Chapter 95: Convene an Emergency Standing Committee Meeting Overnight!

“Since I came to Lingyun City, my heart hasn’t been right.”

After he put down his phone, Guan Mushan gave a wry, bitter smile.
The corruption case of Tian Guanghan and the revelations about Caiyun KTV were both unsolved in any clear way. Yet in less than a day, the case of Gu Santong, the director of the Municipal Education Bureau, had made a dramatic breakthrough.

The Tenth Special Investigation Team had tracked down a villa purchased with bribes by Gu Santong, and inside they found countless bundles of banknotes—at least tens of millions by rough count. It was shocking. Shocking in the extreme.

Lu Yike reported directly to him; the matter was so grave he had to bypass levels and escalate immediately. Guan Mushan at once ordered three leaders of the city’s Discipline Inspection team—team chief Wei Chonghu, and deputies Su Tongzhou and Liu Shan—to go in person to No. 32 Youth Road, where the villa was located.

He had only just reached home to rest when he had to trouble the city Party secretary and the mayor in the middle of the night. A case this serious had to be reported to the Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission. The suspect was a principal-level cadre under municipal jurisdiction, so the city commission did not need to report to the provincial commission yet. The usual procedure was that the city commission reported to the Municipal Party Committee, which then conveyed it upward through the provincial channels, while the city commission simultaneously reported to the provincial Discipline Inspection Commission.

Guan Mushan instructed the duty staff at the city Discipline Inspection office to call both the Municipal Committee Office and the Municipal Government Office. Ten minutes later, his vehicle No. 6 arrived at the entrance of his building in Huanhai Residences. He got in and drove straight to the Municipal Party Committee building.

Huanhai Residences had already grown quiet, but it gradually stirred again. One official car after another rolled in from the road outside, carrying various Municipal Committee leaders to the headquarters.

The one with the hardest time was Tan Long, a standing-member of the Municipal Party Committee and Party secretary of Kai County. He received a late-night call from his secretary: the Municipal Committee Office ordered him to come to the city for an emergency meeting. Tan Long, pulled from sleep and visibly displeased, had no choice. As a member of the Municipal Standing Committee, he had to attend—no leader could afford to object.

At half past eleven, in the Municipal Party Committee building’s Standing Committee conference room, a haze of smoke soon filled the room as the members arrived. They had all been woken from deep sleep and moved sluggishly, propping themselves up with cigarettes. In those days there was still no explicit rule forbidding leaders from smoking; even during meetings, if the craving hit, lighting one was acceptable.

The conference room door opened again. Mayor Hou Yong entered with a stern face.

“Mayor,” the members rose.

“Sit, everyone, sit,” Hou said quietly, then took the seat immediately to the lower left of Secretary Wu Xinkai.

Across from him sat Wei Liming, the deputy secretary of the Municipal Party Committee and Minister of the United Front. At his side was Qi Xiuping, the city’s executive vice mayor, a composed and striking young official. In front of Qi Xiuping sat Guan Mushan, the city Discipline Inspection Secretary. The other standing members lined up behind them in order.

“Comrade Qi,” Hou said, slightly turning toward her, “the case of Gu Santong is extremely severe.”

Qi Xiuping narrowed her brows, keeping her anger in check. “I know, Mayor. It must be handled with utmost seriousness.”

As the executive vice mayor in charge of daily municipal affairs, she knew this scandal would strike her office directly, for she oversaw nearly everything.

“Let’s wait for Secretary Wu,” Hou said, and sat with his eyes closing briefly. Silence settled.

Each member measured the situation in his or her own way.

Five minutes later, Municipal Party Secretary Wu Xinkai entered, followed by his secretary. The secretary stayed at the doorway, helped Wu remove his coat, and withdrew.

“Secretary Wu!” everyone stood again. Even Mayor Hou did the same. In a situation like this, old alliances or grievances could not excuse a single breach of protocol.

“Comrades, thank you for coming at this late hour,” Hou said, then added, “I’ve asked my secretary to prepare coffee. Have some in a bit and keep yourselves awake.”

“Has Comrade Tan Long not arrived?”

Seeing the seat for the Kai County Party secretary still empty, Wu asked.

“Secretary Wu, old Tan is in Kai County,” Hou said to explain quickly. “He didn’t dare to drive too fast this late.”

“It’s a dangerous time,” Wu replied, exhaling with a wry tone.

The room sank back into silence. A few minutes later Wu’s secretary came in with coffee for the leadership, and no other sounds remained.

At exactly midnight, Kai County Party Secretary Tan Long finally burst in, breathless.

“Secretary Wu, Mayor, comrades, apologies for the delay.”

In his forties, Tan was an ordinary-looking man with the standard haircut of senior cadres and a small mole at the corner of his mouth, dressed in a dark Zhongshan suit. He crossed quickly and sat down at his place.

He ranked tenth among the standing members, one seat above the Municipal Committee Secretary-General Zhu Yangming. That made his seat rather far back, with Zhu Yangming directly opposite. They were both on the outer edge.

Yet as Party secretary of Kai County, Tan was crucial. Kai County contributed nearly half of Lingyun City’s economy, a contribution of great weight. That was why the county secretary could be a municipal standing member and a vice-ministerial cadre under provincial management.

“Comrades, everyone is here now. We are holding an emergency meeting,” Wu announced.
“Please brief us on the situation, Comrade Mushan.”

Wu took the chair himself and asked Guan Mushan to report. As city Discipline Inspection Secretary, he had to report this himself. The wording was deliberate: by rank, he was allowed to report formally only to the Municipal Party Secretary and the mayor. To the other standing committee members, the same information could only be conveyed as a briefing.

He spoke in a brief, grave tone.

“Here is the situation: the city Discipline Inspection team has obtained evidence of Gu Santong’s corruption. In the villa acquired through bribes, they found a vast amount of legal tender—stored in the refrigerator, in kitchen cabinets, on the floor, even on the bed. The preliminary estimate is no less than ten million yuan. And that is only counting the cash. This same villa also turned up a quantity of state-prohibited goods—white tiger skins—more than a dozen pieces.”

A murmur of disbelief broke out.
A director of the Municipal Education Bureau, embezzling more than ten million? Outrageous.

If one of these standing members were to siphon off a few million—perhaps even ten million—it might be… more understandable. But how could a single section-level cadre accumulate so much?

Wu Xinkai did not usually smoke; he had hypertension and diabetes. But tonight, even he asked for a cigarette, lighting one with Comrade Wei Liming.

Through the blue haze, Wu spoke again:

“The case of Gu Santong is of grave impact and the gravest nature. Comrades, I have called this meeting to discuss how to handle it.”
“We must report to the Provincial Party Committee. We cannot let the province be taken by surprise.”
“Though we still have not received all confirmed details, we should wait. Let our front-line investigators at the city Discipline Inspection finish their work before we make a decision.” He paused, then added, “Very well: once they finish, send a representative directly here to report in person.”

“Comrade Mushan,” he asked, turning to him, “who is responsible for the scene investigation?”