Chapter Fifty-two: Protecting the Young

  As soon as Mao Wen's phone was connected, a man with a strong Sichuan accent said, "Let Jiang Zhengyuan answer the phone!"

  Liu Fei then asked: "Excuse me, are you Governor Ma?"

  "Yes!" he replied in a cold voice with a hint of impatience.

  Liu Fei immediately patched the call through to Governor Jiang's office.

  Jiang Zhengyuan, who was bowing his head to handle documents in the room, saw that the phone number was Ma Ao's phone, and a cold smile spread across his mouth. Hmm, Ma Ao, do you want to help your secretary regain face? Where is it so easy? He answered the phone: "Governor Ma, hello, what are your instructions?" Between words, Jiang Zhengyuan seemed to put himself in a very low position, with a humble and respectful appearance, but Ma Ao could hear that Jiang Zhengyuan's words were absolutely insincere. Old opponents, how could he not be clear about what the other party was thinking? Moreover, both of them were deputy provincial levels, and they were all members of the Provincial Party Committee. Ma Ao just occupied a position as Executive Vice Governor. Therefore, he also went straight to the topic without nonsense: "Governor Jiang, I'm sure you've heard about this afternoon's affairs. Today, I want to ask you for justice on behalf of my secretary. Tell me, does your secretary Liu Fei still have leaders in his eyes? Cheng Hui is a positive-level secretary, and Liu Fei, a small section-level secretary, dared to beat people up. What does he want to do?"

  Jiang Zhengyuan could tell that Ma Ao was extremely angry, and he could even imagine that at this moment Ma Ao's face must have turned white with rage. A thin layer of smile involuntarily appeared on his face as he said lightly: "Governor Ma, Liu Fei has already apologized to me for this matter, and I'm having him write a self-criticism right now. However, I think one hand can't clap by itself, don't you agree?"

  Jiang Zhengyuan's words directly made the large pile of accusations against Ma Ao's back die in the womb, and the leader had already grasped them to ask for punishment. What can you do with others now? However, leaders have many methods. Since Ma Ao dared to make this call, he must have prepared well in advance. He took advantage of the situation and said: "Governor Jiang, since it's like this, why don't you let Liu Fei apologize to Cheng Hui? After all, Cheng Hui is also Liu Fei's superior, isn't beating a superior unreasonable everywhere?"

  Jiang Zhengyuan knew as soon as he heard it that Ma Ao wanted to grasp this matter and not let go, and it seemed that he really wanted to make an article out of it. He had a hint of disdain in his heart, thinking that you, Ma Ao, are also a deputy governor, how can you personally come out to ask for punishment for such a small thing? This is too arrogant and bullying. Do you still have me, the deputy governor, in your eyes? I am also a member of the provincial party committee! Even if our political views have always been at odds, there is no need to be so aggressive. Fine, you are protecting your secretary, and I will protect mine. So, he said indifferently: "Governor Ma, when looking at problems, we should consider both sides, do you know why Liu Fei wanted to hit Cheng Hui and not others?"

  Ma Ao Wen coldly laughed and said: "Even if Cheng Hui was wrong, does that make it right for Liu Fei to hit him?"

  "Governor Ma, Liu Fei was indeed wrong to hit someone. I've already punished him for it. Let's just drop the matter!" Jiang Zhengyuan also got a bit angry and hung up the phone with a bang.

  On the other end of the phone, Ma Ao's anger made him slam the phone down, his face turned iron blue, and he slapped the table hard. "Jiang Zhengyuan, you're too protective of your people! If this matter is settled like this, where will I, Ma Ao, put my face? Hmph, this matter isn't over yet! Wait and see, tomorrow at the Standing Committee meeting, I'll bring it up again and make a big fuss about it. Jiang Zhengyuan, you can tell your secretary to prepare for it!"

  At this moment, the provincial party secretary is sitting in his office, with a cigarette pinched between his fingers, taking a hard drag and then exhaling! As a result, the swirling smoke transformed into wisps of melancholy clouds, shrouding the upper air of the office.

  Xu Guangchun's hometown is in Hebei Province, and his daughter Xu Jiaojiao grew up there. However, his career path started in Jiangsu Province. Two years ago, he was transferred from the position of Governor of Jiangsu Province to become the Secretary of the Provincial Committee of Hebei Province. Hebei Province is adjacent to the capital city of Yanjing, and its political situation is very complex. Since Xu Guangchun arrived in Hebei Province, he has been dividing, winning over, and suppressing different factions. After half a year, he had already controlled the overall situation in Hebei Province. However, this does not mean that he has the final say in Hebei Province.

  He was very clear that the current situation in Hebei Province was a three-legged balance, with one being his own faction as secretary, another being the provincial governor Cui Yusheng's faction, and the third being the middle-of-the-road faction led by Organization Department Minister Hou Guoqiang and Disciplinary Committee Secretary Du Chengwen. Normally, it was a struggle between Xu Guangchun and Cui Yusheng's two factions, while Organization Department Minister Hou Guoqiang and Disciplinary Committee Secretary Du Chengwen, along with Military Region Political Commissar Xie Yueming, who always abstained from voting, maintained neutrality and did not help either side. This formed a delicate balance between the three. This was also why Xu Guangchun had been appreciated by his superiors all along. However, as the upcoming People's Congress approached, his superiors began to have some reservations about Xu Guangchun's inability to firmly control the situation, and the pressure on him suddenly increased. What he did not expect was that Provincial Governor Cui Yusheng suddenly launched a counterattack, persuading Organization Department Minister Hou Guoqiang to jointly propose the appointment of Public Security Bureau Deputy Director Qi Tao as Secretary of the Tangshi City Politics and Law Committee. This made Xu Guangchun extremely angry. Since his arrival in Hebei Province, he had quickly taken control of Tangshi City, which was the province's largest economy, through a series of swift measures. Now, just before his retirement, Provincial Governor Cui Yusheng suddenly launched a counterattack, which Xu Guangchun was naturally very dissatisfied with. He was well aware that Cui Yusheng's move was a two-pronged strategy: one was to promote his own loyalists before retiring, and the other was to lay the groundwork for next year's People's Congress by pushing for the promotion of Executive Vice Governor Ma Ao to take office.

  Xu Guangchun naturally did not want to see Ma Ao, who had always been looked up to by Cui Yusheng, take the stage and continue to oppose him. He would rather have Jiang Zhengyuan, the third-ranking official in the provincial government, take over. Jiang Zhengyuan had always respected Xu's opinions and was relatively supportive of him at committee meetings. Xu Guangchun had already received internal information that he would still be working in Henan Province for another term, and if he could let Jiang Zhengyuan take over as governor, the two men could work closely together to bring Henan Province's overall strength to a new level!

  However, the key issue now is that Xu Guangchun has no bottom line for tomorrow's Standing Committee meeting. The main agenda of tomorrow's Standing Committee meeting is to discuss Qi Tao's appointment as Secretary of the Politics and Law Committee in Tangshi City. Among the 13 provincial standing committee members, Xu Guangchun has a relatively firm grasp on 5 votes: his own vote, Jiang Zhengyuan's vote, Provincial Deputy Secretary Zhang Hua's vote, Tangshi City Party Secretary Yang Yi's vote, and United Front Department Director Gai Guoqiang's vote. The opposing side also has 5 votes: Provincial Governor Cui Yusheng's vote, Executive Vice Governor Ma Ao's vote, Propaganda Department Director Bao Wenhui's vote, Politics and Law Committee Secretary Che Yong's vote, and Nanping City Party Secretary Huang Xian's vote. The most uncertain factor is the vote of Organization Department Director Hou Guoqiang! Xu Guangchun wanted to call Hou Guoqiang, but he restrained himself after some thought.

  At this time, the phone on the table rang. Looking at the phone number, it was Provincial Governor Cui Yusheng calling. Xu Guangchun couldn't help but frown, wondering what he wanted to do today when they were going to have a real showdown at the Standing Committee meeting tomorrow. After adjusting his emotions, he answered the phone.

  "Secretary Xu, I have a proposal. Tomorrow at the Standing Committee meeting, let's each bring our secretaries along. After the second agenda item, we'll emphasize to them the discipline issues between secretaries!" Although Cui Yusheng was already sixty-five years old, his voice was steady and powerful, full of energy.

  Xu Guangchun thought for a moment and guessed that Cui Yusheng's ultimate goal was Liu Fei! This afternoon, Liu Fei beat up the secretary of Vice Governor Ma Ao, Ma Dong had reported to him in the first place, at that time he just stunned for a moment, then there was no expression. In addition to being shocked by Liu Fei's boldness, he really didn't take it seriously! Hearing what Cui Yusheng said today, he readily replied: "I don't object!"

  On the other end of the phone, Cui Yusheng heard Xu Guangchun's prompt response and felt a bit uneasy, but for a moment he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Anyway, this matter wasn't his responsibility; he was just responsible for making a suggestion, so he didn't take it to heart.

  After work in the evening, Liu Fei followed Vice Governor Jiang Zhengyuan out of the provincial government compound and took a taxi to the Bihai Yuntian Hotel. This was where Liu Fei and Xu Jiaojiao had chosen to dine as a thank you for Xu Jiaojiao's information and care over the past few days. The dishes here were particularly authentic. As soon as Liu Fei arrived at the entrance of the Bihai Yuntian Hotel, he saw Xu Jiaojiao driving her small QQ into the parking lot. At this moment, Liu Fei's phone rang, it was Xie Yuxin's call.

  After connecting, Xie Yuxin asked loudly: "Liu Fei, where are you? I'll go find you and you have to treat me well!"

  At this point, Liu Fei couldn't help but let out a wry smile as he noticed Xu Jiaojiao walking towards him with a flirtatious swaying of her hips, her smiling face warm and intoxicating like spring breeze.

  PS: Brothers, Mengmeng is a member of the working class, all manuscripts are written after work at night. Everyone sees that Mengmeng has given up precious rest, so give some flowers and encouragement! Strive to let Mengmeng enter the top ten new book rankings! The current score is really depressing! Too crushing! This month Mengmeng will definitely perform well, everyone just follow me! Hehe, the sentence above seems a bit perverted! Never mind, with flowers and collections, being perverted is okay! Mengmeng will work hard to update.