Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 701 Napoleon's End

The investment in Anxi is not showing any positive returns at this stage, but Emperor Li Yuan is still pursuing it for the sake of his posthumous reputation. Years later, when the people of the country, who had been searching for oil everywhere, discovered oil fields in Anxi, they couldn't help but marvel at Emperor Qianzheng's greatness. At present, when the court decides to increase investment in Anxi again, there are voices of opposition from various departments.

This opposition wasn't based on concerns about the people's livelihood or the emperor's intention to use resources for domestic welfare. The reason for the opposition was quite direct: the government's investment in public funds was unlikely to recoup its costs.

There was considerable opposition, including among the general public, but the emperor and the cabinet remained steadfast in their stance, rendering their objections ineffective.

The cabinet did not simply take a hard line, but rather explained the situation from the perspective of national security, both in the official gazette and in newspapers published by the public.

Thanks to having opened their eyes to the world and being exposed to information from around the globe over a long period, the Chinese people are aware of Tsarist Russia's inherently aggressive nature. The cabinet's rhetoric, ostensibly for the sake of future generations, has been quite effective.

What truly convinced the Chinese people was the revenue from Southeast Asia and across the ocean. The inexpensive rice, spices, and valuable timber and minerals from Southeast Asia, along with their markets, were incredibly persuasive to the coastal provinces of China. Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Donghua across the ocean continuously shipped back its three core products—gold, silver, and copper—while taking away large quantities of domestically produced goods, spurring rapid industrial and commercial development in the coastal provinces. These were very tangible benefits; once the profits were realized, no one was willing to give them up.

This is why some coastal provinces, which initially opposed Jia Lian, have become his staunchest supporters.

The most typical example is the Liangjiang region, which profited greatly from industrialization and has made a very smooth transition. Of course, they would be happy to take its place if given the opportunity.

Unfortunately, Jia Lian's position as Grand Secretary was very secure, with the emperor's strong support. Since taking office, the country has been governed in a very stable manner.

After the military reforms were completed, the cabinet launched a nationwide war of attrition. In some areas where banditry had long existed, the situation improved dramatically. However, there were also some dissenting voices. Many local landlords were accused of colluding with bandits, some were killed, and others were exiled. Their land was incorporated into government land and rented to local people at low prices, with a clear fifty-year contract that would not be changed.

This tactic was extremely effective, truly a case of cutting off the fuel supply. In areas plagued by bandits, the landlords were invariably bandit leaders.

The cabinet, through its almost unreasonable methods, greatly alleviated the bandit problem and also greatly deterred the landlords and gentry in the country.

In some places, it was difficult to completely eliminate banditry, as it involved the ruling power of the local chieftains. The imperial court adopted a firm policy of replacing local chieftains with appointed officials and registering all households, forcing the chieftains to submit.

Tusi (chieftains) were not without their rebellious elements, and the imperial court would employ a strategy of siege, launching military campaigns during the planting season to disrupt their production. In these types of provinces, the local armies were often larger in size.

Each region adopts different policies, truly achieving the goal of adapting to local conditions.

Since Jia Lian took office, he has vigorously promoted railway construction. The constraint of the Yangtze River, preventing the connection between the north and south railways, remains unresolved for the time being. However, this has not hindered the vigorous development of railway construction in various regions. The north has seen the fastest railway development, with a network of three horizontal and two vertical lines already in place. The south has developed more slowly, but has still completed the main railway lines from Guangzhou to Wuchang and from Shanghai to Wuchang.

The complex terrain of the southwest is also hindering the progress of railway construction. Currently, the Chengdu-Saigon railway under construction in the southwest has created countless troubles for the railway bureau's engineers.

From the perspective of the railway bureau, this road must be built, and by accumulating enough experience through its construction, the next step is to build a railway from Chengdu to Xi'an.

Meanwhile, another railway project under construction is in Shanxi, a province facing difficulties. The railway bureau plans to extend railways into Shanxi from three directions, connecting them with the railway network in the north.

From a national governance perspective, the advent of railways greatly enhanced national cohesion. In the event of disasters, imperial relief efforts became much more convenient, the migration of disaster victims was significantly reduced, and it became much more difficult for local officials and gentry to create resistance. This is one reason why the pace of immigration within China has accelerated in recent years.

In areas where the conflict between people and land is intense, the internal conflicts naturally decrease significantly after the population migrates outwards.

Even with the large-scale emigration over the years, the population census conducted by Jia Lian still showed a registered local population of 300 million, and many more were not included in the count. The statistics bureau estimated that at least 20 million people were missed, not because the working group was ineffective, but because local gentry concealed the population.

During the census, fires broke out in thirty-three county government offices, destroying all related ledgers.

At Jia Lian's insistence, the cabinet adopted an extremely tough and brutal policy. After sending troops to the area, they first arrested all registered officials and then brutally suppressed the local landlords. Any landlord who owned more than 500 mu of land was treated as a traitor. At an enlarged meeting of the cabinet before the emperor, Jia Lian roared in front of all the attendees, "During the late emperor's reign, when the Tongzhou granary burned down, it was thought that a fire would eliminate all evidence. Now they are burning down the county government office; the purpose is the same. Back then, the late emperor exiled all the officials involved; now we will not only punish the officials but also severely crack down on the local landlords and gentry."

With the emperor's support and Jia Lian's tough policies, during the census, more than 500 households of officials were exiled, more than 1,000 ringleaders of rebellion were executed, and more than 100,000 prisoners and their families were exiled.

Almost every similar case caused a huge shock to the landlords and gentry across the country. Upon hearing the news, all the landlords and gentry recalled Jia Lian's style of conduct since he entered politics.

He could be described as a landlord and gentry. Anyone who paid even a little attention to court affairs and had any sense would understand Jia Lian's style during his time in power, which was to suppress landlords and gentry with an iron fist.

After all the land owned by the landlords involved was confiscated, it was rented to local people at a low price, with a minimum lease term of fifty years.

Local officials were among the first to realize this. After discerning Jia Lian's style, many of them, during their tenure in the provinces, tentatively began to severely suppress landlords and gentry. These officials almost all received promotions. Therefore, in the last five years, the number of "cruel officials" among local officials in the imperial court has risen rapidly.

It wasn't that no officials failed to impeach Jia Lian, but Li Yuan repeatedly emphasized at the enlarged imperial meeting that landlords and gentry held power at the grassroots level—this was the so-called "imperial power not reaching the countryside." Almost all local unrest stemmed from the excessive and cruel exploitation of the people by landlords.

Just as domestic reforms were accelerating, a decisive war broke out in Europe: Napoleon invaded Russia.

The war, which was originally scheduled to take place in 1812, was unexpectedly postponed for three years. The reason for the delay was simple: the Spanish Civil War lasted for two more years.

It is said that this was because the Spanish rebels obtained a large amount of military supplies from the colonies, and Napoleon's intelligence indicated that Britain was supplying Spain with large quantities of weapons and food.

In retaliation against Britain, Napoleon heeded the advice of the Zhou Dynasty's military observer group and reversed the flow of supplies from Britain, shipping large quantities of food and weapons to Ireland to support the local resistance.

In the winter of 1813, after defeating the Russian army in Eastern Europe, Napoleon turned his attention eastward. Meanwhile, the Russian Imperial Guard cavalry was clashing with the Zhou Empire in Central Asia.

Napoleon considered forming an alliance with the Zhou Empire to attack Russia from two sides, which led him to slow down his offensive against Russia and send another delegation to the Zhou Empire. Clearly, the delegation received a message from the Zhou Empire maintaining its neutrality, at least publicly. The French delegation's return journey was not in vain; the returning fleet consisted of twenty ships, escorted by six state-of-the-art cruisers, with the remainder being armed merchant ships equipped with new naval guns.

In the winter of 1814, after the fleet arrived in Marseille, Napoleon personally went to Marseille to greet the delegation and saw the weapons and equipment that the French government had purchased with real money, totaling ten million silver dollars. Of course, the Napoleonic government did not spend all the money; it paid a certain political price, namely, the acquisition of two states in northern Mexico.

The specific reason was that the Mexican rebels decided to welcome a new king, who was from the Bonaparte family. Therefore, the French government actually only paid five million silver dollars.

The French army acquired 50,000 rifled rifles using Minié ammunition, along with the corresponding ammunition production technology, and also obtained the technology and blueprints for a lightweight muzzle-loading bronze cannon. Talleyrand, in turn, received a verbal promise from an army official that the Zhou Empire's garrison in the Western Regions would cooperate with the French army in advancing towards the Urals and Caucasus.

In the spring of 1815, Napoleon launched a war against Russia, mobilizing an army of 600,000 and marching eastward.

While the Ottoman Empire appeared neutral, it had in fact amassed 100,000 troops, deploying them in the Caucasus and Balkans. This significantly tied down Russian forces, preventing them from concentrating their strength against the French.

The Russian representative in London claimed that this was a secret alliance between France and the Zhou Empire aimed at destroying Russia. The Chinese minister in London firmly denied this and reiterated China's neutrality.

Before officially launching his campaign, Napoleon accepted the private advice of the observer group to set up multiple outposts along the way to stockpile food and leave a portion of his troops to guard the logistical nodes.

After the French army officially launched its war against Russia, it initially gained an absolute advantage over the Russian army.

Almost simultaneously with the French advance, the Marquis of Anxi dispatched 30,000 troops to march towards the Caspian Sea, while the Almaty garrison sent a division northward. Both forces advanced with unstoppable momentum, as if entering an uninhabited territory.

They launched an attack on June 15 and captured Astana on July 15. Although they did not formally enter Russian territory, they achieved their goal of sending their troops to Yekaterinburg.

The White Lotus sect, whose troops were recognized by the imperial court and allowed to operate openly within Anxi territory, showed great enthusiasm and provided assistance to the Anxi Marquis's army as they advanced westward.

By the end of August, Ashgabat had been captured, and the vanguard had reached the Caspian Sea. With a land connection established with Persia, the Anxi army halted its advance and engaged in friendly negotiations with the Persian side, reaching a series of cooperative agreements. This achieved the strategic objective of enabling the Anxi army to resupply its troops via sea to the Persian Gulf and then by land to Anxi.

In Europe, the French army won the Battle of Borodino, but failed to subdue the Russian army. The Russians fought a retreating battle, employing a scorched-earth policy, preventing the French from achieving their objective of obtaining supplies locally.

With sufficient strategic depth, the Russian army held out until winter. Although they paid a heavy price for their scorched-earth strategy, even setting Moscow ablaze, they still forced the French army to retreat.

The retreating French army suffered heavy losses, paying an unbearable price despite prior preparations.

The French troops that eventually withdrew from Russian territory numbered slightly more than in history, but still only 60,000.

Just as the Russian army was about to press its advantage, news arrived from Central Asia that the Zhou Empire's army had arrived at the border, resulting in several border skirmishes. Similar small-scale military conflicts also occurred in the Balkans and Caucasus. All these conflicts resulted in heavy losses for the Russian army, especially in the Balkans and Caucasus, where they captured several strongholds.

Napoleon had a brief respite, but it was very limited. The British acted swiftly, and resistance broke out repeatedly in the French-occupied territories.

With the formation of the Sixth Coalition against France, the victorious Russian army gained a significantly enhanced position in Europe, showing a strong tendency to replace Britain.

The following October, the Battle of Leipzig broke out, and Napoleon was defeated and abdicated. The following year, Napoleon returned to power, fought another battle at Waterloo, and was defeated again.

The immense inertia of history took effect in Europe, but only in Central Asia did tremendous changes occur.

The Anxi Army, which adopted a relatively moderate policy, promoted a joint autonomous government in Central Asia.

The coalition government involved local tribal chiefs, while the autonomous government ruled under the guidance of Zhou imperial bureaucrats. The Zhou emperor dispatched officials to Anxi as governors and stationed a small number of troops there, while also forming an army composed of people from multiple tribes, with lower-ranking officers being locals.

The establishment of the joint autonomous government temporarily alleviated local conflicts and concealed the true purpose of the Zhou Empire in adopting a divide-and-rule policy towards the localities.

The Persian king seized the opportunity to align himself with the Zhou Empire in exchange for its military aid.

His Majesty the Emperor of the Zhou Empire and the cabinet unanimously agreed that they should seize the opportunity presented by the European war, unite with the Ottoman Empire and Persia, and achieve the goal of containing Tsarist Russia, the greatest threat on land.

Interestingly, after Napoleon, Britain quickly changed its stance and actively improved its attitude towards the Ottoman Empire and Persia.

However, Britain soon lost interest in targeting Russia because of trouble in India. The East India Company's development in India suffered a heavy blow.

Most of the local rulers in India fundamentally changed their attitude towards the East India Company. The East India Company was nearly bankrupt, and its share price on the London Stock Exchange plummeted.

At the critical moment, the shareholders had no choice but to give up and sell the East India Company to the government at a low price.

After the British government officially took over India, it immediately announced the dispatch of troops and a governor-general to India.

What Britain was most worried about was the attitude of the Zhou Empire. The Prime Minister specially summoned the ambassador to Britain, but the answer he received was still to abide by the agreement between the two countries.

(End of this chapter)