Reborn as a Noble's Son

Chapter 794: Chapter 750: Serious Investigation (Seeking Double Monthly Votes)
 

At 7 p.m., the entire Victorious Coal Mine area was already lit up. The whole mine looked as bright as day.

At that moment, the sound of a helicopter’s roar came from the sky. Looking up, red lights were flashing in the sky, the night flight lights of a helicopter. Nie Zhenbang instructed Liu Bingyi beside him, “Binyi, arrange for some people to find an open space where the helicopter can land.”

As his words fell, the helicopter had already autonomously located the coal storage area of the mine. At the same time, ropes were lowered from the aircraft. The fully equipped combat engineers descended from the sky. Hundreds of them quickly assembled.

“Attention! At ease, right dress! Eyes front! Count off!”

After a series of military commands, the leading officer continued, “Left turn, double march!”

The neatly formed troops quickly arrived at the mining area. The helicopter in the sky also climbed in altitude and swiftly departed. At this moment, the officer had already walked directly in front of Nie Zhenbang and the others. Although he was military personnel, he still had the acuity to recognize the situation.

“Reporting to the commander, Tianfu Military Region, Engineering Corps First Battalion, has arrived at the mission site under orders, awaiting instructions! Battalion Commander Xu Jiang.” The officer Xu Jiang shouted aloud.

Nie Zhenbang stepped forward, also rendered a military salute, then said, “Comrade Xu Jiang, you’ve worked hard. Now is not the time for talk; the situation is urgent. This is Vice Governor Pan, the deputy commander for on-site rescue, specifically in charge of the trapped miners’ rescue operation. Now, you need to allocate a portion of your troops to immediately go down the mineshaft to take over the miners’ digging work. Below, someone will tell you how to dig. The rest of you, get something to eat. After eating, proceed with personnel rotation. Any questions?”

Xu Jiang, with his feet together, stood at attention and saluted, “Yes, we guarantee to complete the mission.”

Having said this, he carried out a perfect about-turn, faced the soldiers again, and ordered, “First Company, all hands, down the shaft! Second and Third Company, pitch tents, prepare for the meal!”

Witnessing this scene, Nie Zhenbang couldn’t help feeling moved. What good soldiers Liu Yimin from the Tianfu Military Region had brought. If a single engineering corps was so well-trained, how much more so the field troops.

With the joining of the engineering corps, the entire rescue operation seemed much easier. At this moment, a few cars were already driving towards them on the road outside the mine.

Nie Zhenbang had just sat down in the office when Fang Yuan walked in and reported, “Governor, Director Zhu has arrived.”

Zhu Chunhua felt somewhat embarrassed; he had received the news first but arrived so late. He had already heard that the governor had been here for several hours.

Entering the office, Zhu Chunhua also nodded and said, “Governor!”

Nie Zhenbang glanced at Zhu Chunhua, nodded, gestured to the seat beside him, then said, “Director Zhu, please take a seat.”

Nie Zhenbang’s attitude made Zhu Chunhua extremely uneasy and very restrained. In a low voice, he said, “Governor, I request punishment from the organization. There have been oversights in our work on safety supervision. Please criticize me.”

Nie Zhenbang waved his hand and said solemnly, “Director Zhu, now is not the time to pursue responsibility; we will set aside those words for now. It is indisputable that the safety supervision department has a responsibility. You, Zhu Chunhua, have a responsibility, but that doesn’t mean you must die for it. This is not a feudal society; we don’t practice collective punishment or guilt by association. Of course, you definitely have responsibilities.”

He paused for a moment, observing Zhu Chunhua’s reaction, who appeared quite anxious and fearful. Nie Zhenbang continued, “Now, the most important issue is the rescue work. Everything else can be set aside for now. Your task is to cooperate with Vice Governor Pan to ensure the rescue operation is successful, and to conduct a comprehensive inspection and cleanup of the Victorious Coal Mine’s safety qualifications and other matters. You rushed over here and probably haven’t had dinner yet. Let Secretary-General Fang take you to eat first.”

After sending Zhu Chunhua off, Li Jupeng walked in from outside, leaned close to Nie Zhenbang, and whispered, “Governor, Secretary Liu just made a visit and requested you to rest in the county, as conditions here are inadequate. What do you think?”

Li Jupeng’s words made Nie Zhenbang stand up immediately, he glanced at Li Jupeng indifferently and said firmly, “Go to the county? I will not. I’m afraid I won’t be able to sleep. Think about the soldiers who are still working in shifts, think about those still trapped in the mine, can they sleep? You go tell Liu Bingyi and Yang Hengqiu. If they want to sleep, let them go to Gushan County. I, Nie Zhenbang, am staying here tonight. Whenever the rescue ends, that’s when I’ll go to Gushan County.”

As soon as Li Jupeng stepped out of his office, Liu Binyi and Yang Hengqiu were already there to meet him, both with looks of deep concern on their faces. Considering that Liu Binyi was a bit more familiar with Li Jupeng, it was Liu Binyi who broke the silence, “Director Li, how did it go? What’s the boss’s stance?”

Li Jupeng was feeling quite unhappy at the moment, thinking to himself, “Good for you, Liu Binyi, sending me to get an earful. Now you’re playing the good guy.” Listening to Liu Binyi’s words, Li Jupeng spread his hands and said, “Secretary Liu, I don’t know what the boss means, but his exact words were, if you want to sleep, please Secretary Liu and Mayor Yang go find someone yourself. He’s staying here today.”

Hearing these words, Liu Binyi and Yang Hengqiu already understood the meaning. Both felt a bit helpless. One rank higher really could crush you to death. Governor Nie was here, could they leave? Would they dare to leave? Only if they had a death wish. After a moment of silence, Liu Binyi spoke, “Old Yang, knowing the boss’s character, I can say he’s very decisive. Tonight, we can only make do here. I think, you should go find Cai Licheng from Gushan County now and ask him to make arrangements. For accommodations here. Have them immediately clean up a few of the better dormitories in the mine and arrange them for the Governor.”

Yang Hengqiu nodded. They say that Governor Nie acted decisively, and now Yang Hengqiu truly understood what that meant. He sighed, “It seems that’s the only option. I hope that Victorious Coal Mine is up to standard in every aspect. Otherwise, Gushan County might be facing yet another upheaval.”

…

The next afternoon, by this time, a full twenty-four hours had passed since the formal start of the rescue mission. The three hundred meters distance that remained had now been reduced to just fifty meters.

The original estimate of twenty meters per hour turned out to be overly optimistic. In reality, it worked out to about ten meters per hour.

Nie Zhenbang was now personally overseeing the mine site, constantly monitoring and directing the rescue efforts. A knock came from outside, and Pan Jianzhang walked in, reporting, “Governor, Deputy Director Yao from the National Safety Supervision Bureau has arrived. Also, we already have a basic situation report on the coal mine investigation. To be honest, there are quite a few issues with Victorious Coal Mine.”

On hearing this, Nie Zhenbang immediately stood up, speaking sternly, “Please invite Deputy Director Yao in, and you, go notify Huang Jin and those two from Wuliang City to wait for me in the conference room. I’ll go there right away with Deputy Director Yao.”

After last night’s invitation incident, Nie Zhenbang felt very upset, referring to Liu Binyi and Yang Hengqiu simply as those two from Wuliang City.

Given his position and rank, Deputy Director Yao from the National Safety Supervision Bureau did not put on airs but rather showed a warm and proactive attitude in greeting Governor Nie, “Governor Nie, how is the coal mine rescue proceeding?”

Nie Zhenbang nodded, replying earnestly, “First, on behalf of the provincial party committee and the provincial government, I’d like to thank the central government for their concern toward Bashu Province. As for the rescue, it’s progressing quickly—I estimate that in at most five hours, we can break through the rescue channel. Deputy Director Yao, before you came, I had already instructed the provincial safety supervision bureau and all relevant departments to launch an investigation into Victorious Coal Mine. Let’s proceed to the meeting and listen to their reports, shall we?”

When Nie Zhenbang and Deputy Director Yao entered the conference room, Pan Jianzhang, Huang Jin, Fang Yuan, and including Liu Binyi, Yang Hengqiu, and Zhu Chunhua were all seated. Nie Zhenbang took his place at the center, with Deputy Director Yao to his left. After all, as a leader from the central government, certain courtesies and face must be given.

Immediately after, Nie Zhenbang introduced, “Let me introduce everyone, this is Comrade Yao Yicheng, the Deputy Director of the National Safety Supervision Bureau. Comrade Jianzhang, please report your findings on the coal mine to Deputy Director Yao.”

Pan Jianzhang was startled for a moment — Nie Zhenbang’s sudden move came as quite a shock, as the saying goes, “Don’t air your dirty laundry in public,” yet Nie Zhenbang did so without any hesitation.

However, Pan Jianzhang seemed to grasp the implications and nodded in agreement, “Alright, Deputy Director Yao, Governor, comrades. According to our investigation and inspection, the mining license of Victorious Coal Mine has already expired. In addition, the mine where the accident occurred had, at the beginning of this year during the province-wide coal mine inspections, been clearly directed to halt operations for rectification by the provincial safety supervision bureau. Furthermore, apart from these issues, Victorious Coal Mine also suffers from weak safety awareness and inadequate installation and equipping of safety facilities, among other problems.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Nie Zhenbang glanced indifferently at Liu Binyi and Yang Hengqiu, then said, “Secretary Liu, Mayor Yang, as landlords, do you have any opinions on the issues with Victorious Coal Mine?”

The two of them were slightly embarrassed at this point. Governor Nie’s words were sharp, as if leaving them no place to hide. Yang Hengqiu then nodded, “Governor, Secretary Liu and I agree that we should completely comply with the organization’s arrangements. Whatever the organization decides, that’s our stance.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Nie Zhenbang immediately said, “Good!”

With that, Nie Zhenbang’s gaze turned exceptionally sharp, and he spoke sternly, “Victorious Coal Mine is not an isolated case, and now, there’s even the issue of illegal mining. According to the covert investigation by Deputy Governor Huang, Victorious Coal Mine had previously had some accidents, though minor. This means there’s been behavior of concealing accidents. Regarding the handling of Victorious Coal Mine, my opinion is to carry out a serious investigation. For those responsible, arrest those who should be arrested, criminally detain those who should be detained, and sentence those who should be sentenced. In terms of Daxing Town and Gushan County, even up to Wuliang City, any officials involved, no matter which level they are from, should be held accountable and investigated thoroughly!” (