That night, the niece spilled everything she knew.
Learning that her father was Dong Wei Gang, even Meng De Hai was startled: "This official is really high up."
No wonder he was the Party Secretary, he went after a big tiger right away.
He then called Xu Zhao to report: "Secretary Xu, we've apprehended the person and are interrogating her overnight. Dong Wei Gang is behind this."
Xu Zhao was watching TV at home. He smiled slightly when he heard this: "It's him."
Meng De Hai said, "What should I do next?"
Xu Zhao said, "Tomorrow I will hold a Party Committee meeting. Have your men ready outside the meeting room. I'll give you the signal, and then they will come in to arrest him."
Meng De Hai was surprised: "Arrest him at the Party Committee meeting!"
In an instant, he understood. Xu Zhao was going to make an example of him at the meeting.
He felt a chill down his spine and felt sorry for Dong Wei Gang.
Had he offended Xu Zhao or was he just a random unfortunate soul chosen by Xu Zhao?
"Okay, I understand."
Meng De Hai nodded.
After hanging up the phone, he felt uneasy, but couldn't help but anticipate tomorrow's meeting.
——
Ten in the morning.
The Party Committee meeting room.
The Party Committee Standing Committee, as well as some key department heads and bureau chiefs were present.
A total of twenty-seven people.
Before Xu Zhao arrived, they chatted amongst themselves.
"This meeting came out of nowhere. I got a call this morning, so I had to change my schedule."
"Is something urgent?"
They began asking each other what was going on.
But nobody knew the purpose of Xu Zhao's meeting.
"Most likely, he went to the Provincial Party Committee meeting a few days ago and got instructions from above. He's going to give a speech about it."
"Our Secretary Xu has been making headlines lately. He went to the Provincial Party Committee meeting and became a model for the entire province."
"Secretary Sha should know his background. How did he become a model for everyone?"
"Could it be that Secretary Sha really has his eye on him? A hero doesn't ask about origins."
"Otherwise, everyone knows that he used to work for Zhao Li Chun. He wasn't worth a penny on the scale, but he weighed a thousand pounds once he got on it. With his background, if it were to be investigated, he'd be a true model of legal learning."
"That's what they say, but I think it's best if it doesn't affect our Jinghai City."
"I have nothing to hide..."
Some officials whispered amongst themselves, discussing in low voices.
But even in the meeting room, how quiet could they be? Everyone could hear.
Some people genuinely had nothing to hide and hoped that Sha Rui Jin would set the place on fire, the more they burned, the better.
Others had mixed feelings.
They disliked Xu Zhao and hoped that Sha Rui Jin would bring him down.
But they were afraid that Sha Rui Jin would investigate them too.
At that moment, the meeting room door opened and Xu Zhao walked in holding a document.
Seeing the young Party Secretary, people reacted differently.
Some stood up to greet him.
Some sat there fiddling with pens.
Some sat up a little straighter.
Xu Zhao didn't pay attention to their attitudes. He waved his hand and said, "Sit down, everyone. Let's begin."
Once everyone had sat down, they all looked at him.
Xu Zhao began to speak: "I went to the Provincial Party Committee meeting a few days ago and listened to Secretary Sha's teachings. Today I'm mainly here to relay Secretary Sha's spirit and ideas."
Everyone thought to themselves: As expected.
They had heard this kind of stuff countless times before, so they weren't really interested.
Xu Zhao roughly summarized Sha Rui Jin's speech.
Sha Rui Jin highlighted the corruption and backwardness in Handong Province...
This undoubtedly sent a signal to everyone: Sha Rui Jin was indeed going to clean up the political arena in Handong Province.
Everyone was still a bit nervous.
"Right after Sha Rui Jin took office, the Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau in Handong Province, Chen Hai, was hit by a car and sent to the ICU."
Xu Zhao said.
Everyone, who was already a bit nervous, immediately straightened their backs when they heard this.
Chen Hai's accident hadn't spread yet, so the people from other cities weren't aware of it.
"Who has such audacity!"
Meng De Hai couldn't help but ask.
"We haven't figured it out yet, but this incident has drawn attention. They sent someone named Hou Liang Ping directly from the capital to investigate. Hou Liang Ping was originally the chief of the investigative department of the Supreme Procuratorate, and he's come to Handong Province to take Chen Hai's place."
Xu Zhao said.
"It even alarmed the capital, this is a big deal."
Everyone became even more nervous.
If it were a self-inspection, they could still try to play it safe.
They were most afraid of the envoy from the capital. He was ruthless and impartial, recognizing no relatives.
After all, he had no family in Handong Province.
"Chen Hai's case will likely implicate many people. I advise you all to be discreet for the time being. If you did something wrong in the past, try to handle it well. Otherwise, if Hou Liang Ping finds out, don't blame me."
Xu Zhao said.
"Of course."
Everyone nodded and planned to go back and take care of some things.
At the same time, they thought: It's not us who are the most dangerous, it's you, the Party Secretary.
Seeing Xu Zhao so calm.
They wondered if he really thought he was a model of learning and wasn't afraid of being investigated.
Oh, he's still young, he's lost his way after being flattered.
"Speaking of this, I want to commend one official in particular, our Jinghai City Court President, Dong Wei Gang."
Xu Zhao said with a smile.
Dong Wei Gang, who was deep in thought, looked up.
Seeing Xu Zhao's smile, he couldn't help but be a little confused: "Commend me? Is this real?"
Meng De Hai glanced at Dong Wei Gang and thought to himself: It seems it's about to begin.
"The other day I wanted to transfer a building that was going to be auctioned off privately, but President Dong rejected me outright. He said it had to follow procedures, and I, the Party Secretary, was no exception."
Xu Zhao said.
The corner of Dong Wei Gang's mouth twitched. He thought to himself: Is this really a commendation?
The expressions of others were a bit strange too.
Many of them thought: It was just a building that was going to be auctioned off, why did he have to refuse? There was no need to offend Xu Zhao for something so small.
Even though many people disliked Xu Zhao, if they put themselves in his shoes, they wouldn't offend him over something so minor.
Therefore, they were quite puzzled by Dong Wei Gang's actions.
"Initially, I was a little angry and wanted to strip President Dong of his robe. But then I thought about it, isn't President Dong a modern-day Zhou Yafu?"
Xu Zhao said.
Hearing those five words, modern-day Zhou Yafu.
Dong Wei Gang, who had been a little confused, was suddenly moved.
Maybe he was really praising me?
The others also thought: Could it be that Xu Zhao really has such tolerance?
Mainly, Xu Zhao's tone was too genuine.
Even they were temporarily unable to tell if Xu Zhao was being sincere.
"Even an ancient emperor could tolerate Zhou Yafu and let him make contributions, I, as a modern official, if I were to care about such a small matter, how could I be the Party Secretary?"
"After deep introspection, I realized my mistake, and I also realized what a rare and good official President Dong is."
"It's just as I said in my speech at the Provincial Party Committee..."
Xu Zhao's expression was sincere, and he praised Dong Wei Gang lavishly.
Gradually, Dong Wei Gang felt a little embarrassed, and his heart was filled with pride.
He even felt ashamed: Maybe I misunderstood Secretary Xu, he was really upholding the rule of law.
As he spoke, Xu Zhao gave Meng De Hai a look.
Meng De Hai received the signal and immediately took out his phone, secretly giving An Xin instructions under the table.
An Xin and the others had been waiting outside for a long time.
After receiving the message, they immediately ran in with the arrest warrant.
Bang!
The office door was pushed open by An Xin.
Everyone turned to look and saw a few people in police uniforms.
They all frowned, looking displeased.
Xu Zhao stopped his speech and feigned displeasure: "Meng De Hai, what's going on here!"
Meng De Hai pretended not to know what was going on. He said, "I don't know, An Xin, what are you doing here? You didn't even knock!"
An Xin remained expressionless and pulled out an arrest warrant: "We've been ordered to arrest Dong Wei Gang."
Dong Wei Gang: "..."
He had just been praised by Xu Zhao and was feeling happy.
This sudden turn of events sent his mood plummeting to rock bottom. He realized something was wrong.