Chapter 706

After returning to the city, Wu Jian'an immediately convened a meeting to specially study the site selection and land acquisition matters of the 'Free City' project.

At the meeting, Wu Jian'an issued a strict order to the Party Secretary and District Chief of Xincheng District, demanding that the land measurement work for the 'Free City' project site be completed within three days, the land compensation agreement signing and clearance work be finished within ten days, and the relocation and land compensation payment be completed within twenty days, strictly delivering the cleared land according to the deadlines set by the City Government, taking extraordinary measures to achieve an 'acceleration' in project construction, ensuring that the 'Free City' project would commence construction smoothly before September 10.

At the same time, Wu Jian'an demanded that the Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Municipal Natural Resources Bureau, Municipal Administrative Approval Bureau, Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau, Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau and other relevant departments organize elite forces, be on 24-hour standby, and guarantee that any required procedures be handled immediately, on the spot, and right away.

After arranging the work, Wu Jian'an scanned the attendees with a torch-like gaze and, in an unquestionable tone, said: 'Please each issue a military pledge to show your determination! If you cannot complete the task on schedule, please resign and take responsibility!'

Under the piercing gaze of the mayor, the entire meeting hall was filled with a tense and solemn atmosphere, as if even the air had frozen.

Guo Haotong, the Party Secretary of Xincheng District, was the first to express his stance, declaring firmly: 'Please rest assured, Mayor, starting today I will stay there, personally work with the property owners, and guarantee the completion of the task assigned by the City Government!'

Everything is difficult at the beginning; with Guo Haotong taking the lead, the heads of various departments successively expressed their stance, one after another issuing military pledges.

Such a thing would have been impossible before, but after Secretary Lu's on-site outburst yesterday spread throughout the city, these leaders dared to act recklessly 'behind Yun Shuo's back'.

This proves the saying, 'Those who understand the times are outstanding.' The wind direction in Qingcheng City has changed; they too are afraid, as the situation in the city is bewildering and heart‑pounding at every step. These people are like walking a tightrope—one misstep and they lose everything; Yun Shuo's years of domineering influence are not to be taken lightly!

Finally, Wu Jian'an emphasized again: 'You must all take initiative, embody the spirit of 'time waits for no one, every moment counts,' and provide strong support services for the project's implementation. Please bear in mind that the 'Free City' project is needed for Qingcheng City's development, aligns with the people's will, and is above all a political task.'

For these twenty days, I will stay with you at the site selection area; we will not talk about conditions, difficulties, or price, but with extraordinary resolve, extraordinary measures, extraordinary work style, and extraordinary discipline, we will surely win this tough battle!

After the meeting adjourned, all levels and departments immediately took action.

In just one afternoon, Xincheng District formed a special task force of 200 people; county‑level leaders all took the field, with each county Party Committee standing committee member responsible for one household, doing everything possible to persuade them.

All municipal departments drafted elite personnel and business backbones, with bureau chiefs personally leading the teams, carrying the Official Seal, computers and printers as they 'took up residence' at the site selection area, posturing to handle the relevant procedures.

The City Government's 'unconventional' move quickly reached the ears of Municipal Party Secretary Yun Shuo, who flew into a rage, cursing in his office: 'I'm not dead yet, and this bunch of damned bastards are already rebelling? Damn it, they're all ungrateful white‑eyed wolves! I'll make them look bad!'

After smashing his office into a mess, Yun Shuo, furious, bellowed at the Secretary‑General of the Municipal Party Committee: 'Call an immediate meeting of the Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee—no one may be absent!'

The standing committee members who received the notice entered the meeting room one after another, each with a different expression, exchanging glances nonstop.

At exactly five o'clock, Municipal Party Secretary Yun Shuo walked into the meeting, took the central seat, furrowed his brows and said: 'Where is the mayor? Wasn't he notified to attend the meeting?'

The Secretary‑General hurriedly replied: 'Secretary, we did notify him; the mayor is in Xincheng District and is rushing back.'

'No organization, no discipline!' Yun Shuo said with a displeased face.

But before his words faded, Mayor Wu Jian'an pushed the door open and entered, just happening to hear the secretary's 'criticism.' He, however, took his seat with his usual composure, as if he hadn't cared at all.

All right, everyone's here, let's start the meeting! Yun Shuo, after scanning the meeting room, his gaze settled on Wu Jian'an, and he questioned: "Mayor Wu, have you thrown the 'Three Major and One Large' collective decision-making system into the clouds? Then let me brief you here: you should review the 'Opinions on Implementing the 'Three Major and One Large' Collective Decision-Making System by the Standing Committee of Qingcheng Municipal Party Committee'. It stipulates 22 items that need to be submitted to the Municipal Party Standing Committee for collective study and decision in four areas: major decisions, important cadre appointments and removals, major project arrangements, and large-scale fund usage."

The site selection for the 'Free City' project is such an important work item, yet you didn't report or request approval, you acted on your own initiative—do you still have the Municipal Party Committee in your eyes? Do you still have the organization? Where is your party spirit? Your organizational discipline? I think you've fed it all to the dogs!

Facing the secretary's frenzied "roar", Wu Jian'an showed not the slightest ripple, remaining calm as water, steady as Mount Tai, he lightly replied: "Secretary Yun, the 'Free City' project is a key project of the province. Because of the site selection issue, we have held back the project's construction; we should forge ahead, catch up, concentrate our efforts to solve the project's bottlenecks. Otherwise, if the province's 'board' comes down, it will affect our city's annual target responsibility assessment; if Qingcheng City is thus vetoed by the province, it will also affect the futures of everyone present—it's not worth it!"

The City Government focuses on economic work; key project construction is the top priority and also the main business. In urgent circumstances, I can only initiate the relevant work first, planning to report progress to the Municipal Party Committee tonight.

I believe the secretary will consider the overall situation; the "Opinions on Implementing the 'Three Major and One Large' Collective Decision-Making System" clearly states that in emergency situations, temporarily decided 'Three Major and One Large' items may be submitted to the Standing Committee for supplementary discussion after the fact according to relevant procedures.

Or, shall we discuss it now?

Wu Jian'an fully illustrated what it means to have reason without raising one's voice; his words, though not heavy, carried a force of a thousand jin each, piercing straight into Yun Shuo's heart.

Facing the mayor's "soft nail", Yun Shuo flew into a rage, his face instantly flushed red, veins bulging on his forehead, he shouted without decorum: "They say a biting dog doesn't bark; I didn't believe it before, but today I've seen it! I didn't expect you to have this talent, turning black and white, forcing arguments—truly a skill!"

You've been sneaking around the Municipal Party Committee, pulling small tricks—do you still have any justification? Fine, since you want to discuss, let's openly debate: were your actions today legal or not, compliant or not? Everyone state your position, speak in turn!

The meeting hall was tense, the air thick with the smell of gunpowder. The standing committee members looked at each other, their expressions grave, collectively falling into silence.

At that moment, Deputy Secretary Ban Ce began to smooth things over, speaking slowly: "Secretary Yun, Mayor Wu, don't get excited! It's normal for work to produce differences; we're all thinking about Qingcheng City's future. If there's any problem, let's discuss it calmly—we can always reach consensus."

As the deputy secretary, the third-in-command and a mediator, Ban Ce's words carried weight, and the atmosphere in the hall eased somewhat.

Ban Ce continued: "As the saying goes, reason unclear without debate, matters unclear without examination. I'll first share my opinion. I'm sure you all know that yesterday morning Secretary Lu came to our city for research, and regarding the 'Free City' project's lack of progress, he gave severe criticism and also issued clear instructions, demanding we start construction of the project in the shortest time and highest efficiency.

I believe that in extraordinary times we need extraordinary measures and must fulfill extraordinary responsibilities. To high-quality complete the tasks assigned by the provincial party committee, we must adopt special measures for special matters, concentrate our efforts, tackle tough challenges, unleash extraordinary force to accelerate project construction, and employ extraordinary merit to deliver a 'combination punch' for project guarantees; minor details can be set aside for now and improved after construction begins—this is also a sound strategy.

Personally, I think the City Government's efficient action is timely and also necessary."

As he was speaking, Yun Shuo directly interrupted Ban Ce's words, speaking with a sarcastic tone: "What are you pretending to be, a big-tailed wolf? You're all cut from the same cloth!"

Unexpectedly, Secretary Ban, changing from his usual "nice guy" image, directly retorted: "Secretary Yun, we are holding a standing committee meeting, which is extremely serious. As the team leader, please pay attention to your quality! Just because you are shameless doesn't mean we are."

"You... Ban Ce, who are you scolding?" Yun Shuo slammed his hand heavily on the table, and the documents on it instantly scattered everywhere.

He was about to erupt in fury when the meeting room door was pushed open.

Suppressing the raging anger in his heart, Yun Shuo turned his head and saw that it was actually Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary Du Wenlong pushing the door open, accompanied by two cadres and four special police.

In an instant, an ominous premonition surged like a tide; Yun Shuo felt his scalp begin to go numb.

As expected, Du Wenlong's face was cold as frost; he said coldly: "The meeting is suspended. Let me introduce: this is Sun Shaojie, head of the Second Supervision Room of the Discipline Inspection Committee, announcing a decision of the Discipline Inspection Committee!"

Sun Shaojie directed his gaze at Yun Shuo seated in the center, without a trace of emotion, he said: "Comrade Yun Shuo, due to your suspected serious violations of discipline and law, please accept organizational review!"

Upon these words, the entire hall instantly fell into a deathly silence, so quiet you could hear a pin drop; everyone was stunned into speechlessness by this sudden turn of events.

Yun Shuo's eyes filled with fear, his face turned pale, his whole body trembled, and he was immediately taken away by disciplinary personnel from the hall.

Du Wenlong broke the suffocating silence, announcing the provincial party committee's decision: Mayor Wu Jian'an would preside over the Municipal Party Committee's work, and the meeting continued.

This dramatic scene left Qingcheng City's standing committee members dumbfounded, looking at each other, at a loss. Their hearts were filled with mixed feelings, hard to describe.

Among them, some had already pissed themselves in fright, feeling a sense of having survived a disaster, relieved that they themselves had not been taken away just now.