Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 745 Mission
Jia Lian carried the emperor's mission: Europe was about to unite, and Jia Lian had to sabotage it.

An ordinary minister would likely have found it difficult to gain the trust of Europeans, but Jia Lian was different; he had a high level of credibility. If he said the Central Empire wanted peace, then it truly wanted peace.

This is quite amazing. Jia Lian has never been to Europe, yet his reputation in the political arena is astonishingly high.

In particular, the political circles of Britain and France held Jali in high esteem, and Bismarck of Prussia also praised him highly.

The mainstream view in Europe is that Jia Lian is a man of integrity and a tolerant politician who is willing to keep his promises even when his partners change their minds.

This is mainly reflected in the Ottoman Empire, which was initially misled by Europeans and became estranged from the central empire. Later, it was dealt a blow by Tsarist Russia that woke it up.

At the time, Britain and France chose to watch from the sidelines, which made the Ottoman Turks realize a fact: they had different beliefs and were close to Europe, so no matter how hard they tried to befriend them, they would not be truly accepted.

The key factor was geography. The geography of the Ottoman Empire determined that it was destined to be seen as a threat by Europe, after all, it had actually reached the gates of Vienna hundreds of years ago.

In contrast, although the Central Empire was powerful, its power did not extend beyond the Pacific Ocean; at most, it sought to bring the Pacific Ocean into its sphere of influence.

Given the vast distance between them, they are undoubtedly a better choice as allies.

However, Jia Lian clearly did not choose to form an alliance. Instead, he explicitly told Osman Pasha that they could cooperate amicably, and that Jia Lian could make the decision on this matter, while an alliance required the emperor's permission.

Osman Pasha could only sigh that His Majesty the Emperor of the Central Empire was truly fortunate to have such an outstanding minister as Jia Lian, who, even at the age of eighty, was still at His Majesty's beck and call.

Of course, Pasha was more impressed by Jia Lian's good health and was extremely envious.

The two sides had some friendly exchanges on economic and military cooperation and signed a series of economic cooperation agreements.

The main reason was that Ottoman Türkiye needed Chinese loans to purchase a batch of equipment for Türkiye's industrial development.

The Ottoman Empire's own industrial base was too weak, so Jalian agreed to sell a batch of equipment to the Ottoman Empire for the purpose of producing rifles and ammunition on its own.

However, Jia Lian's good intentions clearly did not have much effect, and the powerful local nobles of the Ottomans still chose to purchase arms from the Central Empire.

It's a classic case of "it's better to buy than to build!"
This agreement can be understood as mutual most-favored-nation treatment in trade.

Of course, there was one more thing Jia Lian refused: Ottoman expressed his hope that China would help persuade Donghua to lift the ban on opium trade.

Surprisingly, the Ottomans were once the largest opium traffickers in Europe and even the Americas.

When the Americas were the dominant power, Türkiye's opium trade was booming. Now that there are two major powers, the business is not as good as before.

Jia Lian, in turn, advised Ottoman Pasha to stop the white slave trade, and if he were to continue, he should call it a marriage agency.

There is still a significant shortage of adult women in places like Donghua, so this business can continue.

Jia Lian was actually quite helpless. In recent years, the trend of emigration had resurfaced, mainly due to two consecutive years of drought in the north. Although the imperial court provided timely relief, local landlords were not idle; they took the opportunity to massively seize land, leading many landless peasants to choose to emigrate at their own expense. They were sending their able-bodied young men away, fearing they would starve if they stayed behind. Meanwhile, Donghua was recruiting workers every year, and immigrants from within the country were still the most popular choice. At all times, the majority ethnic group in Donghua had to be Han Chinese.

Since the eastward expansion, a large number of white people have been incorporated, which has led to problems in the population structure, so they have to continue to lure people from within the country to go there.

Another issue is that three years ago, the imperial court introduced a policy to stop subsidies for immigrants, which increased the cost of immigration for Donghua.

Although Jia Lian knew about this matter, he did not take any action.

Some things, frankly speaking, are simply not the right time yet.

The situation has changed. Li Wan is getting old and wants to groom the crown prince to succeed him. That's why he wants the crown prince to take action to rectify the imperial clan and his relatives, reform the bureaucracy, and establish his authority.

Li Wan was unlucky; only one son survived to adulthood, so she naturally had no choice.

When this prince was young, he encountered many risks, but he miraculously escaped them all.

After the agreement with the Ottoman Empire was signed, Jia Lian rested for a few more days before continuing his journey, with his next stop being Marseille.

The current French government is headed by Napoleon III, a man of strong rhetoric, at least in military matters.

His performance in the Franco-Prussian War was questionable, and it ultimately led to the downfall of his government.

The war had not yet broken out, and Daudet had no opportunity to write "The Last Lesson".

European politicians showed great enthusiasm for Jia Lian's arrival.

He was a legendary figure in the eyes of European politicians, and countless diplomats in Paris came to Marseille to welcome Jalian.

Given the support that Jacques had given to Napoleon during his time in power, the French were very enthusiastic. Napoleon III personally went to Marseille to welcome him and held a grand ceremony.

From France's perspective, the Middle Empire was a friendly country with little conflict and a long-standing foundation of friendship dating back to Louis XVI.

France received considerable support from the central empire during its industrialization and electrification process, mainly in the form of machinery and equipment, and few obstacles were erected.

This helped France's industrial scale catch up with Britain's rapidly; of course, it would have been even better if Prussia had been contained.

But how should I put it? It's just a thought. The Central Empire's foreign policy has always been to avoid involvement in European affairs, and it doesn't even go to Africa.

Europeans cannot understand this logic: why not colonize Europe?

The reason for not going is simple: Jia Lian wants war to break out in Europe. The Central Empire's entire diplomatic strategy has always been to focus on development and observe the changing political landscape of Europe. They do business when there's opportunity, and watch the drama unfold when there isn't.

Another reason is that Donghua has drawn too much of the local government's attention, a fact that Jia Lian has to admit.

Because of the Donghua affair, there's a relatively influential voice in Europe that while the Central Empire's sphere of influence doesn't extend beyond the Pacific, it has still hindered Europe's access to the Pacific. In other words, they can't defeat it; otherwise, European warships would have already sailed there.

Europe's biggest concern now is that the behemoth that is the Middle Kingdom will launch a new round of expansion, which will inevitably extend into Africa and India.

Jia Lian's visit was meant to tell everyone that as long as I am still here, this kind of thing will not happen.

Emperor Li Wan was quite farsighted; he indeed saw that if Europe united, it would pose a huge threat to his country.

Putting aside other issues, the trade measures they take are incredibly unpleasant. At least for now, European countries are increasing tariffs on Chinese goods year by year.

Jia Lian addressed diplomats from various countries, delivering a passionate speech. His gist was: I come from the East, bringing peace and friendship.

In my youth, I longed to see the world, but worldly affairs kept me from having the opportunity. After retiring, family matters kept me occupied, but now I've finally fulfilled my wish and come to see this beautiful continent I've always yearned for. I've also brought terms that everyone should be willing to accept: mutual most-favored-nation trade status. This agreement had already been signed with the Ottoman Empire.

I hope that there will be lasting peace between Europe and the Middle Empire, even at the cost of giving up access to the South Asian subcontinent and Africa.

All countries have surely seen our sincerity!
To be honest, European countries aren't very interested in this reciprocal most-favored-nation trade status.

The reason is simple: we can't beat them!

Therefore, European countries now impose high tariffs on textiles from the Central Empire. Basic machinery and equipment are also subject to high tariffs.

Jia Lian's speech gave everyone the illusion that he had come out for trade negotiations.

As expected, after arriving in Paris, Jia Lian negotiated with the French Minister of Trade, hoping that France would sign a mutual most-favored-nation trade agreement and that both sides would reduce tariffs.

The French, of course, wouldn't allow it. They could buy back some advanced equipment, even if it meant offsetting tariffs. But basic equipment and textiles were absolutely out of the question.

Jia Lian wasn't disappointed that the negotiations failed. After all, the other party wasn't stupid; as he always said, if they could do business, they would, and if they couldn't, they wouldn't.

The French side requested the introduction of new artillery technology, but Jia Lian stated that this was not negotiable.

The other party wasn't disappointed, after all, it was just a trial.

When it comes to French artillery technology, it has always been very advanced, with the Type 75 caliber gun being a classic example. However, the "clever" French seem to have made the Type 75 caliber gun the dominant force in the field.

After World War I began, it became clear that everyone had stopped engaging in open field battles and was instead digging trenches. The 75mm howitzer quickly fell out of favor, and the French soon developed the 155mm howitzer, demonstrating their impressive technological accumulation.

In this timeline, France is no less advanced than Prussia in terms of military technology, and may even be more advanced.

Unfortunately, Napoleon III was an oddball with a knack for making bizarre and unpredictable decisions.

Despite the lack of a trade agreement with France, Jia Lian still delivered a speech at a diplomatic event in Paris, highly praising the traditional friendship between the two countries. He also stated that Jia was willing to cooperate with France in all aspects, provided that principles were not violated.

These words gave Prussia quite a fright. At that time, Europe was lagging behind the Central Empire in terms of military equipment. The Prussian army was still using breech-loading single-shot rifles with black powder, and its artillery was a breech-loading cannon.

It can only be said that Prussia made rapid progress, but it was still far behind the Central Empire. If the two countries truly deepened their cooperation and France acquired new weapons technology, then Prussia's unification efforts would inevitably be hindered by France, something Prussia absolutely could not accept.

The Prussian ambassador immediately invited Jia Lian to visit, and Jia Lian gladly accepted.

To be honest, Jia Lian didn't have a good impression of the German Emperor, especially Wilhelm II, who was a mental patient. The so-called Yellow Peril theory originated from him.

Germany is one of the European countries with deep-seated hostility towards China. Many people in China once had a great fondness for Germany, probably because of their admiration for a strong nation.

(Suddenly reminded of the German Green Party's bombing of the power plant—it's like something out of a fantasy world. These European politicians have no regard for the nation; they're all just driven by their own selfish interests. The US isn't much better; Trump has practically reached the pinnacle of stock market manipulation. Predicting the stock market is nothing compared to the thrill of manipulating it. He must have made billions, right? Overall, it feels like Europe is tearing itself apart over its own interests as the economy declines. It's all very sudden for ordinary people; how did Europe end up like this? I myself only started to understand after reading countless interpretations online. It really is a systemic problem. Next up should be the Nordic countries. I used to think they were the most socialist-like region, but it seems they've been doing all sorts of outrageous things lately. They even forgive rapists—it's utterly absurd.)
Jia Lian met Bismarck in Berlin. The Iron Chancellor greeted him at the station and apologized, saying that His Majesty was unwell and should have come to greet him in person.

Jia Lian politely declined, saying it was no problem.

In fact, Jia Lian considered it highly unusual for the heads of state of various European countries to come out and greet him.

Jia Lian even privately suspected that the Europeans were digging a hole for him, but fortunately the German Emperor did not come to greet him, so the situation was not so serious.

How should I put it? It's an overstepping of bounds! What if Europeans really did study etiquette and law?
It's not really a big problem, since Jia Lian can explain it as the high importance that various countries attach to China.

William I was indeed ill, at least outwardly. Bismarck was in charge of receiving him, and after Jalian reiterated the diplomatic policy, he stated that the two countries could do business, but would not interfere in anything else.

When Bismarck inquired about the details of the agreement signed with France, Jia Lian politely replied that it needed to be kept confidential and he could not disclose it.

Bismarck's expression changed slightly, and his handsome beard trembled.

Prussia relentlessly pursued the unification of the German territories, which France consistently obstructed, while Britain secretly supported Prussia to counterbalance France.

If the central empire intervened and provided military aid to France, then the unification of Prussia would be destined to be a long way off.

Speaking of Britain's continental balancing policy, it was truly the epitome of meddling. When France was powerful, it rallied other countries to oppose France; when Russia became powerful, it rallied France to oppose Russia; and when Germany became powerful, it rallied France and Russia to oppose Germany. Frankly, the fact that no single major territorial power emerged in continental Europe is largely due to the British.

He spent three days in Berlin, signed a contract, and again kept it secret. Now it was the French's turn to worry. But worrying was useless; Jia Lian had already traveled to the Netherlands, and from there, he was to sail to England. Austria-Hungary stood by, watching awkwardly, thinking, "What about me? What about me?"
Well, there's no way around it. In Jia Lian's mind, the three European powers—Britain, France, and Russia—have absolutely no place in Austria-Hungary.

(End of this chapter)