Chapter 319: Old Yang's Call

Listening to the busy signal on the phone, Zhou Ming was stunned. It didn't matter that Governor Xiong Qingping had hung up the phone so decisively—after all, he was a provincial governor. Zhou Ming hadn't given any prior notice, so it was understandable for Governor Xiong to show a bit of temperament. What surprised Zhou Ming was that the call had been cut off to make room for another call, which was quite unexpected.

Who could this central leader be? Regardless of who it was, a call from a central leader at this time probably wouldn't bring good news.

As Zhou Ming was thinking this, his phone rang again. He answered immediately, "Hello, this is Zhou Ming."

A warm voice came from the other end: "Hello, Comrade Zhou Ming, this is Yang Dingguo."

Although Zhou Ming had met Yang Dingguo many times before, he instinctively held his breath when he heard the name. The impact of this name on the country and the nation was profound. In the history of the founding of the nation, apart from the founding leader, Yang Dingguo was one of the most dazzling figures in New China, especially in this era. This great man was someone you could not avoid.

"Hello, Elder Yang. I didn't expect you to call me personally. I'm truly honored!" Zhou Ming said.

"I would have preferred not to make this call, but I had no choice. When Comrade Qingping didn't call you, you tore apart the skies of Jingchu. If I didn't make this call today, wouldn't it have caused national chaos?" Yang Dingguo replied.

Zhou Ming was taken aback. He hadn't expected that even Yang Dingguo knew about his call with Xiong Qingping. It seemed he had underestimated the impact of the situation.

However, Zhou Ming didn't know that Yang Dingguo was more concerned with him personally rather than just the incident. Otherwise, if Yang Dingguo was only concerned with the incident itself, this minor matter might not have reached his attention.

Yang Dingguo's teasing made even Zhou Ming, with his thick skin, feel embarrassed. He could only laugh awkwardly, "Elder Yang, your words seem to be criticizing my lack of understanding. The situation in Jin Ning was just an accident."

"I'm old now, so I can't see clearly whether it was an accident or not!" Yang Dingguo said with a hint of meaning. At this moment, Zhou Ming didn't realize that when Yang Dingguo spoke about national chaos, he was speaking sincerely because, as the nation's number one leader, he believed Zhou Ming had the capability to create such chaos.

Of course, Yang Dingguo's judgment wasn't unfounded. Just from Zhou Ming's handling of the criminal gang in Jingchu Province, turning them into a counter-revolutionary group, and forcing both the central and provincial authorities to acknowledge it, which led to a chain reaction of political turmoil from the central government to local levels, it was evident that Zhou Ming had a disruptive capability. Not to mention, Zhou Ming also wielded formidable financial power.

After their earlier conversation, Zhou Ming gradually relaxed and said to Yang Dingguo, "Elder Yang, please stop teasing me. Some things were done impulsively, and I do regret them."

Yang Dingguo responded, "Well, since things have happened, and the central government has decided to severely punish these criminals, we will no longer hold you responsible. However, this matter should end here."

Zhou Ming sharply noticed the key point in Yang Dingguo's words: "End here? Elder Yang, what do you mean by that?"

"Of course, it means that the case of Jingchu Province, with Comrade Dai Jinshan being removed from his position and several core members of the criminal gang in Jin Ning being executed, will be closed," Yang Dingguo explained. Zhou Ming was not surprised that Yang Dingguo expected him to grasp this detail, as Zhou Ming often exhibited a level of maturity not typical for his age.

"So Dai Jinshan, the biggest backing for this criminal force, will just be let off lightly?" Zhou Ming asked.

This time, Yang Dingguo did not answer directly but instead asked Zhou Ming, "Zhou Ming, what do you think the officialdom is like?"

Zhou Ming was completely caught off guard by this question. He answered, "I'm sorry, Elder Yang, I haven't worked in the government, so I can't give a proper answer."

"It's okay. We're just having a casual chat here. After hanging up, just forget about it," Yang Dingguo said.

Zhou Ming really didn't want to answer such a sensitive question, but he knew Yang Dingguo wouldn't ask it without reason. So, after careful consideration, Zhou Ming replied, "It should be a place where all officials live. They work, survive, and climb up until they hold the highest power in the country."

"A very conventional answer," Yang Dingguo said. "According to your view, do you think the officialdom is a place where one holds the national power and can dominate everything?"

Faced with this question from Yang Dingguo, Zhou Ming furrowed his brows but did not speak. Yang Dingguo continued, "A long time ago, someone said that there are all kinds of factions within the party. This phrase can have many different meanings, but I believe it means that in a country, there are always a large group of people with similar interests who will form interest groups."

"So even in our People's Democratic Republic, it is like this?" Zhou Ming asked.

"Comrade, your question is quite bold. If it were ten years ago, you would have been criticized and paraded through the streets," Yang Dingguo teased.

"But it's not ten years ago. Isn't it when you were in charge, Elder Yang?" Zhou Ming responded.

Yang Dingguo chuckled and said, "I want to say that our country is an entity, and some things don't exist in isolation. Zhou Ming, you can disregard everything, but the country has to consider all aspects."

"I understand, Elder Yang," Zhou Ming said. "You mean that Secretary Dai Jinshan is an important figure for a certain interest group and can't be touched for the time being?"

"I used to be assigned to a farm. Even after returning to Yanjing, I was under house arrest for a long time. During that period, I spent my time gardening, including planting radishes. Zhou Ming, you come from a working-class family, so I don't know if you've ever pulled up radishes. I have, and when I was young, I used to pull them out forcefully. As a result, I either damaged the radish leaves or pulled out a large amount of mud, leaving an unsightly big hole."

Yang Dingguo continued, "Of course, pulling out one radish doesn't matter, but if every radish is pulled out like that, it would ruin the whole vegetable garden. So, it's better to be more delicate."

"So, handling officials should be like pulling radishes, with careful and gradual effort?" Zhou Ming asked.

"Careful and gradual effort isn't always necessary, but it definitely requires thorough consideration. Otherwise, you see, you've dealt with Gao Ming and Gao Feng, and their father Gao Jianhui came out. You dealt with Gao Jianhui, and Dai Jinshan comes out. If the central government deals with Dai Jinshan, it will lead to even more difficult characters. If we proceed like this, when will it end? How much will it cost the country to solve this problem?"

At this point, Yang Dingguo sighed and said, "Our country is at a critical stage of development. Stability is the most important factor. In the face of economic development, everything must yield!"

Zhou Ming could understand Yang Dingguo's words. He had come from one of the darkest times in Chinese history, and for his generation, the most important thing was how to develop and strengthen the country and the nation. In fact, Yang Dingguo had done this, even if it meant taking on a lot of unexplainable criticism.

However, Yang Dingguo's strategy was indeed effective. Over the past thirty years of reform and opening up, the country's economic development had been phenomenal, achieving a rise that amazed the world.

While Yang Dingguo's grand strategy was correct, it didn't mean Zhou Ming would fully accept all his ideas, especially not at this moment.

After much consideration, Zhou Ming finally said, "Elder Yang, I know that at the beginning of reform and opening up, some groups and individuals took the lead in the economic path and made significant contributions to the country's development. But the policies at that time were very lenient. Their wealth accumulation was through exploiting loopholes rather than being true entrepreneurs. They were speculators who seized opportunities."

"If they were just ordinary speculators, it would be fine, as speculative behavior would collapse eventually, like Xing Yuan from Jiangnan Province. But these people are powerful speculators. If left unchecked, they will form vested interest groups. They will infiltrate every aspect of the country and become the biggest obstacle to the country's future development!" Zhou Ming said.

Zhou Ming's words were not without basis. In the future, there would be many major cases, each involving shocking amounts of money and deeply frustrating case files.

Undoubtedly, these corrupt officials and criminal businessmen were detestable, but they did not appear out of nowhere. They were controlled by a deep-rooted vested interest group.

This vested interest group, in order to protect the benefits gained since the reform and opening up, would corrupt officials extensively and infiltrate all aspects of the country. Only by tying itself to the country could it ensure its own safety. That's why there would be so many frequent major cases in later years. This was essentially a repeated struggle between the state and the vested interest group.

In Zhou Ming's past life, his class status was very low, so he didn't know how intense the struggle against the vested interest group was, but it was definitely beyond ordinary imagination.

After all, a vested interest group is like a malignant tumor growing on the body. To remove it, one must dig out the tumor along with the flesh.

However, that was in his past life. Now that he had been reborn, some things could be dealt with in advance, especially since he had vowed to undertake a groundbreaking career when he returned from Hong Kong.