After the First Opium War, in accordance with the "Sino-British Treaty of Nanjing" signed in 1842, Shanghai was established as one of the five foreign trade banks in 1843. The United Kingdom, the United States and France successively established residential concessions in Shanghai. During the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Shanghai Concession was established.

The autonomous agency of the Ministry of Industry and Industry actually evolved into a concession independent of the administrative and judicial jurisdiction of the Qing Dynasty. Since then, Shanghai has formed a situation where two concessions are managed separately from the Chinese local government. After the opening of the port, Shanghai quickly became the most prosperous international city in Asia.

A modern metropolis, it is known as the "Ten Miles Foreign Market", "Oriental Paris", "Magic City", and "The First City in the Far East". It can be said that it is the concession that has made Shanghai prosperous.//www.//

For China, the existence of concessions is extremely complicated. Just like those treaties that are humiliating and humiliating the country, these treaties are more like a double-edged sword. While causing huge harm, they also bring a lot of positivity, progress and positivity.

The concession was known as a state within a state. The military and police of the Qing Dynasty could not directly go in to arrest criminals, ban revolutionary groups, and seal newspapers advocating uprising. This seemed to violate sovereignty, but on the other hand, it also protected the personal lives of citizens.

Freedom, freedom of association and freedom of speech. Similarly, the police station cannot arrest people at will, let alone prohibit the publication of newspapers, associations, strikes and demonstrations. The Chinese people have finally begun to understand that there is another kind of right in the world called human rights. This thing is better than

The amulet worked. As a result, batches of revolutionary parties moved into the concessions, so that wherever there was a concession, there must be a leading organ of the revolutionary party.

The concession became an alternative base for the Chinese revolution. Through the window of the concession, the Chinese people also came into contact with many aspects of Western civilization, including economy, culture and science and technology. It opened the window to the world for the closed China and opened up the world for the independent China.

Sowing the seeds of constitutionalism is the role of the concession.

In the 25th year of Daoguang reign, at the request of the British consul Bafur, Jianghai Beiguan was set up in the concession, and matters such as collecting customs duties on foreign ships were also managed by Susong Taidao of Jiangsu Province. In the third year of Xianfeng period, the British took advantage of the Xiaodaohui uprising.

Controlling Jiangguan Customs, the following year Wu Jianzhang of Shanghai Road signed an agreement with the British, French, and American consuls in Shanghai, and each of the three countries sent a person from the tax department to take charge of Jiangguan Customs. In July of the same year, the Shaoguan Taxation Management Committee was established to open direct channels for foreigners.

A bad example of managing China’s customs.

Jianghai Customs, located on the Bund of Shanghai, has, to a certain extent, witnessed the history of foreigners managing China’s customs and how China has gradually lost its customs power.

In the office of the Taxation Department of Jiangsu Customs, Mei Lehe was looking at a telegram sent from the General Taxation Department of Beijing Customs. The telegram mentioned that the State Council promulgated today the "Customs Administration of the Ministry of Finance in charge of all customs"

According to the "Articles of Organization", the Customs Affairs Department is established in the Ministry of Finance, which is responsible for the administrative management of the customs. The Customs Affairs Department has a director, two secretaries, four section chiefs, clerks, and a number of employees. It has a general affairs department and a customs affairs department.

The Director of the Taxation Section, Tariff Section "under the orders of the Minister of Finance, shall be in charge of the affairs of the Department, supervise the staff of the Department, the General Taxation Department, all customs offices across the country, and supervise the Mainland Tax, the Commissioner of the Customs Department and his subordinate staff", and

“The most important matters of the Customs Administration shall be submitted to the Minister of Finance for approval.” “The appointment and dismissal of customs supervisors and staff of this agency” must be approved by the Minister of Finance. It is also stipulated that each customs office shall have a supervisor to supervise and direct the output of its staff.

For customs affairs, each customs branch under the supervision of each customs office has a branch customs chief, who undertakes the customs taxation matters under the orders of the customs supervisor. The secretarial section chiefs, branch customs chiefs and other staff of each customs supervision office are supervised by

Appointment can be done by submitting the case to the Customs Department for review.

At this time, even though he was just looking at this extremely simple telegram, Merlehe could still imagine what the Anglian General Taxation Department would do after receiving this news. He was already accustomed to treating the Chinese government in a domineering manner.

of anger.

The change implemented by the State Council now puts the customs under its own jurisdiction as a part of the Ministry of Finance, thus changing the past situation in which the General Taxation Department was responsible for all customs affairs and the Chinese government had no right to interfere. At the same time, it also

The Chinese government's jurisdiction over the customs has been formally established in legal status. If this reform can be implemented, the power of the customs and the General Taxation Department will be weakened, and according to regulations, they will only be responsible for taxation matters.

"This is a declaration of war!"

Putting down the telegram, Merle and calmly uttered four words:

This is basically declaring war on the customs. With half-closed eyes, Mei Lehe's mind was filled with the speculations of all parties about the new government before it came to power. No matter what their evaluations were, there was one final conclusion.

As a result, we must change the way we treat the Chinese people. If we still look at this country with the old eyes and treat this country with the old ways, we will definitely regret it in the future.

"The principle of customs is to take China's interests as the basic principle!"

At the same time, Hurd's mind came to Mei Lehe's mind. It was also the basic principle formulated by his uncle when he took office as the Customs and Excise Department. But now, the Customs has already deviated from his basic principles and also deviated from the Customs'

The principle of "neutrality", the current "neutrality principle" of customs, is actually just a means, and it is premised on the support and armed intervention of foreign missions and consular corps.

"An unexpected choice was made at the right time!"

At this time, Mei Lehe became curious about the new Prime Minister who was far away in the capital, and curious that he had chosen this opportunity to challenge the authority of the Customs and Taxation Department.

In fact, as early as three years ago, Mei Lehe, who had just taken office as the Jiangsu Customs and Taxation Department, had already dealt with Li Zicheng, to be precise, indirectly.

After Lianyungang opened as a port, Mei Lehe, as the Jiangsu Customs and Taxation Department, naturally had the right to request the establishment of a permanent customs in Lianyungang. However, it took Mei Lehe a year and a half to establish a "permanent customs" in Lianyungang.

In the end, Mei Lehe made a compromise and appointed a Chinese permanent customs officer as the price, and the permanent customs was established in Lianyungang.

The reason why Mei Lehe compromised was very simple. Although ** Company had never objected to the establishment of permanent customs in Lianyungang, when he sent the first customs commissioner to prepare for the customs Lianyungang permanent customs, he unexpectedly encountered a

Dilemma - Unable to purchase land in Lianyun to establish customs, and the reply from ** company is very simple: it has been sold.

It took three months of this, and after many negotiations, Lianyunguan finally got a small piece of land. But then, it encountered construction problems. First, the materials could not be purchased, and then they could not be transported in, and then again.

It was impossible to construct. In short, the management committee used every possible method to make things difficult for Lianyunguan. In the end, it even forced Lianyunguan to work at sea, and it was not allowed to enter the port or even enter the berthing area.

After a year and a half of soft confrontation, faced with the Longhai Railway Company's "no entry of oil and salt", Meilehe had to send people to negotiate with the railway company, and finally found out the reason. They did not accept foreigners as employees.

Lianyun Changguan Commissioner, unlike Anglian who keeps saying that he will send a customs fleet to blockade Lianyun, Mei Lehe understands that even if a customs fleet is sent, even if the consular corps intervenes, there is no railway on the Longhai Railway and in Lianyun.

The support of the company and the establishment of permanent customs are destined to achieve nothing. If they do not cooperate, the customs in Lianyun will not even be able to get out of the gate.

In the end, Mei Lehe chose to compromise and appointed a Chinese customs chief, and Lianyunguan became the only permanent customs customs without foreign employees among all the customs in China. It was precisely because of "trying" Li Zicheng's

Mei Lehe, who uses soft methods, has been paying attention to the actions of the State Council since Li Zicheng became Prime Minister.

Now he has brought the first fire to the customs, which was unexpected but seemed to be expected. The situation faced by the customs now is absolutely different from that in 19912. For decades, the foundation has seemed rock solid.

It is being eroded little by little, and it is difficult to coordinate the national consciousness with the foreign tax department. Compared with the past, the current customs is more inclined to the mission, which will inevitably lead to the foreign tax department of the customs to stand against the Chinese government and the Chinese people.

On the opposite side, if Anglian still does not realize that the strong foundation of the customs has begun to shake, then...

In silence, Mei Lehe's eyes lit up. He vaguely saw an opportunity. He was Hurd's nephew and was personally influenced by Hurd, while Anglian was the son of Hurd's friend and was also influenced by Hurd.

However, Anglian later betrayed Hurd. In order to obtain the position of General Taxation Department, he colluded with Zhu Erdian and betrayed Hurd as the price, forcing Pei Shikai to retire.

Thinking of Uncle Pei Shikai, Mei Lehe smiled slightly. He could imagine that if Li Zicheng wanted to go to China Customs, he would definitely consult this "fence-rider abandoned by the British." For Hurd and Pei Shikai,

In the eyes of the British government, they are too Chinese, they are more like Chinese people. It is for this reason that in the end, the British Foreign Office failed to agree to Pei Shikai taking over his position and chose his crony Anglian.

, but the price was Anglian's betrayal of Hurd and Pei Shikai.

From then on, Pei Shikai never returned to the UK. He was even hostile to the UK and resisted the UK, and had been living in the capital. Under such circumstances, if Li Zicheng did not go to see him, I'm afraid it really wasn't his character.

"He has always compared the customs under his leadership to a ship. He often imagines that he is like an outstanding captain commanding it to sail through thousands of rocks. In his mind, the boss empire is a ship, a ship.

A rickety, stop-and-go ship. Since he ascended the throne of the General Taxation Department three years ago, everything he has done - customs affairs, naval construction, educational reform, the introduction of international law, and the dispatch of diplomatic missions - have the same purpose and purpose.

The meaning is to repair this big ship and prevent it from sinking prematurely. Li Hongzhang always said that he is a paper framer, and Sir Hurd is not a repairman!"

Although Pei Shikai, who was wearing a long formal dress, was sixty-nine years old, he looked very energetic when he spoke. Just an hour ago, he had just received the "First Class Loyal Service Medal" issued by the State Council.

It is a medal awarded by the State Council.

At this time, whenever customs matters are discussed, the eyes of this former deputy chief tax officer who has retired from the customs will light up as if he has taken an aphrodisiac, and his beard will even flutter slightly when he speaks.

"In any case, the General Taxation Department is just an employee of the Chinese government, and Sir Hurd has always adhered to this principle, but now..."

Looking at the young prime minister in front of him who looked like an intern, Pei Shikai said with indignation.

"Look at what Anglian has done. The current customs has become the customs of the legation, not the customs of China. Your Excellency, Prime Minister, this must change!"

Pei Shikai said the word "change" with emphasis. Britain's "betrayal" of him and the attack on Anglian's back made Pei Shikai deeply dissatisfied with Anglian and even Britain.

Now that the new government has found him, he naturally doesn't mind "helping" the Chinese to "clean up" the customs.

"Indeed, the current situation of the customs does need to be changed. Therefore, Mr. Pei Shikai, I hope you can serve as a consultant to the Customs Administration of the Ministry of Finance!"

With a smile on his face, Li Zicheng threw out the first "bait" to Pei Shikai. Now China still needs the support of the United Kingdom, and China's strength is far from reaching the point where it can "break" with the United Kingdom, so it must do something on some issues.

For example, the future candidates for the General Taxation Department must consider British people. The current Customs Administration also needs to consider British people and needs to install a British Customs consultant. Pei Shikai, the former deputy director who was "betrayed" by the British

The General Taxation Department is the best candidate. On the one hand, it can demonstrate to the British, and on the other hand, it can reassure the British. What London needs is only influence on the Chinese customs, rather than complete control of the Chinese customs. This is not only from the

It was confirmed by the legation in London and also by Pei Shikai.

What they need is influence, and what they need is customs controlled by the Ministry of Finance to ultimately achieve complete customs autonomy. Of course, what is more important is tariff autonomy. The current customs tariffs not only cannot provide protection for Chinese industries, but even

Neither can create tax revenue for the country, and now, appointing Pei Shikai as a consultant is just the first step in the tariff game.

"Pei Shikai was hired as a consultant to the Customs Administration?"

The moment he got the news, Anglian was stunned. Just a few hours ago, he was in anger and was considering how to lobby Zhu Erdian to support him and fight against the Ministry of Finance's attempt to bring the customs under its management.

Now, Pei Shikai, who he had ousted from the position of Acting General Taxation Department, has become a customs consultant of the Customs Administration.

"Damn it!"

Filled with anger, Anglian threw the report in his hand on the floor. When he saw a report from the Ministry of Finance requesting the allocation of Guan Yu this month, he even tore it into pieces.

"Andre, go tell those damn Chinamen, tell them they won't even think about taking another copper from the customs!"

Anglian yelled at Deputy Chief Tax Division Andre who was sitting in the office, and Anglian fell into silence. He lit a cigar and blew out a few puffs of smoke. His anger slowly dissipated.

.

"Andre, why don't you go!"

"If I refuse your order when you are angry, then it is not rude, right?"

Andre did not choose to obey the order issued by the Chief Taxation Department in anger just now.

"Mr. Sherlock Andre, I think you did the right thing,"

Anglian replied, and then he was silent for a while.

"You should understand by now that the Chinese are trying to meddle with our customs!"

At this time, when Anglian mentioned "our customs", his expression was very natural, without any discomfort at all. Yes, in his opinion, the customs of the Republic of China is his customs, not the Chinese customs. This seems to be

Of course.

"For decades, the customs has existed independently of the Chinese government. But now, the Chinese are trying to bring us under their management and let those stupid Chinamen manage us. It is really hard to imagine that they actually
To be continued...