Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 710: Those who are good at fighting have no great achievements
The note had four characters written on it: “乾正大吉” (Qian Zheng Da Ji), which was the note that Li Yuan had written at Jia Lian's request.

At this moment, Li Yuan was a little confused and subconsciously asked, "Is it clairvoyance or clairaudience?"

Jia Lian smiled and hesitated for a moment: "I'd say it's included in the 'All-Hearing' category, since it all transmits information via radio waves. This is just a short-range test; we've tested it multiple times over a distance of forty miles without any issues."

Li Yuan clapped his hands hard: "Good, good, good!" After saying "good" three times in a row, he took Jia Lian's hand and said: "Sir, please tell me properly, what exactly is going on here?"

Jia Lian started by exploring how he discovered the principles of electricity in the laboratory. After in-depth research, he discovered radio waves and, based on these principles, proposed the concept of long-distance communication.

As he spoke, Jia Lian stepped aside and pointed to a young official behind him, saying, "This is Guan Qiang, the director of the Electrical Engineering Research Institute of the Ministry of Science and Technology. He comes from a humble background, studied engineering, and is now a teacher at Beijing University. He is responsible for teaching electrical knowledge and also leads a group of students to study the practical applications of electricity."

Li Yuan looked at Guan Qiang, who was short and somewhat thin, and asked with a kind smile, "What rank is Guan Qing now?"

Guan Qiang seemed a bit dull, but he stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your subject is an eighth-rank official."

Li Yuan laughed and said, "Too little. Such an ingenious discovery, and the creation of a physical object that enables remote communication, deserves at least a sixth-rank official position."

Jia Lian immediately chimed in, "Your humble servant obeys the decree!"

Guan Qiang hesitated, but Jia Lian gently nudged him. Guan Qiang stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your humble servant thanks Your Majesty for your grace."

Li Yuan nodded repeatedly with delight, gesturing wildly: "My understanding is that as long as the line is long enough, one can communicate with people on the other side of the world, is that right?"

Guan Qiang said, "That's how it works in principle, but there are other technical challenges that need to be addressed."

Li Yuan said, "Minister Guan, this thing is of great use. You must hurry up and get it done as soon as possible to completely realize long-distance communication. I will certainly not hesitate to bestow a title upon you!"

After staying there for a while, Li Yuan pulled Jia Lian aside and asked him many questions before leaving. Jia Lian made an excuse that he had something to do and did not accompany him back.

After Jia Lian saw them off at the door, watching the carriages and horses disappear into the distance, Guan Qiang said from the side, "This was the path proposed by the teacher, how can it be attributed to the student?"

Jia Lian had noticed that Jia Lian's expression was not right, so he made an excuse to stay, hoping to ease Jia Lian's mind. So he smiled and said, "It doesn't matter who is responsible for things that benefit the country and the people. Besides, I'm just proposing an idea; it's you and your team who will actually carry it out. So don't try to shirk your responsibility!"

As they were talking, Jia Lian went back. He had other things to do, so he simply gave Guan Qiang some encouragement before leaving.

Upon returning to the palace, Li Yuan immediately ordered the drafting of an imperial edict, promoting Guan Qiang to the sixth rank and awarding him one hundred taels of silver. He also issued a clear directive that the overall level of the laboratory under Guan Qiang's command be raised, and that all his subordinates be promoted and rewarded after Guan Qiang prepared a report on the matter.

When the imperial edict was sent to the cabinet, Fang Song dared not be negligent, nor did he dare to use his seal lightly. Out of caution, he specially came to ask why this imperial edict was issued.

After Li Yuan gave a very pleasant explanation, Fang Song exclaimed, "This is a powerful weapon for the nation!"

Li Yuan laughed and said, "How could the people not benefit?"

Fang Song said, "Your Majesty is wise!"

The emperor and his minister laughed heartily, and an imperial edict was issued as a matter of course.

The rest of the cabinet learned of it later and exclaimed in amazement, "It's incredible!"

After the news spread, it was published in the newspaper the next day. Unfortunately, the Institute of Electrical Engineering was a classified unit, and the newspaper staff could only copy the instructions verbatim and dared not make any further changes.

In this era, altering the will of the emperor is a truly serious crime.

The ministers of various Western countries stationed in Beijing all subscribed to newspapers, and they were all shocked after reading the news in the newspapers.

Lamenting the vast technological lag behind China, he immediately drafted a report and notified the nation, not daring to delay for even a moment.

After reading the newspaper, Jia Lian could only sigh that the Chinese were too clever. Three years ago, they had only put forward an idea, and three years later, the younger generation led by Guan Qiang had already put it into practice.

After the discovery of rubber vulcanization technology last year, rubber trees are now being planted on a large scale in various islands of Southeast Asia. Initially, the hope was simply to import some rubber from Brazil for experimental planting, but now the results are in.

One more thing: not all rubber trees can be transplanted from Brazil; only one type can be transplanted. (I've forgotten which one specifically; the information I read was from a long time ago, and I can't remember.)
It took several years from the correct transplantation to the production of rubber, but now it has finally borne fruit.

Rubber has a wide range of applications, which will not be elaborated here. It can be said that this was the reason why Jia Lian insisted on taking over Southeast Asia.

Southeast Asia also has oil, which is one of the reasons why Jia Lian was determined to acquire it. Today, kerosene production in Southeast Asia is thanks to the discovery of oil.

For more than 20 years, we have persisted in promoting practical learning and industrialization, and now we can say that our efforts have yielded fruitful results in many aspects.

Preparations were underway for Jia Shi's next trip to the Western Regions. He was to take a group of officers and non-commissioned officers, totaling more than 500 people, by train to Xi'an to receive 5,000 new recruits.

They then traveled by car to Lanzhou, where they received 10,000 soldiers, including 1,000 steppe cavalry. After three months of training and integration, they set off with ample supplies.

The reason for choosing recruits from Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia as the main force was twofold: firstly, they adapted to the climate quickly, and secondly, these soldiers were truly able to endure hardship.

The downside is the language barrier, which requires more time to adjust. Fortunately, from the moment recruits enlist, the military has been providing soldiers with literacy classes, teaching them the official language, and providing literacy boards.

In Jia Shi’s view, the most troublesome thing is the artillery personnel. This is a technical branch of the military, and officers and non-commissioned officers need to have a certain level of education and be able to calculate ballistics.

Fortunately, these technical troops were all graduates of military academies. After a long period of rigorous training, they were able to adapt to their new roles within six months of arriving in Shaanxi and Gansu.

As for the technical officers and soldiers who can't stand it and want to leave, there are some, but this is the military, not a place where you can come and go as you please. At the latest, you have to stay for five years before you can be transferred back.

The future prospects of these people in the military depended on Jia Shi's evaluation, so the vast majority of them gritted their teeth and persevered.

The most troublesome part was the march that began after we got off the train at Yumen Pass, because with the existing technology we could not build a railway, so we could only build a road.

Long-distance marches are the true test of combat effectiveness; those who can persevere through such a journey are considered elite troops. Over the past few years, railways have been painstakingly built bit by bit along certain sections of the route from Dihua to the interior, with parts transported to Xinjiang for assembly. The vast majority of parts were manufactured in Xinjiang, which brought some industry to the area and objectively impacted the local social ecology. It is no longer the almost entirely nomadic society with agriculture as a secondary activity.

After discovering high-quality coal in the new province, the railway bureau's technicians still built a railway of about 500 kilometers, with Dihua as its starting point.

As Jia Shi led his troops along the northern route, they occasionally saw agricultural technicians guiding local people in planting trees on both sides of the road to ensure that the road would not be eroded by the desert.

It is said that this was a plan proposed by His Majesty and formulated by the cabinet, with an annual allocation of several million dollars.

Jia Shi didn't know how to plant trees in the desert, but he could see that some low-lying trees had survived, and there was artificial green vegetation on both sides of the road.

Jia Shi couldn't help but sigh, since his second uncle Lian took over the cabinet, the court had done many things that had never happened before.

When Jia Shi was a child, he went on spring outings with adults. The hills outside the city were all bare, but now they are covered with green trees. In order to plant trees and cultivate the land, the capital university even has professional agronomy and botany programs.

This was unimaginable before, but Jia Lian did it anyway. There was considerable opposition at first, but now there's little opposition. After all, people aren't stupid; they can see the benefits of the changes around them.

Jia Shi had heard Jia Lian say that planting trees was a long-term project, not something that could be accomplished by one generation, but rather a cause that required the perseverance of several generations.

Jia Shi didn't understand these things, but he could sense that Jia Lian had indeed given him tremendous help in his career. Otherwise, how could someone so young have become the division's chief of staff, especially since the Anxi Independent Division had no division commander or deputy commander appointed, making Jia Shi the highest-ranking officer? It was only because the division's objective was to be stationed in Anxi long-term that few were willing to endure hardship there; otherwise, they would have rebelled long ago.

Overall, there are still quite a few children from poor families who are willing to come into this world to try their luck for a better future.

After seeing Jia Shi off, Jia Lian had to comfort You Shi, and then he saw Jia Quan off as well.

Jia Quan has already been granted the title of Duke of Rongguo, a result of Jia Lian directly handing it over to him.

Jia Quan boarded a train from Beijing to Tianjin to assemble the fleet, which was heading to the Ottoman Empire for a friendly visit. Jia Quan unceremoniously accepted the position of fleet commander.

No one was dissatisfied. Despite his young age, Jia Quan was the Duke of Rongguo and the first commander of a new type of warship in the country to achieve actual combat results.

In order to avoid unnecessary trouble and, incidentally, curry favor with Jia Lian in order to secure a larger naval budget for the next year, the navy went to great lengths.

The defense fleet has twelve new cruisers, with the highest rank being rear admiral (assistant general). Jia Quan, as the fleet commander, is perfectly qualified.

To put it bluntly, the Beiyang Fleet only had twenty-four warships in total, twelve of which were new-style warships, and all of them were brought along this time. Rumors within the navy circulated that this was intended to groom Jia Quan as the commander of the Beiyang Fleet. This wasn't an exaggeration at all; after all, seven of the twelve new warships were goods brought to Türkiye, paid for in cash.

Such a large order is incredibly tempting; the shipyard is practically begging the cabinet that approved the sale.

After the fleet set sail, it headed south along the coastline and stopped in Songjiang for resupply. The next resupply point was Guangzhou.

As the fleet commander, Jia Quan did not disembark when the fleet arrived at Wusongkou, but stayed on the ship to wait for resupply.

On board the ship, Jia Quan saw more than one small steamship mixed among the white sails on the river, and he was deeply impressed by the rapid changes in the shipbuilding industry. He wondered when he would be able to board a steam-powered warship.

Who would have thought that the small steamship invented by the northern shipyard would truly shine in the Yangtze River basin?

Half of the small steamers currently sailing on the river were copied by local shipyards in Jiangnan after acquiring the technology. As an economically developed region, Jiangnan's people are incredibly astute; they immediately recognized the business opportunity in these small steamers. On the Yangtze River, the wind and waves have almost no impact on the small steamers, making both freight and passenger transport a lucrative business.

As for the river bandits, have you asked the local garrison? Have you asked about the speed of the small steamer?

It is said that even larger steamships are being built. Jia Quan sincerely hopes that they will be as big as possible and that more new technologies will emerge.

The voyage before leaving Malacca was not too troublesome, with a series of islands along the way where supplies could be replenished.

Before Jia Quan could even panic after the fleet left Malacca, the British were already in a panic.

Despite prior notification, do you think the British were afraid? Although Hastings was doing business with Chinese merchants and running a cotton exchange, he was genuinely afraid that the fleet would stay in Bombay and not leave.

A whole fleet of new cruisers—the shipbuilding speed is a bit too fast. The gun barrels at the bow and stern seem to be thicker than the previous ones.

Hastings sent word to Fleet Commander Jia Quan, requesting to board the ship to visit and comfort the officers and men. After all, adhering to the principle of friendship between the two countries, only a few logistics personnel went ashore.

Jia Quan kept his father's teachings in mind and used intimidation to achieve the goal of subduing the enemy without fighting. As the saying goes, a good strategist does not achieve great feats!

Hastings' request was granted, and he boarded the flagship Thunderclap (hull number 033), where the officers and men lined up to welcome him.

"Salute!" the soldier with his rifle shouted, startling Hastings, who instinctively looked first at the young, dark face, then at the rifle in his hand.

After Hastings got a clear look at the rifle, he was almost rooted to the spot. He stared at it for a while before continuing to move, his mind racing. This rifle seemed different again.

Several fixed racks have been added to the two sides of the warship, and the weapon on them is a short, thick tube with a breechblock attached. What is this thing used for?

Hastings instinctively walked over and rudely stopped to watch. Jia Quan, standing to the side, boasted, "Your Excellency, please take a look. This is the latest rapid-fire weapon from the Ministry of Science and Technology, known as the 'Electric Gun.' It can fire six hundred rounds per minute. It's been verified; they're not exaggerating."

Hastings was stunned. This thing was actually installed on a warship. What if it were on land?

Nodding and thanking Jia Quan for the introduction, Hastings walked to the turret, where a 105mm cannon was mounted. Looking at the thick barrel and the breech-loading ammunition, Hastings was completely numb.

What's the point of fighting? A wooden warship like that would fall apart after just one hit. Not to mention, the turrets are mechanically rotating, and each hull has ten new 75mm breech-loading guns.

The British Navy is still equipped with muzzle-loading cannons that fire solid shot.

Hastings knew that if the Chinese were willing, they could assemble a hundred of these new warships and sweep the British Royal Navy.

Are you scared? Yes, I'm really scared!
(End of this chapter)