There is no doubt that in Mei Lehe's opinion, the carriage he was in at this time was undoubtedly the most luxurious carriage he had ever seen, and even the so-called Queen Mother Cixi's floats could not be compared with it. The interior of the carriage was decorated in the style of Versailles. **There are golden sculptures on the train aisle and gorgeous murals on the top. The whole carriage looks like a palace-like luxury. Mei Lehe was very curious about this, because although the Prime Minister in front of him was very rich, perhaps one of the richest people in the East, and his wealth was increasing at a rate of hundreds of thousands or even millions every day, he was not a luxury person, and he could even be said to be a little frugal. But this rather luxurious carriage subverted his consciousness.

Seeing that Mei Lehe's attention was always focused on the luxurious interior decoration of the car, Li Zicheng smiled slightly.

"This carriage was ordered by the Russian Siberian Railway Company before the war. It was originally used for the international transport line in Siberia. The interior decoration of the carriage was designed by the French. However, last year Russia canceled the order and was later bought by the Longhai Railway Company at a low price. This time I returned to Beijing, they insisted on hanging these carriages. Well, it's my power for personal gain!"

Li Zicheng's words were full of jokes, and Mei Lehe understood why the Prime Minister sat in such a luxurious carriage. It turned out to be ordered by the Russians. Just when he suddenly realized, Li Zicheng stood up, opened the wine cabinet door, and turned around and asked:

"What to drink? Whiskey, orange juice or coffee?"

Because it was a private conversation, there were no other people in the car.

"Orange juice bar."

Knowing that this will be a serious conversation, Merlehe will naturally not ask for alcohol. He needs to keep a clear mind and have already had a conversation with the Prime Minister.

When Li Zicheng poured the orange juice, the carriage started very smoothly. Mei Lehe only noticed that the carriage was accelerating when he saw the orange juice tilting horizontally backwards. He looked out of the window and saw the green trees and wilderness sweeping quickly. A group of birds flew past the window and immediately appeared in the window behind. But he keenly discovered that the so-called window was very thick. He tentatively knocked on the window with his hands. The muffled sound of the window reminded him that this window was probably not as simple as he thought.

Seeing that he was a little curious about the windows of the car, Li Zicheng smiled and said:

"Mr. Mei. Your observation is very keen. The car you know is completely enclosed. The temperature in the car is controlled by the central air conditioner. If you are willing to introduce our central air conditioner to friends in the UK, I promise that the company will definitely give you the best price. Our air conditioner is the best in the world. I believe you will not doubt this. If I remember correctly, Jiang Customs has also installed air conditioners this summer."

Like most of the time, Li Zicheng always advertises his company's products without hesitation. When Mei Le and echoed and praised the air conditioner, he gave him a very pleasant summer. Li Zicheng just smiled and said,

"The advancement of science and technology should bring a better life to people. I firmly believe this."

At this time, the train had already left the semi-underground passage and started to speed up, and the scenery outside the window was sweeping faster and faster. Judging from the past when I came to Lianyun, the train had now left the land for Lianyun Station.

After Mei Lehe took a sip of orange juice, Li Zicheng's expression began to become serious:

"I know, your uncle, I've told you why I chose you as the General Taxation Department!"

"Yes, Your Excellency Prime Minister, my uncle once told me directly about this in his letter!"

Mei Lehe did not hide it. In his letter to him, he clearly mentioned that "the Prime Minister needs a General Taxation Department that can take into account China's interests." At the same time, he implies that if the Prime Minister puts forward the conditions, if the principle does not violate the principles, he should try to accept it. Because he is a person who does not mind using any means - "He will be more difficult to deal with than Li Hongzhang."

"How do you say it? I really hope you can become the third general tax department, but first you have to completely clear your previous thoughts."

Li Zicheng pondered for a moment and said gently:

"You must understand one thing. Although you are a British citizen, you are an employee of the Chinese government. You must understand this.^//^"

Regarding Li Zicheng's emphasis, Mei Lehe just smiled and said:

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, when I was very young, Uncle Hurd told me that we are just Chinese employees, and as an employee, he must first do one thing, that is, loyalty to his employer. I think, you don't need to have any doubts about this. In the future, my work will prove this.

Looking at him, after a long time, Li Zicheng smiled and said:

"I read you right. Your thinking is indeed very clear and you have grasped the key at once. But please understand that your ex was dismissed because he refused to accept the executive orders of the Chinese government. Moreover, personally, because of his experience in doing business, I have always believed that I will not have any room for sympathy for incompetent employees. For a company, the first thing that is required is the loyalty of employees to the company, and the same is true for the country..."

Staring at Mei Lehe, Li Zicheng emphasized again,

"I hope you can keep this in mind, you are British, but as an employee of the Chinese government, you must first consider the interests of China, not the interests of the UK. If the interests of China and the UK conflict, in terms of customs, out of professional ethics, I think you will make the right choice."

Faced with the Prime Minister's speech, Melehe just smiled and didn't say anything. In fact, from the first day he received the letter, he understood that his position as the General Taxation Department was definitely different from Anglo-Union and was also inferior to Heard. Customs would lose his virility and slowly become a real Chinese customs. He had no doubt about this.

At this time, Li Zicheng stopped talking and said simply:

"My words are over, and I hope you can remember our conversation today."

After that, he added another sentence,

“I hope one day, I can call you “our Merlehe.”

Facing this title, Mei Lehe said in contemplation for a moment.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, I personally believe that it is impossible for the Customs to completely terminate the new foreign personnel in the next three to four years!"

Looking at the Prime Minister in front of him, Mei Lehe continued:

"At this point, I stick to my ideas. In fact, I think that even if the proportion of Chinese personnel is increased, they need to take into account their own qualities. For a country, the most precious thing is the integrity and effectiveness of customs. Therefore, I hope that Your Excellency the Prime Minister can seriously consider this suggestion.

When Mei Lehe made this suggestion, at the beginning, Li Zicheng instinctively thought that it was just Mei Lehe's excuse, but after thinking for a while, Li Zicheng took a breath in his heart. Sometimes some things cannot be rushed, but he did not answer him directly:

"I will seriously consider your suggestions! However, I hope that you will sign a new customs order immediately after you arrive in the capital."

Sure enough, what should come will always come. Mei Lehe immediately realized that the next one is probably the real core of this talk - tariffs. The Chinese government needs tariffs, and the State Council needs tariffs even more. Mei Lehe has some understanding of the secret struggles between the State Council and the Presidential Office in terms of finance. As early as when Li Zicheng took office as Premier of the State Council, when Mei Le talked with his friends, they would always say that "China's seemingly stable and effective dual-horse-style central government will fall into a new dilemma with the financial dispute between the State Council and the Presidential Office." But unexpectedly, Li Zicheng did not catch "small money from the local area". As soon as he came up, he gnawed the hard bone of customs, but what is his ultimate goal?

It's undoubtedly tariffs!

Seeing that Mei Lehe was just listening, Li Zicheng said lightly:

"I think it is extremely inappropriate to deposit China's huge tariffs into foreign banks. This not only harms China's financial interests, but also harms China's national interests and national image. I will never tolerate this, and China will not tolerate it, so I hope to see it."

As he said that, Li Zicheng looked down at the calendar in his hand, and then said:

"Before October 15th, customs duties can be deposited into China's central bank, that is, the Bank of China!"

Smiling, unexpectedly, Mei Lehe did not respond. He was just silent, as if he was using silence to fight against Li Zicheng's decision. Li Zicheng was not in a hurry and just drank tea with a smile. No matter what he said, the tariff must be recovered, and he was still waiting to rely on the tariff to do big things:

"His Excellency the Prime Minister, after the Anglian General Taxation Department included all customs duties in HSBC, it certainly grasped China's tariff power, but on the other hand it also created opportunities for the central government to acquire the unified tax power, at least avoiding local interception of tariffs........."

While Mei Lehe tried to defend his ex and also fought for his friends, Li Zicheng looked at him with a questioning face and said:

"Oh? Is this true? If I remember correctly, there may be a customs surplus in recent years, but the tariffs were eventually transferred from various places to HSBC. After summarizing it by customs and HSBC, the Boxer Indemnity will be paid first, and then the so-called customs surplus will be obtained,"

Cryingly, Li Zicheng looked at Mei Lehe and said.

"And I, the Prime Minister of the State, need to use Guanyu and the signature of the General Taxation Department. The power of the General Taxation Department is really great. Even the Ministry of Finance does not have the right to use Guanyu. I would like to ask a question: is this China's customs or the customs of the General Taxation Department?"

A cold question did not make Mei Le and his heart tremble slightly. At this moment, he finally knew why his uncle said that he was easier to deal with than Li Hongzhang and Yuan Shikai, but he was more difficult to deal with than them, because you don’t know when he would tear his face off!

"If local customs interceptors, if they can intercept the tariff, what else do you have to do with the General Taxation Department? What else do you have to do with the Customs?"

After several cold questions, Li Zicheng thought for a while and said:

"Of course, as a British, you need to consider the minister's opinion and the consul's wishes, but as the Prime Minister of China, I cannot tolerate all this. On the 15th, I hope to see the tariffs deposited into the Bank of China,"

"However, Prime Minister, the customs must ensure that the compensation can be paid to all countries on time. Even if the total amount is now carried out, it will not be possible to complete the transfer of deposit within half a month..."

"Mr. Mei Taxation Department, I believe in your ability. You can transfer the tariffs that exist in the Qing Dynasty Bank to HSBC within three years. Then, within fifteen days, there will be no problem in transferring the tariffs to the Bank of China. What do you think?"

Without mercy, when it comes to practical issues, Mei Lehe noticed that the Prime Minister did not leave him any mercy. His toughness even surpassed those "conservatives" of the Qing Dynasty that Mei Lehe had met,

Looking at Mei Lehe with a smile, Li Zicheng was thinking of a question in his mind. Will this be too tough backfire? On how to deal with customs issues, after a discussion by the State Council, the final decision was that the British must be skipped away from the British and the customs directly made some decisions, to be precise, a decision that is beneficial to China. How can Mei Lehe, the General Taxation Department, obey the State Council?

There is only one way to make him realize that the State Council will not make any substantial concessions on customs issues, otherwise once he makes concessions, he will be considered weak and bullied by him. Naturally, it will be impossible to buy the State Council's accounts. Why can Anglomeration ignore the Chinese government? The reason is very simple. He relies on the embassy.

Li Zicheng's sneer only made Mei Lehe's expression a little embarrassed. He said in embarrassment after a moment of silence.

"There are some problems that are not something that the Prime Minister and I can decide. We must fully consider the attitude of the mission!"

Mei Lehe finally chose to confess, but Li Zicheng nodded with a smile.

"Oh, is that?"

Looking at Mei Le and Li Zicheng, he said directly.

"I remember this is still the Chinese customs! Yes, the Qing Dynasty did use customs to lend to various countries for repaying the Boxer Money, but we must not hand over our own customs to various countries for management. I think this, Mr. Zhuerdian can understand and accept it..."

“This is unacceptable!”

In the British Embassy, ​​facing the Russian Minister Kudanev, Jurden said excitedly that after the Wuchang Uprising, it was under his plan that Anglian used the excuse of "maintaining debt compensation and repaying credibility" to instruct the Customs Tax Departments of the provinces of the uprising to withhold taxes and deposit them with HSBC Bank. Then, he forced the Qing government to deposit customs taxes in Northeast China, Tianjin and other places under its control to HSBC.

Later, in the face of protests from the German and Russian ministers, in exchange for their support, the United Kingdom took the opportunity to organize the "Joint Committee of Banks of Various Countries", with HSBC (UK), Dehua "De" and Daosheng (Russia) as directors, and formulated Articles 8 of the "Regulations on the Collection of Tariffs and Payment of Debts by the General Taxation Department". Since then, Banks of the Three Kingdoms have used huge taxes to further increase their control over China's financial system.

Now facing pressure from the State Department, Jurden, as British Minister, knows that he must pull allies and then act with them so that he can avoid the situation where he can't stand it alone. Apart from real interest sharing, other countries cannot give British support for the interests of the United Kingdom.

"Minister Kudanev, according to the statistics of the Joint Committee, your country's Daosheng Bank received more than 5 million taels of tax deposit last year. If China is allowed to receive taxes, then Daosheng Bank's losses will be extremely heavy!"

"I agree very much with this!"

Kudanev nodded in agreement. As the ambassador to China, he must consider the entire interests of Russia in China, including "financial interests!", but as soon as he finished speaking, he looked at Juerdian with a smile and said.

"Minister Juerdian, however, China's tariff income last year was ten times that of the taxes received by Daosheng Bank!"

As soon as he said that, Jurden cursed the damn Kudanev in his heart, and Kudanev continued.

"In the past, taxes were jointly represented by the United Kingdom, Germany and Russia. According to the division at that time, Britain was 1, each of Germany, and each of Russia was 1, and banks of each country shared 20%. But now, it seems that Germany's 1 has been taken over by HSBC, and even many of the shares shared by various countries have been taken over by this Hong Kong bank!"

Kudanev was already dissatisfied with British banks' exclusive access to customs tariffs, and now it was an opportunity to force the British to spit out this piece of fat. The more tariffs the Daosheng Bank had, the further expansion of its financial influence in China, and then issue more paper money, and then use those paper money to buy various materials that Russia urgently needed from China.

"Damn old fox!"

He cursed in his heart, but Zhu Erdian smiled.

"Germany's 1 Reich Bank!"

"Add"

Within less than half an hour, Jurdin reached a dirt-district agreement with Kudanev, and then a document affiliated with two British and Russian ministers was sent to the State Council office. For Jurdin, who refused to deal with the "Special Foreign Affairs Commission", this seemed to be his only choice.

When the joint letter of British and Russian ministers was sent to Li Zicheng, a smile immediately appeared on his face, and he immediately called Gu Weijun as soon as possible.

"The British are taking the bait!"

Until he hung up the phone, Li Zicheng still had a smile on his face, as smart as a British man, but he finally got "hooked" by accident. He only needed a little "small matter" to break the seemingly solid city wall.

"Yilin, knows why, as smart as Juerdian, why did he make such a primary mistake?"

Looking at the proud Prime Minister, Zhang Yilin shook his head. Indeed, with Zhu Erdian's shrewdness, why did he make such a mistake?

"The reason is not simple. In the past, we turned a blind eye. It was not that Jurdendo was smart, but that Britain was too powerful. But this time, Zicheng, I insisted on picking the bones in the egg!"


Chapter completed!