The smelly sea breeze kept stimulating the taste buds, but everyone on the pier seemed to be unaware. Their feet were put up from the side of the ship to the shore, and a fat figure stepped forward, and landed on the ground in three or two steps, with agile steps and That figure looks uncoordinated no matter how you look at it.
The person who came was the captain, with a rough face and traces of weathering and sunburn all over his face, which made it difficult to tell how old he was, but the fierce and fierce aura could not be concealed. However, when he saw the waiter, When Shen Bailong stood on the trestle, he immediately broke into a flower-like smile, walked forward quickly, bowed his hands and said: "I have met the old master, how can I personally take care of such a trivial matter?"
Facing the attentiveness of the visitor, Shen Bailong just nodded slightly, his style was still vigorous and resolute, and he waved his hand and said: "Forget chatting, let's get on board to inspect the goods!"
"It's up to you!" The captain didn't take it seriously. He turned sideways and made a gesture of invitation.
Of course, it was not Lord Shen's turn to do this kind of specific work. Under his instruction, a young man with dark skin and a strong body boarded the ship with a few people. This was Shen Bailong San. Son Shen Qinglin.
On the trestle, the ship owner respectfully introduced the goods to Shen Bailong: 317 people arrived alive, from Fujian, Guangdong, Guangdong, and Zhejiang, mainly Han nationality, mainly young and middle-aged people, and more than 60 women.
Listening to the captain's introduction, Shen Bailong's face showed no emotion at all, and his old face even looked particularly serious. He waited until Shen Qinglin took the people off the boat and nodded to himself to confirm, and then he said: "Hand over!"
Following Shen Bailong's order, the dock suddenly became busy. As the handover activity began, rows of men and women were driven off the boat under the cover of night. Under the night, the vision was dim and everyone's face could not be seen clearly, but The outlines of each person reveal a state of embarrassment and rancidity. Not only are their clothes ragged, but their dignity is being sold like a pig.
Under a straw awning, Shen Bailong sat opposite the boat owner, looking a little uninterested. It had been a long time, and calm returned to the dock again. Shen Qinglin approached with someone, bowed first, and said: "It's been checked and collected. !”
Hearing this, Shen Bailong motioned to the captain. Shen Qinglin understood and waved his hand. Immediately, a middle-aged man dressed as a servant placed a box in front of the captain.
Seeing this, all the awe and fatigue of the captain were swept away, and he straightened up. He only opened the lid of the box and glanced twice, then immediately closed it, as if he couldn't stand the stimulation of the dull light of the pile of silver coins, and the rough With a smile on his face: "Thank you, Sir!"
Unlike the Central Empire, which still uses copper coins as the main currency, in the vast Southeast Asian region, in addition to copper coins, the circulation of gold bars and silver coins is more developed and rapid. This is due to the various bulk goods trade that is popular in Southeast Asia.
At the same time, due to the lack of coin-minting technology, most of the gold and silver coins currently circulating in Southeast Asia were cast by imperial coin workshops and then circulated. Of course, as the major feudal states gradually improved, they also began to set up their own mints one by one. Bureau and began to mint its own currency.
"Don't you think about it?" Shen Bailong asked in a deep voice.
The captain said: "Your Majesty has always done things fairly, so why do you need such methods? What's more, I still want to continue this business."
Shen Bailong smiled, pondered for a while, sighed, pointed at Shen Qinglin who was standing aside, and said: "From now on, my third son will take care of this matter!"
The captain was surprised. He looked at Shen Bailong and then at Shen Qinglin who looked calm. He quickly returned to his smile and bowed his hands: "The tiger has escaped from the door. From now on, I will rely on the young lord to take care of me."
The black industry of human trafficking has been everywhere throughout history, even within the empire, and it has been dominated by children and women for a long time. Of course, the development of this industry is often accompanied by
Policy changes and social changes.
A few decades ago, when population was regarded as the performance of local bureaucracies, the population under their control was protected like chickens, and those engaged in the human trade were always severely punished, with few exceptions.
However, with the abolition of the poll tax in the empire and the later tax reform, and the imperial court no longer linked population indicators to promotions, the government's attention in this area naturally relaxed.
Of course, it’s not that we don’t pay attention to it at all. After all, in any era, the population, especially the population with sufficient labor capacity, is valuable social wealth and exploitable resources. However, it is an indisputable fact that the crackdown on related crimes has been weakened.
The development of the Han Empire in terms of population trade was actually an imported one at first. This was mainly due to the shortage of domestic labor force at the beginning of the country's recovery, and the Emperor Shizu and the imperial court had relatively strict protection for the Han peasants.
Therefore, in order to manage their land, they began to think of ways from the outside. At that time, it was the early stage of the empire's foreign expansion, so successively, there were dozens of people from the official (the official land of the yamen at all levels of the imperial court, and the public land was also short of labor).
Tens of thousands of foreigners were imported into the country as labor force. Of course, this was later strictly prohibited by Emperor Shizu.
With the peace of the world, the population exploded, and the labor shortage was solved. At the same time, foreign exports began, which was also accompanied by the deepening of the empire's foreign expansion.
Demand determines the market. Whether it is a land feudal country in the north or an overseas feudal country in Southeast Asia, since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the demand for the core population has experienced a surge. Even now, decades later, there is still a hunger and thirst.
status.
The cost of conventional immigration methods is too high, and no feudal country can afford it. Therefore, a cheaper, more efficient and inhumane method has gradually become the choice of various countries, or some powerful businessmen,
Take the initiative to help countries solve problems.
At first, the merchants were not very courageous, and the targets for trading were mostly barbarians and small people. Annan, Guangnan West Road, etc. were the population sources in the south, and Korea and Japan were the two countries in the north.
However, although these people are useful to the Southeast Asian countries, they are not so popular, and barbarians are always cheap. Therefore, in order to seek high profits, some people began to extend their sinful hands to the Han people
From the original young and strong labor force to now, there are differences. The target selection of trade objects, literacy, craftsmen, women, etc., are obviously more valuable, especially women. The market is getting better and better. After all, the Nanyang feudal state is Yangsheng.
The situation of Yin decline is very common, and many Han men look down on indigenous women, which further pushes up the price of women, especially young and beautiful women. In contrast, ordinary farmers, fishermen, and children who cannot provide sufficient labor force
much cheaper
Once Pandora's box is opened, it is difficult to stop it, and the real conditions have given traders engaged in this area huge space. On the one hand, there are the huge needs and profit temptations of overseas feudal countries, and on the other hand, they are self-indulgent.
Combined with the "immigration policy" that had been firmly promoted since the time of King Sejo, a trend broke out, and a black industry also flourished.
Of course, things like this that are harmful to nature are subject to criticism, condemnation and attack, no matter from the ideological point of view or from the moral and legal point of view. However, many people's hearts are dark, but their faces are still red and their teeth are white. Some things are dark and evil, and they are also
You can do it with a fair and upright white skin. Even if it smells filthy and stinky for a while, you can still clean it up through other means later.
For merchants engaged in the human trade, whether it is deception, collusion between officials and businessmen, or power and money transactions, they have many means to avoid the regulatory crackdowns of weak laws, gather people into large and small ports along the coast, and then carry them on a single ship.
Walk.
This business was actually popular in the northern feudal countries, but the maritime trade was obviously more prosperous. The demand was equally strong, transportation was convenient, and the cost was lower than in the north.
It is conceivable that trade like this is destined to be inhumane and full of tragedies. For merchants, they only send people to exchange for money. As for the life, death and health of the "immigrants", it is secondary.
need.
In the early days, I was somewhat restrained, but as this road became more and more intense and crazy, all moral bottom lines were forgotten. In the past ten years or so, it has been especially crazy.
In the waterway opened up by Jiaerlang with his life, countless descendants of the Han family were left behind from the ships of the Han family, and there were countless grievances of the Han people wailing along the way.
Regarding these situations, the imperial court in the mainland of the empire has been alert for a long time and has taken certain precautions and rectification measures. However, it is possible to achieve temporary results, but it is impossible to completely eliminate it. Just one point, what is human trade, and what is human trade?
It is difficult to identify if they are regular immigrants.
Unless the imperial court completely changes its policy of opening up to the outside world, cuts off overseas contacts, and prohibits all overseas operations, but compared with the huge benefits that are continuously imported from overseas, some human tragedies do not seem so unbearable.
Therefore, it is okay to prohibit blows, but it is not necessary to stop eating due to choking.
As for the Nanyang feudal states, the slave trade was basically a legal act, but it was only aimed at the indigenous barbarians. Regardless of political needs or for the sake of good looks, although various countries adopted the actual act of buying and selling the Han population, they used the term "immigration"
It was an excuse to increase the core ruling population, but on the surface, it was also following the laws of the central empire and severely cracking down on the Han population trade. The Nanyang feudal states have been playing this kind of black humor for decades.
By the time of Jianlong, on the ships that traveled between the empire and the feudal states in Southeast Asia, if you didn’t conduct a thorough search, you wouldn’t know whether the cabins contained various goods from the empire or so-called “immigrants”
.
It is conceivable that the status of immigrants who entered Nanyang through "trade" is destined to be low. Although they are higher than those of the indigenous people, it is obviously impossible to imagine themselves as Han masters like the early immigrants.
For the Shen family, they also participated in it and engaged in related activities with official endorsement, which was a semi-official behavior. For the "immigrants" in that boat, it was unfortunate that the Shen family would handle the settlement, which could save money. A lot of trouble, and was able to settle down quickly under Shen's arrangements.
As for "immigrants" who come south through other private channels, it is inevitable that they will go through some twists and turns, but no matter what, as long as they are registered with the government and obtain national status, they can always get a basic guarantee.
For no other reason than for the identity of "Han people", the methods of coming are various, and even the crimes are serious, but after coming, the people who should be settled will not be left behind. After all, they have the same roots and the same origin, and they are built with rammed earth. At that time, could the Han people really be treated like pigs or slaves?
Invariably, when it comes to protecting the status and interests of the Han people, all the major feudal states have formulated special laws to clearly guarantee that if something is done too much, they will not dare to go too far even if they are slapped in the face.
After handling the matter of a boatload of "new immigrants", Shen Bolong slowly returned to his mansion on the side of the royal city. For a person of his status, having hundreds of servants is standard. He took a sip of fruit drink and washed up. After a while, when we arrived at the hall, there were already guests waiting for us.
The person who came was also an old man named Shen Haiqiong. He was Shen Bailong's cousin and an old brother who had followed him to Bonizhou to work hard for decades.
Although Shen Haiqiong did not get a title like Shen Bailong, he was equally successful because he still served as a vice-admiral in the Wu Navy and had considerable power. Of course, Shen Bolong had the support behind this.
Shen Haiqiong's request for an audience was also due to something that was not enough for outsiders to understand: a new group of pirates had risen in the Sulu Islands, gathering with flags and roaring. He got the news from nowhere, and sent people to risk their lives to find Shen Haiqiong. Haiqiong, I hope I can sell goods here in Zhaohui Port
Entering the age of navigation, the rise of pirates was inevitable, and the Sulu Islands, due to its geographical location, became the largest gathering place for pirates in Southeast Asia in a few decades.
But robbery alone is not enough. There must be channels for sales. In the early days, some pirates sold the stolen goods to the coastal ports of the empire. However, that route was too risky after all. Later, it gradually shifted. With the establishment of the Nanyang feudal state, Development and growth have also become the main targets for pirates to sell goods. After all, supervision is looser.
Although both the Wu State in the Balni Continent and the Lu State in the South China Sea organized naval campaigns, they did not hinder private business dealings. Of course, those who can sell goods to the two countries are not ordinary pirates. It can be done.
Therefore, when Shen Bailong heard that a new group of pirates could detect this relationship and directly find Shen Haiqiong, Shen Bailong was wary and also a little more curious.
Pirates are also a profession that can quickly accumulate wealth. I remember when he was still on the beach, he led his brothers to sea for the first time. Before they succeeded, his dream was shattered by a group of pirates. All his brothers were killed and injured, and he almost lost his life. He lost his life and was helpless.
If he hadn't joined the Wu Guogong Reclamation Corps by chance, he might have been buried in a corner of nowhere.