Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 668 Recent Developments in Europe
Can you call this a minor act of capriciousness by the emperor?

Obviously, that's not the right way to look at it.

From the emperor's perspective, this is called forming a faction!
It's said there's a "Jia faction," but the problem lies with Li Yuandao. The so-called "Jia faction" refers to ideological alignment. They acknowledge Jia Lian's scholarship, work, and contributions.

The faction formed by officials from Shanxi and Liangjiang is now clearly visible.

You make up half of the officials of the second rank or above!

If you were the emperor, how would you feel? It's only civil officials who don't have military power. If the same thing happened to a military general, the emperor would have to sleep with one eye open.

Lin Ruhai wanted to explain that it was a coincidence. The problem was, the emperor wouldn't believe him; what a joke.

Although there is no clear evidence, the Imperial Guards strongly suspect that the three groups conspired to kill Jia Lian and divide the profits of the government and enterprises, resorting to force when reasoning failed.

Some people offered ideas, some provided funding, some provided manpower, and some provided assistance. There must be a mastermind behind this, but no evidence has been found, and sensitive figures are involved, so the investigation cannot continue.

After leaving Rehe, Jia Lian arrived in Beijing by train, but instead of getting off to go home, he continued straight to Tianjin.

There is a newly built three-story building in the city. It is square and not very aesthetically pleasing, but it is tall and big enough that you can overlook the whole city from the top of the building.

This place is not far from the dock, only about a hundred meters away. Jia Lian, who is on the top floor, looks down at the carriages parked below, where boxes are being carried down one by one.

Xue Pan stood tall and straight, his hair tousled by the wind, but it did not diminish his spirited demeanor in the slightest.

"Including the goods shipped back from the Xinhua colony and the goods shipped back from Australia, there are a total of ten gold coins. Guangzhou and Tianjin each account for half, and the Sihai Bank's signboard can be considered established."

Jia Lian remained unmoved by this and said, "That's too little. Australia's production can easily provide that amount of gold coins. Also, prioritize opening branches in Nanjing and Wuhan. If you're short-staffed, you can contact the engineering college in Nanjing. Money itself is not very useful. What's truly useful is using the funds at your disposal to effectively control Southeast Asia, Australia, Xinhua, and other places, ensuring that the shipping routes are completely under your control."

“I understand. Money kept at home will eventually belong to someone else. Only money that can be passed down to your descendants is truly yours.”

Sensing the change in Xue Pan's mindset, Jia Lian glanced at him and said, "Our foundation is still in the mainland. All the preparations overseas are just a fallback plan. In terms of importance, the Xinhua colony is the most important. That's why I arranged for Li Heng to go there. If he can become a powerful leader, then we'll support him. If he's incompetent, we can depose him if we can, but if we can't, we shouldn't cause internal strife. We should just give way. North America is big enough; we can start from scratch."

"I have already ordered my cousin Xue Ke to go to Xinhua. This time, the fleet consists of eighty ships. After arranging 10,000 young couples in Ryukyu, we will head to the Xinhua colony. In the future, we will ensure that one hundred ships make one round trip every year, so as to ensure that more than 10,000 local young men can be transported there."

Jia Lian knew about the plan Xue Pan mentioned. The plan was characterized by using the gimmick of sending wives to immigrants. After transporting people to Ryukyu, they would undergo military training. Once they passed the training, they would be given a Japanese or Indian woman as a wife and transported together to the Xinhua colony.

The fleet is still too small. The Xue family's fleet needs to maintain basic control over the South Seas routes. Fortunately, shipbuilding and crew training are being accelerated everywhere, and the fleet size will at least double next year.

"That's it for this year. Next year, we need to transport at least 50,000 people there. The year after that, we need to reach 100,000. We're on a tight schedule. The Americans could launch a large-scale westward advance at any time. We must get ahead of the Americans and establish a foothold in the mountains. We need to seize advantageous terrain at various passes and build strong fortifications. We should try to maintain good relations with the natives, treat them as equals, and consider them allies."

Jia Lian's explanation was not unfounded; it was because when the locals went there, they really thought the natives were barbarians.

To put it bluntly, the local people viewed the surrounding areas from a superior position, regarding them all as barbarians.

This is true self-confidence in civilization! They see everyone else as savages!

This is unavoidable. The Central Plains dynasties have always been the most powerful countries in East Asia, so it's normal for the people to have this mentality.

Today marks the official opening of Sihai Insurance Bank. This bank focuses on overseas business, offering not only deposit and remittance services but also overseas insurance.

The application process with the central bank went very smoothly. In Xue Pan's words, you can now use facial recognition as cash anywhere.

Sihai Bank is headquartered in Guangzhou, with branches in Jakarta, Manila, and Tianjin. It has no branch in Beijing, as it is unnecessary and also to avoid competition and potential conflicts.

Xue Pan's next plan is to open branches in Yangon and Mumbai. Europe is too far away and too chaotic, so it is not under consideration for the time being.

After the Tianjin branch opened, Jia Lian planned to go to Xuzhou to inspect the progress of the Longhai Railway.

Before he could leave, an urgent report arrived: an envoy from the Ottoman Empire, along with the former minister to Britain.

Jia Lian decided to wait, as they had already departed from Guangzhou.

According to the report, the messenger this time was not the old friend Ibrahim, but a different man named Erdovan, whose purpose was unknown. The ambassador to Britain, Gu Jie, did not travel with him, but returned with the original thirty-one members of the military expedition. Of the original one hundred members who went on the expedition, only eighty-eight returned. Ten died of illness, and two chose to remain in Europe to marry and have children.

So, out of a mere hundred people, there were all sorts of people; who would have thought that two of them would stay in Europe and never return?

Jia Lian waited for ten days before the fleet arrived. This time, the fleet consisted of five ships, all of which were armed merchant ships belonging to the Xue family.

Because of the Xinhua colony, the Xue family's fleet heading to the peninsula was reduced by half and they no longer went to Constantinople.

It's quite interesting that the Turkish delegation didn't choose to travel on a Turkish ship.

The specific reason is unknown, but Jia Lian roughly guessed it.

Therefore, he did not go to the dock to greet them, nor did he meet the new envoy. Instead, he had someone bring the outgoing minister Gu Jie and the members of the military inspection team to his residence.

When Gu Jie saw Jia Lian, he was quite excited and stepped forward to greet him, saying, "Greetings, Grand Secretary Jia!" The other members of the inspection team also greeted him and said in unison, "Greetings, Instructor!"

After exchanging polite greetings with these people, Jia Lian invited them to sit down for a detailed discussion. His suspicions were quickly confirmed. Turkey had been a country that had been wavering, at times cooperating with Austria, and then with Britain, all with the aim of countering Tsarist Russia.

With France's rise on the European continent and its sweeping victory over the anti-French coalition, Türkiye's attitude changed, and it began to flirt with France.

France's objective was simple: to keep Turkey occupied with Tsarist Russia, and it was willing to provide military support for this. The Turkish Pasha needed military aid from the Zhou Dynasty, but also wanted to bring in France to counterbalance the Zhou Dynasty's influence over its military. This angered the British. They reasoned that Turkey's alliance with the Zhou Dynasty was acceptable, as it was a friendly nation. However, their alliance with France made them enemies. They were already being lenient by not attacking Turkey, and thus, the Royal Navy guaranteed maritime security.

Türkiye's flip-flopping has offended not only Britain, but also monarchies like Austria and Prussia.

This time, the Turkish delegation traveled directly by land to the Strait of Hormuz to board a ship. They didn't dare send out their own ships, fearing they might encounter the British Navy, or even worse, that the navy might turn into pirates.

The ambassador's ship in Britain encountered four Xue family merchant ships while resupplying, and that's how they returned together.

Jia Lian inquired about the situation in Europe, and the observers spoke with certainty that Europe would inevitably rise again, and the British would not allow Europe to unify. Austria, Prussia, and Russia, which had previously suffered defeat, would not accept defeat and would certainly make a comeback. As for Turkey, it adopted a policy of not offending either side, accepting French aid on one hand and using French officers to train its troops on the other, while also accepting aid from the Zhou Empire, clearly maintaining a fence-sitter stance.

Jia Lian strongly agreed with these assessments, given the once immense power of the Ottoman Empire and its current advantageous position in the European mindset. He believed he was entitled to waver and remain neutral.

If it weren't for the desire to use Turkey to divert Russia's attention, Jia Lian wouldn't mind messing with Turkey.

The attitude still needs to be expressed. Jia Lian signaled to Gu Jie that after Eldovan arrives in the capital, they should leave him out for a while before making any decisions.

Gu Jie also reported on the situation of students studying in Europe. Currently, the majority of students are in the UK, with over sixty studying at Cambridge and Oxford. There are also students studying in Sweden, the Netherlands, Prussia, Austria, and France. These numbers are small, entirely based on the students' personal interests and choices.

Jia Lian was not surprised by this situation, after all, there are all kinds of people.

Jia Lian inquired about the two members of the inspection team who remained in Europe, and the answer was not surprising: they had slept with a young girl, gotten her pregnant, and decided to stay and take responsibility.

One of them stayed in Britain, and the other stayed in Austria.

Gu Jie suggested using Turkey as a trade transit point to provide limited aid to France. His concern was that France might be attacked from all sides; if it were defeated, Europe would be at peace, which would be detrimental to my country's interests.

"I never would have guessed this guy was so ruthless," Jia Lian thought with a sense of satisfaction. He added that while the idea was good, Napoleon's military talent and the unifying power of nationalism should not be underestimated.

After some thought, Gu Jie said he would seriously consider the issue and decided to write a book about his experiences in Europe.

Jia Lian explicitly promised him that the article could be printed and published at the Jia family's bookstore, with generous payment. The members of the observation group also expressed their intention to write articles for publication.

As for the situation of the Turkish army, Jia Lian only found out about it last. The answer he received differed somewhat from Jia Lian's prior guesses, suggesting that Jia Lian had overestimated the Turkish army.

A strict military hierarchy was normal in this era, but the treatment was extremely poor, and the vast majority of officers were nobles. Furthermore, the system of indirect rule meant that despite the vast territory, it was difficult to form a unified force.

For example, in the previous Egyptian campaign, the Mamluks were more inclined to obey orders than to submit to orders, only seeking help from Constantinople when they were truly outmatched. The peninsula and surrounding areas were largely under tribal rule, resource-scarce, and had low productivity, making it difficult for them to provide effective support to the central government. One of the downsides of this country was its sheer size. The Ottoman Empire was also the largest exporter of white slaves at that time, using trade with the Zhou Dynasty to offset the costs of military purchases. In short, this country was quite a vague concept in the accounts of those returning home.

These members were destined to join the new army echelon. Jia Lian warmly received them, providing them with good food and drink, and allowing them to rest for several days before they took the train back to Beijing.

As for Jia Lian, he continued south and stopped in Jinan, where he met the duo of Li Dong and Lin Ping.

These two guys were very enthusiastic, you could even say they were overly enthusiastic.

Having not seen each other for many years, it's only natural to set up a table and have a good drink.

After catching up, it was already late at night, but the three of them were still in high spirits and their drinking mood remained undiminished.

This inevitably led to a discussion of the current situation, starting with the feelings of the ruling party. Li Dong and Lin Ping have joined forces, focusing on two main development directions: one is maritime trade, specifically trade with regions outside the Great Wall, including Korea and Japan; the other is development within the province, encouraging the cultivation of cotton and pig farming. To this end, Li Dong has formally proposed the construction of the Jiaoji Railway. This railway would allow for the utilization of Jiaozhou Bay.

Both men also faced backlash from local forces and pressure from the decline of the canal. Although the canal still played a role in local commerce, without the grain transport, it was no longer as prosperous as it once was.

Fortunately, the railway was built, which improved the situation, but it also created new problems. Along the railway line, problems were constantly arising.

The conflict mainly centered between the railway protection teams and local residents. The teams dealt a heavy blow to several acts of sabotage. Landlords, powerful clans, and other groups along the railway line suffered severe setbacks. Another issue was Qufu, which was now practically an autonomous kingdom. The imperial court didn't interfere; there was only one rule: no one was allowed to leave Qufu.

This rule led to an incident where residents of several surrounding counties fought because Qufu secretly moved boundary markers and encroached on their land. The government's initial biased stance resulted in significant losses for the surrounding communities. At its worst, merchants in Qufu dared not travel for fear of encountering bandits.

After Li Dong and Lin Ping took office, they decisively made adjustments, strictly ordering all surrounding prefectures and counties to strictly abide by the rules and not to show favoritism. They then impeached several local officials in the surrounding areas, and only after replacing them did things begin to improve.

The governor and the provincial treasurer joined forces to demand a reinvestigation and the return of the land, which barely managed to appease the surrounding populace.

Afterwards, the two discussed the matter, took out a map, and re-determined the boundary based on the map, which finally quelled public anger.

That's all the two of them can do. At most, they'll complain privately about how useless the cult leaders were back then.

During the time these two brothers were in power, the situation in Shandong began to improve, which is gratifying.

When it comes to their future prospects, their age is arguably their biggest advantage. The two brothers are quite content; they are three and four years older than Jia Lian, respectively, and both became governors and provincial treasurers before they were even forty. What more could they ask for?

(End of this chapter)