Hidden Dragon in Qing Dynasty

He De stood up straight, his head lowered in embarrassment as he listened to Prince's angry scolding. He did not dare to retort even once!

This man understood the official rules of the China very well, and was willing to follow them. He did not have the arrogance that foreigners have when they came to the east, but this made him in charge of the customs of the Empire for more than forty years!

It could be said that it was a miracle for a foreigner to be able to stay as steady as Mt. Tai despite being in a high position for forty years in the strange late Qing!

But this miracle was caused by He De's personality, he was a man who respected people and knew how to be polite!

He knew that the Qing Dynasty was just like that. Letting him be angry and make him scold, his boss would punish him if he was angered enough, and putting himself in a position of inferiority would always have its benefits!

He could retort, and if he wanted to, he could put out the sins of those disobedient Qing Kingdom subordinates one after another.

There's no way out, no way out, no way out, no way out... It could be said that in the past few years, in order to maintain the integrity of the officials in the Daqing Customs and Excise, He De had troubled his heart!

Not to mention the fact that he had missed out on so many accounts, he had basically spent a third of his energy on the audit and reconstruction of the accounts!

The troublesome work was not only here, but also the cooperative yamen that he was not in charge of. The daoyin s, generals, and those experienced officials in the different cities all had their fair share of responsibilities!

They had to be on guard, coordinate, and ensure their own business in order to obtain a little bit more funds for the Empire's finances!

He De was also aggrieved in his heart. His revenue from customs had been increasing every year, and he had also benefited from the huge increase in revenue from overseas trade, which had become more and more busy after the Second Opium War.

Most importantly, through He De's combing and cleaning of the insects, the customs revenue that was stolen by corrupt officials had slowly returned back to the normal tax system. This was one of the main reasons for the sudden increase in customs income.

However, he didn't want to say a single word about these efforts because he truly felt guilty today!

The mess was real, too, but not as bad as he said it would be, as long as he worked overtime.

Since half a month ago, he had received many hints, the start was to have many Trader s come to him to complain, and to complain that the old Manchu was obstructing their way of business.

Afterwards, there were the people in charge of the eastern operations of the various great Bank s who also hoped for He De to exert his influence and push forward the reform of the Empire, especially the industrialization reform!

Soon after, the military officials of the Minister Hall came over. De Lanni had been his guest for the whole three hours, and all the topics that she had discussed during this period of time could not be spread out at all!

In the end, Ge Deng brought two handwritten letters to He De's house. One was a's authority token, and the other was actually a UK's handwritten letter!

Two File s granted Ge Deng the secret identity of the Eastern Special Envoy, he had the authority to mobilize all of the Asia's intelligence, all of the UK institutions should be able to help!

If it were not an official File, the identity of this secret Special Envoy would not be recognized by the UK, or it could be said that even the UK had no authority to manage Ge Deng.

It was possible that even the UK s did not know of the existence of such an Eastern Secret Special Envoy!

However, the more it was like this, the more He De was terrified. He was very clear that the authorization Ge Deng received was absolutely hidden and was an independent system resource outside the Government system.

The The Empire of the Unsetting Sun had a set of Government institutions on the surface, with all the departments working together. There was a military department, a Naval Department, and a Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sect.

All of these were directly or indirectly managed by the Queen, the Prime Minister, and the council!

However, it was impossible for a Country to put everything on the table, and a Queen would also have some private jobs that they did not want the Government system to know about.

Every one of those top quality adults objects in the The Empire of the Unsetting Sun had money and power, and each one of them had money comparable to a small Country!

The power of this group of people was enough to create a shadow system outside of the system, but this deeper hidden power was even more terrifying!

He De dared to reject some of the British Government's requests, but he was still very afraid of this gigantic shadow! Ge Deng was basically the eyes and ears of the Queen, the Crown Prince and the nobles!

Any act of He De disobeying orders would become a stain on his life that was recorded!

Facing the absolute pressure, he could only helplessly lower his head. There was no possibility of turning the tables!

Wherever He De was cursing at, he would respectfully lower his head and stop the training. His mind was still thinking about everything that had happened in this period of time!

He felt very guilty. On one hand, he felt sorry for trusting his Qing Government, and on the other hand, he wasn't willing to get into a fight with his own Home Country!

There was no way in this world, and in the end, he could only feel sorry for himself!

Hearing the curses becoming softer and softer, Prince seemed to have calmed down a little. He gritted his teeth and took out a letter from his suit and placed it on the Table apologetically.

"Prince... This is my dereliction of duty... I'll resign! "

"What?" You dare to throw in the towel? Let me tell you, He De, don't you dare run! Bastard! "

Prince Kung might be scolding him, but he would definitely not let He De resign, because ever since He De took over Daqing Customs and Excise in 1864, the sea tariff amount jumped from over 8 million to over 20 million Silver s!

With the income of twenty million Silver per year, even if half of it was taken away to repay the foreigners, the other half would be enough for the court to handle many things!

Furthermore, the volume of trade on the shore of the Sea Port was increasing year by year, especially in Jiangnan with the sufficient supply of banknote, the scale of the business was rapidly expanding.

At the beginning of the year, He De's budget for customs revenue is very likely to reach 25 million silver!

To be able to obtain such a large amount of wealth, it had to rely on the abilities of the Chinese goblin. If it was in the past, the old customs regulations of the Manchu, it would be unimaginable.

Seeing that He De was about to throw the match, Prince Kung quickly eased up and heaved a sigh of relief.

"He De... Sit down first. This king was just anxious a moment ago, but you should be clear that Empire's booth is shaking from the storm and all sorts of things are pressing down on them. I can't do anything either! "

"Our Daqing Customs and Excise's custom is to settle a tax every quarter for three months. In March, you will have 5.2 million taels of silver at sea customs. The compensation will be transferred to the account department for 2.1 million, and the rest will be transferred to the account department!"

"Isn't this a good start? In June and September, the customs revenue could only increase! The goal that you have mentioned is easy in my opinion! "

"What's going on? It's only been three months and the accounts are in chaos? And it even affected the delivery of silver? You should tell me the truth! "

"What exactly is going on? Even if you are not thinking for the Great Qing Kingdom, and not considering our relationship, you should at least consider your future development! "

"If you submit your resignation at this time, how would the people from Europe think of you? They will say... It's your, He De's, incompetence, that has turned the good Daqing Customs and Excise into a mess! "

"You don't have the ability anymore, so you just left Qing Kingdom with your tail between your legs!"

"Think about it, if this sort of reputation were to return to your country, who would hire you in the future?"