Reborn as a Noble's Son

Chapter 679: Chapter 635: Visiting for New Year’s _1

The first Lunar New Year of the new millennium finally arrived as scheduled.

Jingcheng

Located next to Prince Gong’s Mansion, in an inconspicuous alley, is the home of Qiao Yiren, the Provincial Committee Secretary and Governor of Minan Province, in Jingcheng.

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang was standing at the door, knocking. Soon, the door was opened, and Aunt Zhang was standing at the door. Seeing Nie Zhenbang, she also broke into a smile, “I knew you’d come.”

In Jingcheng, Qiao Yiren seemed much more amiable. Unlike his time in Minan Province, the hierarchy in Jingcheng is much more blurred. Above all, the private relationships are more important.

Nie Zhenbang also began to laugh: “Aunt Zhang, why are you opening the door yourself? Are the secretaries on vacation?”

...

Given Qiao Yiren’s rank, he is entitled to have a security secretary, a work secretary, and a life secretary. Normally, these trivial matters would be handled by the secretaries.

Aunt Zhang also smiled, “Both Little Liang and Little Wu are from Minan, it’s not easy for them to reunite with their families during the New Year. So we didn’t ask them to come. Come in quickly.”

As Nie Zhenbang entered the living room of Qiao Yiren’s house, Qiao Yiren himself was already sitting on the sofa. Seeing Nie Zhenbang coming in, Qiao Yiren stood up, displaying great enthusiasm, “Zhenbang is here, please have a seat.”

After placing the gifts on the side, Nie Zhenbang also relaxed and sat down, smiling, “Uncle Qiao, knowing that you only returned yesterday, so I hurried over early today to wish you a Happy New Year.”

Being the Provincial Committee Secretary as well as the Governor, Qiao Yiren was extremely busy during the New Year. He personally needed to console the local garrison and the poor, as well as the unemployed workers. He also had to attend New Year’s greetings with the old comrades at the provincial office. Starting from the 28th day of the Lunar year, and going all the way to the 30th, he only managed to catch the last flight back to Jingcheng late in the evening after having a reunion dinner with a five-guarantee household.

Looking at Nie Zhenbang, Qiao Yiren also teased, “You little rascal. I purposely came back to Jingcheng to avoid being greeted by the lower level officials. But you rushed over the moment I arrived home.”

Although his words sounded reproachful, it was clear that Qiao Yiren was not displeased. Nie Zhenbang also chimed in with a grin, “Uncle Qiao, isn’t it natural for those who are close to take advantage first?”

After exchanging pleasantries, Qiao Yiren seriously said, “Zhenbang, after the New Year, I’m afraid there will be major adjustments made to the personnel structure in the province.”

This issue was also something Nie Zhenbang had considered. This year’s National Congress is a year of large-scale change, and it is also the year when General Secretary Shen officially takes over all duties and ascends to the top. So-called “new emperors make new officials”. Although it is not in vogue now, it is essential for General Secretary Shen to maintain his position. This year, many provincial and ministerial-level officials who have reached their retirement age will definitely be replaced. On the one hand, it provides opportunities for newcomers, and on the other hand, it creates room for the Tuanpai faction.

Moreover, Qiao Yiren currently holds both the positions of Provincial Committee Secretary and Governor. This is not in accordance with the rules. No province can allow such a situation to occur, because the power is too concentrated. If you compare the Secretary and the Governor to parents.

A father and a mother. If their children make mistakes, one side may protect them. But if someone is both the father and the mother, would there be any opposition or questioning voices from below? Clearly, this is almost impossible.

The position of Governor of Qiao Yiren would definitely have to be vacated. Judging by his tone, there is an eighty percent likelihood that the incoming person will be transferred from outside.

Thinking of this, Nie Zhenbang also nodded, “Secretary Qiao, are you suggesting that the governor will be transferred in from outside?”

Upon hearing Nie Zhenbang’s speculation, Qiao Yiren was a bit taken aback, this kid, apart from occasionally acting recklessly, has quite a high political awareness. He hadn’t said anything, yet Nie was able to draw such conclusions just from a single phrase. This was no simple feat.

Under these circumstances, Qiao Yiren didn’t beat around the bush either. He nodded and said: “The transfer will definitely come from outside, and now, the two names garnering the most attention are Li Jianghe from the Li family, and the current deputy governor of Jiangnan Province, Liang Yutian.”

Li Jianghe is from the Li family. Currently, Secretary-General Shen’s actions to placate the Li family can be seen as reasonable. On the other hand, Nie Zhenbang was also familiar with Liang Yutian. He was a cadre from the Youth Group. This group didn’t have a reputation like Secretary Mu Dingjian, yet he was considered a key player of the Youth Group. Many people believed that of these two candidates, Liang Yutian had the better chance. However, Nie Zhenbang understood that Liu Yutian is, perhaps, there to contrast and complement the Li ones.

During his contemplation, Qiao Yiren continued, “Comrade Li Weibang, secretary of the political and legal committee of the province, is likely to be transferred to the Ministry of Public Security this year. In addition, Jiang Jiantao, the commander of the military sub-district, has reached the age of semi-retirement. There are likely to be some movements.”

Sharing this information with Nie Zhenbang, Qiao Yiren was trying to alert him. Given the Nie family’s influence in the military, it should be no problem for them to secure a position. After all, Secretary-General Shen wouldn’t abandon the Nie family for the Li family. This move would significantly alleviate his pressure.

At this moment, Qiao Yiren was somewhat regretful. Having Nie Zhenbang under his command granted him tremendous benefits, but now, the responsibility he had to bear was also significant. Whenever something goes wrong under his watch, he would undoubtedly face criticism or even retaliation from the Nie family. As a man with great ambitions, no leeway was permissible for such scenarios.

However, it was too late for regrets. Now that Nie Zhenbang was completely under Qiao Yiren’s wings, it became a fact. Therefore, Qiao Yiren enlightened him with some inside information, to give him a clearer understanding of the situation.

After a moment of reflection, Qiao Yiren smiled and said, “Zhenbang, you’ve done an admirable job lately. Your work in economic construction is undeniable. Politically, you’ve matured a lot, which has put my mind at ease.”

These words embarrassed Nie Zhenbang a little. He understood Qiao Yiren’s underlying message and promptly nodded in response: “Secretary Qiao, you’re right. I now fully understand that the party has always stressed the principle of minority submission to the majority, and the local submission to the overall situation, democratic centralism. Only after fostering a good relationship with Secretary Tian, could WangHai City’s economic development show such vigorous life. Cooperation and development are the key, not struggle.”

In front of Qiao Yiren, Nie Zhenbang is quite candid with his words, underlying no hidden implications. @@novelbin@@

When Qiao had finished speaking, he said, “It’s good to understand. The party has always emphasized the importance of individual submission to the majority, and regional submission to the central government. These are included in our party’s constitution. Democracy, then centralism. Democracy is a means, centralism is the goal. In your work in WangHai City, pay attention to uniting your comrades.”

After a pause, Qiao once again said, “Our party stresses that errors must be corrected. This is not a slogan, but a genuine principle. It is not terrible to make mistakes, only not correcting them is. When something goes wrong, give the person a chance to correct it. In terms of economic construction, you can be a little bolder. WangHai City is a city directly under central planning, with substantial autonomy. This is WangHai’s advantage and should not be lost.”

Qiao Yiren’s words served to remind Nie Zhenbang to be more tactful. It seemed that Qiao Yiren was still somewhat suspicious of Nie Zhenbang, hence the extra careful advice.

Since ancient times, the Huaxia tradition, starting from the era of Confucius, values the ability to correct mistakes as a supreme virtue. The party has always stressed that it is not terrible to make mistakes. What is worrisome is not correcting them. Furthermore, the party’s principle is to allow cadres to make mistakes, because as Sage Confucius said brilliantly, “Who can live without error?”

Despite having different views on this, at this time, Nie Zhenbang couldn’t change things. As a result, many officials seldom commit major errors but make small ones constantly. This has become a common phenomenon.

However, Nie Zhenbang understood what Qiao Yiren was getting at and promptly replied, “Secretary Qiao, please rest assured. I will certainly adhere to your directive, unite the team, and develop WangHai well.”

After hearing Nie Zhenbang’s words, Qiao Yiren also nodded. Although WangHai City isn’t directly related to Minan Province, its development inevitably influences his political performance. Among the first five special economic zones, WangHai’s development lags behind. Now, clever as Nie Zhenbang is, he’s focusing on the Internet industry, which provides an excellent opportunity not only for WangHai but for Minan Province as well.

At this idea, Qiao Yiren nodded and said, “Good. Having this confidence is correct. This is why I’ve always admired you.”

After having lunch at Qiao Yiren’s house, Nie Zhenbang didn’t want to linger too long. It’s the first day of the New Year, both of them had their own business to take care of. Next, he would definitely go to his in-laws to pay a New Year’s visit. (