Chapter 8 opium

As the famous historian Jiang Tingfu said: Before the Opium War, we refused to give equal treatment to foreign countries; after that, they refused to give us equal treatment. The British who have not obtained the status of equal treatment have lost their patience. They don't want to go to Beijing to pursue the right to free trade. They plan to use their best methods to get everything done in Guangzhou! The British turned their attention to a plant or crop.This kind of plant is called poppy, which blooms gorgeous and beautiful flowers when planted in the soil, but if used in the hands of robbers, it will become a boundless crime.And it was opium extracted from poppies that opened the door to the Qing Dynasty.

Many people believe that before the Opium War, opium was the largest product of British trade with China. Wrong, in fact, the biggest commodity is cotton. However, although the amount of opium is not as large as that of cotton, the role of opium is far better than that of cotton, because opium not only quickly regained the disadvantages in trade for Britain, but also allowed Britain to earn a trade surplus of millions of taels of silver from China every year . How could opium sell so well in China? The truth of the matter is this: On the one hand, it is because of the characteristics of opium-once ingested, it is easy to become addicted.However, in the Qing Dynasty, there were many people with high officials and rich salary but no serious business, especially the royal family and the children of the Eight Banners. Apart from gambling, they were naturally addicted to drugs. These idlers were the first loyal opium merchants. client.

In addition, these idlers have also developed a whole set of culture and tools for smoking opium, which makes opium smoking seem particularly high-end and high-end, so everyone rushes to smoke it. On the other hand, although the sale of opium was regarded as immoral by the people of the Qing Dynasty and illegal by the central government of the Qing Dynasty most of the time, it was precisely because of this that officials from all over the country, especially those in Guangzhou, could take the opportunity Find opium dealers (mainly those from the Thirteen Banks) to collect protection fees. There is no tax on black money like protection fees, so in order to grab this piece of fat, officials are desperately importing opium.As a result, the sale of opium in China became more and more prosperous. Not only did silver rush to the hands of the British, but the body and spirit of the Chinese people were also corroded more and more by opium.