Then let them offer their loyalty!

Page 434

"Therefore, we also need to make some preparations in advance."

"Make some preparations?" Ellie asked thoughtfully.

Qiu Tu nodded. "Yes."

"For example... the state wants to attack the disaster zone. The disaster zone isn't a block of wood that we can just attack at will."

"Won't they resist?"

Ellie was slightly puzzled. "Even if it's about resistance, that should be something for the front lines. What can we do from the rear?"

Qiu Tu said with a smile, "Who says resistance can only happen on the front lines?"

“Our Dongye Prefecture has only been cleaned up for two years. The anti-government armed forces here have deep roots and are constantly infiltrating.”

"If I were an anti-government force, I would not only be fighting infiltration on the front lines, but I would also be causing trouble in the rear."

"After all, an incident in the rear can weaken the state's ability to sustain operations and also distract the state."

"Isn't this the best of both worlds?"

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Ellie's face showed a hint of realization. "That makes sense."

She wasn't very experienced, but she was quick-witted. Qiu Tu pointed her in the right direction, and she immediately got the hang of it. "So, we need to find and eliminate these anti-government armed groups and extremist organizations as early as possible."

"In this way, even if a war breaks out in the future, the peace and prosperity of the New Territories can be guaranteed."

Qiu Tu nodded in satisfaction and said, "Yes. That's exactly it."

After saying that, Qiu Tu said, "So... I hope that after I make this proposal at the meeting, you will be the first to support it."

After saying that, Qiu Tu asked in return, "You said last night that you'd be mine from now on. You're not going to go back on your word again, are you?"

Perhaps "cheating" is truly Ellie's Achilles' heel. Hearing Qiu Tu's question, she quickly retorted, "Who's cheating! I was just discussing it with you last night!"

"Don't worry, I definitely won't go back on my word this time!"

Seeing this, Qiu Tu nodded in satisfaction, smiled at Ellie, and then walked towards the office building.

Ellie was momentarily stunned by Qiu Tu's handsome smile, and the comment Yan Yan had made last night, "Qiu Tu is also very handsome," involuntarily flashed through her mind...

Even as an "enemy," Ellie had to admit that although Qiu Tu was full of malice and scheming, he was indeed the most handsome person her age she had ever seen.

Thinking this, Ellie was stunned for a moment, and her brows furrowed instantly.

'Wait a minute. Why am I paying attention to Qiu Tu's appearance?'

'What does it matter to me whether he's handsome or not?'

'He's my enemy? At most... a creditor.'

Thinking of the "enemy," Ellie became more clear-headed.

She pondered...

Qiu Tu is a man full of bad intentions, yet he's now offering to share Huang Shangzong's burdens?

Is this really normal?

Ellie stood there, analyzing the situation intently.

She felt that something was definitely not right...

Is the intention to use the crackdown on anti-government armed groups and extremist religions to alert disaster-prone areas in advance?

Ellie thought...it was impossible.

Because, putting aside the efficiency of such information transmission, Huang Shangzong's actions have always been upright and honest. Now that the plan has been approved, he should immediately infiltrate and purge the disaster area.

So... it seems like tipping someone off is pointless now.

Thinking about this, Ellie pondered for a long time but couldn't understand Qiu Tu's scheme, so she temporarily put the matter out of her mind.

She felt that perhaps she had been judging others by her own petty standards.

Perhaps Qiu Tu really just wants to do something for the New Territories?

Thinking this way, she stopped thinking about it: she had already lost to Qiu Tu, and she should accept her defeat and just listen to Qiu Tu.

With that thought in mind, Ellie also started walking towards the office building...

The morning passed quickly.

The high-level meeting was held as scheduled at 1 p.m.

In that spacious and luxurious conference room, Qiu Tu sat in the main seat, with the other seven senior executives standing on either side.

Time was up, but Qiu Tu sat there flipping through the documents in his hands, without saying a word.

The high-ranking officials present, whether they were Qiu Tu's confidants or members of the "academic faction," did not dare to speak upon seeing this, and all stared expectantly at Qiu Tu.

Everyone present knew Qiu Tu's ruthless methods. As a section chief, he could drive high-ranking officials to their deaths; as a department head, he dared to go against Yan Chen.

After becoming the deputy director, he directly clashed with Huang Shangzong and also took down Lin Ting, Yu Zhengyi, and Yan Chen.

He has slain evil gods and destroyed allied forces.

Whether it's intelligence, strength, or ruthlessness, they are the best in the current investigation department.

Originally, his weakest link was completely strengthened by getting close to Tang Feifei and now gaining the favor of Old Master Tang.

This is a hexagonal warrior, an insurmountable mountain for the rest of us.

Humans are strange creatures; they fear authority but not virtue. Faced with the more powerful Tang Feifei or the higher-ranking Committee Member Jiang, the higher-ups wouldn't pay them much attention.

But when they faced Qiu Tu, or the former Yan Chen, they were filled with trepidation.

After all... if you anger these two, you could really be killed.

And so it went. The meeting had been going on for about ten minutes, and the entire office remained quiet for the same ten minutes.

The seven high-ranking officials did nothing and just kept watching Qiu Tu.

Only after Qiu Tu finished reading the documents in his hand and put them down did the senior executives feel a chill and quickly sit up even more upright.

After glancing at the time, Qiu Tu feigned surprise and said, "It's already 13:13 PM?"

After saying that, Qiu Tu gave Chen Feng a reproachful look, feigning anger, and said, "Secretary Chen, why didn't you remind me?"

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Chen Feng quickly stood up, bowed, and apologized, "I'm sorry, Director. It was my fault."

Everyone present was shrewd; they all knew that Qiu Tu was deliberately giving them a warning and looking for troublemakers.

So the old fox Shi Youxin quickly replied with a smile, "Director, don't be angry. We actually noticed the time, but no one was in a hurry, and you were looking at an important document, so we didn't want to disturb you."

Upon hearing Shi Youxin's words, Guan Weihua smiled and replied, "Yes, Director."

Seeing this, Qiu Tu glanced at the people present with an expressionless face. Seeing that no one dared to question him, he nodded slightly and said, "In that case, let's start the meeting."

After speaking, Qiu Tu pointed at Chen Feng, indicating that Chen Feng should explain the meeting agenda and the matters to be discussed.

Chen Feng nodded slightly, then took the documents in his hand and recounted the contents of all the meetings held today.

Today's meeting mainly focused on sorting out all the chaos caused by the handover of the three directors and the deaths and arrests of several high-ranking officials in the recent period.

After Chen Feng finished discussing this topic, Lu Cheng, Shi Youxin, Ji Qinglin, and other senior executives all assumed that Qiu Tu would most likely take this opportunity, like Tang Feifei, to form a working group and seize power for himself.

To their surprise, when the topic came up, Qiu Tu did the opposite, disbanding the various working groups and returning power to the senior management.

Guan Xiao regained control of important departments such as the Political Department's Action Division and Espionage Section; Guan Weihua regained control of various security stations; and Lü Cheng also gained command of the various action teams within the Special Operations Department...

Even Ellie, the deputy director of operations, can directly command several operations departments and has regained military power.

This unexpected turn of events left Shi Youxin, Lü Cheng, Ji Qinglin, and other high-ranking officials dumbfounded. They had no idea what Qiu Tu was up to.

Is it genuine kindness? Or... is it because they've gotten carried away with Tang Lao's backing?

Of the people Qiu Tu returned military power to, only Guan Xiao was one of Qiu Tu's confidants. The others were all from his "academic faction"...

After clarifying the powers of the various senior executives, Qiu Tu then made some simple personnel adjustments.

This time, he mainly promoted the eight members of the investigation department's suicide squad (excluding Chen Feng) to a higher rank and assigned them to important positions.

Because these eight members of the suicide squad were already Cataclysmics, and they had made great contributions, proving their courage and strength.

In addition, Qiu Tu had just returned the military power, so none of the high-ranking officials had any objections.

Even high-ranking officials like Shi Youxin and Ji Qinglin thought Qiu Tu was making an exchange.

So, this issue was quickly resolved and moved on. Soon, we came to the last issue, which was also the one Qiu Tu valued most.

This time, he did not have Chen Feng explain the relevant materials to him.

Instead, he glanced around at the several high-ranking officials present and slowly said, "Yesterday, the state held a meeting, and we will next infiltrate and expand into the surrounding disaster areas."

"And once the plan officially begins, our Dongye Prefecture will become the front line of the battlefield."

"Although the New Territories City does not border the disaster zone, we are still... a designated 'development plan implementation area' of the shelter, making us a top priority."

"Therefore, in order to ensure that the situation in the New Territories remains stable during this period and that no petty thieves cause trouble."

“I am prepared to begin purging all anti-government armed groups, as well as informants, and even those connected to extremist religions in the New Territories.”

"Everyone on the Political Department's list, regardless of their status or rank, will be arrested first and investigated later!"

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's resolute words, the conference room fell silent for a moment.

Shi Youxin, Lü Cheng, Ji Qinglin and other senior executives were all quietly pondering the meaning behind Qiu Tu's words.

Regardless of whether Qiu Tu was telling the truth, there's nothing wrong with the fact that he used this as a pretext to claim a moral high ground.

Therefore, they could not find any reason to object.

However... what puzzled them was that Qiu Tu clearly had several confidants among the higher-ups, so why didn't a single one agree with him after he brought up this topic?

Could it be... a trap?

While Shi Youxin, Lü Cheng, and Ji Qinglin hesitated and observed, Ellie didn't think much about it.

After hearing Qiu Tu talk about the topic they had agreed on, and that there were no changes to the topic, Ellie knew it was her turn to step in.

As for the fact that Qiu Tu's confidants did not speak, she assumed that this was a deliberate arrangement by Qiu Tu.

He planned to take the lead and set the tone first, after which his trusted confidants would speak one by one. This would prevent him from breaking his promise and putting them in a passive position.

Thinking this, she coughed and then spoke up in support, "I think the director's plan is excellent."

"Our New Territories is a bit special after all. So we do need to make some preparations in advance."

"After we eliminate all those spies, informants, and traitors, our New Territories will be able to enjoy a long period of stability."

Upon hearing Ellie's words, Shi Youxin, Lü Cheng, Ji Qinglin, and even... Guan Weihua, Guan Xiao, and other high-ranking officials looked at her in surprise.

After all, Ellie is the head of the "Academic Faction" in the New Territories, and all the "Academic Faction" executives are theoretically under her command.

She was also ordered to come here to sideline and restrict Qiu Tu.

So... before the "academic" higher-ups could even take action against Qiu Tu, the highest-ranking officer surrendered first?

Even if this matter might benefit Huang Shangzong and requires his approval, Ellie shouldn't be the one to speak first.

Perhaps sensing the gazes of the higher-ups, Ellie's heart skipped a beat, realizing something was amiss.

It seems that by speaking up for Qiu Tu now, I have caused an unnecessary "misunderstanding".

However, she then realized it wasn't a big problem.

After all... Qiu Tu's actions were indeed beneficial to Huang Shangzong, so it was normal for her to agree.

We are all managers of the same city; we cannot only compete without cooperating.

Her ability to collaborate on the right things actually demonstrates her strategic thinking.

Thinking this way, Ellie didn't pay any attention.

Just then, Qiu Tu spoke.

Qiu Tu first reached out and pointed at Chen Feng in the air, saying, "Secretary Chen, you must remember what Deputy Director Ellie said."

"This reflects the sentiments of the highest-ranking officer in our Exploration Bureau's operational sequence."

Ellie: Huh??

For some reason, Ellie suddenly felt something was off. That tall hat was a bit strange.

Just as she was thinking this, Qiu Tu spoke again.

He looked at Ellie and then said, "Deputy Director Ellie, from your remarks, I can see that you agree with this plan."