Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 705 Labor Relations
The problem first broke out in the Jiangnan region, in the prefectures of Suzhou and Songjiang, where textile workers spontaneously organized a large-scale strike, with an initial estimate of 100,000 participants.

In Suzhou and Songjiang, female workers blocked the gates of government offices to voice their demands, asking the government to uphold justice for the people.

Faced with such a large-scale operation, the Governor of Jiangnan dared not be negligent. On the one hand, he urgently sought help from the Governor-General's office in Nanjing, and on the other hand, he urgently dispatched troops into the city to suppress the situation if it got out of control.

The Governor-General of Liangjiang dared not delay and immediately dispatched men to cross the river overnight and report the incident by train as quickly as possible. As for Suzhou, they were only informed and absolutely forbidden from using force to suppress the incident.

The two levels of government did consider suppressing the news, but the reason they didn't was simple: there must be secret agents of the Imperial Guard in Suzhou and Songjiang, and how could such a thing be kept secret?

Furthermore, this textile workers' strike is mostly led by women, so even if the government wanted to suppress it, they wouldn't dare to use excessive force. After all, in the traditional Chinese mindset, forcing women to take to the streets would be extremely wrong.

After the message was delivered to the cabinet, Fang Song, who was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, did not dare to delay and immediately took the message to Jia Lian.

"Prime Minister Jia, this is an urgent report from the Governor of Jiangnan, forwarded by the Governor-General of Liangjiang. I have already read it. The factory owners in Jiangnan have gone too far and have driven the female workers into rebellion."

Jia Lian took off his reading glasses, took the memorial, and read it carefully. According to the governor of Jiangnan, the events were simple: a female weaver from Songjiang Prefecture was injured by a machine while working and died from her injuries. The aggrieved party sought an explanation from the factory, but was beaten by the factory's thugs, resulting in one death and eight injuries. The aggrieved party went to Songjiang Prefecture to file a complaint, but the Songjiang prefect protected the factory owner, merely paying two hundred yuan in funeral expenses. He also threatened the aggrieved party, warning them not to cause further trouble, or they would all be arrested and exiled.

This incident was the cause. Three days later, the weavers of Songjiang Prefecture united and went on a major strike. Thousands of female weavers blocked the entrance to the prefectural government office, demanding that the prefect judge the case impartially. The prefect refused to come out of the office.

After the news spread, weavers in Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou and other areas spontaneously took action to show their support, and went on strike one after another. The governor's office and the provincial administration office in Suzhou were blocked by the female workers.

The Viceroy of Liangjiang's opinion was to appease the situation and absolutely not escalate it.

Jia Lian took the memorial and asked Fang Song to go with him to see the emperor.

Speaking of Li Yuan, he couldn't compare to the hardworking Emperor Chenghui in terms of diligence, but he was truly willing to delegate power. When Lin Ruhai was the chief minister, Li Yuan didn't delegate much power, but after Jia Lian became the chief minister, he completely delegated power.

This delegation of power is also limited; personnel, financial, and military powers of officials of the third rank and above must be firmly held in their hands.

After relinquishing power, Li Yuan embarked on a life of pleasure, spending half the year away from the palace. Currently, Li Yuan resides at the Western Hills Palace, and Jia Lian and Fang Song, wishing to see him, must travel by carriage to reach him.

Li Yuan had become obsessed with Go in recent years. He was already quite skilled, and he kept a group of Go players around him, holding Go tournaments regularly every year. As the saying goes, what the superiors like, the inferiors will follow even more fervently.

A Go craze swept through the capital and spread throughout the country. Li Yuan loved playing Go and also enjoyed changing the rules. He felt the previous system of assigning stones was too rigid, so he abolished the rule of returning stones to the starting position. The new rules stipulated that Black must give a 2.5-point komi. In modern terms, this is 5.5 points for Black.

When Jia Lian arrived, Li Yuan was playing chess against a renowned national player. The situation was extremely delicate, thanks to the deliberate actions of the chess master.

Jia Lian, whose Go skills were average, simply sat to the side and waited patiently, while Fang Song, whose Go skills were quite good, at least at the level of an amateur master, watched with great interest.

Li Yuan saw Jia Lian arrive, but because the situation was so delicate and complex, he didn't bother to greet him and continued to stare at the chessboard. Fortunately, Jia Lian was sensible and didn't interrupt his enjoyment.

In the final endgame, Li Yuan made a mistake, turning a half-point loss into a two-and-a-half-point loss. He couldn't help but stand up regretfully and say, "What a pity!"

Fang Song chimed in, "Your Majesty's health is not what it used to be. Ten years ago, you would have won this game."

Li Yuan smiled but didn't respond; he knew his limits. His opponent had clearly been giving him a handicap, especially in the middle game when their hands seemed to falter; otherwise, they would have collapsed long ago.

Knowing his own skill level well, Li Yuan naturally couldn't accept Fang Song's flattery. After indicating that he should reward the national champion, he walked towards Jia Lian, who was standing to the side.

"Sir, you must have come here for something, but it's not too important. Otherwise, given your temperament, you wouldn't have waited until this game of chess was finished," Li Yuan said with a smile, jokingly. As the emperor, with the country thriving and everything going smoothly both internally and externally, he knew very well whose credit it was.

Jia Lian handed over the memorial in his hand: "Your Majesty, please take a look at this first!"

Li Yuan chuckled. He liked Jia Lian's style; he was genuine and serious about his work.

After carefully reading the report, Li Yuan looked puzzled: "Is this really necessary? Such a small matter has escalated to this point. Are women from Jiangnan really that irritable?"

Fang Song wanted to speak but didn't know what to say, since he didn't know the situation. He simply said, "Local officials always report good news and not bad news. Don't believe their one-sided story."

After Jia Lian and the others finished speaking, he finally spoke up: "A three-foot layer of ice doesn't form in a day. The people of our dynasty have always been resilient. If they hadn't been forced into a corner, they would never have ended up like this. Let alone a group of women!"

In recent years, with the rise of the textile industry, many women have entered factories and gained economic means. Although the traditional virtues of obedience, submission, and obedience still apply in coastal areas, the status of women has actually improved considerably.

Li Yuan echoed, "That's right, it's not something that can be caused by a mere grudge!"

Jia Lian and Fang Song hurriedly said, "Your Majesty is wise and insightful! You have seen far and wide! We are in awe!"

“Sir, you would not do so. I merely find it illogical. What do you two ministers think of this matter?” Li Yuan insisted on addressing Jia Lian as “Sir”, despite repeated attempts to persuade him otherwise.

Fang Song and others were quite envious of this, which fully demonstrated their trust in Jia Lian. Considering his age, Jia Lian was only fifty years old, in good health, and well-maintained, looking only in his early forties. He could easily serve for another ten years. So, those who wanted to become Grand Secretary should probably take a break; this was probably destined to exceed the term of Grand Secretary Fang Baiyi's cabinet.

"Your Majesty, I intend to personally go among the people to understand their demands and clarify the truth of the matter so that I can take targeted measures. Otherwise, similar incidents will inevitably happen repeatedly."

After hearing this, Li Yuan was greatly surprised. Did the Grand Secretary really need to handle such a small matter personally?

He didn't rush to refute, but first considered Jia Lian's past style of doing things before nodding and saying, "Sir, you naturally have a good reason to go."

Jia Lian smiled and said, "While I am away, Prime Minister Fang can take charge of the administration."

Li Yuan understood Jia Lian well enough to know that there must be something Jia Lian cared about behind this matter. Since he hadn't said anything yet, he wouldn't ask. He would explain in detail later. "Someone, draft the decree!" Li Yuan had a team of secretaries around him, and they quickly drafted the imperial decree. After Li Yuan affixed his seal, he handed it to Jia Lian and said, "Sir, please take care of your health."

This was an imperial edict personally handed over by the emperor. When Jia Lian was about to kneel to receive it, Li Yuan quickly stopped him, saying, "No need for formalities!"

Jia Lian insisted on kneeling down before getting up, while Li Yuan, though seemingly helpless, actually had a slight smile on his lips.

Upon receiving the imperial decree, Jia Lian immediately returned to the capital and prepared a special train to travel south overnight.

Before setting off, Jia Lian went home first. Wang Xifeng and the others were quite surprised to see him return so early, which was unusual for him. After learning the details, they immediately sent someone to pack his luggage.

“Master, Xiren, Yuanyang and the others are all getting old. It’s fine for them to serve you at home, but it would be embarrassing for you to have them serve you when you go out.”

Wang Xifeng cautiously offered a word of advice, after all, Jia Lian had specifically requested that the maids in the room accompany him. Jia Lian was already fifty years old, and the maids around him were also getting old and losing their beauty.

"Forget it, I'm used to their service, it's too much trouble to change people." Jia Lian waved his hand to indicate that it was unnecessary. Daiyu smiled and said, "Why don't we make Yuanyang the leader and have a few young maids serve her? That way it will look better when others see it."

Baochai also chimed in, trying to dissuade him. After all, Jia Lian was clinging to the past; the maids from his former days were all getting old, yet he showed no intention of replacing them. So many young maids had come and gone in the household, but these older ones remained untouched. Initially, there were concerns that he was keeping a young mistress, but an investigation revealed nothing. The master rarely stayed out overnight; he always went to get off work as usual. He didn't even give the young and pretty maids in the house a second glance. This was quite unusual; other men at least had a few clean-cut servants with them.

From Jia Lian's personal perspective, as he gets older, his primary concern is health and moderation, hoping to live a few more years. Besides, he has so many things to do that he simply doesn't have the energy to manage everything.

His volunteering to go south to handle the strike was more about taking a break, a kind of vacation. As for the truth of the matter, Jia Lian could guess most of it without even investigating.

This kind of thing is bound to be a long-term, frequent, and concentrated outbreak of discontent, and it is definitely not just a problem affecting one or two families, but rather a widespread issue.

Jia Lian knew exactly what capitalists were.

He personally handled the matter to show his caution and to persuade Li Yuan to support him with more details upon returning.

In the end, Yuanyang, accompanied by four maids, set off with Jia Lian to serve him on the journey.

Well, that's just how times are. Even if Jia Lian wanted to change things, he didn't have the energy or motivation.

As we boarded the special train, it gradually grew dark. After leaving the train station, the train began to accelerate. A locomotive had already departed ahead of time to notify all stations along the route.

This approach was also a last resort, as the telegram had not been completed for a long time, which left Jia Lian feeling very helpless.

However, good news recently came from the electrical laboratory of Beijing University: a major breakthrough in electrical research has been achieved, with the creation of a generator and the solution to the insulation problem.

Solving the insulation problem requires the widespread use and application of rubber. Initially, the goal was simply to address the issue of sealing rings, but natural rubber deforms easily when heated directly.

Later research led to the discovery of vulcanization technology, which solved a major problem. This, in turn, spurred the development of automotive shock absorbers and the tire industry.

I recently heard from the lower levels that the Ministry of Science and Technology (Research and Development Department) has invested in a company to produce two-wheeled bicycles.

China is currently in a phase of technological explosion. The ability to produce bicycles signifies the maturity of chain technology. Of course, because the electricity problem has not been fully solved, galvanizing technology has not yet been developed.

With the discovery of oil in Southeast Asia, large-scale kerosene extraction and refining have been implemented, driving down the price of lamp oil and causing cottonseed oil to gradually disappear from the market. However, with the maturity of explosive technology and huge market demand, cottonseed oil will not have to worry about being useless.

Oil is truly a wonderful thing; it's just a question of when we'll be able to build an internal combustion engine. But I imagine it won't be too long, given the years of technological accumulation and deliberate guidance. With the high intelligence of the Chinese people, the invention of this kind of technology is only a matter of time.

Apart from replenishing coal and water along the way, Jia Lian's special train sped south without stopping.

After receiving instructions from above, the guards along the railway line were on high alert.

"Master, it's getting late!" Yuanyang came over with a candle and gently advised. Jia Lian looked at his pocket watch; it was already ten o'clock at night. He put down his pen and got up to rest.

Because it was winter, there was a maidservant warming the bed. Jia Lian didn't say anything, and the maidservant could only get up as usual, get dressed, and leave.

Jia Lian raised his hand and touched Yuanyang's face, saying in a low voice, "This matter is important, I don't have the energy for this. You don't need to worry about me having affairs outside."

When Jia Lian reached his position, if he showed any interest in a woman, his subordinates would wash her clean and send her to his bedchamber.

This is no joke; it's something that's bound to happen. Therefore, Jia Lian never glances at women, no matter the occasion or invitation he receives.

Before the train arrived in Xuzhou, it was already dawn. When it stopped to refuel and refill coal and water, Lin Ping, the governor of Jiangbei Province, boarded the train.

As soon as Jia Lian got up, he quickly washed up and asked about the details.

"The situation in Jiangbei is relatively good. The governor's office is keeping a close eye on the coal and iron industries in Xuzhou, and there haven't been too many cases of excessive exploitation leading to popular uprisings. The case in Jiangnan serves as a warning. The governor and the three departments have held a meeting and believe that we must be more vigilant in the future to prevent similar situations from happening again." Lin Ping gave a brief report after sitting down and then made his final statement.

In short, she was determined to stand with Jia Lian and would never jump ship, no matter what.

Jia Lian nodded in satisfaction: "The Governor-General of Liangjiang is probably to blame!"

He didn't say much, but Lin Ping's face lit up with surprise. The four positions of Governor-General of Liangjiang, Governor-General of Liangguang, Governor-General of Huguang, and Governor-General of Shaanxi and Gansu were unspoken rules for preparing cabinet ministers.

(End of this chapter)