Then let them offer their loyalty!

Page 468

Upon hearing Huang Shangzong's words, the old man Liu Xiongyuan blinked, then grinned, his white teeth contrasting sharply with his dark skin.

"The candidate for Director of the New Territories Investigation Department?"

“I propose Zhang Jia, deputy director of the Dongcheng City Investigation Bureau.”

Huang Shangzong: ? ? ?

Huang Shangzong looked at Liu Xiong Yuan with a question mark in his eyes. The old man grinned, his face full of mischief. He had clearly seen through Huang Shangzong's thoughts and was deliberately causing trouble.

Despite his humble origins, Liu Xiongyuan's political acumen and tactics far surpass those of Huang Shangzong.

Fortunately, Huang Shangzong is not alone now, but has his own allies.

So when he saw Liu Xiongyuan deliberately causing trouble, Dai Yukang adjusted his frameless glasses and said with a smile, "Speaker Liu is joking."

“We’ve discussed personnel arrangements in the New Territories City several times before. We’ve always followed one principle.”

"The New Territories is a pilot city for the shelter's 'Boundless Ocean of the Heart' development plan, so we try to promote staff from within rather than bringing in outsiders."

"This will ensure the stability of the New Territories to the greatest extent possible."

Upon hearing Dai Yukang's words, Liu Xiongyuan chuckled and said nonchalantly, "I agree with what you said."

“But... you didn’t follow this principle when you were promoted to deputy director last time.”

Dai Yukang said with a half-smile, "That's because Speaker Qiu was promoted from deputy director to director, so he has someone to back him up."

Liu Xiongyuan touched his buzz cut and said nonchalantly, "There's no difference."

"Didn't we just discuss that? Speaker Tang is in charge of the 'Boundless Ocean of the Heart Development Project,' so all three major departments in the New Territories City are under her direct leadership."

"She originally came from the Investigation Department. With her in charge, what's wrong with bringing in people from outside?"

Dai Yukang: ......

It must be said that there is a reason why Liu Xiongyuan was able to rise from a lowly Level 3 detective to Vice Speaker on his own, even suppressing Yan Chen and making Yan Chen not want to provoke him.

He usually swears a lot, but when he doesn't swear, his thoughts, ideas, and logic are incredibly clear.

However, Dai Yukang was clearly no simple man. Also from a humble background, he built security bureaus from scratch in multiple cities, and all of them grew and expanded. He was also very adept at various political tactics.

Upon hearing Liu Xiong Yuan's words, Dai Yu Kang narrowed his eyes, paused briefly, and then looked at Qiu Tu, asking, "Speaker Qiu, you are the former Director of the New Territories City Investigation Department."

What do you mean?

At this moment, Qiu Tu was watching the heated debate unfold before him with great excitement, enjoying the spectacle.

He thought...this is what a high-level game is all about!

What was my previous experience at the New Territories City Investigation Department? It was just a bunch of amateurs fighting each other!

As it turned out, this whole mess ended up happening right to them.

He paused for a moment, his mind racing, trying to figure out why Dai Yukang had drawn the flames of war into him.

Before he could figure it out, Liu Xiongyuan spoke again.

He said with a smile, "If Director Dai thinks Zhang Jia is unsuitable, then just remove him from the list."

"Director Dai just mentioned that he wants to promote someone from the New Territories City Investigation Department. Do you have any candidates in mind?"

Dai Yukang asked Qiu Tu for his opinion out of the blue, and as a result, Liu Xiongyuan, who had been so aggressive, suddenly backed down!

This turn of events was indeed somewhat unexpected for Qiu Tu.

'There's a problem! There's definitely a problem!'

Qiu Tu also has a very strong political acumen, so he immediately sensed something was wrong with just an unusual move.

Therefore, his eyes gleamed and his brain raced as he pondered the subtle battle between the two masters, Liu Xiongyuan and Dai Yukang!

After a moment, a look of realization dawned on his eyes.

'Those two old foxes...'

Thinking this, Qiu Tu couldn't help but glance at Dai Yukang, who was smiling and talking eloquently beside him, and then at the little dark-skinned old man Liu Xiongyuan opposite him.

Perhaps noticing Qiu Tu's gaze, Liu Xiongyuan returned a friendly smile.

The reason why Liu Xiongyuan immediately stopped when Dai Yukang questioned Qiu Tu was actually quite simple.

Qiu Tu's core associates all work for the New Territories City Exploration Department.

Guan Xiao was the Minister of the Political Department, Chen Feng was the Director of the Administrative Department, and Guan Weihua was the Director of the Public Security Department.

Therefore... only if Ellie or Ji Qinglin are promoted can Qiu Tu's close associates be moved to different positions, thus further extending Qiu Tu's influence in the New Territories.

If people are transferred from other places, Ellie and Ji Qinglin won't get promoted, and Qiu Tu's three loyal followers won't be able to be touched either.

Furthermore, since the Director of Administration is the Director's chief steward, ... Chen Feng may very well be transferred out of the senior management.

Qiu Tu's influence will decline rapidly as a result.

Therefore, once Qiu Tu understands this point, he will choose to support Dai Yukang for the benefit of his own faction.

If Qiu Tu supports Dai Yukang, then Tang Feifei will also support Dai Yukang.

With Huang Shangzong, who remained firmly in control and held veto power, the votes had already exceeded four. Therefore, Liu Xiongyuan's idea was destined to fail.

In this situation, having Qiu Tu stand up against him would not only damage their relationship but also make Liu Xiong Yuan lose face.

Therefore, Liu Xiongyuan didn't need Qiu Tu to speak, and instead withdrew his own suggestion, asking Dai Yukang for his opinion instead.

Qiu Tu even guessed that Liu Xiong Yuan had already anticipated the failure of his proposal before he even spoke, so he was simply trying to cause trouble and provoke Huang Shang Zong.

'Is this what high-level gameplay is like?'

After figuring out the scheming between the two old foxes in those brief two seconds, Qiu Tu was secretly amazed.

It seems... I must not let my guard down because of the recent smooth sailing.

When dealing with these cunning old foxes, you never know when you might be the one being sold out and still be counting the money for them...

Thus, Qiu Tu's first state assembly speaker meeting was an eye-opening experience for him.

At the end of the meeting, as he expected, with Dai Yukang taking the lead and Huang Shangzong sitting back, the position of Director of the New Territories City Investigation Department was ultimately given to Ellie.

However, Qiu Tu did not come away empty-handed. After struggling to adapt to the rhythm in the first half, he coordinated with Tang Feifei and Liu Xiongyuan in the second half.

He successfully promoted Guan Xiao to "Deputy Director of Operations" ahead of schedule, while Chen Feng took over Guan Xiao's position as "Minister of the Political Department" according to his original plan.

With these two close associates advancing further, Qiu Tu's influence in the New Territories will continue to grow, and his trusted confidants and brothers can continue to develop in a more organized and rapid manner....

After the meeting ended, Dai Yukang adjusted his frameless glasses, smiled at Qiu Tu, and said, "Speaker Qiu has adapted to his new role much faster than I expected."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu smiled and replied, "Working with Director Dai for the first time has truly broadened my horizons."

Dai Yukang smiled with narrowed eyes, then patted Qiu Tu's arm, "Come visit me sometime."

After saying that, he picked up the documents and left the conference room accompanied by his secretary.

Huang Shangzong was the first to leave, followed by Li Tingdong, who was not very noticeable and was immersed in his own world, and Ye Mingfeng, who was taciturn.

So, after Dai Yukang left, only Qiu Tu, Tang Feifei, and Liu Xiongyuan remained in the conference room.

The three of them now form a loose little alliance, so without outsiders, Liu Xiongyuan has lost his composure.

He tossed Qiu Tu a cigarette, then put his feet up on the table and cursed, "Damn it. That old bastard Dai Yukang is a real piece of work."

"Huang Shangzong offered him a small benefit, and he was bribed to fight for Huang Shangzong."

"No wonder he's been in this position for so many years and still hasn't been promoted to vice speaker!"

Qiu Tu and Tang Feifei exchanged a glance, both of them smiling.

Liu Xiongyuan's words inadvertently insulted himself as well. Of the six vice-speakers, Dai Yukang wasn't the only one who hadn't been promoted after so many years; Liu Xiongyuan himself was also among them...

However, the old man had a bad temper and was always outspoken, so it was normal for him to scold himself.

Therefore, Qiu Tu and Tang Feifei didn't pay any attention to it.

Qiu Tu lit a cigarette and then analyzed, "I feel that Dai Yukang may have wanted to align himself with Huang Shangzong for a long time."

"It's just an excuse."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Liu Xiongyuan waved his hand impatiently, "Who cares what they think? It's none of our business."

After saying that, he put a cigarette between his fingers, looked at Qiu Tu, and said, "Let's talk about your business, kid."

"Why did you take on that troublesome job?"

"Suppressing the remaining anti-government forces in the prefecture, do you know how troublesome that is?"

"Even I, a veteran director who is extremely familiar with the 16 cities, am feeling incredibly troubled."

Upon hearing Liu Xiong Yuan's words, Tang Fei Fei also silently looked at Qiu Tu, clearly sharing the same concerns.

Upon hearing Liu Xiong Yuan's words, Qiu Tu coughed, just about to make an excuse.

To his surprise, Liu Xiongyuan looked at him with a look of astonishment and asked, "You kid don't actually have a way, do you?"

Perhaps old age really does make people more shrewd, or perhaps he had worked at the grassroots level of the Investigation Bureau for too long, and micro-expression analysis and reading between the lines had become muscle memory for Yoo Woong-won.

He looked Qiu Tu up and down suspiciously, then said, "You don't happen to have clues about these remnants of the anti-government movement, do you?"

At this point, Liu Xiongyuan quickly shook his head again, muttering to himself, "No, no. You're a little fox. If it were only this level, you wouldn't dare take on something like this."

As he muttered this, he seemed to have guessed something, and looked at Qiu Tu with a surprised expression, "You kid, you didn't find a clue about 'Scarface', did you?!"

"Once we catch him, we can easily uncover all the remaining anti-government elements in Dongye Prefecture by following his lead!"

Qiu Tu: .....

To be honest, Qiu Tu felt that he had given Liu Xiongyuan a very high evaluation at this meeting of the Speakers.

However, when Qiu Tu realized that... he had only hesitated for a second, and Liu Xiongyuan had seized the flaw and deduced the truth almost perfectly, Qiu Tu still felt that he had underestimated Liu Xiongyuan's abilities.

This old man truly lives up to his reputation as someone who suppressed Yan Chen for ten years, caused countless troubles, and yet still managed to rise through the ranks.

Now that Liu Xiongyuan had seen through him, Qiu Tu no longer concealed his intentions.

He casually turned on the communicator in his hand and tossed it to Liu Xiongyuan.

Liu Xiongyuan took it, put his feet on the table, and glanced at it indifferently while smoking.

The next second, he stopped moving and blinked.

A moment later, he slammed his feet off the table, sat up abruptly, and looked at Qiu Tu with disbelief on his dark face, saying, "The operation was a success?"

"You son of a bitch..." Liu Xiong Yuan started to say, but then remembered that this wasn't a private place, so he quickly lowered his voice and mouthed, "You've already caught 'Scarface'?!"

Qiu Tu smiled and nodded.

Then he said softly, "Actually... not only 'Scarface,' but 'Redhead' is also under my control and can be captured at any time."

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Liu Xiongyuan's smile gradually widened until he burst into a loud "haha" laugh.

After a moment, he gave Qiu Tu a thumbs up, "Not bad, not bad. You're really good."

"I knew I hadn't misjudged you."

"You really are the type who won't act until you see a clear benefit."

"They actually fired the gun first, and then drew a target."

"This cunning... um... his witty manner is reminiscent of my old self back in the day."

Faced with Liu Xiongyuan, a senior who had been so open and honest with him, Qiu Tu smiled and flattered him, saying, "That's a very high compliment."

Sure enough, no one dislikes receiving praise.

Liu Xiongyuan took a smug puff of his cigarette, his face beaming with pride.

Only Tang Feifei looked at Qiu Tu's handsome, sunny face and Liu Xiong Yuan's... well, at least human-looking face, and was somewhat speechless.

Liu Xiongyuan didn't notice Tang Feifei's strange look, or even if he did, he wouldn't have cared.

After finishing his cigarette, he rolled his eyes, then squinted at Qiu Tu, who seemed to like him, and said, "Qiu kid, you probably don't want to just complete this task that Huang Shangzong assigned to you so easily, do you?"

"After all... once the mission is completed, your authority to interfere in state affairs will be revoked."

"So...would you like to play something big?"

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Two chapters, 10,000 words each. Please vote with monthly tickets!