Hou Liangping arrested a hawkish general, and his father-in-law panicked

On his epaulettes, the two golden stars still shone coldly under the gloomy sky.

He is the chief of staff of the 20th Group Army, Major General Zhou Shoujing.

Zhou Shoujing was not particularly tall, but his eyes were sharp. He did not pause for a moment as he swept across the building of the local armed forces in front of him. In his eyes, the building was no different from a stone on the side of the road.

The iron-blooded aura he exuded from the training grounds of blood and fire was incompatible with the several pampered local officials around him.

At the gate of the compound, Senior Colonel Chen Weiguo, Minister of the Jingzhou Armed Forces, had already been waiting there with a group of cadres.

Chen Weiguo is a typical soldier with dark skin and a straight body.

Seeing the convoy, he immediately stepped forward and first gave Zhou Shoujing an impeccable military salute.

"Chief of Staff Zhou! Chen Weiguo, Chief of the Jingzhou Armed Forces, reports to you!"

The voice was loud and echoed in the empty yard.

Zhou Shoujing just nodded slightly and returned the greeting. His movements were concise and powerful, without any unnecessary polite words.

His gaze had already passed over Chen Weiguo's shoulder and reached deep into the courtyard, trying to see through the layers of walls and find the person he was looking for.

This silent feeling of oppression made Chen Weiguo, a division-level cadre, feel a tightness in his back.

He quickly turned sideways and greeted several provincial leaders: "Secretary Sha, Secretary Gao, Governor Li, Director Qi."

His enthusiasm was tinged with cautious nervousness.

Sha Ruijin's expression was serious. He reached out and shook Chen Weiguo's hand, saying in a deep voice, "Comrade Weiguo, we are here today on an extremely urgent mission. We would like to request the full support of your armed forces."

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!"

Chen Weiguo stood at attention and answered without thinking.

A group of people walked into the armed forces building.

Unlike the magnificent government buildings outside, everything here is simple and tough.

The terrazzo floor was polished to a shine that reflected people's reflections.

A military map hangs on the wall, with the inscription: "Obey the Party's command, be able to win battles, and have a good style of work."

The slogan is bright red and eye-catching.

The air was filled with the faint smell of gun oil and the unique smell of sweat from soldiers.

From time to time, cadres in military uniforms walked through the corridor. When they saw them, they immediately stopped, stood at attention and saluted. There were no unnecessary movements during the whole process. It was so quiet that only the sound of uniform footsteps echoed.

This atmosphere of strict discipline made Qi Tongwei, who was following behind, feel uncomfortable.

As the Public Security Bureau Director, he was a man who had the final say in the police system. However, after witnessing the aura of a real senior general in the field troops, he realized what a world of difference there was.

They were taken directly to the Armed Forces' operations command room.

In the command room, a huge electronic screen occupied the entire wall, displaying a detailed map of Jingzhou City.

Several staff officers were operating the equipment nervously. When they saw everyone coming in, they all stood up immediately.

"Everyone, take a seat."

Zhou Shoujing waved his hand, his voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable commanding tone.

He walked directly to the main console, placed his hands on the table, and looked down at the huge electronic map, like a tiger locking onto its prey.

Sha Ruijin looked at his back and said to Chen Weiguo and others, "Comrades, I want to inform you of an extremely serious situation."

He paused, and the entire command room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

"Commander Zhao Yuanchao of the 20th Group Army has lost contact while on a special mission in Handong Province."

As soon as these words were spoken, except for a few big men who had already known about it, Chen Weiguo and his staff all changed their expressions.

The commander of a Class A group army lost contact in his own jurisdiction?

This is simply a fantasy!

"so,"

Sha Ruijin's voice grew heavier. "Chief of Staff Zhou is here this time to find Commander Zhao. On behalf of the Handong Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government, I assure Chief of Staff Zhou that from now on, all forces in Handong Province will unconditionally cooperate with Chief of Staff Zhou's work! Provide him with personnel and materials, regardless of the cost. We must find Commander Zhao in the shortest possible time!"

After he finished speaking, he turned his gaze to Qi Tongwei.

Qi Tongwei immediately understood what he meant. He stepped forward and solemnly addressed Zhou Shoujing from behind, "Chief of Staff Zhou, I'm Qi Tongwei, Director of the Provincial Public Security Department. On behalf of all police officers in the province, I assure you that all police forces in the province will immediately enter Level 1 combat readiness! All criminal investigation, technical investigation, and intelligence analysis capabilities are open to you! Wherever you point us, we'll fight! Even if we have to dig deep underground, we'll bring Commander Zhao back safely!"

Qi Tongwei's words were sonorous, powerful and resounding.

This was a political gamble for him and the only choice he could make.

Gao Yuliang and Li Dakang, who had been silent all this time, now looked solemn.

Gao Yuliang pushed his glasses, and the look behind the lenses was unfathomable, as if he was assessing what kind of tsunami this incident would bring to Handong's political situation.

Li Dakang frowned, crossed his arms over his chest, and looked anxious. He was more concerned about how much of an impact Handong's economic development would suffer if this matter was not handled properly.

The atmosphere in the entire command room was extremely depressing.

However, after listening to the assurances of Sha Ruijin and Qi Tongwei, Zhou Shoujing did not even turn his head.

He simply stretched out a finger and tapped a point heavily on the huge electronic map.

"This is the location where Commander Zhao last lost contact."

His voice was cold and emotionless. "I want all the surveillance footage from last night to now, all the call logs from all the communication base stations, and a list of all the guests staying in all the hotels, motels, internet cafes, and rental houses within a ten-kilometer radius of this place."

He paused, and finally turned around slowly. His sharp eyes swept over Sha Ruijin, Gao Yuliang, and Li Dakang in turn, and finally fell on Qi Tongwei's face.

"Director Qi,"

He spoke slowly and carefully, "I don't care about the procedures in your place. I'll only give you three hours. If all these things aren't laid out before me after three hours..."

He didn't say anything else, but the meaning in his eyes was more chilling than any threatening words.

It was a look that treated human life as worthless and was willing to crush all obstacles in order to achieve the goal.

Qi Tongwei felt a chill running down his spine. He straightened his chest almost subconsciously and answered loudly, "Yes! I promise to complete the task!"

After saying this, he didn't dare to delay for a moment. He immediately turned around, strode out of the command room, took out his cell phone, and began to give orders at the top of his voice.

Chapter 25: Blockade of Handong! Strict Inspection

Zhou Shoujing then retracted his gaze and said to Chen Weiguo, "Minister Chen, order your subordinates to block all major transportation routes out of Jingzhou. Air, land, and water, not a single fly can escape! All passing vehicles and personnel will be subject to the strictest inspection! If there are any resistance or suspicious individuals, you are authorized to deal with them on the spot!"

He said the words "deal with it on the spot" lightly, but it made everyone present jump in their hearts.

Chen Weiguo was startled and answered loudly: "Yes!"

As soon as the order was given, the entire Jingzhou Armed Forces Headquarters instantly started running at high speed like an activated war machine.

The ringing of telephones, the sound of commands, and the sounds of footsteps intertwined together, and a murderous atmosphere quickly spread from the compound, enveloping the entire Jingzhou.

Sha Ruijin and Gao Yuliang looked at each other and saw helplessness and deep worry in each other's eyes.

After Sha Ruijin and Gao Yuliang left, the suffocating pressure in the command room seemed to have found an outlet, but instead of dissipating, it turned into a more concrete and more frantic operation.

"Radar control! Order the Air Force coordination department. I want all flight data over Jingzhou. Civilian, cargo, and private aircraft, all of them must be monitored! Any unauthorized takeoffs and landings will be treated as UFOs!"

"Signal tracking! Have the technical department bring the signal base station at the 'Buckingham' Club to me. I want to monitor all signals coming from that area! Yes, all of them! I don't care about privacy rights. This is wartime!"

Zhou Shoujing's voice was not loud, but it had unquestionable penetrating power, and every officer who received the order executed it immediately without any hesitation.

Li Dakang stood in the corner, his hands clenched into fists, his knuckles turning white from the force.

He has been the one giving orders all his life. How could he have ever been treated like air like this?

He knows every tree and blade of grass in Jingzhou City better than anyone else.

He was just about to step forward and suggest that they could start with the database of urban grid management, which would be more efficient.

"Chief of Staff Zhou, regarding urban surveillance, our Municipal Party Committee has..."

Zhou Shoujing interrupted him without even turning his head. His eyes were fixed sharply on the data stream flashing on the screen. He ordered a captain beside him, "Notify the Municipal Transportation Bureau. Within three minutes, I want real-time monitoring access to all the main roads and viaducts in the city. If they can't connect within three minutes, send someone to their control room to physically take over!"

Li Dakang's words were stuck in his throat, and his face turned pale and blue.

It was a complete disregard, more humiliating than any direct rebuke.

But Qi Tongwei on the side was a completely different picture.

He followed Zhou Shoujing closely, half a step behind him.

"Chief of Staff Zhou, please have some water."

He found a thermos cup from somewhere and handed it over with both hands.

Zhou Shoujing didn't answer and didn't take his eyes off the screen.

Qi Tongwei wasn't embarrassed at all. He naturally placed the water cup on the table next to him, then picked up the ringing internal phone: "Hello, this is Qi Tongwei... Yes, I'm the Director of the Public Security Department! Listen, Chief of Staff Zhou's orders are the highest instructions! What are those people from the Technical Investigation Corps doing?!"

He hung up the phone and growled at another subordinate who was mobilizing police forces, "Tell them to check all intersections. Don't worry about the license plate or who's in the car! Even if it's a provincial car, they have to stop it and check it! If anything goes wrong, I, Qi Tongwei, will take responsibility!"

As he yelled, he glanced at Zhou Shoujing's reaction out of the corner of his eye.

He was gambling. He was gambling that in front of this strongman in the army, any bureaucratic reserve and procedures were bullshit, and only the most thorough and reckless obedience could buy him a way to survive.

He even felt that his attitude of being "half a step ahead of God" was ridiculous in front of someone like Zhou Shoujing who truly held the power of life and death.

Li Dakang felt sick when he saw Qi Tongwei jumping up and down and taking advantage of his power.

But he had to admit that Qi Tongwei's choice might be the only correct choice at the moment.

Li Dakang couldn't bring himself to do this, but Qi Tongwei could.

In the face of absolute power, so-called dignity is worthless.

He slowly loosened his clenched fists, silently walked to an unnoticed corner, pulled out his phone, and sent a message to his secretary: "Notify all districts, counties, and streets in the city to declare a state of emergency and unconditionally cooperate with all military and police actions. Yes, all actions."

After sending the message, he put his phone back in his pocket and silently stared at the room that had completely turned into a war command center.

The black Audi A6L drove smoothly on the way back to the provincial party committee.

Outside the car window, the city’s neon lights were still flashing, but there was an unusual sense of tension in the air.

Occasionally, you can see patrol cars with flashing lights whizzing by, and at some major intersections, traffic police wearing reflective vests are setting up roadblocks.

Inside the car, there was dead silence.

Sha Ruijin leaned back in the back seat with his eyes closed, but his furrowed brows and slightly trembling eyelids revealed the turmoil in his heart.