After listening to Hong Yun'er's words, Xiao Yungui in the big tent asked with some doubts: "Li Tai? Briton? Who is he? ”

Hong Yun'er smiled and said: "Li Taitai, English name HoratiaNelson Lay, British, his father was the first British consul in Guangzhou. Li Taitai came to China at the age of 10 and became a "China expert" under the training of his father, and successively served as a translator secretary and acting vice consul at the British consular offices in Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai. In June 1855, the 22-year-old Li Taitai was appointed as the British tax officer of the Jiangxi Customs Management Committee. After he took office, he carried out drastic reforms, implementing the implementation of detailed inspection manifests for the entry and exit of foreign vessels, otherwise penalties or confiscation, the payment of taxes according to the levy, the issuance of tax receipts, and the formulation of rules and regulations such as the "Regulations on the Payment of Banknote Taxes for the Incoming and Unloading Cargo of Merchant Ships of Various Countries." Wu Xu, the governor of Shanghai, told the imperial court that since the levy of the tax by Li Tai's manager, the tax money has improved greatly, and the number of silver has doubled year by year. In 1859, the revenue of the Jianghai Tariff was as high as 2.63 million taels, which was 60 times the quota of the household department, and Li Taitai won the trust of the Qing government. ”

Xiao Yungui touched his beard and said, "Well, it sounds like he has some skills, where is he now?" ”

Hong Yun Koyu clasped her hands to her chest and said, "He is now the translation secretary of the British Consulate. ”

Xiao Yungui patted his thigh and said: "I remember, a few days ago, when Wen Han, Midile and others came here to make a noise, they were followed by a young Englishman, who seemed to be a translator, and his name was Li Tai, but I didn't pay attention to it at the time." Then Xiao Yungui frowned and said, "But is it really appropriate to use foreigners to engage in customs?" ”

Hong Yun'er smiled and said: "Although the old customs system of the Manchu Qing Dynasty was independent, its structure was backward and the officials were incompetent, making it difficult to manage the growing import and export trade after the Opium War. A new type of customs system created after Lee Tai took over. It was further improved and perfected in the hands of the Englishman Hurd, who succeeded him. Under Hurd's rule, the Chinese Customs adopted the advanced Western administrative management system at that time, and implemented vertical unified leadership over the customs divisions of various localities. Import and export goods are taxed according to regulations, declaration, inspection, tax assessment, audit, taxation, payment, inspection and release, etc., all links are guaranteed by the system to prevent fraud. The customs ethics of 'honesty, efficiency, and enthusiasm for public service' proposed by Lee Tai have been widely publicized since Hurd's succession. The efficiency and integrity of the customs during this period was in stark contrast to the corruption of the Qing government. ”

Hong Yun'er paused and continued: "HD attaches great importance to the quality and conduct assessment of customs personnel, and has improved a number of systems such as personnel, finance, statistics, auditing, anti-smuggling, and employee management. HD has set up a Chinese customs office in London. Recruitment of foreigners for customs. Under Hurd's rule, all senior management positions were filled by foreigners. Historically, by 1875, there were 408 foreign staff and 1,417 Chinese staff in the customs, and ten years later. This increased to 524 and 2,075, respectively. One of the objective reasons for employing more foreigners was the lack of Chinese who were proficient in foreign languages at that time, which was also the reason why HD later founded the Tax School. But Hurd didn't trust the Chinese. It was not until F.A. Aglen (1869-1932) succeeded him as the General Department of Taxation. Chinese are only now beginning to take up senior management positions. Due to the sound system and strict organization of the customs under Hurd's rule, it has withstood many violent political upheavals in the country. This set of institutions and systems was inherited by successive governments of the Republic of China and operated until 1949. To put it mildly, the modern customs of our country was established by foreigners for us. Our Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was founded, and there were not many talents and the structure was not complete. In terms of customs, we are even less experienced, and you and I are not from the tax law, so it is difficult to formulate an effective management system. It's not that I'm worried, I'm worried that we'll send our own people to sort out the system and manage customs. First, they can't play with those treacherous foreign merchants, and secondly, they are also likely to follow the old road of Manchu fraud and decay. Therefore, I think it is very effective for foreigners to establish a customs system for us, and even help us manage customs. ”

Xiao Yungui was silent and asked slowly: "I am worried that this will make the customs power fall into the hands of foreigners, and foreigners will interfere in customs and taxation, thus losing national sovereignty." ”

Hong Yun'er asked rhetorically: "Like the Manchu Qing Dynasty, is it called sovereign if the annual customs tax of 100,000 taels is called?" If we manage the customs ourselves, won't the foreigners interfere? In 1851, a post signed by a group of foreign merchants in Shanghai was sent to the Shanghai Daotai Yamen, urging the Shanghai Daotai to appoint foreigners as customs and port masters. Bayliss has been assigned to this position by Shanghai Province. Sure enough, Bayliss took office, and under his auspices, the Jianghai Customs promulgated a set of port regulations governing ships and crews. According to the history books, this was a serious incident, which not only recognized the privilege of foreign consuls to interfere in the collection of taxes by Chinese customs, but also set a precedent for Chinese customs to appoint foreigners. I do not deny that it is a great shame for a country's customs to appoint foreigners, but in terms of practical results, it is better than managing it yourself. ”

Xiao Yungui was a little speechless, and Hong Yun'er continued: "I don't know if you noticed it when I came to Shanghai last time, after our troops surrounded Shanghai, the consuls of the British, American, French and other countries who had been coveting the power of the Chinese customs immediately announced that the customs officers of the Qing Dynasty were not allowed to work at the original site of the Bund on the grounds that the concession strictly adhered to neutrality. As a result, the operation of the Jianghai Customs came to a standstill. During the period when we were engaged in large-scale trading with foreign merchants, Ali Guo and the U.S. Vice Consul in Shanghai, Jin Nengheng, respectively promulgated the "Interim Regulations on the Clearance of Ships During the Period of Customs Administrative Shutdown" under the pretext that the customs agencies and legal authorities in the port were still in a state of inadequacy, and in order to fulfill the solemn treaty and ensure the collection of Chinese customs duties, the U.S. Vice-Consul in Shanghai and Jin Nengheng respectively promulgated the "Interim Regulations on the Clearance of Ships During the Administrative Suspension of Customs," stipulating that the customs clearance procedures for the export of British and American cargoes shall be handled by the British and American consulates. Allowing freight forwarders, importers and shipping carriers to use negotiable instruments as collateral instead of requiring cash payment of tax; The bills issued shall be paid by the Manchu Customs Supervision within 40 days in Shanghai; As long as such formalities are completed, the ship can leave the port, which is actually interfering with the customs. I asked the foreign merchants with whom we traded, and they preferred this practical approach, and I dare say that none of them went to the Manchu customs superintendent to pay the taxes, but we could recover the money as long as we continued to appoint foreigners to manage the customs. ”

Xiao Yungui was silent for a long time, and then said slowly: "Yun'er, you're right, our own management of customs is indeed a problem at present, and we don't have the time and energy to delay time in this matter." ”

Hong Yun'er nodded and said: "That's true, even if we sort out the customs tariff rules, foreigners can also raise objections, tariff negotiations are originally lawsuits, and before the Manchu Qing Dynasty, there were five trade regulations with various countries, they can use these to suppress us, since we recognize the vested interests of all countries, they will definitely hold on to these." You said that you want to sort out the tariff rules by yourself, but the consuls of various countries do not speak out against this, this is not normal, they just want you to spend time on the regulations and the negotiations that follow, they want to let the unmanaged chaotic state of Shanghai Customs continue, once smuggling becomes a trend, we have to spend a hundred times the effort to end this state, it is extremely worth the loss. ”

Xiao Yungui slowly closed his eyes and said: "Yun'er, it's okay to ask these foreigners like Li Taitai to help us sort out the tariff rules, and even hire foreigners to serve as customs positions, but the power of our Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Shanghai Customs must be in our own hands." It's not that I'm not pragmatic, it's not that I can't let go, and I'm not afraid that future generations will say that I have betrayed my sovereignty. I just remembered the proverb that if you give a wolf a bone, tomorrow it will ask you for a piece of meat! We can't be led by the nose by the great powers, otherwise we will become more and more passive in the future! ”

Hong Yun'er looked at the man in front of her with some surprise, he seemed to be getting more and more mature, a layer deeper than she thought, maybe this is where this man began to attract her.

After the two were silent for a moment, Xiao Yungui suddenly opened his eyes and stood up and said happily: "I thought of a way, you are right, foreigners can help us formulate and manage customs, but let's change the way, we can hire elite businessmen from various countries to form a customs legislative advisory group, a customs management advisory group, note that they are all involved in customs affairs in the form of consultants, and only have the right to make suggestions and not the right to decide." We can hire foreigners to hold positions in some middle and lower-level positions in our customs, but the upper level is completely managed by us, do you think this is okay? ”

Hong Yun'er read a few words in her mouth, snapped her fingers and smiled: "You really have a lot of ghost ideas, which can not only meet the desire of those foreigners who want to meddle in the customs, but also solve our current dilemma, and the customs power is always in our hands, in fact, we can also let the foreigners form a customs supervision advisory group, let them supervise the integrity of the customs, and report corruption and fraud directly to us for processing, so that the customs problem can be solved to the greatest extent." ”

Xiao Yungui smiled and took Hong Yun'er's hand and said, "As the old saying goes, let's call husband and wife concentric, and their benefits will be golden." ”

Hong Yun'er's face was slightly red, and she lowered her head and said, "Who is husband and wife with you?" But her hand did not retract and let Xiao Yungui hold it.

The two whispered in the big tent, causing everyone in the tent to look over from time to time, Xiao Yungui pulled Hong Yun'er out, and said, "Let's go out for a walk, I have something to tell you." ”

The two left the big tent, the guards were more than ten steps behind them, the two climbed the watchtower in the camp, and overlooked the entire Shanghai city together, the smoke of Shanghai City has dissipated, and the sun is shining, this emerging old city is restoring her former prosperity.

Xiao Yungui sighed lightly and said: "Yun'er, I suspect that we have ruined our good deeds before, and the Rong Lu who will eradicate the knife is also a person who has crossed over, and he is very likely to be one of Sixuan or Qingyun!" (To be continued......)