Nominal: The pinnacle of power began in the sixth province of Handong.

Chapter 141 Drawing Thunder

After listening, Xia Qing nodded thoughtfully.

This guess is very reasonable.

The yin-yang tent needs to be dealt with in some way.

Private accounts, that's a very dangerous thing.

This will greatly provoke the beneficiaries behind the scenes.

Based on past cases, there are countless examples of people being silenced for keeping secret accounts.

Xia Qing asked curiously:

"Secretary Guofu, I have a question. Is this speculation about the private account purely based on experience, or have we already obtained some clues? If it's the latter, then we must investigate as quickly as possible and protect the person holding the private account before they are exposed."

Tian Guofu admired him greatly.

"As expected of Minister Xia, nothing can be hidden from you. Indeed, the existence of the private account is not entirely speculation. We and the procuratorate do have some clues, but they are rather scattered and cannot yet form a clear lead."

Xia Qing nodded and said:

"The most urgent task is to speed things up as much as possible. This kind of investigation is a race between two sides; whoever gets ahead first will gain the upper hand. Also, we must not alert them or arouse their suspicion. I heard that the audit department went directly to Huilong Group to collect the debt, right? We need to get them to report the results as soon as possible to stabilize these companies under investigation, so that we can continue the investigation."

Tian Guofu agreed authentically:

"That makes sense. Minister Xia's thinking is very thoughtful. I'll talk to Director Ling about it right away."

After discussing it further, the two ended their conversation.

After Tian Guofu left, Xia Qing called Chen Hai again to inquire about the progress of the investigation.

He repeatedly emphasized that strict confidentiality must be maintained.

Chen Hai stated that all participants had signed confidentiality agreements.

Xia Qing nodded, then suddenly thought of someone and asked:

"Where is Hou Liangping? Has he returned to work?"

Chen Hai replied:

"No. The disciplinary committee was worried that if he returned to work, there would be similar threats of whistleblowing materials, so they let him rest before the Lunar New Year and return to work after the New Year."

Xia Qing knew perfectly well about the report against Hou Liangping.

Hou Liangping was proven to be innocent, and Xia Qing also obtained information through other means.

However, it's unclear where the whistleblower materials came from.

"Has the source of the whistleblower materials been verified?"

Xia Qing asked.

"No. The surveillance cameras malfunctioned by sheer coincidence during the suspicious time period, and neither the compound nor the disciplinary committee found any records of suspicious individuals entering or leaving."

Chen Hai answered truthfully.

Xia Qing fell into deep thought.

All of this was clearly planned, but its execution went so smoothly.

The mastermind behind this is incredibly powerful and influential.

At least within the provincial party committee compound, he held absolute control.

But from another perspective, only after getting rid of Hou Liangping could Chen Hai concentrate on advancing his work.

In fact, we should thank the person who reported this.

Xia Qing said into the phone:

"Alright, keep an eye on this matter. Remember, you must not alert the enemy while you are working on this. Once you are fully prepared, take them down in one fell swoop."

"Yes, Minister!" Chen Haidao replied.

Xia Qing put down the phone, smiled bitterly, and muttered to herself:

"These are turbulent times; it seems this year will be anything but peaceful."

……

The New Year in Handong has come and gone just like that.

Nothing major happened in Handong during the Spring Festival holiday.

However, Qi Tongwei reported something to Xia Qing in person.

The Ministry of Public Security sent a confidential letter saying that the National Security Bureau had shared intelligence that Du Bozhong had returned to China and was highly likely to return to Handong.

The Ministry of Public Security has therefore instructed the Public Security Department of Handong Province to take the lead and coordinate with public security forces at all levels throughout the province to conduct a full-scale manhunt for Du Bozhong.

This coincided with what Jiang Yao had told Xia Qing beforehand.

Xia Qing listened while pondering in her mind.

It seems the police are about to arrest Du Bozhong, which will be seen as a way to conclude last year's crackdown on officials and foreign forces.

This is actually a good thing for Qi Tongwei.

He was immediately given a task that required him to achieve results as soon as he was promoted to the vice-provincial level.

Out of concern, Xia Qing reminded him:

"Tongwei, try to avoid going to Shanshui Manor these days; it's too sensitive."

Unexpectedly, Qi Tongwei's mood suddenly dropped, his previously fluent train of thought seemed to stall, and he stammered:

"Okay, I understand... Don't worry, Minister."

Xia Qing didn't seem to care about any of that, and continued:

"Even after becoming the vice governor, I should still consult with Secretary Yuliang more often."

Upon hearing Gao Yuliang's name, Qi Tongwei's expression turned even more flustered.

He hurriedly said "okay," and then left hastily under the pretext of offering New Year's greetings.

Xia Qing smiled and didn't take it to heart.

The New Year holiday passed quickly.

On the first day of resuming work, the provincial party committee compound was filled with joy as leaders took the lead in exchanging New Year's greetings and visiting each other's homes.

Sha Ruijin went to Lüzhou City early in the morning.

For no other reason than that the special team for the Crescent Lake Eco-Resort Project in Lüzhou City cordially invited Sha Ruijin to give a speech at the project's commencement ceremony today.

Sha Ruijin looked radiant. This was the first economic project he had launched, and also a promising cultural tourism project.

Sha Ruijin couldn't wait to use this project to announce to Handong that he also understood economics and was capable of managing it.

Therefore, Sha Ruijin readily accepted the invitation extended by Lüzhou City.

Upon arrival at the site, all members of the four leading bodies of Lüzhou City and all members of the project team were present to warmly welcome Sha Ruijin.

The live broadcast was simultaneously shown in the meeting room of the Standing Committee of the Hantong Provincial Committee, where the Standing Committee members, led by Governor Liu, watched the event from their seats.

Looking at the scene, with its deafening drums and firecrackers, and seeing Sha Ruijin's spirited demeanor, Governor Liu couldn't help but sigh:

"I wish I were a few years younger."

Governor Liu doesn't usually make such jokes. It was the first day back at work, and the holiday hadn't ended yet, so the Standing Committee members were in good spirits and laughed together.

"Is that Zhang Shuli? Comrade Dakang must be reluctant to let him go to be the deputy secretary of the Luzhou Municipal Party Committee."

Tian Guofu looked at Li Dakang and said jokingly.

Li Dakang laughed:

"Comrade Shuli is quite good. It would be a good thing to give him further opportunities."

Although that's what they said, everyone knew the truth in their hearts.

Zhang Shuli's transfer from Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of Jingzhou City to Deputy Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of Lüzhou City appears to be a further promotion.

Actually, it was Sha Ruijin's idea behind it.

Sending a weak and easy-going deputy secretary to Lüzhou City would be easier to control than sending the stubborn and inflexible Yi Xuexi.

Only with such approval can an eco-resort project receive the green light all the way, and even the city of Lüzhou set up a special task force for the project!

Sha Ruijin truly attaches great importance to this project.

"It's starting now, Secretary Sha is giving a speech. Comrades, please keep your voices down."

Governor Liu said with a smile.

The Standing Committee members looked at the big screen, where Sha Ruijin had already taken the stage to speak, looking very pleased with himself.

Of all these people, only Gao Yuliang wore a smile, but he watched coldly.

Just two days ago, Zhao Ruilong said that Sha Ruijin's brother-in-law had already invested in the eco-resort project.

Today, as long as Sha Ruijin announces the start of construction.

Zhao Ruilong will immediately contact overseas mortgage organizations to mortgage the "exclusive franchise rights" that originally belonged to the food court, in order to collect the pledged loan.

At that time, all the funds injected into the eco-resort project will be used immediately to repay the pledged amount.

The funding chain has broken down!

What will happen?

Gao Yuliang smiled and leaned back in his chair.

This is really exciting!