Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 254 The truth of the opium trade

"What? Opium!"

When Liu Sheng and Ding Guofeng heard Zhao Xin who came back mention the discovery of the Elisa, they immediately became angry.

"Bastards! You still plan to treat them to dinner?! I'm going to bomb them right now!"

"Don't worry, listen to me first."

"Zhao Xin, I don't care if you want to make money from the British or not, it's nothing to talk about! If I don't beat the British to shit, my surname will not be Liu!"

"Fart your mother!" Zhao Xin was furious. He glared at Liu Sheng and said, "Okay, if you want to shoot, okay, then destroy all the sailboats on this sea!"

Liu Sheng roared: "I teach the British, what does it matter to others?!"

"Because all the galleons here are selling opium! And it's a legitimate trade!"

"."

Ding Guofeng looked at the two people who were staring at each other angrily, and quickly persuaded: "Speak up if you have something to say, what are you two arguing about?" He first persuaded the two to sit down, took out their cigarettes and lit them respectively, and then said to Zhao Xin: "Zhao Xin Anyway, don't worry, what's going on here?"

Zhao Xin sighed helplessly, and said to Liu and Ding, "I only heard a few words from the doctor, and I didn't know much about it. But I saw his expression at the time, this is normal trade. To be honest, let's do it. I have nothing to bear; but before the matter is clarified, if we act rashly, will it affect Liu Zheng and the others?"

Ding Guofeng suddenly realized: "So you want to treat them to dinner?"

Zhao Xin nodded and said, "I don't know anything about the opium trade before the Opium War. We have to figure out what's going on here."

At around [-] o'clock in the evening that day, several British people who accepted Zhao Xin's invitation boarded the Thor in full costumes.Like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden, these people followed the Lei Shen sailor who led the way and entered the restaurant on the second floor of the poop building step by step.

When they walked into the restaurant, they were immediately stunned by the sight in front of them.The long table covered with snow-white tablecloths and the back seats inlaid with blue leather; besides these, what attracted their attention the most were the large and bright windows, allowing a sweeping view of the sunset over the sea.

"My God!" Several British people were stunned and dazzled.

At this time, the three of Zhao Xin, who were wearing white captain's uniforms bought from another time and space, greeted each other with a few British people, and then invited everyone to sit down.

Briefly, this dinner made several British people very satisfied. Whether it was steak with red wine or vegetable salad, it whetted the appetite of the British who hadn't eaten fresh food for more than a month.

During the meeting, a few British people kept probing their words, inquiring about Zhao Xin’s origins, and also talked about their trade with the Manchus in this era, which gave Zhao Xin and the others a preliminary understanding of the import and export trade in Guangzhou at that time. .

The cigarettes and coffee and snacks after the meal made the British people envious, and the topic also opened up a lot.At this time, Captain Marquis made a request to visit the ship, and Zhao Xin and the three readily agreed.So apart from the cockpit and engine room, Zhao Xin and others took these people around to visit and explain.

These British people were extremely shocked by the steel and mechanical equipment that could be seen everywhere.They could not have imagined that this group of Seres people who called themselves "Han Chinese" were so advanced and developed.

Zhao Xin took advantage of the opportunity to show the other party around, and vaguely brought the topic to the opium trade, making Captain Ravi think that he also wanted to buy some opium.At this point, Zhao Xin hoped that the other party could explain the situation of the opium trade.

"Captain Ravi, although I have heard that opium is extracted from poppies, we really don't know much about it. As I said before, the area where we Siris live is extremely cold, so many people even Never heard of it."

As soon as he said this, Liu Sheng and Ding Guofeng immediately pretended to be curious.

Well, in view of the gracious hospitality of the Serisians, the hostility of Captain Ravi and others has been eliminated a lot.When everyone came to the main deck, enjoying the sea breeze, coffee and cigarettes, the topic of the opium trade finally started.

Dr. Higgins, a part-time botanist, first said: "Gentlemen, there are about dozens of species of poppy, but only opium poppy and bract poppy are the two species that can produce opium. Production is mainly of the opium poppy species.”

Opium, the name is actually derived from the Greek word "opion", and the Arabs call it afyun (Afulong).It was not until the 15th century that the word "opium" appeared in Chinese classics.During the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Xi, the general of Gansu Province, learned the method of extracting opium from Muslims.However, this technology was not popularized, and an opium consumption market was not formed in the Ming Dynasty; at this time, opium was mainly used to treat diseases such as dysentery and vomiting.

Zhao Xin and the others all know that to obtain opium is to cut open the skin of the poppy fruit with a knife, which has been seen in film and television works in another time and space.But what they don't know is that the collected white juice will turn into a brown or black solid after oxidation. This directly collected opium is called raw opium. The surface is dry and brittle, and the inside is soft and sticky.

And only half a gram of raw opium can be obtained from a poppy head, so to produce 1 catty of opium, you need to collect a thousand poppy fruit.Raw opium becomes cooked opium after it has been dissolved, boiled or fermented.

I just listened to Captain Ravi's introduction: "The quality of opium should be identified by its texture, color, smell and other characteristics. Good opium is quite solid in texture, dark yellow when small pieces are transparent, and almost black when large pieces, with a strong smell , there is no rustling feeling to the touch. But if the texture is very soft, it is usually not a good product.”

Dr. Higgins further explained: "The best opium is mainly produced in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, and Benares. The opium in these places is collectively called 'Bengal opium', but the best quality belongs to From Bihar. And the Mawa opium from Rajputana and the Central Indian states is also of good quality."

In this era, it is not possible to talk about the medicinal analysis of opium, but later studies in the mid-19th century found that Anacortin contained in opium has a good clinical effect on intermittent fever and malaria; The addictive part is only about 5% to 6% in opium.As for the addictive morphine, each unit of mawa opium in this era is only 4.61%.

In the chats of a group of British people, it was mentioned how Indians consume opium.This surprised Zhao Xin and others. The largest opium consumer group in this era is not Chinese, but Indians.

Just listen to Higgins' introduction: "There are opium addicts all over India, but there are more opium addicts in the north than in the south. Bangladesh, Rajputana, Central India, Gujarat, and Punjab in the north are all big consumer provinces. Among the Rajputanas and among the Sikhs of Punjab, opium smoking is very prevalent."

Liu Sheng asked curiously: "How do they smoke? Do they use big smoking guns?"

Higgins asked in surprise: "Smoking gun? Sorry, I have never heard of it. Indians make opium into small pills or bars. They call this 'Abu Kali', or directly Swallow it, or mix it with other medicines and spices to make a small pill called 'Baraguri'. As for the local nobles, they mix opium in their drinks."

"Ah?" Now it was Zhao Xin and the three who were in a daze.

"Gentlemen, in fact, Indians consume opium for three purposes. Muslim law prohibits drinking alcohol, Hinduism also opposes alcoholism, and Brahmins are strictly restricted from drinking alcohol. Therefore, the doctrine of alcohol prohibition makes Indians use opium in religious celebrations. Alternative to alcohol to create a festive atmosphere."

Ding Guofeng asked: "Mr. Higgins, you just mentioned three, what about the others?"

Captain Marquis interjected: "Medicine, you all know this. The last one is murder or suicide. When Indians execute their political opponents, they usually give the opponent a glass of water mixed with opium. After drinking for a period of time, the opponent will die." become idiots."

"What about the opium trade?" Zhao Xin finally asked the question he was most concerned about.

Captain Ravi suddenly said: "Mr. Zhao, I don't understand why you are so interested in this issue. But what I can tell you is that the Portuguese were the first to transport opium from Goa to Guangzhou; after that, there were the Dutch. Opium is only a small part of our annual trade with the Qing Dynasty. In addition to the dozens of boxes of opium on the Eliza, there are also sugar, cotton, woolen wool and cupronickel produced in India. If you are interested, I can Sell ​​you some of it."

Zhao Xin smiled, this topic should not be brought up again, so they chatted about other topics.

In fact, everyone present did not know why the opium trade did not rise on a large scale from the late Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty.This is due to one person, that is Zheng Chenggong!
In the middle of the 17th century, when opium began to spread in Southeast Asia and the Dutch frantically opened up the opium market in Southeast Asia, China was experiencing a period of great change in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.After the Qing army entered the customs, the anti-Qing armed forces all over the coast retreated steadily.In order to block the landing of the anti-Qing armed forces, the Qing Dynasty issued the "Moving to the Sea Order", which basically cut off domestic and foreign trade.

(I remember that in a certain movie, it was stated that the "Moving to the Sea Order" was promulgated by Shunzhi in support of Zheng Chenggong's restoration of Taiwan. I really don't know what the intention is! Praising the Manchu Qing can't be nonsense!)

When Zheng Chenggong regained Taiwan, he expelled the Dutch, the largest drug trafficking group in the world at that time.These events delayed the spread of opium in China to a certain extent.And when Kangxi lifted the sea ban in 1683, the rebellion in San Francisco was over, the Zheng family in Taiwan had surrendered, and the domestic political situation tended to be stable. Those Fujianese expatriates who returned from Java came back with opium at this time.

In the early 18th century, the method of smoking opium began to spread rapidly in China.The spread of opium smoke is faster than that of swallowing opium, which is due both to its stronger addictive properties and to the already strong habit of tobacco smoking.

Historically, when the Qing court officially promulgated the "No Smoking" penalty regulations in the seventh year of Yongzheng, 200 cases of opium were imported through Guangdong every year, which is 2 catties.According to the estimation of the popular swallowing method at that time, it would be enough for more than [-] people to take it for a year at most.

In the 51st year of Qianlong's reign, the number of opium imported each year has risen to more than 2000 boxes, which can be used by nearly 20 people for a year.Since the seventh year of Yongzheng, the amount of opium imported by China has increased by 4% year by year, and the scale has become larger and larger.It's just that the import and export trade of the Qing Dynasty is still in a superior position, and whether Qianlong or the officials are concerned, they only care about how much money they earn, and they don't take opium seriously at all.

Zhao Xin, Liu Sheng and the others did not know at this time that in the 50th year of Qianlong last year, that is, in 1785, the way of opium smoking in China has changed from swallowing to the era of smoking guns!

This change in the way of smoking also caused the CIF price of opium to soar from 1.3 taels of silver per catty to 2 taels of silver, and it has remained high for a long time after that, making the sale of opium to China the most profitable business for businessmen from all over the world.

And Liu Zheng, who just arrived in Guangzhou, witnessed this change with his own eyes.

It is said that Liu Zheng and his party of 33 people only disembarked from the pier on the Pearl River in the evening, and then took the Cai family's carriage to the Shisanhang Street.The distance from the wharf to Shisanhang Street was not far, and soon Liu Zheng saw the barrier on the east side of Shisanhang Street.

At this time, the lights were just coming on, looking through the gaps in the curtains of the carriage car, people could be seen on the street inside the gate, and the shops were all brightly lit.Liu Zheng was about to wait for the carriage to get closer and take a closer look, but the leading carriage turned to the left and soon stopped at the entrance of a Western-style business house.

At this time, Liu Zheng only heard someone outside the carriage say "here we are", so he didn't care about the servants to wait on him, and hurriedly opened the curtain to take a look, only to see a big red lantern hanging high outside the gate, which was extremely festive. More than 30 well-dressed male servants lined up at the door, and Cai Shiwen's housekeeper stepped forward and said to Liu Zheng, "Master Liu, we are here."

Liu Zheng got out of the carriage and saw that his subordinates had also got out of the carriage, so he asked curiously, "Where is this place? I mean what is the name of this street?"

The housekeeper said: "This is called Jingyuan Street, and going further west is Jinghai Gate."

Liu Zheng nodded. He knew that if there were no accidents, he would only be able to move around the fences on both sides of this street in the future.At this time, the group of people who suddenly appeared at the entrance of Wanhe Xing attracted countless attentions from around.The group of people did not let the servants help with their luggage, but hurried into the store.After a day of sailing, Liu Zheng and the others were all shaken badly, and their complexions were not very good; and Liu Zheng himself was in a hurry to wash up.

After following the housekeeper to his residence, Liu Zheng took a quick look around and said to the housekeeper, "Please bring some hot water, I want to wash my face."

After he washed up and took two sips of hot tea, he felt much better.He was carefully looking at the furnishings in the house, and when he couldn't stop admiring, the housekeeper knocked on the door again.

"Master Liu, my master asks you to move around to relieve your fatigue."

Liu Zhengxin said that it was different in ancient times, to relieve fatigue, listen, it must be a beautiful girl massage and fan, if you can soak your feet again, it will be even more refreshing.

But when he followed the housekeeper through the yard and came to the flower hall in the front yard, he saw an extremely exquisite Luohan couch on the west side of the room with a small table on it, and Cai Shiwen, the owner of Wanhehang, was Sitting on the left side of the Arhat couch, he greeted Liu Zheng with a charming smile.

"Brother Liu, the journey has been tiring, please come here to relieve your fatigue."

Liu Zheng's shocked eyes almost popped out, he was too familiar with this scene.Cai Shiwen wants to ask him to smoke opium!

"There are big smoking guns in this year?" When Liu Zheng was still stunned, Cai Shiwen was still smiling and said, "Brother Liu, please hurry up! Take a puff, it will relieve fatigue and make you feel comfortable. This is more effective than anything else. "

"Boss Cai, what are you smoking?" There was an inexplicable sweet smell in the flower hall, and Liu Zheng thought it smelled like apples.In fact, when opium is ignited, it smells like apples, and the higher the purity, the stronger the taste, but Liu Zheng doesn't know it.

"The name of this thing is A Furong. Brother Liu, you come from overseas. I'm afraid you don't know the fun in it. You know, we used to make it with various medicinal materials and swallow it; but now the bamboo is inlaid as a tube, and the smoke is picked out of the box. It's really a great joy in life! Please sit down and order a dip for Mr. Liu." While smoking a big cigarette, Cai Shiwen turned his head and ordered the servant girl to come and serve him.

I drop a mother!After waking up, Liu Zheng ran back in fright.This is only 1786, and there are still more than 50 years before the Opium War!

He didn't reply and said, "I'm sorry! I really have no luck!"

Seeing the other party turn around and leave, Cai Shiwen, the butler and the maids all looked at each other in blank dismay.What did we say wrong?

When it was time for dinner, when Cai Shiwen came to invite him personally, Liu Zheng didn't save face, so he reluctantly attended.

The banquet at Wanhehang was very rich, but Liu Zheng had something on his mind, so he ate a few mouthfuls casually, and after toasting a few glasses of wine with Cai Shiwen, he asked, "Boss Cai, when did this big smoking gun start to exist?" of?"

Cai Shiwen smiled and said, "Last year."

"Oh? Did this come from foreigners?"

"Hehe, I didn't expect my brother to be interested in this thing." Cai Shiwen spread a spoonful of food for Liu Zheng, and then continued to explain: "I heard about it too. A few years ago, there was a woman in eastern Guangdong. She became a nun. The year before last, this woman suffered from a strange disease and her legs were paralyzed. This woman also had a lot of money in her family, so her relatives searched for all the rare things in order to make her laugh. Later, someone gave her a bamboo stick One, one bottle of toilet water, one lamp for foreigners' dances, and one container of opium paste. This woman used foreign lamps to bake opium paste in her spare time, and just accidentally invented this method. Who would have thought that at the end of last year, Bong smoking is very popular in Guangzhou, and even people in Fujian have started to use this method.”

"Clang!" The ivory chopsticks in Liu Zheng's hand fell to the plate, and he was stunned.What he never expected and could not accept was that the big smoking gun was actually invented by the Chinese!
　Speaking of poppy, it was introduced in the Tang Dynasty, but it was only used as an ornamental flower at that time.In the Song Dynasty, the cultivation of poppies was widely promoted. In addition to ornamental, poppy seeds, also known as poppy rice, were also used as medicinal materials.The so-called "relaxes the mouth and sharpens the throat, regulates the lungs and nourishes the stomach."

　　
　
(End of this chapter)