Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 716 Untitled
It's normal that those who impeached Jia Lian couldn't see through things; their level wasn't high enough, so their vision was naturally limited.

The country may seem to belong to the Lee royal family, but how many people are there in the entire Lee royal family?

Of these people, how many are truly talented, and how many are simply ambitious?
That's why they say it's lonely at the top. Once you reach that position, your inner world is bound to be lonely. Unless you're a tyrant, then there's nothing more to say.

The Zhou Empire inherited the legacy of the Central Empire and therefore had to uphold what is called the Dao. This Dao is the responsibility to the people and the country.

Those who follow the right path will bring prosperity to their nation; those who do not will see their nation perish in the blink of an eye!
How does an emperor exercise power? Do people really think that an emperor's word is law? An emperor's word is law only because the officials below him recognize him and carry out his orders.

This was the foundation laid by the founding emperor. Later emperors simply relied on inertia to maintain their authority. Capable emperors would replace the old generation with their own people, and the cycle would repeat itself.

Li Yuan knew that the emperor and the cabinet were actually in a cooperative relationship; the emperor's greatest power was to decide who entered the cabinet. Those qualified for the cabinet might not necessarily be grateful to the emperor or blindly obey his orders.

In Li Yuan's mind, Jia Lian was a reformer. Anyone who carried out reforms in any dynasty was a ruthless person because reforms involved internal changes. How could one reform so many interest groups within the country?
The opening of external growth points during Emperor Chenghui's reign was the key factor in the success of the reforms. With new sources of profit, internal problems could be more easily addressed once they surfaced. Those whose interests were threatened and dared to oppose them would inevitably face a united attack from the entire interest group. Those who did not comply were often ineligible to share in the new, rapidly growing profits.

Leaving aside distant examples, just considering the development of the navy, how much funding, timber, and equipment is needed, and whose interests benefit from these investments?

Jia Lian oversaw the construction of the railway, and while there was considerable public opposition, it was to no avail. The profits generated by such a massive project were enough to drown out the voices of the opponents.

It can only be said that Emperor Chenghui seized a critical juncture in the nation's stagnant development, and his move towards external expansion was undoubtedly a stroke of genius. This action greatly alleviated internal conflicts while simultaneously opening the door to the outside world.

Once this door is opened, it's hard to close it. So many people who have benefited from it, how could they allow you to close it?

In the course of long-term rapid development, some de facto warlords are bound to emerge. Jia Lian was one of these warlords, but he chose to expand his influence overseas—in Southeast Asia, Australia, Donghua, and Anxi. Given Jia Lian's status and position, wouldn't it have been difficult for him to develop domestically? Why did he have to go through so much trouble to expand overseas and in Anxi?
The tacit understanding between Jia Lian and the emperor lay in this: Jia Lian drew a line for himself that he could never cross.

Let alone Jia Lian, every Grand Secretary has a bottom line in their heart.

How could Lin Ruhai not know the situation in Jiangnan? How could he not know the extent of land annexation in Jiangnan?
So what if we know? Lin Ruhai was from Suzhou; he'll be buried in his ancestral grave after he dies.

Compared to Lin Ruhai, Jia Lian's situation is quite remarkable. The Jia family's ancestral home is Jinling, and every time Jia Lian went to the south of the Yangtze River, he killed countless people. But have you ever seen Jia Lian kill an official without going through a joint trial by the three judicial authorities?
Even the strong-willed Jia Lian was not good at committing suicide, let alone other chief ministers.

We are all within the system, officials of the imperial court, not Huang Chao or Li Zicheng.

Of course, those officials who were punished by Jia Lian would not be grateful to him, and conversely, the vast majority of other officials who were not punished would not hate Jia Lian.

The system constrains not only officials, but also imperial power. Exercising power within the system is like dancing in shackles.

If a country develops to the point where the emperor can act arbitrarily and officials collectively slack off, the result will be the downfall of the country.

Why is it stated that the Wanli Emperor effectively died, and what were the consequences of so many vacant official positions? Power will not exist in a vacuum; once a vacuum appears, someone will definitely fill it.

The consequence of Wanli's lax governance was the complete loss of control at the grassroots level in the south. Something like the "Record of the Five Martyrs' Tomb" would have been absolutely impossible before Wanli.

Another characteristic of Jia Lian's work is that he puts everything out in the open. Under the system, things that are in the open must have a result.

The Zhou Empire was no exception; the saying "the law does not apply to high-ranking officials" was not without merit.

Even an upright official like Hai Rui, was he truly protecting the interests of the people? He was also a member of the ruling class. He attacked Xu Jie because excessive donations led to a tax shortfall.

Emperor Jiajing understood this perfectly well, so the worst that Hai Rui would get was to lose his official position for submitting a memorial on maintaining order.

This is the consequence.

History rolls ever forward, and you and I may all be the price paid in the process.

Future generations see the results, while those who didn't experience them simply say, "Wow, that's amazing! My country!"

Those who experienced it will marvel at how incredibly capable the top management was, even in such dire circumstances. And this foresight wasn't limited to a year or two; it was measured in decades.

Why did Li Yuan's throne become more and more secure and his prestige increase day by day?
Isn't it precisely because internal conflicts weren't thoroughly planned for that external interests kept pouring in, leading to the country's rapid overall development?

The higher one's position, the more crucial it is to remain clear-headed. Otherwise, the consequences can be extremely severe.

Problems will always exist; once old problems are solved, new ones will emerge.

Some problems are not unsolvable, but the timing is not right; forcing them would lead to severe internal turmoil.

Many people think they're amazing after reading for a few days. If these people, who are between thirty and forty years old, can recognize their ordinariness, there is still hope for them.

If you don't realize this, you'll probably be a loser for the rest of your life. Unless you're born into a good family or have exceptional luck, there's no other way.

Li Yuan suppressed the memorial and sent someone to invite Jia Lian over, showing him another memorial.

"Take a look at the message sent back by the Imperial Guard from Donghua Kingdom, sir," Li Yuan said with a wry smile.

Jia Lian calmly took the memorial, read it, and then sighed, "The Prince of Donghua is indeed bold and decisive."

The memorial contained very little information: Li Heng was extending his influence everywhere around Donghua Kingdom, intervening not only in the Mexican War of Independence but also in the Peruvian War of Independence.

The reason for intervening in these two countries is simply that one has abundant silver mines and the other has copper mines. Li Heng now wants to forge a tripartite alliance, requiring all three parties to send troops if any country faces a foreign enemy. Frankly, once this alliance is formed, it's equivalent to dragging the Jia and Xue families into the mess. If anything happens to the three countries, the Jia and Xue families will face immense pressure. Through this tripartite alliance and the legitimacy of the King of Donghua, Li Heng can, in turn, control the Jia and Xue families' separatist power in Donghua.

"The emperor is far away, and if Li Heng does this, other countries will definitely think it's at the behest of me and the cabinet. If a war really breaks out, the court can't stand idly by. I'm in a difficult position. Every time I visit my mother, she sheds tears thinking of my third brother." Li Yuan was indeed in a difficult position, after all, he was his own brother, but he couldn't let Li Heng drag the country into this mess.

Jia Lian hesitated for a moment before saying, "Let the Prince of Donghua pay for more equipment, and buy him a few new cruisers as well."

Li Yuan quickly did some mental calculations. He couldn't collect taxes from Donghua State, but the state-run military industrial group did hand over 40% of its profits annually. Last year's contribution was modest, only 20 million yuan.

"Well, that's the only way. The court should remain silent. The navy should send the fleet over first, and escort the merchant ships as well. You can decide what to do, sir. As for the imperial treasury, advance the payment when the goods are picked up."

Li Yuan was truly generous; after all, it was for his ministers to see—brotherly love and respect, as they all witnessed.

Jia Lian smiled and said, "In that case, on behalf of the military industry group, I thank Your Majesty for this generous order."

Li Yuan nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand: "It's our duty. Although it's a state-owned enterprise, there's no reason for us to advance funds for my family affairs."

They've got a great reputation, and they haven't neglected their substance at all.

When it comes to making money, the navy has a lot of complaints. The shipyards only have so little production capacity each year, and the navy hasn't even finished building a few new cruisers before they've all been sold to the Ottomans.

Because of this incident, the Navy's production capacity for this year is no longer able to acquire new warships, and it can only continue to use the old warships, with only the naval guns being replaced.

As for private shipyards, they might be able to build them, but they don't dare to. Do you intend to rebel?

Moreover, civilian shipyards cannot obtain new naval guns. The real bottleneck to production capacity is still naval guns.

Jia Lian first communicated with the cabinet members and reached a consensus before issuing the order.

Procedures must be followed; to bypass them is to circumvent the system, and no one can bypass the system, not even the emperor. Otherwise, it would be a grand confrontation between the emperor and his ministers. Jiajing said that no one understands this better than him.

In the northern province of Donghua, Jia Zhi truly felt the pressure caused by Li Heng's reckless actions. The United States sent representatives to negotiate with Li Heng multiple times, but he refused to meet with them and continued his machinations.

Armed clashes are currently frequent in central North America. Li Heng has made it clear that he wants to rival the United States in the Americas and drag everyone else into it.

The pressure is undoubtedly greater in the northern provinces, because they are closer to the Great Lakes region, which is the industrial heartland of the United States.

In the years since the last conflict along the Missouri River, the United States has been continuously strengthening its military presence in the area, building numerous military fortifications and stationing troops.

According to Jia Zhi's version of NATO, the frequency of conflicts with the United States within the territory of Donghua (South China) is the highest. They exchange fire at least thirty times a year.

Because of this mess, Jia Zhi sent someone to see Li Heng, asking him to restrain himself and not expand too eastward, so as not to provoke the United States too much. On the other hand, he could only deploy elite troops to be stationed in the native areas for a long time, helping them keep an eye on the United States and standing up for the natives whenever possible.

The Northern Provinces also face pressure from Canada to the north. Their relationship with Canada is not good, and they often exchange fire.

This is a very frustrating situation, given that NATO was brought in. Jazhi can control immigrants, but he cannot truly control the indigenous people.

With NATO backing them up, these natives have become increasingly outrageous, frequently seeking revenge against white people.

Helpless, Jia Zhi could only write home for help. His uncle, Xue Pan, was truly helpful, sending fifty ships full of munitions in one go. Unfortunately, there were no machine guns or cannons. Rifles, bullets, grenades, and explosives were all delivered. It wasn't that Xue Pan didn't want to help; it was just that machine guns and cannons were impossible to buy even with money, as they were classified as Class A controlled weapons.

Fifty ships of munitions also require payment, which Jia Shi must share with Xue Fang; otherwise, the financial pressure would be too great, and even if only the cost was collected, it wouldn't be enough to sustain the business.

As the year draws to a close, Jia Zhi boarded a train to Pingyuan City for the year-end summary meeting.

When they passed through New Jinshan City, Xue Fang, whose hair had turned completely white, got into the carriage. Upon seeing Jia Zhi, he couldn't help but complain, "I am so envious of the Prime Minister's love for his son. Could you write a letter to your father and ask him to allow the sale of Class I controlled weapons?"

Here's the thing: only Jia Zhi got the heavy machine guns, mortars, and 75 mortars; the other factions didn't have them.

As a result, Jia Zhi's northern province inevitably stood out from the crowd, and its combat effectiveness was elevated several levels.

Jia Zhi took out the prepared words and said, "The letter can be written, but whether it will get through is not guaranteed. Of the fifty ships of munitions that my uncle brought, thirty have already been delivered. Remember to receive them."

Xue Fang felt much better, and the wrinkles on his face smoothed out. He said in a low voice, "The resentment on Donghua Wang's side is even stronger. You need to think of your words in advance, so as not to be embarrassed later."

Jia Zhi sneered, "When his men advanced eastward, did he consult you or me? When he formed the Three Kingdoms Alliance, did he ask you or me for advice? Should I explain it to him? How laughable."

Jia Zhi dared to say this, but Xue Fang didn't have the same confidence. After all, having a Grand Secretary as his father gave him a significant advantage in Donghua Kingdom; he could directly become the governor of the northern province, and the King of Donghua could easily disregard him. Xue Fang, on the other hand, wasn't so assertive. Despite being one of the earliest to develop in Donghua, his status was low; he was just a poor scholar and a businessman in his homeland.

Merchants have a low social status in the country. Although things have improved in recent years, the imperial court is still very wary of them. If they cross the line, the court will deal with them without hesitation.

In fact, businessmen in coastal provinces all support political spokespeople, and the career prospects of most of these people are not optimistic.

It can only be said that agrarian civilizations have always been very wary of merchants. A group of people who do not engage in production can become very wealthy, and even an emperor would be wary of them.

(End of this chapter)