Chapter 2371: Financing (Part 6)

"You're absolutely right. This must be nipped in the bud!" Liu Xiang nodded vigorously.

While the liaison went to fetch Mu Min, Liu Xiang chatted further with Chu He, teasing out the finer details of the incident.

In Liu Xiang's estimation, this matter was neither catastrophic nor trivial.

At its core, this self-exiled Senator Chu He had simply been away from power too long, and his professional abilities remained unrecognized. Until he found a new position, he had nothing left but the title of "Senator" to preserve his dignity. Today, that dignity had been shattered by a secretary who was clearly missing a few screws.

Setting aside whether Zhou Wei had orchestrated this—fifteen days for the longest-held document made any plea of innocence laughable—if only this secretary had possessed the professionalism of a fast-food counter worker, simply standing to greet him and offering a seat, Chu He could never have made such a fuss. But instead, she had channeled the template of a state-owned department store clerk from the seventies and eighties—the belligerent kind specifically prohibited from "assaulting customers."

When it came to friction between Senators, hadn't the previous policy disputes between the Northbound and Southbound factions generated even greater fury? Yet no Senator had been humiliated to this extent. That Chu He was so enraged he'd come running to Liu Xiang—who had no connection to the matter whatsoever—to pour out his grievances, wasn't it because—

Liu Xiang's thoughts leapt to the "Records of the Grand Historian: Hereditary House of Confucius." At the Qi-Lu Peace Conference, the King of Qi had humiliated the Duke of Lu in every possible way, yet the Duke said nothing. Then the King of Qi sent a dwarf to mock the Duke, and Confucius, standing beside him, could no longer contain himself. He called for immediate execution:

"A commoner who confuses the lords with entertainment deserves death!"

What right does a mere servant have to look down on me, a Senator?!

This was Chu He's true mentality.

As for the mail delivery system, it certainly had problems, but that was just a pretext. Chu He could hardly accuse the other party of "lese-majesty"—the Senate had never established such a crime. Moreover, Senators in this assembly constantly spoke of "equality and fraternity," their favorite gesture being to stop grateful natives about to kneel and kowtow, declaring grandly: "We don't do that here."

Now, not only had all that vanished, but one had to shamelessly beg others—only to be met with cold disdain after eagerly presenting oneself!

Could this be tolerated? Every Senator considered themselves a Celestial Dragon. What kind of sorry Celestial Dragon was this! No Senator could stomach such treatment.

If you'd actually drawn your gun and shot that secretary on the spot, I'd have respected you more. At least there'd be fewer complications. Liu Xiang regarded him with mixed feelings.

But this trouble, interestingly enough, wasn't without opportunity.

"Old Chu, what hidden talents you possess! Sitting on a boat, you devised a method to raise 300,000 in thirty days!" Liu Xiang picked up Chu He's theme to flatter him. Though he'd only heard the title, that didn't stop him from praising the unheard details—after all, colleagues were waiting in the conference room. "How about this: there's a work meeting to finish in that room, and I really must return. But Old Chu, you clearly have keen insight into economic matters. Would you be willing to advise on Guangzhou's economic development? Give our situation a diagnosis?"

Liu Xiang figured the man was currently starving for respect, so simply dismissing him after their conversation would brand Liu Xiang an "accomplice of the same ilk." Having come this far, a sudden inspiration struck: let Chu He "advise" on Guangzhou's economic development. Give him some materials to study, and even if he produced nothing but hot air, it would be "a suggestion of great reference value and guiding significance." If the man possessed high emotional intelligence, once this favor was properly acknowledged, what harm was there in letting him pound the table someday and boast that "Guangzhou's economic development was planned by me"?

After the requisite performance of "three invitations and three refusals," Liu Xiang cheerfully summoned an orderly to escort Chu He to a small office next door with good cross-ventilation. There, he could study the materials on Guangzhou's major wealthy households and commercial surveys—absolutely unclassified, but not easy to transform into actionable analysis.

"I was waiting for him to come out, but I heard him at the door, inviting Zhuge Liang to emerge from his mountain retreat, so I came over first. Let me have some water—I'm parched." Just as Liu Xiang approached the conference room door, he overheard Mu Min chatting with Director Zhang.

"Hahaha..." Laughter preceded his entrance as Liu Xiang pushed open the door.

"Today's Zhuge Liang came to throw a tantrum."

"What happened?" Director Wang asked, fanning himself, eager for details.

"Today's Zhuge Liang ran into a cobbler." Liu Xiang took his seat and briefly recounted Chu He's experience. Afterward, the others weren't sure what expression to adopt—after all, the aggrieved party wasn't present, so righteous indignation seemed unnecessary.

"To be honest, this is indeed somewhat excessive," Zhang Xiaoqi spoke first. "After all, we're comrades on the same boat. To put it sentimentally, we're flesh and blood. For a secretary to be so neglectful—to so many Senators, no less—regardless of whatever schemes they might harbor, that's business between Senators. What right does a secretary have to interfere?"

Ai Zhixin nodded. "This isn't just excessive. At minimum, she should be charged with lese-majesty! Execution, exile, hard labor..."

"Lese-majesty? Does the Senate even have such a crime?" Wang Qiyi shook his head. "We're proclaiming 'our Senate doesn't do that' with one breath while charging others with 'lese-majesty' with the next. That puts naturalized citizens in an impossible position."

"It's never too late to start. Just have the General Office draft a regulation—problem solved." Ai Zhixin waved his hand. "Senators must maintain sufficient sanctity!"

"How many degrees for a bow? How should one greet a Senator? When should one kneel?" Wang Qiyi shook his head again. "Are you after Spanish court etiquette or Versailles protocol? That stuff even ruined the King and Queen themselves."

"Does he want to escalate this?" Mu Min was direct as always, striking at the heart. "Then why did you summon me? You don't want me to arrest that secretary, do you?"

That theatrical phone performance had been more show than substance. Whether Wu Mu came or not didn't really matter—this incident hadn't risen to the level of "overthrowing the Senate." The display mainly demonstrated the gravity of the situation. But summoning Mu Min served Liu Xiang's own purposes.

"That's between him and Zhou Wei; we won't involve ourselves. Besides, what crime would we charge her with?" Liu Xiang established his position first. "But regarding this matter, we must remain fully vigilant."

The others were confused by Liu Xiang's seemingly contradictory stances. What exactly did he want to do?

Under their collective gaze, Liu Xiang articulated what he'd just conceived: "It's like this. Comrade Zhou Wei has just received his new assignment, is short-handed, and has no choice but to utilize whatever resources are available. Inadvertently placing an unsuitable person is understandable." Zhou Wei had been in Guangzhou for some time, and apart from routine courtesy visits upon arrival, he'd come to chat with Liu Xiang a few times. Initially, Liu Xiang had assumed Zhou Wei didn't take him seriously—disappearing constantly, nobody knowing what obscure business occupied him. Comparing now, Liu Xiang actually counted among the "relatively valued"—at least Zhou Wei had "visited personally." Moreover, regardless of the actual facts, Zhou Wei certainly wouldn't accept being accused of "despising other Senators." If he wouldn't accept it, was Liu Xiang supposed to preemptively cement that label on him? Absolutely not! So Liu Xiang simply offered the explanation Zhou Wei would inevitably provide first.

"However, regarding the people under our own authority, whether there are attitudes of arrogance, whether there's ideological backsliding—well, such things are difficult to detect. But I think, at minimum, we can conduct a self-inspection. Examine whether the gatekeepers in our various Guangzhou Municipal Government units are following regulations, whether similar work errors have occurred."

According to Liu Xiang's thinking, given Chu He's posture, this conflict was destined for irreconcilability; otherwise, Chu He might as well go repair computers with Old Zhang—at this thought, Liu Xiang secretly glanced at Zhang Yunmi sitting beside him taking meeting notes, his expression a mixture of amusement and apology. And whether Zhou Wei was truly wronged or not, he would inevitably have to take the fall in the end. If confronted head-on, Chu He would only escalate further, cementing the accusations that Zhou Wei had deviated from the organization, alienated himself from the masses—his fellow Senators—and behaved in a disunifying, unfriendly manner. Then Zhou Wei's Nanyang Company couldn't hope for smooth sailing.

Therefore, Chu He must be appeased, and as for Zhou Wei, he could be warned—or not. But according to Director Wang and Director Zhang's analysis, once this Nanyang Company truly launched, the historically accumulated silver buried underground in Guangzhou would very likely be exploited by Zhou Wei, siphoned away to embellish his political achievements, while the Guangzhou Municipal Government might not see a single coin.

He must be warned!

Since there was going to be a commotion anyway—to give "Senator Chu He" an explanation—why not also deliver Zhou Wei a knock?

However, Zhou Wei and Liu Xiang had no subordinate relationship on the surface. Though the Nanyang Company, currently just a shell, needed all its funds, manpower, and goods supplied by Guangzhou—damn it, on paper there was simply no relationship at all...

As Mu Min said, directly arrest the secretary? Meeting Mu Min's watchful gaze, Liu Xiang could easily deduce: On what charge? The Senate had nothing like "imperial edicts"; everything had to be "handled according to law."

The only move Liu Xiang could conceive in that flash was: I'll inspect myself! You can't stop me from inspecting myself!

"Originally, I should have asked Comrade Wu Mu, but Comrade Wu Mu happens to be unavailable today. I left a message with his secretary for him to come as soon as he returns. This matter will probably involve them." Liu Xiang provided further explanation, then said to Mu Min: "For now, please help, Comrade Mu Min—send some personnel to assist with snap inspections."

With that, Liu Xiang surveyed the Senators in the conference room. "Let me ask: none of us should be afraid of snap inspections, right?"

(End of Chapter)