Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 589 Take a step to speak

The Sixth Russo-Turkish War ended in a stalemate, with both sides bleeding each other to see who had more blood. This was a really good situation.

The most eye-catching thing was the rifled musket provided by the Zhou Empire, which became a powerful weapon in the field. From the range to the accuracy, it crushed the smoothbore muskets equipped by the Russian army.

The light and fast field artillery could be pulled by horses and could be fired at any time, with maximum mobility.

For Britain and France, artillery may be easy to imitate, but rifles are really impossible because they do not have the technology to rifle.

Europe now also has rifled guns, but they are all hand-rifled by top craftsmen, and only two or three can be made a year. However, the technology of the Minié bullet has been exposed, and you can learn it at a glance.

The status of the Jagers, who had frequently appeared on the European battlefield, was further enhanced due to the emergence of the Minié bullet.

Both Britain and France expressed great interest in how the Zhou Empire had managed to mass-produce rifled guns, and sent new envoys in the hope of introducing the technology.

It was a year later that the French envoy arrived in the capital. By this time, the old revolutionary base had finally exploded.

At the same time, both Russia and Turkey were exhausted and could not fight any further, so they spontaneously stopped the fighting and temporarily ceased hostilities.

There is no winner in this war, both countries lost. The truce is temporary, to accumulate strength for the next war.

While all of Europe was paying attention to Paris, the Zhou Empire was focusing on the railways.

In the first half of the 20th year of Chenghui, the profit of Beijing-Tianjin Railway reached 600,000 yuan. Although it was slightly lower than last year, it was still a lucrative business.

The stock sale of Jinliao Railway achieved remarkable results and successfully raised 10 million yuan. From the perspective of share structure, the shares sold to the outside accounted for 40%, and the remaining shares remained in the hands of the Railway Bureau.

This operating model is known as government-private partnership.

According to the explanation of the Railway Bureau, the railway must be government-led, and the sale of stocks to the outside world is just an opportunity for private investment, which is a favor from the court.

This is like using your money to build roads, not giving you the right to participate, and still expecting you to be grateful.

To be precise, the starting point of this railway is Luanzhou and the end point is Dongping Prefecture, a new city on the banks of the Heilongjiang River.

This is the main line, and there are two branch lines, one connecting Liaoyang and Anshan, and the other connecting Jinzhou Prefecture.

The greatest advantage of this railway is not that it can transport goods from outside the Great Wall to inside the Great Wall, but that it can transfer troops from Beijing and Tianjin to any place that the railway outside the Great Wall can reach within 48 hours.

The road construction created 200,000 jobs along the line. The cabinet issued a document requiring all prefectures and counties along the route to fully cooperate with the Railway Bureau, otherwise they would bear the consequences.

This shot of vaccination was very effective. No official would risk his political future, and there were officials who didn't care about their age. But the Ministry of Personnel took the first step and transferred all officials over 40 years old.

The reason for this is simple, because there is a shortage of water around the capital. Industry cannot do without water, and the R&D Department is gradually moving factories in the capital to other places. In the end, apart from the scientific research department, only some light industries such as cotton spinning can remain in the capital.

There were people who opposed Jia Lian's actions, but their opposition was ineffective.

In other words, Shijingshan has no way to move away, or the steel plant will have to move away as well.

The outside world has reason to speculate that Jia Lian did not want these factories to remain under the eyes of so many greedy people.

There is no reason for this speculation, because it has already been exposed. Following the public disclosure of the Railway Bureau, all factories and mines under the R&D Department followed suit.

The thing that officials at all levels are most worried about has happened. If this pace continues, will the financial conditions of government offices at all levels also be required to be made public?
The Cabinet issued a special statement on this matter, saying that there is no need to worry, and that only business-oriented enterprises under the Research and Development Department will have such requirements.

It can only be said that Jia Lian's series of actions made people panic, and Emperor Chenghui was also speechless. He complained to Qiu Shian in private, "It would be better if you were a little greedy."

As the emperor entered a state of enjoyment, the power of the cabinet increased.

Jia Lian, who was a cabinet candidate and the Minister of Works, became the so-called aloof faction in the court.

The general meaning is, you fight your own battles, but don't affect my development. Smart people have noticed that the number of railway protection teams under the Railway Bureau and staff from all over the country is constantly increasing.

The size of the railway protection team has reached 1,000 people, distributed at various nodes of the Beijing-Tianjin Railway and the Jinluan Railway. Once the Jinliao Railway is opened, the size of the railway protection team will definitely continue to increase.

Cabinet Minister Yue Qi has been having a headache recently, and the reason is not in the capital, but in Southeast Asia.

The size of the Nanyang New Army has increased to three towns in recent years, but the new army of these three towns is not directly under the Ministry of War. They are respectively under the Nanyang Prime Minister's Office and the Guangzhou Governor's Office.

After a memorial from the new general of Guangdong arrived at the cabinet, a fierce debate broke out in the Ministry of War over the affiliation of the New Nanyang Army.

The newly appointed Guangdong general said in his memorial that as a provincial general, he found that he could only command the patrol camp in name only and the guard posts in various coastal areas. The main force of the Guangdong army, the Nanyang New Army Third Regiment, was directly under the governor's office. As for the First Regiment and the Second Regiment, they were under the Nanyang Prime Minister's Office and had nothing to do with it. Even the patrol camp that was nominally under his control was directly under the command of the Three Departments.

Why? Because the expenses of the patrol camp come from the local finances and are under the jurisdiction of the Three Departments.

The guards in various coastal areas were more like anti-smuggling teams than troops. Their main task was to combat smuggling. Their combat effectiveness was the worst among the Guangdong troops, and even the patrol battalions were slightly better than them.

The Guangdong general reported that the Nanyang New Army should be under his command, at least the third regiment should be under his command.

When the Governor of Guangdong learned about this, he was so angry that he reported directly to the Cabinet to explain the situation.

The cabinet should be very clear about how the Nanyang Navy and the Nanyang New Army came about. The new general did not dare to touch the Nanyang Navy under the command of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, nor did he dare to touch the First and Second Regiments of the New Army under the command of the Prime Minister of Nanyang. He was eyeing the Third Regiment of the Nanyang New Army. Did he really think that the Governor of Guangdong was a soft persimmon?

OK, I'll leave it to you. You will take care of all future expenses, and Guangdong will not be involved. If you can get the central government to pay for this, Guangdong will be happy.

It is true that Yue Qi was a cabinet minister and was in charge of the Ministry of War. In principle, it was also true that the local troops across the country and part of the Beijing camp were under his command.

The problem is that if you want to seize power and ask the Ministry of Revenue to help pay, you have to talk it over.

This is mainly because Guangdong is too special and this province really needs the existence of such an army.

To put it bluntly, the garrisons in other provinces are all there to suppress local rebellions, and their scale is not large. There is a general, a deputy general, and a lieutenant general, and the actual strength does not exceed 5,000 people. This is a province with a good economy. In a province with a poor economy, 3,000 people are considered a lot. More can't be supported. There is another thing, the cabinet is also looking up the past. When the reform of the army across the country was completed, who insisted that the local areas should not change? Wasn't it Yue Qi?
Now you complain about the problems of the local army, but you stopped when you had the opportunity to change it. Tell me, why?

Anyway, it's a matter of confiscating property, which involves military power, and is a very sensitive issue.

The mess of the army was a powder keg that could not be touched. Taking advantage of Li Ni's efforts to quell the chaos in the grasslands, Yue Qi had the opportunity to rectify the Beijing camp. The subsequent efforts of the various territories were not continued.

After taking office as the Minister of War, Yue Qi gradually adjusted the candidates for generals in various places. After basically completing the Ministry of War's control over senior officers of the garrisons in various places, he no longer interfered in the affairs of the garrisons in various places.

Now you bring up the matter of the Nanyang New Army, how can we not cause a quarrel?
Although this matter seemed to have nothing to do with Jia Lian, the cabinet still sent a notice to Jia Lian, asking him, the alternate cabinet minister, to attend the meeting.

So Jia Lian arrived at the scene, and after he sat down, he found that there were quite a few participants in today's meeting, including the cabinet ministers, the Minister of War, and the Minister of Revenue.

As usual, two memorials were circulated first, one from the Guangdong General and the other from the Guangdong Governor.

After reading it, Jia Lian understood that this person was not coming for the Nanyang New Army, but for him, Jia Lian.

Why do you say that? Who is the mastermind behind the Nanyang New Army? Who is the boss behind the scenes? Who else could it be?

After understanding it, Jia Lian smiled and said nothing, watching the Minister of War and the Minister of Revenue quarreling.

Why are they fighting? Of course it’s about money.

The Minister of War meant that, in principle, all the military forces in the world are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War, and all the finances in the world are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue, so the Ministry of Revenue has to pay for the military expenses.

The Minister of Revenue said simply, "There is no money!" The military expenses of the local garrisons have already been deducted when the local finances are handed over. Why should you ask the Ministry of Revenue to pay?

There was no money, and even less life. The Ministry of War tried to find a way to solve the problem. Anyway, the Ministry of Revenue allocated the Ministry of War's annual appropriations in full, and no one dared to waste it.

Officials who dared to embezzle have been arrested in the past few years. Now many powers of the Ministry of Revenue are under the close supervision of the Cabinet and the Supervisory Office, and they have to explain the procedures to you in everything.

The Ministry of War had very sufficient reasons. The situation of the Nanyang New Army was special and should be treated the same as the Beijing Army, with funds allocated by the Ministry of Revenue.

The Minister of Revenue sprayed saliva all over the face of the Minister of War and cursed: "When the Nanyang New Army was established, it didn't ask the Ministry of Revenue for a penny. Who do you think you are? You think the Ministry of Revenue is easy to bully, right?"
After being scolded, the Minister of War covered his face and said nothing. The ministers in the cabinet looked at the smug Minister of Revenue without saying a word.

Finally, Yue Qi stood up and said, "There must be a solution to this problem, right? The legitimate rights of the Ministry of War should be protected. The military power of the world must be controlled, right?"

Li Qing also stood up and echoed with righteous words: "Military power cannot be returned to the local areas, otherwise, after a long time, there will be disasters of vassal states."

After receiving the support of the two big men, the Minister of War turned his gun towards Jia Lian and said, "Mr. Jia, please say something."

Jia Lian spread his hands and said, "What does this have to do with me?"

The Minister of War said: "The Nanyang New Army was founded by Lord Jia, how can it not be related to Lord Jia?"

Jia Lian smiled and said, "Since you insist on me speaking, I will say something. If you think it's okay, then do as I say."

Now everyone is silent. They say you are the one who does what you say. How can this be justified in the world?
Everyone turned their eyes to Lin Ruhai. There was no other way. No one could suppress Jia Lian, so they could only count on the Prime Minister and father-in-law.

Lin Ruhai coughed helplessly and said in a gentle tone: "Buqi, speak properly. Don't be sarcastic! This is about military power, it's not a trivial matter."

Jia Lian laughed and said, "You all came to such a conclusion without even listening to what I said? Then I'd better shut up."

Fang Song promptly offered his assistance: "Yeah, anyway, it doesn't matter whether you say it or not. The more you say, the more mistakes you make. It's better to keep silent."

Lin Ruhai glared at Fang Song: "Don't make trouble!"

Fang Song defended himself: "How can you say it's a disturbance? Some people are waiting for Buqi to speak, and then use a magnifying glass to find fault with every word."

The truth is like a sharp knife, but it cannot be said. Now that Fang Song has spoken the truth, Lin Ruhai is a little annoyed: "Shut up, it makes you look powerful, right?"

In today's situation, even the emperor doesn't have the final say, let alone the prime minister?

"There's nothing wrong with collecting public opinion, right?" Pan Jixun also helped to ease the atmosphere. He was the one who was truly aloof and was ready to step down.

"Buqi, just speak! Others will talk about it later. I gave you the chance to speak, but you didn't seize it." Fang Song continued to be sarcastic.

Jia Lian smiled, not caring at all, and sat up straight against the chair and said, "My words are very simple. Since you are arguing endlessly, then disband! Without the object of the dispute, there will be no contradictions, right? The original intention of establishing the Nanyang New Army was to clear out the disobedient places in Nanyang. Now that all places in Nanyang have surrendered, the new army has no need to exist. Disband them all and put an end to it all."

Fang Song clapped his hands and cheered: "Good, well said. Now that the world is at peace, we should first disband the Nanyang New Army, then disband the Beijing Camp, and finally disband the garrisons in various places. The court will save money."

Yue Qi was furious: "What nonsense! You are confusing the concepts!"

Fang Song also put away his playful expression, slowly stood up and said: "Mr. Yue, listen carefully. Let me ask you a question. When the imperial court established the Navy Office, it allocated a huge amount of money to build the Beiyang Navy and the Nanyang Navy. Now the Nanyang Navy has more than 100 main battleships and thousands of other ships. How many battleships does the Beiyang Navy have? How many other ships? The Minister of Revenue is here, he knows exactly how much money is allocated every year!"

Fang Song’s move can be said to be extremely ruthless. You want military power and funding, right? Okay, I’ll settle accounts with you first.

Many things are afraid of being settled, because once the settlement is made, many things can no longer be covered up. There will be problems!
You see, after Fang Song’s words, everyone fell silent and the scene was dead silent.

"Pa pa pa!" Crisp applause rang out. Everyone looked and saw the person applauding: Jia Lian!

Seeing this, Lin Ruhai coughed and said, "The topic is suspended! Let's take a break!"

Everyone was a little relieved about their losses, and now it was time for the big guys to make a private deal.

Jia Lian got up slowly and went out to relieve himself. On his way back, he met Yue Qi.

The two looked at each other, and Yue Qi smiled awkwardly: "No, can you please lend me a hand to talk?"

(End of this chapter)