Daming: The most ruthless tyrant in history

Chapter 972 Something is wrong

"Close the border!"

General Administration of Customs, Yantai Customs Branch.

Chen Jing frowned slightly, looking at the dark sky and the heavy rain pouring down. He said in a low voice: "This rain is abnormal. It may not stop today. From now on, Yantai Port and several other ports will only allow entry but not exit. Take this opportunity to conduct random inspections on the docked ships."

"Here!"

The several officials following behind him all raised their hands and bowed.

As people from the General Administration of Customs, especially the officials and servants active on the front line, they attach great importance to the weather. In recent years, Daming has changed its previous negative attitude towards maritime trade and has continued to develop maritime trade. All this stems from Tianjin's opening up to the outside world. Because of this change in Tianjin, coupled with changes in many fields and levels, Daming has gradually cultivated a corresponding team in maritime trade to deal with various matters related to maritime trade.

Of course, since its establishment, the General Administration of Customs has been subject to various controversies and criticisms, which have never stopped. Especially with the passage of time, as the system headed by customs duties has been gradually improved, this trend has become more and more obvious. For many people in the General Administration of Customs, they know too well what is going on.

On the one hand, the Ming Dynasty clearly opened up the seas, which led to the continuous expansion of maritime trade and allowed more people to get involved. But on the other hand, the gradually improved taxation system required maritime merchants traveling to various places to pay corresponding customs duties, which certainly made some of them dissatisfied.

Why should we pay taxes on part of the money we have worked hard to earn, or even risk our lives for? The key is that customs tariffs are becoming increasingly detailed, leaving no opportunity to find loopholes.

Commodities like tea, silk, and porcelain must pay high taxes if they want to be exported, and some commodities from outside the Ming Dynasty must also pay high taxes if they want to be imported. This has led to a small number of people involved in the above industries complaining a lot, which has led to the current situation of smuggling.

No matter what.

As time goes by, especially since the establishment of the three major fleets, all matters involving the near sea are gradually being transferred to the coastal navies of various places. The efforts to combat smuggling at sea have become increasingly stronger. This trend has become increasingly obvious along the coasts of northern provinces, which has had a great impact.

If the Ming Dynasty wanted to engage in the great voyages of discovery, it could not simply open its doors and build up maritime power to catch up. Too many things needed to be changed.

But changing these things is not something that can be achieved overnight.

After all, the Ming Dynasty had regressed a lot in this regard.

Office room.

"Dong Weng, do you really want to submit this memorial to the capital?"

A middle-aged man frowned slightly, looking at Chen Jing who was busy at his desk. After reading the memorial, he felt very uneasy. After all, if this memorial was really submitted to the capital, it would definitely cause quite a stir.

"Do you think it shouldn't be presented?"

After hearing this, Chen Jing put down his pen, looked at the middle-aged man and said, "Since the establishment of the Yantai Customs Branch, we have discovered many groups involved in smuggling. However, in the actual anti-smuggling, it is necessary to coordinate with the Denglai Town General Military Office, so that the Denglai Navy will be dispatched to carry out the anti-smuggling."

"And the Denglai Navy has to take care of more than just Yantai. Customs sub-offices in Weihai, Qingdao and other places will also investigate such situations during this period."

"The most important point is that anti-smuggling is one of the duties of the Denglai Navy, but the Denglai Navy has to do more than just anti-smuggling!"

"I understand what Mr. Dong is thinking." After hearing this, the middle-aged man said with a worried look on his face, "But Mr. Dong, have you ever thought about this? It was originally decided by His Majesty that the power of anti-smuggling should be managed by the coastal naval forces of each province and town. If this matter really comes to the emperor, what will His Majesty think? How will he view it?"

"Also, once this matter is submitted to the capital, it will not only be a matter of the Yantai Customs Branch and the Denglai Navy, but also a matter of the entire General Customs Administration and the Military Affairs Council."

"There are too many things involved. The key is that the General Administration of Customs has set goals to achieve. In the previous joint court meeting, His Majesty expressed how much importance he attached to customs duties. You, Dong Weng, are not unaware of the official letter sent from the capital. Once this matter gets into a tangle, there is no guarantee that there won't be any problems."

"If something like this really happens, let alone anything else, if the taxes collected by the General Administration of Customs do not meet expectations, the first to disagree will be the three major fleets!"

Chen Jing remained silent.

How could he not have thought of what the middle-aged man said? But it was precisely because of these thoughts that Chen Jing felt more and more that the best option was to separate the anti-smuggling power from the navy and assign it to the General Administration of Customs, or to set up a special anti-smuggling team.

After all, he had seen some tricks during his years working in the customs. It was precisely for this reason that after taking office at the Yantai Customs Branch, Chen Jing had been improving this part.

It is undeniable.

In the past few years, the maritime force headed by the Tianjin Navy has been gradually strengthening its anti-smuggling efforts at sea while planning and expanding in batches. It has cracked down on many smuggling groups, but those were all proactive anti-smuggling operations. As for the transferred anti-smuggling matters, due to the special nature of the navy, it kept a certain distance from the outside world, which inevitably caused some negative effects in joint investigations.

This also causes some groups to turn from open to secretive and become more and more cunning.

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Especially in the maritime trade between the Ming Dynasty and the Dynasty, many thorny problems arose, which have not yet been actually solved.

"I have made up my mind about this matter!"

In this situation, Chen Jing frowned and said, "No matter what happens, I am willing to take responsibility. After all, if we want the General Administration of Customs to develop better, especially to be more proactive in anti-smuggling, we always need someone to do it."

The middle-aged man sighed. He knew Dong Weng too well. Once he made a decision, he would not change it easily. But with such a character, he would suffer a great loss sooner or later!
"Director, something happened!!"

In this situation, a voice rang out. Under Chen Jing's gaze, a young man who was soaked ran into the office and said very quickly: "As soon as the notice of closing the port was posted and read at Yantai Port, several ships left the port regardless of the dangerous sea conditions."

"Go! Check the registration records of these ships."

After hearing this, Chen Jing immediately realized something was wrong and frowned and said to the young man, "Sort these out in the shortest possible time. I want to see them."

"Here!"

The young man bowed immediately.

Chen Jing frowned. Leaving the port to go out to sea in such a climate was extremely dangerous. But even so, these ships still left the port. Years of experience told Chen Jing that there must be something hidden in this. It was precisely this incident that made Chen Jing more determined in his mind that some things must change! !

(End of this chapter)