As soon as the leaders sat down, because the matter was so urgent, there was no tea to offer, and time was of the essence; it was already past eight o'clock in the evening.
The leaders of the municipal party committee, Vice Minister Liu, and Director Chen were people that most of the middle and lower-level cadres sitting in the meeting room did not recognize, except for those like Wei Haihe who frequently appeared on television news. Therefore, Fu Yuanshan first introduced their identities before the meeting started, and only then did most of the people in the meeting room realize how important these people on the stage were.
After Fu Yuanshan finished his introduction, he invited Wei Haihe to speak, clapping as he said, "Before today's meeting, let's welcome Secretary Wei of the Municipal Party Committee to give us a speech. Please give him a warm welcome."
After the usual enthusiastic applause subsided, Wei Haihe waved his hand and said, "Please be quiet, everyone. Today, I'm here with several city leaders, as well as Vice Minister Liu, Director Chen, and others. We're all here to cheer on our Beijing police system and congratulate and encourage the Municipal Bureau for the tremendous achievements made under the leadership of Acting Director Fu Yuanshan. We hope you will continue your efforts. Today's meeting is another carefully prepared major operation by Director Fu. Our Beijing police will strike hard. On behalf of the city leaders, I'm here to cheer you on and hope you will make new contributions to the people. Thank you. That concludes my remarks."
Upon hearing Wei Haihe's words, four out of the six leaders who came looked rather unwell. The two who looked relatively normal were Zhang Hongfeng and Liu Chuanqi, the deputy ministers of the Organization Department. These two had come at Wei Haihe's behest, as they were both from Wei's inner circle. The others were either openly or secretly rivals of Wei Haihe. Of course, there were other leaders from the city, but due to time constraints, only these few were able to come.
Mayor Chen Xiaoming, in particular, is somewhat incompatible with Wei Haihe, who is in the party and government and the municipal government respectively. However, Chen Xiaoming has a more solid foundation, has been in Beijing for a longer time, and has stronger governance capabilities. He is somewhat competitive with Wei Haihe, and Wei Haihe has no way to deal with him for the time being. Currently, apart from the Organization Department, which is staffed by his people, almost all other departments are filled by people who are difficult for him to influence.
This time, the most important position among the functional departments under the capital, the position of the police chief, is coveted by all sides. Wei Haihe is determined to take it, and the old man also gave him a push behind the scenes. However, the situation in the capital is too complicated, with bigwigs fighting each other, and even the old man finds it difficult to do things in a favorable way.
Just then, the city bureau chief was transferred, and the position became vacant. The old man knew this was an opportunity, but he knew that with his own actions and Wei Haihe's own control, securing the bureau chief position was not guaranteed. In this urgent situation, the old man thought of Zhou Xuan and Fu Yuanshan as pawns. He immediately recommended this plan to Wei Haihe. If Zhou Xuan helped, Fu Yuanshan's qualifications were still somewhat lacking for an immediate promotion to bureau chief, but if Zhou Xuan was willing to help, he could make up for this deficiency with great achievements and political accomplishments.
Previously, the old man knew that although Zhou Xuan did not hold a position within the system, he would definitely be able to help the Wei family if they faced any crisis or difficulties. This time, even if the old man did not ask him to help, Zhou Xuan would still help Fu Yuanshan, and the matter was settled naturally.
However, time was too tight. After Wei Haihe and other leaders of the municipal party committee proposed Fu Yuanshan's matter, the other standing committee leaders all readily agreed. This was naturally not out of goodwill, but because they knew that this step was a dead end. Why not do something that could push Wei Haihe into a corner? Although Wei Haihe's foundation in Beijing was not strong, his own abilities and the Wei family's circle of connections were too strong. It would not be easy to bring him down. If they tried to force it, it would only result in mutual destruction. The only good way was to make Wei Haihe lose his temper and take action.
Fu Yuanshan's affair is a manifestation of Wei Haihe's impatience. It seems that Wei Haihe's position as the secretary of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee will not last long.
Fu Yuanshan's affair can be considered a disastrous move by Wei Haihe. Although it's incomprehensible why he was in such a hurry to court death, the other leaders wouldn't let this opportunity pass. The powerful figures, who had been acting independently, also acted in unison, unanimously approving Fu Yuanshan's appointment as acting director of the Public Security Bureau at the Standing Committee meeting. The condition, of course, was that it would happen before the official appointment of the director. At this time, people with inside information spread a rumor that the Organization Department of the Central Committee had begun to examine a certain cadre. If there were no surprises, the position of director of the Municipal Bureau would be appointed in a week. Therefore, unless an extraordinary major event occurred, Fu Yuanshan's acting directorship was destined to be short-lived.
But Wei Haihe, who always seemed deep and unapproachable, was indeed not as simple as they had imagined. On his first day as acting director, Fu Yuanshan accomplished a groundbreaking feat. With almost no one responding and being outnumbered and outmatched, he managed to crack seven major cases that had been piling up in the Beijing Public Security Bureau. The cases were ones that could withstand scrutiny and review. Fu Yuanshan's swift action and quick results, with the suspects being interrogated on the same day, demonstrated a speed that was unparalleled in the entire national public security system.
When Fu Yuanshan reported the case to the municipal party committee and the Ministry of Public Security, he transferred it to the procuratorate. The senior leaders of the municipal party committee and the Ministry of Public Security, who have been paying close attention to these cases all day, reviewed the case files at the procuratorate and interrogated the perpetrators again. They can almost conclude that this is not a wrongful conviction orchestrated by Fu Yuanshan, but rather that the real culprit has been caught. The only question is how Fu Yuanshan was able to solve these cases in such a short time.
Even questioning the perpetrators themselves yielded no results. The leaders suspected that this situation hadn't arisen overnight; Wei Haihai and Fu Yuanshan had clearly planned this trap for a long time, likely investigating these cases secretly long beforehand. If they knew Fu Yuanshan was investigating and making significant progress, they would never have agreed to appoint him as acting director. Now, they had essentially shot themselves in the foot.
The secret message revealed that the Ministry of Public Security and the Organization Department had basically stopped vetting candidates. No matter how outstanding the candidates were, compared to Fu Yuanshan's achievements, they were like stars compared to the sun. To bring it up again at this point would only be self-humiliating.
Late tonight, Wei Haihe suddenly summoned them again, saying he had an extremely important matter for them to handle. Now that Wei Haihe had almost completely secured control of the public security system, none of them dared to underestimate him anymore. No matter what it was, Wei Haihe was the municipal party secretary and had the right to summon them. Whether you did your job well or not, whether you carried out his orders properly or not, was a completely different matter from whether you came or not, and whether you listened to his arrangements.
You can do it poorly, but you must never disobey. In official matters, Wei Haihe represents the Party Committee. Openly going against it is absolutely not the right thing to do.
Therefore, the Standing Committee members and the leaders of the Ministry of Public Security and the Provincial Public Security Department all sat in their seats with their own agendas, waiting to see what kind of show Wei Haihe and Fu Yuanshan would put on tonight.
After Wei Haihe finished speaking, he handed the floor back to Fu Yuanshan.
Fu Yuanshan glanced at everyone, adjusted the microphone in front of him, moved it closer, and then flipped the notebook Zhou Xuan had handed him to the first page of the case notes before speaking: "Distinguished leaders, officers and police from the Municipal Bureau and its branches, good afternoon. This emergency meeting tonight is actually about the plan for a major operation. Because it concerns the security progress of countless major cases, we've invited the municipal leaders to oversee things. I apologize for calling you all here during your rest time, but we are police officers, guardians of the people, and guardians of national stability. Sacrificing some rest time is no big deal. Now, I won't waste any more time on pleasantries; let's get straight to the point."
Fu Yuanshan glanced at everyone in the conference room, then said, "Following the previous case, I analyzed and examined nearly six months' worth of backlog cases with the officers of the Municipal Bureau. Through everyone's efforts, we uncovered clues for another thirty-four cases. Because these cases are of great importance, time is of the essence, and there's no time to lose. Therefore, after reporting to the Municipal Party Committee leaders, under the personal supervision of Secretary Wei and other leaders, all the police officers in Beijing will be mobilized for a massive operation."
Fu Yuanshan's words were ambiguous, leaving the city bureau's subordinates completely bewildered. They didn't know who Fu Yuanshan was discussing the matter with, or at least not them. Could it be those usually down-on-their-luck cadres from yesterday?
That's what these people thought, but the dozen or so police officers who were acting with Fu Yuanshan were also very surprised. Fu Yuanshan shouldn't be talking about them, because they hadn't analyzed anything with Fu Yuanshan at all. Besides, these cases had been investigated by so many experts and police officers, but they still couldn't solve them. Even if they analyzed them day and night, they still couldn't solve them, let alone the "thirty-four cases" that Fu Yuanshan mentioned. Could it be theft, or thirty-four cases like someone losing their phone or bicycle?
However, Fu Yuanshan then arranged for each of the seven branch bureaus to be responsible for four cases, while the municipal bureau was responsible for six cases. He immediately retrieved the case files and distributed them to the various branch bureaus, clearly explaining the suspects' current whereabouts and residences. The branch bureau chiefs quickly recorded the details. Fu Yuanshan then divided the personnel of the municipal bureau into six groups, each responsible for the arrest operations in the six cases. Leaders from the municipal party committee and the Ministry of Public Security directed all operations from the headquarters command center in the municipal bureau's office building.
A branch office was responsible for the arrests in four cases. The arrests themselves were not particularly difficult. The real challenge was organizing the manpower to solve the unsolved cases. This process was the most exhausting. The arrests and roundups after the cases were solved were actually the easiest part of the process.
After Fu Yuanshan finished assigning all the arrangements, he said to Wei Haihe, "Secretary Wei, you are the commander-in-chief of this operation, so please issue the order to announce the operation."
Wei Haihe surveyed the room with an air of authority, then nodded. Without elaborating, he said in a low voice, "Each action team must maintain strict confidentiality throughout the operation. Any leaks at any stage will be investigated thoroughly and the perpetrator will be immediately dismissed from public office and handed over to the judicial authorities. I hereby declare the operation commence."
Fu Yuanshan led the city bureau officers and branch bureau leaders out in single file, including Zhou Xuan and Zhang Lei.
Only Wei Haihe and seven other leaders remained in the office. Wei Haihe remained calm. Because of yesterday's surprise, he had basically understood what the old man had said about Zhou Xuan. Zhou Xuan was indeed their family's greatest benefactor. It seemed that this was true.
The other four municipal leaders were filled with doubt and surprise. Yesterday, Fu Yuanshan's successful cracking of seven cases had already made them give up their efforts to compete with Wei Haihe for the position of police chief. Today, Fu Yuanshan's statement was even more outrageous: thirty-four backlogged cases, all of which were major cases, not petty theft. Of course, if they were just minor cases, or raids on gambling and prostitution, they would never have been invited to come here.
But does Fu Yuanshan really have such confidence? Logically speaking, it's absolutely impossible. But surely Fu Yuanshan and Wei Haihe wouldn't shoot themselves in the foot? Fu Yuanshan's case-solving achievements yesterday had already solidified his position as police chief. But these cases today are far too risky for them to present. If they fail, it would give their opponents a golden opportunity to raise objections and questions. As for yesterday's achievements, they were there, but to engage in such boastful and reckless behavior just one day later—how could anyone dare to appoint such a person as police chief?
If they failed, it would give others cause for gossip. However, the leaders thought that with Wei Haihe's deep-seated nature, how could he easily do something outrageous or dangerous?
The only explanation is that Fu Yuanshan's actions stemmed from their genuine grasp of the clues in these thirty-four cases. That's the only way to explain it, but if that's true, it's far too astonishing for them.
If this operation succeeds again, even without considering the overall success rate, just a 10% or 20% success rate in the cases would demonstrate that Fu Yuanshan has put in tremendous effort, and they would have no objections. They would only raise objections if no cases were solved. However, if the success rate reached 50% or more, that would be terrifying for them.
If he had that kind of case-solving rate, Fu Yuanshan would have a good chance of becoming not only the director of the municipal public security bureau, but also the secretary of the political and legal affairs commission, or even a member of the standing committee of the political and legal affairs commission.
Because of the importance of the police chief, in general, the police chief in each locality is usually concurrently held by the secretary of the local political and legal affairs commission, who is also one of the standing committee members.
Meanwhile, Liu Dongqing, the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission in Beijing, was suffering the most at this moment. The more outstanding Fu Yuanshan's achievements were, the more incompetent Liu Dongqing appeared. Under his leadership, the political and legal system in Beijing had accumulated so many major cases that could not be solved. Of course, the inability to solve major cases was not the most fatal flaw for him. The fatal flaw was that under his leadership, these cases could not be solved, but under someone else's leadership, not only were so many major cases solved, but in such a short time. This was what made Liu Dongqing most distressed. If Fu Yuanshan returned and solved more than half of the cases, his position as Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission would be in jeopardy.
Even if he wasn't demoted, he would probably be transferred elsewhere. For someone of his position level, a lateral transfer is essentially a step down.
Xiao Wu and his colleagues in the office quickly served tea to the leaders. Wei Haihe took a small sip. Although he didn't look at the people, he was actually paying attention. He was just as nervous, but because of his trust in Zhou Xuan, he was able to calm down.
Several municipal leaders had been fighting him openly and covertly for a long time, and all sides were evenly matched, with no absolute winner or loser. But this time, Wei Haihe completely defeated them, making them realize how deep Wei Haihe was, and they were drawn into his trap.
At this moment, the exact outcome would only be known after Fu Yuanshan led his team back. Everyone was filled with unease, but Wei Haihe seemed to have a better grasp of the situation.
Volume 1, Chapter 556: The Eve of the Storm
In reality, this was a huge gamble, a gamble based on absolute trust between Wei Haihe and Fu Yuanshan!
If Wei Haihe wins the bet, he can say that he has officially entered the capital, while Fu Yuanshan's career has taken a leap to a new level, perhaps a level he could never have imagined.
However, if this gamble fails, the resistance encountered will be almost proportional to the gains. It is no doubt that attacks from all sides will follow one after another.
But Wei Haihe believed in Zhou Xuan's abilities; this matter could only succeed and failure was not an option!
Even with this mindset, Wei Haihe was still anxious, though it wasn't outwardly apparent. Among the seven people present, his former rivals were actually even more anxious than him. They hoped Wei Haihe would suffer a crushing defeat in this battle, giving them a topic for retaliation. However, this thought had weakened considerably in their hearts. The shock and blow from the previous battle hadn't yet disappeared, and the idea that they were no match for Wei Haihe still lingered in their minds. This time, how could Wei Haihe do anything without being certain of victory?
This is no child's play; it's a life-or-death struggle. For them, failure is tantamount to a death sentence for their careers!
The seven bigwigs waited in this large office, while the entire capital city was in a tense atmosphere. All the police officers in the capital were mobilized, each heading to their assigned target locations. Although the target was clear, Ren Wu was completely clueless this time.