Chapter 137 Secretary Xin Yao's Attitude

Listening to Xin Yao’s remarks, Yang Dong could easily discern that every word was a deliberate attempt to shield the nineteen officials implicated in the case.

It seemed that before his arrival, Kaiyang County had already reached a unified consensus. They were determined to protect these nineteen officials to the bitter end. Even if they could not manage to save all of them, they were resolved to salvage at least a portion. From the county party committee to the county government, and now even extending to the county discipline inspection commission, everyone shared the exact same stance.

Although Xin Yao had not spelled things out too explicitly, Yang Dong had grasped the underlying message loud and clear. Yet, while Xin Yao was standing firmly from the perspective of Kaiyang County, Yang Dong had his own responsibilities to shoulder and was bound to execute Secretary Guan Mushan’s directives to the letter without any compromise. This was the fundamental conflict and divergence between the two parties.

"Secretary Xin, does your county discipline inspection commission have any specific opinions regarding these nineteen officials?"

Seeing Xin Yao’s thoroughly uncooperative demeanor, Yang Dong decided to cut straight to the chase and demand a clear, unambiguous answer. What exactly was Kaiyang County trying to achieve? What was their ultimate purpose? And where did they draw their bottom line?

The smile on Xin Yao’s face remained entirely unchanged as he replied to Yang Dong, "Our county discipline inspection commission does not have any specific opinions. We will defer entirely to you distinguished imperial envoys dispatched from above."

Xin Yao refused to take the bait completely, leaving not a single linguistic loophole that anyone could exploit. From beginning to start, he professed absolute compliance with the decisions of the municipal discipline inspection commission. Such a person was both the craftiest kind of adversary and the most exasperating. Yet, there was simply nothing one could do to pin him down.

However…

Upon hearing Xin Yao's seamless response, Yang Dong immediately broke into a smile. Very well then, since this was coming straight from the lips of Secretary Xin himself, he need not complain later on when things were handled without regard for personal sentiments.

"Splendid! Since the county discipline inspection commission is cooperating so fully, our task will be that much easier."

"Since the county discipline inspection commission has no specific opinions to offer, then all nineteen implicated officials will be handled directly by us at the municipal discipline inspection commission!"

Yang Dong stared fixedly at Xin Yao with a radiant smile as he delivered this declaration to the county discipline inspection commission secretary. Since Xin Yao refused to pick up the thread, there was no need to toss it back to him. Didn't the county discipline inspection commission claim to have no specific opinions? Then Yang Dong would simply make the final and sole determination on every single one of them. He would ensure they could never blame him for failing to give the Kaiyang County Discipline Inspection Commission a chance, especially since it was Xin Yao himself who had declined to state any specific views.

***

For a fleeting second, the smile on Xin Yao’s face froze solid, because he realized that Yang Dong was playing entirely outside the conventional rules. He had never once stated that all nineteen officials should be handled exclusively by the municipal commission! That was certainly not what he had meant when he mentioned having no specific opinions just moments ago.

Yang Dong had completely twisted the concepts to his own advantage, seizing upon his words to usurp the jurisdiction over the punishment of all nineteen officials in one fell swoop. This simply would not do. If things were allowed to proceed in this manner, how on earth could the Kaiyang County Discipline Inspection Commission ever hold their heads high or conduct official business in front of the county party committee and the county government again?

"Now see here, Comrade Yang Dong, that is not quite how things work. Officials ranging from the deputy section level up to the full section level fall entirely within the disciplinary handling jurisdiction of our county discipline inspection commission."

"We really ought to communicate more and discuss these matters thoroughly first," Xin Yao immediately interjected, eager to clarify his stance to Yang Dong.

He could no longer afford to play the previous game; he had to articulate his position with absolute clarity. Otherwise, every shred of authority held within the grasp of the Kaiyang County Discipline Inspection Commission would be snatched away by these emissaries from the municipal level.

Watching Xin Yao finally break his composure and betray his anxiety, Yang Dong could not help but feel a wave of inner amusement. Without putting some real pressure on him, they would truly take the municipal team for a bunch of pushovers. Even though those individuals held merely deputy section-level positions or were even ordinary staff members, it did not mean they could be pushed around at the whim of the Kaiyang County Discipline Inspection Commission. Since they were currently representing the municipal discipline inspection commission, they had to seize the initiative to some degree. Without displaying a formidable and unyielding posture, they would inevitably be devoured alive and left with no room to maneuver by Kaiyang County.

"Just now, Secretary Xin, you mentioned that the county discipline inspection commission had no specific opinions and would leave the final verdict to us at the municipal level."

"Could it be that Secretary Xin has already changed his mind?" Yang Dong pressed on, fixing his gaze squarely upon Xin Yao.

Not a flicker of embarrassment showed on Xin Yao’s face as he maintained his smiling facade and answered, "Our Kaiyang County Discipline Inspection Commission is far more familiar with the backgrounds and circumstances of these nineteen officials. We will dutifully fulfill our supporting role, assisting you emissaries dispatched from the municipal commission to handle and resolve this matter properly."

Seeing that Xin Yao was still trying to quibble and spin the narrative, Yang Dong pursued the matter relentlessly. "Since the Kaiyang County Discipline Inspection Commission is so familiar with these nineteen officials, let me ask you, Secretary Xin: has your office ever received any reports or denunciations pointing out misconduct by these individuals prior to this?"

"Or has the county discipline inspection commission ever proactively uncovered any wrongdoings among these officials on its own accord?"

Sitting quietly off to the side, Lü Yanqing listened as Yang Dong fired off such razor-sharp and probing questions directly at Xin Yao. Even he felt a sudden shiver of apprehension running down his spine, realizing just how audaciously bold Yang Dong truly was. Every single one of these inquiries was thoroughly unfriendly, mounting a direct and aggressive offensive against Xin Yao.

Of course, Yang Dong’s audacity and incisiveness were entirely justified. Coming as he did on behalf of the municipal discipline inspection commission, he naturally had to uphold the dignity and authority of the municipal organ. Moreover, while Xin Yao held a higher official rank and served as a member of the municipal discipline inspection commission's standing committee, he ultimately had no direct authority over Yang Dong's personnel assignments and administrative transfers. Yang Dong’s official personnel file remained lodged within the municipal government; he was fundamentally a cadre of the municipal government who had merely been seconded to the discipline inspection commission.

What was the advantage of such an arrangement? It meant that Yang Dong could act entirely according to his own judgment without harboring any fear of losing his livelihood, because he had the municipal government backing him up every step of the way. As long as Yang Dong's bureaucratic establishment remained securely within the municipal government and there were figures in the municipal government willing to shield him, he would remain completely untouchable.

This made him fundamentally different from Lü Yanqing. Lü Yanqing's personnel files and career ties were entirely bound within the municipal discipline inspection commission itself, meaning he would never dare to directly offend a standing committee member of the municipal commission. This was the greatest distinction between the two of them.

"Hehe, Comrade Yang Dong truly lives up to his reputation as a young man—quick-witted and sharp of tongue," Xin Yao said, his face still maintaining a smile, though his tone had noticeably hardened. Deep down, he was growing genuinely irritated by Yang Dong's relentless questioning.

In truth, Yang Dong’s inquiries had already pushed the boundaries of harshness, coming within a hair's breadth of pointing a finger directly at Xin Yao's face and demanding: Since your county discipline inspection commission failed to uncover any of this yourselves, how on earth do you still have the nerve to vouch for them now? When all was said and done, this entire fiasco represented a severe dereliction of duty and lack of oversight by the Kaiyang County Discipline Inspection Commission—an offense for which the municipal commission could easily hold them accountable.

Xin Yao realized that he could no longer allow Yang Dong to dictate the rhythm of the conversation, nor could he afford to follow the path carved out by Yang Dong's questioning, lest he find himself sinking deeper and deeper into a passive predicament.

A sudden realization also jolted him: this fellow Yang Dong was truly formidable to have driven him, the county discipline inspection commission secretary, to a point where he was momentarily left speechless. Yet, standing in his position as the county discipline inspection commission secretary, his own position was exceptionally difficult to navigate. As one of the core standing committee members of Kaiyang County, he carried the inescapable responsibility and obligation to safeguard local stability and development.

"Comrade Yang Dong, I firmly believe that these nineteen implicated officials from Kaiyang County cannot simply be written off with a single stroke. We must examine these matters through a dialectical lens."

"For those officials who were already slated for promotion and heavy responsibilities, but were merely deceived by Zhao Pengcheng, I personally feel that leniency would be the most appropriate course of action."

"As for those who audaciously spent money to buy official posts and actively secured promotions by bribing Zhao Pengcheng, I personally believe there is no issue with handling them strictly according to the rules."

"However, for the sake of the greater stability and overall situation of both the municipality and the county, I personally advise against taking things to extremes. For those officials facing strict disciplinary measures, capping their punishment at dismissal from office should be the most reasonable approach."

As soon as Xin Yao finished speaking, Yang Dong’s heart instantly sank to the bottom, though his facial expression remained entirely unchanged.