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

Qi Tongwei's timing this time was extremely precise.

On the surface, he was supporting Sarrikin's strategy.

In reality, he mixed in his own agenda.

With no vacancies among the thirteen Standing Committee members, replacing a vice governor who does not have voting rights in the Standing Committee is something Sha Ruijin can accept.

But this could greatly strengthen Qi Tongwei's control over the provincial government and also send a signal to the rest of the Handa gang—I am capable of leading everyone to progress.

This also serves as a statement to Sha Ruijin – I only want to manage my own government's small territory.

Sha Ruijin's expression was subtle, and he remained silent for two seconds.

The venue was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Gao Yuliang's gaze shifted back and forth between the two men.

Li Dakang frowned, seemingly deep in thought.

Tian Guofu remained expressionless, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

After a moment, Sha Ruijin smiled.

"I think it's a good idea." He nodded, his tone becoming more relaxed. "Let's check it out together."

Chapter 129 Teacher Gao's keen insight

Sha Ruijin agreed, and Governor Liu did not object. Seeing this, the other Standing Committee members naturally did not cause any further trouble.

The proposal was accepted without any fanfare.

Next came the appointment of Hou Liangping as the head of the anti-corruption bureau.

Because Hou Liangping was an official parachuted in from above and was to assume the sensitive position of director of the anti-corruption bureau, Sha Ruijin had a special talk with him before the meeting and made special arrangements, making it the only proposal that needed to be voted on at this Standing Committee meeting.

During the voting process, the atmosphere in the meeting room became subtle.

Sha Ruijin was the first to raise his hand, his gaze sweeping across the room from left to right. Tian Guofu followed suit, raising his hand decisively.

Other members of the Standing Committee also raised their hands.

Li Dakang, however, remained seated and motionless.

At this moment, Hou Liangping is vying with Zhao Donglai for control of Cai Chenggong's case. At this critical juncture, Li Dakang naturally has to think things through.

Gao Yuliang's lips curled into a half-smile, his voice unhurried: "Secretary Dakang, do you think Hou Liangping is my student, so..."

He deliberately left the conversation there.

Li Dakang raised his eyelids, his tone so calm that no emotion could be discerned: "This Comrade Hou Liangping from Beijing is truly your student, Secretary Yuliang."

Gao Yuliang nodded slightly and tapped his fingers lightly on the table twice: "That's right, he's my student. But I didn't transfer him to Handong."

As soon as he finished speaking, Sha Ruijin took over, his voice steady and powerful: "Hou Liangping's transfer to Handong is for a special mission. This was an arrangement jointly decided by the leaders of the Supreme People's Procuratorate and myself after discussion. Comrade Tongwei is also aware of this."

Qi Tongwei nodded with a smile, which was considered confirmation.

Li Dakang immediately raised his hand, his tone becoming more positive: "I have no problem. I agree to the appointment of Comrade Hou Liangping."

Sha Ruijin nodded in satisfaction: "Alright, it's passed unanimously."

He flipped through the meeting minutes, gave a brief summary of today's content, and then closed his notebook: "That concludes today's meeting. Meeting adjourned."

Tian Guofu followed Sha Ruijin away, his steps steady. Li Dakang returned to the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee, intending to contact Zhao Donglai to inquire about the situation.

Qi Tongwei followed Gao Yuliang at a leisurely pace, all the way to the office of the deputy secretary of the provincial party committee.

The moment Gao Yuliang entered the room, his entire aura changed.

He reached up and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, his face revealing an unusually stern expression, his brows furrowed deeply. The effortless composure he displayed in the conference room was completely gone.

Qi Tongwei acted as if he hadn't seen anything, and chuckled as he directed Luo Xuejun, who had followed him in: "Xiao Luo, make me a cup of tea too, Longjing, strong."

Gao Yuliang stared at him, as if he had punched thin air. The pent-up anger in his heart immediately dissipated, and he sighed, his voice carrying three parts helplessness and seven parts exhaustion: "The newcomer is not friendly, Tongwei."

After Luo Xuejun finished brewing the tea, Qi Tongwei waved his hand and sent both secretaries out. As soon as the door closed, he said with a smile, "Teacher, you see, he's in a hurry again."

Reversing the Heavenly Gang!

Gao Yuliang was so angry he laughed, pointing his finger at Qi Tongwei: "You little brat, Qi Tongwei, you've got too big for your britches now, huh? You even dare to make fun of me now."

Qi Tongwei picked up his teacup and blew on the steam: "This is not mockery, I am putting what I have learned into practice. The fact that you are angry, teacher, just proves that I have learned well."

The atmosphere became a little more lively.

Qi Tongwei put down his teacup, his smile fading, and said seriously, "Teacher, this is one of the reasons why I insisted on taking over the Han University gang ahead of time, despite your displeasure. Our Secretary Sha is a very decisive person."

He paused, lowering his voice slightly: "I would like to transition smoothly, but he might not give me that opportunity. He's the top leader, and I'm just the executive vice president right now. My position isn't legitimate. If I don't plan ahead, I'll only be able to assist him and carry out his orders when the leadership transitions next year."

Gao Yuliang's expression relaxed, and he leaned back slightly on the sofa.

In this life, at least he wasn't fighting alone. Although Qi Tongwei remained silent at the Standing Committee meeting, the target of criticism was Xiao Gangyu from the Liang family, and Qi Tongwei was already being very lenient by not kicking him while he was down.

Moreover, there's no reason to expect him to step into the mud for something so shameful.

The key point is that as long as Qi Tongwei is sitting there, he gives Gao Yuliang confidence.

Gao Yuliang's lips curled into a meaningful smile: "If you hadn't come and caused all this trouble, Secretary Sha might not have been so determined to hold Xiao Gangyu accountable this time."

Teacher Gao, after all, was not reborn, so he didn't know that in his previous life, Sha Ruijin was fixated on the grave-crying incident.

The matter of being reborn cannot be discussed openly, but Qi Tongwei has his own explanation.

He laughed and said, "Teacher, let's make a hypothetical scenario. If I hadn't come to Handong, and Sha Ruijin had become the sole ruler, what would he have done to quickly seize control of the situation in Handong?"

Gao Yuliang fell into deep thought, his fingers unconsciously stroking the rim of the teacup.

Qi Tongwei continued, "The normal approach is to proactively communicate with local forces and seek their support."

Gao Yuliang nodded.

"But you've seen Secretary Sha's character today," Qi Tongwei paused, "He's not one to use gentle methods. His more likely approach is to first demonstrate his authority and let others willingly submit to him. Do you agree with that?"

Gao Yuliang remained silent, his eyes deep and unfocused.

Qi Tongwei picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said slowly, "Showing authority is nothing more than a show of force. There are two tigers in Handong now. Li Dakang is at a disadvantage because of Ding Yizhen's matter and his wife's alleged problems. He will definitely try his best to get close to Secretary Sha in order to get through this."

"What about you, teacher?"

Qi Tongwei's voice softened, as if afraid of disturbing something: "You are upright, so the problem will naturally be found by looking for a loophole in the Han University gang. Even if I didn't come, at this Standing Committee meeting, without Director Xiao, some other director would be brought up to make a fuss."

"Han University has had many problems over the years. Many of the officials under you and Li Dakang are problematic. They can be caught easily. It's just that you are in charge of political and legal affairs, so it looks better on the surface."

Gao Yuliang gave a half-smile: "So, according to your logic, how will things develop next?"

Qi Tongwei glanced at him, carefully choosing his words: "Then I'll venture a guess. Teacher, your personality is outwardly flexible but inwardly principled. It's the exact opposite of Li Dakang's personality. Although Secretary Dakang usually appears tough, he doesn't hesitate to show his softer side when facing power. This may be related to his background as a secretary."

"And facing Secretary Sha's pressure, what about you, teacher..."

Qi Tongwei glanced cautiously at Gao Yuliang's expression. Seeing no displeasure, he continued, "Having lost any chance of advancement, they're likely to adopt a confrontational stance. And given Secretary Sha's personality, the final outcome..."

He paused, then lowered his voice even further: "It's very likely that even if you land safely, you'll be severely injured. You might even have difficulty landing."

In this life, Gao Yuliang, under Qi Tongwei's influence, did not divorce Teacher Wu, nor did he have any financial problems. However, with so many problematic officials under his command, investigating them would still be a huge hassle.

It's not that not embezzling means you can't break the law. Many things depend on whether the higher authorities investigate or not.

Just like Li Dakang, the deputy mayor of Lincheng ran away, and then Ding Yizhen emerged in Jingzhou.

Even setting aside Ouyang Jing, many people don't believe that all his subordinates are corrupt officials, and that he himself has no problems at all.

But with Sha Ruijin's help, they landed safely.

At this moment, Gao Yuliang's expression became increasingly serious, and his overall demeanor became increasingly tense.

He stood up, walked to the French windows, turned his back to Qi Tongwei, gazed at the scenery outside, and pondered for a long time.

Qi Tongwei quickly explained, "Teacher, I was just overthinking things, you don't need to take it seriously."

Gao Yuliang did not answer, but turned around, his gaze sharp as a knife, staring straight at Qi Tongwei.

He suddenly asked a question that shocked Qi Tongwei, even horrified him:

"Tongwei, has the situation become this dire? Is the Central Committee about to take action against former Party Secretary Zhao Lichun?"

Qi Tongwei's heart skipped a beat, but he remained outwardly calm and quickly denied it: "No, that's not true. Why would the teacher ask that question?"

Gao Yuliang stared intently at Qi Tongwei's expression and asked, word by word, "Because in your assumption just now, there was a premise that was too obvious. You assumed that Sha Ruijin would definitely kill either me or Li Dakang."

“I am the deputy secretary of the provincial party committee, a former deputy-g-level secretary. It’s just that I’ve had some confrontational stance with Sha Ruijin—not even a real confrontation yet—and I’ll be retiring to the second line in a year. Why is he so determined to take me down?”

Gao Yuliang's voice grew increasingly heavy: "Although Secretary Sha has a strong personality, he wouldn't be in his position if he were to persecute someone who doesn't cooperate. Unless..."

He paused, then said slowly and deliberately, "Unless the higher-ups are going to take action against former Party Secretary Zhao Lichun. Tongwei, you came all the way from Beijing, did you hear something?"

wonderful!

However, if he was not careful in his words, Teacher Gao would have caught on and directly addressed the core issue.

In his previous life, Gao Yuliang also met his end because of his misjudgment on this crucial issue.

Teacher Gao also knew that Zhao Lichun's recommendation of him for the position of provincial party secretary, along with the list of 125 cadres to be promoted in Handong, was a taboo. That's why Sha Ruijin was parachuted in from above.

But he always thought that Sha Ruijin's mission was just to break up the Zhao family's political influence in Handong. He never expected that the higher-ups would directly target the source.

This is human nature. The higher the official's rank, the less likely they are to take certain things that are taken for granted seriously.

Zhao Ruilong embezzled so much and violated so many Party disciplines and state laws; he should have been dealt with long ago. But Zhao Lichun's rank blinded Gao Yuliang.

Qi Tongwei secretly admired him:

You can say Teacher Gao is bad, but you can't say Teacher Gao is bad.

But he would never admit it at this time. When the Organization Department spoke with him, his task was to maintain the stable economic development of Handong.

It's estimated that only Sha Ruijin and Tian Guofu know about Zhao Lichun's affair in the entire Handong region.

This is also the basis on which Tian Guofu dared to attack Gao Yuliang at the Standing Committee meeting, and it is not simply due to Sha Ruijin's instruction.

Otherwise, how could he have offended a powerful local deputy secretary of the provincial party committee who was about to retire? Even though Tian Guofu had his eye on Gao Yuliang's position.

Aren't you afraid of a cornered beast fighting back?

Qi Tongwei's background wasn't mentioned to him either; it was a form of protection. As long as he focused on developing the economy, avoided pitfalls, and proceeded step by step, promotion would naturally follow.

This is a privilege reserved for people with connections.