Chapter 514: Chapter 473 Secretary Shi is Angry_1
 

Inside the Hongyun Building of the Eastern Sea Group, the sixth floor of the red-walled building was where the utmost luxury resided.

The exquisite bar, a small private pub, and the bar cabinet containing a variety of top Euro wines. Among them, at the most conspicuous position, two porcelain bottles of fifty-year-old special Moutai were the most esteemed.

Ordinary bottles with no other trademarks, the two words on the bottle, “Moutai”, already represented its identity. This special supply wine was produced at the time of the founding of the nation and distributed as a celebratory victory endowment. Only senior-level officials during the founding of the country had the privilege of owning such wine.

Even General Secretary Yuan, by comparison, was just a technician in a factory back then, far from eligible to receive an allocation.

Back then, every national-level official received an allocation of two bottles. Deputy Ministers would receive one bottle. Vice-national-level officials would receive six bottles in total. Even when including the military forces, there really aren’t many left. Furthermore, most of them had been consumed at the time.

With the liberation of the country and the nationwide victory, everyone, from the common people to Taizu himself, was over the moon. This was their special victory wine, the celebration wine, and most of it was consumed. The fact that Lin Zhengxing still managed to keep two bottles speaks volumes about the value of the wine.

More importantly, it showcases Lin Zhengxing’s impressive background.

Shi Yiwu was on the sofa, restful and expressionless. Liu Sicun, the Municipal Committee’s secretary-general, Zhao Dingguang, the standing vice mayor, and Lin Zhengxing from the Eastern Sea Group all sat next to him.

At this moment, Lin Zhengxing gave Liu Sicun a subtle glance. Liu Sicun nodded and then said in a low voice, “Secretary, national affairs are becoming increasingly chaotic because of Nie Zhenbang. If you do not speak out, Wanghai City will be thrown into turmoil.”

“Leader, Secretary Sicun’s words aren’t false. Last time, when we investigated Huang Liangwen, we opposed it. We urged caution but Huang Liangwen ended up committing suicide. And now, look what happened. Qi Siyuan and Nie Zhenbang have teamed up, and have even started to investigate officials. They didn’t even follow the Standing Committee’s procedures, investigating the Deputy Director of the Public Security Bureau, Niu Chao. They are not putting you in their eyes at all,” Zhao Dingguang chimed in, adding fuel to the fire.

Shi Yiwu opened his eyes and with a solemn expression, he said, “The tree desires stillness but the wind will not cease. It seems that as I grow old, people are forgetting about me.”

“Secretary Shi, what are you talking about? Nie Zhenbang is nothing more than a clown. This time, we have a few chances for Australian immigration visas. This required hefty efforts from several handymen friends overseas. I’ve heard that Young Master Shi has always wanted to see the world. Well, here’s the perfect chance,” said Lin Zhengxing with a smile. As if, to him, it was not robbing of power but just a simple pleasure trip.

When this generous offering was presented, Liu Sicun and Zhao Dingguang felt envious. For people like them, wealth and family were important. Once any incident transpired within the country, it was difficult to protect wealth. Therefore, many officials were enthusiastic about immigration.

This isn’t any Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan visa, nor is it a visa to small Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia or Malaysia. This is Australian immigration.

Shi Yiwu couldn’t contain his excitement at this point. If his family and assets were overseas, what did it matter even if he was ruined? Living one’s life is fundamentally for oneself and one’s family, isn’t it? What’s the use of having too much money domestically when you can’t spend it?

Eventually, Shi Yiwu nodded and said, “General Lin, you’re more considerate than my own parents. You’ve gone through such inconvenience for Shi Chong, that troubles me.”

Lin Zhengxing burst into laughter. Money, beauty, fame coupled with an immigration plan—these were the four powerful weapons used by Lin Zhengxing to win over and corrupt officials. Past events had sufficiently proved the massive effectiveness of these means. In Lin Zhengxing’s own words, those were his foolproof ways. When these methods were deployed, neither gods nor Buddhas could resist.

“Secretary Shi, you flatter me. Considering our relationship, these are things I should do. As for Young Master Shi, I happen to have a villa in Sydney. If Young Master Shi does not mind, after he moves there, I can arrange to transfer the ownership to him.” Now that Shi Yiwu had accepted the immigration visa, he wouldn’t mind that villa either.

As expected, after a moment of contemplation, Shi Yiwu readily nodded. “Since General Lin is so sincere, it would seem petty of me not to accept,” he said.

Having said that, Shi Yiwu turned to Zhao Dingguang beside him, “Dingguang, this time around, the death of comrade Huang Liangwen was way too polite. An excellent cadre of our party unfairly lost his life; it always gives you pause. In light of this, I think we should take this as a wake-up call and hold a citywide ideological education conference.”

That was Shi Yiwu’s quid pro quo to Lin Zhengxing. Seeing that he’d already accepted so much, it was only right for him to reciprocate somehow.

At that, Zhao Dingguang instantly understood Shi Yiwu’s words. He wanted to make hay out of Huang Liangwen’s death. Even though Nie Zhenbang kept insisting that Huang Liangwen had confessed to a lot, everyone in the official circles knew that Nie Zhenbang was merely trying to pacify Huang Liangwen’s family with these words. At least for Shi Yiwu, with Huang Liangwen dead, there was no one to substantiate the claims. Nie Zhenbang might say it was Huang Liangwen’s confession, but he could argue that it was extracted under duress—in fact, Huang Liangwen killed himself because he couldn’t bear the brutal torture any longer.

Then, Zhao Dingguang nodded and said, “Yes, I will strictly follow Secretary Shi’s directives. Also, I think we need to unify the narratives across the municipal propaganda department. At present, many city media outlets are still singing praises for Nie Zhenbang, and this situation isn’t ideal. I suggest we rectify this.”

Shi Yiwu nodded, turned to Liu Sicun beside him, and said, “Sicun, please arrange a meeting with the propaganda department’s Minister, Lin Mohan, for me. Also, I think there needs to be a re-alignment of understanding at the standing committee level. Otherwise, there could be big trouble.”

At this point, Lin Zhengxing also nodded with a smile and said, “Secretary Shi, since you’re here, why not have some fun before you go? I know you like singing, and here we have Dongying’s latest karaoke audiovisual system.”

Then, Lin Zhengxing clapped his hands, and a few young and extremely beautiful women dressed in high-slit cheongsams walked in. They led the three men into individual rooms. As for the activities there—whether it was singing or something else—Lin Zhengxing did not wish to inquire. His place, allegedly the headquarters of the Eastern Sea Group, was in fact a venue for courting and corrupting party and government officials.

These servers had all been chosen and trained with great care, their services ranging from drinking and singing to whatever services the guests desired.

After seeing the three off, Lin Zhengxing immediately got up and clapped his hands. A man appearing to be a manager walked in and spoke softly, “Big brother!”

At this moment, the pleasant demeanor had vanished from Lin Zhengxing’s face, replaced with an incredibly serious gaze. He nodded and commanded, “As per the rules, record everything. I sense that the tide is turning. Nie Zhenbang is here to make a move against us. Better get more evidence in hand in case these duplicitous politicians turn on us someday.”

…

As Shi Yiwu made arrangements, the media climate in Wanghai City began to change rapidly. On November 18th, Shi Yiwu went to Wangxia District to attend the memorial service of deputy district governor Huang Liangwen. During the service, Shi Yiwu was very active in his high praise of Huang Liangwen, and he called him a good cadre of the party, who gave his life as a testament to his cause. Speaking, he alluded to certain leaders in Wanghai City with ulterior motives were undermining the city’s economic development. He said that this was absolutely unacceptable.

On November 22nd, the day when the municipal standing committee was scheduled to convene, all standing committee members had taken their seats by nine o’clock in the morning inside the Wanghaishi Municipal Party Committee office building. Given recent fluctuations in Wanghai City’s political landscape, all the committee members were feeling particularly tense.

At nine o’clock sharp, Shi Yiwu slowly walked into the conference room, took his seat, and swept the room with a robust gaze. He then said, “Let’s start the meeting by addressing this issue. Since Wanghai City is in a state of panic following the investigation and subsequent suicide of Comrade Huang Liangwen by the disciplinary commission, there is widespread discontent among the lower echelons. Some comrades, completely disregarding the grand scheme of Wanghai’s economic development and stability, are attempting secret maneuvers. What is going on? Are they planning on investigating others in secret? What does this mean? Do they even acknowledge my existence as Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee? Do they acknowledge the organization?”

Shi Yiwu’s voice was stern, and the other standing committee members remained silent. Qi Siyuan’s investigations into Niu Chao and Director Jiang from the Immigration Department of the Public Security Bureau were secrets to the lower-ranking officials but clear to those present at this meeting.

By doing this, Qi Siyuan was defying public anger. One step further, if Qi Siyuan dared to do so this time, what would stop it from happening next time around? Could Qi Siyuan’s power in the standing committee of the municipal party still be restrained? Who could really withstand an investigation in this day and age?

Seeing that the attitudes of the other committee members had shifted due to his words, Shi Yiwu sneered. “You’re still not ready for a fight, Nie Zhenbang.” (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to vote for it on qidian.com. Your support is my biggest motivation.)