Then let them offer their loyalty!

Page 279

However, after the initial surprise, Qiu Tu recalled what Tang Feifei had just said.

People from "Huang Shangzong" have arrived. They're investigating Wu Zhi's case...

Tang Feifei was able to call Huang Shangzong by his name directly, which clearly meant that the investigator was not in her presence.

Thinking this, Qiu Tu asked softly, "How's the investigation going?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Feifei hesitated for a moment, then said, "There probably isn't any clue."

Hearing this, Qiu Tu felt relieved.

He hung up the phone and mentally reviewed the final stages of the case. After confirming there were no loopholes, Qiu Tu got up and led Tan Huimin up to the 12th floor.

Take the elevator to the 12th floor and arrive at Tang Feifei's office.

Su Xiaowan was already waiting there.

Upon seeing Qiu Tu, the lovely girl smiled sweetly and saluted him, saying, "Good morning, sir!"

Qiu Tu smiled and patted the girl on the shoulder, then asked, "Is Director Tang inside?"

The young girl nodded, then looked left and right, lingering on Tan Huimin for a moment before leaning close to Qiu Tu, standing on tiptoe to whisper in his ear, "The director seems to be in a bad mood."

"He's had a gloomy face all day."

Qiu Tu nodded upon hearing this.

He then asked Tan Huimin to wait outside while he went into Tang Feifei's office.

In the office, Tang Feifei was holding a pen, writing a training plan with her head down.

Ever since Qiu Tu helped her seize power while Yan Chen was away, her influence in the Investigation Bureau has greatly increased.

With a large number of capable personnel at their disposal, they can indirectly influence and command more agents.

Therefore, she attached great importance to the agents she could influence, and based on her experience with the Tang family and the shelter, she developed very detailed and scientific training standards.

During this period, almost all the agents pro-Tang Feifei, including those controlled by Qiu Tu and the Five Elders, received professional training from Tang Feifei.

Qiu Tu privately inquired with his close associates, including Eagles, Artest, and Kun, about the effectiveness of the training.

All the feedback I received was positive.

It is said that his training is seven or eight times better than Lin Ting's.

Although Qiu Tu had not experienced it firsthand, he had occasionally paid attention to it and felt that while "seven or eight times" might be an exaggeration, "five or six times" was definitely true.

After just over two weeks of training, these thousands of agents already showed signs of becoming a regular army. They were no longer the disorganized rabble they once were...

This also shows that Tang Feifei is indeed quite capable; otherwise, she wouldn't have been groomed as a direct descendant by the Tang family.

Thinking this, Qiu Tu didn't disturb Tang Feifei. Instead, he casually found a chair to sit down and patiently waited for Tang Feifei to start working.

After writing for another two minutes, Tang Feifei calmly signed her name, picked up the pen cap, put it back on, and looked up at Qiu Tu.

Qiu Tu, who knows Tang Feifei's personality well, can indeed tell that Tang Feifei is in a bad mood today.

Therefore, he couldn't help but ask with concern, "Is it difficult to handle?"

"I remember the tail should have been neatly tucked in."

Upon hearing this, Tang Feifei shook her head wearily and said, "It has nothing to do with your matter..."

"It was the pressure from my family."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu also became curious, "What happened at your home?"

Tang Feifei picked up the coffee on the table, took a cold sip, and then said calmly, "Something has happened."

"This matter is also somewhat related to you..."

Hearing Tang Feifei's words, Qiu Tu was genuinely surprised. "What does this have to do with me?"

Tang Feifei nodded, her wheat-colored face serious. "You know Li Tingdong, right?"

Qiu Tu was slightly taken aback, then nodded.

Li Tingdong is the newly appointed deputy speaker of Dongye Prefecture, belonging to the municipal council system. He ranks first among the deputy speakers, theoretically half a rank higher than Liu Xiongyuan, Ye Mingfeng, and Dai Yukang.

If Huang Shangzong is not present, he will be the acting speaker. He can be considered a truly important figure in Dongye Prefecture, second only to the emperor and above millions of others.

Tang Feifei said slowly and deliberately, "He is a key figure in the 'liberal democrats,' highly capable, and well-regarded by the faction's leadership."

"However... the 'liberal democrats' are, after all, a small faction, and the other major factions have reservations about their principles."

"Therefore, they were unable to provide Li Tingdong with much support in this contest for vice speaker."

Tang Feifei paused, "And the main foundation of our 'Fengtian Clique' is in the city hall, where we also have a candidate for vice speaker in Dongye Prefecture. His name is Guo Huai."

“His abilities are also outstanding. Although he is slightly less capable than Li Tingdong, he is more composed and has a better overall perspective.”

“Initially, we wanted to promote him to the position of vice speaker. That way, the Fengtian faction could establish a foothold in Dongye Prefecture, and my promotion would be easier.”

"With my grandfather's influence, this matter was not a sure thing, but the chances were very high."

"but...."

At this point, Tang Feifei put the coffee cup back on the table and then gave Qiu Tu a deep look. "When discussing the candidates for vice speaker, Elder Wang suddenly spoke up in support of Li Tingdong."

"In addition, Huang Shangzong also preferred to partner with Li Tingdong. As a result, Guo Huai was eliminated and Li Tingdong successfully became the vice speaker."

"As a result, all of our 'Fengtian Clique's' plans were disrupted, and I found myself in a passive position."

Hearing Tang Feifei's words, Qiu Tu was stunned for a moment, then asked in confusion, "But... what does this have to do with me?"

Tang Feifei leaned back in her chair, looking intently at Qiu Tu, and said, "Actually... we didn't know at first that this matter had anything to do with you."

"It was only later, after we made various inquiries, that we learned why Mr. Wang switched his support to Li Tingdong."

Tang Feifei said, "Because Elder Wang saw your name in Ye Mingfeng's 'Boundless Heart Sea Expansion Plan'." (Chapter 286)

"He thinks you have potential and are worth investing some resources to nurture."

"Furthermore, he already felt that Li Tingdong was indeed more capable than Guo Huai, and if properly trained, he might become a powerful regional official skilled in economics, working for the benefit of the people in the planned area."

"Therefore, he went along with it and reached a simple cooperation agreement with Hu Jintao, a member of the 'liberal democrats'."

"He supports Lai Ting-tung, and the 'liberal democrat' legislator Ou-yang should step in to support your position as political minister."

Upon hearing Tang Feifei's words, Qiu Tu's eyes were filled with shock, and his mouth slowly opened wide.

After a moment, he said in disbelief, "So... I got this ministerial position in exchange for being a vice speaker?!"

"This is fucking amazing!!"

Hearing Qiu Tu's deliberately exaggerated words, Tang Feifei finally laughed.

She said, "If you put it that way, then it's not a problem."

"However... that's not actually the case."

"When you get to big figures like Mr. Wang and Mr. Hu, you're no longer someone who only cares about the interests of their own faction."

“If there are promising younger generations who can have a positive impact on the shelter, they will not be bound by factionalism.”

"Old Wang must have thought highly of Li Tingdong long ago and had high hopes for him. He was thinking of giving him a hand."

"It just so happened that I ran into your situation, so I used it as a bargaining chip and we made a simple exchange."

"Otherwise, how could the two sides have reached such an unequal exchange?"

Qiu Tu had actually seen through this situation long ago. But... he needed to appease Tang Feifei, so he had to play dumb for a while.

It seems to be working quite well so far.

Looking at Tang Feifei's no longer cold face, Qiu Tu sighed inwardly.

He actually understood why Tang Feifei was in a bad mood today.

The Dongye Prefecture was established with five speakers: one president and four vice presidents. These speakers represented the "academics," "reformers," "liberal democrats," and two "iron-blooded" factions. However, the "Fengtian Clique" was not among them.

This is not a good sign for the "Fengtian Clique".

This shows that the "Fengtian Clique" will be completely unable to influence the situation in Dongye Prefecture.

Moreover... while Mr. Wang may indeed appreciate Li Tingdong, who knows if that's just an excuse?

Is it possible that the two weakest factions in the shelter—the reformers and the liberal democrats—have secretly joined forces?

For those big shots standing at the top of the shelter, no one can fathom their thoughts.

They are like highly skilled chess players; a seemingly casual move might have unimaginable consequences in the future.

Just like this time, the appointment of Qiu Tu as the Minister of Political Affairs was a joint operation by the "Iron Faction," the "Reform Faction," and the "Fengtian Clique."

As a result, the "reformists" and the "liberal democrats" together drove the "Fengtian Clique" out of Dongye Prefecture.

Politics itself is the art of compromise, with constant comings and goings, and no one can see through it all before everything settles down.

Thinking about this, Qiu Tu thought even more: Although he had a good relationship with Tang Feifei and the "Fengtian Clique".

but....

Since Old Wang supported Li Tingdong, he could say that he and Li Tingdong had a connection.

He was now facing Huang Shangzong alone, relying only on Liu Xiongyuan and Dai Yukang, one openly and one secretly, which seemed a bit of a stretch.

If I could get him to support me too.

With the three vice-speakers working together, even Huang Shangzong, the speaker who has the final say, would have a hard time dealing with this, right?

As for why Dai Yukang claimed it was Dai Lao who reminded Old Wang, even though it was clearly Old Wang who actively helped Qiu Tu...

In the political arena, truth and falsehood are so intertwined that it's impossible to completely distinguish between them. Who knows if, although Mr. Wang made the decision himself, Dai Yukang did indeed offer some advice?

Even if Dai Yukang did lie, as long as Qiu Tu's interests are aligned with his now, what does it matter if he is deceived by him?

Thinking this way, Qiu Tu felt more at peace...

And so, he joked with Tang Feifei a few more times, until he made the increasingly calm and composed deputy director smile a little more.

After laughing, Tang Feifei opened the drawer, took out a note, and handed it to Qiu Tu.

Seeing this, Qiu Tu curiously took it.

A string of numbers was written on it.

Just as Qiu Tu was wondering, Tang Feifei said with a deep look in her eyes, "Take it, this is Vice Speaker Li's contact number."

"You'll probably need it."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu's heart skipped a beat, and he was about to offer a few words of explanation.

As a result, Tang Feifei spoke up again, saying, "Don't worry too much about my thoughts. There are no winners or losers in politics, only interests."

"After the vice-speaker was chosen, the 'Fengtian Clique' decisively changed its strategy. Instead of vying for the vice-speaker position, they shifted their focus to winning over Li Tingdong, ideally bringing him into the 'Fengtian Clique'."

Qiu Tu was startled upon hearing Tang Feifei's words.

I'm amazed by the incredible strategic planning abilities of these important figures.

He couldn't help but ask, "Is there any hope?"

Tang Feifei shrugged. "Who knows? I guess it'll be difficult. After all, it would be incredibly ugly for someone of the rank of deputy speaker of a state to arbitrarily change factions."

"But...it doesn't necessarily mean we can't cooperate."

"The 'liberal democrats' are too weak. Their influence is limited in the sixteen cities of Dongye Prefecture."

"And for Li Tingdong to successfully carry out his work in Dongye Prefecture, he needs the support of our 'Fengtian Clique.'"

“We cooperate with him, and he acts as our faction’s backer in Dongye Prefecture. This is a win-win situation, allowing us to develop Dongye Prefecture together without causing internal strife.”

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu nodded thoughtfully. He suddenly gained a new understanding of the strategic planning abilities of these important figures...

At this moment, Tang Feifei added, "With Li Tingdong around, the pressure we face from Huang Shangzong won't be so great."

At this point, Tang Feifei pointed to the door and said coldly, "Huang Shangzong's investigators arrived at the Investigation Bureau early this morning to begin investigating Wu Zhi's death."

"But because Huang Shangzong has not yet officially become the speaker, they are still waiting to make their move."

"Furthermore, the New Territories are currently the focus of the entire Eighth Shelter. Wong Sheung Chung and Yan Chen are from the same faction, so Wong Sheung Chung will definitely give Yan Chen a lot of support when they attend the meeting."

At this point, Tang Feifei's gaze deepened, "So... even with Li Tingdong's support, we will still face many difficulties going forward."

She glanced at Qiu Tu and concluded, "Let's prepare for the dark times ahead."

.......