Chapter 1052: Give It a Gamble
“It really will?” Tan Dongbang was a bit suspicious. “Will the Huaxia citizens really thank me if I listen to the Americans’ demands and hand the ‘Pink Piggy’ over to them? Then they will vote for me?” Were the voters that easily fooled?
Hong Kangquan looked at Tan Dongbang with grave disappointment. He would actually throw a punch at this man’s face if there wasn’t a guard watching. Did Tan Dongbang really think he won the last election purely because of his wife Cai Songyin’s meddling in the media!?
However, Hong Kangquan couldn’t tell him the truth about this, so he found some mindless reasons to fool Tan Dongbang with. “Prime Minister Tan, did you ever hear of the saying, ‘You may get people to follow you, but you can’t make them all understand?"” Hong Kangquan revealed a sly glint in his eyes.
Tan Dongbang frowned as he looked down at the newspaper headlines in front of him and missed the change in Hong Kangquan’s expression. He nodded. “Of course I know. You mean that…”
“Right, what I mean is that all the citizens follow blindly. They don’t have autonomous thinking capabilities and are like a bunch of mindless, unintelligent sheep. For people like that, you don’t need to wrack your brain thinking of a way to gain their support. You only need to receive support from the senior officials and especially from foreign powers.”
Hong Kangquan excitedly espoused the benefits of relying on powerful forces and also promised, “As long as you allow me to find the ‘Pink Piggy,’ I can basically guarantee that you will be reelected!”
When Hong Kangquan inched closer to Tan Dongbang’s ear to say this, Tan Dongbang couldn’t help but s.h.i.+ver excitedly.
“You’re telling me the truth?! You can guarantee that?! What are you using as collateral?!” Tan Dongbang revealed a glint of madness in his eyes, and the pupils behind his crystal gla.s.ses had shrunk into tiny dots. This accentuated the far too large amount of the whites of his eyes compared to the dark.
Hong Kangquan cast his eyes down in deep thought as he replied carefully, “Guarantee? I can only say that I will take all responsibility if this fails. Also, you can go ask your wife, Cai Songyin, if I’m worthy of being trusted or not.”
Tan Dongbang’s gaze s.h.i.+fted. “Fine, I’ll go back and ask her.”
…
Tan Dongbang returned to his Official Residence of the Prime Minister and immediately found Cai Songyin to ask about Hong Kangquan. “Songyin, Hong Kangquan says he has a solution. Do you believe him?” Tan Dongbang originally thought he was going to lose for sure, so he never imagined the tide would turn and there might be a chance for him to change his fortune.
His hope was so weak, he didn’t even believe Hong Kangquan’s words all that much. However, even if he didn’t believe it, he still planned to give it a try after careful consideration. Even if he didn’t succeed, the situation would still be a failure for him, regardless. He wouldn’t suffer any more losses—but if he happened to succeed, then he could truly turn the tide.
It was an ideal gamble. If he lost, he didn’t have to suffer any consequences. If he won, then he would really win the jackpot without risking anything. Who would forfeit a gamble like that?
Cai Songyin was very impressed with Hong Kangquan’s abilities. She even knew that Hong Kangquan was being supported by a powerful force behind the scenes. She didn’t know who that person was, but in the several instances she ran into trouble, Hong Kangquan’s suggested solutions truly helped her resolve the pressing emergencies. Also, she shared the same thoughts as Tan Dongbang. This was a great opportunity, so they shouldn’t pa.s.s it by so easily.
As a result, she believed she could trust Hong Kangquan this one time. “Dongbang, I want to ask you, if you can be elected once again, have you learned your lesson?” Cai Songyin pressed Tan Dongbang. She no longer had any trust in him, so it was merely power and interest that bound the two of them together. If Tan Dongbang was elected prime minister once again, she would stay married to him. If he lost the election, then she was going to say farewell and ask for a divorce.
It had to be said that even though Tan Dongbang and Cai Songyin’s relations.h.i.+p had completely severed, their methods of thought were exactly the same. They were genuine soulmates.
“Of course I won’t do anything else to disappoint you again. Songyin, you have no idea how ashamed I feel. When I think of how I was fooled by an evil and superficial woman like Gu Yanran, I’m completely ashamed and humiliated. Also, I’ve learned my lesson. Your husband is not a fool, right? How could I not have learned my lesson?”
Tan Dongbang vehemently swore before Cai Songyin, “If I make that kind of mistake again and betray you, then I shall lose the election!”
Cai Songyin rolled her eyes at him. “You don’t need to swear to me. It’s good enough for you to know this in your own heart. Go tell Hong Kangquan that we can help him, but he must find the ‘Pink Piggy’ before voting in the election begins and hand her over to the Americans. He also needs to guarantee that you will win the election!”
Tan Dongbang chuckled. “That’s what he said anyway, but I also want to know how he will reverse my negative position.” Tan Dongbang wasn’t the only one who was curious. Even Cai Songyin wanted to know.
After their discussion, Tan Dongbang ignored his advisors’ urgings and stubbornly decided to use his highest executive order to release Hong Kangquan from detainment and reinstate his position as Director of the Secret Service. He then used his special authorization as prime minister to allow Hong Kangquan to go to the Special Operations Forces to demand that the 27 soldiers be transferred to the Secret Service and a.s.sist with investigations.
….
Hong Kangquan left his detention quarters and immediately returned to the Secret Service to find Deputy Director Feng of the Secret Service. He showed him the prime minister’s special authorization and said, “Old Feng, go to the Special Operations Forces and bring the 27 compromised Special Operations Forces personnel back to the Secret Service to a.s.sist with the investigation. According to procedures, our Secret Service is in charge if the Special Operations Forces commits internal errors.” This was indeed one of the mandates granted to the Secret Service.
Deputy Minister Feng was already investigating this incident to begin with, so he didn’t doubt Hong Kangquan and immediately said, “Ok, Director Hong. I’ll go to the Special Operations Forces now and bring back the personnel.” He then asked, “Director Hong, are you ok?”
Hong Kangquan waved his hand. “I was fine to begin with. It’s not the first time that the Special Operations Forces has disliked us, but Huo Shaoheng doesn’t have the mettle to bring me down. Don’t worry, they don’t have any evidence and are merely using hearsay and speculation in an attempt to wipe away my years of merit. Not only will I refuse to stand for it, but our Secret Service won’t stand for it, either.”
Deputy Minister Feng sighed in relief. “We were all very worried about you. Everyone will be very happy to hear that you’re ok.”
“Thank you, guys.” Hong Kangquan smiled kindly. “I’ll treat everyone after work, and we can go have dinner at Fulinmen.”
Deputy Director Feng broke into a grin. “I’ll get back to work now.”
Hong Kangquan called after him, “Take Prime Minister Tan’s special authorization to the Special Operations Forces and bring these 27 soldiers back to a.s.sist with the investigation. You don’t need to tell them I’ve returned. We need to take them by surprise.”
Deputy Director Feng smiled. “Director Hong is really going to give them a scare!” It had to be said that Hong Kangquan’s return to the Secret Service was a great encouragement to the entire Secret Service. If their Director of the Secret Service had actually been knocked down by the chief of the Special Operations Forces, then the entire Secret Service would always be ashamed before the Special Operations Forces. Fortunately, their director was truly powerful and was able to successfully return from the Senate detainment center despite the circ.u.mstances.
…
At the same time, Song Jinning suddenly called Huo Shaoheng with excitement. “Shaoheng, I’ve already observed this for two days! The surveillance by our Inst.i.tute of High Energy Physics has discovered that the strange magnetic field that appeared where Gu Nianzhi had her car accident is appearing once again! I need to go to C City immediately and inspect on-site!”
This was the first time Song Jinning had encountered such a situation after she regained consciousness. This also had important connections to their secret experiment 17 years ago. The opportunity was fleeting, and she absolutely couldn’t give up!
In the past seven years, the Inst.i.tute of High Energy Physics had conducted field research on this type of magnetic field, and the Special Operations forces had always provided special security detail.
Huo Shaoheng immediately decided to allow Song Jinning to take her instruments and personnel on a military aircraft. He would go to C City with them. He also badly wanted to know what would happen at that place and if the appearance of this magnetic field had an important link to Gu Nianzhi…
…
With Secret Service personnel in tow, Deputy Director Feng took the prime minister’s special authorization to the Special Operations Forces and demanded the 27 soldiers be brought back to the Secret Service to a.s.sist with the investigation. At that moment, Huo Shaoheng was currently on a military aircraft flying to C City. The aircraft was unable to take calls at the time, so the operator left a message for Huo Shaoheng before notifying the chief officer currently at the base, Zhou Qiyuan.
Although Zhou Qiyuan was not very willing, he couldn’t refuse the special authorization of the prime minister. Also, the Americans actually had evidence against the 27 soldiers, so according to procedures, the Secret Service should rightfully be investigating.
Zhou Qiyuan didn’t know that Hong Kangquan had been released, so after he called General Ji asking for instructions, he agreed to Deputy Director Feng’s request and allowed the 27 soldiers to follow Deputy Director Feng back to the Secret Service to a.s.sist in the investigation.
They all a.s.sumed it was for work purposes and a.s.sistance with the investigation was to be conducted according to procedure. Even Deputy Director Feng of the Secret Service a.s.sumed this was so. However, as soon as these 27 soldiers arrived at the Secret Service, Hong Kangquan immediately commanded them to be detained separately in execution rooms. They also cut off all external communication channels from the Secret Service and raised the security levels to the highest grade.
…
At this time, Gu Nianzhi had just changed into a professional suit and arrived at the Senate. She was prepared to go to the airport with Speaker Long to welcome the delegation visiting the Huaxia Empire, which included the German chancellor and Major General Reinitz of the Federal Intelligence Service.