"But it's a long story..."
Wen Liang said softly, "We have plenty of time today, right?"
Yan Huangyan rubbed the teacup unconsciously with his hands, his eyes blurred, as if he was lost in distant memories, and said: "That was many years ago. At that time, Zhuang Shaoxuan was successful in his career. He was in charge of a region at a young age. He was known as the most promising rising star of the younger generation. He was the only one who could compare with him in the capital. At that time, the boss had already established himself in the Ministry of Energy, serving as the director of the Planning Department of the Electric Power Bureau, and began to set up the Huaneng Investment Group. One of them came from the bottom up, taking a steady and steady career path, and the other came from the top down, crossing the political and business circles, and had a broad world of his own. They were nicknamed the peerless duo by the gossipers, and it was inevitable that they were often compared. As time went by, there were many rumors, such as incompatibility, competition, and mutual sabotage. After hearing so much of these words, I felt resentful. In addition, there were indeed several direct or indirect conflicts in secret. Both of them were arrogant, so the hatred gradually deepened."
"If it were just that, it wouldn't have developed to this point. The real deterioration of the relationship began five years ago when Zhuang Shaoxuan was transferred back to the State Planning Commission from the local level. He was promoted to the deputy director-level inspector of the Development Planning Department and had many business dealings with the Ministry of Energy. The Planning Department of the Power Department happened to be a counterpart department, and the intersection of the two people instantly became much more than in the past ten years. At this time, Zhuang Shaoxuan had already suppressed the boss in terms of rank and position. It was inevitable that there were many difficulties at work. The boss was not willing to swallow this breath. Anyway, he was ready to leave the Ministry of Energy and go to As the chairman of the newly formed Huaneng Investment, Zhuang Shaoxuan secretly set up a trap and tampered with several core data in the annual thermal power grid development plan drawn up by the Electric Power Department, making Zhuang Shaoxuan bear a big blame. He was criticized by Cui Dayong, the then director of the Planning Commission, for being impatient, impetuous and unsteady at the meeting, and it is said that the news even reached the ears of the Prime Minister. This comment hit Zhuang Shaoxuan, who was determined to move up, hard, and then he retaliated against his boss and sniped at the personnel arrangement. If it weren't for a certain elder of the Yan family who spoke up, the position of chairman of Huaneng Investment would have been lost to the boss. "
"… Such confrontations occurred several times, and the two became increasingly angry. Half a year later, the situation finally got out of control. That day, that night…"
Yan Huangyan's voice began to tremble slightly, followed by his hands and feet, and then his entire body began to shake uncontrollably. It was unclear whether the expression on his face was fear or sadness, as if he had fallen into a horrible dream. He was conscious but powerless to wake up from it.
Wen Liang reached out and gently covered the back of her hand. Feeling the warmth from the boy's palm, Yan Huangyan slowly regained her composure. She looked at him gratefully and said, "... That night, due to the betrayal of one of our own people, the boss's favorite woman was captured by Zhuang Shaoxuan, and then he tortured her cruelly all night. Many photos were taken and her body was delivered to the boss in the early morning of the next day... That was the first time I saw the boss go crazy..."
"Although I guess her death was not Zhuang Shaoxuan's intention and it must have been an accident, but the result was like this. The boss would not listen to my advice, or at that time, she would not listen to anyone..."
What happened next was simple and clear. Yan Qixiu went crazy, so she naturally launched a crazy revenge. Shangguan Chenlu was her top general, and she also made a great name for herself in this revenge. Otherwise, those TZ party members in the four-nine cities would not be so scared of her. When the situation escalated further, the people above felt that the younger generation was making too much trouble, so they gave them fifty lashes each and drove them out of the capital. Zhuang Shaoxuan took most of the responsibility and was deprived of the right to re-enter the official career. For him, life no longer had much meaning; Yan Qixiu also lost an eye in the conflict. Although he was also driven out of the capital, he retained the qualification to control Huaneng Investment. This may be the only consolation.
This is a war with no winner!
Wen Liang listened quietly to Yan Huangyan's story, and finally understood what happened in the capital five years ago. Although it sounds very plain, with his knowledge, he can naturally hear the thrilling things hidden under the surface. Five years ago, it was after the great turmoil that the left-right struggle reached its peak. The old man came to power hastily, without soldiers or generals, isolated and helpless. He could only bring Zhuang Maoxun with him to assist in state affairs and rely on him as a pillar. Therefore, Zhuang Shaoxuan got the opportunity to be transferred back to the capital. Otherwise, at his age, he must have stayed in the local area for a while and would not be promoted faster than Yan Qixiu.
At the same time, at this sensitive moment, Lao Yi had to follow the chief designer closely to stay in his position, which naturally made him at odds with the conservative Yan faction. Therefore, Zhuang Shaoxuan's targeting of Yan Qixiu seemed to be a dispute of personal feelings, but in fact it was in line with the general trend of the court. (These two paragraphs were written with fear and I have revised them again and again. I hope they are OK. Friends who read the book carefully should be able to guess that this is actually the original main plot of Maruzi. The grievances between Yan and Zhuang are just part of the big picture. Starting from the small to the big is my writing habit. However, now the big "grievances" can only be mentioned briefly, and the small "love and hatred" that was originally a branch line has become the main line)
However, Zhuang Shaoxuan seemed calm but was actually tyrannical. Just as Cui Dayong's incisive evaluation of him, he was young and impetuous, and he crossed the red line of fighting, which attracted the crazy revenge of Yan Qixiu, who was even more unscrupulous than him, and eventually the situation became uncontrollable.
At this time, the struggle between the left and right factions was balanced again under the mediation of the chief designer. The two became abandoned because of their ugly quarrel. However, the left was powerful at that time, and Yan Qixiu seemed to have suffered more serious injuries, so the punishment was lighter. With Huaneng Investment Group in hand, it was not a complete failure. As long as the group could be developed from scratch, there would be hope for a comeback in the future. After all, she originally wanted to jump from politics to business. As a woman, her development in China's political circle was limited, which was far less practical and beneficial than joining the business world.
However, what Wen Liang didn't know was that for Yan Qixiu, she would rather give up Huaneng and everything she had in exchange for the rebirth of her beloved woman.
Unfortunately, this is just a dream!
As for Zhuang Shaoxuan, Wen Liang was still a little confused. Although Zhuang Maoxun was not as powerful as he was later, and could not let his son get away cleanly, it was too harsh to watch him being expelled from the capital and leave the official career. Couldn't he symbolically be demoted to a small place to suffer for a few years, wait for the limelight to pass, and then seek a comeback? To kill him with a stick like this was really crueler than killing him for a man who aspired to be above the clouds!
"That woman is..."
Wen Liang hesitated for a moment, but finally asked. Yan Huangyan sighed and said, "Her last name is Yu, with the Chinese characters Qingqian. The boss always nicknamed her Xiaoyuer."
Wen Liang pondered over it. Whether in his previous life or now, he had never heard of such a name. Yan Huangyan said slowly, "You don't know Yu Qingqian, but you must have heard of her best cousin."
"who?"
"Her sister is Yu Shuying, Lei Yu's deceased mother."
Wen Liang's face changed instantly, and many questions that had been lingering in his mind suddenly became clear. First, why was the punishment Zhuang Shaoxuan received much more severe than Yan Qixiu? It was not because Zhuang Maoxun was incompetent, but because he offended Yan Qixiu and Lei Yunhai at the same time. Being able to live in Guanshan and become a rich kid was already the best result of Zhuang Maoxun's best efforts!
Second, why did Lei Yu's mother, who was already terminally ill, vomit blood and die after receiving a phone call one night five years ago? Now that I think about it, it must have been because she received the news of her sister Yu Qingqian's tragic death, and she was so angry that she lost her life. Although she was already dying, she was implicated by Zhuang Shaoxuan's evil deeds, so it is not unfair to put the blame on him. (This foreshadowing can be seen in Chapter 195 of Volume 4)
Third, also five years ago, Ning Xi was exiled abroad by Ning Huchen. On the one hand, it was to sever her relationship with Xu Ting, and on the other hand, she was affected by the serious consequences of the Yanzhuang dispute. Rather than staying in the center of the turmoil in the capital, where she didn't know when trouble would break out, it was better to go abroad, at least to stay safe.
"The Yu family has a long history of scholars. Although they are not involved in politics, they have made great achievements in economy, culture, ideology and strategic planning. Many of them are guests of the chairman and the prime minister. Yu Shuying is a direct descendant of the Yu family and is very much loved. However, after marrying Lei Yunhai, her marriage life is not satisfactory. For this reason, several young people in the Yu family have troubled Lei Yunhai. Afterwards, Lei Yunhai did not even dare to say a word. First, he was afraid of Mr. Lei, and second, he was in the wrong. The Yu family is not easy to mess with. However, Qingqian is just a distant branch of the Yu family. She lives a very ordinary life. Except for her close relationship with her sister Yu Shuying, who has always taken good care of her, and even her name is named after her sister, she does not have much contact with other people in the Yu family. When the boss met Qingqian, she had just been transferred to a bank in Beijing through Yu Shuying's relationship. The boss met her by chance when he passed by the bank, and then everything happened later..."
At this point, Wen Liang already has a clear understanding of the causes and consequences of the Yanzhuang dispute, but what does this have to do with the current situation
"Don't worry, I'll tell you another story."
Yan Huangyan closed his eyes, as if he was thinking about where to start another story. After a moment, he opened his eyes and said, "Have you heard of the legend that Chen Lu once dragged his enemy to a wild mountain valley in the northeast and scraped him?"
Wen Liang nodded. He had heard this legend from Lei Fang when he first arrived in the capital, but he did not take it seriously. Shangguan Chenlu had offended too many people in the capital, so it was reasonable for him to be framed.
Unexpectedly, Yan Huangyan said quietly: "The legend is true, but it's not that exaggerated. Chen Lu didn't master the technique. The man died after only scraping more than a hundred times. It was too easy to die!" (To be continued)