Han Shizu

Chapter 2153 Sejong Chapter 29 Black Industry
The fishy sea breeze kept stimulating the taste buds, but no one on the dock seemed to notice it. A fat figure stepped onto the shore from the side of the boat and landed in three or two steps. His agile steps seemed inconsistent with his body.

The man was the captain, with a face full of flesh and traces of wind and sun, making it difficult to tell his age, but he could not hide his fierceness and ferocity. However, when he saw Shen Bailong waiting on the pier, he immediately smiled like a flower, walked forward quickly, and bowed: "I am honored to meet you, old lord. It is just a trivial matter, why do you bother to ask about it in person?"

Facing the visitor's hospitality, Shen Bailong just nodded slightly, his style was still vigorous and resolute. He waved his hand and said, "Stop talking nonsense, let's go aboard and inspect the goods!"

"It's all up to you!" The captain didn't care, turned sideways and made a gesture of invitation.

Of course, it was not Lord Shen's turn to do this specific work personally. Under his instruction, a young man with dark yellow skin and a strong build boarded the ship with a few people. This was Shen Qinglin, the third son of Shen Bailong.

On the pier, the ship owner respectfully introduced the goods of this transaction to Shen Bailong: 317 people arrived alive, from Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Zhejiang, mostly Han people, mostly young and middle-aged people, and more than 60 women.
Listening to the ship owner's introduction, Shen Bailong's expression did not change at all, and his old face even looked particularly serious. He waited until Shen Qinglin led his men off the boat and nodded to him for confirmation before he opened his mouth and ordered: "Hand over!"

Following Shen Bailong's order, the dock suddenly became busy. As the handover began, rows of men and women were driven off the ship under the cover of night. The vision was dim under the night, and everyone's face was not clear, but everyone's outline was in disgrace. It was not just the clothes that were rotten and ragged, but also the dignity that was sold like a pig.
Under a straw tent, Shen Bailong and the boat owner sat opposite each other, looking somewhat bored. After a long time, the dock returned to peace again. Shen Qinglin and his men approached, bowed first, and said, "It has been inspected!"

Hearing this, Shen Bailong gestured to the ship owner. Shen Qinglin understood and waved his hand. Immediately, a middle-aged man dressed as a servant placed a box in front of the ship owner.

Seeing this, all the awe and fatigue of the ship owner disappeared, his back straightened, he opened the lid of the box and took a look, then closed it immediately, as if he couldn't stand the stimulation of the dark light of the pile of silver coins, his rough face was full of smiles: "Thank you, old lord!"

Unlike the Central Empire, where copper coins were still the main currency, in the vast Nanyang region, in addition to copper coins, the circulation of gold bars and silver coins was more developed and rapid. This was due to the various bulk commodity trades that were popular in Nanyang.

At the same time, due to the lack of coin-making technology, most of the gold and silver coins currently circulating in Southeast Asia were minted by the imperial coin-making workshops and then circulated. Of course, as the major feudal states gradually became more sophisticated, they also began to set up their own foundries and mint their own coins.

"Don't you want to count it?" Shen Bailong asked in a deep voice.

The ship owner said, "Sir, you have always been fair in your work. Why do you need to resort to such means? Besides, I still want to continue this business."

Shen Bailong smiled, pondered for a moment, sighed, pointed at Shen Qinglin standing beside him, and said, "From now on, this matter will be handled by my third son!"

The ship owner was slightly surprised, looked at Shen Bailong, then looked at Shen Qinglin who looked calm, quickly smiled, bowed and said: "A tiger has emerged from a general's family. From now on, I will rely on the young lord to take care of me."

Human trafficking is a black industry that can be found everywhere in history, even within the empire. And for a long time, it mainly involved children and women. Of course, the development of this industry is often accompanied by policy changes and social changes.

Decades ago, when population numbers were used as an achievement of local bureaucrats, the people under their jurisdiction were protected like chickens, and those engaged in human trade were always severely punished and almost never let off.

However, with the abolition of the poll tax in the empire and subsequent tax reforms, as well as the court no longer linking population indicators with promotions, the government's attention in this regard naturally relaxed.

Of course, it is not that we do not take it seriously at all. After all, in any era, population, especially those with sufficient labor capacity, are valuable social wealth and exploitable resources. However, it is an indisputable fact that the crackdown on related crimes has weakened.

The development of the Han Empire in population trade was actually of an import-oriented type at first. This was mainly due to the shortage of domestic labor at the beginning of the country's recovery, and the relatively strict protection of the Han self-cultivating farmers by Emperor Taizu and the court.

Therefore, in order to manage their land, they began to find ways from outside. At that time, it was the early stage of the empire's overseas expansion, so hundreds of thousands of foreigners were imported into the country as laborers, both officially (the official fields and public fields of the government offices at all levels were also short of laborers). Of course, this was later strictly prohibited by Emperor Shizu.

As the world became peaceful and the population exploded, the labor shortage was solved and exports began, which was also accompanied by the deepening of the empire's overseas expansion.

Demand determines the market. Whether it is the closed land country in the north or the closed overseas country in the South Seas, the demand for the core population has ushered in a surge since the founding of the country. Even today, decades later, it is still in a state of hunger.

The cost of conventional immigration is too high, and no closed country can afford it. Therefore, a cheaper, more efficient, but also inhumane method has gradually become the choice of various countries, or some powerful businessmen have taken the initiative to help countries solve the problem.

At first, the merchants were not very courageous, and the targets of their trade were mostly barbarians and minorities. In the south, the population came from Annan, Guangnan West Road, etc., while in the north, it was from Goryeo and Japan.

However, although these people were useful to the Nanyang countries, they were not so popular, and barbarians were always cheap. Therefore, in order to gain high profits, some people began to extend their evil hands to the Han people.
From the initial young and strong labor force to the current differentiated and targeted selection of trade objects, the value of literate people, craftsmen, and women is obviously higher, especially women, the market is getting better and better. After all, the situation of male dominance and female decline is very common in the Nanyang feudal states, and many Han men do not like indigenous women, which further pushes up the price of women, especially young and beautiful women. In comparison, ordinary farmers, fishermen, and children who cannot provide enough labor are much cheaper.
Once Pandora's box is opened, it is difficult to stop it, and the reality gives merchants engaged in this trade a huge space. On the one hand, there is the huge demand for overseas countries and the temptation of benefits, and on the other hand, there is the "immigration policy" that has been firmly promoted since the time of Emperor Taizu. Combined with these factors, a trend broke out, and a black industry also flourished.

Of course, such things that are harmful to the world and morality should be criticized, condemned and attacked, whether from the perspective of ideology or morality and law. However, many people have evil hearts but still appear to be honest and upright. Some things are evil and can be done under the guise of being fair and just. Even if they are filthy and smelly for a while, they can still be whitewashed through other means later.

For merchants engaged in human trade, whether it is fraud, collusion between officials and businessmen, or trading power for money, they have plenty of means to circumvent the weak legal supervision and gather people in large and small ports along the coast, and then take them away on a ship.

This trade was actually also popular in the northern countries, but the trade on the sea was obviously more prosperous. The demand was also strong, transportation was convenient, and the cost was lower than in the north.

As you can imagine, such trade is doomed to be inhumane and full of tragedy. For traders, they only care about sending people to exchange for money, and the life, death and health of the "immigrants" are secondary.

In the early days, there was some restraint, but as the road became more and more intense and crazy, all moral bottom lines were thrown out of the window. In the past ten years, it has been particularly crazy. In the waterways opened up by the Han men with their lives, countless Han descendants were left behind from the Han ships, and countless wronged souls of Han people were crying along the way.
The imperial court had long been alert to these situations and had taken certain preventive and regulatory measures. However, this was only effective temporarily, but it was impossible to completely eliminate them. For one thing, it was difficult to distinguish between human trade and regular immigration.

Unless the imperial court completely changed its policy of foreign expansion, cut off overseas ties, and prohibit all ships from going out to sea, compared with the huge profits that continued to flow in from overseas, some human tragedies did not seem so unbearable.

Therefore, it is acceptable to ban and crackdown, but there is no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

As for the Nanyang feudal states, slave trade was basically a legal act, but it was only aimed at the indigenous barbarians. Regardless of whether it was due to political needs or to look good, the countries actually engaged in the sale of the Han population, using the excuse of "immigration" to increase the core ruling population, but on the surface, they also followed the laws of the central empire and severely cracked down on the sale of the Han population. The Nanyang feudal states have been playing this kind of black humor for decades.

By the Jianlong era, if you didn’t conduct a thorough search of the ships traveling between the empire and the vassal states in Southeast Asia, you would have no idea whether the cargo in the cabins was from the empire or so-called “immigrants.”

It is conceivable that the status of immigrants who entered Southeast Asia through "trade" was destined to be low. Although it was higher than those natives, it was obviously impossible for them to become Han masters like the early immigrants.

As for the Shen family, they also participated in it and engaged in related activities, which was also endorsed by the government and was a semi-official behavior. For the "immigrants" on that ship, it was a blessing in disguise that they were settled by the Shen family, which saved a lot of trouble and allowed them to settle down quickly under the Shen family's arrangement.

For "immigrants" coming south through other private channels, it is inevitable that they will experience some twists and turns, but no matter what, as long as they are registered with the government and obtain national identity, they will always be able to get basic protection.

If for no other reason, it was because of their identity as "Han people". The methods used by the people to come here were varied, and some were even very sinful. But after they came, they also settled everything that needed to be settled. After all, they were of the same origin, and it was the time to build the foundation. Could they really treat the Han people like pigs and slaves?

Coincidentally, in matters concerning the protection of the status and interests of the Han people, all the major vassal states enacted special laws to provide clear guarantees. If something was done too excessively, it would be a slap in the face, so they would not dare to go too far.

After dealing with the matters of a shipload of "new immigrants", Shen Bailong leisurely returned to his mansion on the edge of the royal city. For a man of his status, having hundreds of servants was standard. He took a sip of fruit drink, washed up, and went to the hall, where guests were already waiting.

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 Brunei Island to work hard and had been through life and death with him for decades.

Although Shen Haiqiong did not obtain a title like Shen Bailong, he was equally successful and famous because he still served as a deputy general in the Wu navy and possessed considerable power. Of course, this was supported by Shen Bailong.

Shen Haiqiong's request for an interview was also due to something that could not be told to outsiders: a new group of pirates had risen in the Sulu Islands, and they had gathered together. Someone had risked his life to find Shen Haiqiong, hoping to sell their goods in Chaohui Port.
With the advent of the Age of Discovery, the rise of pirates was inevitable. Due to its geographical location, the Sulu Islands became the largest gathering place for pirates in Southeast Asia a few decades later.

But it is not enough to just rob, there must also be channels to sell the goods. In the early days, some pirates sold the looted items to the coastal ports of the empire, but that route was too risky after all, so they gradually shifted their focus. With the establishment, development and growth of the feudal states in Southeast Asia, they also became the main target of pirates' sales, after all, the supervision was looser.

Although both the Wu State in Brunei and the Lu State in the South China Sea had organized naval operations, it did not hinder private business dealings. Of course, being able to sell goods to the two countries was not something that ordinary pirates could do.

Therefore, when Shen Bailong heard that a new pirate group had been able to find out about this relationship and directly find Shen Haiqiong, he was alert but also a little curious.
Pirate is also a profession that can accumulate wealth quickly. Back then, when he was still in Shanghai, he led his brothers to the sea for the first time. However, his dream was shattered by a group of pirates before he could achieve success. All his brothers were killed or injured, and he himself almost lost his life and never recovered.

If he had not joined the Wuguogongfu Reclamation Group by chance, he might have been buried in some unknown corner.
(End of this chapter)