Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 432 Wang Ziteng's Actions
At the Governor-General's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi, Annan envoy Li Jinrong was waiting for an audience with Wang Ziteng. As an envoy, there must be a reason why he came to Guangzhou instead of going to the capital.

Wang Ziteng was in the study, looking at Xue Pan with a satisfied expression. This nephew was a good one and he still stood on the side of his family at the critical moment.

"This batch of goods sold at a good price. You have put a lot of effort into it." Wang Ziteng rarely praised him. In Xue Pan's impression, this uncle was the person he feared the most. A single look from him could make him tremble.

Xue Pan was immediately delighted to receive Wang Ziteng's approval. He pretended to be modest and said, "Among the five ports opened to the court, Xiamen and Guangzhou have the most intense competition. Ordinary Western goods are not very competitive. Watches and clocks are not as exquisite as the craftsmanship of local craftsmen. Sassoon, the foreign devil, is a good businessman. He has good goods, but the court does not allow him to sell them openly. If it were not for my uncle's good name, the government would have come to arrest him even in Nanjing."

"Is Sun Zhitai not making things difficult for you?" Wang Ziteng felt a little comfortable being praised. He stroked his beard proudly, with the corners of his eyes raised.

"Sun Zhitai's mind is all about competing with the gentry in Liangjiang. The literati in Jiangnan are full of criticism, but among the people he is known as the contemporary Haibizhu."

"Oh, there is such a thing?" Wang Ziteng became interested and asked.

Xue Pan smiled and said, "Prime Minister Sun has set a rule for the government offices in the prefectures and counties of Liangjiang. Whenever there is a lawsuit, the common people will be favored. This is also included in the performance evaluation of the performance evaluation system. In terms of the power of the governors, only my uncle can compare to Prime Minister Sun."

Wang Ziteng's face darkened when he heard this. Well, the Wang family in Jinling, with their character, I'm afraid they have been punished by Sun Huazhen. But at present, the Wang family has not written to complain, which means that they have not been in trouble for the time being. I will write a letter later to tell the Wang family in Jinling not to cause trouble at this critical juncture, so as not to ruin my big plan.

"Prime Minister Sun is deeply trusted by His Majesty, I can't compare to him. You should be more careful in the future to avoid giving people a chance to criticize you. If Prime Minister Sun is in trouble, I will be in trouble too." Wang Ziteng warned him. He was also afraid that Xue Pan, the money bag, would have problems in Nanjing. In a few months, the dry season will come and he will launch an expedition to Annan, so there must be no problems. Wang Ziteng still subconsciously compared himself with Sun Huazhen. After all, if the emperor had not targeted him, he would have had the opportunity to join the cabinet. They were both governors, but Sun Huazhen had experience as a cabinet minister, and he was still a marquis.

"Xue Pan remembered it!" Xue Pan quickly assured that when he was in Jinling, he was not as honest as he looked now. He even walked sideways when he went out on the street.

"Well, if you work harder, you won't have to travel back and forth for the second half of the year."

"Goodbye, nephew." Xue Pan said goodbye with a smile, and Wang Ziteng bowed slightly, which counted as a farewell.

After leaving the government house, Xue Pan mounted his horse and galloped towards the dock without slowing down along the way, causing a lot of commotion.

The people along the street were angry but dared not speak out, and could only curse and swear under their breath.

Near Guangzhou Port, the imperial court set aside a piece of land for foreign trade. Westerners were not allowed to move around the city at will. If they wanted to leave the area, they needed a permit from the governor to enter the city.

Outside a house near the dock, Xue Pan dismounted and walked in. Without waiting for the gatekeeper to announce the arrival, he shouted as he walked, "Old Sha, the business is here."

Sassoon came out of the house quickly, folded his hands and said, "Master Xue, you have worked hard on the way. With Master Xue joining our business, we will definitely make a fortune."

Xue Pan stepped forward with a smile: "It is definitely hard work. It is not easy to walk thousands of miles. You need to reward me well today."

Sassoon looked pleased and said with an enthusiastic smile, "Please come in, God of Wealth."

As Xue Pan walked in, he modestly said, "I am not the God of Wealth. My cousin Jia Lian from the Jia family is the one who can really turn stones into gold."

When Jia Lian was mentioned, Sassoon's expression changed slightly, and a vicious look flashed in his eyes, but quickly disappeared.

The reception room was luxuriously decorated, with Persian carpets on the floor. Four Arab girls wearing veils and bare waists knelt on the ground to greet him. After Sassoon asked Xue Pan to sit down, the four women immediately surrounded Xue Pan from front and back. Even for him to drink water, he didn't need to move a finger.

The half-hidden beauty in front of him, the fragrance of roses in the air, the exotic girl who wanted whatever she wanted, was very much to Xue Pan's taste: "Fresh, too fresh, I don't know if Xue Pan is praising the girl, or the fruit that the girl fed to his mouth."

"There is something that I need Mr. Xue's help with." Sassoon said casually while making tea.

Xue Pan hugged both of them, and said casually, "You say."

"The East India Company wanted to lease an island, but was rejected by the local county government."

"An island? Tell me the place and I'll go ask later." Xue Pan's face was buried deep in the ditch. Sassoon took a look at him, smiled complacently, and got up and walked away.

After a while, a violent groan was heard from behind.

In the Governor's Office, Li Jinrong finally saw Wang Ziteng. Soldiers carrying swords and guns on both sides looked at him unkindly, as if they would kill him at any time if he made any unusual moves. Although he was afraid, Li Jinrong, who was carrying the king's order, still said with a stiff upper lip: "Li Jinrong, the foreign envoy, greets the governor."

Wang Ziteng didn't even look at him, and said calmly, "What are you doing here?"

Li Jinrong felt the humiliation of being looked at sideways, but he endured it silently and continued his mission: "The king ordered me to explain to Wang Zhitai that the criminals who robbed the Chinese merchants have been arrested and sentenced to death according to our country's laws. I have also brought their heads, but please come and verify it."

Wang Ziteng wanted to attack Annan, so he needed an excuse. Unexpectedly, the excuse came to him after the New Year, and he didn't need to make another one.

What was the excuse? There were many overseas Chinese merchants in Saigon, and they were quite wealthy there. Among them, the Lin family had been operating for decades and had many businesses in Saigon. Years later, this family was attacked by a group of criminals who broke into their house, killed people, set fire, raped and looted. Hundreds of people from the Saigon Lin family were killed, except for a bastard who was doing business abroad. Upon hearing the news, he immediately knelt down and begged Wang Ziteng to take charge of the Lin family.

The thing is, the Saigon Lin family is not a serious businessman. After all, in this era, sea merchants are pirates. It's just that the Lin family is not doing well in their ancestral homeland, but this branch is doing well in Annan. The local Li family in Saigon is a big family, and there are many conflicts of interest with the Lin family. After such a thing happened, the Li family was the most panicked. They hurried to Chai Gun to ask to see the King of Annan. After giving a heavy gift, they asked the King of Annan, Nguyen Kim Xiang, to send someone to explain to the Zhou Dynasty. After learning the news that the Lin family's son had filed a complaint in Guangzhou, Li Jinrong came to Guangzhou first.

"You just want to hand over a few people and be done with it? The Lin family is a citizen of the Great Zhou Dynasty. You killed them at will in Annan, and all the properties they have run for decades have been taken away." Wang Ziteng asked back coldly.

Li Jinrong said quickly: "Please rest assured, Your Excellency, we will handle this case fairly and give justice to the Lin family."

After hearing this, Wang Ziteng sneered and said, "Justice? Are you worthy of it? Master Wang will go to Saigon to get justice! Come on, show him away!" With an order, the guards pounced forward like wolves and tigers. No matter how Li Jinrong begged, they dragged him out and threw him onto the street directly from the gate.

Li Jinrong was lying on the street, with a pile of dog shit underneath him, which was extremely smelly. Li Jinrong looked back at the government office and shouted, "Sir Governor, you must not provoke border conflicts without authorization. This will damage the diplomatic relations between the two countries and cause the vassal states to become alienated. I will go to the capital right now and explain to the court and His Majesty the Great Zhou."

When the citizens passing by saw Li Jinrong's miserable condition, no one expressed sympathy. Even though the Wang family were good-for-nothings, this foreigner who came to the local area to beg for food was even less of a good-for-nothing.

In fact, Wang Ziteng's urgent memorial, which had traveled eight hundred miles, had already arrived in Beijing. When Li Jinrong's ship was still floating on the sea, the memorial appeared in front of Emperor Chenghui.

【Overseas Chinese have been killed, and their entire families have been wiped out. I am willing to lead 100 warships to conquer Annan and spread the power of our country.】

Emperor Chenghui looked at the wording in the memorial and was very suspicious. The so-called fact that the expatriate family was killed was probably an excuse made by Wang Ziteng. This guy is really a ruthless person. In order to make his title of Annan Marquis, he actually took human life lightly. Forget it, the court could not sit idly by when the expatriates in Saigon were killed. It must take strong measures. Wang Ziteng volunteered, so he did what he wanted.

Emperor Chenghui continued to read on and found out that Wang Ziteng also requested a batch of military equipment to strengthen the Guangdong and Guangxi armies.

The Beijing troops haven’t even gathered all their equipment yet, so how can they take care of Guangdong and Guangxi?
After a brief thought, Emperor Chenghui sent someone to summon Jia Lian.

Jia Lian was summoned to the palace. Emperor Chenghui handed him the memorial. After reading it, Jia Lian put it down and said with a look of disgust, "You are not just asking for trouble, but you still want military equipment? The Ministry of Revenue has sent the money to the Beijing camp, and they are going to take what they want. Where can they get the military equipment to provide to Guangdong and Guangxi?"

"Why, do you have a problem with Wang Qing?" Emperor Chenghui asked curiously. Aren't the Jia family and the Wang family relatives by marriage? There's something wrong with your attitude. Are you acting?
Jia Lian explained naturally: "Wang Zhitai wants to take action against Annan. It's obvious that he has lice on his bald head. In order to raise military funds, he not only asks the court for money, but also smuggles opium. I hate opium dealers the most. Wang Zhitai uses this to make money. I despise it."

What I mean is that I look down on Wang Ziteng now.

Emperor Chenghui was quite surprised to hear this. Jia Lian had repeatedly stressed the harm of opium, and the court had indeed issued a ban, but it was hard to say how it was implemented. It was rare to see opium trading around the capital, but the country was so big that it was hard to say about other places, especially the prosperous southeastern coastal areas with a long coastline. Smuggling was very common and difficult to manage. Now that Jia Lian said this, he must have a basis, and it was impossible for him to falsely accuse an important official of the court.

"Don't talk nonsense if you don't have evidence." Emperor Chenghui pondered for a moment and nodded.

Jia Lian said, "Sassoon, the English envoy, was a famous opium dealer. If he were not an envoy, I would have killed him with a knife long ago."

Emperor Chenghui saw Jia Lian's murderous intent and knew that he was really serious about this matter. It's just that it's too far for Jia Lian to reach. Send Jia Lian to Guangdong and Guangxi? How is that possible? Even Shandong seems too far away. "So, is it true that there is no military equipment? Wang Ziteng will have to wait four or five months before sending troops. It will be in time, right? After all, it's a foreign war, and the court needs to take care of its reputation."

"Your Majesty, you can just issue an order on this matter. If you ask me, I will answer: Wang Ziteng has disregarded the safety of the people for his own selfish interests, and his influence has spread far and wide. Your Majesty should send an imperial censor to the south to investigate this matter thoroughly."

Well, the look of indignation on Emperor Chenghui’s face when he looked at Jia Lian was really not acting.

"You go down first." Emperor Chenghui did not ask Jia Lian again, and called Zhang Tingen again, still talking about Wang Ziteng's matter.

After reading the memorial, Zhang Tingen threw it aside and said, "Before Dongping and Xining surrender, there should be no more border troubles. Wang Ziteng has no sense of the overall situation."

Uh, do both the master and the apprentice dislike Wang Ziteng? Emperor Chenghui pondered for a moment, thinking that this was his fault as Marquis of Annan, and sighed: "We must not hurt the morale of the royal family. Let's do this. The cabinet will issue a document and ask the Beijing camp to wait for a while. Jia Lian will first gather equipment for 5,000 people and send it to Guangzhou."

Zhang Ting'en did not insist and immediately bowed his hands: "I obey your order and will go back and do it right away."

Emperor Chenghui wanted to expand the territory, and Zhang Tingen fully understood that and naturally would not sing a different tune. After all, Wang Ziteng had made some trouble, and the cabinet had no responsibility for his success or failure.

Zhang Tingen also knew that once Wang Ziteng gained a foothold in Annan, he would most likely stay there, and the Marquis of Annan would most likely be replaced by the Duke of Annan, vacating the position of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, and consciously developing overseas. In this way, Emperor Chenghui would gain both fame and fortune.

Jia Lian had just returned to the R&D department when he was called in for questioning by Zhang Tingen's men, still regarding Wang Ziteng's military supplies.

After listening to this, Jia Lian said that equipping 5,000 people was easy, but the trafficking of opium was unacceptable and the court must take strong measures to crack down on it.

Zhang Tingen asked Jia Lian to explain in detail. Jia Lian explained the harm of opium in his own way. After listening, Zhang Tingen said, "According to what you said, it should be the Xue family who is helping to move the goods?"

Jia Lian nodded: "After the death of Ziwei Sheren of the Xue family, the Wang family has always been the money bag. After my second aunt's marriage with the Lin family was frustrated, she thought about marrying into the Xue family, just for the money."

Zhang Tingen nodded: "I know Ziwei Sheren, he has always been the royal family's official merchant, but unfortunately, his descendants are not up to the standard and have become vassals of the royal family. Don't you care about this matter?"

Jia Lian shook his head: "The Jia family can't even clean up their own mess, how can they care about other families?"

Zhang Tingen was surprised when he heard this: "Why is there such a saying?"

Jia Lian talked about Jia Jing's activities and said, "If it weren't for your majesty's generosity, I would not be able to sleep at night now."

Zhang Ting'en understood immediately: "No wonder, I heard someone impeach you for the winter vegetable business before, but then nothing happened. So there is such a thing. In that case, I will have someone draft an official document and send it to Jinling, so that Prime Minister Sun can investigate it carefully."

Jia Lian shook his head: "General investigations are ineffective. We must conduct nationwide activities and incorporate student suggestions into the performance evaluation of the performance evaluation system."

Zhang Tingen might not care if someone else said so, but since Jia Lian said so, he took it very seriously: "I will personally bring this up at the next meeting. It is really outrageous. The court has issued bans many times, but there are still people who commit crimes in defiance of the law. They must be severely punished."

(End of this chapter)