Chapter 78

013-11-03

Chapter 78: Arranging the Release

Fang Pengfei and Zhao Bingzhi came to Guo Yongchen's office. Guo Yongchen was not surprised by their arrival; there must have been a new issue. With a wave of his hand, Guo Yongchen instructed them to sit down and talk. Zhao Bingzhi asked Fang Pengfei to recount the matter of Gong Changqiu asking him to arrest someone. Fang Pengfei did not hide anything; he was happy to see Gong Changqiu criticized and thus told Guo Yongchen about it.

Guo Yongchen frowned as he listened, his mind turning several times. It was clear that Gong Changqiu had indeed taken revenge for his son. With Fang Pengfei's testimony, could he take action against Gong Changqiu?

Fang Pengfei was not a fool. His betrayal of Gong Changqiu clearly had the intention of using him to bring down Gong Changqiu. Moreover, he was not part of Gong Changqiu's group. If he were to fight with Gong Changqiu, Zhang Chengyi would surely enjoy the spectacle. Although Zhang Chengyi and Gong Changqiu had a good relationship, it was not deep-rooted. If he could weaken Zhang Chengyi by sacrificing Gong Changqiu, he would be happy to see it happen.

After some thought, Guo Yongchen felt that he could not use this to confront Gong Changqiu directly. If Gong Changqiu denied it, Fang Pengfei would be the only witness. Instead, he could use Fang Pengfei to drive a wedge between them and then consider the matter further.

With his mind made up, Guo Yongchen said to Fang Pengfei, "That young man named Wang Jian, release him immediately. If Secretary Gong raises any objections, tell him to come to me. This is an order from the Provincial Party Committee. Just follow the order. Minister Zhao will go with you to express some慰问 to the young man!"

This Wang Jian was indeed a significant figure. The Provincial Party Secretary had directly arranged for the Organization Minister to release him from custody, which was unprecedented news. Fang Pengfei, hearing Guo Yongchen's words, had no reason to disagree. Could the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee be more powerful than the Provincial Party Secretary?

"I will go with Minister Zhao to arrange the release. Please rest assured, Secretary Guo!" Zhao Bingzhi, who was going to pick up Wang Jian, could not stay behind. He promised Guo Yongchen.

"Alright, go!" Guo Yongchen waved his hand and said.

The two left Guo Yongchen's office. As they walked away, Guo Yongchen called his secretary to notify Gong Changqiu to come to his office.

Gong Changqiu was quite pleased. Although his son had suffered a bit, he had already played a political card. If anyone accused him of indulging his son in criminal activities in the future, he would have a response. Moreover, he had used this to settle scores with the young township chief and vent his son's anger. What more could he ask for? He had achieved a complete victory!

Upon receiving the call from Guo Yongchen's secretary, Gong Changqiu did not know why Guo Yongchen wanted to see him. As the leader of the political and legal affairs, he rarely reported to Guo Yongchen, preferring to go to Zhang Chengyi. On one hand, Zhang Chengyi was very influential, and on the other, as the Governor, he controlled the finances. Asking Zhang Chengyi for money was very important. Therefore, he did not feel particularly pleased about being summoned by Guo Yongchen; instead, he felt that Guo Yongchen was meddling again!

"Secretary Guo, what brings you to see me?" Gong Changqiu asked as he entered Guo Yongchen's office and stopped.

"Comrade Changqiu, please sit down!" Guo Yongchen said warmly.

Gong Changqiu sat down and looked at Guo Yongchen, unsure of his intentions.

"It's like this. A young man named Wang Jian was arrested by the police. This person is under special protection. I have arranged for Fang Pengfei to release him, but he said that you ordered the arrest and he cannot release him without your command. So I called you to inform you. Do you have any objections?" Guo Yongchen thought for a moment and then directly confronted him with Fang Pengfei's words, watching his reaction.

To his surprise, it was this matter. Gong Changqiu's face changed dramatically. Fang Pengfei had directly told Guo Yongchen that he had ordered the arrest, clearly using him as a shield. This person, relying on the Governor's support, was becoming increasingly disrespectful. Now, he was betraying him and reporting to Guo Yongchen, willing to act as Guo Yongchen's pawn!

"Secretary Guo, I have no idea about this. Did Fang Pengfei make a mistake? Our Political and Legal Affairs Committee mainly focuses on macro-level guidance and does not interfere with the specific work of the police, procuratorate, and court. If you ask for my opinion, I believe that the judicial organs should operate independently, and no one should interfere. However, since Secretary Guo has spoken, Fang Pengfei's release of the person is correct!"

Gong Changqiu not only denied it but also turned the tables, accusing Guo Yongchen of interfering with the judiciary. Although he gave Guo Yongchen some face at the end, Guo Yongchen could not miss the underlying meaning.

Guo Yongchen's face changed. He did not expect Gong Changqiu to deny Fang Pengfei's statement so firmly. This person was extremely cunning! Not only did he deny it, but he also turned the blame on Guo Yongchen. In a moment, Gong Changqiu had taken the upper hand.

Gong Changqiu's face returned to calm, and he felt a sense of satisfaction. Although Wang Jian had been released by Guo Yongchen, Guo Yongchen had not caught him in the act. Now, he was curious about why Guo Yongchen said Wang Jian was under special protection. The background of the female journalist was already suspicious, and now another specially protected person had emerged. Was this Guo Yongchen's excuse for releasing Wang Jian, or was there something deeper?

He couldn't figure it out for the moment!

"Old Gong, you wouldn't say you didn't know about your son's fight, right?" Guo Yongchen thought for a moment and directly hit the core of the matter.

"I know, how could I not know? My family's education has been lacking, and my son is not up to the task, which always troubles me. After hearing about his fight, I firmly supported the police in severely punishing him. I believe I did nothing wrong in this matter. If it were someone else, they would have tried to protect him, but I believe in equality before the law, and no one should have privileges above the law," Gong Changqiu said casually, having anticipated this situation. Guo Yongchen's question actually fell into his trap.

Gong Changqiu easily deflected the attack and spoke with a sense of righteousness, showing that he was willing to act against his own family. Guo Yongchen was at a loss with Gong Changqiu. Considering that his goal was to make Gong Changqiu dissatisfied with Fang Pengfei, and whether he admitted it or not was secondary, he looked at Gong Changqiu and did not continue to press the issue.

"Alright, I admire your approach. Children need strict discipline, or they will cause trouble for us!" Guo Yongchen's face softened, not wanting to make things too tense with Gong Changqiu over this matter.

Gong Changqiu smiled slightly and said, "We all love our children. It's easy to be strict with others but hard to be strict with oneself. If Wang Jian is to be released now, Secretary Guo, could you also arrange for my son to be released? After all, my son is also a person. It wouldn't look good if the person who hit someone is released, but the person who was hit is still in custody. What would people say?"

Gong Changqiu was pushing his luck! Guo Yongchen did not expect him to raise this issue. On the surface, it seemed reasonable, but in reality, it was all about Gong Wei's actions, and he was using this as leverage.

"Old Gong, let's stop here. No more talk about this!" Guo Yongchen directly rejected Gong Changqiu's request.

Gong Changqiu was not really asking Guo Yongchen to release his son; he just wanted to show his strength and make Guo Yongchen feel a bit uncomfortable. He knew when to stop and said with a smile, "Since Secretary Guo says so, I won't mention it. However, if anyone accuses me of indulging my son in the future, please help clarify the matter. I'm not afraid of what outsiders say, but I am afraid of internal criticism. As the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, if I cannot be fair and just, and if I am defamed, how can I lead the work of the police, procuratorate, and court? Please help me for the sake of the Provincial Party Committee's work. I don't want to live with others criticizing me!"

Gong Changqiu used a step-by-step approach, and Guo Yongchen had to admit his cunning. At this point, he could only go along with it and said, "No problem. As long as Comrade Changqiu stands upright, no one can do anything to you. A straight body casts no shadow. Some controversy is inevitable, and a comrade without controversy is not necessarily a good comrade!"

"Secretary Guo is truly wise. Your perspective is different. I am very comforted by this. With your words, I will dedicate myself wholeheartedly without any regrets!" Gong Changqiu used this opportunity to flatter Guo Yongchen, elevating himself in the process.

"Alright, that's all. I just wanted to inform you of this matter. There's nothing else," Guo Yongchen, unwilling to continue the conversation, stood up to indicate that it was time to leave.

Gong Changqiu understood and stood up, smiling as he bid farewell to Guo Yongchen.

As soon as he left Guo Yongchen's office, Gong Changqiu directly called Fang Pengfei. Fang Pengfei was on his way to the detention center with Zhao Bingzhi. Seeing Gong Changqiu's call, he thought for a moment and answered, "Secretary Gong, I'm out."

Fang Pengfei meant to let Gong Changqiu know that he was not in a position to take the call, as Zhao Bingzhi was with him. Gong Changqiu understood but did not want to be polite this time and said directly, "You released Wang Jian. Please also release Gong Wei. Don't say I'm interfering with your work!"

Gong Changqiu's words had a hidden meaning, and Fang Pengfei immediately realized that what he had said to Zhao Bingzhi and Guo Yongchen must have reached his ears.

"Sure, I'll release him right away. I have some business here, so I'll hang up," Fang Pengfei quickly agreed and hung up.

Seeing this, Zhao Bingzhi asked, "Was it Old Gong?"

Fang Pengfei smiled awkwardly and said, "Yes, he asked me to release Gong Wei."

"Oh, then release him. It wouldn't look good if the son of the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee was in custody," Zhao Bingzhi said with a smile.

Fang Pengfei thought about it and realized he should have considered this before. Even Gong Changqiu might have overlooked it!

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