"Mayor Qin, what you said has enlightened us. We should have the spirit to dare and to struggle, and the spirit to fear no risk. However, we cannot act recklessly. It's best if we can make the members of the leadership team not cause trouble even if they know we are acting autocratically. That would be the wisdom of a powerful figure in the political arena."
Chen Feng's eyes lit up as he said this.
"I think so too, but the problem is that the political arena is too full of intrigue. There are so many members on the leadership team, how can we possibly make everyone obedient and not cause trouble?"
Qin Yan said with anxiety.
"Mayor Qin, this is what I think. The only way to make everyone speak with one voice is through benefits. If everyone is given enough benefits, they naturally won't cause trouble."
Qin Yan said earnestly.
"That makes sense, continue."
"Originally, the self-driving car project was an important investment project for Mingshan City. However, we can reform it to be half government investment and half private investment. The private investment portion can be distributed as dividends, and then all of it can be given to the members of the Mingshan City leadership team. This way, even if an investigation comes from above, they cannot say they took money; they have legitimate shares."
Chen Feng explained word by word.
"Chen Feng, you mean to deliberately give money to the leadership team members, and to do so without being discovered, by deliberately using the company reform as an excuse?"
Qin Yan asked softly.
"Yes, that's exactly what I mean."
"Half government investment and half private investment, the problem arises, where will the private investment money come from? Don't tell me you'll be footing the bill again for free?"
"If it were a small project, I wouldn't mind footing the bill. However, the self-driving project is a massive undertaking. It's unrealistic for me to foot the bill. What I mean is, all investments should be made by the Mingshan City government. Mingshan City's finances have developed rapidly in recent years, which is sufficient to cover all expenses for the self-driving project. The reason for reforming the project to be half government and half private is mainly to create a legitimate reason for giving money. The Mingshan City leadership team, with their hearts set on Mingshan City's development, investing in the Mingshan City self-driving project is logical and reasonable!"
Chen Feng explained.
Qin Yan and Cheng Lu were instantly convinced.
Chen Feng had mastered the art of political maneuvering to perfection.
He had not only preserved the autocratic decision-making of powerful figures in economic development projects but also made all those powerful figures sincerely convinced and without objection.
A super impressive art of political balance!
"By the way, Chen Feng, in this case, Mingshan City's local taxes will have to be increased a bit to have enough money for expenditures. But the problem is, China has clear limits on local tax collection. We can't just increase local taxes if we want to."
Qin Yan continued to raise questions.
Political matters are just like this, too cumbersome.
"The limit on local taxes is a red line. No matter where it is, this red line cannot be crossed. In order for the higher authorities in China to control various regions of China, they have naturally imposed strict limitations on local taxes. However, it doesn't matter. We cannot touch local taxes; we can focus our attention on national taxes."
Chen Feng said calmly.
When he was a driver in Mingshan Town as a deputy town mayor, he truly didn't understand anything about local taxes or national taxes.
Later, as he gradually integrated into the political arena and constantly learned about it every day, he began to understand matters concerning local and national taxes.
Not only did he understand them, but he could also deduce and apply them.
"Doesn't all national tax revenue go to the central government of China? What can we possibly do about it?"
Qin Yan asked with confusion.
"Mayor Qin, besides collection, the tax system has another important aspect: tax refunds. All taxes have a refund component."
Chen Feng said earnestly.
"You mean, national taxes also have refunds?"
Qin Yan was stunned.
Having been in the political arena for so long, she had never thought about this aspect.
From this point, it could be seen that Chen Feng not only had a remarkable talent for politics but, more importantly, possessed a very valuable quality: continuous learning.
When Chen Feng was a driver, his knowledge of the political arena was practically zero. But in the past few years, Chen Feng had continuously self-taught himself, becoming proficient in all aspects of politics.
He was born to play the game of politics.
"Yes, that's exactly what I mean. To encourage local economic development, the central government offers national tax refund incentives. Of course, national tax refund incentives have clear limitations. The refunded money must be used only for economic development and cannot be used for other purposes."
Chen Feng explained.
"Chen Feng, tell me honestly, have you secretly studied the local tax law and national tax law? Otherwise, how would you know so much?"
Qin Yan asked instinctively.
"I won't hide it from you, Mayor Qin. After work every day, I use my spare time to study knowledge in this area."
Chen Feng replied with a smile.
"But the problem is, local tax law and national tax law are humanities knowledge. You are a science and engineering talent. Do you have the patience to read humanities materials? I've heard people say that humanities subjects, especially systemic and legal ones, are very cumbersome. A single book can be as heavy as a brick."
Qin Yan asked curiously.
"Mayor Qin, you are not an outsider, so I won't hide anything and will tell you the truth. I really dislike humanities subjects. They are superficial and cumbersome... But no matter how much I dislike them, I have to learn them. Science and engineering can govern the country, but to make a country strong, it's impossible to rely solely on science and engineering knowledge; one must have humanities literacy. Science and engineering knowledge can make a country progress rapidly in the economic field. However, without humanities literacy, it's impossible to form cohesion and a strong belief. Even if a country's economy is very developed, it must have strong cohesion and belief. Without them, the country will ultimately fail. How can cohesion and belief be achieved? This requires high-level humanities literacy. What is high-level humanities literacy? To put it bluntly, it's about persuasion. The art of managing people requires humanities literacy, while economic development requires science and engineering literacy."
Chen Feng gave a lengthy speech.
He had no other intention than to help Qin Yan learn more about political knowledge.
The more political knowledge one has, the smoother their path in politics will be.
After his lengthy discourse, Qin Yan's admiration for Chen Feng reached a new level.
Previously, she only knew that Chen Feng was good at science and engineering and was skilled in managing the economy. She didn't know that Chen Feng was also proficient in humanities and had a good grasp of human nature.
With Chen Feng by her side, her future political path would definitely be smooth sailing.
With that thought, Qin Yan stopped talking too much with Chen Feng and directly went with Cheng Lu to oversee the projects.
The flying new energy vehicle project and the self-driving car project were both the hottest projects at the moment, and they had to be closely monitored.
Projects, no matter how good the ideas, are useless if they are not put into practice.
After Qin Yan left, Chen Feng prepared to get some rest. He had been running around for the flying new energy vehicle project and the self-driving car project recently and was truly exhausted.
Unexpectedly, before he could leave his office, a friend from the Chinese military suddenly called, saying there was a very important matter to discuss with Chen Feng...