Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 622 Making Money
Having experienced the vicissitudes of maritime trade in Southeast Asia, Li Yuan had a profound understanding of the importance of the navy.

Nevertheless, after returning to the capital and lying low for several years, Li Yuan, who had finally ascended to the throne, still chickened out at the crucial moment.

Today they dismantled the Ministry of War, will they dismantle the cabinet tomorrow? Anyone who thinks a little more will have this worry. Power is something you can never have too much of; having even a little is a matter of life and death.

Jia Lian wasn't being extravagant; he wasn't about to hand over the Nanyang Fleet he had built from scratch. There were things he simply couldn't keep to himself forever.

During the Self-Strengthening Movement, Li Hongzhang's Beiyang Fleet was built almost entirely outside the Ministry of War, effectively becoming a private army. Combined with the Huai Army, which Li Hongzhang had initially established, they became de facto warlords.

In the late Qing Dynasty, the Manchu ruling group lost control of local areas and was forced to decentralize military and financial power. Li Hongzhang, despite holding the title of Minister of Beiyang, commanded an army that formed its own independent force, beyond the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War. This situation was indeed caused by the historical context of the time.

Jia Lian faced a completely different Zhou Empire. First of all, it was legally sound, having been established under the Han dynasty. This environment did not allow him to act as a de facto warlord. While this might not have been a major issue in the South Seas, once he returned to the central government, he would have to act with legitimacy. That's why it was necessary to emphasize that the navy belonged to the imperial court and the navy to the royal family.

Li Yuan was quite pleased with the suggestion. The very name "Imperial Royal Navy" pleased him. Just from the name, he knew the navy was at the emperor's beck and call.

"The original Naval Office can be renamed the Royal Navy Office, with the Minister of the Navy holding the title of Minister of War, and two Vice Ministers under him. This would avoid disputes within the Ministry of War. In addition, a prince of the Imperial Family could be appointed as the Minister of the Navy, which would save even more trouble. However, regarding funding, whether it should come from the central treasury or the Imperial Treasury in the future depends on His Majesty's decision."

Jia Lian, of course, wanted to get things done in one go; he couldn't possibly leave the navy to those incompetent people in the Ministry of War. So, he offered a way to bypass the Ministry of War.

The navy must grow stronger in the future, so its rank must not be suppressed by the Ministry of War. In Jia Lian's vision, there will also be a General Staff Headquarters in the future, which will stand alongside the cabinet, one for civil affairs and the other for military affairs.

Therefore, the Ministry of War will be abolished sooner or later, and it can be split into the Ministry of the Army and the Ministry of the Navy, with a General Staff above it.

Li Yuan was indeed swayed by Jia Lian's words and subconsciously asked, "When Father Emperor established the Naval Commandery, was this considered?"

Jia Lian said, "The late emperor's plans and foresight were beyond my comprehension."

Li Yuan smiled, raised his hand and tapped Jia Lian a few times, then nodded and said, "Let me think about this matter some more. There is something that I am very worried about."

Jia Lian smiled and said, "Your Majesty, please speak. I will do my best."

Li Yuan laughed and said, "The many industries you have built are all very profitable. I am under a lot of pressure! I am thinking of increasing the allocation to the Imperial Clan Court to support more idle people."

Jia Lian understood, and shook his head with a smile: "Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, we shouldn't ask what the court can give them, but rather what they can do for the court. Since they are useless idlers, they should be aware of their own worthlessness. They have no ability yet dare to ask Your Majesty for this and that. To put it bluntly, even if Your Majesty gave them mountains of gold and seas of silver, they would not be satisfied. As for the various industries under the Research and Development Bureau, Your Majesty can send people to take over at any time. I will not utter a single word of objection. However, it must be made clear first that how these industries perform in the future is none of my business. We cannot allow them to ruin the industries and leave a mess for me to clean up, can we?"

Jia Lian's words can be described as a combination of soft and hard tactics. With such a promising industry in the hands of those people, their first thought will definitely be to pocket as much as they can.

At this moment, Li Yuancai realized that while Jia Lian was indeed a loyal and capable minister, he was not a fool. He saw through their intentions at a glance, and conversely, they were treating the emperor like a fool.

Lately, Li Yuan has heard a lot of people whispering in his ear. They say things like Jia Lian is an outsider, how can such a large enterprise be controlled by an outsider? It's only reassuring to have one's own people in control.

These people were incredibly resourceful. If they couldn't find Li Yuan to speak to, they could find the Empress or the Empress Dowager. In short, they tried every possible way to get a message to Li Yuan.

Li Yuan could still be somewhat immune to the influence of the imperial clan, but he couldn't withstand the Empress's influence.

It is said that when one person attains enlightenment, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. Before Li Yuan became emperor, the empress's family did not gain much benefit. Now that Li Yuan has ascended the throne, they still do not benefit much. Wasn't the empress's position wasted?
Li Yuan instantly realized what was happening and immediately thought of the large sum of money in the R&D department's account. This money, originally funds the emperor could readily access, was now in their hands. When the money was needed, the account would likely be empty. Calming down, Li Yuan recalled the days of vying for the throne. When he was in power, how many people fawned over him? And when he lost power? Looking around, how many were left?

At that time, many people avoided him like the plague, but Jia Lian's attitude never changed.

"I was merely expressing my feelings!" Li Yuan quickly tried to smooth things over, lest Jia Lian harbor resentment.

"Your Majesty is the ruler of the world. You should know that those who share your interests are not the imperial family or relatives of the emperor, nor are they officials or gentry, but rather the common people at the bottom of society. The money is in the hands of the court, and the court can provide relief in the event of a disaster. Your Majesty should not forget how many officials owed the court money in the past, and how much effort the late emperor put in to recover these debts. These are debts they owed, and it is only right that they repay them."

As Jia Lian spoke, the smile on his face gradually disappeared. If Li Yuan still didn't understand, Jia Lian really didn't have much energy left to continue arguing with him.

Li Yuan also sensed the displeasure in Jia Lian's tone, and quickly tried to ease the tension: "What you say is absolutely right, sir. I have learned a lot!"

Jia Lian then slightly clasped his hands and said, "This humble subject dares not presume, this humble subject takes his leave!"

After Jia Lian left, Li Yuan stood there, feeling genuinely uneasy. Jia Lian's attitude at the last moment hadn't been very good.

"I wasn't just saying it casually, sir. Isn't your reaction a bit too much?" Li Yuan subconsciously complained to Hu Min.

If it were an ordinary eunuch, he might have joined in the criticism to curry favor with Li Yuan, saying things like Jia Lian was disrespectful to His Majesty.

"Your Majesty, I am not well-educated. I only remember that when I was a child, there was a lean season, and my family was so poor that we couldn't even afford to eat. My parents sold me for two bushels of millet. When I followed Your Majesty to Southeast Asia, the officials in the Zongli Yamen (Foreign Ministry) there, even if they were exiled, didn't have to work in the fields and could still find a job in the government. My parents, on the other hand, worked hard all year round, but ended up having to sell their children. I don't understand the reasons for this, but I think you, Master Jia, can."

Li Yuan was stunned for a moment, then glanced at Hu Min and said, "You dog servant, if you hadn't always followed me and never abandoned me, I would have thought you had taken money from Jia Lian to speak on his behalf."

Hu Min knelt down and said, "This servant is utterly loyal to His Majesty, and that loyalty has never wavered."

Li Yuan waved his hand: "Get up and speak!" After Hu Min got up, Li Yuan strolled around the courtyard, saying to himself with a self-deprecating smile: "How could I not know the truth! But to get things done, you have to rely on people."

Upon leaving the palace, Jia Lian realized with a profound sense that the numerous industries under the R&D department had already attracted far too much attention.

Time is of the essence; we must seize the opportunity to separate some of the industries under the R&D department that are related to people's livelihoods and package them for listing.

He thought of Jia Lian and immediately went to do it, first giving Li Yuan a piece of fatty meat to taste before making any decisions.

Negotiations between the two countries for cooperation continued to drag on. Jia Lian spent three days drafting a framework for a royal coal and iron conglomerate, which he then submitted to the palace for imperial approval before listing. Jia Lian's reasoning was quite compelling: high-quality coal and iron had been discovered on two plots of land left by the late emperor, leading to the establishment of coal mines and steel mills.

Although the company has developed rapidly in recent years, it is still not large enough due to insufficient funds to meet the strong market demand. Therefore, it has decided to go public to raise some funds to expand production.

Upon seeing the report, Li Yuan immediately took it to heart, neglecting everything else and focusing intently on it for several days before summoning Jia Lian to the palace for questioning.

The mastermind behind this industry was Li Yuan, so he was very excited when he saw the report. What was clearly a ten million yuan bad debt was transformed, through Emperor Chenghui's cover-up, into these two plots of land, which later became a coal mine and a steel plant, and now it has become a coal and iron group, preparing for an IPO.

"Sir, is this a loose end from that old debt?" Li Yuan's voice trembled as he spoke. He had already found out the details through the Imperial Guard.

"These are the two industries that His Majesty acquired at great expense, and they are now thriving." Jia Lian spoke nonsense with a straight face, and Li Yuan felt his face burning.

How to put it? It's like the authorities are trying to whitewash the emperor's past misdeeds.

“In any case, I have wronged you in the past.” Li Yuan offered a somewhat insincere apology, but Jia Lian had no time for acting and stated directly, “This coal and iron group, if managed properly, can bring several million yuan in revenue to the imperial treasury every year. After listing, it can quickly raise funds and expand the group.”

Jia Lian made it very clear in his report that once sufficient funds were available, the focus wasn't simply on expanding production, but also on acquiring other mines. The larger the scale, the lower the costs, and the stronger the competitiveness in the market. As long as the coal and iron industries were well-managed, the goal wasn't to dominate the national market, but rather to capture 30-40% of the market. Through rising stock prices, this would lead to a significant increase in personal wealth.

For Li Yuan, this was a completely new field. It wasn't about producing a large number of products, but rather about generating market demand.

Li Yuan didn't know exactly how to play, but he felt it was very exciting and had great potential.

Jia Lian patiently taught Li Yuan how to make money through the stock market. He explained that when prices are high, one can sell; when prices are low, one can buy back shares at a lower price.

After Li Yuan understood, his cheeks flushed. He realized that this was a very shameless way to play.

Why do I say that? Isn't this tantamount to cheating people into gambling?

"Sir, isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Li Yuan was still a little embarrassed.

Jia Lian sighed, "Your Majesty, stocks are something the poor can't afford. Besides, I've already warned you that stocks are risky, and investment requires caution. Good advice is useless against this damned fool!"

The stock market is something those who know it understand: if ten people go in, one will make money and one will break even.

With Jia Lian's style of play, where the players and referees are all my people, how can you play against me?
Shamelessness is one thing, but it's not entirely unacceptable to use the money buried underground by landlords and wealthy people to accumulate wealth and engage in production. At most, it can be improved and patched up later.

Besides, having already created a stock market, what's the point of saving face? Using the wealth scattered among the people for construction will be more beneficial than harmful.

After Jia Lian's earnest and earnest persuasion, Li Yuan finally abandoned his conscience.

Before the end of the year, announce the merger of the two industries through the official gazette and private media, then publicly disclose the profits of the two industries, while also expressing Your Majesty's benevolence and giving people the opportunity to invest.

Even if they lose money, investors will only blame themselves for being greedy, not the emperor for digging a pit for everyone.

As for those "insiders," Li Yuan also had an opportunity to help them make money. He would issue a batch of shares internally in advance, and when the shares went public and the price rose, they would naturally be extremely grateful.

Besides, there are only a few railway stocks in the current stock market, and their prices have been rising without falling. Many people believe that as long as they buy them, they will make a profit, without seeing the risks involved.

After discussing it with Li Yuan, Jia Lian set about pushing forward with the matter.

After some "rumors" started circulating in the market, Li Yuan couldn't have any peace and quiet again. Before, he was thinking about setting up the R&D department, but now he's thinking about stocks.

Jia Lian was utterly blunt; the initial valuation of the Royal Coal and Iron Group was 200 million yuan. When this valuation was shown to Li Yuan, even the emperor was dumbfounded.

Isn't this robbery? Even robbery doesn't bring in money as fast as this.

Jia Lian told Li Yuan not to rush and to wait for the market's reaction.

Soon, more "rumors" began circulating, all saying that, excluding steel mills, the coal contained in the Kailuan coal mine alone would be worth 200 million yuan if all of it were mined and sold.

In other words, 200 million is an underestimate; everyone essentially got a steel plant for free.

Jia Lian would simply hand the plan over to his subordinates instead of taking direct action, since these people also needed to be trained.

The negotiations are drawing to a close, and the final agreement reached is as follows.

The Zhou Empire and the Ottoman Empire reached a deep and friendly cooperation agreement, including military and economic cooperation.

The text was made public and published directly in the newspaper.

Regarding military cooperation, the details are clearly stated: the Ottoman Empire purchased a portion of military equipment from the Zhou Empire, with specific details kept secret. The Zhou Empire, in turn, provided the Ottoman Empire with follow-up services for this military equipment. Economic cooperation was more extensive, including granting each other most-favored-nation status, establishing commercial representative offices in each other's countries, and offering each other minimum tariff preferences.

In short, military cooperation was only briefly mentioned, while economic cooperation was described in great detail.

(End of this chapter)