Emperor Tongzhi was shocked. No matter how he imagined it, he would never have imagined that Benjamin would send such a big gift. The actual control of the Qing customs, no one could guess the huge benefits contained in it, but no one dared to deny his scale.

Zai Chun swallowed dryly, "You... were you saying true?" At this time, he could no longer pretend to be calm.

Gordon nodded heavily, "Your Majesty, the customs of the Qing Dynasty were originally from the Qing Dynasty. Our UK has obtained the right to manage through treaties and agreements. In fact, it is just to facilitate trade between the Qing Dynasty and European merchants!"

"The income of the Qing Dynasty customs is paid to the court every year, and there is no doubt about this. Otherwise, who would understand how modern business calculates taxes?"

"Overseas trade across countries is very complicated, and we ask Hurd to manage the Qing Dynasty Taxation Department for the sake of the Qing Dynasty!"

"Your Majesty always wants to be an emperor with real power. How can you do that without money you can control? Let Hed become His Majesty's private minister, then all the income from the Qing Customs in the future will be subject to Your Majesty's order. Whether you want to train troops or build a factory, wouldn't you be able to do whatever you want?"

"Of course, you were not familiar with the specific business at the beginning. Let Hurd continue to do it. You can take a reliable and capable subordinate to cooperate and slowly hand over the power..."

"Don't worry about Hurd's position. Once the Qing Dynasty decides to carry out railway construction, Hurd naturally has to be responsible for the new business. At that time, His Majesty holds the customs himself, and the railway is also your huge backing. Once these two major sources of wealth are stable, what is Xiao Letian's power? It's incomparable..."

Gordon talked endlessly about the big cakes drawn by Benjamin, and Zaichun and the two eunuchs, big and small, four Xi, were already stunned.

Only then did they understand what the railway was. It turned out that Britain could give up control of the entire customs for a railway. Is it said that the benefits contained in the railway were greater than the entire Qing customs?

Zai Chun is not stupid. After thinking about it carefully for a while, he understood what Benjamin was planning. First of all, the Qing customs was established by the United Kingdom, and the system and specific people who did things were trained by Hurd.

It doesn't matter whether Hurd is here or not. Even if he leaves the Qing customs, he must operate according to the past system. According to various treaties, the tax benefits that the British enjoyed cannot be missed at all.

Benjamin didn't even shoot Zaichun to make a secret trick, because Britain's privileges in the Qing Dynasty were not deceived, but were shot out by real swords and guns. He broke through Beijing, burned the summer palace, and forced an emperor to death, which led to the subsequent generous treaty.

If Emperor Tongzhi dared to do something in the customs, he would have to consider the consequences.

In other words, Hurd did not lose any benefits after leaving the customs. On the contrary, Hurd's concession could be exchanged for the advancement of the railway plan. If Britain controls the railway line from Beijing to Shanghai, it will open up all the markets in the entire Central Plains.

The railway is a strategic treasure for a country. I remember that on the Middle East Road, the Japanese and Russians killed a mountain of corpses and blood. Then the young marshal of Fengtian fought a cruel bloody battle with the Soviet Union, which had just been founded.

For the sake of the railway rulers, they were absolutely cruel to start a war. The railway was the river of money that flowed, and the railway was the artery for the ruling to invest in control. A railway led the development of an entire economic belt along the line.

Not only money, but the railway can also quickly mobilize resources and troops. Wherever there is a famine, the food from Jiangnan can be transported within a few days, and wherever there is a rebellion, the railway can transport the elite troops as fast as possible.

If a railway economic belt follows the past imperial management model, it may take 100,000 troops to maintain basic public security. However, once the railway is completed, the court only needs to maintain 30,000 elite troops back and forth to maneuver back and forth, and can control such a large area.

If you think about it carefully, railways not only make money by opening source, but also save money on traffic.

The British were the earliest countries in the world to play railways. They saw the interests here very clearly. They knew very well that once the railway line from Beijing to Shanghai would be built, it would be Bai Qiannian’s money-making cave.

The civil logistics can make money, the imperial court's material mobilization can make money, the Qing army can also make money... Moreover, the British colonial army can also quickly penetrate the inland China along the railway line.

Economic accounts will not lose money, political accounts will still be profitable!

"What a smart plan! Benjamin is so good!" Zai Chun said in his heart.

Zaichun fell into deep silence. He looked at the bait thrown by Benjamin and became entangled. Do you want to eat it? Of course, I thought about it. In the past, the income from the customs was to be included in the treasury and then the entire court discussed and distributed it.

During the distribution process, the Queen Mother, the Prince, the Eight Banners nobles and the Han ministers all had the right to speak, but they did not have the right to speak.

Don’t expect any improvement in the personal expedition. Those greedy guys are all a group of mad dogs to protect their own interests!

Now the British clearly have to put such a huge amount of money into their own hands, which is equivalent to controlling the imperial court's money bag. Those old guys who are showing off in front of them will probably have to come over immediately with a look like a dog.

Zai Chun felt excited when he thought about such a scene, but when he thought about the railway, the little emperor suddenly became uneasy.

The master has long taught the importance of railways, and the young emperor knows the ability to control the empire and make money.

Let the British build railway forces penetrate the inland? Emperor Tongzhi was unhappy from the bottom of his heart. He could not defend the coast anymore, so he could only accept his fate and let the British come in.

But this inland is completely the private land of the Qing Dynasty. If you let the British come in, what is left of my Qing Dynasty?

Gordon looked at Emperor Tongzhi's entangled expression and could not guess that this child could think so deeply. "Long live! What else can hesitate about this? The entire customs is handed over to you, and the annual tax amount is tens of millions of taels of silver!"

Emperor Tongzhi's heart skipped a beat. What is the concept of 10 million taels of silver per year? The Qing Dynasty is declining at this moment, with the annual income of the Ministry of Revenue only 50 to 60 million. This is still the number in the account book, and most provinces are in arrears.

Ten million taels of cash money! This is cash money!

Zaichun's eyes showed a greedy light.

"Well, my dear, don't be anxious. This matter makes me think carefully... It's important to be careful!"

Gordon was scolding his mother in his heart, "Why do you still want to raise the price at this time? The conditions given by Benjamin are already generous treatment that is rare in the British Empire in a century. Who can have such a face in other countries?"

"This little emperor is so shameless!"

Indignant but unable to show his face, Gordon sighed and said, "Long live the lord! Time is endless... Now this situation has long been so generous. If it really makes me lose my mind..."
Chapter completed!