Chapter 2311 - Two Directors

Lingao, General Bureau of Political Security, Director's Office.

Ma Jia, Director of the Political Security Bureau of the Senate, sat in the rattan chair behind his desk, holding a report marked with a red "Top Secret" label.

Whether this desk, this rattan chair, or this office itself—Ma Jia probably used them no more than ten times a year. He appeared only when documents requiring the Director's signature demanded it, then departed swiftly, concluding his duties as "Director of the Political Security Bureau" in two or three hours.

Within the Bureau, most ordinary staff wouldn't even notice such a "Director" existed. Let alone naturalized cadres—even most Senators had largely forgotten that he held this position. It was probably the most invisible of Ma Jia's many concurrent posts.

Today wasn't originally scheduled for him to "attend to Bureau affairs," but a phone call from Deputy Director Zhao had summoned him from his office in the Ministry of Justice.

Ma Jia maintained a tacit understanding with Director Zhao since the Political Security Bureau's inception. Unless it was an emergency, the stout man wouldn't have called him over.

Sure enough, after reading the document clearly marked "Top Secret, Only One Copy," Ma Jia realized he was holding a hot potato.

To be honest, he never imagined a Senator could make such an utter fool of himself. Although the report's details were limited, judging from the summary of the "Wuzhou Area Weekly Routine Report" submitted by the local Hidden Cadre—attached at the back—this Elder Xie, with whom he wasn't particularly familiar, had committed nearly every low-level error possible.

"When did this arrive?"

"Two days after Xie Erren's own report was forwarded from the Guangdong Region," Zhao Manxiong said.

"What classification was his report?"

"General Incident Report level." Zhao Manxiong leaned back in his chair, speaking at ease. "Normal urgency. Confidential classification."

"No wonder something felt off when I saw it. So that's what he was hiding." Ma Jia tapped the table with his finger. "His intention is clearly to gloss the whole thing over."

"That's only natural. Being raided inside the city, captured from the command center—that alone is humiliating beyond measure. If the absurdities he indulged in earlier get dragged into the light, Old Xie won't be able to show his face in the Senate anymore."

Cai Lan had attempted to assassinate a Senator, yet Xie Erren, without any procedure whatsoever, placed her directly at his side and even granted her access to confidential documents. If this matter exploded, even if Wen Desi and Ma Jia together stepped forward to protect him, they couldn't save him.

"At least he wasn't captured by the Ming army," Ma Jia said. "Otherwise, it would have been a mega-earthquake for the Senate. I can already imagine the scene—the massive fallout during the Senate meeting..."

"Even now, there's probably a war of words ahead," Zhao Manxiong observed. "I suspect similar reports aren't limited to us..."

"You mean other departments..."

"Exactly. Although Xie Erren is the highest military and administrative officer in Wuzhou, he doesn't cover the sky with one hand. Besides us, the Volte Army, National Army, Taxation Bureau, and Police are all vertically managed. Theoretically, they can all report directly to their superiors. Of course, some departments may prefer not to get involved—it doesn't really concern them. The Taxation Bureau, for instance. Wang Qiyi probably knew earlier than we did, but they'll likely pretend ignorance..."

"As for whether the Military and Police are willing to expose it, that depends on how much responsibility they bear," Ma Jia said. He understood Zhao Manxiong's meaning. The army, police, and political security all bore undeniable responsibility in this incident. If the Senate investigated, things would get very messy.

Given the nature of the opposition faction, this matter would inevitably be weaponized. So all three parties faced pressure to shift blame. As long as Elder Xie's "crimes" were thrown out, matters like "accountability" would essentially fizzle—because the common characteristic of these opposition factions was their unrestrained magnification of "Senator Power."

If they accepted Xie Erren's report at face value, then although he bore certain responsibilities, the fundamental issue was that the Senate had invested too little resources in Wuzhou. His failure could be seen as unavoidable—perhaps even commendable, barely holding the situation together under extremely difficult circumstances.

"Take a look at this article in the Wuzhou Highlights." Zhao Manxiong produced a single-sheet mimeographed tabloid from his file. These XX Communications or XX Highlights were small newspapers self-published by local governments at all levels under the Senate, serving propaganda and communication functions.

"This is from three days after the incident. The main feature is this dispatch: 'Fear Not the Demons and Monsters—They Vanish When the Sun Comes Out.' Incidentally, it was submitted to the Propaganda Department yesterday for publication in Weekly Highlights. Ding Ding wasn't sure about it, so he's held off on publishing."

Ma Jia picked up the newspaper and read carefully, noting the key points as he went:

1. The cunning and cruelty of the Ming army and bandits.
2. The harsh objective conditions in Wuzhou. Despite the Senate's strong support, Elder Xie's exhaustive efforts couldn't change circumstances overnight. This gave the enemy an opening.
3. Facing the enemy's elite surprise attack, Elder Xie remained calm in crisis, commanding with composure. He completely disregarded personal safety, dispatching his guards to rescue the people.
4. When the enemy reached him and all his guards had sacrificed themselves, Elder Xie still seized a weapon and fought to the death. Regrettably, after a failed suicide attempt, he was kidnapped while wounded and exhausted.
5. Even after capture, Elder Xie continued to loudly curse the enemy, never yielding.
6. To rescue Elder Xie, naturalized cadres, army officers and soldiers, and the people of Wuzhou spontaneously organized and fought the enemy wave after wave. A host of heroic figures emerged, represented by Luo Yangming.
7. This incident proved that no matter how cunning the enemy, they are no match for the Senate and the people. These clowns obstructing historical progress will ultimately be crushed beneath the wheels of history.
8. This victory was achieved under the wise leadership of the Senate and with broad popular support. Elder Xie and the vast number of naturalized cadres and soldiers withstood the test, honoring their oath to serve the Senate and the people through blood and fire.

"This writing style! Quite the masterpiece. A strong flavor of treating a funeral as a wedding." Ma Jia laughed after reading. "I'd wager Xie Erren wrote it himself. Worthy of his professional reporter background—naturalized citizens don't have this skill. He's seizing the high ground of public opinion first. After all, his capture can't be hidden."

"Precisely." Zhao Manxiong nodded with a smile. "Of course, he can't mention the most important details."

Once the matter of Xie Erren and Cai Lan exploded, not only would his political career end, but it would also slap the faces of those advocating "Senators Above All." Put plainly, this entire affair resulted from Xie Erren abusing Senatorial power.

"You're right." Zhao Manxiong nodded again. "So I expect this matter cannot be covered up indefinitely. You probably don't know: shortly after Xie Erren's report arrived in Lingao, quite a few people in the Senate were already uniting, preparing to make trouble. I estimate within a few days, someone will propose convening a hearing."

"And the spearhead will naturally be the Political Security Bureau."

"From the first day our department was established, there's been no shortage of people in the Senate wanting to abolish us." Zhao Manxiong spoke unhurriedly. "This time gives them an excellent excuse."

"Naturally, we can't let them succeed." Ma Jia said. "What's the current situation in Wuzhou?"

"The key witness in this case, Cai Lan, has already committed suicide," Zhao Manxiong replied. "I have to say—our comrades' awareness as a ruling class improves day by day. As for the other witnesses, I suspect they won't live to see the hearing convene."

"What about our man in Wuzhou?"

"Originally from the Foreign Intelligence Bureau," Zhao Manxiong explained. "Although he's now our Hidden Cadre, he falls under dual leadership. Our control over him is limited. I expect Jiang Shan has also received this report."

"Now things get interesting." Ma Jia murmured to himself.

He no longer cared much about Xie Erren's fate. Although his report was well-crafted and he had handled matters methodically, this affair definitely couldn't be covered up.

Of course, to preserve the Senate's face, they might superficially accept Xie Erren's version as the official record. But privately, there would certainly be an earth-shattering row. Even if the "Unlimited Senatorial Power Faction" fizzled out, another group of Senators wanted to "Purge the Senate." Give them this incident as ammunition, and the damage would be devastating.

"We needn't discuss Xie Erren's matter further," Ma Jia said. "You called me here to talk about how we respond at the hearing, I presume?"

"Indeed."

Ma Jia observed Zhao Manxiong's rather calm expression, seemingly with a plan already in mind. "What exactly are you thinking? Tell me everything."

"You certainly haven't forgotten the proposals I've submitted through you at every General Assembly, Standing Committee meeting, and various other Senate gatherings over the years?"

"Oh?" To be honest, Ma Jia handled hundreds of proposals. Since he was only nominally Director of the Political Security Bureau and never intervened in relevant work, he naturally didn't remember any specific proposals.

"To be honest, I don't recall them well. But archives exist for every proposal—I'll retrieve them when I return." Ma Jia smiled somewhat sheepishly.

"Here are the relevant file numbers for these proposals, reports, and applications." Zhao Manxiong handed over a memorandum. "You definitely have them on file. The General Office certainly has archives too. You can pull them up and take a look." He sighed. "Ever since the Disturbance in Lingao incident, I realized we might need to be prepared. So I compiled all these relevant documents from over the years."

(End of Chapter)