Guiziliu didn't know that Fifth Brother, who had always been playful and fun-loving, had developed a sinister mind. He still believed that Fifth Brother was the knight king before. Although he had a bad temper, was a little naughty, and was a little stubborn, his nature was not bad!
Hearing that his brother came to his rescue, he breathed a sigh of relief. After all, they were brothers, and their relationship was different from that of ordinary royal relatives.
Fifth Master Yi Pei enlightened him a few words and then said, "Sixth Brother! It's okay for brothers to tolerate you, but this thing happened so violently, who is behind it? We have to take it seriously. You know what the devil is!"
"Don't let people beat you up one after another. In the end, you still don't know who is behind it. Then don't we become fools?"
No one knew that Yixin had secretly visited Zeng Guofan, but as the Prime Minister of the Qing Dynasty, everyone naturally thought that he should know everything!
It's right to think about it. You have been in charge of such a huge empire for many years, and you have control over domestic and foreign affairs, as well as military power. Such a powerful prince cannot be beaten and can't find an opponent!
Yi Xin's face suddenly turned red, "Fifth Brother... Hi... It's a long story. This opponent is really hard to explain! I know who did it, but I can't explain it in a sentence or two!"
"Ouch? What's going on? Zhang San is Zhang San, Li Si is Li Si... What's so hard to say about a name? Even if the foreign devil has a long name, he can still finish the sentence in a convoluted way?"
"Could it be...could it be that this person has some hidden secrets with you, Sixth Brother? Is it hidden from the light?"
"No, no... Absolutely not, but this opponent is not one person, but a group of people who are big and have no boundaries..."
Everyone was immediately confused. Their level was not as good as Guizi Liu. It was impossible to understand what the counterattack of capitalist power was. They could only pin their hatred on individual people, and they had to have names and surnames!
Just when everyone gathered around Guizi Liubufang and insisted on an answer, the rescuer came, and his son Zai Cheng suddenly ran in with a sudden stride.
"Amma! Amma has a visitor... Hurd from the customs is here!"
"Who? Hurd? Hurd, the director of the Customs and Excise Department? Why is he here at this juncture?"
It must be said that Hart was definitely a very famous celebrity in the late Qing Dynasty. He had a very close relationship with senior officials of the Qing Dynasty, and also had a good personal relationship with Prince Gong and others.
Logically speaking, it is not uncommon to be a guest, but the Qing Dynasty's guest reception system was very cumbersome. For formal banquets, posts had to be sent three days in advance!
As long as you are not a close relative or close friend, this kind of temporary door-to-door visit is very inappropriate!
Once someone comes to your door without notice, there is only one possibility that something big has happened!
One is a British person who is responsible for all customs and taxation work in the Qing Dynasty, and the other is the most powerful prince in the Qing Dynasty and is responsible for the affairs of the entire empire!
The visits between them must strictly follow the rules. Posts must be sent in advance and even the Ministry of Etiquette must be allowed to record them. All of these are related to the national system.
This situation of coming to the door without warning made everyone feel a little worried!
But when the guests arrived, they had to wait. Yi Xin motioned for everyone to wait in the Fu Hall, and he went south to the west side hall of Yin'an Hall to meet the director-general of customs!
Walking in a hurry, Yixin asked his son as he walked, "Did you ask anything? What is he here for?"
"No, my son asked. He just smiled and said he was visiting Amma, and didn't say anything serious to me at all! Hurd is usually a good talker, but why is he so tight-lipped today?"
Hurd was not actually the first person in charge of customs, he was the second!
The first head of customs was the Englishman Li Taitai. However, this man was arrogant and arrogant. He showed great disrespect for the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty and even forced Prince Gong to give him a palace-sized house as a private residence.
It was even proposed to form a fleet of Qing Dynasty artillery, and the command would be given to him!
Of course, such an arrogant person could not be retained. In the end, the Qing Dynasty directly fired him and sent him money to go back to his hometown!
And the heir of Li Taitai is the British man Hurd!
The root of Hart and even Li Tai's failure was that he was extra careful and restrained. He was courteous and courteous when facing Qing officials, and he was very fluent in Chinese without any communication problems.
Regarding customs and taxation, he is very skilled and responsible. Even for the same matter, he will come up with nine plans for the officials of the Prime Minister's Yamen to choose from.
Guarjia Wenxiang, the founder of the Capital Tongwen Museum, was extremely impressed by Hart. You must know that the Capital Tongwen Museum was the predecessor of the Capital University, and the Capital University was the predecessor of Peking University!
The vision of the founder is certainly not bad!
Prince Gong was also very friendly to this Hurd, and even called him 'our Hurd' in public to show his trust in him!
But today, this old friend in front of Prince Gong's throne was obviously a little embarrassed. He was sitting upright with his hands on his knees, and he was no longer as happy as usual. You must know that every time he came to Prince Gong's Mansion, he had to carefully observe the details of the architecture.
The carvings on the window lattice, the rockery trees, the displays... all attracted him!
But today, he was sitting alone in a chair with his eyes in an unfocused state, obviously thinking about something!
Yi Xin first took a peek at the crack in the window, and finally pretended to be cheerful and smiled before entering. "Hahaha... Who did I think was here? It turns out to be our Hud!"
"Sit, sit, sit, don't get up, don't get up... we are all old friends!"
"Exchange the tea for the Director-General... You're welcome, I'll change it to what I drink on weekdays... Don't treat it as a decoration. You don't need to break the court's rules. The tea I give you is not for display, but for you to drink!"
"Thank you, thank you, Your Majesty... I'm really sorry to take the liberty of visiting you this time!"
The two of them said a few polite words, and Yi Xin waved his hand to scold the people. They were the only two people in the hall. "Mr. Hurd... you are so anxious to see me, what is going on!"
"Ah...this matter is really difficult...please, Your Majesty, understand my difficulties...that...the Customs and Excise Department that should be deported to the national treasury in June...I'm afraid it can't be deported..."
With a clang, the tea bowl in Yi Xin's hand slipped to the ground, and a bowl of hot tea was spilled on the floor. The eunuch outside rushed in and wanted to help the prince clean it up.
"Get out! Get out... Who let you in!" Yi Xin scolded the attentive eunuch and ran away. He pointed at Hurd with a trembling hand and said, "You... say it again?"
Hurd stood up and bowed to the prince, "I'm sorry, I can't deliver the customs tax money to the treasury in June...because there have been cases at all ports...there have been large-scale misaccounts..."
"I can't deport the silver until the accounts are verified clearly!"
"Hurd!" Prince Gong growled, "Even you want to betray me? Is this how I feel sorry for you?"
"You live in the General Administration of Customs. The house was repaired with special funds from me... You are getting double the salary of Li Taitai, eight hundred taels of silver every month!"
"Your annual salary is nine thousand six hundred taels of silver... Do you know how much a prince's annual salary is? It's only ten thousand taels!"
"You alone have received more salary than the county king! Are you not satisfied with this?"
"I have never interfered in all customs affairs. I have entrusted them to you...Have I ever interfered at all in these years?"
"Is this how you repay me?"
