The cigarette unknowingly reached its end.

Song Guanchao took out another one, lit it, smoked half of it, and then said, "Secretary Lu, or Mayor Zheng."

"Apart from these two, I can't think of a more suitable candidate."

"Reason?"

"Reason..." Song Guanchao suddenly countered, "Mr. Liang, tell me, why would this person do such a thing?"

"Reporting so many companies, what is the significance?"

"Could it be that a year and a half of planning is just to frame me?"

"Bear in mind, I've only been with the City Committee for just over half a year."

Liang Jianfeng said, "The target can't be you; at most, you're incidental."

"As for why the other party is reporting, I'm still investigating."

Song Guanchao said, "That's right, the target isn't me. So I'm very curious, what is the significance of the report?"

"Let's think about it in a normal way."

"What can be gained by reporting a company to the Tax Bureau? Clearly, there's only one answer, and that's money!"

"Alright, let's assume the other side is trying to make money."

"But if it's the conventional way to make money, shouldn't it be done more discreetly?"

"At most, target three or five companies to make money, right? But the other side went for nearly two hundred."

"And isn't making money supposed to be more discreet? But the other side isn't discreet, imposing the maximum penalty on the very first company."

"This gives me the impression that it's not for money, but rather seems intentional, as if hoping this maximum penalty could serve as a deterrent to some people."

"If someone in Lingjiang could accomplish this, there are actually quite a few, such as Mayor Jiang, or Zhang Xiaoxian... they all could."

"But Mr. Liang, do you think given their status, they would do such things just for money?"

"They wouldn't. They would take more gentle and undetectable approaches to make money."

"Certainly not so high-profile!"

"So we can largely exclude that the purpose of this is money!"

"Since it's not for money, we can mostly exclude people like Mayor Jiang."

"When excluding all of them, who remains are the most likely candidates."

"One is Mayor Zheng, the other, Secretary Lu."

Listening to Song Guanchao's sequential analysis, Liang Jianfeng's train of thought opened up.

His analysis indeed made a lot of sense.

But now, a huge question lay before them: Why did the other side do this?

If not for money, then for what?

The two fell into contemplation, smoking one cigarette after another.

Suddenly, Song Guanchao said, "Director Liang, I need to see the Tax Bureau's materials!"

"No." Liang Jianfeng shook his head; as a suspect, he couldn't see them.

Song Guanchao said, "Then I'll tell you, and you check."

"Do you have a lead?"

"Yes!"

"Spill it."

"Check the timing of the penalties on these companies."

"Okay."

Liang Jianfeng got up and left.

Half an hour later, he returned.

Song Guanchao asked, "How is it?"

Liang Jianfeng said, "Futong Company was penalized on December 15th."

"Then on December 16th, the related reports began to appear and were transferred to the Tax Bureau, Industrial and Commercial Bureau, Quality Supervision Bureau, etc., with the most being transferred to the Tax Bureau."

"On December 19th, the first batch of 27 companies was dealt with."

"On December 20th, the second batch of 31 companies was handled..."

After Liang Jianfeng finished speaking, Song Guanchao said, "Mr. Liang, get in touch with the Industrial and Commercial Bureau and the Quality Supervision Bureau... Let them send over the results of these reports."

Liang Jianfeng asked, "What exactly are you trying to do?"

Song Guanchao shook his head, "I don't have enough information to determine now. Let them send the results over first. After reviewing them, I can determine whether my analysis is correct."

"Alright."

Liang Jianfeng got up, and Song Guanchao said, "To save time, it's best they tell you directly over the phone about the specific handling times."

"Got it."

Eleven o'clock at night.

Liang Jianfeng returned to the interrogation room, holding a sheet of paper.

"The Industrial and Commercial Bureau dealt with Futong Company on December 15th."

"Then on December 16th, there were materials reporting 17 companies, transferred to the Industrial and Commercial Bureau."

"On December 24th, three companies received administrative penalties from the Industrial and Commercial Bureau."

"On December 27th, six companies received administrative penalties from the Industrial and Commercial Bureau."

"December..."

Next was the Quality Supervision Bureau and the Environmental Protection Bureau's handling information.

After listening, Song Guanchao pinched his brow, with smoke curling up between his fingers.

He suddenly asked, "What was the handling by the Industrial and Commercial Bureau on Futong Company?"

Liang Jianfeng lowered his head to look, "Suspension for rectification, plus a 5 million fine."

"What was the result for the subsequent companies?"

"A fine of 200,000."

"All of them 200,000?"

"Yes."

"I see."

Song Guanchao's tightly furrowed brow smoothed out.

Liang Jianfeng lit a cigarette and leaned back, "Go ahead, what have you figured out."

Song Guanchao said, "If I'm not mistaken, Director Yang should have discovered the truth about tax evasion and the real intention behind it on December 19th."

"Unfortunately, his discovery was noticed by the person behind the scenes."

"The other party seized his wife and children, using them as leverage."

Liang Jianfeng asked, "Why the 19th?"

Song Guanchao said, "The first company was penalized on the 15th, and a large amount of report materials was transferred on the 16th."

"The Industrial and Commercial Bureau, Quality Supervision Bureau, and Environmental Protection Bureau mostly imposed penalties about a week after the transferred reports."

"Only the Tax Bureau imposed penalties on the third day of receiving the report materials, the 19th, and it was in large batches."

"So I suspect that Director Yang encountered some changes on the 19th."

"And also on the 19th, his family was captured, and he was forced to quickly handle the relevant reports."

Liang Jianfeng suddenly understood, no wonder he wanted to see this data.

Song Guanchao continued, "My suggestion is to focus on investigating where Director Yang went on the 19th. Check his dashcam..."

Liang Jianfeng said, "The dashcam's memory card is missing."

Song Guanchao said, "Looks like it's the other party letting Director Yang do this."

"Even without a memory card, find out by consulting traffic police records and directly checking city surveillance."

"Record all the places he went that day and see who he contacted."

"Additionally."

Song Guanchao squinted his eyes and said, "Control Director Feng of the Industrial and Commercial Bureau!"

Liang Jianfeng realized he was a bit behind his train of thought, "Director Feng? Why?"

Song Guanchao said, "The Industrial and Commercial Bureau's penalty for the first company and the subsequent penalty standards differ greatly."

"As I just said, the Tax Bureau's maximum penalty on this company was likely intended to serve as a deterrent."

"But the other party clearly felt that a penalty by just one tax bureau wasn't enough, so they must have also instructed Director Feng from the Industrial and Commercial Bureau."

"I strongly suspect that Director Feng knows the identity of the person behind the scenes!"

Liang Jianfeng's thoughts suddenly clicked.

In the next second, he stood up to leave.

Stopping at the door, he asked, "Anything else to say?"

Song Guanchao thought for a moment, then said, "It'd be best to bring over the chairman of Futong Company."

"The first company to be reported and penalized?"

"Yes."

"Reason?"

After contemplating for a long time, Song Guanchao said, "Instinct."

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