Chapter 2864 The investigation must stop

“Secretary Jiang, I’m not sure if Comrade Shao Hongli is definitely involved, and I’m not saying we should do anything to Comrade Shao Hongli. I just think we must establish the attitude of investigating and punishing all violations and eradicating all evil.”

"The entire Shazhou area is watching this operation. If we continue to end it hastily and half-heartedly, how can it have a deterrent effect? ​​How can we show them the attitude of our current leadership towards fighting corruption?"

“You saw how arrogant these corrupt officials in the construction industry were during this operation. They openly threatened the government with work stoppages and then organized and incited migrant workers to paralyze traffic. If we hadn’t acted quickly, they would have gone to the provincial capital to cause trouble. What kind of behavior is this?”

“If we don’t wipe them out this time, who can guarantee that this kind of thing won’t happen again? If we don’t completely eradicate the criminals in the construction industry this time, the construction industry in Shazhou will never get better.”

“Secretary Jiang, I understand your concerns and I appreciate your worries, but I believe we must make long-term plans and consider the future of Shazhou.” Qin Feng suppressed his anger and continued to persuade Jiang Longjun.

"Qin Feng, you've already risen to the position of mayor, why are you still so idealistic? What? Do you really think you're a savior? Or do you think everyone else is a treacherous official, and you're the only honest one?"

“I know the situation in Shazhou better than you do. Do you really think that by sticking to Shao Hongli and bringing him down, Shazhou will completely change? I don’t think you’re that naive.”

"Qin Feng, let's be frank. Don't use the 'law must be punished' rhetoric as a pretext. Your idea is simply to take this opportunity to completely remove Shao Hongli from power. I understand that. The fact that I agreed to your action in the first place means that I didn't object to your suppression of Shao Hongli."

"But my support for you taking action against Shao Hongli does not mean that I support you removing Shao Hongli from office, nor does it mean that I agree to you escalating the situation to an unmanageable point."

“I support your desire to eliminate Shao Hongli’s influence and consolidate your power within the municipal government; this was agreed upon beforehand.”

"The current situation is that you have almost eliminated Shao Hongli's influence through this assessment operation, and I will basically not interfere with these vacant positions. You have arranged for new people to fill them."

"You have basically achieved your goals regarding these projects. You have driven away all the original project contractors and replaced them with your people. These projects are the treasure trove for Shao Hongli, Ding Wenbo, and others, and also the financial vault for their entire interest group."

“Now that you’ve eliminated all of Shao Hongli’s men and thoroughly seized his funds, Shao Hongli is just an empty shell and no longer poses any threat to you. You’ve already achieved your goal, so why bother to kill him?” Jiang Longjun made his point clear. Since it was just him and Qin Feng there, there was no need for any more bureaucratic talk.

"There's an old saying that goes, 'Don't wash your dirty linen in public.' You've already made quite a fuss about these few projects, but thankfully it's limited to Shazhou City, so everything is still under control. However, if you continue to investigate this matter, you know in your heart whether it will implicate Shao Hongli. Once Shao Hongli is implicated, it will be beyond the control of Shazhou City."

"What kind of problem is it that a member of the municipal party committee is involved in a case? How will the province view me as the municipal party secretary? How will it view you as the mayor? And how will it view our Shazhou leadership? What will the people of Shazhou think of our leaders?"

"Furthermore, if Shao Hongli is really implicated, will the province conduct a comprehensive investigation into our Shazhou? Don't you know how big the problems are in Shazhou itself? If that happens, how many problems and how many people will be found out? How will Shazhou continue to operate? Will it continue to develop? Will I, as the municipal party secretary, still be able to continue serving?" Shao Hongli's words became increasingly harsh.

"Secretary Jiang..." Qin Feng wanted to explain further, but Shao Hongli interrupted him directly.

"Stop talking, Qin Feng. I called you here today to inform you of the municipal party committee's decision, not to discuss it with you. Your investigation is over. Hand over all the investigative materials and leads to the Discipline Inspection Commission. The Discipline Inspection Commission will take over this case from now on, so you should not get involved anymore."

"Qin Feng, my opinion remains the same. The Discipline Inspection Commission will fully cooperate with your work on the assessment side, and you will take the lead. However, you should no longer interfere in the investigations of these projects; hand them all over to the Discipline Inspection Commission." Jiang Longjun gave the order directly, leaving Qin Feng no room for maneuver.

Jiang Longjun's last words sounded like a deal with Qin Feng. He supported Qin Feng in "eliminating" Shao Hongli's key personnel, and Qin Feng would decide which positions would be vacant. In other words, Jiang Longjun supported Qin Feng's complete control over the municipal government, but Qin Feng had to give up the investigation and the pursuit of Shao Hongli.

It appears to be a "fair" transaction, but in reality, Jiang Longjun had already promised Qin Feng these things before. Now, Jiang Longjun is using them as bargaining chips, essentially selling the same piece of meat to Qin Feng twice, while Qin Feng has to pay twice.

Qin Feng witnessed Jiang Longjun's treachery and shamelessness once again.

What Qin Feng found most unacceptable was Jiang Longjun's attitude towards him. In Jiang Longjun's eyes, he never regarded Qin Feng as the mayor. Just as he had just said to Qin Feng, he was not there to discuss things with Qin Feng, but to give orders. Qin Feng did not even have a chance to offer any opinions.

Qin Feng had seen domineering municipal party secretaries before, but he had never seen one as domineering as Jiang Longjun, and now Jiang Longjun was even more domineering towards Qin Feng than before.

Qin Feng guessed that the reason Jiang Longjun was becoming increasingly "domineering" towards him was because his sense of crisis was growing stronger. He was afraid that Qin Feng would slip out of his control, so he was going to such extreme lengths to keep Qin Feng under his control.

"Secretary Jiang, I don't agree to stop the investigation. This matter can't be stopped. We've found so much evidence, how can we stop it?" Qin Feng asked Jiang Longjun.

"I told you, you don't need to worry about this. Just hand over all the evidence and clues to the Discipline Inspection Commission, and they'll handle the rest," Jiang Longjun said impatiently.

Jiang Longjun had already said so much, and Qin Feng knew he couldn't persuade him anymore, nor could he talk to him nicely.

“Secretary Jiang, since you’ve put it this way, I’ll be frank too. From the beginning, you knew I was doing all this to target Shao Hongli. We reached an agreement back then: you wouldn’t interfere with my actions, and I guaranteed to expedite the relocation of the No. 1 Middle School to the Nanshan New District. But now you’re changing your mind at this last minute. Isn’t that inappropriate? You know in your heart that I’m determined to eliminate Shao Hongli completely. You shouldn’t be stabbing me in the back at this time,” Qin Feng said coldly.

Qin Feng's words were a reminder to Jiang Longjun that if Jiang Longjun broke the contract and prevented the investigation from continuing, Qin Feng would make an issue of the relocation of the No. 1 Middle School.