Turning Against Each Other

Wang Ye had guessed right. At this very moment, Gebliev was sitting across from Putin, and the two were discussing Khovchenko's new faction.

"Over the past two days, I gathered some information and contacted several people who left the First Faction to join Khovchenko. I got a sense of what they were thinking..."

Gebliev gave a detailed report on everything he had learned over the past two days.

Khovchenko had suddenly held a press conference yesterday and announced the faction's establishment, catching Gebliev somewhat off guard.

Previously, he had not paid much attention to Khovchenko, because he had more important matters to deal with.

Besides, Khovchenko had been very quiet recently and had not made any moves.

But who would have thought that Khovchenko would stay silent until he made such a stunning move!

The new faction had barely been established when it drew in a large number of veteran political figures. Even some key members from the Duma's top three factions had been recruited.

Other things aside, judging by the current situation, if the Khovchenko Faction participated in the Duma election, it could secure at least thirty to fifty seats!

That would surpass the current Third Faction, and it might even become the Second Faction.

Of course, it was still unrealistic to think it could threaten the First Faction's more than three hundred Duma seats.

But they could not forget that there was still a year until next year's election. During that time, Khovchenko clearly would not sit idle. He would continue recruiting people and "turning" even more members of the First and Second Factions.

With Khovchenko's immense financial backing added to the mix, no one could say what might happen next year...

Putin frowned deeply, his expression shifting unpredictably.

It was not that he forbade others from