Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 229 Navy
"Production is easy to handle. As long as the machines and raw materials keep up, the rest is just to staff up. I have never run a workshop before, but now I know how complicated it is. If there is a problem in any one place, others have to wait. From procurement to production, every link must be monitored. The slightest negligence can cause you trouble."

Jia Rong started complaining and grumbling as soon as he came up. After all, it was his first time here. He thought it was very simple at first, but it became a bit difficult when the scale got bigger.

Xue Pan also listened with great interest. After all, he was going to open a branch factory in Jinling. The production capacity in the capital was seriously insufficient at the moment. Due to logistics issues, the entire process from production to sales was too complicated and was far from meeting market demand.

Xue Pan then came up with the idea of ​​producing in Jinling. How to organize production requires learning.

After asking this question, Jia Rong's mentoring side came out and he felt particularly honored.

Jia Lian listened to this with a smile and did not interrupt. Managing production is actually a very troublesome thing. Production requires people, and it takes time to master what each person can do and to what extent.

It is easy to say that the right person should be placed in the right position, but it is difficult to do it. This involves people. For example, if a manager is very capable and you think he is a good person, but he is an outsider, would you dare to use him boldly?
You see, once people's personal interests are involved, they often lose their calmness and rationality.

Should we use talents or loyalty? Every person in a high position has his own way of employing people.

It is difficult to tell right from wrong here; it all depends on the individual.

If you must ask Jia Lian about how he employs people, it can be summed up in four words: interest binding.

Speaking of sales, Xue Pan has something to say.

"I never thought that cigarette sales would start in brothels. The girls smoked first and recommended them to customers. The cigarettes shipped to Jinling every month can barely meet the demand on the Qinhuai River. We must increase the amount shipped south next month."

Jia Rong also said, "The sales in the capital are mainly to scholars and some merchants. It's not that we don't ship more to Nanjing, but the raw materials at the moment can only do this step. If you want to produce in Nanjing, you must make some changes to the raw materials. It's too late this year, and you need to increase the planting area next year. In order to prevent the emergence of competitors in the future and tampering with the source, you must organize people to grow tobacco leaves themselves starting this year."

"Oh, there are already competitors?" Xue Pan asked. Jia Lian was also quite curious. Not to mention the problem of the machines, the main issue was the tobacco-curing technology, which Jia Rong was keeping a tight grip on and guarding against.

"In the face of huge profits, some people follow suit. The machines were made by craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry, which is easy to check. The cigarette paper is said to be customized by us, but in fact it is not in our hands. I have an idea that in the raw material link, we can take the form of equity investment and become a shareholder of the other party, which can greatly reduce the risk."

Seeing Jia Rong talking, Jia Lian smiled without saying anything. This guy has made great progress. It's just that his taste is a little too special. How could he like to be in the same category as his father? Of course, Youshi told him about this. After being caught by his father, Jia Rong simply let himself go. He would try everything that Jia Zhen had touched. It was completely unbearable to look at.

"The original wedding date was in July, but I thought it was too hot, so I paid the people from the Imperial Observatory to change it to September 18th. My father is not fighting this time. He has been in poor health recently and has been much quieter." Jia Rong's expression was very awkward when he mentioned Jia Zhen.

"What does the Qin family have to say?" Jia Lian became curious and asked casually.

"I don't have any special requirements, nor do I want a big ceremony. My father thinks that we can hold the wedding with a total of four to five thousand taels. The Qin family is a small family, so it's difficult for us to make it bigger."

It is unknown whose daughter Qin Keqing is, but Miaoyu is most likely the legitimate daughter of the old loyal prince. A nun who practices Buddhism with her hair untied and lives a life of refinement is not what a monk should do.

All I can say is that when the old Prince of Loyalty fell, too many people were implicated.

Jia Zhen did not tell Jia Rong many things. It was a good thing that he didn't know, but it would have been troublesome if he knew.

I thought I really had a three-month vacation, but I never expected that Xia Shouzhong would come in person after only three days.

"Your Majesty has ordered Jia Lian to go to Tianjin to see the current situation of the Tianjin Navy."

Jia Lian was immediately annoyed and said reluctantly: "You can go, but it has to be done in a legitimate way, right?"

Xia Shouzhong smiled and said, "That's easy. His Majesty has already issued an order to the Censorate. You can take up the post of inspector of the navy."

Jia Lian understood: "Is this another temporary assignment? The Ministry of War is empty, or the Censorate is empty, and they have to ask me to go?"

Xia Shouzhong smiled and said, "The saint guessed that you would complain, so he asked us to tell you that if you can't figure it out, think about it slowly."

Jia Lian could certainly guess some clues, he was just acting on purpose, otherwise how could he satisfy the emperor's vanity.

Xia Shouzhong returned to the Qianqing Palace. On Emperor Chenghui's desk was a report on the navy sent by the Ministry of War.

The total annual appropriation for the navy is 300,000 taels, and the shortfall is supplemented by local funds.

At present, the imperial court has only three navies, with the headquarters in Tianjin, where the naval commander (commander) is stationed. Dengzhou controls the Bohai Bay and has a naval force of 6,000 people, led by a general. The second is Fuzhou, which has a naval force of about 10,000 people, also led by a general. Finally, Guangzhou has a naval force of 15,000 people, led by a general.

Some other small navies were not as strong as the 500 people stationed at Wusongkou.

The total number of people in the navy is more than 30,000. With such a small force, it is difficult for Emperor Chenghui to defend the vast sea. But the navy is too expensive. If it is expanded, it will be a bottomless pit.

Since the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, apart from the early days of investing heavily in the navy to eliminate the remnants of hostile forces, the navy's presence has not been strong for a long time since there was no threat from the sea. Now the main task of the navy is to patrol and suppress bandits. Large-scale maritime invasions do not exist.

From the perspective of a feudal dynasty, the navy is really useless. The navy on the sea is not as important as the navy on the inland river. The canal navy under the governor of the grain transport is more important than the three major navies.

Thinking of the grain transport, Emperor Chenghui frowned. This was a pit that could not be touched. Millions of grain transport workers depended on food and clothing. The Ming Dynasty was like this, and it was still like this in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

At first, Emperor Chenghui had thought about letting Jia Lian go to the grain transport department, but later he thought better of it, so as not to make this guy suffer to death. It is not easy to have such a minister who can make trouble in the court, so we should cherish him.

Didn't you write a letter mentioning the navy? Then go and take a look. You just want to take a rest anyway, so there's no way.

Before leaving, Jia Lian still had to abide by the rules and go to meet the emperor.

After the ceremony, Emperor Chenghui spoke: "The navy is a mess. When you arrive at a place where you are unfamiliar with the people, don't act recklessly. If you cut off the financial resources of those soldiers, they will dare to incite their subordinates to mutiny."

Emperor Chenghui gestured to Qiu Shi'an to bring a past memorial. Jia Lian took it and looked at it, his face immediately turned dark.

A memorial from the 30th year of the reign of the Emperor Taishang said that the officers and soldiers of the Nanyang Navy had held the new governor hostage because the court was investigating the suspected smuggling of the then Navy Commander-in-Chief and had arrested and imprisoned him. The Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi went to negotiate in person and finally came to a conclusion that only the Commander-in-Chief would be punished and the rest would not be questioned.

Whether there was any settlement afterwards was not recorded in the materials, and Jia Lian had no way of knowing, but as far as he knew, there was definitely a settlement.

According to official records, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, the Governor of Guangdong, and the three secretaries were all dismissed. This was a very serious consequence. Jia Lian couldn't help but ask, "Why implicate the three secretaries when it would be enough to dismiss the Governor-General and the Governor?"

Emperor Chenghui looked at Jia Lian calmly, without explaining, and changed the subject: "You are just going to take a look, don't cause any trouble. Otherwise, even if you have made a contribution, you will still be guilty when you come back."

Jia Lian nodded: "I understand. This is not a military expedition. Can I bring a maid with me?"

"You rascal, are you so greedy for pleasure?" Emperor Chenghui grabbed the inkstone again, and Qiu Shian pressed it down to remind him: "Five hundred taels!"

Jia Lian understood, I can leave now, he bowed and said: "I will take my leave!"

After Jia Lian left, Emperor Chenghui asked Qiu Shian, "Will you try something different next time? In any case, you can't treat him well."

Qiu Shian thought for a moment and said, "Saint, why not let the Third Prince use the newspaper to invest in that guy's cigarette factory? At worst, the imperial farm can grow some tobacco and sell it to him." Emperor Chenghui shook his head and said, "No, no, it's better to let the Third Prince come forward and get some cigarettes to sell and subsidize the newspaper. That's a feasible way."

"The saint is wise. This guy is obsessed with money, so let him lose it."

Emperor Chenghui smiled but said nothing. Jia Lian seemed to be a money-grubber, but in fact, he never put public funds into his pocket. The way the Wucheng Bingmasi made money, in Jia Lian's words, was called revenue generation, departmental revenue generation.

Speaking of corruption, Jia Lian is a weird official. If he were corrupt, there would be no honest officials.

In the East Mansion, Wang Xifeng came to see Youshi on Jia Lian's orders: "Second Master said that he didn't know when he would be back from his trip, and he was afraid that he would not be able to make it in time for Rong'er's wedding, so he asked me to give him 10,000 taels of silver as a subsidy for Rong'er's wedding."

Youshi was not polite and took it and said, "I thank Master Lian on behalf of Rong'er."

"Hey, we're family, why are you calling me 'Master'?"

Wang Xifeng is fully confident in her appearance, but when it comes to figure, Youshi's fertile side really crushes her.

There were always some rumors in the Jia family, and Wang Xifeng couldn't help but become suspicious when she heard them.

She didn't look down on Youshi in her heart. After all, Jia Lian treated Youshi with great respect.

Wang Xifeng did not stay long and returned to report. When Jia Lian saw her, he said, "Just send someone to deliver it. You went there in person with a heavy stomach. Aren't you tired? Are you stupid?"

Wang Xifeng was not angry when she was told this, but felt sweet inside. According to Ping'er's report, Jia Lian was afraid that Ping'er would get pregnant, so he never had sex with her. This touched Wang Xifeng very much. How could a man be like this?
After a tender moment between the couple, Jia Lian returned to his study to rest as he had to set out early the next morning.

According to the old rules, he selected fifty family guards and set out on horseback.

Officials travel with ceremonial guards, but Jia Lian thought it was troublesome and simply omitted them. However, he loaded the tools issued by the Censorate into the car and took them with him.

Jia Lian did not rush along the way. He walked along the road beside the canal and covered a hundred miles a day easily.

It took Jia Lian two days to reach the outskirts of Tianjin. Outside the city gate, Jia Lian ordered his guards, "Prepare the ceremonial guards and enter the city!"

They borrowed a small farmyard on the roadside and changed into their official uniform, which frightened the owner so much that he knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly.

Jia Lian tried to appease him with kind words, paid the rent, and then he entered the city.

The sudden appearance of the inspector Jia scared the officials in Tianjin. The civil officials were relatively good, but the navy was in chaos. The commander of the navy was also a member of the noble family, but he was a baron, and his title was about to be lost.

Outside the Navy Yamen, Commander Wei Xuezhong was looking nervously at the end of the avenue.

Jia Lian did not deliberately launch a surprise attack, which naturally gave Wei Xuezhong time to wait and greet him with his men.

In fact, the first person who was alarmed was the Tianjin prefect. When he learned that a patrol inspector had arrived, he was so scared that he immediately got out of his concubine's arms and quickly asked someone to ask who the visitor was. After learning that it was the patrol inspector of the navy, the prefect was relieved, but not completely relieved, for fear that the patrol inspector would take advantage of him.

So he led his subordinates to rush out to meet him. It was obvious that the prefect's heart was in suspense again after meeting Jia Lian on the way.

This person is a disaster star. What if his power is too great?
The rank of prefect is quite different. The highest one, such as Shuntian Prefecture, can be a fourth rank, while the prefect of Jinling is a junior fourth rank. The fifth rank accounts for 30%, and the rest are junior fifth rank. Of course, the prefects in the wealthy areas of Jiangnan are mostly fifth rank.

In terms of rank, Jia Lian is higher than the prefect of Tianjin, but much lower than the naval commander, who is a third-rank official.

The Tianjin prefect was worried, so he went to the Navy Yamen on the pretext of accompanying Jia Lian.

It was said that the inspector was half a level higher than the foreign official, but Jia Lian did not take it seriously and dismounted thirty steps away. He was really afraid of a mutiny in the navy.

"Sir Wei, thank you for taking the trouble to come out to greet me. I am so sorry." Jia Lian said something nice in a hurry. After all, the rule in the yamen is that you should not greet others when you are above you. So what if you are a touring inspector? If others come out to greet you, you have to express your guilt.

"Lord Jia, you have worked hard on the journey, please go to the yamen to rest." Wei Xuezhong was still nervous. After all, he had seen too many people smiling in front of others but stabbing them in the back.

In short, he will not relax until Jia Lian leaves Tianjin.

For safety reasons, after entering, Jia Lian said straight to the point: "Your Majesty asked me to come to the navy to take a look at the current situation, just to take a look, nothing else." Wei Xuezhong said in his heart, "I don't believe it even more if you say that, but he said with shame: "As the commander of the navy, I failed to manage the navy well, which made Your Majesty dissatisfied. It is my fault."

There was not much friendship between the two of them, and Jia Lian didn't want to say anything more as it was difficult to explain clearly.

It was getting late, so we settled down first. The prefect was very enthusiastic and said that he had made arrangements. There was a nice courtyard nearby, which was a private residence of a maritime merchant. It had complete living facilities for maids and servants, so Lord Jia could live there comfortably.

Jia Lian did not hesitate to accept the prefect's invitation, in fact, just to give them a reassurance.

After Jia Lian was settled, Wei Xuezhong and the prefect got together to have a private chat. Neither of them talked nonsense and each wrote on a piece of paper.

Two pieces of paper were placed together, one with "salt" written on it and the other with "iron" written on it.

(End of this chapter)