210: Chapter 210 The Zhang Clan's Rebellion

As the last elderly widow of the second branch tremblingly pressed her red fingerprint onto the payment ledger.

The envelope containing the full compensation amount was steadily placed into her calloused hands.

This liquidation of old debts, which had spanned many years, had finally completed the process of tangible fund repayment.

Secretary Lu Guoliang of the Qingjiang County Party Committee sat in the center of the rostrum, his gaze sweeping across the farmers below.

The essence of governance lies in winning the hearts of the people.

Such tangible scenes were far superior to the lengthy, tedious reports delivered at County Party Committee meetings.

Director Xu Jie stood on the side of the long table, closing the thick verification register in her hand.

"The fund repayment segment is concluded."

"Next, I invite the Secretary of Heishi Town, Secretary Qiu Dehai, to speak."

Applause gradually rose within the venue, echoing rhythmically in the cold wind.

Secretary Qiu Dehai cleared his throat and pulled a speech draft from his briefcase.

"Fellow villagers, comrades."

Secretary Qiu Dehai's opening remarks had just been transmitted through the speakers into the air.

At the very end of the crowd in the venue below, an aberration suddenly arose.

"To hell with your speech! This accounting is unfair! Some people haven't received their compensation!"

A rough, manic male voice forcibly drowned out the volume of the speakers on the rostrum.

A burly man with a face full of flesh pushed his way out from the edge of the crowd.

He pointed a finger at the rostrum, saliva flying from his mouth.

This man was named Zhang Di, a key member of the Zhang Clan's main branch, and also the younger brother of Director Zhang Qiu.

In earlier years, relying on his older brother's status in the town, Zhang Di had inserted himself into the building materials business in Heishi Town and had made plenty of illicit profits.

Whenever he encountered obstacles, no matter how big or small the matter, his brother Director Zhang Qiu would always step in, either using his authority to apply pressure or soliciting other station heads to smooth things over.

However, the winds of change had blown fiercely through Heishi Town recently.

His brother Director Zhang Qiu had been taken away in public by Director Li Qiang of the County Commission for Discipline Inspection and was being held at the town guesthouse with no news of him.

The various bigwigs who used to call Zhang Di brother were either taken away for questioning and had yet to return, or were huddled in their offices, not even daring to answer their phones.

Rumors had long been circulating in the Town Government building: the new Deputy Secretary Zhu was going to completely eradicate the roots of the Zhang Clan.

Zhang Di's standard of living had hit rock bottom; even when he went to the town tavern to run up a tab, the owner would coldly chase him out.

This disparity caused the man to pile all his resentment onto the head of Zhu Wenhao.

Last night, Clan Elder Zhang Laoqi had sought him out and finalized the grand plan for today.

The reward was extremely generous: anyone who showed up to participate in the heckling would receive five thousand in cash on the spot; those responsible for holding banners and leading the charge to break through the police cordon would receive even greater rewards afterward.

With money to be made and an opportunity to ruin this man named Zhu, Zhang Di had agreed readily.

Before setting off, Clan Elder Zhang Laoqi had given him repeated instructions at the ancestral hall.

All actions were to be taken based on the signals from Zhang Yue of the main branch, to be launched in unison.

The rules were set strictly, but Zhang Di was a reckless brute without any self-control.

Watching the penniless members of the second and third branches walk away from the stage with thick envelopes one by one—

Those funds were originally extra dividends that the family of Village Secretary Zhang Dahai had withheld, and every year, Zhang Di had been entitled to a share.

This was equivalent to cutting flesh from his own body.

Rage burned through his reason; Zhang Di threw Clan Elder Zhang Laoqi's instructions to the back of his mind and jumped out at the top of his lungs.

This shout directly disrupted the entire deployment.

The thugs from the mining area, who had been mingling with the crowd, heard Zhang Di's provocation and assumed the horn for action had already sounded.

Seeing someone take the lead, a dozen men from the mining area immediately raised their voices to join in the heckling.

"The Town Government is acting unfairly!"

Jeers and curses rose one after another. At the edge of the originally orderly venue, several pre-prepared banners were forcibly unfurled.

They were covered with accusations of Zhu Wenhao's tyrannical law enforcement. Several women even sat directly on the ground, slapping their thighs and wailing dryly.

In the corner, Zhang Yue, the main branch key member responsible for leading the team, was completely stunned.

This was absolutely not the scheduled time!

He reached his hand into his coat pocket.

He frantically pressed his phone, contacting the command outside the venue.

Two kilometers outside the venue, inside an abandoned bungalow.

Clan Elder Zhang Laoqi sat on a dilapidated rattan chair, tightly gripping a copy of the conference agenda in his hand.

This agenda was something Secretary Qiu Dehai had secretly had someone pass out yesterday.

The two had already reached a tacit understanding: they would wait until Secretary Qiu Dehai finished his speech, and then let the chaos erupt.

The phone vibrated with an incoming call; Zhang Yue's urgent report came through.

After hearing about Zhang Di's premature provocation, Clan Elder Zhang Laoqi's withered fingers gripped his cane tightly.

Utterly stupid.

Zhang Di's charge directly interrupted the speech of the Town Party Committee Secretary and, even worse, caused all the leaders to lose face in front of Secretary Lu Guoliang of the County Party Committee.

"It's a mess, it's all a mess," Clan Elder Zhang Laoqi gritted his teeth.

But things had reached this point; the arrow was already on the string, and there was no turning back.

The people from the mine were already causing a scene; if the main branch backed down now, the hearts of the entire clan would scatter.

Once the hearts were scattered, his position as the clan elder of the Zhang Clan would no longer be secure.

"No need to wait." Clan Elder Zhang Laoqi issued the order into the phone, "Since that idiot Zhang Di has already started, you all just charge up there. Stir up the water!"

Having received the order, Zhang Yue no longer hesitated.

He ripped off the duck-billed cap on his head and waved his arm, and dozens of young, strong men from the main branch surged toward the rostrum from all directions.

The situation at the venue fell into chaos within half a minute.

Seeing this, the reporters from the county television station hurriedly snapped the lens caps onto their cameras, shouldered their tripods, and retreated to the edges.

If a video of an accident of this magnitude were to leak out, their jobs would be gone.

On the rostrum, Secretary Qiu Dehai's face turned a shade of purple and blue.

He had leaked the agenda to Clan Elder Zhang Laoqi to use force against force, to make Zhu Wenhao lose face, and thereby complete the suppression task assigned by Mayor Su of Linjiang City.

Now, this brainless thing Zhang Di had actually jumped out during his speech segment.

Interrupting his speech in front of the head of the County Party Committee.

With Secretary Lu Guoliang sitting right next to him, what would he think of Secretary Qiu Dehai?

To be unable to control even the villagers under his own jurisdiction—this was complete incompetence in management!

"Police Chief Zhao Gang! Deputy Police Chief Li Sanqiang! Are you dead? Hold those troublemakers down!" Secretary Qiu Dehai turned and roared at the stage.

At the forefront of the defense line, Deputy Police Chief Li Sanqiang, his head wrapped in gauze, pushed back against the charge with all his might.

"Do not retreat! Anyone who dares to charge the cordon, take direct mandatory measures!" Deputy Police Chief Li Sanqiang shouted at the police officers beside him.

However, the police force of the Town Police Station was already thin.

The few regular police officers and auxiliary police had to face dozens of people, and the defense line was as thin as gossamer.

Even worse, the team itself was not clean.

Many of the dozen or so locally recruited auxiliary police had ties to the Zhang Clan of Heishui Village.

They usually looked majestic in their uniforms, but when it came time to actually fight their own clansmen, they all started to slack off.

Facing the shoving from Zhang Di and the others, a few auxiliary police blocked them symbolically before voluntarily retreating, leaving a gap more than two meters wide in the defense line.

"Get out of the way! Don't block the road!"

Seeing the police retreat, Zhang Di's arrogance grew even more rampant. He kicked over the metal barricade and led the human tide directly toward the bottom of the rostrum.

The situation took a sharp turn for the worse.

Town Mayor Luo Xingbang on the stage saw that things were going poorly and had long since risen to hide behind the side of the backdrop.

Secretary Qiu Dehai was in a state of panic; he could no longer care about any plan to suppress Zhu Wenhao.

If a group clash of this scale resulted in injury to the Secretary of the County Party Committee, his political career would be completely over.

Secretary Qiu Dehai turned around and used his body to shield Secretary Lu Guoliang.

"Secretary Lu, this place is not safe. Let's retreat to the office building first!" Secretary Qiu Dehai opened his arms, shielding Secretary Lu Guoliang as he retreated toward the passage behind the rostrum.

Secretary Lu Guoliang did not say a word, watching the chaotic, murky scene below with cold eyes.

He did not reprimand Secretary Qiu Dehai, nor did he issue any orders to quell the situation.

This mess was an old debt of Heishi Town, and the fire would not burn the head of the Secretary of the County Party Committee. Retreating was the best choice at this moment.

Surrounded by Secretary Qiu Dehai and the Director of the Party and Government Office, the back of Secretary Lu Guoliang disappeared behind the backdrop.

The wide rostrum was instantly empty.

Only on two chairs did people remain.

Deputy Secretary Zhu Wenhao.

And Director Xu Jie of the Party and Government Office.

Director Xu Jie sat upright in her chair, her gaze sweeping over the rioters about to break through the last line of defense, her right hand tightening in her pocket.

She was assessing.

Assessing how Zhu Wenhao would handle this sudden chaos, assessing what trump cards he still held in his hand.

She had no intention of calling for help, because she knew very well that with this man's temperament, he would never entrust his own safety to others.

Zhu Wenhao placed his hands on the table.

Despite the deafening jeers and curses below, his posture did not shift by even a fraction.

Zhang Di stepped onto the wooden stairs on the side of the rostrum and crossed up in a few strides.

He was clutching a wooden stick he had dismantled from somewhere, breathing heavily as he approached the main seat.

Those town mayors and secretaries who were usually high and mighty had all run away.

This caused Zhang Di's arrogance to swell to its peak; he even developed the illusion that he could rule this patch of land.

He walked to within three meters of Zhu Wenhao and slammed the wooden stick in his hand heavily onto the edge of the rostrum table, emitting a dull thud.

"Zhu, you think you're so capable! Where's the money? Pay up! Why'd you stop?"

Zhang Di tried to find panic, fear, or the cowardice of begging for mercy on the face of this Deputy Secretary.

As long as Zhu Wenhao showed the slightest bit of weakness, he would take the opportunity to step on his head and crush that high and mighty dignity into the mud.

There was nothing.

There was absolutely nothing.

Zhu Wenhao remained seated in his chair, not even turning his head to look at Zhang Di.

"A good blade must be used at the very end."

Zhu Wenhao's lips parted slightly, his voice steady, yet it fell clearly into the ears of Director Xu Jie, who was close at hand.

He finally turned his head, his gaze pausing for half a second on Zhang Di's twisted face.

It was as if a chess player were watching a piece that was already destined to be captured, making its final, futile struggle.

Zhang Di felt a lump in his throat from that look; the hand holding the wooden stick stopped in mid-air, and he couldn't muster the strength to bring it down.

The cold wind around the venue seemed to stop flowing at that moment.