"Selassie. Solomon, is your home in Africa? ”

"Yes, Your Excellency, my hometown is in Africa, near the Red Sea, and I am a white nobleman there."

In this small restaurant located in the wharf area of the Jiangdu Canal, our Ming sage emperor Chen Dexing and a black slave owner who sold white slaves seemed to have made friends with wine and meat, and chatted while drinking.

This one's name is Selassie. Solomon's slave traders, too, were sharp-eyed, and they were already aware of Chen Dexing's extraordinary status - it was not the first time he had come to China to trade white slaves, and a considerable part of his customers were the emerging military aristocracy of the Ming Dynasty. They were dressed like Chen Dexing now. And Chen Dexing also has a white slave girl, which is a high-end goods at first glance. Selassie. Solomon had already professionally appraised the price for Baoyin, although this woman was already a bit old (almost thirty years old), and most of them had given birth. But her appearance and temperament were much better than all the white slave girls Solomon had ever seen. And what's even more valuable is that this woman is still of mixed race. Such a female slave is several times more expensive than a pure white female slave in Daming......

Therefore, her master must be a wealthy Ming nobleman, and these nobles of the Ming Empire are all very good customers! And the customer is God to the merchant - Selassie. Solomon was also a black Jew who believed in God rather than God. Therefore, he gave as detailed answers as possible to Chen Dexing's questions.

Africa, close to the Red Sea? Egypt? Sudan? Somalia? Oh, it should be Ethiopia!

Chen Dexing thought about it for a while and finally found the right answer. This black slave trader came from the Ethiopian highlands. This ruined place now belongs to the kingdom of Zagvi, in what is now Black Africa. It's a powerhouse. Probably together with the Kingdom of Mali in West Africa, it can be called the Black Corn Double, right?

"Your business...... Is it the trade of white slaves? Chen Dexing glanced at the white slaves who were gnawing on meatloaf - they were all white girls, and they couldn't tell whether they were beautiful or not. Because all of them are unkempt and dirty. The clothes were also tattered, and they were all very thin. I don't know how many days I haven't eaten enough, and now I'm gobbling them all up.

"I also sell black slaves," Selassie. Solomon smiled bitterly, "The black slave trade is the main business of our Solomon family, and the Zagwe Kingdom is rich in black slaves. But now the black slaves are not easy to sell, the empire of the Arabs has collapsed, and the Mamluks are busy fighting wars and have no money to buy black slaves. So I was sent by my family to the East in search of markets - for we had heard that an empire of great wealth and might had arisen in the East! And in the East. The sales of black slaves were not good, far less than the white slaves, so I had to sell the white slaves instead. ”

Historically, it was the Arabs who liked to use black slaves the most. They used black slaves as coolies, castrated black slaves as domestic slaves, and the eunuchs in the courts of the sultan and the caliphate were also black. In the 9th century, a huge slave revolt broke out on the Arabian Peninsula, which became a turning point for the Abbasid Empire from prosperity to decline.

But black slaves are not easy to sell in the East at the moment, on the one hand, because the transportation distance is too long. The transportation cost is too high, and the selling price is naturally not cheap; On the other hand, the cost of driving black slaves to work was not low, and it was necessary to deploy armed guards and build prison cells. There was also a need for closed estates, which were better than hired labour.

However, young and beautiful white slave girls, as a "luxury", are now popular with the wealthy merchants and aristocrats of the Ming Dynasty - this is of course related to the rule that "Han people are not slaves". Since Han women can't be slaves. Then it is not very convenient to be a concubine, a trick, or a maid. Who is willing to invest a lot of money to cultivate a free green mansion red leader? Who wants to keep a group of concubines and singers who will leave at any time? Although there is always a way for the rich and powerful to break through the restrictions of the law, this also comes at a cost. Local officials need to settle down. The local Heavenly Daoist Sect also has to donate money, and it has to be guarded against people from reporting it at all times. Rather than that. It's better to spend money on some white slave girls, which are legitimate private property!

And this black slave trader Selassie. When Solomon got involved in the white slave trade, he found it easier to make money from the white slave trade than from the black slave trade, which was the means of production, and if the cost of using them was higher than that of serfs or hired labor, no one would pay for them. And the former is a luxury, for the Ming Empire, more and more, more and more wealthy wealthy businessmen and nobles, as long as they see it, they don't care about spending a few more dollars.

"Where did all these white slave girls come from?" Chen Dexing asked with interest. Black slaves were captured, this history book says. But what about the white slaves? Black slave traders went to the territory of the Mamluk Sultan to catch white slave girls? It can't be, right?

"Of course it was bought," Selassie. Solomon shrugged, "How else could you come?" ”

"Where did you buy it?" Chen Dexing inquired further.

"Buy from the Mamluks, Mongols and Great Cannibals." Selassie. Solomon took a big sip of wine and said with a smile, "It's easy, there are slave markets in Egypt, Great Food, Persia and Tianzhu, and there is also one in Palembang in Malacca. The business of buying and selling white slave girls was originally monopolized by Arabs and Persians. After all, they have a supply...... Every war produces a number of pagan slaves, which are commodities that can be sold. ”

The black slave traders, who seemed to have drunk too much wine and began to become talkative, pointed at the white slave girls, "They all came from the Duchy of Antioch, and the Mamluks captured it, and turned all the women and children into slaves, and sold them openly in Cairo and Alexandria." However, the business of those Tianfang Cultists can only be done in Malacca now, unlike us Israelites, who can go anywhere. ”

Israelite? Turns out this guy is still a black Jew! No wonder he claims to be white and is still engaged in human trafficking.

Selassie. When Solomon and Chen Dexing were talking about the business of the slave trade, a father and son in the restaurant, who had been agricultural capitalists for several years and whose consciences had darkened, stretched out their ears to listen carefully, and exchanged opinions in a low voice from time to time.

"It's a big deal!"

"Yes, this Kunlun slave can do it, what else can't we do?"

"The Celestial Sect can still trade slaves in Malacca now, and after a while, they will reach Tianzhu at most."

"We just need to buy a few white female slaves in Tianzhu and bring them back to Daming to sell, then we will make a fortune."

"It's a good deal!"

"Yes, it's a good deal!"

"Daddy, let's ...... then"

"Okay, go to Chittagong in Tianzhu to make a fortune!"

This doesn't seem like a good thing! Chen Dexing frowned slightly. These rich people of the Ming Dynasty are also, they don't allow Han women to be slaves, they buy white slaves to play...... Is it true that if you are rich, you will become bad? I don't know how much gold and silver flows to Selassie every year. The pockets of slave traders like Solomon!

"Who is buying?" Chen Dexing asked. "How many girl slaves can be sold in the entire Ming Dynasty every year?"

"Rich merchants, and noble lords like you! As for how much the whole Ming can sell every year, I don't know, but I know that the supply of white slaves is limited, after all, the Ming market has high requirements for the appearance of white slaves, and it is good to supply 10,000 people a year, and some will die on the way. Only a few thousand people survived to be sold. However, for these white slave girls who can be sold, it is undoubtedly very lucky to be a slave girl of a noble lord like you, and it is also their dream. If you know how poor and chaotic their homeland is, you will believe that most of them are willing to accept the fate of being sold into slavery with the Ming Dynasty. ”

Selassie. Solomon smiled and pointed to the white female slaves, "Lord Chen, as long as these girls are cleaned, they are all as beautiful as flowers, do you want to buy two?" I can give you a discount. ”

This is on sale, and sure enough, he is a black Jew who can do business!

Seeing Chen Dexing's brows furrowed slightly, Selassie. Solomon said again, "Lord Chen, don't worry, these white female slaves all have identity certificates issued by the Governor's Mansion of the Daming Strait, and you will never have trouble buying them." I can assure you that I am a law-abiding businessman. ”

Since the slave trade was legal in the Ming Empire, there was naturally a special yamen responsible for management! Under the Governor's Office of the Daming Strait, there is a special yamen for issuing certificates for female slaves -- the Slave Trade Department. All slaves transported from the West had to pay taxes and certificates at the Slave Trade Department of the Strait Governor's Mansion before they could enter the territory of the Ming Empire.

In addition, in the Ming Dynasty, all slave trade had to be registered, transferred, and taxed at the slave trade divisions of each capital or province. Although the Ming Dynasty allowed slaves to exist, it strictly prohibited the illegal slave trade.

However, the slave trade was certainly a problem for the Ming Empire and the future Chinese world!

Chen Dexing's brows became tighter and tighter. He had the vision of hundreds of years in later generations, and of course knew the consequences of the large-scale slave trade in history - it was not a big deal for thousands or even tens of thousands of white female slaves to flow into the Ming Dynasty every year, even if it would cause an outflow of 20 million yuan or more of silver coins.

After all, the Ming Dynasty has too much advantage in foreign trade, and if the world's gold and silver are absorbed into China, this international trade will not be able to continue. In a sense, the white slave trade was a means of achieving a trade balance. Moreover, after all, there is a demand for this in Daming...... One is willing to buy, the other is willing to sell, and the imperial court can't forcibly prohibit it, right?

Besides, a few thousand people a year is nothing to the Ming Dynasty with a population base of more than 100 million.

What really gave him a headache was the criminal slave trade! Although there will be no market for black slaves in East Asia, it is difficult to say what will happen on the Mingzhou continent. The Mingzhou mainland is vast and sparsely populated, and once construction begins, the demand for labor is simply unlimited! (To be continued......)