104: Chapter 104 Getting More and More Outrageous

Tao Zhimian was the First Political Commissar of the Jianghan Provincial Military District, the First Secretary of the Provincial Military District Party Committee, and the Director of the Provincial National Defense Mobilization Commission.

This was an important manifestation of the principle that the Party commands the gun.

He had hinted so clearly that Hou Junjie wouldn't dare not to listen.

However, to Tao Zhimian's surprise, Hou Junjie scanned the crowd and slowly raised his right hand.

"I agree with Governor Sun's view and support the disciplinary inspection and supervision of the Tongan Die-Casting Machine Factory."

Tao Zhimian's brow furrowed, feeling as though his power was slipping away.

This Hou Junjie had no eye contact with Sun Zhendong the entire time. Why was that?

He didn't have time to think it through; he uncrossed his arms and raised his right hand.

"Governor Zhendong is right. Restructuring is not for a few people to seize the opportunity for personal gain. We must investigate this to the very end!"

"When dealing with reform, we must not only have the courage to scrape the bone to remove the poison but also the determination of a warrior to cut off his own wrist!"

The Standing Committee members who hadn't raised their hands: ...

You were the one who said to be extremely cautious, and you're also the one saying you've made up your mind. So we're the only ones left to be the bad guys, right?

After the meeting, Tao Zhimian returned to his office, closed the door, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag.

The strong stimulation of nicotine cleared his mind slightly.

After a long while, he picked up the landline and dialed a number.

"Ji Hongwen, oh Ji Hongwen, you've got some nerve! You actually hid so many things from me!"

On the other end of the phone, Ji Hongwen spoke submissively:

"Secretary, you know I've always respected you and listened to you. How could I possibly hide anything from you?"

"Cut the damn sweet talk to fool me! I'm notifying you in the name of the Provincial Committee that Tongan City must fully cooperate with the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection's investigation!" After saying that, Tao Zhimian slammed the receiver down.

Tao Zhimian protected subordinates who were loyal to him, but he cherished his own reputation even more.

He wouldn't risk his own political future over a subordinate's mistake.

Since the Standing Committee had formed a resolution, he had no choice but to execute it resolutely.

On the other side, Sun Zhendong returned to his office and made a call on his private phone.

"Junjie, thank you. If it weren't for you, today would have been quite uncertain."

"Brother-in-law, what you said today was excellent. I raised my hand because you are on the side of justice." Hou Junjie was still on his way back to the Military District.

Sun Zhendong smiled. "Why use such formal language with family? Come over for dinner this weekend; I'll cook personally!"

"No, let my sister do it instead!" Hou Junjie agreed and hung up the phone.

Hou Junjie was a soldier trained by Sun Zhendong's father-in-law. In the past, he was a frequent guest at the Han residence and had always addressed Sun Zhendong's wife, Han Zhiyu, as his elder sister.

At the same time, in the Tongan Municipal Committee office building.

After receiving the call, Ji Hongwen sat in a daze for a long while, desperately thinking of a countermeasure.

He sensitively realized that after the province changed Governors, things were different than before.

After a long time, he picked up his mobile phone, typed in a number, deleted it, and typed it again.

After several repetitions, he finally gritted his teeth and dialed.

"Zhiyuan, it's Hongwen!"

"Haha, it's Hongwen. You're quite free at this time of day."

On the other end of the line, Xiao Zhiyuan, the Governor of Donghai Province, greeted him with a laugh.

However, there was a clear sense of distance in his laughter.

Ji Hongwen naturally heard it, but he couldn't care less.

"Zhiyuan, regarding that June 11 Case matter, Guo Mingkai was the one who sent people. Now that Guo Mingkai is being held by the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, I'm worried..."

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Xiao Zhiyuan:

"There's nothing to worry about. If there are problems, just confess them."

Ji Hongwen never expected Xiao Zhiyuan to have this attitude and immediately became agitated.

"Zhiyuan, that matter back then was for your sake!"

"For me? Did I agree to it? You're the one who messed up and didn't know when to stop. Now you want me to clean up your mess? No way!"

It would have been better if this wasn't mentioned; mentioning it made Xiao Zhiyuan very annoyed.

He always felt that the June 11 Case was like a time bomb buried beside him.

It might explode one day, blowing him to pieces and leaving him with nothing.

"But you didn't object at the time either! If you're going to be heartless, don't blame me for being unjust!"

Xiao Zhiyuan's cold attitude gave Ji Hongwen an urge to have a falling out.

Hearing the anger in Ji Hongwen's voice, Xiao Zhiyuan's tone softened:

"Hongwen, don't worry. I'll think of something."

Ji Hongwen pressed on: "You'd better find a way! If I'm taken in for questioning, I'll definitely tell everything about what happened at the Provincial Finance Department back then, word for word!"

After finishing, Ji Hongwen hung up harshly.

When they worked together in the Jianghan provincial organs, the two were iron brothers who knew each other's secrets inside out.

Ji Hongwen was certain that Xiao Zhiyuan was absolutely afraid of him revealing his past and wouldn't refuse to help.

But as for how much Xiao Zhiyuan could actually help, he had no idea at all.

Ji Hongwen sat in his office, smoking one cigarette after another in frustration.

Suddenly, his private mobile phone vibrated twice in his trouser pocket.

He pulled it out and saw that he had received a message. The sender's name was noted as: Xiao Liu.

...

Tongan Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection Integrity Education Center.

Coming out of Liu Yi and Wu Licheng's lounge, Zhao Yang felt more and more that something was wrong.

He believed that his previous trip with Gao Yan to the Tongan Die-Casting Machine Factory dormitory had been extremely secretive.

It was impossible for Guo Mingkai's people to have spotted them in such a short time.

Someone must have tipped them off.

At that time, besides Jiang Nan, only Lu Zheng, Zheng Beichen, Liu Yi, and Wu Licheng knew about it.

Lu Zheng had always taken good care of him and had hinted at his stance, so he could be ruled out.

Zheng Beichen had gone out with him many times to investigate evidence, and no problems had occurred.

The most suspicious ones left were Liu Yi and Wu Licheng.

And this time in Tongan, Division Chief Lu Zheng hadn't explained the mission at first and repeatedly emphasized work discipline.

Could it be that he had realized something?

Coming to Lu Zheng's office, Zhao Yang made a request to Lu Zheng:

"Master, I need to go to the Die-Casting Machine Factory dormitory again. I want to contact the Accountant Li that Sun Dehai mentioned earlier. What do you think..."

Lu Zheng nodded. "This witness is crucial. We must contact him as soon as possible to avoid any further complications."

Zhao Yang said, "This time, I'd like Gao Yan to come with me."

He deliberately mentioned Gao Yan to see Lu Zheng's reaction.

Sure enough, Lu Zheng's expression tightened. "In that case, I'll have He Yunqiao send two Special Police officers to protect you. You must stay safe."

Zhao Yang breathed a sigh of relief. His master was indeed trustworthy and could be ruled out.

When he informed Gao Yan, she looked surprised:

"Going again? Aren't you afraid?"

"What's there to be afraid of? We have Special Police protection this time. Hurry up and change; I'll wait for you in the lounge."

Returning to the lounge, Zhao Yang immediately dialed Jiang Nan's number.

"Jiang Nan, do you remember which day I went to the Die-Casting Machine Factory last time? Check these two numbers for me and see who they contacted on that day."

After saying that, Zhao Yang hung up immediately and sent over Liu Yi and Wu Licheng's private numbers.

Jiang Nan looked at the disconnected call and gritted her teeth.

This guy hadn't contacted her for two days, and as soon as he called, he gave her a task.

He's really becoming more and more brazen.

Although she felt uncomfortable, she knew that Zhao Yang must be very anxious right now.

After receiving the text message, she immediately handed the two numbers to the technicians.

"Find out all the communication records for these two numbers on October 13 as soon as possible!"