"Rustle-"
The sound of turning pages filled the conference hall as the officials leafed through the documents before them and listened to Sankara speak:
"So, my final thinking is actually this-
First, during the war, our government will step in and buy land from the landlords, then distribute it to impoverished peasants who have no land, encouraging them to grow staple crops.
Then, we will raise procurement prices for staple crops and provide subsidies to encourage landlords to grow them. Although this will increase the pressure on our finances, it will still be far cheaper than importing food directly.
Next, we will import large quantities of chemical fertilizer and teach the peasants to use it properly to increase food production. At the same time, we must also bring in fertilizer production lines and strive to become self-sufficient in fertilizer.
Once the war is over and the Ministry of National Defense has its hands free, we will take the final step: confiscating the land of landlords steeped in sin and compulsorily buying out the land of those who are passably decent.
And at the very end, we will distribute this land fairly, impartially, and reasonably among all the peasants, letting them grow food and resolving our country's severe shortfall in food production, which causes over a hundred thousand people to starve to death every year.
That is the preliminary approach I have come up with to solve our country's food problem. If you have any better ideas or anything to add, you may stand up and speak at any time."
After saying all this in one breath, Sankara closed the document before him and turned his gaze toward the officials in the conference hall.
He did not know whether it was his imagination, but Sankara vaguely noticed-
Were beads of sweat actually dripping from the foreheads of those officials who professed their support for him but whose loyalty was actually below 50, now that they had heard his full proposal?
It was not Sankara's imagination. Those officials had realized, to their dismay, that their earlier remarks seemed to have patted the horse's leg rather than its rump.
Worse still, might Sankara grow suspicious of them over this? Those officials did not dare pursue that line of thought.
And more seriously still-
"If we really follow Sankara's plan, it looks like he might actually succeed?"
"Fuck you! I fucking underestimated this brat!"
"We're steeped in sin? How is it our fault that peasants can't afford food? Clearly, they aren't working hard enough!"
"It's over, it's over... It feels like the landlords are done for!"
These officials all realized how serious the problem was and began thinking about how to respond:
"Damn it, once the meeting ends, I have to tell the people in the tribe about this!"
"Luckily, this brat Sankara actually thinks we're loyal to him and told us all this in advance. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable!"
"Your plan is excellent, but I'm the one responsible for carrying it out. If I don't implement it until even you can't recognize it, I'll take your surname, Ahro, right along with you, Sankara!"
The one thing that could still comfort these officials was that they were currently within Sankara's own ranks.
A powerful group often developed problems internally first. As long as they carried out all sorts of sabotage from within, Sankara's plan would never make it beyond paper.
They could even borrow the knife in Sankara's hand to eliminate those who stood against them, along with the so-called enlightened landlords in their own ranks.
"Phew-"
Perhaps because they had thought of ways to respond, these officials all breathed sighs of relief, then quietly wiped the sweat from their foreheads.
As for the officials who were genuinely loyal to Sankara, who might not have been considering the people's interests but were truly considering his-
After hearing Sankara's words and reading the various explanations of his thinking in the documents, they too breathed sighs of relief.
Ameli, who had been dejected and somewhat apprehensive, even broke into a smile. After thinking for a moment, she stood up and said:
"As Minister of Agriculture, let me state my position first: I firmly support your current proposal, Mr. President.
However, I personally feel that there are still several points in your proposal that could be refined further, allowing us to resolve the problem more smoothly and thoroughly. For example..."
This time, Ameli spoke for a full five minutes without stopping, pointing out many problems and loopholes in Sankara's proposal.
This time, no official stood up to interrupt her, much less to criticize her.
Those harboring ulterior motives simply did not dare stand up for the time being, while the devotedly loyal officials felt that Ameli made a great deal of sense.
Even some officials who were equally loyal to Sankara but felt there were problems with what Ameli said were prepared to listen patiently until she finished before standing up to rebut her.
Perhaps Ameli had set a good example. After she finished speaking, many more officials stood up. Even several officers from the Ministry of National Defense rose to offer their thoughts:
"Your Excellency, I think there are still some problems with Minister Ameli's remarks. For example..."
"Actually, I think we could also add something to the proposal..."
"Mr. President, there's actually one loophole I've noticed that perhaps no one has thought of yet: what if the landlords use their power and influence to fraudulently claim subsidies from us? So I believe..."
"Once the current war is over, our Ministry of National Defense is confident that we can suppress resistance from the landlords and prevent them from having any impact. Our preliminary plan is..."
Everyone was actively speaking, except those officials with guilty consciences.
They had already regained their composure, but after hearing everyone's remarks, sweat began running down their foreheads again.
"Damn it, can you fuckers shut up?"
"Seriously, you're just pointing out the loopholes in Sankara's proposal so openly? Aren't you afraid he'll fly into a rage out of humiliation and make life difficult for you behind your backs?"
"Stop talking. Please, stop talking!"
"Sankara, what kind of president are you? A bunch of subordinates are pointing out the mistakes in your proposal in front of all these people, and you're not even angry?"
"No, I absolutely cannot just sit here and wait to die!"
These officials representing the landlord interest groups behind them grew anxious.
Some of them even stood up to point out shortcomings in Sankara's proposal or offer better ideas, seeking to gain more of his trust so that they could sabotage his plan more effectively.
Some of the ideas they offered even made Sankara slap the table in admiration. He almost began to suspect that the system had malfunctioned and that they were actually the truly devoted ones.
As time passed, the conference hall gradually fell quiet.
Every official had said everything they could think of, including those who had actually betrayed Sankara.
Seeing that no one else was speaking, Sankara nodded in great satisfaction. A rare smile appeared on his face as he said:
"Very good! Truly very good! Seeing you stand up to point out the shortcomings in my proposal and offer better ideas of your own makes me happier than I can say.
I thought you were a bunch of fools just eating your fill and waiting to die, but now it seems you actually are quite capable. Here, I must apologize for my very prejudiced initial opinion.
Since no one else is standing up now, let's organize everyone's ideas and put together a practical final plan!"
"Tick, tock, tick, tock-"
When the clock on the wall reached 2:13 p.m., this meeting, which had begun at half past eight that morning, finally drew to a close!
At the same time, Sankara obtained an agricultural reform plan that was, for the present, both the best and the most suitable for the Republic of Burkina!