Chapter 775 0770 [Old Li discovers a way to make money]
Ya Po brought several Silla maids. Li Bangyan looked at them and shook his head repeatedly.
For those with rough hands and feet, being a servant is fine, but taking concubines and giving birth to sons is not enough.
Yapo said: "There are three grades of Silla maids. The upper grade is good at singing and dancing, the middle grade is beautiful, and the lower grade is hardworking and hardworking. The upper grade Silla maids are bought by brothels as soon as they arrive in Hong Kong. The middle grade Silla maids are also competed by rich people.
, these are the only ones left in Hangzhou.”
"Can these be considered average?" Li Bangyan was quite disdainful.
Yapo added: "When the next boatload of Silla maids arrives, I will come over immediately to report to the Prime Minister."
Li Bangyan asked: "Every ship has one?"
Yapo said: "Not necessarily, but it has become more and more common in the past two years."
Goryeo was first plundered by the Jin Kingdom, and food was also compensated. Pyongyang and the areas north of it were starved to death.
The Ming army occupied Pyongyang and asked Goryeo to provide military rations, which they had to pay every year.
Where is the food supply in Goryeo?
They tried every means to use local products to pay for food, and even captured rural women and sold them to Han bachelors who migrated there.
There was a Zhejiang maritime merchant who had read books and was inspired when he was purchasing goods from Goryeo. He knew that Silla maids were popular in the Tang Dynasty, so he collaborated with Goryeo officials to engage in human trade, and then asked Hangzhou scholars to promote it.
"Silla Maid" became popular all of a sudden!
When the important ministers of Goryeo heard the news, they not only did not stop it, but also joined in, and the Silla maids they provided were of higher quality.
Even the low-grade Silla maids are still willing to be bought by rich people.
Because I was beaten, scolded, worked hard, and even gave them a meal, I was grateful.
This is not an act, but comes from the bottom of my heart.
Think about the life of the people of Goryeo. In China, cloth can only be used to wear linen and mourn, but in Goryeo it is a "currency" in the market.
The lower-class Silla maids were all girls from the lower class of Goryeo. They were sold to Hangzhou to work as servants. Their food and clothing were better than those in their hometown. Of course, they were willing to work diligently.
Li Bangyan is now in a state of disbelief and is cautious in everything he does. He couldn't help but ask: "Is it illegal for the court to not allow private slaves to keep Silla maids at home?"
At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, slavery was basically abolished, and even the female relatives of prisoners were no longer accepted as official slaves.
The "Da Ming Code" goes further on this basis, explicitly stipulating that private slaves are not allowed, and servant employment contracts are also strictly regulated. Although there are big problems in implementation, the legal loopholes are closed, and once found, it is illegal.
Ya Po said with a smile: "My lord, please rest assured. I am also a public ya, registered with the government. Since I am a public ya, I should abide by the law. Those Silla maids will register with the government first, and then sign a five-year employment contract when buying or selling."
, you can just re-sign the deed and renew it when the time limit is up.”
"That's okay." Li Bangyan nodded.
There are really no relevant legal provisions on this. How could it be possible to restrict cross-border immigration in ancient times?
Moreover, not long after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the settlement policy was very tolerant, in order to encourage concealed settlement.
When a Silla maid enters the port as an attendant of a maritime merchant, she only needs to pay an entry tax. The merchant then goes to the government to apply for a Ming Dynasty household registration for the Silla maid, and completes the employment contract of the Ming Dynasty. During the transaction, the contract is also transferred.
All legal!
Ya Po asked again: "My husband mentioned the Kunlun slave that day, but do you want to buy one?"
Li Bangyan said in surprise: "Can you buy Kunlun slaves in Hangzhou?"
Yapo explained: "There is no ready stock in Hangzhou, but you can contact the maritime merchants and ask them to bring the goods with them from Guangzhou."
There are so many black slaves in Guangzhou!
During the Xuanhe reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, Zhu Yu wrote a book called "Pingzhou Can Tan", which contains records of black slaves in Guangzhou: "The rich people in Guangzhong have many animals and ghost slaves. They are extremely powerful and can carry hundreds of kilograms. They are addicted to words. Those who have blocked desires and are pure in nature are also called savages. Their color is like ink, their lips are red and their teeth are white, their hair is curly and yellow... After a long period of time, they can learn to speak to others, but they themselves cannot speak..."
Most of the black slaves in Guangzhou, except for a few black Africans brought by large food merchants, were dwarf blacks from Indochina and the Southeast Asian islands.
Dwarf black people are also called Negritos. They look similar to African black people. However, from a DNA perspective, they belong to a branch of Asians. They only changed into that ghostly appearance in order to adapt to the climate and environment.
Most of the Kunlun slaves in the Tang Dynasty were dwarf blacks.
Their most outstanding advantage is that they are good at swimming!
The legendary novel "The Ballad of Gan Ze" from the Tang Dynasty tells a story about a wicked governor. Whenever he came to a new body of water by boat, he would throw his sword into the water and let the Kunlun slaves fish it out to show off his black slaves. Especially awesome. In the end, this Kunlun slave was torn apart by a crocodile...
"Pingzhou Ke Tan" written during the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty also records the main use of black slaves: as sailors.
When there is a big storm, let the black slaves reef the sails.
If there was a leak in the cabin, the black slaves were asked to repair the leak.
"Is there any Bodhisattva?" Li Bangyan suddenly asked.
Yapo smiled and said: "I was a singer when I was young, and I can also sing ditties. I can sing twenty or thirty songs of "Bodhisattva Man"."
Li Bangyan said: "Bodhisattva is quite a human being."
Yapo asked doubtfully: "Isn't Bodhisattva a cipai?"
Li Bangyan found that he had found a business opportunity. Kunlun slaves had always existed, and now they had Xinluo slaves, but they still lacked a Bodhisattva man.
There are different opinions on the origin of the Bodhisattvas. One theory is that they are white people from Central Asia, another is that they are barbarians from the southwest, and another is that they are Fan women from Southeast Asia.
You can almost ignore the white man's theory, because that thing is called Hu Ji.
It is also unlikely that the southwestern barbarians were involved because, based on the analysis of ancient records, the small political power in southwestern China during the Tang Dynasty did not have such advanced textile technology and lacked that kind of belief and wearing customs.
Bodhisattva should come from Thailand and Myanmar!
Of course, Li Bangyan did not have such a clear geographical awareness, but in order to please Song Huizong, he liked to read all kinds of miscellaneous books.
The book only said that the Bodhisattva Man came from the Numan Kingdom, and detailed the clothing and jewelry. The rest of the details were vague, so he could have created a new Bodhisattva Man.
Li Bangyan took out a bunch of copper coins (one hundred Wen), stuffed them into Yapo's hand and said, "Who in Hangzhou is the most familiar with overseas foreign countries?"
Yapo happily put the money into her arms: "The maritime merchants from Hangzhou mostly go to Korea and Japan to trade, or transport goods to Fujian and Guangdong."
Li Bangyan said: "Goryeo and Japan have many envoys coming to Beijing, and it is no longer unusual. I mean the farther away countries, which are not far away, are okay, but they must be unfamiliar to the Chinese people."
Yapo thought carefully and said: "I really don't know this. Maybe my husband can visit Mr. Zhu."
"Which Mr. Zhu?" Li Bangyan asked.
Ya Po said: "Zhu Yu, he wrote "Pingzhou Can Tan". It was printed in Hangzhou two years ago. Many people rushed to buy it and read it. The book is very interesting."
Li Bangyan asked: "Is he also in Hangzhou?"
Ya Po said: "Mr. Zhu is from Huzhou and has lived in Guangzhou all year round. In the past two years, he bought a house in Hangzhou."
Li Bangyan then inquired about Zhu Yu's residence.
Before leaving, Yapo asked: "My husband, would you like to pre-purchase a high-quality Silla maid to be your concubine?"
Li Bangyan said: "No, I'd better find a matchmaker."
The reason why he mistakenly found a matchmaker to take a concubine was purely Li Bangyan's habitual operation. Where had he found a matchmaker before to take a concubine? He always asked his confidants to buy the concubines directly.
After Ya Po left, Li Bangyan called his loyal servant: "Go and buy a copy of "Pingzhou Ke Tan"."
This book was written several years ago and was first printed in Huzhou. It only appeared in Hangzhou in the past two years.
The first volume describes the court rules and regulations, the words and deeds of the monarch and his ministers; the second volume describes Guangzhou's business, local customs and customs; the third volume describes monks, Taoism, divination, and mysterious things.
Li Bangyan finished reading the book quickly and had already guessed that the author was a figure from the New Party, or perhaps a junior from the New Party.
The book records a large number of anecdotes about Wang Anshi, Sima Guang, Su Shi, Su Che, Huang Tingjian, Shen Kuo and others. When describing the new party, they are all good, while when describing the old party, they are secretly satirical.
The next day, Li Bangyan took his servants and rented a donkey cart to Phoenix Academy.
A few years ago, it was called Baoen Temple.
Ju Ming ordered the closure of temples across the country, and each county had a temple quota. The Baoen Temple in Fenghuang Mountain in Hangzhou was banned.
Led by the gentry of Hangzhou, merchants also donated money, and with further encouragement and guidance from the government, Baoen Temple was finally transformed into Phoenix Academy.
When Bai Chongyan was the prefect of Hangzhou, he also standardized the academy curriculum, that is, Zhu Guoxiang and Ju Ming's knowledge were compulsory courses. As for teachers who want to teach other things, that's okay, but the compulsory content cannot be delayed.
Today, it has become the most famous academy in several southern provinces, because the principal is the prince’s Bole Lu Rong!
After Lu Tixue resigned from office in the Northern Song Dynasty, he was unwilling to serve as an official in the New Dynasty and chose to open a school in Yuezhou (Shaoxing) to teach apprentices.
The story that he had recommended Prince Zhu in the former Song Dynasty spread, and more and more people came to be his disciples. Four years ago, he was hired as the headmaster of Phoenix Academy in Hangzhou.
Zhu Yu, the author of "Pingzhou Can Talk", was also a teacher at Phoenix Academy. His father was Zhu Fu, an official of the New Party. Due to party strife, he worked as a prefecture magistrate for half his life. He was repeatedly transferred here and there as an official, and finally died of illness while serving in Guangzhou.
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Zhu Yu took several imperial examinations, but gave up after failing many times and spent his days hanging out with gentry, merchants, monks, doctors and divination, and wizards.
Li Bangyan knows how to gain a foothold in Hangzhou. He stopped by today to donate a thousand dollars directly to Phoenix Academy.
Ju Ming ransacked his house and returned Li Bangyan 100,000 guan. A thousand guan was swindled out of town by merchants, and he spent nearly 20,000 guan on buying a mansion and land. He also rehired many servants and now donated money to the academy. Li Bangyan spent money like water.
So he is eager to make money!
"Is it you?" Lu Rong looked at Li Bangyan with disgust.
Li Bangyan smiled and said: "Chief Lu Shan, I'm here to donate to the academy."
Lu Rong rolled his sleeves and said: "Your Excellency, please leave, Phoenix Academy does not want dirty money!"
Li Bangyan asked: "Chief Lu Shan, do you know why I can serve as a cabinet minister in the Ming Dynasty?"
Lu Rong sneered: "It's just betraying the old master and making contributions to the new dynasty."
"The old master is a foolish king. Should he abandon the country and the people?" Li Bangyan asked again.
Lu Rong said: "Everyone in the world can betray a foolish emperor, but you, a treacherous fool, are not qualified."
Li Bangyan said: "Compared to other traitors, I have never committed any serious crimes. I was a former official in the Song Dynasty and became prime minister, but I only made two to three million yuan. And I didn't even own any acres of land or buy a mansion or a beautiful house.
How incorruptible he is. A foolish emperor needs a jester, so I became a jester. Why can't I repent and join the new dynasty?"
"If you really repent, you will not come to Hangzhou now, but will assist the Holy Lord in the cabinet." Lu Rong said sarcastically.
Li Bangyan looked depressed: "After the promulgation of the Ming Dynasty Code, I have not been greedy for any money, and I have not even accepted gifts. Otherwise, when the prince ransacked his house, he would not have left me any money."
"Humph!" Lu Rong believed this was the truth.
Li Bangyan said: "The money I embezzled in the previous dynasty has been taken away by the new dynasty. The remaining money is the result of my meritorious service to the Ming Dynasty. It is not dirty money and will not insult Phoenix Academy."
Lu Rong waved his hand to see the guest off: "That's not necessary, please go."
Li Bangyan knew that the money could not be donated, so he settled for the next best thing and said: "I have little knowledge, and now that I have lost my official position, I want to study at Phoenix Academy. Confucius said that there is no distinction between teachings. Can a sinner learn from me?"
"
Lu Rong said: "If you want to study at Phoenix Academy, there are thresholds. First, those with bad moral character will not be admitted; second, those who fail the entrance exam will not be admitted."
"Then I kindly ask you to listen and just stand outside the door so as not to disturb the students." Li Bangyan said.
