Cigarettes are too expensive, the soldiers can't afford to supply them, and the marshals during the Republic of China have other tricks to deal with
The addiction behind the clouds: When cigarettes are more expensive than opium, the "welfare" of the soldiers of the Republic of China turned out to be it?
1. "Addiction" is a strange trick: soldiers can't afford to smoke, and warlords find another way
Just imagine, on the battlefield filled with gunsmoke, a soldier who has just experienced a life-and-death struggle takes out a cigarette case, only to find that it is not filled with cigarettes, but ...... Opium! This is not an absurd movie plot, but a real scene during the Republic of China.
The story starts with the price of cigarettes. During the Republic of China, cigarettes, as a "foreign goods", were not cheap for ordinary soldiers. In Shanghai in 1927, for example, a box of cigarettes cost 0.036 silver dollars, which was equivalent to 3 copper plates, and the monthly salary of a third-class soldier at that time was only about 7 silver dollars. For those soldiers with modest incomes, smoking every day is undoubtedly a luxury "hobby".
The soldiers' thirst for nicotine does not disappear because of the price. In order to satisfy the soldiers' "addiction" and at the same time save money, some shrewd warlords have twisted their brains: since cigarettes are expensive, then replace them with cheaper opium!
II. The Grim Calculations Behind Opium "Welfare": What do warlords care more about than the lives of their soldiers?
Isn't opium, you ask, a drug? Isn't it afraid that the soldiers will become addicted to opium?
In the eyes of the mercenary warlords, the lives of soldiers are far less important than their interests. Opium, as a cheap and easily available drug, not only satisfies the "addiction" of soldiers, but also makes them numb, sluggish, and easier to control.
Take, for example, the warlords of the Southwest, who were themselves opium growers and traffickers, and their warehouses were filled with opium of all grades. For them to distribute low-quality opium to soldiers as a "welfare", not only to save money, but also to effectively control the army, it can be said to kill two birds with one stone.
Even more chilling, some warlords even used opium as a "reward" to motivate their soldiers to fight. Just imagine, the fate of those soldiers who fought bravely to kill the enemy in order to get a little "opium reward" was not a kind of sadness?
III. From cigarettes to opium: a distorted history, a question worth pondering
Looking back at this history, we can't help but ask: what makes these warlords so brazen in stuffing drugs into their own soldiers?
The answer may be manifold. During the Republican period, warlords were divided, wars were frequent, and social turmoil was unstable. In order to compete for territory and resources, the warlords will stop at nothing to expand their armies and squeeze the common people. In their eyes, soldiers are nothing more than tools for the realization of their ambitions, and their life and death, their health, are not worth mentioning at all.
And opium, a drug that once brought great disasters to the Chinese nation, became a tool for warlords to control the army and seize profits in that turbulent era. This is not only a satire of history, but also a torture of human nature.
Today, we revisit this period of history, not to accuse anyone, but to reflect on history, so that we can cherish the hard-won peace and the preciousness of life and health. I also hope to arouse everyone's vigilance against the dangers of drugs, stay away from drugs, and cherish life.
What do you think of this history? What do you think is causing this to happen? Feel free to leave your views in the comment section.