Nominal: The pinnacle of power began in the sixth province of Handong.

Chapter 10 Li Dakang's Reflections

Xia Qing was preparing to return.

Several official vehicles were parked in front of Building No. 1 of the Guangming District Committee.

Sun Liancheng, the head of Guangming District, after seeing the license plate.

Startled, he rushed to the official car and respectfully opened the door.

A sharp-looking man got out of the car.

His eyes were calm, yet incredibly sharp. He merely glanced at Sun Liancheng, and the latter immediately lowered his head.

Xia Qingxin was certain that this must be Li Dakang, the Party Secretary of Jingzhou City!

Li Dakang, who had been wearing a cold expression, immediately broke into a smile the moment he saw Xia Qing. He quickly stepped forward, took Xia Qing's hand, and said:

"Minister Xia! I've heard so much about you!"

Xia Qing also shook Li Dakang's hand in return, and said warmly:

"Secretary Dakang! Oh my, it's so great to finally meet you in person today! I have so much to tell you!"

"How dare I, how dare I," Li Dakang said, scratching his head sheepishly.

"At the last Standing Committee meeting, I was dealing with the Dafeng Factory issue. As you know, the workers have been preventing the demolition, so the Guangmingfeng project is stalled. It's really difficult to handle."

"I understand! Secretary Dakang, you've worked hard. I'll learn from you!" Xia Qing replied with the usual platitudes.

While Li Dakang and Xia Qing were exchanging pleasantries, Li Dakang had already sized Xia Qing up and down.

In my mind, Xia Qing left an impression of being "decisive and efficient".

When he saw the five cadres whose accounts had been frozen behind Xia Qing, especially Xu Min, he realized that...

Li Dakang's brows furrowed unconsciously.

He was also startled:

Xia Qing is amazing!

Decisive in handling affairs, getting straight to the point.

Such incredible execution!

Previously, Li Dakang called Tian Guofu to inform him that Xia Qing was coming to Guangming District to investigate the issues of five officials whose accounts had been frozen.

When he received the reply that Secretary Sha had not authorized Xia Qing to conduct the research, he was told that Secretary Sha had not authorized Xia Qing to do so.

After much deliberation, he made a decision.

We cannot allow Xia Qing to have such easy access to these five cadres whose positions have been frozen.

Especially Xu Min.

That would only hand Xia Qing a good card that forces Sha Ruijin to back down!

These days, I've been constantly getting closer to Sha Ruijin, and I've practically acquired all the original shares in the Sha family gang.

Just as Sha Ruijin had successfully suppressed the Handa gang and was about to launch a full-scale attack on Gao Yuliang.

If Organization Minister Xia Qing publicly supports Gao Yuliang, even Sha Ruijin would have to consider the Xia family behind Xia Qing.

That would mean the encirclement and suppression of the Han Da gang would be postponed again.

How could he possibly have a chance to achieve a Sha-Li ticket after Gao Yuliang's downfall?

Therefore, regarding the issue of freezing the status of cadres.

The only option is that Xia Qing cannot resolve the cadre freeze and is forced to pledge allegiance to Sha Ruijin, and then Xia Qing and the Organization Department are brought into Sha's faction.

We must not allow Xia Qing to take the lead, form a united front with Gao Yuliang, and ultimately force Sha Ruijin to unfreeze the cadres.

Therefore, Li Dakang immediately instructed his subordinates to call the Development and Reform Commission of Guangming District, specifically requesting that Xu Min attend the municipal party committee meeting.

Then, at the same time, he set off for the Guangming District Development and Reform Commission, intending to personally pick up Xu Min and get him into the car.

What Li Dakang didn't expect was...

Xia Qing went even further.

His communication with the district involved going directly to the district party committee's organization department to talk to the five officials whose accounts had been frozen.

Unexpectedly, when Xia Qing arrived in Guangming District, he didn't go to the District Party Committee's Organization Department, but went straight to the District Development and Reform Commission, personally invited Xu Min out, and rode in the same car with him.

Li Dakang, who arrived late and couldn't very well rush up to snatch Xu Min away, could only watch coldly as Xia Qing's car drove off, escorting Xu Min to the district party committee's organization department.

Right now, Li Dakang understands that Xia Qing has finished her conversation with Xu Min.

His attitude was also conveyed to Xu Min.

Next, as long as the issue of freezing the cadres is not resolved, the forces behind Xu Min will definitely not blame Xia Qing, but will directly hold the person who froze the cadres accountable.

This will cause considerable trouble for Sha Ruijin in advancing his work in Handong, and even for Sha Ruijin himself.

Xia Qing and Gao Yuliang will definitely continue to cooperate.

Now, the plan to completely annihilate the Han University gang will have to be significantly delayed.

Li Dakang glared angrily at the cadres of Guangming District.

He was very dissatisfied.

Why do these people under his command lack Xia Qing's decisiveness and strategic ability?

If even one smart person had received the news that Xia Qing had come to Guangming District to investigate the five officials whose accounts had been frozen, they would have immediately taken action and hidden Xu Min away.

The situation wouldn't have been so passive!

But what's done is done.

After exchanging pleasantries with Xia Qing, Li Dakang made an excuse about dealing with work at the Municipal Party Committee Office and hurriedly left.

In the car, Li Dakang made a phone call to Sha Ruijin.

After a few beeps, Sha Ruijin's cheerful voice came from the other end of the phone:

"Secretary Dakang? What's wrong?"

Li Dakang lowered his voice and said:

"Secretary Sha, I apologize to you. Xia Qing met with the five cadres whose accounts were frozen, and chatted enthusiastically with Xu Min."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, then a voice came through again.

But Sha Ruijin's mood did not seem to be affected much:

"What does this have to do with you? It's perfectly reasonable for the Organization Minister to meet with the cadres whose accounts have been frozen in order to expedite the unfreezing process. You don't need to blame yourself."

Li Dakang was taken aback; he hadn't expected Sha Ruijin to be so calm.

His brain was working at lightning speed.

Does Sha Ruijin really not care?

Or has Sha Ruijin prepared a trump card for a counterattack?

But no matter what, the first thing to do is to figure out the attitude of the top leader.

After much hesitation, Li Dakang slowly spoke:

"Secretary Sha, do you think Minister Xia... is someone we can try to persuade?"

Sha Ruijin pondered for a long while, then burst into laughter:

"Secretary Dakang, what do you mean by 'striving'? Minister Xia Qing is our comrade, we're on the same side, so what's this talk of 'striving'?"

Li Dakang was completely dumbfounded.

He knew it wasn't the right time to continue talking to Sha Ruijin; he needed some time to think.

So, after hanging up the phone in a hurry, Li Dakang sat in the back seat of the car, coldly looking at the city night view outside the window without saying a word.

Sha Ruijin's nonchalant attitude didn't seem like an act.

That last sentence sounded more like a high-sounding statement sung to cover something up.

However, regardless of the circumstances, since Sha Ruijin did not explicitly state that it was possible to fight for it, it meant that it was not possible to fight for it.

It's no longer possible to expect Xia Qing to take the initiative to approach him.

The next political situation in Handong will be that Sha Ruijin, Tian Guofu, and himself will face the alliance of Gao Yuliang and Xia Qing.

Xia Qing, who was new to the area and had no one to rely on, thought that he would have to get close to the provincial party secretary.

Unexpectedly, he took a different path and went to Gao Yuliang, who was suffering repeated defeats.

With Xia Qing joining the team and the Xia family backing him up, Gao Yuliang found an oasis amidst the political turmoil in Handong.

The dying Han University gang is reborn.

Now, Xia Qing's position in the provincial party committee is much higher than when he actively tried to curry favor with Sha Ruijin.

If Sha Ruijin wants to take over all of Handong's political resources, it will probably take some time and effort.

Li Dakang closed his eyes.

It seems the marriage between Sha and Li will have to be delayed for a while longer.