Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 544 The general trend of the world
The emperor announced that the banquet after the grand court meeting on New Year's Day was cancelled and that money would be distributed directly instead.

The cabinet announced an official holiday, and in principle work would resume on the eighth day. In fact, everyone knew that before the Lantern Festival, there were only staff on duty in the government offices.

After the two pieces of news were issued, officials in the capital cheered loudly, especially the fact that the emperor changed the banquet to giving out money, which won the hearts of the officials.

The only one who was unhappy was the Imperial Household Department, as it lost an opportunity to make money.

In fact, the emperor knew very well that the corruption of the Imperial Household Department was the highest in the world. For the safety of the royal family, the absolute loyalty of the Imperial Household Department was required.

But how could people be satisfied? In the past, an egg only cost three silver dollars, but by the end of the year it had risen to four dollars, doubling.

It was because of this price that Emperor Chenghui simply stopped inviting civil and military officials to dinner and gave them money directly. The Queen still had to be invited, after all, there were not many opportunities to show off in front of others throughout the year.

Lin Ruhai arrived home before lunch and saw Jia Min holding her son and Jia Lian holding her daughter coming out to greet them. His faces looked extremely ugly.

When did they hold hands? Jia Lian was a little confused. When he realized what was happening, Daiyu had already let go. She is indeed the sister Lin who can pull out a weeping willow tree!
There was no such thing as lunch, and the whole family sat at the table to accompany Jia Lian.

After a quick lunch, Lin Ruhai called Jia Lian to the study. Before he could say anything unpleasant, Daiyu came in with a cup of tea and refused to leave.

Lin Ruhai had no choice but to give up showing Jia Lian the majesty of Old Taishan.

Lin Ruhai reported what was discussed at the cabinet meeting. Jia Lian couldn't help but shake his head and said, "It's not appropriate to stay! The matter of the Nanyang Xuanwei Office is just a beginning. We can't rest assured."

Lin Ruhai said anxiously: "There are so many important things to do. Can't we do without you? The most important thing for the court right now is not to deal with external problems, but to solve internal problems."

This sentence revealed a great deal of information, and Jia Lian immediately realized: "Why, is there a dispute between the cabinet and Your Majesty?"

Lin Ruhai nodded: "Prince Xining reported that the Russian Empire has been selling matchlock guns to various places in Anxi. Since the local area cannot produce guns and cannons, the court is expected to increase its support. In the past three years, under the insistence of your majesty, Anxi has invested 30 million silver dollars. The Dragon Guard reported that the King of Xining colluded with various tribes in the grasslands and allowed the tribes in the northern desert to migrate to the Western Regions to fill the population. The cabinet hopes that your majesty will reduce its support for the King of Xining. The gap between investment and return is too large."

Jia Lian understood that in this era, if oil and natural gas were not taken into consideration, the economic benefits in Central Asia would really be nothing to talk about.

The current foreign trade is mainly maritime trade in the south, so it is not surprising that the cabinet members have this idea.

But when Jia Lian looked at this issue from the perspective of global strategy, the situation was completely different.

If they do not take advantage of the Russian Empire's lack of time to move south to further consolidate Anxi's rule, and after Britain and France join forces to help Turkey defeat Russia, the country will definitely move south given its nature.

"The Russian Empire's thirst for land is endless. The country's governance methods are simple and crude. It cruelly enslaves the people at home and launches wars abroad to ease internal conflicts. If we don't face up to this country, we will sooner or later face a huge threat from it. I don't know how much the cabinet knows about the situation in Europe. According to the information I have, France has serious internal problems and large-scale civil unrest may occur at any time. The British war to suppress colonial independence in North America is now coming to an end, and it is estimated that the British will not be able to hold on for much longer. We must seize this window of time to consolidate Anxi's rule. The reason I say this is that I judge that once the British solve the problem of India, they will sooner or later turn their attention to our country and try every means to reduce the trade deficit."

When Lin Ruhai heard this, he raised his hand and said, "Wait a minute, let me explain the trade deficit first."

Jia Lian said: "The British are a commercial nation, and they attach great importance to trade deficits and surpluses in foreign trade. The so-called trade deficit means that the goods they bring in cannot be sold, and they must spend gold and silver to purchase goods from our country. A long-term trade deficit is unbearable for Britain. If trade measures cannot solve the problem, they will definitely start a war."

Lin Ruhai raised his hand again to interrupt: "Tell me what the connection is between Anxi and Nanyang."

Jia Lian saw the map on the wall, walked over and pointed at it, saying, "This is Nanyang, and this is Anxi. It seems far away, but India is involved in the middle. Britain is an industrial country. Large-scale machine production has brought about a leap in productivity. The domestic market cannot consume all the products produced, so the market must be expanded outward. India has a large population and a lot of arable land, making it an excellent market. If my country and Britain have a conflict in the future, on the one hand, Nanyang will control the Strait of Malacca and have a good geographical advantage, and on the other hand, troops will be sent from Anxi to threaten India to the east, putting us in a favorable strategic position."

Lin Ruhai was shocked when he heard this and asked, "Did the friendly agreement between the two countries get signed in vain?"

Jia Lian smiled and said, "On the one hand, there is a time limit, and it can be renew when it expires. On the other hand, the Westerners are descendants of pirates who made their fortunes by robbing. To them, the agreement is no different from waste paper and can be torn up at any time. When they need it, they take out the agreement and talk about peace. When they don't need it, they tear it up and throw it somewhere, then trample on it a few times, saying that the agreement restricts the survival and development space of the people."

"This is an act without any loyalty or trust. The tyranny of the Qin Dynasty is no more than this." Lin Ruhai sighed, and he basically had an idea in his mind.

This is thanks to the fact that our country has a long history, which is so long that Huntington defined it as a civilization disguised as a country. For anything that happens in the contemporary world, you can always find the answer by looking through history books.

Even the joke about Trump's makeshift team adding the wrong people to the group can be found in similar history in the "Book of Jin".

When the Western world was industrially advanced and could exploit the world, European countries looked really good, but in fact, their governance capabilities were mediocre. After losing their first-mover advantage, they quickly fell into decline, and all kinds of evil spirits came out to embarrass themselves. We flipped through the books of the past and found a saying: Born in adversity, die in comfort! It's not new at all, right?

Lin Ruhai glanced at Daiyu and saw a gleam in her eyes as she stared at Jia Lian. His good mood immediately disappeared, and when he looked at Jia Lian again, he felt that his face was hideous.

"Okay, I'm free now. Go meet Prime Minister Zhang. He's having a hard time." Lin Ruhai quickly sent the man away.

Jia Lian was not in a hurry to leave, not because he was a scoundrel, but because the information he obtained was not first-hand, and he had a full understanding of the situation in the court over the past three years.

"What happened to my mentor?" Jia Lian asked proactively to see if his guess was consistent.

"The land tax reform suffered a setback in Henan, and various censors made a big fuss, attacking the policy as tyranny, and driving people to death. Prime Minister Zhang was under great pressure. Li Rushui was eyeing the position of the Prime Minister, but instead of helping, he made small moves in private, instigating ministers to attack Prime Minister Zhang's reform. Although the reform was your majesty's intention, they did not dare to go to your majesty. At that time, you echoed Prime Minister Zhang in Guangdong and Guangxi, and the situation eased a little, but there were many obstacles to continue to promote it, so your majesty had to postpone this policy. Originally, the matter was basically settled, and it was planned to do it again next year, but unexpectedly, there were problems with the central bank and private banks. It seriously slowed down the pace of Zhang Xiang's reform. Fortunately, you went to Jiangnan to deal with Prime Minister Sun's affairs, and the commotion was big enough that they had to stop and turn to you."

Jia Lian nodded to show that he understood. After all, the land tax was not aimed at officials. Jia Lian took down a group of officials in Jiangnan in one go, creating a horrific Jiangnan massacre in the officialdom.

Although no official was killed, he lost his position and was exiled. This affected not just one person, but an entire family. Who in the officialdom is not afraid?

The reason why officials all over the country kept impeaching Jia Lian was to achieve one goal, which was to ask the emperor not to use Jia Lian as a nuclear weapon first. The biggest hope of the current officialdom is that Emperor Chenghui will die soon, and a new emperor will come up and find a way to get rid of Jia Lian, so that everyone can live a good life.

Zhang Tingen hopes that Jia Lian will stay in the capital and not go to the provincial area. His real intention is that it makes a huge difference whether Jia Lian is in the capital or not.

When Jia Lian was in the capital, he could often encourage the emperor and strengthen his support for the reform.

After finding out the details, Jia Lian got up and said goodbye, heading towards Zhang Tingen's house.

After knocking on the door, Wu Anzhong came out to greet him. Seeing Jia Lian, he said with great sorrow, "I am only a fifth-rank official, and you are already the acting governor."

Jia Lian ignored the jealous look on his face and pushed him away: "Where is my mentor?"

"Damn it, do you still want to be friends?" Wu Anzhong's tone became even more sour.

Jia Lian stopped and turned around and said, "Brother Zhucai (Zhi), when I was in the capital, I was already a fourth-rank official. Why do you have to compare with me on something else?"

Wu Anzhong got even angrier after hearing this and said, "I am even more angry than others. Compared to making money, I am just a beggar. Compared to women, my brother's sister-in-law, the goddess, the fairy, and the maids around them are all as beautiful as flowers."

Jia Lian almost laughed out loud when he heard this. He could see that this fellow was very unbalanced, so he naturally wanted to rub salt into the wound: "You can compete with me in knowledge and moral sentiments!"

Wu Anzhong fell silent after hearing this. He followed Jia Lian for a long time without saying anything. Jia Lian stopped in front of him and asked curiously, "Why don't you say anything?"

"Some time ago, I went to Dengzhou as an inspector. Many local people have tablets for you in their homes. Tell me, how can you compare?" Wu Anzhong spoke weakly.

Jia Lian understood his feelings. He was successful at a young age and became a juren in his early twenties. He must have been hailed as a genius in his hometown. After meeting Jia Lian, he realized that genius is different from genius.

It's like being the top student in the county middle school, only to find out that there are so many talented people when you go to the city. After overcoming all difficulties and entering the National Mathematical Olympiad, you find out that you have no chance to represent the country in the preliminary round.

We have to recognize a reality: the gap between geniuses can sometimes be described as a "natural chasm".

Zhang Tingen was handling official business in the study. When Jia Lian came, he just turned around and said, "Just wait a moment!"

Jia Lian was not in a hurry. With Wu Anzhong accompanying him to drink tea and talk, he was very happy to meet an old friend again.

"Your Highness actually agreed to allow the Dutch from Java to come to Beijing for negotiations. Where does this put the prestige of our Celestial Empire? It's really disappointing." Wu Anzhong quietly commented on Li Yuan, with a hint of disdain for the wise king.

"You are a fifth-rank official, how can you have the qualifications to comment on the Second Prince? Watch your mouth, or you will get beaten up by the Xianwang Party if you talk nonsense outside." Jia Lian jokingly reminded that Li Yuan has a high support rate in the capital.

Wu Anzhong's face turned green when he was confronted. He wanted to refute but found that Jia Lian had no ill intentions. He could only say angrily: "I am also doing this for the good of the court."

"For the court? Why didn't you catch a few corrupt officials when you went to Shandong for inspection? At the very least, it could generate revenue for the court." Jia Lian chatted with him casually.

Wu Anzhong said sternly, "Discussing crimes for money is a bad policy! Paying money to escape punishment makes the officials below more unscrupulous. When you checked the accounts in Jiangnan, did you see an official lose his life because of corruption?"

Jia Lian didn't expect that this guy had such a strong sense of justice. He hoped he would continue to maintain it.

"Brother Zhucai, you need to understand one thing first. Whether it is the reform of our teacher or the discussion of the silver for crimes, the main purpose is not to benefit the people at the bottom, but to solve the financial pressure of the court. It is unrealistic to expect the officials and gentry to have a change of heart and treat the people at the bottom well. You have to look at the problem from a higher level and think of ways to create more opportunities for the people at the bottom to make money so that their value as human beings can be improved."

To be honest, Jia Lian didn't have any better solution. Even in the era when he came, labor laws had never been seriously enforced.

The progress of human society is forced out bit by bit. Landlords will treat tenants well when they don’t have enough tenants to farm the land. Capitalists will treat industry well when they don’t have enough labor.

The officials of the Zhou Dynasty would only regret their excessive exploitation of the people when they rebelled.

In history, many emperors, when the people could not survive and rebelled, would wonder why the people did not just starve to death instead of rebelling and causing trouble for the emperor.

It is difficult for people to empathize with each other!
Only in that turbulent era when people were differentiated by class could people easily empathize with each other.

It was because of their common beliefs that countless people traveled thousands of miles to Spain to join the war, singing "The Internationale".

Jia Lian could only keep many truths in his heart and could not speak them out. Once he spoke them out, it would be fatal.

"Is this the reason why you have always advocated external expansion?" Zhang Tingen finished his work and came over to take over the conversation.

Jia Lian stood up to greet him, but Zhang Tingen waved his hand to indicate that it was not necessary. After sitting down, he looked across at him, waiting for Jia Lian's answer.

"The real proposition of the students is to speed up the improvement of productivity. At this stage, if we want to quickly improve productivity, we must learn from Western industrialization. The efficiency of industrialized production is dozens or even hundreds of times that of traditional handicrafts. Industrialization requires a large number of laborers and an ever-increasing market. The real intention of external expansion is actually for the market."

Zhang Tingen could already understand some of Jia Lian's new words, and he had also seen the factory that Jia Lian had built. He did not seem optimistic about what Jia Lian said, but frowned and said, "Since ancient times, agriculture has been emphasized and commerce has been suppressed!"

(End of this chapter)