Closing in, step by step
By the time Zhang Shuli left the mayor's office, his back was cold all over. Lin Yanzhou's final remarks had told him not to try to maintain a superficial balance. He wanted to know whether Zhang was friend or foe and was forcing him to choose a side.
After returning to the municipal Party committee building, Zhang Shuli went straight to Li Dakang's office to report. He gently closed the door behind him, weighing his words. "Secretary, Mayor Lin seems rather dissatisfied with the materials we submitted."
Li Dakang put down the document in his hand and looked up at Zhang Shuli. "Dissatisfied? Does he think we haven't gone far enough, or does he want to use this to move against others?" He tapped the desk lightly, his words drawing a clear line. "Comrade Shuli, the discipline inspection commission must follow procedure when handling cases, but more importantly, it must consider the overall situation. The new provincial Party secretary will be taking office soon. Jingzhou cannot afford any mishaps at a time like this, much less give anyone ammunition to make a laughingstock of us."
Zhang Shuli immediately grasped Li Dakang's intention-it was not that they could not investigate, but that they could not "investigate indiscriminately." He stood up at once. "Secretary, I understand. I'll keep the follow-up work within appropriate bounds and certainly won't cause trouble for Jingzhou. I'll leave you to your work and go make the arrangements."
Back in his office at the discipline inspection commission, Zhang Shuli called in his secretary. His tone was stern, but his words carried a hidden message. "Notify the Second Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office to keep digging into the problems with the Guangming Peak Project. They can make a bigger splash, but they must pay attention to their methods and keep the investigation within appropriate bounds. The core issues must be contained, not allowed to spread, and certainly not allowed to affect the stability of our cadre ranks. Before the case is closed, everything must be reported to me first."
The secretary understood perfectly: "pushing ahead with great fanfare" was for Mayor Lin's benefit, while "keeping the situation under control" meant holding Li Dakang's bottom line. Finally, "closing the case quietly" would give Mayor Lin an answer without making an even bigger mess. He agreed immediately. "Rest assured. I'll see to it right away."
A few days later, Lin Yanzhou received the discipline inspection commission's "Report on the Handling of the Cases Involving the Executive Deputy Head of Guangming District and Others." It stated, "Following a decision by the standing committee of the municipal discipline inspection commission, submitted to and approved by the municipal Party committee, the Qingshui River pollution case has been fully adjudicated and closed, with clear facts and compliant procedures." The attachments listed decisions to expel the executive deputy head of Guangming District, the deputy head and district Party standing committee member of Qinghua District, the municipal environmental protection bureau director, the water company's general manager, and others from both the Party and public office. There were no further explanations and no leads extending beyond them.
After reading the document, Lin Yanzhou gently set it on his desk. Li Dakang was forcing him to declare his position-either submit to the overall situation or tear away the façade and confront him head-on.
He had not originally wanted to break the superficial balance. In some matters, leaving each other a little room would make it easier to meet again in the future. But now that the other side had laid its cards on the table, he could only respond clearly.
At Lin Yanzhou's direction, the municipal government's general office formally issued a notice: in view of the major risks and vulnerabilities in project approval, public welfare safeguards, and fund oversight exposed by the Qingshui River pollution incident, and to ensure the security of public funds, approvals and fund disbursements for all major government investment projects citywide would be suspended effective immediately, except for projects already included in national or provincial plans and emergency public welfare projects. Further notice would be issued after the completion of a citywide special audit and inspection.
This notice was more formal and more devastating than the earlier verbal order. It no longer merely "suspended deliberations," but directly "suspended disbursements." This meant that, apart from national and provincial priority projects and public welfare safeguard projects, the funding chains of all projects under construction or awaiting construction instantly came under severe strain or even broke.
Jingzhou's political and business circles erupted! The calls from district and county officials and the heads of major enterprises no longer went to Ding Yizhen. Instead, they flooded straight into municipal Party secretary Li Dakang's office.
Li Dakang was under unprecedented pressure. Standing at his office window, he watched the reporters who had caught wind of the news and the business owners who had come to petition downstairs, his face livid.
Lin Yanzhou's combination of blows had caught him completely off guard. He had used development and stability to force him to submit, wielded the discipline inspection commission's blade to dig into his foundations, and now used a single official document to shift every point of conflict onto the decision-making level of the municipal Party committee and government, leaving him, the top leader, unable to remain above the fray.
He snatched up the red telephone on his desk and dialed Lin Yanzhou's direct line.
"Comrade Yanzhou!" Li Dakang's voice suppressed tremendous anger, though he still maintained the restraint of the top leader. "What is going on with this notice suspending fund disbursements issued by the municipal government? Why wasn't it brought before the standing committee for discussion beforehand? Do you know how much of an impact this will have? The officials in charge of all the districts, counties, and enterprises have brought their complaints straight to me! Development and stability are the overall priority!"
Lin Yanzhou smiled. "Hello, Secretary Dakang. Issuing this notice falls within the municipal government's authority. We aren't taking a one-size-fits-all approach; we're distinguishing between levels. National and provincial priority projects and public welfare safeguard projects are all proceeding as normal. As for the other projects, we're merely pausing them for reconsideration, not stopping them. As long as the projects themselves can stand scrutiny, construction can begin before long."
"It was precisely out of consideration for the overall priorities of development and stability that the municipal government issued this notice. The Qingshui River incident exposed enormous loopholes in our project approvals, project oversight, and fund oversight. If we don't hit the brakes in time and conduct a comprehensive audit and inspection, we could face even greater losses of state-owned assets and incidents of social instability. This is the municipal government exercising its administrative powers in accordance with the law, and I believe it falls within our authority. Of course, if you consider it necessary, we can immediately convene an emergency standing committee meeting to discuss this matter specifically. That would also give me an opportunity to provide the standing committee with a detailed report on the latest progress in the Qingshui River investigation and the deeper issues it may involve."
Steel lay beneath the softness, without an inch conceded. Instead, he kicked the ball back to Li Dakang: whether to convene the standing committee, and whether to put the more serious problems on the table.
Li Dakang was instantly at a loss for words. Convene the standing committee? Listen to Lin Yanzhou report on investigative developments that might implicate Ding Yizhen or something even more serious? That would undoubtedly be political suicide! He took a heavy breath and forcibly suppressed his anger.
"Good! Very good! Comrade Yanzhou has been most 'thorough' in his considerations!" Li Dakang practically squeezed the words through his teeth. "But the audit and inspection must be accelerated! We cannot remain at a standstill indefinitely! Jingzhou's development cannot wait!"
"Rest assured, Secretary Dakang. The audit authorities will spare no effort to provide the municipal Party committee and government with a comprehensive assessment report as soon as possible," Lin Yanzhou replied calmly.
After hanging up, Li Dakang felt an unprecedented exhaustion and loss of control. He realized that his previous strategies of "stabilizing the overall situation and securing his base" and "knowing when to stop" had failed completely in the face of Lin Yanzhou's absolute confidence. This young man simply did not play by the usual rules, and his family background was unfathomable. Li Dakang had yet to discover whose son he was, so he did not dare tear away the façade either.
He pondered for a long time before finally picking up the telephone again. This time, he called discipline inspection commission secretary Zhang Shuli.
"Comrade Shuli," Li Dakang said wearily, "the commission's investigations must sometimes take into account the municipal government's subsequent work. When necessary, you must support the municipal government's work and safeguard Jingzhou's economic development."
"But you must pay attention to your methods. You must seek truth from facts while also taking care to preserve the overall stability and public image of Jingzhou's cadre ranks. As for cadres whose problems haven't yet been uncovered but who may have issues, you can dig deeper. We cannot allow them to remain on standby with their problems unresolved and undermine the unity of Jingzhou's ranks. But..."
"The investigation must comply with Party discipline and the law, and it must stand the test of history. You must not broaden its scope indiscriminately, take every gust of wind for rain, or, above all, allow certain personal emotions to sway you. You must strike the right balance. If anything goes wrong, I will hold you personally responsible!"
This was a new instruction, more ambiguous and more dangerous. Telling him to support the municipal government meant that the municipal Party committee had agreed to Lin Yanzhou's proposal to dig deeper. Preserving the public image of Jingzhou's cadres was a warning to Zhang Shuli to control the scope of the investigation. The subsequent hint that "certain personal emotions" might affect his judgment told him that this was the municipal Party committee's bottom line and that he must not take a mile when given an inch. Standing the test of history meant that the ultimate responsibility rested on his shoulders: if anything went wrong later, he would have to bear it.
Zhang Shuli held the telephone, his palm drenched in sweat. He had become the central battlefield between two giants. Whichever way the blade tilted, he would bleed.
Zhang Shuli convened another meeting of the municipal discipline inspection commission's standing committee. "Mayor Lin has set higher requirements for our preliminary report." His gaze swept across each of his subordinates. "He pointed out that the investigation has not gone deep enough. We must establish how the offending enterprises obtained approval, who ultimately gave the go-ahead for the polluting activities, and whether there are bigger beneficiaries and protective umbrellas behind them."
He deliberately left out Lin Yanzhou's hints, but everyone present heard the meaning between the strings-the mayor was extremely dissatisfied with a result that handed over only deputy department-level cadres.
"Effective immediately, we're adjusting the direction of the investigation," Zhang Shuli ordered. "Team One, keep digging into violations of discipline and the law, secure the evidence, and prepare for shuanggui. Team Two, retrieve every file and set of meeting minutes related to the Guangming Peak Project, particularly those involving approvals for polluting enterprises, environmental assessments, and disbursements of earmarked funds. Go through them page by page! Team Three, focus on checking every bank account and financial transaction connected to these enterprises, regardless of which department or rank is involved!"
He tapped the table and stressed, "We are carrying out the municipal Party committee and government's decision to get to the bottom of the truth! If you encounter any resistance, report directly to me!"