Rebirth in America: Great Slave Owner

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"Robert - Hurd!" Tangning couldn't help but exclaimed when she heard the name, "You, you are Mr. Hurd, the Chief Taxation Officer of the Customs?!"

In fact, it is no wonder that Tangning was so shocked, because Hurd was one of the historical celebrities Tangning was most interested in during this period. This guy joined the British Consulate in Ningbo as a translator at the age of 19, and became the deputy tax department at the age of 24. Until 73, he has always been the General Taxation Department. He has been in power for 45 years and has basically experienced all major events in China during this period.

Although he also has some acts of corruption and cronyism, he is generally a qualified or even excellent professional manager. He has helped China to obtain a lot of legitimate interests during his tenure, and even for a period of time, customs revenue has accounted for the revenue of the Qing government. a large proportion of.

"Mr. Tangning, haven't you been to China, how do you know my position?" Hurd asked in surprise.

"Although I've never been to China, I've never heard of you, Mr. Hurd, the name of the General Taxation Department. You are a rare official who can be recognized by multiple countries!" Tangning praised.

And Hurd smiled bitterly: "Do you agree? I heard that many people are secretly saying that I sold the interests of British businessmen to please the Chinese!"

"It can't be said that, as a professional manager, your job and duty is to be loyal to your post! According to the Chinese words, you are in your position, seeking your position, taking your responsibilities, and doing your best!" Tangning defended .

Because the last sentence Tangning spoke in Mandarin, Hurd was even more surprised, "Mr. Tangning, do you still speak Chinese?"

"I know a little bit, but I don't speak very well!" Tangning said modestly.

Hurd shook his head and said, "Mr. Tangning, you are so humble. You speak Chinese very well. Although it is not standard Beijing Mandarin, it does not affect communication at all. The most important thing is your pronunciation. There is no English emphasis in it!"

Tangning thought, of course, this is my native language after all, but I didn't want to talk about it, so I changed the topic and asked, "Mr. Hurd, are you going back to London for vacation this time?"

Hurd nodded and replied: "Yes, although my family has moved to China with me, I still have some old friends in London, so I come back every year!"

Then he asked Tangning, "Mr. Tangning, are you going to China for tourism or business?"

Tangning thought about it for a while, then replied, "It's all a little bit. Actually, I've wanted to go to China for a long time. As for this time, it's because I encountered a rather strange thing, so I want to check if my inference is correct. !" Then, he talked about Deanna's friend who made a fortune in a cafe in China.

After hearing this, Hurd waved his hands and said, "Don't doubt Mr. Tangning, this guy is definitely a liar, you're right, Chinese people don't like coffee at all, and the only few cafes are in the concession. , the main customers are also foreigners like us!"

But then he added: "But don't stop going to China because of this, China still has a lot of beautiful scenery and delicious food!"

"Don't worry, we've already boarded the boat, so it's impossible to return to the ship right now!" Tangning replied with a smile.

After chatting for a while, Hurd suddenly asked, "By the way, Mr. Tangning, does New Orleans belong to the Confederate States or is it?"

"The Confederate States belong to St. Louisiana!" Tangning replied.

"That's the slave state?" Hurd asked tentatively.

Tangning nodded in embarrassment and replied, "That's right, but now there are far fewer people keeping black slaves."

"Oh? Why? Didn't you win?" Hurd asked in confusion.

Tangning pointed to Hurd and replied, "Because you Brits don't buy cotton from us anymore!"

Hurd was stunned for a moment, and then he reacted: "Oh, I understand, because our textile merchants don't buy cotton from your allied countries, so you don't need to keep black slaves to grow cotton. In this way, it seems that The suffering of black Africans is caused by us British!"

"Without buying and selling, there is no harm!" Tangning concluded.

But then he said: "Of course, this is a bit of putting the cart before the horse. In fact, no matter how big the benefit is, it should not be obtained by enslaving others!"

"So, Mr. Tangning, there are no black slaves in your plantation?" Hurd asked "with bad intentions".

Tangning replied calmly, "I stopped running a plantation before the war!" Of course, Tangning wouldn't tell him the cause and effect.

Hearing Tangning's words, Hurd said with awe, "Mr. Tangning, you are a conscientious gentleman!"

"Thank you!" Tangning replied boldly.

After chatting for a while, Hurd got up to leave, but before he left, he solemnly invited Tangning to visit him in Beijing when he had time. He would arrange for Tangning to visit Beijing at that time~www.wuxiamtl.com~ Although Tangning complained about you in her heart Can you take me to the Forbidden City? But on the surface, he still agreed. (The General Taxation Administration moved from Shanghai to Beijing in 1865, but moved back in 1929.)

But after a while, Hurd suddenly hurried back with a book, pointed to the book and asked Tangning and Heidi breathlessly, "Mr. Tangning, Mrs. Heidi, what is the book of "Tangning Manor"? Did you write it?"

Heidi nodded and replied, "Yes, if I remember correctly you should have written this before we got married!"

"Oh, I'm really stupid. When I heard the names of Mr. Tangning and Mrs. Heidi just now, I should have reacted! If I didn't knock the book off the ground when I happened to return to the room, I would have Didn't respond." Hurd blamed himself.

"Thank you for liking our work!" Heidi replied happily.

"I really like this 'Downing Manor' very much. I also like Mr. Tangning's 'Gone with the Wind'. I wonder if you have any new works recently?" Hurd asked.

Tangning nodded and replied, "There are indeed a few novels, but they haven't been released in the UK yet!"

"Oh, that's such a pity! I hope I can buy it when I go back to London next time!" Hurd said a little lonely.

Tangning thought for a while, then said, "You don't have to wait that long. When I get back to New Orleans, I will sort out my works over the years and send them to Beijing!"

"Thank you so much!" Hurd thanked.

PS: Actually, Hurd is a figure in modern history that I am very interested in. Unfortunately, writing about him could not pass the trial. Otherwise, I would definitely write a late Qing essay based on his experience.