Chapter 123 Colonialism
"Father, I will be returning to Daiyuan soon. I hope you will take care of a few things for me as soon as possible." Kaihime had been in Shinobu Castle for less than a month, and her heart was already filled with longing for the warm and welcoming Daiyuan Danshui Castle.
"Oh! Winter is coming soon, and many people will love the warmth of the South, but... could they be a little older, or even older?"
“Father, sixteen years old can be changed to fifteen according to custom. What would we do with eleven or twelve-year-olds if we sold them to the prince? Would we just let them eat for free? The Da Yuan Guild has been recruiting adult laborers. If ages can be changed at will, what use are we?”
Kaihime was a little angry. She suddenly realized that her father was no more benevolent than Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The greedy Narita even wanted to send his child, who was not even ten years old, to Daimyo.
Kaihime had also questioned Qin Mo about why she only bought young people aged twelve to fifteen. Qin Mo gave her a lesson in "enslavement education," explaining that young people of that age are more likely to develop a sense of belonging to the Daimyo. As long as they are given a good life, they will eventually identify themselves as Daimyo's people. Adult Daimyo, on the other hand, are all planning to earn some money and return to Japan, and can only be used for short-term labor. They are completely different from the children Kaihime bought and are not worth investing in.
Kaihime did not feel any aversion to Qin Mo's "scheme" because Qin Mo said: "All the Japanese can retain their customs and traditions. You are still the Yamato people, just in a different homeland."
"Alright, Father will send people to continue hiring the boy, Kai, you can rest assured." Narita was new to human trafficking and didn't understand many of the tricks of the trade. When Kaihime showed him an employment contract supposedly written by King Heng, Narita, who had lived for over forty years, was full of admiration for Qin Mo.
If one were to sell their own child, many Japanese would likely feel resentful, even humiliated. But being employed is entirely different, even though the employment period is... sixty years.
"Kai! There's one more thing. Princess Maki and Princess Atsuhime also want to visit the bustling capital of Daikan. Do you think we could take them with us this time?"
"Father, you can't be left unattended, so this matter is unnecessary." Kaihime refused without even thinking. She didn't even have a formal title yet! Why would she want to drag her younger sister over?
Edo Wharf is bustling again; today is the day the Ōkan fleet sets sail. A year ago, at this very wharf, four thousand Japanese men embarked on an unknown journey, finding a path for the poor of Japan to struggle and improve themselves.
Of the four thousand people, less than a thousand returned; more than a thousand had followed the nobles of Daxia to the south. Those nearly a thousand who returned taught the Fusang people what envy, jealousy, and hatred truly meant.
Every returning Japanese warrior, whether missing an arm or a leg, or blind and toothless, was thronged with matchmakers; no one saw their physical defects, only the cartloads of cloth, liquor, and even ironware they brought out from the Daiyuan Guild Hall.
Then, the dowries offered by these disabled people made those timid Japanese people regret their actions. Even the stingiest soldiers offered generous dowries and married beautiful wives.
That's not all. Many soldiers had a badge that recorded their military achievements. With this badge, they could buy cheap goods from the Da Yuan Guild Hall, resell them for a huge profit—a long-term business. And all of this stemmed from the fact that they had risked their lives back then.
Today, the dock was filled with joy, completely different from the sorrow and grief of last year. The old father was still earnestly instructing his son who was kneeling before him, but his words were always the same: "Erlang, the family's land is really too little. In order for you to go to work in Dayuan, our family has given your sister's dowry to Master Ishihara. The hopes of our Ida family are all on your shoulders."
On the other side of the pier, however, it was unusually quiet. The nearly one thousand people in the procession were all young men and women, none of whom had relatives to see them off; they could only weep silently by themselves.
"Hey! Matsui, what's going on with those kids over there? Not a single relative came to see them off?"
"You don't know this yet! Those children are long-term employees, with a sixty-year contract. Their wages are paid to their relatives in one lump sum, and their relatives are not allowed to come and see them off."
"What?! A sixty-year construction period, with payment in one lump sum... that's not..."
"No, Mr. Ishishita, if they live past sixty, then they can return to their roots. Besides, their wages are this much..."
Matsui gestured a number to Ishishita, who gasped and began to think to himself, "One of my nephews is still living off his family! Should I go back and talk to my brother to see if I can improve our family's situation? As for my nephew, I can just take another concubine and have more children."
While the elderly father and daughter-in-law were still giving instructions to their loved ones, the boys began to quietly board the ship, seemingly living in a different world from the hustle and bustle on the other side.
"Clang, clang, clang!" The ship's distinctive bronze bell began to ring, urging passengers to board. The fleet needed to sail out of the Uraga Channel and into the open sea before dark; any further delay would be too late.
The crowd boarding the ship split into two groups: one consisting of silent teenagers, and the other of tearful adults. They were also on different ships; the teenagers boarded new, large ships, while the adults were crammed into older ones.
The fleet was very experienced in transporting these pigs. Every so often, they would find a port or a calm bay, cook them a hot meal to fill their empty stomachs, and replenish their strength so they wouldn't die on the way. These people had all paid for the meal, and there were no refunds or exchanges.
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