if public opinion couldn't be suppressed, the government would forcibly demolish the properties. In that case, they would lead the resistance.

Once a conflict occurs, regardless of who is right or wrong, the responsibility lies with the other party.

Last year, when Dafeng Factory was being demolished, weren't those workers protecting the factory in the same way? Wasn't that how Chen Yanshi fought against Li Dakang?

Now it's his turn.

On the fourth day, the city government received a lawyer's letter.

There's also a stack of materials.

The materials, weighing over twenty kilograms, were carried into the municipal government's mailroom by several young men in suits. Leading the group was a middle-aged man wearing glasses, speaking with a Beijing accent: "We are from the Beijing Mingda Law Firm, commissioned by the Food City Tourism Management Company to file an administrative lawsuit against the environmental rectification notice issued by the Luzhou Municipal Government. These are the relevant materials; please check them."

The people in the mailroom stared at the pile of documents, stunned.

This isn't indictment material; it's clearly a move.

The news quickly reached Yi Xuexi's ears. He looked at a few pages of the material and understood.

These lawyers aren't here to win the case.

They're here to stall for time.

The indictment was meticulously crafted, citing numerous sources, from environmental protection law to administrative litigation law, from local regulations to national policies, totaling over a hundred pages. The attached evidence was even more staggering—business licenses, environmental impact assessment reports, pollution discharge permits, historical monitoring data, precedents from other provinces and cities, and various approval documents were all readily available.

According to procedure, after receiving the complaint materials, the court needs to review whether to accept the case. This review takes time. After acceptance, the defendant needs to be served. Service takes time. The defendant needs to prepare their defense. Preparation takes time. Then comes the court hearing: first instance, second instance…

The entire process takes at least six months.

Even if administrative power is used to expedite the process, it will still take at least three months.

If it hasn't started after three months, Secretary Sha might have to replace him.

This is exactly what Zhao Ruilong wanted.

He doesn't want to win; he just wants to stall.

At nine o'clock in the evening, Zhao Ruilong sat in his hotel suite, and his mood finally improved a little.

The propaganda war has been effective, the legal team is in place, and those people are watching closely. Even if Yi Xuexi is tough, can he outmaneuver public opinion, the law, and those "innocent masses"?

But it still wasn't enough to vent my anger.

He picked up his phone and scrolled to a name he frequently contacted in his address book.

The note only has two words: Xiao Kou.

The phone rang a few times before being answered.

"Hello?" The voice on the other end was very low, as if they were in a place where it was inconvenient to talk.

"Brother Xiao, it's me, Ruilong."

There was a moment of silence on the other end, then the tone became warmer: "Oh, Young Master Zhao! It's been so long! How have you been?"

Zhao Ruilong leaned back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and said casually, "Not bad. What's Brother Xiao busy with?"

"Hey, it's nothing, just meetings, listening to reports, and giving reports," Xiao Gangyu said with a smile. "Young Master Zhao, please feel free to give any instructions."

Zhao Ruilong said, "It's nothing serious. I just wanted to ask Brother Xiao for a favor, to give someone a lesson."

"Who?"

"Easy to learn".

There was silence for a few seconds on the other end of the phone.

Then Xiao Gangyu's voice became cautious: "Yi Xuexi? The new mayor of Luzhou?"

"Yes, that's him."

Xiao Gangyu was silent for a moment, then said, "Young Master Zhao, this person was just promoted by Secretary Sha, and he's quite the rising star."

Zhao Ruilong chuckled: "He's riding high? Isn't that a good opportunity to cool him down? Brother Xiao, we don't need to go all out, just teach him a lesson. Let him know that some things can't be taken too far."

Xiao Gangyu did not respond immediately.

Zhao Ruilong continued, "You've been in the Public Security Bureau for so many years, with so many people under your command. Can't you handle this little thing? Just find a car and cause a minor collision with his or his family's car, give him a little trouble, and that will teach him a lesson."

Xiao Gangyu hesitated for a moment: "Young Master Zhao, this... he's currently a department-level cadre..."

“Brother Xiao,” Zhao Ruilong interrupted him, his tone tinged with laughter, “We’ve known each other for so many years, when have I ever wronged you? You helped me with this matter, and I appreciate it. I’ll treat you to drinks later, and there’ll be plenty of Moutai.”

Xiao Gangyu was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Alright, since Young Master Zhao has spoken, I'll think of a way. But you have to give me some time; we can't rush it."

Zhao Ruilong smiled: "No rush, no rush, Brother Xiao, take your time making arrangements. I'll wait for your good news."

"Okay, I'll hang up now."

Chapter 167 Democratic Life Meeting (Part 1)

After this series of attacks, Yi Xuexi was in a very difficult position, but he didn't have any good solutions and could only react to each move as it came.

First, they released photos of Crescent Lake before and after the pollution to gain the upper hand in public opinion through comparison. Then, they notified the court to expedite the judgment process. Finally, they put pressure on the food court through fire safety, environmental protection, and tax issues.

However, these measures are merely scratching the surface and cannot address the root cause.

If we only consider the economic aspect, Zhao Ruilong should have cooperated with the municipal government to carry out the demolition long ago.

However, at this point, the Zhao family was calculating political gains. They were concerned about whether easily backing down would lead to others taking advantage of them and seeing them as easy targets. This was the most important thing for them.

If Zhao Ruilong doesn't care about the losses and insists on fighting to the end even if it means losing money, then Yi Xuexi really has no good solutions.

Many times, many difficult problems are simply unsolvable at the level of the problem itself.

We must find a roundabout approach from another angle, or launch a counterattack from a higher dimension.

For example, if you can't solve the problem, solve the person.

Old tricks are fine as long as they work.

However, this tactic didn't work on Zhao Ruilong.

Or rather, it cannot be used from the beginning.

Therefore, Easy Learning can only proceed slowly within its authorized scope, gradually escalating events through proactive control.

He planned to gradually bring himself and the food court to a point of irreconcilable conflict, and then use anger as a pretext to resort to unconventional methods.

Whether it works or not is another matter, but at least Sha Ruijin needs to see his attitude.

……

On the other hand, Hou Liangping's transfer to a discipline inspection and supervision office of the provincial discipline inspection commission as deputy director also shocked many people.

Everyone was surprised that Governor Liu had reinstated him so quickly after removing him from office, and they all speculated about Governor Liu's next move.

But before any further developments could be expected, another piece of news emerged.

Hou Liangping got divorced, and this position was a divorce settlement given to him by his wife from a high-ranking official's family.

Everyone sighed, and there were all sorts of opinions.

Some envied the high-ranking officials' families for their greater tolerance for mistakes, while others mocked him for picking up a sesame seed and losing a watermelon. Still others speculated whether he would continue investigating the Qingshan gas field, and so on.

Most people are negative about whether he will continue the investigation.

No longer being the son-in-law of the Zhong family, how could he bear the responsibility of investigating the second province? Didn't he see that Chen Hai, the famous local second-generation of Handong Province, who was always the "other people's child" since childhood, has become despondent?

If it weren't for a good teacher supporting me, I wouldn't have been able to return to Handong University to become the deputy director of the Department of Political Science and Law.

Many people believe that even though he divorced Zhong Xiaoai, he still has children and a long-standing relationship with the Zhong family, and his connection with them remains.

However, this gesture of divorce doesn't convince people that they have no relationship, nor does it prove that Hou Liangping's actions were not authorized by the Zhong family. Rather, it represents a political severance:

He caused trouble, so you should beat him or kill him if necessary, but don't worry about me.

This stance wasn't meant for those below him. Even after the divorce, Hou Liangping wasn't someone a small fry could bully. It was meant for those at the same or slightly lower level than the Zhong family.

Therefore, almost everyone believed that Hou Liangping would not dare to continue the investigation without the Zhong family's endorsement.

No matter how much these two events are talked about, in the eyes of the administrators of Handong Province, the food city and Hou Liangping's new appointment are both minor matters and insignificant details.

The most important thing now is the upcoming democratic life meeting.

The notice for the democratic life meeting was issued a week ago.

From that moment on, the atmosphere in the entire provincial party committee compound changed. The small talk in the corridors lessened, the casual conversations in the canteen shortened, and even the elevators were so quiet you could hear your own breathing. No one said it outright, but everyone sensed—this meeting wouldn't be simple.

Rumors began circulating through various channels.

Some say that Secretary Sha is serious this time, and everyone will be thoroughly investigated. Others say that Gao Yuliang might be the main target, given the attack he faced at the last Standing Committee meeting. Still others say that Li Dakang won't have it easy either; any one of his past issues could be enough to cause him serious trouble.