Return of the King, Dominating the City-Chapter 1517 - 1502: Finalized Auction
"The strength of the strike." Song Yun looked at Wen Changlin with White Tiger, puzzled.
"For a big shot of this level, do you think just some damaging material would be enough to take him down?" Wen Changlin asked with a smile.
"As long as you have your father’s support, taking him down shouldn’t be too difficult, right?" White Tiger asked.
"It seems you don’t really understand the system in Shen Zhou," Wen Changlin shook his head and said, "In Shen Zhou, not to mention someone of his level, once someone reaches the rank of a provincial leader, it’s basically impossible for you to take them down just because you want to. Behind each of them is their own team and sphere of influence. Do you know what it means to pull one hair and the whole body moves? Many of their interests are actually intertwined. If you want to take down any one of them, you have to be prepared to be attacked by the entire interest group. Why do they bind together? It’s to help each other when faced with a strong enemy. Within the system, the relationships between team members are sometimes even tighter than between biological brothers because if you take someone down, he might take you down with him, and you’ll die together. So, as long as one of them is found to be in danger, others will all scramble to save him, as long as it’s not harming themselves, and this is the essence of their interconnected relationships. Thus, provincial personnel basically cannot be taken down, let alone someone of his rank. With the information you currently have, at most you can just give him a slap or delay his advancement in this area, it essentially has no use at all."
White Tiger fell silent at Wen Changlin’s words. As someone who’s been around the block, he truly didn’t understand the ins and outs of the system. Only now, listening to Wen Changlin’s explanation, did he realize just how hard it is to topple a big shot on the mainland.
"Ma ChunTian himself, as a big shot of this level, can actually be considered the pinnacle of many organizational teams," Wen Changlin said, "However, the good news is that Ma ChunTian does not belong to any team within the Red Wall. His rise to this position was partly due to his own efforts and partly due to the support of the former number 1, who is no longer here. The current number 1 has a very ordinary attitude towards Ma ChunTian. Without any obstacles, Ma ChunTian would most likely ascend to the Red Wall and end his career in the National People’s Congress or the CPPCC. But right now, Ma ChunTian himself is quite vulnerable because his position makes many others envious."
Song Yun and White Tiger glanced at each other without speaking, while Wen Changlin continued, "As long as someone envies his position, it becomes our opportunity and our only chance to topple him," Wen Changlin said.
"The Red Wall struggle has been ongoing for ages, and as someone who could be considered a faction of his own, Ma ChunTian is seen as a tasty morsel by many factions. However, because Ma ChunTian also has his own network of influence, which isn’t very weak, many people are hesitant to act, waiting for the rotation to oust him from his position. What we need to do is to prompt those people to act against Ma ChunTian ahead of time. Once anyone acts early, it might trigger a chain reaction. The position of SJ Secretary in SH is exceedingly vital, everyone wants it. Initially, everyone planned to grab it when it became vacant. But now, if you act first, others will surely worry you’ll snatch it first and naturally follow suit. At that point, Ma ChunTian wouldn’t be able to withstand the attacks from so many people. Presently, Ma ChunTian’s peace here is a result of multi-party balance!"
"So then!"
Song Yun asked, "What do we do, Uncle Wen?"
"The damaging material isn’t strong enough," Wen Changlin said, "What we need to do is provide them with an excuse, one potent enough to attack Ma ChunTian. Among many issues, there is one excuse that is most useful!"
"What excuse?" Song Yun asked.
"Involvement with foreigners, national security!" Wen Changlin said with a grin, "As long as these two aspects are involved, any big shot has no way to completely extricate themselves. Not to mention, we’re merely providing those people an excuse!"
"This..." White Tiger asked with furrowed brows, "How do we go about matters involving foreigners and national security?"
"Do you know if Ma ChunTian has any partners or friends who are foreigners?" Wen Changlin asked.
"Well... Let me think..." After a long silence, White Tiger’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he said, "Ma ChunTian has a pretty good relationship with an American businessman named Sam. On the surface, Sam is a friend of Ma ChunTian, but he’s actually a key partner in Ma ChunTian’s money-laundering operations. Many of Ma ChunTian’s foreign assets are managed by this man. This man knows a lot about Ma ChunTian’s dealings abroad, and he’s deeply trusted by Ma ChunTian!"
"Oh, Sam. I think I’ve heard of him. Seems like someone in SH who does a lot of foreign trade business. There’s also a Sam." Wen Changlin remarked.
"That’s the one. Publicly, he is a businessman in foreign trade, but... he also operates many gray areas. I’ve collaborated with him a few times since we could all be considered partners of Ma ChunTian," White Tiger said.
"Then we’ll proceed in this manner!"
Wen Changlin squinted his eyes and began to speak softly.
After a long while.
"Brilliant!"
White Tiger’s face was filled with admiration as he looked at Wen Changlin, saying, "Your arrangement is simply... flawless. If Ma ChunTian successfully falls into the trap, then this would surely become a quite severe incident involving foreign relations and national security. At that point, according to what you said, those who want to act will definitely not sit idle. However, Brother Wen, you must oversee the operation, and we’ll only cooperate!"
"Not only am I overseeing the operation, Song Yun, you also need to help," Wen Changlin said, "Relying solely on our family won’t easily attract those people to act. I hope you can leverage your Song Family’s connections within the Red Wall and put on a show with our Wen Family."
"No problem, it’s just acting, right? We’ve got plenty of movie stars in our family," Song Yun said with a smile.
"Then it’s settled," Wen Changlin said, "Song Yun, we’re merely acting, understand? If Ma ChunTian really gets taken down, the vacant position would go to our Wen Family, you have no objections, right?"
"No objections," Song Yun replied with a smile and shook his head.
