In name only: I will break the chess game in Handong

Sha Ruijin did not inform Zhou Jianjun of the good news, so Zhou Jianjun remained cautious.

"Is there something you need, Secretary Hua Bo?"

"It's like this, Comrade Jianjun. The recent dispute between Jianghai and Handong has been investigated and clarified. It was a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding. It was the cadres of Lieshan County who concealed the truth. I only just learned the truth myself. I'm really sorry!"

Zhou Jianjun immediately understood.

“Secretary Hua Bo, speaking of misunderstandings, where did all these misunderstandings come from? Secretary Hua Bo, you are a veteran Party member, and you should have more experience with the situation at the grassroots level than we do. How could you believe the lies told by the grassroots and then accuse us in Handong?”

We in Handong are truly wronged! Secretary Hua Bo, I'm only letting it go because you're almost ten years older than me.

After all, I understand the hardships faced by older comrades. They're getting old and nearing retirement, yet the lower-level cadres don't respect them. What kind of deception is this? It's already good enough that they didn't directly confront them. What do you say, Secretary Hua Bo?"

"Yes, yes, Comrade Jianjun is right!"

Liu Huabo said this through gritted teeth.

“That makes sense, Secretary Hua Bo. Jiang Hai’s misinterpretation has caused great reputational damage to Handong. We don’t care about ourselves, but the grassroots police officers have been wronged. Putting everything else aside, we should at least give them compensation, right?”

"compensate?"

"That's right. After all, our comrades in Handong have been working overtime these past few days to prove Handong's innocence. The overtime expenses they've spent are well over 100 million yuan."

“Comrade Jianjun, I understand. In that case, we, Jianghai, will contribute this 100 million yuan as an apology to our comrades in Handong.”

"Ahem, well then! I'll reluctantly accept Secretary Hua Bo and Jiang Hai's sincerity on behalf of our comrades in Handong!"

"But Secretary Hua, wouldn't this be putting you in a difficult position?"

"No problem, no problem, it's all as it should be!"

"Okay, thank you, Secretary Hua Bo."

"No, no, no, it is we from Jianghai who thank the comrades from Handong for not holding this against us."

"It's alright. We in Handong are magnanimous and not petty. Secretary Hua Bo, I'll hang up now if there's nothing else."

After saying that, Zhou Jianjun hung up the phone without any hesitation, leaving Liu Huabo with an extremely ugly expression.

Chapter 312 Chen Luo Criticizes Liu Huabo Again

"What's with the attitude!"

This time, Liu Huabo didn't smash the phone again. Although he had a spare phone, he needed to ask his secretary to get it. He only had two phones at home, and if he smashed it again, he would have no way to make calls.

However, Liu Huabo felt he had already dealt with the two most difficult ones; the remaining one, Chen Luo…

Even if a young man has some connections, shouldn't he at least show some respect to a provincial party secretary?

After brewing a pot of tea and calming down a bit, Liu Huabo finally got through to Chen Luo on the phone around 9:30 p.m.

"Hello, is this Comrade Chen Luo?"

In Chen Luo's home in the provincial party committee compound in Handong, Chen Luo had just finished showering and was in bed preparing to sleep. Zhang Nian looked at Chen Luo with eyes brimming with desire, and Chen Luo also felt a little dry and longing.

Just then, the phone rang, breaking the tranquility.

"Honey, answer the phone first, work is more important."

Chen Luo did not refuse, but reluctantly picked up the phone and saw that it was an unknown number.

"Hello, who are you?"

"Is this Comrade Chen Luo? I am Liu Huabo, Secretary of the Jianghai Provincial Party Committee. Comrade Chen Luo, I heard that your signature is also on the document that Handong reported to Zhongyang. Comrade Chen Luo, young people should not be too arrogant. The tallest tree in the forest will be felled by the wind. Do you understand this principle?"

When Chen Luo heard that it was Liu Huabo, the secretary of the Jianghai Provincial Party Committee, he had already suppressed his frustration, since he still wanted to get some benefits. However, the other party started lecturing him, which Chen Luo couldn't stand. Since the relationship had already been ruined, what did it matter if he didn't give him face?

"Did Secretary Hua Bo make this call just to reprimand me, a young man? If so, Secretary Hua Bo didn't need to disturb my rest so late at night."

Ambition knows no age; without ambition, one lives a wasted life. Secretary Hua Bo is indeed very experienced. However, Secretary Hua Bo, I, Chen Luo, have worked my way up from township party secretary to my current position step by step. The saying "the tallest tree in the forest is the best tree in the forest" is utter nonsense!

Secretary Hua Bo wants to teach me how to do things, but I think it's better to mind your own business first. Even a county party secretary in Jianghai dares to play you for fools, so I don't think Secretary Hua Bo can teach me anything or keep me in the dark.

I really don't need it!

"Comrade Chen Luo, how dare you!"

"Insolence? Secretary Hua Bo, what gives you the right to speak to me like that? My direct superior is Secretary Xu of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, and my responsibilities are only with the Handong Provincial Party Committee and Zhongyang. Secretary Hua Bo, you have overstepped your bounds!"

"Chen Luo, can't you show some respect for the older comrades?"

Upon hearing Chen Luo mention Secretary Xu of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, Liu Huabo's momentum waned by half.

However, they still managed to maintain a semblance of dignity by using the excuse of respecting the older comrades.

“If the old comrades are indeed worthy of respect, I, Chen Luo, will have no objections. I have met quite a few old comrades, including Director Xiao of the Supervisory Commission, Director Xu of the Development and Reform Commission, Secretary Xu of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, and even the Second Grand Secretary. These old leaders and comrades would not be as lacking in discretion as Secretary Hua Bo!”

Or is it that Secretary Hua Bo, you are more correct than these veteran leaders and comrades, demanding that I, Chen Luo, respect you, Liu Hua Bo, as much as I respect these leaders?

After he finished speaking, Liu Huabo fell silent. At this moment, anything he said would be wrong, so he simply pretended to be dead.

He, a provincial party secretary, was not openly confronted by his peers Sha Ruijin and Zhou Jianjun, but ended up being defeated by Chen Luo...

After listening for a long time without any sound coming from the phone, Chen Luo spat and hung up immediately.

"Husband, you..."

Seeing Zhang Nian's worried face, Chen Luo smiled and shook his head, "It's okay. You can't tolerate this kind of old-fashioned person. The weaker you are, the more they will take advantage of you. Besides, Liu Huabo is almost sixty-five years old. He has no chance to advance any further. Don't be afraid of him."

Zhang Nian rolled her eyes.

"That……"

"Of course, we'll continue!"

Chen Luo's spirits were not affected, but Liu Huabo, who was far away in Jianghai, couldn't sleep.

His heart pounded. He knew Chen Luo's background was powerful, no less so than Sha Ruijin's or Zhou Jianjun's, but when Chen Luo uttered those names, he knew he couldn't pull off a scam.

His hand holding the teacup was trembling. The reason was simple: he suddenly realized that Chen Luo and those other people were all graduates of the same school, and their relationship was probably closer than he had thought.

The once fragrant tea now tasted bland, and Liu Huabo, increasingly worried, took out his phone and called his former boss.

"Hey, old Party Secretary, you're still awake, aren't you?"

“Hua Bo, I was planning to call you anyway, but I must solemnly remind you that it’s okay to have conflicts with Sha Ruijin and Zhou Jianjun, but as for Chen Luo, don’t underestimate him just because he’s young. His backers are incredibly powerful. Don’t be foolish enough to think that Sha Ruijin and Zhou Jianjun are hard to deal with and go looking for trouble with Chen Luo.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Huabo felt a pang of bitterness; it seemed this reminder came a little too late.

"Um... old secretary, is it true that Chen Luo and General Manager Zheng have a connection?"

"It's not just General Manager Zheng who's protecting him; to be precise, everyone above him has high hopes for him, understand? You must have heard about Luzhou's situation. Do you think Chen Luo's future will only reach the ministerial level?"

"Old Party Secretary, if I were to say, if..."

"There are no 'ifs'!"

Liu Huabo fell completely silent after that.

"Don't worry, old secretary, I will definitely not make such a low-level mistake."

Liu Huabo was feeling guilty when he said this.

After hanging up the phone, Liu Huabo didn't hesitate and immediately dialed Chen Luo's number to explain. However, the first call went unanswered, and the phone was switched off when he tried to call back.

"Damn it! Liu Huabo, you're incredibly stupid!"

A good night's sleep was wonderful for Chen Luo, but for some people like Liu Huabo, it was a sleepless night. The next morning, Liu Huabo, with dark circles under his eyes, called Chen Luo at 8:30 sharp.

Chen Luo, who was carrying his briefcase and about to leave, received a phone call but did not hang up this time.

"Secretary Hua Bo, are you trying to lecture me based on my seniority?"

"Pah, pah, pah! Comrade Chen Luo, I misspoke last night. I was so angry that I lost my temper..."

"Secretary Hua Bo, I don't quite understand."

"Comrade Chen Luo, I sincerely apologize to you and hope that you can forgive my unintentional words."

"Secretary Hua Bo, are you trying to tell me it's okay? But last night I truly felt the oppressive power of the Provincial Party Secretary. If I weren't brave enough, I probably would have been criticized by you, Secretary Hua Bo."

"Comrade Chen Luo, I am so sorry!"

Chen Luo nodded slightly.

“An apology is unnecessary. But Secretary Hua Bo, our police officers in Handong have been detained for several days. Compared to the injustice I have suffered, they deserve more attention and comfort.”

Chapter 313 Showing off the spoils of war, accompanying people to pick up

"Comrade Chen Luo, so what you mean is..."

“Secretary Hua Bo, I am the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of Handong. I am the commander-in-chief of this operation to crack down on telecom fraud and pyramid schemes. I plan to personally go to Lieshan County to bring back our heroic police officers from Handong. If possible, I hope that two leaders from Jianghai can also come so that our police officers from Handong can know that they have done nothing wrong and that they are completely innocent!”

How could Liu Huabo not understand the implied meaning?

In the entire Jianghai region, there are very few people who can be referred to as "leaders" by Chen Luoyong. Excluding retired veteran comrades, only Liu Huabo and Governor Qiu Heping are eligible.

Such a grand reception... Liu Huabo's lips twitched involuntarily, but he still took a deep breath and agreed.

"Comrade Chen Luo, I understand. Governor Qiu of the provincial government and I are not busy these days. Comrade Chen Luo, you set a date, and Governor Qiu and I will come over in person. It's a good opportunity for us to clean up those parasites in Lieshan County!"

"Secretary Hua Bo, let's set it for Monday the day after tomorrow."

"Okay! Monday it is!"

After hanging up the phone, Chen Luo got into his car and headed to the Provincial Party Committee. At 10 a.m., in the small conference room of the Provincial Party Committee, Sha Ruijin, Zhou Jianjun, and Chen Luo met again. This time, in addition to the three of them, Gao Yuliang, Tian Guofu, Wu Chunlin, Li Dakang, Zhao Dagong, Qi Quansheng, Yang Yanhua, and others were also present. Only Lu Zhengan was not there.

The undercurrents in Handong and Jianghai these past few days could not be kept secret. People below were speculating, and even Standing Committee members like Li Dakang only had a general understanding that it was related to the detention of Handong police officers, but they knew nothing about the specific process and outcome of the confrontation.

At first, they didn't say anything because they thought Li Dakang and the others couldn't help, but now that the results are in, it's natural to announce them. This is what Sha Ruijin and Zhou Jianjun wanted.

The purpose... of course, is to tell everyone that although we may not have a strong presence within the province, we are still very capable outside of Handong and we are protective of our own!

To put it bluntly, it's about showcasing the "victories".

The first to speak was naturally Sha Ruijin.

"Comrades, I've called you all here today because I have something to share with you. I'm sure you all know something about the police officers from the Xicheng District Public Security Bureau in Lincheng being detained by Lieshan County in the neighboring Jianghai Province."

The Lieshan County Party Secretary maliciously spread rumors, causing a dispute between me, Governor Jianjun, Comrade Chen Luo, and Comrades Liu Huabo (Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee) and Qiu Heping (Governor) of Jianghai Province.

This matter even reached Zhongyang. Now, the problem is resolved; the fault lay with Jianghai. Comrade Liu Huabo, the Secretary of the Jianghai Provincial Party Committee, has taken my advice and removed the Lieshan County Party Committee and the County Public Security Bureau Chief from their positions. The Director of the Jianghai Provincial Public Security Department has also been criticized and given a major demerit!

This is the result of his work, Sha Ruijin!