The 1830s were a peak for the opium trade into China, smuggled from India under British directives. Massive chests of opium, almost 200 pounds apiece, enough to satiate the addictions of masses from a single chest, were flooding the Chinese space. In 1835 alone, over 16 thousand chests, worth 17 million dollars apiece were brought into China. The Daoguang Emperor was in an incredibly desperate position as to what he would do to at the very least slow down the opium trade. There were advocates such as Xu Naiji who wanted to legalize opium in China to allow for proper trade and to tip the scales more towards an even playing field for China, allowing for proper regulation of the flow of silver, a key currency in trade particularly in China, to and from China, but also those who wished for even stricter bans to be imposed on opium, such as Zhu Zun. The indecisive Daoguang Emperor had to make a decision. And after months of deliberation, a decision was made, and it was the latter. The Chinese attempted to enforce these laws as strictly as possible, seizing any opium they could find and potentially executing addicts. They demonstrated their destruction of opium as well through the late 1830s to try and prevent people from participating in the opium trade. However these did not help curtail the opium trade to a sufficient degree. Secret organizations and syndicates rooted deep within Chinese society had progressed to a seemingly terminal extent, and simple laws would not stop them, especially considering the growing inefficiency of the Chinese government. The illegalization laws were the declaration of war for the Imperial Court on opium, and the British did not respond well to this at all.
