Chapter 90

Chapter 28: The Counterattack Continues

As soon as Xu Yinjia finished speaking, the entire Standing Committee began to stir.

Li Li, the Secretary of the Organization Department and the Standing Committee member closest to Xu Yinjia, picked up the photocopy that Xu Yinjia had thrown on the table and took a look. His expression immediately changed.

Most of the other Standing Committee members, including Tang Lu and Lin Pei, were closely watching the changes in Li Li's expression.

Tang Lu felt a sense of unease rising in his heart. He didn't know what kind of trump card Xu Yinjia was hiding.

In the past, Xu Yinjia had attacked him several times, but whenever the matter was brought to the Standing Committee meeting, Tang Lu always managed to remain calm. No matter what cards Xu Yinjia had, Tang Lu could control the majority of the Standing Committee votes and expenditures, allowing him to deal with Xu Yinjia one by one.

But now, the Standing Committee had changed hands.

The current Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee was a platform for Lin Pei to realize his political aspirations, no longer a tool for Tang Lu's invincible struggles!

Therefore, Tang Lu felt a sense of helplessness for the second time.

The first time was when Lin Pei completely deprived him of control over the entire Standing Committee!

And now, even a Deputy Mayor could launch an attack on him?

Was he really getting old?

Was his power and prestige in the Municipal Party Committee really declining so much?

"Secretary, Mayor, please take a look!" After Li Li finished reading, he handed the photocopy to Lin Pei.

As the leader, Lin Pei had a clear view of the changes in the expressions of all the members of the Municipal Party Committee. He could see every change in Li Li's expression.

It seemed that today would not be peaceful!

"Yang Zixuan," Lin Pei silently repeated the young man's name, feeling a complex emotion. This young man was indeed no ordinary person; a problem with a county-level official could stir up the entire Standing Committee, which was quite a feat!

Lin Pei, of course, knew what kind of person Xu Yinjia was!

Arrogant, ambitious, and highly capable!

These were Lin Pei's eight-character evaluation of Xu Yinjia, the new generation of the Daming faction!

Even Lin Pei greatly admired Xu Yinjia's work ability. Since Xu Yinjia took office as Deputy Mayor of Daming City, he had quickly organized the work of the departments he was in charge of, including finance, and was an outstanding leader with strong economic capabilities.

But capable people often had a bit of arrogance, which Lin Pei was well aware of. Therefore, there weren't many people who could gain Xu Yinjia's favor.

Lin Pei wondered how Yang Zixuan had managed to win such favor from Xu Yinjia.

Lin Pei sighed. For Xu Yinjia to defend Yang Zixuan so strongly, even to the point of confronting Tang Lu in the Standing Committee meeting, this Yang Zixuan must be quite capable!

Lin Pei took a sip of tea, adjusted his glasses, and began to read the photocopy. His expression grew serious as he read the first page, turned grim as he read the second page, and he couldn't help but slam his hand on the table as he read the third page.

"Rubbish! Truly audacious!" Lin Pei threw the photocopy on the table, his face dark.

Tang Lu and the dedicated Party Secretary for Mass Work, Mo Tianzhang, who were sitting next to him, didn't know what had happened and looked at each other in confusion.

Tang Lu felt that the situation was very strange. He picked up the photocopy and read a few pages, his expression also changing dramatically. He shouted at Xu Yinjia, "Deputy Mayor Xu, is this document true? This concerns the future and reputation of a deputy county-level official!"

"This confession was made by Hei San, the CEO of Hongshui County Sand and Gravel Company, after he was arrested by the Hongshui County Public Security Bureau. It also includes confessions from several other main conspirators!" Xu Yinjia said with a faint smile. "Mayor Tang, do you think it's true or not?"

"According to the confessions of Hei San and the other main conspirators, the person who instructed them to ambush and murder the general manager of Taiwan Strait Bay Group is the current member of the Hongshui County Party Committee and Deputy County Magistrate, Fang Ling!"

Instantly, the entire Standing Committee was in an uproar.

In the eyes of the Standing Committee members, if this was true, the situation was too serious! No one could protect Fang Ling!

"Hmph! To try to convict a veteran official with over ten years of party membership based on a photocopy of a confession is a bit absurd!" Tang Lu's heart was in turmoil, but now that the arrow was on the string, it had to be released. He had to put on a brave face.

He knew he had no way out!

If he had seen this photocopy before the Standing Committee meeting, he would never have convened the meeting to indirectly criticize Yang Zixuan.

Because even if he hated Yang Zixuan, he wouldn't risk his political life and reputation.

If he lost again in today's Standing Committee meeting, it would certainly bring political risks, and might even affect his political career.

But could he retreat?

If the meeting hadn't been convened, he might still have a way out, but now it was clearly impossible.

What was Fang Ling up to? Tang Lu was seething with anger.

"Mayor Tang is right; a photocopy alone is not enough to convince anyone," Xu Yinjia said with a smile.

"At least, I believe none of you would dare to believe this. After all, who would have thought that a deputy county-level official like Fang Ling would lose her party principles and hire a gang to ambush a famous Taiwanese investor in our city, just to frame Yang Zixuan?"

"Such behavior has completely lost the principles and basic moral standards of a party cadre!"

"I believe that if this is true, such a cadre should be expelled from the party and removed from office, and handed over to the judicial authorities!"

Xu Yinjia's tone remained calm and steady.

Tang Lu said coldly, "Deputy Mayor Xu, aren't you jumping the gun? We haven't even verified the authenticity of this confession, and you're already discussing the charges. Isn't that putting the cart before the horse?"

"Mayor Tang, this is not putting the cart before the horse! This is being prepared for the worst. Of course, I hope this confession is not credible. After all, no one wants to see such a serious incident happen in our city. Such a scandal would be embarrassing if it spread to other cities or the province," Xu Yinjia said, looking into Tang Lu's eyes and smiling. "Isn't that right, Mayor Tang?"

"Hmph!" Tang Lu didn't respond, but he could clearly hear the sarcasm and confidence in Xu Yinjia's words!

"Until we can rule out the possibility of torture by the Hongshui County Public Security Bureau, this photocopy is not credible," Zhang Liguang also chimed in.

Xu Yinjia immediately nodded and smiled, "Secretary Zhang is absolutely right. That's why last night, Comrade Yang Zixuan of the Hongshui County Government personally delivered Hei San and others to the Daming City Procuratorate for further interrogation!"

Tang Lu's face turned ashen. The current Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, Hou An, was not a local but a former military officer. Tang Lu had extended an olive branch to Hou An multiple times, but Hou An ignored it. He was fair and had a good relationship with the Standing Committee member and Commander of the Military District, Zhang Muqing, and was quite influential in the Standing Committee.

Because of his fairness and integrity, he rarely got involved in internal struggles, so even Lin Pei and Mo Tianzhang, the two secretaries, held him in high regard.

Therefore, Tang Lu's influence in the political and legal system was limited to the Municipal Public Security Bureau. He had no say in the procuratorate and the courts, while Xu Yinjia had good relations with several deputy procurators.

So when Tang Lu heard that the main criminals, including Hei San, had been handed over to the procuratorate, he knew it would be difficult to turn the situation around.

"Since the criminals are now in the hands of the procuratorate, that's good. But we still need to make some arrangements," Lin Pei finally spoke. "Comrade Hou An will be responsible for this. He will coordinate with the procuratorate and report the case developments and interrogation results to the Municipal Party Committee in a timely manner!"

Xu Yinjia smiled, "I agree with Secretary Lin Pei's suggestion!"

Tang Lu paused, knowing that with Hou An in charge, there would be no torture or distortion of the case. He could only respond, "Yes, I trust Comrade Hou An!"

He then glared at Xu Yinjia.

But Xu Yinjia was drinking tea and pretended not to see.

With the two main characters of the Standing Committee speaking, the other members also chimed in.

Hou An cleared his throat, "I will report the case developments to the Municipal Party Committee in a timely manner and request the Municipal Party Committee to make arrangements. If it is true, the Discipline Inspection Commission must intervene quickly."

The Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary, Fan Qiwai, was watching all this with a cold eye.

Xu Yinjia glanced at Fan Qiwai, who was a deep and hidden figure.

The entire Daming Municipal Party Committee knew that Fan Qiwai was personally promoted by the former Deputy Secretary of the Organization Department of Luofu Province, Liu Daoming, and was a trusted confidant. He and the Party Secretary of Hongshui County, Su Nan, were from the same faction.

Although the relationship between the County Magistrate of Hongshui County, Yang Zixuan, and the Party Secretary, Su Nan, was not good, and there were rumors in the Municipal Party Committee, Fan Qiwai must have heard about it.

But strangely, Fan Qiwai had never helped his fellow faction member, Su Nan, even as Su Nan struggled in Hongshui County.

Like a venomous snake, he was watching everything from the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike. Such a person was the most terrifying.

Yang Zixuan also knew about the existence of Fan Qiwai, a senior from the same faction as Su Nan. Although Fan Qiwai had never taken action, he never underestimated Fan Qiwai, and his vigilance towards Fan Qiwai was even greater than towards Tang Lu.

Just like watching a horror movie, the scariest part is before the ghost appears, because you never know when or how it will appear. But once it does, it's not as scary anymore.

Yang Zixuan was in this state of mind now.

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