Reborn as a Noble's Son

Chapter 603: Chapter 559 City’s Reaction (Request for Monthly Ticket)_1

Li Taishi’s final word revealed Nie Zhenbang’s strong position in Wanghai City to all the standing committee members, making Zhao Fei and Jiang Li’s faces turn somewhat unpleasant. They even began to regret it. They had initially thought that the other standing committee members would object to such a matter closely related to them, but they overlooked Mayor Nie’s prestige in the city.

This was a plan devised by Mayor Nie himself, and if it were to be successfully contested against, where would Mayor Nie’s prestige and face be? The consequences, they feared, were unthinkable. Plus, Zhao Fei had now realized. As the saying goes, “There are policies at the top and countermeasures at the bottom.” This plan could perhaps affect the lower-level cadres, but for themselves, these municipal committee leaders, the impact was not significant. It merely required a shift in their thinking.

At this moment, Jiang Huguang also glanced at Li Taishi, truly proving him to be the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, with deep and careful calculations. In this situation, he could either advance or retreat freely. He was completely in the posture of a bystander.

However, there was no other way. As the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, Li Taishi was in control of the pace of the standing committee meetings. He was the host. In such matters, no one else could take an indifferent stance. Only he, Li Taishi, had this privilege. This was the benefit brought by positional power. After all, if even this little power was not possessed by the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, and if he was constantly being opposed, there would be no authority to speak of.

At this moment, Li Taishi scanned the crowd and said slowly, “Although everyone basically agrees to implement this plan, there is no need for further discussion. I think it’s time to proceed to the voting process. Those in favor, please raise your hands.”

Whoosh whoosh whoosh

As Li Taishi’s words ended, Nie Zhenbang was the first to raise his hand, followed by Nie Zhenbang’s diehard supporters, Lin Mohan and Li Xiangtian, who also raised their hands. Next, Qi Siyuan and Jiang Huguang, who had just spoken out in agreement, also raised their hands. Liu Yafu, the Minister of Organisation, had a previous good relationship with Nie Zhenbang. In addition, the organisation department would shoulder a significant workload and wield a substantial amount of real authority in this matter. Naturally, Liu Yafu agreed and followed along by raising his hand. All together, six votes were instantly secured.

Due to Li Taishi’s words, Liu Gaohua and Yi Chang also raised their hands, adding up to a total of nine votes, including his own. Whether or not the other standing committee members raised their hands did not matter much anymore.

Seeing that the overall situation was settled, Zhang Zhengguang did not say much more and continued with his old habit of abstention. Next, Gu Dongliang also voiced out, “I also abstain.”

In the end, only Zhao Fei and Jiang Li remained. Both of their faces were somewhat uncomfortable. To their surprise, they had been isolated at the standing committee meeting.

With a grave tone, Zhao Fei stated, “On this matter, my stance remains. I reserve my opinion.”

Sometimes, issues within the system also touch upon integrity. For instance, despite knowing the stubbornness was not beneficial, Elder Nie had staunchly supported it. That was a matter of integrity. Once a cadre lost integrity, it amounted to losing credibility. Nobody would dare cooperate with them then. At this point, since Zhao Fei had already clearly expressed his opposition, he could not possibly go along with it. He had no choice but to stand firm to the end. Temporarily falling from grace was a minor issue, but losing trust due to a lapse in integrity was the larger issue.

With the overall situation settled, Li Taishi, smiling slightly, nodded and said, “Nine votes in favor, two abstentions and two reservations. This matter is settled. Secretary-General, later on, you should officially draft a document in the name of the municipal committee to announce the details of the ‘San Gong’ implementation. In addition, issue a notice to the entire city, the municipal party committee, the municipal government, and all the municipal agencies and organizations to learn from the spirit of the committee meeting and strictly control the growth of ‘San Gong’ expenses. If there are no other matters, we can end the meeting.”

As Li Taishi’s words fell, all the standing committee members stood up and file out of the meeting room orderly. Their expressions were solemn and serious. Nie Zhenbang was also packing up his laptop and teacup at the moment. At his side, Li Taishi smiled and said, “Zhenbang, can you come over to my place for a while?”

Nie Zhenbang was not surprised by Li Taishi’s invitation. Regular interaction and harmonious coexistence among the team members were necessary and required communication. He could sense that Li Taishi had a purpose this time. Even if Li Taishi did not mention it, Nie Zhenbang would bring it up on his own.

Subsequently, Nie Zhenbang very readily nodded and said, “Sure, let’s go to your office, Secretary Li Taishi.”

In the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee’s office, Nie Zhenbang was a familiar visitor. He received the teacup handed over by Li Taishi and placed it on the table. At this moment, Li Taishi also sat down beside him.

After pondering a bit, it seemed that Li Taishi was also considering how to converse with Nie Zhenbang. Although Li Taishi was indeed the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, in Wanghai, Nie Zhenbang’s background and capabilities were things that Li Taishi was quite apprehensive about. Li Taishi had made up his mind and saw very clearly that they could both benefit from their cooperation. If they could not collaborate well, it was likely both would suffer significant losses, even to the extent of unilateral failure on his part. Numerous intertwined factors were involved in this, and it was not a situation that could be suppress solely with the title of a provincial standing committee member.

“Zhenbang, this ‘San Gong’ ordinance this time, I think there might be some opposing voices and risks,” Li Taishi decided to deal sincerely.

“Three Public Expenses Regulation”, is the city’s subtitle for the detailed implementation of public affairs receptions. It is supposed to limit public expenditures, so this name is quite apt.

Li Taishi’s words were sincere, and Nie Zhenbang also nodded. The Three Public Expenses matter is a major one. In his previous experience, even at the national level, when the central government took action, no significant results were seen. Of course, this was because the scale was too large and involved too many interest relationships in all aspects. However, regardless, the entanglements were numerous and posed a real issue.

“Secretary Taishi, I am mentally prepared. The ‘Three Public Expenses Regulation’ has a wide impact, from the city committee leaders to ordinary grassroots cadres. Everyone’s interests are implicated. For example, no matter which town or village official, they all have some or other habits of using public money for private purposes. Once the regulation is implemented and these practices are blocked, their work enthusiasm would inevitably be affected and complaints would inevitably arise. However, I believe that these teething pains are unavoidable,” Nie Zhenbang carefully explained his analysis to Li Taishi.

Li Taishi slightly nodded in agreement. He had climbed up the ranks from the grassroots level and understood the happenings there very well. When Li Taishi was a grassroots-party-town official, in every town and village, who didn’t owe money to a restaurant in the town? When inspecting leaders came, good wine and food were served at the restaurant. When new colleagues arrived, welcome feasts were held. In festive seasons, unit dinners were still held. These accounts were all reimbursed by the finance department under one name – hospitality expenses.

This has become a bad habit, adding substantial expenditure to the nation and putting a heavy burden on the people. If it could be effectively contained, it would indeed be a great achievement for the present generation and a wonderful way for quick results.

“The supervision is too excessive. Nowadays, every department has its petty cash, and they are quite ingenious in setting up various categories for expenditure. I’m afraid the execution will encounter considerable difficulties,” said Li Taishi. This meant that he had already approved of Nie Zhenbang’s views.

Nie Zhenbang also nodded, “In this regard, we can only proceed step by step. We will establish several secret investigation teams and open inspection teams in the city to research the implementation of the ‘Three Public Expenses Regulation’ carefully. I believe it will have a certain deterrent effect. Once it is basically implemented, I suggest that the city should establish a financial clearing group to clear up the petty cash of all bureaus, commissions, and subordinate districts in the city.”

Each step leading to the next, Nie Zhenbang’s strategy involved both the ‘Three Public Expenses Regulation’ and the inspection of petty cash. If carried out simultaneously, the resistance and impact would undoubtedly be massive. A slight mishap could lead to grassroots officials rebelling, and under some scheming individuals, the situation could escalate. Even good policies may have to be halted, and as a leader, one must bear the corresponding responsibilities.

However, if done step by step, it could significantly alleviate these conflicts. At this moment, Li Taishi also perceived Nie Zhenbang’s capability and tactfulness. It really was extraordinary.

After discussing some work-related issues, Nie Zhenbang got up to leave. At this moment, once the ‘Three Public Expenses Regulation’ was announced, the leaders of all the bureaus and commissions within the city went into a frenzy.

In the afternoon, among the several dozens of bureaus in the city, at least more than 70% of them held party committee meetings to discuss matters of the ‘Three Public Expenses Regulation’.

…

Mayor’s Office in the Municipal Government

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang was sitting at his desk, with a report on the feasibility of developing the computer networking industry in WangHai City laid out before him.

Compared to large cities like Hucheng City and Jingcheng, WangHai City’s geographic location has certain advantages. However, it also has several disadvantages. Truly developing this area is not something that can be achieved overnight.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door, followed by it being pushed open. An Guoyu, the Secretary-General of the Municipal Government, walked in.

Seeing An Guoyu hesitate to speak, Nie Zhenbang frowned and said in a stern voice, “Secretary-General An, how come you’ve also picked up this habit? You’re stuttering while speaking. What’s the matter?”

An Guoyu looked somewhat embarrassed. After being lightly scolded by Nie Zhenbang, he nodded and said, “Mayor, ever since the ‘Three Public Expenses Regulation’ was enacted, all the bureaus and commissions across the city have been expressing strong opinions. They claim it severely damaged the enthusiasm of grassroots officials. Moreover, based on the current situation, the enforcement doesn’t seem very effective. What do you think…”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Upon hearing this, Nie Zhenbang frowned. He expected the implementation of the ‘Three Public Expenses Regulation’ to encounter criticism and resistance. But the open opposition stirred his nerves. He stood up, glanced at his watch, and saw that it was about noon – the peak time for treating guests to meals. He then said in a deep voice, “Let’s go, Secretary-General. Join me in conducting on-the-ground inspections of major restaurants.” (