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

Qi Quansheng played the straight man, and Zhao Dagong then turned his gaze to Zhou Jianjun and said quietly, "If I remember correctly, Governor Jianjun made a promise when he transferred Li Shangli to Handong. If a cadre who is guaranteed by a governor can be corrupt, wouldn't the comrades below be even more unscrupulous?"

"Comrade Dagong, tell me, how do you want me to take responsibility!"

Zhou Jianjun also lost his temper. Since Li Shangli had already fallen from power, he simply stopped pretending.

At worst, he can simply resign and retire as governor of Handong Province. In any case, he has already been promoted to the ministerial level, and his hopes of going any higher are slim.

"Does Governor Jianjun think I'm being unreasonable?"

"Is not it?"

Zhou Jianjun loosened his tie and stared directly into Zhao Dagong's eyes without any hesitation.

The scene became somewhat chaotic for a moment. Chen Luo didn't know whether to look at Qian Zhiming's unpredictable expression or at the fight between Zhao Dagong and Zhou Jianjun, but the one who was most troubled was Sha Ruijin.

"Alright, alright, this is a Standing Committee meeting! Not a vegetable market. Governor Jianjun will personally write to Zhongyang to admit his mistakes. You don't need to worry about that, Comrade Dagong. Now let's discuss how to deal with the corruption in the province's grain system!"

"Secretary Sha, what else can we do? According to the law and regulations, hasn't Qiu Yongbao already been arrested by the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection?"

"By arresting a department-level official without a word, is the work of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection under the responsibility of Secretary Guo Fu or Comrade Jia Renli?"

"Secretary-General Qian, what do you mean by this?"

Does this mean Comrade Renli was wrong to arrest them? Should corrupt officials be allowed to go unpunished?

Tian Guofu stared intently at Secretary-General Qian.

Secretary-General Qian shrank back and chose to remain silent; he couldn't afford to offend Tian Guofu at the moment.

Looking at the chaotic scene, Chen Luo sighed. He had a feeling that Jia Renli's investigation wouldn't end like this.

And that is indeed the case!

In the provincial discipline inspection commission's inquiry room, Qiu Yongbao, director of the provincial grain department, looked at Jia Renli, who was sitting upright opposite him, with a sense of helplessness.

"Secretary Jia, I've already said that I truly knew nothing about the corruption issues that occurred in the Provincial Grain Department!"

If you have evidence, then please use the law to judge me, instead of having the disciplinary committee comrades drag me from my office here and interrogate me like a criminal without saying a word!

"If you don't let me leave, I'll report you, Jia Renli, to the provincial party committee for abusing your power!"

"Director Qiu, you're quite angry, aren't you? Or did you eat too much? Do you think that without evidence, our Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection would take you away in front of a group of staff from the Grain Bureau?"

Confess and you will be treated leniently; resist and you will be punished severely. According to the information we have obtained from the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, of the illicit gains from the resale of state-reserved grain by various grain stations in Handong, the grain stations received 20%, the grain bureau received 20%, and the remaining 60% was given to you!

The bank statements that were seized couldn't be faked. When we arrested you, our provincial discipline inspection commission staff also searched your home. The card was well hidden, but unfortunately, we still found it.

A total of 1.24 billion yuan was transferred in, and 890 million yuan was transferred out. The outflow of money was deposited into three identical bank cards, each containing approximately 300 million yuan. Who owns these three cards is something our provincial discipline inspection commission wants to know.

Qiu Yongbao, who had been confident that he wouldn't be arrested, suddenly turned red in the eyes and stared intently at Jia Renli.

"You guys were so fast!"

"It's just experience, no need to praise it."

"Jia Renli! I'm warning you, this is the end, or you'll face consequences you can't bear, and the Handong Provincial Committee will absolutely not allow you to continue the investigation!"

"Tsk, interesting. You mean the owners of these three cards are all extraordinary?"

I'd guess he's at least a vice-provincial level official, right?

Upon hearing this, Qiu Yongbao's lips twitched slightly.

"A hint of disdain? It seems it's not just a matter of deputy provincial level officials; there probably aren't ministerial-level officials involved, right?"

"Jia Renli, shut up!"

"It seems I guessed right. I heard from people at the Jingzhou Municipal Grain Bureau that this phenomenon is not only in Handong, but is also rampant in other provinces. At that time, I wondered if the higher-ups knew about it. They should know, right?"

Now it seems I have the answer.

If I'm not mistaken, one of the three cards that were transferred was from the vice governor of Handong Province who was in charge of the grain department.

The other one is most likely the director of the State Grain Administration, which is under the National Development and Reform Commission. As for the last one... well, it's probably a ministerial-level position...

It's not easy to guess, but I remember you served as the director of the State Grain Administration for eight years. The previous director of the State Grain Administration was transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture as minister five years ago.

The nationwide shift between old and new grain supplies is so obvious, it's impossible that this person wasn't aware of it. Tsk, you really managed to create a complete closed loop!

"You! You! You! Jia Renli! Are you really going to keep harping on this? Since you could guess it, you should know that if this matter is exposed, it won't just be a problem in Handong, but a problem for the whole country—it's a shocking scandal!"

Upon hearing this, Jia Renli's eyes instantly turned murderous.

"You still know it's a shocking scandal! The organization trusted you and put you in important positions to be responsible for national food security, but you bunch of rats have turned around and embezzled?"

Do you think you've lived up to the expectations of the people and the heavy responsibilities entrusted to you by the Party? Have you lost all your conscience?

After saying that, Jia Renli walked straight up to Qiu Yongbao and raised his arm high, which frightened Qiu Yongbao so much that he immediately closed his eyes, afraid of being slapped.

As a result, Jia Renli simply grabbed his chest and ripped off the gleaming Party emblem.

“Wearing it on you is a stain on the Party emblem! You bastard, you don’t deserve it!”

Chapter 339 Little Jia's Move is a Royal Flush

Qiu Yongbao's last breath escaped him; he didn't know if his three leaders were alive or not, but he was certain he was doomed.

The debate in Handong was far from over, and Zhou Jianjun was getting really annoyed by Zhao Dagong.

"okay!"

Zhou Jianjun slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and looked at Zhao Dagong, saying, "Comrade Dagong, you just want me to take responsibility, right? I'll grant your wish. I'll write to Zhongyang right now and have them handle my problem!"

And you, Comrade Dagong, you want to wait until I'm transferred from Handong so you can become the governor? Let me tell you, that's absolutely impossible!

"You don't believe me? Just wait and see!"

After saying that, Zhou Jianjun left directly. The meeting ended unhappily, and Sha Ruijin stood up and announced the meeting was adjourned. Everyone then filed out.

As soon as he left the conference room, Chen Luo called Jia Renli. His premonition was growing stronger; this guy would definitely not stop investigating just by going as far as the director.

The call was answered quickly.

"Hello, Comrade Renli?"

"Secretary Chen, is the meeting over?"

Jia Renli's tone was somewhat serious when he asked the question, and Chen Luo rolled his eyes immediately upon hearing it.

"Comrade Renli, just tell me, who have you found out about?"

Judging from your tone, this matter is more complex than just a matter of a department head. Please explain everything in one go so that I and the Handong Provincial Party Committee can have a clear understanding of the situation.

"Um... Secretary Chen, you guessed perfectly!"

Currently... we've narrowed it down to about three people.

Who are they?

"One is the vice governor of Handong Province in charge of grain work."

"The vice governor? Oh, thank goodness. The person in charge of the grain department couldn't possibly be unaware. It was expected. What about the other two?"

Chen Luo was still quite relaxed at this moment.

"The other one is Wei Chen, the director of the State Grain Administration!"

Upon hearing this name, Chen Luo visibly frowned.

After all, they weren't cadres from Handong, so dealing with them would be much more troublesome. However, it wasn't impossible to remove them. The State Grain Administration was a department under the National Development and Reform Commission, so it would just be a little more complicated.

"And the last one?"

Chen Luo pressed for answers, but Jia Renli remained silent, causing Chen Luo's heart to sink.

With a series of thumps, Chen Luo, recalling Jia Renli's impressive record, cautiously inquired about it.

"Comrade Renli, could this involve cadres at the deputy-level position?"

"Cough cough!"

These words startled Jia Renli, who quickly shook his head and replied, "Secretary Chen, it's not that bad."

"Oh, that's good, that's good. The deputy-level cadres are handled in a very special way. I'm not afraid, but the other standing committee members of Handong..."

"Secretary Chen, what are you thinking? The last one is Gu Anqiang, the current head of the Ministry of Agriculture."

"It's him? I remember that five years ago he was the director of the State Grain Administration, but now that you mention it, it seems reasonable."

"Secretary Chen, it's not impossible that deputy-level cadres might be involved, after all, there are no secrets that stay hidden forever."

Is it really true that the head of the directly subordinate department was unaware of this?

"Ahem, Comrade Renli, don't worry about this for now. We in Handong will only investigate this matter up to Gu Anqiang. Don't forget, for these three people, we in Handong can only submit the evidence to the higher-ups for them to handle. As for the others... let the higher-ups decide for now."

"for the time being?"

"Pah! Look, you scared me so much I misspoke. Comrade Renli, that's all for now, I'll hang up."

After finishing his sentence, Chen Luo hung up the phone. His immediate priority was to pass the message up the chain of command; he wasn't Hou Liangping.

Even when beating a dog, you have to consider its owner. Before submitting evidence to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, there are some phone calls you have to make.

After rushing home, Chen Luo went to his study, gently closed the door, and then took out his phone to call his senior, Director Xu of the National Development and Reform Commission.

"Hey, senior!"

"Huh? You're not calling me 'Director' this time?"

Chen Luo gave an awkward smile.

"Senior, there's something I need to tell you first!"

Hearing Chen Luo's formal tone, Director Xu frowned and nodded, saying, "Alright, go ahead!"

"Just today, Comrade Jia Renli, the deputy secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of Handong Province, received a report that more than half of the national grain reserves under the jurisdiction of the various grain bureaus under the Handong Provincial Grain Department have been resold by these corrupt officials!"

The warehouse was empty...

After a full day of arrests and interrogations, the basic results are now in. Besides the vice governor of Handong Province in charge of the grain department, Wei Chen, the director of the State Grain Administration under the National Development and Reform Commission, is also implicated.

"Comrade Wei Chen? This is somewhat unexpected. It's surprising that a veteran comrade at the vice-provincial level is involved..."

"Senior, is this difficult to handle?"

"It's not that bad. It's just that Wei Chen is approaching retirement age. If it's not a big problem, we should let him retire peacefully. After all, you know that sometimes you can't push people too hard."