The Worst Plan

Another sleepless night. Cigarette ash covered the floor, and the living room was filled with smoke. Gao Yuliang's eyes were somewhat vacant.

The inspection team has arrived!

Early in the morning, Tian Guofu, secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of Handong Province, received the inspection team.

Gao Yuliang keenly sensed the danger. This was his political sensitivity honed over many years in politics. If he wasn't mistaken, once he started work, the inspection team would talk to him, or even... take him away directly.

Gao Yuliang couldn't understand why, despite making so many changes in this life, the ending still seemed terrible. The only difference was that Qi Tongwei's fate had been rewritten.

"It seems this is the only way..."

After much deliberation, Gao Yuliang finally set his sights on Yi Xuexi, the mayor of Lüzhou City.

I absolutely cannot let the inspection team take me away; that's a one-way street!

In his previous life, he was taken away by the inspection team, investigated, and ultimately imprisoned in Qincheng Prison for sixteen years before dying in despair.

If all else fails, he can only use the scandal involving Yi Xuexi, the mayor of Lüzhou City, to make a new exchange of benefits with Sha Ruijin.

Politics, in essence, is an exchange of interests.

He believed that as long as he had evidence of Yi Xuexi's downfall, Sha Ruijin, who was careful to protect his reputation, would definitely not dare to let the Central Inspection Team take him away!

No matter how bad the situation was, as long as Provincial Party Secretary Sha Ruijin stepped in on behalf of the Provincial Party Committee, he could temporarily save himself. This was a fragile political balance in officialdom.

Corrupt officials can be investigated, but they cannot interfere with local socio-economic development.

However, Gao Yuliang was somewhat unwilling. The downfall of Yi Xuexi, the mayor of Luzhou City, was originally the beginning of his counterattack against Sha Ruijin, the provincial party secretary, and Tian Guofu, the secretary of the discipline inspection commission. Now, he was forced to make an exchange.

Once an exchange of benefits is made, the problem of easy learning will definitely be solved quickly, but then one's own troubles will still follow one after another.

As the old saying goes, "If you see a snake and don't kill it, you're guilty of three parts sin; if you kill a snake and don't kill it, you're guilty of seven parts sin!"

If you don't kill the snake, you'll suffer the consequences!

If we can't just kill Sha Ruijin and Tian Guofu outright, and wait for them to make their preparations, we'll only be the ones who die!

Just then, Wu Huifen came downstairs and quietly looked at Gao Yuliang, whose face was full of worry, at the top of the stairs. She said anxiously, "Yuliang, I heard from the students of the Discipline Inspection Commission that the Central Inspection Team arrived this morning..."

"Hmm..." Gao Yuliang murmured, puffing on his cigarette.

"Yuliang, are you really alright? There's been a rumor going around the school lately that the inspection team came to Handong this time because..."

Before Wu Huifen could finish speaking, Gao Yuliang interrupted her: "Isn't everyone saying that the inspection team came to take down the big tiger in Handong, and everyone says that big tiger is me?"

Wu Huifen nodded, looking somewhat worried...

"Teacher Wu, it's not as serious as you think. If I were really taken away by the inspection team this time, Sha Ruijin and Tian Guofu would be even more anxious than I am."

Gao Yuliang, beaming with confidence, smiled and reassured her, "Teacher Wu, I might be busy until very late today. If you don't have any classes at school, please plant those potted plants. I was thinking of enjoying the flowers together with you sometime soon..."

"Do you think I can still live here after you're gone?"

Gao Yuliang's body trembled slightly, and the cigarette he was about to smoke stopped. Memories of death assaulted him wildly, leaving his mind blank and temporarily unable to think.

Wu Huifen sat down next to Gao Yuliang, staring intently at him: "Yuliang, are you really not regretting it at all?"

"What's the use of regret?" Gao Yuliang asked, his eyes filled with confusion. "That's how we got here."

"Teacher Wu, I've thought about this a lot these past few days. I've never been able to live this life without you." Gao Yuliang looked at Wu Huifen and said with genuine emotion, "So I've decided to spend the rest of my life making up for it and for this regret of mine."

Gao Yuliang's gaze gradually hardened, and he said firmly, "Whether it's Provincial Party Secretary Sha Ruijin or the Central Inspection Team, I will find a way to resolve it. Teacher Wu, you don't need to worry about me."

After a pause, Gao Yuliang said in a seemingly relaxed tone, "Teacher Wu, those flowers should be planted and watered as needed. The sky won't fall."

With that, Gao Yuliang stood up, picked up the briefcase that Teacher Wu had prepared, and said with a smile, "Teacher Wu, I'm leaving..."

"Wait!" Wu Huifen called out to Gao Yuliang, who was about to leave, picked up the glasses case from the coffee table, walked over to Gao Yuliang, and said, "Take this with you..."

"Huifen, you're the best."

Gao Yuliang took the glasses case, turned and walked out the door, but in his mind he was already planning what to do next!

Thinking of the gentle and virtuous Teacher Wu, and his obedient and sensible daughter, Gao Yuliang's eyes gradually turned cold, and his aura became sinister.

In this life, I cannot be taken away by the Central Inspection Team!

Absolutely not!

If Sha Ruijin wants to fight to the death, he guarantees that Sha Ruijin will not fare well either, and many people in the Han Dong officialdom will be buried with him!

Qi Tongwei was already waiting at the door. When he saw Gao Yuliang come out, he hurriedly ran up to him and said anxiously, "Teacher, you can't go to the provincial party committee compound. I've already received news that the secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, Tian Guofu, has handed your case over to the inspection team. If you go to the provincial party committee, you might not be able to get out."

Qi Tongwei forced himself to calm down and suggested, "Teacher, you can make an excuse to go to another city for research and come back after the inspection team leaves."

"You are a centrally-managed cadre. Once the inspection team leaves, even if Sha Ruijin and Tian Guofu wanted to deal with you, they would need to follow organizational procedures!"

Gao Yuliang looked at the panicked Qi Tongwei, smiled, shook his head and said, "Tongwei, I am the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of Handong Province. You can run away on the first day of the month, but you can't hide on the fifteenth."

"And now that you're the vice governor, how come you still speak and act so carelessly and are not steady at all?"

"Teacher..." Qi Tongwei's eyes reddened as he was scolded by his teacher again. "I know everything. I know you used Li Dakang's problems to exchange for my promotion to vice governor. I also know that my first-class merit was because of Zhao Donglai..."

"Nonsense!"

"Nonsense!"

"What does 'First-Class Merit' mean? Because of Zhao Donglai?"

Gao Yuliang reprimanded, "Qi Tongwei, your first-class merit was awarded by the Ministry of Public Security after a thorough review and investigation. What does it have to do with Zhao Donglai?"

"Also, what does 'exchanging vice governors' mean?"

"Your promotion to vice governor is due to your sufficient ability, qualifications, and achievements. It was proposed and decided by the provincial party committee standing committee and approved by the state. There was absolutely no exchange involved, nor will there be one!"

"From now on, think before you speak and act, and always act in accordance with the law. Don't say anything that violates organization and discipline again, understand?"

After saying that, Gao Yuliang asked, "By the way, did you bring Zhang Feng, the Secretary-General of the Luzhou Municipal Government, whom I asked you to bring before?"

While criticizing Qi Tongwei, Gao Yuliang had already prepared for the worst. If all else failed, he would go all out!