Chapter 401: Heroes of the World (V)
After the representative of the British East India Company left, the Huaxia Dynasty trade representative cursed fiercely: "Another Cileshi!"
The people around him kept silent. Everyone knew that this newcomer from Guangdong had a family member who was addicted to opium and had squandered the family's wealth. When such a buddy faced the British East India Company's representatives' efforts to promote opium, his inner attitude was obvious.
"These people are pests! We can't let them expand their sales!" The buddy expressed his attitude in a firm tone.
The trade representative of the Huaxia Dynasty said nothing. He agreed with the brother's frankness in his heart, but he could not support him. Business is business. The British trade still has its merits. Even opium is a very important commodity for the Huaxia Dynasty. It's funny to say that most of the medical anesthetics processed from opium are sold to Europe through the Spanish. The profit is very considerable.
When Huo Chong found out about this, it was because the guards had directly pinned this brother to the ground. This brother who wanted to file a complaint with the emperor did not resist at all, but shouted at the top of his lungs: "Your Majesty, listen to me. When I finish speaking, you can kill me!"
Although Huo Chong didn't want to let the imperial complaint become a trend, the guy's attitude was too sincere, which made Huo Chong pause for a moment. However, Huo Chong didn't talk to this guy immediately, but said to the secretary and the chief guard who came over: "After the interrogation, show me the report."
Today's work is to go to Hua Xia Medical College to listen to a report on the complete eradication of schistosomiasis. Recently, Hua Xia Medical College is conducting research on penicillin extraction technology to cooperate with the work of artemisinin to treat malaria.
Artemisinin is a very good specific drug, but the malarial parasite itself is also evolving, and new drug-resistant strains will appear. Therefore, in the 21st century, malaria treatment is a combination therapy. Artemisinin is combined with penicillin, and molecular improvements must be made to artemisinin itself.
However, even if we understand these scientific principles, we lack the means to conduct analytical research at the molecular level.
This is science. The difference between science and other disciplines is that any scientific viewpoint must be falsifiable. If there is no means to prove it, there is no way to falsify it. Even if Huo Chong clearly knew that it was correct science, in this era there was no means to falsify it.
Therefore, most of Huo Chong's technical views are classified as "hypotheses". Even if they are very effective, they can only be regarded as "experience".
The same is true for schistosomiasis. Although we have microscopes to observe schistosomiasis and have learned a lot about it, treatment and even prevention still require a lot of research. More importantly, these discussions themselves are also very troublesome.
The reason is ridiculous. Many students have no way to conduct systematic study on schistosomiasis due to the lack of experimental equipment. Without direct contact, too much of everyone's knowledge comes from teaching rather than from experiments.
This conference was no exception. Even though many "experts" were present, they relied more on intuition due to the lack of sufficient experimental conditions. Huo Chong was very unhappy, but he was unwilling to criticize anyone.
To build a strong country, it requires more than just the right ideas. It also requires an investment that is higher than the sky and deeper than the sea.
After the meeting, Huo Chong returned home in a very depressed mood. A penny can never kill a hero. Although Huo Chong has enough power to express his demands, such as asking the scientific community to exert subjective initiative, Huo Chong still prefers to solve the problem by working harder to develop productivity.
After all, in this world, China's pressure is far less than the arduous pressure in another time and space.
"Your Majesty, report." The captain of the guard brought something.
Huo Chong picked it up and took a look. It turned out to be an interrogation report. He couldn't remember what it was.
The head of the guard reminded: "Your Majesty, who is the one who tried to break in and talk?"
"Oh." Huo Chong just remembered this. When the head of the guard group left, Huo Chong felt very regretful. He was old and couldn't even remember things. If he was young, Huo Chong would not even forget it.
Huo Chong sighed after reading this guy's report with a little sadness. He felt even more regretful. This guy had always advocated a ban on opium trade and had made various reports within the organization. This angered the head of the trade department, who directly demoted him.
However, the man did not give up and tried to find a higher-level official to report the matter. His efforts were unsuccessful and he was subsequently severely disciplined.
But this brother could not get over what had happened to his family, so he came to file a complaint.
What a trouble! Huo Chong was very helpless.
But there was nothing wrong with this guy's attitude. At least Huo Chong felt that he really needed such a person. So he ordered someone to take this guy out of the detention center first.
Seeing His Majesty Huo Chong, he hurried forward to pay his respects. When he raised his head, tears were streaming down his face. "Your Majesty. Afurong has done great harm to people. I am not afraid of death. As long as Afurong can be eradicated, I am willing to do anything."
"I asked you to come because I also agree to eradicate opium." Huo Chong replied.
"Then please let your majesty know."
"You are so young. Sit down." Huo Chong sighed.
After the brother sat down obediently, Huo Chong said, "You are really not suitable for being a civil servant. Bureaucrats must abide by bureaucracy."
Seeing that the guy opposite him didn't care at all, Huo Chong understood that the current level of the civil service system of the Huaxia Dynasty was just like this.
If it is a specific problem, the specific solution has nothing to do with reason. Although this guy is not suitable for being an official, it does not mean that people with such strong beliefs are useless.
"From now on, you must bow your head. How can anyone dare to employ someone who doesn't obey others at all? Do you hear me?"
"What does your majesty want me to do?"
"No matter what they do to you, when it's over, you have to sign up to join the police. I'm thinking of setting up a drug enforcement agency. It's for addictive drug abuse. Including taking opium, and things like that. It's a very dangerous job. You know how scary those people are when they go crazy."
"As long as we can eradicate opium, it's worth dying!"
"Then I have to tell you that you have to be honest from now on. What does being honest mean? It doesn't mean you have to say something against your will. It means you have to tell the truth no matter what people ask you. Of course, you can't tell anyone what I just said."
"yes!"
"Besides, you have to go back to the detention center first. Rules are rules."
"Your Majesty, I don't feel wronged to go back. It's just that I don't think I did anything wrong."
"Right and wrong, different people have different opinions. Look at those people who take opium. When nothing happens, do they really think they are wrong?"
"But they are wrong. In many cases, they also say they are wrong."
"Wrong, right. It depends on whether they feel pain or comfort at that time. What do you feel when you see those people?"
“…It hurts so much!”
"Yes, so we must never accept such a thing. If we do, we are wrong. Can you accept that we are wrong in opposing the use of opium?"
"Never accept it."
"I was young once, and all I could see were things that made us feel pain or joy. As I grew older, my pain became less intense, and I realized that I hadn't seen many things before. For example, those who seemed to oppose you fighting against opium so fiercely were not against you fighting against opium at all. They were against your jumping around like this, because your jumping around affected the normal operation of the department."
"Don't those people know the dangers of opium?"
"They may know, or they may not. But they know very well that they don't care about opium. Their responsibility is to manage the department at hand well."
The young and irritable guy finally lowered his head. After a long silence, he raised his head and asked, "Your Majesty is talking about the...Narcotics Enforcement Administration, which is in charge of this matter, right?"
"Yes. I'll take care of that."
"Your Majesty, please assign me a job in the Narcotics Enforcement Agency. I am not afraid of life or death. As long as I can eradicate this scourge, I will be willing to die."
"Well, go back and wait."
Seeing the young man stand up and obediently follow the people who came to escort him away, Huo Chong sighed slightly in his heart.
This is probably what ideals are. The more intense the pain, the higher the expectation of getting rid of it. Just like those predecessors who were so great that they seemed to surpass humanity, their motivation came from pain. Seeing China's devastation and bullying, and feeling the crisis that led directly to the country's demise, their pain was probably like Huo Chong's reading about the humiliation and plunder suffered by China in the late Qing Dynasty, which was really heartbreaking.
History will not change, so even after I grow up, every time I see the description of that history, the painful feeling has not changed with time.
Even in his old age, when Huo Chong recalled the history, he could still feel the intense emotions of that time.
Even if history cannot be changed, it must not be repeated. This is one of Huo Chong's ideals.
The ideal of this young man should be to eradicate drugs. Then, how many people can turn the ideals that Huo Chong instilled into the entire Chinese court into their own ideals? Even if Huo Chong died, would such ideals still stand firm and become the cornerstone that supports these people to move forward?
The DEA's proposal went very smoothly because no one objected. Most of the members here suffered greatly from it. They had seen how drugs destroyed a family and made everyone around them sleepless.
Huo Chong was very relieved about such a department. When the Drug Enforcement Administration was established, Huo Chong only said one thing, "You must treat the problem from a humanitarian perspective. Eradicating evil is a happy thing, but facing the world with an eradication mentality will turn everyone into evil spirits. You are all pillars of the country, you should not become evil spirits, and you should not become evil spirits. Therefore, everyone must obey the management of the Ministry of Rites and regularly maintain your inner health."
It is clear that these young people driven by hatred do not really understand what inner health is. But at least they obeyed.
"Your Majesty, please go back to your room and rest first." The eunuch advised carefully.
Seeing that the time was about to come, Hong Zhou returned to the house angrily. Looking at the eunuchs who were all bowing their heads and looking obedient, Hong Zhou said angrily: "Don't look at them like they are mourning. I can't die! Even Huo Chong, that old dog, is not dead, so I will not die either!"
The eunuchs dared not say a word. They took the old sheepskin coat and wrapped it around Hong Zhou. Soon, Hong Zhou's body began to tremble unconsciously and his face turned pale.
Hong Zhou couldn't see what he looked like. He just felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, with waves of cold coming from his body. The colors in his vision seemed to be covered with a layer of green.
As an emperor, Hong Zhou tried his best to endure it and not make any sound. This made the pain even more intense.
I don't know how long it took, but the chill in my body seemed to disappear suddenly. My body temperature began to rise rapidly, and soon, the sheepskin coat made Hong Zhou feel hot. In the hot summer, how could he not feel hot wrapped in a sheepskin coat!
This malaria attack was finally over. Hong Zhou threw away his sheepskin coat and walked out of the house. He saw several officials and imperial doctors waiting outside.
When the imperial physician saw Hong Zhou, he immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, the medicine is effective. Please take care of yourself!"
Liu Tongxun had already discussed with the imperial doctors and let them take the lead. Seeing Hong Zhou's disgusted face, Liu Tongxun hurried forward and pleaded: "Your Majesty, I have also personally met several ministers who have used the medicine. Malaria has indeed been cured. Please take care of your precious body!"
Hong Zhou was furious when he heard this. These drugs were not cinchona frost, but potions that the court officials bought from the Chinese court at a high price and injected into the body with a scary-looking syringe. Cinchona frost was a tiger and wolf medicine, and compared to it, except for the thin and long needle of the syringe that was a little scary, this medicine was mild in nature and had excellent efficacy.
...It's almost as good as Liuli Fire.
He wanted to continue to refuse, but when he recalled the pain he felt during the attack, he couldn't say it. Even so, he still had great resistance to using such medicine.
Malaria is a common disease. It occurs seasonally in the northwest and north. In the south, it occurs all year round. Huo Chong, the damn craftsman, really has some skills. He actually made a good medicine to treat malaria. With this good medicine, malaria in Hebei, Henan, Shandong and other places was swept away. As long as it is confirmed, it is said that the people in the Chinese court will directly use this medicine to treat the people.
The price of this medicine was not expensive. If the people were short of money, the lackeys of the Chinese imperial court would allow them to buy on credit. The settlement would be made after the autumn harvest. According to the intelligence reports from the imperial court’s spies in various places, from south to north, from east to west, the rumor that the Chinese imperial court was blessed by heaven and saved all living beings spread quickly among the ignorant people.
Although the literati and gentry who were still loyal to the court still tried to speak for the court, there were still so many ignorant people who got malaria every year. As long as they received treatment, their minds would change.
Although some loyalists tried to scare the ignorant people with rumors, malaria was fatal, and facing the fear of death, the ignorant people were still timid. They forgot that they should be loyal to the court and use those drugs to save their own lives.
It's really infuriating!
Hong Zhou finally waved his hand. The imperial doctors understood what Hong Zhou meant and hurried to get the medicine.
Seeing these dogs and slaves retreating, Hong Zhou made up his mind to find ways to kill Huo Chong and never let him live. A few years ago, Liu Tongxun went to meet Huo Chong, and the two sides finally reached a tacit understanding that was not made public. No more war for the time being.
The reason why Hong Zhou agreed at that time was that he felt that there was a major split within Huo Chong. However, a few years later, Hong Zhou realized that he had underestimated Huo Chong. There were disputes within the Chinese court, but there was no split. Huo Chong actually took this time to deal with domestic affairs and stabilize the people's hearts. Looking at Huo Chong's appearance, he actually took the path of benevolent governance.
If Huo Chong is allowed to continue like this, when Huo Chong starts another war, how many people will continue to stand on the side of the court?
Chen Mingtai from Jiangnan had a dark face and wanted to pick up a brush to write something, but the brush in front of him seemed like a red-hot iron, and his fingers moved closer to the pen several times and then away from it several times.
Finally, footsteps were heard, and Madam Chen pushed the door open from outside and said, "Master, Master, have you heard that someone from my uncle's family was arrested?"
Chen Mingtai sighed, and it was as if a huge stone had fallen into his stomach. He finally let go of the worry.
But Chen Mingtai pretended nothing had happened and asked in surprise, "What's going on?"
Mrs. Chen was stunned. She looked at Chen Mingtai for a moment and took a step back. "Master actually knew about this a long time ago?"
After all, they have been married for decades. Chen Mingtai knew that his wife could see the change in his expression, and he also knew that he could not hide it, so he simply told her the story.
As far as Chen Mingtai knew, someone in his wife's uncle's family was extremely dissatisfied with Huo Chong. The court promoted drugs to treat malaria, and these guys joined some gangs. Those literati spread the word that the drugs were witchcraft, and whoever the potion was injected into would be possessed by a ghost and controlled by Huo Chong forever.
This statement did effectively scare some people, but they eventually chose to take medicine. After taking the medicine, they told the doctors about it, hoping to get a clear answer from them.
The foreigners in the Chinese court were searching everywhere for the remnants of those loyal to the Qing Dynasty. After hearing the news, they followed the clues and arrested a large number of people.
Chen Mingtai was certainly not involved in such a matter, but he also knew about the situation on both sides. He originally wanted to write a note to persuade his wife's uncle's family to flee and avoid disaster, but he was afraid of being implicated, so he did not dare to write.
When Mrs. Chen heard this, her face turned pale, but she didn't say anything. She stared at Chen Mingtai for a moment, then covered her mouth and ran out, leaving only the sound of sobbing all the way.
Chen Mingtai knew that what he did was not right, but he did not know what to do. Logically speaking, Chen Mingtai was an official under Huo Chong, and he should have come out to work for Huo Chong even though he knew that someone was slandering Huo Chong. Good medicine saves lives, and the court's medicine saves the people of the world. As a moral person, Chen Mingtai could not sit idly by.
However, family members know their own business. Chen Mingtai knew very well that he had realized a few years ago that he could not get what he wanted from Huo Chong, and he had long since become disloyal. The reason why he did not participate in this matter was that Chen Mingtai was afraid of the abilities of the Fanzi and did not dare to do so.
The security department is scornfully called "fanzi". They are very happy when they catch these rumor mongers. Malaria and other diseases don't care who you are. Once infected, you will fall ill. They will continue to spread through mosquito bites and other transmission routes.
When the grassroots officials of the imperial court went to the county and below, they not only helped the people with production, but also spent a lot of effort to help treat diseases. Many of them were military veterans and were comrades-in-arms of the security department cadres.
Those hateful villains have delayed many people's medical treatment by spreading rumors, and even caused them to die. It is a great pleasure to arrest these people and bring them to justice despite the strong hatred.
The security department delivered reports from all over the country to Huo Chong, and has strongly recommended that these people be executed.
Huo Chong didn't really want to kill anyone. It wasn't that Huo Chong supported the abolition of the death penalty. Huo Chong himself never supported it. Thinking of this, Huo Chong took out a notebook to record future situations and wrote down a sentence: "The abolitionists must be fired from their public office."
He put away his notebook and began to think about how to deal with the current situation. These people are undoubtedly enemies, and their death is not a pity. However, they are scattered all over the place and there is no strict organization. If the comrades hold the attitude of punishing the main culprit, they will probably never let them go.
Many of those who spread the rumors were not necessarily landlords or gentry. They were simply stupid, not bad.
Finally, Huo Chong instructed: "Deal with it according to the crime of spreading rumors in the criminal law. If there is no relevant content in the criminal law, then formulate one. Killing people is very satisfying, but it is for us who are very satisfied. Unless there is clear evidence and the rumormonger has clear evidence that he caused someone's death, he shall be sentenced to imprisonment instead of the death penalty."
After finishing his instructions, Huo Chong looked through the external news that he was most concerned about today. A war broke out between Spain and Britain.
The reason was that a security agreement was reached between Spain and Britain. A British captain bravely broke into a silver mining town in Spain's American colonies. He was caught by the Spanish, had his ears cut off, and then was driven away.
A small-scale war broke out between Britain and the Spanish, and Spain asked the Chinese court to sell more artillery to Spain.
Now the artillery of the Huaxia Dynasty has improved a lot, and cast iron artillery is used. Although cast iron is more prone to rust than bronze artillery. However, the agreement between the Huaxia Dynasty and Spain is that the Spaniards can exchange rusted artillery for new artillery in the Huaxia Dynasty. The Huaxia Dynasty only charges a certain cost. This can also be regarded as a means to increase customer stickiness.
But this is not important. Huo Chong discovered a change that he had not noticed before. Because Spain monopolized the trade line with China, it was equivalent to Chinese goods digging a large part of the British market in Europe. The sales of those shoddy British goods plummeted. Therefore, the dissatisfaction of the British increased significantly.
The Anglo-Saxons worthy of the name have pirates' blood flowing in their veins. Seeing that they cannot enter the Spanish market, are they going to use force to force Spain to open its borders?
Isn't it 1740 but 1840?
Thinking of this, Huo Chong wrote a note under the document, "Report to me how far our navy can sail."
