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Hu Jintao met with Zheng Qinghong in the early hours of the morning to discuss the agenda for the plenary meeting scheduled for today.

"Chairman, are you going to push ahead with the Shanghai Party Secretary as planned?"

Hu Jintao shook his head.

"No, we don't have enough leverage to bring down Party Secretary Tian Liangyu."

They still lacked the means to remove the Shanghai Mayor.

He knew some of his personal corruption but it wasn't enough to force him out.

The Shanghai faction would not give up Shanghai easily. They needed something bigger to take him down.

"We absolutely must secure Shanghai, Chairman."

"I know but what can we do? Attacking him without any evidence would mean an all-out war. It's not the right time."

"Then how about digging into his private life?"

Zheng Qinghong already knew about Tian Liangyu's complicated affairs.

Not only had he been involved with female officials in the Shanghai municipal government, he also had many mistresses in government, living a dissolute life.

"That's absurd. Private lives are off-limits. If we go down that road, we'll be counter-attacked for sure."

There was a saying in China that it was easier to find a high-ranking official with a mistress than one without.

Attacking such a common practice would only backfire.

"I'm just frustrated. What are we going to do then? Regardless of anything else, we have to get both Beijing and Shanghai in our grasp."

Zheng Qinghong frowned looking exasperated.

Of course, Zheng Qinghong was also at a loss as to how to bring him down.

After racking their brains, they both sighed.

Zheng Qinghong's sigh was slightly louder.

Even with the political situation favoring Hu Jintao the fact that they couldn't freely dismiss a Shanghai Party Secretary was disheartening.

'Did I make a mistake?'

Zheng Qinghong briefly regretted switching sides.

He hadn't expected that Hu Jintao would be so unprepared.

This was a sign of incompetence. He had no choice but to look for other lifelines.

"…Has there been any contact from Korea? I feel that President Kim Mu-hyeok might have a solution."

Hu Jintao shook his head.

"There's been no contact yet. I'm also waiting to hear back. It seems difficult to obtain a solid card to take down Tian Liangyu in a short period."

They had investigated the weaknesses that Kim Mu-hyeok had passed onto Zheng Qinghong but it wasn't enough.

What he had given them was evidence linking him to the corruption case of Zhou Zheng, the chairman of Nongkai Group, who was arrested in 2003.

"Is there really no other way?"

"It doesn't look like it today. We'll have to wait for another opportunity. We should secure military control first…"

Just then, a knock came at the door.

"Who is it? I said not to let anyone in!"

Cutting himself off, Hu Jintao yelled, annoyed.

"Chairman, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao is here to see you."

"The Prime Minister?"

Hu Jintao glanced at Zheng Qinghong, who nodded in agreement.

"Let him in."

The door opened, and Wen Jiabao entered.

"Chairman, I apologize for coming without notice."

"It's fine. There's no need for formalities between us. Come sit down."

Wen Jiabao approached and smiled at Zheng Qinghong.

"Vice Chairman, you're here too. It's been a while."

"Indeed it has. We used to have drinks together from time to time. I hope we can continue those meetings, Prime Minister."

Wen Jiabao, understanding what he meant, nodded and sat down opposite the Vice Chairman.

"Alright. What's the matter? If you've come without notice it must be urgent."

Wen Jiabao glanced at Zheng Qinghong.

"It's alright. He's on our side."

With Hu Jintao's confirmation, Wen Jiabao nodded and spoke.

"I've spoken with President Kim Mu-hyeok."

"With President Kim? What did he say? Did he say that he had the card to bring down Jiang Zemin? Or…"

"It seems difficult to get Lai Changxing for now. That man is a nuclear bomb to everyone. We might get hurt before we can bring down Jiang Zemin."

"What do you mean? We'll get hurt?"

Was he pretending not to know or did he really not know?

Wen Jiabao, momentarily at a loss for words at Hu Jintao's reaction, asked belatedly.

"…You weren't aware of this?"

"Aware of what? Stop being so vague and get to the point."

"The Party Secretary of Fujian Province took bribes from Lai Changxing."

"What?"

"Are you really unaware? I thought you knew. Didn't you send Xi Jinping, the former Party Secretary of Fujian Province to Zhejiang Province and send Song Defeng to Fujian for damage control?"

If he didn't know that was like leaving the cat in charge of the cream.

"…Do you have proof?"

"Yes. Not only do we have the ledger but also video and audio recordings. That's why asking for Lai Changxing is too risky. There's no way Chairman Jiang doesn't know about this."

At that moment, Zheng Qinghong interrupted the conversation.

"What are you talking about? Who is Lai Changxing and what is this about Song Defeng?"

Wen Jiabao turned to look at Zheng Qinghong.

Hesitating to tell him, Zheng Qinghong urged him on.

"Tell me too. Aren't we all in this together?"

"…Vice Chairman, you know who Lai Changxing is, right?"

"Of course. Isn't he a notorious smuggler?"

"The Shanghai faction was behind Lai Changxing. But he didn't stop there, he also extended his reach to the Communist Youth League and the Princelings. Xi Jinping also took bribes."

At the mention of Xi Jinping's name, Zheng Qinghong could only open his mouth and gape.

He was dumbfounded for a long while before barely managing to ask.

"…Are you saying that Xi Jinping took money from Lai Changxing?"

"He received money and gold bars as well as other favors."

Though he had softened the words, Zheng Qinghong could understand what Wen Jiabao was saying.

The biggest problem was that their plan had gone awry.

"Ha… This is driving me crazy."

Zheng Qinghong had intended to make Xi Jinping the next chairman.

That's why he had asked for Xi Jinping to be appointed as the Shanghai Party Secretary.

However it was already messed up before it even started. With Xi Jinping's weakness exposed, they were in no position to push him without a solid support base.

Hu Jintao who had been listening to their conversation in silence opened his mouth.

"…Don't worry about Song Defeng. He has cancer and won't last long. I was planning on removing him from his position as the Fujian Party Secretary soon."

"Is it that bad?"

Hu Jintao nodded.

"They say he has a maximum of two years to live."

"Oh my…"

Wen Jiabao sighed sympathetically but Hu Jintao continued speaking nonchalantly.

"Even if we have to give up on Song Defeng I'm ready to do anything if it shuts Jiang Zemin up."

"That won't be easy. It's said that many people within our Communist Youth League and also the Princelings are involved. Not just Song Defeng."

"…This is maddening. Are we not going to be able to use this amazing card?"

"Who from the Princelings took bribes from Lai Changxing?"

"I'm not sure about that. But I was told that there is definite evidence against Xi Jinping. There's even a video."

Zheng Qinghong put his hand to his forehead, and Hu Jintao sighed.

Rubbing his temples as though he had a headache, Hu Jintao asked.

"So what's your point? Lai Changxing is a useless card?"

"No. We'll give up on trying to bring Lai Changxing over. Instead we've received a card to bring down Jia Qinglin."

"Jia Qinglin?"

Hu Jintao and Zheng Qinghong asked at the same time.

"Yes. We have a video showing Jia Qinglin, the chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference's wife, Lin Youfang, receiving bribes from Lai Changxing."

"Is that true?"

"Yes. If we reveal that card, Chairman Jiang will have a hard time refuting it. The quality isn't great but it's definitely Lin Youfang. I checked it myself."

Wen Jiabao affirmed it and Hu Jintao nodded.

His expression slightly relaxed, he turned his gaze to Zheng Qinghong and asked.

"Vice Chairman, what do you think about bringing down Jia Qinglin?"

"Attacking a member of the Standing Committee is not a good idea. That's the rule we've been abiding by. We can't break it. If we set a precedent of being able to bring down a member of the Standing Committee, it will mean that anyone who becomes a member of the Standing Committee after the chairman can also be removed. Then the political situation will fall into chaos."

Zheng Qinghong expressed his opposition without hesitation.

"…Is it because he's the head of the Fujian faction? Because he's directly connected to Xi Jinping?"

"No. Now that Xi Jinping is linked to Lai Changxing's corruption, I'm no longer considering supporting him. I just think we shouldn't attack a member of the Standing Committee."

Hu Jintao clicked his tongue sounding displeased.

Then Wen Jiabao cautiously spoke up.

"Chairman, I think the same. Rather than using the information we obtained this time to bring him down, it would be better to use it to pull him over to our side."

Wen Jiabao also opposed bringing down Jia Qinglin.

At his words, Hu Jintao frowned.

However, with no other objection he just looked at him as if to say continue and Wen Jiabao explained what he'd discussed with Kim Mu-hyeok.

"We also received information about Tian Liangyu, who we can bring down this time. You can't get everything you want all at once. We should take down Tian Liangyu first and then change the Shanghai Party Secretary to someone on our side…"

Hu Jintao was taken aback and cut him off.

"What? You can bring down Tian Liangyu? Is that true?"

"Yes. This is not a corruption charge linked to Lai Changxing so I don't think there'll be any problems disclosing it."

"What is it? What is this that can bring down Tian Liangyu?"

"He's been messing with the social security fund."

"What? What's that crazy bastard been touching?"

Hu Jintao as well as Zheng Qinghong were greatly surprised.

The social security fund was public money the Chinese government used to help the poor due to the gap between rich and poor caused by the rapid economic growth.

"He illegally gave out loans using the social security fund. In exchange he received a lot of bribes. I received all the evidence via email earlier."

"Huh… They're all thieves. There are things you can and can't touch. Chairman Jiang, who chose such a person as a successor…"

Hearing Zheng Qinghong's muttering, Wen Jiabao internally chuckled.

He had forgotten that the person he had chosen as successor had received bribes from Lai Changxing, and it was ridiculous that he was criticizing Chairman Jiang's choice.

"Anyway, since he touched the social security fund, no one can support him. Before holding the plenary meeting today, you should meet with Chairman Jiang first and reach an agreement."

Hu Jintao nodded.

"Show me the evidence first."

Wen Jiabao placed the laptop he had brought onto the table.

"Unfortunately, there is no video of Tian Liangyu. However after checking it myself, the information seems reliable. If you look here, you'll see an abnormal flow of capital…"

Wen Jiabao turned the laptop with the data Kim Mu-hyeok had sent over toward Hu Jintao, and began to explain.

After hearing all the explanation, Hu Jintao nodded and his lips curved up.

"With this we can definitely take down Tian Liangyu. President Kim is really something. Something I couldn't find…"

"After all, President Kim Mu-hyeok is more adept at noticing money flow than we are. And also, you can't blatantly move, Chairman."

Unlike Hu Jintao who looked like he was very happy Zheng Qinghong spoke with a grave expression.

"Before we take down Tian Liangyu, we should replace the person in charge of the Shanghai armed police. Otherwise they might rebel."

Shanghai was a city of great importance. As a result, it had a large number of armed police.

"Rebel you say?"

"Chang Xinju, the commander of the Shanghai armed police, is one of Tian Liangyu's closest confidants. If you don't replace that person, who knows what might happen…"

Hu Jintao nodded and accepted Zheng Qinghong's advice.

"Very well. I'll go see Chairman Jiang. Before that shouldn't we cancel the recommendation for Xi Jinping as the Shanghai Party Secretary?"

"…We should."

"We'll think about the replacement later. For now look for someone to take over the armed police."

"Yes. I'll look for someone trustworthy."

Hu Jintao who looked satisfied smiled and got up from his seat.

"You two discuss countermeasures further. I'll go see Chairman Jiang."

Turning his body, Hu Jintao suddenly remembered something and looked back.

"Oh, right. Please tell President Kim that I am grateful, Prime Minister."

"Yes. I will do that."

The door closed and only Wen Jiabao and Zheng Qinghong were left in the room.

* * *

I sat in my office checking my watch.

"The plenary meeting must be starting now."

Manager Ma nodded at my words and turned on the TV.

"They're making the trial public. They're really determined."

"You think so too, right, Manager? They'll probably carry out the death sentence soon too."

The TV was showing footage from the Korean Central TV of Choi Ryong-hae, analyzing the current situation.

Just then, the satellite phone beside me rang. Picking up the receiver, I heard a familiar voice.

—President Kim. It's Jang Seong-taek.

It was Jang Seong-taek calling.