Chapter 69: The Mayor's Aura

The road ahead became increasingly difficult to navigate, and the convoy slowed down. At this moment, several off-road vehicles suddenly came from behind, honking and forcing their way past on the slow lane.

Du Long noticed that Ma Guangming was frowning as he looked out the window. He had a sudden thought and said with a smile, "A row of Hummers, each worth over a million, I guess they're from Wuxi County. They're really bold, daring to overtake even knowing this is the city government's convoy."

Wang Zhiqiang and Lu Shunyu did not respond, but Ma Guangming said calmly, "Maybe they have an emergency? Xiao Yu, tell the ones in front to let them pass."

Lu Shunyu made a call, and the convoy slowed down even more. The Hummers accelerated and passed by. Ma Guangming closed his eyes, and no one knew whether he was pleased or angry.

National Highway G108 runs directly through Wuxi County. At a crossroads just before entering the county, a row of Audis was parked on the roadside leading into the county. A huge banner hung in the air, with red background and yellow letters: "Warmly Welcome the City Leaders to Inspect Our County's Work!"

Seeing this, Ma Guangming directly told Lu Shunyu, "No need to stop, go straight to the county government!"

The police car in front had just slowed down but, upon receiving the order, accelerated again. The convoy sped away, leaving behind a cloud of dust and a row of county leaders who had just gotten out of their cars to warmly welcome the city leaders.

This was the moment to test everyone's political acumen. They all looked at each other, and County Party Secretary Zhao Huian quickly reacted. He hurriedly got back into his car and led the chase after the city's convoy. The other county leaders also reacted, no longer caring about their positions, and raced forward in a rare spectacle in Wuxi County.

The police car drove directly into the county government compound. The guards at the gate, seeing the city's cars, immediately knew the leaders had arrived. They stood at attention and saluted, watching the convoy go in.

The staff in the county government building were already prepared to receive the leaders. Seeing the city's cars enter, they rushed forward to welcome them. As soon as Ma Guangming got out of the car, he asked, "Wasn't the county government building blocked by the Tieling coal miners? Where are they?"

The heads of the county government had been sent to the outskirts to welcome the leaders and had not even parked their cars yet. The deputy secretary-general of the county government office, the highest-ranking official present, hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Mayor Ma, after persuasion by the county party leadership, the coal miners have left on their own."

"Is that so? Who are you? Can you take responsibility for your words?" Ma Guangming said coldly, scaring the deputy secretary-general so much that his face turned white. Ma Guangming snorted and said, "Where is the meeting room? Take me to the meeting room! I need to have an immediate meeting with the county party standing committee members and the city party standing committee members."

The deputy secretary-general hurriedly led the way. Ma Guangming and the city's discipline inspection commission secretary and the political and legal affairs committee secretary greeted each other, and the three of them walked into the Wuxi County government building with an overwhelming aura.

Du Long and Lu Shunyu followed closely behind these three leaders, along with the deputy party secretary and deputy director of Yuming City's Public Security Bureau, Qin Junwei, and officials from the discipline inspection, supervision, and land and resources departments.

Before entering the government building, Du Long looked back and saw that over a hundred armed police had jumped off several trucks, indicating that Ma Guangming was not unprepared.

In the third-floor meeting room of the Wuxi County government building, which was about 150 square meters, a large round table was placed in the center. Ma Guangming and the three city party standing committee members sat down without hesitation. Ma Guangming took the main seat, with Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary Liu Mingqing and Political and Legal Affairs Committee Secretary He Guoqing sitting on his left and right, respectively. Qin Junwei and others followed suit, and then the lower-ranking officials, including Du Long, sat on the chairs along the walls.

County Party Secretary Zhao Huian, panting, led a group of county party and government leaders to the meeting room. Zhao Huian took a deep breath and walked in first.

Zhao Huian was a few years older than Ma Guangming, but he respectfully approached Ma Guangming and bowed, saying, "Mayor Ma, I..."

Ma Guangming waved his hand, interrupting Zhao Huian, and said, "Sit down. Time is tight, let's deal with the formalities later."

Zhao Huian quickly replied, "Yes," and obediently sat down according to the seating arrangement. After everyone was seated, Ma Guangming cleared his throat and looked at Zhao Huian, saying, "Secretary Zhao, I heard that the Tieling coal miners blocked the county government building. Why is there no one now?"

Zhao Huian quickly stood up and replied, "Some people did petition in front of the government building this morning, but after persuasion and guidance, they have left."

"Bullshit!"

A loud rebuke echoed in the meeting room. Zhao Huian's legs trembled, almost making him fall back into his seat. He thought Mayor Ma was scolding him, but everyone's gaze turned to a young police officer sitting behind Mayor Ma.

The one who called Secretary Zhao's statement "bullshit" was naturally Police Officer Du Long. Seeing everyone looking at him, he suddenly stood up, walked to the window, and pulled the curtains open. Du Long pointed to the square in front of the government building and said, "This large square is completely empty. Is that normal? There are still many fresh bloodstains on the ground in front of the government building. Can Secretary Zhao's 'persuasion and guidance' be understood as beating and driving them away?"

Zhao Huian's face turned pale, and the heads of the Wuxi County party and government hung their heads, as if they had shrunk.

Ma Guangming knew Du Long was telling the truth. He was not in the mood to marvel at Du Long's keen observation skills. Anger surged in his heart, and he slammed his hand on the table, shouting, "What time is it now! You dare to treat the petitioning citizens like this! You are simply... breaking the law!"

Zhao Huian's legs gave way, and he finally sat down. Ma Guangming's angry roar echoed in the meeting room, making the air feel as heavy as before a storm.

City Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary Liu Mingqing cleared his throat and said, "Mayor Ma, please calm down. Now is not the time to assign blame. Old Zhao, what exactly happened? What is the current situation of those citizens?"

Zhao Huian said with a bitter face, "It really has nothing to do with us. Just an hour ago, a group of people suddenly appeared in front of the government building. They used sticks to drive away the Tieling coal miners, just like a few days ago. Our city and county party and government absolutely did not order anyone to beat them."

Ma Guangming sneered and said, "Who is the Wuxi County Public Security Bureau chief? With so many thugs coming and going under your nose, have you found out who is behind this? Have you caught the thugs who committed the violence?"