Chapter 2801 Divide the Opponent

"Mayor, so far, we have basically achieved the goals we initially set. If it weren't for the risks involved, we could have exceeded them. Furthermore, the assessment work can already be declared a success. Closing the net now will not affect the subsequent assessment work. I am fully confident of that," Chen Guohua replied.

There are several objectives for the assessment, but Qin Feng is now asking about the main one: the purge of Shao Hongli's influence in the municipal government. Chen Guohua replied that the objective has been achieved, which means that many of those dismissed and held accountable are from Shao Hongli's faction.

"However, the follow-up work will require the intervention and cooperation of the Discipline Inspection Commission," Chen Guohua said.

"The Discipline Inspection Commission will cooperate. Jiang Longjun promised, and he wouldn't dare go back on his word now. Moreover, as long as you have evidence, the Discipline Inspection Commission won't dare not investigate; it's just a matter of how far they investigate, which isn't important to us," Qin Feng nodded.

Qin Feng only wanted these people to leave their important positions; he didn't care whether they went to jail or how many years they served.

Just then, Sun Yuanwei knocked on the door and came in. Everyone, including Qin Feng, immediately stood up.

Sun Yuanwei and Qin Feng sat together on the sofa, while Chen Guohua and Jiang Yunpeng sat at either end. After Zhang Xinming poured Sun Yuanwei a cup of tea and refilled the water for the others, he quietly closed the door and left.

"Mayor Yuanwei, what's the current situation?" Qin Feng asked Sun Yuanwei after handing him a cigarette.

“Before I came, I checked the latest situation again. So far, only the sports center and sewage pipeline renovation projects have been suspended, and the situation is still under control. However, this is only temporary and just the beginning. More projects will definitely be suspended later, and there will definitely be organized protests by migrant workers. Public opinion campaigns will also follow, and the situation will become more and more serious,” Sun Yuanwei replied simply.

"Based on your assessment, how many projects do you think will be involved in the work stoppage?" Qin Feng asked.

Sun Yuanwei puffed on his cigarette, and several heavy smokers sat together, filling the room with smoke.

"I can't be 100% sure, but I estimate there won't be more than five," Sun Yuanwei said, puffing on his cigarette.

“Ever since you told me about their plan, we’ve placed people in every project to closely monitor the progress of each one.”

"Based on what we understand, they have been putting pressure on all of our major projects in the sandbar from the very beginning, using both carrot and stick tactics, demonizing the government, promising benefits, forming an alliance, and demanding unified action to jointly confront the government."

"However, Mayor, last time you asked us to hold a project symposium to begin dividing and winning them over, which effectively countered their unified alliance and caused some of their wavering forces to falter."

"I have been in contact with several project leaders who have no direct interest in Shao Hongli and Lixin Group. I have appealed to their emotions and reasoned with them, and I have also made some promises to them. I can assure you that these projects will definitely not follow their lead."

"Secondly, there are some wavering projects. They dare not offend Shao Hongli and Lixin Group, but they also do not want to confront the government, so they have been in a wait-and-see state."

"The remaining projects are those that have direct interests in connection with Shao Hongli and Ding Wenbo. These projects are their core business, and they will not back down to us. These projects are also the main targets of our operation, and we cannot accept their submission."

“We adopted different approaches for different projects during this inspection. For those projects that had no vested interest in Shao Hongli and others, we mainly used a more lenient approach and the inspection was less stringent, allowing them to conduct self-inspection and self-rectification.”

"For those companies that have no direct or deep interest in Shao Hongli and others, or those that are in a vacillating position of fearing Lixin Group but not wanting to confront the government, we adopt a strategy of both kindness and severity. On the one hand, we appease them and give them a chance to rectify their problems, while on the other hand, we maintain a certain level of inspection to deter them and prevent them from wholeheartedly following Lixin Group to confront us."

“We have adopted a high-pressure approach to those projects that have direct interests with Shao Hongli and others. The inspection efforts are very strong and the attitude is serious. Currently, we have found a lot of problems in these projects. I think this is also the reason why the other party is eager to resist.”

"Based on my speculation, the projects that will be halted in this wave are only five projects in this group, including the sports center and the sewage pipeline renovation project," Sun Yuanwei reported in detail, which gave Qin Feng a more intuitive understanding of the current situation.

"In other words, these are the only five projects that will definitely be suspended along with them. Determining the number and the targets is crucial," Qin Feng asked.

"I can't guarantee 100% that. After the work stoppage at the sports center yesterday, I immediately arranged for people to contact the people in each project. According to the feedback, apart from these five projects, the others should not be involved in the work stoppage."

"It cannot be ruled out that some projects that are hesitant will join later, but for now they will definitely take a wait-and-see approach unless the Lixin Group puts additional pressure on them that they cannot withstand."

"It mainly depends on how we deal with the projects that are currently suspended. If we choose to surrender or fail to respond effectively, more projects with wavering attitudes will definitely join the suspension list. But at present, it is almost certain that only these five projects are likely to be suspended," Sun Yuanwei analyzed again.

"Five projects, that's basically in line with our initial guess, all within our contingency plan," Qin Feng said after taking a drag of his cigarette.

"Yes, the current situation is as we expected, and it's much less intense than we anticipated. We are currently proceeding according to our original response strategy, and so far everything is going smoothly," Sun Yuanwei replied.

“We cannot let our guard down. This is just the beginning, and I think they are testing our attitude.”

"Because we found problems with these projects and took a very tough stance on them, the other party chose to stop work as a form of resistance. However, the intensity was not high, and there were no other underhanded tactics."

"It's more like they're testing our attitude, hoping we'll back down and give up on continuing the investigation into these projects, so that both sides can live in peace."

"From the current perspective, I tend to believe that Shao Hongli's opinion is dominant, because Shao Hongli's primary goal is definitely to protect these projects. If Yang Zhijie's opinion is dominant, he will either do nothing or take drastic measures, because his goal is definitely to remove me from office, not to protect these projects, so he won't be so lenient," Qin Feng analyzed.