Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 649 Are there really stupid people in the world?
This country has many problems, and it's impossible to solve them all at once.

The idea that all officials should be morally upright is absurd, but we can strive in that direction, even though the possibility of achieving it is ten thousand years or even impossible.

Jia Lian once thought that the problem would be solved as long as everyone was killed.

So who will do the work? Should we replace them with a new group? Can we guarantee that the replacements will all be good people? Maybe not a single good person will come.

How to do it?

Only development can solve some of the problems of the past. In the process of development, some old problems will naturally be solved, but new problems will emerge.

Perhaps humanity is destined to develop to the stage of cyber governance, since only computer programs are free from selfishness.

Who knows? That's not something I should be thinking about.

Now, Jia Lian needs to focus on development, striving for rapid growth at all costs.

The technological explosion in modern Europe stemmed from the Age of Exploration. Colonialism brought enormous economic benefits to Europe, which in turn spurred the development of maritime technology. The struggle for maritime supremacy between nations fueled technological revolutions. For greater profits, capitalists needed more efficient machines; for even greater profits, they needed larger markets.

Taking advantage of the internal wars in Europe to accelerate the pace of colonization, stimulate private capital investment in technological upgrading, and initiate a new round of technological progress is the most important thing.

All cutting-edge technologies were initially born out of war; without external threats, there is no such thing as technological progress. Of course, the Qing Dynasty was an exception. Despite being aware of external changes, it remained immersed in the dream of being a superior nation, and even when the gap widened and European warships were pointing their cannons at its head, its first thought was to suppress internal resistance, rather than to mobilize the entire nation to resist to the end.

Just look at how they slandered the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Boxer Rebellion. The former shook the foundation of the Manchu Qing dynasty's rule and forced the Qing to make concessions to Han officials on military power. The latter deterred external invaders and extinguished their ambitions to quickly perish and partition China.

Regarding private capital in Jiangnan, Jia Lian's idea was not to directly stifle it, but to create a relatively fair environment and use incentives to encourage private capital to expand outwards. He encouraged spontaneous migration and market development, ultimately achieving a situation where colonization was a joint effort between officials and the people.

Of course, getting these ideas accepted by the whole society is a problem.

Recent intelligence suggests that Jiangnan Capital's development has stagnated. The reason is not a lack of market demand, but a lack of raw materials.

Private capital in the Zhou Empire was mainly concentrated in the textile industry for the simplest reason. More difficult industries, such as military production, were controlled by state-owned enterprises.

Jiangnan Capital's outward expansion has evolved from initially transporting goods to Guangzhou for sale to actively venturing overseas, directly shipping goods to various parts of Southeast Asia, and eliminating middlemen who would profit from the difference.

It's clear that capitalists will do anything to pursue profits. In Jia Lian's view, this is a good thing.

The problem now is that cotton is not suitable for growing in Southeast Asia. Australia is the only place suitable for growing cotton, but the main focus of local colonization is on food cultivation and gold mining.

Jia Lian had no choice but to turn his attention to India, and obtaining Indian cotton through the East India Company was a good option at this stage.

Unfortunately, every time Jia Lian thinks about the damned "peaceful" mentality of Indians, he feels like there is a bunch of huge maggots wriggling in a huge cesspool in front of him.

Therefore, we absolutely cannot accept Indian cotton, but their cotton is quite good. As for whether people will starve to death, that's the fault of the British, what does it have to do with me?

There are no secrets in this world. On the third day after Jia Lian settled in Jinling City, someone came to his door to deliver a visiting card.

Baochai, who considered herself the mistress of the house, came in with a stack of visiting cards and gift lists. She saw Jia Lian leaning comfortably in a chair, his face covered by a newspaper.

"The Lin family of Suzhou, the Shen family of Wuxing, the Wang family of Taicang, ...

Jia Lian put down his newspaper, and Baochai stopped with a smile, pointing to the visiting cards and gift list on the desk.

"Leave the visiting card, return the gifts." Jia Lian gave a straightforward answer. Baochai smiled, turned around, and left.

Looking at her increasingly plump figure, Jia Lian no longer felt the impulsiveness of his youth, and couldn't help but sigh, "Ah, the years."

Although Jia Lian was approaching forty, he did not feel powerless; he was just less impulsive and would not easily get carried away in matters of love.

Baochai couldn't help but sigh inwardly. How long had it been since her master had been so eager to come up to her from behind? Did he think she was getting old? She hadn't seen him lay a hand on any of the younger maids.

We still need to focus on our diet; we can't stop supplementing what we need.

Things weren't as dramatic as Baochai thought; the main problem was serious business.

Jia Lian's imperial order was to reform the commercial tax system. If he were to personally roll up his sleeves and get involved without understanding the actual situation, it would take a long time, perhaps even a year, to sort things out.

Now that the pressure is being put directly on local governments, it's hard to say how far the officials will go.

We still need a chicken!
Be patient and wait for a chicken to appear.

As I got up from the recliner, the chill of early spring in February, mingled with moisture, seeped into my neck, causing my skin to break out in goosebumps.

The curtain at the door was still swaying slightly; the moment Baochai came in, the temperature in the room dropped by a degree.

The brick-and-wood house was terribly drafty, and Jia Lian couldn't help but sigh as he sat down at his desk.

The first visiting card begins with the address: "Nephew Jia Lian."

Instantly, Jia Lian lost all interest in reading the contents of the visiting card and went straight to the signature: Lin Shan from Suzhou.

"Someone come here!" Jia Lian turned around and shouted. Ying'er entered: "Second Master!"

"Go and ask who Lin Shan, mentioned on the visiting card, is to the Lin family of Suzhou?" Jia Lian didn't turn around, opened the drawer, and took out an investigation report about the Lin family of Suzhou.

A moment later, Baochai came in and spoke to Jia Lian: "Lin Shan has no official rank, but he is the Second Madam's cousin. Five years ago, he was promoted to the position of head of the Lin family in Suzhou. He arrived in Jinling last night, and his visiting card was delivered this morning. The Lin family has a residence in Jinling, right by the Qinhuai River. By the way, last night Lin Shan chartered the pleasure boats of the four most popular courtesans on the Qinhuai River and hosted a banquet for the heads of many prominent local families."

"So, this person is still living in the Banqiao area, and might still be asleep in some courtesan's pavilion," Jia Lian replied casually.

Baochai noticed something was off about his tone and smiled, "Maybe. I don't know."

Jia Lian glanced back at Baochai, noticing her evasive gaze. He raised his hand and slapped her now noticeably swollen flesh. Baochai didn't flinch, but instead twisted her waist and walked behind Jia Lian, massaging his shoulders. With his eyes closed, Jia Lian seemed to be talking to himself: "The Lin family is the Lin family, don't confuse them. In recent years, the Lin family's development has mainly focused on mulberry groves and fertile fields, with little progress in actual industry. Their status, however, has risen considerably. Lin Shan has been promoted to the position of president of the Suzhou Raw Silk Guild. I wonder if he's truly stupid or just pretending."

Baochai remained silent, but slightly increased the pressure on her hand. Jia Lian continued muttering to himself, "The Lin family owns ten thousand mu of mulberry groves and tens of thousands of hectares of fertile land. Lin Ruhai's position as Grand Secretary isn't for nothing. To be honest, he's more restrained than Xu Jie back then. Damn it, this is a real headache!"

Baochai casually remarked, "I've read the intelligence provided by the merchant guild. The Lin family's land holdings aren't considered large in Jiangnan. In comparison, the Shen and Wang families each own over 50,000 hectares of land, and the Shen and Wang families together have over 10,000 looms."

"The key issue is that the number of looms powered by the new steam engines is still too small. In the entire Jiangnan region, including the imitation steam engines, there are only one or two thousand units. The development is still too slow."

Baochai was at a loss for words; she couldn't understand a word she heard. Was she going to target the Lin family first, or leave them alone? Or take them all down at once?
Jia Lian opened his eyes and sat up straight: "Grind the ink!"

After skillfully grinding the ink, Baochai stood aside and watched Jia Lian write his reply.

All visiting cards used the same wording: "I am under imperial command; I will not see outsiders."

Baochai carefully put away the reply, took it out and had it delivered, temporarily putting aside her little thoughts and quietly returning home.

Jia Lian could understand Baochai's feelings, after all, she had a son.

“The Xue family’s current roots are in Guangzhou. Let’s send the second son there when he’s a little older,” Jia Lian casually suggested. Baochai replied in a low voice, “It’s up to you, Master.”

"Don't underestimate Southeast Asia. No matter what, it will always be the Jia family's safety net. When the third son is old enough, I'll ask Daiyu if we can send him to Australia. I'm just afraid she won't agree!"

After Jia Lian finished speaking, Baochai blinked and said, "Master still has too few sons."

“The eldest mistress’s son lives in the East Mansion. After we go back this time, we’ll send him to Guangzhou for two years first, and then to Java. The Jia family from Jinling has been doing quite well in Java these past few years. If we don’t send someone there soon, they might not listen to our orders in the future.” Jia Lian expressed his concern about the situation in Southeast Asia.

Baochai sneered, "They dare? The Xue family's fleet is no pushover. But can you really trust the Master to send people from the East Mansion to Java to oversee things?"

Jia Lian shook his head: "It's better than people from other families! I'm just afraid that Madam You won't agree. For now, it's just an idea. After all, Nanyang is far inferior to the capital. It's only natural to be reluctant to leave."

Baochai asked curiously, "Why not let Baoyu go to Java?"

Jia Lian didn't respond to that. Some time ago, Baoyu did have some minor problems. It's not a big problem if his mind is on the opera troupe, but it's a big problem if his mind is on the actors.

He even got involved with Prince Bei Jing! Jia Zheng only gave him a scolding, unlike in the original story where he was beaten to death. What a pity.

In a courtyard in Banqiao, Lin Shan, just as Jia Lian had said, got up close to noon.

The allure of the most beautiful courtesan on the Qinhuai River is extraordinary. In Suzhou, she had to avoid her shrewish wife at home, so naturally, she wanted to let loose in Nanjing.

Lin Shan's attendant paced anxiously in the courtyard. After a while, seeing him come down yawning, he immediately stepped forward and said, "Jia Lian's reply says he will not see any outside guests."

Lin Shan was stunned for a moment, then said angrily, "He is the son-in-law of the Lin family, and his elder brother is the Grand Secretary, who is also his father-in-law. How dare he not give the Lin family face?"

Chang Sui remained silent, looking down at the ground.

While Lin Shan was turned away, a document jointly signed by Imperial Envoy Jia Lian, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, the Governor of Jiangnan, and the Provincial Treasurer, titled "A Respectful Notice to Merchants of Jiangnan," was distributed to all the large merchants in Suzhou, and notices were posted everywhere. The document clearly stated that the Imperial Envoy's trip south to rectify commercial taxes was not aimed at small merchants. Any Jiangnan officials who used this as a pretext to harass small merchants would be severely punished. As for the large merchants, they were advised to proactively go to the yamen (government office) to clarify their tax evasion issues, or they would bear the consequences themselves.

Local officials familiar with the situation took this matter more seriously, sending notices to all major businesses and posting them everywhere on the streets.

Two thousand copies were printed in Suzhou alone, not counting the counties below.

Jia Lian gave the local government a chance, and the local government also gave the large merchants a chance. If they didn't know what was good for them, then we'll see how the local government handled things. If the local government still didn't know what was good for them, then we'll see how the governor-general and the provincial governor handled things. If the governor-general and the provincial governor couldn't do anything, then they should just die.

All the guilds in Suzhou sprang into action, scurrying about in a panic like insects after the Awakening of Insects.

This was true not only in Suzhou, but throughout the entire Jiangnan province; local officials were working exceptionally hard, and no one dared to take it lightly.

It's not that there aren't fools, though. Take the magistrate of Taicang County, for example. You could say he's foolish, but he's a top-ranking scholar in the imperial examinations, so his intelligence is definitely up to par. Yet, you could also say he's not foolish, because after returning to Taicang, he personally visited the Wang family.

In contrast, the Suzhou prefect was much smarter. He stayed in the prefectural office, sent messengers to various wealthy households, and gave them three days to think it over. Three days later, the prefectural office would hold a meeting, at which time he would proactively report a figure. Whether this figure would satisfy the imperial envoy was another matter, but if the imperial envoy was satisfied, the prefect would be satisfied, the provincial administration would be satisfied, and the governor and viceroy would also be satisfied.

If the official is not satisfied, then the problem is serious.

Let me make this clear upfront, so don't blame the authorities for turning against you later.

This approach is the smartest. In reality, no matter how powerful local forces are, they are all helpless when facing the state's violent organs.

Jia Lian, who was stationed in Jinling, did not even leave his residence, indicating that he temporarily placed complete trust in the officials under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of Liangjiang and the Governor of Jiangnan. The only person allowed to enter and pay his respects to Jia Lian was Xiong Fang, the Governor-General of Liangjiang.

Yes, it's that strict. Even the governor of Jiangnan isn't qualified to see Jia Lian.

The visiting invitations and gift lists were both rejected. The representatives of the Wang and Shen families, who had brought generous gifts, could only come to Lin Shan to discuss how to proceed.

What could Lin Shan do? He could only tell the representatives of the two families that he had sent someone to the capital, and that the Grand Secretary's letter or the messenger would arrive in Nanjing in three to five days at the earliest.

At that time, I'm not afraid that Jia Lian will obediently give in.

To be honest, when Lin Ruhai received the letter from the Lin family, he asked the Lin family member who delivered it, "Didn't the Lin family receive my personal letter?"

The messenger replied, "Yes, I received the letter. Seeing that the imperial envoy had arrived in Jinling, I sent my nephew to the capital in person. My family's idea is that my uncle send a trusted confidant to Jinling."

Lin Ruhai...

There are really a lot of stupid people in this world, and the Lin family has a lot of them.

(End of this chapter)