Gao Tianfang slumped in his chair, like a deflated ball, with his head down and remained silent. For him, this choice was too difficult. Of course, he couldn't let Wen Liang really hand him over to Zhao Xiujie, but if he was forced to do things for him, he knew it would be a bottomless pit. He might be ruined one day!
It’s just that…between two evils, choose the lesser one. What will happen in the future is, after all, a matter for the future…
"Of course, if you come to work for me, your future career in the government will be in my hands. I dare not say it is very bright, but at least it is more practical than you flattering Chen Zongzhi every day and looking forward to the day when you are released." After the coercion, of course there must be inducement. This is the only way to recruit people for personal use from ancient times to the present. Wen Liang's words were full of temptation. He said: "Within a year, you can be assigned to any county in Qingzhou or Lingyang. After two years, you will find a place to settle down. Even if you don't have a full-time job, you are the real second-in-command. To put it bluntly, I am a businessman, and I pay attention to the input-output ratio. Only if you rise step by step in the officialdom can you be more and more useful to me, so there is no need to worry about becoming a discarded child one day. Is this the truth? Think about it carefully."
Perhaps it was the last words that touched him. After a while, Gao Tianfang raised his head, and instantly looked ten years older. His voice became a little hoarse, and he said, "I promise you!"
A smile appeared on Wenliang's lips, and he became the kind and amiable boy who made people feel warm and relaxed just now. Gao Tianfang's heart trembled when he saw it, and he turned his head away, not daring to look him in the eye.
Wen Liang picked up the Maotai on the table, poured a glass for himself and Gao Tianfang, and said, "I wish you a happy cooperation."
The mellow Maotai tasted dull in his mouth. Gao Tianfang said cautiously, "Mr. Wen, you are a man who does big things. You usually handle tens of millions of dollars, and you deal with big figures like provincial and municipal leaders. I am just a thief who uses the little power in my hands to earn a living. To be honest, what can I do to help you?"
Gao Tianfang was a secretary by profession, and was used to serving his superiors. Once he made up his mind, his expression, posture, and movements when he spoke were all just the right amount of humbleness and respect, and no one could find fault with him. Wen Liang poured him another glass of wine and said with a smile, "Come on, have another drink... Actually, what I'm asking you to do is very simple..."
Gao Tianfang hurriedly took the wine glass and brought it to his mouth. He had just drunk half of it when he heard Wen Liang say lightly, "Help me to overthrow Chen Zongzhi!"
"Ahem, ahem!"
Gao Tianfang choked on a mouthful of wine, but he didn't care about losing his composure. He stared at Wen Liang with half a cup of remaining wine in his hand, his eyes full of incredible surprise, and said, "Mr. Wen, don't joke..."
Wen Liang's expression was as calm as water, and he said, "You may not know me very well. I have a shortcoming, which is that I never like to joke."
Gao Tianfang carefully looked at his expression again, and confirmed that this young master was telling the truth. He said in a trembling voice: "Mr. Wen, just as I don't know you, you may not know Mayor Chen's background. In Jiangdong Province, unless Secretary Yu or Senior Official Wu do it personally, it is impossible to bring him down!"
"If it was before, Jiangdong's political situation was stable, and it would have been difficult to overthrow him, but now that the change of leadership is imminent, everyone will inevitably experience some turmoil. As long as chaos arises, there will be an opportunity!" Wen Liang seemed to be confident, and his clear and steady voice seemed to have a kind of bewitching power. He said: "Have you ever heard a saying that all reactionaries are paper tigers, and the same is true for Chen Zongzhi. You only see his strength, but not his weakness. Or, you have seen it, but you haven't realized it yet..."
Gao Tianfang hesitated: "I, I don't understand..."
Wen Liang patiently said, "As his full-time secretary, you must know some secrets that others don't know, right?"
"This..." Gao Tianfang finally understood why Wen Liang had gone through so much trouble to coerce and bribe him. He smiled bitterly and said, "Even if he knew a little, Mayor Chen is currently being valued by Senior Official Wu. When Senior Official Wu becomes the secretary next year, if he wants to use these small details to embarrass him, I'm afraid..."
"Afraid of what?"
"I'm afraid it will be a futile effort." Gao Tianfang said courageously.
"To achieve great things, one does not need to pay attention to small details. Small details are never taken seriously by others, but don't forget that a thousand-mile dam is destroyed by an ant hole. Sometimes, to destroy a person, you don't need much strength. As long as you find the right opportunity, a little finger is enough."
Gao Tianfang seemed to be thinking about something. Wen Liang smiled and asked, "Besides delicious food, what else does Mayor Chen like? For example, jade? Paintings and calligraphy? Money? Or beautiful women?"
Gao Tianfang's heart moved, hesitant, about to speak, Wen Liang encouraged him: "Why, did you think of something? It's okay, tell me, just treat it as a small talk."
Gao Tianfang felt his throat was dry, and whispered, "There is one thing. Around March, I had just entered Mayor Chen's core circle. He didn't hide most things from me, but I accidentally discovered that there were always a few days every month when I didn't know his schedule. I asked Lao Li privately once, and he just said not to interfere, but he smiled mysteriously, so I didn't pay attention to it anymore... Oh, look at me, Lao Li is..."
"Li Tiezhu, a retired soldier, the squad leader of the city government's car squad, Mayor Chen's driver and personal bodyguard!"
Gao Tianfang was a little surprised. He didn't expect Wen Liang to have investigated Chen Zongzhi's driver thoroughly. But then again, if you want to deal with someone like Chen Zongzhi, if the plan is not detailed, there is no possibility of success. From this, it seems that Wen Liang is really as he said, and this time he is serious.
In fact, at that moment just now, Gao Tianfang did think about going to Chen Zongzhi for help, but he quickly gave up the idea. Once Wen Liang passed the ironclad evidence to Zhao Xiujie, Yu Peidong would definitely order a thorough investigation. He was not an important figure who could not be separated from Chen Zongzhi, and it was an important period of change of leadership. It was certain that after weighing the pros and cons, Chen Zongzhi would definitely abandon him as a pawn, and he might not even frown.
After all, the only person who can be loyal to yourself is yourself!
"Yes, it's Li Tiezhu. In fact, he is Mayor Chen's true confidant. He knows everything, no matter how big or small. But he is a bit stubborn. He thinks Mayor Chen has been very kind to him. Normally, he won't do anything for anyone. Even if Mayor Chen asks him to kill someone, he will probably agree without hesitation."
Gao Tianfang was a bit resentful when he mentioned Li Tiezhu. It was no wonder that he had complaints. People are like this. When they betray others, they will always feel a stinging feeling of being slapped in the face when they see others sticking to their original intentions. It is also human nature to criticize them verbally.
Wen Liang pondered and said, "In other words, only Li Tiezhu and Chen Zongzhi knew about the itinerary for those days?"
"Well, usually in the evening, when work is not too busy."
"According to your guess, what could have happened, or who could have made him so careful?"
"It's hard to say, but the expression on Lao Li's face when he talked about this made me feel that it should be a woman..."
"Oh, food and sex are human nature. It's nothing to be a woman."
"But Mayor Chen and his wife have always been in love, and they are well-known in the Guanshan officialdom. They don't seem like the kind of people who fool around outside..."
"Before the sun rises, who knows that the night will be so dark..." Wen Liang rarely quoted a poem by a later poet, his eyes sparkling with wisdom, and said: "It is enough for Jiangdong to have a loyal Yu Peidong. I don't believe there will be another Chen Zongzhi!"
It is extremely difficult for people who hold great power to overcome three tests, namely, the desire for power, the desire for money, and the desire for sex. It does not mean that the person is bad in nature from the beginning, but once the power is in hand, all kinds of temptations will come uninvited, and over time, even a solid wall will be corroded, let alone a living person.
This is also the reason why every time there is a major purge in the officialdom, the charges against the officials are varied, but they always fall within the scope of these three!
"This is the first thing I want you to do. Find out who this mysterious woman is."
Gao Tianfang said in embarrassment: "This... I really can't handle it..."
Wen Liang said with a half-smile: "I'm not asking you to follow me. If something like this happens again, please notify me immediately and I will take care of the rest."
Hearing this, Gao Tianfang heaved a sigh of relief and said hurriedly, "I understand."
After three rounds of drinks, it was almost time, Gao Tianfang said: "Mr. Wen, I have a meeting this afternoon, how about that?"
Wen Liang nodded and said, "Okay, you go first, I'll go later." After that, he took a napkin and wrote down Chang Cheng's mobile phone number. "Please remember this number. In the future, if you can avoid meeting each other, don't meet. If there is anything important, contact through the phone."
Gao Tianfang wrote it down carefully, then took out a lighter and burned the napkin in front of Wen Liang, then turned and left. When he reached the door, Wen Liang said quietly behind him: "One more thing, don't go to Mo Xiaoya's place, don't worry, she won't bother you again."
Gao Tianfang's body trembled slightly, he agreed, opened the door, and left sadly with a complicated feeling of not knowing whether it was happiness or fear.
Not long after Gao Tianfang left, a man pushed the door open. It was Ye Zhiwei, who was supposed to run Biluochun in Suhai. He knew that Wen Liang was going to meet a guest here today, but he was not curious at all about who he was meeting or why. For people like them, the less they knew, the safer they were.
"Mr. Wen, what do you think of this place?"
"Not bad, stylish and tasteful. Who designed it?"
Ye Zhiwei hesitated for a moment, then forced a smile and said, "You also know the designer..."
Wen Liang's eyes flickered over his face, and suddenly a shadow of a person in a black skirt popped up in his mind. He frowned slightly and said, "Cat Girl? Didn't you bring her to Guanshan as well?"
"No, I'm not that ignorant," Ye Zhiwei's eyes twitched, and he quickly explained, "When we were in Wuzhou, they happened to talk about opening a tea house in Guanshan. Cat Girl had nothing to do, so she helped design the decoration style. She knew nothing else."
This tea house was actually a secret base opened by Wen Liang at the behest of An Baoqing in Guanshan. Several private passages were specially built for entry and exit. In the future, people can meet here to meet or discuss important matters. This not only ensures safety, but also saves the trouble of looking for a place. Ye Zhiwei only came to supervise the construction in advance. When everything is ready, it will still be handed over to a reliable person to run.
"Oh," Wen Liang chuckled, "It seems that Cat Girl is a bit bored staying in Wuzhou. You go back and ask her. If she has no objection, Brother Jiu will arrange for her to go to Mingzhu to play in the near future. That place is a decadent capitalist world, which is much more interesting than Wuzhou."
Ye Zhiwei almost broke out in a cold sweat on his back. He really wished that he had not walked into the room just now. He agreed timidly, but in his heart he was worried about how he would explain to An Baoqing after making such a hole.
"Also, I'm going to meet a friend here tonight, so except for you, let the other employees go back to rest."
After leaving the teahouse, Wen Liang called Lei Fang's cell phone and said, "Brother Lei, I'm sorry, I was delayed by something at home. I just arrived at Guanshan now, and it's getting dark. Where are you? Okay, I'll be there right away... Look at what you said, why wouldn't I trust you? If it weren't related to the share transfer agreement of the investment fund, we could have just discussed it verbally..."
The meeting with Lei Fang was boring and disgusting. When Lei Fang proudly received the transfer agreement, he suddenly asked, "Brother, I heard that you and Sister Xi have some disagreements?" (To be continued)