"What? Opium!"
When Liu Sheng and Ding Guofeng heard that Zhao Xin, who had returned, mentioned the discovery of the Eliza, they immediately became angry.
"Son of a bitch! Are you planning to treat them to dinner?! I'll shoot them down and sink them now!"
"Don't worry, listen to what I have to say first."
"Zhao Xin, I don't care if you want to make money from the British, but there is no need to discuss this matter! If I don't beat the crap out of the British, my surname will not be Liu!"
"Fuck your mother!" Zhao Xin was furious. He glared at Liu Sheng and said, "Okay, you want to fire cannons, okay, then destroy all the sailboats on this sea!"
Liu Sheng roared: "What does it have to do with me teaching the British a lesson?!"
"Because all the sailboats here are selling opium! And it's a legitimate trade!"
"..."
Ding Guofeng looked at the two people who were glaring at each other, and quickly advised: "If you have something to say, let's talk about it. What are you two arguing about?" He first persuaded the two of them to sit down, took out cigarettes and lit them respectively, and then said to Zhao Xin: "Zhao Xin said: Boss, don’t worry, what’s going on here?”
Zhao Xin sighed helplessly and said to Liu and Ding: "I only listened to the doctor briefly say a few words, and didn't understand much. But from the look on his face when he spoke, this was normal trade. To be honest, do it. I have nothing to bear; but before the matter is clarified, if we launch a rash attack, will it affect Liu Zheng and the others?"
Ding Guofeng suddenly realized: "So you want to invite 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 first."
At around six o'clock that evening, several British people who accepted Zhao Xin's invitation boarded the Thor in costumes. Just like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden, these people followed the sailors of the Thor who led the way and entered the restaurant on the second floor of the poop.
When they walked into the restaurant, they were immediately stunned by what they saw. There was a long table covered with snow-white tablecloth and chairs with blue leather backrests; apart from these, what attracted their attention the most were the large and bright windows, which gave an unobstructed view of the sunset over the sea.
"My God!" Several British people were stunned and dizzy.
At this time, Zhao Xin and the others, who were wearing white captain's uniforms bought from another time and space, exchanged greetings with several British people and invited everyone to take their seats.
To put it briefly, this dinner made several British people very satisfied. Whether it was red wine steak or vegetable salad, it whetted the appetite of the British people who had not eaten fresh food for more than a month.
During the dinner, several British people not only kept probing in their words, asking about Zhao Xin's origins, but also talked about their trade with the Manchu Qing Dynasty in this era. This gave Zhao Xin and others a preliminary understanding of Guangzhou's import and export trade at this time. .
The cigarettes and coffee snacks after the meal made the British envious and opened up a lot of topics. At this time, Captain Marquis made a request to visit the ship, and Zhao Xin and the others readily agreed. So in addition to the cockpit and engine room, Zhao Xin and others took these people to visit and explain everywhere.
These British people were extremely shocked by the steel and mechanical equipment that they could not understand. They didn't expect that this group of Seris people who called themselves "Han Chinese" would be so advanced and developed.
Zhao Xinze took advantage of the opportunity to show the other party around and casually 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 know very little about it. As I introduced before, the area where we Seris people live now is extremely cold, so many people can't 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 hospitality of the Seris people, 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 about the opium trade finally started.
Dr. Higgins, who is a part-time botanist, first spoke: "Gentlemen, there are probably dozens of species of poppy plants, but there are only two species that can produce opium, the opium poppy species and the bractaceous poppy species. However, they are currently used for opium in India. The main production is from opium poppy seeds.”
The name opium actually comes from the Greek word "", while the Arabs call it afyun. It was not until the 15th century that the word "opium" appeared in Chinese classics. During the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, Gansu guard Wang Xi learned the opium extraction method from Muslims. However, this technology was not promoted, and there was no opium consumption market in the Ming Dynasty; at this time, opium was mainly used to treat dysentery, vomiting and other diseases.
Zhao Xin and the others all knew that to obtain opium, one had to use a knife to cut open the outer skin of the poppy fruit. This had been seen in film and television works from another time and space. But what they don't know is that the collected white opium will turn into a brown or black solid after oxidation. This directly collected opium is called raw opium, which is dry and brittle on the surface and soft and sticky on the inside.
Only half a gram of raw opium can be obtained from one poppy head, so to produce 1 kilogram of opium, one thousand poppy fruits need to be collected. Raw opium becomes cooked opium after being dissolved, cooked or fermented.
Just listen to Captain Ravi's introduction: "The quality of opium must be screened through texture, color, smell and other characteristics. The texture of good opium is quite solid. Small pieces are dark yellow when light is transmitted, and large pieces are almost black, with a strong smell. , there is no scratchy feeling to the touch. But if the texture is very soft, it is usually not a good product.”
What Zhao Xin and others did not expect was that the largest opium consumer group in this era was not Chinese, but Indians.
Dr. Higgins 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 ones are from Bihar." It is produced in Khar. But the quality of Mawa opium from Rajputana and other states in central India is also very good.”
There was no medical analysis of opium in this era, but later studies in the mid-19th century found that anacrotine contained in opium had a good clinical effect on intermittent fever and malaria; this would not be possible. The addictive part is only about 5% to 6% in opium.
In the chat among a group of British people, they mentioned how Indians consume opium.
Just listen to Higgins' introduction: "There are opium addicts all over India, but there are more in the north than in the south. Bengal, Rajputana, Central India, Gujarat, and Punjab in the north are all major consumer provinces. Opium smoking is extremely popular among the Rajputana and Sikhs of Punjab.”
Liu Sheng asked curiously: "How do they smoke? Do they use big smoking guns?"
Higgins asked in surprise: "Smoking gun? Sorry, I've never heard of it. Indians make opium into small pills or strips. They call this 'Abkari', or Either swallow it directly, or mix it with other drugs and spices to make a small pill called Balaguli. As for the local nobles, they mix opium in drinks and drink it."
"Ah?" This time it was Zhao Xin and the other three who were confused.
"Gentlemen, in fact, Indians consume opium for three purposes. The law of Christianity prohibits drinking, Hinduism also opposes alcoholism, and Brahmins are strictly restricted from drinking. Therefore, the doctrine of prohibition of alcohol makes Indians use alcohol during religious celebrations. Opium is used instead of alcohol to create a festive atmosphere."
Ding Guofeng asked: "Mr. Higgins, you just mentioned three types, what about the others?"
Captain Marquis interjected: "You all know the medicinal uses. The last one is murder or suicide. When Indians execute political opponents, they usually give the opponent a glass of water mixed with opium. If he drinks it for a period of time, the opponent will You'll become an idiot."
"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 first people to transport opium from Goa to Guangzhou were the Portuguese; and later 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, wool and white copper produced in India. If you are interested, I can Sell you part of it.”
Zhao Xin smiled and said that this topic should not be brought up again, so the few of them chatted about other topics.
In fact, no one present knew why the opium trade did not rise on a large scale from the late Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty. This is all thanks to one person, that is Zheng Chenggong!
In the mid-17th century, when opium began to spread in Southeast Asia and the Dutch frantically opened up the Southeast Asian opium market, China was going through an era of great changes in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. After the Qing army entered the customs, the anti-Qing armed forces in various coastal areas retreated steadily. In order to block the landing of anti-Qing armed forces, the Manchu Qing Dynasty issued the "Sea Relocation Order", basically cutting off domestic trade with the outside world.
(I remember that in a certain movie, it was said that the "Sea Relocation Order" was promulgated by Shunzhi in support of Zheng Chenggong's return to Taiwan. I really don't know what the intention was! You can't talk nonsense when praising the Manchus!)
When Zheng Chenggong regained Taiwan, he expelled the Dutch, the largest drug trafficking group in the world at the time. These events delayed the spread of opium in China to a certain extent. When Kangxi lifted the maritime ban in 1683, the San Francisco Rebellion was over, the Zheng family in Taiwan had surrendered, and the domestic political situation had stabilized. At this time, those Fujian expatriates who returned from Java came back with opium.
Historically, when the Qing government officially promulgated the "smoking ban" punishment regulations in the seventh year of Yongzheng's reign, the number of opium imported through Guangdong each year was 200 boxes, or 20,000 kilograms. According to the popular swallowing method at the time, it was enough for more than 20,000 people to take it for a year at most.
By the 51st year of Qianlong's reign, the number of opium imported each year had soared to more than 2,000 boxes, which could be consumed by nearly 200,000 people for a year. Since the seventh year of Yongzheng's reign, the amount of opium imported into China has increased by 4% year by year, and the scale is getting larger and larger. It's just that the Qing Dynasty's import and export trade is still at a leading position, and whether it's Qianlong or a group of officials, they only care about how much money they make, and they don't take opium seriously at all.
Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng did not know at this time that in the fiftieth year of Qianlong last year, that is, in 1785, the opium smoking method in China had 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 has remained high for a long time since then, making opium trafficking to China the most profitable business for merchants from all over the world.
Liu Zheng, who had just arrived in Guangzhou, witnessed this change with his own eyes.
It is said that Liu Zheng and his party of thirty-three people only landed in the evening, and then got on the Cai family's carriage and arrived here. The distance from the pier to Thirteenth Street was not far, and soon Liu Zheng saw the barrier on the east side of Thirteenth Street.
At this time, the lanterns were on, and through the gap in the curtain of the carriage car, one could see that the streets in Guanlan were crowded with people, and the shops were all brightly lit. Liu Zheng was saying to wait for the carriage to get closer before taking a closer look, but the leading carriage turned to the left and soon stopped at the entrance of a Western-style store.
At this time, Liu Zheng only heard someone outside the carriage saying "We're here", and he didn't care about the servants. He hurriedly opened the curtain and took a look. He saw lanterns hanging high outside the door and more than thirty male servants in gorgeous clothes lined up at the door. Cai Shiwen's butler came forward and said to Liu Zheng, "Master Liu, we are here."
Liu Zheng got out of the carriage and saw that all his men had also gotten off 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. Going further west is Jinghaimen."
Liu Zheng nodded. He knew that if nothing unexpected happened, he would only be able to move around in the fences on both sides of the street. At this time, the group of people suddenly appeared at the door of Wanhexing, attracting countless attention from around them. The group of people did not let the servants help carry their luggage, but hurriedly entered the store. After a day's sailing on the sailboat, Liu Zheng and his party were all shaken by the jolts, and their faces were not very good. Liu Zheng himself was also anxious to wash up.
After following the housekeeper to his residence, Liu Zheng took a quick look and said to the housekeeper: "Please bring some hot water, I want to wash my face."
After he washed up and drank two sips of hot tea, he felt much better. While he was carefully looking at the furnishings in the house, and couldn't help but admire them, the housekeeper knocked on the door again.
"Mr. Liu, please come and relieve your fatigue."
Liu Zhengxin said that it was different in ancient times. To relieve fatigue, listen, it must be a massage and fanning by a beautiful girl. It would be even better if you can soak your feet.
But when he followed the housekeeper through the yard and came to the flower hall in the front yard, he saw an extremely exquisite Arhat couch placed on the west side of the house with a small table on it, and Cai Shiwen, the boss of Wanhe Bank, was Sitting on the left side of the Luohan couch, he greeted Liu Zheng with a smile.
"Brother Liu, it's been a long journey, please come over and relieve yourself."
Liu Zheng's eyes almost popped out of his head in shock. He was all too familiar with this scene. Cai Shiwen wants to ask him to smoke opium!
"Is there a big smoking gun these days?" When Liu Zheng was still stunned, Cai Shiwen said with a smile: "Brother Liu, please come quickly! Take a smoke, it will relieve fatigue and feel comfortable. This is more effective than any other method. "
"Boss Cai, what are you smoking?" There was an indescribable sweet smell floating in the flower hall. Although Liu Zheng was suspicious, he still found it unbelievable. It was only 1786, and there were still fifty years before the Opium War. Many years! Moreover, he had never smelled opium.
"This thing is called aphrodisiac. Brother Liu, you are from overseas. I'm afraid you don't know the fun in it. You know, we used to prepare it with various medicinal materials and then swallow it. But now we use bamboo as a tube and pick cigarettes in the box. It is really one of the joys of life! Please sit down and order a drink for Mr. Liu." Cai Shiwen smoked a big cigarette and turned to order the maid to come over and serve him.
I’m a mom! Liu Zheng, who had woken up, was so frightened that he ran back, saying: "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I really can't bear it!"
Seeing the other party turn around and leave, Cai Shiwen, the housekeeper and several maids all looked at each other in shock. What did we say wrong?
When it was time for dinner, Cai Shiwen came to invite him in person, but Liu Zheng refused to show off, so he reluctantly attended.
Wan Hexing's banquet was extremely sumptuous, but Liu Zheng had something on his mind, so he took a few bites and toasted a few glasses of wine to Cai Shiwen before asking: "Boss Cai, when did this big smoking gun start to appear?" of?"
Cai Shiwen smiled and said: "Last year."
"Oh? Did this come from foreigners?"
"Haha, I didn't expect that brother is still interested in this thing." Cai Shiwen gave Liu Zheng a spoonful of food, and then continued to explain: "I heard about it too. A few years ago, there was a woman in eastern Guangdong. After the young man lost his husband, he She became a nun. The year before last, this woman suffered from a strange disease that paralyzed her legs. This woman's family was also rich, so her relatives searched for rare treasures in order to make her smile. Later, someone gave her a bamboo stick. One, a bottle of toilet water, a lamp for foreigners’ dances, and a container of opium paste. This woman used a foreign lamp to bake opium paste in her spare time, and then accidentally invented this method. Who would have thought that at the end of last year, Smoking is very popular in Guangzhou, and even people in Fujian are starting to use this method."
"Crack!" The ivory chopsticks in Liu Zheng's hand fell onto the plate, and he was stunned. What he never expected and could not accept was that the smoking gun was actually invented by the Chinese!
The error-free chapters of "The Forty-Eight Years of Qianlong" will continue to be searched and updated. There are no advertisements on the site. Please also bookmark and recommend the search!
If you like The Forty-Eight Years of Qianlong, please collect it: () The Forty-Eight Years of Qianlong is the fastest to be searched and updated.
