Reborn as a Noble's Son

Chapter 802: Chapter 758: Clear Attitude

Long Genghua’s words, however, caused Nie Zhenbang to frown. Ever since he had rejected Long Genghua’s invitation to gather last time, their relationship, while not exactly cold, was also not very harmonious.

Their relationship was more aligned with interests. To put it plainly, it can be described simply—if there was a mutual interest, they could naturally cooperate, but without it, they had to assess the situation. When there were conflicts, that’s when they would both show their capabilities.

This time, Long Genghua taking the initiative to make a call gave Nie Zhenbang the feeling that there was no such thing as an uninvited guest. After pondering for a moment, Nie Zhenbang also responded with a smile, “Secretary Long, please feel free to speak. As long as it’s not a matter of principle, I have no objections.”

Hearing Nie Zhenbang’s response, the corners of Long Genghua’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch. Nie Zhenbang’s words were too shameless, too accommodating. What constitutes a matter of principle was inherently subjective. If he said it was a matter of principle, then it was. This way, Nie Zhenbang always had the initiative.

After a moment of silence, Long Genghua spoke very calmly, “It’s nothing much, just that yesterday, comrades from Guonan City reported some conditions to me. I heard that the pilot program for the land transfer in Guonan City isn’t going too well. In terms of full-scale promotion, some people in the city have a biased and one-sided approach. This could significantly impact the overall progress of the pilot project.”

At this level, speaking and acting both required finesse. Words should not be spoken too definitively. Actions also needed to leave some room for maneuver.

For those at the department or county level, suffering a loss or losing face is quite normal. But at the provincial and ministerial level, face is more important than anything else. Losing one’s life is a minor issue compared to losing face. If you lose face in the provincial party committee, then it’s like sweeping your dignity away.

Therefore, Long Genghua’s words were very flexible, always allowing room for a step back. As for specifics, it depended on how Nie Zhenbang would respond.

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang’s brow furrowed even deeper. It seemed that when the tiger didn’t show its might, others mistook him for a sick cat. The provincial party committee needed unity and harmony, but this wasn’t to say one should always retreat. This was something Nie Zhenbang now saw very clearly.

After a pause, Nie Zhenbang responded with a smile, “Secretary Long, you are mistaken. I actually think that Comrade Jiang Jingu’s cautious approach is very good. Solid and steady. Land transfer represents a new concept, and every year at the central rural work conference, Director Shen repeatedly emphasizes that rural issues must be approached steadily and slowly. After all, only meticulous work yields fine results. Land transfer is an innovation in rural work. We in Bashu are leading the nation, and as pioneers, we must be even more prudent. I see no problems at all.”

Both men had an unspoken understanding and did not clarify their words explicitly. With this kind of thing, everyone was smart enough to grasp the wisdom that some things are better implied than directly stated; it was a matter of beating around the bush. Once these invisible confrontations were over, they were over.

Of course, everyone understood that neither was giving the other face, but at least they hadn’t torn each other apart, which meant future interactions wouldn’t be too awkward.

When Long Genghua heard this, he understood Nie Zhenbang’s meaning, and although he felt somewhat displeased, there was nothing he could do about it. If you really got down to it, Nie Zhenbang was a full ministerial level official, ranked higher than him within the party. This year, he had even been made an alternate member of the Central Committee. It’s likely that if it weren’t for his age, he might have become a full Central Committee member directly. With all these statuses and positions laid out, none were within his grasp to manipulate at will.

With this in mind, Long Genghua forced a smile and said, “That’s true, Governor Zhenbang’s considerations are also correct. Since that is the case, I won’t say any more. Let’s get together some other time.”

After hanging up the phone, Nie Zhenbang’s expression immediately darkened. It was certain that Long Genghua’s call was motivated by someone behind the scenes, and the most likely candidate was Guonan City’s Party Secretary Wang Guofa.

Yet, the call revealed an unusual atmosphere. Long Genghua’s status was not something Wang Guofa could manipulate. At most, Wang Guofa could have telephoned Long Genghua for help, and it seemed Long Genghua had the same idea. These projects, laden with political achievements, were something everybody could clearly see people within the province were envious of.

At this level, evenly distributed interests and shared political achievements were fine by Nie Zhenbang, as such great credit was not something one person could monopolize. Only by sharing the benefits could one be on the right track.

However, the problem was that within the provincial party committee, it was likely not only Long Genghua who was watching but others as well, all aiming to secure a share of the glory for their respective factions. This was something Nie Zhenbang couldn’t accept.

If they were upright and selfless, Nie Zhenbang had no objections. However, judging from Jiang Jingu’s report, the issue in Jinjiang County involved sabotage, which touched Nie Zhenbang’s bottom line. Within Nie’s territory, he never refused those who wanted to achieve something. But anyone looking to reap benefits from it was tantamount to pulling teeth from a tiger’s mouth, and this was absolutely intolerable.

At this moment, he knew he had to take some action as a warning to those with ulterior motives. He wanted to make it clear to them what was up for grabs and what was off-limits.

With that thought, Nie Zhenbang immediately picked up the phone and dialed Fang Yuan’s number, saying, “Old Fang, please inform Comrade Li Guangqiang. Tomorrow morning, we are going to Guonan City. We’ll inspect the progress of the land transfer work on site.”

Li Guangqiang was the deputy governor in charge of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, animal husbandry, and water. Naturally, his presence was indispensable for this trip related to agriculture.

On the other end, Fang Yuan nodded and then said, “Governor, do we need to notify the Agriculture Department to bring people over? Also, do you have any requests regarding the arrangements for the accompanying journalists? As for vehicles, should we arrange for individual official cars or use Coasters?”

“For journalists, just arrange for reporters from the provincial paper and the provincial station. Don’t have too many people. The relevant officials from the Agriculture Department should also come along to learn. It will soon be promoted throughout the province, and the Agriculture Department will play the leading role in this regard in the future. As for the cars, let’s just arrange two Coasters to go down. We should keep a low profile in our travels.” After pondering for a moment, Nie Zhenbang gave his instructions.

On this end, Fang Yuan naturally notified everyone by phone one by one, and at the same time, he called the office of the Guonan City Municipal Committee.

Upon receiving the news, the Municipal Committee’s Secretary-General immediately rushed to the office of Secretary Wang Guofa to report, “Secretary, I’ve just received a call from Secretary-General Fang of the provincial government. Tomorrow morning, Governor Nie, Deputy Governor Li, and a group from the Agriculture Department will be coming to our Guonan City for inspections. Secretary, I think this does not bode well.”

The words of the Municipal Committee’s Secretary-General annoyed Wang Guofa. Was this even something that needed saying? At this point, under these circumstances, Nie Zhenbang’s sudden decision to inspect the work in Guonan City, especially while bringing the deputy governor in charge of agriculture and personnel from the Agriculture Department, was clearly nitpicking—a blatant move.

However, Wang Guofa dared not express any objections; an official of a higher rank could crush you without effort, let alone Governor Nie who was more than just a rank above. There was a two-grade difference between the head of a department and the head of a ministry.

After a moment of contemplation, Wang Guofa, somewhat dissatisfied, said, “Secretary-General, some words should be said with caution. Don’t just say whatever comes to mind. Governor Nie’s inspection is a top priority for Guonan City. It has been seven or eight years since a head of the provincial party committee has inspected our city. We must give full attention to Governor Nie’s visit. Now, go and arrange it. Notify all the Standing Committee members who are at home to immediately convene in the meeting room.”

Reprimanded by Wang Guofa, the Municipal Committee’s Secretary-General was somewhat alarmed by what he had just said. He really had been impulsive. Fortunately, it had only been mentioned to Wang Guofa—if it had leaked out, it would have been the end of his career.

Inside the small meeting room of the Guonan City Municipal Committee, this was already the second emergency Standing Committee meeting of the month. The recent fluctuations in Guonan City had made all members of the Standing Committee feel the abnormality of the atmosphere.

“Comrades, I’ve called you together again for one main reason. I’ve just received a call from Secretary-General Fang of the provincial government. Tomorrow morning, Governor Nie, Deputy Governor Li, and relevant comrades from the Agriculture Department will be coming to Guonan City for an inspection. Today, our main topic is the reception and arrangement of Governor Nie’s visit,” said Wang Guofa, succinct and to the point on this issue without beating around the bush.

As soon as these words were said, the meeting room erupted into murmurs, with many members of the Standing Committee looking towards Jiang Jingu, who remained composed. They weren’t fools; in light of the land transfer issues, many people in the city had been very active. There were inspections and speeches.

People were puzzled about Jiang Jingu’s calmness at the center of the storm, and now the truth was clear; he didn’t care at all. Bringing Governor Nie over was enough to overpower everything else.

The following steps were naturally routine. The entire urban area had to undergo a sudden major cleanup. The public security, sanitation, transportation, urban management, and health departments all had to act immediately. Preparations had to be made for the leadership inspection—these were now must-do tasks, requiring no special arrangements.

Early the next morning, just before eight o’clock, the leaders of the four major groups of Guonan City had already gathered at the municipal government building. A dozen official cars were lined up in a long formation, waiting below, with escort vehicles prepared at the front and back.

Under the leadership of Wang Guofa, the group came out. After glancing at his watch, Wang Guofa said in a stern voice, “Let’s go!” (