RT Chapter 102

Chapter 102: The Main Event

Hong Zhenyue rose to power on the blood of the opposition.

It’s a well-known fact that the Imperial treasury has been tight since he took office.

For a long time, it has relied on the support of major consortia, especially the Shao family, to keep the finances running and prevent collapse.

Now that the financial situation has just improved, if the Shao family really puts pressure on at this critical juncture, he will definitely be overwhelmed by financial problems.

Hong Zhenyue knows the stakes better than anyone.

The Shao family doesn’t argue or make noise, but directly uses money as leverage, which is really a fundamental solution.

Hong Zhenyue pondered for a moment, looked at Shao Chengxi, with a hint of kindness in his eyes, and said:

“Minister Shao, I know that you have made great contributions to eliminating the Pei family’s influence this time.”

“I have always been a person who is fair in rewards and punishments. Apart from the position of Minister of Finance, you can feel free to speak your mind on other matters.”

“As long as it’s not illegal, I can consider it.”

Shao Chengxi nodded politely, his tone slow, gentle, and powerful:

“Thank you for your affirmation and appreciation, Mr. President. I do have some ideas of my own and would like to discuss them with you.”

Hong Zhenyue: “Feel free to speak.”

Shao Chengxi said bluntly:

“The Ministry of National Defense has long suffered from the drawback of poor communication. In order to improve office efficiency, I would like to merge the Intelligence Bureau into the Ministry of National Defense.”

“In order to highlight the status and importance of the Intelligence Bureau, it can be guaranteed by granting the Ministry of National Defense a system that reports directly to you, Mr. President.”

“In this way, it is equivalent to you, Mr. President, directly commanding the Ministry of National Defense.”

“I wonder what you think of the above suggestions?”

Shao Bingheng added in a timely manner:

“If you are willing to adopt this suggestion, Mr. President, the 47 billion Imperial coins advanced by the Shao Group can be put on hold for now, and may even be reduced or exempted depending on the specific situation in the future.”

Hong Zhenyue fell silent again.

He knew what Shao Chengxi meant.

The Intelligence Bureau’s merger from an independent department into the Ministry of National Defense means that it will be under Shao Chengxi’s jurisdiction in the future.

Authorizing the Ministry of National Defense to report directly to the President is equivalent to raising the level of the Ministry of National Defense by half a level compared to other departments.

In the future, the Ministry of National Defense will be an existence between the Secretary of State and other departments, and will no longer be on the same level as other departments.

The Shao family is really shrewd.

Losing a Ministry of Finance is acceptable, but they must get back double the amount from other aspects.

But if this is the case, the Shao family’s power will become even greater.

The office was silent.

The Shao family and his son did not urge Hong Zhenyue, but patiently waited for his reply.

Time passed second by second.

In the end, the three of them walked out of the office together before the start of the Presidential Palace meeting.

From their expressions, no one could tell what had happened in the office just now.

On the fifth day of the Presidential Palace meeting, the atmosphere in the conference hall was solemn and tense.

Unlike the previous session, this meeting did not end early, but continued until 8:00 p.m. before being opened to the media.

When the media reporters poured into the venue, they found that this time the spokesperson was no longer Vice President Wu Xun, but Li Zhengyu, the Secretary of State who took office last year.

At this Presidential Palace meeting, in addition to President Hong Zhenyue not attending as usual, Vice President Wu Xun also did not attend.

This is the first Presidential Palace meeting since the abolition of the dual vice president system.

It is highly likely that this will be the way forward.

Li Zhengyu came from the military and was upright. After taking the stage as a spokesperson, he directly announced the decisions of the meeting:

“The first resolution of the Presidential Palace meeting: The Minister of Finance will be Lin Zhengyang, the former Deputy Minister of Education.”

As soon as these words came out, the reporters looked at each other in dismay.

This result was too surprising.

The position of Minister of Finance was the most fiercely contested position at this meeting.

The Shao family had previously put in so much effort to bring down the Pei family in order to take over the position in a logical manner.

Who would have thought that they would be making wedding clothes for others?

The first resolution of the press conference was a surprise, which was really shocking.

But after thinking about it carefully, it was within expectations – the Shao family’s momentum was too strong, and various forces would not allow it to dominate.

The entry of the new Minister of Finance, Lin Zhengyang, into the public eye is also a matter of profound meaning.

This thirty-six-year-old Omega had been very low-key before, but a closer examination of his background reveals that he is not ordinary.

He comes from the Lin family and is the current head of the Lin Group’s nephew.

Although the Lin Group is not a family consortium like the Shao family, it is also a new consortium force that has risen in the Empire in recent years.

Its development momentum cannot be underestimated.

It can be said that it is a major competitor of the Shao Group in the commercial field in recent years.

Looking back, this appointment is really full of hidden mysteries.

“The second resolution of the Presidential Palace meeting: The Minister of Health will be Liao Chen, the former director of the Medical Department under the Ministry of National Defense.”

This appointment made the reporters present tacitly understand.

Although the Ministry of Health is on the same level as ministerial positions such as the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Commerce, the powers involved are simply incomparable to these departments.

The Ministry of Health’s attention and importance are on the margins, but it is handed over to the Shao family to control, which is obviously a painless way for the President to appease the Shao family.

It may be some kind of compensation from the President for the Shao family’s loss of control over the Ministry of Finance.

Li Zhengyu continued to announce: “The third resolution of the Presidential Palace meeting: The Intelligence Bureau will be merged into the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of National Defense will be directly responsible to the President from now on.”

As soon as the voice fell, there was an uproar from the audience, and everyone suddenly realized.

So, the real main event is here.

This can be regarded as a successful example of the Shao family’s ability to cope with all changes by remaining unchanged.

Always stick to the Ministry of National Defense.

After the meeting, experts and media immediately interpreted the political game behind these resolutions.

“Although the Shao family missed the Ministry of Finance, they actually gained greater real power through the arrangement of merging the Intelligence Bureau into the Ministry of National Defense.”

“Lin Zhengyang’s appointment marks the official entry of the Lin family consortium into the core circle of power.”

“In this power reshuffle, it seems that the Shao family has made concessions, but in fact, they have gained the most, further consolidating their military and intelligence control.”

In this game, no one paid attention to the inconspicuous Ministry of Health.

Little did they know that many years later, when Shao Chengxi ran for president, he relied on this department to defeat his competitors and gain overwhelming support among the people.

Of course, these are all stories for later.

After the presidential meeting, Shao Chengxi disappeared from the public eye once again.

Even Shao Bingheng and Shao Shiyan were unprecedentedly low-key.

Unless necessary, they did not appear in public places and attract public attention.

The anti-corruption cases involving Ming Jialuo and related personnel were successively sentenced.

In a short period of time, Shu Lingxiao did not intervene in major anti-corruption cases again.

This is the lesson they learned from the event of losing the Ministry of Finance.

In the future, they must act in a low-key manner and be cautious.

A few days before Pei Yuan and others were imprisoned, Shao Chengxi privately took Shu Lin to meet the Alpha who attacked Shu Lin with pheromones that day.

These people, except for Pei Yuan, were all his confidants and bodyguards.

At that time, they were in Pei Yuan’s motorcade and received Pei Yuan’s order to attack Shu Lin together.

Shao Chengxi first took Shu Lin to see Pei Yuan.