bayedsolid Chapter 281 Angrily Rebuking the Americans
Chapter 281 Angrily Rebuking the Americans
In 1858, China suffered defeat in the Second Opium War. Britain, France, and the United States then forced the Qing government to sign the humiliating Treaty of Tianjin, which stipulated that taxes in all treaty ports be handled uniformly, and that China must invite foreign assistance in this process.
From then on, Western powers began to control the Chinese customs. The current Inspector General of Customs is the British Robert Hart, and all control over the customs has fallen into British hands.
Ironically, the Qing court rewarded Hart handsomely because he was paying more and more taxes each year, promoting him to the rank of first-grade official and adding the title of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince.
It's no wonder the Manchus were so happy, since when they were in charge, their annual tax revenue was only four or five million taels of silver.
After Hart took over, tax revenue increased year by year, reaching 30 million taels by 1904. This greatly alleviated the Qing government's financial pressure.
The Qing dynasty's fools didn't understand the importance of customs, but Shen Lian certainly did. It's terrifying to think that a country doesn't even have tariff autonomy.
He checked the records and found that all goods imported from overseas were subject to a 5% tax rate. How much tax was being evaded?
No wonder the market is full of foreign goods! Their production costs are already low, and you're adding low tariffs on top of that. It's no wonder that traditional domestic industries are going bankrupt.
Furthermore, militarily, customs are all in their hands, so what secrets do you have left?
“Your Majesty, since Hart took charge of the Chinese Customs, he has always been diligent and conscientious, and the tax revenue he has collected has increased year by year. It is not appropriate for you to suddenly take back his authority!”
Sa Daoyi was completely unprepared for Shen Lian's move and was momentarily flustered. However, he dared not speak as forcefully as he had when dealing with the Qing court.
The British Empire is now facing numerous troubles, with the two Boer Wars having already brought it to the brink of collapse. Now, emerging powers like Germany and the United States are challenging Britain's dominance around the world.
The British Empire at present does not want another rival, especially such a formidable one as China.
They had witnessed the entire battle between the Chinese Empire and Japan, and were astonished by the strength of the Chinese army and navy. They did not want to engage in conflict with China unless absolutely necessary.
"I'm not discussing this with you, I'm just informing you!" Shen Lian said domineeringly.
"This matter is of great importance, and I, your humble servant, must report it to the country!" Sa Daoyi left the Summer Palace with a solemn expression.
"Mr. Ambassador, does the United States also want to import new weapons?" Shen Lian asked, looking at the smiling American ambassador, Mr. Rookie.
This guy is quite a talent; he's a renowned Tibetologist who has made numerous trips to western Tibet for field research. He's also fluent in both Chinese and Tibetan.
"Yes, Your Majesty! We in the United States also hope to acquire more advanced weapons,"
"Let's leave those aside for now. I heard you have an anti-Chinese law in your country, right? I didn't care before, but now this is my country. All Chinese people are my subjects."
"I will never allow my people to be treated differently in any country!" Shen Lian said solemnly.
"Do you think our two countries can still maintain friendly relations with this bill in place?"
"To tell you the truth, I'm about to take back control of the customs. Forget about importing our advanced weapons!"
"If this bullshit bill is not repealed, I will restrict American goods from entering China. At the same time, I will lower the treatment of Americans in China!"
Shen Lian would be more cautious if he were facing powerful nations like Britain, Germany, and France. But he wouldn't be so polite to the United States.
"There's another incident. Back in 2003, a Chinese diplomat named Tan Jinyong was beaten and verbally abused by your police without cause, and they even tied him to a fence and displayed him in public."
"Afterwards, he was taken to the police station and continued to be beaten and humiliated. Eventually, a businessman from our country paid money to bail him out. Unable to bear the humiliation any longer, Mr. Tan jumped into the San Francisco Bridge and committed suicide!"
"Your Majesty, I truly had no idea such a thing existed!" Roukeyi stammered, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"Back then, I was in America! How could you hide this from me?" Shen Lian rebuked.
"You know very well what this kind of humiliation, beating, and driving a diplomat to suicide means!"
"That is, during the Qing Dynasty! If it were now, hehe! My fleet would have already arrived at your port!" Shen Lian laughed angrily!
Whether in his past or present life, he couldn't help but feel a surge of anger whenever he thought about this. Today, the Americans just happened to come knocking on his door, so Shen Lian unleashed his fury on them.