The six-dimensional pictures of emperors of all dynasties were exposed, and the ancestors panicked

Chapter 752: Relaxation of Opium Ban and Strict Prohibition of Opium
The graceful flower stem stands out alone, about three feet high.

There is a single large flower at the top.

The four slightly wrinkled petals glow faintly.

White, red, pink and purple are all bright.

……

Tang Dynasty and Emperor Gaozu's period
Li Yuan and his companions looked at each other.

"Is this thing poisonous?"

Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin were equally confused.

If you're talking about opium, we don't know.

But you said opium...

Isn't that an ornamental plant?

The vast plains of western Sichuan are filled with this kind of stuff!
"Aye..."

Li Shimin couldn't help but call out.

Li Yuan glared at him and said unhappily:

"I know!"

"Do I need you to teach me how to do things?"

"Draw the picture first!"

……

Song Dynasty: Zhezong Period
The corners of Zhao Xu's mouth couldn't help twitching.

Sima Guang couldn't help but gasp.

"This……"

Zhao Xu subconsciously picked up the teacup beside him, took a sip, and then said:
"I remember... to treat vomiting, abdominal pain, dysentery, cough and other diseases... you just need to fry poppy seeds and poppy shells, grind them into powder, add honey to make honey pills and eat them, right?"

Sima Guang didn't know what to say for a moment, so he just nodded and said:
"There are indeed folk practices of using opium poppy as a tonic..."

Zhao Xu remained silent, took another sip of tea, and said softly:
"...This good thing should be shared with Liao and Xia..."

Sima Guang glanced sideways.

"Your Majesty...this..."

Zhao Xu calmly accepted the other person's gaze.

"Annual payment... How normal."

……

Ming dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked!

"Don't they know this stuff is poisonous?"

Empress Ma was a little curious. She looked at Old Zhu and asked:

"How did you know?"

Zhu Biao also asked:
"Dad, Su Che of the Song Dynasty once wrote "Growing Medicinal Seedlings". In the poem, he said that poppies are comparable to spring vegetables and autumn grains. If the elderly have weak qi and don't want to eat, boil poppy seeds in honey water and drink it instead of tea. It can relieve constipation, soothe the throat, regulate the lungs and nourish the stomach."

"How do you know it's poisonous?"

Zhu Yuanzhang straightened his waist, raised his head, curled the corners of his mouth, and squinted his eyes.

"Huh, you don't know!"

"We've traveled all over the country, what haven't we seen?"

Then he said seriously:

"I have to say, this thing is great for relieving coughs and diarrhea, but it can also kill people like a sword."

"But apart from treating illnesses, no one eats it often."

"No one is going to do this... opium..."

……

[However, until the Ming Dynasty, opium poppy was only used as an ornamental plant and for medicinal purposes, and was not used as a drug. ]

[It was not until the Ming Dynasty that people learned to make opium from poppies. Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica has detailed records of the method.]

[However, swallowing opium is very harmful. If you accidentally overdose, you will die. ]

[In the 1589th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty (), the Land Tax Code explicitly stipulated that opium should be taxed as imported medicinal materials, "two cents of silver for every ten catties, which was the beginning of China's taxation."]

[In the fourth year of the Tianqi reign (1624), the Dutch occupied Taiwan for forty years.]

[During this period, they introduced the Javanese method of smoking opium to Taiwan, and from Taiwan to Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, and Xiamen.]

[This created conditions for the massive importation of opium.]

……

Ming Dynasty - Tianqi Period
Zhu Youxiao scratched his head in annoyance.

He stood up and paced back and forth.

"Why are there so many troubles?"

"Dutch……"

"A group of people are determined to kill me!"

……

[In the 1757nd year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (), Britain occupied Bengal, the opium producing area of ​​India.]

[In view of the high profits that could be obtained from the opium trade, Britain determined its opium policy in the 38th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign and granted the British East India Company the monopoly on opium.]

[In the second year of Jiaqing (1797), the East India Company was granted the privilege of manufacturing opium.]

[The East India Company used these privileges to force and lure Indian farmers with loans to grow poppies, which were then sold to the official Monopoly Bureau at a predetermined price.]

[After being processed by the Monopoly Bureau, it was auctioned off to merchants in the market and smuggled into China. Since then, the amount of opium exported to China has increased rapidly.]

……

The sky is divided into left and right.

On the left is a table showing the growth rate of opium.

"In the seventh year of Yongzheng's reign (1729), the amount of opium imported into China each year did not exceed 200 boxes."

"In the 1767nd year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1000), boxes were produced each year."

"From the fifth to the twenty-fifth year of Jiaqing (1800-1820), the average annual import of opium was more than 4000 boxes."

"From the first to the fourth year of Daoguang's reign (1821-1824), an average of 7889 boxes were imported each year."

"From the fifth to the ninth year of Daoguang's reign (1825-1829), an average of 12576 boxes were imported each year."

"From the tenth to the fourteenth year of Daoguang's reign (1830-1834), an average of 20331 boxes were imported each year."

"From the 1835th to the 1838th year of Daoguang's reign (35445-), an average of boxes were imported each year."

"From the 1838th to the 1839th year of Daoguang's reign (40200-), the import volume reached boxes."

On the right is a small square room with only one window and two low beds covered with straw mats.

There was a small, mottled wooden table on the low bed, and in the middle of the table was a dirty tray, on which lay a large smoking pipe and a smoking lamp.

A skinny man picked up the pipe and heated the lamp.

During this time, he yawned repeatedly.

He even dry-heaved a few times, and his whole body slowly shrank.

He stared at the bong, watching the smoke rise.

I couldn't wait to put the pipe in my mouth.

"Whoo~"

The sky is filled with clouds and mist.

The dim eyes revealed a gleam of light.

……

In the seventh year of Yongzheng's reign (1729), the Qing court issued its first anti-smoking decree, stipulating that those who trafficked in opium would be "shackled for one month and sent to the border as soldiers"; those who privately opened opium dens would be "delayed in prison"; and those civil and military officials who failed to supervise would be "handed over to the Ministry for severe punishment"]

[However, this imperial edict did not involve opium smokers, nor did it prohibit imports. The customs regulations still included opium taxes under the category of medicinal materials, thus leaving a big loophole for the colonists to import opium into China.]

[During the Qianlong reign, a ban was issued, but to no avail.]

[In the first year of Jiaqing (1796), another ban was issued to stop collecting opium taxes and prohibit the import of opium. Later, the import, sale, cultivation and smoking of opium were strictly prohibited.]

【The opium trade became completely illegal.】

【But Britain would never give up the opium trade, so since it could not sell it openly, it switched to smuggling.】

[They used bribery to change the storage location of opium to Macau, and then transported it to Huangpu by boat. They did not go ashore and sold it privately beside the boat.]

[The Qing Dynasty's "anti-smuggling patrol ships" were bribed and protected opium smuggling.]

……Qianlong Period of the Qing Dynasty
Qianlong's face turned dark as he looked at the sky.

Its own anti-smoking policy is still to ban only opium smoking, not opium imports.

It seems that only banning the sale and establishment of opium dens, but not the smoking and importing of opium, cannot eliminate the source of the drug from the source, and it is difficult to play a substantial role in banning smoking.

In this respect, he is not as good as Yongyan...

"From today on, the import of opium is strictly prohibited, and the cultivation of poppies in the mainland is also prohibited."

Qianlong glanced at his ministers.

No discussion, just notification.

"Chongwenmen is responsible for taxation, and it is afraid that it cannot be thorough if it only inspects the ports under its jurisdiction."

"The commander of the infantry and the imperial censors of the five cities are ordered to conduct strict inspections at all gates. If anyone is caught, he shall be executed according to the law and his tobacco products shall be destroyed."

"As for the places where Fujian and Guangdong produce, the relevant governors and customs officials shall conduct an investigation and ban, and cut off the source of the products. They shall not treat it as a mere formality and allow them to be evaded."

"Any ship carrying opium will be immediately arrested and punished according to the law."

"If any clerk of the committee sells information or commits corruption, they will be severely punished."

"If they are selling goods in the mainland, once they are discovered, we will find out where they come from and who bought them from."

"You can't use the excuse of buying from a merchant ship whose name you don't know."

"Supervisors and officials who failed to supervise the sale and release will be severely punished."

Qianlong glanced at the official from the Ministry of Justice and said coldly:

"Establish laws and regulations to determine the punishment for any merchant who sells opium."

"What crime should be charged against the guards and officials who bought food?"

"What crime should be charged against soldiers and civilians who buy food?"

"After the report is finalized, it will be issued."

……

[In the first year of Daoguang's reign (1821), the Qing Dynasty reiterated the ban, prohibiting the storage and sale of opium in Macau and Huangpu.]

[British opium dealers established a smuggling base in Lingdingyang outside the mouth of the Pearl River, moored fixed "barges" on Lingding Island, stored opium shipped from overseas, and protected it with warships.]

[They also seduced local gangs in Guangzhou and secretly sold opium in the name of opening other shops, which were called "big kiln mouths."]

[Chinese opium dealers went to Dayaokou to see the samples, then paid the money, got Dayaokou's delivery note, and went to the barge to borrow money.]

[The opium was transported to various places by special fast ships that were specially responsible for armed smuggling. These ships were called "Kuai Xie" or "Ba Long".]

[After opium was transported to the inland areas, local yamen clerks, military officers, and local thugs opened "small kilns" and sold it to various towns and villages.]

In the 1834th year of Emperor Daoguang’s reign (), the British government abolished the East India Company’s monopoly on trade with China, and the British Foreign Office directly sent commercial supervisors to China to direct “trade” with China, which led to the rampant opium smuggling.

……

{At this time, with the spread of tobacco and drugs, the social crisis it caused was becoming increasingly serious.}
{In the 1835th year of Emperor Daoguang's reign (), the number of opium addicts in the Qing Dynasty exceeded two million, and the epidemic area had expanded from the coastal areas to more than a dozen provinces in the interior.}
{Among opium smokers are nobles, bureaucrats, landlords, merchants, government servants, soldiers, vagrants, beggars and other people, and the vast majority are the exploiting class and its dependents.}
{The huge amount of money they spent on opium was then passed on to the common people, making the already heavy exploitation even heavier.}
{The spread of opium and drugs caused a large amount of silver to flow out, which in turn caused silver to become more expensive and coins to become cheaper, thus directly threatening the lives of the people.}
{In some areas, the silver-to-coin exchange rate was about one ounce of silver for one thousand copper coins.}
{In the tenth year of Daoguang's reign (1830), the price rose to over 1836 wen, and in the sixteenth year of Daoguang's reign (), it rose to over wen.}
{However, during the same period, the prices of industrial and agricultural products did not change.}
{The few products that farmers and artisans had were sold sporadically and could only be exchanged for copper coins.}
{But when they pay various taxes, they have to convert them into silver.}
{This means that in the past, one thousand coins could be exchanged for one ounce of silver, but now it has to be more than 1,600 coins.}
{The more silver flows out, the worse the people's lives become.}
{Some people have verified that from 1800 to 1839, the outflow of silver from China due to the opium smuggling trade totaled as much as million taels.}
{Social wealth vanished in the mist of poisonous smoke, and China's long-standing trade surplus turned into a trade deficit due to the large-scale opium smuggling by the West into China. The national finances fell into a difficult situation, and the national strength was severely weakened.}
{The outflow of silver made the already difficult finances even more difficult.}
{After being corroded by the poisonous fog, the wind of corruption became more rampant and the governance of officials became worse.}
{The soldiers' addiction to opium has caused the army to lose its fighting power.}
{It must be said that during the reign of Emperor Jiaqing, he repeatedly issued orders, starting with banning imports, stopping opium taxes, strictly prohibiting trafficking and evasion, legislating to severely punish imperial guards, military and civilians for smoking opium, rectifying the administration of officials, and holding customs supervisors and coastal governors accountable for negligence.}
｛Overall, the anti-smoking policy during the Jiaqing period was more resolute than that during the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods, and the measures were increasingly strict and complete, which played an important role in the history of anti-smoking in the Qing Dynasty.｝
……

Ming Dynasty Wanli Period
Zhu Yijun looked at the Qing territory shrouded in black fog.

Thinking of those soldiers who didn’t look like generals at all.

"It's really... a plan to wipe out the entire family..."

He glanced at the eunuchs serving inside and outside and called him in.

"Draft an order: those who engage in opium trafficking will be punished by being shackled for one month and sent to the border guards as if they were buying contraband goods."

"If anyone opens an opium den privately and lures children from decent families, he shall be executed according to the law on misleading the public with heresy."

"Wait for the hanging of the servants."

"Boat owners, land guards, and neighborhood protectors shall be punished with 1,000 strokes of the cane and exiled 3,000 miles."

"All local civil and military officials at the ports who failed to supervise and oversee the customs will be handed over to the Ministry and dismissed from their posts."

The eunuch received the order and hurried down.

Zhu Yijun had a cold expression on his face.

"Dutch……"

……

Qing Dynasty, Jiaqing Period
"That didn't give me any extra points..."

Jiaqing muttered to himself.

Mian Ning, who was brought to the side, whispered:

"Is it possible... that it has already been added?"

Jiaqing glared at him.

If you can't speak, then shut up!

And said:

"Immediately inform all foreign merchants that opium mud is produced by foreigners and is not allowed to be brought into the interior privately."

"In the future, if any foreign ship smuggles opium mud again, the soldiers and others will conduct a strict search on the day of import. Once found, in addition to burning and drowning the opium mud, the smugglers will be punished from the beginning, and there will be no leniency!"

……

[After the 1833th year of Daoguang's reign (), in response to the rapid increase in opium imports and the large outflow of silver, some bad gentry in Guangzhou began to advocate the relaxation of the ban on opium.]

[In the 1836th year of Emperor Daoguang’s reign (), Xu Naiji, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, submitted a memorial entitled “The stricter the ban on opium, the greater the harm caused, and the urgent request for flexible measures.”]

【It is proposed that strict prohibition will not only lead to many malpractices, but the stricter the prohibition, the greater the malpractices. 】

[It is also impossible to stop trade and order a closure. ]

【Therefore, the only solution is to relax the ban.】

[The relaxation of the ban is divided into three aspects: First, foreign merchants are allowed to import opium and pay taxes as medicinal materials, which can increase the government's revenue.]

[After opium was imported, “it was only allowed to be exchanged for goods, and it was not allowed to be purchased with silver” to prevent the outflow of silver. ]

【Second, if poppy cultivation is allowed in the interior, then "the number of poppies in the interior will increase day by day, and the profits of the foreigners will decrease day by day. When there is no profit to be made, the number of foreigners coming in will naturally stop if there is no ban." Moreover, cultivation in the interior "will not harm the local area, but will greatly benefit the farmers." 】

【Third, officials were prohibited from smoking opium, but not civilians. Only officials, scholars, and soldiers were prohibited from smoking opium, while "ignorant and unemployed people" were allowed to do as they pleased.】

……

{Isn't this legalized? Isn't this a case of a gangster? Fuck you!}

{This is a good idea... He is a talented person, the emperor must use him. Since we can't ban him anyway, why not give him a try by lifting the ban? How about it? Think about it quickly?}

{So for a period of time this thing became the new flagship product of the Qing Dynasty. When the farmers saw that this thing was profitable, they were overjoyed. I know how to farm!}
{So it was exported overseas... From the United States to Australia, wherever there were people with pigtails, there were smoking dens.}
……

Big man.

"Damn it!"

Liu Bang put his hands on his hips and cursed:
“This Xu Naiji!”

"The starting point is to think about the outflow of silver from the country, and not to think about the people who were harmed by these opiums!"

"It's still the same chaos of the overall order from point to surface!"

"Look at his condescending attitude!"

"I bother!"

Liu Bang spat into the sky.

"You don't care about the suffering of the people at all!"

“No empathy at all!”

"Anyone who believes his words is the biggest idiot in the world!"

Lu Zhi sat at the table with her eyes slightly narrowed.

"Maybe he has interests with outsiders."

……

【The 1838th day of the fourth month of the 6th year of Daoguang’s reign (June 2, ).】

[Honglu Temple Minister Huang Juezi submitted a memorial requesting strict sealing of leaky cups to strengthen the foundation of the country]

【From the perspective of national finance, he detailed the serious harm caused by the massive import of opium, the outflow of silver, and the high price of silver and low price of coins, and pointed out sharply: "If the price of silver continues to rise over the next three or four years, how can we cancel the tax? How can we clear the excessive taxes? How can we pay for unexpected expenses?"】

[It proposed a strict prohibition plan of "severely punishing opium users", advocating that opium users must quit within one year. If they fail to quit within the deadline, ordinary people will be sentenced to death, and officials will be punished with a heavier crime, and they will be executed and their descendants will not be allowed to take the imperial examination. In order to prevent the escape of the net, it is also proposed that five neighbors guarantee each other, and those who report it will be rewarded, and those who cover it up will be punished. ]

[This memorial caused a strong reaction in the court, and Emperor Daoguang sent it to the generals of Shengjing, Jilin, and Heilongjiang, as well as the governors of various provinces, for discussion and reply.]

[Soon the court received 29 memorials in response to the imperial order. Except for He Changling, the governor of Guizhou, who had a special opinion, the other governors and officials believed that "the high price of silver in the mainland was due to the export of silver, and the export of silver was due to the spread of opium." Therefore, they all agreed to strictly ban opium. ]

[However, opinions differ on how to more effectively ban opium and the key points of the crackdown.]

Some fully supported or basically agreed with Huang Juezi's opinion, some advocated plugging the loophole to make up for the loss, and first punishing the traffickers and the opium den operators, some advocated that the import of opium ships should be strictly prohibited and barges should be checked and expelled, and some advocated that the ban on the seaport should be strictly enforced first, and then the crime of opening opium dens should be added. 】

[Some advocate that the unscrupulous merchants who attract people to Haikou should be severely punished first, while others advocate that the officials who smoke cigarettes should be severely punished first, etc.]

【Based on the discussions among the governors of each province, a strict ban on smoking began to be put into practice and gradually became a movement.】

It is getting harder to write...

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(End of this chapter)