Chapter 1271: Chapter 1226: Taking the Firmest Step Forward Chapter 1271: Chapter 1226: Taking the Firmest Step Forward “`
At the sight of Ling Baodong’s anxiety, Li Guohua seemed utterly indifferent. Without turning around or showing any excitement, he calmly set down the cup in his hand and raised his hand to say, “Secretary Baodong, would you be interested in sitting down for a drink?”

Ling Baodong, somewhat out of breath and rather annoyed, said in a deep voice, “Li Guohua, I don’t have the leisure to sit here drinking with you. Now, I really regret it. If I had known you were such a person, I wouldn’t have agreed to cooperate with you.”

“Brother Baodong, since you’re already here, why rush at this particular moment? The situation is already like this. No amount of hurry will help. Sit down, have a good drink, and talk it over seriously. What’s the harm in that? It wasn’t me, Li Guohua, who came begging for the cooperation. It was nothing more than a matter of mutual need. Don’t you think your words are a bit too harsh?” Li Guohua remained as composed as ever.

After a moment of silence, Ling Baodong appeared somewhat helpless, a bit disheartened, and rather anxious. He walked over to the sofa and sat down in front of Li Guohua, saying in a low voice, “Brother Guohua, at a time like this, you still feel like drinking? Hurry up, it’s almost too late.”

Watching Ling Baodong’s demeanor, Li Guohua didn’t speak. It wasn’t almost too late; it was already late. The current state of Ling Baodong clearly showed he was confused by the situation. In the eyes of a bystander, the underlying intention of targeting Huang Guoqiang first was clearly aimed at Ling Baodong.

As the top leader of Yu State, with such a high-ranking leader under his command in trouble, Ling Baodong couldn’t justify it no matter what.

The video that went viral on the internet, and the central leadership’s unusual move of not stopping it, already signified a clear attitude. After the two sessions, the decisions and dispositions regarding Ling Baodong were likely to come out.

After pondering for a while, Li Guohua stood up and looked at Ling Baodong, “Brother Baodong, it’s not a matter of running out of time, rather it’s already too late. Right now, you shouldn’t be thinking about those illusory concerns. What you need to consider is how to get out of this with your whole body intact.”

…

In the Longxi Assembly Hall, the Longxi Province Delegation was scheduled to hold a group discussion meeting today. At half-past nine in the morning, President Qiao and his party arrived at the Longxi Hall.

He sat down with the representatives from Longxi Province and discussed some of the proposals from Longxi Province. Among these proposals, the one put forward by Professor Xiong Dingcang from the Agriculture University undoubtedly attracted the most attention.

This was a proposal for the nationwide promotion of the “Sand Control No. 5” project. President Qiao seemed very pleased and listened in detail to Xiong Dingcang’s introduction of “Sand Control No. 5.” Then, President Qiao nodded and said, “Environmental degradation has been a persistent problem for our country. The emergence of ‘Sand Control No. 5’ is undoubtedly great news. Its powerful effects on drought resistance, rapid growth, and soil restoration all indicate that ‘Sand Control No. 5’ has significant promotional value. Not only can it be heavily promoted in northern regions, but it can also be tried in many mines across the country and places with severe environmental damage and vegetation destruction. This is a great boon for the country and the people, which the central government fully endorses.”

Following that, President Qiao avidly discussed national policies and guidelines in detail with the representatives from Longxi Province.

After around two hours, President Qiao stood up, smiling, and said, “Comrades, you are elites from all walks of life and various ethnic groups. You are representatives elected by the people. You are here to exercise the powers bestowed by the people. With the sacred power the people have entrusted us with, we must exercise it prudently, keeping in mind our purpose of serving the people, and make our contributions to the prosperity and strength of our country and the well-being of our people.”

After finishing his speech, President Qiao walked out of the Longxi Hall and turned to Nie Zhenbang, saying, “Comrade Zhenbang, shall we go sit over there?”

In the West Flower Hall of the Great Hall, Nie Zhenbang followed President Qiao in. After they sat down in a smaller banquet hall, President Qiao looked at Nie Zhenbang with a smile and said, “Zhenbang, your performance during this turbulent period has been remarkable, receiving unanimous praise from many leaders and comrades.”

Hearing this, Nie Zhenbang felt a stir in his heart. At such a critical juncture, the implications of President Qiao’s words were deep and deserved careful consideration. Undoubtedly, this expressed the attitude from above.

However, on the surface, Nie Zhenbang appeared very humble and cautious, slowly saying, “Leader, these are not worth mentioning. The achievements I have made today would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of the organization and the concern from you.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than President Qiao waved his hand and said, “Zhenbang, why have you started to talk this way? No need for official jargon or platitudes. Coming up next are the central leadership elections and the nominations for the State Council, which are of the utmost importance. For you, they are particularly critical. In the next few days, you need to communicate more with comrades from other brother provinces. Whether you can take that crucial step depends on your efforts.”

Hearing this, Nie Zhenbang nodded and said, “Please rest assured, Leader. I will give it my all.”

President Qiao’s intentions were clear to Nie Zhenbang. Regarding the election matters, it was not Nie Zhenbang’s first encounter. With many years of political experience behind him and until now, he had a profound understanding of this.

“`
Locally, elections are taken very seriously. Each time an election takes place, the supervising leaders at higher levels, even significant leaders from above, personally attend to add weight, which signifies the importance placed on elections.

Putting oneself in another’s shoes, up to now, at the central level, it is the same. President Qiao’s intention is also very clear; the central opinion plays a dominant role. However, Nie Zhenbang, you still need to do some groundwork below.

This is what the saying goes, “with support from above and push from below.” The combination of both is most crucial.

As time passed, the ten-day Two Sessions were orderly proceeding. The most crucial moment arrived–today was the election of national leaders. Inside the Assembly Hall, out of 2713 delegates, 56 were absent, with 2657 in attendance, meeting the legally required quorum.

Among the candidates, Qiao Yiren and Shen Guoquan were prominently listed. To begin with, members of the presidium stood up and, led by President Qiao, all the leaders followed suit, casting their ballots into the box in an orderly fashion.

Next, after the voting ended, came the tense work of counting and monitoring the votes. About an hour later.

The results were out, Comrade Qiao Yiren was once again elected as the head of state, and Shen Guoquan was elected as the deputy head of state. Following the procedure, Comrade Qiao Yiren nominated Comrade Mu Dingjian for the position of Premier of the Executive Yuan.

By this time, Nie Zhenbang had become tense. Competing with Shen Guoquan was something Nie Zhenbang had never considered. And now, it was a matter of the present outcome, either Ling Baodong would win, or he would.

As President Mu stepped onto the stage, soon after, the list of the various ministries and deputy premiers of the Executive Yuan was also displayed on the big screen.

Seeing this list, Nie Zhenbang couldn’t help but clench his fists tightly; he had succeeded, his name was listed, whereas Ling Baodong had disappeared from the scene.

Inside the Assembly Hall, Ling Baodong sat below with an extremely complex expression. One wrong move and the whole game is lost. At this point, there was no suspense left to the outcome.

Next, the show of hands for the vote was naturally without any issues. Since President Mu had included him on the list, this meant that everything had been clearly decided above. This was beyond doubt. Up next, at the national party congress in October this year, the current deputy heads of state and deputy premiers at the end of their tenure would retire. Then, Shen Guoquan and Nie Zhenbang would definitely be added to the ranks of the top nine.

…

The ten-day congress came to a close and simultaneously, the official appointment and dismissal notice was posted on the national website. The central authority decided to relieve Comrade Nie Zhenbang of his duties as a member, standing committee member, and secretary of the Longxi Provincial Committee, appointing him as the deputy secretary of the party group and deputy premier of the Executive Yuan.

At the same time, regarding the issue with Ling Baodong, the central authority also issued a document. Relieving Comrade Ling Baodong of his duties as the secretary, standing committee member, and committee member of Yuzhou City committee. The discipline inspection commission entered the relevant procedures, launching an investigation into Ling Baodong. At this point, it could be said that Ling Baodong’s career had reached its end.

Over at the Longxi Building, Liu Zhentao also entered Nie Zhenbang’s room at the earliest opportunity, displaying even greater respect at this moment, “Deputy Premier Nie, congratulations, you have finally taken the most firm step.”

Outside the door, Xia Gang’s prospects rose with the tide. If he could follow Secretary Nie’s transfer to Jingcheng, it would undoubtedly be a great fortune for Xia Gang. Even if not, a position as a deputy mayor of a prefecture-level city in the next tier down was guaranteed.

After knocking, Xia Gang entered and reported, “Secretary, Minister Suzhou has arrived downstairs.”

Hearing that Wang Suzhou had come over, Nie Zhenbang stood up. He was clearly aware of Wang Suzhou’s purpose for visiting. With his departure from Longxi, the arrangement for the personnel in Longxi and some of his personal requests and the like, these aspects certainly needed serious consideration.

Just as he stepped out of the room, the elevator ‘dinged’, and the elevator doors opened. As Wang Suzhou stepped out and saw Nie Zhenbang, he stretched out his hand with a smile, saying, “Zhenbang, congratulations. You have taken this step with unwavering determination.”

Hearing Wang Suzhou’s words, Nie Zhenbang just laughed and said, “Minister Suzhou, you must be teasing me. My achievements today as Nie Zhenbang all still rely on the support and care of the organization and leaders.”

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with a recommendation ticket or a monthly ticket on . Your support is my greatest motivation.)