Chapter 363: Chapter 354: Invisible Confrontation_1
The office building of Liangxi City’s municipal party committee and government would appear, at first glance, to be two separate structures. However, in reality, it is a single building.

The two sections are connected by sky bridges. Viewed from the outside, the façade concealed under a curtain wall gives the impression of an undivided building. Yet internally, the divisions are discernibly clear.

Fan Changsheng’s office and Nie Zhenbang’s office are on the same floor, but one is situated at the far east, the other at the west.

Being a floor for the municipal committee leaders, the entire hallway is extremely quiet. Walking down the corridor, Nie Zhenbang encountered no one until he reached the entrance of Fan Changsheng’s office. He raised his hand to knock on the door. A voice answered from within, “Come in.”

As soon as he entered the office, Wang Mingxuan, who was seated at the desk, stood up, a look of surprise on his face. Nie Zhenbang’s unexpected visit had truly astonished him.

However, Wang Mingxuan was, after all, Fan Changsheng’s secretary. He had been with Fan Changsheng for many years and was no inexperienced youngster. He quickly composed himself, greeted Nie Zhenbang with a smile, and said, “Mayor Nie, good day.”

Necessary courtesies must still be observed. Regardless of his position as a high-ranking secretary, it would be unfitting to feign nonchalance in front of a city mayor.

“Secretary Wang, hello,” Nie Zhenbang replied with a smile. He then pointed at the half-open door, lowered his voice, and said, “Is Secretary Fan available right now? There’s something I’d like to report to him.”

A look of surprise appeared on Wang Mingxuan’s face. Nie Zhenbang offering to report work progress was almost unheard of. Even though a city mayor reporting to the party secretary is not uncommon within their system, considering their relationship, it was unlikely Nie Zhenbang would have initiated such a request.

“My apologies, Mayor Nie. Just before you arrived, the deputy chairman of the Municipal Political Consultative Conference, Mr. Huang, was ushered in. He wanted to discuss with Secretary Fan about the preparatory work for Jiangbei Province’s Political Consultative Conference meeting. Why don’t you wait here while I go inform him?” After a moment’s thought, Wang Mingxuan decided not to act on Fan Changsheng’s behalf. As Fan’s secretary, he knew his boss’s temperament very well. Under the current circumstances, if he failed to convey the message, Fan could very well become furious. Naturally, Wang Mingxuan would not risk incurring Fan’s wrath on Nie Zhenbang’s account.

Hearing Wang Mingxuan’s words, a cold smile flashed across Nie Zhenbang’s face. The “occupied by a visitor” excuse was merely an artifice. With the door ajar and not a sound from within, it was blatantly deceptive. But knowing such trickeries, Nie Zhenbang chose not to expose it. More importantly, he was confident that regardless of their relationship status, given his distinguished visit, Fan Changsheng would hardly dare refuse seeing him.

Wang Mingxuan entered the office and returned very quickly. Following him was Fan Changsheng, who had stood up from his desk, signaling his deference.

Before Nie Zhenbang could utter a word, Fan Changsheng took the initiative to speak, “Mayor Nie, welcome. Please have a seat. We rarely have the honour of your visit. What brings you here today?”

Fan Changsheng’s words were remarkably direct, despite the lack of pleasantries, displaying an unwillingness for an elaborate chat and a clear insistence on business matters.

Nie Zhenbang knew very well that there was no possibility of reconciliation between him and Fan Changsheng. Their relationship was such that they could tacitly agree on issues of common interest – like the restructuring of Qingfang City and the increasing social protest incidents. But when it came to matters not involving their personal interests, especially key personnel appointments, it was clear that fierce confrontations were inevitable.

Without any pretense, Nie Zhenbang took a seat in front of Fan Changsheng’s desk, pulled a document out of his bag, and said, “Secretary Fan, this is the overall plan for Qingfang City. Please have a look.”

However, Fan Changsheng now casually pushed the document aside, smiled and said, “Mayor Nie, there is no need to go through the plan. I’ve heard about the issue in Qingfang City. Since the people support it, there can’t be any mistake. Implement the plan as it is. I don’t want to gild the lily.”

This was Fan Changsheng’s way of expressing his displeasure. The plan had not been reported to him before it was announced, but the report was submitted after the fact. Wasn’t this superfluous, like doing something pointless and unnecessary? Given this, Fan Changsheng decided to adopt a hands-off approach.

Nie Zhenbang knew exactly what Fan Changsheng meant and immediately stopped beating around the bush. He said straight away, “In that case, let’s not watch it then, Secretary Fan. Apart from reporting on the plan this time, there’s something else I wanted to discuss with you.”

Speaking, Nie Zhenbang’s face also turned serious, “Secretary Fan, during my visit to the Spinning Factory, the meeting room there surprised me. Just a meeting room cost several million in renovation expenses. Additionally, based on the information I have, many of the leaders in Qingfang City’s three factories are suspected of using their power for personal gains, engaging in actions detrimental to the public interest. There’s strong public response. The restructuring of Qingfang City is a fuse that has completely ignited the anger of the workers in the three factories. I believe that during the early stages of the reorganization when the workers first enter the three factories and carry out property inventory and audit, it is necessary to form a powerful investigation team composed of city discipline inspection commission, the supervisory office, and the corruption investigation bureau of the procuratorate, and have them present in the three factories for investigation.”

Nie Zhenbang’s words were shocking, a matter that was far beyond Fan Changsheng’s expectations. Furrowing his brow, Fan Changsheng said: “Mayor Nie, aren’t you exaggerating a bit? Isn’t it human nature to crave luxury in life and in the workplace? Isn’t launching an investigation making a big deal out of it? Qingfang City is currently at a critical stage of restructuring. If the discipline inspection commission moves in for an investigation, I’m afraid it might incite panic and anger among the workers. Any arising issues aren’t something that you alone can handle.”

Nie Zhenbang chuckled coldly, looking at Fan Changsheng’s aloof demeanor. He then spoke seriously: “Secretary Fan, I can’t agree with that statement. One must examine the nature of things. In my view, the leadership team at Qingfang City, if indeed capable and withstands scrutiny, what’s there to fear about an investigation? As the saying goes, ‘if there is room for improvement, improve; if not, work hard’. If even a Communist Party member lacks such openness and courage, then we can forget about socialist construction. My suggestion is to establish an investigation team as soon as possible and station it in Qingfang City. If there are any issues, I believe that the workers will applaud, and the trust in our municipal party committee and government will increase.”

Looking at Nie Zhenbang’s demeanor, Fan Changsheng seemed to recall that Nie Zhenbang formerly worked for the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. With Nie Zhenbang’s extensive connections there, it would not be wise for him to reject Nie’s proposal now. If any problems were to be exposed following Nie Zhenbang’s intervention from the upper level, he could end up being held accountable for covering up. The people in Qingfang City have nothing to do with him. Fan Changsheng saw no need to take risks for this issue. After a moment’s hesitation, Fan Changsheng nodded and said, “Hmm. You make some valid points. Ding Guo should be called over to discuss this.”

Shortly after Fan Changsheng made a phone call, Lei Dingguo walked into his office within three minutes. After hearing Nie Zhenbang’s proposition, Lei Dingguo almost immediately said without much deliberation, “Secretary Fan. I also agree with Mayor Nie. Concerning Qingfang City, the city’s discipline inspection commission also received quite a few letters of accusation. I have been holding back due to consideration for the overall situation in Qingfang City. Since Mayor Nie is suggesting an investigation, I believe it’s doable.”

Lei Dingguo’s words startled Fan Changsheng. It turned out that Lei Dingguo’s side indeed received accusation letters. After a moment of contemplation, Fan Changsheng nodded and said, “OK, since Secretary Ding Guo is insisting, I have no objections.”

With Fan Changsheng’s approval, Lei Dingguo quickly assembled three work groups and sent them into the three factories in Qingfang City.

When the investigation team from the discipline inspection commission suddenly moved in, all of Qingfang City was taken aback. Various rumors started circulating. The leading teams of the three factories had a feel of uneasiness. The discipline inspection commission was synonymous with bad news. The saying goes, one encounters nothing good with the commission; this was an accurate description of the commission.

For a while, the workers in Qingfang City shifted their attention to the investigation team from the discipline inspection commission. At this moment, less than a day after the investigation team entered Qingfang City.

At this moment, in Fan Changsheng’s private courtyard, several people were gathered in the living room. This was one of Fan Changsheng’s family dinners.

Besides Li Guohua, Huang Junshan, Li Xiaoqin, and Hu Youquan were all seated in the living room, Fan Changsheng slowly said, “The presence of the discipline inspection commission’s investigative team is inevitable. The discipline inspection commission received many letters of complaint in advance, with concrete evidence. You all don’t need to worry. The exposure of any issues isn’t scary. On the contrary, it shows that our municipal party committee team still has combat power. It doesn’t bring us any losses.”

As soon as Fan Changsheng finished his words, Huang Junshan’s face changed. He looked towards Li Xiaoqin. However, as soon as he looked in her direction, Li Xiaoqin quickly looked elsewhere. It was clear; she would not get involved in this matter.

Huang Junshan kept silent for a while, then said, “Secretary. You’re straightforward, with a clear conscience. However, there’s currently a rumor going around saying that Secretary Fan is scared of Mayor Nie. Mr. Secretary, if we let Nie Zhenbang be so reckless, I’m afraid it will destabilize the situation.”

As soon as Huang Junshan finished, Li Guohua also said, “Secretary. I think Old Huang has a point. Nowadays, many people only know Mayor Nie and are unaware of Secretary Fan. This sign is not a good one. While we investigate, we also cannot guarantee that Nie Zhenbang won’t take advantage of the situation. We need to have control over this matter. This way, we manage our offense and defense which are the key.”

As the investigation team for Qingfang City was established, the invisible confrontation between Li Guohua and Nie Zhenbang began. While Fan Changsheng was holding his family dinner, Nie Zhenbang also gathered a group of people together.

PS: Tomorrow is my father’s birthday, and quite a few guests came today so I only posted one chapter. To be honest, I am very clear about the direction the story is heading now. I will resume updates after getting through these busy days. (To be continued. If you love this novel, please go to qidian.com and vote for it. Your support is my biggest motivation.)