Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 512 Details determine success or failure
Jia Lian was very busy and didn't have much time to accompany Li Yuan, so after accompanying him on an inspection for a day, he left him alone.

Xue Pan received Jia Lian's summons and came over happily.

When he saw Jia Lian eating dinner, he saw that his head seemed to have grown bigger. He immediately lost his appetite, dropped his chopsticks, stood up and said, "Come closer."

Baochai sensed the murderous intent and subconsciously took three steps back while holding her son.

Xue Pan approached without warning, still smiling, Jia Lian kicked him fiercely, and Xue Pan fell to the ground without warning. Before he could react, Jia Lian stepped forward and kicked him fiercely, of course not aiming at vital parts. Xue Pan was frightened, but he still held his head and curled up to take the kick, not begging for mercy. According to his understanding of Jia Lian, as long as you can get through this beating, you will be relieved.

After kicking him more than ten times, Jia Lian stopped, turned around, picked up the teacup and took a sip, clapped his hands and sat down, staring at Xue Pan and said, "After you go back, stay at home and make babies. You can go out only when you have a baby. Don't blame me for not reminding you, send all those servants around you away. If you mess around with them again, send them to the pond in your backyard to plant lotus flowers, and lock you up in the yard to accompany them. Damn, the Xue family's incense is really going to be cut off, and others will think that I am the one who is trying to swallow up the Xue family. Can you afford to pay for the ruined reputation?"

Xue Pan really didn't expect to be beaten because of this matter. He was reluctant to drive away those male favorites, but since these were Jia Lian's words, he dared not disobey.

"I know. I'll do it when I get back." Xue Pan struggled to get up. Jia Lian pointed at the door and said, "Get out!"

After getting beaten, although Xue Pan grimaced in pain, he was worried before, but now he felt at ease.

There is no way to avoid being in suspense. Ever since Jia Lian took office in Guangzhou, the Xue family has received too many benefits, so much that he is afraid that one day they will be slaughtered like pigs.

Even though he is a white glove, how can I put it? Have you ever seen a white glove get 30% of the benefits? Taking 10% is the norm, and 20% is when the boss behind the scenes has a change of heart.

Now that he was beaten, what did this mean? It meant that Jia Lian really treated him as his own. If he was an outsider, why would he beat him up himself? Wouldn't it be easier to just find someone to kill him and throw him into the sea to feed the fish?

Xue Pan understood that the issue of incense or not was actually a reminder to him that he would not try to seize the Xue family's property, but the matter of not having children did need to be taken seriously.

Not remarrying is not a problem, there are so many maids at home.

Oh, there are so many tender young servants, I really can't bear to let them go. Forget it, just give them more money to send them away, so that my mother won't complain later, and then most of them will have their legs broken.

On the way back, Xue Pan sat in the carriage and saw a former opium den outside the window, which was now a shop. He could not help but secretly marvel that Brother Lian was really ruthless. Not only were all the opium dens run by the Wang family closed, but the Wang family members who smuggled opium were also sent to the Wang family with their legs broken once they were discovered. If he had not clung to Jia Lian's thigh and taken Baochai to be his concubine, he would probably have lost his legs.

When Xue Pan returned to see his mother, he reported everything to her. Aunt Xue burst into tears and said, "My son, don't blame Lian Ge'er. He really wants your own good."

Xue Pan was a little impatient when he saw this, and changed the subject: "Send Sister Baoqin to the Jia family to accompany her sister. Give Uncle 20% of the Xue family's assets. Xue Ke is also old enough to be independent."

Aunt Xue stopped crying, regained some of her shrewdness, and whispered, "My son, is this too much?"

Xue Pan looked at his mother speechlessly, shook his head and said, "If you give less, it won't show your sincerity, so let's do it this way."

Jia Lian, who was in charge of the overall situation, was very busy recently. He went to bed early at night and went out early in the morning. The matter was of great importance, so Jia Lian dared not be careless at all. Not to mention his family, he didn't even care about Li Yuan.

Li Yuan has his own way of doing things. He is an imperially appointed inspector and has the right to request to go anywhere.

However, he did not make any comments, but just wandered around. In less than half a month, Li Yuan went to many places.

Someone reported to Jia Lian every day, so they naturally knew where he was going, but that was all they knew, nothing else.

I thought Li Yuan should take a break after wandering around for a while, but I didn't expect that this prince got a new army uniform and came to the General Staff Office early in the morning.

According to Li Yuan's observation, Jia Lian attached great importance to the General Staff Office. Not only was there a General Staff Office in the First Town, but there was also a General Staff Office under the Governor's Office. Well, what he didn't know was that Jia Lian preferred to call it the Provincial General Staff Office. However, there was no such organization at present, and under Jia Lian's command, he could only hang a sign of a directly-administered General Staff Office.

Being able to find the staff office directly under the governor shows that Li Yuan is a smart man with good ability. He is very keen to find that Jia Lian's control over the army is different from other places.

Taking the various towns in the Beijing camp as an example, Li Yuan found that the affairs of each town were basically decided by the commander when he was in the capital. The Nanyang New Army was different. The chief officers of each town were only responsible for training and commanding operations, and the rest was handled by the General Staff. The most obvious one was the payment of salaries. In the Beijing camp, the chief officers of each town went to collect the salaries, and then distributed them to officers at all levels, and finally issued them.

The salaries of the Nanyang New Army were sent to the team level by the General Staff Office. They would take the roster and send the salaries to each one. This was a big difference. After observing, Li Yuan concluded that this move effectively prevented the soldiers from being controlled by the generals. As for whether they would become Jia Lian's private soldiers, Li Yuan was not worried at all. If Jia Lian wanted to raise private soldiers, he could do it when he was in the capital.

If Jia Lian knew what he was thinking, he would say: He is still too naive.

As far as the First Town of the Nanyang New Army was concerned, Jia Lian's becoming a private soldier was a matter of an order. Li Yuan couldn't see it, which only showed that Jia Lian was hiding deep enough.

When in the capital, under the emperor's nose, Jia Lian would certainly not take over the military power. After all, it is difficult for the emperor to trust anyone.

It is different when people form a new army in Guangzhou. They set up a general staff office in the front. As long as they can grasp the hearts of the people in the general staff office, this army will actually be Jia Lian's private army.

Jia Lian doesn't have much ambition, but the future and fate of his family depends on him, so he will not pin his personal safety on the emperor's trust.

A similar situation also occurred in Shenji Town. Although Jia Lian did not have much contact with Shenji Town when he was in the capital, he creatively set up the General Staff Office, which was accepted by the grassroots officers and soldiers. When the officers at all levels above really wanted to let their subordinates attack Jia Lian, they would most likely be killed by their subordinates first.

The Shenji Camp is a little different, as the interests are too deeply tied from top to bottom. In comparison, the Shenji Camp is not a private army, but it is not much worse.

Li Yuan, dressed as a New Army officer, came to the staff office early every day. His requirements were not high, so he just took a look.

When Jia Lian found out, he motioned for him to go with him. Li Yuan went to get off work on time every day. He didn't say anything, just watched silently. Occasionally, he would ask a question if he didn't understand something, but he never expressed his personal opinion.

Jia Lian was also surprised when he learned about this behavior, especially when he knew that Li Yuan did not bring any of his former aides with him.

It’s a pity that I can’t ask Li Yuan what he really thinks.

In fact, Li Yuan’s idea is very simple. The reason why he was easily influenced by others in the capital before was that the information he received had been passed through several hands and heard from others.

This phenomenon improved when he first went to Shaanxi and Gansu, but it recovered when he returned to the capital.

This trip to Guangdong was a major setback for Li Yuan, so he changed his past habit of consulting with his staff and went to see and observe everything in person. If he didn't understand something, he would go back and think about it slowly without asking others.

As time was approaching mid-May and the day of sending troops was approaching, I thought Li Yuan would keep it up. Unexpectedly, before going off duty that day, Li Yuan came to invite me.

"Mr. Jia, I'm here to host a banquet for you. I'd like to ask you a question." Li Yuan was very humble. No matter how powerful Jia Lian was, he wouldn't dare to look down on him, because he was one of the strongest contenders for the throne.

"Your Highness is too polite. If you have any questions, just ask. I will tell you everything I know." Jia Lian still did not accept the title of Mr., let alone Li Yuan, even Li Heng, Jia Lian would not accept it.

Li Yuan didn't care whether Jia Lian accepted it or not, and continued: "I will host a banquet at Wanghai Tower, sir, don't worry too much."

Oh, so you are hosting a dinner outside, not at your residence. That's fine. Jia Lian smiled and said, "In that case, I won't be polite."

Treating guests outside is normal socializing, but going to Li Yuan’s residence means having a close relationship, and the nature of the two is different.

The ancients made very clear distinctions in these areas, and also in meeting guests at home. Some guests were only received in the main hall, which meant they were ordinary friends. If family members were introduced, they were close friends. If something happened to one in the future, family members could be entrusted to him, and the trustee would do his best to take care of him for his own reputation.

There is a view that in the ancient imperial court, morality was supreme, and people should be moral instead of legal in their conduct and work. This is fundamentally different from the West.

The essence of human society is that it is a society composed of people, so in the final analysis, it is still ruled by people. The West is not much better than the East. In fact, because of the de-responsibility and the worship of individual freedom, the overall moral standards of society are low. Why is conservatism on the rise in the West now? Isn't it because the economy is not doing well? So, don't mistake appearance for essence.

The essence of advocating the rule of law is different from advocating morality. They are nothing more than two different governance models. There is no need to exaggerate and criticize one and praise the other.

The reason why Chinese civilization has been able to continue to this day and to be reborn like a phoenix even at its lowest point is nothing more than “inclusiveness and keeping pace with the times”.

We are a civilization and the West is a company. We are different.

That's too far!
Li Yuan booked the largest restaurant in the city, and the guest for the banquet was not just Jia Lian, but also the heads of the three government offices and other yamen.

If you don't do this, Jia Lian will not accept the invitation to the banquet.

The difference is that other people sent invitations, but Jia Lian was invited by Li Yuan himself.

The banquet was very formal, and I won't go into details about the eating, drinking and entertainment. After the fun, Li Yuan signaled the actors to leave before asking Jia Lian for advice in front of everyone.

"Master Jia, from what I have observed these days, the preparations for war involve a wide range of aspects. Some things, such as the local tides and hydrology, and the time of launching are carefully selected, not just an auspicious day, and even the shoes worn by the soldiers are taken into consideration. The General Staff Office's plan is so detailed and covers so many aspects that I have never heard of it before and it is very difficult to understand. Please teach me, sir."

Everyone stopped and looked at Jia Lian. After all, there weren't many people here who knew about military affairs, so Jia Lian was the only one who was an expert.

In fact, Jia Lian did not dare to regard himself as an expert, but he had a more advanced vision. In terms of specific details, Jia Lian thought that he was not as good as the veteran generals in the army.

"Your Highness, I dare not say that I have the correct answer to your question. I can only give you some personal opinions. Your Highness and the others, please just listen to me." Jia Lian spoke slowly, and everyone said, "The governor is too modest!"

"You have all read Sun Tzu's Art of War. The ancient sage highly summarized the outline of war. Jia defined it as strategy. In layman's terms, it is the continuation of politics. How to explain it? After we signed the Treaty of Friendship with Britain and France, we actually reduced the two most powerful enemies and achieved the goal of gaining regional discourse power through political means. This goal has not yet been finally achieved because of the fact that the Netherlands and Spain exist in Southeast Asia, and after diplomatic efforts failed, they decided to launch a war against Southeast Asia."

Having said this, Jia Lian stopped and looked at Li Yuan with a smile, as he seemed to be thinking about something.

"The whole world belongs to the king. The Dutch and Western barbarians refuse to submit, so Lord Jia led his troops south to suppress the rebellious people. This is what I see."

After hearing this, Jia Lian couldn't help but smile: "Your Highness is right! After strategy, it's tactics, which is what Your Highness asked." Well, it tastes right, and it has the meaning since ancient times.

After hearing this, Li Yuan immediately sat up straight and bowed his hands in front of him: "I would like to hear the details!"

"At the tactical level, we should first ask about the strength and weakness. When the strength and weakness are clear, the strong side should not seek victory, but seek to be undefeated. As long as they are undefeated, they can wear down the weak side. Your Highness has read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The Prime Minister went to Qishan six times, and he had reached the extreme in tactics, but he returned without success, leaving behind eternal regrets. Now we are strong and the enemy is weak. The preparations before the war are based on the standard of not being defeated, and all the details are taken into consideration. This is what is called doing everything possible. At the tactical level, we strive to achieve that even if we cannot win quickly, we can still gain a foothold and slowly wear down the opponent. Speaking of which, the opponent has the advantage of terrain and people, and may not be inferior to us. Therefore, before the war, we must take into account any unfavorable factors that affect us and make a good response plan to avoid being in a hurry during the war. When it comes to a specific battle, I call this: details determine success or failure."

Li Yuan was so fascinated by what he heard, and the others were not much better. Although they were all well-read, no one had analyzed it from a strategic and tactical level.

Jia Lian was also opportunistic. He did not explain a specific detail, but talked about it in general. The specific explanation is actually very boring. This kind of general talk, on the contrary, gives people more room for reflection, and can be compared with some daily details, which is very helpful. Don't think that this sentence is only used in military affairs. In daily government affairs, details are also important.

"Details determine success or failure. It is enough to get this sentence today!" Li Yuan clapped his hands in praise, and everyone echoed him.

After Jia Lian pretended, he smiled and said nothing. If you say that he was unhappy, you are just deceiving yourself.

But anyway, Jia Lian still secretly warned himself not to indulge in this. Killing people with a soft knife is terrible, and it makes people walk into the abyss unknowingly.

Seeing that it was getting late, Jia Lian stood up and said goodbye. He had a ready-made excuse: the battle preparations had reached the final moment, and taking a short break today was not a normal thing.

Li Yuan had nothing to say and personally sent him to the door.

After Jia Lian left, other officials said goodbye one after another, and Li Yuan also saw them off one by one.

After returning to the mansion, Jia Lian frowned again after listening to Zhuzi's report on Li Yuan's every move. This Li Yuan was really not simple. No wonder he was regarded as a wise king by many officials in the capital.

To put it bluntly, when it comes to winning people's hearts, Li Heng can't catch up. You know, Li Yuan's every move doesn't seem to be deliberately acted, he is just that kind of person.

All the officials present treated other officials equally except for Jia Lian who they particularly admired.

It's a pity that many things have already happened and cannot be changed.

Even if Li Yuan could deeply realize that the relationship between the emperor and the scholar-official class was a complex relationship of cooperation and opposition, it would be difficult for Jia Lian to become a partner with Li Yuan.

Even Li Heng was not considered a partner by Jia Lian. As long as Emperor Chenghui was in power, Jia Lian would not reveal any of his true thoughts.

How to say it, imperial power is too sensitive and too fatal.

If a person lives in an era and wants to change this era, he must first integrate into this era, and after becoming the leader of this era, he can consider changing this era.

The so-called "one call and the whole world will follow" does exist, but it depends on the time.

It was a peaceful time, so this approach was unrealistic. Even if it could be achieved, Jia Lian would not use the lives of millions of people as stepping stones for his personal ambitions.

Another squadron left Guangzhou Port and headed for the assembly area at Zhanjiang Port. The first town in Nanyang quietly went to Zhanjiang to assemble under the pretext of training, resuming the battle in Nanyang. It was the final moment to launch the campaign.

Li Yuan keenly noticed the change in atmosphere. After the banquet that day, he went to the governor's office again to see Jia Lian.

"Mr. Jia, is it time to start?" When there were no outsiders around, Li Yuan always insisted on calling him Mr. Jia. Even if Jia Lian refused to admit it, he still did not change.

Jia Lian had no choice but to let it go. Anyway, he would not admit it or accept it.

"Your Highness is perceptive, indeed. Your Highness, go back and make good preparations. It will only take a few days." Jia Lian told the truth. Li Yuan was surprised: "Why not hold a departure ceremony?"

(End of this chapter)