Why did the Daoguang emperor appoint Lin Zexu as imperial commissioner?

The Daoguang emperor appointed Lin Zexu as imperial commissioner in late 1838 primarily to address the severe social and economic crises caused by the rampant opium trade.12

The emperor was deeply alarmed by two critical factors:
* Moral and Social Decay: The widespread addiction to opium was causing significant social disruption among the Chinese populace.13
* Economic Instability: The illegal importation of opium led to a massive outflow of Chinese silver, which drained the economy and caused a decline in the value of copper within China’s bimetallic monetary system.123

Furthermore, the emperor had spent nearly two decades attempting to enforce bans on opium, but these efforts were consistently undermined by corruption among officials and soldiers who profited from the trade. Lin Zexu was chosen as a radical patriot who had already demonstrated success in suppressing the drug traffic in the provinces he previously governed. By vesting Lin with extraordinary powers, the emperor sought a decisive solution to a problem that had become impossible to manage as a purely domestic affair.12