Then let them offer their loyalty!

Page 406

She recounted in detail everything Qiu Tu had said to her and everything he had asked her to do during this time.

In fact, in order to exonerate Ellie, she didn't mention that she hadn't told Ellie the information in the first place, and that it was Ellie who had pressed her for details.

Furthermore, she took all the blame upon herself, saying that she was the one who led Ellie to do everything. — This truly moved Ellie deeply.

However... just as Qiu Tu expected.

Because of Yan Yan's sensitive identity, the investigation team had no way to use this as valid evidence.

After the news spread, most of the middle and upper-level people in the New Territories who were just watching the drama mostly scoffed.

Yan Chen's daughter, Ellie's best friend, came out to identify Qiu Tu. What's the difference between this and directly framing him?

And... is Yan Chen's daughter, Ellie's best friend, an idiot? She does whatever Qiu Tu tells her to do?

Such lies are utterly insulting to everyone's intelligence.

However... in any case, Qiu Tu achieved both of his goals:

The first one is... because of this incident, Ellie no longer doubted Yan Yan and truly reconciled with her.

The second point is that... Yan Yan's report gave Huang Shangzong a suitable entry point.

Using Yan Yan's report as an excuse, he convened a meeting of the council chairpersons and officially began to intervene in this "evil god escape incident"!

.......

The capital of Dongye Prefecture, Dongcheng City.

The sky was shrouded in thick, leaden-gray clouds, and sunlight became scarce and distant, occasionally letting through a few thin rays.

The harsh winter is like a cold and profound ink painting, slowly unfolding in every corner of the world.

In the parliament building, the top-floor meeting room had thick cashmere carpets on the floor, and the surrounding walls were covered with old-fashioned radiators.

The boiler room next to the parliament building operates 24 hours a day, supplying heat to the officials inside.

So even though it's freezing cold outside, it's warm and cozy inside.

Meanwhile, in the conference room on the top floor, the six chairpersons were holding an emergency meeting.

Huang Shangzong sat in the large chair at the head of the table. Standing at 1.95 meters tall, with his muscular body, he resembled a majestic mountain!

His eyes widened, and his large knuckles slammed against the table as he said fiercely, "I have repeatedly emphasized that this is a critical moment for our Dongye Prefecture!"

"We must all work together as one, putting our strength and effort into the task!"

"But! The New Territories City Investigation Department always seems to cause some trouble!"

"Before, they were fighting amongst themselves! In just six months, nine high-ranking officials were either arrested or killed!"

"I specifically went over to remind them! I urged them to unite!"

"But...they ignored it!"

In the shelter system, the state legislator of the planned area is essentially a state ruler. He wields absolute power, so as long as he maintains control, he doesn't need to worry about anyone else's opinion!

Therefore, Huang Shangzong, with his thick eyebrows raised and a fierce yet profound look, looked at Tang Feifei and Liu Xiongyuan and said, "Vice Speaker Liu, Vice Speaker Tang, you were both present at the time. Is there anything wrong with what I said?"

Tang Feifei was wearing a fitted uniform today, her wheat-colored face filled with a coldness.

Hearing Huang Shangzong's words, she nodded without any change in her expression.

The old man, Liu Xiongyuan, was much more carefree. He chuckled and scratched his head, a strange smile on his dark face, as if he were preparing to watch some kind of show.

"Oh yes, yes, the Speaker said so."

Huang Shangzong gave him a deep look, but didn't react. He slammed his large, fan-like hand heavily on the table and said, "Now look what's happened! The New Territories City Investigation Department is no longer fighting!"

"They directly ousted the director of my personal staff!"

At this point, he raised Yan Yan's statement and exclaimed, "Look at this! A deputy director doesn't think about investigating or handling cases all day. What is the whole department doing?!"

Upon hearing his words, the vice-speakers sat there, eyes downcast and seemingly lost in thought, not readily responding.

Perhaps sensing the unusual atmosphere, Ye Mingfeng, the military leader and a member of the "Iron-Blooded Faction," frowned slightly.

He remembered Huang Shangzong's prior consultation with him last night. So he glanced around the conference room and began to offer his cooperation.

"Speaker, please don't be angry."

"There are indeed many suspicious points in this matter. Whether it is Qiu Tu, Ellie, or Yan Yan, there are many things that are not right in this case."

"However... we can't completely dismiss the work in the New Territories."

"In the past two or three months, under the leadership of Vice Speaker Tang, the New Territories City Detection Department has achieved quite a few results."

"The problem is probably just with one or two people. At worst, we can transfer them and investigate them slowly."

"If there's a problem, we'll deal with it directly. But if there's no problem... well, at least we've helped him clear up all those rumors."

Upon hearing Ye Mingfeng's words, Huang Shangzong gave a heavy "humph" and then said, "General Ye's words are quite reasonable."

Wong Sheung-chung said, "I also think that if we let the suspects continue to stay in the New Territories, we won't find any useful information even if we investigate further."

"Therefore, I propose that the suspects in this case be transferred out of the New Territories."

"This includes Qiu Tu, Yu Zhengyi, Lin Ting, and the ordinary section chiefs who escorted the 'Evil God,' all of whom are being transferred out."

At this point, as if to demonstrate his impartiality, he added, "Oh, by the way, Ellie and the others have also been transferred out of the New Territories for quarantine and investigation in another location."

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Two chapters, 10,000 words each. Please vote with monthly tickets!

Chapter 402 The Speaker's Meeting Reversed! (10,000 words, please vote!)

Everyone present was shrewd. Huang Shangzong's words seemed fair, but a closer look would reveal significant problems.

Power nominally comes from the upper levels, but in reality it originates from the lower levels.

Qiu Tu is the Deputy Director of the New Territories City Investigation Department. Moreover, he climbed his way up from the New Territories City.

He was deeply entrenched in the New Territories and had many loyal followers. To say he could control everything would be an exaggeration, but his power was definitely among the top five in the New Territories.

But once he's transferred away, and he's separated from his cronies, he'll immediately become like a rootless duckweed, his power greatly diminished.

Even if Qiu Tu were given a position no less than that of a deputy director, it would be difficult for him to achieve anything in a short period of time.

After all... when you go to a new department, it takes at least a few months to sort out the business and another few months to consolidate power.

Even if everything goes smoothly, it will still take six months to a year.

However, if Qiu Tuzheng disagrees with the head of the new department or other colleagues at the same level, he may not be able to achieve anything for several years.

This would cut off Qiu Tu's path to advancement as a mid-level manager on the rise.

In contrast, Ellie was the head of the Constable's Office and did not work in the New Territories.

She is now in an extremely dangerous situation in the New Territories. She is completely controlled by Qiu Tu, a local tyrant, and is like an insect caught in a spider web, unable to move at all.

Therefore, transferring her away from the New Territories is actually like a tiger returning to the mountains and a dragon returning to the sea, completely liberating her.

Huang Shangzong's seemingly fair suggestion actually had two completely different effects.

Therefore, Tang Feifei, who was closest to Qiu Tu, immediately frowned. She opened her mouth, wanting to argue with Huang Shangzong.

Before she could even speak, Liu Xiongyuan suddenly kicked her.

Tang Feifei's words were interrupted, and she couldn't help but glance coldly at Liu Xiong Yuan beside her.

The old man acted as if nothing had happened, his coal-black face still sporting a nonchalant smile.

His affability, honed through years of hard work at the bottom, made him look more like a bandit than a high-ranking official in a shelter.

Add to that his constant use of "damn it," and if you didn't know him, you'd probably think he was a brainless general.

But all of this was just a facade.

He's a cunning old fox, no less than Yan Chen.

Tang Feifei had heard her grandfather's evaluation of Liu Xiongyuan.

Old Tang used eight words: "rough on the outside but meticulous on the inside, the demeanor of a great general."

Therefore, it is clear that Liu Xiongyuan had his reasons for stopping him.

Tang Feifei wasn't the kind of person to act impulsively. So, seeing this, she swallowed back the words she was about to say.

Although Huang Shangzong, who was sitting in the main seat, did not see Liu Xiongyuan's kick, he did notice Tang Feifei's action of first releasing and then withdrawing.

He looked at him with a commanding gaze, then asked in a deep voice, "What? Speaker Tang, do you have a different opinion?"

Although Tang Feifei was unsure of Huang Shangzong's exact strength, she knew of his glorious past achievements.

When he was developing Nanqu Prefecture, he once fought against three fourth-tier evil gods all by himself!

According to the analysis conducted by the Tang family's intelligence system afterward, Huang Shangzong had likely already reached the strength of "pseudo-peak fourth tier".

It's just that the lack of information and intelligence about advancing to the "fifth tier" has prevented them from making further progress.

This is a powerful individual whose strength stands at the pinnacle of the Eighth Sanctuary.

Even though Tang Feifei had always wanted to exchange a few blows with Huang Shangzong, she ultimately chose to back down for the time being, remembering Liu Xiong Yuan's reminder earlier.

So she shook her head slightly and said indifferently, "No."

When Huang Shangzong saw that Tang Feifei had given in, the expression on his face was no longer so serious.

He didn't offer any further opinions, but instead looked at Dai Yukang.

He asked, "Director Dai, what's your opinion on this matter?"

Dai Yukang still maintained the honest and simple demeanor of a veteran cadre. He always had a sincere smile on his face.

Hearing Huang Shangzong's words, he smiled and said, "Of course I agree with the Speaker's opinion."

"However... this is not a trivial matter. I think we should hold a vote."

Upon hearing Dai Yukang's words, Huang Shangzong coldly scanned the several vice speakers present, then did some mental calculations.

I have one vote, and Ye Mingfeng has one vote, that makes two votes.

As for Qiu Tu, Tang Feifei will definitely support him. Liu Xiong Yuan is on good terms with him, so he will probably support him as well.

However... these two people haven't dared to go against me from the very beginning, and they probably wouldn't dare to directly oppose me even when voting.

As for Dai Yukang... although the Security Department was separated from the military, he was still a member of the "Iron-Blooded Faction".

As the largest faction in the Eighth Sanctuary, the "Iron Blood Faction" is the cornerstone of all the unplanned areas.

Their principle is that they will side with the speaker unless there is a major disagreement.

Only in this way can the speaker of the military exercise his real power.

Judging from Dai Yukang's response, he should also support himself.

So... by this calculation, it's 3 votes to 2, giving us the advantage.

As for Li Tingdong, he was extreme in his actions and somewhat ruthless in character, single-mindedly focused on achieving great things.

He'll only explode if something affects him. Otherwise, he usually either abstains or sides with himself.

So with 4 votes to 2, I shouldn't be able to lose.

With that thought in mind, Huang Shangzong's mind raced.

Although he could make the final decision, this matter involved his personal staff. Suppressing it directly would be very unseemly.

Therefore, going through a voting process would indeed be more appropriate.

With this in mind, Huang Shangzong made a decision.

He glanced around at the people present and then said, "Director Dai is right."

"Since this matter involves officials from my personal staff, I can't make the decision unilaterally. So, let's vote by raising our hands."

After he finished speaking, he said, "Those who agree to transfer Qiu Tu and others to another location and then launch an investigation, please raise your hands."

After he finished speaking, he took the lead and raised his hand first.

As he raised his hand, Ye Mingfeng followed suit.

Huang Shangzong nodded slightly, then looked at Li Tingdong on his other side.

However, strangely enough, Li Tingdong happened to be looking down at the documents.