Chapter 88

Chapter 26, The Backhand (Part 3)

"Then, what do you think, what is Secretary Lin's true attitude?"

Xu Yinjia wanted to hear this young man's opinion, as Yang Zixuan often provided him with inspiration for his thoughts.

Yang Zixuan's heart skipped a beat. Their relationship hadn't reached the point where they could discuss the attitudes of the main leaders of Daming City behind their backs, had it?

Why was Xu Yinjia displaying such a close and intimate attitude?

Yang Zixuan was puzzled.

"Mayor Xu, Secretary Lin has a broad and far-sighted vision. His thoughts are not something a mere county magistrate like me can fathom."

Xu Yinjia, who had gained the attention and promotion of Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee member Chen Zhiwen in the Finance Department, was certainly not an easy person to deal with. As soon as Yang Zixuan said this, Xu Yinjia understood his thoughts.

"Don't try to dodge the issue with me, just give me your opinion. We can cross-verify, right?" Xu Yinjia smiled, his words casual.

Since Xu Yinjia had lowered his stance to this extent, if Yang Zixuan still refused to speak, he might really anger this fourth most powerful figure in Daming City!

"Alright, Mayor Xu, I'll share my speculation, but don't take it too seriously," Yang Zixuan was still a bit cautious.

"I think Secretary Lin's agreement to convene a Standing Committee meeting to discuss my personal issues is not because he has concrete evidence of my misconduct. Instead, he wants to be the 'sparrow' in the 'sparrow waiting for the mantis to catch the cicada' scenario. He wants to be the onlooker who ultimately benefits!"

Xu Yinjia nodded. "That makes sense!"

Yang Zixuan took out several documents from a file bag and handed them to Xu Yinjia. "Here are some confessions I obtained, including the confession of Hei San, the main planner of the Tianma assassination case. Mayor, take a look!"

Xu Yinjia took the documents and flipped through them, a smile gradually appearing on his face. "This confession is like a timely rain. With this, at least your position is secure."

"I also brought Hei San and a few others. I'm afraid Fang Ling has informants in the Hongshui political and legal system, so I didn't dare keep them in Hongshui County."

"Hmm, you've thought it through quite thoroughly. That's the right approach," Xu Yinjia nodded.

"This Fang Ling is truly bold. For the sake of struggle, she's willing to go to any lengths, even attempting to assassinate Taiwanese investors in our Daming City to frame the leadership. Her intentions are truly malicious and hard to fathom."

"Such officials who have lost their basic party principles must be resolutely removed from the party and government ranks and dealt with severely according to the law to set an example."

"Fortunately, the Taiwanese investor Mr. Zeng was unharmed this time. Otherwise, the negative impact on Daming's investment environment would be immeasurable and hard to eliminate in the short term!"

As he spoke, Xu Yinjia's face showed genuine anger. As an official from the provincial government's economic department, Xu Yinjia had always been critical of officials who only engaged in political struggles and did not focus on practical work.

Therefore, when he saw Yang Zixuan, who was skilled in both economic development and political struggles, he developed a fondness for his talent.

In Xu Yinjia's view, leaders should prioritize the well-being of the people and economic development. Political struggles should be used to reduce resistance to policy implementation.

"The people are in my car. Mayor, do you want to handle them?" Yang Zixuan asked tentatively.

After all, Yang Zixuan didn't know how much influence Xu Yinjia had in the city's political and legal system. If Xu Yinjia had no close allies there, it wouldn't be necessary to hand over Hei San and the others so soon.

It would also be fine to hand them over to the Daming City Public Security Bureau after the Standing Committee meeting tomorrow.

"Let's go out and take a look. Keeping these criminal suspects in the car is quite troublesome. When necessary, we should hand them over to the procuratorate or the public security bureau." Xu Yinjia stood up and put the documents in a safe in the study.

Yang Zixuan had given Xu Yinjia copies of the documents; the originals were still in his possession.

This was a critical time, and caution was essential!

The two of them went downstairs together. Xu Yinjia, walking ahead, said, "Zixuan, you should get a pager. As the county magistrate, if there's an emergency in the county while you're out on a survey or at a meeting, it would be good to have a way to notify you. There's no need to be frugal about this."

"Mayor, you know our Hongshui County's financial situation. We had to take out a loan just to get through the New Year. Otherwise, it would have been a tough year-end!" Yang Zixuan seized the opportunity to complain about the county's financial difficulties to the vice-mayor in charge of finance.

"Didn't I recently allocate 2.5 million yuan to Hongshui County? Hasn't it arrived yet? Is it not enough?"

"There are too many places that need money. That amount was intended to improve transportation in the northern part of Hongshui County. It would be enough to build a short stretch of ordinary asphalt road. The northern part of Hongshui County has several extremely poor townships, which I find very distressing. We finally negotiated with the Taiwan Strait Group to invest in the Tianma Mountain Tourism Development Zone, which would bring some vitality and hope to those townships. Who knew this would happen!"

"What is the attitude of the Taiwan Strait Group now? When I heard that Hongshui County had attracted investment from the Taiwan Strait Group, I was also surprised. This would be a great achievement. It would greatly enhance Daming's investment reputation and status within the province."

"Who knew that just as the municipal party committee and government received this good news and were about to ask you for details, Hongshui County quickly led the Taiwan Strait Group to the site for an inspection, and then this incident happened. The municipal government was also caught off guard!" Xu Yinjia sighed, truly feeling that opportunities and risks coexisted.

"What are your plans for the road construction in the northern part of Hongshui County?"

"Due to insufficient funds, we can only consider building a section from the Ziyu railway station to the foot of Tianma Mountain!" Yang Zixuan replied.

"Hmm, that's a good idea. Connecting this transportation link would revitalize the entire row of mountainous townships in the northern part of Hongshui County! This is a well-played move!" Xu Yinjia glanced at the young man beside him with a meaningful look.

Although only in his twenties, Yang Zixuan's vision and methods were far superior to those of seasoned officials in their forties and fifties.

After a while of conversation, they left the security booth. The security guards, seeing Yang Zixuan and Xu Yinjia walking out together, were secretly amazed.

What kind of background did this young man have to be so young and already a county magistrate, and to receive such favor from Vice-Mayor Xu?

Approaching the Santana, Xu Yinjia looked at the handcuffed Hei San and the two plainclothes police officers, then picked up his phone and made a call.

Soon, a police car arrived and took Hei San and the others away.

Yang Zixuan felt relieved. Xu Yinjia's willingness to hand over the key witnesses to the city police indicated that he had considerable influence in the Daming City Public Security Bureau.

...

After finishing these matters, Yang Zixuan drove to a hotel in the city and called Lin Ruoshui.

"Where have you been? I've been looking for you all day. Your hand isn't even healed, and you're running around everywhere!" Lin Ruoshui's voice was urgent and angry.

"Someone wants to get rid of me. I can't just stay in bed! If I lie there any longer, I might lose my position as county magistrate." Yang Zixuan could tell that Lin Ruoshui was genuinely concerned about him, and he was touched.

"Who? Today, my uncle called to ask about your situation."

"Did you say anything good about me?" Yang Zixuan smiled mischievously.

"Hmph! What's there to say about you? You're cunning and domineering!"

"Unfair! I'm only cunning and domineering with the cunning and domineering people in the county party committee and government. I'm sincere with you!"

Lin Ruoshui chuckled.

...

In the municipal conference hall, where a bright party flag hung.

"Upon Mayor Tang's strong recommendation, we are convening this Standing Committee meeting today to discuss the work issues of Comrade Yang Zixuan, the deputy secretary and county magistrate of Hongshui County!"

Lin Pei's loud voice echoed in the solemn municipal conference hall.

As soon as he finished speaking, Tang Lu couldn't help but think that Lin Pei was unwilling to take any loss. He was clearly indicating that this Standing Committee meeting was not his idea but Tang Lu's insistence, and he had nothing to do with it.

"Let's hear Mayor Tang's opinion first," Lin Pei immediately passed the ball to Tang Lu.

Tang Lu, a seasoned official, smiled. "Let's hear Secretary Zhang's opinion first. I'll add my thoughts later."

Although Tang Lu was eager to give Yang Zixuan a severe lesson, as the second-in-command of the municipal party committee and the head of the municipal government, he wouldn't rush into action. He would let the vanguard, Zhang Ligu, attract most of the criticism from the Standing Committee members before he made his move.

Lin Pei, watching Zhang Ligu prepare to speak, his face twitched slightly. As the party secretary and the true leader of Daming City, the fact that the municipal secretary, the city's chief steward, had become the staunch vanguard of the head of the municipal government, was undoubtedly a humiliation to Lin Pei. It was like a thorn in his skin, not causing injury but causing pain every time he thought about it.

Zhang Ligu stood up, cleared his throat, and said, "Recently, Mayor Tang and I have received many reports, including some from officials in Hongshui County, alleging that Yang Zixuan, during his tenure as county magistrate of Hongshui County, has a domineering work style and often acts unilaterally in government meetings."

"Hold on," Xu Yinjia raised his hand. "I'd like to ask Secretary Zhang, do you have specific examples of this domineering work style? We can't just make such accusations without concrete evidence!"