In a large plantation in the Nanyang Governor's Si Danhe Mansion, the owner of the plantation, Zhao Ming, had a smile on his face. It was another harvest season.
The weather is also going well here in Nanyang Province this year. The one thousand acres of sugar cane planted in Zhao Ming's home has ushered in a bumper harvest. Looking at the huge sugar cane field in front of him, his mind is full of money.
"Everyone, work hard. When the sugar cane is harvested, I will give you a few days off so that you can have a good rest."
Zhao Ming was riding a horse and walking in his plantation. Looking at the slaves who were busy in the sugar cane plantation, he also said loudly.
There is a big difference between Nanyang Province and Jiaozhi Province. The population here in Nanyang Province is mainly immigrants from the Ming Dynasty, and the number of local indigenous people is very rare.
But there is another huge population in Nanyang Province, a population that is not included in the demographics of the Ming Dynasty, and that is the huge number of slaves in the large and small plantations of Nanyang Province.
The number of these slaves is very large. Any plantation has dozens or hundreds of slaves, and some large plantations even have thousands of slaves.
These slaves, numbering in the millions, are spread throughout Nanyang Province, growing sugar cane, rice, etc. for plantation owners.
However, slaves are slaves and cannot be counted among the population of the Ming Dynasty. Their status is similar to that of livestock in the family. They are regarded as the private property of the slave owner. Their status is not even comparable to that of the indigenous people in Nanyang.
"Thank you, master, thank you, master~"
When the slaves heard this, they immediately thanked him profusely.
Although they are slaves, here in Nanyang, as long as they are willing to work conscientiously, generally speaking, slave owners will not treat them too badly. They can eat whatever they want, including white rice, vegetables, radishes, etc., and occasionally some
They eat sea fish, chickens, ducks, geese, etc. raised in plantations, and they also have their share during holidays.
There may not be a lot of other things here in Nanyang, but there is still so much rice that we can't finish it. Every plantation has a field used to grow rice. With three crops a year, there is no way to finish the rice.
As for clothes, shoes, etc., the price of cloth is getting lower and lower now, and Nanyang is located in the tropics, so in fact, not much cloth is needed to make clothes.
Therefore, the life of these slaves is quite good. Except for the lack of freedom, all other aspects are okay.
"Well, do it well."
Zhao Ming nodded with satisfaction. There were a total of thirty-six slaves in his plantation, including twenty adult male slaves, ten female slaves, and six young slaves.
Male slaves were mainly used to cultivate land and plant rice and sugar cane. Female slaves were responsible for raising pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks and geese, growing vegetables, washing and cooking, etc. As for the six small slaves, they were responsible for herding cattle for Zhao Ming.
horse.
Zhao Ming was very satisfied with his days of riding a horse quickly through his plantation and managing his slaves from above.
He is an immigrant from Shanxi. He used to be a farmer with his face facing the loess and his back turned to the sky. He worked hard to farm land for the landlord Lao Cai all year round and could not even finish his meal.
Later, when they immigrated to Nanyang, the court directly allocated hundreds of acres of land. After the family worked hard to plant sugar cane and rice for a year, they began to purchase slaves one after another for planting and reclamation. Slowly, they became what they are now.
scale.
In total, it owns more than a thousand acres of fields, a complete set of reinforced concrete houses, and a dozen slave houses and warehouses. In addition, there are five cows, three horses, a dozen pigs, and hundreds of chickens and ducks.
Goose and so on.
All this was accumulated in just a few years. With such a huge wealth, if he were in his hometown in Shaanxi, he would never have dreamed of such a life.
In Shaanxi, even wealthy landlords may not own such huge properties, including land, slaves, cattle and horses, etc. Ordinary wealthy landlords may not really be able to own these.
"Sir, the cart has been filled with sugar cane!"
At this time, a tall man with fair skin, a tall nose and deep eyes came to Zhao Ming respectfully and said.
His name is Hussein, a Persian businessman who previously settled on the island of Ceylon. He originally lived a prosperous life with a beautiful wife and lovely children.
But last year, the United Western Trading Company attacked Ceylon and captured the island of Ceylon very easily. Like many Persians, Arabs, and locals of Ceylon, he became a slave and was then sold to Southeast Asia.
Here, after changing hands several times, it was finally bought by Zhao Ming and became a slave of Zhao Ming's family.
Although he was also a slave, Hussein was a businessman in the past and was as shrewd as a businessman. He had traveled to many places, was well-informed, and had a strong learning ability.
Therefore, he quickly learned the language of Ming Dynasty, and helped Zhao Ming earn a lot of money by helping Zhao Ming bargain when buying and selling sugar cane.
Therefore, Zhao Ming accepted him as the manor housekeeper, responsible for helping manage the affairs of the plantation, arranging slaves to work, etc., instead of having to work directly as coolies.
"Let's go to Danhe City!"
Zhao Ming nodded and said.
"Yes~"
Hussein nodded respectfully and followed Zhao Ming in a carriage with two slaves to transport the sugar cane to Danhe City for sale.
"Hussein, I have asked people to find out clearly that your wife was bought back as a concubine by a man from the Western United Trading Company because of her beauty. Your two children were also bought together. Now you have no food and clothing.
Worry, you don’t have to worry too much.”
As Zhao Ming was riding his horse, he thought of something and slowed down. After arriving at Hussein, he told Hussein about the matter.
Hussein was quite good at managing the plantation. He asked him to inquire about the whereabouts of his wife and children. Zhao Ming also asked someone to inquire about the whereabouts of his wife and children. Only recently did the news come.
"real?"
When Hussein heard this, he immediately asked excitedly.
"Well, the person should still be here on Ceylon Island."
"You work well for me, and I will apply for you to be released from slavery in a few years. Then you can go to Ceylon Island to see them."
Zhao Ming nodded solemnly and said.
Regarding slaves, the Ming Dynasty also promulgated relevant laws and regulations, which imposed strict specifications and restrictions on all aspects of slaves. Slaves' scope of activities, marriage status, property owned, and even the clothes they wore were strictly regulated.
Regulations and restrictions.
At the same time, there are also strict restrictions on the status of contact with slaves. It does not mean that you can regain your freedom just because the slave owner is willing to restore your freedom. You must also obtain approval from the local government.
If you want to be audited, first of all, you must master the Ming Dynasty language proficiently, and the original bad habits, respect Han etiquette, respect Confucius and Mencius, know how to be loyal to the emperor and patriotism, be grateful to the Ming Dynasty, etc.
The second is that during the period of slavery, he did not behave badly, worked diligently, and served the slave owner loyally.
In short, it is not easy to obtain freedom, but it finally gives hope legally. After being released from slavery, you can obtain the status of an ordinary citizen of the Ming Dynasty, have personal freedom, and obtain a piece of land in the Ming Dynasty.
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Hussein also knew this, which was why he worked diligently to manage the plantation for Zhao Ming. He wanted to be free, and did not want to be a slave all his life, nor did he want his descendants to be slaves.
"Thank you, master, thank you, master~"
When Hussein heard this, he immediately thanked him profusely.
Finally there is news that they are all safe, and that is enough.
As for his wife becoming the concubine of the Ming Dynasty, this is almost a thing that you don't have to think about. It's enough for the children to have enough food and clothing. He really doesn't have high requirements now.
It would be perfect to be able to gain freedom, visit them, and, if possible, earn enough money to redeem them.
Driving a carriage and carrying a cart full of sugar cane, they arrived at Danhe City.
First, the sugar cane was delivered to Ryukyu Sugar's factory here in Danhe City. It was sold very smoothly, and a large truck of sugar cane was sold for two taels of silver.
"Well, it's not bad. Although the price is lower than last year, it's still much more cost-effective than growing rice. After all, my thousand acres of sugar cane can be sold for more than 300 taels of silver."
Zhao Ming took the silver and weighed it slightly. This white silver dollar was so cute.
"Master, after my calculation, it can be sold for about three hundred and fifty taels of silver."
Hussein also said quickly.
"Well, that's almost it~"
"There have been too many people planting sugarcane in the past two years. Not only in our Nanyang Province, but also in Jiaozhi, Xianglin, and Zhenghe Provinces, the scale of sugarcane planting is very large."
"In addition, almost the entire Ryukyu Islands are planted with sugar cane. Our Ming Dynasty's Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian also have a large amount of sugar cane planted."
"The production of sucrose is also rising year by year, and the price is constantly falling, so the price of sugar cane is also falling."
"Fortunately, our Ming Dynasty's merchant ships are spread all over the world, and cane sugar can be sold all over the world. Otherwise, the price will still drop."
Zhao Ming nodded slightly. Although he was a farmer before, he is now a plantation owner. He often comes to Danhe City to communicate with other people. The Ming Dynasty Morning Post is a best-seller all over the country. Under the influence of his ears and eyes, he knows a lot of things about sucrose.
I am even more concerned about the situation.
"Sir, I heard that the price of rubber is very high now, and it needs to be imported from Huangjinzhou. There is a business here in Nanyang that has introduced rubber to Nanyang for planting."
"Can Master also consider planting some rubber trees?"
Hussein also nodded slightly. After coming to Ming Dynasty, he came into contact with a wider world, learned about Ming Dynasty's power and vast territory, and also understood why the people of Ming Dynasty were so confident.
So he is working hard to learn the Ming dialect, and at the same time he is also working hard to learn Chinese characters, wants to read newspapers, and often pays attention to what people in the Ming Dynasty are talking about.
This rubber thing was also mentioned by someone when I followed Zhao Ming to Danhe City.
"rubber?"
"What it is?"
When Zhao Ming heard this, he suddenly asked with some doubts.
"I heard that it is the liquid that flows from the rubber tree. It is very elastic and can be used to make many things. It is said that the price of a pound of rubber has reached several taels of silver now."
Hussein thought for a while and said.
"How many taels of silver does a pound of rubber cost?"
When Zhao Ming heard this, his eyes widened slightly, and then he thought about it and said, "Let's find someone to inquire later."
