Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 679 Li Yuan's Reforms

Previously, he didn't want to be the chief minister because of the many responsibilities, but now that he's been appointed, Jia Lian doesn't hesitate to exercise the powers of the chief minister and divide the work according to convention.

Fang Song, a well-known member of the Jia faction, naturally bypassed Yue Qi to become the second-in-command, and no one could say "no." This was not the final result; it still depended on the emperor's arrangements.

Upon receiving the report, Li Yuan smiled slightly and said, "Sir, you get into character very quickly. I am truly looking forward to the Great Zhou reaching even greater heights under your leadership!"

Hu Min smiled and brought over a box. After opening it, she took out a private seal, which Li Yuan promptly stamped on.

The first major event Jia Lian faced after taking office was the imperial examination.

The Ministry of Rites had been preparing for a long time, but unexpectedly, the cabinet underwent changes. Minister of Rites Yan Li hurried over to find out the situation in order to avoid any unforeseen complications.

Yan Li entered the cabinet, and coincidentally, the emperor's imperial edict arrived, fully approving Jia Lian's division of labor.

Yan Li immediately reported his work to Fang Song. As a loyal dog of the late emperor, Fang Song knew that Jia Lian had played a significant role in his continued presence in the cabinet and his potential for further advancement.

Judging from his age, Fang Song wouldn't have the chance to outlive Jia Lian; he would definitely pass away first. Therefore, he didn't know he was going to become the Grand Secretary. After ten years as the Second Grand Secretary, he could retire.

After listening to Yan Li's report on the preparations for the imperial examination, Fang Song pondered for a moment and said, "Lord Yan, let's go see the Grand Secretary and see what he thinks."

With an upright demeanor, Fang Song led Yan Li in. After hearing their purpose, Jia Lian smiled and said, "Brother Fang, just make the decision. Don't you think I've done enough things already?"

As he spoke, he pointed to the report waiting to be processed in front of him.

Fang Song smiled slightly: "The imperial examination is a major event, concerning the nation's talent selection ceremony. The Grand Secretary must understand the situation."

Jia Lian smiled slightly and said, "Speaking of the imperial examination, I do have some thoughts. However, I probably won't be able to participate this year. We'll have to make some adjustments for the next year. Just keep that in mind."

These words made both of them look serious. This involved a matter of doctrine, and it could very well be an event that would affect the whole country.

Yan Li, ever the jovial straight man, chimed in, "The provincial examinations have already determined that practical knowledge must be tested. Even if the next metropolitan examination is adjusted to include practical knowledge, that would be perfectly reasonable."

This flattery was so skillful and seamless, it left no trace.

Jia Lian thought he had mistaken Yan Li for someone else. It should be noted that Yan Li was once a student of Li Qing and a pioneer who insisted on opposing the inclusion of practical learning in the imperial examinations.

This 360-degree turn was so smooth, it was truly amazing.

Fortunately, Jia Lian didn't intend to hold it against him. As the newly appointed Grand Secretary, Jia Lian's idea was very clear: as long as you support my work, everything is negotiable.

As long as you don't contradict me or do anything underhanded, you can be my friend, even if you're a politician.

The world has never been black and white, nor has it been simply a matter of friend or foe. For the same event, a hundred people will have a hundred different perspectives.

Your opinion doesn't matter, as long as you can reserve your opinion, you're not an enemy. Even if you have opposing views, as long as you don't continue to oppose them after the policy is implemented, you're not an enemy either.

This is the breadth of vision and magnanimity that a prime minister must possess!

The Zhou Empire regarded Neo-Confucianism as the dominant school of thought, and it was a required subject in the imperial examinations. Its influence was so profound that it could not be reversed overnight.

Even though the proportion of mathematics in the imperial examinations was added as early as the reign of Emperor Taizu, it has fluctuated several times until the reign of Emperor Chenghui when the importance of mathematics was basically established.

Jia Lian's practical learning is not a kind of thought and cannot rise to the level of philosophy. From an academic point of view, philosophy stands at the top of the hierarchy of discrimination.

There is no concept of philosophy in China now. The Neo-Confucianism, an advanced version of Confucianism, is a hodgepodge, containing a large amount of Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi's personal ideas.

Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind is an idealistic school of thought. In contrast, the Neo-Confucianism, which emphasizes the investigation of things to acquire knowledge, has some materialistic foundation.

Jia Lian's practical learning comes from the investigation of things and the extension of knowledge. Even before he was a cabinet minister, he dared to say that he was a follower of Confucianism. Now he dares to say that this is the true Confucianism. Believe it or not, people in the past have misinterpreted the Confucian classics.

Everyone who enters officialdom has their own set of standards; the imperial examination is merely a stepping stone to officialdom. Once inside, one naturally strives to secure their position and then relentlessly climb the ranks.

If you want to pursue scholarship, it's best to stay in the Hanlin Academy and not become a government official.

As for the move to change course, isn't that a perfectly normal thing? There's only one precedent in this dynasty for a minister who went against the Grand Secretary and got away with it, and that minister is now sitting in the Grand Secretary's position.

What else is there to say? Just follow behind and shout "Awesome!"

Jia Lian gave no instructions regarding this year's imperial examination, instructing Fang Song to directly lead Yan Li to meet the emperor. Since power has been delegated, let's be thorough and avoid interfering in specific matters unnecessarily.

If someone informs you, that's called respect; if you point fingers and make comments, that's called infringement.

When Li Yuan saw that Jia Lian hadn't come, he immediately realized that this was a new style of governance. With Lin Ruhai as the chief minister, he would definitely come together to discuss matters concerning the imperial examination and give his opinion.

"There are still two weeks until the provincial examination, so there's still time. When registering, spread the word that this year's provincial examination will have a third session on mathematics and physics, with one paper per day, each paper worth 100 points. Those who score less than 180 points on all three papers will not be admitted." Li Yuan's surprise attack greatly caught Fang Song and the Ministry of Rites off guard.

Yan Li hesitated for a moment, then put up a slight protest: "Your Majesty, wouldn't this be unfair to this year's tribute students?"

Li Yuan said calmly, "How is it unfair? Didn't the provincial examination test practical knowledge? If they fail the metropolitan examination, it means their provincial examination results are not strong enough. I know the importance of practical knowledge. Without a solid foundation in practical knowledge, one cannot build trains or advanced guns and cannons. If one's practical knowledge is not up to par, one cannot even understand account books and will rely on hiring clerks for everything. Such officials can only be manipulated by others in office. They may be able to cope at the grassroots level, but their governance ability will be insufficient at the provincial level. How can they be expected to enter the Six Ministries or even the Grand Secretariat?"

Fang Song then spoke: "Your humble servant obeys the decree!" Yan Li gave up resisting and silently retreated.

Li Yuan gestured for pen and ink to be prepared, then wrote a letter and handed it to Fang Song: "Take this and let the teacher take a look. If there are no objections, then formalize it and affix the seal!"

Fang Song and Yan Li took their leave. On the way back, Yan Li asked with some concern, "Prime Minister, what's wrong...?"

Fang Song stopped and turned around: "Oppose? Why should we oppose it? His Majesty has been on the throne for ten years and has personally witnessed the rapid growth of industrial and commercial tax revenue, which now accounts for half of the national income. On the other hand, the old taxes are decreasing. In the past, after the autumn harvest every year, the cabinet routinely issued a document requiring all prefectures and counties to urge local governments to seize the opportunity of the off-season to build water conservancy projects. Do you know what the feedback has been every year?"

Yan Li shook his head: "This humble servant does not know!" Fang Song sneered repeatedly: "In the past two years, the Censorate has repeatedly suppressed memorials impeaching Shandong Governor Li Dong and Provincial Treasurer Lin Ping. Do you know why?"

Yan Li dared not pretend to be stupid this time: "This humble servant has heard about it. The cause is that the two officials have harmed the gentry."

Fang Song angrily retorted, "Nonsense, utter nonsense! Li Dong and Lin Ping are in charge of the major winter water conservancy projects in various prefectures of Shandong. Not only are the local gentry not cooperating, but many are also obstructing them. Do you know why?"

Yan Li remained silent this time. He probably knew, but couldn't bring himself to say it.

Facing the silent Yan Li, Fang Song snorted coldly twice, said nothing, and continued walking forward.

When Jia Lian saw Fang Song and Yan Li return, bringing Li Yuan's instructions, he was quite taken aback. After reading them, he sighed and said, "Do as instructed!"

The cabinet must take responsibility for this, even if it means being criticized by scholars all over the country.

Yan Li returned to the Ministry of Rites, quickly drafted the document, and submitted it to the Grand Secretariat. Fang Song affixed his seal first, then Jia Lian affixed his seal, and it was presented to the Emperor for final approval. Thus, the rules for this year's imperial examination were legally established.

This document is to be announced to the world. The official gazette hasn't even been printed yet, and the officials in the capital are already making a fuss.

When officials from the Ministry of Rites posted notices all over the capital, many scholars were already cursing, targeting Jia Lian.

Things are different now. If someone criticizes Jia Lian, someone else will take advantage of him. Many scholars from other places, unaware of Jia Lian's prestige in the capital, soon suffer the consequences.

Ordinary people don't care about all your grand principles; cursing Lord Jia is simply unacceptable.

Scholars who threw eggs at Jia Lian were mostly soft-hearted; many threw their teacups instead, while others picked up stones from the ground.

Even worse things happened next. Many scholars who rented rooms were beaten and forced to flee in a sorry state after cursing Jia Lian. When they returned to their accommodations, their landlords kicked them out.

The scene from years ago was repeated once again, with hundreds of tribute students forced to carry their luggage and search for places to stay on the streets.

Guild halls in various places took in a large number of these scholars who had nowhere else to go. These people were furious, but there was nothing they could do.

Even more interestingly, the scholars started arguing among themselves. Scenes of scholars from coastal provinces and inland provinces exchanging insults were common in taverns and teahouses.

It can only be said that there are still many supporters of practical learning; those scholars who can pass the imperial examinations are generally intelligent. As long as it's not a matter of political stance, one can see the changes that practical learning has brought to the country.

The internal turmoil among Beijing officials was mainly concentrated in the Ministry of Rites and the Hanlin Academy, while those who supported Jia Lian were primarily from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works. Other departments were evenly divided between support and opposition.

The Ministry of War was the most unique case. Logically, it was one of the six ministries that should have opposed Jia Lian the most, yet it overwhelmingly supported practical learning.

The day was chaotic, but things passed relatively peacefully. The next morning, the Five Cities Garrison was mobilized. The reason was simple: a fight had broken out inside the Shandong Guild Hall.

Both sides in the conflict were scholars who had passed the imperial examinations, and the cause of the conflict was the inclusion of practical learning in the examinations, with support and opposition evenly split. It can only be said that Shandong was a rather unique region. Even though the prosperity of industry and commerce brought many benefits to Shandong, it was still difficult for scholars to achieve a majority support for practical learning. In contrast, the scholars in the Jiangnan Guild Hall, who should have been mostly opposed, largely supported practical learning.

To paraphrase a scholar from Jiangnan, supporting practical learning is not the same as supporting the scoundrel Jia who persecuted the gentry of Jiangnan!
It's so awkward!

As for why the scholars in the Shandong Guild Hall started fighting, they didn't actually fight at first; they were just arguing.

For some reason, Li Dong and Lin Ping, the two top officials in Shandong, were suddenly mentioned, and then the two sides couldn't contain their anger and started fighting.

When the officers from the Five Cities Garrison arrived, they separated the scholars and their servants who were in complete disarray and, to a reasonable degree, took them all back.

An investigation revealed that the real reason for their fight was that two officials in charge of Shandong had been very rude to the local gentry during their tenure, and had dealt with a number of them.

The main reason why Li Dong and Lin Ping took action against the gentry was that the two of them joined forces to rush to repair water conservancy projects every winter.

The problem was that the vast majority of landlords objected, and it wasn't just verbal opposition; some even secretly sent their servants to cause trouble. Threatening tenants was considered mild; some went so far as to directly assault the yamen runners.

This angered Li Dong and Lin Ping, who immediately dispatched the governor's standard-bearer to arrest the man.

When these two brothers join forces, they are a force that no one in the province can stop.

With Jia Lian as their patron in the imperial court, the two brothers were fearless and continued to crack down on local gentry for many years. Using the pretext of re-examining old cases, they sentenced more than thirty landlords to death and exiled more than two hundred landlords during their tenure. The two brothers also faced numerous impeachments, but with Fang Song suppressing them, nothing happened to them.

These two brothers purged every prefecture except Qufu. After cracking down on the landlords, during their three years in power in Shandong, they completed all the water conservancy projects that could be repaired throughout the province.

Not only were they fine, but Shandong's thriving industry and commerce, particularly its shipbuilding, fishing, agriculture, and aquaculture, achieved top-notch results nationwide. Last year, Shandong's tax revenue ranked third in the country, slightly behind Jiangnan and Guangdong. Therefore, both of their performances in the Beijing inspection were rated as "Excellent".

This raises the question: why did the landlords oppose the construction of water conservancy projects?
The reason is cruel! Once the water conservancy project is completed, the people will not be affected during natural disasters. How can landlords take the opportunity to seize land and force tenants to sell their children?

Most of the scholars from Shandong came from landlord families. How could they not hate Jia Lian's two henchmen?

Hatred is useless; their backers are too powerful. No matter how much you impeach them, even if it's sent directly to the emperor, it won't make a difference.

Li Yuan was not the kind of emperor who had never worked at the grassroots level. When he was in Southeast Asia, how many years did he not mobilize the people to build water conservancy projects?
If the cabinet hadn't been uncooperative, Li Yuan would have already taken action. He was overjoyed that Li Dong and Lin Ping were actively working in Shandong, leading the people in large-scale water conservancy projects.

India's foundation was far better than that of the new China, so why was it slow to industrialize? The root cause lies with the landlords.

As for why Jia Lian didn't carry out a large-scale purge, it wasn't that he didn't have the idea, but rather that he was constrained by the existing system.

Jia Lian's plan was to first develop industries in coastal areas, taking advantage of the convenience of sea transport and low logistics costs to get industries up and running in the coastal provinces, so that everyone in the world could see the benefits.

As for inland provinces, things will have to wait. Landlords in coastal provinces, driven by enormous profits, are destined to willingly invest their money in industry and commerce.

(End of this chapter)