Final Civilization

Chapter 31: A Brief Discussion

"You tracked down all the employees Guo Chang fired over the past two years, then confronted him directly to demand accountability?!?!"

"Didn't you tell me you were just going to have a proper talk with him first?"

In the cafe, Yan Li's jaw was practically hanging open. She looked at Han Ming, who was adding sugar to his coffee across from her, her expression somewhat stunned. How had she not noticed this person's explosive way of doing things before when she was at the law firm?

"That's right. The people Attorney Han found provided a large amount of information detrimental to Guo Chang, including accepting commercial bribes, issuing loans in violation of regulations, leaking corporate confidential data, and so on. And regarding his work conduct, besides workplace bullying of employees, there was actually sexual harassment of female staff!"

Feng Xiaoyun said excitedly, "Attorney Yan, this Guo Chang is a classic case of everyone pushing down a falling wall. You wouldn't believe how much dirt we dug up."

Only upon hearing this did He Jin look surprised and say, "Oh, so that's why the guy was taken away by the police. It seems the problem is more serious than expected!"

"If that's the case, why was he still willing to sign the confidentiality agreement?" Yan Li asked, puzzled.

"Because I issued a warning to him on behalf of the Tianzhou Group. If he didn't sign, we would immediately launch an investigation into his previous acts of accepting bribes, leaking confidential data, and so on. Once discovered, he would be prosecuted in the name of commercial crimes."

Han Ming said calmly, "At that point, the charges he would need to face wouldn't just be the current sexual harassment offense. And in that situation, any cards he held in his hand would lose all meaning."

Yan Li examined Han Ming with a questioning gaze, "You never met Guo Chang before. How did you know he had so many problems on him?"Han Ming put down the coffee spoon, took a shallow sip, and said, "Because I discovered that in the month before Yingcheng initiated its restructuring, a large group of people in the Tianqi Financial Credit Department were forcibly dismissed. And the one who dismissed them was precisely Guo Chang."

"You think Guo Chang got the news in advance, and to protect himself, fired people ahead of time?"

"No, quite the opposite. That group were Guo Chang's trusted aides, people who had been with him for a long time. Not only did they receive compensation for their dismissal, but they also found new jobs in advance. So, Guo Chang had planned this long ago."

Han Ming said lightly, "The people I found were those dismissed by Guo Chang earlier."

"Why?"

"Because Guo Chang doesn't have a high level of education; he started out in loan sharking. A person who knows nothing about risk control was able to enter the credit department. Let's set aside the interpersonal connections behind that for now. For such a person to climb up, they either excel at winning people over and building factions, or they use ruthless and underhanded methods to cultivate factions. A little side investigation reveals he belongs to the latter category."

"So, we contacted people who were 'forced out' by Guo Chang over the past two years, especially middle managers with relatively strong qualifications and abilities. These people... generally didn't have a high opinion of Guo Chang."

Yan Li looked at Han Ming with great interest, puzzled, "But these people have already left the company. How could they make baseless accusations against Guo Chang? No one would take that risk, right?"

"Nobody said they were willing to accuse Guo Chang to his face..." Han Ming smiled, "Of course, except for that female employee who was sexually harassed by Guo Chang."

He said calmly, "The job competition in the financial industry has been quite fierce these past two years. Plus, these people were forced out by Guo Chang in the first place. They hold a grudge, not dissatisfaction with the company itself, but they had to swallow their anger because Guo Chang had backing. Now, Guo Chang's backing is gone, and he himself is about to collapse."

"There's a very interesting pattern in the workplace: people who are keen on internal power struggles often lack practical ability but believe in manipulating power and resorting to underhanded methods. And such people's favorite targets are those who are more capable and talented than them but unwilling to associate with them. So, the ones they force out are often the core backbone staff, leaving behind a bunch of bootlickers and opportunists."

"And Tianqi's restructuring itself requires talent. So, I temporarily sought Chairwoman Yan's opinion and extended an invitation to these people to be rehired at their original positions with a salary increase. Given such an opportunity, they were willing to talk to me a bit more."

Hearing this, Yan Li's eyes lit up, "So there were no formal accusations. You just learned some of his dirty secrets through indirect channels and then intimidated him?"

Han Ming nodded, "Even if we offered high salaries and benefits, those employees wouldn't be willing to get involved in these matters. In this society, people tend to seek advantage and avoid harm. But the same applies to Guo Chang."

He changed the subject, his gaze calm, "I repeatedly watched the recording of your communication with him yesterday. This person has a considerable income, already holding a general manager position, yet he gets angry after just two or three sentences, indicating he's not deep or calculating. He opens by saying he's waiting to be fired. His backing collapsed over half a year ago, yet he stubbornly held on because he had cards in his hand, waiting for us to make him an offer. This shows the man is both arrogant and greedy."

"But I noticed a detail: during the conversation, he pulled down his cuffs three times. This action was to hide his 1.19 million Patek Philippe Nautilus watch. He didn't dare display his wealth, showing he was only calm on the surface but secretly nervous. He wasn't completely confident because he knew any hint or threat he made could be seen as illegal in our lawyers' eyes. He was cautious, and also anxious. Especially after seeing our law firm take over from Yingcheng and rapidly assist the group in restructuring, he became even more anxious."

"So, I didn't negotiate with him. Instead, I communicated with him directly in an investigative posture, shifting from defense to offense. The result was that in less than half an hour... he begged for mercy."

He said less than half an hour, but in Han Ming's eyes, he had already confronted Guo Chang head-on three times. He adjusted various angles of verbal approach and quickly figured out the guy's psychological breaking point.

Actually, even without the ability to foresee the future, Han Ming was quite confident he could take him down. Judging from the information obtained from Sun Lulu, dealing with this kind of person wasn't difficult for him.

He used the foresight ability a few times to also train his own conflict negotiation skills and reduce the occurrence of unexpected situations.

Additionally, he secretly noticed an interesting clue: Guo Chang seemed to have some private contact with Liu Qigang. If viewed from a negative perspective, this landmine was deliberately left behind within Tianzhou to create some trouble for Fang Tiancheng. More directly, it was targeted at Yan Jing.

However, these were just his simple speculations; he didn't bring them up.

"Brilliant!"

Yan Li looked at Han Ming with admiration, her expression enthusiastic, "There's always been a rumor in the firm that you're particularly adept at handling civil disputes, with sharp rhetoric. I didn't expect your methods to be quite tough as well. Truly impressive, Attorney Han. I see you in a new light."

In her words of praise, Yan Li omitted the support Yan Jing provided to Han Ming. In her view, Han Ming's decisive determination to handle the situation was the most crucial factor. All external forces were merely collaborative under favorable circumstances, representing his very successful assessment of the situation.

At this moment, the way Yan Li looked at Han Ming underwent a subtle change. At first, she had intended to flatter him with a smooth, worldly attitude. But now, she couldn't help but examine him with a gaze of respect.

She even began to feel that Han Ming, who bravely rescued someone and possessed considerable professional ability, seemed like a very charming person even without the labels of Tianzhou or Yan Jing.

"However, Director Liu doesn't seem particularly satisfied with this outcome."

He Jin now looked somewhat dejectedly at everyone, "Is it just my illusion?"

"It's not."

Yan Li shook her head and analyzed, "I can't say for sure either, but this matter probably isn't that simple. It might involve some internal personnel struggles within Tianzhou. The specifics have nothing to do with us. Since we've completed this assignment, we can consider it a good first battle."

After saying this, she said to Han Ming, "Attorney Han, Director Qi has booked a restaurant for Friday to hold a celebration party. You should come too."

"Celebration party?" Han Ming was somewhat baffled, "What's there to celebrate already?"

"The Anke case and Tianzhou, two major contracts are both related to you. Don't be modest, come along."

"The Anke one has nothing to do with me. Attorney Qin and I were just joking with each other during the meeting. The credit doesn't fall on me."

Han Ming said, "But since Director Qi is hosting, I don't have a reason to refuse either."

"Well, there you go," everyone laughed.

Earlier, Qi Rong said she would treat him to a meal. He didn't expect it to be a full-blown celebration party. The boss sure knows how to be generous.

...

"Chairwoman Yan, that Guo Chang has been cleared out by Attorney Han."

The black Maybach sped through the traffic. Yan Jing sat in the back seat, her gaze lowered as she examined a deep blue invitation card in her hand.

On the invitation, a golden Trojan logo emitted a sharp glow under the light of the reading lamp.

She listened to Secretary Jin's report on the Tianqi Finance matters while slowly rubbing her finger over the logo, a hint of imperceptible gravity flashing in her eyes.

"Director Liu is very unhappy about this matter. He said exposing such things might affect the company's reputation."

"Don't pay him any mind."

Yan Jing's voice was cold, "This Han Ming is indeed a talent."

He Jin now looked somewhat dejectedly at everyone, "Is it just my illusion?"

Yan Jing smiled faintly, "Playing by the rules only earns you certificates. Life-and-death situations determine victory or defeat."

"I like this person. Duoduo likes him too. Help me arrange a dinner with him. Tomorrow will do."

"Where should I book it?"

She put away the invitation card, her gaze sweeping over the chaotic night outside the window, and smiled brightly.

"My home."