Ding Guofeng doesn't like British people at all. In terms of hatred, he is second only to Japanese people.

Just like the "co-prosperity circle" in another time and space, Edmund Burke, a British scholar at the end of the 18th century, took the lead in constructing academic traps based on Christian universalism and proposed the so-called "civilization mission theory".

According to this argument, the British colonial rule promoted the historical advance of Asia and Africa, brought Asia and Africa away from the barbaric era, and brought peace, humane and a lifestyle that meets the standards of civilization to Asia and Africa. The Chinese were labeled as dirty, lazy, dishonest, lacking originality, without any civilization, lacking cultural achievements or magnificent religion.

Simply put, it is just eight words, which is closed to the country and is behind and beaten. This statement has still made many Chinese people talk about it. It’s really ignorant!

A country that was born through pirate plundering, relied on the great voyage and the achievements of the first industrial revolution, sold opium to China on one hand, launched two Opium Wars, and snatched away a huge amount of silver; the other hand cultivated black tea in Ceylon to reduce its dependence on Chinese tea, thus turning China, a trade surplus country with more than 2,000 years, into a deficit country.

Robbery alone is not counted, but shamelessly beautify yourself with the achievements of the religion and industrial revolution, create a world for yourself according to your own appearance, and call it "democracy and advanced"; use political power and scholars to endorse your aggression, and systematically create the theory of "you should fight", which makes the invaded party believe it a hundred years later.

If the country is really closed down, how did the massive amount of silver flow into China? How did the trade volume between Chuckto and Guangzhou increase year by year? Why did the Portuguese, Dutch, and British insist on trafficking opium to Guangzhou?

But I can't make money from the Chinese, so I'm anxious.

As for being beaten, it had a big problem with the Qing army system. At least during the First Opium War, the weapons and equipment of the Qing army were not much different from those of the British. If Daoguang had the determination, he could have used his huge force to annihilate the British on land. You should know that when he attacked Zhang Geer, the Qing court sent an army of more than 20,000 people.

As a result, as soon as the British warship arrived at Dagukou, the guy immediately became timid.

With another experience and lesson from time to time, for the time travelers in Beihai Town, the three major regimes of French, British, Dutch, Mughal, and Deccan, plus a Qing Dynasty that occupied Gurkha, whoever supported the weak would be able to deal with anyone who stood up, and no one would think that they would dominate the South Asian subcontinent.

Speaking of "Hong Kong and Lianheng", British people are at most level ones who are messing around, while Chinese people are at the level of their ancestors.

Ding Guofeng didn't want to talk nonsense to Dundas anymore. He couldn't get anything on the battlefield or at the negotiating table; let alone he was not good at verbal criticism, otherwise Zhao Xin wouldn't let him come.

Thinking of this, his lips curled up, hummed softly, and then said, "If you don't agree, then we will transfer another 5,000 troops and go directly to the Governor's Mansion in Madras to chat next time."

Dundas's face became ugly when he heard such a naked threat. He was extremely confused by Ding Guofeng's unconcealed hostility. He had to know that whether it was the Guangzhou office or the East India Company headquarters, he had never intended to have conflicts with this group of guys who called themselves "Seris". If you want to say anything, he had sold several sail warships to the Qing Empire and sent a team of officers to provide training.

But that's doing business! Can't you make money?

Ding Guofeng's two Dundas mentioned could not be accepted. If Mysore was not killed, the company's plan to annex the entire South Asian continent would not be realized, and thus it would be impossible to plunder more wealth through taxes and industrial products.

Let the East India Company not sell opium to Chinese in Guangzhou and Southeast Asia? God testified that the company has always been a tax intermediary. Wherever it sells and who it sells is all about those merchants, and the company doesn't care about it.

As for the ban on opium planting, it is even more impossible. The company's income from opium transactions last year was as high as 1.9 million rupees, which cannot be easily abandoned. Once the ban on opium planting, not only will thousands of people be unemployed, but even if the government provides subsidies, it will not completely compensate for the losses of landlords and tenants who grow opium. More importantly, there is no other means to profit from Guangzhou's trade.

To explain this issue, we must start from twenty years ago, so that we can see how the British East India Company established a huge and meticulous opium trading system in Bangladesh.

In 1772, Hastings took over as the Governor of Bangladesh, and the financial situation of the East India Company was severely deteriorating. In China, the company could only rely on borrowing money to survive. In order to save the company, the British government allowed the company to ship the stock of Chinese tea to North America to dump.

Everyone on earth knows what happened next. New Englanders who are used to drinking tea smuggling are no longer doing it, but the East India Company’s tea is more than twice as expensive. So they shouted the nonsense slogan “No representation will pay taxes” and poured the tea into the sea.

The inability to sell tea has caused the East India Company's debt to triple in just a few years. In addition, due to famine, plague and poverty plague that troubled the Bangladesh region, all employees were busy filling their pockets, and the three major district governments were on the verge of bankruptcy.

When Hastings took office, he was asked to maintain a peaceful situation in India and ensure the safety of corporate taxes and property. In order to overcome the financial crisis, the implementation of the opium monopoly system became inevitable.

In 1772, when the company bought a batch of opium from the employees of Patna, the employees believed that the company's bid was too low and the purchase amount was too large, which conflicted with the company. This incident eventually became the fuse to change the opium system.

In Hastings's view, ordinary commercial activities may reach the greatest prosperity with the intervention of anarchy, but free trade is not suitable for non-necessaries such as opium. The opium market at that time was extremely small, so if you want to make a lot of profits, you must limit its output; and the most effective way to limit production was monopoly.

This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! So at the end of 1773, the Bangladesh Senate agreed to his plan and decided to pass a series of contract systems to allow middlemen to acquire opium. This way, the industrial order is regulated and the company's tax revenue is increased.

Simply put, this practice is to rely on designated indigenous merchants as contractors to purchase opium from farmers, then transport it to Kolkata, and then sell it to bidders at a pre-allocated amount. In this process, each opium (in India's weight unit, 1 mond is equivalent to 37.32 kg) is subject to export tax of Rs 30 rupees; and for opium transported to Kolkata by non-designated contractors, in addition to the export tax of Rs 30, each box (60 kg) has to be paid.

The above is the whole story of the British East India Company's opium system reform in 1773. In another time and space, many people mistakenly believed that after the British occupied Bangladesh in 1757, they tried their best to develop opium trade with China. In 1773, they established a policy of growing large quantities of opium and importing large quantities of opium into China, and gave East India Company the privilege of manufacturing and monopoly sale.

In fact, it was later that the East India Company increased its production and monopolized the Chinese opium market, and it had nothing to do with the restructuring in 1773.

To put it bluntly, the company asked the British government for help when its financial situation deteriorated in 1773. Although it was helped, it also created a dual management system for British India. The British government became the major shareholder, and Hastings naturally became the first governor of British India.

In 1775, the East India Company obtained another famous opium production area from Odtu, northwest of Bangladesh, Benales, and thus completed the full control of the opium production area of ​​Bangladesh. The opium produced here was later called "Labantu" in China and was once popular in the Chinese market after the 1830s.

In 1785, the Guangzhou Special Select Committee was unable to invest in Chinese goods because it lacked funds and was unable to invest in Chinese goods. The East India Company began its work on opium trade. The Senate decided to continue to implement the collection system, but it must be carried out through bidding. The purchased opium was publicly auctioned in Kolkata and paid to the Guangzhou company's large team in cash by the designated date for cash settlement when purchasing goods.

After Cornwallis took over, he refined the terms of the contract and increased the protection of the company's interests; especially lowered the purchase price of opium, and then obtained more profits from opium auctions. In 1800, the East India Company's revenue on opium reached 27.3 lakh rupees.

In this way, the British finally built a monopoly system for opium trade in Bangladesh. Since the Mawa opium-producing area is in the Sindh region in northwestern India, the company is temporarily unable to reach it, so it adopted a simple blockade policy for the export of Mawa opium to limit the supply of external markets.

The British monopoly on Bangladesh opium prepared conditions for large-scale production. In addition, the opium market in Southeast Asia has now matured. The demand for Chinese market caused by changes in the way of taking intake ten years ago has increased, which eventually led to the initial formation of the opium trade in the big triangle.

In today's Guangzhou market, the wholesale price of a pound of opium is four taels of silver, and the retail price is as high as more than seven taels of silver. What was the retail price of Liu Zheng when he went to Guangzhou? 1.9 taels of silver.

"General Ding, I will take the conditions you have put forward, and I will take them back to discuss with the Governor. You know, there are many things that Lord has no right to make decisions, and must be approved by our government and the Bangladesh Senate."

Since the stick was given, the carrots had to be taken out. Yu Guofeng stood up and shook hands with Dundas, and smiled and said, "Grow cotton."

"What?"

"I mean you shoveled the poppy and planted cotton. We need a lot of cotton."

In fact, Beihai Town does not only want cotton to wear clothes and cover quilts, but making nitrofiber is also one of its main uses. In addition to war, there are so many roads in the world that need to be repaired and rocks are broken. The amount of cotton needed is simply too much! Although Ding Guofeng had previously placed a order for purchasing 200,000 pounds of long-tail cotton from Tanjavur, it was still far from enough.

Dundas said dismissively: "How much do you plan to buy?"

"How much did you export to Guangzhou last year?"

Dundas turned around and glanced at the assistant. The other party hurriedly opened the notebook he carried with him, scattered for a long time, and then whispered a few softly. So Dundas turned red and said without blushing, "Twenty-hundred thousand pieces."

It's such a lie!

According to data collected from the intelligence station stationed in Guangzhou in Beihai Town, the East India Company exported 30,780 bags of cotton to Guangzhou in 1793, while the export volume of British foreign port footboats was about 150,000 bags, and the total of the two was only 180,000 bags.

Ding Guofeng smiled slightly, and did not refute, nodded and said, "If you agree with our two conditions, then we will sign a ten-year supply contract based on 300,000 bags per year, with an increase of 15% per year. You can ship the freight to Bacheng and we will give the cash bank. However, the price can no longer be 15 taels per bag, and Bacheng is much closer than Guangzhou."

Dundas suddenly felt dizzy and couldn't help but reach out and grab the assistant's arm to avoid making a fool of himself. This could no longer be said to be a pie falling from the sky, it was simply a big meat bun! This was too big, and he had to go back to Kolkata to meet the governor.

Speaking of which, from the late 18th century to the early 19th century, except for Britain, the United States, Russia and other few countries could still stand it. Most Western countries that originally traded with China faded out of the Guangzhou market. One of the main problems is that China and the West are in a one-way flowing state, and China has a trade surplus to all Western countries.

Westerners urgently needed Chinese tea but could not provide corresponding exchange items. The Chinese wanted nothing and wanted silver. For example, between 1721 and 1740, 94.9% of the trade volume used by the British to repay Guangzhou was gold and silver coins.

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content later! Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the largest source of silver flowing into China was the Americas. The problem is that the silver production in America began to decline at the end of the 18th century. In addition, due to Spain's participation in the American War of Independence after 1779, the European silver dollar market was closed; so in the six years from 1779 to 1785, no silver dollar was shipped from the British mainland to China. At several attacks, the gap in European silver became wider.

You have to pay for money to buy tea.

Well, if you don’t have silver, can’t you use things to exchange for lines? Fur, spices, and cotton are all good things.

Oh! This silk is good, too.

Give money, the price is real, and the only one is fooled.

Uh...I'll go! This business can't be done.

Why did the Great Revolution break out in France? It’s not that Louis XVI has no money. Why did Louis XVI have no money? In addition to the great cause of aiding the New England Revolution, there is also that he can’t make money from Chinese trade.

In the late 18th century, except for Britain, Spain and the United States, everyone was short of cash, and every family had tea, cotton and spices. To put it bluntly, as long as it was a country that did business normally, anyone would have to be crazy when they encountered such a Chinese.

The reason why Tsarist Russia was exceptional was that it relied on fur, so they tried hard to expand eastward and continued to Alaska. The same is true for the United States. In addition to fur, American ginseng, a small amount of opium trade, and also the convenience of the Western American colonies, they could get silver from the Americas and send it to China.

Britain first tried to rely on India's cotton to exchange tea, and then relied on large-scale opium export to rebuild its trade structure with China, which not only kept its trade with China unchanged, but also turned into a surplus in one fell swoop.

The reason why Dundas was confused about Ding Guofeng's statement that the company exported opium to China was that the main product exported by the East India Company to China was actually cotton.

In another time and space history, the status transformation of opium and cotton began in 1820. The total value of opium exported to China soared to 6.486 million silver dollars, while cotton fell to 3.24 million silver dollars.

On the surface, it is because the British have a comprehensive monopoly on India's opium and increased production and increased import volume. At the same time, the demand for cotton in the UK has also increased significantly. But the actual situation is that the cotton weave produced by the British is of low quality and high price, and cannot be sold in Guangzhou at all; while the cotton imported by the Chinese are not only for themselves - the poor cannot afford it no matter what, but most of them will be weaved into cloth and exported.

After talking about it, others will talk about the problems of the Qing Dynasty.

First of all, the cotton yield is insufficient. Although the planting scale has increased a lot compared with the Ming Dynasty, insufficient use is still common, so cotton is imported.

However, the common problem in agricultural society is that in addition to urban population, rural areas adopt barter trade in agricultural and sideline products, and are self-sufficient. Even if the Qing Dynasty opened up its mouth and opened up imported cotton, the people in the countryside still couldn't afford it. A pound of cotton was seven cents silver, a cotton coat was two pounds of cotton, and three pounds could weave one foot of cloth. Therefore, even if you have money, you would buy cotton weave cloth and then sell it to subsidize your household income.

In these days, the people at the bottom of the class often only had a cotton coat at home, and whoever went out would wear it.

The most obvious example is the allusion of Xing Xiuyan as a cotton coat in "Dream of Red Mansions". Because there is only two or two months of money per month, one or two taels have to be given to his parents. Xing Xiuyan, who lives in Zilingzhou, had to be a cotton coat for emergency treatment. Although her family is in a humble manner, her cotton coat can actually be used as a hanging cost, which shows how precious cotton is in the Qing Dynasty today.

In addition, all the goods imported by Guangzhou must be undertaken by merchants from Thirteen Streets. In fact, there are only seven or eight companies in total. It is a fantasy to rely on this merchant to eat a huge amount of cotton. Looking at the number of cotton imported from Guangzhou port from 1785 to 1833, the amount of cotton imported from Guangzhou port never exceeded 500,000 bags. Moreover, due to transportation costs, the cotton from Guangzhou rarely crossed the Yangtze River and entered northern provinces.

Five days later, Dundas arrived in Kolkata. Cornwallis heard his report and was so angry that his face turned pale, but he was stunned later, thinking that this might be something. The East India Company has been trying to develop trade with Beihai Town over the years, but Beihai Town ignored them. After the "West Java Battle", the Dutch were driven out of Southeast Asia. The British were just about to contact Beihai Town again, and the local governance battle broke out.

The war with the French is now impossible to fight, and it is difficult to gain advantage in the war with Mysore. It is better to stop the loss as soon as possible. If we can really vigorously develop cotton trade with the Cyris and reach an agreement, it will be a barely perfect end to our departure.

Originally, Cornwallis's achievements during his tenure as governor of India were highly recognized by the British government and the opposition, so his experience of defeat in Yorktown was gradually forgotten by public opinion. Unexpectedly, a Beihai town appeared in the sky, which made him lose his last days. Not only did the local siege battle fight with a gray-headed and rat-faced face, but even the defeated general of Tipu Sultan was also a calf with a tail--it was coming.

In fact, if it weren't for Beihai Town's intervention, Cornwallis, who had fought local governance, would have stepped down and returned to China. The position of the director of the Royal Ordnance General Administration was waving to him.
Chapter completed!