Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 665 A Series of Scandals

There was no need for Li Heng's memorial to return. In addition to escorting Li Heng, there were three other fleets that sailed to the Xinhua colony that year.

One of the fleets was British, carrying three boatloads of white women.

It can only be said that before the formal abolition of slavery, the British were very enthusiastic.

The British were still focused on Europe, busy organizing a new anti-French coalition to annihilate Napoleon.

This period in French history was probably the most glorious.

Speaking of Britain, here's a little-known fact: the full title of the British Prime Minister is First Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Dissatisfaction with the king's tax policies led to the bourgeois revolution in England. From another perspective, the British revolution should be called the tax revolution.

Interestingly, the American Revolutionary War also originated from mutual taxation, truly a continuation of the same lineage.

Ironically, the United States, which gained independence because it didn't want to pay taxes, has an axiom that death and taxes are inevitable.

Li Yuan was fortunate; Emperor Chenghui left behind a financially prosperous country. New emperors, after ascending the throne, always harbor ambitions and want to prove themselves.

The result is often that ambitions are gradually eroded by the repeated tug-of-war between different stakeholders.

How to balance the interests of all parties and keep the country in good order to avoid major problems is a problem that every emperor has to face.

From the perspective of the cabinet, Li Yuan, with his relatively impatient personality, was too difficult to serve, unlike during the reign of the late emperor, when everyone could compromise, slack off, and leave work on time.

Li Yuan seized upon the Jiangnan tax case and the assassination of Jia to make a big fuss. This time, however, he did not dismiss officials on a large scale again, but pointed out that the result was due to the officials' failure to perform their duties.

This raises the question of work efficiency!

They then brought up the performance evaluation system again, demanding that it be improved on the existing basis and that loopholes be plugged.

From the cabinet's perspective, this was nitpicking. In reality, the advent of trains and clipper ships greatly improved the efficiency of message transmission and the transportation of supplies. In particular, the efficiency brought by trains was several times higher than during the reign of the previous emperor.

Officials in times of peace have it really good because there aren't many truly important matters to attend to. Most of the time, as long as they ensure tax collection is done properly, deposits are deposited on time, and they keep their mouths shut, they're quite content.

Li Yuan put pressure on officials, especially targeting corruption, and within a year dispatched ten inspection teams across the country.

This kind of inspection was not unique to any particular dynasty. Going back further, it can be traced back to the supervisors of the Han Dynasty, and during the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, imperial censors were also widely dispatched.

The inspection team's work mainly focuses on two aspects: investigating corruption and clarifying criminal cases.

The former is because tax collection is always problematic, and officials must understand that since they receive salaries from the imperial court, they must collect taxes for the court. The latter is because ordinary people dislike litigation; once involved in a lawsuit, they find it unbearable. In grassroots criminal cases, the government almost always favors landlords and gentry.

Even if the inspection team doesn't necessarily uncover any wrongdoings by officials, it can still serve as a deterrent.

It can only be said that Li Yuan's idea was very good, but the actual effect was often just so-so.

Jia Lian, who had joined the cabinet, rarely stayed there and was often away on business trips. The reason for this choice was that the cabinet was a quagmire, where no matter what one wanted to do, one would be constrained by external forces.

This is determined by the rules, and the greatest function of rules is to constrain power.

Jia Lian was still willing to abide by the rules, because once someone could rise above the rules, chaos would not be far off.

There's another, even more important factor: with Jia Lian in the capital, many things become difficult to manage. If something happens in the capital while he's away on business, can I really be held responsible?

In the third year of the Qianzheng era, Li Yuan dispatched an inspection team. Li Heng was adrift at sea, while Jia Lian was stationed in Luoyang to promote the accelerated construction of the Longhai Railway.

After the start of summer, Li Yuan went to Rehe to escape the heat, leaving behind his fifteen-year-old crown prince Li Wan and a group of officials from the Eastern Palace to assist in overseeing the country.

Just as Li Yuan arrived in Rehe, trouble broke out in the capital. It wasn't anything good; it was a scandal, and not just one scandal, but three scandals in a row.

The first incident wasn't too big; it was just a few officials having fun at a brothel after get off work, and they got into a fight over a courtesan. The two sides that started the fight were officials on one side and relatives of the emperor on the other.

After the Five Cities Garrison was dispatched, all the people were taken back and dealt with according to normal procedures, which included fines and detention.

Officials and relatives of the empress dowager were just waiting to be impeached; the real problem was that someone had died. A third-generation member of the empress dowager's family lost an argument and resorted to violence. Unable to win, he pulled out a revolver and shot a Ministry of Rites official dead with three shots.

This matter escalated significantly, and the Five Cities Garrison was unable to suppress the case. After the suspects were apprehended, they could only be detained. The censor in charge of the operation submitted an urgent memorial, cursing and swearing.

In these kinds of murder cases, the normal procedure is to transfer the suspect to the Ministry of Justice. The problem is that the Ministry of Justice refuses to take over, making all sorts of excuses and just not taking the suspect over.

The Eastern City Censor of the Five City Garrison Command was furious and impeached the Ministry of Justice, arguing that the Ministry of Justice should take over the case, so why was it taking so long?
The Ministry of Justice also had something to say: the case had already been taken over by the Military Affairs Division, the facts were clear, and it should be sent directly to the Court of Judicial Review for trial. Wasn't that what the Military Affairs Division always did? They'd overstepped their authority quite a bit, hadn't they?
The Court of Judicial Review objected, arguing that the procedure was incorrect. The Ministry of Justice should have taken over, investigated the case, and then handed it over to the Court of Judicial Review for trial. When did it become the Military Command's turn to directly transfer cases? They refused to accept it!
The three government departments are skilled in playing football together, with excellent short passing and teamwork, but they can't solve any problems. It's a pity they're not playing for the national team.

Crown Prince Li Wan had never seen anything like this before. After receiving the memorial, he clearly instructed the relevant officials to handle it as soon as possible. How did it get passed around like this?

So they consulted their teacher, Zuo Chunfang, the official in charge of rice. This man was also a shrewd old fox, who advised them to wait and not rush into anything. He suggested they first petition the emperor in Rehe and wait for his reply.

The matter was delayed like this, but fortunately there was a train. Originally, the round trip would have taken at least ten days, but now it only takes five days.

The problem was that before the emperor in Rehe could reply, another incident occurred.

This time, it was Shuntian Prefecture that got into trouble because someone reported that a certain nunnery was illegally operating a prostitution business. In those days, opening a brothel required paying a donation, euphemistically called a "flower donation."

Flower donations were an important source of income for Shuntian Prefecture, so if someone reported it, they would naturally be arrested; in modern terms, this would be called an anti-prostitution campaign.

This sweep had serious consequences; eight officials who ran a bank here were arrested in one fell swoop—they were all regulars. After the officials revealed their identities, the official in charge from Shuntian Prefecture was stunned; how did he end up in this unfortunate situation?

The most critical issue was that it alerted the Five Cities Military Command. When the Western City Censor arrived and saw the thing, the Shuntian Prefecture official didn't even have time to cover it up.

You should know that Shuntian Prefecture and the Five Cities Military Command have a long-standing feud. They don't just dislike each other, but their enmity runs deep. Think about it, they both have the right to maintain order, and during law enforcement, they've often fought over their respective cronies. The Five Cities Military Command is notorious for its powerful backers and has never shown any respect to Shuntian Prefecture.

The same thing happened this time. The Wucheng Military Command said, "We'll just watch and see. You can handle the case. We promise not to interfere with your case handling."

The official in charge of Shuntian Prefecture almost cried. Why don't you take over? Why don't you try to seize the power of law enforcement this time?

There was no other way but to take the person back. The prefect of Shuntian was also at a loss. After finding out the truth, he was so angry that he cursed and said that the Five Cities Garrison was not human.

When Crown Prince Li Wan received the report from Shuntian Prefecture, he didn't bother to contact his teacher Mi Lai this time, but instead chose to report directly to Rehe. He really doesn't know how to handle this kind of situation.

Li Yuan was in Rehe to escape the summer heat, bringing with him all the cabinet ministers, the six ministers, and several vice ministers.

Even after arriving in Rehe, there was no time to rest. Lin Ruhai pulled Li Qing aside, handed him a list, and asked Li Yuan to decide on two cabinet candidates.

At Li Yuan's suggestion, the list excluded people from Liangjiang and Shanxi, leaving only nine qualified ministers and governors.

Li Yuan was quite surprised. Did people from Liangjiang and Shanxi really make up such a large share of the ranks of second-grade and first-grade officials?
Governors-general were divided into two ranks: the second rank and the first rank. The first rank included the Governor-General of Huguang, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, and the Governor-General of Liangguang. Ministers were also divided into two ranks: the second rank and the first rank. The first rank included the Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Revenue.

Li Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he silently calculated. There were nine governors-general, six ministers, the left censor-in-chief, the chief justice, and the chief minister of the court, totaling eighteen officials of the second rank or above.

Currently, only nine people are not from Liangjiang and Shanxi, which means that these two provinces account for half of the officials of the second rank or above.
Silently noting this down, the emperor glanced at Lin Ruhai and Li Qing, both officials from the Liangjiang region, and then silently considered the five members of the cabinet. Yue Qi was from Shanxi, Fang Song from Jiangxi, and Jia Lian, though from the capital, was originally from Nanjing.

Looking at the list of alternates again, Li Yuan remained silent for a while before deciding: "Xiong Fang, Governor-General of Liangjiang, and Wei Rui, Governor-General of Huguang."

Xiong Fang was from Jiangxi, and Wei Rui was from Shaanxi, one from the south and one from the north. Then, they directly named Chen Jia, the governor of Guangdong, as the successor to the governor-general of Huguang, and Han Guang, the governor of Zhejiang, as the successor to the governor-general of Liangjiang.

The two governors were from Yunnan and Henan respectively, one in the south and the other in the north.

Li Yuan's decision to bypass the Ministry of Personnel in a private meeting was not inherently problematic, given that the emperor had the authority to directly appoint officials of the third rank and above. Going through the Ministry of Personnel was a sign of respect, but not going through it was also acceptable.

This was the privilege granted to the emperor by the Zhou imperial system; it was simply a matter of whether the emperor used it or not. Some emperors were more moderate, such as Emperor Chenghui, who was always willing to show some respect to the Ministry of Personnel.

Li Yuan didn't say it aloud, but he disapproved of his father's attitude on personnel matters, believing that Emperor Chenghui was too weak, leading to the cabinet and the Ministry of Personnel infringing on his rights in personnel matters. These concessions on personnel directly resulted in the cabinet and the Ministry of Revenue colluding to infringe on his rights in financial matters as well, leading to Emperor Chenghui repeatedly using funds from the imperial treasury to make up for the financial shortfall.

In Li Yuan's mind, the imperial treasury was used by the emperor to reward his ministers and provide relief to the imperial family and relatives of the empress. What was the point of subsidizing the treasury?
Previously, I had no say, but now it's time to restore order. Let's start with the power to appoint personnel.

This was Li Yuan's true thought, and he did just that.

After Li Yuan made his decision, Lin Ruhai and Li Qing did not argue, but they did feel the pressure. The emperor had chosen the two governors-general directly, bypassing the cabinet and the Ministry of Personnel, without going through the process of selecting them. This was unthinkable during the reign of Emperor Chenghui.

Before the two cabinet ministers could even lament the loss of their power to appoint officials, devastating news arrived from the capital: Empress Dowager Zhou's nephew had shot and killed a junior official in the Ministry of Rites.

Unable to make a decision, the crown prince had no choice but to request permission.

The cabinet ministers, who hadn't slept well for two nights, immediately went to see the emperor and presented the crown prince's memorial.

Li Yuan was stunned when he read the memorial. Had the relatives of the empress become so wild? Upon closer inspection, he discovered that there were still experts among them.

The three government offices passed the buck, refusing to solve the case. Even the Crown Prince, who was in charge of overseeing the country, refused to solve it and pushed it onto me.

You always claim to share my burdens, but is this how you do your jobs?

After reading the memorial, Li Yuan was furious and wanted to make a decision immediately. However, looking at the cabinet ministers waiting for him, he felt that he couldn't let them off so easily.

"Discuss this matter among yourselves, and come up with a proposal." Li Yuan pushed the case to the cabinet, and Lin Ruhai and the others could only reluctantly accept it and go back to discuss it.

The cabinet is also at a loss; this matter concerns the Empress Dowager, how can they make a decision? Let's stall for time, there's no rush.

Before the cabinet could even finish dealing with this case, less than two days later, another urgent memorial arrived. This time it wasn't about a relative of the empress; it was about officials getting into trouble, or rather, a collective incident.

Eight officials, three of whom were of the fourth rank, two of the fifth rank, one of the sixth rank, and two of the seventh rank. They were opening silver handkerchiefs in a nunnery.

What an outrageous scandal!

The cabinet members were furious about the moral decline of officials, and were also angry about the inaction of the Shuntian Prefecture. They had nothing to say to the Crown Prince who was in charge of the country.

Because the memorial was delivered by the Crown Prince, the cabinet ministers did not go to see the emperor collectively this time. Instead, they each attached their own opinions on how to handle the matter and then presented it to the emperor.

The consensus this time is relatively unified: to remove him from office.

After reading the memorial, Li Yuan nearly tore it to shreds, cursing furiously: "This is the kind of official the court appoints! The whole capital knows, the whole country knows, even the Westerners know! He's brought shame to the Western countries!"

In reality, Western countries didn't think it was a big deal, especially when they read the newspapers they were shocked. It was just opening a silver handkerchief, why did all the newspapers have to criticize it so loudly?

The ministers and consuls from various countries all said, "I don't understand it, but I am deeply impressed. The Zhou Empire's high standards for the morality of its officials are truly admirable."

What Li Yuan considered a shameful incident was not considered shameful by Westerners, but rather an event worthy of learning.

This time, Li Yuan acted decisively and immediately issued a reply: dismissal was not enough to appease public anger; instead, he stripped the official title and demoted the person to a commoner.

The approval was sent to the cabinet, but it was immediately rejected by the cabinet. The reasons were quite valid: the punishment was too severe, it was against the rules, and there was no precedent for it.

The subtext was clear: if it was just about playing around with women, it wasn't a big deal; at worst, they'd be fined if caught. The Imperial Guards had arrested many officials to generate revenue, fifty taels per arrest.

Li Yuan was furious after his proposal was rejected. Just as he was about to argue with the cabinet ministers, another piece of news arrived, another scandal, but this time the perpetrator was a monk.

(End of this chapter)