Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 653 A Strong Test

After five months of turmoil, Jia Lian did not give up. Instead, he submitted another memorial to the throne.

This time, he got the Governor-General of Liangjiang, Xiong Fang, to sign the document together. As for the Governor of Jiangnan, he was praying to the gods and Buddhas to bless Jia Lian so that he wouldn't be so petty and wouldn't be so calculating.

The memorial clearly outlines the tax system through the lens of the Jiangnan Commercial Tax Case. It points out that the existing tax system, built upon the premise of commercial decline at the founding of the nation, is completely unsuitable for the current situation after more than a century of development. The current commercial tax case arose precisely because the old system was riddled with loopholes and easily exploited. Therefore, reform is imperative. The previous pilot program by specialized tax agencies in Southeast Asia yielded positive results and can be readily implemented domestically. Considering the potential risks and chaos of a full-scale implementation, it is recommended that pilot programs be conducted in Beijing, Tianjin, the Yangtze River Delta region, and Guangdong.

Simply conducting pilot programs is not enough. We also need to establish a professional tax agency to accumulate experience during the pilot process and introduce specialized tax laws to facilitate nationwide implementation in the future.

When this joint memorial reached the Office of Transmission, the Director of the Office of Transmission, who had been suffering from a bit of neurasthenia lately, immediately jumped up, ran to deliver it to the Cabinet, and threw away this red-hot iron.

The reason why professional tax departments could be established in various parts of Southeast Asia in the past was because it was easier to draw on a blank sheet of paper. Now, if a tax bureau is set up in China, wouldn't that be a disaster?

This new department is not simply about taking away some power from the Ministry of Revenue; it also involves the power of a province from top to bottom, and the power of the local gentry.

What is power?
In the Great Zhou Dynasty, power was the cornerstone of interests!

To put it simply, establishing a new, specialized tax department harms the interests of the vast majority of those who have already benefited from the system.

In the past, this was something that could only be thought about, and it would never be discussed in court. Anyone who dared to bring it up would be considered an enemy of all the officials.

While the memorial was being circulated within the cabinet, its contents had already been leaked out; there was absolutely no secret about it.

Well, the main reason is that Jia Lian didn't intend to keep it a secret, or rather, this was yet another strong test from him.

Most reforms were born out of necessity. For the imperial court, if it could be dealt with, it would be dealt with first.

Jia Lian's approach was to use a sledgehammer to strike the foundation repeatedly, causing it to vibrate and allowing the ground to adapt. He reasoned that when the day came, the resistance would be less and not much.

After all, it concerns their own interests, and no one would give up. Just look at the reforms at the end of the Qing Dynasty; even in that time of year, they could still create a royal cabinet.

Taxes are money, and money always brings benefits. Depriving people of the right to collect taxes is equivalent to depriving them of one of their sources of income. How could this not cause an uproar?

If any other minister had submitted such a memorial, he would have been destined to be beaten to death by a mob.

When this person was Jia Lian, everything was different.

What's the difference?

It's very simple: if you want to kill Jia Lian, he will definitely kill you first.

He has the ability!

"Are they all mute?" Lin Ruhai looked at his colleagues calmly. During the late emperor's reign, the establishment of the tax bureau in Nanyang was something Jia Lian had worked tirelessly to achieve. That was only possible if Jia Lian hadn't pushed for it domestically. Now that Jia Lian was bringing up the old issue again, the pressure on the cabinet was immense.

Do you think the cabinet ministers don't know that this country's tax system has problems? They know it perfectly well.

They all started from the grassroots level and know how taxes are collected.

For a county magistrate to successfully collect taxes, he needs the cooperation of the local gentry and the hard work of the lower-level officials.

Whether they were gentry or minor officials, they were all unofficial staff hired by the county government. They did not receive salaries from the imperial court.

Just ask me this: who would put in the effort to do something that doesn't offer any benefit?

This is such a simple truth.

The problem is that, from the perspective of the nation, if this system is implemented for a long time, countless corrupt officials will eventually erode the foundation of the country.

"Too radical!" Pan Jixun, who was about to retire, was fearless. He agreed with the idea in his heart, but he could not openly support it, so he could only express it implicitly.

“It was indeed a bit hasty.” Fang Song echoed, as Jia Lian’s ally, he couldn’t openly and strongly oppose it, so he could only put it another way.

"I object!" Yue Qi said decisively, directly objecting without giving any reasons.

“It is indeed inappropriate and needs further discussion.” Li Qing could not openly oppose it, so he could only offer limited opposition.

People with different identities will naturally have different perspectives on this issue.

The four cabinet ministers had differing opinions, with only Yue Qi explicitly opposing the idea.

"Draft receipts for everyone!" Lin Ruhai didn't give them a chance. Every attitude had to be documented in black and white to avoid future misunderstandings. After all, this was a serious matter and could not be taken lightly.

Despite their reluctance, everyone drafted a note and pasted it onto the memorial.

Finally, in front of everyone, Lin Ruhai drafted the following document: "This proposal seems somewhat hasty; perhaps a specialized commercial tax agency could be established to gradually advance the process."

This suggestion surprised everyone slightly, yet they all felt that it might not be impossible to do.

After all, the most developed industrial and commercial regions are mainly concentrated in coastal areas, while inland provinces are not so concerned about the collection of commercial taxes.

Overall, this draft did not touch the fundamental interests of the local gentry and landlords.

It can only be said that there are individuals who betray their class, but no class that betrays its class.

At the critical moment, Lin Ruhai didn't dare to think about touching the landlord. He still sought stability because it best served his personal interests and was also beneficial to the country to some extent.

From Jia Lian's perspective, he genuinely wanted to promote the emergence of professional tax agencies, as this was the prerequisite for further targeting landlords.

The Zhou Empire in this timeline still has its advantages. First, it was a pioneering nation, and second, it was centralized in power.

Every country that wants to industrialize goes through a period of centralized power, and Britain was no exception. The United States also had a period of centralized power during the Civil War, as Lincoln did, not to mention Roosevelt.

None of the late-developing countries in modern society that adopted Western systems from the outset have ever succeeded.

Thanks to Jia Lian, the Zhou Empire has laid a solid foundation for heavy industry, and the private light industry is also in a phase of rapid expansion.

With these two prerequisites in place, even if there is an extreme imbalance in economic development between coastal and inland areas, the balance can still be achieved through central government transfer payments due to the centralized system.

Looking at the Zhou Empire from a national perspective, the southeastern coast is densely populated, so there's no shortage of labor in the short term. The small-scale agricultural economy along the Yangtze River is destined to see a large influx of people migrating eastward in the face of industrialization; after all, the Chinese are flexible and pragmatic, so there's no need to worry about a labor shortage. Furthermore, there's the possibility of industries relocating inland, as capitalists will naturally seek lower labor costs. In conclusion, Jia Lian's most pressing needs are threefold: first, to accelerate domestic industrial development; second, to expand into external markets and accelerate colonial expansion; and finally, to unify taxation.

Another important aspect is the improvement of the modern government structure. While this is crucial, it's not something to rush into. We can wait until Jia Lian leads the cabinet before establishing it.

That's why Jia Lian submitted this memorial, because it was the toughest challenge he had to overcome.

Jia Lian was not in a hurry to achieve results, but waited patiently. After all, he had not yet entered the cabinet and only needed to keep sending signals to the outside world.

The cabinet sent the memorial to the palace. After reading the memorial, Li Yuan looked at the draft proposal and finally focused his attention on Lin Ruhai's proposal.

Li Yuan took out paper, picked up a pen, and wrote down: "The commercial taxes owed in Jiangnan amount to tens of millions. It was only after the imperial envoy's army entered Jiangnan that this was achieved, demonstrating the seriousness of the problem. However, establishing a dedicated commercial tax agency will inevitably create discord and conflict with local prefectures and counties. What should be done? Therefore, either we establish an independent tax agency, or we leave things as they are for the time being and only work on tax laws. Please discuss this further; I await your reply."

The emperor's reply was sent back to the cabinet, and after Lin Ruhai read it, he circulated it among the cabinet ministers.

After reading it, the cabinet ministers deeply realized the difference between the new emperor's and the late emperor's styles of doing things.

During the reign of Emperor Seikyo, direct expression of opinions was rare; instead, the cabinet was brought to the forefront through insinuations.

Lee Yuanze preferred to proactively express his ideas and request the cabinet to cooperate in implementing them.

Regardless of the merits or demerits of the two styles, in terms of efficiency alone, Li Yuan's efficiency is undoubtedly higher, which is beyond the guessing of the cabinet ministers.

Li Yuan's reply made his stance clear: either establish a tax bureau directly, or don't establish one at all. There was no need to create a separate commercial tax bureau, as that would undoubtedly lead to conflicts between the old and new departments. If establishing an independent tax bureau directly wasn't feasible, then the tax law should be amended first. The existing tax law was certainly outdated.

The cabinet quickly reached a consensus: the establishment of an independent tax bureau should not be rushed and should be postponed. The revision of the tax law could wait until Jia Lian returned to Beijing to participate in the revision process.

The reason is simple: Jia Lian knows the situation on the front lines best.

The suggestion was presented to the Emperor, and although Li Yuan was somewhat dissatisfied, he immediately replied, "Approved!"
The cabinet breathed a sigh of relief and temporarily shifted its focus to the supplementary commercial taxes levied by Jia Lian in Jiangnan. At the same time, it proposed whether to launch a similar commercial tax campaign targeting coastal provinces such as Beijing, Tianjin, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Fujian. This time, it wouldn't need to be as high-profile as Jia Lian's campaign; the cabinet could simply issue a document requiring each province to implement it independently, since Jia Lian had already set a precedent in Jiangnan.

After the cabinet conveyed its opinion to the emperor, the reply was clear: postpone!

They were all intelligent people, and they naturally understood the emperor's meaning: it was possible to proceed, but there was no rush. They should wait for Jia Lian to return, as he knew the situation best.

The Jiangnan tax case, which shocked the entire nation, came to an end, and Jia Lian set off to return to the capital.

Regardless of how much tax was recovered in this Jiangnan tax case, the officials in Suzhou and Songjiang suffered a heavy blow.

This had a significant deterrent effect on officials across the country.

The officials once again clearly realized that if the emperor was determined to send Jia Lian out, he would be like the King of Hell to the local officials.

Jia Lian did not kill officials, but he dismissed some and exiled others. Behind each official, there might be the rise and fall of one or even two families.

The detailed report on this tax case was transmitted throughout the country via the official gazette, serving as a model for the governance of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

This at least illustrates one point: it's best to obediently follow the imperial decrees. The officials in Suzhou and Songjiang were courting disaster.

Everyone was focused on the Lin family in Suzhou, thinking that Jia Lian wouldn't be able to do anything to them, and that they would have something to say about it.

Unexpectedly, Jia Lian exiled the head of the Lin clan as soon as he arrived, and then sent troops to place all the important figures of the Lin clan under house arrest. The army even surrounded the Lin clan, showing that any slight movement would result in the extermination of the clan.

Scary, so scary.

Officials and gentry colluded, attempting to leverage the influence of Grand Secretary Lin Ruhai, and the county magistrates under the Suzhou and Songjiang prefects of the Three Departments of Jiangnan paid a heavy price for their "cleverness."

Jia Lian's ruthless crackdown on officials in Jiangnan objectively achieved the goal of rectifying official corruption.

Although officials continue to embezzle, they will definitely have to restrain themselves for a while and lay low.

Jia Lian first took a special train back, and when he got off at the Beijing Railway Station, he found that Cabinet Minister Li Qing was already waiting there.

Li Qing took the initiative to pick up Jia Lian, not because he wanted to mend their relationship (since there was no room for it anymore), but because he wanted to make contact first and communicate in advance on official business.

Although the two sides are adversaries, for the sake of the overall interests of the court, they can communicate and establish a tacit understanding on all matters.

Many past conflicts arose because of a lack of understanding or because one party broke the "rules," leading to increasingly strained relationships.

In this Jiangnan tax case, if we're talking about losses, none of the cabinet members can escape them; they all suffered losses.

Even Yue Qi, the cabinet minister in charge of the Ministry of War, had to reluctantly accept the position of General of Jiangnan at the last minute.

Of course, this debt cannot be attributed to Jia Lian, but rather to Xiong Fang and the Governor of Jiangnan who jointly submitted a memorial to settle scores later.

There were far too many charges. Receiving a salary without working was the least serious offense; large-scale smuggling and numerous bloody incidents were the real crimes.

Jia Lian didn't get involved in this matter. If even something as small as this required Jia Lian's involvement, Xiong Fang might as well retire and go home.

After thanking Li Qing for picking them up, the two got into the carriage. Once they were alone in the carriage, Li Qing said directly, "If anything happens in the future, we can discuss it in advance."

Jia Lian did not object to this; in fact, he welcomed it. After all, there are many uncertainties involved in finding a reliable channel.

"Although the cause of this dispute is not Jia's, Li Xiang's suggestion is good and acceptable."

When both sides are very powerful and neither can defeat the other, it is necessary to increase communication, avoid misjudgments, and reduce friction.

Upon arriving at the Qianqing Palace, Li Yuan and the cabinet ministers were all present. Jia Lian stepped forward to greet them one by one, and after being offered a seat by Li Yuan, he explained the results of his recent communications and discussions with the cabinet.

After saying that, he asked Jia Lian, "Tax law amendments can be done gradually. Do you think a nationwide supplementary payment of commercial taxes is feasible? If so, how should it be implemented?"

Li Yuan was still worried that Jia Lian might be dissatisfied with the shelving of his proposal to establish a new independent tax bureau and thus unwilling to put in the effort. Therefore, he was very careful with his words, addressing Jia Lian as "Sir" in front of the cabinet ministers.

Jia Lian understood this clearly, so he stood up and said that he dared not accept the title of "sir" in public.

Li Yuan readily accepted the good advice and publicly changed the title back to Jia Qing before inquiring about the nationwide tax supplementation.

(End of this chapter)