Chapter 2903 Responsibility Shared

“I understand the reasoning the secretary is making, but… if I force the police to close the case as a suicide, what if the case is overturned someday? Wouldn’t all the responsibility fall on me?”

"The Party Secretary entrusted this matter to me, and I was the one who forced them to close the case as a suicide. How am I supposed to explain this? Party Secretary, don't you think that makes sense?" Qin Feng said to Jiang Longjun with a smile.

Jiang Longjun's expression became complicated after hearing Qin Feng's words.

Jiang Longjun is a real old fox. He's not good at doing practical things, but he's an expert at studying these conspiracies and schemes. He thought of these things from the beginning, which is why he handed the matter over to Qin Feng. Right now, he just doesn't want to take responsibility and is pushing all the responsibility onto Qin Feng because the Shao Hongli case can only be closed as a suicide out of fear of punishment.

Moreover, Jiang Longjun also calculated that the downfall of the Yang family was highly probable; it was only a matter of time, perhaps a year, or perhaps ten or twenty years. But as society progressed, the Yang family would definitely be purged.

When the day of reckoning comes, Shao Hongli's death will definitely be brought up again. If it can't be suppressed, someone will have to take responsibility. Qin Feng is the person Jiang Longjun has chosen to take responsibility. On that day, Jiang Longjun will not only not speak up for Qin Feng, but will also kick him while he's down. Jiang Longjun had planned all of this long ago.

Jiang Longjun originally thought that Qin Feng was too young to think so deeply and far ahead, but he did not expect that Qin Feng would guess his plans so clearly, which made Jiang Longjun very angry.

Jiang Longjun glanced at Qin Feng a few times, but didn't speak immediately. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then leaned back in his chair, looking at Qin Feng and saying, "So what are your plans now? This matter needs to be resolved eventually, and it can't be delayed."

"Indeed, the province has made it clear that we should resolve this matter ourselves, and as things stand, the only way to classify Shao Hongli's case is as suicide."

"Secretary, how about this? Either issue an order in the name of the Municipal Party Committee to close the case as suicide, or convene a Standing Committee meeting to discuss this matter," Qin Feng said slowly.

After Qin Feng finished speaking, Jiang Longjun's eyes flashed with cold light again.

Qin Feng instructed the municipal party committee to issue an order requiring Jiang Longjun to issue a document in the name of the municipal party committee, ordering the public security bureau to close the case as a suicide. If nothing goes wrong, all will be well. But if the case is overturned, with this document in hand, the responsibility will fall entirely on Jiang Longjun.

However, Qin Feng also knew that Jiang Longjun would never do that, because doing so would mean that Jiang Longjun would bear all the risks alone.

Therefore, Qin Feng offered a second option: convene an executive meeting to discuss the matter and have the Standing Committee pass a resolution requiring the Public Security Bureau to close the case as a suicide as soon as possible. If the case is overturned later, the responsibility will fall on the entire Shazhou City leadership, meaning everyone will share the responsibility and no one will be able to escape it.

However, as the squad leader, Jiang Longjun certainly bears the greatest responsibility.

So regardless of the method, what Qin Feng wanted was for Jiang Longjun to take the main responsibility. Qin Feng's meaning was very clear: I can handle things, but everyone has to share the responsibility, and you have to take the lion's share, otherwise no one should do it. Anyway, if things get out of hand, Jiang Longjun will bear the greatest responsibility.

Jiang Longjun withdrew his cold gaze, lit another cigarette, and took two puffs.

“Mayor, the Standing Committee meeting can be held, but once it’s held, everything will be on the table and must be implemented.” Jiang Longjun ultimately chose to compromise. He had no other choice. For Jiang Longjun, the priority now was to resolve the Shao Hongli issue as soon as possible.

“Secretary Jiang, I’ve said it before: our Shazhou team is a unified whole. At this time, we are all in the same boat and our interests are aligned, so I know what to do.”

"Moreover, since we are going to hold a Standing Committee meeting, we must discuss the cases of Ding Wenbo and Shao Hongli. Now that Ding Wenbo has been arrested and Shao Hongli has died, our Shazhou Municipal Government is missing two vice mayors. Shouldn't we study the candidates to recommend to the province as soon as possible?"

"We need to identify a successor as soon as possible and fill the positions quickly, otherwise the municipal government simply cannot function," Qin Feng said.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Longjun suddenly laughed and said, "Mayor, aren't you being too impatient? I won't go back on my promise to you."

“Secretary, the municipal government is such a large organization. Suddenly losing two vice mayors, including an executive vice mayor, will cause big problems if the vacancies continue for a long time. The province has always been slow to act in this area. If we don’t submit our recommendations in advance, we don’t know how long they will drag it out. We can’t afford to wait,” Qin Feng replied.

Despite all this talk, Qin Feng simply didn't trust Jiang Longjun's character. Now that he had a point of leverage over Jiang Longjun, he needed to settle things, because only what he had in hand would give him peace of mind.

"Then tell me your opinion," Jiang Longjun asked.

"What do you think of Comrade Feng Changjun taking over as executive vice mayor?" Qin Feng asked directly.

Upon hearing that Qin Feng was going to promote Feng Changjun, Jiang Longjun's expression changed slightly, showing some displeasure, but not much surprise.

Jiang Longjun had long guessed that Qin Feng might want to promote Feng Changjun, since Qin Feng didn't have many people he could recommend.

Jiang Longjun was displeased because Feng Changjun had just contradicted him at the meeting that day, and Feng Changjun had previously been one of his men.

Qin Feng asked him to recommend someone who had publicly defied or disobeyed him, and this person was also someone who had "betrayed" him, which naturally made Jiang Longjun unhappy.

If possible, Jiang Longjun would definitely not let Feng Changjun take the position. Regardless of whether Jiang Longjun ruthlessly betrayed Feng Changjun, in Jiang Longjun's eyes, Feng Changjun was a "traitor who served three masters," who betrayed him and sided with Qin Feng, and who openly defied him today. Jiang Longjun hated Feng Changjun to the core.

However, these are special times, so Jiang Longjun could only swallow his anger and nodded, saying, "Feng Changjun's personal abilities are average, and his political awareness isn't particularly strong either. But considering the current special circumstances, he's the most suitable candidate. What you said makes some sense. We should submit our recommendations in advance and do our job well so that we can give the province our opinions beforehand, lest the province just parachute in someone, which would catch us off guard."

"At the same time, I think we should also submit the successor plan for Comrade Changjun. If Comrade Changjun's appointment is confirmed, I hope that Comrade Jiang Yunpeng can take over the position of vice mayor from Comrade Changjun. This position should have been held by Comrade Jiang Yunpeng, but at the time, we considered that he was new to the city and needed to familiarize himself with the situation before making any adjustments," Qin Feng continued.