Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

"You are not someone seeking knowledge and enlightenment, so please refrain from mentioning visiting me out of admiration."

Li Bangyan asked, "I've heard that you are very familiar with foreign lands?"

Zhu Yu said, "I know some maritime merchants."

“Are there Buddhist countries overseas? The kind where the whole country is Buddhist,” Li Bangyan said.

Zhu Yu said, "Yes. Both Zhenla and the Queen's Kingdom are Buddhist countries."

"The Queen's Kingdom?" Li Bangyan's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

According to records in miscellaneous books from the Tang Dynasty, the Bodhisattva Barbarians were tributes from the Nüman Kingdom.

The Zizhi Tongjian also refers to the Nüman Kingdom as the Queen Kingdom or the Luo Nüman Kingdom.

Zhu Yu said, "South of the Dali Kingdom are the two kingdoms of Bagan and Jinchi."

"South of the Kingdom of Golden Teeth and north of the Kingdom of Zhenla lies the Kingdom of the Queen."

The Kingdom of Bagan was located in the heart of what is now Myanmar.

Jinchi Kingdom, also known as Mengpeng, was a tribal alliance state established by the Dai people.

It is roughly located in northeastern Myanmar and northern Laos, as well as part of Pu'er, China.

Between Bagan and Kyaukme, in the northeastern mountainous region of Myanmar, live a large number of Shan tribes who do not belong to any country.

The Queen's Kingdom, also known as Lamphun or Haliphunchai, is located in northern Thailand.

The main ethnic group is the Meng, which originated in the southwestern region of China during the pre-Qin period.

Li Bangyan asked, "Is the Queen's Kingdom located by the sea?"

Zhu Yu replied, "It shouldn't be near the sea."

"Was Zhenla (Cambodia) by the sea?" Li Bangyan asked again.

Zhu Yu said, "Zhenla is naturally located by the sea."

Li Bangyan asked, "Are these countries at war?"

Zhu Yu said, "I don't know about other countries, but Champa, Zhenla, and Annam are frequently at war."

"The Three Kingdoms fought back and forth, and no one could gain the upper hand."

Li Bangyan asked, "Do Champa and Annam believe in Buddhism?"

Zhu Yu said, "Annam governs the country with Confucianism and calls itself the Little China of the South."

"Champa, however, is a Brahmanical religion, a sect that originated in India."

In fact, Zhenla (Angkor Dynasty) also practiced Hinduism and Buddhism.

This is similar to Srivijaya, where Buddhism is the dominant religion, but there are also a large number of Hindus.

The above information was all hearsay to Zhu Yu; he had never been to sea.

Li Bangyan deliberately flattered Zhu Yu, who, despite knowing the truth, was still pleased and told him everything he knew.

Finally, Li Bangyan also learned some of the contact information of maritime merchants from Zhu Yu.

Hangzhou merchants mainly engaged in trade with Japan and Korea, and some also ran trade routes to Fujian and Guangdong.

They bought specialty products from Fujian and Guangdong provinces, as well as some goods from overseas, and transported them to Zhejiang to sell for profit.

Last year's major corruption case involved three of Zhejiang's most powerful maritime merchants, all of whom suffered heavy losses.

One family even had their property confiscated and were exiled to the Penghu Islands according to their household registration!

The merchant Li Bangyan found was surnamed Luo, whose strength ranked among the top eight, and who specialized in doing business in Fujian and Guangdong.

He presented the man with a gift of 800 strings of cash, which puzzled the man so much that he didn't dare accept it, but he very warmly invited him inside.

Li Bangyan walked with his head held high, exuding the aura of someone in a superior position.

Seeing the overtly official air about him, Luo Congxian became even more cautious and asked with clasped hands, "May I ask what brings you here, Minister Li?"

Li Bangyan said, "I was introduced by Zhu Yu. I want to discuss a business deal with you."

Luo Congxian said warily, "My Luo family will not do anything illegal."

“Don’t worry, I’m not from the Censorate,” Li Bangyan said. “I want to buy young and beautiful women from Srivijaya, Zhenla, or the Queen’s Kingdom.”

"Ideally, he should be able to play musical instruments and dance; if that's not possible, we can buy a man who knows singing and dancing."

"Oh, right, I also need to buy women's clothing and accessories from these vassal states."

Luo Congxian instantly understood: "Similar to those Silla maids?"

"Indeed," Li Bangyan nodded.

Luo Congyan laughed and said, "Goryeo is very close, women are cheap, and there's the ancient reputation of Silla maids, so naturally we can make a lot of money."

"If you were to buy those women from vassal states, the journey would be long and the price would certainly be high, and you wouldn't be able to use their names as Silla maids."

"This business probably won't last long."

Chapter 3330 Buying Slaves

"I have a brilliant plan in mind; please bring the person back, Master Luo."

Li Bangyan reminded him.

"Don't make too much money; a steady stream is the only way to make a living."

"Also, no one who's too ugly, no one who's too old, the best are those who are slim and can teach them to dance."

Luo Congyan pondered for a moment and said, "Next time I go to Guangzhou, I can help make the contact."

"As for whether I can buy it, I can't guarantee that."

Zhenla women were the easiest to obtain. Champa frequently raided the area, mainly to capture a few more female prisoners during their raids.

Moreover, Guangzhou had many Champa merchants, making it convenient to transport goods there.

Li Bangyan was not afraid of having his business stolen by maritime merchants, nor was he afraid of being investigated by the imperial court in the future.

He purchased young foreign women through maritime merchants, then personally taught them to sing and dance, and even designed their clothing and accessories himself.

To create an exotic atmosphere, Li Bangyan would also study the music, dance, and clothing of these countries.

Finally, she appeared before the customers dressed in luxurious exotic attire, looking like a female bodhisattva from afar, and was also a talented singer and dancer who could captivate people's souls.

He only targets the high-end market!

.....

Riding the tail of trade winds and ocean currents, Luo Congxian's fleet sailed towards Guangzhou.

Goods from the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal were thus gathered in Hangzhou, then flowed by boat to Guangzhou for sale to foreign merchants, while some were also sold to local Guangzhou merchants.

Next, we need to purchase goods, repair the damaged ships, and wait for the southerly winds to arrive before returning to Hangzhou.

Of course, Luo Congxian could not go to sea himself; his illegitimate son, Luo Shunqing, was in charge of leading the fleet.

While purchasing foreign goods, Luo Shunqing also inquired about them for Li Bangyan.

As a result, Seljuk, Indian, Srivijaya, Cambodian, and Champa maritime merchants all showed great interest in the buying and selling of people.

They already did this kind of business, especially the Seljuks and Srivijaya.

The Seljuk merchants sold African black slaves, all of whom were castrated; this craft had been passed down for thousands of years.

Srivijaya merchants traded with Asian Negritos, and their country's army would regularly sweep through the islands of Southeast Asia, capturing Negritos living by the sea.

Some stayed behind to work as sailors, while others were sold to maritime merchants from various countries.

In fact, Chinese maritime merchants during the Tang Dynasty also engaged in this business.

Ancient Japanese texts record that during the Tang Dynasty, Chinese maritime merchants robbed Arab merchants, taking the black slaves on board as spoils of war.

"Luo, I heard you're looking to buy women?"

Indian merchant Bharadvaja, having heard of the news, came to his door.

Luo Shunqing shook his head repeatedly: "I don't want Indian women, their skin is just too dark."

Bharadvaja waved his hand and said, "No, no, no, we also have people with fair skin where we live."

"Moreover, our king is not black because of the intermarriage between the royal families of the Eastern Chalukya and the Eastern Chalukya."

"Really not dark-skinned?" Luo Shunqing didn't believe it.

Bharadvaja said, “They are not dark at all. Even among the common people, there are many with light skin, who are the offspring of women from the captured Sizhalukhi.”

The Chalukya dynasty of India has existed for six hundred years.

They are descendants of northern ethnic groups that invaded India. Because their skin is too fair and obviously different from the natives, they actively assimilated into the Brahmanical system and claimed to be descendants of the ancient Indian sun and moon dynasties.

Simply put, they are the descendants of the sun god and the moon god.

Chapter 3331 The Kingdom of Chola

By now, the Chalukya dynasty had declined, and its northern territories had been occupied by later invading white people.

Moreover, it split into West Zhelouqi and East Zhelouqi.

The white regimes that later invaded were associated with desert religion.

The Chalukhi region is predominantly Hindu, but does not prohibit the spread of Buddhism and Jainism.

The Chola dynasty was also a thousand-year-old dynasty, and its inhabitants were pure-blooded South Indians (the royal family was Tamil).

However, Chola annexed Eastern Chalukya, and its full name became the "Chola-Eastern Chalukya United Kingdom".

The white royal family of East Chalukya still exists and has long intermarried with the Chola royal family, so the Chola kings of India are of mixed race.

The Chola Dynasty and the Western Chalukya Dynasty engaged in a long-standing war for supremacy, frequently seizing many slaves in the process.

Even the local nobles of the Chola dynasty had female slaves with lighter skin tones; these were the Chalukya people of lower castes, descendants of mixed blood with Indian natives.

Purebred white female slaves are hard to capture, but mixed-race, light-skinned female slaves are plentiful, and these are the types that Indian merchants want to sell to China.

Luo Shunqing said, "Next time you can bring a few over. The fairer the skin, the better. It would be even better if they could sing and dance."

"Also, bring their clothes and accessories."

Bharadvaja said, “I can also provide Srivijaya women. Our Chola Kingdom has been winning battles and has captured many Srivijaya slaves.”

“Not for now,” Luo Shunqing said. “Bring a few samples over, and I’ll take them to Hangzhou to show our big customer.”

Bharadvaja laughed and said, "Very well, I hope this business can last a long time."

These maritime merchants were all lawless and unruly.

Or, to put it another way, those who abide by the law should not do this.

Merchants are synonymous with pirates. Seemingly docile and law-abiding merchants can instantly become pirates given the right opportunity!

The slave trade existed everywhere, from the Persian Gulf to the South China Sea, and the Arabs were particularly adept at it, having mastered the art of castrating black slaves.

……

With the arrival of the monsoon, Luo Shunqing returned to Hangzhou.

When he passed by the outer harbor of Fuzhou, he found a large number of boat people (tanka people) gathered together, helping the elderly and children to board the warship with small fishing boats.

"Go and ask what's going on," Luo Shunqing said to his loyal servant.

Every policy in coastal provinces could potentially represent new business opportunities.

The fleet docked and replenished its fresh water supply.

The loyal servant quickly learned the news: "The Penghu Navy is recruiting yacht drivers to take them to the Penghu Islands and Liuqiu (Taiwan Island) opposite the Penghu Islands."

Luo Shunqing sighed, "The Ming emperor is so eager to expand the territory!"

"It's a pity that the business here has definitely been snatched up by local Fujian merchants."

The Tanka people along the Fujian coast originated from the great uprising at the beginning of the Sui Dynasty.

Yang Su led his army to Jiangnan, and the rebels fled to Fujian. Many of them went to sea to become pirates, and gradually evolved into the Tanka people on the coast.

The Sui Dynasty was still not at ease and pursued them all the way to Liuqiu (northern Taiwan), capturing more than 17,000 Taiwanese people.