“‘On the Harmfulness of Opium’—what kind of nonsense is this? How could something like this get published in the papers? Damn it! Henry, get over here right now! You owe me a proper explanation…” The one furiously shouting was George Grand, a renowned British opium tycoon, ranked among the top ten opium merchants in the world. As one of the major beneficiaries of the trade, George Grand, like all other opium dealers, had always firmly believed that opium was a miracle drug and that selling it was an act of salvation. He had always loathed any external criticism of opium’s harmful effects. With the development of science and technology, more and more people began to recognize the dangers of opium and started calling on the government to ban its circulation. In order to continue making enormous profits from the opium trade, the opium merchants naturally sought to silence these opposing voices. To achieve this, they were willing to spend a great deal of profit to bribe government officials, newspapers, and members of parliament. What appeared to be a trade dominated by opium dealers was, in reality, a collaborative plundering arrangement involving British bureaucrats, parliamentarians, and media outlets. Driven by shared interests, the beneficiaries worked together to barely suppress the voices demanding a domestic ban on opium. Now, seeing that a newspaper had published an article exposing the harmful effects of opium, George Grand was understandably furious. This meant he would have to pay an even higher price to suppress dissent. Henry, who was in charge of public relations, hurried over to explain, “Sir, this situation is very unusual. The source of the public outcry is not domestic. It might be related to recent international disputes. The first to slander the miracle drug was an Austrian newspaper. The domestic papers merely reprinted it...” There was no choice but to be nervous. Opium dealers were ruthless people. For an opium tycoon like George Grand, if he didn’t have a few hundred lives under his command, how could he maintain his standing in the circle? If someone ruined his plans, they could end up dead. If not for desperate circumstances, Henry would never have accepted such a high-risk job. As someone directly involved, no one understood better than Henry how loud the public outcry against opium sales had become. The push from the Austrian government was only one of the triggers. What truly emboldened newspapers to publish such articles was the growing strength of domestic opposition to the opium trade. Those harmed by opium were not just one or two people, nor were they limited by wealth or status. Many members of Britain’s elite had also fallen victim. Though the opium merchants were powerful, they had not reached the point of being able to control everything. Public relations could not buy off every newspaper, so it was not surprising that some dared to speak out. In fact, the paper George Grand saw was relatively mild, merely reprinting a foreign article without expressing its own views. It was the content in some of the small street tabloids that was truly shocking. They dared to publish anything. By the time anyone tried to go after them, they had already changed names. Henry could clearly sense that there was a force behind all this, which made him very uneasy. George Grand interrupted him, “Don’t give me that useless talk. I don’t care what methods you use. You must suppress all these voices. If these people refuse to accept our goodwill, then they have no right to exist. Pick one of the more vocal ones and make an example out of them. Let the world know that our Panacea Association is not to be trifled with!” Faced with the enraged George Grand, Henry simply did not have the courage to refuse. Nervously, he replied, “Yes, Sir. It’s just that the Aust—” Before he could finish, George Grand slammed the table and cursed, “Those damned Austrian bastards. We should have destroyed them back then. Now they’ve actually grown in influence and even dare to interfere…” Decades ago, when Austria legislated to ban the opium trade, the opium merchants wanted revenge. Unfortunately, the rulers of the British government were not fools. After all, Austria was one of the four major world powers at the time. Going to war with Austria over the opium trade would have been insane. Since they couldn’t persuade the government, and the opium dealers’ own strength alone was insufficient to confront Austria directly, they resorted to smuggling under the table. However, smuggling was not easy either. The Austrian government continued to crack down harshly on the opium trade, arresting and executing opium dealers with terrifying determination. Although they had not completely eradicated it, most opium merchants had been intimidated. Even major opium bosses like George Grand had not dared to go near Austria in recent years. Why risk death in Austria when one could sell opium legally elsewhere? Seeking riches through danger was something for the desperate and destitute. People with vast wealth like them had no need to take such risks. They could endure before, because there were many other markets available. But not anymore. If the British government followed Austria’s example, George Grand’s foundation would be shaken. With old and new grudges piled together, George Grand could no longer maintain his noble composure. He vented his rage without restraint. Henry suffered for it. He didn’t dare leave, nor did he dare offer advice. He could only awkwardly stand there, trying hard to appear as if he was listening intently. After releasing his anger, George Grand gradually calmed down. The matter involved international political disputes, which were beyond his ability to influence. The era of capital dominance had not yet arrived. Getting too carried away would come at a cost. Despite his noble title, George Grand was well aware of how shallow that nobility truly was compared to genuine aristocrats. After a moment’s pause, he spoke slowly, “You don’t need to worry about the political side. I will coordinate with our peers so we can face this crisis together.” Having stood out in a highly competitive environment, George Grand was not a simple man. He was fully aware of the public’s deep resentment toward the opium trade. The Pharmacy Act of 1868 had been enacted under strong public pressure. The problem was that his personal interests were too deeply involved, and he was unwilling to let go. Just in 1888 alone, the sales of opium-related products in Britain amounted to over ten million pounds. The peripheral industries brought in over one hundred million pounds. And that was just the domestic market. The overseas profits were even greater. If the government passed a law banning opium, not only would domestic profits vanish, but overseas income would also sharply decline. ... At 10 Downing Street, Prime Minister Gladstone was feeling extremely troubled. Public attention had indeed shifted away from the “diplomat incident,” but Britain remained at the center of the media storm. “British military atrocities in Afghanistan,” “Britain’s colonial dark history,” “the biggest behind-the-scenes manipulator of European wars,” “the largest human trafficker in history,” “drug empire”... All of these media focuses were now targeting them. In the face of such facts, every explanation they offered seemed weak and unconvincing. If he had known the situation would spiral out of control, Prime Minister Gladstone would have rather borne the pressure from the “diplomat incident,” even if it meant going to war with the Russians. Now, after all this upheaval, not only was war with Russia inevitable, but his own reputation had been thoroughly ruined. European nations were disgusted by Britain’s attempt to drag others down with it. All the major colonial empires had dark histories, some of which continued even today. No amount of denial could wash it clean. Under these circumstances, the only way forward was to single out a worse offender to take the fall and divert public attention. Austria started it, and everyone else gave it a push. Britain naturally ended up at the top of the list. And not in a position that could be shaken easily. Its dark history far exceeded that of the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth combined, making it the primary target of international criticism. Prime Minister Gladstone said, “International opinion is increasingly against us. Now, anything we do is magnified. It’s clear that our plan to divert public attention has failed. The European powers are extremely dissatisfied with us for exposing their dark histories. This is only the beginning of their retaliation. If we cannot handle these issues properly, more trouble will follow. Does anyone have any good solutions?” Few countries dared to confront Britain openly, but when it came to taking underhanded actions, no one hesitated. After all, it was Austria that lifted the lid, and Russia that charged ahead. The rest merely chimed in. If the British government wanted revenge, it had to first deal with those two leaders. Otherwise, it would only backfire. The Colonial Secretary, Primrose, responded, “The Prime Minister is right. These problems must be addressed. However, there’s little we can do at the moment. Any extreme actions would cause a huge backlash. Continuing to stir up this issue will only make things worse for us. Based on past experience, the only way to suppress a media storm is to create an even bigger one. Our plan to divert attention failed mainly because we made too many enemies. We must learn from that. In essence, this incident was just an accident and carries no real strategic value. There’s no need to hold on stubbornly. The Russians are already preparing for war. The defense of Afghanistan is inevitable. I believe we should calm international dissatisfaction, then reignite the British-Russian conflict to refocus public attention. This issue has already affected the interests of some capitalists. I’m sure they’ll help steer public opinion for us. As for the international media, let them say what they want!” While the opium trade was not a key government revenue source, opium dealers were undoubtedly major benefactors of the press, bureaucrats, and parliamentarians. At this time, British merchants controlled most of the global drug trade. Nearly half of the profits flowed through various channels into the pockets of officials and lawmakers, forming a powerful interest group. Many disapproved of this group, but no one could deny its strength. After a moment of hesitation, Prime Minister Gladstone nodded. To become Prime Minister of Britain, he had to be someone who could see the big picture.
*** https://postimg.cc/gallery/PwXsBkC (Maps of the current territories of the countries in this novel made by ScH)
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