With his life hanging by a thread, the empty-vessel merchant hurriedly told him the whole story. It turned out that in the recent period of time, the extremely fragile trade line between the mainland and the Hellfire Sea Region had been inexplicably interrupted by nearly one-third.
Regardless of whether it was the merchants who had friendly relations with the native tribes …
Furthermore, they relied on their tyrannical strength and tried to contact large tribes to trade with them. If they encountered small tribes, they would simply plunder them. Many of them ventured out to sea and never heard from again.
With the reduction of the supply, the prices of the various specialties of the Hellfire Archipelago on the mainland, which were originally expensive, began to continue to rise. Driven by the huge profits, some merchants became braver than the soldiers at the border. Even if they had to rack their brains, they would still find a way to 'die' in the Hellfire Archipelago. It was precisely because of this reason that Luqi could organize a fleet of several tens of thousands of slaves in a very short period of time.
If this situation continued, the empty-shell merchants who had mastered the trading right with Wizard Li could be said to be like raising a hen that could lay Gold Core. It would only be a matter of time before they became the true aristocratic merchants of the Kattaman City State.
However, there was no limit to human greed. Before he went out to sea, he inadvertently learned a piece of exciting news from a high-ranking partner's agent. The ruler of a powerful tribe from the Nutao Sea, the most powerful area of the Hellfire Archipelago, had appeared in the Sea Haines City and wanted to know the information of other areas in the Hellfire Sea. Not only that, he was willing to pay a high price for it.
This rumor made Luqi's heart race. Even though trading with the Wizard Li tribe was very profitable, there were many goods that he could not get. For example, a ticket that could be sold for tens of thousands of gold coins, and if he could manipulate the gambling house, the profit would be even more unimaginable for the native gladiators.
The Hellfire children who had broken their limbs and could only crawl on the ground for the royal family or the feudal lords to entertain and show off their identities.
And the tamed beasts that the natives called 'partners' and so on.
If he could build a relationship with the powerful tribes in the Nutao Sea and obtain the trading rights of those missing commodities, it would, of course, be the icing on the cake. For this reason, when the fleet had just docked, the empty-vessel merchant immediately asked the native servant to invite Zhang Lisheng, causing the farce just now.
After listening to Luqi's narration, the young man felt that even though there were some incomprehensible parts in his words, it did not seem like he was lying. In particular, the reason why the trade between the Hellfire Sea and the mainlanders had declined sharply was actually because of the rapid expansion of the Wizard Li tribe. Those missing mainland merchants and warriors were either dead or imprisoned in the mainland town specially built for them by the Wizard Li tribesmen.
Speaking of which, with the empty-shell merchants' greed and adventurous spirit, it was normal for them to rack their brains to take advantage of the situation because of the impact of this incident.
When the Wizard Li's god thought of this, his expression became gentle. After waving his hand to signal the native warriors to retreat, he smiled and said, "A chief of a powerful tribe from the Nutao Sea actually went to the Kattaman City State to inquire about the intelligence of the other areas of the Hellfire Archipelago? This is really a strange story, but judging from your expression, you don't seem to be lying.
Forget it, Mr. Luqi. Let's just pretend that none of this has happened. Please forgive my recklessness for scaring you. I think it's better for you to take a rest and calm yourself down. "
"W-Wait a minute, Mr. Lisheng. You might find it strange that the chief of the Nutao Sea's native tribe went to the Kattaman City State to inquire about the information of the other Hellfire islands in the Nutao Sea because you're looking at the Hellfire tribesmen in the Nutao Sea like how you look at the natives on the island under our feet.
Please forgive me for being blunt, but that's not right. Even though I've never seen the chief of the Nutao Sea's native tribe before, it's said that they're all wearing colorful silk that's as smooth as water. Even if they were to be presented to the king, they'd still look very decent.
Not only that, to those native nobles, even standing on the ground is a kind of blasphemy, so they must be sprinkled with petals wherever they pass by … "When Luqi saw that the spear tip on his throat had gone far away, a hint of color finally returned to Luqi's pale face. After the danger, his greedy instinct began to stir again. When he saw the black-haired young man bidding farewell to him, he hesitated for a while before explaining with a slightly trembling voice.
Upon hearing the empty-shell merchant's description of the Nutao Sea's native tribe's chief, Zhang Lisheng secretly chuckled in his heart. As the only god of a huge tribe that had conquered half of the archipelago that was unique in the ancient paper-book literature and folklore of the Hellfire Archipelago, even he did not have such an extravagant style. It was hard for him to imagine that an ordinary Hellfire chief would have such an exaggerated extravagance.
However, even though he felt that it was just a rumor, the young man did not question Luqi's statement. After listening patiently, he asked, "Mr. Luqi, are you sure that there's a native tribe's chief from the Nutao Sea in the Sea Haines City?"
"I'm sure, Mr. Lisheng. I'm very sure!" The empty-shell merchant said resolutely.
A native leader from the Nutao Sea in the Kattaman City State undoubtedly meant a safe route from the land city state to the most powerful area of the Hellfire Archipelago. As long as this route was mastered, it would only be a big detour on the sea from Scorpion Island to the Nutao Sea.
"Regardless of whether this matter is true or not, it's worth a try …" After hearing Luqi's answer, Zhang Lisheng became silent for a while before muttering in an extremely low voice.
"What did you say, Mr. Lisheng?" When the empty-shell merchant saw the black-haired young man's mouth moving, he asked uneasily.
"I said that I plan to go with you to see the native leader from the Nutao Sea. If he can really give me what I want, I'll make this deal with him. Of course, I'll also let you get what you want while I'm at it." "Oh, thank you!
Thank you, Mr. Lisheng! You're really a great and generous scholar! You'll definitely create your own discipline like Hopkins in the future! Oh, biology! That's right! You've even named it already! Biology? What a vivid name! "Luqi was so surprised that he spoke incoherently.
"Alright, Mr. Luqi. There's a proverb in my hometown that says, 'If you help others, you help yourself.' You bring me news, and I'll bring you benefits." Zhang Lisheng smiled and said, "Let's complete this slave transaction as soon as possible. You can only earn the next sum of money after this gold coin has entered your pocket."
"You're talking about the liquidity of wealth, right? I've read about this theory from Horner's' On Capital 'before. I can't believe that you're actually so knowledgeable. No wonder you're called the' Wise One 'by the natives." Upon hearing the young man's words, Luqi nodded repeatedly. When he was about to turn around, he suddenly rolled his eyes and flattered Zhang Lisheng before saying with a smirk, "I'll ask the men of the caravan to drive the slaves off the ship.
However, there's one thing that I hope that you can help me cover up. I didn't mention your name when I organized the caravan this time. You know, as the leader of a fleet, I must have authority to ensure that the transaction is carried out normally. The authority of a tycoon only comes from two aspects, one is strong funds … "
"Alright, Mr. Luqi, I understand what you mean." Zhang Lisheng interrupted the empty-shell merchant's words indifferently. "Your trading right with Wizard Li comes from your own good luck. It has nothing to do with me.
I'm just a scholar from another mainland whom you inadvertently met when you were trading with the aborigines. "
"Ah, you're so understanding!" Luqi nodded with a smile. "In that case, I'll go and unload the 'goods' off the ship now. All of them are healthy and strong laborers. There are very few old people and children." After saying so, he turned around and strode out of the treehouse.
Not long after the empty-shell merchant left, the merchant ships docked at the port began to put down wooden escalators. At the same time, the iron door covering the bottom warehouse on the deck was also opened. Following the light and the crew's loud shouts, groups of unkempt mainlanders climbed out of the warehouse with difficulty.
As soon as they stepped onto the deck, their hands were tied up by hundreds and thousands of sailors who specialized in transporting slaves, using hemp ropes that were not even as thick as a thumb but were extremely tough. They staggered sideways, holding onto the wooden ladder with one hand, and slowly walked down the ship numbly.
The number of ships that the empty-shell merchant brought to the Red Mountain Harbor this time was almost the same as when he met Zhang Lisheng for the first time, but the quality was much higher. The scene of 25,000 slaves staggering down from the huge wooden ships that were densely dotted with natural harbors appeared to be extremely tragic and tragic.
In particular, when the slaves, who had already become numb to all the tragic encounters, got off the ship, they saw that they were not facing the picky buyers in the slave market but thousands of Hellfire tribesmen who were holding sharp spears and sabers while riding on giant spiders with long purple hair. It was even more heartbreaking.
Panic had a strong infectious force in the dense crowd. In order to prevent riots and commotion, thousands of Wizard Li warriors waved their spears on the back of the giant millispiders and drove their mounts to run back and forth in the harbor. Stabbing their spears into the mouths of the mainlanders who were howling, they shouted stiffly in the mainlanders' language, "Those who speak will die! Those who speak will die …"
On the ship's side of the largest cargo ship in the fleet, a haggard middle-aged man saw the natives wantonly killing the slaves who were screaming in horror. Anxiously, he shifted his feet and said, "Mr. Luqi! Mr. Luqi! Look! Those barbarians are slaughtering the slaves! This is too cruel! As the leader of the caravan, you should go and protest to them! Protest …"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Vitas. According to the contract between me and those natives, the ownership of the slaves will belong to them once they disembark."
"You mean those slaves who are killed will be counted according to how they are still alive?"
"Yes, each corpse can be exchanged for the same volume of Hellfire wood and half the volume of ordinary ores. If it's gems, the value will be calculated separately."
"Oh, since the ownership of the goods has been transferred in the native seaport that is not restricted by the mainland law, you indeed have no position to protest.
I should be the one apologizing to you for making such an unreasonable request. "Upon hearing the empty-shell merchant mentioning the Hellfire wood, ores, and gems, the middle-aged man's face that was unusually haggard due to the rush immediately regained some vigor. Pulling out a piece of silk from his sleeve to cover his nose, he looked at the pools of blood under the ship." But this is indeed too cruel! Too cruel!
Unfortunately, we're merchants who abide by the contract … "
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