Chapter 1347 - Slaves

Beyond maritime commerce, trade with Mongolia remained the most lucrative enterprise of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Countless Shanxi merchants had built fortunes upon it, and the Executive Committee had long coveted their share. Yet Mongolia was considered a border threat during the Ming era, and trade was tightly controlled. Only a handful of merchants could truly participate, leaving the Committee—separated by vast oceans—to watch from afar with envy.

To do business with Mongolia required either establishing a work station under the guise of a Ming merchant or conducting secondhand trade with the Later Jin through Ming border commanders. The latter proved far easier to execute. Profit margins would shrink, of course, but the advantages in personnel safety and reliable payment collection were considerable.

Trade with the Later Jin thus naturally connected to Mongolian commerce. The Later Jin's own demand for tea was modest, but Mongolia's appetite proved enormous. The Executive Committee's territory bordered several of China's greatest tea-producing provinces—Fujian, Guangdong, and Jiangxi all produced vast quantities. If they could open this sales channel, the expansion of their trade share would be tremendous.

When negotiations reached their conclusion and all major details had been finalized, Huang Hua raised three additional demands: land in Shengjing for establishing a trading post, guaranteed safety for Australian merchants and their staff, and freedom of navigation for Australian vessels on the Yalu River.

These demands were submitted through the Ministry of Revenue, and all received Hong Taiji's approval—but with conditions. All three provisions would take effect only after the first trade fair concluded.

Establishing a trading post in Shengjing was tantamount to placing eyes and ears in Shenyang. Though the post would inevitably fall under close Later Jin surveillance, wireless communication and invisible ink would suffice for transmitting intelligence.

With the agreement signed, the Later Jin arranged for the delegation to stay in a temple within the city, providing a residence of two courtyards. They also bestowed upon Huang Hua four maidservants, ten male servants, two grooms, and four scullery maids for rough work. The attending zhangJing explained that the Great Khan, having heard Australians were particularly fond of "living goods," had specially selected these from the Upper Three Banners' imperial estates.

Huang Hua hardly knew whether to laugh or cry. Given so many people all at once—where were they supposed to sleep? And then there were food expenses to consider: the delegation currently received daily allocations of salt, rice, meat, wine, and other supplies from the Ministry of Rites on a per-person basis. With over a dozen additional mouths, surely he couldn't expect the master not to provide their meals?

"Please rest assured, Master. Their Excellencies have stated that since these living goods have been bestowed upon you, all expenses while in Shengjing will be covered by the Ministry of Rites. No need for Master to worry." The zhangJing bowed deeply with a fawning smile.

With a single command, he presented the "gifts" for kowtowing. Huang Hua observed that though these men and women all wore fresh clothing, only the four young maidservants and the lead male servant appeared somewhat healthy. The rest were sallow and thin, with cowering demeanors. The men's scalps were uniformly blue-tinged, as if freshly shaved—clearly a hasty cleanup job before delivery.

"Everyone rise. No need to kowtow." Huang Hua found it uncomfortable watching so many people prostrate themselves before him. He waved his hand. "Well, where will they sleep...?"

Though the residence allocated to them had front and rear courtyards, the entire delegation already filled the space. Several guards could sleep only in rotation on the veranda, doubling as sentries.

"Let them sleep in the covered walkways for now. Serving under your honor—isn't that the greatest fortune?"

Huang Hua was speechless. He had witnessed plenty of the era's casual disregard for servant rights during his journey. The Later Jin regime was impoverished; even ordinary banner officials and soldiers lived in hardship, let alone "living goods" who were treated as little more than chattel.

The second gift was the Mongolian steed he had once ridden. In addition to this horse, they presented ten more fine horses—intended as reciprocal gifts. Following the traditional Chinese court practice of "cherishing distant peoples," visiting envoys typically received gifts that exceeded, sometimes far exceeded, the value of their tributes. But the Later Jin was simply too poor to match the generosity they would later display under their policy of "exhausting China's resources for gratitude." They had to make do with living goods and horses.

Huang Hua promptly had someone seal four taels of silver for the zhangJing and saw him out, then surveyed the dozen-plus servants standing woodenly in the courtyard, utterly at a loss.

Though all wore new clothing, only a few carried small bundles; the rest had not a single piece of luggage—testament to what their lives must have been like.

Seeing their new master scrutinizing them, the servants dropped to their knees in unison. Seasoned in the business world, Huang Hua possessed first-rate skills in reading expressions and body language. A quick glance revealed deep fear in their eyes—the kind of terror that comes from prolonged oppression and abuse.

One slightly older male servant, seeing the new master's appraising gaze, quickly rose and trotted over to perform another deep bow:

"This slave is Lan Bian, paying respects to Master! May Master's descendants prosper for ten thousand generations!"

Huang Hua nodded. "Rise." He gestured expansively. "Everyone rise."

"Thank you for Master's grace!" Lan Bian stood immediately, his movements crisp and precise. His bearing unconsciously reminded Huang Hua of a soldier.

"You are...?"

"This slave is Lan Bian, formerly serving on an estate of the Plain Yellow Banner. This time I was specially ordered by the beile to bring these people to serve under your honor."

Huang Hua noted his medium build, robust physique, and powerful bearing—completely at odds with the frail, cowering appearance of the other male servants. He surmised that this man was probably something like a minor leader among the slaves, possibly even a baoyi bondservant who had fought alongside his masters.

Having this man serve him was likely the Eight Banners installing a pair of eyes. Huang Hua felt an immediate sense of wariness, but whenever he grew guarded against someone, he tended to become especially warm in conversation:

"Since you're now with me, as long as you serve faithfully, I shall certainly look after your interests."

"Thank you for Master's grace!" Lan Bian hastily bowed again. "Whatever orders Master has, please instruct!"

"Let's first address your food and lodging..."

Though Huang Hua didn't entirely trust this Lan Bian, the man was clearly a minor leader among the servants and should be familiar with local conditions—useful as a source of basic intelligence. So he couldn't neglect to cultivate him somewhat. He ordered his men to arrange housing for the servants.

"There are no empty rooms left," the sergeant frowned. "Should I have the brothers squeeze together and free up a few more?"

"You're already three to a room. How can you squeeze any more?"

Liaodong was a bitterly cold land where warmth depended entirely on heated kang platforms or braziers; rooms were therefore not large. The main chambers were slightly better, but the side rooms were quite cramped. With two soldiers, they were already tight; now with three, the kang couldn't accommodate more.

"If necessary, one more can sleep on the floor—the room has a heated kang, so they won't freeze."

"Ground-level sleeping concentrates carbon gas, and with more people the air becomes even worse." Huang Hua shook his head. "Move some of you to the main building."

The main building had three rooms. The central room had no kang and was uninhabitable; one could stay only in the heated alcoves on either side. Currently, one side housed Huang Hua while the other housed his two orderlies.

"I'll share a room with the orderlies. Move two more people in. Set up additional bedding in the main hall and add more braziers—it's still warmer than outside."

But there were twenty new servants, and men and women had to be housed separately. No matter how Huang Hua and the sergeant arranged things, they couldn't accommodate everyone.

Seeing that "Master Huang" offered no "instructions" but was instead arranging quarters for them, Lan Bian stepped forward: "Master needn't trouble yourself. Aside from the young ladies who are delicate and need the steward to arrange proper quarters, the rest of us only need a brazier and can sleep in the corridors just fine..."

Huang Hua shook his head. "Liaodong is bitterly cold. Sleeping in the corridors—wouldn't you freeze to death?"

"The weather has already warmed. A brazier will suffice..."

"How can that be acceptable? Look at you all—not exactly robust. What if you fall ill?" Huang Hua spoke matter-of-factly. "Let me think of something."

Lan Bian wanted to say more, but seeing that Huang Hua's words were sincere and not mere pleasantries, he stepped aside and said no more.

Huang Hua negotiated with the Later Jin officials handling reception and managed to secure an abandoned hall used for storing miscellaneous items. This barely sufficed to house everyone. He ordered the soldiers to vacate two rooms with heated kangs specifically for the female servants, while everyone else helped clean, clear debris, patch damaged windows, procure braziers from the temple, and buy charcoal to light fires. The hall was cold and cavernous; the braziers provided poor heating. Huang Hua stood in the vast chamber for a long time without feeling warm. He looked at the servants, all huddling with necks tucked in, stamping their feet and blowing on their hands.

Huang Hua found it strange. They all appeared to be wearing newly made padded clothing—and fairly thick at that. They shouldn't be this cold. He approached one servant and tugged at his lapel.

The man was startled, not knowing what his new master intended. He hastily dropped to his knees.

"Don't kneel. Let me look at your clothes," Huang Hua said.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that while all wore apparently new garments, they were actually pieced together from scraps and re-dyed fragments. At first glance they appeared neat and bright, but the stitching was coarse and shoddy. The filling was merely reed floss. Only minor leaders like Lan Bian had threadbare sheepskin jackets. While working, they had been fine, but the moment they stopped, everyone shivered uncontrollably. On closer examination, Huang Hua noticed that the chilblains on everyone's hands were badly swollen—some already festering.

"This Later Jin really is impoverished beyond words," Huang Hua remarked. He ordered the sergeant, "Have everyone take out their spare training uniforms and cotton vests and give them to these new brothers!"

"Yes, sir!"

Besides their uniforms and greatcoats, the guards each had a spare set of thin padded uniforms and cotton vests. Before long, the sergeant returned with his men carrying bundles of clothes, distributing them to the newly arrived servants.