Reborn as a Noble’s Son
Chapter 1243 - Chapter 1243 Chapter 1198 Yang Yichengs Agony

Chapter 1243: Chapter 1198 Yang Yicheng’s Agony Chapter 1243: Chapter 1198 Yang Yicheng’s Agony Within the courtyard of the Liangzhou City Party Committee and City Government offices. The secretary’s office of the Municipal Party Committee is located on the easternmost side of the seventh floor of the Party Committee office building. At this moment, inside the office, Yang Yicheng, the secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, sat upright with his hands resting naturally on the desk, his gaze fixed on Peng Yihua, the secretary of the Development Zone Work Committee who sat opposite him.

“Yihua, the establishment of the automotive city project in our Liangzhou City is an affirmation from the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government towards Liangzhou, and it’s a sign of the high trust the provincial leadership has in us. It’s a rare development opportunity for Liangzhou City. Seize this chance well, and soaring into the sky won’t be difficult for Liangzhou City. All your efforts as the Work Committee secretary are also being noticed by the organization. Currently, the city is considering, planning to elevate the status of the Development Zone. The city is discussing, preparing to bring you into the Municipal Party Standing Committee. This way, you can serve the work of the Development Zone even better. It will also maintain a closer continuity with the Municipal Party Committee,” Yang Yicheng slowly began to speak. His words were encouraging, commending, and they also bore tangible benefits.

However, at this moment, the secretary of the Development Zone Work Committee, Peng Yihua, had a slight frown on his forehead. The automotive city project settling in Liangzhou, the biggest beneficiary would naturally be the Development Zone. It was foreseeable that an upgrade to a provincial-level Economic and Technological Development Zone was just around the corner, and even reaching the national level would not be difficult.

But, as the saying goes, only the drinker knows how bitter the water is. The current bitterness was known to Peng Yihua alone.

Looking at Yang Yicheng, Peng Yihua could only say with a hardened scalp, “Secretary, I’m grateful for the organization’s trust in me, and the support from the superior leaders for the Development Zone. I’m certainly aware of that. But the current situation, I really can’t continue anymore.”

“What’s going on? Yihua, don’t just say you can’t continue every time things get tough. Is that an attitude a Party member should have? As a Party member and a leader, you should have the quality to face difficulties head-on. When you encounter hardships, the first thing you should think of is solving them, not retreating. With that attitude, how can you do it?” Yang Yicheng’s face looked somewhat displeased.

This Peng Yihua really didn’t know the rules. He even dropped his burden on him. The seat in the Development Zone, many people are eager for it; if Peng Yihua doesn’t want it, just a word from him would bring countless people wanting to sit there immediately.

Yang Yicheng’s words, with their implicit warnings and attitude, made Peng Yihua smile bitterly again. His own family’s matters, he was only too clear on. The problems of the Development Zone… Sighing at this thought, Peng Yihua nevertheless continued with a hardened scalp, “Secretary, it’s not that I don’t want to find a solution. It’s really that I don’t have the authority. The land requisition and demolition work in the Development Zone is a strict order from the Municipal Party Committee. After the automotive city project’s foundation was laid, two townships were incorporated into the Development Zone. Regarding demolition, both the Central Government and Provincial Party Committee have issued regulations prohibiting forced demolitions. Now, this task is truly impossible to carry on.”

Continuing on, Peng Yihua said, “Take Majiazhuang Village in the Development Zone, for example. Upon learning that it had been included in the Development Zone, just overnight, thousands of single-story houses sprang up in Majiazhuang. Every household had constructed houses in the front and back. Some families have also completely abandoned their homesteads and cropland and are vigorously embarking on construction. Now, several factories, more than a dozen business owners have already signed investment agreements with the Development Zone or the Bureau of Commerce. Now, upon seeing these illegal buildings, they all have thoughts of leaving.”

“What are you doing? Don’t you know how to demolish? Is the Development Zone’s Illegal Construction Demolition Office just for show?” Saying this, Yang Yicheng also paused.

In Longxi Province, after Secretary Nie took office, the province gave the most clear-cut regulations regarding demolition and expropriation issues. No organization or individual can perform any kind of forced demolition. Once discovered, they would first be removed from their position, then investigated.

This regulation was like a tight curse hanging over the heads of all leading officials in the province. The definition of illegal construction was originally vague.

Just like with Majiazhuang, where all the houses were built overnight. Generally speaking, the definition of these houses would be quite awkward. Whether these count as illegal constructions is not clearly defined, not only in Longxi Province but also nationwide.

To call it illegal construction is plausible, and to say it’s not is also arguable. Such houses are generally difficult to demolish, typically those under construction are the target of demolition. As for those already built, they are usually not demolished unless the situation is extremely severe and causes very bad impact. In such cases, they will generally not be demolished.

And this was precisely the difficulty Peng Yihua was facing. His position was a tough one to hold. If he didn’t demolish them, allowing these people to continue would cause the cost of land requisition to skyrocket. Consequently, it might lead to many investors to step back, afraid to genuinely commit.

“What a joke, even the biggest family fortunes couldn’t withstand such turmoil. And this is just the beginning. Just land requisition and demolition alone are incurring huge costs. Going forward, once investments are made and the money is spent, it will become a situation too difficult to get out of. It’s certain that once construction starts, the local people will absolutely demand to participate. Don’t allow them? Work stoppages, roadblocks, harassment, sabotage–the list of tactics they could employ is long. Neither advancing nor retreating would be right. It might be better to leave now,” Peng Yihua smiled bitterly.

“Secretary, I’m in a position where advancing or retreating is not an option for me. I’m like Zhu Bajie looking at himself in the mirror, neither human nor ghost in either regard. From the government’s perspective, safeguarding the legal rights of investors and escorting them is an inescapable responsibility and duty for our Development Zone. But then, the common people curse us, saying we collude with the rich and powerful, a nest of snakes and rats. From the common people’s standpoint, turning a blind eye, investors grow fearful. They are now requesting to withdraw their investments, or simply dragging their feet, pushing back the arrival of the promised funds indefinitely. The original schedule is being dragged out like this. This has become a disruption to the province’s and city’s economic development plans,” Peng Yihua spoke with immense frustration.

Hearing this, Yang Yicheng also pondered for a moment, then said, “Yihua, we must resolutely enforce the regulations that should be enforced. As for the buildings that have already been constructed, let’s leave them for now. But we absolutely cannot allow any more illegal constructions to crop up. The law enforcement departments should patrol all year round without break. We should set up a hotline for reporting illegal constructions and offer substantial rewards to informers. Under substantial rewards, there are sure to be brave individuals. For the time being, just arrange everything according to this process. As for land requisition, consider other villages or towns first.”

After seeing off Peng Yihua, Yang Yicheng also stood up and ordered to the outside, “Prepare the car, I’m going to the provincial party committee.”

In the matter of demolishing illegal constructions, Yang Yicheng could not make the decision alone either. Secretary Nie’s authority is well known throughout the province. On such categorical regulatory matters, other people, even deputy leaders at the provincial level, would probably not be able to make the decision. The one who could really decide was still Secretary Nie. At this time, the issues in Liangzhou made it necessary to make a trip to the provincial committee and report to Secretary Nie in person.

Yang Yicheng immediately phoned Xia Gang to set up the time, then Yang Yicheng picked up his briefcase and coat and walked out of the office.

All the way there, the travel from Liangzhou to the provincial committee was exhausting, several hours of driving left him feeling somewhat weary. He walked into the provincial party committee office building and went straight upstairs.

As soon as he entered, Xiaoxia stood up, “Secretary Yang is here, take a seat for a moment. I’ll go check.”

Upon hearing about Yang Yicheng’s arrival, Nie Zhenbang was also taken aback. As the secretary of the provincial party committee, although it was a province-wide effort, in his heart, there were still areas of emphasis. During this period, Liangzhou, Shian, and the Ancient City were the places that Nie Zhenbang was most concerned about. The Car City, Oil City, and the old town reconstruction of the Ancient Capital involved the overall economic development of the province. He couldn’t take them lightly.

Yang Yicheng’s arrival immediately sent Nie Zhenbang into contemplation, with a sense of foreboding in his heart. Could there be a problem with Liangzhou City?

Ordinary matters wouldn’t have compelled Yang Yicheng to report in person; any uncertainties could be discussed over the phone. If Yang Yicheng had come in person, it must have been a particularly tricky issue.

He then nodded, “Xiaoxia, let him come in.”

As soon as he entered, Yang Yicheng spoke up, “Secretary, sorry to disturb you.”

Nie Zhenbang waved his hand, signaling Yang Yicheng to take a seat in front of him, then said, “Secretary Yicheng, have you come all the way to the province especially because there is a matter?”

Accustomed to Nie Zhenbang’s straightforward approach, Yang Yicheng hesitated slightly before nodding, “Secretary, indeed there is an important matter to report to you. It’s about the Car City.”

Speaking, Yang Yicheng recounted the situation in the Liangzhou City Economic Development Zone entirely then expressed his difficulty, “Secretary, illegal constructions in the Development Zone are now rampant, and if unchecked, I fear it will have an incalculable impact on the overall development of the Car City.”

Hearing this, Nie Zhenbang also became thoughtful. The habit of the common people is to follow the crowd, to be envious. Demolition has spawned many nouveau riche. Likewise, these originally simple villagers have also seen envy-worthy benefits during the demolition process. Just imagine, those with the audacity to build numerous bungalows have received massive compensation for demolition. Naturally, other people would become envious. As a result, everyone starts building illegal constructions, all with the same thought: if you can build, then naturally, I can build too.

This kind of issue also troubled Nie Zhenbang; to demolish could mean some people, perhaps who had built their houses with all their wealth, or even through debt, would be reduced to nothing if their homes were destroyed. It would absolutely lead to their ruin. But not to demolish would be inappropriate too, as it would send a signal that the government allows it.

Such a dilemma. After pondering for a moment, Nie Zhenbang then said, “Comrade Yicheng, here’s what I think: we make today the cutoff point. Going forward, the city must cooperate with the Development Zone to resolutely crack down on illegal constructions.”

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (NovelFire.net) to cast your recommendation votes, monthly votes; your support is my greatest motivation.)

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