Sir, you have to pay more

Chapter 611 Finally Be able to betray the country
"Master, there is no thing in this world that cannot be sold. If there is, it can only be that the price cannot be negotiated."

Shuan Zhu awakened the dreamer with a word.

Yes, there is nothing in this world that cannot be talked about.

Big deal, add money.

With the money in place, Victoria can also sleep.

According to the secret report from Sticky Pole, the right to trade with Western countries in Guangdong is actually controlled by the Dutch East India Company, while the British, French, Spanish, Portuguese and other Western businessmen are actually three-way dealers. The profits were taken by the second-hand dealers, the Dutch.

This made merchants from various countries very dissatisfied with the Dutch East India Company and Guangdong Customs.

Among them, British gentlemen responded most positively.

In the 22nd year of Qianlong, in addition to Guangdong Customs, the Qing court actually had Zhejiang Customs, Fujian Customs, and Jiang Customs (Jiangsu), that is, four-port trade.

But at that time, Qianlong suddenly proclaimed: "The port is scheduled to be in Guangdong, and foreign ships are allowed to berth and trade in Guangdong."

That is to say, the customs of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian were directly closed, and the customs of Guangdong were kept alone, which became an opening for trade.

The reason why four people changed to one has something to do with British businessmen.

At the macro level, the great voyages and geographical discoveries of Western countries have created the Western trade system that is now spread all over the world.

In order to pursue profits, Western countries established countless colonies and trading points all over the world, and China, a large oriental country with vast land and resources, naturally became the long-coveted trading object of Western countries.

Because goods from the East are the most popular existence in Western countries.

However, neither the smuggling of the Ming Dynasty nor the four customs of the Qing Dynasty were far from meeting the needs of Western businessmen in pursuit of interests.

They try to get more trade power, and more trade points.

At the same time, businessmen from Western countries also brought ideas, culture and religion that were incompatible with China, which must have disgusted the Tatar rulers who occupied China.

In addition, it was the armed merchant ships of Western countries that aroused the vigilance of the Qing court.

Yang Yingju, the former governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, once reported: "The foreign ships are as tall as houses, and they come and go impermanently, especially when they are loaded with artillery, they gather in the sky and go to Hong Kong."

These armed gunboats, which the Qing army had never seen before, were undoubtedly a huge threat to the Qing army, which did not pay much attention to the navy.

"Haitphong's tranquility is above all else" is the basic attitude of the three dynasties of Kang, Yong and Qian to Haiphong.

Back then, in order to deal with Taiwan, which was guarded by Ming Zheng, Kangxi even ordered coastal residents to move inward, causing millions of Han Chinese to die in the southeast coast.

On the contrary, it spared no effort in northern Xinjiang. It took three generations of grandparents and grandchildren to solve Junggar after a hundred years.

This point is completely different from the later Qing court's emphasis on coastal defense and light on fortified defense.

It was at this critical point that a British man with a Chinese hand and the Chinese name Hong Renhui of the British East India Company arrived in Dagu Haikou, Tianjin, on a small three-tailed ocean-going ship "Success".

That is the area where Jia Liu is now.

Probably also the first British ship to reach the northern coast of China.

The purpose of Hong Renhui's going north to the capital was to be ordered by the British East India Company to go to the Qing court to sue the Guangdong Customs for corruption and extortion and the monopoly trade of Guangdong foreign firms.

That is to sue imperial court.

Since Hong Renhui reported himself as a fourth-rank official in England, with the purpose of redressing grievances to Beijing, facing such a British official who seemed to have a diplomatic mission, the generals of the Qing army in Dagukou could only report layer by layer.

The Qing court accepted the case of the foreigner's imperial complaint, and Hong Renhui filed the previous complaint, listing seven crimes against the Guangdong Customs.

At the same time, on behalf of the British East India Company, he put forward the request of the Qing Dynasty to open the sea ban and realize the free trade between the two countries.

The result of the trial was that Li Yongbiao, who was the supervisor of the Guangdong Customs at the time, was dismissed and investigated, and Hong Renhui was also sent to Macao for three years for the crime of "violating regulations and not passing through Haikou".

That is to say, each hit fifty big boards.

Not only did Qianlong not accept the request for trade expansion put forward by the British East India Company, but he directly ordered the closure of the three customs offices of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian, leaving only the Guangdong customs.

Perhaps in Qianlong's eyes, guarding against foreign barbarians was more important than making profits from trade. The Qing Dynasty could not take money from foreign barbarians if it wanted to live for tens of thousands of years.

Zhu Dawen, the magistrate who came to the industrial park from Tianjin, reported the details of this incident to Governor Jia Jia.

At the same time, I told the governor an inside story, that is, when Hong Renhui came to Tianjin, Ling Yu, the prefect of Tianjin at that time, was very sympathetic to Hong Renhui, who was blond and blue-eyed, but spoke fluent Chinese.

Expressed his willingness to help him go to Beijing to sue, but pointed out that the matter was risky, so Hong Renhui had to give him 5000 taels of silver as a reward.

After bargaining, the two parties agreed to settle the deal with 2500 Spanish silver dollars, 2000 first, and then 500 after the deal was completed.

Then, Ling Yu reported to the imperial court that the fourth-rank official of the English Kingdom had come to the capital to appeal for grievances.

In fact, Hong Renhui was just an interpreter of the East India Company.

"Look, we Bannermen still have talents."

After hearing this, Jia Liu talked to the left and right, not without complacency, and asked where Ling Yu was working now, but was told that he died of illness two years ago, and he couldn't help feeling regretful.

What Zhu Dawen said gave Jia Liu a basic understanding of the current needs of British gentlemen, combined with the secret report at the sticky pole, he roughly got an idea.

That is, he might be able to get one or even multiple steam engines from a British gentleman without paying a penny, thus laying the foundation for the industrialization of the Qing Dynasty.

Thinking of this, he looked at Zhu Dawen: "I intend to send someone to negotiate with the East India Company of Yingji Kingdom. Is the prefect Zhu willing to go there as a missionary envoy? Take the post of Tianjin Customs Daotai."

The magistrate is a fourth-rank official, and Daotai is a regular fourth-rank official.

Although Tianjin is a big city, its income from oil and water is nothing compared to the customs and roads.

The post of Guangdong Customs Supervisor (also Daotai) is comparable to the Lianghuai Salt Administration and Jiangnan Weaving, and even worse.

As Zhu Dawen, who has worked hard in the officialdom for nearly 30 years and still stops at the fourth grade, it is undoubtedly a pie in the sky, and he is excited and expresses his willingness to lead a delegation.

"Well, preparations for this matter will be made tomorrow, and the relevant travel personnel, the Governor, will be dispatched to you as soon as possible. After you arrive at the English East India Company, you will not only be the plenipotentiary representative of the Governor, but also the plenipotentiary representative of our Qing Dynasty. grid"

After some instructions, Jia Liu changed the subject and asked Zhu Dawen to tell the British East India Company that Zhili would fully open the sea ban and set up a Beiyang Commercial Affairs Office in Tianjin. The East India Company could directly bypass the supervision of Guangdong Customs and transfer their Merchant ships come directly to Tianjin to engage in trade. Not only can they do business, but they can also choose a place in Tianjin that imitates Macau and lease it for their British merchants to live in. If necessary, the Governor can also provide him with other assistance from Britain."

The condition is that the East India Company must provide the Qing Dynasty with a steam engine and no less than five technicians, in addition to provide protection and all conveniences for the Qing Dynasty Western Expedition Group.

Hearing what the governor said, Zhu Dawen couldn't help being surprised. If it is said that it is extremely rare to allow trade, it seems that it is too much to provide a place of residence.
Jia Liu saw the other party's intentions, and said bluntly, "Do you want to say that the governor's actions are suspected of treason?"

"This"

Zhu Dawen didn't dare to speak directly.

"It's okay to betray the country. It's okay. I don't want the child to be unable to trap the wolf. For the sake of the Qing Dynasty, it is okay to make some necessary concessions. If you are infamous, the governor will take care of it. You just need to do what the governor tells you."

Jia Liu may be thinking in his heart that he wants to get what he wants, and he can finally introduce the big powers.

(End of this chapter)