Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 392 What if the Gift Is Not Enough?

In the residence of the Honglu Temple, Henry and Sassoon had a private discussion.

What are we talking about? Gifts!
In order to suppress Louis XVI, the British side attached great importance to this visit to China.

Especially in the current European cultural circles, the descriptions of the East are extremely flattering, and it is like an ideal country.

In this context, the British side was very attentive in preparing gifts, and took out all the good stuff from the bottom of the box, including new artillery (models), new rifles, steam engine models, sailboat models, loom models, exquisite pocket watches, colonial diamonds and various gems, etc. Let's put it this way, I'm afraid that China will not look down on these gifts and think that you are not worthy of being equal to me.

It is no wonder that the British were so nervous, mainly because Louis XVI had caused too much trouble in France. After D'Artagnan returned to Paris, he presented the gifts he brought back. Louis XVI held salons every day, invited representatives from various countries, and showed off a lot. In particular, Louis XVI framed the letters of credence and hung them on the wall for everyone to appreciate. Every time he would emphasize the positioning of "Brother Country".

You can't blame the Europeans for being country bumpkins. The Central Plains dynasty's industry was not good at the moment, but the craftsmanship of the craftsmen was absolutely ingenious. The exquisite porcelain used by the emperor, the embroidery woven in Jiangning, the magnificent lacquerware, the finely carved accessories, etc., were all opened by the nouveau riche in Europe. In terms of food, clothing and daily necessities, the top French in Europe at this stage were trampled on the ground.

The cultural circles in Paris wrote many articles and poems to praise the friendship from the East and the imperial life they imagined. In their eyes, the East was the beacon of human civilization, and the emperor of Zhou was the source of light in the beacon, shrouded in fog, but still illuminating the world.

When Henry and his companions arrived in the capital, they thought that the gifts were enough, but unexpectedly they found that many of the gifts were useless because people had better ones. For example, rifles and artillery!
Henry and Sassoon had seen these two things, and with the permission of the soldiers, they watched the rifles in the hands of the infantrymen standing guard at close range. Although they did not know the existence of rifling and the details of Minié bullets, the combination of rifles and bayonets was not backward at all in Europe. As for artillery, they had seen the light field artillery in the barracks. As for coastal defense artillery, Zhou was not a maritime power and had no foreign enemies at sea, so it was understandable that it did not pay attention to it. Once it paid attention, it could be built in minutes.

In addition, they were allowed to go out on the street in recent days. It doesn't matter if they don't go out, but they will be depressed if they go back. I know that the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty in Huaxia lived in a very impressive place, but I didn't expect the Forbidden City to be so dignified, elegant, simple and generous, and grand. Standing outside Xihua Gate and taking a look, I have the urge to kneel down and worship. In comparison, Buckingham Palace is the house of a nouveau riche in the countryside of London. When I came here, I saw the prosperity of the business in the east of the city. After coming to Huaxia, the food and things I used made Henry feel ashamed.

The key is that this country's military power is overwhelming, and it does not allow evil thoughts to arise at all. No matter how many ships the East India Company has, can you fight against a country with such a vast territory? You are dreaming!
Therefore, it became extremely urgent that the process and results of this visit to China must be perfect.

"Sir Henry, we have done everything we can. I don't have any good ideas!" After learning of Henry's idea, Sassoon spread his hands and expressed helplessness.

Henry was very annoyed when he heard this: "As an assistant, you should share my worries and must think of a solution, otherwise you will bear the consequences yourself."

Sassoon was so angry that the painted snuff bottle he had just bought didn't smell good anymore. After carefully putting it back in his pocket, he thought hard and gave a suggestion: "Give gifts to the emperor so that he can please him. Why don't you ask Lord Jia what the emperor likes? The two of us are just making wild guesses here, which will not help solve the problem at all."

As soon as he finished speaking, Henry disappeared from Sassoon's sight like a gust of wind. After rushing out, he found the receptionist, stuffed a gold coin into his hand, and asked how to visit Jia Lian.

The receptionist was a clerk from the Honglu Temple, a runner. He was naturally very happy to receive the gold coins, but he was confused when he heard the question. He looked at Henry in confusion and said to Wu Tongyi, "Didn't you tell him about etiquette?" Wu Tongyi shook his head awkwardly and said, "I am from the south. The benefits of visiting there may be different from those in the capital. Besides, the envoy Henry didn't ask me."

The receptionist said that he understood. He would take money to do things. He had to write a visiting card first and wait patiently for a reply. If the other party saw it, he would write a reply. If he said that he was busy recently, it meant that he didn't want to see you. The receptionist said to Wu Tong rudely, "Lord Jia is the grandson of the Duke and the top scholar. It's not easy to enter the Jia family. Foreigners should give up. If you want to find Lord Jia to do things, you should wait for him to come and seize the opportunity to ask for an audience."

Wu Tongyi's selective translation roughly means that Jia Lian is very busy and has no time. There is probably no chance for him to visit him.

Henry was not stupid. He knew it was unrealistic to visit the receptionist by looking at his expression. He suddenly felt ashamed like a countryman coming to the city and being looked down upon. He was just a lord, while Jia Lian's grandfather was a duke. He was also the secretary general of the prime minister (Zhongshu Sheren), the chief of police (Wucheng Bingma Si), the director of the Academy of Sciences (R&D Department), the major general of the Royal Army (Jiumen Zhenshou + Shenjiying), and the deputy foreign minister (Honglu Temple). As for Jia Lian's other part-time jobs, the translator was not clear, so he did not mention them.

With so many part-time jobs, he must be very busy. No wonder I haven't seen him since I came to Beijing.

After feeling that he understood, Henry slipped another gold coin to the receptionist, hoping that he could help deliver a letter.

This time the receptionist didn't refuse and said it was no problem. Henry quickly dictated and asked Wu Tongyi to write a letter by hand, put it in an envelope and asked the receptionist to deliver it.

The receptionist's job is to run errands, so naturally he would send it out quickly. However, he took the easy way out and delivered it directly to the Jia Mansion.

Apart from going to the palace once recently, Jia Lian usually works in the special yamen, and also goes to the Research and Development Department regularly when he has time.

When Henry wanted to see Jia Lian, he was looking at a revolver in his hand that seemed strange in shape to others but Jia Lian loved it so much.

After getting the primer, Jia Lian gathered a group of the best craftsmen in the Great Zhou Dynasty. He just talked about an idea, drew a sketch, and in two days, the revolver was made.

All one can say is that the craftsmanship of these craftsmen is so superb that Jia Lian feels that he is not well-educated and has no suitable words to describe their value.

Because it was a paper shell bullet, the hammer also broke after each shot. Anyone who has seen western movies knows that the original revolvers broke the hammer after each shot. So during a duel, one hand held the gun and the other hand kept hitting the hammer. The gun was made, and Jia Lian wanted to test it but was stopped by the craftsmen.

We must stop it. Among all the civil and military officials in the court, only this adult treats craftsmen as human beings. He even restores the old system of Taizu and gives them official positions. They must be well protected. Any loss of a hair will be a loss for everyone.

The craftsmen called out an apprentice and asked him to test the gun first to make sure it was safe before giving it to Jia Lian.

Jia Lian accepted everyone's kindness, mainly because he was a stubborn person and was afraid of death and pain. If the chest was about to explode, his handsome face would become a clown face, and the consequences would be too serious, so he could not take the risk.

The apprentice also participated in the manufacturing, so he was not unfamiliar with it at all. After loading the bullet skillfully, he opened the hammer and fired at the target ten steps away.

Bang, bang, bang! Six shots were fired in a row. Looking at the target again, six shots hit the target ten steps away. The accuracy was average. But how can I say it? Jia Lian was very satisfied.

Without waiting for the smoke to clear, Jia Lian rushed over impatiently to grab the revolver. It looked like it had to be at least 12 or 13 millimeters in caliber, and he thought to himself, what a stuff, what a stuff.

Load the bullet, cock the hammer, raise the gun, aim, and pull the trigger.

After the bang, Jia Lian knew that a new era had begun. He opened the hammer and continued shooting. After firing six shots, Jia Lian was sure that there was no problem and announced the reward.

"Each participating craftsman will be rewarded 20 yuan, and will be recorded as a great merit once, accumulating merit until the next promotion. Apprentices will be rewarded 5 taels, and will be recorded as a merit once, in preparation for promotion to full-time worker."

The craftsmen's faces were distorted with excitement. In the R&D department, a great merit meant that ordinary craftsmen could directly get promoted to the ninth rank. Two great merits meant the ninth rank, and four great merits meant the eighth rank.

Of course, great merits are extremely rare, and the craftsmen are well aware that unless they are at the level of the King of Craftsmen, the eighth rank is the limit. The King of Craftsmen can be promoted, but that requires the emperor's appointment.

If you don't want to be promoted, you can give this opportunity to someone else and complete the transformation from a craftsman to a ninth-rank official. In other words, this great achievement can be sold for money, and a huge sum of money. The premise is that this person must be a craftsman with a qualified technical level.

After Jia Lian announced the reward, he asked the craftsmen to do three things: one was to continue to improve, the other was to rub a few of them as he wanted to bring them to the palace as tribute, and the last was to let the craftsmen work together to find a way to realize rear loading and metal shells on the rifle.

Jia Lian didn't care whether it could be done or not for the time being, he just offered a reward. If a breech-loading rifle could be made that satisfied him, Jia Lian would personally report it to the emperor and promote him to the eighth rank.

The craftsmen were almost going crazy after hearing this. Such a high reward? Of course, Jia Lian was not just making empty promises. He still took out a rough sketch to avoid detours. He also emphasized that this was the only way to do it. Nothing else would work.

Mr. Jia’s hands-on ability is naturally not good, but he has no problem drawing. With a sketch, everyone has a direction to work towards.

Now that there are acids and alkalis, Jia Lian once thought of smokeless gunpowder, but thinking that the purification process is very cheap, he gave up for the time being. The two junior alchemists are too valuable, and each of them has ten apprentices. If Bi Daoxing and Jean Valjean are gone, Jia Lian will be heartbroken for several months.

Jia Lian, who attached great importance to safety in production, would naturally not let valuable talents take risks and extinguished any unnecessary thoughts.

He knew that nitroglycerin was extremely powerful, but he also knew that it was extremely unstable. The stability of nitrocellulose was also very poor. Without enough talented people to take the risk, Jia Lian really didn't dare to take the risk.

How did the stabilizer come from? It was found in the process of repeated explosions. The first generation of chemists were all good at doing things, and they were lucky to have a few fingers blown off.

After Nobel fought for explosives, how many people were left in his family?

Jia Lian, with a revolver hanging on his waist and a cigarette in his mouth, directed and acted in a western movie. Then he sighed and said that a western movie without cowboy clothes and hats is soulless.

When Lord Jia goes out, he naturally cannot carry a revolver with him, as that would be too inconsistent with his image. He can only separate the ammunition and put it in a backpack, and let Zhuzi carry it on his back so that he can play with it at any time.

When he got home, the doorman informed him that there was a letter. Jia Lian was not in a hurry to read it, so he asked Zhuzi to take it and went to see Grandmother Jia first. After the routine filial piety, he learned that Aunt Xue was temporarily staying in the northwest corner of the Jia Mansion for a while, and that Jia Zheng's exile was also confirmed, and it turned out to be Guangzhou Prefecture. Tsk tsk tsk, it's easy to be an official if you have someone in the court.

Jia Lian was not in a hurry to go back now. He went to see Jia Zheng first and asked him how he got this job.

Jia Zheng said, "I don't want to do that. I thought I would be satisfied if I could go to a remote place under Shaanxi and Gansu to be a schoolmaster. Unexpectedly, the place sent by the Ministry of Personnel was Guangzhou Prefecture. It's far enough, but it's not a rural place."

Guangzhou Prefecture has always been a superior prefecture because of its financial and taxation relations, and a good place on par with Nanjing. The Ministry of Personnel has an average relationship with the Jia family, but the fact that he was able to find his conscience might be due to Wang Ziteng's efforts, but Jia Zheng refused to admit it.

Jia Lian didn't ask any more questions, said goodbye and left, deciding to inquire about it privately to make sure it was not a trap that would implicate him.

After returning home and opening Henry's letter, Jia Lian couldn't help laughing. It was worth all my hard work and the big show I made to intimidate the British.

Based on the principle of "getting money to do things", Jia Lian decided to give Henry some advice. Before that, Jia Lian had to go to the palace first to inform the emperor.

There are three pregnant women in the family. Although Jia Lian does not have to work hard, he still has to provide some emotional value for them and talk to each of them. Fortunately, women in this era are easier to satisfy and will not ask for everything.

At night, she continued to sleep alone in the study. After the gate to the courtyard was bolted, Xiangling and Xiren closed the door and skillfully occupied the left and right sides. It was because Xiangling was soft-hearted that Xiren could spare an arm.

Jia Lian's room is not like other courtyards. Any maid can come close to serve. Xiren has the opportunity only because she wears Jia Mu's hat. Jia Lian does not have too high requirements for the number of people around him, and he does not fight for that face. Compared with Baoyu's eight maids and eight followers, Jia Lian seems shabby.

With Guixiang's advice, Xiangling was able to find Jia Lian's weaknesses and was very skilled in playing tricks and verbal battles. Xiren always pretended not to see anything, but in fact she saw everything and learned everything. If you don't have the skills, just practice more.

With the advantage of being older, Xiren felt that she could definitely get ahead of Xiangling. But she knew that if she was under sixteen, she couldn't really compete.

After a slippery night, Jia Lian woke up early and felt that everything was back to normal. His body's recovery ability was excellent.

As long as it's not the case that Ping'er and Guixiang team up again and again, Jia is not afraid of anyone.

Well, you still need to exercise your body. Only with a good body can you balance your work and private lives.

Under the pretext of confirming a date for a foreign envoy's visit, Jia Lian went to the palace to ask for an audience. Emperor Chenghui did not let him wait and saw him immediately.

After meeting, I threw him a piece of paper and said, "Take a look and see if there is anything that needs to be improved."

Jia Lian took a look and saw that it was a draft, a draft of the tactics of Jinchuan. He took a quick look and saw that it was all what he had said. After thinking about it, he added: "The tactics of surrounding the enemy from all sides, cutting off trade, training a group of elite troops, and attacking the enemy's nest directly are not a big problem. If I must add something, it's just one sentence, first establish an invincible position, wait for the enemy to be exhausted, and then strike with thunder."

Emperor Chenghui nodded in satisfaction. He did not bother Jia Lian with the personnel issues in Jinchuan. The strategy and tactics were Jia Lian's ideas, and they were issued in the tone of the emperor. If they succeeded in the future, it would be the wisdom of Your Majesty. Emperor Chenghui said that he wanted more ministers like him.

"The matter of the English envoy has been reported to the Honglu Temple, and I have approved it. Do you have anything to add?" Emperor Chenghui asked in a good mood, temporarily putting an important matter aside, and motioned Qiu Shian to serve tea. Jia Lian sat aside, smiling as he took out Henry's letter and said, "The English envoy has something to ask of me. I want to lend him a warship. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

Emperor Chenghui was stunned for a moment: "Battleship?"

Jia Lian nodded: "Yes, I am going to tell him that your Majesty likes warships, and just giving him a model is not enough to impress your Majesty."

Emperor Chenghui understood and laughed. He shook his head and said, "Although this is not a very kind move, we don't have to be too polite to the barbarians."

Jia Lian understood instantly, stood up and said with a smile: "This is all my bad idea, it has nothing to do with anyone else. So, I will go to do my job."

(End of this chapter)