Free Web NovelThe day the full meeting of the Chinese Communist Party was being held.
From early dawn, Hu Jintao met privately with Zeng Qinghong to discuss the agenda items that would be addressed during the meeting later that day.
“Mr. Chairman. Are you still planning to push ahead with the Shanghai Party Secretary as he is?”
Hu Jintao shook his head.
“No. We don’t have enough cards to bring down Party Secretary Chen Liangyu.”
They still lacked the leverage needed to force out the Shanghai mayor.
He knew of several of Chen’s personal corrupt dealings, but that alone wouldn’t be enough to topple him.
The Shanghai faction would never willingly give up control of Shanghai. If they wanted to bring him down, they would need something far bigger.
“We must secure Shanghai no matter what, Mr. Chairman.”
“I know that as well. But what method do we have? If we attack him without solid evidence, we’ll have to prepare for an all-out confrontation. Not yet.”
“Then what about attacking his private life?”
Zeng Qinghong was already aware of Chen Liangyu’s complicated relationships with women.
Not only had he been involved with female officials in the Shanghai municipal government, he also kept numerous mistresses and lived a thoroughly debauched private life.
“That’s nonsense. Private life is taboo. If we bring that up, we’ll definitely face retaliation.”
There was a saying that among China’s high-ranking officials, it was faster to find someone without a mistress than someone who had one.
Touching something that widespread would only backfire.
“I’m saying this because it’s frustrating. Then what do you plan to do? Whatever else happens, we absolutely have to take control of both Beijing and Shanghai.”
Zeng Qinghong spoke with a deep frown.
Of course, he himself hadn’t found any card capable of removing Chen either.
After wracking their brains with no solution [N O V E L I G H T] in sight, the two men let out a sigh at the same time.
Zeng Qinghong’s sigh was noticeably louder.
Even in a political climate favorable to Hu Jintao, the reality that they couldn’t remove a single Shanghai Party Secretary at will felt miserable.
Did I make the wrong choice?
For a brief moment, Zeng Qinghong regretted switching sides.
He hadn’t expected Hu Jintao to have absolutely nothing prepared.
It was proof of a lack of ability. In the end, he would have no choice but to rely on another rope to climb.
“...There’s been no contact from Korea? I feel like President Kim Muhyuk might have a solution.”
Hu Jintao shook his head.
“Not yet. I’m waiting for his call as well... but realistically, it’s difficult to find a decisive card that could take down Chen Liangyu in such a short time.”
They had already investigated Chen Liangyu’s weaknesses that Kim Muhyuk had passed along to Zeng Qinghong, but it wasn’t enough.
What Kim Muhyuk had handed over was evidence that Chen had been involved in the corruption case of the Nongkai Group chairman Zhou Zhengyi, who had been arrested in 2003.
“Is there really no way?”
“I think today will be difficult. We’ll have to aim for the next opportunity. First we need to secure control of the military...”
At that moment, a knock sounded.
“Who is it! I told everyone not to let anyone in!”
Hu Jintao shouted irritably when the conversation was interrupted.
“Mr. Chairman. Premier Wen Jiabao has arrived.”
“The Premier?”
Hu Jintao glanced briefly at Zeng Qinghong, who nodded in agreement.
“Let him in.”
The door opened and Wen Jiabao walked in.
“Mr. Chairman. My apologies for coming without notice.”
“That’s fine. What notice do we need between us? Come, sit.”
As Wen Jiabao approached, he saw Zeng Qinghong and smiled.
“The Vice President is here as well. It’s been a while.”
“Indeed it has. We used to share drinks from time to time in the past. I hope we can resume those meetings again, Premier.”
Understanding the implication behind his words, Wen Jiabao nodded and sat down opposite the Vice President.
“So. What brings you here? If you came without warning, it must be urgent.”
Wen Jiabao glanced briefly at Zeng Qinghong.
“It’s fine,” Hu Jintao said. “He’s already a comrade in the same boat.”
After that confirmation, Wen Jiabao nodded and got straight to the point.
“I spoke with President Kim Muhyuk.”
“With President Kim? What did he say? Did he say he had a card to bring down Jiang Zemin? Or—”
“For now, it will be difficult to bring over Lai Changxing. That man is like a nuclear bomb to everyone involved. Before Jiang Zemin collapses, we might get hurt as well.”
“What do you mean by that? We’d get hurt too?”
Was he pretending not to know, or did he really not know?
Wen Jiabao was briefly speechless at Hu Jintao’s reaction before finally asking,
“...You didn’t know?”
“Know what? What didn’t I know? Stop being cryptic and get to the point.”
“The Fujian Provincial Party Secretary received bribes from Lai Changxing.”
“What?”
“You really didn’t know? I thought you were already aware. Wasn’t it you who sent Xi Jinping from Fujian to Zhejiang and transferred Song Defu to Fujian to clean things up?”
If he truly hadn’t known, it was like entrusting fish to a cat.
“...Do you have evidence?”
“Yes. There are ledgers, video recordings, and audio tapes. That’s why demanding Lai Changxing’s extradition would be too risky. President Jiang would never fail to notice that.”
At that moment, Zeng Qinghong interjected.
“What are you talking about? Lai Changxing? Song Defu? What is all this?”
Wen Jiabao turned to look at him.
He hesitated for a moment, unsure whether he should explain.
“Tell me as well,” Zeng Qinghong pressed. “Aren’t we in the same boat?”
“...Vice President, you know who Lai Changxing is, right?”
“Of course. The infamous smuggler.”
“Behind Lai Changxing stood the Shanghai faction. But he wasn’t satisfied with just them. He also reached out to the Communist Youth League faction and the Princeling faction. Xi Jinping also accepted bribes.”
When Xi Jinping’s name was mentioned, Zeng Qinghong stood there with his mouth hanging open.
After several seconds of stunned silence, he finally regained his composure and asked,
“...Xi Jinping received money from Lai Changxing?”
“Not only money and gold bars. He also received various favors.”
The words were softened, but Zeng Qinghong understood perfectly well what Wen Jiabao meant.
The biggest problem was that their entire plan had just collapsed.
“Ha... this is insane.”
Zeng Qinghong had planned to make Xi Jinping the next chairman.
That was why he had already requested that Xi be appointed Shanghai Party Secretary.
But the plan had unraveled before it had even begun. Xi Jinping’s political base was still too weak to push forward with such a fatal weakness.
Hu Jintao, who had been listening silently, finally spoke.
“...Don’t worry about Song Defu. He has cancer and doesn’t have long left. I was planning to remove him as Fujian Party Secretary soon anyway.”
“Is it that serious?”
Hu Jintao nodded.
“They say two years at most.”
“That’s unfortunate...”
Wen Jiabao sighed sympathetically.
But Hu Jintao continued as if it were no big deal.
“Even if we have to sacrifice Song Defu, if we can silence Jiang Zemin, I’m willing to do anything.”
“That won’t be easy. It’s not just Song Defu. Quite a few people in the Youth League faction are also involved. And several in the Princeling faction as well.”
“...Damn it. Are you saying we can’t use such a perfect card at all?”
“Which member of the Princeling faction accepted bribes from Lai Changxing?”
“I don’t know exactly. But I was told there’s definitive evidence against Xi Jinping. Apparently there’s even video footage.”
At those words, Zeng Qinghong grabbed his forehead while Hu Jintao sighed deeply.
Rubbing his temples as if his head were throbbing, Hu Jintao asked,
“So what’s the point? Lai Changxing is a card we can’t use?”
“No. Instead of bringing Lai Changxing over, we received a card to take down Jia Qinglin.”
“Jia Qinglin?”
Hu Jintao and Zeng Qinghong asked simultaneously.
“Yes. We secured video footage showing Lin Youfang, the wife of Chairman Jia Qinglin, receiving bribes from Lai Changxing.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes. If we play that card, even President Jiang won’t be able to refute it easily. The video quality isn’t great, but it’s clearly Lin Youfang. I checked it personally.”
Seeing Wen Jiabao’s confidence, Hu Jintao nodded.
His expression relaxed slightly before he turned to Zeng Qinghong.
“Vice President. If we could remove Jia Qinglin, what do you think?”
“Directly attacking a Standing Committee member is not a good method. That’s a rule that has always been observed. If we break it and set the precedent that a Standing Committee member can be removed, then after your presidency anyone who reaches that position could be forced out. The political situation would descend into chaos.”
Zeng Qinghong voiced his opposition without hesitation.
“...Is it because he leads the Fujian faction? Because he’s directly connected to Xi Jinping?”
“No. Now that Xi Jinping is already tied to Lai Changxing’s corruption, I have no intention of supporting him anymore. I simply mean we shouldn’t attack a Standing Committee member.”
Hu Jintao frowned thoughtfully.
Then Wen Jiabao carefully spoke.
“Mr. Chairman, I feel the same way. Rather than using this information to remove him, it would be better to use it as leverage to bring him over to our side.”
Even Wen Jiabao opposed bringing down Jia Qinglin.
Hu Jintao frowned again.
But seeing no immediate rebuttal, he gestured for him to continue.
Wen Jiabao then explained the rest of his conversation with Kim Muhyuk.
“This time we also received a case that can bring down Chen Liangyu. After all, you can’t fill your stomach with the first bite. First we remove Chen Liangyu and replace the Shanghai Party Secretary with someone from our side...”
Hu Jintao suddenly interrupted in shock. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
“What? Remove Chen Liangyu? Is that true?”
“Yes. This case is unrelated to Lai Changxing’s corruption, so it should be safe to reveal publicly.”
“What is it? Something that can bring Chen Liangyu down?”
“He touched the social security fund.”
“What? That bastard touched what?!”
Both Hu Jintao and Zeng Qinghong were stunned.
The social security fund was public money established by the Chinese government to aid the poor, created as the wealth gap widened rapidly during China’s economic boom.
“He allegedly used the social security fund to issue illegal loans. In return he received numerous benefits. All the evidence was sent earlier by email.”
“Ha... nothing but thieves. There are things you can touch and things you can’t. And President Jiang chose someone like that as his successor...”
Listening to Zeng Qinghong’s muttering, Wen Jiabao suppressed a laugh internally.
It was absurd hearing him criticize Jiang Zemin’s choice while conveniently forgetting that the man he himself had supported had accepted bribes from Lai Changxing.
“Anyway, no one can defend someone who touched the social security fund. Before the full meeting begins today, you should meet President Jiang and reach an agreement.”
Hu Jintao nodded.
“Show me the evidence first.”
Wen Jiabao placed the laptop he had brought onto the table.
“Unfortunately there’s no video involving Chen Liangyu. But after reviewing it, the credibility appears high. If you look here, the abnormal flow of funds...”
Turning the laptop toward Hu Jintao, Wen Jiabao began explaining.
After hearing the full explanation, Hu Jintao nodded and curled his lips into a smile.
“With this, Chen Liangyu can definitely be brought down. As expected of President Kim. Even I couldn’t find this...”
“Money flows are something President Kim Muhyuk would notice faster than we would. And you can’t move openly anyway, Mr. Chairman.”
Unlike the pleased Hu Jintao, Zeng Qinghong spoke with a serious expression.
“Before removing Chen Liangyu, we must replace the commander of the Shanghai Armed Police. Otherwise he might rebel.”
Shanghai was an exceptionally important city.
Because of that, the number of armed police stationed there was considerable.
“Rebel?”
“The commander leading the Shanghai Armed Police, Colonel Chang Xinju, is Chen Liangyu’s closest confidant. If he isn’t replaced, there’s no telling what might happen.”
Hu Jintao nodded, accepting Zeng Qinghong’s advice.
“Very well. I’ll go meet President Jiang. Before that, we should cancel the recommendation to appoint Xi Jinping as Shanghai Party Secretary, shouldn’t we?”
“...Yes.”
“We’ll think about the successor slowly. For now, find someone trustworthy to take control of the armed police.”
“Yes. I’ll look into someone reliable.”
Hu Jintao smiled with satisfaction and stood up.
“You two continue discussing countermeasures. I’ll go meet President Jiang.”
As he turned to leave, he suddenly remembered something and looked back.
“Oh, right. Please convey my thanks to President Kim.”
“Yes. I will.”
The door closed, leaving only Wen Jiabao and Zeng Qinghong in the room.
* * *
I sat in my office and checked the clock.
“Looks like the full session is about to begin.”
At my words, Director Ma nodded and turned on the TV.
“Broadcasting the trial publicly... it seems they’re really determined.”
“You think so too, Director? They’ll probably carry out the execution soon as well.”
On the television, Korean Central Television was showing footage of Choi Ryonghae while analyzing the situation.
At that moment, the satellite phone beside me rang.
When I picked up the receiver, a familiar voice came through.
— President Kim. This is Jang Songthaek.
It was Jang Songthaek calling.
