Chapter 91: Media Uproar and the Battle for Heritage

The media come when they want! A person of integrity has nothing to fear from a crooked shadow. Whether it’s Tengwang Pavilion or an ancient town, they’re all investments by Mingsha Tourism. Are you scared of their interviews?

Xu Hao’s voice rang out once more, resolute as ever.

“And we must hold the slanderer accountable. How many projects in Long Kingdom have been ruined this way!”

The meeting room fell silent once more.

A poor county lacking mineral resources has only tourism or similar ventures to drive its economy. Now, just when a project is in motion, it’s labeled a vanity project—a facade that traps them in a vicious cycle.

“All right, I’ll set up a press conference shortly. Xu Xian, you handle your own business for now.”

After a brief moment of thought, Wang Xun shed any hesitation.

“We’ll discuss further if issues arise!”

“Understood!”

After hanging up, Wang Xun turned to the county leaders and declared, “It looks like our Xu Xian is not one to be messed with!”

“Exactly. Few dare confront the media head-on these days. But Xu Xian makes a solid point. If we don’t stand our ground now, we’ll always be led by the nose, and eventually, they’ll force us to dismantle the ancient site.”

Qin Xuan took a deep breath.

“Dismantle it? Impossible! Even if we agreed, would the Su Province Cultural Relics Bureau sanction it? Would the Long Kingdom Ancient Architecture Research Institute approve?”

Wang Xun rose to his feet.

“Alright, inform the publicity department to convene a meeting!”

With Mingsha County still trending, within half an hour the county’s press conference was broadcast by major media outlets, sparking widespread debate.

Jiangcheng

At Nanjiang News, Editor-in-Chief Sun Da leaned back with his arms crossed, his expression oozing disdain as he watched the conference.

“Either inspect it yourself or stand by your shares—how childish! In a trending public matter, how do you expect to pin down accountability? Besides, the media has every right to question things!”

“And besides, every place has its flaws under close scrutiny. Let Long Kingdom TV News Channel sort it out if they must!”

Having said that,

Sun Da lit a cigarette, slammed his keyboard with force, and shut down his computer.

Facing Mingsha County’s explanation session, the instigator, Sun Da, wore an expression of utter contempt, mirrored by the mixed reactions from various media and onlookers.

“So defiant? That only proves Mingsha County is clean.”

“Heh, not necessarily! Plenty of stubborn fools keep denying their faults. In this situation, if Mingsha County admits it, it’s just slapping itself in the face—they’ll surely put up a fight.”

“Frankly, Mingsha County might have gone too far! Maybe there weren’t that many issues originally, but now you’re practically challenging every media outlet that shared the news, demanding compensation and an apology?”

“Those outlets will nitpick even a tiny flaw just to prove their point.”

“Seems like the county officials haven’t kept pace with the times, daring to challenge the media.”

“By the way, this kind of matter is bound to have follow-ups. Who knows which media outlet might eventually publish an official report!”

“It’ll definitely be Long Kingdom TV News Channel stepping in. Other self-run media are hit or miss, lacking in authority. Besides, Long Kingdom TV’s news channel never rushes to conclusions without a full investigation.”

“Then what are we waiting for? @Long Kingdom TV News Channel, we’re ready for your live broadcast!”

“Exactly!”

In a downtown office building in Lanshi, Su Province, a middle-aged man in his fifties frowned at his computer screen. Opposite him, a young female reporter stood attentively.

“Boss, what now? Netizens keep tagging the official account, demanding a live investigation!” she said, her brow furrowed.

The young reporter’s frown deepened.

Her name was Zhang Xue, an outposted reporter for Long Kingdom TV News Channel.

Based at the Su Province branch of Long Kingdom TV News Channel, whenever a social hot topic arose, they would immediately dispatch a reporter to investigate and relay the findings to headquarters.

But this was the first time the public demanded a live broadcast of the investigation.

“Wait for further updates. I’ve already reported the situation to headquarters,” she was told.

The man gave a slight shake of his head.

Anyone in the news business knows what live broadcasting entails. With the high attention this incident is drawing, one misstep would be irrecoverable.

“Hmm?”

Just as the man was about to add something more, a dialogue box on his computer suddenly trembled with a new message: “Headquarters just replied! Tomorrow, you’ll broadcast live from Mingsha County! The live stream link is on the official website under the Live section.”

After reading the message,

the man finally turned to Zhang Xue.

“Alright, boss. I’ll start preparing!”

Zhang Xue quickly nodded in agreement.

“Remember, cover every angle during the investigation—the county officials, local residents, the involved company, and all related aspects,”

the man added thoughtfully.

“Don’t worry, boss; I won’t miss a single detail.”

“Good! Now, notify the editorial department to post an announcement so netizens aren’t left in the dark and won’t continuously tag the official account.”

“Got it.”

Time flew by; before long, it was afternoon.

With Long Kingdom TV News Channel’s announcement, the trending topic soared even higher.

The incident touched on so many issues that countless citizens immediately tuned into the official video channel of Long Kingdom TV News Channel. Once the live broadcast started, viewer numbers were sure to climb.

Even more amusing to the public was that news websites which had shared Mingsha County’s video and images hadn’t removed their posts. In fact, they deliberately pinned the news again, clearly gearing up to support Mingsha County.

Moreover, these portals announced that they would send reporters to investigate Mingsha County.

In short,

a brief press conference had ignited the entire issue.

From Tengwang Pavilion at No. 256 in Hongsha Gang Village, Oasis 1 in Mingsha County, Li Jue, Liu Shan, and others slowly emerged. As they walked, they chatted.

“Not bad! Not bad! Besides the treasures housed in Tengwang Pavilion, the exhibits offer a full display of Mingsha County’s culture and rich history,” one remarked.

“I agree! Some of the items are so valuable that even the county museum wouldn’t have such pieces. This visit was definitely worthwhile.”

“By the way, did you all catch today’s trending topics?”

Pausing to take in the scenery around Tengwang Pavilion, Cao Jun said,

“I did!”

Li Jue and Liu Shan’s expressions darkened.

“These media are completely out of control. Just one picture or video, and they twist it completely out of context. They have no idea how priceless Tengwang Pavilion really is!

So many structures would be impossible to rebuild even with vast sums,” Li Jue added.

“Exactly. Should we rally behind Xiao Xu with a formal statement? Online sentiment is overwhelmingly on his side.”

After a moment’s pause, Cao Jun said,

“There’s no rush. Xiao Xu will return to Mingsha County tomorrow. Once he’s here, we can discuss further; if needed, our organization will issue a detailed statement outlining the true value of Tengwang Pavilion!”

Li Jue glanced toward the direction of the ancient guesthouses.

“Some media outlets are formidable, but the Long Kingdom Ancient Architecture Research Institute is not to be underestimated either.”