Chapter 8 The Gambler

  With the 50,000 taels of white silver presented by Yu Liang and the silver and property donated by the wealthy Fuzhou merchants, Tan Yanqing easily established "Jianmin Pharmaceutical", which was his private property, specializing in the production of anti-opium pills. He also set up two detoxification centers - one for the poor and one for the rich.

  In early June, the Fujian-Zhejiang Governor's Office issued a public document requiring all officials in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces who smoked opium to register their names and be divided into three batches for detoxification. The detoxification site was the Rich and Honorable Detoxification Center within Fuzhou City. The cost of detoxification was borne entirely by the officials themselves, with each person paying 50 taels of silver; those who underreported would be dismissed from office...

  Tan Zhonglin issued this public notice with a very strong and hard-hitting tone, standing on the moral high ground. This triggered an anti-opium storm in the official circles of Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. In this era when corruption was most rampant in the Qing court, although many officials opposed it, none of the high-ranking officials in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces - including governors, provincial administrators, and judicial commissioners - dared to come out and say they were against anti-opium efforts. This time, the anti-opium campaign targeted opium smokers, without offending foreign opium traders, while also silencing those who were dissatisfied.

  Regardless of what the officials of the two provinces think, the people of the two provinces are applauding and cheering. The Shanghai "Zi Lin Xi Bao" newspaper made a detailed report on the event of Fujian-Zhejiang Governor Tan Zhonglin opening a detoxification center and forcing officials in both Fujian and Zhejiang to quit drugs, and even sent reporters to conduct on-site investigations at two detoxification centers within Fuzhou City before publishing a special edition.

  The North China Herald is an English-language newspaper run by the British, mainly for foreign diplomats, missionaries and businessmen in China, as well as some open-minded high-ranking Chinese officials and intellectuals who attach great importance to its views. Tan Yankai had long been familiar with the name of this newspaper before his previous life, and in his impression, it had a huge influence during the late Qing dynasty and the Republic of China era. Although he did not know its ultimate fate, there was no doubt that this newspaper was very influential. However, when Tan Yankai was in charge of translating foreign newspapers, he also attached great importance to The North China Herald. From some of the views above, it seems that this newspaper is a bit biased... Its reader group is extremely special, with a strong political tone, and most importantly, it has made very unfair reports on some recent frequent missionary cases.

  About a dozen days ago, Tan Yankai read an article in the "Zhilin Western Newspaper" about the Governor's opium detoxification experiment. The content of the article was very skeptical about whether Chinese people could get rid of their opium addiction. However, considering that the "Zhilin Western Newspaper" had sent someone to Fuzhou for on-site inspection of the detoxification center, he dispatched Kou Qing to accompany them and introduce the affairs of the detoxification center.

  When the special edition of "The Globe" was delivered to Yan's hands, he was startled by the bold and black English title - "Young Lin Zexu - Yan": "... The young man in the photo is Tan Yan, the third son of the Qing dynasty's governor of Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. He is only 16 years old this year, but he has created a miracle. By administering medicine, people can be cured of their opium addiction..."

  "Damn Kou Qing!" Tan Yanqun cursed in his heart - it turned out that when the two British reporters came to Fuzhou City to visit the entire rehabilitation center, Kou Qing had also brought him out and took a photo with him in front of the rehabilitation center. This was Tan Yanqun's first time taking a photo since he arrived in this time and space, and he didn't realize at all that the reporter would use this photo for something, if only he had thought about it a little bit at the time.

  Tan Yanqing doesn't want to be exposed in the public eye, after all, being too popular might not be a good thing for him. Especially since he's planning to flee overseas when China's situation becomes worse in the future. On the issue of banning opium, he has already offended many people. If this photo is released, wouldn't it attract the attention of those with interests related to opium onto himself? Who knows, he might even get kidnapped or assassinated, and that would be a huge loss for him.

  However, it's worth mentioning that Lin Zexu is a hero in the fight against drugs. Although his ending was not ideal, it was precisely because of Lin Zexu's clear and resolute anti-drug stance that later generations of Chinese people continued to make efforts to ban opium. This article reports on his life in detail, making it seem like an interview with a historical figure, but overall it is still relatively positive.

  However, the "Tz'u-lin Hsi Pao" is not entirely eulogistic. Tan Yankai very astutely observed that: "In view of the extraordinary effect of Tan Yankai's anti-opium pills, it is likely that the Ch'ing government will soon make large-scale purchases to suppress the increasing number of opium smokers in China. If this happens, foreign opium merchants in China should be careful, for their good days are numbered; considering that one mu (about 1/6 acre) of poppy cultivation can yield an income of over 11,000 taels, far exceeding the 6,000 taels from one mu of wheat, and that there are nearly 200 million mu of poppy fields in China, the appearance of anti-opium pills will undoubtedly cause great losses to Chinese opium growers and opium den operators."

  "Bang!" Tan Yanqin slammed the newspaper on the table, startling the other attendants in the office of Mufang Tang. Seeing Tan's furious face, several clerks from the translation department walked up to ask what was wrong.

  The staff of the Translation Bureau were all very young, and they usually got along well with Tan Yanqing. After seeing this report, they were also very angry. Through their translation, all the staff in the entire Mufang Hall knew what kind of trouble this passage would bring to the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang. Tan Yanqing immediately took the newspaper to find his father, Tan Zhonglin, hoping that he could give himself a way to solve the problem. After all, this report was simply a naked provocation. It can be imagined that when people with great interests in opium throughout China would do whatever it takes to protect their interests!

  "What? Are you scared?" Tan Zhonglin asked lazily.

  Tan Zhonglin didn't seem to care about the newspaper report, so Tan Yankei felt a little more at ease and said: "These foreigners don't have good intentions, they might stir up trouble later!"

  Tan Zhonglin smiled and asked: "Zu An, do you know about your father's early years as an official?"

  Tan Yanxin only knew that his father had been a provincial governor and a governor-general, but he was not clear about the history of how Tan Zhonglin rose to prominence in his early years as an official, so he shook his head.

  "In the early years of the Xianfeng Emperor's reign, Empress Dowager Cixi's wrist was severely injured when she was trying to escape from the emperor's summer palace in Rehe. She then joined forces with Prince Gong to kill or exile eight high-ranking officials who were loyal to the emperor, including Sushun, and only then did she gain the power to rule behind the scenes. Prince Gong was rewarded with a series of important positions, including Minister of the Grand Council, President of the Board of War, and Director of the Imperial Household Department. However, this situation did not last long, as Empress Dowager Cixi soon bypassed the Grand Council and convened an imperial conference, where she stripped Prince Gong of his position as President of the Board of War and handed over the case against him to Woren, a conservative Confucian scholar who was then serving as a Grand Secretary. As the leader of the Western Affairs Party in the court, Prince Gong naturally suffered greatly from this event..."

  Wang Xianyun was a western scholar in the Sushun government at that time, and he knew very well about the palace coup that took place in Rehe. After Sushun's downfall, he managed to escape and returned to Hunan to become a teacher. Due to the entire event being full of mystery and bloodshed, Empress Dowager Cixi still holds absolute power today, so this kind of thing is absolutely not allowed to be spoken of on the surface. Wang Xianyun taught Yan Xishan the learning of emperors, which is a very good example, but he wasn't very clear about the conflict between Prince Gong and Empress Dowager Cixi.

  "University scholar Wei Ren was naturally the one who called the shots in the Hanlin Academy, and his father was at that time a small and unknown Hanlin in the Hanlin Academy... In Beijing, being an official is prestigious but also means putting your head on the chopping block. For someone like my father, a Hanlin with no background, there were only two paths to take - one was to join a faction, for example, standing behind Su Shun, Gong Prince, or the Empress Dowager... choosing a powerful patron and relying on them, then after a long time if you have good abilities, you can naturally get an official position and develop from there; the other path is much more perilous..."

  "Did Father choose the second path back then? The Empress Dowager has been showing our Tan family endless kindness, if Father had stood up for Prince Gong at that time, not to mention being powerless and ineffective, I'm afraid the Empress Dowager would have secretly harbored resentment in her heart. Wouldn't Wei Ren be even more unwilling to let things go?" Tan Yanqing asked.

  "Yan Ren... Hehe, it seems that old bookworm still has a few tricks up his sleeve. Unfortunately, he can't see the bigger picture and thinks that Empress Dowager really wants to get rid of Prince Gong? Without Prince Gong, who would Empress Dowager rely on to control the situation which had just stabilized? Even if we take a step back, Prince Gong's position is prestigious and he is also an important crutch for Empress Dowager. If she were to deal with him, wouldn't that be too ruthless? Don't forget that at that time, there were two empress dowagers governing from behind the curtain, and Empress Ci'an still held a trump card in her hand. Didn't Mr. Xianggui tell you about this?" Tan Zhonglin said coldly with a smile.

  "Mr. Xiang Qi once mentioned that this seems to have something to do with Zhang Zhidong's staff, Sang Zhiping. Originally, Su Shun could have gotten rid of the Empress Dowager, but he didn't take action. Su Shun's staff suggested using the current Empress Dowager's background and the teachings of the Holy Ancestor to restrain her. At that time, Emperor Xianfeng also issued a secret edict to Empress Ci'an..."

  "When it comes to officialdom, if it involves irreconcilable forces, especially the change of palace, there is no room for feminine benevolence. Su Shun's ability is good, but compared to the current Empress Dowager, his wrist is as soft as tofu. Such a person will not have any achievements, and if he didn't rely on his birth, he wouldn't have had today's power?! Speaking of Yu Ren and Su Shun, they are of the same kind, failing to see the situation clearly and relying on their own power. The only difference is that Yu Ren's backer is strong enough, even if he loses, he won't be demoted, let alone worry about his life!"

  "Then was it Father who helped Gongqin Wang escape later on?!"

  Tan Zhonglin shook his head: "Actually, the situation at that time was not so critical. As a father, he just took advantage of the situation. Think about it, a small Hanlin and a university scholar opposing each other, the result is obvious. I can talk to you today because the Empress Dowager didn't want to take it too far. At that time, my father contacted the officials of the Ministry of Justice alone, and together with Gongzhong Guangcheng, they jointly petitioned on behalf of Prince Gong, using the phrase 'in the temple, first suspicion, fundamentally unable to cooperate, actually affecting the overall situation' as an article. The Empress Dowager then followed suit and reprimanded Prince Gong, and the matter was dropped."

  Tan Yanqin nodded and smiled, saying: "Not only did the Japanese at that time not see clearly the situation, but also those who were usually flattering and fawning in front of Prince Gong probably all became turtles with their heads shrunk in. Although my father was an unknown Hanlin scholar, he had no relationship with Prince Gong, yet at a critical moment he could speak for him, so naturally Prince Gong would return the favor in the future..."

  Tan Zhonglin smiled: "These are all things from my youth, at that time I was sweating in the palm of my hand, and even now thinking about it makes me feel a little scared. Although as a father I calculated everything carefully, if it didn't work out, I'm afraid I would have to go back home and farm. Although it's a bit adventurous, I never regret it, even if the result at that time went in the opposite direction, I would still do the same - a Hanlin with no background wasting his years in Beijing, I am not one of those weak-willed people, unwilling to cling to the powerful, taking this path can be said to be fair and can change my fate, even if it's ten times more dangerous it's worth it!"

  "It's great that you can take risks, but if the father himself is not capable enough, it's all in vain. The fact that Father has made it to today without relying on others is truly admirable!" Tan Yanqian said with a smile.

  Tan Zhonglin stood up and laughed, saying: "That's natural. After that, Gong Shunwang was afraid I would stay in Beijing and be retaliated against, so he found an opportunity to send me to Hangzhou as the prefect. While serving as prefect, I again seriously offended Wu Tang, the first benefactor of the Empress Dowager. Interestingly, 26 years ago, Wu Tang was the governor-general of Fujian and Zhejiang at that time. At that time, he could have scared the governor of Zhejiang to death, but instead, he wanted to suppress me and make me apologize to him? In the end, it was Wu Tang who knew his manners and found out that his subordinate had bullied and cheated people, so he handed the person over to me for punishment. You should know what happened afterwards. I was very successful in my official career, smooth sailing all the way from Henan's inspector to Shaanxi's governor, Zhejiang's governor, and Shaan-Gan's governor-general, until today's Fujian-Zhejiang governor-general... How many Hanlin scholars are there in the world? Those who can achieve what I have achieved can be counted on one hand!

  "The old man indeed has the capital to be proud of, although his official career had a large speculative nature in it. However, being able to go against Empress Dowager Cixi twice and still have a good relationship with her decades later, even becoming the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang, is not something that ordinary people can compare to. How many people dare to defy Empress Dowager Cixi once and end their official career? Weng Tonghe, the imperial teacher for two generations, was demoted back home, wasn't he?" Tan Yankai thought to himself.

  Tan Yanqian thought of the trouble he was about to face and hesitated, asking: "Does Father think this is an opportunity for his son?!"

  Tan Zhonglin nodded and smiled, saying: "The harm of opium is too great to be written on bamboo slips. Although Lin Zexu's ending was not good back then, it had a deep relationship with the environment at that time. The most important thing is that Lin Zexu was hard-headed and went against the grain. No matter what the outcome of the war was, Lin Zexu would not have had a good life. As soon as this war started, regardless of victory or defeat, those who initiated the war in the capital would definitely be impeached by the 'clear stream'. If they won, Lin Zexu's power would surge, and the court would not let him off. Since they lost, he could only be a scapegoat! If Lin Zexu back then had not been so tough on confiscating opium from British merchants, but instead found a way to create detoxification pills like yours, or simply locked up people who smoked opium and forced them to quit, causing the British merchants' opium to sell poorly, the two sides would have been at a stalemate for several years. The British would definitely not be able to hold out..."

  Tan Yankai shook his head after hearing this: "The British will not give up the benefits of opium so easily, after all, it is too rich. Moreover, there are strong voices within the British themselves opposing opium, and public opinion pressure is fatal to the British. However, at that time, it was possible to avoid war, but now it's unavoidable. The only possibility is that the British dare not take such a risk so quickly."

  "Zu An, you're not very familiar with the inner workings of the imperial court. Although the Empress Dowager has returned power to the Emperor, she still holds absolute authority and the Emperor has no real power! In other words, as long as the Empress Dowager thinks it's acceptable, you won't have any problems. I've already written a letter to her on your behalf, and I estimate that a response will arrive within these two days. Although things are currently unfavorable for you, the key is that the Empress Dowager also deeply abhors opium and wants to ban it without provoking the foreigners. She should be very supportive of this! Additionally, the Empress Dowager's birthday is approaching soon. I've sent those 50,000 taels of silver to Weng Tonghe, the Minister of Revenue, through the Ministry of Revenue. Previously, Yan Jingtang was the Minister of Revenue and was a subordinate of Hu Linyi, one of the few remaining old veterans of the Xiang Army. Yan is a man of great integrity, but the Empress Dowager wants to build a garden and the Ministry of Revenue has no money, which has left Yan in a difficult position. He had no choice but to ask for help. This 50,000 taels of silver is my personal money, and Weng Shuping took it to alleviate the urgent need. The Empress Dowager's side will definitely know about this, and both parties will acknowledge my kindness. In this way, your matter will be absolutely without problems in the eyes of the imperial court..."

  Tan Zhonglin said with a straightened waist, Tan Yanqian immediately stepped forward and gently patted his back. Tan Zhonglin smiled contentedly: "As for those gangsters, can they afford to provoke the Fujian-Zhejiang Governor's Mansion? Haven't you already decided to train your family soldiers? It's just right to use them as a test run, it's also a way to eliminate harm for the people! However, the key point of the detoxification pill is that it can improve your status. Relying on this alone, when seeking a retreat in the future, you won't lose a safeguard. My Tan family will also receive protection from the common people because of this!"

  "It seems that the old man is even more stubborn than me, but after all, one's own safety still depends on one's own strength. Those gangster methods are varied and numerous, and wanting to thoroughly deal with them is also quite a headache! Tan Yanqin thought to himself, but doing anything has risks, he had already thought about the possibility of facing this kind of challenge when he was thinking of launching the detoxification pill, it's just that this damn report really made him somewhat anxious."