vstars Chapter 80: People die for wealth, birds die for food.
Chapter 80: People die for wealth, birds die for food.
Seeing that Kangxi was frowning and seemed to be deep in thought, Yinzhuo quickly continued.
"Once you're hooked on opium, it's almost impossible to quit. It can not only destroy a person's will, but also destroy a dynasty. Do you know where your son got this box of opium on your table?"
Yinzhuo knew that simply talking about the harms of opium would not necessarily sway Kangxi to make him decide to ban opium from spreading in the Qing Dynasty, so Yinzhuo directly targeted the two points that Kangxi cared about most.
If you ask what the two things Kangxi cared about most were, it would definitely be his empire and his son. If he knew that someone was trying to use a drug called "longevity drug" to murder his son and overthrow his empire, he would not tolerate it.
Just as Yinzhuo had predicted, upon hearing that this thing could not only destroy a person's will but also potentially overthrow his empire, Kangxi's expression immediately turned even uglier.
"Where did you get this? Did someone offer this to you to tempt you into taking it? That person is utterly despicable."
It's no wonder that Kangxi harbored such conspiracy theories. Everyone in the court and the country knew that his two most favored princes were Crown Prince Yinreng and the sixth prince Yinzuo in front of him. Since he wanted to plot something wicked, he would naturally have to stab him in the ribs that hurt him the most.
Seeing that Kangxi had taken the bait, Yinzhuo stopped keeping him in suspense and revealed the answer directly.
"This was given to Yinzhen by his cousin today. Fortunately, the kid didn't secretly enjoy it himself after getting it, but instead showed it off to me. That's how he escaped a disaster. Otherwise, if he had gotten involved with this stuff, his life would have been ruined."
"You scoundrel! Guards, bring me Arsona!"
Seeing that Kangxi was about to get angry and arrest the person, Yinzhuo quickly gave Liang Jiugong a look, telling him to go outside and hold off the guards for a while, while he got up and walked to Kangxi's side.
"Father, wait a minute. This Alsona probably doesn't have the intentions you think. I guess he just found it good after using it himself and wants to use it to curry favor with Yinzhen. As the saying goes, 'seeing the leopard through a tube, one can see the whole picture from a small part.' It's clear that this drug is very popular among the powerful and wealthy, and I imagine many of the Eight Banners soldiers are also using it. The Eight Banners army has always been the cornerstone of our Great Qing. If the Eight Banners soldiers are corrupted by this drug, the harm to our Great Qing will be immeasurable. I think that now that we have discovered the problem, we should start to deal with it as soon as possible, and we must use swift and decisive measures. Regardless of whether they are Manchu or Han, as long as they are found using drug on Qing territory, especially those who sell drug, they should be severely punished. The death penalty is the minimum, and if the amount sold is too large, the execution of nine generations of their family is not out of the question."
As the saying goes, in times of chaos, harsh measures are necessary. Although Yinzhuo knew that since this opium had already entered the Qing Dynasty and some people were profiting from it, it was basically impossible to completely eradicate it. After all, people die for wealth, birds die for food, and many people would take risks for profit. However, Yinzhuo still wanted to do his best to curb this thing before it became widespread in the land. He hoped that through these severe punishments, those who wanted to take risks would understand that if you dare to touch it, I can kill you, and not only kill you, but your whole family will die.
"Very well, I will now summon my ministers to discuss this matter. Does Yinzhi wish to stay?"
Under normal circumstances, Yinzhuo would not have wanted to stay and listen in, but now he was afraid. He was afraid that if he left, there would be no future for this matter, so he nodded. When Kangxi saw that his son Yinzhuo, who had always disliked court affairs, was now interested in court matters, his expression softened.
It seems that Kangxi really values this matter. Not only did the ministers in charge of each department come, but also all of Yinzhuo's brothers who had already entered the court, from the first to the seventh.
Yinti and the others rushed over after receiving Kangxi's decree. When they entered the room and saw Yinzuo standing next to Kangxi, they were all stunned. Although Yinzuo was a regular visitor to the Imperial Study in the Qianqing Palace, he had never appeared during a meeting before.
"Your Majesty, we pay our respects to Father Khan."
Although everyone was puzzled as to why the Sixth Prince would appear in the Imperial Study during their meeting, they also knew that since His Majesty had tacitly approved it, they had no right to speak out. Therefore, they all ignored Yinzhuo's greeting to Kangxi.
"Get up. Yinzhuo, tell the ministers, your brothers and other officials what you just told me."
Although this was Yinzhuo's first time attending such a meeting, he had prepared his speech in his mind for a long time before everyone arrived, so he was not too nervous at the moment. Upon hearing Kangxi's instructions, he stepped forward, bowed to Kangxi, and responded.
"Yes, Khan."
Next, Yinzhuo repeated what he had just said to Kangxi to everyone. Yinzhuo had a good memory and good eloquence. He narrated the whole thing clearly and concisely, making it easy for everyone to understand what he wanted to express.
"Sixth Prince, do you mean that this 'longevity ointment' is addictive and extremely harmful to the body? Do you have any evidence to prove it?"
Yinzhuo only saw the longevity ointment today, so where is the evidence? But this matter is quite difficult; one test will tell.
"Father, since this sir wants to see the evidence, that's easy. Just send someone to the death row to bring over a heinous death row inmate, have him fed some narcotic fat, and we'll know."
The condemned prisoner was brought in quickly. Yinzhuo estimated the amount and scooped out a lump of ginseng from the box, then had a eunuch take it to him. He left the rest to time.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before the death row inmate, who had been calm just moments before, began to react. He first became somewhat agitated, then started shouting excitedly, then seemed to be hallucinating and talking nonsense. Finally, he lost control of his bladder and bowels and fainted. This series of reactions left everyone in the Imperial Study dumbfounded, and even then, Yinzhuo didn't forget to add fuel to the fire.
"Your Excellencies have surely witnessed the toxicity of this opium. If we don't prohibit its circulation in the Qing Dynasty, which of us doesn't have a child who doesn't know any better? What if this thing gets on their hands..."
"Guards, take this prisoner away. Liang Jiugong, have someone come in and clean up this floor. Gentlemen, shall we move to the council hall and continue our discussion?"
Seeing everyone looking at each other in confusion, and unable to come up with a solution, Kangxi simply ordered his men to take away the unconscious death row inmate. He then instructed Liang Jiugong to go out and call someone in to clean up the soiled floor. Before leaving, he glared at Yinzhuo, the culprit who had caused all this, before leading everyone out of the Imperial Study.
Yinzhuo had naturally seen the glare Kangxi had given him, but did it matter? For Yinzhuo, it was nothing.
Everyone followed Kangxi to the flower hall in the Qianqing Palace where they had been discussing matters, and sat down again to continue the previous topic.
"Your Majesty, this old minister believes that this opium is indeed a great threat to our Great Qing. If it is not controlled, it will not only weaken the fighting power of our Eight Banners army, but in the long run it will also shake the foundation of our Great Qing. Therefore, this old minister thinks that what the Sixth Prince said is reasonable and that those who sell opium should be executed."