Chapter 884: Unwashable
Chapter 867 Cannot be washed away
“On the Harmfulness of Opium”, what the hell is all this written, damn how can these contents be reported!
Henry get your ass over here, now you need to give me a reasonable explanation ……”
The man who was lashing out was George Grande, Britannia’s renowned opium baron, enough to be in the top ten of all opium dealers in the world.
As one of the vested interests, like all the opium dealers, George Grande had always firmly believed that opium was a cure-all drug and that selling opium was for salvation.
George Grande has always abhorred outside opinions that decry the dangers of opium.
With the development of science and technology, more and more people realized the harm of opium and came forward to call on the government to ban the circulation of opium.
In order to continue profiteering through the opium trade, the opium traders naturally had to cover up these different voices. To do so, they went to great lengths to pay off government officials, newspapers, and legislators with large profits.
The opium trade, which seemed to be led by the opium dealers, was actually a meeting of British bureaucrats, parliamentarians, and the media to share the spoils.
Driven by profit, those with vested interests worked together to barely silence the domestic ban on opium.
Now that he saw newspapers publishing articles exposing the dangers of opium, George Grande was naturally unhappy, which meant that he would again have to go to greater lengths to silence dissenting voices.
Henry, who was in charge of public relations, hurriedly came to explain: “Sir, this time the matter is very special, the source of public opinion is not in the country.
It may have something to do with the recent international disputes, the first to vilify the panacea was an Austrian newspaper, the domestic newspapers just reprinted ……”
It’s impossible not to be nervous, opium dealers are ruthless. What makes an opium baron like George Grande stand in this circle if he doesn’t have hundreds of lives under his hands?
If he screwed up, it was death. Henry wouldn’t have taken this high-risk job if he didn’t have to make a living.
As one of the people involved, no one knew better than he did how loud the public was calling for a ban on the sale of opium.
The Austrian government’s push was just one of the triggers. The fact that a newspaper dared to publish such news was mainly due to the fact that the group of people who opposed the opium trade in the country was growing.
Not one or two people were victimized by opium, and there was no distinction between the rich and the poor, many British dignitaries also fell victim to it.
Although the power of the opium traders was great, it did not reach the point where they could cover up the world with one hand. Public relations, but also can not buy all the newspapers, some people dare to attack in normal.
In fact, George Grande saw the newspaper has been relatively moderate, just reproduced the content of foreign newspapers, did not publish their own views.
A lot of street tabloids above the content is really shocking, what content dare to publish on it. Do not wait for them to find the door, people change vest again.
Henry has clearly felt that there is a force behind this push, making him worried.
George Grande interrupted, ”Don’t pull these useless things with me, no matter what method you use, there is to suppress these voices for me.
If these people don’t accept our goodwill, there’s no need for them to exist, pick this active one to come out and make an example of them.
Let the outside world know that our Universal Medicine Association is not something to be messed with!”
Facing the furious George Grande, Henry really didn’t have the courage to refuse and replied apprehensively, “Yes, Sir! It’s just that O……”
Not waiting for the words to finish, George Grande violently slammed the table and cursed, “Damn Austrian scumbags, should have abolished them in the first place, and now they have actually become a climate, and dare to put their hands ……”
As early as decades ago when Austria legislated to ban the opium trade, the opium dealers wanted to retaliate, how can they British government rulers are not stupid.
In any case, Austria was one of the four great powers of the world at the time. To go to war with Austria for the sake of the opium trade was a sign of a brain in the head.
If you can’t move the government, just by the power of the opium dealers themselves, naturally it is impossible to fight with the Austrian government. If the law does not allow it, then they can smuggle in the dark.
However, the smuggling trade is also not good. The Austrian government has been severely suppressing the opium trade, to the opium traffickers is to catch a click one, directly kill until everyone chills.
Although it hadn’t managed to completely eradicate it, most of the opium dealers were still deterred. The big opium dealers, including George Grande, did not dare to go to Austria all these years.
Is it not good to sell opium legally elsewhere, why go to Austria to die?
The rich and powerful, that is a penniless loser only need, they are a big family, there is no need to go to risk.
It was bearable originally, that’s because there were more markets to choose from. Not anymore, if the British government follows through, it’s breaking George Grande’s roots.
Under the new hatred and old hatred, George Grande can not care about what the nobility, and start to vent as much as possible.
This may suffer Henry, go and dare not go, persuade and dare not persuade, can only stand there awkwardly, trying to make a very serious listening expression.
After venting the grievances of the heart, George Grande gradually calmed down, involving international political disputes, itself is not his ability to mix.
Belonging to the era of capital has not yet come, play too high, that is to pay the price.
Don’t look at him also top noble title, but George Grande is very clear, bought the title and the real nobility compared to how much water in this.
After a moment’s pause, he slowly said: “You don’t have to worry about political matters. I will communicate with my peers and work together to overcome the crisis.”
To be able to stand out in the many competition, George Grande is naturally not an idle person. The folk’s abhorrence of the opium trade was naturally clear to him.
The Narcotics Dispensary Act, introduced in 1868, was enacted under the strong discontent of the folk.
It was only when it came to self-interest that he could not let go of it.
It is important to know that in 1888 alone, the sales of opium-related products in mainland Britain amounted to tens of millions of pounds, involving the peripheral industry chain is as high as hundreds of millions of pounds.
Overseas, not to mention, can get the benefits, absolutely much more than the local.
Once the government introduces a bill to ban opium, not only will the benefits of the local area be lost, but the earnings of the overseas area will also be drastically reduced.
……
Downing Street, Gladstone Prime Minister is now very headache, the public’s attention from the “Minister’s case” has shifted, but Britain is still in the center of the maelstrom of public opinion.
“The atrocities committed by the British army in Afghanistan”, “Britain’s colonial past”, “the biggest mastermind behind the continental wars”, “the biggest slave trader in the history of mankind”, “the biggest slave trader in the history of mankind”. The Greatest Slave Trader in the History of Mankind”, “The Drug Empire” ……
This series of public opinion focuses, and the spearheads are all pointed at them. In front of the facts, all of their defenses pale in comparison.
If he had known from the beginning that the situation would get out of hand, Prime Minister Gladstone would have preferred to resist the pressure of the “Minister’s Case”, and at the very least, to go to war with the Russians.
Now so tossed, not only the Anglo-Russian war can not be avoided, but also make their own reputation.
European countries are very disgusted with their means of dragging people down, the major colonial empires are a pile of black history, some even continue, and how to wash can not be washed white.
Against this backdrop, everyone could only push a more outrageous one out to pad their backs and attract the public’s attention.
Austria started a head, everyone pushed it along, and Britain dominated the top of the list by strength.
Or the kind of up and can not come down, black history far more than the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth combined, became the focus of international public opinion.
Prime Minister Gladstone: “International opinion is turning against us, and anything we do now will be magnified.
Our plan to divert public attention has proven to be a failure. The European countries are very unhappy with our revelation of their black history, and this is just the beginning of the retaliation.
If we can’t handle these issues properly, we’ll encounter more trouble later. What’s everyone’s best response?”
Directly confronting Britain, not many countries dared to, but by secretly laying their hands on them, everyone was not pressurized.
Anyway, the one who lifted the lid was Austria, and the ones who rushed to the front line were the Russians, everyone was just knocking on the door.
If the British government wants to retaliate, it will have to take care of the two leaders first, otherwise it will only backfire.
Colonial Secretary Primrose replied, “The Prime Minister is right, these issues do need to be resolved.
But there’s not much we can do at the moment, and any overreaching tactics will cause an uproar. Continuing to dwell on this issue will only further disadvantage us.
Based on past experience, to squash a public opinion center, then we can only create a bigger one.
Our failure to divert public attention this time is mainly due to the fact that we have made too many enemies, and we should now learn a lesson.
Essentially this incident is just an accident and does not have substantial benefits, there is no need to hold on for dear life.
The Russians have already begun war preparations, and the defense of Afghanistan is imperative. I think we can appease the dissatisfaction of various countries, and then provoke the British and Russian conflicts to divert the attention of the domestic public.
The public opinion this time affects the interests of some capitalists, I believe they will help us to guide the public opinion. As for international public opinion, let them be!”
Although the opium trade was not an important source of wealth for the government, the opium dealers were definitely big moneymakers for the newspapers, bureaucrats, and parliamentarians.
These days British businessmen control the vast majority of the world’s drug trade, and nearly half of the benefits of this flow into the pockets of bureaucrats and parliamentarians through various channels, already forming a huge interest group.
Although many people were not fond of this interest group, they had to admit that this group was powerful.
After hesitating for a few moments, Prime Minister Gladstone nodded, able to become the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, his eyes naturally tolerate sand.
……
(End of chapter)