Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 607 Words Work
Taxation is crucial to national revenue, and Emperor Chenghui has always attached great importance to it. Now, in Southeast Asia, a region that has only been open for a few years, the annual tax revenue has exceeded twenty million thanks to the establishment of a dedicated tax bureau.

What does this mean? It means that a lot of taxes are not being collected domestically.

"Your Majesty, I believe that Guangdong should be chosen, as it will face the least resistance." Lin Ruhai spoke first this time, and the other two exchanged glances before seconding his opinion.

Everyone knows why Guangdong was chosen, including the emperor.

With the foundation laid by Jia Lian in Guangdong, the establishment of a dedicated tax bureau faced far less resistance. Both being provinces that opened up to the sea, why did Guangdong prosper the most?

The answer is obvious; Jia Lian deserves much credit.

"Very well, since you all agree, then so be it. What do you all think of Buqi's memorial?" Emperor Chenghui brought up Jia Lian's memorial, which was quite significant.

"Your Majesty, the court can support the immigration of civilians in terms of policy, but we really don't have the financial resources to do so." Li Qing was also very straightforward, explaining his reasons for opposing it.

Emperor Chenghui glanced at the other two, who remained silent, and knew they had reached an agreement.

"In that case, let's waive the taxes paid by the Nanyang Tax Bureau. The Nanyang Zongli Yamen (Foreign Ministry) can provide targeted subsidies to private maritime merchants based on the actual settlement of immigrants. Let Li Yuan make the decision on this matter." Emperor Chenghui's seemingly sudden idea really was.

The main reason was that he felt very uncomfortable after clearly understanding the thoughts of the cabinet ministers. Was Jia Lian's memorial aimed at lower-level officials? No, it was aimed at those corrupt gentry at the grassroots level.

These corrupt gentry used every means to bind the common people to the land, making them work like cattle and horses for them, generation after generation. In reality, people at the bottom of society were truly worse off than cattle and horses.

After Emperor Chenghui finished speaking, the three looked at each other, and no one stood up to object. To stand up and contradict the emperor on this matter would be a losing proposition.

Seeing that the three agreed, Emperor Chenghui immediately stood up and said, "I'm tired, that's enough." He didn't give the three of them a chance to continue arguing.

The truth is that the emperor had a good grasp of the three men's intentions. The tax revenue from Nanyang was used for immigration affairs, and the only one who would suffer losses was the Ministry of Revenue. If Li Qing didn't step forward, could he have relied on Lin Ruhai and Fang Song?
As for why Li Qing didn't step forward, the reason is simple: it wasn't in his personal interest.

Why offend the emperor over tax revenue earned for the Ministry of Revenue when it won't go into your own pocket?
Let's just pretend this money never existed!

Regardless, the cabinet members were still very unhappy about losing ten million in taxes, and subconsciously vented their anger on the lower-level officials.

Upon his return, Lin Ruhai convened a meeting of the cabinet ministers, demanding a thorough investigation into the various provinces' practices of using immigration as a pretext to extort money from the people. He declared that every instance discovered would be punished without exception.

Do you really think the cabinet is a toothless tiger? Not only do they issue decrees but they also dare to use them as a pretext to make money. Does the cabinet have any credibility left?
There was nothing to say about this matter; the cabinet ministers were in unison instantly, and even Yue Qi and Pan Jixun did not utter a single word of objection.

The Censorate has another assignment, another demanding field mission. They can't refuse it; they've offended too many powerful figures. Their biggest worry is the various censors; if problems are uncovered, they too will be guilty of negligence.

However, the cabinet warned in advance not to think about protecting each other. Now it's the Inspectorate investigating, next time it will be the Imperial Guard investigating. You should think carefully before you act.

Whether there were any who took a chance is unknown, but the cabinet did indeed subsequently submit a unified memorial requesting that all levels of the Imperial Guard provide intelligence for the inspecting censors.

It can only be said that this cabinet lacks prestige and dares not risk continuing reforms, but insists on cracking down on corruption to establish its authority.

Objectively speaking, this situation may well have been deliberately created by Emperor Chenghui.

No matter who becomes emperor, no one wants another Fang Baiyi to appear.

When Li Yuan received the cabinet's reply, he was initially a little surprised that the annual tax revenue would be used by the Nanyang Prime Minister's Office for immigration affairs. This was too unexpected; why was the cabinet suddenly so benevolent?
Only after further inquiry did they realize that this was the emperor's will.

Li Yuan was secretly delighted. If his father viewed this matter as a memorial submitted jointly by the two of them, then the significance of this decision would be open to speculation.

It's not a bad thing in any way; it would be foolish not to take this opportunity to get closer to Jia Lian.

Li Yuan immediately sent someone to inform Jia Lian, inviting him to come over so they could discuss something.

The regent prince invited him on official business, and Jia Lian naturally could not refuse, so he went immediately.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Li Yuan presented the cabinet's reply, saying, "I have reviewed it. The decision by the Prime Minister's Office of the Southern Seas to retain tax revenue for the immigration affairs office was made unilaterally by my father. I invited you here so that we could discuss and come up with a rough plan to be implemented by our subordinates."

To be honest, this result was beyond Jia Lian's expectations. Originally, Jia Lian did not have much hope for the imperial subsidies; he simply wanted to get some benefits from the policies. He just did not expect the emperor to be so generous.

Li Yuan carefully recounted the information he had gathered: the cabinet's attitude towards Jia Lian's memorial was that while they valued official conduct, they did not support providing financial subsidies.

Well, in modern society, once a country has become wealthy, we can't expect it to have policies like subsidizing agriculture or large-scale poverty alleviation. Simply subsidizing immigrants is still a bit too advanced for today's world.

"My father is not in good health and is not very involved in state affairs these days, which worries me greatly!" Li Yuan said at the end, looking at Jia Lian meaningfully, hoping to get a positive response.

Jia Lian replied indifferently, "With imperial physicians surrounding His Majesty and proper daily care, he will surely live to be a hundred years old."

Li Yuan instantly snapped to attention, glanced gratefully at Jia Lian, and smiled, "What you say is absolutely right, sir." He inwardly warned himself, "Damn it, why can't I control my mouth? The walls have ears!"

The two discussed immigration matters and also called in several officials to take notes, so that everyone would know that this was an official matter.

Send a message to everyone: I will never do anything wrong in secret.

This small incident did serve as a reminder to Li Yuan that a complete victory was still a long way off. He shouldn't forget how Li Heng had stumbled, or how he himself had ventured to Southeast Asia.

Risks are everywhere, and when doing things in official capacity, one must be meticulous and leave no room for error.

Although he held the position of Prime Minister of Southeast Asia in name only, Li Yuan had real power over various parts of Southeast Asia in terms of administration.

After discussing with Jia Lian, it was decided that once each immigrant settled in various parts of Southeast Asia, the merchants who received the immigrants would receive a subsidy of fifty dollars per person. With this standard set, the specific implementation would depend on the execution by officials under the Nanyang Zongli Yamen (Foreign Ministry). Furthermore, this matter should be communicated to all maritime merchants through official gazettes and local newspapers.

Li Yuan also made a request that officials of the Nanyang Zongli Yamen (Foreign Ministry) must maintain clear and verifiable accounts in handling this matter. He would also regularly send people to check on the implementation of the project.

This is a subtle hint: don't think you can act recklessly just because the emperor is far away. Unless you want to be buried far from home and never return to the mainland. Li Yuan still attaches great importance to affairs in Southeast Asia, after all, it is one of his foundations. He instructed his staff to keep a close eye on Southeast Asian affairs and to send detailed reports every quarter.

Li Yuan valued Southeast Asia so much because he treated it as a fallback plan. He did not have command of the Southeast Asian New Army, but he could not resist the large number of militia organizations in various parts of Southeast Asia.

Conflicts with the indigenous people were inevitable during the expansion into Southeast Asia. Armed colonization without a collective farm model simply could not have been carried out.

Only the Nanyang Zongli Yamen (Foreign Ministry) knew exactly how many people were in the militia. These militia members could be mobilized into an armed force at any time if needed.

Is it the same to have military power and not to have military power? The higher a person's status, the more they understand the importance of violence.

What is the foundation of a regime? Violence, of course. Without violence as a foundation, the idea of ​​expanding and civilizing Southeast Asia is a joke.

Li Yuan knew very well that if he failed to seize the throne, he would retreat to Southeast Asia immediately without hesitation.

As for his relationship with Jia Lian, Li Yuan's position was also very clear: he did not seek Jia Lian's explicit support, but only that Jia Lian remain impartial. If Jia Lian could provide covert support, that would be even better.

As for asking Jia Lian for money, Li Yuan never even considered it; he even thought about giving Jia Lian money.

To put it bluntly, we were afraid Jia Lian wouldn't accept the money we offered him.

After seeing Jia Lian off, Li Yuan summoned his trusted advisors and gave them instructions, emphasizing at the end, "You must use this matter to make Mr. Jia feel my sincerity."

Li Yuan in Southeast Asia was not Li Heng. Li Yuan knew very well who the supporters were behind the Xue family's trading fleet that dominated Southeast Asia.

When it comes to giving money openly, only fools do it. The real skill lies in giving money in a way that leaves no room for criticism.

Well, from the perspective of bribery, the political cash system in Western societies is really unrefined and lacks any sophistication. They even legally define certain forms of bribery.

When a country passes laws legalizing bribery, what can the people at the bottom of society expect? This is no longer a matter of morality; it's a complete lack of political morality.

From the perspective of governing a country, the constraints that Western social systems place on government officials are tantamount to no constraints at all.

Jia Lian was unaware of Li Yuan's actions, and even if he had, he would not have changed his stance.

Throughout, Jia Lian's attitude towards Li Yuan and Li Heng remained consistent: maintain a necessary distance, and if he could lend a helping hand to leave a good impression, then he would do so.

To be honest, Jia Lian originally had more favorable feelings towards Li Heng, but after experiencing so much, he felt that feelings were about the same.

Regardless of which of these two brothers becomes emperor in the future, their attitude towards Jia Lian will likely be similar. There won't be much difference.

The attitude of any emperor towards his ministers can be seen from how Emperor Chenghui treats his cabinet ministers.

Emperors, once they sit on their thrones, all think pretty much the same way. Their primary concern is how to secure their position; everything else takes a backseat.

Any person or thing that threatens imperial power, even if it is only a potential threat, will trigger a reactive response from the imperial authority.

Any emperor who inherits the throne lacks self-confidence and a sense of security deep down.

At all times, Jia Lian remained sufficiently vigilant towards any emperor.

Upon returning home, Jia Lian summoned Xue Pan and informed him of the matter in advance. Xue Pan was overjoyed upon hearing the news and exclaimed repeatedly, "Brother, you truly deserve to be called an important official of the court; you can even handle such a matter."

Jia Lian showed no outward pride, but inwardly he thought, "Fraudulent subsidy schemes were commonplace back then, let alone subsidies for actual work. They took them with a clear conscience!"

"Stop flattering. Send a reliable person to contact the Zongli Yamen (Foreign Ministry) in Nanyang. Just get a taste of what's to come and don't be greedy. Apart from the arms trade, there's no business that can't be given up."

Xue Pan readily agreed, saying he would make the arrangements properly upon returning.

Xue Pan sent another report, summarizing the number of immigrants over the past three years. The total number of immigrants to Australia reached 300,000 (data from local government statistics, including all immigrants). The number of immigrants to Borneo, Java, Singapore, and other places was also around 300,000. The fewest was the desert peninsula, with only 30,000, of which only a little over 5,000 were Han Chinese.

After reading the report, Jia Lian sighed deeply, lamenting how difficult immigration was. He attributed Australia's rapid immigration increase entirely to the gold mines.

Therefore, Jia Lian specifically instructed: "We can create a buzz, set up a few role models, and go back to the mainland to give a speech, so that all the inland places know that someone has made a fortune in Australia and returned home in glory. Make a big fuss, with about a hundred people involved, and have them visit all the coastal provinces."

In short, Jia Lian didn't care about fraud in order to immigrate and occupy land there.

Xue Pan immediately wrote it down, thinking to himself, "I really didn't think of asking a few people to go back and give their accounts. I made a mistake!"

This method can be extended to the entire Southeast Asia region, allowing some people who have settled there to return home in glory, and encouraging more people from their hometowns to go to Southeast Asia, which will surely create a new trend of people going to Southeast Asia.

Jia Lian also emphasized: "We must ensure the safety of these people returning home in glory! Otherwise, they might fall prey to local villains who would try to steal their money and kill them, which would be undesirable."

After dismissing Xue Pan, Jia Lian quietly considered the situation from a holistic perspective. The most pressing matter now was to promote widespread industrialization in the inland regions, which seemed difficult at present, but the coastal areas had already been affected. Among them, the ports of Tianjin, Songjiang, and Guangzhou were developing the fastest. The slow development in other areas was entirely due to the backwardness of industry and commerce caused by geographical factors.

People are path-dependent. It's extremely difficult to get landlords who are used to collecting rent to engage in industry without seeing any tangible benefits.

Fortunately, now that there is a stock exchange, Jia Lian's next plan is to drag even more people down with him.

How to get involved? It's simple. The R&D department has so many companies. First, launch a steel group and give each province a certain percentage of shares. Let the whole world know that this can make money.

Once this new shareholding group is successfully launched, the next step will be the listing of stocks of military industrial groups, or other groups. At that time, it will be like fishing with bait, with more and more people taking the bait.

Your money is in my hands, and I can even help you make money. Does my word carry weight?
(End of this chapter)