Song Dynasty: Yuan Dynasty, you didn't expect this, did you? I'm still alive.

In fact, to put it bluntly, every single one of those small countries in the Indochina Peninsula was eager to attach themselves to the Song Dynasty and become a secure "vassal dog."

Champa, in particular, had voluntarily submitted to the Song Dynasty many years ago, becoming a vassal state of the Song Dynasty. It paid tribute every year and came to court every year, fearing that it might displease this celestial empire.

Luxury goods from the Eastern Song Dynasty—shimmering silks, crystal-clear porcelains, and mellow, sweet wines—were wildly sought after by the local nobility as soon as they entered the Indochina Peninsula, where they were regarded as symbols of status and prestige.

Anyone with half a brain could clearly sense that the power of the Song Dynasty was far beyond what their small, insignificant country could compare to.

If Ji Bai hadn't been so arrogant and domineering in the Siamese royal palace, forcing King U Thong to hand over his queen and thus provoking the king, King U Thong, with his cautious nature, would never have dared to easily anger the Song Dynasty.

Upon returning to the royal palace in Bangkok (he renamed Ayutthaya to Bangkok after succeeding as King of Siam), Zhao Yu specially donned a majestic Song Dynasty dragon robe and, in the name of the Song Emperor, issued an edict ordering the five kingdoms of Sukhothai, Lan Xang, Dai Viet, Champa, and Khmer to each contribute 20,000 slaves for the construction of a Buddhist palace.

With the recent destruction of Siam as a cautionary tale, how could the kings of the five kingdoms dare to provoke the might of the Song Dynasty?

In their view, it was just 20,000 people, not worth much money—the land in the Indochina Peninsula was fertile, and the population grew rapidly; in a few years, a new batch of people would "automatically refresh" on the land.

As for whether the relatives of the captured slaves will cause trouble?

That's even simpler. Just pack up their entire family and take them away. That will cut off any hope they might have, and they won't be able to cause any trouble.

The kings' intentions were good; they ordered the arrest of only homeless refugees to minimize the impact on domestic stability.

However, when commands are passed down to lower levels, their execution becomes distorted.

Those corrupt officials were only thinking about their own interests: Could they make money by arresting vagrants? No! Who would want to do something so thankless and exhausting?

Soon, these officials set their sights on kind-hearted families who owned land but had no powerful connections.

In their view, as long as they captured the entire family and enslaved them, the land under their names would naturally become theirs.

For a time, minor disturbances broke out in all five kingdoms. Although the government suppressed them in time, the common people were full of complaints and privately cursed their monarchs as foolish and tyrannical.

When will we finally meet a wise and benevolent ruler?

"I've heard there's a powerful Song Dynasty overseas. Their emperor must be very wise, right?"

"How wonderful it would be if the emperor of the Song Dynasty could be our ruler!"

Similar discussions circulated quietly within the five kingdoms, but none of them concerned Zhao Yu.

He was sitting in the main hall of the Bangkok Grand Palace, pondering how to raise funds for the remaining 150,000 slaves.

Ultimately, he decided to use the same method as when he built the Garden of Ten Thousand Beasts: the Royal Merchant Guild would take the lead and invite other slave traders to participate, and whoever offered the most kickback would get the share of slave purchases.

Zhao Yu never considered himself a tyrant; he deeply understood the principle of "sharing the spoils"—the simplest imperial strategy.

If you take all the benefits for yourself, then don't blame your subordinates for not putting in the effort.

Ultimately, the Royal Merchant Guild secured the purchase quota for 50,000 slaves, while the remaining 100,000 quota was divided among four large slave merchants: Zhang, Lu, Li, and Qian.

The head of the Lu family was named Lu Yuzhou, who was the great-grandson of Lu Xiufu, one of the three outstanding figures of the Southern Song Dynasty.

Lu Xiufu was revered as a "benevolent father" by the local people of the Eastern Song Dynasty.

His descendants inherited his spirit well. Although they did not pass the imperial examinations and failed to become Jinshi, they worked hard in the slave trade for many years and are now the second largest slave trader in the Eastern Song Dynasty.

Lu Yuzhou estimated the share of 25,000 slaves he had acquired this time and was overjoyed—this was another chance to make a fortune.

He recalled the rumors that had circulated in the court some time ago, saying that some ministers privately believed that the current emperor was a foolish ruler.

"A tyrannical ruler? How is he a tyrannical ruler?" Lu Yuzhou shook his head, inwardly disdainful. "Our Song Dynasty Emperor has always been tolerant of his subordinates and never hoards any benefits. These ministers have annoyed the Emperor themselves, yet they blame him for being incompetent. Why don't they look for the reasons within themselves?"

In any case, he is loyal to the current government from the bottom of his heart.

Soon, Lu Yuzhou personally led the fleet eastward and docked at the port of Chenla in the Khmer Empire (Cambodia).

As soon as the ship docked, a dark-skinned, slightly overweight Khmer merchant greeted them with a beaming smile. He was a regular customer and a powerful figure in the Khmer Empire.

"Brother Lu, you must be tired from your journey!" The Khmer merchant stepped forward warmly, shook Lu Yuzhou's hand, and offered him refreshing coconut juice while asking about his well-being.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, he revealed his true intentions, rubbing his hands together as he asked, "Brother Lu, how much good stuff have you brought this time?"

Lu Yuzhou not only traded slaves, but also carried some goods from the Eastern Song Dynasty along the way for resale. This Khmer merchant was his long-term partner.

He patted the other man on the shoulder and laughed loudly, "Good brother, how could I possibly skimp on your cargo? Look at those five big ships, a full five hundred tons of cargo. You can have as much as you want, the only problem is you might not have the appetite!"

The Khmer merchant looked in the direction he pointed and saw five huge ships docked in the harbor, their hulls towering and their sails obscuring the sun.

His eyes lit up instantly, and his breathing became rapid—Eastern Song goods were in high demand and short supply in Cambodia!

Previously, white sugar, salt, and silk were almost sold out as soon as they arrived at the port; recently, a large amount of cotton cloth has also been added. This cotton cloth is light, thin, and breathable, perfectly suited to the tropical climate, and has solved the problem that ordinary people cannot afford silk.

More importantly, the price of Dong Song cotton cloth was very low, almost only one-third of that of local handmade cotton cloth. Even with tariffs, it was still much more cost-effective than local cotton cloth.

Moreover, given his status, he doesn't need to pay customs duties at all.

Although nobles are wealthy, they cannot compete with the sheer number of commoners. If these five hundred tons of cotton cloth were sold, the profits would be unimaginable.

The Khmer merchant was rapidly calculating the profits in his mind, growing more and more excited with each calculation, his smile becoming increasingly obsequious: "Enough! Enough! Brother Lu is truly a man of honor!"

Lu Yuzhou readily sold all five hundred tons of goods to him, making a fortune in the process.

The empty cargo space on the ship was used to transport slaves, maximizing its utilization.

"Brother Lu, I remember you were also involved in the slave trade, right?" the Khmer merchant suddenly asked—he had previously seen imprisoned slaves on Lu Yuzhou's ship.

Lu Yuzhou didn't think much of it, nodded, and laughed, "Of course. What, my good brother, do you have slaves to sell to me?"

The Khmer merchant was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly: "Of course! And there are quite a few, I'm just worried your ship won't be able to hold them all!"

Lu Yuzhou was full of questions, wondering to himself: How come my good brother suddenly has so many slaves?

But he was, after all, a citizen of the Celestial Empire, how could he be looked down upon by a merchant from a small country?

He deliberately raised his voice: "I need 25,000 slaves this time. How many do you have here?"

The Khmer merchant was startled and quickly waved his hand: "No...not that many, at most five thousand."

Lu Yuzhou laughed heartily and waved his hand, "Alright, five thousand is enough. What's the price for your slave?"

When the Khmer merchant quoted the price, Lu Yuzhou's eyes lit up instantly—this price was 30% lower than the price he had paid when he went to Japan to capture slaves!

Although he was curious about the origins of these slaves, as a merchant driven by profit, he had no reason to refuse such a lucrative deal.

Not long after, Lu Yuzhou returned to Bangkok by ship with five thousand slaves.

Zhao Yu was very pleased upon hearing the news and summoned him for a special audience.

"As expected of the descendants of Mr. Junshi (Lu Xiufu's courtesy name), their efficiency in capturing the natives is truly remarkable!" Zhao Yu sat on the throne, praising with a smile.

Lu Yuzhou immediately knelt down and said excitedly, "Serving Your Majesty is my duty, and I dare not shirk my responsibilities!"

Zhao Yu thought to himself: These days, even merchants speak much better than those ministers who only know how to quote classics.

He immediately decided to give half of the kickback he received from Lu Yuzhou to Lu Yuzhou as a reward for his hard work.

Subsequently, slaves from the Sukhothai Kingdom, Lan Xang Kingdom, Dai Viet, and the Khmer Empire were also sent to Bangkok.

Each country paid the full amount of 20,000 slaves, and some countries even sent more than required to prevent losses along the way.

But when it came to Champa, Zhao Yu discovered something was wrong—the slaves sent by Champa were five thousand fewer than expected!

"How dare you occupy the city!" Zhao Yu slammed his hand on the armrest of his throne, his face instantly darkening. "Have you become so arrogant as to dare to deceive me, the supreme ruler of the eight wastelands and six directions, the Great Khan of Heaven and Earth?"

Upon seeing this, Ji Bai immediately stepped forward and sternly rebuked the Champa envoy kneeling in the hall.

The Champa envoy trembled with fear, repeatedly kowtowing and explaining the reason with a face full of grievance.

Originally, Champa and Siam did not border each other, and the transportation of slaves had to pass through the territory of the Khmer Empire.

Unexpectedly, the people of the Khmer Empire were not martial and secretly sent people to lure slaves, saying that they would be given land and homes in Khmer. At the same time, they also sent people to attack the Champa army that was escorting the slaves.

In the chaos, five thousand slaves seized the opportunity to escape and disappeared without a trace.

After the Champa envoys discovered the slaves were missing, they sought help from the local Khmer government. However, the officials there were in cahoots with the attackers. Instead of helping with the investigation, they made all sorts of excuses and perfunctory responses.

"You son of a bitch!" Zhao Yu roared in fury upon hearing this, leaping to his feet. The jade belt around his waist snapped open in his rage. "Human trafficking! How dare they try to traffic me!"

A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes—anyone who dared to touch his things, no matter who they were, would pay a terrible price!