Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 623: A Sample

The publicly announced message was undoubtedly intended to avoid overly provoking the European powers. Given the Ottoman Empire's geographical location—pinning up the heart of Europe, guarding the vital route from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean—and its history of being repeatedly defeated by the Ottoman Empire for centuries, it was highly susceptible to a reactive response.

In any case, the depth and breadth of this collaboration are quite extraordinary.

At the cabinet meeting, Li Yuan gave a speech (reciting a prepared statement), and the cabinet ministers could tell that the new emperor's ambition was no longer limited to East Asia, but aimed at the world and the sea.

The cabinet wasn't under too much pressure, given the external situation. However, Lin Ruhai expressed concern about the Prince of Xining, as his territory bordered Russian influence, and war could easily break out. The Prince of Xining hadn't declared himself emperor; legally, he was a feudal lord. If the Prince of Xining sought help, the central empire was obligated to provide assistance.

The key issue is that crossing the Pamir Mountains is extremely difficult at present. Not only is it passable for only a few months each year, but transportation is also very challenging.

To change the current situation, the only solution is to build roads, expanding upon the existing ancient paths. However, that place is still too far away. A trip by land from Xi'an would take more than half a year.

Lin Ruhai suggested increasing aid efforts, emphasizing that assistance to the King of Xining should be provided no matter how difficult, as he was a bulwark for the Western Regions. To achieve rapid and consistent railway construction, Pan Jixun proposed building the railway from Luoyang to Xi'an, then along the Hexi Corridor, aiming to reach Yumen Pass. As for why not build directly to the Western Regions, current technology couldn't solve that.

The rest of the cabinet shared this view, and even Li Qing and Fang Song, who had always been at odds, agreed with the suggestion.

Li Yuan didn't say it aloud, but he understood in his heart that the cabinet had conspired to mess with the research and development department, the railway bureau, and other so-called state-owned enterprises.

Since the cabinet can't access the money in the two accounts, it's better to use it to build roads and spend the money; there's always a way to make a little profit.

Li Yuan did not explicitly refuse, but said he would see if the railway bureau had any relevant plans, and that building a railway is not something that can be done on a whim, and that the preliminary preparations would take a long time.

The true complexity of railway construction was only understood after Li Yuan summoned Jia Lian and inquired about it in person.

One very important consideration when building railways is the economic aspect. Railways are meant to be profitable; there are railways that lose money, but those are for national strategic security, and the losses are borne by the state.

"So, it's unrealistic to build it all the way to Yumen Pass, at most it can only go as far as Xi'an?" Li Yuan asked, somewhat disappointed.

Jia Lian nodded: "At this stage, this is the only step we can take. The area covered by the railway must be economically viable. West of Chang'an, the land is vast and sparsely populated, making it difficult for the railway to be profitable, whether for freight or passenger transport. This is why the railway bureau prioritizes the Jinpu Railway and the Beijing-Hankou Railway when building railways. In the future, a railway could be built in the Jiangnan region from Songjiang to Jinling and then to Hangzhou. However, building a railway from Wuhan to Guangzhou would be much more difficult. With the current level of technology and talent reserves, it is far from sufficient."

Li Yuan listened with great regret and said, "I heard that a bridge can be built across the Yellow River, but can a bridge be built across the Yangtze River?"

Jia Lian shook his head: "It's definitely impossible now. Maybe in the future. I'll try my best to see a bridge over the Yangtze River in my lifetime."

Li Yuan then smiled slightly and asked, "What are the challenges in building a bridge across the Yangtze River?"

Jia Lian said, “This humble subject is not entirely sure, as the relevant surveys have not yet been conducted. The key is talent. Our dynasty’s education system mainly cultivates candidates for official positions, such as those who pass the imperial examinations. These people are good at theoretical studies, but lack practical skills. That is why this humble subject advocates practical learning and promotes practical education. In fact, practical learning originated from the Neo-Confucianism’s investigation of things to extend knowledge, but the scholars of the Song and Ming dynasties were pampered and went astray. This humble subject divides practical learning into science and engineering. Science seeks reason, while engineering seeks practical application.”

"Wealth moves people's hearts! Railway stock prices are soaring, and now officials and gentry all over the country are calling for the construction of their own railways. How should you respond, my dear minister?" Li Yuan, a minister who can make money for him, must be cherished.

"Local areas lack the technology to build their own railways. If anyone uses this as a pretext to raise funds, the imperial court must crack down on it severely. Otherwise, chaos will ensue! The interests of local areas along the route can be compensated through appropriate premiums during land acquisition and labor assignments. Railways are national projects and must be firmly controlled by the state. Local areas' attempts to interfere with railway development are absolutely unacceptable. If private individuals want to invest in railways, they must come to the capital to purchase shares. These shares are a benefit provided by the imperial court to the people around the capital, which will help maintain stability in the capital region."

It's impossible to address every issue at this stage, so Jia Lian wants to make his point clear upfront: the court shouldn't back down just because local officials and gentry are causing trouble.

"I firmly support you, my dear minister. The difficult part is for the cabinet. I imagine the cabinet is under considerable pressure." Li Yuan had made things clear.

Jia Lian knew all too well how greedy local officials and gentry could be once they colluded, and no amount of benefits could satisfy their appetites.

"What is the purpose of the Grand Secretariat? Isn't it to share His Majesty's burdens? If the Grand Secretaries can't withstand the pressure, they can simply request to retire; there are plenty of ministers willing to join the Grand Secretariat." Jia Lian knew that at this critical juncture, he had to stand firm. If he gave in at the beginning, it would never end. Only by firmly holding his ground from the start would there be room for negotiation later.

"What should we do if the local area causes trouble?" Li Yuan asked curiously.

Jia Lian sneered, "Officials govern a region and receive salaries from the imperial court. If they cannot suppress the local people, they will be punished if something happens. If they continue to cause trouble, then let them make a big fuss and we will send troops to suppress them."

This was an answer Li Yuan hadn't expected; Jia Lian was unexpectedly ruthless in this matter.

"The common people are innocent and ignorant. If things really escalate, the local corrupt gentry can take the opportunity to clean up a bunch of them. Let the ordinary people go."

Li Yuan thought about it and agreed. Ordinary people couldn't possibly cause trouble; if something did happen, it would definitely be the result of instigation by local gentry. If local gentry dared to incite the people to riot, it must have been with the tacit approval of the local government.

"I understand. I will have the cabinet draft a memorial and submit it to the official gazette to announce it to the world, so that no one will say that I have executed someone without giving them a proper order." Li Yuan had no liking for these officials and gentry who only knew how to leech off the court. He couldn't very well punish Jia Lian, who made money for him, just because they caused trouble, could he? As for rebellion, what use was the court for maintaining an army?
"Your Majesty, rest assured. The local gentry are bold enough to incite the people to riot and hide behind them, but they don't have much guts to rebel."

One question that must be clarified is whose interests the cabinet represents.

It seems that the cabinet, as an assistant to the emperor in governing, should be aligned with the emperor's interests.

In reality, each cabinet minister has a group of officials supporting him, each official has a family behind him, and each family has a group of stakeholders connected to him.

Between the emperor and the common people, there existed a vast rentier class, like clouds on a cloudy day, blocking out most of the sunlight.

As time went on, the rentier class grew larger and larger, eventually swallowing up the vast majority of the interests that should have belonged to the state, making it impossible for the common people at the bottom to survive, and leading them to rise up in rebellion.

The Great Zhou Dynasty was incapable of solving this problem; at least, moderate reforms were out of the question. With officials embezzling the vast majority of the funds allocated for disaster relief, the country was essentially on its last legs.

From the emperor's perspective, some things absolutely cannot be tolerated, as the consequences would be too severe.

What does it mean to shake the foundation of the nation? The money collected by the imperial court through taxation is then distributed to the common people at the bottom of society. How much of this money actually reaches the people is a matter of great importance to the foundation of the country.

After Li Yuan agreed with Jia Lian's explanation, he felt much more at ease. He then took out a memorial and handed it to Jia Lian, saying, "Take a look at this."

Jia Lian picked it up and glanced at it, discovering it was Yue Qi's memorial outlining a plan for the reform of the national army.

After completing the reform of the Beijing Garrison, Yue Qi had not made any moves. Now, he suddenly came up with this plan, which shows that he has a purpose and his ambitions are not small.

Jia Lian took it and examined it carefully, and roughly understood what Yue Qi meant.

Following the model of the Beijing Garrison, the military garrisons in all provinces across the country were to be reorganized. This plan seemed ambitious, and in reality, it was quite significant.

The main content of the plan was that each province would abandon the old military model, adopt the Beijing garrison standard, and train a new army of one garrison to replace the old army. Each province would retain one general who would also be in charge of the new army.

The key question is where the money to train the new army will come from. According to Yue Qi, the national treasury will contribute the majority, and the local governments will contribute the remainder.

Yue Qi also pointed out that in the old systems of various provinces or military towns, the army was severely understaffed and there was a widespread and serious problem of soldiers receiving salaries without working.

When local conflicts arise, the military often fails to protect the region, making nationwide military reform imperative.

Yue Qi stated that when the imperial court's finances were poor in the past, it was impossible to initiate reforms, but now that the finances are healthy, it is time to carry out reforms.

Yue Qi also stated in his plan that a detailed investigation would be conducted on the garrisons in all military towns across the country to determine whether to retain or reduce their numbers.

Jia Lian realized that Li Yuan was very interested in this plan; he intended to seize complete control of the military through military reform. He also saw that Yue Qi hoped to increase his personal influence within the cabinet through reform. Consolidating his position and making money were secondary considerations.

"Your Majesty, I dare not comment on Prime Minister Yue's plans, but there are a few points I must make," Jia Lian said truthfully as usual.

Li Yuandao said, "Please speak, sir."

"Your Majesty has met the Nanyang New Army. According to the standards of the Nanyang New Army, with each soldier receiving a monthly salary of ten silver dollars, a town of 15,000 men would have a monthly military expenditure of 150,000 silver dollars, totaling 1.8 million silver dollars annually. Including officers, each town would have an annual military expenditure of 2 million silver dollars. And this doesn't even include the soldiers' food and equipment. What about the whole country?"

Jia Lian's method was simple: to do the math. Once the accounts were clear, Li Yuan would come to his senses and wouldn't dare to act rashly.

"Of the three divisions of the Nanyang New Army, the daily expenses of two divisions were covered by the Nanyang Affairs Office. The third division was supported by Guangdong Province. Guangdong was wealthy enough to support them, but what about the other provinces? They couldn't all rely on government funding, could they? The three Nanyang divisions were established on the basis that Nanyang was not completely stable and that troops had to be dispatched to suppress local areas at any time. In reality, the third division was essentially the governor's standard-bearer, and it adopted a two-company organization. Even so, Guangdong's financial pressure was very high, and it had to intercept the taxes from the Maritime Trade Office every year."

Jia Lian stopped calculating at this point.

Li Yuan was also doing the math. The four garrisons of the Beijing garrison, also built to the new army standard, totaled 60,000 men, and the annual expenditure was no small sum. From the perspective of protecting the capital, it was necessary. But what about other places? Was it really necessary to train a garrison of new troops for each other?

If it's unnecessary, then what is Yue Qi trying to do? If Yue Qi weren't a cabinet minister, Li Yuan would suspect that he was plotting a rebellion.

"Uh, I..." Li Yuan stammered, not knowing how to say it. According to the current number of provinces in the country, not counting Xinjiang Province, Inner Mongolia, Guanwai, and the Plateau, there are thirteen provinces.

Based on the standards of the Beijing Garrison, a new army garrison of one division would be established in each province, plus other special garrisons such as the Beijing Garrison, totaling at least twenty divisions of new army. Military pay alone would amount to 40 million yuan annually.

After Emperor Chenghui's reforms, the imperial court's annual revenue reached 150 million taels of silver. If Yue Qi's plan were followed, the annual allocation to the military would amount to at least 70 to 80 million taels of silver. This would account for half of the national revenue. This was practically driving the Ministry of Revenue crazy!

"Your Majesty need not trouble yourself. Just let the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue handle the lawsuit," Jia Lian suggested to Li Yuan with a smile.

Li Yuan's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he said, "That is indeed the case. However, I would like to ask for your opinion on how the armies of each province should be reformed."

Jia Lian, of course, wouldn't speak carelessly or make things up on the spot. He answered very prudently: "In my opinion, we should first investigate the detailed situation of the army nationwide, and then make a comprehensive plan based on the situation in each province. Without investigation, I dare not speak nonsense."

Li Yuan understood; this meant Yue Qi was talking nonsense.

Putting that matter aside for now, Li Yuan turned his attention to the revenue of the imperial treasury, asking with a smile, "Sir, how is the listing of the Royal Coal and Iron Group progressing?"

Jia Lian said, "This matter should be handled by His Majesty, who should appoint a trustworthy person to take charge. The Railway Affairs Bureau should send a few experienced officials to assist. We should proceed slowly and methodically, which should take at least half a year. We should release information to the market little by little to whet everyone's appetite. Otherwise, the market may not be able to accept a valuation of 200 million."

Li Yuan understood, and said with a smile in a low voice, "I really don't trust anyone else to do this. Why don't you take on the responsibility of overall planning, personnel arrangement, and listing?"

Jia Lian sighed, “Listed companies, the stock market, the China Securities Regulatory Commission—all of these things were spearheaded by me. If I were to get involved, it would be like being an examinee, an examiner, and a grader in an exam. It doesn’t sound good to say that.”

Li Yuan was a little embarrassed, but thinking of the huge income, he still went against his conscience and said, "Sir, there's always someone who does things for the first time. You're an expert, why don't you come out and set an example for the world?"

(End of this chapter)