Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 681 Changes in the World and People's Hearts

When one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. In this era, it is all too common for a family to rise and fall because of one person.

Jia Lian had actually been quite restrained, not making any major moves domestically, and focusing his efforts primarily overseas. Otherwise, let alone Li Yuan, even Emperor Chenghui might not have been able to tolerate him.

The most distinctive feature of imperial power is its intolerance of anyone who can threaten it.

The next day, Wu Anzhong came to visit, and Jia Lian went out to greet him. Wu Anzhong bowed somewhat awkwardly, but Jia Lian grabbed his arm and led him into the inner room to sit down.

"Since my brother-in-law retired due to illness, my situation has deteriorated significantly. It took many years before I was able to return to the capital to serve as an official, and now I am the Director of the Arsenal Department of the Ministry of War."

After Zhang Ting'en retired due to illness, Jia Lian maintained contact with the Zhang family and kept in touch with Wu Anzhong through letters.

But Jia Lian couldn't very well offer to help, could he? Back when Wu Anzhong was working in the Ministry of Revenue, he had already been promoted to the rank of Assistant Minister of the Fifth Grade. Ten years had passed, and Zhang Ting'en had mostly recovered from his stroke, while Wu Anzhong had only been promoted one rank. Given his background, his promotion speed was indeed rather slow. Jia Lian absolutely refused to believe that Lin Ruhai wasn't involved in this.

Yes, I can understand. After all, someone who is a former prime minister should be taken care of, right?

The gap between the two is now huge, and Wu Anzhong is still able to gain access to their inner circle not only because of his relationship with Zhang Ting'en, but also because Jia Lian acknowledges him as an old friend.

"It's funny, I was nominated for a position in the Ministry of Personnel's Selection Department when I returned to the capital. I thought I would have to wait a while, but Brother Buqi was appointed as the Grand Secretary and the Selection Department approved the selection of officials shortly afterward."

Upon hearing Wu Anzhong's words, Jia Lian understood that the official in charge of the selection of officials was gambling that Wu Anzhong could speak on his behalf.

“The armory is a lucrative position,” Jia Lian joked with a smile. Wu Anzhong shook his head with a wry smile and said, “It is indeed unexpected. I officially took office today, and the accounts in the armory are still being handed over.”

Jia Lian understood and sneered, "What, do I need you to clean up my mess?"

Wu Anzhong said with a bitter expression, "Brother Buqi, what you said is too harsh. In this day and age, wherever you go to be an official, isn't it always the successor who has to cover up for the predecessor?"

Jia Lian understood what he meant and laughed, "There's no need for that. You just go and check the accounts. I'll take the blame if anything goes wrong. There are too many problems in the Ministry of War. They forced me to start from scratch back then, and I've never settled that score with them."

The so-called "starting from scratch" refers to the fact that when the Ministry of War repeatedly made things difficult for Jia Lian during the training of the new army in Guangzhou, he directly approached Emperor Chenghui and established the Nanyang New Army under the guise of training a new type of army. Later, he even directly affiliated it with the Nanyang Zongli Yamen (Foreign Ministry of the Southern Ocean), merely nominally under the Ministry of War, and was actually not controlled by the Ministry of War.

This was also the root of the initial conflict between Jia Lian and Yue Qi, as Yue Qi hoped that all troops would be controlled by the Ministry of War.

For so many years, Yue Qi's position in the cabinet has remained unchanged. He has cultivated a strong base of support within the Ministry of War over many years.

Jia Lian had long wanted to deal with Yue Qi and, incidentally, reorganize the military. He just hadn't had a suitable opportunity until now. As the Grand Secretary, he naturally seized the opportunity presented by Wu Anzhong.

Wu Anzhong was overjoyed to hear this. Putting aside past feelings, without the entanglement of real interests, he was truly uneasy.

"Don't worry, Brother Buqi, we will not let the armory get away with this easily this time."

Jia Lian was delighted to hear this and hosted a banquet for Wu Anzhong, who stayed overnight. The next day, Jia Lian personally saw him off.

Jia Lian wasn't in a hurry to see the results of Wu Anzhong's machinations with the armory; this mess was bound to cause trouble, and it needed to be dealt with slowly.

The more pressing matter now is to conduct a population census. This cannot be rushed; we need to pave the way with a simpler census first.

Jia Lian ultimately decided to start with an industrial census. This was because Jia Lian wielded considerable influence in this field and held significant power.

As the Grand Secretary, Jia Lian, who was never a diligent person, was routinely late.

The other cabinet members had no complaints. The Prime Minister was working tirelessly for the country and its people. What was wrong with being a little late?
The current cabinet situation is quite special. Firstly, Jia Lian has many people, while Yue Qi is hiding in a corner, trembling with fear.

The key point is that Jia Lian delegated power quite thoroughly, adopting an attitude of "don't bother me unless it's something important." Aside from the Ministry of Personnel, Jia Lian barely glanced at any other departments in daily administration.

Who wouldn't like a prime minister like that? They're all cabinet ministers, and nobody likes others interfering with their work.

The news of Jia Lian's laziness in governance also reached Li Yuan's ears, but Li Yuan did not believe what others were saying.

Hu Min personally went to the cabinet to invite Jia Lian to an audience with the emperor. After the meeting, Li Yuan asked bluntly, "What are you planning lately, sir? That's why there are rumors that you are being lazy in your administration."

Jia Lian laughed and said, "Your Majesty knows me best. I mentioned before that I wanted to conduct a comprehensive census. My plan was to first conduct a census of industry and commerce to train a professional workforce, and then conduct a population census and a land census. The matter was still in the preparation stage, but I didn't expect Your Majesty to have already guessed it."

Li Yuan hadn't actually guessed it, but when Jia Lian said that, he accepted it: "Sir, you are a great talent capable of leading the country to reform, which ordinary mediocre people naturally cannot understand."

Li Yuan, who was preoccupied with the issue of land annexation, was quite satisfied with Jia Lian's plan. If land annexation could not be completely eliminated, then efforts should be made to mitigate its impact.

"Statistical data can serve as a beacon for national economic development. Once a decline in data is detected, it indicates a problem. A country's development cannot stagnate, otherwise it will fall into internal competition for existing resources. Historically, severe land annexation has made the common people unable to bear any risks, like a large pile of firewood that can be ignited by a single spark. This is also the original intention behind my advocacy for external expansion and industrial development. Both can absorb a large amount of labor, provide a stable income so that people will not starve, and ensure that people have enough to eat so that they will not rebel. The court should establish statistical units in government offices at all levels to monitor the local economic situation, natural disasters, man-made calamities, and especially fluctuations in grain prices. If anyone tries to hoard goods for profit, the court must take swift and decisive action to crack down on unscrupulous merchants."

After Jia Lian finished speaking, Li Yuan was very impressed and nodded repeatedly.

"The previous statistics bureau was too weak. We can take this opportunity to expand it, make it directly subordinate to the cabinet, enhance its independence, and become another assistant to His Majesty in supervising officials."

Upon hearing Jia Lian's words, Li Yuan suddenly asked, "What about the Imperial Guard?"

"The Imperial Guards are His Majesty's eyes and ears, so they are naturally very important. However, the overall cultural level of the Imperial Guards is not high, so we must force them to strengthen their cultural learning in the future."

Li Yuan was quite satisfied with Jia Lian's answer. The Grand Secretary's perspective was indeed correct, unlike some civil officials who would constantly talk about how powerful the Imperial Guard was.

"After you return, sir, have someone draft a set of regulations. I will review it and then make a decision." Li Yuan did not immediately agree, but rather wanted to postpone the decision.

Jia Lian naturally didn't say anything more about it and took his leave.

Back in the cabinet, Jia Lian personally drafted the plan. This was the first time he had personally taken charge of any work since becoming Grand Secretary; he was truly dedicated to the country.

There was one thing Jia Lian was very dissatisfied with: his best adjutant, Fan Ping, had now gone to the Shenji Battalion and been appointed as a fourth-rank brigade commander. Jia Lian was still somewhat unaccustomed to it.

After spending three days drawing on modern auditing practices, Jia Lian came up with a plan. Instead of having his staff copy it, he took it home. That evening, he went to Daiyu's place, showed her the draft, and said, "Sister, please do me the trouble of copying it."

After Daiyu took the document and read it carefully, she was deeply shocked. As intelligent as she was, she immediately realized that Jia Lian's actions must have a deeper meaning.

"Is Brother Lian preparing for Qingtian?" Daiyu admired Jia Lian's visionary spirit and believed that men were meant to do great things. So, she was moved to tears when she saw the draft.

“No rush. It’s not possible for everyone to pay taxes, so clearing the fields won’t make much difference,” Jia Lian replied casually. Daiyu immediately pounced on him, and Jia Lian, caught off guard, was put on a stool.

A surprised Jia Lian asked, "What's wrong?" Daiyu's eyes sparkled as she replied, "It's such a blessing to be able to copy manuscripts for Brother Lian."

Jia Lian then realized that Daiyu's deep involvement was manifesting in her physical state.

"What's the point of copying now that things are like this?" Jia Lian said, folding his arms and straining his legs to stand up. "I suppose you're not in the mood to copy anymore, sister. Take a good rest and you can copy it tomorrow."

The next day, Jia Lian was late for work again. Fortunately, there was nothing major waiting for him to deal with. After his usual rounds around the cabinet, he prepared to return to his office to read the newspapers and news briefings sent from various places.

The chief clerk from the Grand Secretary's office came in and delivered a stack of reports from the Ministry of Personnel. The reports contained the list of officials selected by the Ministry of Personnel at the beginning of the year, along with their resumes.

Jia Lian nodded slightly, indicating that he could put it down. After the clerk left, Jia Lian continued reading the newspaper and briefings, only stopping when lunchtime was approaching. After glancing at the materials sent by the Ministry of Personnel, he casually pulled out the three resumes at the bottom, without even looking at them, and called the office clerk in: "Send these three back for rearrangement, and approve the rest with the official seal."

The person in charge remained expressionless, but inwardly he was cursing. It was almost lunchtime, and the Grand Secretary had assigned him a task to work overtime.

Fortunately, Jia Lian added, "Go have lunch first, and come back to handle it this afternoon!"

The official seal represented the power of the Grand Secretary, so it naturally couldn't escape Jia Lian's sight. Every day after get off work, Jia Lian would carefully put it away, lock it, and take it home.

Lunch was usually brought in by Zhang Zhuzi. He had asked Zhang Zhuzi to go down to the troops many times, but Zhuzi refused, saying that it was fine for him to stay by his side.

Jia Lian had no choice but to let him have his way. He had a simple lunch and then slowly drank his tea.

I took a nap at noon, and when I woke up, I found that the person in charge of the office was already waiting for me.

After a hurried wash, Jia Lian had Zhu Zi fetch the Grand Secretary's seal. The official in charge affixed the seal in front of him before he took his leave.

When the Minister of Personnel received the three resumes returned by Jia Lian, his face turned ashen. He had deliberately placed them at the bottom to avoid the Grand Secretary's attention, but he never expected them to be found.

These are three people with connections who have taken a lot of money. How are they going to explain this?

After instructing his close aides to go on an errand, the Minister of Personnel spent the afternoon feeling uneasy. He left work half an hour early, went home to change his clothes, and immediately went out to a private restaurant.

This place is less of a private restaurant and more of a comprehensive business platform.

The female boss was the mistress of the Minister, and she offered a wide variety of entertainment, including food, drinks, and entertainment. However, the establishment was not open to the public and only entertained acquaintances.

The guest whom the Minister was to host today arrived first; it was none other than Hong Dasheng, the chief clerk of the Grand Secretary's office.

In a secluded courtyard in the backyard, the two men sat facing each other after the door was closed. The Minister, without even glancing at the food and wine before him, immediately asked, "What's going on?"

Hong Dasheng shook his head: "I don't know! The Prime Minister was alone in his office all morning, and only called me in before lunch."

The Minister listened and remained silent for a long time before finally saying in a low voice, "Tomorrow I will send another batch of files that are without problems, and we'll see how the Grand Secretary handles them."

This time, Hong Dasheng remained silent for a long time before shaking his head: "Send it in a few days. Alas, who could have imagined that His Majesty would delay the confirmation of the new Grand Secretary for so long?"

"Let's not talk about that anymore, let's drink! Since we're here, let's have some fun first."

Several women entered from outside, some playing musical instruments, some singing, and some serving drinks. The room quickly became lively and cheerful.

The next day, Jia Lian arrived at work on time, which was quite rare.

Zhu Zi went to call Hong Dasheng over. Jia Lian noticed that Hong Dasheng had dark circles under his eyes and asked him calmly, "Logically speaking, Lord Lin should have arranged your place before he retired, but it has been delayed. Now I'm asking you, is there any government office you want to go to? Don't worry, you'll be at least a fifth-rank official there."

Hong Dasheng was stunned, then realized that Jia Lian had done everything he could. He quickly bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Excellency. I'll go wherever you want."

Jia Lian thought for a moment and said, "Go to the Ministry of Revenue! Go and summon Ge Xiong, the Minister of Personnel."

Upon hearing the news, Minister of Personnel Ge Xiong rushed over. Seeing that he didn't say much, Jia Lian got straight to the point: "Release Hong Dasheng to the Ministry of Revenue. Make arrangements for him. Also, arrange for someone from the Hanlin Academy to replace him. He must be proficient in mathematics, not those bookworms who can only write pretentious articles."

Ge Xiong made the round trip in a daze, and when he returned to the Ministry of Personnel, his heart was pounding. The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, and he secretly warned himself that he should be more careful in the future, because Chief Minister Jia was not one to tolerate any nonsense.

It's a bitter story. Following Lord Lin, my future was bright, but unexpectedly, the appointment of him as a candidate cabinet minister before his retirement fell through.

The position of alternate minister in the cabinet is currently vacant, and he was hoping to try his luck. However, he did not expect that Jia Lian's first move after taking office would be to target the Ministry of Personnel.

It should be noted that the Grand Secretary rarely retracts appointments made by officials below the fifth rank, just as the Emperor rarely retracts appointments made by officials below the third rank.

Ge Xiong acted swiftly, not daring to harbor any ulterior motives. He immediately went to the Hanlin Academy, learned about the situation, selected three mathematical experts, and took their files to see Jia Lian.

Jia Lian looked very carefully, and finally saw a document from Mei Junsheng, a Hanlin scholar from Xuanzhou Prefecture. He then drew a circle around it and pushed it back.

Ge Xiong muttered to himself, "Didn't Lord Jia dislike officials from Jiangnan Province? Why did he choose a Hanlin scholar from Xuanzhou Prefecture to be the head of his office?"

"Rest assured, sir, I will go and summon him to complete the handover. The formalities can be completed later." Ge Xiong asked tentatively, and Jia Lian nodded without looking up.

Ge Xiong breathed a sigh of relief and quietly retreated, thinking he was probably out of trouble.

(End of this chapter)