Reborn as a Noble's Son

From the moment young Nie Zhenbang stepped into the Discipline Inspection Commission, he immediately seized the position of Section Chief II. This alone was proof of his exceptional shrewdness.

Despite his reluctance, Wang Hongyuan paused for a moment and then decided to pay a visit to Nie Zhenbang. On one hand, his proactive approach could be seen as a stratagem. On the other hand, as the old military aphorism says, “know the enemy and know yourself, then you can fight a hundred battles without disaster”. Understanding his opponent before formulating a specific plan was Wang Hongyuan’s true intention.

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang was in his office, reviewing a booklet penned by Ouyang Xia. It might seem like trivial material at first glance, but it actually contained critical points to note in the operation of the Discipline Inspection Commission.

In general, whenever the Discipline Inspection Commission needed to step in or intervene, in most cases, the case was already exposed. What they feared the most at this point was the destruction of evidence by the involved parties; this evidence might include documents, financial accounts, or even individuals themselves.

These materials were far more useful for Nie Zhenbang than any ancient literature or legislation. Derived from practical experience, they offered great value in terms of getting a handle on his new job.

At this moment, there was another knock on the door. He wondered who it could be at this hour. Could it be Tan Xiongbin or another section chief? As he pondered, he called out, “Come in.”

The door opened, allowing Wang Hongyuan’s head to appear. He grinned, saying, “Director Nie, hello. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

Wang Hongyuan then walked in, laughing. “Director Nie, considering that you’re new here and probably not very familiar with our Section V, I thought I’d come and brief you on the basics of our section,” he explained.

Nie Zhenbang knitted his brow for a moment. Wang Hongyuan was indeed no simple man. On the surface, a middle-aged man addressing a younger one so respectfully seemed admirable. Nevertheless, respect is not necessarily shown through words, this has always been Nie Zhenbang’s belief.

While Wang Hongyuan had knocked, Nie Zhenbang didn’t actually invite him in. It would have been fine if they were familiar, but today was his first day on the job, so Wang Hongyuan’s action felt overly presumptuous, even somewhat condescending. From this perspective, Wang Hongyuan’s respect seemed extremely limited. His polite form of address seemed hypocritical. If he had addressed him as you instead, Wang Hongyuan would have appeared more genuine.

The second detail was that Wang Hongyuan supposedly came to report the basic situation, but he specifically pointed out that Nie Zhenbang was not familiar with it. Even if this were true, such blatant exposure seemed somewhat disrespectful.

Externally, Nie Zhenbang courteously stood up, gestured for Wang Hongyuan to take a seat, poured him a hot cup of tea, then sat down and said, “Deputy Chief Wang, even if you didn’t come to me, I had planned to find you. You are an experienced comrade and a leader in Section V. I hope you will continue to assist me in my work.”

Nie Zhenbang wasn’t naive either, having served several years on the bureaucratic ladder, had taught him well with words.

Upon hearing Nie Zhenbang’s words, Wang Hongyuan’s smile faltered a bit, revealing some embarrassment. Dealing with Nie Zhenbang was not easy. Usually, the incoming leader would ask their deputy for support or assistance, which might be a formality, but it also showed their humility. However, when one asks for help, it reminds others of their status. Although they were both deputies, Nie Zhenbang was the standing deputy while he was not. Nie Zhenbang was in charge of the entire Section V, making him his superior. There was no doubt about it.

At this moment, Wang Hongyuan awkwardly laughed and said, “Deputy Director Nie, of course. I think it would be best if I gave you a brief description of Section V.”

Hearing Wang Hongyuan changing his mode of address and calling him ‘Deputy Director Nie,’ Nie Zhenbang sneered internally. This was simply a reminder that he was just a deputy director, and they held the same rank. But Wang Hongyuan seemed to forget that while he was merely a deputy director, Nie Zhenbang was the standing deputy director, in charge of the entire operation. Although their ranks may be the same, their responsibilities differed greatly.

For such a minor issue, Nie Zhenbang didn’t feel the need to argue with Wang Hongyuan. He simply smiled and said, “Deputy Director Wang, please start with the situation of the six provinces.”

The power of the Discipline Inspection Commission Section V was indeed immense. This was Nie Zhenbang’s first impression after listening to Deputy Director Wang’s introduction. Their department was responsible for the disciplinary inspection work in six provinces and cities, in charge of investigating major allegations and cases of misconduct against officials above the department level in these regions. For any misconduct case against officials above the deputy national level in these six provinces and cities, they would conduct preliminary investigations once the charges were confirmed by the Standing Committee of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

In other words, if it was a report letter from these six provinces and cities, generally, if it involved officials at or above the department level, the Fifth Discipline Inspection Team would need to be sent to the local area for investigation. Of course, unless it was a major case, generally, with mainly, accusations against department-level and below officials would essentially be referred to the local Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission or Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission for handling.

However, even so, this illustrates the enormity of the powers held by the Fifth Discipline Inspection Team. If there were a deputy secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection leading the team, officials at the provincial level would likely be fearful and apprehensive.

Thinking of this, Nie Zhenbang also said with a smile, “Deputy Director Wang, with great power comes great responsibility. The more so, the more cautious we should be in using our power, ensuring the integrity and purity of the cadre team at the same time. We should also be careful not to let a single bad person slip away, nor to wrong a single good person. This is the quality we, as discipline inspection cadres, should possess. Let’s call it a day today. We will have plenty of time to communicate later. If there’s nothing else, Deputy Director Wang, you can go ahead with your work.”

Nie Zhenbang’s words caused Wang Hongyuan’s facial expression to twitch again. This guy was really tactless, showing such disrespect.

After work, Nie Zhenbang stood up and stretched his body to relax. Working in a ministry was entirely different from his previous posts at the local level. Even in a department like the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, it was rather relaxing when there was no work to be done.

After meeting up with Liu Bin and Gao Wei, the three of them each drove to the Dynasty Club. On the way, Nie Zhenbang specially made a call to Zheng Gensheng.

When the car was parked in the parking lot, Nie Zhenbang saw that Zheng Gensheng was already standing at the entrance of the Dynasty Club from afar. He walked over directly. Nie Zhenbang said something to the two security guards by his side and walked into the lobby with Zheng Gensheng. After finding a private room in the Chinese restaurant on the second floor, Liu Bin and Gao Wei came in from outside.

Nie Zhenbang then introduced with a smile, “Brother Bin, Wei Zi, let me introduce to you, Old Zheng, my colleague when I was working at the Communist Youth League. Now, he was transferred to be the head of the Second Department.”

Nie Zhenbang then turned to Zheng Gensheng and said, “Old Zheng, these two are Liu Bin and Gao Wei. Liu Bin is the head of the First Department and Gao Wei is the head of the Sixth Department. From now on, the work of the Fifth Department will rely on you three.”

Among the three, Liu Bin was someone Nie Zhenbang had met and left a good impression. As for Gao Wei, although they hadn’t met, the fact that he could be with Liu Bin was proof of his trustworthiness. As for Zheng Gensheng, he was even more than a trusted confidant. Naturally, Nie Zhenbang had no reason to hide anything from them.

Beside them, Liu Bin pondered, “Third Brother, we three helping you is not a problem, but the waters in our Commission for Discipline Inspection are pretty deep.”

After a pause, Liu Bin looked at Nie Zhenbang and said, “Third Brother, there are four deputy secretaries in the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Apart from Deputy Secretary Ouyang Xia, there’s also Deputy Secretary Zeng Youjie, Deputy Secretary Liu Wei, and Deputy Secretary Gong Jinnian. Now, everyone is competing with each other behind the scenes.”

Next to them, Gao Wei snorted and said, “Third brother, in my opinion, what discipline inspection? Nowadays, local governments are most keen on burying information. So-called discipline inspection, in my view, is just about comparing backgrounds. The real violations and the evidence often have to wait until after the political struggle is over to be decided. I don’t want to do this kind of work in the discipline inspection anymore. I’m thinking of trying something different.”

What Gao Wei said was quite credible. After all, Gao Wei’s father, Gao Chu, was the Director of the Central Office, a position that had access to Secretary General Yuan.

Moreover, although his words were coarse, they did hold a certain degree of truth. However, Nie Zhenbang didn’t think so. In his view, his purpose in joining the Commission for Discipline Inspection was different. Nie Zhenbang believed that the Grandfather and Elder Nan wouldn’t have gone to such lengths for Secretary General Yuan to personally arrange for him to join without a reason. If they really just wanted him to coast along, it would lose the significance of being trained in the Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Subsequently, Nie Zhenbang said solemnly, “Wei Zi, what’s the rush? What you said was before, now I am here. If we brothers unite, work together, we can give the country a politically clear and honest team.”

At that moment, Nie Zhenbang’s phone suddenly rang. He took it out and saw that it was a call from Huo Qiuyuan.

As soon as he picked up, Huo Qiuyuan said in a serious tone, “Director Nie, there’s an emergency. Secretary Ouyang would like you to come over immediately.”

PS: I highly recommend the new book “Skyward Official Road” by Yushi Dafu, it’s another masterpiece following “Stepping Up to the Blue Sky”.