Let them offer their loyalty!

Line by line, Zheng Tao read the commendations from the Municipal Committee and the military, feeling a bit doubtful about his life.

He too had once been a division chief at the Political Department and was now a Deputy Division Chief; how could he not receive commendations from either the Municipal Committee or the military?

Why could Qiu Tu?

Moreover, what kind of background did Qiu Tu have that he could put pressure on him with both major power institutions at once?

By this moment, Zheng Tao truly felt that the situation had exceeded his expectations.

He could do nothing now but pray that Yan Chen could withstand the pressure.

Whether his prayers were effective or not, even when faced with the pressure from the Disciplinary Department, Municipal Committee, and the military, Yan Chen still stood firm and even turned the tables on the three departments by slapping their faces.

——She directly submitted a new promotion list without Qiu Tu's name on it.

Such an outcome finally let Zheng Tao breathe a sigh of relief. But learning from his last experience, he didn't celebrate with champagne just yet; instead, he waited nervously again for the Municipal Committee to make a move.

This time, the Municipal Committee finally gave in. They stopped pressuring Yan Chen and agreed to her personnel choice.

Although the word "approved" was given grudgingly, approval was approval. As long as Yan Chen agreed, the personnel choice would be set in stone.

With that, Zheng Tao finally got excited again, believing he had won this tough bet.

But then, at this moment, things took an unexpected turn; Yan Chen listed only Qiu Tu's name on the third promotion list.

And this list was passed by City Hall in just a few minutes, taking full effect.

Such a turn of events completely baffled Zheng Tao.

He felt utterly unable to understand what was happening, unclear about how Qiu Tu had become the Deputy Division Chief and why he had lost the bet.

This result made him very unwilling to accept defeat, so he could only sit dumbfounded in his office...

And he sat like that, not knowing for how long. It could have been fifteen minutes or maybe half an hour.

It was the "knock knock knock" on the door that startled him back to reality.

Hearing that knocking sound, Zheng Tao awoke from his thoughts and looked towards the door.

Then, he saw his secretary, who was also his wife, Tan Huimin, holding a boxed meal, walking in from outside.

After entering, as Tan Huimin was gently closing the door, she said softly to Zheng Tao, "Ah-Tao, it's time for dinner."

"I went to the rooftop on the 9th floor to pick out some dishes you like."

"Have something to eat before you continue working."

Looking at Tan Huimin, Zheng Tao couldn't help but think of his bet with Qiu Tu, his facial expression slightly changed, and then a surge of anger rose from the depths of his heart!

He reprimanded, "I've said it before, this is the Bureau! The Bureau! Don't be so affectionate in addressing each other!"

"What would the other colleagues and superiors think if they heard it!"

"And you, always eating, just eating!"

"I haven't even finished my work for the day, what's there to eat!" Your journey continues with My Virtual Library Empire

Hearing Zheng Tao's scolding, Tan Huimin's eyes reddened again.

She wanted to leave right away, but worried about Zheng Tao, she bit her lip, hurried forward a few steps, and silently placed the meal box on Zheng Tao's desk.

Then, she turned around, covered her mouth, and ran out of the office with tears in her eyes.

After Tan Huimin left, Zheng Tao's face grew even darker.

He knew he was taking his anger out on Tan Huimin a bit, but... he really couldn't help it.

His greatest pursuit in life was to get promoted and rise to high positions!

That's why he started the "overtime" wave in the Political Department, leading to everyone in the department leaving at 9, 10, or 11 PM.

Why he would always bring up the Bureau Chief whenever he spoke.

To get promoted, he was exceedingly harsh on himself and his subordinates, unwilling to give any leverage to his competitors and not wanting his superiors to see any fault in him.

Apart from the lifelong pursuit of promotions, the only thing he cared about was his wife, Tan Huimin.

Tan Huimin was his wife whom he met when he was still insignificant; although her family background was ordinary and couldn't help with his promotion,

she was top-notch in looks, figure, character, and personality.

He truly cherished his wife.

Otherwise, he wouldn't go against his principles, risking being caught by competitors or nitpicked by superiors, by having Tan Huimin at his side as his secretary.

It was precisely because he cared that when Qiu Tu said he wanted to take his female secretary out for a couple of days, his face suddenly darkened.

And this was also why he was so furious after losing the bet!

'I can't go on like this...'

'I can't just hand Hui Min over to Qiu Tu...'

Thinking of the rumors about Qiu Tu, the women with ambiguous relationships around him, and the incidents where he accidentally saw Qiu Tu touching his female subordinates...

Zheng Tao's face turned even more livid.

"Huff!" He took a deep breath and then got up, ready to go talk to Guan Weihua.

'First, I need to find out how exactly Qiu Tu won... then figure out a way to solve this bet.'

Thinking so, Zheng Tao had no appetite for dinner and left his office to find Public Security Department Director Guan Weihua....

After Zheng Tao left, the dinner specially prepared by Tan Huimin just sat on the table, slowly releasing its futile warmth and gradually cooling down.....

...

Arriving at Guan Weihua's office, Zheng Tao knocked on the door, and came the voice of Guan Weihua from inside, "Come in."

Zheng Tao pushed the door open and entered.

Guan Weihua was organizing files, apparently getting ready to leave work.

Zheng Tao furrowed his brows slightly upon seeing this: to tell the truth, he had very little respect for Guan Weihua and the current state of the Public Security Bureau.

Back when he was the Head of the Interrogation Section at the Political Department, he had set an example by working until 9, 10, 11 p.m., making all officers work overtime every day.

It was precisely because of his lead that the various sections of the Political Department were endlessly internalizing competition. In the end, they forged the department into an ironclad force.

But... after coming to the Public Security Bureau, Zheng Tao found that everyone there was very lax and disorganized, whether they were superiors or detectives; everyone left work on time every day, never working overtime.

Moreover, it wasn't just the Public Security Bureau; another department belonging to the Action Line, the Special Service Department, was also slacking off in their daily routines.

This made him immediately understand why both the Special Service Department and the Public Security Bureau were so incompetent.

To put it bluntly, it was all because the superiors did nothing....

That was also why he had some disdain for the Director of the Public Security Department, Guan Weihua.

However, now he needed to get information about Qiu Tu from Guan Weihua, so he could only suppress the discomfort in his heart and then, with a thick-skinned smile, he asked, "Director Guan, are you leaving work? May I delay you for a few minutes?"

Hearing Zheng Tao's words, Guan Weihua smiled at him and then said, "You're looking for me, so you must want to talk about Qiu Tu, right?"

Zheng Tao wasn't surprised: although others hadn't bet with Qiu Tu, there should be quite a few who were curious about the matter.

So he nodded, acknowledging it, "Yes, Director."

He looked troubled, "I genuinely can't comprehend why the Bureau Chief ultimately agreed to promote Qiu Tu."

Hearing that, Guan Weihua laughed a couple of times.

Guan Weihua was a somewhat chubby middle-aged man with very good skin, giving him a fair and plump look, very festive.

He extended his fan-sized hand and gently patted Zheng Tao, "Come, Old Zheng, take a seat."

"I have a few questions for you."

Hearing Guan Weihua's words, Zheng Tao nodded and then quickly sat down.

Guan Weihua said, "I'm asking you, are the Disciplinary Department, the Municipal Committee, and the military, these three departments, powerful?"

Zheng Tao hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "Of course they are powerful."

"The Disciplinary Department can almost be said to be the Sanctuary's imperial envoy, with the power to investigate officials in all departments and tremendous influence."

"The Municipal Committee is the highest authority of a city. In theory, even our Investigation Bureau is under their jurisdiction, which is evident from the fact that any rank above Deputy Division Chief needs their approval."

"As for the military... although they are a parallel department to our Investigation Bureau, their armed forces are formidable, with much more powerful firearms than we have; if it really came to a fight, we might not necessarily be their match."

Hearing Zheng Tao's assessment, Guan Weihua smiled and nodded, then said, "That's right. Since you know how powerful these departments are. Would the Bureau Chief not know?"

"Qiu Tu could get so many departments to pressure for him, to have so many big-shots stand up for him; what's giving him a Deputy Division Chief title to them?"

"To have a Deputy Division Chief owe a favor to so many departments, the Bureau Chief certainly doesn't come out at a loss."

Hearing Guan Weihua's words, Zheng Tao first looked stunned and then hesitantly said, "Wait a minute. But... the Bureau Chief initially refused!"

Guan Weihua chuckled, "That's right, he did refuse."

"He even submitted a second promotion list without Qiu Tu's name."

Zheng Tao nodded, "Yes. So....?"

Guan Weihua picked up the teacup on his desk, took a sip, and said leisurely, "So... what can that represent?"

"It's just a simple testing of the waters by both sides, then giving outsiders a respectable result."

"A respectable result?" Zheng Tao didn't quite understand.

Guan Weihua pointed at Zheng Tao and said with a smile, "You... still lack the vision for high-level political exchanges."

"To put it plainly... everyone needs face. Whether it's the Bureau Chief, the Disciplinary Department, or Commissioner Jiang; Director Dai, they all need face."

"When the Disciplinary Department applied pressure at the start, the Bureau Chief couldn't possibly agree."

"After all, if he gave in so easily, what would the Investigation Bureau amount to? A subordinate department of the Disciplinary Department?"

"And when the pressure came from City Hall and the military, the Bureau Chief was even less likely to agree."

"After all, if pressured into agreeing at that time, where would the Bureau Chief's authority and face be?"

"What would he do if similar situations occurred later? Would the Bureau Chief yield, or not?"

"Therefore, the Bureau Chief had to stand firm, had to show his stance, to let the other party yield and regain face."

"That's why he submitted the second list."

"This time, the Municipal Committee indeed gave in and acknowledged the Bureau Chief's position in writing: the Investigation Bureau is still under the Bureau Chief's control."

"At this point, adding the name of the person favored by the other side, Qiu Tu, to the list was a move by the Bureau Chief. Wouldn't the three major departments owe the Bureau Chief a favor?"

"If the Bureau Chief needs their cooperation in the future, wouldn't it be difficult for them to refuse?"

Hearing Guan Weihua's analysis, Zheng Tao was momentarily dumbfounded.

Perhaps doing too much transactional work, his political sensitivity wasn't that strong. Therefore, he hadn't thought that such a short confrontation could be riddled with so many twists and turns....

At the same time, Qiu Tu was also in an empty conference room, explaining the ins and outs of the promotion game to Tang Feifei over the phone.

However, his angle of explanation was slightly different from Guan Weihua's.

He said to Tang Feifei with a smile, "Yan Chen is really sophisticated. Politically astute."

"Actually... that night, he already agreed to me, that he wouldn't oppose my promotion and would put on a play with me."

"Turns out, he pulled this move today. It's clear he wants to have it all."

"Have it all?" Tang Feifei's tone on the other end of the phone was somewhat cold, but her eyes were burning hot.

The developments of the evening had clearly piqued her interest.

Although she's a woman positioned so highly, she's a political creature as well. Nothing could arouse her curiosity more than knowing the political exchanges her opponents engage in.

------

Still 3 chapters of 10,000 words today. Last day for double Monthly Tickets, so vote for Monthly Tickets!