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

Sha Ruijin didn't let that lead him astray and got straight to the point: "The trail has gone cold, but Zhao Ruilong is involved, and I think you're aware of that. I need you to step forward and say something—say that Zhao Ruilong once worked on the Dafeng Factory matter and was involved in it."

He spoke calmly and unhurriedly, as if discussing a routine administrative matter: "With this in place, it would be perfectly logical to invite Zhao Ruilong to the Discipline Inspection Commission to explain the situation. He's a spoiled brat with a weak will; once he's actually in that chair, it shouldn't be difficult to find a breakthrough."

Li Dakang did not answer immediately this time.

He was silent for a moment.

This silence wasn't a sign of consideration; it was a sign of restraint.

“But Secretary Sha,” he began slowly, his tone flat, “Zhao Ruilong has not contacted me. I don’t know whether he has contacted Ding Yizhen.”

Sha Ruijin looked at him and said five words calmly: "This is a good option."

Li Dakang's eyes narrowed slightly.

He didn't speak, and his expression didn't change much. He simply shifted his gaze from Sha Ruijin's face to the teacup, staring at the small circle of floating tea leaves for a long time.

This time, the silence lasted even longer.

He mentally went through the ins and outs of the matter, the meaning behind the words, and all the possible and impossible solutions he could think of.

Finally, he raised his head again, his gaze calm.

“Secretary Sha, this is baseless.”

The phrase “莫须有” carries a very special historical weight in the Chinese language.

It is not a neutral expression. Every Chinese person who has read history books knows who stands behind these three words and who is oppressed by them.

Sha Ruijin could naturally hear Li Dakang's resistance and knew that he had been a bit unruly, but he was still provoked by the words "fabricated charges." He said in a deep voice:

"Arrested on the spot? Comrade Dakang, are you saying that I am Qin Hui, and Zhao Ruilong has become the unyielding Yue Fei?"

Li Dakang then realized his mistake and quickly said, "Secretary Sha, that's not what I meant..."

“No need to explain.” Sha Ruijin raised his hand to interrupt him, his tone becoming calmer. “I know this is a bit unconventional, but Comrade Dakang, you and I are both people who want to get things done, as you know—if everything is done in a rigid, rule-by-rule manner, nothing can be accomplished, or at the very least, efficiency will be greatly reduced.”

He paused, then subtly changed the subject:

"Back in Lincheng, you once said that anything not prohibited by law is permissible. It was precisely because of your courage that Lincheng was able to achieve such great success. How similar is the current situation to what you were doing back then? Liu Xinjian and Xiao Gangyu have both been admitted to the Discipline Inspection Commission. No matter how much they resist, the truth will eventually come out. It's only a matter of time."

His voice was steady, with an undeniable certainty: "Why not make some adjustments and speed up the process? You know the situation in Handong. The sooner this problem is solved, the sooner we can get rid of this historical burden, and the sooner we can focus on development and the economy. The longer it is solved, the sooner the 80 million people of Handong will benefit. Time waits for no one, Comrade Dakang."

Li Dakang fell silent again.

Sha Ruijin didn't urge him or add anything. He just sat there, like a very heavy weight on the table, waiting for him to weigh and decide on the other side of the scale.

After a while, Sha Ruijin's voice rang out again, his tone even lower:

“I asked you before about Zhao Lichun’s matter, if you had any information to share. You said no, saying you didn’t want to be a traitor seeking personal gain.” He paused. “I won’t force you on this. I trust you.”

"but--"

When that "but" came down, something in Li Dakang's heart tightened slightly.

"We all know who's behind Xiao Gangyu and Liu Xinjian's corrupt clique. Is Zhao Ruilong truly innocent? I think you know the answer in your heart."

Sha Ruijin's tone became more direct: "If he weren't Zhao Lichun's son, and if he weren't protected by this special status, there are many ways we could have used to bring him in long ago. It's precisely because of this concern that we haven't acted rashly. That's why we need a breakthrough, we need someone to step forward."

He added one last sentence, his tone as usual, but it was like a stone thrown into a deep pool:

"Fighting corruption and promoting integrity is also a key focus of our team. Comrade Dakang, you have some legacy issues regarding the team's integrity building. Now, we can't hesitate any longer."

Li Dakang knew in his heart that this was already a warning to him.

However, the conditions proposed by Sha Ruijin seemed lenient. It seemed that all he needed to do was stand up and say that Zhao Ruilong had worked on the Dafeng Factory matter, and no concrete evidence was required. After all, Ding Yizhen, the person in charge, had died unexpectedly, and everything could be attributed to him.

The rest can be left to the disciplinary committee to handle.

But the fact that he stepped forward speaks volumes.

As Zhao Lichun's former secretary, one of the core members of the Zhao family's Han Dong faction, and one of the thirteen standing committee members of Han Dong, who would believe that Zhao Lichun is innocent when he stands up to report Zhao Lichun's son?

Li Dakang doesn't read the history of the Ming Dynasty. If Gao Yuliang were here, he could give an example from the history of the Ming Dynasty.

During the Wanli era, Zhang Juzheng's father passed away. According to custom, he was required to return to his hometown for three years of mourning. However, the reform was at a critical juncture, and Zhang Juzheng was unwilling to let his efforts go to waste. The young emperor and Empress Dowager Li were also unwilling to let him go. Thus, the decree of "reinstating him after mourning" was issued.

Memorials impeaching Zhang Juzheng for filial impiety flooded the palace gates like snowflakes, but Zhang Juzheng remained unmoved and ignored them, clearly determined to weather this storm.

Until those two memorials appeared.

The two who wrote the memorials were Wu Zhongxing and Zhao Yongxian.

These two men held minor official positions and were insignificant in the vast imperial court, but they shared a common identity—the protégés of Zhang Juzheng.

This is what truly struck Zhang Juzheng.

He could ignore the impeachments from the people, because they were merely attacks from his opponents. When an attack hits armor, it will only bounce off with a clang.

But his disciples are his own people.

When one's own people accuse someone of being unfilial, that's the real knife piercing the cracks in one's armor.

Zhang Juzheng broke down on the spot and submitted a memorial requesting to resign and return to his hometown to observe mourning for his parents. His attitude was extremely firm and did not seem like a show at all. It was not until the emperor dragged the two men out and beat them half to death in court, and then dismissed them from their posts and sent them back to their hometown, that the matter was barely considered over.

It's important to understand that in ancient times, the relationship between teachers and students was strongly bound together. If a student accused a teacher of being unfilial, it was like a son accusing his father of embezzlement—extremely difficult to clear one's name.

The current situation is strikingly similar to that period of history.

Although there is no longer such a strong personal bond, if Li Dakang were to say such things, it would have a huge negative impact on Zhao Lichun. How would higher-level leaders view Zhao Lichun?

Zhao Lichun didn't have Zhang Juzheng's power, so he certainly couldn't forcefully suppress it. Plus, he himself wasn't clean, so it's fair to say that he was basically halfway to his downfall.

Of course, it also affects Li Dakang; others certainly wouldn't dare to hire him. However, Li Dakang is not young anymore, and because of his wife and daughter's issues, he already has no room for advancement. So relatively speaking, the impact isn't that significant.

But if there's no impact, can we do it?

Li Dakang remained silent.

Sha Ruijin continued, “Comrade Dakang, I have been in Handong for more than half a year and I have some understanding of your situation. You are a politician with ideals and ambitions. I originally had no intention of getting you involved. I have tried my best to help you with all the problems you had before. Several times, if I hadn’t stood up for you in front of my superiors, you would not have been able to get through it on your own.”

This is an act of seeking repayment for a favor.

"But it's inevitable that we'll be affected, and some things are still not completely resolved, and I'm the one holding them back; besides, you're now in the final stage of your career, and I think you still want to do something practical for the Party and for the eight million people of Jingzhou, right?"

This is a threat.

Li Dakang, who had been hesitant, became more resolute upon hearing this, and he let out a long breath:

“Secretary Sha, I can’t do such a thing.”

The office fell silent for a moment.

The light from the window illuminated Sha Ruijin's silhouette clearly. He sat there motionless, his face revealing neither joy nor anger. But slowly, he turned his gaze away from Li Dakang's face and onto the rim of the teacup on the table.

"Have you made up your mind?"

Li Dakang looked at him without hesitation or doubt.

"I've thought it through. Let's proceed according to procedure."

Sha Ruijin did not speak again.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, put it down, then looked down and picked up a document on the table, his gaze fixed on it as if the conversation had never happened.

"Okay, you go back first."

Chapter 194 Past Events

When Li Dakang walked out of Sha Ruijin's office, his steps were still steady and his expression was normal.

His heart felt a little colder than when he arrived.

Sha Ruijin's words, though seemingly dignified, were at their core a brutal, life-or-death struggle.

He knew all too well. At this critical juncture, he was not qualified to remain neutral—even if he had the intention to remain neutral, he was also subject to the facts.

But he still refused.

The moment he was refused, he knew that Sha Ruijin would no longer trust him. It wasn't that Sha Ruijin lacked vision or magnanimity, but rather that at this point, Sha Ruijin no longer had the means to act with composure.

Moreover, trust in officialdom is never earned through character, but through choosing sides.

He refused to stand.

Therefore, he lost trust.

As Li Dakang walked out, he went over the matter in his mind again. He wouldn't betray Zhao Lichun, but Sha Ruijin had indeed taken good care of him in the past six months in Handong, and he felt indebted to him. He wouldn't take the initiative to say anything to Zhao Lichun.

He's caught in the middle, pleasing neither side.

Thinking of this, he gave a wry smile and shook his head slightly.

Having served as an official for so many years, he had been criticized behind his back by countless people. Even in his midnight dreams, he dared not call himself a good official—he had known about Ding Yizhen's affair for a long time.

He was not a good husband, a good father, or a good son.

But in the end, one must not abandon one's principles.

Bai Jingwen, who was in the outer office, greeted him with a smile when he came out: "Secretary Li, is it over? How did your chat with Secretary Sha go?"

Li Dakang smiled and said, "It's alright."

Bai Jingwen smiled ingratiatingly: "That's good. Are you going back to the Municipal Party Committee now?"

"Yes, I still have a lot of things to do over there. I can't stay idle." He paused, then added, "It should be fine after a while."

Bai Jingwen listened with some doubt—when do these leaders ever have a free time throughout the year?

But before he could ask a question, Li Dakang nodded at him and turned to leave.

Leaving his office, Li Dakang headed towards the elevator. He had originally planned to go straight downstairs to the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee to clear his head in his office. For many leading cadres, the workplace is where they can relax, while home is often a place where they drain their emotions and energy.

Li Dakang was the same way.

He stepped into the elevator, pressed the close button, and held his finger above the number "1" but hesitated to drop it.

A few seconds later, he pressed "5" as if possessed.

Sha Ruijin's office occupies the entire sixth floor, while the offices of the deputy secretaries and standing committee members are on the fourth and fifth floors. His own office as a member of the provincial party committee standing committee is also on the fifth floor, but he's not going to see his own office today.

He walked straight past the familiar office and deeper into the corridor.

Finally, he stopped in front of the office with the sign that read "Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee".

Luo Xuejun, who was outside, saw him and quickly came up to him: "Secretary Li, what brings you here? Do you need to see Secretary Gao?"