If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

"Yuanliang, does our Great Dragon sell slaves? Does it?"

Speaking of kidnapping, Zhou Wu suddenly remembered that this was a feudal society, and that slavery seemed to exist in feudal societies.

"Yes, sir, what's so strange about that?"

Deng Yuanliang didn't understand why Zhou Wu would suddenly ask this question, but he realized what he meant as soon as he spoke.

"Does Your Excellency mean we can buy slaves to work in the South China Sea?"

Deng Yuanliang couldn't hide his joy.

"Yeah, how could we have forgotten about that?"

"I'll do it right away."

"Wait for Yuanliang."

"What is it, sir?"

“We can buy slaves, but it’s best to do some research beforehand. I plan to release these people into good families in the future, so we don’t need those who commit crimes.”

"Yeah, I got it."

It is important to understand that in feudal society, slaves were the private property and assets of their masters. Throughout history, there has never been a slave owner who would release his slaves to freedom.

Zhou Wu's words about releasing the innocent made Deng Yuanliang admire him immensely once again.

The environment in the Great Dragon Empire was relatively good. The sources of slaves were generally divided into three types. One was those who were implicated in the crimes of their relatives, such as those who were frequently confiscated and exiled in TV dramas, and whose entire family members within nine generations would be enslaved.

The second scenario is when people are unable to survive and voluntarily sell themselves into slavery. However, this is relatively rare because no one would go to such lengths unless absolutely necessary. Once someone becomes a slave, their descendants will be slaves for generations.

The last type was foreign slaves brought by foreign merchants. The Great Dragon Empire didn't really care about these slaves.

Zhou Wu's main goal is still to acquire slaves from the Great Dragon clan, because these slaves will not affect their release into free people in the future. However, if he buys back foreign black men, they will truly be slaves for life.

. . . . . . .

Zhu Zhiyong is back, more capable and tanned. Since taking over Zhou Wu's maritime trade, Zhu Zhiyong has felt he has found his direction in life after making several trade trips.

"How long will you stay back this time?"

Zhou Wu personally made a fruit shaved ice for Zhu Zhiyong. The ice was homemade from saltpeter. Ever since Zhou Wu made the fruit shaved ice, the women in the family have fallen in love with it, and they even skip meals.

"Once all the goods are sold this time, it will be about time to set off again."

"Don't rest for more than two days."

"No, I'm too busy."

"There's something I need you to keep an eye out for."

"what's up?"

“You know there’s a severe labor shortage in the South China Sea right now. I’ve already sent Yuanliang to buy slaves, but as you know best, the slaves in the Great Dragon Kingdom are all in the hands of powerful families. They simply don’t want to sell, so the number of slaves available domestically is very limited.”

"You mean you want me to buy slaves from abroad?"

"Yes, I originally didn't consider foreign slaves, but now I have no choice."

"OK, no problem."

Zhu Zhiyong is now a member of Zhou Wu's fiefdom, and he has witnessed the difficulties the fiefdom faces. Everything is developing in a positive direction, except for a severe shortage of population and labor.

Originally, he planned to wait until all the goods were sold before setting off, but now that the population problem in the fiefdom was so urgent, Zhu Zhiyong ordered all the goods to be unloaded from the ships and left at the dock to be sold slowly. He then led the fleet off again, only three days after he left the port last time.

"Captain, where are we going this time?"

"I heard that the tribes of Black Tooth Kingdom are currently engaged in a war. Since there is a war, there must be a lot of slaves. Let's go to Black Tooth Kingdom."

"Yes."

Black Teeth Kingdom is an archipelago nation located in the southeastern part of the country. Although it is called a country, it is more like an alliance, because so far, Black Teeth Kingdom has not yet formed an independent and complete government.

The Black Teeth Kingdom consists of about thirty islands of varying sizes, with one to three tribes on each island. These tribes often wage war over trivial matters.

The entire Black Teeth Kingdom was in a state of turmoil. With war came prisoners, and with prisoners came slaves.

Strangely enough, while Black Teeth Country was very hostile to its own people, it was very popular with foreign businessmen like Zhu Zhiyong.

Zhu Zhiyong had visited Black Teeth Country several times. Because of its geographical location near the equator, Black Teeth Country has a very hot climate all year round. The local rice there can be harvested three times a year, so Black Teeth Country has no shortage of food and is even quite wealthy.

At the same time, the area also produces various gemstones, grains, and gemstones, which is the only thing that Zhu Zhiyong cherishes about Black Tooth Kingdom.

Arriving at the island where they had traded several times before, the Black-Toothed People on the island seemed to recognize Zhu Zhiyong.

Surrounded by the crowd, an elderly man dressed in flamboyant attire appeared before Zhu Zhiyong.

"Zhu, welcome."

The other person gave Zhu Zhiyong a big hug, but Zhu Zhiyong cursed under his breath.

"Damn it, how many times have I told you, stop calling me 'pig'? If you can't say my full name, just call me Yong."

Actually, neither of them really understood the other's language. They had only interacted a few times and, through a combination of speaking and gesturing, were able to understand each other to some extent.

"Me, gems?"

The other leader said that he was trading goods and assumed that Zhu Zhiyong had come for these two items, since his tribe also needed to exchange for some daily necessities.

That's right, the Black Teeth Kingdom still maintains the custom of bartering. Money is useless here, except for gold. For some reason, it seems that everyone in the world is particularly fond of gold, and the leader is adorned with several kilograms of gold ornaments.

"No, this time I don't want rice and gems, I want people, people."

This was a completely new topic, and Zhu Zhiyong gestured for a long time, but the other party still didn't understand what he meant, which made Zhu Zhiyong very anxious.

Just then, the tribe’s warriors passed by escorting a group of prisoners. Zhu Zhiyong immediately thought of something, quickly got up, went to the prisoners, pointed at the prisoners, and then pointed at himself.

This time, the tribal chief seemed to understand what Zhu Zhiyong was trying to say. With a wave of his hand, he ordered the tribal warriors to bring the prisoner in front of Zhu Zhiyong and then said a single word.

"money."

When the other party mentioned money, they didn't actually want money; they wanted Zhu Zhiyong to name a price and offer something in exchange.

Zhu Zhiyong took out a broken iron sword and handed it to the leader. This iron sword was a discarded item that Zhu Zhiyong had bought from China at scrap prices, but in the leader's eyes, it was a treasure.

Because the tribes here don't have blacksmithing technology, their weapons and equipment are still limited to wooden bows and bone products. Metal weapons are mostly obtained through trade.

"Okay, name your price."

The opposing leader pondered for a moment, looked at the iron sword, then at the prisoner, gritted his teeth, and stretched out his hands, revealing ten fingers.

"Damn it, I got a good deal by exchanging one person for ten iron swords, but you still have to haggle in business, otherwise he'll find out I got ripped off."