Chapter 345: The Last of His Worries Finally Disappeared

Vice Chairman Tang Guochang saw no need to contact Director Jean-Philippe himself.

The message he had received from Cha Jiham clearly indicated that Jean-Philippe would call on his own.

“Chairman, there’s no need to be overly hasty.”

“I know that myself, but I can’t do anything about this nervous tension.”

“It’s only a little past nine in the morning in Switzerland right now, so if we wait just a little longer, the call should come.”

Bzzzt—

At that very moment, Vice Chairman Tang Guochang’s phone vibrated in his hand.

He glanced at the screen with lightning speed and saw the caller’s name. As expected, it was Director Jean-Philippe.

After informing Chairman Xi Jinping that it was Jean-Philippe, he accepted the call.

“Director Jean-Philippe, how did it go?”

“I apologize for the delay. I just received a notification from UBS.”

“Is that so? Director Jean-Philippe, I’d like to put you on speakerphone. Would that be all right?”

“May I ask why that is necessary?”

Tang Guochang regarded the question as nothing more than a formality.

After all, he had just received instructions from Jiham by message.

Still, even if this was a script prepared in advance, he absolutely could not openly mention Chairman Xi Jinping’s presence.

“Minister He Lifen, the head of the Ministry of State Security, is here with me. I want him to hear the details of our conversation as well.”

“Ah, I see. Of course. Do whatever is most convenient for you, Vice Chairman Tang.”

Tang Guochang immediately switched the phone to speaker and continued.

“Director Jean-Philippe, you can speak now.”

“Before I begin, let me clarify one thing. Are you aware of exactly who the account holder, Liu Peiqi, is?”

“Yes, I am, but...”

Tang Guochang deliberately left the sentence unfinished, giving the other man room to continue.

“I’m investigating this at your request, but I’ve reached a dead end.”

“Explain exactly what the problem is.”

“It has been established that your funds were withdrawn as a result of collusion between Liu Peiqi and an accomplice.”

“Were you able to determine who he colluded with?”

“I have a prime suspect, but I’m not certain. If Liu were a member of the Central Committee Politburo, then I could say with confidence.”

“I see. You’re absolutely right, Director Jean-Philippe.”

“Hmm... Then my suspicions were correct. Very well, I’ll tell you what information I received from UBS. A total of 75.6 billion dollars was transferred into Politburo member Liu’s account...”

“Wait a second,” Tang Guochang deliberately interrupted Jean-Philippe.

“Vice Chairman Tang, did something happen?”

“Sorry for interrupting. I’ll explain why in a moment.”

Covering the phone speaker with his palm, Tang Guochang turned toward Xi Jinping, who had been sitting silently.

“Chairman, exactly how large was the party fund that Politburo member Liu transferred out?”

In truth, Tang Guochang knew the exact figure perfectly well.

He asked solely to play on Xi Jinping’s nerves one more time, although Xi himself had no idea.

“I already told you. Thirty billion dollars.”

“Are you sure it was exactly thirty billion?”

“I’m not accustomed to repeating myself.”

At that moment, Zhang Hui, Chief of the Central Committee Secretariat, leaned toward Xi Jinping’s ear and whispered:

“Director Jean-Philippe just said that 75.6 billion dollars was transferred into Liu’s account.”

“Ahem. Vice Chairman Tang, you were right. It really was 75.6 billion dollars. That was awkward. Accept my apology.”

Feeling embarrassed, Chairman Xi Jinping cleared his throat and apologized.

Tang Guochang, meanwhile, could only grumble inwardly.

‘Damn. If not for this call with Jean-Philippe, I could have torn this guy apart right now.’

“It’s all right,” he answered briefly before returning to the call. “Director Jean-Philippe, I believed Liu had transferred only thirty billion dollars.”

“I see. In that case, who do the remaining 45.6 billion belong to?”

The answer, ‘You know perfectly well yourself, Director,’ almost slipped from Tang Guochang’s lips, but he showed astonishing restraint and held it back.

“We intend to investigate that matter.”

“I understand.”

“Are my funds still in Liu’s account?”

“No. We recorded transfers of 100 to 200 million dollars each, distributed evenly across 500 accounts.”

“Five hundred accounts?!” Tang Guochang feigned extreme shock to dispel any possible suspicion from Xi Jinping.

“That’s right. However, it turned out that all 500 accounts were registered under straw names.”

“Good grief!”

“But there is something even more surprising. The entire transfer operation took less than one hour.”

“Liu couldn’t possibly have handled such an enormous volume of work alone. Who could he have been working with?”

“He was involved in laundering cryptocurrency stolen by hackers from North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau.”

“Ah, so that’s why you asked about Liu’s status!”

“Exactly. A private individual would be incapable of moving such an enormous amount within a single hour.”

“You’re saying he colluded with North Korea to steal my money?”

“That is exactly the theory I’m leaning toward as well, Vice Chairman Tang.”

At that moment, Minister He Lifen quietly addressed Tang Guochang, indicating that he wanted him to ask something.

“Vice Chairman Tang, ask Jean-Philippe whether there’s any chance of recovering the Chairman’s party fund.”

Tang Guochang nodded and asked:

“Still, will I be able to recover my funds?”

“As a precaution, we randomly traced ten accounts out of the first 350. The funds that arrived in those accounts were split again and transferred into another 500 new accounts. It appears the remaining accounts went through a similar process.”

“Hmm. Does that mean the money can no longer be recovered?”

“Considering North Korea’s direct involvement, recovery will be impossible.”

“Haa...”

Tang Guochang deliberately let out a heavy sigh and concluded the conversation.

“I understand. I’ll make sure you’re compensated for your work.”

“I appreciate your consideration, Vice Chairman Tang. Goodbye.”

Click.

The moment Tang Guochang ended the call, there was a sudden outburst.

Chairman Xi Jinping sprang to his feet, swore viciously, and stormed out of the room.

Zhang Hui, Chief of the Central Committee Secretariat, immediately rushed after him, trying to calm him down.

Watching them leave, Tang Guochang turned toward the Minister of State Security.

“Minister He, shouldn’t you go after them?”

“If I do, all I’ll hear is more swearing anyway.”

“That’s true... Come to think of it, you’re right.”

After quite a long time, Xi Jinping and Zhang Hui returned.

Judging by the Chairman’s crimson face, he had vented his rage outside.

Tang Guochang and the others chose to remain silent so as not to provoke him any further.

Dropping roughly into the seat at the head of the table, Xi Jinping addressed He Lifen.

“Minister He, is there any chance at all of recovering the party fund from North Korea?”

“We’ll try, but judging by the situation, it will be extremely difficult.”

“But can’t we present them with evidence that Liu stole my money?”

“Of course we can provide evidence, but several serious problems arise.”

“And what problems are those?”

“The biggest problem is Liu himself being dead. In addition, he opened the HSBC account under the name of a straw person, Liang Zhenying. We would have to prove to North Korea that this Liang Zhenying actually exists.”

Minister He Lifen paused, caught his breath, then continued.

“And most importantly, we need irrefutable evidence that North Korea participated in moving your funds together with Liu.”

“Didn’t Liu’s call records or messages contain any traces of contact with them?”

Minister He Lifen shook his head.

“The missing Minister Feng Chengxin had a strained relationship with Liu. We suspected that Liu might have been involved in his disappearance, so we thoroughly checked his call records and email. However, we found not a single contact between Liu and North Korea.”

“You mean he used anonymous phones and fake email addresses?”

“You are absolutely right, Chairman. We need access to those secret communication channels, but the person who used them is dead.”

“Haa...”

Chairman Xi Jinping let out a heavy sigh and lit a cigarette.

Tang Guochang and the others remained silent so as not to worsen the situation.

After exhaling a cloud of smoke into the air, Xi Jinping gave an order.

“Forget about recovering the party fund. Consider the matter closed.”

Tang Guochang mentally shrugged the last remaining burden from his shoulders.

Chairman Xi Jinping had finally and completely abandoned hope of recovering his black slush funds.

While Tang Guochang was quietly rejoicing at that outcome, the conversation between Xi Jinping and He Lifen continued.

“Are you sure, Chairman?”

“If you have a way to recover the money, then suggest it.”

“......”

Unable to come up with an answer, Minister He Lifen remained silent.

Xi Jinping gave him a displeased look and spoke in a firm, unyielding tone.

“I will not forgive North Korea for stealing my money.”

“I’ll prepare and submit a plan for retaliatory measures against Pyongyang as quickly as possible.”

“Vice Chairman Tang, work with Minister He and think this through together.”

Tang Guochang suddenly remembered a recent conversation he had had with Cha Jiham.

“Chairman, what if we use this opportunity to destroy North Korea’s nuclear weapons storage facilities?”

“I’d be glad to, but do we even know the exact coordinates of their nuclear storage sites?”

Tang Guochang deliberately shifted his gaze toward He Lifen.

Understanding Tang Guochang’s intention, the Minister of State Security answered without hesitation.

“Chairman, I will take responsibility for identifying the exact locations of their nuclear facilities.”

Xi Jinping nodded and turned back toward Tang Guochang.

“A nuclear weapons storage facility will certainly be under heavy guard. Are you sure it can be destroyed?”

“We can use the third stratagem from the Thirty-Six Stratagems—‘Kill with a borrowed knife.’”

“Explain your plan in more detail.” 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

“What if we bribe a high-ranking officer stationed at the facility and have him carry out the destruction?”

“Ha-ha-ha!”

Tang Guochang’s idea clearly pleased Xi Jinping, and he burst into loud laughter.

Waiting until the laughter died down, Tang Guochang continued.

“We need to develop a flawless plan and only then strike the facility.”

“Minister He, did you hear what Vice Chairman Tang said?”

“Of course, Chairman,” He Lifen replied confidently.

“I’m counting on you.”

“I’ll do everything I can to justify your trust and completely eliminate the facility.”

Tang Guochang decided to stroke the Chairman’s vanity a little more.

“Chairman, I think we were actually somewhat fortunate.”

“What do you mean?”

“There are thirty tons of gold stored in Secretary Zhang’s hideout.”

“That’s right! I completely forgot about the gold! Zhang, find out the current price of gold!”

Chief of the Central Committee Secretariat Zhang Hui immediately pulled out his phone and checked the market price.

“Chairman, the current price of gold is 1.14 million dollars per kilogram.”

“Then thirty tons comes to 34.2 billion dollars.”

“That’s correct, Chairman... Ah! I remember now!” Zhang Hui suddenly exclaimed.

“What is it now, Zhang?”

“Liu was also planning to present gold to you as a gift.”

At that moment, Tang Guochang barely managed to suppress a triumphant smile.

Xi Jinping was indulging in false hopes.

The fourteen tons of gold acquired by Politburo member Liu Peiqi were already in Jiham’s group’s hands.

Naturally, Tang Guochang had no intention of sharing that information.

Meanwhile, the conversation between Xi Jinping and Zhang Hui continued.

“I see. How much gold did he manage to gather?”

“I heard it was fourteen tons.”

“Less than I expected. Do you know where he hid it?”

“Not long ago, I saw gold bars in his secret hideout.”

“Excellent! Send people there immediately!”

“Yes, sir.”

After answering briefly, Zhang Hui hurried out of the meeting room.

Watching him leave, Chairman Xi Jinping quietly muttered to himself:

“Well, at least I’ll be able to make up for some of the losses. That’s something.”