Chapter 146: Overnight Action (Fourth update, Five updates today)_1

Translator: 549690339

Just as they were talking, the cars carrying Cai Weijun and the others drove into the town’s police station. As soon as he got out of the car and spotted Chen Le, Cai Weijun made a hand gesture signifying victory.

Opening the trunk lid, Cai Weijun couldn’t contain his joy: “Chief Chen, we’ve nabbed a big fish. I’ve made a preliminary estimate, the cash in yuan alone is a hundred thousand, in addition to the US dollars, Hong Kong dollars and valuable bonds, which together convert to about three hundred thousand yuan. Besides, there are six bankbooks, containing total deposits of more than two million.”

At this point, Cai Weijun pulled out two notebooks from his bag, handed them to Chen Le and said: “The crucial evidence is here. One book documents Mo family’s bribery records. The other is a personal diary of Mo Mingwu, detailing his seductions of several women.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Le was overjoyed. These two ledgers would be the most potent evidence to bring down Mo Mingwu and his father.

Chen Le then turned to Cai Weijun to say: “Weijun, keep them in custody here for now. My request is that you withstand any pressure for twenty four hours. Don’t let anyone take them away. Can you do that? I will report to Director Nie immediately. Stand by for my update.”

Nie Zhenbang had just got home and taken off his shoes when the pager in his bag buzzed. As soon as he saw the number, Nie Zhenbang’s heart rate quickened. Upon answering, he heard Chen Le say: “Director Nie, are you at rest? We have captured Mo Mingwu. This time, we’ve got something substantial. I would like to come over now and report it to you in person.”

Without any hesitation, Nie Zhenbang responded: “Good, I am home. You can come over.”

Within ten minutes, there was a knock at the door. As soon as Nie Zhenbang opened it, Chen Le walked in. After closing the door, he reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out two ledgers and said with a smile, “Director Nie, have a look at these pieces of evidence. I think they should be sufficient to bring down Mo Mingwu and his father.”

Upon hearing Chen Le’s words, Nie Zhenbang was taken aback. Chen Le, a deputy-level cadre, dared to utter words about bringing down the secretary of the county party committee so casually.

Nie Zhenbang was stunned as he opened the notebooks Chen Le handed him. There was an array of entries: on a certain year, month and day, someone from the Bureau of Finance gave five thousand yuan; on another certain month and day, someone from the Health Bureau gave a gold necklace and three thousand yuan in cash. The earliest entries went back three years. There were also records about how a sum of five hundred thousand yuan had been borrowed from the Bureau of Finance’s public fund account, with only four hundred thousand returned, and the remaining hundred thousand written off as public expenses.

Honestly, Mo Zhihai had a good reputation and official style. Apart from being a bit domineering, he was generally good. But perhaps due to his two sons being unsuccessful, and his own impending retirement, Mo Zhihai began to amass wealth.

Nie Zhenbang briefly skimmed through the other notebook, which contained details about Mo Mingwu’s affairs. But right now, that didn’t matter much. With this ledger and the seized money, that was more than enough.

At this point in time, as the country’s economy was starting to develop, it would have been shocking enough to have one corrupt official embezzling several hundred thousand yuan. And yet here was Mo Zhihai, from this impoverished and remote area in the Northwest Region.

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang felt a strong urge to ask Mo Zhihai why he was so foolish. So foolish as to document every single transaction. Of course, that was just a joke. With this evidence, bringing down Mo Zhihai shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

However, once Mo Zhihai falls, the vacant post of secretary will suddenly become highly sought-after. Among the current leaders of Li County, the ones eligible for promotion are Wu Zhixiong and Zhang Chubin, the full-time deputy secretary of the county party committee. One is Ding Aiguo’s man, and the other is Liu Wenqing’s. Moreover, Liu Wenqing had stationed Zhang Chubin in Li County precisely for this position.

After a moment of silence, Nie Zhenbang stood up and said to Chen Le: “This is a matter of great importance. I am going to visit Mayor Wu now, and I’d like you to come with me.”

By saying this, Nie Zhenbang acknowledged Chen Le. Chen Le was looking to advance further in Li County, and Nie Zhenbang alone wouldn’t be enough to facilitate this. At present, in Li County, Nie Zhenbang and Wu Zhixiong were considered part of the same faction. This move by Nie Zhenbang was also meant to pave the way for Chen Le.

At this point, Nie Zhenbang didn’t dare slack off. Without the support of senior officials, it would still be possible to turn the tide with Mo Zhihai’s son arrested and while the Bazhou Municipal Party Committee hadn’t made a final decision yet. Mo Zhihai, still the secretary of the county party committee, had majority of the local officials under his control.

The two immediately drove to Wu Zhixiong’s residence, on the way, Nie Zhenbang had already called Wu Zhixiong. When they arrived and got out of the car, the lights in Wu Zhixiong’s yard were already brightly lit; he was waiting for Nie Zhenbang.

As soon as they entered the living room, Nie Zhenbang made no fuss, walked straight up, sat on the sofa, and handed two notebooks to Wu Zhixiong, saying, “Mayor, the mastermind behind this blockade incident has been found. Furthermore, we’ve netted a big fish. These were found in Mo Mingwu’s residence – take a look.”

Being an old comrade in Li County, Wu Zhixiong, who has worked his entire life in Li County, naturally knows the name Mo Mingwu – Mo Zhihai’s eldest son. Mo Zhihai’s younger son is Mo Mingxuan, who is now working in the Bazhou City Youth League Committee and has already reached department level. His elder son, however, is not part of the system and has been loitering around the county town.

On hearing this, Wu Zhixiong was somewhat shocked; Nie Zhenbang’s audacity was beyond his expectation. After briefly skimming the notebooks, Wu Zhixiong stood up and looked at Nie Zhenbang and said, “Zhenbang, you are very brave.”

Nie Zhenbang understood Wu Zhixiong’s words clearly. This operation appeared to be aimed at finding the real culprits, but Zhao Kunlun had clearly backed down, otherwise he wouldn’t have released Ma Ergou. Nie Zhenbang’s approach, however, was clearly aimed at Mo Zhihai. If they were not careful and nothing came out of it, the risk Nie Zhenbang was taking would be huge. No senior leader would approve of a cadre disrupting team unity. To put it bluntly, Nie Zhenbang’s current action was disrupting team unity and challenging the authority of the county party secretary.

Fortunately, Nie Zhenbang’s gamble paid off. This was the reason for Wu Zhixiong’s sigh, and at this moment Nie Zhenbang also understood Wu Zhixiong’s concern for him. He immediately laughed and said, “Mayor, this is Comrade Chen Le, the leader of this operation from the county Public Security Bureau.”

Wu Zhixiong’s gaze swept over Chen Le, he nodded in greeting, then he stood up and said, “Zhenbang, get ready, we’ll leave overnight. This matter is now beyond our control. We must report it to the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government.”

“Zhenbang, I’ve thought about it. After we arrive in the city, we will act separately. I’ll go to Mayor Ding, you need to go to Secretary Liu personally. During the groundbreaking of the Farmer Welfare Company, Secretary Jiang had a good impression of you. Secretary Liu is also full of praise for you. As this matter involves a county party secretary, the attitude of the city is unclear. If we want to take this opportunity to bring down Mo Zhihai, we must have Secretary Liu’s personal consent.” In the car, Wu Zhixiong gave this advice to Nie Zhenbang sitting next to him.

Even leaders in local governments need to be mindful of balance and face-saving. With such a major incident happening in Li County, if the city party committee wanted to cover it up, then Wu Zhixiong and Nie Zhenbang could do nothing.

Of course, this is considering the situation without taking into account Nie Zhenbang’s background. If Nie Zhenbang were in full possession of the evidence, even if the city wanted to cover it up, he most likely wouldn’t agree. But if he took it directly to the autonomous region or a higher level, it would be a different matter. It would give the city party leadership an impression of insubordination. If you can’t afford to provoke others, you could at least avoid them, right? They could reassign Nie Zhenbang to a backwater position, put him on ice, and he wouldn’t have a good time in Li County afterwards. Under the circumstances, going through the formal procedure would be the best choice.

In the residential area for family members of the Bazhou Municipal Government and Committee, the car stopped between the Number 1 and Number 2 courtyards. The two of them got out of the car at the same time; the two notebooks were handed to Nie Zhenbang. Given the relationship between Wu Zhixiong and Ding Aiguo, even without the notebooks, Ding Aiguo would not be suspicious.

They walked into the Number 1 and Number 2 courtyards separately. At this moment, Nie Zhenbang took out his phone and dialed Liu Wenqing’s home number. A woman’s voice came through, and Nie Zhenbang immediately said, “Hello, aunt. I’m Nie Zhenbang, the deputy director of Li County. I wonder if Secretary Liu is asleep. I have an urgent matter to report to Secretary Liu in person.”

On the other end of the phone, which should be Liu Wenqing’s wife, after a while, Liu Wenqing’s hearty laughter came: “Is it Comrade Zhenbang? What’s the matter that’s so urgent? Where are you now?”

“Secretary Liu, I’m so sorry to bother you at this hour. I’m right outside your house right now. The matter is very important, it involves Comrade Mo Zhihai. It’s major, and we dare not make the decision ourselves.” Nie Zhenbang spoke very politely.

After a short while, Liu Wenqing had already opened the door. As Nie Zhenbang walked in, Liu Wenqing had already made him a cup of hot tea and motioned for Nie Zhenbang to sit down. Then he said, “About Comrade Mo Zhihai. What happened, did something go wrong in Li County?”

It was so late, and given Nie Zhenbang’s statement, Liu Wenqing could guess a rough outline. Nie Zhenbang nodded, then took out the notebook and placed it on the coffee table, saying, “Secretary Liu, this was found during a search of the residence of Mo Zhihai’s son, Mo Mingwu. Please have a look.”

PS: This afternoon, some brothers suggested that I ask for fewer monthly votes. I didn’t in the previous chapter, but I’m doing so now. It’s really embarrassing. But now, we’re in the danger of being overtaken. Third place is likely lost. There were 145 votes between us and fourth place this afternoon, but now they’ve almost caught up with us – there’s a difference of just under 120 votes. Brothers and sisters. I need your monthly votes. Help us to maintain our honor. Thanks, everyone. ( To be continued. If you like this work, please come to to vote for recommendation, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. )