The general meeting will now begin.
The day the Chinese Communist Party plenary session is held.
Hu Jintao met alone with Zeng Qinghong from the crack of dawn to discuss the agenda for the plenary session to be held today.
"Your Majesty, will you push ahead with the Shanghai Party Secretary's plan?"
Hu Jintao shook his head.
"No. I don't have enough cards to bring down Party Secretary Cheonryangwi."
There was still a lack of cards to chase out the Shanghai market.
I knew of some of his personal scandals, but that wasn't enough to bring him down.
Shanghai Fang would not give up Shanghai. Something bigger was needed to defeat him.
"Shanghai City must be secured by us, Your Majesty."
"I know that too. But there's no proper way, right? It would be an all-out war to attack him without any evidence. Not yet."
"Then what about interfering with your privacy?"
Zeng Qinghong already knew about Tian Liangwei's complicated relationships with women.
Not only did he harass female officials of Shanghai City Hall, he also had many women as government officials and lived a promiscuous life.
"That's ridiculous. Privacy is taboo. If we go against it, we'll definitely be met with backlash."
It has been said that among China's upper echelons, it is quicker to find someone who does not have a government than someone who does.
If you touched something so generalized, it would have backfired.
"I'm just saying this because I'm frustrated. Then what are you going to do? I don't know about anything else, but I absolutely have to get my hands on Beijing and Shanghai."
Zeng Qinghong frowned as if he was frustrated.
Of course, Zeng Qinghong also couldn't find a card to kick him out.
When they couldn't come up with an answer no matter how much they put their heads together, the two sighed at the same time.
Zeng Qinghong's sigh was a little louder.
Even though the political situation was favorable for Hu Jintao, the reality that he could not oust even one Shanghai Party Secretary at will was dismal.
'Did I think wrong?'
Zeng Qinghong regretted for a moment that he had changed boats.
I never thought Hu Jintao would not prepare anything.
This was proof of my lack of ability. I had no choice but to look for other help.
"······Is there no separate contact from Korea? I think President Kim Moo-hyuk might have a way."
Hu Jintao shook his head.
"I haven't heard from you yet. I'm also waiting for you to hear from me, but······. I think it's hard to come up with a surefire way to blow up Cheonryangwi in a short period of time."
Kim Mu-hyeok tried to find the weakness of Cheon Liang-wi that he had handed over to Zeng Qinghong, but it wasn't enough.
What he handed over was evidence implicating Zhou Zheng, chairman of the Nongkai Group, in the corruption scandal that occurred in 2003.
"Is there really no way?"
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"Today seems difficult. We should wait for the next opportunity. First, we need to secure military power······."
Just then, a knock was heard.
"Who is it! I told you not to let anyone in!"
When the conversation was interrupted, Hu Jintao shouted in annoyance.
"Your Majesty, Premier Wen Jiabao has come to see you."
"The Prime Minister?"
Hu Jintao looked at Zeng Qinghong for a moment, and Zeng nodded in agreement.
"Tell them to come in."
The door opened and Wen Jiabao came in.
"Your Majesty, I apologize for coming without notice."
"Okay. What about contact between us? Come and sit down."
Wen Jiabao came closer and smiled at Zeng Qinghong.
"The Vice Chairman was here too. It's been a while."
"That's right. We used to hang out together sometimes over a drink. I hope we can meet again, Prime Minister."
Wen Jiabao, who realized what he meant, nodded and took a seat opposite the vice chairman.
"Yeah. What's going on? If you came without calling, isn't it urgent?"
Wen Jiabao looked at Zeng Qinghong for a moment.
"It doesn't matter. We're already on the same boat."
Wen Jiabao nodded at Hu Jintao's confirmation and brought up the matter.
"I spoke with President Kim Moo-hyuk."
"What did you say to President Kim? Did you say you had a card that could knock Jiang Zemin off his horse? Or······."
"First of all, it seems difficult to take over Lai Changxing. He is like a nuclear bomb to everyone. We may be hurt before Jiang Zemin is brought down."
"What do you mean, we're getting hurt too?"
Are you pretending not to know, or are you really unaware?
Wen Jiabao, who was momentarily speechless at Hu Jintao's response, asked belatedly.
"······Didn't you know?"
"What are you talking about? What don't you know? Stop making me feel stuffy and get to the point."
"The Fujian Provincial Party Secretary took a bribe from Lai Changxing."
"what?"
"You really didn't know? I thought you already knew. Wasn't it you, Chairman, who sent Xi Jinping, the Party Secretary of Fujian Province, to Zhejiang Province to handle the aftermath, and sent Song Defeng down to Fujian Province?"
If you didn't know that, it would be like leaving the cat in charge of the fish.
"······Is there any evidence?"
"Yes. Not only the ledgers, but also the videos and audio tapes exist. So it would be too risky to ask for Lai Changxing to be handed over. There's no way Chairman Zhang wouldn't know about it."
At that moment, Zeng Qinghong joined the conversation.
"What does that mean? What is Laichangxing? What does Song Defeng mean?"
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Wen Jiabao turned his gaze and looked at Zeng Qinghong.
As I hesitated to speak, Zeng Qinghong urged me.
"Please tell me too. Aren't we on the same boat?"
"······Vice Chairman, you know about Lai Changxing, right?"
"Of course I know. Aren't you a notorious smuggler?"
"Behind Lai Changxing was the Shanghai faction. But he was not satisfied with the Shanghai faction, and he also reached out to the Communist Youth League and the Crown Prince Party. Xi Jinping also took bribes."
When the name Xi Jinping came up, Zeng Qinghong just smiled.
After being dumbfounded for a while, he finally came to his senses and asked.
"······Are you saying that Xi Jinping received money from Lai Changxing?"
"I received money and gold, as well as many other benefits."
Although he had softened his speech, Zeng Qinghong could still understand what Wen Jiabao was saying.
The biggest problem was that the plan went awry.
"Ha······. This is driving me crazy."
Zeng Qinghong intended to make Xi Jinping the next president.
So, they had already requested that Xi Jinping be appointed as the Shanghai Party Secretary.
But it was tangled up even before it started. There was still not enough support base to support Xi Jinping, who had weaknesses.
Hu Jintao, who had been listening to the conversation between the two people in silence, opened his mouth.
"······Don't worry about Song Defeng. He has cancer and will die today or tomorrow. I was planning to have him step down from his position as Fujian Province Party Secretary soon."
"Is it not very good?"
Hu Jintao nodded.
"They said it would take at most two years."
"Oh, my······."
Wen Jiabao let out a sigh of regret. But Hu Jintao continued talking as if it was no big deal.
"Even if I have to give up Song Defeng, I can do anything to keep Jiang Zemin's mouth shut."
"It's not easy. It's said that not only Song Defeng but also many people from our public hearing group are involved. There are also quite a few from the Crown Prince's Party."
"······This is driving me crazy. Are you saying I can't use this good card at all?"
"Who in the Crown Prince's Party is said to have received a bribe from Lai Changxing?"
"I don't know exactly. However, I was told that there is solid evidence regarding Xi Jinping. They even said there is video footage."
At those words, Zeng Qinghong touched his forehead and Hu Jintao sighed.
Hu Jintao asked, rubbing his temples as if his head hurt.
"So what's the point? Is Raichangxing a useless card?"
"No. For now, I gave up on bringing in Laichangxing, and instead, I was given the card to blow up Ja-chang-lin."
"Self-proclaimed Lin?"
Hu Jintao and Zeng Qinghong asked at the same time.
"Yes. We have obtained a video of Lin Youfang, the wife of the self-proclaimed Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, receiving a bribe from Lai Changxing."
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"Is that true?"
"Yes. If you take out that card, even Chairman Zhang won't be able to refute it. The image quality isn't very good, but it's definitely Lin Yufang. I personally confirmed it."
When Wen Jiabao confirmed this, Hu Jintao nodded.
His expression softened slightly and he turned his gaze to ask Zeng Qinghong.
"Vice Chairman. What would it be like if I could blow up the self-proclaimed Lin?"
"It is not a good idea to directly attack the standing committee members. That is the rule that has been followed so far. You cannot break it. If you leave a precedent that you can kick out a standing committee member, it means that you can kick out anyone who becomes a standing committee member after you, Chairman. Then the political situation will fall into even more chaos."
Zeng Qinghong expressed his opposition without hesitation.
"······Is it because he is the head of Fujian Province? Because he is directly related to Xi Jinping?"
"No. Since Xi Jinping has already been involved in Lai Changxing's corruption, I have no intention of supporting Xi Jinping any longer. I just mean, let's not attack the Standing Committee members."
Hu Jintao snorted as if he was displeased.
Then Wen Jiabao opened his mouth cautiously.
"Your Majesty, I agree with you. Rather than using the information we have obtained this time to bring him down, I think it would be better to use it as a card to bring him to our side."
Even Wen Jiabao came out in opposition to the self-proclaimed Lin.
Hu Jintao frowned at those words.
But as he looked at me as if telling me to finish talking without any objections, Wen Jiabao began to reveal what he had discussed with Kim Muhyuk.
"This time, I also received the opportunity to blow up Cheonryangwi. You can't get full on the first drink, right? First, blow up Cheonryangwi and change the Shanghai Party Secretary to our side······."
Hu Jintao was startled and cut off his words.
"What? You're saying you're going to blow up a thousand limbs? Is that true?"
"Yes. I don't think it's a corruption allegation related to Li Changxing, so I think it's okay to make it public."
"Something? Something that can bring down that thousand-year-old."
"I touched the Social Security fund."
"What? What is this crazy kid doing?"
Not only Hu Jintao, but even Zeng Qinghong was greatly surprised.
The Social Security Fund was a public fund set aside by the Chinese government to alleviate the poor as rapid economic growth widened the gap between the rich and the poor.
"They say he used social security funds to make illegal loans. He received a lot in return. I just received all the evidence by email."
"Huh······. There are only thieves. There are things you can touch and things you can't. Chairman Jang, who chose such a person as his successor······."
Wen Jiabao laughed inwardly after hearing Zeng Qinghong's monologue.
It was ridiculous to see him criticize Chairman Zhang's choice, forgetting that the person he had chosen as his successor had received a bribe from Lai Changxing.
"Anyway, no one can take sides when it comes to tampering with the social security fund. Before holding the general meeting today, let's meet with Chairman Zhang and come to an agreement."
Hu Jintao nodded.
"Show me the evidence first."
Wen Jiabao placed the laptop he was holding on the table.
"Unfortunately, there is no video of Cheonryangwi. However, based on what I've checked, it seems very credible. If you look here, you can see that there is an abnormal flow of funds······."
Wen Jiabao turned the laptop containing the data handed over by Kim Moo-hyeok towards Hu Jintao and began to explain.
After hearing the entire explanation, Hu Jintao nodded and curled the corners of his lips.
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"This should be enough to blow away the Cheonryangwi. As expected, it's President Kim. Even I couldn't find it······."
"After all, President Kim Moo-hyuk will notice the flow of money faster than we do. And the Chairman is in a situation where he can't move openly."
Unlike Hu Jintao, who looked very happy, Zeng Qinghong spoke with a serious face.
"Before we blow up the Tian Liangwei, we need to replace the person leading the Shanghai Armed Police. Otherwise, they might rebel."
Shanghai was a city of extraordinary importance, and as a result had a considerable number of armed police.
"You said you were going to rebel?"
"Captain Changsinju, who leads the Shanghai Armed Police, is Tian Liangwei's closest confidant. If we don't replace him, what will happen······."
Hu Jintao nodded and accepted Zeng Qinghong's advice.
"Okay. I'll meet with Chairman Jiang. Shouldn't we cancel our previous recommendation of Xi Jinping as Shanghai Party Secretary?"
"······That's how it should be."
"Let's think about a successor slowly. For now, look for someone to take over the armed police."
"Yes. I will look into it as a trustworthy person."
Hu Jintao stood up from his seat with a satisfied smile.
"You two, discuss further measures. I will go and meet Chairman Zhang."
Hu Jintao turned around and looked back slightly as if he suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, right. Tell President Kim I said thank you, Prime Minister."
"Yes, I will do that."
The door closed, leaving only Wen Jiabao and Zeng Qinghong there.
* * *
I sat in my office and checked my watch.
"The general meeting will now begin."
Director Ma nodded at my words and turned on the TV.
"They're making the trial public. It seems they're really determined."
"Does the director think so too? He will probably be executed soon."
On TV, they were diagnosing the current situation by showing Choe Ryong-hae's appearance as revealed by Korean Central TV.
At that moment, the satellite phone next to me rang. When I picked up the receiver, I heard a familiar voice.
- President Kim. This is Jang Song-taek.
It was a call from Jang Song-taek.
< Now the general meeting will begin > End
< My true feelings came out >