Rebirth of Corrupt Officials

Chapter 64.2

As the second-in-command in Chengzhou, Jiang Xiaochuan was the second one to go in for the talk.

As soon as he entered, Lian Cheng’s eyes flashed, “Mayor Jiang, is your injury healed now?”

Jiang Xiaochuan sat opposite him. When he saw Lian Cheng waving away the irrelevant people, he responded: “It’s nothing serious. It’s just an obstacle.”

“I didn’t expect that the reform of state-owned enterprises in Chengzhou would encounter such big resistance, but these matters aren’t under the jurisdiction of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and there’s nothing we can do. We can only hope that Mayor Jiang can handle it properly. But now, there are more important matters, and I hope that Mayor Jiang will cooperate with us.” These words were considerate at the beginning, but later showed a bit of formulaic coldness.

He took out a file bag, pulled out several documents, and handed them to Jiang Xiaochuan, asking him to look at them carefully: “Mayor Jiang, have you ever dealt with the matters listed here?”

Lian Cheng’s face was filled with confusion. Expressionless, he looked at Jiang Xiaochuan, feeling that it was very complicated. However, reality required him to suppress all the complexity. He needed to know where Jiang Xiaochuan had crossed the line.

Jiang Xiaochuan looked at the documents in front of him with an indifferent expression: “These situations are all real, but the money is all in the anti-corruption account. You should be very clear about it, Director Lian.”

This answer was expected by Lian Cheng, who had a sharp eye. As soon as Jiang Xiaochuan said it, he handed over another page without expression. The words listed on it were not as many as before, but it was obvious that the matter on it was much more serious, because Jiang Xiaochuan did not speak for a long time.

Lian Cheng asked: “What about this matter?”

Jiang Xiaochuan replied: “I did it.”

Lian Cheng took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. He closed his eyes for a moment, as if he was trying his best to suppress something, and finally pulled out the last item in the file bag: “So, what about this share?”@@@@

His voice was as cold as the twelfth lunar month in winter, and it contained a hint of regret. His voice finally slowed down: “What we want is not to bring you down. You report many things to us, and we will try our best to deal with them. We can no longer afford to lose a good official. At least I hope that after this turmoil in Chengzhou has passed, I can still see you, Mayor Jiang, standing where you should have stood. But everything you did disappointed me greatly.”

Jiang Xiaochuan was silent.

“Private exchanges between political circles and the military are prohibited, Jiang Xiaochuan. You are violating party discipline and state law.”

Party discipline and state law.

These four words weighed heavily, leaving no room to breathe.

“Party discipline and state law...”

Party discipline and state law—why hadn’t they eradicated all those corrupt officials? With party discipline and state laws, why was Xue Yan still subject to such persecution? There were party discipline and state laws, but why was there no distinction between purity and corruption, and why were right and wrong blurred?

Was he, Jiang Xiaochuan, too naive, foolish, and ignorant, or was Lian Cheng too naive, foolish, and ignorant?

Jiang Xiaochuan massaged his temples and breathed quietly, feeling the breath flowing through his body. He chuckled, “Since this is the case, and there is no room for recovery, then let nature take its course. This chess piece of yours may be broken, but it’s not useless yet.”

At that moment, Lian Cheng felt the urge to cry.

The man in front of him, with one hand on his forehead, touching his eyebrows with his fingertips, and a smile on his lips, was sentencing himself to his future in a matter-of-fact manner.

But he had to force himself to be ruthless and said without any emotion, “After the Chengzhou incident is over, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection will set up an investigation team to rigorously investigate your case. Let’s conclude our discussion today.”