Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 474 The two princes went to the R&D hall together

"After the provincial examination, you will be assigned to a post outside the capital. With His Majesty's favor towards you, you will most likely be a provincial governor, not a provincial governor with a mother-in-law above you."

After the provincial examination, the master and the disciple rarely got together to talk because news came from Guangzhou that a special envoy sent by the French, some unknown person, came with a basic chemistry book in his hand and was asking everywhere who Jia Lian was.

This book was the work of Valanga, and no one knows which scientist it attracted. Jia Lian hopes it was Lavoisier, as he was the most awesome person at that time.

The task of receiving the delegation was still handed over to Li Heng, who made another request and asked Jia Lian for help.

Emperor Chenghui handed the matter over to Zhang Tingen, and Jia Lian was called over to talk.

The official business was simply explained in a sentence or two, and Zhang Tingen was more concerned about Jia Lian's subsequent development.

"If it is to be sent abroad, the student hopes to go to the coastal area." Jia Lian was not polite at all and took the initiative to make the request.

Zhang Tingen frowned slightly after hearing this. "Just say this in front of me, Master. Don't mention it outside. We are all serving the court, so how can we be picky?"

Jia Lian smiled and said, "Sir, you misunderstood. I am afraid that I will be in an inland province and have nothing to do. Then, I will either rectify the administration of officials or trouble the gentry."

This is the truth. If Jia Lian went to an inland province, these are the only two things he could do.

"In theory, the most suitable place is Jiangnan Province, but your ancestral home is in Jiangnan Province. In principle, you should avoid it." Zhang Tingen thought about it and gave this explanation.

Jia Lian didn't say anything else, anyway, he had said it before. Now Emperor Chenghui is rectifying the administration of officials, not to fight corruption like Chongzhen, but to fight against lazy and inefficient government. The force is really not enough!

But what is the saying? People travel thousands of miles to become officials just for money. If they are not allowed to make money, is there any meaning in being an official?

How can one maintain a decent life without money? Not everyone can make money like Jia Lian.

Seeing that Jia Lian did not mention the matter of the R&D department, Zhang Tingen hesitated to speak and did not stop him from leaving.

In private, Emperor Chenghui did mention this matter, saying that Jia Lian was inspecting, so even if he was sent out, he had to keep it as it was. However, he also needed a stronger person to take charge.

Emperor Chenghui asked Zhang Tingen for his opinion on whether to let Li Yuan or Li Heng take charge.

Zhang Tingen wanted to ask this just now, but he didn't ask in the end. After all, if he really asked, Jia Lian's political inclination might be exposed, and Zhang Tingen didn't want to see this.

Jia Lian looks very simple now. He is the favorite of the emperor. We should not cause any trouble. You should worry about it yourself and don't bother Jia Lian.

After sending Jia Lian away, Zhang Tingen went to see the emperor. After the emperor and his minister sat down, Zhang Tingen went straight to the point: "I don't have an opinion on who should be in charge of the R&D Department. Your Majesty is interested in the two princes, so you might as well have a good chat with them and ask them what they think before making a decision. I don't have much contact with the two princes, so it's not easy for me to make a decision for them."

Emperor Chenghui thought for a moment and said, "Well, this is the only way."

After Zhang Tingen left, Emperor Chenghui asked someone to call the two princes.

Instead of meeting them together, they came to the imperial study room alone. Emperor Chenghui met Li Yuan first and asked him, "Jia Qing is going to be sent out, and it will be decided by the end of the year at the latest. The situation of the Research and Development Department is quite special. I have seen that none of the officials in the court are as suitable as you and Li Heng. How much do you know about the Research and Development Department? If you take the position, how will you get into the state?"

Li Yuan did not answer immediately, but pondered for a moment before saying, "A few days ago, I met people from the bank and had a drink and chatted with them. They mentioned the R&D Department, saying that there was a huge sum of 3 million taels on the account, which was a pity. This year's summer tax, I went to find out, the tax paid by the R&D Department was as much as 300,000 taels. I also heard that the R&D Department rewarded craftsmen who made contributions, and the income of some craftsmen was even higher than the annual salary of a second-rank official. It seems that there is a suspicion of disrupting social order. These are all heard, and I still need to find out in person before I can make a judgment."

Li Yuan has made great progress. He is no longer the second prince who would believe whatever his close friends say.

After listening to him, Emperor Chenghui thought for a moment and did not make a clear statement: "I understand, you go down first."

From Li Yuan's tone, he had some opinions about the high salary of craftsmen. He thought that craftsmen should not be paid so much.

Li Heng then came in and stood opposite, trying to look serious.

Emperor Chenghui asked the same question, and Li Heng answered without hesitation: "From the R&D Department to the R&D Office, this is an industry built by Jia Lian. Now this industry is under the name of the court and pays taxes normally. I am very curious, why? They are all government-run businesses. Jiangning Weaving Factory and the official kiln in Jiangxi, except for some tributes, have they ever paid a penny of tax to the court? I have read the records. During the reign of Emperor Taizu, Jiangning Weaving Factory paid at least one million taels to the treasury every year. I would like to ask your Majesty, how much does Jiangning Weaving Factory pay every year now?"

Speaking of the Jiangning Weaving Factory, it has always been controlled by the Zhen family. During the reign of the retired emperor, the Zhen family stopped paying annual profits. After the Zhen family fell, the Jiangning Weaving Factory was replaced, but the Zhen family continued its previous practice.

Hmm. The new Jiangning Weaving Master is also an old official of Emperor Chenghui, but his position is not high. Emperor Chenghui also likes to use some old officials of the royal palace in similar positions. Speaking of old officials of the royal palace, Emperor Chenghui can't help but think of Han Zong, who was the emperor's teacher and had the greatest hope of becoming a cabinet minister or even the chief minister. But...

Later, many things were dug up. During the period when Han Zong was the governor-general of Liangjiang, he had close ties with the Zhen family. These inside stories once made Emperor Chenghui very angry.

After the Zhen family was overthrown, Emperor Chenghui no longer held a grudge against Han Zong. Instead, he occasionally remembered his good deeds.

"Okay, I asked you to talk about the R&D department, why did you go so far as to talk about it?" Emperor Chenghui seemed to be hurt and looked a little unhappy.

Li Heng had no idea that the emperor's thoughts were far away, and he was deeply touched.

There was no answer to the question, and Li Heng didn't know how to answer the emperor for a moment, so he said: "The Research and Development Department is doing well now. If I go to take charge, I will naturally follow the rules. The Research and Development Department is a government office, but in fact it is a big workshop of the court and a way of making a living. In terms of business management, Jia Lian is far better than me. I ask myself, I don't have the ability to do better than him. If that's the case, why should I be so smart and change my ways? Isn't it better to keep the old appearance?"

To be honest, Emperor Chenghui thinks this answer is the perfect answer.

Others’ ministers say “Your Majesty is wise” every day, but in fact, as a living person, how can you not know that you have shortcomings? Even saints cannot be omniscient and omnipotent.

So, if the R&D Department is doing well, why should it change? In terms of business management, everyone in the court is far worse than Jia Lian, let alone Li Heng.

Seeing the emperor's pleased expression, Li Heng added, "If I go to the Research and Development Department, it would not be like making the decision, but rather like helping Jia Lian keep an eye on this piece of land and not letting others cause trouble."

After hearing this, Emperor Chenghui had basically made up his mind, but he still decided to give Li Yuan one last chance. The emperor called Li Yuan in again and said in front of his two sons: "You two, go to the R&D Department for two months to understand the actual situation. After two months, give me a report on your experience."

When hearing this, Li Yuan and Li Heng thought of the same thing. They both felt that [I used to think that the emperor valued the R&D Department because of Jia Lian, but now it seems that this is not the case. ]

"In this case, I'm afraid I won't have time to receive the French envoy." Li Heng said in advance, in case the envoy complained about being neglected, he would be punished.

"Didn't you ask Jia Lian to help? Just leave it to him. The people at the Honglu Temple are not just for show. Besides, Jia Lian has sorted out all the procedures before, so there won't be much to do."

Li Heng got a lesson but didn't feel any regret. It was better to speak out first than to be reported and scolded in the future.

Li Heng saw it very clearly that when it came to foreign activities, Emperor Chenghui attached much more importance to Western envoys than to the surrounding vassal states.

Speaking of which, Taizu also attached great importance to the development of the navy, but it was neglected a lot after Taizu. Now it seems that in the early days of the reign of the emperor, the threat from the north was greater, and the development of the navy was neglected. Now the missed lessons must be made up. To develop the navy, the cannons made by the research and development department are the most important thing. A warship without a cannon is a target ship.

In fact, the Ministry of Industry also cast cannons, but they were mainly imitations of the French rapid-fire cannons, and some large general cannons and red cannons were also made.

However, the people below responded that compared with the cannons on the warships sent by the British, the cannons made by the Ministry of Industry were just decorations.

After sending away the two princes, Prince Zhongshun came. Emperor Chenghui called him to come because he had made a decision to set up a so-called company in the name of the Imperial Clan House. It would specialize in maritime trade, and members of the imperial clan within three generations, regardless of gender, would be eligible to share the money. He asked Prince Zhongshun to talk to the imperial clan about this matter to see what everyone's attitude was. No matter what their attitude was, Emperor Chenghui would not change.

After Prince Zhongshun paid his respects, Emperor Chenghui asked him what the result of the discussion was.

King Zhongshun said, "My brother, all the leaders of the royal family are opposed to this. They are especially against the idea of ​​the royal family members going out to sea. They think that as royal family members, how can they be compared with fishermen? Why do they need to risk their lives to go out to sea? In such a big empire, any leak anywhere will be enough for the royal family to enjoy a good life."

Although Prince Zhongshun said it lightly, the actual situation was that the reaction was very intense and several elders from the royal family slammed the table.

They even dared to say things like, "You are of noble royal blood, how can you associate with peddlers?"

In short, it was a risky and cumbersome undertaking, so naturally those people who held high positions within the clan would strongly oppose it.

Emperor Chenghui felt a headache after hearing this. Last time, the Royal Military Academy took care of the children of these elders and gave them places to study. However, those who were sent to gild their skills could not endure the hardship, and only one was still persisting.

"If you are old and still alive, you are a thief!" Emperor Chenghui blurted out, showing how angry he was. These people just want to eat what is ready and have others serve it to them.

"You are so shameless!" Emperor Chenghui couldn't help but curse again. Prince Zhongshun stood aside and trembled. He never expected that the emperor could be so angry.

In fact, the emperor was angry because he was not fighting back.

"My uncles are all in their sixties and should go home to enjoy their old age. You should make some arrangements so that they can go home to enjoy their grandchildren instead of working in the clan house. Replace the vacant positions with some younger ones. There are many people in the clan who are willing to share my worries." Emperor Chenghui quickly made up his mind. If they don't cooperate, then get out. Even though you are the elders, you should act like an elder first. If you take advantage of your age and disrespect the elderly, then you don't have to respect them.

Prince Zhongshun looked embarrassed. When he met the emperor's sharp gaze, he knew that he had to take the blame: "Your Highness obeys your order!"

Emperor Chenghui nodded in satisfaction. "Also, any young man in the royal family who is willing to go to the Naval Academy can sign up. There will be no recommendation this time, so please sign up voluntarily. Tell them that as long as they pass the exam and graduate successfully, there will be at least a fourth-rank naval officer waiting for them. And while in school, if their grades are not eliminated, they will also receive a fifth-rank military officer's salary."

The last recommendation system of the Royal Military Academy was not ideal. Emperor Chenghui learned from the painful experience and decided that the military academy would no longer have a recommendation system in the future. It would not be a hodgepodge like the Imperial College.

The next day, Jia Lian went out to work as usual, but unexpectedly he met Li Yuan's carriage on the road. He looked around and found that this was not the road to Shuntian Prefecture.

"Second Prince, are you waiting for Jia Lian?" Jia Lian stepped forward and asked.

Li Yuan got out of the car, folded his hands and said, "You need to be reserved in front of others. I'm sorry."

Jia Lian was a little surprised: "What's going on?"

After Li Yuan talked about what the emperor had arranged yesterday, Jia Lian was speechless. At least he should have informed him in advance. It would be fun to block people on the road without telling anyone, right?
"All right then, I'll dismount and walk." Jia Lian normally rode a horse to work, but now Li Yuan's carriage was following him, and it was not going fast, so he could only dismount and walk to accompany him. After all, he was a prince.

In short, I feel very disgusted.

Fortunately, Li Yuan was still the Second Prince with excellent manners, and he quickly said, "Lord Jia is a teacher to Li Yuan, how can I be disrespectful? I won't take a carriage, I can just ride a horse."

When we arrived at the R&D hall, Li Heng had already arrived and was waiting there.

Jia Lian saw Li Heng and then Li Yuan, and felt very uncomfortable. He rode with Li Yuan today and was seen by others. He didn't know what would happen in private.

When Li Yuan arrived at Jia Lian's office, his first reaction was that it was so simple. Li Heng was not surprised, as Jia Lian was really not particular about these aspects.

"Your Highnesses, do you have any plans in advance? What do you want to know?" Jia Lian asked the two of them directly. If it was not arranged by the emperor, they would stay as far away from public occasions as possible.

"I would like to learn about the revenue of the R&D department. I wonder if there is anything taboo?" Li Yuan spoke so politely, but Jia Lian felt a little uncomfortable listening to him. What is taboo?

"Second Prince, turn left and go through a door, and you will reach the accounting department. All the accounts are open to you if you want to look at them."

Li Yuan folded his hands unceremoniously and said, "In that case, I will leave. Please arrange for someone to tell him."

After Jia Lian arranged for someone to take him there, when Li Heng was left alone, he couldn't help but ask, "Why didn't you tell me in advance?"

Li Heng smiled slightly: "If not, how could I have seen Brother Buqi's loss of composure? Unfortunately, I still didn't see it, I just saw it and felt impatient."

(End of this chapter)