NOVPUB"On the Harmfulness of Opium," what nonsense is this? Damn it, how could such content be reported!"
Henry, come here now, you need to give me a reasonable explanation…"
The one raging was none other than George-Grande, the infamous opium magnate of Britain, ranked among the top ten opium dealers worldwide.
As one of the beneficiaries, like all opium dealers, George-Grande had always firmly believed that opium was a panacea, and selling opium was a form of redemption.
He had always vehemently despised the views criticizing the harmfulness of opium.
With the advancement of science and technology, more and more people realized the harmfulness of opium and stepped forward to call on the government to ban the circulation of opium.
To continue reaping huge profits from the opium trade, opium dealers naturally shied away from these differing voices. To this end, they did not hesitate to spend substantial profits to bribe government officials, newspapers, and legislators.
What seemed to be an opium trade dominated by drug dealers was actually a profit-sharing meeting involving British bureaucrats, legislators, and media.
Driven by interests, the beneficiaries exerted their collective influence to barely suppress the domestic calls to ban opium. 𝔫𝔬𝖛𝖕𝔲𝖇.𝖈𝖔𝖒
Now, seeing articles revealing the harmfulness of opium published in the newspapers, George-Grande was naturally displeased, which meant he would have to spend even more to suppress these dissenting voices.
The person in charge of public relations, Henry, hurried over to explain, "Sir, this incident is very special. The source of the opinion is not domestic.
It might be related to the recent international disputes. The first to slander the panacea were the Austrian newspapers, and the domestic papers only reprinted them…"
Being nervous was inevitable, as opium dealers were ruthless. How could someone like George-Grande, an opium magnate, establish himself in this circle without having caused hundreds of deaths?
If he messed up his business, people would die. If not for dire needs, Henry would not have taken this high-risk job.
As one of the parties involved, no one knew better than him how strong the public call to ban opium sales was.
The push by the Austrian government was just one of the catalysts. The main reason newspapers dared to publish such news was that the domestic anti-opium trade groups were growing.
The victims of the opium disaster were not just one or two, nor differentiated by wealth and status; many British nobles were also victims.
Although the power of opium dealers was immense, it was not omnipotent. Public relations could not buy all newspapers, and it was normal for some to dare to criticize.
In fact, the newspapers George-Grande saw were relatively mild, only reprinting content from foreign newspapers without expressing their own views.
Many street tabloids published far more shocking content, daring to print anything. They did not wait for them to seek retribution; these publishers would simply change their identities.
Henry had already clearly felt a powerful force behind it, which made him very worried.
George-Grande interrupted, "Don’t give me these useless talks. No matter what you do, you must suppress these voices.
If these people do not accept our goodwill, they lose their necessity to exist. Pick one of these active figures to ’kill the chicken to scare the monkey.’
We must make it known to the outside world that our Panacea Association is not to be trifled with!"
Facing the furious George-Grande, Henry truly had no courage to refuse and nervously answered, "Yes, sir! It’s just that Austria…"
Before he could finish speaking, George-Grande slammed the table fiercely and cursed, "Damn those Austrian bastards, I should have eliminated them back then. Now they form a climate, even daring to stretch out their hands…"
Decades ago, when Austria legislated to ban the opium trade, the opium dealers wanted to retaliate, but their British rulers were not fools.
Regardless, Austria was one of the world’s four great powers at the time. To fight a war with Austria over the opium trade would be the act of a madman.
Unable to persuade the government, and with only the power of the opium dealers themselves, it was naturally impossible to confront the Austrian government directly. It was illegal, so they secretly smuggled instead.
However, smuggling was also difficult. The Austrian government was always harsh on the opium trade, catching and executing dealers, seriously intimidating the community.
Although they did not manage to completely eradicate it, most opium dealers, including big dealers like George-Grande, were deterred from entering Austria in recent years.
Is it not good to sell opium legally elsewhere? Why risk death in Austria?
To seek fortune in danger was for those destitute and desperate; these major business holders had no need to take such risks.
They could bear it before because there were many other markets to choose from. Now, if the British government followed suit, it would undermine George-Grande’s foundation.
With new grudges and old hatreds, George-Grande no longer cared about maintaining any nobility and began to vent vigorously.
This made things difficult for Henry, who dared not leave or dissuade, and could only awkwardly stand there, trying to appear as if he was listening earnestly.
After venting his grievances, George-Grande gradually calmed down, acknowledging that international political disputes were not something he could meddle in.
The era of capital had not yet descended, and playing too extravagantly came with a price.
Even though he bore a title of nobility, George-Grande was well aware of how much less authentic a purchased title was compared to that of the true nobility.
After a pause, he slowly said, "You don’t need to worry about political matters. I will communicate with my colleagues and collectively make an effort to get through this crisis."
George-Grande stood out among many competitors, clearly not an ordinary individual. He was well aware of the deep hatred the public held against the opium trade.
The Drugstore Act of 1868 was enacted under strong public dissatisfaction.
It was just that he was reluctant to let go of his own interests.
In 1888 alone, opium-related products sold domestically in Britain amounted to tens of millions of British Pounds, with even higher figures when considering the surrounding industrial chains.
Not to mention overseas, the profits were much greater than those domestically.
Were the government to enact an opium ban, not only would domestic profits vanish, but overseas revenues would plummet as well.
...
Downing Street. Prime Minister Gladstone was severely troubled now, the public’s attention had indeed shifted from the "Envoy Incident," but Britain was still at the center of the media whirlpool.
"The atrocities of the British Army in the Afghan Region", "Britain’s dark colonial past", "The biggest behind-the-scenes manipulator in European wars", "The greatest slave trader in human history", "The empire of drugs"...
All these focal points of the media were aimed at them. In the face of facts, all their defenses appeared pale and weak.
If he had known from the start that the situation would spiral out of control, Prime Minister Gladstone would have rather faced down the pressure from the "Envoy Incident," even if it meant going to war with the Russians.
Now, not only was the war between England and Russia unavoidable, but it also left his reputation in tatters.
European countries deeply resented their tactics of dragging others into the mire, with every colonial empire having a slew of dark histories, some of which were still ongoing, and no amount of white-washing could clean.
In this context, everyone could only push someone else out to bear the brunt and attract the public’s attention.
Austria took the lead, everyone else pushed a bit, and Britain, with sheer power, occupied the top spot.
And it was the kind that once occupied, couldn’t be left, with a dark history far surpassing the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth combined, becoming the focus of international public opinion.
Prime Minister Gladstone said, "International public opinion is increasingly unfavorable to us. Now, anything we do is magnified.
The facts have shown that our plan to shift public attention has failed. European countries are very dissatisfied with our revealing their dark histories, and this is just the beginning of their retaliatory actions.
If we cannot properly handle these issues, more trouble will follow. Does anyone have any good solutions?"
Direct confrontation with Britain was daunting for few countries, but behind-the-scenes manipulation carried no such pressure.
After all, Austria was the one who initially lifted the lid, with the Russians at the forefront. Everyone else was just side players.
If the British Government wanted to retaliate, they had to first deal with the two ring-leaders, or else they would only backfire.
Colonial Minister Primrose responded, "The Prime Minister is right, these issues indeed need to be addressed.
However, as it stands, there’s not much we can do. Any radical measures would cause an uproar. Continuing to dwell on this issue will only harm us further.
From past experience, to suppress one focal point of public opinion, we must create an even bigger one.
This time, our attempt to shift the public’s focus failed mainly because we made too many enemies. We should learn from this.
Essentially, this incident was an accident and does not involve substantial interests, so there’s no need to stubbornly persist.
The Russians have already begun war preparations, and defending Afghanistan is inevitable. I think we can soothe the dissatisfaction of various countries and then stir up the conflict between England and Russia to divert the attention of our domestic populace.
This incident has impacted the interests of some capitalists, and I believe they will help us guide public opinion. As for international public opinion, let it run its course!"
Although the opium trade was not a major source of government revenue, opium traders were definitely the major sponsors for newspapers, bureaucrats, and members of parliament.
In this era, British merchants controlled the vast majority of the global drug trade, nearly half of which flowed through various channels into the pockets of bureaucrats and parliamentarians, forming a massive interest group.
While many were indifferent to this interest group, its power was undeniable.
After hesitating for a moment, Prime Minister Gladstone nodded. Being the Prime Minister of the UK, his eyes were naturally tolerant of the gritty details.
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