dtnovels Chapter 86 Secretary Dakang, you have no right to negotiate.
Chapter 86 Secretary Dakang, you have no right to negotiate.
The Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee building was brightly lit.
It was late at night, but the building, a symbol of power in Jingzhou, remained bustling with activity. Secretaries hurried about carrying documents, and an atmosphere of anxiety permeated the corridors. Everyone knew that tonight, the tide had turned in Jingzhou.
The door to Office Number One was ajar.
Qi Tongwei pushed open the door and entered.
The main lights were off inside, only a dim, yellowish table lamp illuminating the room. Li Dakang sat on the sofa, two cups of freshly brewed hot tea on the coffee table in front of him, the rising steam blurring his thin and tired face.
Hearing footsteps, Li Dakang didn't look up. He simply picked up the purple clay teapot and added some water to the cup in front of Qi Tongwei.
The sound of flowing water was particularly jarring in the deathly silent room.
"Here you are." Li Dakang's voice was very soft, with an indescribable hoarseness, as if it had been sanded.
Qi Tongwei didn't stand on ceremony. He walked straight to the person opposite him and sat down, his back slumped heavily against the sofa, making a soft creak. He didn't touch the cup of tea, but simply stared coldly at the Party Secretary of Jingzhou City in front of him.
In the past, Qi Tongwei might have been flattered by Li Dakang's "respectful and courteous" demeanor. After all, this man was a renowned "reform pioneer" in Handong, used to being domineering; when had he ever served tea to anyone?
But now, Qi Tongwei only feels irony.
"Secretary Dakang called me so late just to invite me for tea?" Qi Tongwei broke the silence.
Li Dakang put down the teapot, his hand pausing in mid-air for half a second. He looked up, his signature single eyelids now bloodshot.
"I know about Ouyang's matter." Li Dakang got straight to the point, his tone eerily calm. "I really didn't know that the speedboat was registered under her shell company. It was my oversight; I haven't been strict enough with my family members, and I've caused trouble for the police."
Qi Tongwei raised an eyebrow.
Avoid the heavy and do the light.
He downplayed a shocking case of assisting in money laundering and transferring serious criminals as "lax discipline." This Secretary Dakang, even on the verge of a precipice, was still trying to pave his way with rhetoric.
"It's not really troublesome." Qi Tongwei took out a cigarette case from his pocket, and without asking Li Dakang if he minded, he took one and lit it. "It's just that Liu Qing ran away, taking the keys to hundreds of Zhao family accounts overseas with him. This is a huge hole. Secretary Dakang, do you think a simple 'oversight' can plug this hole?"
The smoke billowed out and drifted directly towards Li Dakang's face.
Li Dakang frowned and waved away the smoke. He stared at Qi Tongwei, leaned forward slightly, and lowered his voice: "Comrade Tongwei, let's not beat around the bush. I know Ouyang Jing's dirty secrets. I've heard rumors over the years that she used my influence to acquire land and accept bribes. But in my life, I, Li Dakang, value my reputation more than my life."
At this point, Li Dakang paused, seemingly observing Qi Tongwei's reaction.
Seeing Qi Tongwei's expressionless face, Li Dakang gritted his teeth and offered his bargaining chip: "As long as you can keep Ouyang Jing's case within the scope of economic crimes, and don't drag it into political donations or the Zhao family's money laundering, and save my reputation, I, Li Dakang, will fully support whatever you want to do in Jingzhou, or even in Handong. If you want to purge the public security team, whoever you want to touch, whoever you want to promote, the Municipal Party Committee's Organization Department will give you the green light all the way."
This is a huge temptation.
Li Dakang is a member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee and a strong contender for the future governorship of Handong Province. Having his full support means that Qi Tongwei will have absolute power in Handong, and could even rival Sha Ruijin.
This is a blatant political deal.
A woman's imprisonment was used to secure a political tacit understanding between two men.
Qi Tongwei tapped his fingers, which were holding a cigarette, lightly on his knee twice. He looked at Li Dakang's expectant yet forcedly composed face and suddenly smiled.
The laughter was cold, echoing in the empty office.
"Secretary Dakang." Qi Tongwei leaned forward, his chilling aura instantly enveloping Li Dakang. "Aren't you mistaken about something?"
Li Dakang was taken aback: "What?"
"Do you still have the right to negotiate with me now?"
Qi Tongwei's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a heavy hammer blow that slammed into Li Dakang's heart.
"Ouyang Jing is involved in a money laundering case at the heart of the Zhao family, a serious crime bordering on treason. Do you think you and I can suppress it like this?" Qi Tongwei stood up, looking down at Li Dakang with sharp, piercing eyes. "Furthermore, your so-called 'full support' is worthless to me. In Jingzhou now, I can arrest whoever I want, investigate whoever I want. Do I need your approval, Li Dakang?"
Li Dakang's face turned deathly pale instantly. He gripped the sofa armrests tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.
He had always thought Qi Tongwei was just a "brute" relying on the Ye family's background, someone who could be appeased as long as he was offered enough benefits. But he was wrong, terribly wrong. Standing before him was a wolf that had already tasted blood, utterly disdainful of the rotten flesh he had thrown out.
"You..." Li Dakang's lips trembled, "Are you really going to push things to the extreme?"
"It's not that I've gone too far, it's that I've reached a dead end." Qi Tongwei flicked his cigarette ash, his tone chilling. "Secretary Dakang, if you want to protect yourself, selling your wife won't be enough. You need to show some real substance."
Li Dakang slumped back onto the sofa, looking as if he had aged ten years in an instant. His former air of authority as the "top leader of Jingzhou" completely crumbled at that moment.
silence.
The deathly silence lasted for a full three minutes.
Finally, Li Dakang let out a long sigh. He stood up and walked unsteadily to the bookshelf in the corner of the office. He moved several heavy copies of "Zizhi Tongjian" to reveal an inconspicuous hidden compartment behind them.
Enter your password and verify your fingerprint.
With a soft "click," the hidden compartment popped open.
Li Dakang reached inside, fumbled around for a moment, and took out a black metal USB flash drive.
He walked back with the USB drive in his hand, which was trembling slightly.
"Here... are the original accounts of Zhao Lichun transferring assets overseas using the Crescent Lake project and the Luzhou Food City during his tenure as governor of Handong Province," Li Dakang's voice was extremely hoarse. "There are also backups of his emails with several overseas conglomerates. I secretly backed them up when I was his secretary back then..."
Qi Tongwei's pupils contracted slightly.
really.
How could this old fox not have a trump card to save his life? Zhao Lichun promoted him but was also wary of him, and Li Dakang would naturally have one up his sleeve too. This thing is the real nuclear bomb.
"If you had just taken it out earlier, there wouldn't have been so much nonsense." Qi Tongwei grabbed the USB drive, weighed it in his hand, and found it to be both light and heavy.
Li Dakang looked at his empty palm, a hint of despair flashing in his eyes. Handing this over meant that he had completely stood against the Zhao family, and that he had entrusted his life and fortune to Qi Tongwei.
From then on, Li Dakang was a knife in Qi Tongwei's hand.
"Ouyang..." Li Dakang wanted to say something more.
"We'll handle it according to the law," Qi Tongwei said coldly, turning and leaving. "However, for the sake of this thing, I can refrain from implicating others. Whether you can keep your position depends on your future performance."
The door slammed shut.
Li Dakang's body went limp, and he slumped onto the carpet, panting heavily, his back instantly soaked with sweat.
……
A black SUV was hidden in the shadows below the municipal party committee building.
Qi Tongwei opened the car door and sat in the back seat.
The carriage was dark, but filled with a faint, alluring fragrance. It was a blend of Chanel No. 5 and some unique body odor, exuding a sophisticated and aggressive allure.
"Are you done talking?"
A lazy yet magnetic female voice came from beside me.