37 Diplomacy: What is Opium?
When Forbes mentioned this question, Zhao Kuo's mouth suddenly frozen. He knew what the other party was referring to - even now, his Qingxiang Group still killed the enemy who was absolutely inferior in a distant place and divided their wealth.
This question also made all foreigners focus their attention on this dumbfounded marquis, and people are waiting for him to give an answer.
After a moment of silence, Zhao Kuo smiled, his words and whispered English and French synchronous translations echoed in the quiet hall: "Hate the Proprietor? Mr. Forbes, you are joking. Haven't you seen everyone in Huizhou City have a happy smile on their faces? The merchants are doing business as usual, and they are absolutely no different from what their ancestors have done for hundreds of years, and they can sell them cheaper, because I don't have corrupt officials from the Qing Dynasty here to extort; the coolies are still carrying goods for cargo ships, but no one will look down on them. They are brothers with our Taiping Army; the civilians can buy anything and do anything, and even the temple fair will be held as usual..."
"Sorry to interrupt you." Forbes smiled sinisterly, and his fluent Chinese floated in the hall: "I admire you for your efforts and achievements in maintaining the daily lives of the people in this city, but you should know what I mean. Now Guangzhou City and Hong Kong are filled with Qing gentlemen who have escaped from your territory. They are all rich people and respected in the local area. But I heard that you, whether they resist you or not, have self-defense troops, will kill all their families without hesitation, and divide all their families and their property and land accumulated over the years. So now, please answer me, do you hate these rich people and want to build your new empire by killing them and robbing them, and dividing their wealth?"
Who is the other party?
A group of bastards who are chasing wealth across the ocean!
If they think they hate the rich, what else can they talk about free trade? It’s a ghost!
How to explain the killing of the Qing Dynasty, I have to carefully consider the words and sentences. If I am not careful, I will be finished immediately!
"Damn it!" Zhao Kuo didn't say anything for a long time. The hall was silent, as if he was pushed into the bottom of the sea and could not breathe. In this darkness, he saw a sneering sneer on the corner of the mouth of the US consul, which immediately made him angry and wanted to punch him.
But an angry rebuttal brought everyone else's eyes, and Zhao Kuo's chest was completely relieved. He let out a long breath and touched the cold sweat on his head. The one who made the voice was Zhu Qingzheng, who was sitting in the fourth place.
Zhu Qingzheng heard the Chinese question from Forbes just now. He glared at Forbes, raised his fists and shouted: "Those are all evil and evil gentry! They usually rely on their relationship with the government to run rampant in the countryside, taking advantage of their relationship, robbing and oppressing good people! Where do you think their money comes from? Aren't it all exchanged for the flesh and blood of the people!"
After being interrupted by Cheng Yaojin for a moment, Forbes shrugged and smiled with a needle hidden in the cotton: "Are everyone criminals? Have they violated the laws of the Qing Dynasty? Have they been tried fairly? I think their only death penalty is that they have wealth!"
This sharp remark immediately aroused the discussion of the delegation. Zhao Kuo stared at the American delegation with gritted teeth and finally smelled the smell.
"This is my brigade coach, a brave soldier." Zhao Kuo said loudly, interrupting the whispering within the delegation, as if a lawyer was talking in later courts. He did not want the "jury" to be led by Forbes and regarded himself as a bandit: "But his glory is obtained by executing orders and adhering to his duties. I will answer the so-called proprietor question mentioned by Mr. Forbes."
Looking at the eyes staring at him, Zhao Kuo seemed to be back at the age of 12. At that time, his father beat people up for the protection of the fruit stall and ran away with blood. His mother was arrested because of the hair salon she opened. Grandma was also stayed for hiding banned guns. He only had keys on his neck at home, facing the inquiry of the police uncle, and he tried his best to show that he was a good child.
At that time, he deliberately performed ignorance and innocence, while at this moment he performed a nation of grief and passion, religious warriors.
He stood up and walked to the middle of the hall with a sad face. He had seen such a foreign face one by one, raised his hands weakly, and said every word with a full of grief.
"Gentlemen, please look at this continent that gave birth to me and raised me. I love her because she nurtured me. But what is she like now? There are farmers struggling on the vein of death, and there are handicraftsmen who are unable to raise their children after unemployment. They are hungry, their faces are covered with dust, and they are like dying stray dogs. They are asking, what makes life so miserable? What makes souls dim? What makes sin everywhere? Who will save us?"
Close his lips, Zhao Kuo glanced at the mission attracted by him again, sighed and suddenly changed into an angry tone. The sad atmosphere in the hall was suddenly shattered by an angry roar. Zhao Kuo clenched his fists and yelled: "It's Xianfeng sitting in Beijing! It's Qianlong! It's Kangxi! It's the damn Qing slave owners! They treat us as slaves like pigs and dogs! They are starving everywhere, corruption is rampant, and tyrannical taxes are everywhere! The Qing officials and lackeys are all edible, and the people have to sell their children to change food to eat! Why? Because of the exploitation and enslavement of the Qing Dynasty."
As he said that, he raised his hand and waved his hand to the soldiers outside the hall, shouting: "Look at me, the brave soldiers, they can charge in the rain of bullets and kill the enemy in blood. Three years ago, they were all just peaceful migrant workers! Who turned them into such a group of rebels who don't want life? It's not me, Zhao Kuo! It's the dog emperor of the Qing Dynasty! If we don't rebel or overthrow the Qing Dynasty, we will all die, and we will die miserably."
Then he raised his chin and pointed proudly at Forbes and said, "Mr. Forbes asked me just now if I hate the possessives? I can tell you clearly: I respect and love all possessives who have to rely on themselves to become rich!"
As he said that, he pointed at the foreigners one by one, and said, "Just like you, you, you, you, who become a respectable gentleman through hard work and adventure."
"But," Zhao Kuo waved his hand suddenly, clenched his fists again and roared: "How did those people I killed become rich? They became rich by colluding with the Qing slave owners. These people can rob the poor of the land without reason and raise prices for goods without scrupulously, but the poor cannot find any place to obtain a fair trial. Because the judge is one of these Qing lackeys!"
"If our Taiping Army is God's knights, and the evil gentry I killed are the devil's guardian dogs!"
"So, please tell me, Mr. Forbes, is it the Qing gentlemen in your mouth or the group of people who fight for justice and freedom? Which side is the bandits who plunder others? Should they protect their plundering privileges or execute them? Which is the more fair judgment?" Zhao Kuo pointed at Forbes' face angrily and shouted.
Looking at the mission shocked by his performance, Zhao Kuo relieved his hideous face and smiled: "I actually like the rich, and I want to be rich myself. But I can't tolerate unfair gain. Sir, please believe me, if I govern Guangzhou, I will turn this place into a trade paradise without Qing officials exploiting and tying taxes. The rich people here will flow out like a fountain. What I am sure is that there are Chinese and foreigners. Thank you, I have finished answering Mr. Forbes's question."
After saying that, Zhao Kuo bowed to the mission, smiled, and slowly stepped back to his seat and sat down.
Continue to die silence.
After a while, the British consul smiled and began to applaud politely. The delegation immediately began to applaud. While applauding, the French consul also smiled at Zhao Kuo: "Excellent speech, Mr. Marquis."
Forbes and the US Consul looked at each other, sneered and applauded for a moment.
But then, the US consul winked at Forbes, Forbes sneered, he stretched out his hand at Zhao Kuo and asked, "Marty, I heard that you prohibit opium. What do you think of products like opium?"
Zhao Kuo, who had finally managed to smooth things over the show, almost leaned directly on the back of the chair and was overwhelmed when he heard this question.
What is opium?
That was the single commodity with the largest transaction volume in the world in the 19th century!
And it is the export commodity that the world's leader in the UK makes huge profits.
U.K?
At that time, it was stronger than the United States in the 21st century, and the Empire that did not set was not a terrible one.
A simple example, in 1853, in the famous Crimean Semi-War, this was the first modern war in world history: the first use of armored ships and modern explosive shells, the first trench war and stationary war, the first use of telegraph and train auxiliary war.
But a terrifying fact is: in the war between Britain, France, and Turkey, whether in France or Russia, all the ironclad ships of participating countries were built by Britain.
1875 years ago, when you bought a cylindrical ship, you could not find any other sellers on the entire earth except Britain.
In the early 21st century, the United States could not monopolize the world's top arms, there was also Russia.
The real empire of the sun never sets.
But it was this empire that never sets is a big seller of opium to the Qing Dynasty!
However, opium is an absolute drug, not only addictive but also severely exodused silver.
But the problem is that in Britain itself, opium was not considered drugs in that era!
It was not until 190 (1)7 that Britain had legislated a ban on opium, and before that, it was still rampant in his own country.
The famous "Shelf's Detective Collection" set by the author, Sherlock Holmes was about the British in the second half of the 19th century, but the protagonist is also addicted to opium, and the book also contains a description of the London Opium Pavilion.
On the eve of the First Opium War, the British Parliament held a fierce debate. Some advocated the war against the Qing Dynasty for the sake of interests, while others objected to the war for moral opposition.
Grantton, a Tory opposition party, gave the following speech:
"I don't know and have not read that there are wars that are more unjust than this war, and wars that want to bring our country to permanent shame even more than this war. The respected gentleman standing opposite talked about the British flag fluttering in the wind over Guangzhou. The flag was raised to protect the [notorious smuggling trade]; if this flag had never risen along the coast of China, and now it is raised, then we should withdraw it from there with disgust."
In this battle of interests and morality, the Tories' anti-war resolution was rejected only by five votes.
But the anti-war faction is not about opium or drugs, but about the opium trade being smuggled without permission from the Qing government!
What is morally smuggling.
Although the Qing Dynasty was poisoned by opium, looking around the world, except for the Qing Dynasty, which was killed by lightning, no country could actually be poisoned by a narcotic!
The main reason is that the gap between the rich and the poor in the Qing Dynasty was huge, and 2 million gentry earned for no effort to suppress hundreds of millions of poor people. To smoke opium, we must have money and leisure. However, the Qing Dynasty system was exactly like this, the upper class gained for no effort, but it still occupied an important position in the country such as officials, army, and officials. Even the Qing royal family hid in the temples of monks and nuns to smoke opium (Buddhism is really great).
This is equivalent to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the roundworm parasitizing in the Chinese body, taking drugs directly. Is it not a big poison?
What's ridiculous is that there were also sober roundworms in the Qing Dynasty. They believed that with the current administration and the Qing Dynasty's power against Britain, opium could not be banned at all. The ban should be lifted and tariffs should be imposed to enrich the country and strengthen the army in an attempt to fight again.
But who advocates the strict ban on opium?
Not a Taoist scholar, but a person who was just a puppy raised by the Qing Dynasty, and the title given by Qianlong as Ji Xiaolan. This group of people actually had no power except to be a sound insect.
Those who have the power to advocate strictly prohibiting opium are all the officials of the border and the Eight Banners Green Camp who can benefit from opium smuggling!
Think about it, if opium is legal, who will bribe you and make you pretend to be invisible and smuggled?
Only when it is open and uncontrollable, opium, like everyone in the upper class, can bring silver to fill the treasury of some big shots!
These people not only have power and influence, but also can use Confucian moral sticks to beat up the "banned faction" at will.
So the first and second so-called "Opium" wars broke out, and opium became legal.
The one who poisoned it was not the whole of China, but the Chinese parasites - roundworms.
This is why Britain is also poisoned by opium, but it has no severe adverse effects on society, because the whole country is not gained for nothing, and people rely on war, shipbuilding, and hard work to earn rewards to realize themselves. It is different from the roundworm elite class who gets gained for nothing.
After pondering for a long time, Zhao Kuo said: "The opium merchants I deal with are also members of the Qing Dynasty's watchdog. I believe you also know that it is impossible to do opium without a backend in the Qing Dynasty. You can't even deal with the government's bribes. I admit the legality of opium, but I will designate my legal merchants to be responsible for these businesses. I will impose appropriate import tariffs and crack down on illegal and inferior local tobacco that competes with foreign cigarettes, and ensure the trade interests of the British Empire and everyone. In a word, this kind of commodity, I think it is strategic materials and must be responsible for the state. I promise that you will never have the moral troubles of smuggling, and there will never be corruption troubles other than normal tariffs and taxes. Let us build a new Far East of free trade."
As he said that, he pointed at Zhong Jialiang, who was the last seat and shouted: "Mr. Zhong must all know him. He will be one of the opium wholesalers I designated. Now he has issued a license order at the three opium halls in Huizhou. He will be protected by law and the army, import and trade the goods he needs. Let us applaud the first legal opium merchant in the Far East."
Zhong Jialiang, who was sleepwalking, stood up amid the applause of Zhao Kuo and the foreigners. He heard Zhao Kuo's words, but his mind was blank and he could not think at all. He stood there like a piece of wood with his eyes open and his mouth open until the meeting ended.
"If there is any manure green in the future, go and scold Ma Jianzhong." Zhao Kuo looked at Zhong Jialiang and gritted his teeth and sneered.
But in this parallel world, Zhao Kuo's later generations did not have the species of feces, and the soil of this species was inferiority and ignorance. The children in later generations who were changed by Zhao Kuo did not know what inferiority is. Of course, they sympathized with the ignorant nation.
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Opium in the UK - The following is a quote
1. While the British were exporting opium to the outside world, opium in the UK was also flooded. Martinbooth's book "Opium-ahistory" can help us understand how European and American countries once misused opium: Western medical scientists in the 18th and 19th century still generally followed the view of ancient Greek doctors, treating opium as a "universal medicine" to cure all diseases, replacing the more barbaric cup sucking, bloodletting and medical leech. At that time, doctors' main name was to suppress diseases rather than cure diseases. Under such medical conditions, the anesthetic and sedative nature of opium was of great use.
Looking at the entire 19th century, opium was widely used in Britain, Western Europe and the United States, just like today's aspirin or paracetamol... From 1831 to 1895, the annual average growth rate of domestic opium consumption in the UK was 2. In addition to importing opium, the British Medical Association also established medals to promote the cultivation of domestic opium. On the one hand, the British government exported Indian opium with a morphine content of 4%-6% to China, and on the other hand, it imported Turkish opium with a morphine content of up to 10%-13% to the pharmaceutical industry. On the one hand, the British believed that smoking opium for pleasure was a "unique oriental custom", but on the other hand, they poured opium into their stomachs without any scruples in the name of curing diseases.
People in the swamp areas of the UK rely especially on opium to reduce the monotony and heavy work of agricultural labor, as well as malaria, fever, rheumatism, neuralgia and muscle pain caused by the swamp climate. In addition, opium is also formulated as a specialty drug such as dove’spoe, which can be purchased from pharmacists, grocery stores, bookstores, and even mobile vendors at a low price. Under the assumption that “opium is harmless”,
Most people accept "drug addiction" as the price to relieve the pain. The most terrible thing is the wide variety of "baby static agents" on the market. In order to reduce the burden of parenting, slum mothers, nannies, and even nannies will feed their children this poppy fruit tea. It is conceivable that children who take this type of syrup are usually grayish-skinned, malnutrition, and are in a more miserable situation than their parents. Prostitutes in the vulgar society, alcoholics use opium to fool around, instead of wine.
The nobles of the upper class, scholars use opium to enjoy and inspire inspiration; George III, the king, was fond of opium, which led to madness, and George IV, who ascended the throne, was also opium addiction (see flowersintheblood, quoted from Zhou Ning's opium that was so popular in the British Isles that Bus believes that "every British man took opium at a certain period of their lives." For ordinary Victorian people,
Eating opium is like drinking or smoking. "Even if a fatal poisoning occurs, "few doctors are willing to testify that the cause of death is attributed to opium, because it involves his peers or damages the use of opium." The remarks of doctors and drug dealers about the opium trade in China are just an extension of their condolences to their peers, which also explains why church members have not received professionals in their home country.
In 1860, the Chinese government was forced to legalize the bird tablet trade in the Treaty of Tianjin, but the British government was surprised to find that the abuse of non-medical opium by local citizens had reached the point where legislation was required. However, it was not until the end of the 19th century that with the development of special effects new drugs, the European and American medical circles began to lift the superstition of "opium cures all diseases", and the improvement of medical skills also reduced the degree of self-treatment, and the scope of application of opium was restricted accordingly.
Chapter completed!