Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 613 Impeachment of the Cabinet
"The new province is too far away. The Empress Dowager's love for her son cannot be ignored!" After Li Yuan became wary, he naturally could not blindly follow the cabinet's suggestions.

This has always been the case with imperial power: anyone or any group that threatens imperial power will be regarded as an enemy or a potential enemy.

It's not important what the cabinet members think; what's important is that they reach a consensus!

At this juncture, the emperor must, and inevitably will, voice his opinion; otherwise, he would be a fool. Explicit opposition is inappropriate in this situation, as it is a meeting where the emperor seeks advice and the cabinet ministers offer suggestions at his request. Therefore, Empress Dowager Zhou becomes a suitable focal point to divert attention.

Li Yuan's words caught the cabinet ministers somewhat off guard. Their pre-arranged strategy assumed the emperor wouldn't object. The new province was far enough, a vast desert and sea; sending it to Li Heng would mean facing the Xining Kingdom on the other side, with both sides vying for limited resources. With both sides under restrictions, wasn't this a good solution?

It can only be said that these cabinet ministers are first-rate at infighting. Their suggestions also pleased Li Yuan, but his only concern was the cabinet's unanimous opinion, which made Li Heng feel threatened.

"Your Majesty, what is the Empress Dowager's opinion?" Sensing the change in atmosphere, Li Qing, with his keen sense of internal power struggles, decisively stood up to seek the emperor's opinion.

"Too far is definitely not an option!" Li Yuan had no choice but to agree, even though he hadn't actually decided on a specific location.

The cabinet ministers looked at each other, and no one stepped forward to try to influence the emperor's decision. Lin Ruhai stood up and said, "This matter involves a prince, so we need to discuss it carefully before making any suggestions."

It can only be said that Li Heng's identity is very special, and both Li Yuan and the cabinet treat him with great care.

The root of the problem lies with Emperor Chenghui, whose posthumous title was "Ren" (仁). Li Yuan, who inherited his will, dared not go too far, lest he be criticized by the people.

"No need. Right now, gentlemen, come up with a few proposals, and I will let the Empress Dowager choose one." Li Yuan did not give the cabinet ministers a chance to go back and discuss, wanting to seize the initiative.

Seeing that they couldn't go back to discuss the matter, the cabinet ministers had no choice but to speak freely.

Pan Jixun advocated that Li Heng could remain in the capital, and his position could be transferred to the Court of State Ceremonial, where he would be in charge of foreign affairs. The post he held during the late emperor's reign should be abolished. With him in the capital, the Empress Dowager wouldn't be able to object.

After Li Yuan signaled for it to be recorded, he let the officials continue.

Fang Song still insisted on enfeoffing Fengxin Province, and the cabinet ministers could not go back on their word. The Empress Dowager was dissatisfied, but the Emperor was aware of the situation.

Yue Qi proposed granting him the title of Prince Yu, with his actual fiefdom being Luoyang, neither too far nor too near. He assumed the Empress Dowager wouldn't have much of an objection.

Li Yuan understood the implication in his words: he had managed to offend neither side. What he meant was that Henan was where the land tax reform was implemented, and officials at all levels had been purged, so the cabinet could keep it under control.

Li Qingze believed that since His Majesty upheld benevolence and filial piety, Li Heng's enfeoffment could be put on hold for now. He could remain in the capital to compile the "Veritable Records of Emperor Renzong," and further arrangements could be made after the book was completed.

The cabinet leaders had prepared contingency plans beforehand, and the three alternatives they presented were all quite significant.

Li Yuan immediately saw that the cabinet had already discussed Li Heng's matter and made ample preparations. They first proposed the idea of ​​establishing new provinces; if the emperor didn't object, everyone would be happy; if he objected, they would present three contingency plans for the emperor to choose from. This approach might not be effective against Emperor Chenghui, but it was more than enough to deal with Li Yuan.

Li Yuan's biggest problem was his lack of prestige. So when faced with the cabinet's three contingency plans, he could only indicate that they were enough to be recorded and used to deal with the Empress Dowager.

After the meeting, Li Yuan felt something was amiss and summoned Jia Lian.

During the audience, after Li Yuan recounted the proceedings of the cabinet meeting, Jia Lian immediately expressed his displeasure, saying, "Your Majesty is muddle-headed. Emperor Taizu decreed that the empress dowager should not interfere in politics. How can the Empress Dowager have any say in this matter? The capital is the central hub of the empire. Whether a prince stays or leaves is a matter for Your Majesty to decide. I would like to see who dares to speak out against this!"

Li Yuan was a little confused by what he had just said; why were Jia Lian and the cabinet ministers reacting differently?

"In that case, what should I do?" Li Yuan asked again.

Jia Lian said, "Your Majesty should make decisions independently. I will go back now and submit a memorial to impeach the cabinet for their lack of responsibility and disregard for Your Majesty's reliance on them. They are afraid of offending the Empress Dowager and getting into trouble, but I am not afraid of offending them."

Li Yuan was completely bewildered and didn't understand what this meant for a moment. When Jia Lian asked to take his leave, he instinctively agreed.

After Jia Lian left, Li Yuancai asked Hu Min beside him, "The master seems very angry!"

Hu Min whispered, "Your Majesty, the gentleman is angry with the cabinet ministers." He could only say half of this, not the whole thing, otherwise, a mere eunuch could be killed by the Empress Dowager with a single word.

Li Yuan then understood what Jia Lian meant and immediately became angry. Weren't these old fogies in the cabinet trying to fool me? Why didn't you point it out on the spot that the empress dowager should not interfere in politics?
At the same time, Li Heng also vaguely felt that Jia Lian was somewhat angry at his lack of self-control. As the emperor, how could he not have any decisiveness and make decisions on the spot at the cabinet meeting?

Upon returning, Jia Lian submitted a memorial impeaching all the cabinet officials, including everyone else.

"The Empress Dowager's love for her son is understandable. You gentlemen were deeply trusted by the late Emperor and assisted His Majesty in governing. Why didn't you point this out at the cabinet meeting when the Empress Dowager interfered in state affairs? You have no sense of responsibility as cabinet ministers!"

This memorial was sent out through the Office of Transmission to the Cabinet. After the Cabinet ministers read it, they immediately went to the Emperor. Then, the five Cabinet ministers had no temper at all and submitted a memorial to apologize.

This news shocked the world!

It can be said that this is the first time since the founding of the Great Zhou that a minister has submitted a memorial to the cabinet, which has been completely overthrown, and the cabinet has not put up any resistance.

The cabinet members all gave similar reasons for their apologies, essentially saying they had overlooked the established rules set forth by the founding emperor and placed too much emphasis on human sentiment. This led to a situation where personal feelings outweighed established rules, which was indeed a mistake, and they admitted their guilt!
Li Yuan took the three suggestions from the cabinet to Cining Palace, met with the Empress Dowager, and told her about the cabinet meeting and Jia Lian's impeachment of the cabinet.

In fact, the Empress Dowager had already heard the news, so when Li Yuan asked her to choose one, she said angrily, "Emperor Taizu decreed that the empress dowager should not interfere in politics."

Li Yuan sensed the Empress Dowager's anger and patiently comforted her, saying, "Your Majesty, Lord Jia's memorial, while seemingly emphasizing that the empress dowager should not interfere in politics, is actually intended to help me to more firmly grasp the reins of power."

Hearing this, the Empress Dowager, who was still angry, immediately realized what was going on and looked at Li Yuan, who had a troubled expression, and said, "I've put the Emperor in a difficult position!"

Li Yuan laughed and said, "It's not difficult at all. Since I ascended the throne, I have been worried day and night, fearing that the prosperous era left by my father would be ruined in my hands. If that really happens, I will be guilty of a great crime."

The Empress Dowager glanced at him and said, "The Emperor can decide this matter. I am tired and need to rest." Li Yuan got up and left. As he walked out of Cining Palace, he felt a surge of joy and walked with a light step. He finally understood Jia Lian's good intentions.

One memorial, three goals at once. It resolved Li Heng's arrangements, put pressure on the cabinet, and silenced the Empress Dowager.

What defines a loyal subject? This is the perfect answer!

The Chinese people like compromise, and Li Yuan was no exception. After returning home, he thought it over and over again and reviewed the apology memorials of the five cabinet ministers. He wrote, "My dear ministers, you understand the kinship of the imperial family and are considerate of my heart. Let's not mention these minor faults."

That's what they say, but even a "minor mistake" is still a mistake. If we let it go now, we can take it out and stir-fry it again when needed, add some other seasonings, and it will be a completely different dish.

Li Yuan decided on Li Heng's arrangement: he would enfeoff Li Heng as the Prince of Yu, with Luoyang as his fief. It wasn't far anyway; once the railway was completed, it would only be a day's journey.

Upon receiving Li Yuan's imperial edict, the cabinet acted swiftly and decisively.

Furthermore, an additional clause was added to the imperial edict, stipulating that Li Heng should be enfeoffed within ten days. The governor of Henan and the prefect of Luoyang were immediately urged to settle Li Heng as quickly as possible.

In fact, the cabinet did not have much objection to the placement of Li Heng; the fact that he remained in the capital was a potential problem.

After Jia Lian impeached the cabinet, things returned to normal, and he went directly to Zhangjiakou to oversee the construction of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway.

The biggest challenge of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway is, of course, climbing mountains. They also encountered the problem of insufficient locomotive power, making tunneling impossible due to current technology limitations.

What to do? The technocrats were so anxious they were practically bald from exhaustion. In the end, Jia Lian called a meeting to discuss how to solve the technical problem.

At the meeting, Liu Chuan reiterated that the locomotive's horsepower was insufficient, making it too difficult to cross the mountain, and suggested adopting a detour. This was also the mainstream opinion of the railway bureau's technical department.

Jia Lian looked at the proposal handed to him from below, remaining silent for a long time. Finally, he stood up, walked to the wall, picked up a piece of chalk, and drew the character "人" (person) on the blackboard.

Then, pointing to the blackboard, he said, “If one locomotive can’t pull it, then use two. One pulls from the front, and the other pushes from the back. Here I want to criticize you all. When problems arise, you should try to solve them first, instead of avoiding them. It’s not that technical difficulties can’t be avoided and we can wait for technological advancements to solve them, but rather that you have developed a fear of difficulties, which is unacceptable. Also, when facing a problem, if you can’t get through it head-on, why not look at it from a different angle? Don’t give up too early.”

Jia Lian's proposal had an enlightening effect. The technical bureaucrats present were initially delighted, but later felt ashamed and bowed their heads in admiration.

Liu Chuan immediately stood up and expressed that, as a vice minister, he had failed to fulfill his duty of leading everyone to find a solution to the technical problem.

Jia Lian reassured everyone, saying, "Don't get stuck on problems. When we encounter difficulties, we can always find a solution by pooling our wisdom and efforts. Didn't we solve the problem with the Yellow River Bridge? We'll face many more challenges in future construction, not just engineering problems, but also material problems. For example, the grade of cement is clearly insufficient right now. We need to find ways to solve the technical problems and produce higher quality cement. Once we solve the cement problem, we can use tunneling for construction in mountainous areas. The technological advancement of railways cannot stop, otherwise we will be overtaken by the West."

These words rekindled everyone's fighting spirit, and they threw themselves into the project with renewed confidence.

In recent years, the development of practical science has brought about a lot of technological progress, solving many technical problems that were previously difficult to solve.

Jia Lian spent half a month in Zhangjiakou eating sand before returning to Beijing. Before he could even settle in, new news forced him to get busy again.

The news was that the Nanyang Fleet had seized a ship transporting opium at Lijiapo. After interrogation, it was determined that the ship's destination was Annam (Vietnam). Subsequently, the Nanyang Fleet informed the Zongli Yamen (Foreign Ministry) of this, which in turn informed Annam and Guangzhou. The Guangdong governor took this very seriously and immediately dispatched the new army to launch a sweep of the surrounding prefectures and counties of Guangzhou.

This operation dismantled an opium smuggling network, resulting in the arrest of over 500 people. Interrogation revealed a new smuggling route: from India to Annam (Vietnam), then via Macau. The source of the smuggling was quickly identified as the infamous Sassoon family.

After reviewing the intelligence, Jia Lian submitted a memorial that very night, discussing two matters. First, regarding the ban on opium, he argued that the existing laws were too lenient and that new laws with harsher punishments should be enacted. Second, concerning Macau, he stressed that it could no longer be ignored and must be reclaimed. Regarding Macau, Jia Lian further pointed out that the colonialists had used deception to lease Macau from the Ming Dynasty, and the current dynasty, with its magnanimity, had not pursued the matter. However, the Macau colonists were not grateful; instead, they aided and abetted the colonists, driven solely by profit. Now, it was time to forcefully reclaim Macau!

The cabinet took the Guangdong governor's memorial seriously and held a meeting to discuss how to handle it. The proposed solution was relatively mild.

Li Qing, who was in charge of the Ministry of Rites, advocated notifying the British minister to issue a stern warning, and at the same time demanding that the authorities in Southeast Asia and Guangdong crack down on smuggling.

It can be said that this sense of propriety was approved by the cabinet members. They all believed it to be polite, respectful, and neither servile nor arrogant.

The meeting had just ended when Jia Lian's memorial came in through the Office of Transmission. The cabinet ministers were completely baffled after reading it!

We haven't even mentioned Macau yet, and you want to retake Macau?
Lin Ruhai quickly convened a meeting, fearing that the controversy surrounding Jia Lian's impeachment of him hadn't died down yet, and that it wouldn't happen again.

Speaking of the impeachment by Jia Lian, the cabinet members were still a little angry. However, after Jia Lian impeached them, he went to Zhangjiakou and didn't return for half a month.

They just got back and now another tough one comes along. Who can stand this?

Even the good-natured Pan Jixun complained, "This proposal is unacceptable. How can we so easily start a war?"

Li Qing also said, "That Portuguese envoy was quite respectful. We can't punish Portugal just because the British made a mistake, can we?"

Fang Song really wanted to retort, "Aren't the Portuguese right?" But he thought better of it and didn't say anything, after all, he had been impeached last time as well.

Yue Qi was tempted; he even felt that he would be happy if the Ministry of War took the lead in this operation. However, he dared not reveal his true intentions and chose to remain silent.

Seeing that the opposition was numerous and powerful, Lin Ruhai also had a lot of opinions about his unfilial son-in-law who had launched a surprise attack, so he agreed with everyone's views.

The memorials submitted to the emperor contained numerous objections.

When Li Yuan saw that it was Jia Lian's memorial, he naturally read it carefully first, and then looked at the cabinet's comments and attachments. After reading them, Li Yuan did not rush to approve them, but instead sent someone to summon Jia Lian.

(End of this chapter)