After Yang Lin came out of the inn, he learned from the shopkeeper that although the Guangdong Customs Department was not involved in the daily government affairs of the local government, the personnel structure inside it was extremely complex, and it was extremely arrogant to walk in Guangzhou Mansion.

Walking on the street and walking towards the east city gate, Yang Lin was not tired because of the travel and tiring boats and cars, and on the way to the customs office, Yang Lin had been thinking.

Although he knew that the superintendent of the Customs Department was the official rank of a product, Yang Lin did not agree with what the shopkeeper said, after all, the superintendent was only responsible for collecting taxes on foreign merchants, and had no other rights, even if the grade was very high, but he could not control the head of a government, the prefect, and his subordinates could not act unscrupulously.

Therefore, Yang Lin thinks that there must be something greasy in it, which is unknown to outsiders and is purely exaggerated.

Along the way, unconsciously, Yang Lin had already left the East City Gate and came to the outside of the city, standing outside a building at this time, followed by two subordinates, each with a bird gun, responsible for Yang Lin's safety.

Opposite the three of them is the Guangdong Customs Department, which specializes in monitoring foreign ships and collecting taxes. The five-storey Western-style small western-style building is extremely white, and there is a small balcony outside the room on each floor, which is very Western-style.

"Hey, it's a department in charge of foreign affairs, and I often deal with foreigners, and even the places where I live are in Western architectural style."

Yang Lin sighed, no longer observed this customs office, and led two subordinates straight to the gate of the customs office, where the two officials guarded, they also had a bird gun in their hands.

After getting closer, Yang Lin found that there were two people inside, not only that, but when he looked inside, there were more servants, all of whom had birds. This situation completely subverted Yang Lin's perception of the coverage rate of birds, in the Qing army.

"Stop, the customs department is heavy, and idlers are forbidden to approach!"

A shout stopped, blocking Yang Lin's pace to continue to move forward. However, the official guarding the door is not a soldier after all, so there is no embarrassment that Yang Lin had when he went to the western camp of Jinhua Mansion, and he was pointed at with a weapon, and the threat was fully revealed.

"Well, two brothers, don't get me wrong, I'm an official who came here to report, not an idler."

At the same time, Yang Lin showed his appointment letter and handed it over, so as not to cause any misunderstanding if the other party did not believe his words.

It may be that there are two bird-wielding attendants behind Yang Lin, which makes them feel that Yang Lin's identity is not ordinary, unlike ordinary people, so the two officials did not stop them anymore and let Yang Lin get close to them.

A servant took Yang Lin's letter of appointment, glanced at it quickly, and after identifying it as true, there was a big seal of the household department, but he did not let Yang Lin enter immediately, but was full of respect and his attitude was much better.

"My lord, you can wait here for a while, I'll go inside and give a reply, convey it, and I hope your forgiveness, Haihan."

"Okay, you go, I'll wait here."

"Okay, thank you for your understanding, let's go for the little ones!"

Under Yang Lin's gaze, the official trotted and quickly disappeared from Yang Lin's field of vision, entering the five-story Western-style building.

After the official left, Yang Lin came to the other officer, stuffed a tael of silver, and began to inquire about the news.

"Hey, I said brother, do we have so many people guarding the customs office every day?"

"Yes, yes, but sometimes more." The official took the silver, hurriedly put it in his arms, and answered the question without hurrying.

"Sometimes~? It's dangerous here, and is it often attacked by bandits? ”

"Well, that's not it, we're not in charge of the barbarians' ship cargo here. The adults inside often had to check the cargo on the ship and check whether the pamphlets were true or not, so that they could collect taxes. When you go to the barbarian ships, you have to bring more people with you, so that they don't make trouble. ”

"Oh~, I see."

"By the way~ brother, do those Westerners often make trouble?"

When Yang Lin asked this, the official seemed to look at the one or two pieces of silver, and whispered to Yang Lin: "This lord, you don't know, those foreigners are very barbaric, they are not educated at all, and they often cause trouble in this realm. My lord, you will stay in Guangzhou for a long time in the future, and the little one advises you, if you don't have to deal with those foreigners, don't get into trouble. ”

Hearing this, Yang Lin couldn't help frowning slightly, feeling a little unhappy, and asked suspiciously: "Isn't there anyone who cares about those foreigners and lets them do whatever they want?" ”

"Pipe? Who's going to care? If those foreigners get into trouble, as long as they stuff some people with silver, they can be dismissed, and in the end, it will not be over. ”

"My lord, why did you first arrive, you just came to Guangzhou, you are not familiar with the place, and you don't know the situation here in Guangzhou. For those foreigners who cause trouble, they have no right to manage it; Those who have the power turn a blind eye and just want to sit there and collect money and take benefits. ”

"Ahh The official said too smoothly, pouted, and was speechless for a while, forgetting that the person in front of him was an official, and it was very likely that he would be in charge of foreigners' affairs in the future.

Yang Lin smiled slightly, patted the other party's shoulder, and said in a harmonious voice: "Hehe, it's okay, what you said is very good, I know that you are for my good." ”

Subsequently, no matter how Yang Lin inquired about the foreigners, the official never mentioned it, either because he couldn't say it clearly, didn't understand it, or simply kept his mouth shut.

In the end, Yang Lin changed the topic and asked: "Hey~ Brother, look at our house in the customs office, there are a lot of people, right?" ”

The official suddenly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and the little grandfather in front of him finally stopped asking about foreigners. Seeing that what the other party asked was not a secret, as long as the people who had been in Guangzhou for a long time knew it, they would happily tell it.

"My lord, there are indeed a lot of people in our Guangdong Customs Department. However, there are not many here, only about forty officials. This is the headquarters of the entire Guangzhou Customs, and there are many branches under its jurisdiction. ”

"Therefore, most of the lower-level people who really go to investigate and collect taxes are in other places, such as Xiangshan, Macau, Shunzhou and other places."

"Oh, well, I've heard of it before, so I know a little bit about it. But, don't mention, you know a lot, and it doesn't look like a guard at all. ”

Hearing the other party's praise, the official couldn't help scratching his head, and replied with some embarrassment: "Hehe, the adult has won the award, the youngest joined the army at the age of sixteen, and came here at the age of seventeen to protect the safety of the customs office, and it has been ten years now." In ten years, even if the small head is no longer good, and the ears and eyes are heard every day, it has long been familiar and can no longer be cooked. ”

"Yes, in ten years, the officials of the Customs Department have changed a few times, who else is more familiar than you?"

At this moment, there was a sound of footsteps from the five-story Western building, but the sound was quite loud, and when he looked up, Yang Lin found that there were only two people, one was the official who had just gone to report to him, and the other was a middle-aged man with a tall beard, only one meter and six meters tall.

The man gradually walked in, and the official beside Yang Lin whispered in a voice that could only be heard by the two of them: "That is the official of the Customs Department who is specially responsible for the reception of personnel, Li Lianying and Master Li." ”

In an instant, Yang Lin had an urge to laugh, and he couldn't help but think of someone, but he still suppressed the desire to laugh and tightly guarded his teeth.

The Master Li named Li Lianying came to Yang Lin's side, looking at Yang Lin with a look of arrogance and contempt. If it weren't for the big height difference, Yang Lin felt that this Li Lianying would definitely have her nostrils facing her. However, Yang Lin has a height of 1.78 meters, although he is only a little more than 16 years old.

"You are the official that the official said came to the customs office to report?"