Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 531 Ask for instructions first

Who wants Sun Huazhen to die like this?
The answer is too much top-down counting.

In this era in the south of the Yangtze River where industry and commerce were highly developed, any developed industry was closely related to the gentry.

In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, not only was it impossible to collect commercial taxes in such a developed Jiangnan region, but even mining taxes could not be collected.

Where did the huge amount of wealth hidden among the people go?

Part of it was used for a luxurious life. Jia Baoyu had eight servants and eight maids. Another part became land. When there was a famine, the hungry people were struggling on the line between life and death, and the gentry were reveling. Finally, another part was buried underground. It was not a burial object, but hidden money. Chen Cunren has a book whose name I forgot. It mentioned that there was a famous doctor in old Shanghai who put the consultation fees collected every day into a jar, buried it when it was full, and dug it out after his death for his children to share. This is the so-called hidden money.

Wu Han also mentioned an incident that at the end of the Ming Dynasty, when the Qing army had entered the country, the people of Songjiang Prefecture were still selecting the most beautiful women. A similar incident is "The merchant woman knows not the sorrow of losing her country, and still sings the song of the back garden across the river."

Throughout history, there have been many cases of people disregarding national interests for personal gain.

For a country to function properly, it must have a healthy finance.

Any dynasty will inevitably fall into a period of stagnation after experiencing initial rapid development, and the entire country will begin to decline.

At this time, changes must be made, which is the so-called reform. The problem is that reform will definitely hurt the vested interests because reform itself is an adjustment of the distribution of interests.

People are like this. Even if the money is not mine and the country has taken it, although I have not suffered any loss, it is still more painful than being killed.

What's more, the essence of the Zhou Dynasty's system is a family-based empire, and the royal family is the biggest vested interest.

Any reform under this system is not aimed at benefiting the grassroots people. Even if there is an original intention to benefit the grassroots, it will definitely go astray during the implementation process.

The original intention of all the reforms in ancient times was to save the central finances and continue the rule of the family monarchy. This point must be made clear.

After later generations summarized the experiences and lessons of their predecessors' reforms, the Single Whip System came into being.

The essence of the Single Whip System is to simplify the taxation procedures and reduce the intermediate links. The result of doing so is not to benefit the people, but to reduce the links in which the people are exploited.

Emperor Chenghui carried out the reform of dividing the land tax into taxes, which was to include various levies and levies on the land. The purpose was to facilitate tax collection and objectively and indirectly reduce the links, thus benefiting the people.

Not to mention for the next generation, even for the prosperity of the Jia family, they had to take the side of the emperor and prolong the life of the Li dynasty.

Everyone has his or her own stance. From the perspective of the Jiangnan gentry, it is certain that they hate Sun Huazhen to the core. Who blocked their way?

Although the gentry had fine clothes and delicious food, and had a huge fortune and numerous fertile fields, it did not make them curb their greed. They wanted more.

Jia Lian couldn't help but think of the two emperors who left the palace in the mid-Ming Dynasty. One drowned while fishing, and the other was chased and burned by fire all the way.

Thinking of Emperor Chenghui, who also liked to stroll out of the palace, Jia Lian couldn't help but feel worried, so he made a decision.

Wei Da waited patiently for Jia Lian to think, and when he finally saw Jia Lian stop, he gently put down the teacup and looked at Jia Lian.

"Whether to go to Liangjiang or not, I can't make a decision for now. I need to have a good talk with His Majesty in person. I will write a letter to His Majesty and apply to return to Beijing to report on my work."

Jia Lian could only say this to Wei Da. The level of trust between the two was limited, so he could not say everything.

Wei Da was surprised but did not ask further questions. Instead, he nodded and said, "In that case, we will just wait in Guangzhou and return to Beijing when we have confirmed news."

After thinking for a while, Jia Lian said to Wei Da, "If I were Duke Wei, I would go back immediately, and the first thing I would do after returning to the capital would be to severely rectify the Dragon Guards around His Majesty. Everyone's background would be checked for eight generations. Anyone with any doubts would be kicked out."

Wei Da stood up in shock and said, "Master Jia, don't scare me."

Jia Lian smiled but said nothing. Wei Da said, "The protection of the emperor in the capital is the responsibility of Eunuch Qiu. I will write a letter and ask him to pay attention."

Wei Da's words exposed his true colors. He didn't have any big ambitions, otherwise he would have rushed back if he had to show off in front of the emperor. Of course, it was not ruled out that Qiu Shian's power was too great, and Wei Da was afraid to interfere with the emperor's security.

According to the rules, Jia Lian could not return to Beijing without an imperial decree, so he had to write a letter first, requesting to return to Beijing, on the grounds of reporting on his work.

But it’s not just a simple performance review.

After seeing Wei Da off, when he turned around, he saw Baochai and other girls with squinting eyes, all looking at him eagerly.

"Ah, I miss the big bath at home. Let me take a bath to relieve my fatigue." Jia Lian was not afraid at all. He had been away for several months and he was really chaste and had plenty of ammunition.

The next morning, a group of subordinates were waiting in the government office for Governor Jia Dai to appear, and what they expected happened. An attendant Zhuzi came and informed everyone.

"The master has something to say. He is going to take three days off. Everyone, please go back."

The officials left with smiles on their faces. After leaving the governor's office, the smiles on their faces disappeared. Those who had good relationships walked together, talking as they walked.

"Prime Minister Sun has had a stroke, and I don't know what Governor Jia is thinking. The good situation in Guangdong and Guangxi will probably return to the old state without Governor Jia."

"When Jia Zhitai was in Guangdong and Guangxi, he benefited all the officials equally. I'm afraid the new Zhitai won't be so easy to get along with."

"Hehe, nowadays, everyone in the government and the country is talking about us all being on the side of Jia Zhitai."

"The governor is too young, and it is inevitable that people will envy him. To be honest, I really don't want to let Governor Jia go. If he really goes to Liangjiang, our future will be in jeopardy."

"Are you worried about the reduction in profits from the trading floor?"

"Nonsense, aren't you worried? How can you bear to give up the top-quality meat that's already in your mouth?"

"The Jia Party is the Jia Party. I am afraid that Governor Jia will not accept them."

"I can only wait for six years at most. Why think so far ahead? Let's go and have fun!"

The officials below were talking about it, all worried about whether Jia Lian would leave Guangdong and Guangxi.

A higher-ranking official can crush people to death. Jia Lian is also greedy, but he is not greedy and knows how to share profits with his subordinates. If a governor with an ugly greed were to come here, life would be difficult for everyone.

When Wang Ziteng was here, the eating habits were ugly, but in Guangdong, it depends on the place, that is, Guangzhou and its surrounding areas are relatively fatter. After Jia Lian took over as the governor, officials from all over the province could get a share of the trading hall. Naturally, everyone did not want any changes, at least until I was transferred.

The one who was most worried about Jia Lian being transferred was Xue Pan. When he learned that Jia Lian had returned, he wanted to visit him immediately, but was stopped by Aunt Xue.

When Jia Lian opened his eyes at noon, Qingwen, who was doing needlework beside him, saw him and smiled at him, "Master, are you awake?" Jia Lian wanted to sit up, but his waist felt a little sore. He was too wild yesterday. He should learn from this and abstain from sex from today on.

"Qingwen still loves the master the most." Jia Lian praised her, and Qingwen smiled and said, "Master, don't be too partial to her later."

Jia Lian then realized that he had made a mistake. Humph, he must eat something good to replenish his body today.

After saying just a few words, Si Qi came in through the curtain. He had been too shameless last night, and his face turned red when he thought about it now.

"Why are you the only ones here? Where are the others?" Jia Lian got out of bed and the two men helped him change his clothes and wash up.

"Aunt Xue and Brother Xue are here, and the Second Madam is accompanying the guests with Aunt Third Sister." Si Qi explained, and Jia Lian hummed, "Where's Xiren?"

"You haven't gotten up yet? You were tired last night." Si Qi teased.

The scene of last night emerged in Jia Lian’s mind. Is Xiren worried that her position as concubine will be lost?
Xiren must be anxious. Third sister has excellent waist strength, so it would be better for her to save some energy when turning back.

When they left the yard and reached the main house, Xue Pan was walking in circles in the yard, looking very anxious, and he didn't even notice Jia Lian coming.

"What are you doing? Are you grinding the millstone here?" Jia Lian joked with a smile. Xue Pan hurried forward to greet him: "Second brother, are you going to Liangjiang?"

Jia Lian was not surprised at all that Xue Pan knew this. How could there be any secrets in the court? Sun Huazhen had such a serious stroke, and Wei Da happened to come to Guangzhou and wait.

"Where I go is up to His Majesty." Jia Lian did not tell Xue Pan the truth. He was well aware that if one did not keep secrets, one would suffer.

"Wei Da has been waiting in Guangzhou for these days. Is there no imperial decree?" Xue Pan became difficult to fool and dared to ask further.

Jia Lian looked at him with a half-smile in silence. Xue Pan understood instantly and raised his hand to slap himself on the mouth: "You talk too much, you deserve a beating."

Jia Lian then changed the subject and asked him, "What were the main businesses of the Xue family in Jinling?"

Xue Pan didn't dare to think too much, and answered immediately: "The Xue family relies on the status of imperial merchants to do business in the north and south, and the money gates in various places on the canal will not make things difficult. Although the Xue family made their fortune in Jinling, they have already followed many businesses and cannot interfere. The Xue family started out by providing food and fodder to the military, with soybean and cotton cloth trading accounting for the majority. Later, relying on the relationship with Jiangning Weaving, they entered the raw silk industry. When my father was alive, I wanted to go to Yangzhou to do salt business several times but failed. Later, my uncle-in-law of the Lin family became the Salt Road Censor. My father is no longer here, and I didn't think about this business. Purchasing for the palace doesn't make money. Those people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs are very greedy. The Xue family just wants the title of an imperial merchant."

Jia Lian stood there and listened very carefully. Xue Pan continued, "Later, something happened to me, and the business in Jiangnan basically stopped. Now I have started over in Guangzhou. In the past few years, I have picked up the raw silk business again. In addition, the business of porcelain and tea has also improved. The real money is still made from the warehouse on the dock and running transaction procedures for people. This is a business with no capital, but I do it occasionally because I am afraid of gossip."

The Xue family’s business must be very diverse, and what Xue Pan mentioned are the big profits.

"Didn't the Jia family ask you for help in dealing with the produce from their land in Liaodong?" Jia Lian asked when he remembered this.

"It's not my turn to get involved in what the housekeeper Lai did." Xue Pan's ulterior motives were obvious. Jia Lian couldn't help but smile when he heard it. He stopped talking nonsense and walked inside.

The Jia family's land in Liaodong was expanded once through Jia Lian's connections, but Jia Lian didn't know how much land it had now. If the annual income didn't increase much, death would be around the corner.

When I return to Beijing to report on my work, I will ask Wang Xifeng. Let's see what she says. I am afraid that this woman will not be able to appreciate the income from the land in Liaodong because she makes too much money from the cigarette business.

When Jia Lian entered the main hall, Aunt Xue quickly stood up and took a girl beside her to greet him. After the introduction, Jia Lian realized that this was Baoqin.

Jia Lian had no idea about her. There were already enough people at home, and it was a bit too much to take care of. After nodding politely and exchanging a few words, Baoqin took her leave, and Xiren accompanied her.

Well, this is how a lady from a noble family should behave. If it weren't for Aunt Xue's mischief, Baoqin would not have come to see Jia Lian, a stranger.

In comparison, Miaoyu, who is not from the secular world, can meet Jia Lian.

"Master, you must be hungry now. It's a good thing that you are here. Please have a drink with me." Baochai stepped forward and spoke, and Jia Lian had no objection.

Aunt Xue also took her leave to go find Baoqin, leaving Xue Pan and Baochai behind while Ying'er directed the maids to prepare dinner.

"It just so happens that I brought some twenty-year-old girl's red wine with me. Let's open a jar and drink it." Xue Pan was also very happy and wanted to accompany Jia Lian to drink.

The two chatted while eating and drinking, talking about recent events in Guangzhou. Xue Pan said that the demand for tea from British merchants seemed to have increased. Recently, he heard that merchants from Songjiang Prefecture had secretly contacted British merchants, and he didn't know what they were doing.

"By the way, Sassoon sent someone to Guangzhou, in the name of a representative of the East India Company, requesting to rent an island near Macau. My uncle had never agreed to his request before, and now he has asked the Governor to intercede for him. The Governor did not dare to make the decision and declined. I'm afraid he will mention this matter to my second brother later." Xue Pan suddenly revealed a shocking piece of news, and Jia Lian subconsciously stopped eating.

"Now that opium is banned here, his business has suffered a lot of losses, so he will naturally not give up. You are well-informed, so pay attention to find out who is brave enough to get involved in the opium business." As long as the profit is enough, there will be people who will do the business that will get them killed. We cannot relax on the opium issue. If we relax a little, someone will take the risk. Jia Lian will naturally not slack off.

"I'll remember this. I'll ask someone to find out when I get back." Xue Pan agreed readily.

Jia Lian thought to himself, could the representative of the East India Company be from the Macartney family?

As promised, he would take a three-day break. On the day when Jia Lian officially opened his office, all the subordinate officials lined up to pay their respects to him.

The first person Jia Lian met was the Governor of Guangdong. After chatting with him about recent affairs for a while, the Governor indeed mentioned that the representatives of the East India Company had proposed to rent an island.

"I sent people to check the island that the British mentioned. I was shocked to find that they had come uninvited and had docked many ships in the bay of the island. Because it involved a foreign vassal, I dared not take the initiative, so I had to send an official document to the capital and ask the Honglu Temple to negotiate with Minister Wayne first. Guess what, the minister said that the East India Company was a private enterprise and he had no control over it. Not only did he not control it, he also proposed to set up a consulate in Guangzhou. I had to wait for the governor to come back before making any plans."

Jia Lian did not intend to resort to violence immediately after hearing this, and said, "Send someone to inform those British merchant ships that have docked here without permission, and tell them to leave immediately, or else we will use force to expel them."

The governor nodded quickly and said, "I think so too. We should use courtesy before force, so that no one will say that we are destroying friendly relations."

Jia Lian nodded and said, "The matter was handled appropriately!" Although he said so, he silently gave his subordinate a score of "lack of responsibility" in his heart.

If it was a subordinate with some ambition, there would be no hesitation in such a matter. He would immediately expel him. No matter what, this is also his job.

There is one thing that Jia Lian did not remind us. It is estimated that the island is Hong Kong. The British docked there secretly, and there is a high probability that they are smuggling opium.

Faced with a huge trade deficit with China, the British had a perverse idea to smuggle opium to make up for the deficit. It was mainly British industrial products, which were not attractive to domestic businessmen.

It is true that the textile industry that the British were so proud of destroyed the cotton textile industry in India, but the premise was that India was their colony. Facing the Great Zhou Empire, they could not dump their products even if they wanted to. Apart from anything else, even if your cloth was cheap, merchants in the mainland would not dare to buy it. If they really bought it and sold it back, they would probably be smashed by local weavers. As for why they chose local weavers, it was because they were doing good to each other!
The domestic model of men farming and women weaving, a small peasant economy, is naturally not competitive enough in front of the British cotton cloth produced by large machines. However, those merchants who make money by collecting cotton cloth from rural areas are not good men and women. British cotton cloth has never been a necessity, so it is not competitive. But the British will really go crazy if they don't drink tea.

The British sailed their warships around the world, shouting about free trade, and wherever they went, there was free trade. Later, the Americans rose up and shouted about opening the door everywhere. Even in the Chinese market, the Americans were crushed by the British. The Yangtze River was the British sphere of influence.

Now Jia Lian said that the area within Nanyang was the sphere of influence of the Great Zhou Dynasty, because the Great Zhou Dynasty was strong enough to defeat them one by one. Moreover, the British bullied the weak and feared the strong, and their strength was not good enough at present. If they really fought, the British would really be defeated. Before this, in the Ming Dynasty, the Dutch had tried to colonize by force, but they were first defeated by Zheng Zhilong and then beaten by Zheng Chenggong, so they became honest.

The free trade of Westerners is essentially the logic of pirates: they will rob if they can, and will trade obediently if they cannot.

Jia Lian spent a few days meeting with his subordinates and finally had some free time. The governor came to reply about the British East India Company. After sending people to warn, the British ship left during the day and returned secretly at night. The governor was undecided and came to ask Jia Lian whether to use force.

(End of this chapter)