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

The three reached a consensus in just a few words, and this consensus will also be the consensus of the Handong Provincial Committee.

“Secretary Sha, Governor Jianjun, your words are profound. To put it bluntly, we are the officials in charge of Handong.”

If parents can't even protect the interests of their own children, and officials can't stand up for the people, what's the point of keeping our official hats?

Therefore, I am terrified!

I'm afraid if we don't address these issues, the people will find out and point fingers at us, cursing us for protecting each other and for bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

"Comrade Chen Luo, your concerns are valid. We in Handong will absolutely not allow such a situation to occur!"

At the height of his excitement, Sha Ruijin slammed his hand on the table, startling Zhou Jianjun, who turned and gave Sha Ruijin a resentful look. "Dude, aren't you overacting?"

Sha Ruijin realized that he seemed to be getting a little too into character, but what could he do when Chen Luo was so good at creating the right atmosphere?

It's normal that he couldn't help himself for a moment...

"Comrade Chen Luo, now that we've reached a consensus, let the police officers below investigate boldly! Turn Jiangning upside down and see who's protecting him, allowing him to be so arrogant and even provocative!"

“In addition to seeking victims in other provinces, I propose that we, the Handong Provincial Party Committee, apply to the Ministry of Public Security for full jurisdiction to investigate this case, so as to prevent any behind-the-scenes protectors from interfering!”

Zhou Jianjun provided further explanation.

The three of them spoke in unison, almost directly implying that Jiang Dehai was involved, but they all understood each other perfectly.

"Secretary Sha, Governor Jianjun, your suggestions are very constructive! I'll call Minister Wang right now!"

Chen Luo wasn't one to procrastinate, but this call was something he really had to make.

Ultimately, Jiang Ning is from the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau. It's fine for Handong to detain people, but if they want to gain the authority to handle the case, they need to give him a heads-up beforehand.

After saying that, Chen Luo took out his phone, found Minister Wang's number, and dialed it.

Sha Ruijin and Zhou Jianjun exchanged a glance.

While feeling envious, they also felt a pang of regret, since even they didn't have Minister Wang's private phone number.

The call was answered quickly.

"Hello, Mr. Wang, this is Chen Luo. I hope I'm not disturbing your work by calling you at this hour?"

Chen Luo turned on speakerphone, and Sha Ruijin and Zhou Jianjun could hear him clearly.

"It's Chen Luo. I was just about to call you, but I didn't expect you to call me first."

Are you going to talk about Jiang Ning, the son of Jiang Dehai, the Executive Vice Minister of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee?

"Wow! Mr. Wang, you're amazing!"

"Pah, stop flattering me, tell me, why did you people in Handong detain them?"

Do you know that just now, our Deputy Minister and Director of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, Comrade Wen Ping, complained to me?

They said that Handong was very domineering, detaining their municipal bureau personnel without giving a reason, which made them very resentful. I had to talk to them for a long time to calm Comrade Wenping down.

Can you tell me why now?

"Ahem, Mr. Wang, the situation is a bit special. We in Handong have no other choice but to do this!"

"That's how it is, Old Wang, this Jiangning..."

Chen Luo explained for a full five minutes. After learning about the specific situation and the facts of the crime in Jiangning, even Minister Wang was shocked and deeply angry.

"That bastard! He wears our police uniform and does more than twenty kinds of beastly things!"

If it weren't for the meticulous investigation by the head of your Handong branch, who would have known that Jiang Ning was actually such a scoundrel who violated discipline and the law behind the scenes?

"I agree to your request from Handong! I will have the Capital City Public Security Bureau cooperate with your Handong Provincial Public Security Department to conduct an investigation using police from another jurisdiction. No matter who is involved, we will investigate to the end!"

"Thank you, Mr. Wang!"

The call ended quickly, and Chen Luo breathed a sigh of relief. He had been prepared to be scolded, but the result seemed somewhat unexpected.

"Secretary Sha, Governor Jianjun, it's time to leave work now. I'll leave the Jiangning matter to the comrades below to investigate and collect evidence. I believe we'll have results soon."

Chen Luo said this because he really wanted to leave work.

"Alright, Comrade Chen Luo, Comrade Jianjun, let's end this meeting here."

But let's not rush to leave. Come to think of it, we've been working in Handong for so long, but the three of us haven't had a proper time to sit down and talk, exchange our experiences in development, and reach a consensus.

"Let's take this opportunity to have dinner together tonight, Comrade Chen Luo, Comrade Jianjun, what do you think?"

Zhou Jianjun was eager to have a good chat, so he nodded and agreed.

"I have time tonight, Comrade Chen, what about you?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Luo smiled and nodded.

“I also have time, Secretary Sha, Governor Jianjun, so I’ll take a look down there while I’m at it.”

"Row!"

Half an hour later, three Audi cars with ordinary license plates left the provincial party committee building, each driven by their respective secretaries, which was quite low-key.

It's 7 p.m. in Hexi District, Jingzhou City. Hexi District is the old city of Jingzhou. Although there are no tall buildings everywhere, the atmosphere of daily life is very lively.

"Comrade Chen Luo, everyone says that Jingzhou's nightlife is quite good, especially the roadside food stalls, which are very clean in terms of environment and hygiene. Comrade Dakang's awareness in this regard is quite good and can be considered quite advanced."

Let's grab a bite at a roadside stall later and experience the authentic, down-to-earth atmosphere that ordinary people love.

Chapter 361 Will-o'-the-wisps blasting the streets? An order from the three giants!

Chen Luo and Zhou Jianjun did not object to Sha Ruijin's suggestion. In fact, it didn't matter what they ate; the three of them hadn't really come together just to eat.

The three walked in front, chatting as they went, followed by their secretaries.

Liu Mingyu and Secretary Bai were old acquaintances, and the two chatted and laughed. Zhou Jianjun's new secretary, surnamed Chi, tried very hard to join in the conversation, but their relationship was still a bit distant, and she only occasionally chimed in.

And so, the group arrived at a grilled fish restaurant.

"Authentic Guizhou-style grilled fish? This restaurant looks good!"

Comrade Chen Luo, Comrade Jianjun, what do you think?

"Sure, Secretary Sha, we have no objections. You're the top leader, so we'll go wherever you point!"

Sha Ruijin pursed his lips upon hearing this. He wished he could have that kind of understanding in his work as well…

Three people sit at one table, and their secretaries sit at another table.

The task of ordering food was naturally left to the secretary, while Chen Luo, Sha Ruijin, and Zhou Jianjun began to talk about work.

"Comrade Chen Luo, the suggestion you gave me last time has yielded remarkable results recently! Since the rectification campaign for cadres of the provincial discipline inspection commission began, the number of corruption cases is several times higher than before the rectification campaign."

We must not only make our officials not want to be corrupt and unable to be corrupt, but we must also use iron-fisted measures to make them dare not be corrupt!

This not only accelerated the elimination of bad elements in the ranks, but also made those cadres who had been lazy, negligent, inactive, or acted recklessly realize that a sword of Damocles was hanging over them.

The public's response has been very positive; they all say that the cadres of our Handong Provincial Party Committee are cadres who do practical things for the people.

Upon hearing Sha Ruijin's words, Zhou Jianjun felt a mix of envy and other thoughts.

"Comrade Chen Luo, when you give suggestions to Secretary Ruijin, you can't forget our provincial government. Recently, I've discovered that some of our grassroots governments have significant problems."

Instead of focusing on the economy and people's livelihood, government officials are pursuing vanity projects and achievements. Their minds are not on serving the people, but on using false achievements to climb the ranks. In the end, it is the ordinary people who suffer!

This chaotic situation persists despite repeated attempts to curb it!

Comrade Chen Luo, do you have any good suggestions regarding this situation?

Chen Luo listened attentively, but did not rush to speak. This situation was not unique to Handong, but a typical case that existed throughout the country, mainly in three aspects.

The first step was large-scale demolition and construction.

Some local officials, in order to highlight their achievements, disregard practicality and spend huge sums of public funds to build landmark buildings, leaving the government heavily indebted while the officials simply walk away and climb the corporate ladder.

Of course, there are also some unrealistic idealists. In a county town with a population of over 100,000, they insist on building a super-large shopping mall. When it is completed, it is bustling with activity, but after a while, it suffers losses and closes down.

In the short term, employment rates have increased and economic development has improved, but the long-term drawbacks are numerous.

Secondly, there are absurd projects, the most typical example being the Yi Xuexi 10,000-mu tea plantation plan that Chen Luo refuted at the time.

Finally, there's attracting investment, which is where the chaos and complexity are most profound.

Ultimately, it comes down to the irresponsibility of local officials and the problems with the system itself. The debts remain even after the officials leave, and there is no accountability or safety net.

Each new arrival incurs a debt, and with each new arrival comes another debt. If this continues, local finances will not only face difficulties, but will also require them to constantly drain resources from higher levels of government.

These problems are complex to solve, and Chen Luo doesn't have any good ideas in the short term. After all, he is human, not a god, and he has his own limitations.

"Governor Jianjun, you know that these problems cannot be solved in a day or two, nor can they be resolved by one or two policies. However, one thing is certain."

The so-called "new officials don't care about old debts" is a habitual problem that cannot be ignored. New officials must settle old debts, and old officials must also take responsibility!

We in Handong can establish an evaluation mechanism. The appointment and removal of cadres should be based on scientific standards. We can no longer use the old-fashioned short-term economic approach as the sole criterion for promotion; we need comprehensive evaluation and assessment.

Zhou Jianjun and Sha Ruijin listened attentively. Just as the three were having a great time talking, a deafening roar of an engine came from afar.

The three of them looked in the direction from which the sound came, and saw several brightly colored vehicles roaring past at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour.

It's even going against the flow!

The woman riding the electric scooter was so startled that she lost her balance and fell onto the road.

That wasn't the end of it. A rumbling sound came from afar again, and several more ghost cars sped past.

Chen Luo and the other two frowned as they watched, and almost simultaneously got up and went to the road to help the woman who had fallen up.

"Comrade, are you alright?"

Chen Luo's tone was gentle when he asked the woman, but she endured the pain, revealing large abrasions on her arm and shaking her head through gritted teeth.

"It's alright, it's alright, thank you handsome guy, and thank you to the two uncles as well."

"Don't worry about me, this little injury is nothing. I'll just put some iodine on it when I get back. It's not the first time; these guys cause trouble in the streets every day, nobody can control them."

These words acted as a fuse, causing Zhou Jianjun and Sha Ruijin's anger to rise rapidly.

"Lady, what do you mean by 'no one can control her'?"

This question was asked by Sha Ruijin.

"Hey, what's so special about that? These flashy motorcycles that rev their engines on the street aren't cheap at all."

Those who don't have a certain level of financial strength simply can't afford to play these games. In the end, they're either the sons of bosses or wealthy businessmen, or the children of officials. Besides motorcycles, they also own supercars and the like.