Recruiting

"Qi Tongwei promoted to vice governor? Was this Secretary Sha's idea? Or yours?"

"It was my idea, Secretary Sha didn't know I was looking for you!" Li Dakang changed the subject, "But don't worry, Secretary Yuliang, as long as you agree to my request, I'll persuade Secretary Sha to let Qi Tongwei become the vice governor."

"Alright." Gao Yuliang smiled. "The Central Inspection Team will arrive in two days. If Qi Tongwei can be confirmed as the vice governor in these two days, I will definitely not mention Secretary Dakang during the inspection team's investigation of me."

Gao Yuliang readily agreed. Qi Tongwei is really lucky in this life. First, he turned the Lincheng incident into a blessing in disguise and won a first-class merit from the Ministry of Public Security. Now he is going to be promoted to vice governor!

He originally intended to target Li Dakang, the Party Secretary of Jingzhou City, to bring down Sha Ruijin, the Provincial Party Secretary, and Tian Guofu, the Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission. He would definitely not agree to Li Dakang's request, not even if it meant Qi Tongwei's promotion to Vice Governor.

But now that Yi Xuexi, the mayor of Luzhou City, has been implicated in a scandal, it's not impossible to let Li Dakang off the hook. It would be simpler, easier, and more direct to target Yi Xuexi himself!

Moreover, he had promised not to mention Li Dakang, the Party Secretary of Jingzhou City, during the investigation, nor had he said he wouldn't mention Yi Xuexi, the Mayor of Lüzhou City, so he had not broken his promise.

Li Dakang breathed a sigh of relief when Gao Yuliang agreed. He was really afraid that Gao Yuliang would drag him down with him, since his problems couldn't stand the scrutiny. If things really got serious, it could lead to big trouble!

However, Gao Yuliang only gave him two days, which made Li Dakang feel a sense of urgency. Fortunately, Qi Tongwei was the director of the Public Security Bureau of Handong Province, while in other provinces the position was held by the vice governor.

Furthermore, in Handong Province, the three major departments of public security, procuratorate, and court—the Public Security Bureau, the Procuratorate, and the Higher People's Court—have both the Chief Prosecutor of the Procuratorate and the President of the Higher People's Court at the vice-ministerial level. Only the Director of the Public Security Bureau, who bears the heaviest responsibility, is still at the ministerial level. This is inherently a political pathology.

Moreover, and most importantly, in the Lincheng incident, Qi Tongwei received a first-class merit award from the Ministry of Public Security, which will be made public in the next couple of days.

Qi Tongwei's promotion to vice governor can be described as having the right timing and location, except for the right people. As long as the provincial party secretary Sha Ruijin nods at this time, the last piece of the puzzle will be completed, and Qi Tongwei's promotion to vice governor of Handong Province will be a foregone conclusion.

Li Dakang was very confident in persuading Provincial Party Secretary Sha Ruijin; in fact, he was extremely confident. Otherwise, he wouldn't have used this as a bargaining chip.

The reason is simple: Qi Tongwei received a first-class merit award from the Ministry of Public Security. He is a model police officer and a people's hero. With such a title, he can be kept in check for at least a year and a half.

Since we can't do anything about it anyway, we might as well go with the flow and promote him to vice governor. This arrangement can be seen as cooperating with the Ministry of Public Security and conforming to the will of the people.

After clearing his mind, Li Dakang smiled and agreed, "Secretary Yuliang, two days is fine. Don't worry, I will definitely persuade Secretary Sha and the Provincial Party Committee in two days. Director Qi will make new contributions, and it is only right that he be promoted to Vice Governor."

"That's good, as long as it's done according to the law." Gao Yuliang changed the subject, "But Secretary Dakang, now that this problem is solved, you won't go back on your promise to treat us to dinner, will you?"

"Secretary Yuliang, what are you saying? You said you'd treat me to a meal, so you really mean it." Li Dakang pointed to a local restaurant not far away. "I've already ordered the food. It's right there. Let's go over there now."

Just then, Gao Yuliang's secretary, Xiao He, jogged up to him and whispered in Gao Yuliang's ear, "Secretary, Secretary Sha is on the phone."

Gao Yuliang took the phone from his secretary and said, "This is Gao Yuliang. What instructions does Secretary Sha have?"

"Hey Gao, I'm at the provincial stadium. I'd like to ask you to play basketball. Do you have time?"

"Secretary Sha invited me to play basketball, so I have to make time even if I don't have it." Gao Yuliang glanced at his watch and replied, "Secretary Sha, you warm up first, I'll be there in about ten minutes."

After hanging up the phone, Gao Yuliang turned to Li Dakang and teased, "Secretary Dakang, you're really lucky. I was planning to take advantage of you, but Secretary Sha needed to talk to me, so I can't."

"Secretary Sha's matter is important, Secretary Yuliang, you go ahead and get busy. How about we have dinner together after you're done?" Li Dakang then added, "If you're busy too late, that's fine. We can schedule another time tomorrow. Just give me a call anytime, Secretary Yuliang, if you have time."

Looking at Li Dakang, who spoke so succinctly, Gao Yuliang finally understood why Zhao Lichun had specifically named Li Dakang as his secretary back then. Compared to Li Dakang, his own secretary was simply worlds apart.

Gao Yuliang agreed, "Secretary Dakang, I don't know what Secretary Sha wants to see me about yet. Let's do it another day. As long as Secretary Dakang acknowledges it, that's fine."

"I'll honor it, I'll definitely honor it!" Li Dakang said with a smile, patting his chest as he assured, "Not only will I honor it, but I'll also increase the interest rate, Secretary Yuliang."

"Even eating a meal incurs interest? This is the first time I've seen such a humorous side of Secretary Dakang..."

Amidst laughter and cheers, Gao Yuliang boarded the special car that had arrived and sped towards the Handong Provincial Stadium. Fortunately, the stadium was not far from Xuanwu Lake, and they arrived at their destination in less than twenty minutes.

Secretary Xiao He opened the car door and said apologetically to Gao Yuliang as he got out, "I'm sorry, Secretary Yuliang, we didn't prepare basketball uniforms and shoes..."

"It's nothing. Secretary Sha invited me to play basketball; it was just a sudden event."

Gao Yuliang offered a gentle word of comfort and strode towards the stadium. Before he even reached the basketball court, he heard the dull thud of a basketball hitting the ground.

Upon noticing Gao Yuliang's arrival, Sha Ruijin passed the basketball to Secretary Bai, then went to the side, picked up a towel to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and gestured to Gao Yuliang, "Old Gao, want to play some basketball to warm up?"

"No, no." Gao Yuliang waved his hands repeatedly. "Secretary Sha is young and strong. My old arms and legs are about to fall apart if I don't move around. Playing basketball would kill me."

Sha Ruijin put down the towel, raised his eyebrows, and retorted, "I don't think so. How am I old? I'm not much older than you. In the next few years, I'm planning to work with Secretary Yuliang to contribute to the development of Handong."

Understanding the implication of Sha Ruijin's recruitment, Gao Yuliang feigned ignorance and said, "I'd like to, but I'm afraid of causing trouble for Secretary Sha..."

"What trouble is there?" Sha Ruijin sat down on the bench and said seriously, "Actually, we've investigated your problem pretty thoroughly. As long as you're willing to truthfully explain the problem to the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, we'll try our best to resolve it ourselves and not trouble the organization."

Gao Yuliang wasn't stupid. Sha Ruijin's words were very clear: he wanted Gao Yuliang to admit his mistake and hand over leverage so that Sha Ruijin could easily control him!

But the price would be too high if he did that. Not to mention that he would have no hope of promotion for life, as long as he bowed his head and admitted his mistake, Sha Ruijin would have a handle on him and would have to do whatever he was told!

Gao Yuliang smiled and said, "Secretary Sha, what issues do you want me to address? I don't think I have any issues. Didn't I make it very clear at the Standing Committee meeting? Even if I go to the Organization Department of the Central Committee or the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, I still don't think I have any issues."

"The innocent will remain innocent, and the guilty will remain guilty, Secretary Sha."