Qi Tongwei: Sign-in relationship started during student days

Chapter 1122 The Storm of Dongjiang

Qi Tongwei smiled faintly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, his tone calm:

"Everyone, I'm heading back to the provincial capital tomorrow. Thank you all for your hospitality these past few days. Come on, let's have another drink."

"Come on, let's do it!"

……

The political turmoil in Handong Province had not yet subsided, but in the office of Zheng Bingyi, the provincial party secretary of Dongjiang Province, thousands of miles away, a storm was brewing.

According to the preliminary investigation report just submitted by the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, Gao Yaju, wife of Qi Quansheng, secretary of the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee, and Qi Xiaoyan, daughter, may be suspected of serious violations of discipline and law.

This report was like a thunderbolt, shattering Zheng Bingyi's long-planned scheme.

Qi Quansheng was a reformist general left behind by Chen Baichuan, the former Party Secretary of Dongjiang Province. He was also Zheng Bingyi's right-hand man, whom he relied on heavily.

This person has been in charge of Jingzhou for seven years since Chen Baichuan transferred him there. He has transformed this prefecture-level city, which had experienced several political upheavals and a demoralized population, into an economic leader in Dongjiang Province with a consistently high GDP. Half a year ago, it was even included in the list of candidate sub-provincial cities by the State Council.

According to Zheng Bingyi's plan, Jingzhou's upgrade to a sub-provincial level could be implemented as early as next year before the leadership reshuffle.

At that time, Qi Quansheng, as the top official of Jingzhou, will naturally become a member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee, becoming his most solid arm in the political arena of Dongjiang Province.

But now, everything has vanished.

The corruption of Gao Yaju and Qi Xiaoyan is no small matter. With their family members involved, even if Qi Sheng himself is clean-living, he will have no chance of remaining as the Party Secretary of Jingzhou City in the face of Party discipline, national laws, and public scrutiny.

The fact that a municipal party secretary in charge of a major economic city has a corrupt family and relatives is itself a serious political incident. How could he possibly retain his position?

It's a miracle if you don't end up in jail.

Moreover, the impact of Qi Quansheng's downfall extends far beyond this.

Jingzhou has a history of political upheavals, which occurred frequently as early as the time of Chen Baichuan.

When Chen Baichuan was promoted from provincial party secretary to become the first municipal party secretary, he adopted a policy of "going around red lights" in order to develop the economy. In the end, the economy developed, but Jingzhou's reputation was ruined.

Counterfeiting is rampant, and fake and shoddy products are prevalent, making it a world-renowned counterfeiting capital.

This ultimately angered those above, and more than fifty people in the entire team were investigated and punished.

This includes key leaders such as the municipal party secretary and the mayor.

The second municipal party secretary learned from the lessons of his predecessor and took a conservative approach, refusing to employ any cadres who were bold and daring.

During my two years in office, the economy not only failed to develop, but actually declined.

Chen Baichuan had no choice but to readjust his team, and thus, another drama of "a new emperor, a new court" unfolded in Jingzhou, plunging the city into turmoil once again.

The third municipal party secretary is the current municipal party secretary, Qi Quansheng.

He caused quite a few troubles when he first took office, the most famous of which was his political struggle with the second-in-command, Liu Chongtian.

Although Quan Chengsheng emerged victorious in this struggle, it inevitably triggered a political earthquake.

Because of this history, both the higher authorities and the Dongjiang Provincial Party Committee attach great importance to the political environment of Jingzhou.

Therefore, right now, he faces not only the question of whether Quan Qisheng will stay or leave, and the loss of control over his plans, but also two other important issues.

First, as the ballast stone of Dongjiang's economy, how can Jingzhou smoothly transition amidst the turmoil of the change of municipal party secretary, ensuring that the overall economic situation remains stable and the development momentum continues uninterrupted?

Secondly, if this corruption case gets out of control, it will inevitably give his opponents leverage, directly impacting the leadership transition next year. At that time, his re-election will likely be a pipe dream.

These two problems can be summarized into one problem.

—How to smooth out the political upheaval caused by the Qi Quansheng case at the lowest possible cost.

If the matter is handled slowly, public opinion will escalate and higher authorities will hold him accountable. As the provincial party secretary, he will be the first to bear the brunt, and he will be labeled as having failed in his personnel decisions and management, which will inevitably cause changes in the process of leadership transition.

If the punishment is too severe, it will shake up the officialdom of Jingzhou, the achievements of the reforms will be wasted, and the economic and political achievements of Dongjiang will be greatly diminished.

If the punishment is too lenient, it will not silence public opinion, nor will it suppress the political opponents lurking in the shadows, eyeing the situation with predatory intent.

As he cleared his mind, a chill rose from the depths of Zheng Bingyi's heart.

He knew that this seemingly isolated case of family corruption was by no means accidental.

It's more like a precise scalpel, piercing right into the core of his strategy.

Behind this, there must be an unseen political hand, using the Jingzhou case to meticulously dismantle his painstakingly built power base in Dongjiang Province and drag him into an abyss of no return.

Faced with this rapidly spiraling situation, Zheng Bingyi seems to have only one path left—sacrifice the pawns to save the king.

But while cars are easy to abandon, good looks are not necessarily easy to preserve.

It will be very difficult to smooth over this political earthquake.

As of now, he hasn't figured out who could take over such a massive undertaking as Jingzhou, given its complexity.

The only person who could make him consider this was Liu Chongtian, the current Executive Deputy Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission.

Before being transferred to Jingzhou, Liu Chongtian served as the mayor of a city with a high economic ranking. Although he had many problems with Qi Quansheng in Jingzhou, he was still considered competent overall.

Most importantly, he is familiar with the situation in Jingzhou, making him a good candidate for firefighting.

Most importantly, Liu Chongtian had been close to him since he took office a few years ago, and had even helped him oust the former governor of Dongjiang Province. He was one of his own.

But because of these reasons, he was forced to hesitate and find himself in a dilemma.

It should be noted that Liu Chongtian was driven out of Jingzhou by Qi Quansheng back then.

On the day he left Jingzhou, his wife and children were involved in a serious car accident, which ultimately resulted in the death of Liu Chongtian's son and the paralysis of his wife.

This forced him to carefully consider this move.

If Liu Chongtian were placed in this position, how would this new secretary treat Qi Quansheng, and how would he treat Qi Quansheng's former subordinates?

Will they investigate Jingzhou thoroughly?

After thinking for a long time, Zheng Bingyi was still unable to make up his mind on how to play the next move. Finally, he looked at the red landline on the table.

The call connected, and a calm and authoritative voice came from the other end—it was Ge Chongzhi, his strongest backer in the central government.

"Bingyi, what can I do for you?"

Zheng Bingyi said solemnly, enunciating each word clearly: "Elder Ge, something terrible has happened in Dongjiang."

The allegations made by Qi Quansheng's wife and daughter, after verification, may involve serious violations of laws and regulations.

The voice on the other end of the phone fell slightly: "So, Qi Quansheng can't be saved?"

"Yes," Zheng Bingyi's voice was heavy. "With him down, I'm worried that Jingzhou will be in big trouble."

He then laid out all his worries.

Silence fell on the other end of the phone. "Your considerations are not without merit. I'm afraid Liu Chongtian should use it with caution."

"Without him, Jingzhou will likely be even more unstable."