Tianguan City, the southernmost city in Jiangning Province, borders Daliang City, the northernmost city in Zhenjiang Province.
In fact, the Liang family's business also extends into Tianguan City, and they have some businesses in Tianguan City.
The Zhenjiang Provincial Independent Commission Against Corruption sent a working group to implement temporary control over the Liang family's industries in Tianguan. Wang Jingcheng, the chief municipal commissioner of Tianguan City, cooperated very well and also entrusted the working group members to bring a letter to Marshal Lu.
Lu Ming replied with a letter, and soon received a secret letter from Wang Jingcheng.
Three days later, Lu Ming sent a special envoy to Daliang to have secret contact with Wang Jingcheng.
…
Jiulu Hotel is the best hotel in Daliang City. Several original shareholders have been taken away for investigation. The hotel is now managed and operated by the "New Era Group".
Throughout Daliang City, there is a military and police post every three steps and a sentry every five steps, but the lives of most people have not been greatly affected.
Instead, the tavern was crowded with people, all discussing the downfall of the Liang family and other well-known tycoons and officials in the city.
Some people think that the situation may have really changed, while others believe that Liang Chongming will definitely be safe in the end.
Up to now, under the accumulated power of the Liang family, there are basically no drinkers who dare to talk about the Liang family in the tavern. They still keep it a secret for the sake of respecting the elders, and use code names to represent the Liang family in a mysterious way. They dare not say anything bad about the Liang family.
Life has not been affected, and the urban area is still bustling.
However, high-end consumption places like Jiulu Hotel are a bit depressed.
Recently, there are fewer guests at Jiulu Hotel, both in terms of dining and accommodation.
Several luxury suites on the top floor were suddenly booked yesterday, which was a rare thing.
Now, Lu Ming was sipping tea slowly in the living room of one of the luxurious suites, looking like Commissioner Zhang.
There were two people sitting on the long sofa opposite the coffee table. One was a middle-aged man in a suit, who was Wang Jingcheng, the governor of Tianguan City; the other was a burly and powerful old man, who was Ding Lei, the governor of Sanhe City.
Today, the two mayors are talking about the time when the Black Mountain Corps marched to Zhenjiang and passed through their city.
Between Heishan and Zhenjiang Province, there are the three cities of Sanhe, Humen and Tianguan in Jiangning Province.
Wang Jingcheng was just saying that he had received a secret letter from Wang Qiande, the governor of Jiangning Province, and he didn't know what had happened. But according to what Wang Qiande said, traffic control was implemented in the areas involved in the city. Later, before the Black Mountain Corps entered the city, they received a formal notice and realized that the Black Mountain Army was going to enter Zhenjiang Province to quell the rebellion.
Listening to them talking about the past, Lu Ming smiled and said, "Thank you very much for your assistance back then!"
Wang Jingcheng waved his hands hurriedly: "Commissioner Zhang, you misunderstood. I am not showing off. I wholeheartedly support Marshal Lu, and so does Brother Ding Lei!"
Lu Ming smiled and said, "I understand." He then asked, "Is Hu Zhizheng of Humen City ill?"
Wang Jingcheng glanced at Lu Ming's expression and sighed, "He still has some concerns."
The secret letter that Wang Jingcheng sent to Lu Ming a while ago hinted that Tianguan City wanted to become a part of the Black Mountain Special Zone, and said that both Sanhe and Humen regions had the same idea.
For Lu Ming, if the three cities of Tianguan, Sanhe and Humen are incorporated into the Heishan Special Zone, the Heishan Special Zone will be connected with Zhenjiang Province.
However, if these three cities are also incorporated into the special zone, the entire Heishan Special Zone will consist of six cities, namely Heishan Special City, Jingyang City, Longhe City, plus these three cities in the south.
That is half of the division of Jiangning Province. From then on, Jiangning Province was divided into two, one was the Heishan Special Zone, and the rest was the area directly under the jurisdiction of Jiangning Province.
How could Governor Chakson and the senior officials of Jiangning Province agree
The people in Tianguan, Sanhe and Humen have extremely strong aspirations. The rapid development of Montenegro is right next to them, and they have relatives visiting them. The sharp contrast is very obvious.
In terms of the governance of the three cities, Wang Jingcheng is an open-minded city, and the Heishan Special Administrative Region seems to be a warlord dictatorship, but in fact, from freedom of speech to the implementation of the legal system, it is unique among the five provinces in the south of the Yangtze River.
Wang Jingcheng longs to work under Marshal Lu, who is promoting reforms in the five provinces of Jiangnan.
Ding Lei, the ruler of Sanhe City, is a powerful figure. His son-in-law also serves as the head of the Sanhe City Security Corps.
He had some concerns about joining the Montenegro Special Zone, but he still came to Daliang to meet with Marshal Lu's secret envoy.
Hu Dinghai of the Hu family is from the "Ding" generation of the Hu family. He and Hu Dingjin are distant cousins, but they actually have no contact with each other.
But he considered himself to be a member of the Hu faction, although he had a good personal relationship with Wang Jingcheng and they were middle school classmates and friends.
Wang Jingcheng had tried to test him once, but when he failed to get the point he did not speak clearly. Now when talking to Commissioner Zhang, he was also being evasive in his words, in order to prevent the incorporation of Tianguan and Sanhe cities into the Heishan Special Zone from becoming a complete bubble.
After all, what impressed Marshal Lu was the connection of Zhenjiang Province and Montenegro Special Zone, which were the areas under his actual control.
If one of the three southern cities would not respond, Lu Shuai would not have spent any time on this matter.
Over there, Lu Ming pondered and said, "There will be a lot of resistance to this matter. It's not a big problem for Marshal Lu to actually control the three southern cities. For example, if there are bandits in your area, the Black Mountain Corps needs to be stationed there to maintain stability. But from a legal point of view, if the three cities belong to the Black Mountain Special Zone from now on, Governor Chakson must personally approve it, which is almost impossible."
Ding Lei had some concerns to begin with, so he just wanted to listen to the situation for now. He said, "Even if the governor agrees, he still needs the approval of the imperial capital, right?"
Lu Ming waved his hand: "The impact on the imperial capital is not great. Marshal Lu is the prince of Black Mountain Fort. It is a time of war, so he can handle the affairs of Black Mountain Fort as he sees fit."
Wang Jingcheng's eyes lit up, "So, the key to this matter lies with Governor Chakson?"
Lu Ming nodded.
Wang Jingcheng gritted his teeth and said, "What if I push for a referendum in Tianmen? I think it will be no problem if more than half of the people vote in favor of our city joining the Black Mountain Special Zone."
Lu Ming was stunned, he looked at him, and took a real good look at him. This guy is really a talented person.
These were the international political tactics he used in his previous life from the 1990s to the new century. How could he have thought of this
In the five provinces south of the Yangtze River, there have never been general elections, let alone referendums to decide regional affairs.
Wang Jingcheng continued, "We are adjacent to Zhenjiang Province in Tianmen. The election in Zhenjiang Province has a great impact on the citizens and villagers of Tianmen. What they are most keen on discussing recently is when they can vote to elect the rulers. So I think that we, the people of Tianmen, also have the power of referendum to decide the fate of our region, right?"
Lu Ming smiled: "That's the theory."
Wang Jingcheng was immediately encouraged and looked at Ding Lei, "Old Ding, how about you do the same?"
Ding Lei smiled and said, "I'll go back and think about it." He looked at Lu Ming and said, "Commissioner Zhang, you are the full representative of Marshal Lu. So, if Sanhe City is incorporated into the Black Mountain Special Zone, what will happen to the administrative officials and the security corps of Sanhe?"
Lu Ming smiled and said, "You don't need to worry about this. Even if it really works out in the end and Marshal Lu approves that you can merge into the Black Mountain Special District, you can also use the status of a member autonomous city. The Special District will not interfere with your city's internal affairs. Of course, let me be frank. In this case, the corresponding investment, cooperation, etc. of the Special District may be a little worse. In addition, your city must also abide by the legal norms of the Black Mountain Special District. Of course, under this premise, the autonomous city can have its own laws and regulations."
Ding Lei's heart warmed up and he nodded, "Okay, Commissioner Zhang, I will seriously consider your suggestion."
Lu Ming smiled without saying anything. Although Ding Lei had the final say in Sanhe, from the perspective of Jiangning Province's political system, he could be removed from his post with a single official document from the provincial government. And in his opinion, the autonomous city would naturally make him the local emperor of Sanhe City. The temptation must be quite great.
He sighed inwardly, thinking that this was the nature of his identity as Commissioner Zhang. He was doing the most despicable thing a politician could do. Common sense would tell him that he was doomed to have a bad ending in the future.
If Commissioner Zhang had not played this role himself, and had used the power he had given him to do all the things for him, but had not ultimately become his successor, he would have been destined to be his rival. When he parted ways with him, it would have inevitably caused a major earthquake in the political and military circles of the Black Mountain Group, which might even have shaken the ruling foundation of the Black Mountain Group.
Fortunately, I can make him die however I want.
Thinking of this, Lu Ming couldn't help but smile bitterly.
There was an even more bitter feeling in my heart, and a hint of sympathy arose towards "Commissioner Zhang". This "Commissioner Zhang" was actually quite pitiful, although, he was himself and did not really exist.