C2275 Railways and Customs (1/2)
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.