Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 614 Expulsion

When Jia Lian arrived at the Qianqing Palace, Li Yuan showed him the cabinet's opinions. Jia Lian sighed and said, "The cabinet members have a broad vision and a far-sighted perspective. I am no match for them!"

Li Yuan wasn't stupid; he could tell there was a hidden meaning in those words, and Li Yuan was seething with resentment. He quickly smiled and tried to appease him: "I still want to hear your opinion, sir!"

Jia Lian then continued: "The cabinet ministers have long neglected the people's plight, and what they hear is limited to their two or three close associates. Over time, what they see and hear is no different from being deaf and blind. Even if they occasionally learn of the people's suffering, they quickly forget it, which does not prevent them from holding high positions and enjoying wealth and honor. Furthermore, it is normal for me to have some resentment after impeaching the cabinet."

After hearing these words, Li Yuan fell into deep thought. Although he didn't know what an information cocoon was, he could imagine that what he heard and saw was likely something others were doing for him.

From his early days observing and participating in government affairs to his current leadership, Li Yuan has experienced a great deal over the years. Jia Lian's criticism of the cabinet ministers for being oblivious to the suffering of the people was subtle yet truthful.

"Your words have given me much to think about!" Li Yuan exclaimed.

Jia Lian smiled humbly: "Your Majesty flatters me. All matters under heaven boil down to profit. The cabinet and all officials in the country have the responsibility to assist Your Majesty in sharing the profits. In this matter, smuggling loses the country's tax revenue, and opium is even more harmful. Putting aside these two, the existence of Macau alone is like having a section of the Forbidden City demolished to build a shop for trade. This is a disgrace to the dynasty, but some pedantic people in the previous and current dynasties have one-sidedly emphasized the land of etiquette and benevolent education, delaying it until now. I believe it is time to set things right."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan nodded and said, "What you say makes sense, sir. I think Portugal is also an impolite country, mistaking the tolerance of our Celestial Empire for weakness. This matter shall be handled according to your wishes, sir."

Jia Lian didn't say much, thanked the emperor, and took his leave.

Li Yuan summoned Lin Ruhai and Li Qing, and pointing to Jia Lian's memorial, said: "Portugal is but a small, insignificant country, yet it dares to harbor smugglers; this is blatant defiance of the Celestial Empire. The Cabinet shall draft a memorial, ordering the recapture of Macau within a specified time and the expulsion of these insolent individuals. Furthermore, the Governor of Guangdong shall be ordered to intensify the crackdown on opium smuggling and sales, and all offenders shall be severely punished without exception. The Governor of Guangdong is authorized to act expediently and deal with these cases swiftly and severely!"

Lin Ruhai and Li Qing looked at each other. Neither of them was fully prepared to disagree. Li Yuan was over thirty years old, in the prime of his life, and not the kind of emperor who was easily fooled.

Not to mention, Li Yuanzheng, who had only recently ascended the throne, was in a sensitive period, and any disobedience could be remembered by him and punished later.

"Your Majesty, we obey!" Lin Ruhai didn't think much of it and immediately bowed his head to do as he was told. Li Qing echoed his words.

Li Yuan nodded in satisfaction, feeling extremely pleased. This incident once again demonstrated the monstrous nature of imperial power, rather than the cabinet making the decision and then sending it to the emperor for his seal.

Since ascending the throne, the cautious Li Yuan had only experienced the thrill of imperial power suppressing the cabinet when Jia Lian impeached the cabinet; this was only the second time.

After the two cabinet elders left, Li Yuan walked back with a pleasant smile on his face, his hands behind his back, and couldn't help but share with Hu Min, "Truly worthy of being called a gentleman!"

"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, what sets Lord Jia apart from other ministers is his lack of selfishness." Hu Min understood Li Yuan, and what he said was exactly what Li Yuan wanted to hear.

Li Yuan shook his head with his hands behind his back and said, "No, no. The master never hides that he has selfish motives, but public interest comes first and selfish motives come later."

Lin Ruhai and Li Qing were in a bad mood. Upon returning to the cabinet, they convened a meeting to convey the emperor's decree. Fang Song couldn't help but complain, "Buqi really knows how to stir up trouble. The relaxed and pleasant atmosphere of the cabinet three months ago is gone forever." Everyone felt a bit heavy-hearted upon hearing this. When Emperor Chenghui had just passed away, the new emperor was quite dependent on the cabinet and granted all their requests regarding government affairs.

At that time, the cabinet members truly felt they held immense power and could do whatever they wanted.

Even the kind-hearted Pan Jixun harbored resentment, saying, "We can't let Jia Buqi get away with this so easily; we have to find him something to do."

Father-in-law Lin Ruhai nodded in agreement: "That's right, it's better for this guy to stay away, out of sight, out of mind."

That being said, the cabinet dared not go too far. Li Qing cautiously suggested, "Regarding the matter of Macau, instead of submitting a memorial to the emperor, it would be better to send him as an imperial envoy to make the trip, so as to avoid any further setbacks."

Yue Qi immediately chimed in, "That's exactly right!"

The cabinet quickly reached a consensus, and a detailed charter was soon drafted. Jia Lian was appointed as the imperial commissioner and personally went to Guangzhou to handle matters related to Macau caused by opium smuggling.

After the draft of the articles of association was completed, Lin Ruhai read it carefully and hesitated for a moment before adding: "Let me add one more sentence: focus on one thing at a time and do not be distracted by others."

Fang Song said in a low voice, "Let's just forget about it?"

Li Qing was also still shaken: "It would be better not to do anything!"

Pan Jixun said, "As an imperial envoy, one has the responsibility to inspect on behalf of Heaven."

Lin Ruhai had no choice but to give up. As for what Jia Lian might find objectionable on his trip, that would be a matter for several months later.

For now, it's best to get him out of the capital as soon as possible to avoid causing any more trouble.

The cabinet's charter was formally presented to the emperor. Li Yuan couldn't help but want to curse after reading it, but he held back.

It wouldn't hurt for Jia Lian to go and see what's going on in Southeast Asia and Guangdong, given the distance!
Li Yuan agreed to the cabinet's regulations, and Jia Lian, after receiving the order, had no objections and readily went to the palace to meet the emperor.

Li Yuan waited a long time, so he specially asked Hu Min to get a gold-inlaid jade plaque to give to Jia Lian. From now on, he wouldn't have to wait to enter the palace; he could enter at any time with the plaque.

This time, instead of a decree of authority, a simple imperial edict was given, which was sufficient.

Jia Lian went home and gave some instructions, telling his men to pack and prepare for departure. The night before his departure, Zijuan, Daiyu's maid, came with a bundle, saying she couldn't bear to see her leave. Jia Lian also took Xiangling and Siqi with him. Before leaving, he specifically warned Wang, Lin, and Xue not to send anyone to Jia Lian's side in the future. That was all.

This trip was easier for Jia Lian than before. He could take the train to Xuzhou, then take a boat along the canal to Yangzhou, and then board a ship in Songjiang to travel south, which would save him five days of travel time.

Even so, it would still take twenty days to travel south.

Upon arriving in Songjiang Prefecture, Jia Lian didn't rest. He changed into casual clothes and went to the port to take a look. Due to the development of maritime trade, this small county town already resembled the Shanghai of later generations.

The Yangtze River, a high-quality waterway, has begun to take off. The economy of the lower reaches was already the best in the country, and it has developed rapidly since the opening of the sea.

In the developed coastal areas led by Songjiang and Suzhou, the textile industry became the driving force. Traveling westward along the Yangtze River, the high-quality, low-priced cotton fabric had a significant impact on the economies of both banks.

The traditional model of men farming and women weaving has shown some signs of wavering in the face of large-scale machine production.

Jia Lian had seen many similar reports, but it was something he couldn't do. The best way for inland provinces to resist the encroachment of cotton fabric from the Yangtze River Delta was to open their own factories.

The biggest obstacle for the machine textile industry right now is raw materials. Merchants in Suzhou and Songjiang are searching everywhere for cotton. It is said that some people have already started experimenting with planting cotton on saline-alkali land in northern Jiangsu.

This reminded Jia Lian of the last top scholar in the imperial examination at the end of the Qing Dynasty!
This is a good thing; the people spontaneously came up with ways to solve the cotton shortage, which is a good thing. The introduction of cheaper cotton cloth into the market has the advantage of making it cheaper for ordinary people, but the downside is that many housewives' cloth will become less competitive. Jia Lian could only pretend not to see the chain reaction that ensued. Frankly speaking, without industrialization, sooner or later the Western powers would be at our doorstep with their warships.

After boarding at the port of Songjiang Prefecture, the official ship sailed south, escorted by two warships. When it docked in Xiamen for resupply, three warships from the Nanyang Fleet arrived to welcome Jia Lian.

Fleet Commander Cai Shiba made a special trip to Jia Lian's ship to pay his respects.

In a good mood, Jia Lian set up a tea table on the deck and invited him to sit down, have some tea, and chat about recent events.

Cai Shiba first mentioned two things. One was copper coins. After the problems at the Yunnan copper mines, the authorities in Southeast Asia were ordered to urge ships from South America to increase the import of copper ingots. The imperial court also relaxed its policies on copper coin minting, establishing official mints in Guangzhou and Nanjing to mint copper coins in both cities. The other thing was Japan. Although the shogunate lost a lot of people, it unexpectedly alleviated internal conflicts and pressures. With its rule more stable, it turned around and began to engage in the human trade.

The copper coin issue was relatively straightforward, since Guangzhou and Nanjing were both economic and cultural centers of their respective regions. Local minting of coins would greatly benefit economic development and accelerate the government's efforts to recover silver from the people.

The human trafficking was exactly what Jia Lian had expected. The Japanese high command truly didn't treat ordinary people as human beings.

At present, many ordinary Japanese people do not have surnames. They were only given surnames after being sold to Southeast Asia, in order to facilitate household registration.

After recounting these two matters, Cai Shiba brought up the opium smuggling case.

While Jia Lian was still in Guangzhou, the crackdown was quite strict, and the opium trade on the market was severely hampered, with very few transactions being seen.

After Jia Lian returned to the capital, although the local authorities continued to crack down on the crime, the intensity was not as great as before. In addition, the profits from this business were too high, and there were still many people who took the risk.

The most dangerous situation was in Annam, where opium was smuggled along the long coastline.

No matter how hard the South Sea Fleet tried to strike, it was difficult to eradicate the adventurous people at sea.

Also due to vested interests, some government officials in mainland China turn a blind eye to this.

Therefore, this is not just a matter for Macau alone, but also involves the affairs of the Annamese royal family.

This is just the maritime smuggling; there's also land-based smuggling. Now, not only along the coast, but also in Guangxi, Yunnan, and other places, there's opium smuggling. And there's another route: Myanmar.

Therefore, even if Lijiapo was defended, it would be difficult to completely stop the smuggling of opium.

Moreover, some local officials use this trade as a tool to amass wealth. It is indeed illegal on the surface, but the government doesn't care.

According to Cai Shiba, to his knowledge, some local officials are seasoned smokers.

Jia Lian did not immediately react upon hearing this, but listened calmly, believing that it was best to go to the local area to see the actual situation before making any decisions.

Cai Shiba mentioned an interesting phenomenon: officials in various parts of Southeast Asia were actually more proactive in cracking down on opium smuggling.

The reason is simple: for political achievements. All the deputies of the previous Nanyang Zongli Yamen have now been transferred back to the mainland to serve as officials by imperial decree of Li Yuan.

Those below saw an opportunity to return to the mainland to serve as officials, and thus became even more attentive to their duties. Ironically, it's quite a situation.

In Southeast Asia, thousands of miles away, a group of exiled officials are more motivated to return to the mainland to serve as officials.

Cai Shiba also said that these officials were actually quite wealthy and had many legal ways to make money in Southeast Asia.

The biggest problem in Southeast Asia right now is the conflict between immigrants and natives. The two sides often fight over land.

The officials of the Nanyang Zongli Yamen (Foreign Ministry) showed no respect for the locals and were ruthless in their pursuit of political achievements.

According to Cai Shiba, many indigenous tribes were driven out of Borneo to start over on more desolate islands, while many more were driven to hide in the mountains.

Therefore, the conflict between indigenous people and immigrants is now very acute. There are frictions of all sizes almost every day.

Jia Lian wasn't too worried about what Cai Shiba was talking about; these were things that were destined to happen when the decision to carry out large-scale immigration was made.

To put it bluntly, the indigenous men in South Asia are incredibly lazy. Those working in the fields are mostly women with towels wrapped around their heads for sun protection.

In contrast, immigrants from the mainland are incredibly hardworking. Once they've confirmed that the reclaimed land belongs to a private individual, they work like crazy.

Cai Shiba also mentioned an incident last month in Australia where tens of thousands of indigenous people besieged a colony. The colonists repelled the indigenous attack, killing and wounding thousands.

With Cai Shiba accompanying him, Jia Lian gained a deep understanding of recent events in Southeast Asia.

When the ship arrived in Guangzhou and the ship disembarked, Jia Lian had already gained a preliminary understanding of the situation in the entire region.

The Guangdong governor and his subordinates greeted him at the dock. The governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi was not seen because the current governor-general was on an inspection tour of Guangxi. It was unclear whether he was deliberately avoiding Jia Lian.

Jia Lian chose to stay at the Xue residence. After resting for a day, he received local officials to learn more about the situation and then read out the imperial edict.

Upon learning of the imperial decree to reclaim Macau, the local officials, led by the governor, were overjoyed. Earning merit in recent years had been incredibly difficult. This was practically handing it to them!
Jia Lian gave the order to surround Macau first.

This tiny place, now surrounded by land and water, has finally learned to be afraid.

When the Governor of Macau sent someone to inquire about the reason, the Governor of Guangdong sent the person away without Jia Lian even having to appear.

Because Macau was the first to violate the laws of the Celestial Empire by colluding with opium smugglers and aiding and abetting the people, the imperial court announced the termination of the lease agreement and gave them one month to get out.

If they don't leave by the deadline, the army will invade and leave them with nothing.

(End of this chapter)