Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 499: The Call for a Crown Prince
"The title of Nanyang Xuanweisi Envoy is a bit old, but it is widely accepted. Let's use this as an example. Hai Longtou is the deputy envoy of Nanyang Xuanweisi, and he will operate in Nanyang under this name." Jia Lian finally spoke, and the shopkeeper Qin San was immediately overjoyed. Although he was just a deputy envoy, for Hai Longtou, it was already the highest treatment.

"I would like to thank you on behalf of the leader for your support." Shopkeeper Qin San simply knelt down to express his gratitude.

Jia Lian smiled and said, "I need to report this matter to the imperial court. The official seals and official uniforms can only be officially issued after the court's approval. If Hai Longtou is willing, he can come and receive them in person. If he is not willing, you can ask someone to receive them on your behalf." Having said this, Shopkeeper Qin San couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. It was only Jia Lian. If it were any other official, he would not be allowed to enter.

If the pirate leader has safety concerns, the officials will not understand you. As a pirate leader, do you really think you have such a big face?

"One more thing. Regarding armaments, there are some muskets and French rapid-fire cannons in the garrison's warehouse. After the imperial court's order comes down, they can be allocated to the deputy envoy of the sea. As for warships, we can only rely on ourselves."

Jia Lian's goal was to get things done, so when it was time to do something, he was not stingy. Some outdated equipment was directly distributed, after all, they were recruited. It would be meaningless to be stingy. Anyway, the new army will be equipped with percussion cap guns, and flintlock guns will be eliminated. In a few years, maybe breech-loading needle-percussion guns will come out.

Jia Lian saw these discarded and insignificant equipment, but for Hai Longtou's men, it was a godsend. They had never expected the imperial court to allocate equipment to them.

"I really don't know how to express my gratitude to you, sir." Shopkeeper Qin San really couldn't find the right words to thank him. They were all officials, and Jia Lian was very rare.

For Hai Longtou, it is normal for officials to take money but not do anything. He gave money to Wang Ziteng in the past, hoping to recruit him, but what happened? Pirates are still pirates, at most they won't fight you.

………….

On the vast ocean, a sailboat was speeding through the waves. A sailboat could reach a speed of six or seven knots, which was considered good. At this moment, the clipper ship was running at a speed of ten knots.

This is no longer sailing on the sea, this is drifting on the sea.

There were three people driving the ship, namely Jerry (formerly British), an officer of the Nanyang Navy, sailor Cai Shiba, and sailor Cai Wang.

The destination of the first sea trial was Tianjin. The three of them were risking their lives for a chance to stand out.

This sea trial also includes the mission of delivering letters. If everything goes well, memorials from Guangdong to the capital will be sent by sea in the future.

After leaving Guangzhou, the clipper ship headed north, stopping along the way to rest and record data. It finally took twenty days to arrive in Tianjin.

This speed is not faster than the 800-li express, but it saves a lot of money. The 800-li express requires constant replacement of horses and people along the way.

The clipper boat that Jia Lian had built only required three people. If it reduced the stops along the way and went at full speed, it could deliver the letter from Guangzhou to Tianjin in at most fifteen days.

The sea trial of the three people is still going on. When they came, they not only stopped along the way, but also planned to bring enough water and dry food with them when they returned. They would not stop along the way and would take turns driving in pursuit of perfection.

After the three landed, they did not continue to go to the capital, but asked the post station to deliver the letter to the capital. The three of them rested there for a few days and waited for the reply letter to take back.

Emperor Chenghui was also surprised when he received Jia Lian's memorial, because the letter clearly stated that they should take the sea route to Tianjin and then use the post station system.

Emperor Chenghui keenly discovered the core advantage, cost.

The cost of the traditional post station system is much higher than that of high-speed ships traveling by sea. Of course, Jia Lian’s intention is not to abolish the post station system, but to suggest that coastal provinces should also include sea routes in the post station system. Doing so will of course greatly save costs. However, there is another problem, that is, although the cost is saved, it is only theoretical.

What does it mean? Let me give you an example. From the numerical point of view, the tax revenue has not increased much. It can be said that the change is a mere change.

What is the reality? Many shady practices have been eliminated, making it impossible to justify excessive taxes and levies.

Without these gray exploitation methods, the burden on the people is actually reduced.

Of course, it's all temporary. As the old saying goes, there are policies from above and countermeasures from below.

Therefore, Jia Lian made it very clear in the letter that the purpose of building such a high-speed ship is to quickly transmit information. After all, the vast ocean will greatly increase the difficulty of communication once the South China Sea is opened up. It is better to be faster. In fact, what Jia Lian wants most is the telegraph, but he really doesn't understand it.

The craftsmen in the R&D department are really good. They can make a wire drawing machine, but that doesn't mean they can make cables. How can we expect them to make something that Jia Lian doesn't understand?
Emperor Chenghui thought that Jia Lian's proposal to recruit Hai Longtou was not a big deal. The key point was that Jia Lian had finally started the layout of Nanyang, and his attitude towards the King of Dongping and the King of Xining. It certainly did not count as keeping the enemy for their own benefit, after all, what they had conquered were their own fiefdoms. The King of Xining was better off, after all, it was the ancient Silk Road, while the King of Dongping was completely barren.

Well, places that are not suitable for farming are barren lands.

Jia Lian still analyzed the current international situation in the letter, pointing out that at this stage, the attention of the Russian Empire is on the West, at the outlet of the Black Sea. At the same time, he also pointed out that Britain and France are currently busy with the entanglement in North America and will not be able to take care of the Russian Empire for a while. One day when the matter in North America is over, they will definitely unite to counter the ambition of Russian expansion to the west. If there really comes such a day, Russian will definitely re-direct its expansion to the east and south. This is determined by its national character, and the collision between the two countries is doomed at that time. Therefore, it is necessary to support King Xining.

As for the importance of the Dongping King and Li Ni Mobei King's court, they are far less important than the Xining King's. One is that they are closer, and the other is that the local population is sparse and the climate is cold. Even if Ross advances eastward, it will be in time to respond. In comparison, the importance of the Anxi old land is far greater than the east and north directions.

Jia Lian further elaborated on his point of view that the future world is destined to see confrontation between the East and the West, and the main opponent is the maritime hegemon Britain.

Because of its small size, the importance of its colonies is self-evident, and India is the most important among them. The former land of Anxi is an important bargaining chip for the Great Zhou to threaten India from land in the future.

Jia Lian was not just talking nonsense, he emphasized the great advantages of industrialized production in his heart and used the R&D department as an example.

During this period, Li Heng took over the R&D department and followed the rules of his predecessors. He resisted pressure from all sides and did not allow external forces to intervene. This practice actually caused a lot of criticism.

The calls for establishing a crown prince have risen again recently. Among them, Li Yuan's voice is particularly high. He has an excellent reputation in official circles, and his reputation as a wise king is constantly being hyped up.

In contrast, Li Heng's actions in the Research and Development Department caused his already low reputation in official circles to decline further.

Of course, Li Heng did not gain nothing. At least some of the technical bureaucrats who followed Jia Lian, as well as some of the clean officials, became Li Heng's supporters. Li Heng did not value the rise of the civil officials. For him, the real huge gains came from the military. After the reorganization of the military camp, there were four major towns. The Shenji Town, which had the strongest combat effectiveness, did not show any inclination on the surface, but it had already shown inclination secretly. In addition, Niu Jizong of the Navy Yamen also supported Li Heng in the court many times.

So, it seems that Li Yuan has an absolute upper hand, but among the real powerful figures in the court, Li Yuan does not receive as much support as Li Heng.

Emperor Chenghui saw it very clearly.

Li Yuan's original intention of choosing Wucheng Bingmasi was to go to the Inspectorate. After all, he was in charge of Wucheng Bingmasi as a prince. During Jia Lian's time, this government office was very special and became a very independent force under the Inspectorate system. Now that Li Yuan has moved in, his actual status has been improved compared to Jia Lian's special censor.

Interestingly, after Li Yuan moved in, the security situation in the capital was a little worse than before.

Li Yuan's character is still a bit soft.

After reading Jia Lian's memorial, it was almost late at night. Emperor Chenghui had no desire to sleep at all, so he got up and walked around the study for a few circles.

The changes that took place in the capital after Jia Lian left were almost visible to the naked eye.

Emperor Chenghui actually regretted sending Jia Lian so far away, but what could he say, things had already come to this.

Thinking of Jia Lian's upcoming Nanyang strategy, Emperor Chenghui was still very pleased. The troubles in the capital were not intolerable. What can we say about Emperor Chenghui? He likes a good reputation, especially a good reputation after his death.

He was determined to surpass the retired emperor, catch up with Taizu, and even surpass Taizu.

Now the emperor has long been surpassed by him, at least the emperor thinks so. The next step is to surpass Taizu and become the holy ancestor of the Great Zhou.

If you want to become a saint, you can only focus on civil and military affairs.

As for civil administration, Emperor Chenghui felt that he had done a pretty good job, even catching up with Taizu. As for military achievements, he was not so good. After restoring the Anxi Protectorate, the Nurgan Protectorate, and the Nanyang Protectorate, he had the nerve to say that he had surpassed Taizu.

Emperor Chenghui summarized the core purpose of Jia Lian's memorial, which can be summed up in two points. Civil governance, the promotion of the model of machine production, the importance of which was repeatedly reiterated. When Western powers came to visit, we should see the advantages of the other side and our own disadvantages and make up for them as soon as possible. Military power, external expansion, to ease the contradiction between internal population growth and land stability.

Civil governance and military achievements are actually two sides of the same coin.

Although Jia Lian did not mention a word about the issue of establishing a crown prince, it still had an impact on Emperor Chenghui.

The current Emperor Chenghui has not made up his mind, and in fact Li Heng's importance is increasing day by day.

"Wait a little longer and see." In the end, Emperor Chenghui still did not make up his mind.

The next day, Emperor Chenghui appeared at the regular cabinet meeting and mentioned Jia Lian's memorial.

Without saying much, he just mentioned that Jia Lian had developed an extremely fast ship, and from now on letters from Guangdong would be sent much faster by sea, up to the speed of 800 miles express.

Emperor Chenghui then said, "In the second half of this year, many ministers submitted memorials mentioning the issue of establishing a crown prince. I would like to ask the cabinet members what their opinions are. Please speak freely."

After bringing up this topic, Emperor Chenghui sat down with a blank expression.

This topic is a bit fatal!
Every cabinet minister knows that the issue of choosing a successor is too sensitive, but there are always people who can't help but want to gamble on the future and expectations.

For example, the A-share market has repeatedly abused investors, but investors are still like leeks, growing new ones after being cut.

Have you learned your lesson? Maybe some people have. For example, I left the stock market in 07 and never touched it again. I don’t make money within my knowledge. Because the money earned by luck will definitely be lost by ability.

But when I looked around, I found that among the people I knew, no one had left except me.

Then again, I haven't lost money in the stock market over the years, but have I made money from other places?

To be honest, I didn't make any money, but I didn't lose money either, because I bought some houses and eventually lost some money due to inflation.

It's so difficult to live in this world with countless people eyeing the little savings in your pocket.

This analogy is a bit inappropriate and off topic. Please get the point.

In short, there will always be people willing to take a gamble on the future.

If I succeed, it means I am awesome; if I fail, it is just bad luck.

Back to the matter of establishing a crown prince, betting on the future, if it succeeds, it is not just because I am awesome, but what if it fails? It is not a matter of bad luck.

The most successful businessman in history is said to be Lü Buwei.

The vast majority of people only saw Lu Buwei's success, and only a few people remembered his ending.

The former felt that with Lu Buwei as a lesson, he would definitely win the bet and preserve his reputation in his later years.

The latter feels that it is better not to gamble on such things as the consequences are too serious.

The five people in the cabinet are actually very clearly divided. Some are determined to take a gamble, while others would never gamble.

"Since both the government and the people have this intention, Your Majesty might as well consider the growing calls?" Guo Yan was someone who was willing to take a gamble, but he was still cautious and did not say who he supported, taking the risk to test the emperor's attitude. If the emperor thought it was okay, then he would talk about the follow-up.

"There is no private matter in the royal family. I also think that Your Majesty should respond to the call for establishing a crown prince." Ning Ke's attitude was more conservative than Guo Yan's, but in fact it was almost the same. He was also testing.

"I have no opinion!" Pan Jixun had nothing to do with this matter at all. It was impossible to ask him to express his opinion on this matter.

Emperor Chenghui turned his eyes to Lin Ruhai. As the second assistant, he now also holds the position of Minister of Personnel, and his configuration is at the same level as Liang Daoyuan before. It can be said that he has secured the position of second assistant.

"Is it something for the ministers to worry about whether to appoint a crown prince? Your Majesty is in the prime of life, why rush into it?" Lin Ruhai made his attitude clear and opposed the ministers' interference in the appointment of a crown prince.

As for Zhang Tingen, he is currently admiring the teacup in front of him. The craftsmanship is excellent and it is worthy of being a fine product of the official kiln. Would he like to buy one when he leaves?

Emperor Chenghui directly skipped over Zhang Tingen. The two had discussed the issue of establishing a crown prince countless times. Zhang Tingen's attitude was very firm. Don't ask, because if you do, he would have no attitude.

No one knew what the emperor was thinking. Some wanted to find out, some didn't dare to try, and some didn't know how to try.

In short, it's very mysterious.

"I understand what you all mean. Half of the officials in the capital have submitted memorials recently regarding the appointment of a crown prince, and nearly 30% of the local officials have also submitted memorials, suggesting that a crown prince be appointed as soon as possible. The calls are growing louder and louder, and I have no choice but to give an explanation. In this case, I will issue an edict that all officials above the seventh rank can submit memorials to express their attitudes. I will not force those who are unwilling to submit memorials. The cabinet should draft the edict and send it to the whole country."

After Emperor Chenghui expressed his attitude, Zhang Tingen stood up and said, "As ordered!"

The thoughts of the cabinet officials at this moment were truly varied: some were secretly happy, some were worried, and some were calm.

"The next topic is Jia Lian's memorial to me, suggesting that we increase support for the Prince of Xining. What do you think?"

The previous topic of establishing a crown prince had caused such a huge shock that the cabinet members had no intention of worrying about this issue.

"Governor Jia is good at foreign affairs, and I agree with his suggestion." Pan Jixun was the first to stand up and support. He was now looking forward to the meeting ending soon, as staying any longer would be torture.

(End of this chapter)