Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 579 Jia Lian's Request

Li Yuan, filled with emotion, bid farewell to the fleet that escorted him back and set out on the journey back to Beijing.

After entering Beijing, the first stop could only be the Imperial Palace. After the audience, he knelt down and said, "Your son Li Yuan pays homage to the Emperor. Long live the Emperor."

Emperor Chenghui found it hard to calm down when he saw Li Yuan, who had become much more reserved.

"Get up!" Emperor Chenghui did not say more concerned words, simply because he was afraid that Li Yuan would have wild thoughts.

After a neat conversation, Li Yuan retreated to see the queen. Shortly after leaving the hall, he stopped and looked back, stared at Shu Xi, wiped his eyes, sniffed, and then went to see the queen.

Naturally, someone told the emperor about these details, and Emperor Chenghui couldn't help but sigh after hearing them: "He has become more distant and darker! He looks much calmer."

At the Queen's place, Li Yuan made another request, hugging Queen Haotai and crying, "Mother, I thought I would never see you again."

Queen Zhou held her son and cried for half an hour before she stopped.

After leaving the palace and returning to the prince's mansion, everything was the same as before. There were only a group of eunuchs left behind, and no one else.

In order to hurry on his way, Li Yuan asked his female relatives to come later, which also revealed his eagerness to return to Beijing. But he could not take care of it.

The private guards trained in Nanyang took over everything in the palace. Although this private guard was small, with only more than 500 people, they were well-equipped, and each of them was an elite who had seen blood.

To put it bluntly, this guard can save lives at critical moments.

However, Li Yuan, who had learned to keep a low profile, concealed the existence of this guard. On normal days, everyone only carried a knife and a revolver, and only carried a rifle when necessary.

For three consecutive days, Li Yuan went to the palace to talk with the emperor and the empress, and stayed to eat a lot of the palace's meals.

Li Yuan, who had been very low-key for several days, did not enter the palace that day, but drove his carriage to the Jia Mansion.

This time is also very particular, because it is a holiday, so sending a visiting card in advance will not be impolite.

When Li Yuan paid a visit to Jia Lian, outsiders could not say anything. After all, Li Yuan was still the Minister of Nanyang and had a lot of contacts with Jia Lian in Nanyang in the past.

The audience was open and aboveboard, but very low-key, with only a carriage and twenty guards in front and behind.

When he arrived at Rongning Street, Li Yuan did not drive in. He got off the car at the street corner, tidied his clothes, and walked to the side door of the Jia Mansion.

Someone on Jia Lian's side had already informed him, so he went out the side door to greet him instead of opening the main door. This was not to show disrespect for Li Yuan, but to cooperate with his low profile.

"Your Highness, I am Jia Lian, and I respectfully welcome you." Jia Lian was polite, and Li Yuan stepped aside to let him pass, returning the greeting as a disciple: "Yuan, I meet you, sir."

Jia Lian did not accept the full greeting. After exchanging some pleasantries, he invited the guest to come in and meet him in the main hall.

Li Yuan did not stay long and did not see the female relatives. He drank a cup of tea and left.

This matter spread throughout the capital, and no one expected that after Li Yuan returned to the capital, besides going to the palace, the first person he visited was Jia Lian.

Even though there weren't many gifts and he went through a side door, people couldn't help but think about it.

Jia Lian knew that Li Yuan was using him, but he did not refuse. Instead, he cooperated. It was not that he decided who to support, but he did it for others to see.

It’s just that different people have different understandings when they see it.

Emperor Chenghui felt that since Li Yuan and Jia Lian had fought side by side in Nanyang and that he treated Li Yuan as a disciple on a daily basis, it was understandable that he put Jia Lian first when paying a visit to him.

As for Li Yuan's low profile, the emperor thought it was a sign of maturity. In the past, Li Yuan was in a high position, and there were so many people around him, but wasn't it useless?

As a prince, what does it matter if he has a great reputation? The emperor issued an imperial edict and went to Southeast Asia.

Li Heng was a little panicked, his situation was worse than before Li Yuan. Knowing Jia Lian's influence on the emperor, Li Heng was worried that Jia Lian would favor Li Yuan and harm him.

Mr. Jiang consoled him, "The Second Prince didn't even leave through the main gate, so why worry? If Lord Jia supported the Second Prince, how could he have traveled to Southeast Asia?"

Subconsciously, Mr. Jiang couldn't help but be respectful when he mentioned Jia Lian.

Li Heng felt a little regretful for his actions to test Jia Lian some time ago. He felt very happy when he got the 500,000 yuan at that time, but now he felt very panicked.

It’s not that Jia Lian will definitely be able to influence the emperor’s decision, but what if?
There was another thing that bothered Li Heng. The positions of several generals of the Jiumen garrison were adjusted, and half of them were the ones he had spent a lot of effort to win over.

After the new Prime Minister Lin Ruhai took office, his first suggestion was to establish a rotation system between the main generals of the Beijing camp and the generals of the border troops.

In other words, from now on, generals and commanders at this level will be replaced every five years.

After this proposal received unanimous support from the cabinet, it was submitted to the emperor and quickly approved.

The commanders and assistant commanders of the four garrisons in the capital were all transferred out of the capital to Liaodong or the northwest. Although the commanders of the nine garrisons were not adjusted, a number of their subordinates were transferred away.

This was not a good thing for Li Heng. Military generals were not civil officials, and once they were transferred out of the capital, their value would be greatly reduced.

The reason for this is that the border troops have actually been weakened in recent years, while the Beijing troops have been strengthened. Even if they were not weakened, the generals far away at the border would not leave without permission.

The court officials had a different understanding of Li Yuan's visit to Jia Lian. They believed that Li Yuan's visit was a courtesy, and Jia Lian's refusal to open the door was not out of contempt, but because he did not want to cause misunderstanding.

The relationship between the two can't be said to be good or bad, it's just a colleague relationship. Of course, this is just the surface. On a deeper level, the people around Li Yuan in the past, they all missed Jia Lian.

The two actually have a grudge against each other.

All I can say is that for the same thing, different people see only what they understand and what they hope to see.

A truly wise person sees countless possibilities and will not easily rule out possibilities or draw conclusions.

When Daiyu was alone with Jia Lian, she asked with a smile: "Brother Lian, the Second Prince thinks that those who surrounded him in the past are not trustworthy, and is worried about his safety from the bottom of his heart, right?"

Jia Lian smiled and said, "Yes and no. The Second Prince has returned to the capital for a few days. During this time, he has closed the door to no visitors and tried to keep a low profile. He came to the Jia Mansion first just to tell the outside world that there is no grudge between him and me. Now that the emperor is in his prime, he just wants to keep a low profile and live a peaceful life in the capital."

Daiyu rolled her eyes, and leaned on Jia Lian's back and asked in a low voice: "Brother Lian, I think the Second Prince has not given up yet."

Jia Lian paused, raised his hand and touched Daiyu's tender face: "You are so smart! We can just talk about these things in private."

Daiyu insisted and shook Jia Lian's shoulders: "Go ahead, sister likes to hear this."

Jia Lian could not stand this trick, so he turned around and hugged Daiyu by the waist, saying, "You should stop asking about these nonsense and hurry up to give birth to a baby for me."

Daiyu was not shy either. She put one hand around his neck and looked at Jia Lian with watery eyes, looking forward to the absurdity of the day.

Although Lin Daiyu is not very capable, she refuses to admit defeat and keeps fighting despite repeated failures.

Tired of all the trouble, he leaned on Jia Lian and continued to ask: "Brother Lian, what do you say?"

"Hey, I can't beat you. In the past in Nanyang, Li Yuan witnessed the combat power of the Nanyang Fleet and the Nanyang New Army. He also saw the huge potential of Nanyang and gained huge benefits through Nanyang trade. During his time guarding Nanyang, he also experienced the taste of power. If he hadn't experienced the monopoly of power in Nanyang, it would have been possible for him to give up quietly after returning to Beijing."

Jia Lian's explanation was very subtle. Daiyu couldn't help but sit up and asked curiously, "Why, the Second Prince is in Southeast Asia and can't keep his word?"

This brain is too clever. Jia Lian stood up helplessly and said, "If the people below cooperate, the power will naturally be monopolized. If the people below do not cooperate, the government orders will not leave Jakarta."

Daiyu was shocked when she heard this, and hugged Jia Lian tightly, saying, "Brother Lian!"

Jia Lian smiled bitterly and shook his head: "You are too smart. I hope you can understand my painstaking efforts. For such a large family, the fate should be in our own hands. When His Majesty is here, I will be a loyal minister. When His Majesty is not here, it depends on the new emperor. When the time comes, I will most likely ask him to be sent to Southeast Asia."

Jia Lian still said to keep half and half, but he didn't dare tell Daiyu that he was the one who had the ability to influence who could sit on the throne.

Jia Lian may not have ambitions, but he will not entrust the safety of his entire family to the hands of others.

Daiyu hugged him tighter and said, "Wherever Brother Lian goes, I will follow him. It's okay not to stay in the capital unless necessary."

Jia Lian comforted him, "I know what I am doing. Nanyang is just a way out."

In a sense, Nanyang is not suitable as Jia Lian's retreat because of its resource endowment defects. But isn't it because of Australia? Australia has coal and iron, which is the deepest foreshadowing.

There are some things that Jia Lian would not do unless it is absolutely necessary.

After the holiday, Jia Lian returned to the court. The new cabinet had much more affairs to deal with than before because the emperor was not as diligent as before.

From Lin Ruhai's perspective, except for military power and personnel power above the third rank, all other powers of the emperor were gradually delegated to the cabinet.

It is difficult to say whether this phenomenon is good or bad.

In the first half of the eighteenth year of Chenghui, Emperor Chenghui seldom convened cabinet meetings except for important military matters, and court meetings were often cancelled.

As summer was approaching, the emperor left Beijing early this year to escape the heat and issued an edict to take Li Heng and Li Yuan away, with Prince Zhongshun as regent.

This operation was carried out once last year, and this year the officials did not care so much about it.

Even last year, it did not cause much waves. After all, as King Zhongshun, he had no military power, no financial power, and even no personnel power.

Jia Lian was kept in the capital as usual. On the eve of his departure, Emperor Chenghui summoned Jia Lian into the palace and specifically told him: "If there is anything, you can report it to me in secret. If it is urgent, you can mobilize troops with golden arrows!"

Jia Lian looked at the golden arrow with disdain and said, "Your Majesty, I'd better not hold this golden arrow. If anything happens, I can just run away with my family. Wasn't it okay last year without the golden arrow?"

Emperor Chenghui was furious: "Asshole! Get out!"

Jia Lian took his leave and sneered on the way home. The emperor seemed to be getting old and suspicious. He was not decisive to begin with, and he was becoming more and more wavering.

The next day, Jia Lian got up early, at the hour of Mao.

Wang Xifeng was implicated as well, so she stood up and called Ping'er and Yuanyang to come in and help Jia Lian change his clothes and wash up.

Jia Lian kept his eyes closed, letting others do whatever they wanted, until he washed his face with cold water and woke up. He yawned and said, "Starting tomorrow, I can sleep in."

Wang Xifeng smiled and coaxed him, "Okay, okay, today we are sending His Majesty out of the capital. Don't delay, or you will lose your courtesy as a subject."

Jia Lian didn't quite understand why Wang Xifeng was more excited than him when it came to such a big occasion.

Emperor Chenghui left the capital, taking with him the elite troops from Xishan and Nanyuan camps. With these two troops protecting them, even if something happened, as long as they could hold out for a few days and pass on the news, everything would be under control.

In fact, the emperor was in the most danger in the palace. The walls of the capital city could indeed increase the strength of the guards, but they could also trap the emperor.

After being escorted for thirty miles, Jia Lian was finally able to come back. He ignored everyone and got straight into the carriage to catch up on some sleep.

Nowadays, except for those technical bureaucrats, Jia Lian's popularity is really average. Many ministers mentioned Jia Lian, all of which were young and full of vigor, and arrogant and self-admiring.

Speaking of young, Jia Lian was indeed young. At the age of 26, he became a second-rank official and a minister.

Jia Lian basically didn't care about the affairs of the Ministry of Works, and let the two assistant ministers make the decisions. However, when it came to spending money, he required the audited accounts to be clear, otherwise he would not sign.

This is more annoying, but there is no other way. If Jia Lian doesn’t sign, he won’t get the money.

After all, Jia Lian made a rule on the first day he took office: any expenses over one thousand yuan would be invalid without Jia Lian’s signature!
The Ministry of Works still has some major projects every year, such as repairing rivers, palaces, imperial mausoleums and other projects. Among them, repairing rivers and repairing imperial mausoleums have huge expenses every year.

Emperors all built their mausoleums during their lifetime, and Emperor Chenghui was no exception. He began building his tomb from the day he ascended the throne.

It’s not that there were no checks or audits before, but after Jia Lian took office, the checks became more strict.

The interesting thing is that Jia Lian did not intervene in the audit of the imperial mausoleum. However, Jia Lian kept a close eye on the annual river repairs.

Well, Jia Lian really doesn’t care how the imperial mausoleum is built, but it’s different for the river channel. The river building here refers specifically to the Yellow River.

On the way out of Beijing, Emperor Chenghui sat in the car and looked at the hills in the distance. He couldn't help but mutter to himself: "There are many more trees on the barren hills around Beijing."

Since Jia Lian took the lead in planting trees, countless people have voluntarily helped plant trees every spring. Well, the premise is that Lord Jia pays for the hilltop.

Jia Lian not only rented the mountain to plant trees, but also hired many mountain people to look after it. When the people went up the mountain to collect firewood, they could cut some shrubs, but they were not allowed to cut down trees.

Many people spontaneously protect the mountains and forests, which shows that the grassroots people are more grateful.

Now Jia Lian no longer needs to use public funds to plant trees, and those who impeached Jia Lian in the beginning did not benefit from the project. They really did not get a penny, which made them even more angry.

Mr. Jia has money to plant trees, but he doesn't give them the opportunity to make money. How despicable.

In fact, if Jia Lian could just relax and give up some of his interests, he could save a lot of trouble.

But since it concerned the Research and Development Department, Jia Lian refused to give in.

When the school started in the spring this year, Jia Lian increased investment in the technical school in the name of the Research and Development Department, and renamed the technical school as the School of Engineering.

The enrollment scale has also expanded a lot. Today, Xijiao Engineering College covers an area of ​​1,500 acres and has more than 4,000 students.

Subsequently, with increasing funding each year, the college will continue to grow.

The School of Engineering is managed in a militarized manner. Although graduates cannot become officials directly, they can become officials through technical channels through outstanding performance in the factory.

This channel has little appeal to children from wealthy families, but it is very attractive to artisans and peasant families.

You know, one of the biggest expenses of the School of Engineering every year is food, accommodation, and clothing for all seasons.

On the first day, every student entering the School of Engineering is instilled with the idea that all food, clothing and other expenses during their time at school are provided by Mr. Jia.

Those with excellent grades can get scholarships, and those who are particularly outstanding and have made technical contributions can directly become officials.

As soon as Emperor Chenghui arrived at the imperial farm, Jia Lian's first memorial arrived.

Emperor Chenghui thought something big had happened, so he immediately started reading it anxiously. After reading it, he was so angry that he wanted to curse, and finally he called the cabinet ministers.

"Look everyone, Jia Buqi has made another request." After Emperor Chenghui threw the memorial to the cabinet ministers for circulation, the ministers had different expressions.

The loyal dog Fang Song was the first to jump out and say, "It's reasonable to give the Engineering College some official positions. After all, these students will go directly to the factory after graduation."

Li Qing opposed for the sake of opposing: "This is nonsense. Jia Buqi can directly appoint officials to run a school. Why does he need the Ministry of Personnel? What will the students of the Imperial College think?"

As the Prime Minister, Lin Ruhai chose to remain silent. Things are different now, and he doesn't need to fight in person. Now Lin Ruhai just needs to take sides.

“Many officials in the Ministry of Works are not knowledgeable. Officials above the fifth rank may not be knowledgeable about technology, but for those below the fifth rank, not knowing technology will bring bad things. The Engineering College is under the name of the Research and Development Department and belongs to the court. It can be regarded as a school of the same level as the Imperial College. It is not excessive to directly grant official titles to outstanding graduates.” Pan Jixun is old and has no ambition, but he is willing to fight for the technical flow.

"I don't understand this, but I have no objection." Yue Qi's pigtail was caught. No matter how unwilling he was, he had to be timid.

In this way, Li Qing became a minority.

So what did Emperor Chenghui think?
His idea was very simple. The R&D department made a lot of money. Not only did it pay taxes according to regulations every year, but the surplus was clearly stated in the accounts. When the emperor really needed money, he could transfer it at any time.

If you want an ox to plough the field, you need to give it a handful of grass. If you want a horse to run, you need to feed it with concentrated feed.

People should not be too capitalist, always fooling around. If you don't even pay overtime, you are worse than cattle and horses. Machines should also be oiled and lubricated regularly to reduce the speed of aging.

"I'm afraid the Ministry of Personnel will not be happy about this! The Imperial College will also make trouble. However, we can set up some new technical official positions. Similar to the Imperial Medical Bureau." Lin Ruhai decided to take a detour as the direct resistance was too great.

Li Qing sneered, "Minister Lin can't help but think too highly of people. Even if compared with the Imperial Hospital, the Research and Development Department's treatment is generous. If the officials of the Ministry of Personnel are not jealous, how can the petty officials not be jealous? If the officials of the Imperial College don't make trouble, how can the students not make trouble? You should know that in recent years, there is a saying circulating in the streets of Beijing. Marry a daughter to a working man, so that she can have food, clothing and housing."

Emperor Chenghui was stunned when he heard this: "Wait a minute, nowadays, the craftsmen in the factory are still in charge of the houses?"

Fang Song sneered, and said sarcastically, "Prime Minister Li has a good appetite. He even wants the houses of hard-working craftsmen. The R&D Department built a house next to the factory outside the city. If the craftsmen want a house, they have to pay for it. It's just a construction fee, and they can pay in installments. If Prime Minister Li is willing to exchange it for a house in the city, there are many people willing to do so. If Prime Minister Li likes climbing stairs, he can even live on the third floor."

These words were so vicious that Li Qing almost couldn't hold it back!

(End of this chapter)