Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 617 Exclusion
Things that are easily obtained are often not cherished; this is true between people, and even more so between nations.

Ibrahim believed that Jalian was not lying, because there was absolutely no need for it. Besides, what country doesn't have internal struggles?
Wherever people gather, there will be internal conflicts.

After Ibrahim took his leave, the mission rested for a few days before continuing its journey north by ship.

After arriving in Tianjin by sea and disembarking, Ibrahim introduced the railway to the members of the delegation, explaining that it was a steam locomotive unique to the Great Zhou Empire, capable of running day and night.

The mission members had already uttered enough exclamations along the way, and were practically numb to them, yet they still gasped in amazement when they saw the train on the tracks.

The officials of the Court of State Ceremonial were relatively polite to the delegation, and as usual, they had them quarantined near the dock for half a month.

The Court of State Ceremonial, as the beneficiary of the relevant regulations formulated by Jia Lian, resolutely implemented them.

Ibrahim communicated frequently with members of the mission throughout the journey, hoping that everyone could reach a unified understanding and achieve the purpose of this visit.

The mission members were initially very arrogant, but after landing, they all became self-conscious.

Many people used to think that the Eastern Empire was too arrogant. They thought, "So what if they sold some weapons to the Ottomans?" But after landing, the food, lodging, and everything they saw and heard made these people depressed.

During the quarantine period, none of these people complained; instead, they were all worried about this mission.

What the previous emperor was enthusiastic about may not be what the current emperor will like.

Two weeks later, the delegation boarded the train, and everything along the way deepened the members' sense of inferiority. Everyone was relieved that the Eastern Empire was far away and did not have much ambition.

Muhammad's term as resident minister had expired, and he came specifically to receive the delegation and introduce his successor to the work in the capital.

When discussing the new emperor Li Yuan, Muhammad noted that the new emperor of the Zhou Empire adopted a more assertive attitude towards foreign powers. He pointed to the experiences of the British and Portuguese as evidence of this.

After a conversation with Muhammad, Ibrahim further confirmed Jia Lian's statement, which also deepened his concerns about the mission.

Both men agreed that they must seize the current window of opportunity presented by the chaos in Europe to improve domestic reforms, thereby achieving the goal of strengthening the nation and its military to cope with the next invasion from Europe.

Previously, the Ottoman Empire generally aspired to Europe. After coming into contact with the Eastern empire, a trend gradually emerged that relied on the East to achieve national strength, and this trend became a mainstream ideology.

None of the members of the delegation had the opportunity to meet Emperor Li Yuan. After a day of rest, Ibrahim and Muhammad met with Li Yuan together.

After presenting his credentials, Ibrahim expressed his intention to deepen cooperation between the two countries.

Li Yuan made no comment on this, said a few polite words, and sent them home without even offering them a meal.

After the meeting, Li Yuan summoned cabinet members and the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies to discuss the matter.

The cabinet was not in agreement, and even engaged in heated debates.

The two sides in the debate were represented by Fang Song and Li Qing. The former argued that the policies established by the late emperor should continue to be implemented and strengthened, while the latter believed that the late emperor's policies were not problematic, but the Ottoman Empire was making too many demands, so how could they transfer the technology they had acquired?

Both sides stuck to their own arguments and argued endlessly, neither able to convince the other.

Li Yuan had gotten used to it by now. Often, the arguments between cabinet ministers weren't just about arguing; they might be about gaining control or opposing for the sake of opposing.

For some reason, Li Yuan felt very irritated watching these cabinet ministers talking so enthusiastically, and couldn't help but think of Jia Lian.

If you were here, how would you instruct me?

Li Yuan was a little distracted, looking up at the ceiling, the noise around him no longer bothering him.

Suddenly, all was quiet. Li Yuan looked down and saw that the ministers had stopped arguing.

"Ahem!" Li Yuan coughed, and only after everyone looked over did he say, "Let's disperse!"

After saying this, Li Yuan got up and left. Lin Ruhai got up to see him off, and the others followed.

Back in the Qianqing Palace, Li Yuan thought it over and decided to write a letter to Jia Lian to ask for his opinion.

As for the cabinet, let them keep arguing! The government's affairs are resolved through constant bickering.

In my husband's words, arguing is good for your health!

Li Yuan did not lack the desire to rule independently; rather, he had only recently assumed personal rule and had not yet fully grasped control of the court, still in the learning phase.

It must be said that Li Yuan was very patient, but his patience was also limited, which is why he needed to consult Jia Lian.

Jia Lian, far away in Guangzhou, has been quite free lately. The Wang family hasn't replied yet, but Jia Lian isn't in a hurry. For now, he's slowly gathering information and intelligence. When the time is right, he'll strike hard against smuggling along the coast, mainly opium smuggling, with other smuggling incidental.

The evacuation from Macau is still ongoing, with one or two ships leaving every day. To save trouble, the Governor of Macau specifically instructed Jia Lian's men to oversee the loading of the ships, so as to avoid the hassle of inspections at sea.

Xue Pan soon brought news that Sassoon was hiding in India and his whereabouts were difficult to determine. He asked whether to send someone ashore to kill him.

Jia Lian said there was no need to take risks, but instead told Xue Pan to be wary of squid during his business dealings. He said that such people could be done business with, but not to become close friends with.

The reason is also very strong: these people are well-versed in human nature, are only interested in profit, and will stop at nothing to do things. We must be very careful when we come into contact with them.

As I said before, doing business is fine, don't overthink it.

Jia Lian instructed Xue Pan to increase the smuggling of weapons to India, as it would certainly be beneficial to give the various local warlords more power to resist.

The East India Company was now colonizing the area, and it almost went out of business. The British government intervened and stabilized the situation.

Therefore, we shouldn't give Britain, this troublemaker, a chance; we should strike first and stir things up.

India has a history of major uprisings, and Jia Lian hopes this one will be even more intense. Also, the Portuguese in Goa are currently facing difficulties. Of course, business can continue, but they've lost their foothold in Macau.

The Portuguese were quite unfortunate. First, they were beaten by the British, and even kneeling down to become Britain's lackeys didn't help. They could only struggle to survive.

This is probably the tragedy of small countries!

When Li Yuan's letter arrived in Guangzhou, Jia Lian received the messenger, the Imperial Guard. After reading the secret letter in his study, Jia Lian stayed up all night and wrote a reply.

Unlike cabinet ministers who always argued based on the domestic situation, Jia Lian analyzed the matter from a global perspective.

First, let's discuss the history of the Ottoman Empire, then its geopolitical importance, and analyze the situation after clarifying these points. The conclusion is that the world today is dominated by two powers: the Zhou Empire in the east and Europe in the west. With the advent of the maritime age, the importance of controlling the seas has been elevated to the highest level. The benefits brought by the oceans are a nation's most important external supplement. Therefore, it is clear that there will inevitably be a time when East and West vie for maritime dominance, which will inevitably erupt into fierce conflict, unless the Zhou Empire abandons its interests and closes itself off to await the day when the West comes knocking.

From this perspective, the region at the crossroads of Eurasia is particularly important. If these countries become powerful, they will inevitably restrain the major European powers, preventing them from fully expanding outwards.

Of these, the Ottomans and Persia were the most strategically important, and both were enemies of Tsarist Russia. This is why they sought a foothold in the Persian Gulf.

In conclusion, providing some assistance to these two countries to make them stronger would be beneficial to the Zhou Empire in the long run.

Regarding the matter of technology transfer, Jia Lian frankly stated that the Zhou Empire's current lead in military technology is temporary. Due to ongoing wars, Europe, based on the Enlightenment, has seen rapid development in practical science and technology, and will surely experience a technological explosion in the future, catching up with the Zhou Empire's leading advantage.

Instead of worrying about technology outflow, we should be more concerned about the speed of domestic technological progress. Therefore, we must not only strengthen cooperation between our two countries but also accelerate academic exchanges with the West to understand Western technology. Jia Lian therefore suggests that students study in Europe and that European students be invited to study in China.

Jia Lian emphasized that it was crucial to seize the window of opportunity presented by the European wars to accelerate the immigration process and thoroughly assimilate the existing colonies in Southeast Asia. This would give the Zhou Empire, controlling Lijiapo, ample time to develop and ensure it wouldn't fall behind in this era of great competition. Of course, as the proactive party, they couldn't rush things; they needed to delay to make the Ottomans realize how hard-won this achievement was.

Finally, Jia Lian emphasized that there was no need to rush the internal governance issues. At this stage, the cabinet should be given full play, and His Majesty only needs to make requests.

The reply was sent back to the capital as quickly as possible. After reading it immediately, Li Yuan fell into deep thought.

Li Yuan understood. Jia Lian's core idea was to not rush things, to not rush anything. Stop, observe carefully, and then make a decision.

Although Jia Lian did not say it explicitly, Li Yuan still understood the key point: as the ruler of a country, the consequences of any decision he made were nationwide.

So if the cabinet wants to argue, then let them keep arguing. Wait until they come to a conclusion, and if you're not satisfied, just send it back and let them keep arguing.

As for domestic affairs, we should first address the issue of official corruption. If the problem of official corruption is not improved, any policy will be distorted when it is implemented.

In reality, it's impossible for any policy to be implemented without distortion. From top to bottom, various stakeholders will exert effort to ensure the policy's implementation benefits themselves.

Since ascending the throne, Li Yuan's deepest feeling has been that being an emperor is not easy. Just the group of people under his nose alone are difficult to balance in terms of internal interests.

Be patient, you absolutely must be patient. The capital is not Southeast Asia, and the emperor is not a minister from Southeast Asia.

Having thoroughly grasped the concept, Li Yuan appeared remarkably calm at the next meeting. He allowed the cabinet to debate the matter thoroughly first, regardless of the issue.

Sure enough, the latest cabinet meeting has erupted into another argument, and it even involves Jia Lian.

The incident began when the Guangdong Circuit Censor submitted a memorial impeaching Cui Cheng, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, for disrespecting the Imperial Commissioner and disobeying imperial orders!

During the cabinet meeting, Fang Song suddenly launched a surprise attack, targeting Cui Cheng.

Li Qing was furious and immediately retaliated. A high-ranking official of the second rank, being brought to the cabinet for a trivial impeachment?

Li Yuan became quite interested in this, listening intently to the two arguing, and even asked for a copy of the essay to read it carefully. He also managed to figure out the reason behind the argument.

The memorial submitted by the Guangdong Circuit Censor was, as usual, forwarded to Fang Song after being sent to the Office of Transmission. Under normal circumstances, Fang Song should have discussed it with everyone, rather than presenting it to the emperor at a cabinet meeting.

Recently, Fang Song and Li Qing have been going against each other at every turn, and today they suddenly came up with something ruthless.

The memorial clearly explained Jia Lian's trip south, and then impeached Cui Cheng, who initially went to Guangxi under a pretext, but then stayed in Guilin claiming illness. Ironically, the "ill" Cui Cheng spent his days in Guilin sightseeing, drinking, and making merry. This was hardly illness; it was clearly disrespect for the imperial envoy, avoiding him, and defying orders.

Fang Song's reason for doing this is quite simple: the conflict between him and Li Qing has recently escalated. The root of the problem lies in personnel matters. After the Vice Censor-in-Chief retired, Fang Song had his own recommended candidate, which Li Qing vehemently opposed, and he even recommended his own. This was quite excessive—planting people in the Censorate—wasn't that overstepping his bounds?
The two argued in the cabinet, while Lin Ruhai's attitude was ambiguous and he did not express his opinion, so the matter was temporarily delayed.

This infuriated Fang Song. The key issue was that Fang Song's foundation in the Inspectorate was not deep. Without Lin Ruhai's support, it would be difficult for him to completely control the Inspectorate.

Despite being a cabinet minister, Fang Song, who considered the Censorate his core support, was determined to become the Vice Censor-in-Chief. Li Qing's interference naturally prompted a strong counterattack from Fang Song.

From Lin Ruhai's perspective, there's no harm in these two arguing; he can mediate after some time has passed.

As a result, Fang Song felt an extremely strong sense of crisis and immediately reacted drastically.

Just then, Jia Lian was in Guangzhou, and the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi avoided seeing him. After learning about this through the Guangdong Circuit Censor, Fang Song immediately instructed the Censor to impeach Cui Cheng.

Li Yuan was happy to watch other things, but when it involved Jia Lian, he couldn't take it lightly.

After listening to the two argue for a while and figuring out what had happened, Li Yuan glanced at Lin Ruhai without making a sound.

It's important to understand that Lin Ruhai wielded immense power within the Censorate. After joining the cabinet, he oversaw the Ministry of Personnel. Although Emperor Chenghui later implemented changes that prohibited cabinet ministers from concurrently serving as ministers of various ministries, the seemingly low-profile Lin Ruhai actually possessed astonishing power. In contrast, Li Qing, who had concurrently served as Minister of Rites and now oversaw the Ministry of Revenue, had firmly established himself as the second-highest-ranking official in the cabinet.

Although Fang Song was a cabinet minister, his actual support mainly came from the Censorate and the late emperor. In other words, if the cabinet was to be considered unstable, Fang Song would be the first to be mentioned.

Li Yuan silently did some calculations in his mind. Jia Lian was bound to enter the cabinet. With his term coming to an end, he could squeeze Fang Song out. Could it be said that the chief minister and the second minister would both be happy to see that?

Once you grasp the analytical methods, this power struggle within the cabinet is surprisingly not complicated.

Li Yuan mentally gave Jia Lian another thumbs up! He taught her so well!

(End of this chapter)