"The Qing Dynasty doesn't ban opium. I've checked, and the standard set by the Emperor for the Thirteen Hongs is sixty boxes per year. Each box weighs less than one hundred kilograms, and the tax is three taels of silver. The lowest-grade opium costs about one tael of silver per kilogram."
Yinreng tapped his fingers unconsciously on the table, telling his younger brothers the information he had found out in his previous life.
"Sixty boxes? This..."
Several people were a little surprised.
"Sixty boxes is a bit too few."
Even if each box of opium weighs one hundred kilograms, according to the price my second brother just quoted, it can only be sold for six thousand taels of silver.
Unless the profit is very high, there is no need to travel across the ocean to trade in the Qing Dynasty.
"Do you think it's too little?"
A hint of sarcasm appeared on Yinreng's lips.
"For ordinary people, one pound of opium is enough to become addicted. Once you become addicted, you will be accompanied by opium for the rest of your life."
"You all saw how Li Suishan's drug addiction flared up. It's impossible for others to dissuade or threaten him to break his addiction."
"If they can't buy opium, they'll frantically raise the price to buy it. Yinzhen, you're also a businessman, you should know that when the profit of a commodity reaches 10% of its value, people will be tempted to buy it. What if it reaches dozens or even hundreds of times?"
"Do you think they will take risks and trample on humanity?"
Hearing this, several people frowned deeply.
Yinreng did not give them a few opportunities to think deeply, but turned the subject around and asked Yinzhen,
"Old Four, have you investigated Li Suishan? Have you found out his age?"
Yinzhen frowned and thought for a moment, then said,
"It seems to be twenty..."
He stopped talking halfway through, obviously realizing the seriousness of the problem.
Yin'er's eyes widened when he heard this.
"He's only twenty years old? Fourth brother, are you right?"
Yinzhen shook his head.
"Not twenty, but twenty-four."
Now he finally understood why his second brother hated opium so much.
"How different is there between 24 and 20..."
Yin'er frowned.
"Li Suishan clearly looks like an old man on his deathbed! Third Brother is about the same age as Li Suishan, and he's experienced such a great change, so he looks a generation younger than him."
The third brother is a little thin, but he looks like a young man. He is nothing like Li Suishan, who has wrinkles all over his face and a mouth full of yellow teeth that makes people want to vomit.
It is no exaggeration to say that he is forty-two years old.
If he wasn't afraid that someone around might hear him, he would really want to compare himself to the old man.
The old man is almost fifty years old this year, but he looks younger and stronger than Li Suishan.
Yinzhen: "So it's not an exaggeration for my second brother to call opium a drug."
"What I'm wondering now is where the opium in the capital comes from."
Yinreng narrowed his eyes slightly, and a dangerous light flashed in his eyes.
"The Thirteen Hongs only have an import quota of 60 boxes per year. Normally, they should have received all of it by the beginning of the year."
Due to the import quota restricted by Emperor Kangxi, only a few boxes flowed into the capital, and they were all received by the Imperial Medical Service. The rest were basically consumed in southern Fujian and had no possibility of being introduced into the capital.
Besides, even the young man in "Zui Chun Feng" smelled of opium, which was enough to prove that the drug trafficking business had already taken shape in the capital city where he could not see.
The opium that Yinzhen saw in the account book was most likely the result of someone taking advantage of a loophole.
Yinzhen also thought of this and said with a grim expression,
"Second brother, are you saying that someone is deceiving their superiors and subordinates and taking bribes to let them go?"
"Maybe more than..."
Yinreng analyzed calmly,
"Do you still remember the smell of that tavern?"
"That stinky, sweet aroma?"
"Um."
Yinzhen clenched his fists so tightly that his finger bones creaked.
If he still doesn't realize what his second brother means, all his work will be in vain!
In recent years, under his management, the port has been running in an orderly manner. Although he does not usually talk about his political achievements, he is somewhat proud of it in his heart.
But it was not until today that he realized that someone actually dared to open the door to foreigners right under his nose.
"It was my fault for not watching over it. I will go to the Emperor and apologize today!"
Yinreng raised his eyelids.
"The most important thing now isn't to apologize, but to find out who's behind this. Who's behind 'Drunk Spring Breeze'?"
Yinzhen: "On the surface, it's the Fifth Master of the Fan family, but I've checked and found that people from the Tong family branch are also involved."
Yinreng pinched his chin, thought for a moment and said,
"The Fan family is a royal merchant..."
Hearing this, the other three people's eyebrows twitched. Did the second brother suspect that someone from the Ministry of Internal Affairs was involved?
"Never mind. Any speculation now requires evidence. First, investigate the source of the opium. It would be best to find out where it went as well."
Speaking of this, Yinreng sighed,
"As for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, I will discuss this with the Emperor first."
Several people nodded in agreement, then stood up and left Yuqing Palace.
After eating a few bites of breakfast, Yinreng went directly to the Qianqing Palace to ask for an audience with Kangxi.
When Kangxi heard Yinreng's request for an audience, he thought Yinreng was still unwilling to give up, so he waved his hand and refused.
"Tell him that I will never agree to let him go to Fujian, and tell him to stop bothering me!"
“Yeah.”
Liang Jiugong responded and hurried to explain the situation to Yinreng.
"Eunuch Liang, I came to see the Emperor, not to leave the capital."
After Yinreng explained the reason in a few words, Liang Jiugong's face became serious.
In the Southern Study, Yinreng repeated to Kangxi everything he had just said to Liang Jiugong.
Kangxi raised his eyebrows.
In fact, he had some idea of the harm of opium.
Otherwise, the annual inflow quota would not have been set at sixty boxes.
"Your Majesty, opium can make a healthy person become emaciated. The Qing Dynasty should completely ban the import of opium."
Upon hearing this, Kangxi was a little hesitant. After all, opium also had medicinal value, and sixty boxes a year was just a drop in the bucket for the vast territory of the Qing Dynasty.
After he expressed his thoughts to Yinreng, Yinreng directly refuted him.
"It's because the imperial court has classified opium as a medicine, allowing it to be traded, that some people smoke it without restraint. Li Suishan is only 24 years old, and he looks like an elderly man on his deathbed. The Emperor underestimates the harm that opium can do to the human body!"
"How can anything addictive be good? Neither gambling addiction nor alcohol addiction can compare to the serious harm caused by opium addiction. Taking too much of it can actually be fatal!"
While he was refuting, he was actually more confused about Kangxi's attitude towards the matter.
"It's strange. In my previous life, I helped some drug addicts and showed the old man the harm of opium. He immediately agreed to ban smoking. Why is he hesitant now?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
