Chapter 1 The Atmosphere

The atmosphere in the private room was somewhat stiff for a time. Everyone was silent for a long while, and no one spoke.

After a moment, Jiang Zheng couldn't sit still any longer. With a slightly agitated tone, he took the lead and said, "Director Su, I don't know how you're handling things over there. But the garrison has never handed people over to the outside world, allowing local authorities to try them! What's more, there's no evidence in this case, and we haven't received any..."

Before he could finish, Su Tianyu's expression had already turned serious.

Observing his expression, Tan Mingchao immediately waved his hand to interrupt Jiang Zheng. "Don't say any more. Go wait outside for a while. I'll chat with Director Su."

Jiang Zheng opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but when he saw Tan Mingchao's eyes, he had no choice but to swallow the rest of his words, get up, leave the private room, and close the door behind him.

After he left, Tan Mingchao turned to look at Su Tianyu and asked, "Is there... no room for maneuver in this matter?"

Su Tianyu sighed and said to Tan Mingchao with great sincerity, "Brother Tan, you should know our attitude toward the garrison! For the past year, we've been trying to express our goodwill to you. Otherwise, I would never have allowed this kind of harmful scum to appear in The Dragon City Rises. We wouldn't touch it ourselves, let alone let you touch it! I've already broken my principles to improve our relationship! Similarly, I know it's difficult for you. But is it easy for us? Do I want to carry out a major purge in the police department? Do I want to remove the director? Things have been pushed to this point. I have no choice! If I don't do this, others will push us over! We're playing a game with the First District. If we lose, even our ancestral graves will be dug up!"

After saying this, Tan Mingchao didn't say anything but lit a cigarette and sat there smoking.

After a long silence, Tan Mingchao turned to look at Su Tianyu. "How many people do you need?"

Su Tianyu thought for a moment and said, "Among the military officers involved, there must be at least one at the regimental level to be convincing. As for the other personnel, you can arrange it. Don't need too many, six or seven people will be enough."

Tan Mingchao nodded slightly and continued smoking.

Su Tianyu looked at him, sighed, and replied, "The current situation is difficult. We can't afford to make mistakes. If we take the money, we have to bear the responsibility."

Tan Mingchao put out his cigarette and said slowly, "I understand, but don't be so anxious. Give me some time. I'll handle things on my end."

After saying that, Tan Mingchao stood up and walked towards the door. "I'll take my leave first. We'll stay in touch."

"Okay, I'll wait for your news," Su Tianyu replied.

In fact, Tan Mingchao knew in his heart that Su Tianyu was right. But right is right, and this matter wouldn't be easy to handle.

After seeing Tan Mingchao off, An Qiqi looked at the frowning Su Tianyu and comforted him softly, "Don't be too anxious. I can sense that Tan Mingchao's views are probably similar to yours."

"I hope so."

Su Tianyu responded with a nod, but his brows didn't relax.

...

Downstairs, several vehicles from the garrison left the hotel.

On the way back, Jiang Zheng couldn't help complaining to Tan Mingchao, "Boss, I think the conditions Su Tianyu proposed are too excessive. He's definitely using this as an excuse!"

Tan Mingchao turned his head, glanced at Jiang Zheng, and asked with a gloomy face, "Does using it as an excuse involve getting your own director killed? If he wanted to use it as an excuse, why put the pressure on the police department? Wouldn't it be better to issue a notice and point the finger at the garrison completely?"

Sensing Tan Mingchao's displeasure, Jiang Zheng fell silent and dared not speak again.

Tan Mingchao didn't say anything more, but he was unhappy in his heart. The reason was simple: in his opinion, so many people were doing this kind of thing, so why did only the Jiang family have problems? It must be that your management had issues!

Tan Mingchao adjusted his emotions and said after a long silence, "Let's go to your house. I want to say a few words to Uncle Jiang."

Jiang Zheng was slightly stunned, then nodded. The convoy immediately turned around and headed in the direction of the Jiang family.

...

Noon, twelve o'clock, Jiang family villa.

As the legion commander of the garrison, Jiang Yuanzhen's home was not very luxurious. On the contrary, it looked rather ordinary.

At this time, Jiang Yuanzhen was sitting at the dining table in the restaurant, wolfing down the food on the table. There was only a large bowl of rice and two home-style dishes on the table.

In addition to that, Jiang Yuanzhen also had a large green onion next to him. He would take a bite of rice, then crunch on the onion, chewing it with relish.

Jiang Zheng had been sent away, and only Tan Mingchao was sitting opposite Jiang Yuanzhen, watching him eat.

After waiting for a while, Tan Mingchao took the lead and said, "Uncle Jiang, this matter has become quite a big deal. We can't just stand by and do nothing. It's not appropriate to put all the pressure on the administrative side."

Jiang Yuanzhen scooped rice into his mouth while humming an acknowledgement without looking up.

Observing Jiang Yuanzhen, Tan Mingchao noticed that his expression hadn't changed much, so he continued, "Lu Guangwei... must also be handed over."

"Mm!"

Jiang Yuanzhen chewed on the onion, pausing for a moment when he heard this, but still gave a response.

Unable to guess what Old Jiang was thinking, Tan Mingchao remained silent for a moment and then said, "In addition, we have to hand over a regimental-level officer in charge of this line, as well as six related personnel, to accept investigation and trial along with the officials from the police department, to give the public an explanation."

Jiang Yuanzhen still didn't say anything but quickly shoveled the last few mouthfuls of rice into his mouth.

After finishing everything, he took a long breath and wiped his mouth randomly with the tissue next to him.

"Glug, glug..."

Jiang Yuanzhen grabbed the water glass next to him, drank all the water in it in one gulp, and let out a loud burp. The smell of onion immediately filled the air.

Tan Mingchao watched him patiently, waiting for a response.

Jiang Yuanzhen patted his round belly, turned his head, and looked at Tan Mingchao. "Nephew, I'll just tell you one thing."

Saying this, Jiang Yuanzhen reached out and pointed towards the door. "If those dozen tons of goods inside The Dragon City Rises are gone, the garrison is still the garrison. But, if the garrison's soldiers are gone, is it still the garrison?"

Hearing this, Tan Mingchao frowned.

Jiang Yuanzhen stood up and slowly walked to Tan Mingchao's side. "The Chi Army, the Third Division, the Blackwater Legion. The average salary of each soldier is thirty percent higher than our garrison. And us? The higher-ups said a word and cut another thirty percent on top of that. How big of a gap is that?"

As he spoke, Jiang Yuanzhen reached out and gently patted Tan Mingchao on the shoulder. "The treatment is poor, but the brothers didn't run away. Instead, they earned money for you and helped the higher-ups reduce pressure. Now that something has happened, are we going to sell out our brothers?"

Saying this, Jiang Yuanzhen walked outside. "Nephew, this is not negotiable."