The Leshan uprising was pacified, and there would be no more fighting in the short term. The arsenal, salt wells and other places are also going smoothly, and the soldiers' training does not need Wang Hengyue's heart, and Wang Hengyue has become a big idler for a while.

Seeing that the weather was good on this day, Wang Hengyue was very happy, called Li Yifeng, Xu Mu, and Deng Xia, three locals, to go out with him.

"There's nothing to do left and right, since the adults are going out to play, it's better to just go to Leshan to have a look." Deng Xia suggested on the side: "Rong County knows a lot of adults, but when the time comes, it won't be able to enjoy it." ”

Wang Hengyue thought about it, and this is also the truth. After the Leshan Uprising was put down, I don't know what it has become now. I have been in and out of Leshan several times, and the famous Leshan Giant Buddha has not been seen, and it is really a little too much.

Suddenly remembered something: "Yu Lei is from Leshan, right?" Call him along. I didn't call him when I went to Leshan several times, and he can be regarded as conscientious, so let him go home and have a look. ”

called Yu Lei, Yu Lei was silent for a while, and then nodded in agreement.

Just as he was about to set off, when he saw the apricot girl on the side with an expectant face, Wang Hengyue had a headache: "Apricot girl, you will change into men's clothes, and Lord Ben will take you with me." ”

The apricot girl cheered and hurried back to the house to change her clothes.

"Adults treat apricot girls, it's really extraordinary." Deng Xia said with a wicked smile: "The subordinates brought the apricot girl, which is a little merit, and the adults should reward the subordinates." ”

"Lao Tzu rewarded you for digging salt!" Wang Hengyue scolded with a smile.

After a while, the apricot girl changed into men's clothes and came out, Wang Hengyue shook her head again and again, in her own time, there were always some women dressed as men on TV, but this big girl changed into men's clothes, pay a little attention, how can there be a reason not to recognize?

At this time, it is the best time to come out and play, the grass and willows are green all the way, and the scenery is boundless.

Riding on a horse, halfway through, Wang Hengyue suddenly pointed to the distance and said, "What is that?" So good-looking? ”

I don't know what kind of crops are planted in the fields in the distance, and as far as the eye can see, they are all enchanting.

Wang Hengyue said before he spoke, and suddenly woke up: "That's a poppy?" ”

"Yes, those are poppies." Li Yifeng said on the side.

Wang Hengyue frowned: "The poppy is planted there so openly, and no one cares?" ”

Several subordinates glanced at each other, the lord came back from "overseas", and he didn't understand the affairs of Sichuan too well: "My lord, there are more than 140 prefectures and counties in Sichuan, except for a very few places, there is no place where opium is not grown, and the reason why there are few in our Rong County is because the Zhao family hates it deeply and is not allowed to plant; Second, the production of salt is extremely profitable, and there is no need to rely on opium. ”

Li Yifeng pointed to the poppies in front of him and said, "There is a bamboo branch poem that says this about Sichuan opium. 'The edge of the cliff building stacks thousands of homes, and the feet are anointed with the wrong canine teeth. Mo planted mulberry hemp and planted poppies, and the East urged early spring flowers', speaking of which is that opium is grown everywhere in Sichuan. ”

"My lord, Sichuan is so good at growing opium, you don't know how far it has been." Xu Mu sighed: "Everyone takes poppy planting as the first priority, so that vegetables have to be transported from other places, and local vegetables are not seen in the vegetable market at all. In addition to tung oil, all the commonly used oils are poppy oil! ”

Wang Hengyue's heart was chilled when he heard it. Although I also knew that Sichuan was very good at growing opium, I came to this era and saw it with my own eyes, only to find that the opium poppy here is far more than I imagined.

"Poppy cultivation is a legitimate business." Deng Xia smiled bitterly and said: "Market vendors, child laborers, and female laborers all beg for a few acres of land to plant this thing, especially after the autumn harvest, there are poppies everywhere!" ”

Wang Hengyue was silent, and Li Yifeng said: "Everyone knows that opium is harmful, but it's no wonder that these people who grow it. First, the land in Sichuan is the most suitable for growing opium. Second, after the machine steamer was opened to navigation, relying on the convenient transportation of the Sichuan River and the Wujiang River, it was able to directly transport opium to the eastern provinces. Thirdly, opium cultivation requires little skill, and it is planted in winter and harvested at the beginning of the following summer, which coincides with the busy agricultural season. And another very important reason"

After a pause, he continued: "One acre of land can harvest about fifty to sixty taels of opium, two hundred and twenty catties of corn, sixty catties of soybeans, twenty catties of red beans, and ten catties of snow peas. Based on the collection of 60 taels of opium, it can be sold for 7 to 8 taels of silver after the winter, and even if the price is not high that year, it can be sold for 6 taels of silver. 220 catties of corn can only be sold for 1 or 28 yuan, soybeans 60 catties can only be sold for 648 yuan, red beans and snow peas are 2 yuan, so after calculation, it is clear what is cost-effective to plant, and naturally everyone is vying to grow opium! ”

Wang Hengyue pursed his lips.

Do you think you can blame the common people for this? The income from growing opium is several times or dozens of times that from growing other crops, so who will grow something else?

The large-scale cultivation of opium also brought an accident:

After the defeat of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in the Opium War, China's native opium achieved a "decisive victory" in the "war" against foreign opium.

Not only Sichuan, opium poppy cultivation has long spread throughout the country, and there is no longer a province that does not have a large number of opium poppy cultivation. From Mongolia in the north, to Ganxi in the west, to Fujian and Guangdong in the south, and to the rich Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shandong provinces in the east, all provinces have a large amount of land for the cultivation of opium poppy, and it has even become the main business of many farmers.

The expansion of opium poppy cultivation in the country and the improvement of the quality of opium directly led to a decrease in foreign imports and smuggling of opium, and by 1880 the quantity of domestically produced opium had long exceeded that of imported opium. The national opium self-sufficiency rate has reached more than 80 percent.

By 1881, not only had the importation of Persian opium ceased entirely, but according to the trade report submitted to his country by the British consul in Shanghai that year, "in the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu and Guizhou, almost all Indian opium has been driven out of the market, and now it is no longer shipped to these places, where consumption is supplied entirely by opium of Chinese origin."

The rapid development of opium in China was astonishing, and only a year later, in 1882, the indigenous opium was not only fully sufficient for domestic needs, but also ready for export.

Foreign opium is gradually giving way to Chinese opium not only in western and southwestern China, but also in coastal areas. Just as opium from western China is flowing into Burma in large quantities, Taiwan and other islands to the east now receive some of their opium supplies from the mainland.

It seems that it is only a matter of time before Chinese opium will completely drive foreign opium out of China.

But such a "victory" can only make people smile bitterly.

Especially after the Manchu government imposed the "opium tax", the cultivation of opium no longer had to worry about anything, and it actually became an upright "cause".

It's just that this is for the sake of a rich country, at the expense of "people's strength"!