Reborn as a Noble's Son-Chapter 879 - 835 Balancing Interests
Chapter 879: Chapter 835: Balancing Interests
Chapter 879: Chapter 835: Balancing Interests
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It wasn’t just Nie Zhenbang who was surprised, even Su Xuan beside him was astounded, as well as several major transportation experts and professors within Bashu Province.
The reason for this was that Longxi Province’s plan was simply too different from that of Bashu Province. At least one of the proposals from Bashu was somewhat reasonable. However, the Longxi Province proposal was entirely focused on high-speed rail for the sake of high-speed rail itself.
As everyone knows, the construction of high-speed rail brings immense economic and social benefits to the cities along its route. In other words, a city, in and of itself, might just be a second-tier or even third-tier city. But once it’s on a high-speed rail line with a station,
for example, the journey from the Ancient City of Longxi to Tianfu City, although not a vast distance, still requires over ten hours by car. But, once the high-speed rail is built and operational, the travel time could be reduced to three hours. As such, the cities along the line with stations would form a Long-Shu Economic Circle with the Ancient City and Tianfu City. Within this circle, all kinds of investments are likely to surge.
Longxi Province’s planning proposal entirely considered only the distribution of cities along the line, curving half a circle right out of the Ancient City and even passing through several other cities. This made the connection point with Bashu Province quite distant.
Furthermore, another deficiency was that Longxi Province’s station design was simply too dense, setting up stations in every county town, which seemed incongruous. Is this still a high-speed rail? With so many stops, can the speed of the high-speed rail still be realized?
Perhaps sensing the shock of the people from Bashu, the leaders from Longxi Province seemed a bit embarrassed. At this moment, Hu Shangzhi gave a wry smile, turned his head, and said, “Governor Liu, why don’t you introduce it to the leaders from Bashu Province.”
Liu Qiuhe nodded his head. On this matter, he was the natural choice. On the Bashu Province side, Nie Zhenbang represented them and had given an introduction, so correspondingly, on the Longxi Province side, there naturally had to be an official of matching status.
Having Hu Shangzhi speak was definitely out of the question, as he was the top leader. If he spoke at this time, it would seem inappropriate and would put him in an awkward position. Having an expert from below introduce it would appear as if Longxi Province did not place enough importance on this matter.
Liu Qiuhe then stood up and also pulled out Longxi Province’s pictorial materials, playing them one after another. After that came a detailed explanation. According to Longxi Province’s planning, if the design followed this route, the railway would stretch to eight hundred sixty-seven kilometers, two hundred kilometers longer than the first proposal from Bashu Province.
After Liu Qiuhe finished speaking, Nie Zhenbang exchanged a look with Su Xuan. After working as partners for several months, they had developed a mutual understanding.
Such matters clearly involved interests of both sides, and simply claiming something was inappropriate, or whatever, was clearly not going to sway the delegation from Longxi Province.
Su Xuan nodded with understanding and smiled, saying, “Old Hu, I think we can do this. You all just arrived today after a long and tiring journey, and immediately started the coordination meeting. Let’s call it a day and get some good rest. I believe that both of our provinces can come up with a solution that satisfies both sides.”
Hu Shangzhi, ambitious enough to have reached his current position, understood Su Xuan’s meaning and replied with a smile, “Since Secretary Su has said so, naturally I have no objection.”
Afterwards, the standing committee of the Bashu Provincial Committee hosted a banquet to welcome and cleanse the dust of travel for the Longxi Province inspection team. The team was arranged to stay at the Provincial Committee Guest House.
…
In Su Xuan’s office, Su Xuan personally poured a cup of hot tea for Nie Zhenbang and Sun Jialuo, then sat down on the sofa. Looking at Nie Zhenbang and Sun Jialuo, Su Xuan spoke bluntly, “Zhenbang, Old Sun, it seems that there’s quite a large disagreement between us and Longxi Province.”
Before Nie Zhenbang could speak, Sun Jialuo chimed in, “Secretary Su, it’s already quite clear. Everyone knows that the high-speed rail project will greatly promote the cities along its route; it’s the best opportunity for developing transportation. Longxi Province’s plan includes almost all the main cities south of the Ancient City of Longxi, so it seems difficult for them to compromise.”
Nie Zhenbang was also musing at the moment. In the end, Longxi’s actions revolved around a matter of interest. The projects brought by the high-speed rail would have an enormous impetus for development along its route, and thus, Longxi Province naturally wanted to reap great benefits.
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This is akin to the second proposal devised by Bashu Province, which also ingenulously aligns with Longxi Province’s proposal. Its purpose, too, is to promote the development of other cities within the province.
Looking at Nie Zhenbang, Su Xuan immediately said, “Zhenbang, why so silent? This isn’t like you. Tell me, what do you think about Longxi’s proposal?”
Upon hearing Su Xuan’s question, Nie Zhenbang also shifted his position and said to Su Xuan and Sun Jialuo, “I think that Longxi Province will compromise.”
Seeing their astonished looks, Nie Zhenbang continued, “The reason I say this mainly comes from two aspects. First, the proposed high-speed rail is a matter concerning both provinces. If just one province applies on its own, the higher authorities may not approve it. From this point alone, Longxi cannot afford to go without us in Bashu. Therefore, it is inevitable that they negotiate a mutually acceptable proposal. Second, if Longxi follows its own proposal, just the construction funds alone would not suffice, even if they sold the entire province. To save on costs, shorten the construction period, and address the issue of the long tunnel cluster, these are challenges both provinces must confront together.”
Nie Zhenbang’s analysis made Sun Jialuo and Su Xuan nod in agreement, accepting his reasoning.
Continuing, Nie Zhenbang said, “Although it’s inevitable that both provinces align their understanding and thoughts, I believe that to win Longxi Province’s approval, we still need to show our sincerity. Longxi’s proposal definitely won’t work, and neither will our second proposal. I think that our first proposal was actually very suitable. It starts from Tianfu, goes through Changhong City, passes Jiangshui City and Yuanguang City, and ends up in the Ancient City of Longxi after going through Liangzhou City. This route is almost a straight line on the map. It is also the shortest distance, 660 kilometers. Moreover, the regions it passes through are almost equally shared by both provinces, with ours passing two prefecture-level cities and Longxi’s passing three. I believe they will definitely be satisfied with this proposal.”
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At this point, Nie Zhenbang looked at Su Xuan with a smile and said, “However, Secretary Su, there is still a matter that I must ask you to address personally.”
Listening to Nie Zhenbang, Su Xuan was very forthright and smiled, “Oh? A task for me? Just say it. As long as I can do it, if it helps the two provinces reach an agreement, from now on, I will follow Zhenbang’s command.”
This proposal was originally put forward by Su Xuan, and now with the differences between the two provinces on the table, Su Xuan naturally would not shirk it.
Moreover, Su Xuan clearly understood that in the economic development of Bashu, he never interfered. Not only did he not interfere, but on the contrary, he gave his full support to Nie Zhenbang. In this way, a good foundation for cooperation between the two was established. During this period, the harmonious relationship between the two heads of the Bashu Provincial Government and the Bashu Provincial Committee was also inseparable from Su Xuan’s attitude.
Nie Zhenbang smiled briefly and then said, “Secretary Su, ‘command’ is an overstatement. This time, it’s likely that you will need to coordinate and communicate with Longxi Province’s Hu Shangzhi. As for Governor Liu and Luo Chuncui, I’ll take responsibility. As long as these three are convinced and approve our proposal, I believe that the cooperation between the two provinces will have a basis of trust and a premise for cooperation.”
…
The first proposal put forward by Bashu Province was originally the most suitable one. Following this, Su Xuan and Nie Zhenbang naturally set out to act separately. Su Xuan was responsible for persuading Hu Shangzhi, while Nie Zhenbang dealt with Liu Qiuhe and Luo Chuncui.
This proposal, whether it’s the areas it passes through, the route design, or the construction costs, was the most appropriate. It didn’t take long for Su Xuan and Nie Zhenbang to persuade the other side.
Of course, this was also related to Bashu Province having sufficiently respected the leaders of Longxi Province from the start. It must be believed that if Bashu Province had shown an arrogant attitude from the beginning and opposed Longxi’s proposal, even if it wasn’t voiced, the leaders of Longxi Province would certainly have harbored some thoughts.
Now, after a day of cool-headed handling, their next move seemed much milder and easier to accept. On Longxi’s side, after fully integrating the suggestions and opinions of traffic construction and railway experts from institutions like Ancient Capital University, they quickly reached a unified understanding. To be blunt, it all boiled down to a question of balancing interests. With the route planning and design being completely fair, even slightly favoring Longxi, it naturally became the best weapon to leverage the psychological defenses of Longxi’s leaders.
On the third day, at the Bashu Province Conference and Exhibition Center, Nie Zhenbang, acting as a representative for the Bashu Provincial Government, and Liu Qiuhe, representing Longxi Province, signed a memorandum of agreement. The top officials from both provincial committees, as well as the secretaries of the Ancient City and Tianfu City Municipal Committees, attended the signing ceremony.
Afterward, Longxi Province’s Hu Shangzhi and Liu Qiuhe left for Longxi ahead of schedule, while Luo Chuncui remained, nominally for some exchanges with Tianfu City.
But whether it was really for exchanges with Tianfu City, or if there were other motives, no one concerned themselves with that anymore. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)
