Chapter 1260: Chapter 1215: Scandal Emerges in Longxi Chapter 1260: Chapter 1215: Scandal Emerges in Longxi Liu Zhentao’s stance conveys two meanings; one of them, and the most important one, is that he is backing down. Over the New Year period, some rumors within the province inevitably linked to him. At this time, Liu Zhentao stepping forward is undoubtedly to show his sincerity to Nie Zhenbang. On the other hand, it reflects Liu Zhentao’s cleverness. Under such circumstances, Secretary Nie suddenly opening fire, first with his supporters publishing statements of endorsement, followed by Wang Benchang also speaking out in agreement. With the trend being set, opposing it would be futile. Instead, it would damage his prestige within the province, not worth the loss. At this moment, choosing to agree is undoubtedly the best approach.

Looking at Liu Zhentao, Governor Zhentao’s facial expression remained as calm as usual, with no difference from any other day. Such composure and deep thinking, Liu Zhentao is truly not one to be known just by his name.

After pondering for a moment, Nie Zhenbang slowly said, “Since everyone agrees, then let’s decide on this. Secretary-General Xiaomin from the Provincial Committee Office, please draft a document. Send copies to the four leading groups, all ministries, and all cities. All provincial cadres must quickly refocus, engage in ideological study, and strengthen their work. We must resolutely eliminate the practice and attitude of being lackadaisical in work.”

As Nie Zhenbang announced the meeting was adjourned, all the standing committee members stood up. Nie Zhenbang walked at the front, pausing in front of Zhang Fangwen, he said, “Minister Fangwen, come to my office for a visit.”

Inside Nie Zhenbang’s office, sitting on the sofa in the reception area, Zhang Fangwen seemed slightly restrained. A faint scent filled the room, which had not been used for eight days, with windows and doors tightly shut, cutting off air circulation. On the first day back at work, Xia Gang did a thorough cleaning, opened the windows for ventilation, and even sprayed some air freshener.

The office heating was turned up high. Nie Zhenbang had also taken off his coat. After pouring a cup of tea for Zhang Fangwen, he too sat down and said, “Minister Fangwen, this year is the year for elections at the provincial, municipal, and county levels. Quite a few comrades have reached the age limit for retirement. This time, the workload of the Organization Department of the Provincial Committee is enormous. Moreover, I have a matter I’d like to discuss with you privately first. I want to hear your opinion. If it’s feasible, I plan to bring it up for discussion at the Standing Committee meeting.”

When elections were mentioned, Zhang Fangwen’s mind became tangled, trying to decipher the meaning behind Nie Zhenbang’s words. As Organization Department Minister, Zhang Fangwen was in charge of personnel matters. How to manage and what to manage were matters of expertise. To outsiders, Minister Zhang appeared immensely powerful, controlling all official appointments in the province, a leading provincial committee figure wielding real power.

Indeed, reaching such an achievement, a member of the Longxi Provincial Committee Standing Committee and the Minister of the Organization Department, as well as an alternate member of the Central Committee, is something many people may never achieve in their lifetimes. Also, it is true he held considerable authority. At the local city and county level, Minister Zhang had significant prestige.

But, as the saying goes, only the drinker knows whether the water is cold or warm. It’s only when sitting in this position that Zhang Fangwen realizes life isn’t as beautiful as imagined.

As the Organization Department Minister, he was under the thumb of the top leader of the Provincial Committee, and embarrassingly, the responsibilities of an Organization Department Minister overlapped with those of a dedicated Deputy Secretary. The dedicated Deputy Secretary, also known as the Masses’ Secretary, was in charge of organizing personnel and the work concerning party group formations and awareness.

This made the role of Organization Department Minister quite awkward–if one couldn’t gain the support of the top leader, the so-called power was but a castle in the air.

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang’s words also sent Zhang Fangwen into deep thought. Why was Secretary Nie summoning him alone at this time, and bringing up the topic of elections? Was he hinting at the unrest among the cadres during the New Year period?

After pondering for a while, Zhang Fangwen nodded and said, “Secretary, the Organization Department has been preparing. We preliminarily estimate that within this month, before the Lantern Festival, we’ll set up a special work leadership group, which I will lead personally. Leaders of various departments within the Organization Department will join as members. In this period, we plan to go throughout the province, to supervise and guide the progress of the election work, strictly overseeing the principles and procedures of the elections. We will strictly adhere to the spirit of the Organization’s instructions and the Secretary’s directives to ensure the success of the municipal and county elections.”

Hearing Zhang Fangwen’s words, Nie Zhenbang merely smiled faintly. Clearly, Zhang Fangwen hadn’t entirely opened up, but Nie Zhenbang wasn’t concerned. It was normal for provincial leaders to have reservations.

Looking at Zhang Fangwen, Nie Zhenbang then said, “Minister Zhang, my preliminary idea is that starting from this year, all personnel appointments and selections at the city, county, and district levels should be consolidated under the control of the Provincial Committee Organization Department. After bringing them under provincial jurisdiction, each city, entrusted by the Provincial Committee, would be responsible for the day-to-day management of cadres at the county level in their jurisdiction. They would also handle the appointment, removal, and transfer of county-level cadres. However, formal document procedures would all go through the Provincial Committee Organization Department. What do you think?”

Nie Zhenbang had his own reasons for such an arrangement. This way, the authority of the Provincial Committee would be felt directly down to the city, county, and district levels.

Zhang Fangwen was somewhat surprised. Secretary Nie’s move was a checkmate. Centralizing personnel matters within the Provincial Committee would strengthen control over the lower levels. The prestige of the Provincial Committee would undoubtedly be enhanced. More importantly, Nie Zhenbang cleverly used this. On normal days, the cities would manage. This also meant that, if necessary, the Provincial Committee could directly intervene, limiting the power issues of city leaders at the local level.

He nodded and said, “I heartily agree with the Secretary’s thoughts. The selection and appointment of county-level leadership personnel being taken over by the Provincial Committee is something that has already been implemented in many places across the country. From what has been implemented, it reduces middle links. Moreover, some places have even extracted budgets to be governed directly by provincial finance, which has made the use of finances more rational. This has also greatly improved administrative efficiency at the lower levels. I think this proposal is good.”

“Hehe, if it’s good, then it’s settled. Since that’s the case, Minister Zhang, after you return, specifically look for data on this aspect, thoroughly compile statistics, and if necessary, send special inspection teams to sibling provinces and cities to observe and learn. That way, we can better grasp the situation,” Nie Zhenbang then added with a smile.

From outside the door, came a knock. Nie Zhenbang frowned and said, “Come in.”

Xia Gang walked in with a solemn face, glanced at Zhang Fangwen, nodded as a sign of acknowledgment, and then said, “Secretary, Minister Hongying is here, saying there is an urgent situation to report.”

At this moment, Zhang Fangwen also stood up and said, “Secretary, then I will take my leave.”

This kind of scene is normal within the system. Essentially, everyone knows what to do. Nie Zhenbang also nodded and said, “Alright, Fangwen, I won’t see you out.”

As he spoke, Nie Zhenbang turned to Xia Gang and said, “Xiaoxia, please let Minister Hongying in.”

At the door, Li Hongying saw Zhang Fangwen and also nodded as a greeting, and then walked into the office. Li Hongying began, “Secretary, according to the news just received from the Provincial Radio and Television Center, today, at work, media journalists, after receiving news tip-offs, conducted undercover investigations on some organizations in counties and districts under Qinchuan City, including Qinan County, Yongzheng County, and Datong District. They discovered that many organizations exhibited various degrees of non-compliance. There were even individual organizations that extended the Spring Festival holiday until after the Lantern Festival. When journalists inquired during interviews, the response from the duty personnel was extremely rude. The journalists asked why they were taking such a long holiday, who made this rule, and why no one was at work during the nation’s official holidays. Their response was dumbfounding–they claimed it was their ‘rule’.”

“Minister Hongying, what do you mean?” Nie Zhenbang looked at Li Hongying, inquiring further.

At that moment, Li Hongying said, “Our provincial station reporters were also involved in the undercover visit and obtained first-hand material. Would you like to see it?”

Without a second thought, Nie Zhenbang directly said, “Broadcast it as normal. Such matters, not only should the propaganda department broadcast them, but they should also intensify the effort, enhancing the media oversight portion. We must truly utilize the news media, allowing it to play the role of social and public opinion supervision.”

For such incidents, there was no need to deliberate; indeed, for Longxi Province, it counted as a scandal. But, viewed from a different angle, it also reflected Longxi Province’s sincere and candid attitude towards governance.

As for those local organizations, they were beyond Nie Zhenbang’s concern–merely county level. They could not even be considered as county-department level, but only section-level officials. Such matters, fundamentally, would not affect the Provincial Committee.

In a big forest, there are all kinds of birds. Could Nie Zhenbang guarantee that none of the provincial leadership personnel would have any issues? Obviously, that was impossible.

Li Hongying also breathed a sigh of relief internally. In her heart, there was another speculation. Reportedly, during this incident, journalists from the National News Agency and the National Television had also participated in the undercover operation. Although this was merely speculation heard from the provincial station, Li Hongying did not dare to report such unconfirmed news. However, there’s no smoke without fire; there must be some truth behind it.

If Nie Zhenbang had asked to suppress the issue, it would have put Li Hongying in a difficult position. She would then inevitably have to invest more effort. The media within Longxi Province could be controlled by Li Hongying, but not the national-level media. After all, she was only in charge of news propaganda in Longxi Province. If there came orders from above, even with connections and relationships, suppressing the news would still require a great deal of effort and hard work.

Meanwhile, after Li Hongying left, Nie Zhenbang walked to the door and said to Xia Gang, “Xiaoxia, call Wang Haolin from Qinchuan City. Tell him to come to the province.”

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes at Qidian (wuxiaworld.site). Your support is my greatest motivation.)