Warlords: Rising from the Northwest Border and Sweeping Across the Powers

Chapter 377: Government Affairs System Conference Killing the Chicken to Frighten the Monkey

At nine o'clock in the morning on the third day, in the conference room of the Central Government Building, hundreds of officials from the central government system appeared in the conference room and sat at the conference table. They greeted each other and guessed the purpose of Su Zhengyang's summoning them.

Many people have vaguely guessed that the military system has undergone major changes, and Su Zhengyang is afraid that he will make changes to the political system. People with guilty consciences, such as He Bingqing, director of the Personnel Bureau of the Northern Xinjiang Central Government, claimed that he was seriously ill and unwell and could not attend the meeting.

Jiang Hanqing, director of the Statistics Bureau, and Wang Jiayuan, director of the Water Resources Bureau, also refused to attend the meeting for various ridiculous reasons.

Five minutes later, Su Zhengyang appeared in the conference room. The entire conference room fell silent in an instant, and everyone turned their eyes to this young president who was extremely oppressive and majestic.

Su Zhengyang walked up to the podium with a calm expression and said in a self-deprecating tone: "It seems that many people don't take me, the president of Northern Xinjiang, seriously. I notified someone to hold a meeting two days in advance, but Director He of the Personnel Bureau, Director Jiang of the Statistics Bureau, Director Wang of the Water Conservancy Bureau and others fell ill on the same day. It's simply ridiculous."

"Could it be that in your eyes, I, Su Zhengyang, am a man-eating beast, and that's why you are so afraid of me?"

There was unspeakable anger hidden in Su Zhengyang's calm voice. The officials present subconsciously lowered their heads, not daring to look Su Zhengyang in the eye.

"Before the meeting begins, I would like to invite everyone present to watch a good show. Someone, bring Directors He, Jiang, and Wang up to me!"

Several fully armed soldiers, led by Li Yunlong, carried He Bingqing, Jiang Hanqing, and Wang Jiayuan, who had weak legs and sweat all over their foreheads, into the conference room. Under the threat of the soldiers' guns, the three men knelt in front of Su Zhengyang, trembling with fear. This scene also caused discussion among the officials present.

"Aren't the three of them sick? Why were they brought here by force?"

"Hmph, sick as hell, these three people are all well-known gluttons in the Northern Frontier, with insatiable greed. I told you that they would get into trouble sooner or later. They are relying on the fact that they are old men who followed President Yang to build the country together, and they are wantonly collecting benefits for themselves. President Su is probably going to give them a good lesson."

Su Zhengyang walked up to the three pale-faced people, looked down at them, and said calmly, "Didn't the three of you claim that you were terminally ill and beyond cure? Why was it that when my people found your house, one of you was holding your concubine and committing adultery in broad daylight, one was smoking opium, and the other one even had thirty dishes for breakfast, which was extravagant and excessive?"

The three of them looked at each other tremblingly, and saw a hint of panic in each other's eyes.

"Jiang Hanqing! You were originally the accountant of the Yang family for more than ten years. Considering your talent and dedication to the Yang family, the old president promoted you to the position of Director of the Northern Frontier Central Statistics Bureau. How did you repay the old president?"

"Cheating accounts, embezzling state-owned assets in Northern Xinjiang, accepting bribes, and selling the ownership of Jiaoping Iron Mine to foreigners at a low price. Tell me, what else would you not dare to do!"

Jiang Hanqing, who was over 50 years old, kowtowed and said, "President, I was wrong! I know I was wrong. Please let me go for the sake of my service to the Yang family for so many years!"

At this time, Jiang Hanqing was in tears. He no longer had the dignity of the director of the Central Bureau of Statistics. He kept choking and begging Su Zhengyang to spare him this time.

"You are such a heartless person! You hold a high position, but you act recklessly for your own selfish interests. You will not be spared! Come here, drag Jiang Hanqing down and execute him! Confiscate the entire Jiang family, and send all members of the Jiang family to the northwest coal mines, and never employ them again!"

Su Zhengyang kicked Jiang Hanqing in front of him and knocked him over. With Su Zhengyang's order, several soldiers dragged Jiang Hanqing, who was lying on the ground like a puddle of mud, and quickly left. A moment later, a crisp gunshot was heard, like a huge hammer, hitting the hearts of the officials present and making them uneasy.

He Bingqing fainted when she heard the gunshot. After Su Zhengyang waved his hand, a soldier brought a bucket of cold water and poured it on her to wake her up.

"Director He, I heard that if you want to work in the central government or get a local commission, you have to pay a satisfactory salary, right?"

Su Zhengyang took out an account book and recited the contents in a calm voice.

"For a county magistrate, the commission is 100,000 taels of silver. For a city-level official, the commission is 300,000 taels of silver. For an official in a provincial government department, the commission is 1 million taels of silver. For an official in a powerful department of the central government, the commission is 3 million taels of silver."

"Tsk tsk, look at this. Our Director He, as the Director of the Personnel Bureau, actually put a price tag on the appointment of officials at the central and local levels of the Northern Frontier government. After ten years in office, Director He's net worth must have already exceeded tens of millions of dollars."

He Bingqing looked up at Su Zhengyang with a panicked look and said, "President, I am willing to hand over all the He family's wealth. I only beg you to spare my life. Please be merciful and let me go!"

"You are a cancer, a piece of trash! A blood-sucking worm, and you have the nerve to ask me to let you go?"

"Li Yunlong! Search and confiscate the He family! Execute all the direct descendants of the He family! Cut this lawless He Bingqing into pieces and grind his bones to dust! I want to make sure he dies without peace!"

"All officials who have bribed He Bingqing privately will be executed! No mercy!"

"Yes, President!"

Following the executions of Jiang Hanqing and He Bingqing, the remaining Wang Jiayuan knew that he had no hope of survival. He collapsed to the ground with a dazed look on his face, like an idiot.

Su Zhengyang looked at Wang Jiayuan with disgust and said, "As the director of the Water Conservancy Bureau, he tampered with the water conservancy projects in Northern Xinjiang and embezzled a large amount of public funds. Take this bastard away and kill him! No one from the Wang family will be spared!"

In the conference hall, more than a dozen officials who were close to Jiang Hanqing, Wang Jiayuan and He Bingqing, and who had more or less collusion with them, fainted on the spot. Su Zhengyang's iron-blooded method of ransacking homes and killing people over a disagreement made their hearts unable to withstand such a great shock.

Su Zhengyang placed his hands on the tabletop, leaned forward, and said in a cold voice: "I hope that the Northern Frontier under my rule will be a vibrant and honest regime, rather than a place filled with filth and foul smells. If anyone dares to touch my bottom line, I will use the bullets in my hand to talk to him. The old president is always reluctant to take ruthless action against you old people in the Northern Frontier because of our old friendship, but I am different. If anyone dares to play tricks under my nose, I will make him fall into eternal damnation! He will never be able to turn over!"

"Okay, after we deal with this scum, we'll officially start the meeting."

Su Zhengyang's act of killing the chicken to scare the monkey made those officials in the Northern Xinjiang government system who were not doing their job feel like they were falling into an icy cave and felt cold all over.