Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 493 Self-directed and self-acted
As a member of the vested interests, Jia Lian is generally willing to abide by the rules.

Unfortunately, some things are really intolerable. For example, in Huizhou, if it was just general smuggling, Jia Lian would probably just reprimand them, and then rectify the Nanhai Guard and the surrounding guards, and would not take action against the prefect and local gentry. The reality is too different from Jia Lian's expectations. These people really want to make any money. They colluded with pirates, which was expected. After all, gentry and bandits are one family, officials and bandits are one family, which is not uncommon in reality. However, Jia Lian could not tolerate colluding with foreigners and smuggling opium.

There is one more thing that Jia Lian can tolerate but the emperor certainly cannot, and that is the fact that silver dollars are not recognized in the local market. No matter whether someone has privately minted silver coins or not, the official coins are not recognized. What do you want to do?
There are two possibilities for this matter. One is that there really are counterfeit coins, which have caused losses to the people. The other is that it is a man-made practice. The local government collects silver and pays taxes in the form of silver coins, making a profit from the exchange rate difference.

Don't underestimate the price difference. The official exchange rate is one to one, but privately exchanging one tael of silver can earn you an extra 100 to 200 wen.

This is essentially a disguised form of exorbitant taxes and levies, and is still against the imperial court.

Jia Lian was sure that as long as he grasped this point, the emperor would definitely support it strongly. The cabinet would not tolerate it either.

These two things have broken the rules and bottom line. The rules are the rules of the court, and the bottom line is Jia Lian's bottom line. After all, the current court, whether the emperor or the cabinet, has not seen the harm of opium. The people who have been promoting the ban on opium are Jia Lian and Sun Huazhen of Liangjiang. And Sun Huazhen cracked down on opium because of smuggling.

This is ridiculous!

I can only say that many things seem nothing special on the surface, but when you trace them back to their source you discover their absurd nature!

After nightfall, Jia Lian quietly entered the military camp and returned to his post.

The next morning, when the prefect and Chen Dong and others came to pay a visit again, Jia Lian appeared in front of local officials and gentry.

After seeing Jia Lian, everyone was finally relieved. The governor was not playing tricks. He might just be really feeling unwell. It was normal. It was common for northerners to suffer from acclimatization problems when they went to the south.

As one of the gentry representatives, Chen Ding also followed into the military camp to pay a visit to Jia Lian and presented a little gift from the local gentry.

Jia Lian did not hastily refuse, but smiled and said, "Then take a look first. It is too expensive and I dare not accept it."

The prefect chimed in, "They are just some local specialties."

Jia Lian smiled but said nothing. Soon someone came in carrying gifts, including slaughtered pigs, cattle, and sheep. Jia Lian said that it was okay. First of all, some local specialties were packed in boxes. Looking at the people carrying the boxes, it was really strenuous. If this was a local specialty, Jia Lian really didn't believe it.

As Chen Ding's errand boy, Lai San followed in. When he saw Jia Lian in the middle, his brain stopped working for a moment. Jia Lian also saw him and smiled back. Instinctively, Lai San lowered his head and took a long breath before he regained his composure. [Dead, dead, dead this time.] He kept repeating this sentence in his mind.

Everyone's attention was focused on Jia Lian, so naturally no one cared about the minor character Lai San. Even though he later became a little dazed and even walked limply, no one cared or even looked at him twice.

Under normal circumstances, Jia Lian would have refused sternly, but today, after opening a box and taking a look, he smiled and said, "The elders of Huizhou are so thoughtful. I would like to thank you."

The prefect and Chen Dong exchanged glances. It's settled, it's settled now.

After presenting the local specialties, Jia Lian used the excuse of feeling unwell and needing to rest, and served tea to see the guests off.

Chen Dong once again suggested that the military camp was too simple and asked the governor to move to Chen's house.

This time Jia Lian refused directly, "Mr. Chen is thoughtful. I am used to living with my subordinates."

Although Chen Dong was confused, he didn't think much about it and followed everyone to leave.

Lai San went straight to Xinglong Inn, hoping to see another Jia Quan who looked like Governor Jia. However, the result was destined. The innkeeper told him that the merchants had left early in the morning.

After a fruitless trip, Lai San walked down the street in a daze, thinking in his mind whether he should pack up his belongings immediately and escape back to the countryside to hide, or if that didn't work, go out to sea and seek refuge with Hailongtou.

Thinking of his parents, wife and children at home, Lai San gave up the idea of ​​going out to sea. Hiding in the countryside would mean he could not escape the coming of the New Year.

Although he relied on the Chen family's dental business to make a living and his life was barely manageable, he was bullied and exploited by the Chen family every day.

It’s nonsense to say that Lai San has a lot of resistance spirit. Now he just wants to save himself. Thinking of the days when he was bullied, he is just finding an excuse for himself.

In essence, the building is about to collapse and the monkeys scatter when the tree falls.

Lai San didn't notice that someone was following him. He walked aimlessly on the street for a while. When he found himself outside the military camp, Lai San hesitated again. He gritted his teeth and turned around to leave, but was sandwiched by two people. Lai San's face turned pale. One of them smiled and said, "Since you are here, come in and sit down."

At this moment, Lai San had no chance to speak and was taken into the military camp.

When Jia Lian saw Lai Sanshi, who wanted to cry but had no tears, he couldn't help but smile: "Brother Lai is here!"

Lai San knelt down before Jia Lian and cried, "Lai San, please spare my life for the sake of my parents and children."

Jia Lian ignored him and listened to his subordinates' answers. When he learned that Lai Sandu had reached the door but was about to turn around and leave, his face gradually turned cold.

Lai San saw it clearly, and was immediately scared out of his wits. He kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Sir, I was confused for a moment, confused for a moment."

Jia Lian smiled again: "A moment of confusion? Well, that's true. You have worked for the Chen family for many years, and you were confused for a moment before you got to the door. Now that the time has come, you feel sorry for the Chen family."

When Lai San saw Jia Lian's smile at this time, he really felt that it was the devil's smile. It was too scary. His eyes went dark and he leaned to the side, fainting from fright.

It was really not an act. After he fell down, there was a wet spot where he was kneeling. You could tell that he was really frightened and fainted.

Jia Lian waved his hands speechlessly: "Take him away, and bring him back for questioning when he is back to normal."

There is no need to rush things. To solve a case like this, we need solid evidence that no one can find fault with.

To be honest, Jia Lian is a little numb to such cases. All crows are evil. Are there any good gentry? Yes, but how? The gentry of this era has institutional original sin. The system is like this, and Jia Lian can do nothing about it, so he must get some damning evidence.

What evidence is fatal? Smuggling and selling opium is not fatal. The truly fatal evidence is whether there is private minting of coins.

If there is, that would be the best. Just catch him. But if there is not, Jia Lian thinks he can create evidence.

At that time, it will not be possible to save your life with money, you will be dead.

So Jia Lian was not in a hurry.

It's not that Long Jinwei is not competent, but it's hard for outsiders to know the truth about local affairs, let alone investigate. They are really in the dark. They are doing a business that can get you killed, so they are naturally on high alert. You are an outsider, and you are exposed as soon as you open your mouth. How can you investigate? That's not investigating the case, it's killing yourself.

So Lai San was very unlucky, but also very lucky to have run into Jia Lian's gun.

In fact, Jia Lian has no real evidence in his hands. Even if he wants to make trouble for the prefect and the Chen family, he has no suitable leverage. Don't think that everything will be easy just because you have soldiers. You are an official and you need to follow certain rules. This is not Guangzhou. Guangzhou's rectification of gangs and guilds is to drag the big guys at all levels of government to share the spoils.

To put it bluntly, if the Chen family of Huizhou rebelled, even if Jia Lian suppressed it, it would become a target of attack from his political enemies, and he might not be able to escape unscathed.

Lai San is now a small person confused by the lack of information. He does not understand the rules of officialdom, nor does he know whether Jia Lian has the evidence.

He only knew that if he couldn't get through this hurdle, not only would he lose his life, but his entire family, relatives and friends would also suffer.

When Lai San woke up, he took a look at his wet crotch and was in no mood to clean it up. He just sat there in a daze, and the more he thought about it, the more scared he became.

Thinking of the possibility that his wife and children might die in front of him, Lai San's defenses completely collapsed. He walked to the door and knocked hard, "I want to see the governor!"

Lai San, with a sullen look on his face, had completely given up on treatment when he stood in front of Jia Lian again. He opened his mouth and made a condition: "I have only one request. I beg you to protect my wife, children and the elderly."

Jia Lian nodded and said, "No problem, it's my job."

Lai San gritted his teeth and said, "I'll provide an address. You guys are sending people to arrest him now. He should still be in the house."

Jia Lian didn't rush to make a decision, but asked, "Oh, who is it? Is it worth arresting?"

"I have been ordered to take them to stay. This is not the first time. They are definitely Hai Longtou's men."

Lai San took out the information he thought was the most valuable, but Jia Lian was a little disappointed. The crime of colluding with pirates could be barely linked to treason, but how should I put it, it was a little reluctant. They could insist that they didn't know they were pirates and thought they were merchants, and pass it off. You can't just catch the pirates and let them make random accusations, and that can be used as evidence, right?
"I want to ask you, why don't local citizens accept silver coins? Why do the silver coins issued by the court have to be discounted? Is there any private minting of silver coins in the local area?"

The series of questions stunned Lai San. He was confused for a moment, but soon understood and answered instinctively: "Silver coins minted by the people have appeared on the market a few times before the Chen family announced that they would suspend the use of silver coins. Anyone who has silver coins in their hands must go to the Chen family's bank to exchange them for silver."

"Did you see the different silver coins with your own eyes?" Jia Lian asked. Lai San shook his head and said, "I haven't seen them. I just say that the reason is that Chen's bank found privately minted silver coins. Besides, the silver coins are all the same. I can't tell the real ones from the fake ones."

Jia Lian was quite disappointed. This was probably something the Chen family had done to make a profit. This crime was enough to arrest the Chen family. Adding the charge of colluding with pirates, it was barely enough to put them to death.

"It's still early. Take your brothers with you to get the person in the evening. Come on, change his clothes. The smell is too strong. Go get him some cold tea later." Jia Lian waved his hand and took the person away.

Chief of Staff Guo Ping came in, looked at Lai San who was taken away, and stepped forward to greet him: "Sir, I'm afraid a thousand governor's standard-bearers may not be enough."

"That's enough. Keep calm for now. I will hold a banquet in the military camp and invite all the important people. Then we can catch them all in one fell swoop. You carry out this plan. By the way, remember to notify the Nanhaiwei." Jia Lian was not in a hurry. He was the governor and held the righteous status of the court, so he naturally acted calmly.

How to say it, the difference between an official and a bandit. Jia Lian can mobilize the military resources of the entire province to do things, but Chen and the prefect can't do it at all. To be honest, Jia Lian can find an excuse to suspend the prefect's duties and let the second-in-command act as the prefect's official duties. These are all within his authority and are the concrete manifestation of power.

For example, in the early years, when you were doing business in the government, it was very likely that the person who blocked you was a section-level official.

When bandits ask for money, that is robbery. When government troops ask for money, that is called donation, or simply tax. That is the difference.

Zhu Yuanzhang succeeded in his rebellion, so he could collect taxes; Li Zicheng entered the capital, so he could torture and plunder. Everything was legal.

I have to mention here that some works in women's magazines take it for granted that as long as one is an emperor, he can do whatever he wants, and even order the ministers of the border towns who hold heavy troops to tie themselves up and bring them to the capital with an imperial decree. This is very funny. Do you really think that all the generals who led the troops are Yue Fei? The reason why Yue Fei was repeatedly deified is because he did not resist and tied himself up and brought him to the capital.

Before he died, Yue Fei shouted twice, "The sun is shining! The sun is shining!"

Have people who write novels like this ever asked Li Shimin, Zhu Wen, or Zhao Kuangyin?

To put it in an exaggerated way, even if it was Wang Ziteng, Emperor Chenghui would not dare to let him abandon everything and go to Beijing to await punishment.

Why? Because he really has soldiers under his command, and they only listen to him.

A typical case in recent times is Yuan Shikai. Tieliang wanted to kill him, but what happened? Did he dare? A more recent case is Long Yun.

The bald man tricked the Yunnan Army into going to Vietnam to take over, and Du Yuming attacked Kunming and placed Long Yun under house arrest. Ask the bald man if he dared to use this method against Li and Bai?

Power is based on violence.

In the current Great Zhou, because the regime is stable, the court has sufficient resources, and violence has an absolute advantage, the power of Jia Lian as the governor can be implemented.

With this foundation, Jia Lian could link the silver coin incident that Chen directed and acted out with the pirates as a reason to punish Chen. Moreover, Jia Lian had to hide the real reason for punishing Chen, because people of this era did not accept his theory of banning opium. Even if the emperor accepted it, it was from the perspective of combating smuggling and protecting trade.

(End of this chapter)