CHAPTER 796: CHAPTER 655: COUNTERMEASURES, ANOTHER SELF IN THE WORLD

Heng Lu Guangnan received the news, and many mayors of Hokkaido also got the information and sensed Yanchuan Shilang’s true intentions, and they all called Heng Lu Guangnan.

Heng Lu Guangnan reassured these people one by one, and after hanging up the phone, he let out a breath, already having a strategy to counteract.

Rather than waiting for the investigation team to arrive in Hokkaido and then passively respond to every move, it is a better approach not to let the investigation team in from the start, and then drive away Aoyama Xiu Xin, to calmly deal with Yanchuan Shilang later.

It takes time to form an investigation team, even the fastest would take two or three days to come to Hokkaido, and these two or three days are the best time for him to handle this matter.

Since the investigation team came under the pretext of investigating the attack on Aoyama Xiu Xin, what if the perpetrator has already turned themselves in and confessed everything before they arrive?

In local self-governance, if the local authorities have fulfilled their duties lawfully, the cabinet cannot intervene rashly without reasonable cause; if they insist on forcefully intervening, tearing faces,

then they should not blame the local bureaucrats for banding together and retaliating.

Heng Lu Guangnan snorted coldly, picked up the phone and called his secretary, "Prepare a copy of the surveillance video of the attack on Aoyama Xiu Xin, and find an Aum Shinrikyo follower... No! Get someone with a criminal record to turn themselves in and confess, have all the evidence ready except for the gun, and then leak this information to the reporters."

The reason for not preparing the gun is because the shooter fired three shots that night, and there must be bullets left at the scene; bullets fired from different guns are not the same.

"Yes!" Imamura Masafumi immediately understood Heng Lu Guangnan’s intention, hung up, and went about his business.

All morning, Aoyama Xiu Xin stayed in the office, dealing with various condolence calls without stepping out the door.

"Ring ring! Ring ring!"

Another call came.

Aoyama Xiu Xin picked up a cup of tea by his side, took a sip to moisten his throat, and then answered, "Hello."

"Mr. Aoyama, this is Miyashita Hidekatsu. I went to bed early last night and only just heard about your incident. Are you uninjured?" Miyashita Hidekatsu asked with gentle concern.

Aoyama Xiu Xin certainly didn’t believe he only just learned of the attack, but he didn’t expose him, instead going along, "Thanks to Mayor Miyashita’s blessing, I’m uninjured."

"That’s good, that’s good. Otherwise, it would be a loss for the nation." Miyashita Hidekatsu sighed in relief and after a moment of silence said, "I heard Prime Minister Yan Chuan is quite angry about this and is planning to send an investigation team to look into it."

"Grandfather is mainly pained for me, I’m sorry for any embarrassment caused to Mayor Miyashita." Aoyama Xiu Xin feigned helplessness.

"As he should be, as he should be. Mr. Aoyama and Prime Minister Yan Chuan have a relationship akin to grandfather and grandson, which makes people both envious and moved." Miyashita Hidekatsu remarked with admiration and then joked, "But just for this, there’s no need to make such a fuss, right? Prime Minister Yan Chuan must have deeper intentions, don’t you think, Mr. Aoyama?"

Aoyama Xiu Xin raised an eyebrow, not believing Miyashita Hidekatsu was unaware of the real intention behind the investigation team’s arrival.

Yet, he asked despite knowing.

This made it intriguing.

"If Mayor Miyashita has time, would you like to have a drink this evening?" Aoyama Xiu Xin tentatively invited.

"Sure! Just let me know the place," Miyashita Hidekatsu agreed readily, laughing.

"Alright." Aoyama Xiu Xin responded with a smile.

After hanging up, he sat there, his expression changing as he pondered. Just from this call alone, he sensed that Miyashita Hidekatsu and Heng Lu Guangnan were not on the same page, having an inclination to align closer to the cabinet.

But what exactly he planned, he would only know after talking in person tonight. What if he was just pretending to align with Yanchuan Shilang and actually had other schemes?

Aoyama Xiu Xin asked Nakamura Shinichi to help book a private room at a club, providing the address to Miyashita Hidekatsu early so he could send people to check the room.

To give both parties a reassuring environment for conversation.

After work, he took a car to meet for the appointment.

His secretary Haruno Takashi and Miyashita Hidekatsu’s secretary Kobayashi Nagashima arrived there beforehand, both waiting at the room entrance. Kobayashi Nagashima bowed to Aoyama Xiu Xin, "Chief Aoyama, the Mayor is on his way, please wait a moment."

"Okay." Aoyama Xiu Xin nodded slightly, then removed his shoes at the entrance and entered the room, where a kimono-wearing waitress came in, knelt down to pour tea, and then left.

The two secretaries outside closed the door.

After about ten minutes, voices greeting Miyashita Hidekatsu could be heard from outside, and then the room door opened to reveal Miyashita Hidekatsu’s figure.

"Hahahaha, sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Aoyama."

Miyashita Hidekatsu said with a beaming smile.

"I just arrived as well." Aoyama Xiu Xin stood up to greet, bowing slightly, "Please come in, Mayor Miyashita."

"Please." Miyashita Hidekatsu raised his hand and, after entering the private room, sat cross-legged opposite Aoyama Xiu Xin.

The waitress served him tea and then exited.

The door to the private room was closed again.

Aoyama Xiu Xin looked directly at the other party and asked straightforwardly, "Mayor Miyashita, what do you mean?"

"What I mean depends on what Prime Minister Yan Chuan means," Miyashita Hidekatsu said softly, taking a sip from his teacup gracefully.

Aoyama Xiu Xin placed his hands on his knees and faced him calmly, stating frankly, "My grandfather’s meaning is simple: Hokkaido belongs to Japan, not to a particular family. Japan has only one Heavenly Locust; there won’t be any King of Hokkaido. Governor Henglu could have entered Congress, but he unreasonably sought to confront the central authority for personal gain, which is intolerable. The investigation team is here to take him down!"

"Is it just him that they plan to take down or his entire cohort?" Miyashita Hidekatsu seriously asked.

"For now, it’s definitely just him." Aoyama Xiu Xin knew he couldn’t deceive the other party with lies, so he spoke clearly, "None of the others will be touched for the time being, but who can say for the future?"

The best plan would be to promote Heng Lu Guangnan to the central authority and then deal with his followers, but since Heng Lu Guangnan refuses to go, they can’t force him, so they can only choose to act against him now without touching the others, or it would lead to strong resistance.

"Settling scores later, right." Miyashita Hidekatsu laughed, then placed his teacup down before his face turned stern, "I firmly support the cabinet’s decision; Heng Lu Guangnan has been ruling Hokkaido like an emperor for years, willfully interfering in local affairs, leaving people angry yet afraid to speak up. He wants to turn Hokkaido into his private garden, which no Japanese person will allow, including myself!"

He dared not speak for other city mayors regarding Heng Lu Guangnan, but he personally harbored grievances against the man.

Because the Governor’s Hall is right in Sapporo!

And Heng Lu Guangnan is domineering, which results in the Governor’s Hall covering many powers the Sapporo Mayor’s Office should exercise, stripping Miyashita Hidekatsu of some of his authority, while he is a man with his own ideals and ambitions, one can imagine how suffocated he feels.

Though Heng Lu Guangnan is generous in sharing benefits with him.

But for some people, there’s no lack of money at a certain point, and personal enjoyment is just so-so; they only want to use power to achieve big things and realize higher personal accomplishments, but under Heng Lu Guangnan’s rule, Miyashita Hidekatsu was completely unable to showcase his abilities.

So upon discovering the cabinet plans to act against Heng Lu Guangnan, he prepared to jump ship early, avoiding retaliation and gaining benefits for himself.

"Mayor Miyashita’s awareness is truly admirable, Xiu Xin is really impressed, and I’m sure my grandfather will be pleased to know that." Aoyama Xiu Xin didn’t bother to verify the truthfulness of the other’s words; welcoming him was enough.

"But I have a condition too." Miyashita Hidekatsu shook his head, his eyes blazing, "After Heng Lu Guangnan steps down, I want to run for Governor of Hokkaido."

Being the Sapporo Mayor gave him a certain level of fame and prestige locally, and with cabinet support, winning the governorship of Hokkaido would be a sure thing.

"I couldn’t make that decision, but personally, I feel that with Mayor Miyashita’s capability he can fully undertake this responsibility; I’ll try my best to speak well of you in front of my grandfather," Aoyama Xiu Xin said, considering his words.

It doesn’t matter who becomes the Governor of Hokkaido, just as long as it’s not Heng Lu Guangnan continuing his term, otherwise, he might turn it into a life tenure.

"Then I leave it to you, Mr. Aoyama." Miyashita Hidekatsu bowed slightly, then continued to express, "I can step in to calm and persuade some city mayors, but there’s an issue that needs addressing, which is Heng Lu Guangnan’s decade-long rule in Hokkaido; not only does he have interest ties with many mayors but also has leverage over them, forcing them to align with him."

"And when pushed to a corner, if Heng Lu Guangnan threatens to self-destruct, can the cabinet handle that pressure? Otherwise, all efforts would be futile."

Heng Lu Guangnan’s greatest leverage lies in his foundation in Hokkaido. If he really were to self-destruct, releasing evidence of his and numerous officials’ illegality and crimes, it would be a massive scandal, and the cabinet would be accountable for it.

Prime Minister Yan Chuan would also feel the impact; after all, a major scandal under his administration could likely force the Prime Minister to resign and apologize under the pressure of public opinion.

"He wouldn’t be so foolish, would he? Doesn’t he consider his family?" Aoyama Xiu Xin frowned.

From his or the cabinet’s majority prediction, the final outcome was that Heng Lu Guangnan would voluntarily resign, ending the matter without pursuing past grievances, and his family would continue to operate in politics, unaffected.

But if Heng Lu Guangnan chose to self-destruct and go down together, his family would be ruined, with not only political prospects cut off but even life threats to his descendants.

A person of such stature should understand the weight of the matter.

Most bureaucrats are weak and skilled in compromise.

Miyashita Hidekatsu knew upon hearing this that Aoyama Xiu Xin or the cabinet didn’t truly understand Heng Lu Guangnan, shaking his head, he said, "For this person, you can’t use common sense to speculate. His lust for power is immense; he doesn’t care about the interests of future generations, only about himself. If cornered, he might really go down together; to him, if he lost power, there’s no reason to live anymore, his family’s existence matters less."

"As for family thoughts, he doesn’t care because the family flourished because of him, and it should follow his decline accordingly. That’s basically his meaning, Heng Lu Guangnan is that extreme."

Aoyama Xiu Xin was somewhat stunned; damn, it’s his first time knowing Heng Lu Guangnan’s thinking is somewhat similar to his own, he’s someone who doesn’t care about descendants either, otherwise wouldn’t neglect stable prosperity in favor of contemplating rebellious coups.

"Hiss——"

Though he didn’t understand Heng Lu Guangnan.

But he understood himself.

Such people obsessed with power are indeed hard to deal with.