Amerigo went to India this time, bringing a total of 10 ships, all with a displacement of more than 200 tons, with an average cargo capacity of more than 120 tons per ship, and a total of 1,200 tons of cargo.

However, due to the shortage of saltpeter, the fleet only brought back 450 tons of saltpeter. In addition, there were 100 tons of copper and 30 tons of tin, which were planned earlier. And, of course, the "quota" of 50,000 pounds of spices. However, these goods add up to a total of only 602.6 tons. All things considered, half of the fleet had to be empty.

Of course, Marin also mentions that Amerigo and Drakar were asked to "recruit" artisans and women who were proficient in cotton spinning in India. As a result, when Drakar buys other goods, he also specially recruits such talents.

However, Indian society is divided into classes under the influence of Hinduism. Those white-skinned "upper class" of the higher castes, who are still living and are protected by the law, are basically unlikely to accept the recruitment of Drakqa and go overseas.

So, the craftsmen who could make cotton spinning wheels and the women who were good at cotton spinning were all dark-skinned Indian pariahs.

In India, even in the 21st century, untouchables are still low and do not deserve to sit with people of higher castes, or they will be beaten. And in ancient times, the situation was even more serious.

In India at the beginning of the 16th century, untouchables were not seen as human beings in India, but as humanoid animals. The places of residence of the unlits are also strictly separated from those of the higher castes. Moreover, the laws of India in this era did not protect untouchables. If a person of the higher castes kills a pariah, he can pay at most money or food for one animal. If the wives and daughters of a Dalit family are beautiful, they can easily be violated by men of the higher castes. Moreover, the untouchables did not dare to beat the person of the higher castes who violated his wife because of the assault on his wife. Even if he went to the court, no one accepted it.

So, in ancient India, although the untouchables were not slaves, their status was similar to that of slaves. For example, this time, Draka recruited craftsmen who knew how to make cotton spinning wheels and women who knew how to weave cotton fabrics, and he was attracted to a local high-caste broker......

Because, the price offered by the draka was 5 gold coins for each craftsman, and 1 gold coin for each woman who knew how to weave cotton cloth. In India, even with the push of Marin and the Spaniards, the price of pepper has risen from 1.5 pfennig to 2 pfennig. One gold coin, equivalent to 60 pfennigs, can buy 30 pounds of pepper.

The broker, a local high-caste Indian broker named Sekha, was very greedy for the price offered by Draka. However, at this price, it is clear that artisans and women from the higher castes cannot be recruited locally.

Therefore, Seka, who was ill-intentioned, simply gathered a local gangster gang and directly ransacked several untouched villages, capturing 50 untouched craftsmen and 300 untouched women who were proficient in cotton spinning. In line with the principle that thieves do not go empty, Seka not only kidnapped these untouchable artisans and untouchable women who were proficient in cotton spinning, but also kidnapped the wives of those craftsmen and the husbands of the untouchable women, and wanted to sell them to Draka.

As for the consequences of kidnapping so many untouchables, Seka only bribed the local judge with 20 gold coins, and the matter was over. And to sell these men to Draka, the 50 craftsmen and 300 women who were proficient in cotton spinning alone were worth as much as 550 gold coins.

Moreover, when Sekka learned that he had brought the spouses of these "recruited" Dalit artisans and Dalit women, Draqa did not admit it. Of course, no high prices will be given. After all, that's not what he wanted. And the wives of the 50 craftsmen, and the prime husbands of the 300 untouchable women, Drakar gave a total of 70 gold coins, which was equivalent to 12 pfennigs......

In this way, Draqa spent only 620 gold coins to obtain 350 prime-age couples. On average, a person does not have a single gold coin. At the same time, Marin bought black slaves from Portugal, which required as much as 40 gold coins. For 700 people, it will cost 28,000 gold......

This price, when it was reported, directly stunned Marlin......

"What? Are you saying that you only spent 620 gold coins and got 350 Indian prime-age couples? Doesn't that mean that each person costs less than one gold coin? Marin was amazed.

"Yes, Archduke, but it is not representative. Because, this is the population that the gangster leader named Seka led people to plunder. Selling it to us is about the same as selling stolen goods, so it's cheap. Moreover, the judge in the small town where Seka is located is very corrupt, and Seka bought off the judge with 20 gold coins. In a place with a better legal system, the cost may be more than that......" Drakar said calmly and in a low voice.

Marin smiled and said:

"How big can it be? No matter how good the rule of law is, it is India. Untouchables are not human, as long as I pay the price of 5 gold coins for a middle-aged man and woman, it is estimated that the local nobles can't help but grab the untouchables and sell them to me. ”

As the soul of the Chinese in later generations, how could Marin not know the hardships of the untouchables in India? In India, untouchables have little security, and even in the 21st century, life is still difficult.

It is precisely because of being looked down upon in India that life is insecure. Therefore, during the colonial era, many untouchables were recruited by the British to South Africa, Guyana, Suriname, Mauritius and other countries. Even, after independence, the main ethnic group of Mauritius, Guyana and other countries was Indians.

Moreover, those untouchables were recruited abroad, some forced, while others voluntarily. Because, in India, they don't see any hope and no future. Therefore, it is better to go abroad and give it a try.

Therefore, abroad, many Indians have darker skin. Because, many of them are of untouchable origin. There is no way, so I went abroad to make a living. And those who are white-skinned and have a high caste status, who are all landlords and rich people in the country, why do they go abroad? Unless, it is to study at a prestigious university in Europe and the United States. Therefore, we often see those white-skinned and beautiful Indian beauties in Indian movies. However, most of the Indians you see in China are dark-skinned.

……

Hearing that Marin was willing to bid 5 gold coins each, Drakar smiled, and then said confidently:

"Grand Duke, if you are really willing to bid 5 gold coins for ordinary Indian untouchables, your subordinates can guarantee that tens of thousands of Indian untouchables who are good at farming will be taken from India every year to help you develop which colonies!"

"That's a great idea!" Marin's eyes lit up suddenly.

Earlier, he had considered the issue of the massive use of Japanese peasants in the colonies. However, Marin was worried about the Japanese nation. The people of this nation, when they are weak, are very humble and obedient. But don't be fooled by them, because when they become stronger, they will dare to tear off a piece of flesh from you.

And the Javanese on the Indonesian island of Java are not a good thing either. These people themselves are lazy and stupid, but they look at the wealth obtained by honest Chinese, and have persecuted the Chinese several times. Therefore, Marin is very unwelcome to them. Even if they are recruited, they will not be treated as human beings.

But the untouchables in India are different, and this ethnic group is very pitiful. They have been slaves for generations and have never enjoyed their rights. Although Ah San kept provoking Huaxia in later generations, most of them were made by those white-skinned third brothers of the higher castes.

The white-skinned three buddies are probably used to bullying untouchables, and they think that Lao Tzu is the best in the world, and they always feel that they are superior. So, I always want to be the hegemon. In addition, his brain is not very good, and he was instigated by Lao Mei, so he especially wanted to wrestle with Huaxia. Ma Lin also served those white-skinned third brothers, so many small countries around, such as Myanmar, Sri Lanka or something, have to provoke China, isn't it looking for abuse?

Although sympathetic to the Indian untouchables, Marin did not intend to let them go. After all, Indian untouchables have a cowardly character and are easier to control. Moreover, their agricultural skills are good, at least a hundred times stronger than those of the black uncles. Although everyone has the same dark skin, one is honest and obedient and willing to work. The other is very restless, with no strength, but he is unwilling to work......

So, Marin decided that after using black slaves to open the land passage in Panama, he would not bring in African slaves, but Japanese farmers, Javanese and Indian untouchables at the same time. And, try to keep a balance of the three. In this way, the serfs could not be of one mind, and it was easier to rule......

The most important thing is that the untouchables of India are not only honest and obedient, they can do farm work, but they are also very cheap! If it is introduced in large quantities, price and cost factors will be very important. The low price of goods in India has led to the relatively low cost of getting a few untouchable serfs. And to buy black slaves with the Portuguese, those black slaves can't do any farm work, but they ask for 40 gold coins each, which is simply expensive. If 100,000 black slaves were introduced, wouldn't they have to pay 4 million gold coins? Therefore, the Indian untouchables who are honest, obedient, know how to do farm work, and are very cheap, are the better choice for Marin......