Chapter Summaries

Lin Yanzhou used Ding Yizhen’s failures on the Guangming Peak Project to secure Li Dakang and Liu Changhe’s support for a municipal leadership reshuffle. At the executive meeting, he stripped Ding of his government portfolios and project authority, leaving Ding with only his titles.

• Lin Yanzhou called Li Dakang and won his agreement in principle to reorganize the Guangming Peak Project leadership and redistribute Ding Yizhen’s responsibilities.
• Lin Yanzhou offered Liu Changhe a choice between Wen Zhiyuan and Wu Qinghua leading the project, and Liu backed Wu Qinghua as its executive deputy leader.
• Lin Yanzhou convened the municipal government executive meeting and proposed a new Guangming Peak Project Advancement Leading Group, with himself as leader and Wu Qinghua handling daily work.
• Lin Yanzhou reassigned Ding Yizhen’s portfolios among Wen Zhiyuan, Wu Qinghua, Zhao Fuwang, and the other vice mayors, while Ding was left with no practical authority in the municipal government.
• The meeting approved Lin Yanzhou’s reshuffle without objection, and Ding Yizhen left last, realizing his power in Jingzhou was nearing its end.

Lin Yanzhou won Li Dakang’s backing for his revised Guangming Peak plan, then secured provincial support from Governor Liu Changhe, including 500 million yuan in start-up funding. Liu also revealed that Lin Yanzhou’s appointment and the incoming provincial Party secretary’s appointment had been decided together, signaling major changes ahead in Jingzhou and Handong.

• Lin Yanzhou presented his revised Guangming Peak proposal, and Li Dakang praised it and pledged the municipal Party committee’s full support.
• Lin Yanzhou briefed Liu Changhe and provincial officials, who applauded his proposal and endorsed it as a model for development across Handong.
• Liu Changhe committed 500 million yuan in provincial start-up funding for Jingzhou’s project.
• Liu told Lin Yanzhou that Old Lin had met with him, and pledged to support Lin both professionally and personally.
• Liu revealed that Lin Yanzhou’s appointment and the new provincial Party secretary’s appointment had been decided together and would soon be announced.

Ding Yizhen tried to delay the Qingshui River cleanup payment by persuading Guangming Chemical Plant to challenge the levy in court, while Lin Yanzhou forced the case and bank transfer forward. The funds were collected, and Lin’s authority in the Jingzhou City Government was strengthened.

• Li Dakang promised Ding Yizhen a chance at promotion if he helped complete the Guangming Peak Project, renewing Ding’s hope.
• Ding Yizhen urged Zhao Guifa to delay payment by seeking administrative reconsideration and filing a lawsuit against the city government.
• After the court upheld the levy, Lin Yanzhou ordered expedited enforcement and confronted Ouyang Jing when she refused to transfer the funds before the appeal ended.
• Lin Yanzhou threatened to replace Jingzhou City Bank’s leadership unless it transferred the money, and Ouyang Jing agreed to comply.
• The court issued an enforcement ruling, and Jingzhou City Bank froze and transferred more than eighty million yuan from Guangming Chemical Plant, completing the cleanup funding.

After his appointment as Handong Provincial Party Secretary, Sha Ruijin received instructions to clean up the province’s cadres while supporting Lin Yanzhou’s economic development work. Guided by his adoptive father and father-in-law, he set out for Handong prepared to balance cooperation with principled resistance.

• The Central Organization Department appointed Sha Ruijin secretary of the Handong Provincial Party Committee and directed him to vet Zhao Lichun’s former associates, work with Tian Guofu, and support Lin Yanzhou.
• Sha Ruijin’s adoptive father urged him to protect Lin Yanzhou, while his father-in-law advised him to cooperate where possible but stand firm on matters of principle.
• Sha Ruijin concluded that he must both clean up Handong’s official ranks and safeguard its economic development, then set out for the province.
• The author announced that the prequel had ended and that Volume Two would begin the In the Name of the People storyline.

Sha Ruijin arrived in Handong and was formally appointed provincial Party secretary, where he signaled support for Lin Yanzhou’s Guangming Peak reforms and promised a forceful anti-corruption campaign. He directed Tian Guofu to prepare investigations and said he would tour the province to learn the facts, but Tian admitted the discipline inspection commission still had no useful leads.

• Liu Changhe and the provincial leadership welcomed Sha Ruijin at Jingzhou Airport, where Sha greeted Gao Yuliang, Tian Guofu, Li Dakang, and the others.
• At the province-wide officials’ conference, the Central Organization Department’s deputy head announced Sha Ruijin’s appointment as Handong Party secretary, and Sha delivered an address pledging to fight corruption and sustain economic development.
• Sha Ruijin publicly endorsed Jingzhou’s plans for the Guangming Peak Project, easing Li Dakang’s concerns and signaling support for Lin Yanzhou’s reform proposals.
• At an introductory meeting, Sha instructed Tian Guofu to investigate corruption complaints and said he would visit cities and sectors to assess conditions firsthand.
• Sha urged Lin Yanzhou to deliver results on the Guangming Peak Project and offered direct provincial support if difficulties arose.
• In his office, Sha asked Tian Guofu whether the discipline inspection commission had made progress, and Tian said it still had no leads because he lacked control of the commission.

Sha Ruijin waited to see whether Gao Yuliang would declare his position, but Li Dakang and Lin Yanzhou instead requested a briefing on the Guangming Peak Project. Lin Yanzhou convinced Li Dakang that Zhao Lichun’s political fate was already decided, and they left to report to Sha Ruijin.

• Sha Ruijin instructed Bai Yi to bring Li Dakang and Lin Yanzhou to him for their briefing.
• Sha Ruijin wondered why Li Dakang and Lin Yanzhou, who belonged to different camps, had joined forces.
• Li Dakang worried that reporting to Sha Ruijin at a sensitive time would invite speculation, but Lin Yanzhou argued that Sha’s appointment and auditing background signaled a broader political decision.
• Lin Yanzhou told Li Dakang that Zhao Lichun would soon take a minor post at the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and that the higher-ups had already decided.
• Li Dakang abandoned his hopes for Zhao Lichun and urged Lin Yanzhou to leave with him to report to Sha Ruijin.

Gao Yuliang chose not to meet with Sha Ruijin and remained aligned with Zhao Lichun’s old network. Li Dakang and Lin Yanzhou secured Sha’s backing for their plans to reform the Guangming Peak Project, leaving them ready to move forward under his protection.

• Gao Yuliang weighed Sha Ruijin’s overture against Qi Tongwei’s warnings and decided not to report to Sha, gambling that Zhao Lichun’s influence would endure.
• Li Dakang and Lin Yanzhou met Sha Ruijin late at night to discuss the Guangming Peak Project and presented a united front.
• Lin Yanzhou urged a shift from rapid expansion to high-quality, sustainable development and said the changes would face considerable resistance.
• Li Dakang told Sha that irregular land transfers and affiliated enterprises from Ding Yizhen’s tenure had created vested interests and warned of underhanded tactics.
• Sha Ruijin promised the Provincial Party Committee’s firm support for the project’s reforms, provided Li Dakang and Lin Yanzhou followed his direction.

Qi Tongwei and Gao Yuliang rushed to contain problems in the Guangming Peak Project as an audit threatened to expose irregularities involving Dafeng Factory. After Qi Tongwei promised Chen Qingquan a full-division-level position for his cousin, the court ruled in Shanshui Group’s favor, giving its claims a legal appearance of legitimacy.

• Gao Yuliang warned Qi Tongwei that Secretary Sha’s inspection could scrutinize the Guangming Peak Project and urged him to clean up its loose ends.
• Qi Tongwei asked Gao Xiaoqin to review the Dafeng Factory documents, and she identified problems with the land-use change, meeting records, equity pledge, and unresolved debt claims.
• Qi Tongwei summoned Chen Qingquan to Shanshui Manor to review the case, and Chen explained the legal obstacles to awarding Dafeng Factory’s equity to Shanshui Group.
• Chen Qingquan agreed to oversee the case after Qi Tongwei promised him full-division-level benefits for his younger female cousin.
• The Jingzhou City Intermediate People’s Court issued a first-instance judgment confirming almost all of Shanshui Group’s claims to rights and interests in the Dafeng Factory parcel.

Hou Liangping uncovered Zhao Dehan’s enormous cash hoard, but Zhong Xiaoai ordered him to leave the ledger untouched because it implicated powerful people. Before being taken away, Zhao Dehan named Ding Yizhen as the man who first bribed him, pointing Hou Liangping toward a more dangerous investigation in Handong.

• Hou Liangping brought Zhao Dehan to a hidden mansion, where Zhao admitted the evidence inside was overwhelming and warned that powerful people were behind the case.
• Investigators found 239,995,400 yuan in cash in Zhao Dehan’s study, and Zhao challenged Hou Liangping to examine a ledger of fund transfers.
• Zhong Xiaoai told Hou Liangping to stop the case and avoid the ledger because the people named in it were too powerful; Hou ordered Zhao arrested and the cash sealed.
• Zhao Dehan returned to the study, broke down over the fortune he had never dared spend, and accused Ding Yizhen of first bribing him and introducing other corrupt businesspeople.
• Hou Liangping had Zhao taken away as discipline inspection officials arrived to secure the cash and ledger, and he prepared to pursue the investigation in Handong.

Hou Liangping urged Chen Hai to arrest Ding Yizhen immediately based on Zhao Dehan’s confession, despite lacking the required paperwork. Ji Changming and Gao Yuliang intervened, and Chen Hai’s team was stopped before the arrest as an emergency meeting was called.

• Hou Liangping told Chen Hai that Zhao Dehan had implicated Ding Yizhen in six bribes totaling 15,326,000 yuan and demanded an immediate arrest.
• Chen Hai questioned the lack of legal authorization, but Hou Liangping ordered him to proceed and said he would fly to Handong that night.
• Chen Hai assembled Investigation Division One and led the team out while Ji Changming instructed someone to monitor him.
• Ji Changming reported the situation to Gao Yuliang, who called an emergency meeting with Li Dakang, Lin Yanzhou, Qi Tongwei, and Chen Hai.
• Ji Changming blocked Chen Hai’s team at the procuratorate gates and told him to join him for the meeting with Gao Yuliang.