Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 723 A blow to the head

The annual finance and budget meeting of the first year of Taiyu began amidst the eager gaze of the new emperor, Li Wan.

This is a scheduled meeting held at the end of each year to decide on the fiscal system and budget allocation for the following year. Each department is eager to compete for its own interests.

After Li Wan announced the start of the meeting, Vice Minister Shen Lei spoke first, summarizing the fiscal revenue situation of the previous year and the problems that arose in the budget.

Grand Secretary Jia Lian sat at the head of the table on the left, with his eyes closed and head bowed, seemingly dozing off.

This has become the norm for the past six months. After the new emperor ascends the throne, Jia Lian is unable to resign and returns to the cabinet to continue his duties, which is interpreted as him standing guard until the very end.

Jia Lian is not yet sixty years old, and if he wants to continue, he can persist for another ten years or even longer.

Li Wan's move to replace four other cabinet members after ascending the throne was simple and direct, sending a clear signal to others that the opportunity to replace Jia Lian was just around the corner.

A new emperor brings a new court; this cabinet minister who served two dynasties should also retire from the stage of history.

So what was Emperor Li Wan thinking? Nobody knows, at least Li Wan felt that no one could understand her true thoughts.

After ascending the throne, he replaced four cabinet ministers in a manner that was almost absurd. Was this solely because these four cabinet ministers themselves had major economic problems?
Was Grand Secretary Jia Lian's proactive concession a choice of loyalty to the country, or was it driven by some other motive?

In short, the current situation is quite unpredictable.

As Shen Lei finished speaking, he suddenly veered off course: "Last year, the Ministry of Revenue's annual revenue was 500 million silver dollars, the majority of which came from Liangjiang, reaching as much as 200 million. The people of Jiangnan are under too much pressure. I think it's time to give the people of Liangjiang a breather, especially the people of Jiangnan Province, who bore 150 million in taxes last year."

Li Wan looked bewildered; this was something he hadn't expected at all. Shen Lei, as the Imperial Tutor and his most trusted minister, why would he suddenly launch a sneak attack at such a meeting?

After Shen Lei finished speaking, Fei Yun, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, stood up and said, "What the Vice Minister said is very true. Last year, not only were the people of Jiangnan burdened with heavy taxes, but the people of Shanxi also paid 70 million yuan in taxes. This year, the tax revenue allocation between the local governments and the Ministry of Revenue should indeed be adjusted. I suggest that, in order to encourage the people of the two provinces, taxes should be appropriately reduced or exempted."

What shocked Li Wan even more was that the four cabinet ministers he had personally promoted, including Li Zhen, the military representative who shouldn't have spoken in this setting, all rose to express their support for the two sides. It should be noted that Li Zhen was a member of a collateral branch of the royal family, truly one of their own.

The last regent, Meng Fuchen, who came from the Censorate, chose to remain silent, effectively abstaining from the election.

Li Wan turned her head to look at the Grand Secretary's seat. Jia Lian remained as still as a clay sculpture, completely oblivious to the change in atmosphere, seemingly asleep.

The emperor panicked; for the first time, he felt the possibility of losing control of the situation. Other ministers also rose to speak, with ministers and vice-ministers from various departments expressing their opinions. Over 70% of those who spoke supported reducing taxes and allowing the people to rest. It seemed the country had collected too much tax revenue last year, placing a significant burden on the people.

Some department heads, mostly from new departments, chose to remain silent, seemingly giving up on expressing their opinions at the budget meeting.

Helplessness was evident in Li Wan's eyes. Tax reduction was something he absolutely did not want to do. He was still thinking about doing something big, inheriting the late emperor's will, and building a trans-Pacific empire. Otherwise, why would he have named the country Taiyu? He also dreamed of becoming a world hegemon and making all the countries in the world submit to him.

It hasn't even started yet, and we've already been hit hard by our own people – tax cuts? If taxes are cut, the national treasury will have less revenue. How will we develop? The railway to Anxi isn't even finished yet, and it will require at least 50 million silver dollars to build every year. If we really stop, will Father Emperor be able to keep his coffin closed? This is the plan Father Emperor made!

Li Wan recalled the scene of Li Yuan's deathbed and gripped his hand tightly, saying, "Crown Prince, I know you aspire to great things and surpass all previous emperors of this dynasty. I want you to remember one thing: no matter what, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet must not be replaced. Remember, remember!"

Why? Li Yuan died before he could finish speaking, but Li Wan quickly forgot about it. At this moment, he suddenly remembered this scene and looked at Jia Lian with pleading eyes again.

The emperor possesses supreme power, which is a matter of law. In practice, it has never been difficult for ministers to unite and undermine the emperor.

For the first six months after his ascension to the throne, Li Wan seemed to be doing quite well, taking decisive actions without encountering much resistance. The new cabinet was also very cooperative. So why this sudden turn of events?
Li Wan's gaze received no response from Jia Lian, so she turned to look at Shen Lei, seemingly wanting to know why. But Shen Lei gave her a look that said, "Take it easy."

In the past, this look would have given Li Wan a great sense of security, but now it was the opposite; she felt even more panicked.

As if possessed, Li Wan spoke up: "Prime Minister Jia, do you have something to say?"

The emperor spoke, and everyone fell silent, though some felt a chill run down their spines. "Your Majesty, what do you mean? We were ready to fight to the death, why are you surrendering first?"
Without a doubt, Shen Lei and the others' goal was to target Jia Lian, to completely turn him into a puppet, and to keep him in office for a few more years until everyone was familiar with government affairs and it was time for him to retire.

Their goal was to keep Jia Lian silent throughout the meeting, which was beyond their control, provided the emperor sided with them.

Everyone knows exactly who Jia Lian is. Even if he were old and frail, no one would dare to relax their vigilance in the slightest.

The moment Jia Lian opened his eyes, everyone seemed to feel a chill creeping down their spines. As Jia Lian slowly stood up, those who had just been speaking felt as if a tiger had opened its blood-red maw in front of them, ready to devour its target in one gulp.

"Your Majesty, let's discuss this matter again!" Jia Lian calmly clasped his hands in greeting to Li Wan and uttered a lighthearted remark, thus defusing the tense atmosphere.

Li Wan quickly replied, "Yes, that's what I meant too. Let's discuss it again!"

Whether the meeting should continue or not is no longer of much interest. Li Wan turned his head and said, "I am not feeling well. Let's adjourn the meeting for today."

After speaking, Li Wan got up and left, leaving the scene in silence. Jia Lian remained seated, and the others did not move either, but dared not make a sound.

Jia Lian sat there for half an hour before finally getting up and saying, "Why is everyone still here? Wasn't the meeting over?" "Pshaw!" Feng Daode, the Vice Minister of the Audit Bureau, scoffed, "What are you saying? If you don't leave, who dares to leave?"

After saying that, he glanced around disdainfully, as if looking at a group of clowns.

Jia Lian didn't say anything and left at a leisurely pace.

The moment I stepped out, I heard a rustling of tables and chairs; everyone was getting up and leaving, and the meeting was hastily adjourned.

Jia Lian was stopped by the waiting eunuch Huang Jin: "Prime Minister Jia, His Majesty requests your presence."

"Excuse me!" Jia Lian slightly clasped his hands, and Huang Jin quickly bowed even lower, almost at a ninety-degree angle, raising his hand in a gesture: "Please watch your step, there are stairs!"

When Li Wan saw Jia Lian enter, he immediately stepped forward and said, "Prime Minister Jia, I was completely unaware of what Shen and Fei said beforehand."

Jia Lian sighed and said, "Your Majesty need not be so anxious. Under any circumstances, Your Majesty is the ruler of all under Heaven. It is others who should be panicking, not Your Majesty."

One sentence calmed Li Wan down. "Yeah, why the hell am I panicking? Right, what did Shen and Fei tell me back then? They said my prestige was insufficient and I should first establish my authority."

After all this fuss, once I've established my authority, are you going to sabotage my grand plans? If so, how can I surpass my ancestors?
Li Wan gave a sheepish laugh, gestured for a seat, and then sat down in her chair.

Shen Lei and Fei Yun were anxiously trying to come in to see the emperor when Huang Jin stopped them, saying, "His Majesty is seeing Prime Minister Jia. Please wait a moment, Your Excellencies."

Shen Lei disregarded any taboos: "May I ask, Huang Banban, who took the initiative?"

Huang Jin suddenly stopped smiling and said, "Prime Minister Shen, don't harm me!"

Fei Yun quickly tried to salvage the situation: "Huang Banban, please don't be offended. I was just getting impatient."

Huang Jin then smiled and said, "My two prime ministers, please sit down and have a cup of tea first."

From Emperor Chenghui to Emperor Qianzheng, both emperors had an ironclad rule during their reigns: the harem and the inner court were forbidden from interfering in politics. Huang Jin dared not take any risks; killing him was no different than crushing an ant.

Inside the main hall, the emperor and his minister sat facing each other. Li Wan had completely calmed down and, after adjusting her mindset, earnestly asked Jia Lian, "Prime Minister Jia, why?"

Jia Lian smiled and said, "Shen Lei is from Taicang, and Fei Yun is from Datong. During the Chenghui era, there was an unspoken rule that officials of the third rank and above would not be from Jiangnan or Shanxi. The late emperor was benevolent and made some changes, slightly relaxing the appointment of officials from these two provinces. I think these two prime ministers have good intentions, but they are a bit too eager. They haven't considered things more comprehensively and want to achieve some results as soon as possible to win the praise of the people and secure their prime ministership."

These words explained the matter clearly without uttering a single bad word about the two men. Li Wan was deeply moved; this was true magnanimity. It seemed that Prime Minister Jia's previous petition to retire and enjoy his remaining years was sincere.

People are prone to overthinking, and at that moment, Li Wan immediately thought of the Jia clan. Only Jia Lan had entered politics, and his official position was merely the fourth-rank prefect of Guangzhou. This position seemed good, but in reality, it was far from the central government and could hardly be considered a good position. Making money was certainly easy, but getting promoted was not easy.

For the first time, Li Wan reflected on his own actions: "Have I been too willful? Thank goodness Prime Minister Jia is selfless. Thinking carefully about my father's teachings, Prime Minister Jia only employs capable people. My father loves me! He has never lied to me."

"You mean, are the two of them doing this to give back to their hometown? I'm afraid that's not entirely true." Li Wan wasn't stupid; otherwise, he wouldn't be qualified to be the Crown Prince. His questions, however, stemmed from his teachers' teachings, which made him seem insecure. His teachers always instilled in him the idea that Jia Lian, as the youngest Grand Secretary in the dynasty, lacked the Emperor's prestige to control him. The best solution, they said, was to get rid of him; if that didn't work, they'd sideline him.

Li Wan was indeed doing that, but that doesn't mean he was stupid. He started by cutting taxes, and specifically targeting Jiangnan, a major taxpayer. Who could tolerate that?
Another major taxpayer was the state-owned enterprise system built by Jia Lian. This system paid a substantial amount of taxes annually, reaching 100 million yuan last year. This isn't the total figure; another channel for tax revenue was the annual dividends distributed to the internal treasury, which also reached 50 million yuan last year. In other words, the system's total tax revenue last year amounted to 150 million yuan.

Although the taxes paid by Guangdong, Guangxi, and Southeast Asia were not high, they had to bear the enormous expenses of supporting the Southeast Asian navy and its garrison, as well as aiding the Donghua Kingdom. This was the principle set during the reign of the late emperor; continued investment was needed in Southeast Asia to consolidate the foundation of rule, and it was not yet time to reinvest in the imperial treasury.

"Your Majesty, the most important thing in governing a country is managing finances. Jiangnan is a naturally fertile land. Your Majesty considers the overall situation when governing the country, hence your surprise."

Jia Lian remained very polite, and also gave Li Wan a compliment.

Li Wan immediately received a special signal. Shen Lei and Fei Yun, though imperial tutors and experienced in prefectures and counties, lacked experience as governors and viceroys. They had assisted him in overseeing the country during the late emperor's reign and should possess a comprehensive perspective. Why were they so eager to reduce taxes in these two provinces? If taxes in these two provinces were reduced, would other coastal provinces also need tax cuts? Would Shandong, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Guangdong cause trouble?
If a real uproar breaks out and I can't suppress it, and I'm forced to reduce taxes, wouldn't that be a heavy blow to the court's revenue? Will there be another major event requiring the opening of the imperial treasury?
Li Wan felt a chill run down her spine just thinking about it; it seemed things weren't as simple as she had imagined.

"Jia Qing, shouldn't we stop reducing taxes?" Li Wan asked earnestly, his form of address unconsciously changing. He could genuinely sense that Jia Lian had no ulterior motives.

“Tax reduction is certainly possible, but what should be reduced is the poll tax and the corvée labor for farmers. My suggestion is that in the future, large-scale water conservancy and road construction projects should, as far as possible, avoid conscripting corvée labor and instead hire laborers. The past commercial and industrial taxes were not too high, but too low.” Li Wan was dumbfounded by Jia Lian’s words. How could he say the exact opposite of what the two imperial tutors had said?

According to the two imperial tutors, the population was estimated to have exceeded 500 million last year. An extra penny per capita would be a huge amount, easily enough to make up for the shortfall in industrial and commercial tax reductions.

Reducing or exempting industrial and commercial taxes would allow the people of the capital to enjoy lower prices, which is what a benevolent ruler should do.

Wait a minute, the two imperial tutors also said that the court shouldn't intervene in the production and sale of daily necessities like firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea; instead, these should be left to private merchants. This way, merchants will inevitably engage in price wars to make a profit, which will benefit the people. As for railways, the court invests a lot of money every year in building unprofitable railways; these could be handed over to private operators, so the railways wouldn't lose money and could even make a profit. Oh, and opening up military production and operations could also lower the procurement prices for the army.

Looking at Jia Lian, who was leisurely sipping his tea, Li Wan suddenly realized that this world was different from the one she had encountered before.

(End of this chapter)