On the case of opium regulation for imperial review, following the intra-departmental message received according to the Lunar Calendar 05/02 of 1838, the document states that Official Huang Jue is advocating for the strict control of the national silver deficit leakage through a proposal that was passed to the generals of the capital and two provinces, Jilin and Heilongjiang. Provincial-level officials discussed the proposal before drafting a response and passing the document into my hands. Quoting Official Huang, the document states “…silver prices are rising to a rate of 1600 liang (measurement equal to 50 grams) due to foreign meddling in the opium trade to obtain Chinese silver. Since the introduction of Opium in China, it has evolved from a vice for the rich all 

the way up into the ranks of  government, down to the merchants and even to women and monks, all of whom are tainted as opium users. Canton loses over 300,000,000 liang of silver per year.  Counting the losses of other provinces, the total number is in the hundreds of millions annually. The silver deficit stems from the blossom of the opium sales, and the sale of opium is nurtured by the market demand of the people. If one wishes to increase the punishment on opium, one must heavily regulate its consumers. I plea for the emperor to issue an edict stipulating a deadline of one year in which addicts must abstain from opium. If an addict still partakes in opium after the deadline, they would be classified as traitors who disregarded the order of the law, and would be summarily executed…”, along with similar sentiments.

I have seen how opium is poisoning China as our silver flows abroad.  Any official would gnash their teeth in outrage! For years, this issue has been rehashed in court; yet this is the sole document (i.e., the one drafted by Official Huang Jue) tackling the opium problem with strict enforcement against its users. It can be argued that, as stated clearly in our law code, the recent addition of harsher punishment — including stick beatings if the names of opium providers are not confessed —  is already considered severe disciplinary action. If opium use necessitated the death penalty, it would hold equal standing to the ten cardinal crimes (eg murder, arson, etc.) and therefore would cause ambiguities in terms of which of the five enforcement mechanisms should be used. However, the criminals are too numerous to execute all of them! Furthermore, if the punitive measure is overly severe, it could be abused and would then spawn wrongful accusations, bribery, and corruption fanning the flames of degeneracy. Considering the reasoning above, though many others may share pro-capital punishment sentiments, Official Huang Jue is the sole vocal proponent of executions. Yet the poison of opium has already seeped deeply into China, beyond the protection and defenses of conventional law as our power recedes down a slippery slope if drastic actions are not taken. As an official under the direct command of the emperor, foolish though I am, I dare not proceed with anything less than the utmost caution regarding opium legislation.

I understand that law enforcement has practical concerns regarding enforcing the law.  However, those who are concerned about the fate of China, must consider the bigger picture. Currently opium plagues the nation like a disease with our pressure points bound by foreign evil, a malady beyond conventional treatments, and it must be dealt with  aggressive medical intervention. We cannot afford to stay our hands. The “cancer of opium” is deadly not due to the difficulty of cutting off addiction, but rather to the difficulty in severing the mentality for opium, in tranquilizing the mentality that seeks debauched entertainment. The years spent between debating and enforcing this issue means that valuable time for enforcement is lost. Quoting great philosophers of the past, “the tainted old customs must be changed” and “inciting a fear of fierce fires cause less deaths by burns”, demonstrates the conviction for great principles, all of which are absent today in our own court. What I fear is that the addicts already drown deeply in their addiction, with spirits depraved and no care for their present or futures. Though initially after I impose harsher punitive measures, there is an uptick in fear. But soon they realize the ample time before the deadline and resolve to delay their rehabilitation until the deadline approaches, only to find an inability to sever the problem when the deadline arrives, leading to a great remaining number of traitors. As such, I believe that the total process should take less than a year from debate to implementation. All officials, regardless of rank, must cooperate wholeheartedly to upend the flow of opium — to obtain real results and eternally purify the winds of degeneracy. Owing to the scale of the operation, drastic action would not be excessive. Under imperial guidance, I propose six principles of enforcement to my emperor:…