Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 753 Unrecognizable
In Jia Lian's mind, the world had become so distorted that it was unbearable to look at.

The situation domestically, in particular, is inexplicable. The emperor is still alive, but he's running a mutated empire.

You could call it absolute monarchy, but that's not entirely true. Faced with growing public outcry, the emperor made concessions and initiated reforms.
This reform integrated various previous new policies, clarified many previously ambiguous boundaries, and stipulated that each had its own law, with the rule of law taking precedence.

The core of this new law is that the emperor no longer has absolute centralized power, and everything must be discussed with the ministers before proceeding according to the law.

This reform stripped the imperial relatives of their privileges, and if they committed any further crimes, the three judicial departments would have the power to enforce the law.

The power of judicial interpretation rests with the Court of Judicial Review, not with the emperor, to determine guilt or innocence.

Because of the successful improvement, there was a chorus of cheers in the officialdom: "Long live the Emperor!"

Jia Lian was both amused and exasperated. The emperor was still alive; what was there to be happy about?

However, regardless of the circumstances, an environment where personal property can be protected by law has emerged. In the past, when imperial relatives arbitrarily seized other people's property, ordinary people now have a place to file complaints and a legal basis for explanation. It's no longer like in the past, where whether or not to convict imperial relatives depended on the emperor's will.

The selection of cabinet members was also reformed. Specifically, it was still a vote-based election, with the ministers and vice ministers of each department voting to elect them. The emperor also participated in the election, and his vote was equal to ten votes.

The civil service group, after achieving its goals by bringing together the gentry and business community, ceased its efforts. They were the most eager for reform, but also the weakest.

There was also a group of activists in the country who formed a socialist party and had originally participated in this reform movement, but the results did not satisfy them. The young people in this group were very disappointed and decided to start afresh.

These young people formed a social youth party; they wanted to take a different path.

This new political party was quickly seen as a rebel party, a large number of its members were arrested, and the party was dissolved.

None of them were killed; they were all exiled.

So the changes are quite significant. In the past, wouldn't all the rebels have been executed? Now they're exiled instead of killed, which is progress.

Jia Lian, who was between ninety and one hundred years old, had not appeared in the public eye for a long time. After he turned one hundred, the newspapers reported on him, and he truly became an auspicious omen.

These days, living to be a hundred years old is incredible! That's a true centenarian!

Some unscrupulous booksellers, capitalizing on the hype, published a book titled "The Biography of Jia Buqi," which sold very well. This book was published illegally without the permission of Jia Lian and the Jia clan.

The book's content is fairly fair; it simply records some of Jia Lian's past deeds and embellishes them.

It's not that you can't criticize Jia Lian, but because Jia Lian has a good reputation, writing stories that criticize him won't make money.

After seeing the book, the Jia family published a statement in the newspaper, saying that "The Biography of Jia Buqi" was written without the consent of Jia Buqi and his family. They stated that they have the right to pursue legal action against the publisher, but the elderly Jia family member did not want to pursue the matter, believing that there was nothing in his life he couldn't let others know. It must be emphasized that the book's content is not guaranteed to be authentic. It's fine to read it as a storybook, but don't take it too seriously.

After the Jia family released their statement, everyone praised their magnanimity!

The publisher was quite astute; they immediately incorporated the statement into the book and reprinted it. They added a preface stating that the old Prime Minister didn't mind us making a little money using his name—a magnanimity that the world admires. Our authors, while writing the book, tried their best to use the facts; there may have been some exaggeration, but for artistic purposes, this statement is hereby made. Sincere thanks to the old Prime Minister Jia.

The publisher even went so far as to deliver money to the Jia family, but was stopped at the gate. They put on a grand show, and sales soared again.

The younger generation of the Jia family didn't understand and asked Jia Lian why he allowed him to write about himself. Jia Lian replied, "If you don't allow it, he won't write it? Pirated books are everywhere; can you stop them?"
Now that he's finished writing and made some money, let him be. It's much better than someone writing a book called "The Erotic Tale of Jia Buqi".

First impressions matter, right? If someone writes a book first and the content is good, let them make their money.

Believe it or not, someone actually made a book called "The Amorous Tale of Jia Sheng," which is a novel adapted from folk storytelling and drama.

Some readers chuckled after reading it, finding it more enjoyable than "Jia Buqi Zhuan," though it did require more toilet paper.

Such books naturally cannot obtain a formal ISBN and can only be published as pirated copies.

The book tells the story of Jia Sheng solving cases among the common people. He is an honest official, but also a womanizer. He really does sleep with every woman he meets.

There were opera actresses, wine shop owners, and the daughter of a canal gang leader. Fortunately, he didn't write about abandoning a well-bred lady after seducing her, leaving room for interpretation.

This book is selling well too. The drama that Jia Lian was working on back then has now come back to haunt him.

That's why they say there are many despicable scholars out there, writing about stealing jade and fragrance all day long, and they do it quite convincingly.

In Jia Lian's memory, many things happened ahead of schedule. The Boer War was brought forward by more than ten years. The British must have been desperate for money to mobilize 200,000 troops to fight.

The Boers were no pushovers; with the help of some compassionate anonymous individuals, they waged a guerrilla war against the British.

This war lasted for five years before it ended. The British treasury was emptied, and London issued government bonds at an alarming rate.

During this time, Jia Lian saw in the newspaper that the Boers had a variety of weapons, including German rifles and mortars, light machine guns from the Central Empire, and heavy machine guns from the French.

Even so, the Boers were defeated, and the British set a precedent for concentration camps.

The British government gained very little from this battle; it was undoubtedly a losing proposition. The Boers, though defeated, earned autonomy through the intervention of various countries.

After its westward expansion was thwarted, Tsarist Russia was also unable to expand eastward, and internal contradictions intensified, leading to civil war.

The Tsar violently suppressed the rebellion, killing a number of young officers and exiling even more people.

Don't think that only Tsarist Russia was experiencing domestic unrest; it was similar in other European countries, with very active members of society all wanting to change the status quo.

However, some advocate for moderate reforms, while others advocate for riots.

The cemetery of the fallen soldiers of the Paris Commune has become a sacred site for activists from all over the world, and people frequently lay wreaths there. Some of those wreaths even bear inscriptions in Chinese.

Although the Central Empire was powerful, the lives of ordinary people were quite mediocre. The regulations on maximum working hours and minimum hourly wages established at the time were subject to fluctuations in their implementation.

Every year, there are tens of thousands of labor disputes, and coastal provinces such as Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangsu, Fujian, and Zhejiang are frequently involved in such disputes.

In fact, the treatment of workers in China is better than that of workers in Europe, after all, the imperial court had previously taken targeted measures and achieved certain results.

Over time, some people reverted to their old habits. State-owned enterprises also began to experience problems, exhibiting typical large-company ailments such as increased ineffective costs. Consequently, there were widespread public calls for reform of state-owned enterprises.

As a result, newspapers began to publish related articles, paving the way for the reform of state-owned enterprises, especially those involved in infrastructure.

No one expected that Jia Lian, who hadn't had many children in ten years, would suddenly publish an article in the Minsheng Daily at the age of 105, titled "What kind of enterprises are the cornerstone of national stability?"

Many people, upon seeing the signature, thought they were hallucinating. Who is this? Is it fake? How dare they impersonate a centenarian!

Wow, Jia Lian isn't dead yet! He's 105 years old!
State-owned enterprises are characterized by good benefits, but they lose money every year. Why is this? The reasons are complex and will not be elaborated here, but in short, the government's financial burden is very heavy.

After this article appeared, the emperor remained calm, but some people were furious and cursed in private.

At this point, the emperor had come to realize that he now regretted many of the choices he had made over the years in order to maintain a balance in the court.

Following the publication of this article, the emperor decided to initiate a new round of purges.

A large number of members of the imperial family and relatives of the empress were removed from their positions in state-owned enterprises and replaced with civil officials who had formal training in government.

The reason why the imperial court was short of money was largely due to global competition.

Seeing that the international situation was not going well, the emperor dared not be negligent.

The current diplomatic situation is this: Germany advocates an alliance with the Central Empire and has actually sent people to test the waters, but has been rejected.

Fearing being attacked from both sides, Tsarist Russia made concessions and compromises during negotiations on the border issue.

European countries have been experiencing successive economic crises, and their economies are now being sustained by military buildup.

It can only be said that everyone is unable to stop, and the Central Empire is no exception. The army can be put aside for now, but the navy is something that really cannot be neglected.

Just by looking at those huge warships, you can tell that the navy cannot slack off in its development; otherwise, if others really send warships to your doorstep, it will really disrupt your merchant shipping routes.

This crackdown on corruption also significantly impacted the military, with a large number of officers being dismissed.

During that period, newspapers reported every day that this person had been arrested and that person had been imprisoned, causing widespread panic. Many officials were worried that something was going to happen to the military.

Nothing happened. The military not only didn't cause trouble, but was also very compliant. Six months later, more than a hundred people were investigated and punished.

Unbeknownst to everyone, before the emperor decided to launch a new round of official rectification, he secretly entered the Jia mansion at night and met with Jia Lian, this venerable man.

He asked Jia Lian in person how to manage and operate a company. Jia Lian told him that the key was good governance and a sound oversight system. Everyone needed to know that the cost of breaking the law was unbearable, and that enforcement should be carried out without hesitation.

After this meeting, the emperor stood firm. Among the generals punished were members of the Jia clan, but no major incident occurred.

After the successful strike, the military was unharmed, but the civilian administration panicked even more.

Their panic is understandable; if the army can be manipulated at will, what are they?
As expected, the emperor took further action, this time even more ruthlessly, removing three cabinet ministers, half of the ministers, and two-thirds of the vice ministers within three months.

The crackdown on corruption among civil servants lasted for a year, resulting in the punishment of more than 500 officials, with dozens of people arrested every month.

Many ordinary people have been implicated in this.

The imperial newspapers reported on this reform movement daily, describing it as a vigorous and widespread campaign.

The large-scale crackdown on corruption lasted for two years before gradually subsiding, but the emperor stated in the newspapers that corruption must be constantly addressed.

As was customary, no officials were executed, but their property was confiscated, and the people were exiled and fined.

Later generations interpreted this move by the emperor as preparation for a global war.

The whole world is preparing for war. The Central Empire has a large navy and a sizable army, maintaining a force of one hundred standing divisions, one hundred regional divisions, and a large number of reserve backbone divisions. The main force of the army is deployed in the west and north. As we've said before, we love peace, but we must deter our neighbors.

The most nervous were naturally Tsarist Russia, followed by Britain. Five standing divisions and a naval squadron, including two dreadnought-class battleships and two battlecruisers, were deployed along the Yunnan border to Rangoon. With even more cruisers and destroyers, it's no wonder the British were alarmed. However, the Central Empire's diplomatic rhetoric was to protect the safe navigation of our merchant ships.

On the other side of the strait, Donghua also built a large navy, including five dreadnought-class battleships and five battlecruisers.

Combined, the total tonnage is exactly twice that of the UK.

While the world was terrified by the sheer scale of the event, it was also secretly relieved that the Central Empire had remained neutral and did not interfere in European affairs.

In Jia Lian's eyes, many things were being brought to fruition ahead of time.

For example, when I went out incognito, I was surprised to see cars driving on the streets. Have we become that advanced?
In reality, a car is quite simple; it's just four wheels and a house. The key components are the engine, transmission, and shock absorbers.

Security must also be taken into account.

Seeing the car stop abruptly, Jia Lian felt relieved; there were brakes. It wouldn't have gone out on the street without them.

Jia Lian doesn't actually look old now. There are no signs of aging on his face, and he still has a rosy complexion. He even wears makeup when he goes out.

Jia Lian didn't know how long he would live, but he figured he wouldn't lose out.

The air quality in Beijing is getting worse and worse. As the city grows, air quality naturally declines. This is because Jia Lian advocated moving all the businesses out of the city back then.

The air quality in Tianjin is even worse; you can smell sulfur when you breathe it, and it burns your throat.

Electric lights are no longer a rarity; streetlights are everywhere, and there is no longer a curfew at night. However, a restricted area has been designated near the emperor's residence.

It was already 10 p.m., but the streets were still bustling.

(End of this chapter)