usatvline Chapter 14 Could this become the fuse for war?
Chapter 14 Could this become the fuse for war?
After the captain finished checking the memorial, he handed it to Liu Yulong, who took it and read it on the spot.
Although the memorial contained a lot of information, the matter itself was quite simple: it was a major case of smuggling and trafficking opium.
The explanation of the investigation and arrest process was rather lengthy, and the local police officers did indeed put in a lot of effort.
How to punish this matter should be a very simple matter.
Liu Desheng had already devised a very clear plan for handling the situation.
Anyone who purchases, possesses, or sells more than ten catties of opium shall be hanged, and his family members shall be sentenced to twenty years of forced labor.
Those weighing less than ten jin but more than one jin shall be hanged and their families sent to Liaodong to cultivate wasteland.
Those weighing less than one jin but more than one liang will be sentenced to one to ten years of forced labor in other places.
Those weighing less than one tael (approximately 50 grams) shall perform local labor service for three months.
In other words, possessing more than one pound of opium could result in a death sentence.
There were more than 30 of them in total, and they smuggled 300 catties of opium. All of them should be hanged.
To ordinary officials of this era, such a standard of punishment would be considered extremely harsh.
The Han Dynasty was established not long after the founding of the new dynasty, and a system of militia command offices was set up throughout the country.
The imperial court still maintained strong control over local areas. Although opium smuggling was commonplace, the smuggling activities did not get out of control.
Historically, when Lin Zexu banned opium, he seized 20,000 chests of opium in one go. Now, even finding a dozen chests in Dahan is considered a major case.
Due to extremely strict control, there was no widespread opium smoking among the people, nor was there a large-scale outflow of silver.
In addition, opium is also a kind of medicine that can be used to relieve pain and treat diarrhea, as recorded in the Compendium of Materia Medica.
Most officials were unaware of the dangers of opium, to the point that many felt this level of punishment was too harsh.
However, the strict prohibition of opium was an ancestral rule established by the founding emperor. His ministers might have ways to reinterpret the ancestral rule, but they would not do such a thing for a few foreigners and merchants.
However, after Liu Yulong ascended the throne as the new emperor, he had already changed the ancestral systems in the military and scientific research, and these changes were basically made in accordance with the ideas of the relevant officials.
Therefore, many officials naturally speculated that Liu Yulong might also change the ancestral rule of strictly prohibiting opium.
The thought that whether the emperor should directly execute a few barbarians and merchants, and whether it would affect international perception, simply did not cross the minds of the officials of the Han Dynasty.
What officials truly cared about was the new emperor's preferences, as this determined how they would interact with him in the future.
While Liu Yulong was reviewing the memorials, most officials were secretly observing and waiting to confirm Liu Yulong's attitude towards opium.
Only the military officers had little expectation. Liu Yulong had already mentioned banning opium when planning for future wartime, and was preparing to go to India to completely destroy the source of smuggled opium.
Liu Yulong, of course, could not compromise on the opium trade; the ban on opium must be maintained.
Although the Han Dynasty is not yet fully prepared for war, given its current size and mobilization capabilities, it is unlikely to lose to the British who have come from afar, as long as it does not surrender voluntarily.
After reading the memorial, Liu Yulong knew that he should make a clear statement on this issue.
Therefore, without consulting the Grand Secretaries and Ministers on this matter, he directly issued an order to the Minister of Justice:
"All smugglers and drug traffickers, whether Han or foreign, shall be sent to the capital and hanged."
"The whole family was sent to places like Kailuan to mine coal, and they were forced to serve 20 years of forced labor."
The obtained opium was sent to the Imperial Academy for research and medicinal use.
"From now on, all labor sentences involving opium will be sent to government-run mines."
"Another decree was drafted to double the size of the anti-drug and anti-smuggling patrols in Bao'an and Shanghai by transferring personnel from the local militia."
"From now on, when any overseas merchant ship enters the port, local anti-smuggling and anti-drug police officers will have to board the ship for inspection first."
"If opium is found to be smuggled, it must be confiscated immediately and everyone on board must be arrested."
"Only after the police have completed their inspection and confirmed that no contraband has been smuggled can the cargo and personnel be allowed to disembark."
After Liu Yulong finished speaking, he handed the memorial in his hand to the captain, who then delivered it to the secretary present at the scene.
The secretary has already written down Liu Yulong's handling of the memorial, and now it is pasted onto the memorial.
The captain took the pasted memorial back and handed it to Liu Yulong for confirmation.
After reading the edict, Liu Yulong signaled to the eunuch beside him to affix his seal and send it back to the Minister of Justice on the spot. The Minister of Justice accepted the order and returned to his seat.
The Military Command drafted a military order on the spot, ordering the Governor's Offices of Shanghai and Bao'an counties to dispatch militia for anti-drug and anti-smuggling patrols.
After the military order was drafted, it was first handed over to Liu Yulong for confirmation, and then issued on the spot with the official seal.
Upon hearing Liu Yulong's arrangements, the officials at the scene understood his attitude towards opium trafficking.
Not only must we continue to uphold ancestral traditions, but we must also strengthen control and manhunts.
The matter seemed to have passed, and most officials put it out of their minds and started thinking about other things.
Liu Yulong, however, was still pondering this matter in his heart.
When Liu Yulong saw cases related to opium, he instinctively thought of the Opium War.
Would executing these British opium merchants now become the trigger for the Opium War?
If British history had not changed, Britain should have already abolished the East India Company's monopoly on trade with the Han Chinese last year.
From then on, the British people dealing with the Han Chinese were no longer shareholders and employees of the East India Company, but representatives of the British government.
Nahlobry and Elliot should be arriving in the Han Dynasty soon; Nahlobry might already be on his way.
Britain wouldn't go to war with the Han over a few merchants, but it might use that as a pretext to start a war.
The UK is a parliamentary republic, where members of parliament represent the interests of various social groups.
There should be business guilds among the British merchants in the Han Dynasty. They would pool their money to lobby members of parliament when their interests are harmed, so that the members of parliament would push Britain to take tough measures against the Han Dynasty.
One or two attempts at lobbying may be useless, but repeated attempts can lead to a qualitative change.
Therefore, after a moment's thought, Liu Yulong issued another order:
"The Admiralty is under orders. Britain is a nation founded on commerce, and merchants control the government."
"These smugglers, once arrested or even executed by our Great Han, will surely hate our Great Han."
"They will likely persuade their ruler and prime minister to send troops to harass or even attack the coastal borders of our Great Han."
"The Naval Governor's Office must strengthen its vigilance in the future, monitor warships and merchant ships approaching the sea borders, and be ready to fight at any time."
"If the other party has aggressive tendencies, they can be eliminated directly without requesting permission."
The Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Command immediately stepped forward to receive the imperial decree, and the Military Command immediately drafted the military order on the spot.
After the military orders and imperial edicts were drafted, Naval Commander Wang Yong accepted the orders and returned to his seat.
Wu Qijun, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial in charge of foreign affairs, stepped forward at this moment:
"Your Majesty, Western merchants have always been utterly untrustworthy, and British merchants are even more shameless."
"Over the years, most of the opium smugglers arrested have been British."
"I believe that this major smuggling case should be used as a pretext to prohibit the British from trading with the Han Dynasty again."
"Expel all the Britons in the Great Han and demand that they return to question their king about why he allowed the opium smuggling to continue."
"We demand that Britain cooperate with the Han Dynasty in the fight against drugs and hand over drug traffickers and their families to the Han Dynasty for disposal."
"If their country is unwilling to cooperate, then the British will be permanently banned from coming to Han."
The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies suggested severing trade ties with Britain and coercing the British government to cooperate with the Han Dynasty in controlling opium smuggling.
Liu Yulong also had this idea, but instinctively felt that now was not the time.
Liu Yulong is preparing to upgrade the army's equipment.
Produce more cast steel cannons, stockpile a batch of bitter acid bombs, and refit several steam-powered sailing ships.
However, upon closer reflection, this was in the mid-19th century, and Britain was far away in the North Atlantic. A trip to the Han Dynasty would take at least half a year.
Even if the Han dynasty expelled the British merchants, Britain would not immediately decide to take military action. It would likely involve some wrangling in Parliament before sending a representative to discuss and negotiate.
After this back and forth, two or three years had passed, and the Han Dynasty should have been almost ready.
If the Great Han is ready by then, it will still maintain a tough stance, demanding that the other side cooperate in a comprehensive ban on drugs and that the Great Han army go to India to destroy opium plantations.
This forces the other side to either start a direct war or cooperate with the Han Dynasty to completely ban smoking.
If the Han Dynasty is not ready by then, they should be required to write a guarantee to temporarily resume trade with Britain.
The Han Dynasty continued its war preparations, and when opium smuggling was discovered again, it would completely ban trade with Britain.
This forced Britain to initiate a war against the Han Dynasty, which resulted in Britain's defeat and eventual cooperation with the Han Dynasty in imposing a comprehensive ban on tobacco.
After considering the matter briefly, Liu Yulong verbally instructed Wu Qijun:
"Go back and write a memorial to the throne, then send it to the cabinet."
Wu Qijun immediately bowed and accepted the decree, then returned to his seat.
At this moment, Pan Shi'en, the Minister of Rites, stepped forward:
"Your Majesty, our Great Han Dynasty possesses everything, and there is no need for us to exchange goods with the Western barbarian countries."
"Allowing the Western barbarians to trade with Han was originally a gift from the Celestial Empire."
"However, the Western barbarians feared power but did not cherish virtue, and they used any means to make profits, disregarding the etiquette and laws of the Han Dynasty."
"British merchants are shameless, but other Western merchants are equally shameless. It's just that there are more British merchants, so they stand out more."
"I believe the court should close all treaty ports, prohibit private overseas trade, and place it under direct government control..."
Liu Yulong interrupted Pan Shi'en before he could finish speaking:
"No, this matter needs no further discussion."
Neither Liu Desheng nor Liu Yulong had the idea of completely banning private trade; they both felt that at least one or two channels for foreign trade should be left open.
The Han Dynasty's foreign trade was mainly export-oriented, and the exported goods were high-value-added luxury items such as tea, silk, and porcelain, which were used to exchange for gold and silver, which were scarce in the country.
Leaving one or two legal ports for trade allows most regular goods to enter and exit and be bought and sold normally, and most smuggling activities will also take place around these two ports.
If all trade routes were completely closed, the long coastlines of the southeastern provinces of the Han Dynasty could become bases for smuggling.
Originally, many goods would not have caused any real harm even if they were allowed to be imported, and the imperial court could still collect import tariffs.
Banning it could trigger large-scale smuggling activities, and the imperial court would not be able to collect customs duties.
In the early Ming Dynasty, there was an attempt to prohibit private foreign trade, with the imperial court completely monopolizing the profits from foreign trade.
However, under the criticism of the court officials, official trade was gradually and completely abolished, and the profits from maritime trade fell into the hands of smugglers, while the imperial court could not collect customs duties.