I order you to arrest Hou Liangping immediately!

Meanwhile, in the compound of the Provincial Party Committee of Handong Province, in the office of the Provincial Party Secretary.

As soon as Sha Ruijingang returned from the hospital, Ji Changming from the Handong Provincial Procuratorate rushed over to report on his work.

"Secretary Sha, something happened today that is extremely serious in nature and has a huge social impact. I must report it to you in person!"

Ji Changming, from the Handong Provincial Procuratorate, sat upright opposite Sha Ruijin's desk, his face serious. "Just an hour ago, Sun Liancheng, the former instructor of the Jingzhou Municipal Children's Palace, came to the Provincial Procuratorate. In the lobby, in full view of everyone, he clashed with Hou Liangping, the director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, and even came to blows!"

Hou Liangping, director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Provincial Procuratorate, suffered two broken ribs and multiple injuries, and has been admitted to the intensive care unit!

Sha Ruijin suddenly stood up, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief as he stared at Ji Changming, the chief prosecutor of the provincial procuratorate: "What? What did you say? Hou Liangping was beaten by Sun Liancheng and is now in the intensive care unit?"

"Yes, Secretary Sha..."

Upon receiving confirmation, Sha Ruijin paced anxiously back and forth in his office. The thought of Hou Liangping's special status gave him a terrible headache. He looked at Ji Changming and ordered, "Sun Liancheng dared to assault someone in the Provincial Procuratorate; he must be severely punished. No amount of pleading on his behalf will change anything!"

Ji Changming was also troubled, but he forced himself to say, "Secretary Sha, the main surveillance footage shows that Hou Liangping struck first, and there's another thing..."

Ji Changming took out his phone, opened the trending news section, and reminded everyone: "Someone posted photos of Sun Liancheng being taken away and detained online. In addition, the fire in Zhongfu District, Jingzhou City on November 116th just happened. Sun Liancheng, the hero who saved lives, has received a lot of attention and quickly became a trending news topic."

As Sha Ruijin looked at the news reports, especially the headline: "Hero who saved lives arrested after reporting a corrupt official; how dark is the sky in Handong?" and the subsequent questions about the fairness and impartiality of the officialdom in Handong, Sha Ruijin's face grew increasingly grim.

With a grave expression, Sha Ruijin handed the phone back to Ji Changming, his brow furrowed and his face dark. "Has the person who posted this message been caught?" he asked.

"We caught him." Ji Changming nodded. "Secretary Sha, speaking of which, this person has some connection with our procuratorate. Many years ago, when Chief Prosecutor Chen Yanshi had not yet retired, Chen Hai had just graduated and entered the provincial procuratorate, but he was three points short of the required score."

"Due to the carelessness of its staff, the Provincial Procuratorate mixed up Chen Hai's and Wang Lin's grades. Wang Lin made a fuss about it for a long time, but in the end, nothing came of it."

"I know about this matter. Sun Liancheng caused a scene at the Standing Committee meeting and filed a formal complaint against Chen for favoritism, abuse of power, and corruption."

Sha Ruijin looked up at Ji Changming with a scrutinizing gaze and said, "This includes this matter. Sun Liancheng said that Old Chen used his power to switch the two people's scores so that his own son could get into the Provincial Procuratorate."

"This..." Ji Changming instantly realized that Provincial Party Secretary Sha Ruijin was testing his loyalty and forcing him to make a statement.

With a smile, Ji Changming hurriedly said, "Secretary Sha, this matter happened too long ago. Whether it was Old Chen abusing his power or a staff member making a mistake due to carelessness, it is impossible to verify or investigate now."

Hearing Ji Changming's ambiguous answer, Sha Ruijin inwardly cursed him as an old fox, but outwardly nodded calmly. "Wang Lin isn't in the provincial procuratorate, is he? How did he get these photos and know this information?"

Ji Changming said, "Wang Lin is indeed not a prosecutor from the procuratorate. He is just a police officer from the provincial procuratorate. To be precise, this matter is related to Vice Governor Qi."

"Wang Lin was recruited into the Public Security Bureau of Handong Province by Qi Tongwei, and it was Qi Tongwei who signed off on his transfer to our procuratorate as a police officer in charge of security for the procuratorate."

"Secretary Sha, I have notified the cyber police to block the information online, but the speed of information spread on the internet is too fast now, and the effect is not ideal."

"Regarding Sun Liancheng's case, the Provincial Procuratorate needs to provide instructions from the Provincial Party Committee as soon as possible on how to handle it."

Sha Ruijin ordered, "Release is absolutely out of the question. Breaking two ribs of an anti-corruption bureau chief at the Handong Provincial Procuratorate is an unforgivable criminal offense!"

"Regarding the handling of Sun Liancheng, the Provincial Committee will convene a Standing Committee meeting immediately to discuss it and will give you a reply as soon as possible."

……

After reviewing the surveillance footage from the provincial procuratorate, Gao Yuliang understood the cause and effect and came up with an idea.

He stood up, picked up the phone, and dialed Ji Changming's number, loudly reprimanding him, "Ji Changming, what is Hou Liangping doing? What is the Handong Provincial Procuratorate doing?"

"Instead of investigating criminal suspects reported by the public under their real names, they actually took action against the whistleblowers, and the provincial procuratorate even arrested the whistleblowers. Who gave Hou Liangping the courage? Who gave the provincial procuratorate the audacity?"

Ji Changming felt a chill run down his spine, but he still smiled and said, "Governor Gao, please let me explain. The Provincial Procuratorate..."

The next second, Gao Yuliang interrupted him directly: "I don't have time to listen to your explanation, Ji Changming. I only have two questions for you: Did Comrade Sun Liancheng go to the Provincial Procuratorate to file a formal complaint against criminals?"

"Yes, but..."

"As the director of the anti-corruption bureau of the provincial procuratorate, was Hou Liangping the one who struck first?"

"Yes, but..."

Before Ji Changming could even begin his explanation, Gao Yuliang ruthlessly interrupted him, "Fine, that's enough!"

"Ji Changming, I order you to immediately arrest Hou Liangping, the director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Handong Provincial Procuratorate, and handle his case according to the law. I warn you, do not knowingly break the law or cover up Hou Liangping's illegal and criminal activities!"

Ji Changming panicked, "Governor Gao, Hou Liangping is still in the ICU..."

Unfortunately, Gao Yuliang didn't give him any chance to explain and hung up the phone, leaving only a busy tone.

……

In the provincial party committee meeting room, Gao Yuliang received a notification and walked in with a water glass. All the other members of the Standing Committee of the Handong Provincial Party Committee, except for the secretary of the Luzhou Municipal Party Committee who was still on his way, had arrived.

Sha Ruijin glanced at the assembled leaders of Handong, his expression serious, and said in a cold voice, "I believe many of you have already heard about the emergency Standing Committee meeting being held today."

"I'll say it again: this afternoon, Sun Liancheng stormed into the Handong Provincial Procuratorate and, in broad daylight, in full view of everyone, beat up Hou Liangping, the director of our Anti-Corruption Bureau."

"According to the hospital, Comrade Hou Liangping has two broken ribs and multiple injuries, and has been admitted to the intensive care unit."

"The provincial procuratorate has taken Sun Liancheng, the assailant, into custody, but this incident has caused a great stir online and is even escalating. We need to come up with a solution as soon as possible."

Sha Ruijin's gaze was cold and his voice was solemn as he said, "Let me state my opinion first. Merit is merit, and fault is fault. Sun Liancheng deserves credit for risking his life to save people from the fire, but that cannot cover up the fact that he is guilty of assaulting a public official."

"I suggest that Sun Liancheng's actions be publicized online, and that the Provincial Procuratorate severely punish him according to law, without any leniency!"

After he finished speaking, Gao Yuliang, seeing that no one spoke, sat up straight and said calmly, "I do not agree with Comrade Ruijin's suggestion..."