Opium War Page #3

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so are your golden days

The Qing Government is treating us

like a bunch of criminals...

Gentlemen... it's time to take a vote

For me, money is like a trade wind,

easy come, easy go

I've no objection to turn in the opium

You don't have any opium

Only you've got is a big mouth!

Me, I'm a sailor

Money is important to me

But more important to me is fair play

These people have never

treated us fairly

If we back down now,

these savages will treat us like slaves

I'm against bloodshed

I say we agree to their terms

but we can teach them to negotiate

in a civil manner

Listen... I've seen people smoking opium

And I know what opium means, too

It's horrible!

Denton, He Jingrong is your broker

And you made a large fortune

with his help

Now's your chance to pay him back

Well, of course

we all know He Jing-rong is innocent

They're just using him to frighten us

We may no more say

he is guilty than opium itself

As Mary, a young girl is naive

Naturally, her vote is dictated

by her feelings

But we're grown men,

all we know that

what we are expecting here is war

A war, gentlemen. We should be prepared

to sacrifice our personal feelings

for our country

Yes!

I'm terribly sorry Mr. He

The imperial kingdom has its laws

And we have our principles

What an ugly Chinese calligraphy!

How impertinent they misspell "Lin Zexu"

And to hang two swords over our heads

They keep talking about the trade

between the two countries,

but over the vast expanse of land

under the heaven

there exists no counterpart

to the Celestial Empire

This is not a diplomatic note,

but a war declaration

It's a war declaration

They are trying to sound me out

That's good

Let me show the world

our Celestial Empire's determinations

to ban opium

Besiege

all the British mansions at once!

Get back!

Take off your wig. Wear your hat

Lin Sheng, what do you think of...

my interpreter in foreign clothes?

Like a little devil

from the nether world

Let's see

how he eats with foreign tableware

What do you think?

It's clumsy to use both hands!

Well, look!

The foreign tableware...

requires the use of both hands

our chopsticks require one hand only

Yes

and have greater adaptability

Your Excellency

a priest from

the British Chamber of Commerce...

came out with a white flag

Our soldiers took Him

Where is he now?

In the front hall

Your Excellency, I do not represent

the British Chamber of Commerce

I'm here on my own behalf

Whether you come alone or

with all your people

I am ready to meet you here

I support your ban on opium

but cutting off water and food supply

is endangering their lives

Cutting off food and water

is not humane behaviour

He said, cutting off food and water

is not humane behaviour

In the name of God, I'm here

to implore you to lift the blockade

It's only been three days that

you have been cut off supplies and

you condemn it as inhumane

What about a country that

has been broken apart for the last

hundred years and the millions of people

that died or whose families

have been ruined because of opium?

Who is going to sympathize with them?

Where is your God?

Where is...

your humanitarian principle?

Look!

These English newspapers...

have reported clearly strict bans on,

opium smoking in your own country

by your Queen

and she has also issued prohibitions

to the British merchants

One of them is...

"Contraband must not be shipped

to Guangzhou"

So, can I ask you...

why Denton and

his like defy the Queen and

introduce this illegal stuff to China?

This drug has driven China

to the verge of destruction

I use the blockade only as a last resort

I'd like you to convey a message:

You have enjoyed our tolerance

for a hundred years until today

We won't yield an inch any more

If Your Excellency refuses

to lift the blockade,

I'm afraid that...

they'll go on a hunger protest

Let them do it,

and I'll follow suit

If they starve to death,

I'll go down to hell to express

my good wishes

Please

If any of them starve to death,

I'm afraid it will mean trouble

I'm not afraid of these foreigners,

but...

But His Majesty may be afraid of them

What I really fear is that

if the traitors are not eliminated,

they will bring opium back

to this country

Master, the Yihe Company has been closed

by the authorities and

we are ordered to turn in

all the account books

Luckily I've made preparations for it

Rengui, if I don't live through this,

I want you to look after Shanzhi

I'll get you out of here, Father

I promise

Lin Zexu and the foreigners are going

to have direct confrontations

Trapped between the parties,

I don't stand a chance of surviving

Forget about me

Just take good care of yourself

Lin Zexu is shrewd and merciless

You must be very careful

when you work for him

Father, I'll implore Lin Zexu...

to redeem you with our assets

Money doesn't work any more,

not with Lin Zexu

I've left with Rengui

our full set of account books

you might pass to Lin if needed

They might help

Father! Master!

These are the deeds

for all our land and houses

My father wishes to turn them over

to Your Excellency

Very good. We need financing

for building warships and cannons

and your money can be of great help

Yes

What are these?

My father confesses his crime

to Your Excellency

and these are the account books of

the Yihe Company for the past 19 years

They recorded the amount of silver

he has used for bribing the officials

No one else has seen this

There might be some hidden causes

in my father's case

Please make a thorough investigation,

Your Excellency

He Jingrong deserves...

capital punishment for this!

Your Excellency...

The Yihe Company has been bribing

the government officials and

collaborating with foreigners

Now you're here

to blackmail the authorities...

with these confidential records

How many officials are on your list?

You have good reason to put Han Zhaoqing

on the list, who took million taels

But why did you record those...

who have received only a trifling amount?

What do you want from me?

Kill all the officials...

in Guangzhou?

Or start an internal confrontation when

we are facing a strong enemy outside?

You're despicable

Get out!

According to the law of the Great Qing,

any official found listing opium...

will be stripped of his title,

dismissed from office and exiled

Which I'm sure you all know

But I'm not sure if there has been

any transgression among you

No. No!

Very good!

What we are here for today is meditation

I want you to sit here for six hours

If you are still in good shape

after these hours,

you may leave

If anyone of you cannot stand it,

leave your official hat here

and wait for prosecution

I want to see how long you could last!

Out of every 10,000 chests of opium

that you allowed to enter,

you would take 200

and say it was confiscated

Hiding the truth and reporting...

as your achievements

to the Imperial Court

You're...

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