Chapter 5 The People You Can’t Avoid (Please give me your monthly vote!)

"The people around Li Zicheng are a "gang"

Just like the Ohio Republican Party organization and the gangs formed under the same situation. These people have strong personalities and sharp edges, but they are also able to endure humiliation. These people are different reflections of Li Zicheng's many faces. In any case, they are a group of hard-working people...

...Compared with Li Zicheng, who looks extremely Western on the surface, but is actually traditional Chinese at heart, Chen Lansheng, the Minister of Finance, is a Chinese person by blood who is also "pro-American" and "highly efficient"

, and first of all, people with a "Western mind."

"New York Times" "People Around Li Zicheng" July 3, 1919

In the Forty-Nine Cities, it is well known that unlike the heads of the five departments under the Presidential Palace who are all people trusted by the President, the State Council is a "cabinet of capable people" who does not favor one party or cronies.

It is the position of the Minister of Finance. Among the five ministries under the State Council, the Ministry of Finance can be said to be the most important department. Finance is the foundation and source of all government. It can be said that the Ministry of Finance is the core of the State Council to stabilize the power of both the government and the Yuan.

, according to common sense, the State Council should appoint a "confidant" as the Minister of Finance, but what is unexpected is that Chen Lansheng is not a member of the National Socialist Party, and he is not even a die-hard former Kuomintang member.

person holds this position.

However, for Chen Lansheng, who was sworn in as the Minister of Finance under the spotlight, he faced an unprecedented challenge from the day he took office.

In February of the first year of the Republic of China, the then Secretary-General of the Presidential Office Liang Shiyi was elected as the general manager by the Bank of Communications shareholders meeting. Soon the Bank of Communications obtained the privilege of issuing currency and acting as an agent for the national treasury, and became the national bank together with the Bank of China. The Bank of Communications began to recover, and

It established branches in Southeast Asian countries to undertake the foreign exchange business of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China. Bank of Communications immediately became the most trustworthy bank in the Republic of China.

With the help of the powerful Liang Shiyiyuan, Bank of Communications' various business developments surpassed those of the traditional central bank, Bank of China. More importantly, Liang Shiyi sought for Bank of Communications the privileges of the central bank - currency issuance rights.

Although the Bank of China was reorganized into the Bank of China on the basis of the Bank of the Qing Dynasty and became the central bank, official shares accounted for the vast majority. The president and vice president were appointed by the Ministry of Finance, and the top management changed frequently with changes in the political situation.

Coupled with the blow from Liang Shiyi, its business development was directly inferior to that of Bank of Communications.

What is even more fatal is that in June of the 4th year of the Republic of China, on the day Li Zicheng was sworn in, Yuan Shikai signed a presidential decree, officially positioning the Bank of Communications as a national bank with the nature of a central bank. China and the Bank of Communications

Officially mentioned together, the dual central bank structure was formed. In this regard, domestic and foreign observers have seen that this is the first secret arrow directed by the Presidential Office to the State Council. As the central bank, the Bank of China has limited personnel and financial power.

Being controlled by the Ministry of Finance and becoming a vassal of finance has no autonomy at all. This means that the central bank will be controlled by the Ministry of Finance and owned by the State Council. For the presidential office that has handed over financial power, this is almost

It is impossible to accept it. In order to suppress the State Council and also to have a certain financial foundation, forming a two-yuan central bank with the Bank of Communications as the Bank of China has become a solution for the presidential office to control part of the financial power.

It was under this circumstance that Chen Lansheng took office as the Minister of Finance. As the predecessor of Bank of China and one of the founders of Daqing Bank, Chen Lansheng began to reorganize Bank of China from the beginning of taking office. At this time, Bank of China was a

Banks jointly run by the government and businessmen often serve as government accounts, so the Bank of China is deeply affected by the political situation. Chen Lansheng's first step in reorganizing the Bank of China is to increase capital and reorganize it, so that the Bank of China can get rid of the dilemma that is deeply affected by the political situation and seek independence.

At the same time, this is also the only way for the Lianyun Group to control the central bank.

However, controlling China's finances is far from being as simple as the Lian Yun clique originally imagined. Under Yuan Shikai's instruction, local governments often choose the Bank of Communications as an agent for tax remittance business, while the Bank of Communications, which has the authority to manage the treasury, directly handles tax matters.

, in the past two months, the Ministry of Finance needed money, and it actually required Liang Shiyi's permission before it could obtain the corresponding funds.

Incompetent chief!

For Chen Lansheng, he is not willing to be labeled as such by the outside world. In addition to cooperating with the new president of the Bank of China, Zhang Jiayao, the manager of the Shanghai Branch of Huaihai Industrial Savings Bank, to compete with the Bank of Communications for business in various provinces across the country, he also

Turned his attention to another place.

"Prime Minister, if you want to solve the financial crisis of the State Council, you can only use the knife on the General Department of Customs and Taxation. If you don't use the knife on the General Department of Customs and Taxation, then you must be prepared to not be able to control the Ministry of Finance within a year!"

Facing the Prime Minister, Chen Lansheng, who spoke with a thick Cantonese accent, looked a little embarrassed. The Prime Minister appointed him as the Minister of Finance because of his trust, and he had secretly sworn in his heart that he would never

The Prime Minister was disappointed, but in the end, Liang Shiyi easily made him see what "Liang Dacai's method" was. If not, he would not have acted like this.

"General Customs and Excise Department!"

Thinking inwardly, Li Zicheng glanced at Chen Lansheng. Deep down, he was somewhat dissatisfied with the work of the Ministry of Finance in the past two months. The reason why he chose Chen Lansheng as the Minister of Finance in the first place was because he was the director of the Ministry of Finance.

In addition to being a financial expert, he is easy to control and can also play a role in buying bones for a thousand dollars in the country. It can be said that it is precisely because Chen Lansheng, an outsider from the "Lianyun Clan", became the Minister of Finance that today

The State Council is able to gather talents from all over the country. In Chen Lansheng, what people see is - fairness!

But regarding his work... Li Zicheng shook his head inwardly, and it was inevitable that he would be a little disappointed. Bank of China needed to increase capital, and he immediately agreed to Huaihai Commercial and Savings Bank's investment of 10 million shares. But until now, he still has not been able to solve the problem of the two-yuan central bank.

Even with the issuance of auxiliary coins, he needs to come forward to negotiate with Liang Shiyi, but at this moment... he wants to bite the hard nut of the General Taxation Department of Customs. Don't worry, listen to him first.

"Say what you think!"

Picking up the teacup, Li Zicheng stretched out his hand to signal Chen Lansheng to continue explaining.

"During the Rebellion, after the bandits occupied Nanjing, the Qing government had no control over Shanghai Customs. The following year, the consuls of Britain, France and the United States, together with Su Songtai, decided that each of the three countries would send a tax department to "assist" the Qing government in collecting customs duties. Soon

The authority of this committee was expanded to include customs, shipping and even postal management. Later, Li Taitai was appointed as the General Taxation Department by the Governor of Liangjiang and became the top leader of China Customs. A few years later, this position was confirmed by the central government of the Qing Dynasty.

, it can be said that from this point on, China’s customs has been completely controlled by outsiders!”

Chen Lansheng slowly recounted the history of the General Taxation Department of Customs while sorting out his thoughts in his mind.

"Starting from the first General Taxation Department of Customs, Li Taitai, through Hart, Pei Shikai, and Anglian, there have been a total of four General Taxation Departments. Among the four General Taxation Departments, only Hart can be regarded as a competent one.

Chief Tax Department!”

Hearing Hurd's name, Li Zicheng's mind came to the image of the "representative of the British invasion of China" in the history textbook. There is no doubt that in Li Zicheng's mind, Hurd's image is negative. According to

According to later generations, "Hard served as the Deputy Taxation Department of Guangzhou Customs, China in 1859. In 1863, Li Taitai, an Englishman, became the General Taxation Department of China Customs. He reorganized the customs and established a system for foreigners to manage China's customs.

He served as the General Taxation Director of Customs for 46 years and was one of the main representatives of the British invasion of China." etc.

"After Hart became the General Taxation Department of the Customs, he used the customs as a stage to display all his talents and carried out drastic reforms. The establishment of the modern Chinese customs system was almost entirely by Hart. Only the reform of the customs personnel system was

After speaking, he took the following measures: in the selection of talents, he changed the Chinese tradition of nepotism and selected talents through examinations. For customs employees, he carried out professional division of labor so that each could perform his or her duties.

At the same time, an assessment system was implemented, and rewards and punishments were well-founded. In order to prevent corruption and improve employees' work enthusiasm, he adopted a high salary to support integrity and implemented a pension savings system. This was the first of its kind in China. Several of Hart's innovative measures were far ahead of the times.

and modernity. For example, he stipulated that civil servants were not allowed to engage in business, implemented a rotation and avoidance system, gave employees the right to appeal, etc. But Hurd was never willing to limit his role to customs affairs. He was very concerned about China's foreign affairs and contributed to the

The dispatch of China’s first batch of diplomatic envoys.”

When mentioning Hart, Chen Lansheng always had some admiration in his expression, but his words made Li Zicheng slightly surprised. He was surprised at the attitude of the Chinese towards this British man who had "controlled" China's customs for nearly half a century.

What's strange is that this is a completely well-intentioned attitude and there is no trace of prejudice at all.

"What's even more rare is that Hurd recognized his identity from his predecessor Li Taitai - guest minister. Of course, we can now call him a "consultant". Since he is a guest minister, his basic footing is his position.

restrictions on him. In his interactions with the Westernization leaders during those decades, Hurd, who was loyal to his duties, also learned the position of the Chinese reformists, that is, entrusting them with important responsibilities but not harming China's interests. And the regulations he formulated

Among the basic principles of customs, there is no need to use rhetoric and the correct principle that must be observed is to put China's interests first. At the same time, as a guest minister, Hurd tried his best to advocate reform internally within the scope of his possibility and made many external appearances.

Express support for China’s position.”

Hurd is an unavoidable figure in China's modern history, but Chen Lansheng's words at this time completely subverted Li Zicheng's impression of Hurd as a "colonialist and representative of China's invaders."

"At that time, China needed reform. Hart proposed 10 reform plans to the Qing government and carried out modern reforms within his own yamen's authority. China needed to resist the enemy, and Hart also encouraged China to resist the enemy. The Sino-French War

During this period, he expressed strong indignation at the French aggression. He wrote to Jin Denggan, criticizing the French's behavior as "a series of vicious, unnecessary, unfair, and vicious massacres"! He hoped that "God will give them retribution."

", and said sternly, "If I were a Chinaman, I would also fight." Therefore, during the Sino-French War, Hurd was a militant. He once said to the ministers of the Prime Minister's Yamen: "

If you are sure that you are united and determined to fight to the end, I advise you to fight, because justice is on your side, and the French expedition will definitely be exhausted."

China needs to maintain its territorial integrity and sovereignty**, and Hart also supported China's territorial integrity claims. After the Boxer Rebellion and the Eight-Power Allied Forces' invasion of China, Hart felt the importance of re-establishing proper Sino-foreign relations. He persuaded the great powers to pay reparations.

"Accept the compensation that China is willing to bear" on the issue, "maintain the integrity of China's administrative management and safeguard its territorial integrity", and advocated in the Sino-British negotiations that "the UK will allow it to give up its extraterritorial jurisdiction" after China rectifies and improves its legal system.

, it was with his prompting that the UK made this decision."

Silent, Chen Lansheng's explanation made Li Zicheng completely speechless for a moment. According to him, Hurd was actually different from the Hurd in the history books. It could be said that they were two completely different people.

"The Qing government at that time had great trust in Hurd. Hurd was a workaholic and worked 18 hours a day. Hurd was also good at financial management. Since he became the director of the General Taxation Department of the Customs, the efficiency of China's customs work has increased, and tax revenue has increased.

Also added - In the 23rd year of Kangxi, the Qing government successively established Fujian Customs in Xiamen, Zhejiang Customs in Ningbo, Guangdong Customs in Guangzhou, and Jiang Customs in Shanghai. It goes without saying that the Qing government had complete autonomy in customs.

The customs has the independent right to damage the public and enrich the private sector. In the fourth year of Jiaqing, the tax amount stipulated by the Ministry of Revenue was 855,000 taels for Guangdong Customs, 113,000 taels for Fujian Customs, 39,000 taels for Zhejiang Customs, and 42,000 taels for Jiang Customs. This amount is based on each customs

It was formulated based on official declarations, which is roughly equivalent to four-tenths of the total amount of taxes collected. Usually, it would be good for the Qing government to receive one-tenth of the total. After Hurd took office, China's customs revenue was 7.25 million taels in 1863 and 1866

7.8 million taels per year, 20,541,399 taels in 1887, and 26,661,360 taels in 1899. Most of the funds for the Tongwen Hall in the Capital, the investment by the Westernizers in setting up military factories, and the expenses for government-sponsored students studying in the United States and embassies abroad came from customs taxes.

Count Anoso was the Portuguese representative in China. He commented on Hurd in his "Global Travels": "The Chinese government system is full of corruption, deception and blackmail, but what is surprising and gratifying is that...

Coexisting with it is the best administrative service mechanism, which is the Imperial Customs under the leadership of Sir Hurd." - Hurd controlled 1/3 of the Qing Dynasty's annual income and had 5,500 employees, but he was able to

The Qing Dynasty, where corruption was rampant, established a miracle of cleanliness in the customs where corruption was most convenient! So much so that later, many Manchu and Qing officials simply called Hurd "our Hurd"!"

When Chen Lansheng's voice fell, Li Zicheng smiled.

"According to this, our Hurd can be regarded as a conscientious "consultant."

There are also consultants who do their job well. When it comes to foreign "consultants" and "guest guests", China and Japan have completely different attitudes towards them. In the history of Japan, the Japanese have written a lot about those "consultants" and "guest guests".

A few people are negative, and most are positive. Many of them were heroes of the Meiji Restoration, and even later became Japanese nationals and became Japanese nobles. In China, without exception, all foreigners before 1949,

Almost all of them are "colonial invaders of China".

"It should be said that he was very conscientious. The Westernization Movement that followed the rise of the Qing Dynasty basically did not go beyond Hurd's suggestions. Hurd even had the ideal of building China into an Asian economic power. Faced with such ideals of Hurd, we had to be

At that time, the officials of the Manchu Qing Dynasty were so ignorant that they were ashamed. Because when faced with Hurd's suggestions, they would simply denounce it as "harboring evil intentions". In a word, people who are not of my race must have different intentions. This is Hurd's suggestion.

The first embarrassment is that he does not regard you as one of his own. Although Hurd asked his son to read Chinese scriptures and take part in the Chinese imperial examinations, the Chinese still regarded him as an outsider. Maybe he himself understood this, so in the excerpts

Write a name for "outsider"."

At this moment, Chen Lansheng's tone was somewhat pity. Hart's suggestions were all aimed at the current situation in China at that time. Just like the "On the Sidelines" submitted in 1865, after analyzing the domestic and international situations, it almost

The Qing government said it thoroughly. Politically: "There are few people who do their duty and there are many people who are selfish." Financially: "Those below the official level take more from the people, while those above the level lose to the country." Militaryly: The army "pulls the bow in peacetime."

Lifting stones is all about posture and laziness, just raising birds for fun." "The number of soldiers and bravery can be counted in the millions, and ranking them by name is really just a 10% increase in the number of old, weak and stupid people." Intellectual circles:

Intellectuals "are not unfamiliar with books and proficient in poetry and prose, so that they can become officials, but they are often unable to answer questions about things that people should know", and "once they are in the people, they can definitely find faults and detect evil". Later,

He suggested that China should carry out reforms. If China could seize the opportunity and implement comprehensive top-down reforms at that time, China would not suffer humiliation again and again in the following decades. Perhaps, when Hurd left China, he

He has long since realized his ambition - to build China into a powerful country.

"At the same time, another embarrassment for Hart is: as a British Chinese official, how to maintain a balance between loyalty to the British Empire and the Qing Empire? He won the trust of the Qing government, but at the same time lost the trust of the British government

.In 1885, because the British government admired Hurd's diplomatic ability in mediating the Sino-French war, it planned to ask him to serve as the British ambassador to China and North Korea. Such an honorable task, Hurd actually refused! Not only that, as the great powers competed for power in China

With the escalation of his rights and interests, Hart became increasingly dissatisfied with Germany, Russia, and even Britain's policy of invading China. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in London expressed concerns about his performance and began to doubt his patriotic loyalty, so this fence-sitter was eventually dismissed.

Abandoned by Britain..."

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Chapter completed!