158: The fifth rule of Zhou's rule is to attack the weak spot!

In a conference room in Yinshan District, a symposium was underway.

Among those present were senior law professors from Jiangdong University of Political Science and Law, former judges, leaders from the Jiangdong Province Lawyers Association, and Director Wang from the Yinshan District Justice Bureau.

Everyone was chatting happily, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.

Such symposiums were never meant to discuss any substantive issues; no unit would reveal its problems to you.

Just then, Director Wang’s phone rang. After picking it up and glancing at it, he said to everyone, “Please continue talking; I’m going out to take a call.”

Soon, Director Wang went outside and answered the phone: “Hello, Director Xin, I’m currently at a symposium with Comrades from the Provincial Lawyers Association.”

On the phone, the voice of the Bureau of Justice leader rang out: “What symposium are you still attending? Just now, the Education Department called and said that people from the Provincial Lawyers Association are trying to cause trouble for their unit.”

“They submitted an information disclosure application, and then, in front of them, they said that the purpose of the application was to sue them.”

“They asked me what on earth was going on. What do you say is going on?!”

What the heck? Director Wang was a bit bewildered by the leader’s sudden reprimand and quickly said, “Director Xin, I don’t know what’s going on right now. Please wait while I ask them.”

After hanging up, Director Wang returned to the conference room with a very unpleasant expression and then called Chairman Yan Ruiyang out.

“President Yan, is there any problem with our reception this time?”

Chairman Yan Ruiyang was startled for a moment but immediately said, “Of course not, Director Wang. It’s Director Zhou’s side…”

He could naturally see that Director Wang’s attitude was not good, so he thought it must be Zhou Yun who had caused trouble.

But… that fast?

He went to sue in the morning, and they found out by now? Are the Court colleagues in Yinshan District that efficient?

He didn’t tell Director Wang about this matter. His idea was simple: for civil disputes, it would take several days for the lawsuit to be filed and for the Education Department to be aware of the situation.

And they wouldn’t be staying here for many days, so he planned to discuss it properly with Director Wang when they were about to leave.

Unexpectedly, there was already a commotion just this morning?

What on earth did Zhou Yun do? Didn’t he say it was a civil dispute with the Education Department?

Director Wang spoke up: “President Yan, Director Zhou went to the Education Department and submitted an information disclosure application, asking the Education Department to disclose all the information about that project.”

“And then you know what he said? He said he needed to sue the Education Department but hadn’t found enough evidence, so he had to ask them to disclose it first, and then he’d use that evidence to sue.”

“The leaders of the Education Department almost started swearing. Knowing it was the Lawyers Association’s legal popularization team, they called our leader and asked what was going on. Just now, our Director Xin asked me.”

“President Yan, what do you say is going on? Ah, did we not do a good job with the reception? Why did Zhou Yun start causing trouble as soon as he arrived?”

“This move is brilliant… Ahem, well, Director Wang, we can’t control Zhou Yun.”

To be honest, President Yan really couldn’t hold back just now, because this move was indeed brilliant!

What to do if there’s no evidence to sue? Ask the opponent to provide it to us, and they must provide it.

This kind of unconventional approach truly brightened one’s eyes upon hearing it.

Chairman Yan Ruiyang was also a legal professional. Although he wasn’t on the same path as Zhou Yun, it didn’t prevent him from finding this move brilliant!

Director Wang frowned: “You can’t control him? Isn’t this organized by you?”

Chairman Yan Ruiyang said helplessly: “Director Wang, the event is organized by us, but how can we control someone like Zhou Yun? What can we do? At most, we can tell him not to participate in the event anymore.”

“The Lawyers Association doesn’t even bother looking at complaints about him anymore…”

“How about this, Director Wang, I’ll give you his phone number, and you can call him and ask.”

Director Wang nodded and quickly dialed the number.

“Hello, is this Director Zhou? I’m from the Yinshan District Justice Bureau. We met yesterday. I have something I’d like to ask you…”

Soon, Zhou Yun’s voice came from the phone: “Oh, Director Wang, you know what I did, right? I said yesterday that I would cause you a little trouble, and you said then that I was too polite.”

“So I thought, it’s just a civil dispute. Is there a problem with me, a Lawyer, taking a case?”

Director Wang was immediately choked, but his face quickly darkened: “Director Zhou, what are you saying? The defendant in your case is the Education Department. Can that be the same?”

“We kindly received you, wined and dined you, and this is how you repay us?”

On the other end of the phone, Zhou Yun naturally heard that Director Wang’s tone was not good.

So he directly said: “So what? It’s only right to pay debts. You can’t say that an administrative agency can just owe money, can you?”

Zhou Yun didn’t say one sentence: If they dare to owe money casually today, he couldn’t imagine what they would dare to do tomorrow.

“Besides, your reception is one thing, but I can’t take cases? What does my suing the Education Department have to do with you?”

“Furthermore, working on a case is also a legal popularization activity, right? I plan to talk about this case in other places to properly popularize the law for everyone. Is there a problem?”

Director Wang was left speechless. Some things you can discuss under the table, but you can’t even mention them on the table.

It’s normal to sue for unpaid project funds.

Applying for information disclosure according to legal regulations is also normal; no one can say there’s a problem with that.

Moreover, it’s a civil dispute. What does it have to do with you?

But this is reality. There’s a saying that goes, the trouble with the world lies in you having me and me having you.

Hanging up the phone, Director Wang turned and left, saying nothing more.

Because it was obvious that Zhou Yun didn’t care about anything.

However, the problem still needed to be resolved, and the pressure quickly shifted to Chairman Lan Hongbo.

What could he do? At this moment, he could only withstand the pressure, but it was still alright. Although the pressure was great, he could still handle it.

That Zhou Lawyer shouldn’t cause any more trouble, right…

In the Yinshan District Education Department, the leaders were also out of options. Zhou Yun was constantly pressing them, so they could only prepare to communicate with Zhou Yun’s side.

In the office, Jiao Xiaoyan poured tea and then smiled: “Zhou Lawyer, I just reported to the leader.”

“Whether you apply for information disclosure or sue, it’s all to solve the problem, so we can actually mediate directly and resolve the issue substantively.”

Zhou Yun also smiled upon hearing this: “Of course, we need to solve the problem. If you pay the project funds directly, then I certainly won’t bother.”

What he used here was the fifth rule of Zhou’s Law: When encountering a problem, attack its soft underbelly!

Everyone has a soft underbelly, and units are naturally the same. This is different from “finding a patron.”

A patron is a third party outside the opponent. Finding a patron means pulling the third party into the conflict and then letting that powerful third party solve the problem.

The soft underbelly, however, is the opponent’s own weakness. The core meaning of the fifth rule of Zhou’s Law is actually both offensive and defensive.

On one hand, you need to find the opponent’s soft underbelly and attack it fiercely. On the other hand, you should have fewer soft underbellies yourself.

Zhou Yun had no soft underbellies. He was an orphan, had no relatives or friends, and had the system as his backing, so he feared nothing.

And now, it was clear that the other party had been thrown into disarray by this fierce attack.

He was clearly telling them what he was going to do, but they just couldn’t stop him.

The goal is to solve the problem. If a lawsuit can be avoided, it should be avoided. Litigation is always the last resort.

Moreover, enforcement after winning a lawsuit is also a problem… Don’t think that administrative agencies are easy to deal with. In fact, the enforcement by administrative agencies is currently a major headache.

It’s simple: if ordinary people don’t comply, they can be detained or their property can be frozen.

As mentioned before, if an administrative agency doesn’t comply, would the Court freeze their accounts? Or would they send bailiffs to detain the administrative agency’s leader?

This is unthinkable.

Regulations are regulations, but ultimately, they are enforced by people.

Many law students have heard a story—yes, a story—from their teachers when studying administrative law.

It is said that when administrative litigation was first implemented, a certain provincial government was sued.

When the case reached the Court, the person responsible for serving the documents was in a dilemma: to whom should I serve this?

Then he thought, when suing a company, documents are usually served to the company’s head. So, when suing the provincial government, it must be served to the provincial government’s head… No problem.

So, this document was given to the provincial government’s head, who was also the province’s second-in-command…

According to the current Administrative Litigation Law, this understanding is not a big problem. You are the legal representative, so it’s for you.

But you need to know that law is gradually perfected. Our country’s administrative litigation was institutionalized in 1990, the year the first version of the Administrative Litigation Law came into effect.

In fact, starting from 1950, many laws, including the Constitution, already had some scattered provisions stating that administrative disputes could be brought to Court, but they had not yet formed a system.

Therefore, the Court level would not be high either.

Thus, one can imagine that situation; it basically ranks within the top one hundred of “how big a mess a person can make.”

Getting back to the main topic, in many cases, not to mention freezing, the Court cannot even directly deduct funds, because theoretically, the money of administrative agencies is fiscal funds, and every single amount is allocated after budgeting.

If you deduct this money, then a certain unit below might not have funds.

So what to do? A good way is to put these units on the list of dishonest judgment debtors. Theoretically, theoretically, after being on the list, the legal representative, which is the unit leader, cannot fly or engage in high consumption…

A few years ago, many units were put on the list of dishonest judgment debtors.

Zhou Yun wasn’t worried about this. Anyway, in the end, it would just be exposed online, and at that point, the other party would definitely pay.

But if the means of public opinion can be avoided, it should be, after all, the system task requires: legal means.

If public opinion is used, the final revenue will definitely plummet, and the mission might even fail.

And now, the goal is to get the money. As long as the money is given, the information doesn’t even need to be disclosed.

Jiao Xiaoyan still smiled: “But Zhou Lawyer, it’s not that we won’t give it, but rather that our unit doesn’t have the money right now. All the current funds are allocated for specific purposes, and no one dares to misappropriate them.”

Zhou Yun certainly believed this, because it was indeed the current situation.

But the current situation doesn’t mean it can be accepted.

“If you don’t dare to misappropriate, then let’s proceed through normal legal channels, and deal with it as it should be dealt with, what do you say?” Zhou Yun said with a natural expression.

“Otherwise, you’ll just drag it out year after year as a historical issue. What about the parties involved, huh? Have you ever thought about this problem?”

Jiao Xiaoyan said with a bit of helplessness: “But Zhou Lawyer, that’s just how the situation is. Our leader’s intention is to see if we can come up with a solution that both sides can accept.”

Zhou Yun directly waved his hand and said: “It’s been so many years, and the interest is already substantial. What kind of solution can both sides accept? Are you willing to pay in installments?”

“You’re not willing to pay in installments, right? Then what is it, another project? Don’t even think about it, my client can’t handle that kind of trick…”

In his previous life, he had also handled similar cases, but back then, he was giving advice to the administrative agency side. He was very clear about all the things the other party was saying.

To put it bluntly, all these methods had only one purpose: to drag it out.

Drag it out until when? Until this leader is transferred, until a new leader comes in.

Then the matter becomes the new leader’s problem.

So now Zhou Yun’s goal is simple: you pay today. If not, then proceed with the normal process.

Can we talk? Of course, but talking cannot delay the process.

Because both information disclosure and civil litigation have specified time limits. Only by starting the process will the other party feel a sense of urgency.

Wanting to talk but not wanting us to go through the process, what is that? That’s called being a rogue!

“Alright, quickly issue me the relevant receipt. Don’t tell me you’re not going to give it to me; I’m going to the Discipline Inspection Department right now!”

“You need to think carefully. Issuing a receipt is your obligation. Is this matter yours?”

Complaints must have clear reasons and evidence. For cases like not providing a receipt, there’s absolutely no problem in filing a complaint.

Jiao Xiaoyan was helpless, because the Zhou Yun opposite her was truly capable of doing such a thing.

Moreover, the other party was right: issuing the receipt was her responsibility, but owing project funds had nothing to do with her…

So, after another report to the leader, Jiao Xiaoyan issued the corresponding receipt.

Zhou Yun took the receipt and said: “Take your time to think of a solution, no rush.”

After speaking, Zhou Yun turned and left, heading straight for the other symposium venue. After all, President Lan was a good person, and he needed to help President Lan hold the fort.

On the way, Zhou Yun dialed Luo Hongxuan’s number.

“Hello, Old Luo, let me tell you something. The Education Department will definitely contact you during this period and offer you some conditions. My advice is not to agree to anything unless they give you the money directly.”

“Yes, trust me, I’m right. Promises made verbally are useless. This leader said it, but the next leader who comes might not acknowledge it.”

“So don’t rush. We’ve started the procedures. Now, they should be the ones rushing!”

Luo Hongxuan on the other end of the phone quickly agreed, feeling his mood instantly lighten.

Lawyer Zhou’s involvement truly made a difference. The other party would actually take the initiative to contact him?

Before, he used to specifically go to meet the leaders but couldn’t even see them. They avoided him like the plague.

Zhou Yun hung up the phone and quickly arrived at the venue.

He knocked on the door, entered, and then greeted everyone as if nothing had happened: “Sorry, sorry, I’m late. I was busy with something just now. Director Wang knows, I reported to him.”

Director Wang was so choked he almost spat blood. Was that reporting?!

Everyone present had already learned about the situation, as Director Wang had been complaining for a long time at the symposium.

At this moment, hearing Zhou Yun’s words, no one knew what to say. Only Chairman Yan Ruiyang smiled bitterly: “Director Zhou, please sit wherever you like. Our symposium is almost over anyway.”

Zhou Yun didn’t care at all and just sat down next to them.

Lawyer Zhou was just that understanding.