Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 634 Fairness
Within the Zhou Empire, there were two influential gentry groups: one was the gentry of Jiangnan, and the other was the gentry of Shanxi.

In the past, it would have been unthinkable to build railways without prioritizing the areas south of the Yangtze River and Shanxi.

As the railway demonstrated its enormous and long-term benefits, local gentry began to exert their influence, constantly using their representatives in the imperial court to create public opinion within the bureaucracy.

The topic of railways being built by people from Shanxi or in the Jiangnan region has been a constant source of discussion in Beijing.

Unfortunately, the railway bureau simply wouldn't listen, and no matter who came, it was no use; they would just shut you down with one sentence: "Unified planning."

Bi Dingguo's actions at the grand court assembly were investigated by the Imperial Guard and the cabinet leaders, but no concrete evidence was found; however, the vague implication was clear. In the capital's public discourse, there was a persistent force targeting the railway bureau, and even the entire state-owned enterprise system.

While Jia Lian was inspecting the railway school, Li Yuan was reading a recent confidential report, which included a table at the end listing some data.

Adding tables to reports, as a format, is clearly more persuasive. That's the power of numbers. Of course, numbers can be altered; for example, non-farm payroll data is very flexible. Furthermore, data can also be withheld from publication; whether one is better or worse is difficult to determine.

Li Yuan knew that Jia Lian had developed many industries with an astonishing annual output value, but this was the first time he had seen such a detailed report.

Wool mills, cotton mills, steel rolling mills, vehicle factories, glass factories... Excluding military enterprises, the remaining enterprises combined have an annual output value of 60 million yuan.

The output value appears high, but the profit is not, totaling only six or seven million yuan annually. The largest expense for each company each year is employee salaries. For employees with technical titles, there are additional subsidies for housing, medical care, and education in addition to their salaries.

If military enterprises are included, the companies under the R&D department have an annual output value of over 100 million yuan and 200,000 registered employees. If the railway bureau is included, the number of registered employees would increase by another 20,000.

This is already a huge "state-owned enterprise" group, and it doesn't even include the state-owned enterprises in Guangdong and Guangxi, otherwise there would be an additional 100,000 people.

"You mean, someone is conspiring to privatize these state-owned enterprises?" Li Yuan asked incredulously after reading the report.

Hu Min stepped forward solemnly and said, "Your Majesty, this servant dares not speak presumptuously. Based on the various signs we currently have, it is indeed true that multiple forces are brewing this matter. After Lord Jia beat Bi Dingguo in the main hall, these activities suddenly stopped. The reason we haven't gathered enough evidence is entirely because the Secret Guards did not pay much attention to this aspect before. Your Majesty has ordered a thorough investigation, and the Imperial Guards have also found some clues, but there is no clear evidence pointing to anything."

Li Yuan listened in silence for a long time before finally saying, "Hu Min, have you read any history books?"

"My sage, don't you understand your servant? Where can I read history books? Why don't I start looking for some history books to read from today onwards?"

Li Yuan smiled and waved his hand, indicating that Hu Min could leave.

After finishing his inspection work for the day, Jia Lian was stopped on his way back. He glanced at the person and smiled, asking, "What's the matter?"

"Master said that if the son-in-law doesn't go, I shouldn't go back either." The Lin family's steward appeared calm and composed, knowing that Jia Lian wouldn't make things difficult for him.

"Lord Taishan is truly tactless. We have different paths, so why force us together? Fine, fine, I'll go right now." Jia Lian said with disdain, and ordered a detour to the Lin residence.

The moment this person entered the Lin residence, Jia Min appeared, saying in a mournful tone, "After Yu'er married into the Lin family, the son-in-law no longer treats the Lin family well. It's rare for him to come; he's a rare guest!"

Jia Lian wasn't embarrassed at all. He greeted Jia Min with a smile and said, "Grandma always talks about you. My cousin is not young anymore. You don't need to keep an eye on him all the time. Aunt should visit both of you more often."

Lin Haoran, who was standing next to Jia Min, was not old, but looked quite old. He stepped forward respectfully to greet her: "Cousin, Haoran greets you!"

Jia Lian waved his hand with a smile: "Alright, we're family, why all this formality? Listen to me, don't listen to your father's nonsense. What are you doing acting like an adult at such a young age? You should study, but don't neglect your playtime too."

Upon hearing this, Jia Min was so angry that she raised her hand to hit Jia Lian, saying, "Do you think everyone is like you, able to remember everything they read? Although your younger brother is also intelligent, he is not as good as you and Yu'er. In the past, Yu'er could understand things very quickly and even apply what she learned to other situations. Your younger brother only has one good point: he can concentrate on studying."

Jia Lian said, "Aunt, why don't you change Haoran's environment? He can't just study all the time. He needs to go out and see the world more often to broaden his horizons."

Jia Min said, "Where in the capital is there a better place than Qingyun Academy? Aren't you also studying at Qingyun Academy?"

Jia Lian grimaced and said, "Go tell Li Rushui that, and ask him how I got out of the academy."

As they were talking, Lin Ruhai returned. His expression stiffened slightly when he saw Jia Lian, and he nodded, saying, "Let's talk in the study!"

Without Daiyu present, the conversation between the father-in-law and son-in-law lacked a smooth transition, making it easy for them to clash due to differing opinions.

Today was no exception; Lin Ruhai's opening remarks were quite blunt.

"You must have heard about Bi Dingguo's affairs, right? I'm not trying to criticize you, but you're already the Minister of Works, about to join the cabinet, so why do you still control so many state-owned enterprises, running them like an impenetrable fortress? How much hatred must that provoke?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian's smile vanished instantly. He looked coldly at the person opposite him and said, "Who are you relaying this message for? It's not like you've only been trying to interfere in state-owned enterprises for a short time. Now you're really getting more and more powerful, with even the Grand Secretary personally acting as your lobbyist."

Lin Ruhai was speechless. He stared at Jia Lian for a long time before slowly saying, "Sang Hongyang devoted himself to the Han dynasty and worked hard all his life, but in the end, he did not have a good ending."

Jia Lian retorted without hesitation: "What, is Prime Minister Lin planning to convene a salt and iron conference for the Great Zhou Dynasty? Fine, I'd like to see who dares to be the first to do so!"

"You...!" Lin Ruhai didn't expect Jia Lian to be so disrespectful and directly retort.

Jia Lian continued, "Don't think I don't know who's behind all this trouble. All the gentry in the land are wicked, especially those in Jiangnan and Shanxi. Don't they know whose territory the capital is? If I hadn't noticed it beforehand, would I have been able to stop that scoundrel's impeachment that broke the unspoken rules at the Grand Court Assembly? To tell you the truth, even if they hadn't come after me, I would have settled this score with them. You'd better stay out of it and not get involved, lest you make things difficult for Yu'er."

Lin Ruhai sat up straight instantly; his words, though not harsh, sent chills down his spine.

"What do you want?" Lin Ruhai asked instinctively.

Jia Lian smiled and said, "What? Is it that only officials are allowed to set fires, while common people are not allowed to light lamps? Uncle, why don't you go back and check the roster of the Ministry of Personnel and see who the selection department of the Ministry of Personnel has been taking care of all these years?"

Lin Ruhai was immediately alarmed. He was specifically in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, and Bi Dingguo, who had jumped out this time, happened to be a secretary in the Ministry of Personnel's Selection Department. To put it bluntly, if something went wrong in the Ministry of Personnel, he was destined to be implicated.

After all that investigation, it turns out it was just a case of the blind spot being right under the lamp?

Lin Ruhai fell into deep thought, sitting there blankly for a long time without saying a word.

Jia Lian didn't urge him. When Lin Ruhai's eyes finally brightened, he said calmly, "If the problem in the Ministry of Personnel was discovered and dealt with by my uncle, it's not a big deal. But if someone else exposed it, my uncle's term will end next year. Whether he can serve another term as usual is really hard to say."

Lin Ruhai struggled to suppress the turmoil within him, giving Jia Lian a cold look and saying, "Don't do anything rash, I have my own plans!"

Jia Lian stood up and said, "If you cannot satisfy me, then prepare to resign as prime minister. The reason I did not retaliate immediately is to give you some time to investigate." "The imperial examination is imminent; let's not create any unnecessary complications." Lin Ruhai was still undecided and hoped to delay a little longer.

Jia Lian looked at Lin Ruhai speechlessly, then turned around and clasped his hands, saying, "Farewell!"

It was clear that this was another unpleasant parting. Despite being father-in-law and son-in-law, it's unclear when it started, but the two have found it increasingly difficult to get along.

Lin Ruhai also couldn't understand it. Jia Lian didn't need to do anything; a simple gesture would have solved many problems. For Jia Lian personally, there would be little loss; on the contrary, he could gain enormous political resources. Yet, he insisted on doing things the wrong way.

When Jia Min hurriedly chased after him, Jia Lian was already far away. Furious, Jia Min asked Lin Ruhai, "How could our family members quarrel like this? I had already prepared dinner, but he left in a huff."

Lin Ruhai sighed, "This is a very serious matter, and I am in a difficult position!"

Jia Min sneered, "If you can't get any benefits, you'll ruin people. What kind of logic is that? If you want to smoothly transition to the next term, why should your son-in-law and nephew suffer? You must be a really frustrated prime minister."

Lin Ruhai was so angry after being mocked by Jia Min that he lost his appetite for dinner. When he finally felt hungry in his study and went outside, he found that Jia Min had taken her son and gone back to her parents' home without saying goodbye.

Jia Lian was genuinely surprised. As soon as he arrived home and picked up his chopsticks, Jia Min went straight back to her parents' home without even saying goodbye.

She quickly put down her chopsticks and led Wang Xifeng and Daiyu out to greet them.

Everyone could see that something was wrong, but no one dared to break the ice.

Jia Min said she had decided to go home to see her elderly mother on a whim, and then sent everyone away.

Daiyu quietly said to Jia Lian, "You and Sister Feng go back, I'll stay."

Jia Lian didn't say anything, and returned with Wang Xifeng. On the way, Wang Xifeng asked curiously, "Master, what's wrong with my aunt?"

Jia Lian said calmly, "Don't pry into other people's business."

Upon hearing this from others, Wang Xifeng was secretly delighted and went back with Jia Lian.

Before long, Jia Zheng arrived at the door. Jia Lian came out to greet him. After the uncle and nephew sat down in the study, Jia Zheng said in a low voice, "Ru Hai's only thought is to smoothly transition to the next term. The imperial examination is in three days. If you don't give up, he's afraid things will escalate and become difficult to handle."

Jia Lian didn't say anything about Jia Zheng's kick in the main hall, nor was he grateful to him. The situation didn't escalate, and the main beneficiaries were the emperor and the cabinet.

Jia Lian calmly looked at Jia Zheng and said, "Second Uncle, what kind of logic is this?"

Jia Zheng sighed and said, "Alright! Let's leave it at that."

After saying that, Jia Zheng left without pressing the matter further.

The next day was no different from any other day. Just as the day was about to pass peacefully, the Office of Transmission was preparing to close for the day when several censors from the Censorate arrived.

The censors put down their memorials and left. The Director of the Court of Judicial Review was startled. Just as he was about to read the memorials, three or five more censors arrived, and they too dropped their memorials and left.

Damn it, I'm not going to be able to get off work today.

The cabinet was also preparing to leave work, and everything seemed so calm and peaceful.

With over a dozen memorials sent by the Office of Transmission, the cabinet had no choice but to work overtime.

More than a dozen new memorials arrived, all targeting the Ministry of Personnel. The main target was Bi Dingguo, the Director of the Selection Department, followed by the two Vice Ministers and the Minister of Personnel.

The charges against him were also clear: forming a faction. Officials from Shanxi and Jiangnan in the Ministry of Personnel had formed a faction and controlled the power to select officials.

The primary charge was the selection of personnel for the Imperial Secretariat. Of the ten people on the shortlist, four were from Shanxi, four were from Jiangnan, and then the others.

The secondary charge is that in the past three years, the Ministry of Personnel has given special consideration to officials from Jiangnan and Shanxi when selecting and assigning them to relatively wealthy areas.

Another charge is against Lin Ruhai. More than half of the officials in the Ministry of Personnel are from Jiangnan and Shanxi. Please explain, Minister Lin.

In conclusion, the question remains: was this Ministry of Personnel the Ministry of Personnel of the imperial court, or the Ministry of Personnel of Shanxi and Jiangnan provinces?

These impeachment memorials did not fabricate charges; they simply presented the facts and raised questions.

Well, how should I put it? If nobody talks about it normally, it's not a big deal. But once someone brings it up and examines it under a magnifying glass, it becomes a serious matter.

It's important to know that the Ming Dynasty had separate examinations for the North and South, a system that the Zhou Dynasty inherited.

In this country that values ​​fairness, economic resources are destined to be unequal, and educational resources are inherently unequal, which is why fairness was emphasized during the imperial examination system.

To ensure fairness, each province had a fixed quota for the number of successful candidates in the imperial examinations, with priority given to economically underdeveloped regions.

Even so, the number of successful candidates in the imperial examinations from some remote provinces was still small.

A few might be able to barely accept it, but such blatant favoritism in the selection and allocation of officials is bound to cause trouble.

The cabinet ministers were drenched in sweat after reading these memorials, and dared not keep them any; they presented them all to the emperor.

Li Yuan took the memorial he received very seriously. After carefully reading through it all, he asked Hu Min, "Has the cabinet not issued any notices yet?"

Hu Min replied, "The three cabinet ministers, Li, Yue, and Pan, have done their duty. As for the two prime ministers, Lin and Fang, they are still waiting for the Emperor's reply."

Li Yuan thought for a moment and said, "I will host a banquet for the two Grand Secretaries and tell them that nothing is more important than a meal."

(End of this chapter)