Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 505 Attitude
"Whether noble or poor, everyone is equal in the face of malaria. In the early days of the Age of Exploration, before quinine was discovered, the mortality rate was very high. If a hundred people went out, and half of them came back, it was a lot." On the deck of the flagship Jinghai, Jia Lian held the railing and talked to Jim.

In fact, the data Jim mentioned is still conservative. The real data is unknown, but more than half is certain. The statement of 80% is a bit exaggerated.

In any case, Westerners began the Age of Discovery, although their original intention was to find China and India.

Modern European and American societies should be grateful for the adventurous spirit of their ancestors. The wealth plundered from the great voyages of discovery drove the rapid development of the entire society and enabled them to enter the industrial age first.

Of course, in this process, Spain and Portugal, as pioneers of the great voyages, actually fell behind, which is very helpless.

The soldiers of Guangdong's First Town slid down along the cable grid as thick as their forearms, got on the small boat, and rowed hard towards the shore.

There are no landing craft now, so we use this method, using small boats to transport things up little by little, so each ship carries six or seven small boats.

"With so many soldiers, we need more professional transport ships." Jim did not stop his report. Regardless of whether Jia Lian was listening or not, he had to make it clear.

Malaria is a stubborn disease. Quinine is a promising drug, but it has obvious side effects and is not produced locally.

When did humans discover that malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes? It seems to be a special kind of mosquito.

In any case, Jia Lian was making relevant preparations. One was to stock up on quinine through Western merchants, and the other was to ask local doctors to find a solution through ancient prescriptions. Another was to write a letter to Lavoisier in the capital, asking him to try to extract artemisinin using the cold extraction method. Whether it would be successful or not, it is not a bad thing to be more prepared.

The method recorded in the ancient recipe is very simple, that is, squeeze the juice of Artemisia annua and then drink it. However, Artemisia annua and Artemisia annua are easily confused.

There is another thing that Jia Lian is also doing, which is to use the power in his hands to set up a medical school.

Doctors did not have a high social status in ancient times, and initially sat at the same table with witches.

In Jia Lian's opinion, the most troublesome thing about Chinese medicine is the teaching method, which is a bit similar to the ancient model of craftsmen taking apprentices. How many apprentices can a doctor take in his lifetime?

Jia Lian didn't care about the metaphysical elements in traditional Chinese medicine. He planned to use his power to open a medical school and submit a memorial to the capital, suggesting that medical schools be opened in all places and that doctors who teach the schools be given certain social benefits, that is, official positions. Jia Lian also planned to copy the model of combining medical schools with affiliated hospitals and now he was waiting for the court's reply. There was no point in being anxious about this matter, so he could only wait patiently.

The governor's office has already sent people to contact many famous local doctors, asking them if they are willing to come out and be teachers. So far, there have been few responses, after all, this is a skill that people rely on to make a living.

At that time, if bribery fails, we can only increase the intensity. Force will not work, after all, people subjectively resist passing on medical skills to outsiders.

The landing soldiers jumped off the boat one after another, holding their rifles high in both hands, and moved towards the shore in the shallow water nearly one meter deep. The boat quickly turned around and continued to transport the next batch.

"The goal of this exercise is to transport a team of soldiers ashore in each batch. Tomorrow's exercise will transport a battalion of soldiers ashore at a time. The transportation of artillery will be very troublesome, so the landing point must be carefully selected for the Nanyang strategy. According to my understanding of British and French politicians, their moral bottom line is no bottom line, so Spain and the Netherlands should have known about the peace plan signed between the three countries. In principle, Spain and the Netherlands will use diplomatic means to avoid war and begin to step up preparations for war."

Jim said these words not to emphasize the difficulties, but to explain the facts. Even if the naval battle is won, if the wrong place is not chosen for landing, it will be a disaster. The local sea conditions, tide time, etc., these are all information that must be understood. Landing operations are never a joke. During the time of contact with Jia Lian, Jim knows what he cares about and what he doesn't care about. His concern for the soldiers is not pretended, but real concern, and he hopes that every soldier is well.

Moreover, Jim knew very well that Jia Lian really understood military affairs and was not an amateur who would give orders blindly.

"Intelligence preparations are already underway. We will recruit some people to go to various parts of Southeast Asia to collect intelligence. The landing point must undoubtedly be chosen in an area where the enemy's defenses are weak or even undefended. The Spanish and Dutch don't have many garrisons in Java and the Philippines. It's impossible for them to defend the long coastline. As long as they leave the strong fortress, they will lose the field battle."

Jia Lian agreed with Jim's suggestion and gave his own opinion. In fact, there are only a few beaches suitable for large-scale landings, but these two countries are not strong enough. Once they lose the naval battle and lose control of the sea, they will let the attackers land.

As for the diplomatic level, according to information provided by the British, envoys from the two countries will arrive in a month at the latest.

The court has delegated the right to receive people to Jia Lian. The importance of diplomatic negotiations is not important. The key lies in one's own strength. If one has no strength and wants to solve the problem by talking, that is YY.

Didn’t you see that Europeans are not eligible to sit at the table? Didn’t you hear the jaw-dropping line: You have no cards in your hand!

There is a reason why social Darwinism was born in the West. When it is strong, everything it does is right.

"The propaganda aspect must also keep up. Our army will restore the Xuanwei offices in various parts of Southeast Asia, not to occupy those places or exploit the local people, but to liberate them from the Spanish and Dutch colonists." This sentence was not said to Jim, but to the staff on the other side.

The staff officer holding a small notebook immediately wrote it down and began to think about how to write an article and publish it in the Times.

"Zhanjiang has a superior geographical location and a natural harbor. The garrison has one lieutenant general and five third-level battleships." Jia Lian continued to assign the tasks, and execution was the next task.

This tour lasted for a month, and Jia Lian stayed on the warship the whole time. He chose to come to Zhanjiang because he knew it was a suitable place. Besides, there was already a Zhanjiang Guard here, but it was defensive in nature, with few garrisons and insufficient military equipment. Now Jia Lian came here in person, one to watch the landing performance of the army, and the other to see the situation of the port here.

After leaving Guangzhou for a month, when Jia Lian came back, his skin color had dropped one shade, and it would take him half a year to recover if he didn't take care of it.

Judging from the acting results, the soldiers from southern Hunan and northern Guangdong are excellent sources of soldiers. Jia Lian’s plan is to train two towns. Now the first town has taken shape and the next step can be started.

The real difficulty was the financial problem. The current financial resources of Guangdong Province could barely support Jia Lian in building the strong army he wanted. Jia Lian would have to find another way to raise funds for the second town.

The First Town organized by Jia Lian consisted of three infantry battalions, each with three battalions, three squadrons, one artillery battalion, and one cavalry battalion. There were also other departments, with a full complement of about 12,000 people.

From the perspective of future Nanyang strategy, the military force must not be less than two towns, one town permanently stationed in Nanyang, and the other town stationed in the mainland. It is necessary to rotate every five years.

Of course, it is not ruled out that some officers and soldiers chose to stay, but they are definitely a minority. In this era, few Chinese people are willing to leave their hometown.

Only the provinces along the southeast coast, because of their many mountains and little land, are willing to venture out and explore the world.

During Jia Lian's first year as acting governor, he was busy and focused his main energy on armaments. He did not ask too much about other work and basically delegated some of his power to others.

As for the governor, the new governor came to pay a visit on the first day Jia Lian returned.

The new governor Peng Lin was a stranger, and we had no previous contact. After meeting and talking, I learned that this person was originally an official in Sichuan. After the Big and Small Jinchuan Incident, during the second Big and Small Jinchuan War, the people were forced to rebel. Afterwards, too many officials were dismissed. Peng Lin was one of the relatively clean ones, and was promoted to the third-rank provincial governor. With the end of the Big and Small Jinchuan War, Peng Lin, who performed well, registered with the Ministry of Personnel. This time he was directly transferred to serve as a governor, and was promoted to the third rank.

In other words, Peng Lin, who is 45 years old, has been promoted very smoothly in recent years and has been extremely lucky.

After a brief greeting, Jia Lian frankly expressed his future strategic plans for Southeast Asia. Peng Lin listened very carefully and seemed to be a very steady person.

"Although I am acting as governor-general, it is only a transition period. The focus of my future official duties will be on the reorganization of armaments and provincial affairs. Lord Peng, please take care of it." The meaning of Jia Lian's last sentence was very clear.

"I understand!" Peng Lin said without any nonsense. After all, Jia Lian said that he would give up his power and would not interfere in the normal government affairs of the province. If he continued to complain, it would be impolite.

Just when Jia Lian thought that the meeting could be over, Peng Lin said very suddenly: "I am from Suzhou. I went to Beijing to report on my work at the end of last year. On the way to take up my post, I was able to visit my hometown." Jia Lian heard that he seemed to have something to say, so he withdrew his hand that was reaching for the teacup, picked up a cigarette, lit it, and waited calmly for his follow-up.

"When the elders of Jiangnan saw me, they held my hands and said something to me." Peng Lin continued to test me cautiously. Jia Lian smiled, as if encouraging him.

Peng Lin then continued: "During the time when Lord Sun was in power in Liangjiang, the people of Jiangnan suffered a lot and complained a lot. Because of my short stay, I did not have time to verify it."

Hearing this, Jia Lian understood that this guy's chicken feet were exposed.

"Your Majesty and the cabinet are watching over the situation in Jiangnan. Just do your own thing." Jia Lian was willing to believe that this guy was an official with no major problems, otherwise it would be difficult for him to escape unscathed in Sichuan. For this reason, Jia Lian deliberately emphasized the word "cabinet". You are from Suzhou, and there is a Suzhou person in the cabinet.

Peng Lin must have understood what he heard, and he quickly stopped talking: "I spoke out of turn!"

Jia Lian picked up the teacup: "Drink tea!"

Peng Lin stood up and said, "I'll take my leave!"

After Peng Lin left, Jia Lian continued to sit expressionlessly. If we were to say which official was the most powerful force against the cabinet, it would be those from the two Jiang provinces, especially those from Jiangnan.

During Sun Huazhen's time in Jiangnan, he rectified the administration of officials, cleared up tax arrears, and implemented the performance evaluation system, all of which hurt the gentry in Jiangnan.

Judging from the data provided by the court reports, Jiangnan's tax collection performance has been excellent in recent years, which is the result of Sun Huazhen's high-pressure governance. To put it bluntly, you can't be soft on the gentry in Jiangnan.

There is another very important piece of news. There is a piece of news in the latest official gazette that Fang Song has submitted a memorial to promote the implementation of the land-based tax system.

When Jia Lian saw this news, he was actually a little confused. This system had been proposed many times and opposed many times, leading to delays.

Now it is proposed again, it must be the instruction of Emperor Chenghui. The current emperor's position is very stable, so this is the best time. If we miss this opportunity, it will be difficult to implement it if something happens in the future.

What Jia Lian could be sure of was that as long as he had shown some agreement, Peng Lin would have questioned the idea of ​​allocating land tax to each household.

The biggest advantage of the land tax system is that people are alive and can move around, but land is static. To implement this system, the land must be reorganized and cleared, which is the biggest source of resistance.

A series of reform measures during the Chenghui period have achieved good results. This policy will undoubtedly greatly reduce the burden on the people.

Population tax and corvée labor were all included in the land tax. On the basis of the Single Whip Law, it is conceivable that landlords all over the world were jumping up and down and cursing Fang Song who made the memorial.

Those who cursed Fang Song might not be unaware of the emperor's intention, but unfortunately, they did not dare to curse the emperor and could only curse the treacherous minister.

Peng Lin was definitely against the land tax system, but he just wanted to test Jia Lian's attitude. The reason was simple. With Sun Huazhen in power, he would definitely implement the new policy of the court without compromise. At that time, there would definitely be various means of resistance. Getting rid of Sun Huazhen was probably the best strategy.

The method of creating civil unrest had been tried before, and there had even been a strike. As a result, Sun Ge Lao directly sent troops to suppress it, and several local county magistrates were beheaded.

Let's put it this way, the court gave Sun Huazhen the right to act at his own discretion. He really knew how to execute first and report later if he was below the third rank.

Unlike Jia Lian, who was young and therefore did not dare to abuse this power. Sun Huazhen was different. He was already sixty-three years old, which was definitely an old man in this era. With enough experience, he would have less pressure to do the job. Of course, the most important thing was the support of the emperor. It can only be said that Emperor Chenghui had tolerated the gentry of Liangjiang for a long time. It was obviously the richest place in the world, but they were unwilling to share the worries of the court.

The full text of Fang Song's memorial did not appear in the official newspaper. It was only mentioned in the news column that there was a matter that His Majesty had not yet made a decision on, and a cabinet meeting would be held to discuss it. If the cabinet meeting passed it, it would be implemented next year.

When Jia Lian saw the news in the court newspaper, he knew very well. If the current country is a pond, it looks very calm and the water is very clean. Fang Song's memorial is like a bomb, thrown into the calm water, with a bang, it exploded not only with a splash, but also with the mud at the bottom.

Well, the official report was new, and when it was delivered, Jia Lian was still at sea.

In terms of time, Peng Lin knew about it first. Probably because he saw that Jia Lian had no intention of bringing it up, he had to beat around the bush and start from Jiangnan.

This is how the officialdom works. You have to be very careful when speaking. It's tiring! If you are a subordinate, it will be even more tiring because you need to guess what your superior is thinking.

Jia Lian was not sure about other places, but the reaction of the officials in Guangdong to Fang Song's memorial was strangely calm.

What does it mean? They are all waiting for Jia Lian to bring up this matter.

In this regard, Jia Lian was still unable to rest peacefully when he returned to the backyard after his shift. According to convention, similar news appeared in the court newspaper, which meant that the emperor and the cabinet were testing the waters.

Also according to convention, when something like this happened, Jia Lian, a provincial governor who served as governor-general, had to have an attitude towards his subordinates.

Seeing Jia Lian sitting there, speaking absentmindedly, Baochai asked in a low voice, "Master, are you in trouble?"

Jia Lian smiled and said, "It's not a problem. My attitude is very clear, but I just haven't figured out how to express it."

"Can you tell me about it?" Baochai either wanted to interfere in politics or hoped that Jia Lian would speak out. It was too uncomfortable to hold it in.

"Yes, it is like this..." Jia Lian told the news in the court newspaper, and finally added: "The reason why it appeared in the court newspaper was that there was no prior notice. From my understanding of your majesty and your mentor, their intentions are very clear. Fang Song's memorial is just a test to see the attitude of officials. I don't need to express my position, so as not to distract my attention and disrupt the rhythm of the Nanyang strategy."

"Your Excellency is the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and concurrently the Governor of Guangdong. If you don't express your opinion, the people below will naturally not dare to speak out easily. Guangxi is still a little better, but no one in Guangdong will dare to speak out."

Jia Lian shook his head and said, "No, this year when I met the new governor, he went through a lot of trouble to ask me about my attitude towards this matter, but I noticed it and interrupted him. Counting the days, the envoys from Spain and the Netherlands will arrive soon. I don't have much time to waste on this issue. I will send a letter tomorrow to inform the officials of the two provinces of my attitude. Humph, I won't let them be indecisive."

"The distribution of land tax is a matter of great importance. Master, you'd better take it slow." Baochai still gave some advice, because she didn't want Jia Lian to be too anxious.

Jia Lian said nothing more, but just shook his head slightly. Baochai immediately changed the subject: "Bring up the food!"

Jia Lian was very satisfied with this reaction. Baochai was still very smart.

The next day, Jia Lian went to the government office and issued a document to the whole province. The general meaning was that the Holy Emperor was in power, and as a frontier official, he naturally had to listen to His Majesty and the cabinet about the direction of national policy. The people below just had to implement it seriously. Fang Zongxian had his reasons for making the memorial, and the officials of the two provinces should not easily interfere with the court officials.

Jia Lian's attitude was revealed, implying that I don't care about other places and I can't control them. The officials in Guangdong and Guangxi can handle it. I don't intend to comment on this matter, so you can do as you please.

(End of this chapter)