Let them offer their loyalty!

```

"Furthermore, Huang Shangzong favored and inclined towards Li Tingdong as a partner, so, in the end, Guo Huai was eliminated, and Li Tingdong successfully became the Deputy Speaker,"

"As a result, all the arrangements of our 'Fengtian Faction' were disrupted, and I was put in a passive position,"

Upon hearing Tang Feifei's words, Qiu Tu was startled and then asked in bewilderment, "But... what does this have to do with me?"

Leaning on the chair, Tang Feifei looked at Qiu Tu with profound eyes and said, "Actually... at first, we also didn't know this matter had anything to do with you."

"It was only after we inquired around that we found out why Elder Wang ended up supporting Li Tingdong,"

Tang Feifei said, "Because Elder Wang saw your name in Ye Mingfeng's 'Boundless Heart Sea Great Expansion Plan.'" (Chapter 286)

"He felt you were a talent worth shaping, worthy of investing some resources to nurture,"

"Also, he originally thought that compared to Guo Huai, Li Tingdong was indeed more capable, and if groomed well, might become a Senior Frontier Official adept at economics, bringing fortune to the citizens of the Planning Area,"

"So, he went with the flow and reached a simple cooperation with Old Hu from the 'Liberal Democratic Faction,'"

"He supported Li Tingdong, while Councilor Ouyang from the 'Liberal Democratic Faction' would back your position as Head of the Political Department,"

Hearing Tang Feifei's words, shock filled Qiu Tu's eyes, his mouth slowly gaping open.

After a moment, he said somewhat incredulously, "So... my position as Director was exchanged for a Deputy Speaker?!"

"This is damn...!"

Hearing Qiu Tu's intentionally exaggerated speech, Tang Feifei finally couldn't help but laugh a little.

She said, "You could say that, and it wouldn't be wrong."

"But... it's actually not like that."

"At the level of heavyweights like Elder Wang and Old Hu, they are no longer people who only consider the interests of their own factions,"

"If they see promising juniors who can have a positive impact on the Sanctuary, they won't be bounded by factional views,"

"Elder Wang probably had long regarded Li Tingdong quite favorably and had high hopes for him, thinking of giving him a hand,"

"It just so happened that your matter came up, so he casually used it as a bargaining chip, making a simple exchange,"

"Otherwise, how could the two sides have reached such an inequitable exchange,"

Qiu Tu had actually seen through this before, but... he needed to coddle Tang Feifei, so, of course, he had to play dumb a bit.

It seemed the effect was not bad.

Looking at Tang Feifei's face, now no longer icy cold, Qiu Tu sighed in his heart.

He somewhat understood why Tang Feifei was in a bad mood today.

With the establishment of Dongye State, five Speaker positions, one principal and four deputies, were taken by the 'Academic Faction,' 'Reformist Faction,' 'Liberal Democratic Faction,' and two from the 'Iron-Blood Faction,' with none from the 'Fengtian Faction.'

This wasn't a good sign for the 'Fengtian Faction.'

It indicated that the 'Fengtian Faction' would be completely unable to influence the situation in Dongye State.

Moreover... while Elder Wang might indeed appreciate Li Tingdong, who knows if that was just a pretext?

Could it be possible that the two weakest factions in the Sanctuary, the 'Reformist Faction' and the 'Liberal Democratic Faction,' had secretly formed an alliance?

To those towering figures at the pinnacle of the Sanctuary, no one could fathom their thoughts.

They are like skillful chess players whose casual move might produce unimaginable impacts in the future.

Just like this time by pushing Qiu Tu to become the Head of the Political Department, a maneuver jointly orchestrated by the 'Iron-Blood Faction,' 'Reformist Faction,' and 'Fengtian Faction.'

However, turning around, the 'Reformist Faction' joined with the 'Liberal Democratic Faction' to drive the 'Fengtian Faction's influence out of Dongye State.

Politics is, after all, the art of compromise, alliances forming and dissolving—until all the dust settles, no one can see through it.

And thinking of this, Qiu Tu pondered more: while he had a good relationship with Tang Feifei and the 'Fengtian Faction,'

But...

Since Elder Wang had supported Li Tingdong, he also had a slight bond with Li Tingdong.

Facing Huang Shangzong alone, relying on Liu Xiongyuan and Dai Yukang, one overt and one covert backer seemed a bit of a stretch.

If he could also get his support,

With the alliance of three Deputy Speakers, even Huang Shangzong, the Speaker with tremendous authority, would likely have difficulty, wouldn't he?

As for Dai Yukang claiming last time that it was he who had reminded Elder Wang, even though it was Elder Wang who initiated the help for Qiu Tu...

Real and false on the political stage, how could one ever completely differentiate? Who knows if, although Elder Wang made the decision himself, Dai Yukang did indeed remind him?

Even if Dai Yukang truly lied, as long as Qiu Tu's interests align with his for now, what does it matter if he was deceived?

With these thoughts, Qiu Tu felt even more at ease...

And just like that, he joked with Tang Feifei a few more times, until the Deputy Director, who was becoming ever more poised and refined, was teased into showing a few smiles on her face.

```

After laughing, Tang Feifei also opened a drawer, took out a piece of paper, and handed it to Qiu Tu.

Seeing this, Qiu Tu curiously took it.

It had a string of numbers on it.

Just as Qiu Tu was puzzled, Tang Feifei looked into the distance and said, "Take it, this is Vice Chairman Li's communicator number."

"You might need it."

On hearing this, a shock went through Qiu Tu's heart, and he was about to explain when,

Tang Feifei cut in, "Don't worry too much about what I think. There's no winning or losing in politics, only interests."

"After the deputy speaker's position was confirmed, the 'Fengtian Faction' decisively changed its strategy from competing for the deputy speaker's seat to courting Li Tingdong, hoping to pull him into the 'Fengtian Faction'."

Hearing Tang Feifei's words, Qiu Tu was startled,

marveling at the extraordinary strategizing abilities of these powerful figures.

He couldn't help asking, "Is there any hope?"

Tang Feifei spread her hands, "Who knows? I guess it's very difficult. After all, for a deputy speaker of a state to change factions will look extremely bad."

"But... it doesn't mean they can't work together."

"The 'Liberal Democratic Faction' is too weak and has limited influence across the sixteen cities of Dongye State."

"And Li Tingdong, if he wants to carry out his work smoothly in Dongye State, needs the support of our 'Fengtian Faction'."

"If we cooperate with his work, and he backs our faction in Dongye State, it would be a mutually beneficial relationship, fostering the development of Dongye State without internal strife."

On hearing this, Qiu Tu nodded pensively, suddenly gaining a new understanding of these powerful figures' capacity for plotting....

At that moment, Tang Feifei continued, "With Li Tingdong's support, we won't feel as much pressure from Huang Shangzong."

Speaking of this, Tang Feifei pointed outside the door and said coldly, "Huang Shangzong's investigators arrived at the Investigation Bureau early this morning to start the investigation into Wu Zhi's death."

"But since Huang Shangzong has not yet officially become the speaker, they are still biding their time."

"Plus, with Xinjie City being the focus of the entire Eighth Sanctuary and Huang Shangzong and Yan Chen from the same faction, during their meeting, Huang Shangzong will undoubtedly offer Yan Chen a lot of support."

At this point, with a profound look in her eyes, Tang Feifei added, "So... even with Li Tingdong's support, the road ahead will still be fraught with difficulties."

She glanced at Qiu Tu and concluded, "Prepare for some dark times ahead."

....

Meanwhile,

while Tang Feifei and Qiu Tu were in the office, talking and analyzing the situation in Dongye State,

in an Eastern City government building left from before the Era of Disaster, a series of votes was being held.

"Those in favor of merging Eastern City, Xinjie City, Yanze City... a total of 16 cities to form Dongye State, raise your hands!"

"Those in favor of designating Eastern City as the capital of Dongye State, raise your hands!"

"Those in favor of Huang Shangzong as the speaker of Dongye State Council, raise your hands!"

"Those in favor of Li Tingdong as the deputy speaker of Dongye State Council, raise your hands!"

"Those in favor of Ye Mingfeng as the deputy speaker of Dongye State Council, raise your hands!"

"Those in favor..."

With each decision that passed, the Fifth State, Dongye State, of the Eighth Sanctuary was officially established!

And with the establishment of Dongye State, news began to spread through various frequencies, reaching every city, the Planning Area, and the Disaster Zone.....

Together with the "Boundless Heart Sea Grand Development Plan" of Xinjie City, everyone knew that these sixteen cities were on the verge of undergoing significant changes and reshuffling!

Meanwhile... on the 9th floor of the Xinjie City Investigation Bureau.

A few men dressed in plain clothes and somewhat unfamiliar faces suddenly felt their communicators buzzing.

They looked at the communicator and saw just two simple words: "Act."

Seeing this message, they perked up, exchanging glances.

Within two minutes, the men were next to Eagle.

They presented a document and then said, "Hello, Cui Ying! We are Supervisors from the Dongye State Supervisory Bureau. We suspect you're involved in a murder case."

"Please come with us for an investigation!"

-----------

Here's a chapter of 10,000 words, ha, the next chapter will be between 4 and 5 p.m. Vote for the Monthly Ticket!!