Reborn as a Noble's Son

Chapter 543: Chapter 500: Nie Zhenbang’s Deployment (5th Update, Asking for Monthly Tickets)_1
 

After hanging up the phone, Zhuang Aiguo immediately stood up and instructed the outside, “Xiao Wang, prepare the car, we’re heading to Guanghua Pavilion.”

Indeed, Zhuang Aiguo used the time difference wisely. On one hand, he agreed with Liu Wei’s suggestion to place Li Chengfang under double regulation. Yet, Zhuang Aiguo clearly understood the current thoughts of others. Prime Minister Yun Bo, obviously didn’t need to be mentioned. He was the strong advocate for the investigation. General Secretary Yuan had to lay some groundwork for Vice Chairman Shen’s promotion.

As for Secretary of Rule of Law Committee and Leng Yunfei, they naturally were happy about it. Sure enough, after Zhuang Aiguo delivered a detailed report of the whole matter to General Secretary Yuan, with a little hesitation, he nodded his head saying, “Investigate it. With Shi Yiwu dead and Li Chengfang implicated in the case, the Eastern Sea case is indeed very far-reaching. At this time, it is necessary to show our nation’s determination to combat corruption. Yang Guangrong, from the Central Propaganda Department, must implement this. No cover ups. Seek truth from facts, introduce our country’s anti-corruption work to domestic and international media, and establish an international image.”

Zhuang Aiguo greatly admired the words of the General Secretary. Indeed, being able to consider the international image from such a matter was truly impressive. It would surely earn admiration and appreciation from foreign media.

Inside the Ministry of Public Security, Li Chengfang sat in his office. The situation had him somewhat afraid. Even the once arrogant Li Chengfang, seeing the present situation, started to feel fear.

The phone sitting silently on his desk, Li Chengfang picked it up, hesitated for a moment, then put it down.

After a long while, he picked it up again and dialed a number. The phone rang twice and a low voice sounded from the other end. Hearing this voice, Li Chengfang felt as if he had grabbed a lifeline. He hurriedly pleaded, “Big brother, it’s me, Chengfang. The Nie family has gone too far. Nie Guodong and Nie Guowei sent some juniors to stir up chaos in Wanghai City, and even took down my nephew Guohua. Now, they’re preparing to take me down too. Big Brother, you must stand up for me.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the voice on the phone shouted: “Li Chengfang! Are you still playing these mind games with me?”

This sentence was like a death spell, causing Li Chengfang to break down completely. He whispered, “Big brother, I… I…”

Li Jiangshan remained silent. His son Li Guohua’s incident had already moved him back a step. Now, with the problem with Li Chengfang, he could not afford any losses. Moreover, the old man also urged everyone to maintain restraint and patience for this matter, fearing that he might get involved. If the direct branch of the Li family ended, the entire Li family would be over.

With this in mind, Li Jiangshan sternly said: “Handle your own affairs. At this time, if you truthfully confess to the organization, perhaps, your life can still be saved.”

After hanging up the phone, Li Chengfang’s face went pale. At this moment, a knock sounded from outside, and the door was pushed open. Ouyang Xia, the Deputy Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, stood at the entrance with a serious look and said, “Li Chengfang. Come with us!”

That night, the state-run television program “Daily at Seven” broadcasted the news about Li Chengfang being investigated by the Central Discipline Inspection Commission.

In Wanghai City, inside a suite on the third floor of Little Zhao Hongyan Building, Nie Zhenbang was sitting on the sofa next to Deputy Director of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, Xiao Shanming, who had come to report on his work.

After watching the news, Xiao Shanming was also very surprised. Generally speaking, there was an unwritten rule within the system, party and government officials at the county and bureau level or below could be investigated without hesitation. However, when it involved the provincial and ministerial level, they had to be extremely careful.

Typically, if it was a general disciplinary issue, as long as it didn’t involve treason or such major principles, they would choose a more tactful approach such as voluntary resignation or transfer of positions. But this time, Li Chengfang, a high-ranking official at the ministerial level, was placed under double regulation. Furthermore, the Central Organization Department immediately issued a dismiss decree, relieving Li Chengfang of his duties as Deputy Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee, Deputy Minister of Public Security, and member of the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Public Security.

In addition, it was announced on “Daily at Seven,” which meant that the central government’s attitude was to investigate thoroughly. Otherwise, they would not expose it to the entire nation.

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang was also startled. This time, the investigation team’s progress was much faster than the last time. As he could recall, in his past life, the Eastern Sea smuggling case, started in April and was only made public nationwide in July. This time, the progress was clearly much faster.

Upon thinking, Nie Zhenbang felt somewhat relieved in his heart. The many changes he had made in this life included the fate of the Nie family, the military strength of the nation, the Young Civilization, New Li City, Liangxi City, and more. These were all tangible changes, and in comparison, the Eastern Sea smuggling case didn’t seem like that big of a deal.

However, at this moment, Nie Zhenbang suddenly wondered whether Lin Zhengxing, upon seeing the news, would consider fleeing abroad.

He certainly will! A chilling thought occurred to him. In his memories, Nie Zhenbang had heard nothing about Lin Zhengxing’s extradition after his rebirth. This time, given that preparations have been made in advance, he was determined not to let him escape.

At this time, Xiao Shanming too was somewhat relieved. Originally, he was just the last-ranking Deputy Director of the City Public Security Bureau, often isolated because he resisted colluding with others. As a dignified government official, he couldn’t stoop to flatter a businessman, something Xiao Shanming found himself unable to do.

Consequently, he had faced a great deal of exclusion. However, unexpectedly, after Mayor Nie came, he seized the opportunity to join Mayor Nie. Now, he had become the greatest beneficiary. As the Deputy Director, he was overseeing the entire Public Security Bureau. Many officials within the bureau had been taken away by the Discipline Inspection Commission, which had brought great convenience for his control over the bureau.

He said to Mayor Nie, “Mayor, since many people in the Public Security Bureau have been taken away by the working group, many positions have been left vacant and many matters are left unattended, causing some people to have feelings of apprehension.”

On hearing Xiao Shanming’s words, Nie Zhenbang pondered for a moment and spoke slowly: “Director Shanming, as the violent law enforcement department of a country, the problems of the Public Security Bureau affect local stability, this is indisputable. Now, since you are entrusted by the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government to oversee the Public Security Bureau’s work in overall, you need to act decisively. You need to communicate more with Secretary Guodong regularly. Vacant positions need to be temporarily filled. We need to choose cadres who are strong, capable, bold and have organizational discipline. For example, Zhao Haining from the Third Traffic Police Brigade is quite good. Now, as Lu Zhifeng from the Traffic Police Detachment has been punished, we could consider letting Zhao Haining try out. So now, this is a unique period, we should have the courage and spirit to promote talent.”

Upon hearing Nie Zhenbang’s words, Xiao Shanming nodded. Zhao Haining, the young man, was certainly promising. Being appreciated and recognized by Mayor Nie, he had been promoted from an ordinary police officer to the Traffic Police Detachment within less than a year. Although he might not be able to become the chief of the detachment, it was very likely that he could become a vice chief.

Meanwhile, Xiao Shanming also understood the deeper meaning behind his words. The mention of organizational discipline and his need to take decisive action is essentially telling him to take this opportunity to consolidate his power in the Public Security Bureau. By the end of the Eastern Sea case, he would become the most competitive candidate for the position of Commissioner of the Public Security Bureau.

Seeing that Xiao Shanming had understood his intentions, Nie Zhenbang also nodded. There was a saying among the people: the master leads you to the door, but practicing is up to the individual. This also applied to officialdom. However, it would be a bit different: political patronage can open doors, but progress is up to the individual.

Having powerful backers or backgrounds could merely offer you an advantage in promotions over others. However, it didn’t guarantee promotions. Real progress depended on your capabilities. This was akin to the saying, one must rely on oneself when making a difference.

If patronage and background could determine everything, would there be a civilian prime minister like Yun Bo? If patronage determined everything, then the entire country would have long been dominated by aristocrats.

Now it seemed that Xiao Shanming did have quite a bit of capability. For him to successfully consolidate control over the Public Security Bureau in just a few days was impressive. It also pointed to his great prestige within the Bureau.

Nie Zhenbang then said in a slower tone, “Shanming, there is another issue you need to pay attention to. At present, although the task force has taken some measures to prevent Lin Zhengxing from fleeing, I suspect they are not familiar with the situation in WangHai, and Lin Zhengxing is not that simple. On your end, you should organize a capable force to monitor Lin Zhengxing. He must not be allowed to escape.”

As he spoke, Nie Zhenbang’s expression became solemn, he said in a serious tone, “Comrade Shanming, as a key suspect in the major smuggling case of the Eastern Sea Group, Lin Zhengxing plays a crucial role. If he escapes abroad, it will be a great loss to the case. At the same time, it will also cause great loss to the country. You must be vigilant and can’t be careless at any point.”

Seeing how serious Nie Zhenbang was, Xiao Shanming stood up, bringing his feet together and nodding, “Mr. Mayor, rest assured. I will make sure to complete the task. If I let Lin Zhengxing run away, you can remove me from my post!”

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