History can't bear to look at the complete collection

Chapter 67
The Mystery of the Life and Death of Lin Zexu, Minister of No Smoking
林则徐生于1785年8月30日（乾隆50年），卒于1850年11月22日（道光30年），，福建侯官人。他是中华民族抵御外辱过程中伟大的民族英雄，因主张严禁鸦片、抵抗西方的侵略、坚持维护中国主权和民族利益深受全世界中国人的敬仰。

道光18年(1838年)，道光皇帝特命林则徐为钦差大臣赴粤查办禁烟。道光19年四月22日(1839年6月3日)，林则徐在虎门海滩上将从英国手里收缴全部鸦片近2万箱（约237万余斤）当众销毁，沉重地打击了侵略者的嚣张气焰。

Lin Zexu made great contributions in fighting against Yingying, but was framed by the surrender faction.In the 21st year of Daoguang (July 1841, 7), in order to please the British imperialists, the fatuous and headstrong Emperor Daoguang dismissed Lin Zexu, who had made the first contribution to banning opium in Guangdong, from his posts as imperial envoy and governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and was transferred to the Zhejiang military camp " Condemning crimes and making meritorious deeds".A month later, Lin Zexu was decreed by Emperor Daoguang again to "send him to Yili to serve as atonement." He endured the humiliation and embarked on the journey of Xu.

In the 30th year of Daoguang (1850), the Qing government appointed him as an imperial envoy to supervise the military affairs of Guangxi in order to suppress the Taiping Army.He left his hometown of Fujian with his son Lin Congyong and his confidant Liu Cunren, and went straight to Guangxi.When a group of people passed through Puning, Guangdong, Lin Zexu suddenly fell ill, and his condition became more and more serious, and he fell unconscious. On November 1850, 11, Lin Zexu died suddenly at the club in Puning County, Chaozhou, at the age of 22.

As for why Lin Zexu died of a sudden illness, folks believe that he may have been framed.Because Lin Zexu vigorously banned smoking in Guangdong, he offended many people, and it is possible to be poisoned to death.As for the person who poisoned him, it was rumored that Zheng Fa, the cook Lin Zexu hired when he was investigating opium in Guangzhou, was convicted and exiled to Yili, and Zheng Fa took refuge in foreigners.

According to rumors, Lin Zexu yelled "Xingdounan" before his death. According to Fuzhou dialect, "Xingdounan" means "Xindoulan".And Xindoulan is near Shisanhang in Guangzhou.According to the analysis of Lin Lancen, the great-grandson of Lin Zexu, the thirteen merchants in Guangdong were those who ate barbarians and hated Lin Gong very much. They were afraid that he would do bad things again, so they bribed the cook Zheng Fa to cook porridge for Lin with croton, a very powerful laxative. After drinking, Mr. Lin became very sick and died of exhaustion.Some people even directly named Mr. Lin. The one who hated Mr. Lin the most was the Wu family, the general manager of the merchant business. Hearing that Mr. Lin was back in charge of Cantonese affairs, he was terrified, so he sent his cronies to bring huge sums of money to Mr. Lin's chef.After Lin Zexu's death, there was a legend in the Guangdong area: Someone saw with his own eyes that in an inn in Guangzhou, a confidant of Wu Shaorong, the head of Thirteen Foreign Firms, whispered to Zheng Fa, and there was a pile of white ingots on the table.Others said that the armrest of Lin Zexu's sedan chair was smeared with poison...
In recent years, based on the newly discovered Obituary of Lin Zexu and the Letter to Chen Zimao written by Lin Ruzhou, Lin Zexu's son, some people believe that the cause of Lin Zexu's death was neither poisoned nor diarrhea.From November 11th to 12th, Lin Zexu had been on the road without taking any medicine, so his vomiting and diarrhea were already serious. After taking the "neutralizing agent" on the 15th and 15th, the vomiting and diarrhea situation improved, but Lin Zexu continued to work day and night with the illness, toiled and jolted, and his body could not get rest. Jue" has caused old heart and lung diseases, so that "both channels are empty, panting up and down", and "wheezing becomes worse".In the case of a great loss of vitality and a cold spleen and stomach, the doctor "administered heavy doses of ginseng and osmanthus" and "continuously added ginseng". He was already 16 years old, and he couldn't stand the bumpy road, and eventually he couldn't be saved.

There are other theories about the cause of Lin Zexu's sudden death, but they are still divergent, and it has become a mystery for more than 100 years.

(End of this chapter)