February 1o, 1856, was the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. The fifth day of the Lunar New Year is commonly known as the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, and in Chinese customs, firecrackers are placed from every house on the day of the fifth day, and they go out of the door while they are placed. It is said that we will blast out an unlucky thing, a qiē demon and a monster, and let them stay away from us, the farther away the better. In particular, the "two kicks" (two sounds) are called "collapse of poverty", and the "bad luck" and "poor spirit" are collapsed from the home. People have not worked for four days from the first to the fourth day of the new year, and after the cannon collapses before sunrise, they have to work hard for a day, which is called "hating the poor". "Breaking five" means that as long as you work hard and diligently in the new year, you can live a good life.

At this time, the Guangfu Governor's Office had basically controlled the situation in Guangdong, and the management of Guangzhou was even more powerful, so the ban on firecrackers was canceled during the Chinese New Year this year. After the First Rapian War, the British ceded Hong Kong Island, which itself was not large, so the British forced the Manchu government to cede concessions such as Kowloon to provide buffer areas and food supply areas to Hong Kong Island.

On the day of the fifth day, Huang Fengzhi followed his father Huang Weiming out of Kowloon and took a small boat in the direction of Guangzhou City. On the day of the fifth day, the people also resumed their normal work, the shops were opened, and the business was opened. There is a lot of trade between Hong Kong and Guangdong, and ordinary boats are the most common means of transportation.

A few long bamboo poles for supporting the boat were placed on the boat, and Huang Fengzhi sat on the bamboo poles, which was originally a very ordinary action, but Huang Zhifeng's figure was a little less right, judging from that careful appearance, it seemed that the bamboo poles were more important than Huang Zhifeng. After passing the pass, several large awning boats suddenly appeared on the waterway. There was a red military flag hanging on the bow of the ship, and two big simplified yellow characters "Guangfu" were embroidered on the flag!

This was the ship of the Pearl River Naval Division of the Liberation Army, and the civilian ships on the waterway generally did not react much to this vessel. The water fleet of the Liberation Army does not disturb the people, they are only responsible for arresting water thieves, managing the order of navigation on the waterway, rescuing those who have fallen into the water if there is a collision accident, and is responsible for dealing with collision accidents and mediating disputes. When Huang Weiming and Huang Zhifeng's boat saw the patrol boat coming, they hurriedly leaned to the shore, wanting to get farther away from the patrol boat.

But the patrol boat did not have any good impression of such a deferential attitude, the bow of the boat was moved, and the patrol boat went straight to the boat where the Huang family father and son were riding. The sailor inspection team on the bow of the ship carried a horn and shouted: "The boat in front of me will stop me and be inspected!" The boat ahead stopped me and got checked! ”

Where does the Huang family's boat dare to resist, and on this waterway, the small boat will definitely not be able to outrun the big boat. Soon, they were forced to the shore. The members of the inspection team used wooden sticks to knock on the bamboo pole that Huang Zhifeng was very careful about. Huang Weiming's face was still a little calm, but Huang Zhifeng's face changed a little.

Soon, the inspectors took out their knives and cut open the shells of several bamboo knots that made a dull sound under the blow, revealing something black with a strange aroma. The inspectors sneered and looked at Huang Weiming and Huang Zhifeng, father and son, and they sneered and said, "You guys are really bold! Now I dare to put big tobacco to Guangzhou! ”

"Official! This official! Huang Weiming's hand immediately reached into the bag on the inside of the clothes to take out the money.

"Tm also wants to bribe us! You are guilty of one more degree! The inspectors immediately tied up the Huang family's father and son, and took them away along with the tools used in the crime.

Within a few days, Hong Renxuan, the foreign minister of the Governor's Office, received an official note from the British side, and at the meeting, the British demanded that the Governor's Office revoke the detention of Hong Kong concession residents Huang Weiming and Huang Zhifeng, and revoke their sentences for smuggling cigarettes. At the same time, the British officially informed Hong Renxuan, asking him to immediately revoke the "discriminatory propaganda" of the Guangfu Governor's Office on Big Tobacco. Listening to the British people's unashamed requests, even a more rational person like Hong Renxuan changed his face.

There is no discriminatory propaganda about the big smoke, and no matter how much this poisonous thing is promoted, its destructive effect cannot be excessive. Before defecting to Wei Ze, although he was in Hong Kong, Hong Renxuan was still very concerned about the Guangfu Governor's Mansion in Guangdong. The other operations of the Governor's Mansion were considered their secrets, and a considerable part of the moral intelligence that was able to be collected was related to the ban on smoking.

In the past, the Manchu Qing Dynasty banned smoking by purely administrative means. The Manchus themselves did not have any grassroots personnel, so the smoking ban has always been a matter for the upper echelons. Higher-level officials may really ban smoking because the people around them have suffered from heavy smoking.

It's just that the corrupt and degenerate system of the Manchu Qing Dynasty will inevitably have a decadent and degenerate style. Regardless of the attitude of the upper echelons, when any middle level implements the policies of the upper echelons, it is always for the purpose of making profits. For example, big tobacco dealers smuggle big cigarettes by putting them in bamboo poles to avoid being checked. And when the middle-level officials are such smugglers, they knock on the bamboo pole. Both the ban on smoking and the dealer know that after giving the money that should be given, both parties can take what they need.

In the end, a new common word was coined, which is "ripping bamboo".

The Liberation Army is truly forbidden, and the method of banning smoking is completely different from that of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. The grass-roots departments established by the Liberation Army have started a comprehensive propaganda campaign in all parts of Guangdong, first closing down open tobacco houses, and at the same time putting terminally ill smokers in cages for public display, as well as all kinds of propaganda aimed at the harmful effects of big smoke.

In addition to taking the initiative to publicize, they also walked the streets and alleys, reaching out to people from all walks of life while publicizing, and collecting information about the big smoke houses that were opened privately. The guys who can open a big smoke house are all people behind them, or local snakes. There are many people who are dissatisfied with them, and the Liberation Army has done in-depth mass work, and naturally it has received a lot of information. After all these years of poisoning by the big smoke, the decent people are also very disgusted with the big smoke house. The people are also watching such a big propaganda of the Governor's Office.

Facts have proved that the Liberation Army is not playing verbal tricks. Not only did they eradicate all the open tobacco houses, but they also arrested the smokers. The smokers were sent to work on the construction sites where the rivers were rested, irrigation and drainage were built, and the smokers were forced to work.

Such a vigorous and resolute method reached its peak when the Guangfu Governor's Mansion publicly executed more than 20 people under the Guangfu Governor's Office who smoked big cigarettes. The Governor's Office of the Restoration of the People's Republic of China unabashedly disclosed in its own newspaper that its own people had also smoked large cigarettes, and once again emphasized that large tobacco may be a medicine for medicinal purposes, but when used as a stimulant, it is harmful to others and oneself. The Governor's Office will never allow any act of smoking big cigarettes to be saved, and ordinary people will be arrested for labor reform. When the system of the Governor's Mansion appears, there will be no forgiveness!

This kind of steely wrist made Hong Renxuan Jue appreciate it very much, and what he fancied was not only how the Governor's Mansion dealt with the people, but also how the Governor's Mansion dealt with his own people. It is better to act in accordance with the law relatively well for the people, and to take ruthless and severe punishment for the personnel within their own organizations! It was this attitude of being able to give a heavy hand to his own people that contributed to Hong Renxuan's final decision to come out and do things for the Guangfu Governor's Mansion.

At this time, the British Hong Kong authorities proposed to release the Hong Kong concession residents who smuggled cigarettes, and Hong Renxuan naturally couldn't help but want to scold angrily in his heart. It's just that he is more rational and unwilling to cause disputes for no reason, so Hong Renxuan finally tried to solve this problem by judicial means.

At this time, the person in charge of the Political and Legal Committee is Lin Asheng, and if you want to take judicial means, you must get Lin Asheng's support. After listening to Hong Renxuan's intention to visit, Lin Asheng opened his mouth and said: "This matter is our own business, what does it have to do with the British?" ”

Lin Asheng doesn't like to talk, so he is more direct when he speaks. Hong Renxuan listened to Lin Asheng's words full of confrontation, and knew that it was difficult for him to persuade this important person in the Governor's Mansion very effectively. After thinking for a moment, Hong Renxuan said: "The British will definitely not allow us to ban smoking in Guangdong, which is even more unacceptable to the British than the sale of cigarettes in Humen back then!" ”

"Oh? Why? Lin Asheng had an expression of surprise on his face.

"Has Major General Lin read the information about the tobacco trade compiled in the Governor's Mansion?" Hong Renxuan asked.

"Yes." Lin Asheng replied.

"In the beginning, big cigarettes were really used for medicinal purposes, and the annual sales were actually very small. One or two hundred boxes are up to the sky. It wasn't until the big cigarettes were smoked that sales skyrocketed. When Humen sold cigarettes, the big cigarettes were destroyed, and the people who smoked the big cigarettes were all there. So the British defeated the Manchus, and the big tobacco business was getting bigger and bigger. At that time, our Governor's Office did not want to fight the British, and the British tobacco merchants were not confiscated. But the Governor's Mansion arrested all the big smokers who smoked big cigarettes, and no one bought their big cigarettes from then on. This is tantamount to completely cutting off the financial routes of the British. Even if this is only our own internal affairs, even if we deal with the Chinese, the British will not agree. ”

Lin Asheng listened to Hong Renxuan's words and couldn't help but nod slightly. After Hong Renxuan finished speaking, Lin Asheng sighed: "It turns out that Minister Hong is an understanding person. ”

Hong Renxuan didn't care about Lin Asheng's faint ridicule, he said calmly: "I don't want to fight with the British for reasons such as being angry, but if the British fight with us for the sake of selling big cigarettes, I, Hong Renxuan, will not bow to them so obediently." This time, the residents of Hong Kong were arrested, and the British officially sent us a note. In fact, this matter has nothing to do with whether the Huang family father and son smuggled big cigarettes. The British are targeting our anti-smoking policy. So I first talked to Major General Lin about it. It's not that I want to fight or don't want to fight, but the British are just afraid that they have made up their minds. ”

Lin Asheng saw that Hong Renxuan understood what he said, and he couldn't help but smile, "Minister Hong, I don't care about diplomatic matters." But I want to ask something, I think Minister Lin, what do you mean, is there a way not to fight? ”

"I'm not sure I won't fight, but if I can call a meeting of British businessmen, let them lose less money, and give them a way to make money in the future. I think we might be able to get through it in the near future. Hong Renxuan replied seriously.

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