There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 328 A Scourge to the Qing Dynasty
There are certainly more than a few hundred or a thousand opium addicts within the Great Han territory.

More than 30% of the villagers in southern Hunan alone have smoked or taken opium at least once.

Moreover, these increases only occurred in the last two years. During the Qing Dynasty, most of these people couldn't afford to eat and had no spare money or energy to use opium.

Historically, the spread of opium in China only accelerated dramatically after the White Lotus Rebellion was suppressed. This was because the British, finding that the tea trade through customs was no longer viable, began lowering opium export prices, hoping to reverse China's tea trade deficit.

Now, the Han Dynasty distributed land to the people and cracked down on landlords and gentry. The people were no longer exploited by the gentry and government. Their lives gradually improved, and they turned to planting poppies, which had come from Guangdong, on the fields that they had previously carefully managed to grow grain.

Although Nie Yu felt helpless about this, he did not think he had done anything wrong.

The ability of the people to have enough to eat is the primary factor in national development. If the people are not well-fed and clothed, then all lofty discussions are just empty words.

People who have enough to eat go on opium addiction. This is not the people's fault; it's just that they don't understand the dangers of opium poppies.

Nie Yu first issued an edict, setting forth future policies regarding opium poppies and tobacco.

Poppies must be strictly prohibited; only the government may cultivate them on a small scale, and they may only be used for pharmaceutical purposes.

Tobacco cultivation is restricted; no one may grow tobacco privately without government permission, not even for ornamental purposes.

Subsequently, Nie Yu reorganized the Ministry of Works, and the Commerce Department under the Ministry of Works was separated and elevated to the Ministry of Commerce to supervise and control the poppy trade in foreign markets.

If Han Chinese merchants stop growing poppies, foreign merchants will rush to sell them.

From now on, all trade involving poppy products will be uniformly and completely banned. Regardless of their intended use, privately owned poppies will no longer be allowed on the market. Even government-issued poppy products must have proper accounts and permits, ensuring traceability.

Foreign merchants, unaware of the situation, could be spared punishment and arrest, but all opium they brought in was subject to punitive tariffs, and all other goods were confiscated and chemically burned with lime and salt water before being buried.

Direct burial won't work, because Lin Gong initially buried them directly, but they were all found and dug up by the addicted people and then reprocessed into inferior opium.

Moreover, these foreign countries and merchants who transported opium only had one chance. If they transported opium again, the Han court would not be lenient.

The previous bans on poppy cultivation and trade targeted opium itself, and then came the truly crucial step.

Nie Yu issued an order to the Ministry of Posts and Communications, instructing them to immediately write an article detailing the plight of opioid addicts in Jingzhou and other prisons across the country.

The death toll from this forced drug rehabilitation can also be published in the official gazette, and the description can even be exaggerated to let officials, gentry and common people who are not yet aware of the situation know just how terrifying opium poppies are!
Indeed, although the Han Dynasty's anti-opium campaign lasted only a little over two months, the addicts have already successfully quit drugs and been released by the government.

Fortunately, the technology for extracting opium is not yet mature in this era, and its purity is far inferior to that of later generations, which makes self-curing possible.

Even so, the mortality rate for opium addiction treatment this time was still quite high.

In almost every prefecture under the rule of the Han Dynasty, among those undergoing drug rehabilitation, there were those who died from forced withdrawal.

If you add up all these addicts who are trying to quit drugs, the number would be at least a hundred.

Moreover, most of them are highly educated individuals, and some are even students currently enrolled in universities.

Three of the officials died.

They dared not resent the King of Han, so they could only vent their anger on the merchants.

After all, there was no opium trade in Huguang before. Although the poppies in southern Hunan were said to have spread from Guangdong, it was the merchants under the rule of the Han Dynasty who brought them over.

They saw the potential profits in Guangdong's poppy industry and decided to promote it in Hubei and Hunan. Local officials, seeing that poppies could indeed make money, didn't take up farmland on the plains, could grow in the mountains, and even yielded good harvests, readily agreed.

Now, opium has killed so many people, including educated officials and nobles. Even those who managed to quit and survive were also tormented by opium.

Those merchants who brought the poppies here in the first place all suffered a terrible fate.

Changsha, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's Office.

Pang Wencai and several other Hunanese businessmen who had previously dealt in opium poppies in Guangdong were just released by the authorities.

Although the Han Dynasty had enacted laws banning opium poppies, these new laws were not retroactive. Furthermore, these merchants...
Knowing this, they didn't make things difficult for them, but simply confiscated all their opium poppies and fined them a sum of money as punishment.

"The King of Han is wise! We have finally escaped alive!"

"Yes! We almost thought we were going to fail this time, but fortunately the King of Han is wise and did not pursue our crimes."

“I told you long ago that opium poppies are foreign products and should be treated with caution, but you wouldn’t listen and insisted on promoting them. Now you’ve not only lost both money and goods, but you’ve also offended so many people…”

"Now that things have come to this, it's too late for regrets. I've decided to sell the shops and properties here immediately and move my whole family to Jiangxi."

“Jiangxi is still too close. I’ve decided to go to Anhui to avoid trouble first. Once the Han Dynasty has recovered Jiangsu and Zhejiang, I will go to Zhejiang. That way, I should be able to ensure my safety.”

"Alas! This was truly an unexpected disaster. I didn't make any money from opium poppies, and I almost lost everything."

"..."

The poppy merchants were dejected and decided to flee.

They definitely can't stay in Hunan any longer. They've harmed so many people this time. Not to mention the powerful and wealthy officials, even the ordinary people of Hunan won't forgive them.

Therefore, we must run as fast as possible, the farther the better. Sell any local properties that can be sold, and abandon those that can't be sold. Preserve your life and livelihood first.

Pang Wencai returned to his residence alone, but he was very unwilling.

This guy once volunteered to join the Han Dynasty and helped them communicate with the Miao people in western Hunan, which was quite an achievement.

In return, Da Han granted Pang Wencai a ten-year exclusive right to sell Han salt in addition to the exclusive rights to sell it to Weishang.

The quality and low price of Han salt meant that it had no rivals in that era, making it an absolute monopoly and highly profitable commodity.

But Pang Wencai was not satisfied. The monopoly on Han salt was only for ten years. After ten years, he would have no more Han salt to sell, so he thought of exploring new avenues during this period.

The opium poppies from Fujian and Guangdong were the "potential stocks" he had his eye on. They were not only easy to grow, but also had no worries about sales. Anyone who tried them would fall in love with opium poppies.

Of course, Pang Wencai now realizes that this wasn't love, but rather an addiction to opium.

The horrific state of those drug addicts was something the authorities had witnessed in prison after their arrest. Because there weren't enough cells in the prisons, many addicts were crammed together, and the sight of so many people experiencing withdrawal symptoms simultaneously was like a scene from a ghost story.

Pang Wencai was indeed frightened at the time, but after being frightened, he saw the "potential commercial value" of poppies.

This stuff is addictive once you've tried it, so what if I got it and promoted it in the territory of the pseudo-Qing dynasty...?

To dare to come and seek refuge when the Han Dynasty was still weak, Pang Wencai's courage was at least astounding, if not outrageously so.

Moreover, while other merchants were only fined a sum of money and still had their poppy stock, he not only lost both his money and goods, but also had his salt monopoly revoked.

The King of Han personally drew the circle; those who are unaware of it are not to be blamed, but the due punishment cannot be omitted, otherwise it would be unfair to the victims.

With his salt monopoly revoked, Pang Wencai dared not blame Gen Hanwang, but he was also unwilling to give up.

Pang Wencai laid out a map of his study. This map was something he had someone buy for him before. It detailed the spheres of influence of the Han Dynasty and the puppet Qing Dynasty, and even included information about the surrounding countries.

“Jiangsu and Zhejiang won’t work. I reckon the Han will take over here in a couple of years. Besides, the opium poppy business here is probably already saturated. If I go there, I’ll just have to compete. It’s not worth it.”

Pang Wencai first pointed to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, then shook his head repeatedly, his gaze turning to the north: "The north... it seems plausible. News is scarce in the north, and with the war going on, they probably don't know the details of opium poppies. Besides, the north is so far from Fujian and Guangdong, opium poppies probably haven't spread there..."

The more Pang Wencai thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

These opium poppies could no longer be sold in the Han Dynasty, and if they were to go to the southwestern provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, they would have to compete with the local opium merchants, which would be a losing proposition.

But the North is different. There is no established opium poppy industry in the North yet, so if I go there, I can be the first to try it.

Although the risks are quite high, the profits are huge. This stuff is so addictive that once you've tried it, you can't stop. Getting your money back is incredibly easy.

Of course, Pang Wencai was also very careful. He had made up his mind that during his trip north, he would not sell any of his opium poppies to the common people, but would instead sell them as high-class medicines to wealthy officials, gentry, landlords, and Manchu nobles.

Anyway, these people are all enemies that the Han Dynasty wants to eliminate. Selling opium to them and harming them is not only not wrong, but it is actually a merit!
This guy's thought process is simply unbeatable.

Knowing full well the toxicity and harm of opium, he still planned to sell it to harm people and make money. Even if he sold it to the puppet Qing territory, or to those Eight Banners nobles, Nie Yu would definitely not let him off the hook if he found out.

Because this stuff is so addictive, once it's really allowed to be sold freely, it will quickly spread from top to bottom.

The Southwest and Fujian-Guangdong regions today are examples of this; originally, this thing was a "luxury item" sold by the British to Chinese officials, gentry, and nobles.

However, given China's massive population and market mobility, opium rapidly spread and became a plague within just a few decades, even leading to the First Opium War.

Moreover, the Han Dynasty is going to unify the whole country in the future, not just occupy the south. If this guy sells opium to the north, then all the officials and gentry in the north will become addicts. Even if it doesn't flow into the common people quickly, the administration and civil affairs will be in a terrible state.

Pang Wencai, having made up his mind, completely disregarded the harm caused by the spread of opium. He immediately sold all his property and then somehow persuaded two like-minded merchants to form a small merchant group and travel by boat to Anhui.

He then disguised himself and shaved his head in Anhui, thus smuggling the silver into Zhejiang.

Poppy cultivation is widespread in both Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, with poppy seedlings almost ubiquitous in the mountainous areas of southern Zhejiang.

Pang Wencai bought some poppies from local mountain people and also purchased some seeds, intending to take them to the north to promote their cultivation.

Afterwards, he used these poppies and silver as gifts to bribe Jiangsu officials, gentry and literati whom he had little contact with, claiming them to be elegant items imported from overseas.

Whether it's true or not doesn't matter; the point is, once these guys take a puff, they'll quickly become addicted.

Because opium poppies are currently only prevalent in Fujian and Zhejiang, and are mainly consumed by local gentry who like to have a little bit of them when they have nothing else to do, the literati and officials in Jiangsu had never seen this stuff before, and they quickly became addicted to it.

The opium poppy made people feel euphoric and extremely happy after just one use. Eventually, even General Fu Chang of Jiangning and his Eight Banners troops became addicted.

Pang Wencai successfully connected with General Jiangning and, relying on the other party's connections, began to sell poppies on a small scale in Beijing.

This guy really benefited from being a prophet. Although Fujian and Guangdong were the first to cultivate poppies, they didn't know that this stuff could be so addictive, so they failed to seize the "business opportunity" in time.

Now that Pang Wencai has learned of this "business opportunity," he immediately seized it and got the first share of the profits.

(End of this chapter)