C2275 Railways and Customs

Tongzhi was immediately shocked. No matter how he had imagined that Benjamin would send such a big gift, the actual control of the Great Qing's customs, no one could guess the huge benefits involved. However, no one dared to deny his scale.

Zai Chun swallowed his saliva, "You … Is that true? " At this moment, he could no longer pretend to be calm.

Gordon nodded his head heavily, "Your Majesty, the customs in the Great Qing are originally owned by the Great Qing. The reason why we obtained management rights through the treaties and agreements is actually just to facilitate trade between the Great Qing and the European merchants!"

"There is no doubt that the revenues of the Great Qing Province will be turned over to the imperial government every year. Otherwise, how could those officials of the imperial court know how modern commerce counted taxes?"

"The overseas trade that spans countries is originally very complicated, the reason we asked He De to manage the tax division is also for the good of Great Qing!"

"His Majesty has to personally take the field. If he wants to be a powerful emperor, how can he do without the money he can control? If He De is allowed to become the personal servant of the Emperor, then all of the income from the Great Clarity Customs would have to listen to the orders given by the Emperor, whether it is training or building a factory, wouldn't you be able to do as you wish? "

"Of course, at the start, you were not familiar with the details of the operation, so you had He De continue to do it. You should work with a reliable and capable subordinate before slowly transferring the authority over to him."

"Don't worry about He De's position. Once the Great Qing decides to build the railway, He De will naturally have to take charge of the new business, at that time, His Majesty will have control over the customs, and the railway will be your huge backing. Once these two big sources of income stabilizes, Xiao Letian's little power will not be worth much, it's impossible to compare them."

Gordon continued to describe the big cake that Benjamin had drawn, while Zai Chun and the two eunuchs beside him had already become stupefied after hearing it.

It was then that they understood what the railway was. It turned out that the British could give up control of the entire customs for the sake of a single railway. Could it be that the benefits of the railway were greater than the benefits of the entire customs in the Great Qing Province?

Zai Chun was not stupid, after carefully pondering for a while, he finally understood Benjamin's plan. The first thing he did was to clarify that the customs was established with the help of the Great Britain, and the system, as well as the people who dealt with the specific matters, were all trained by He De.

It didn't matter whether He De was there or not, even if he went to the Great Qing Province, he still had to follow the rules. According to the agreements, the tax benefits enjoyed by the British could not be left out.

Benjamin did not try to take liberties with Zai Chun, because the privilege of being in the Great Qing was not obtained through deception, but through actual combat. He had breached the Beijing, burned the summer palace to death, and forced an Emperor to death.

If Tongzhi dared to mess with the customs, they would have to consider the consequences.

On the contrary, He De's retreat was in exchange for the advancement of the railway plan. If Britain controlled the railway line between Beijing and Shanghai, then it would mean that the entire Central Plains would be opened up.

Back in the days, on the Central East Road, the Japanese and the Russian killed a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. Afterwards, they were given the title of Young Commander-in-Chief, who even fought a bloody battle for the sake of this railway and the newly established Soviet Union.

The railway was the river of money, the artery of control for the ruler of the railway, and the railway was the development of an entire economic belt along the route.

Not only was there money, but the railway could also quickly mobilize resources and military strength. Where the grain from Jiangnan could be shipped in a few days, where the rebel army could be sent to the elite troops with the fastest speed.

According to the previous management pattern of the imperial government, a railway economic belt would require a hundred thousand troops to maintain basic security. However, once the railway was built, the imperial government would only need to raise thirty to forty thousand elites to move back and forth.

When you think about it, railways not only make money from open sources, but they also save money.

The British were the first countries in the world to play railway, and they saw the benefits of this. They understood that the railway line from Beijing to Shanghai, once built, would be a golden absorption hole for the white millennium.

People could make money from logistics, the imperial government could make money from the transfer of materials, and the Great Qing Army could make money from the allocation of resources … Moreover, the British colonial army could also quickly penetrate the interior of China along the railway line.

Economic accounts will not lose, political accounts can also earn!

"What a smart plan! Benjamin is really generous! " Zai Chun thought.

Zai Chun fell into a deep silence, he looked at the bait that Benjamin threw out and started to get conflicted, do you want to eat it? Of course, in the past, the customs revenue had to be transferred to the treasury before it was distributed to the entire imperial court.

During the distribution process, the empress dowager, prince, Eight Flags and the Chinese Officer all had a say, and only he had no right to speak.

Don't expect the personal army to improve, those greedy people are just a bunch of mad dogs to protect their own interests!

Right now, it was clear that the British wanted to put all of their wealth into their own hands. This was equivalent to having control over the government's purse. The old fellows who put on airs in front of them would have to change their faces immediately.

was excited when he thought of that scene, but when he thought about the railway, he suddenly lost his composure.

Master had long taught him the importance of railways. The little Emperor was well aware of the Empire's ability to control and make money.

Let the British build railroads to infiltrate the interior? Tongzhi was truly unhappy from the bottom of his heart, the coastal area could not be guarded anymore, so he could only hold his nose and accept the order, and let the British people in.

But this land is completely the Great Qing's private land, if I let you in again, what would I have left?

Looking at Tongzhi Di's conflicted expression, Gordon could not guess that this child would think of such a deep thing. What was there to hesitate about? The whole customs office is in your hands. The tax will be tens of millions of silver taels per year! "

Tongzhi's heart skipped a beat. What was 10 million Silver taels per year? Great Qing was currently destitute and destitute everywhere. In the entire year, the revenues of the Ministry of Revenue was only fifty to sixty million, and this was only the amount recorded in the account books. Most of the provinces were in arrears.

Ten million silver! This was cash!

Zai Chun's eyes revealed a greedy look.

"En, do not worry, my beloved one. Let This Emperor think over this matter …" This is a serious matter and we can't be careless! "

Gordon cursed his mother in his heart: "Why do you still want to raise the price at this time? The condition that Benjamin gave was one that is rarely seen in a hundred years, who in the other nations would have such face? "

"This little emperor really doesn't care about face even if it was given!"

In his heart, Gordon was furious but he could not show it on his face. Time waits for no one … "Right now, the situation has long been favourable to them. If they really do cause trouble …"

"Hehe …" You can sign a contract with the His Majesty, and with others … Can't you just sign it? "