However, even if they found out that their "companions" were stealing business, the two slave traders could not leave directly.
Now that King Dashi has summoned him, he must at least meet him before leaving.
And the two of them are not completely desperate. There are enough female slaves here in Liusha City, and they should still be needed in other places!
Even if Liusha City doesn't need them right now, it will definitely need more female slaves in the future, and there will be more and more immigrants.
The key is that both of them also want to inquire and see where the job robber comes from.
Then the two of them were sent to the bathroom with mixed emotions.
Luvrey was originally worried about how he could go to see the King of Food now that he smelled like fermentation.
After entering the bathroom, after listening to Gu Rui's explanation, which was hiding from him, he realized that he had to take a shower and change clothes first.
Otherwise, neither of them would be able to enter Zhu Jingyuan's living room in their current state.
Two strong servants came up and gave them a ton of rubdowns, washed them thoroughly and put them into clean clothes.
Then he was sent to Zhu Jingyuan.
As slave traders, they often met with nobles of all sizes.
But this was really the first time for me to see a Ming prince like Zhu Jingyuan directly.
Under normal circumstances, nobles of this level are not interested in dealing directly with slave traders, and usually arrange for a servant to negotiate business.
Zhu Jingyuan wanted to see them today, which really surprised them.
Both of them were very respectful and serious, and they bowed vigorously:
"The villain Gu Rui/Luffrey pays homage to the king."
Zhu Jingyuan looked at these two people, one was a typical Ming Dynasty person, the other was a typical Taixi person, his expression was obviously confused:
"Aren't you slave traders from the Ming Dynasty? Why is there still a Western Yi?"
Gu Rui, a Ming slave trader, immediately reported:
"Your Majesty, the villain and this Englishman Livery are now partners.
"I don't dare to hide it from Your Highness. In fact, these female slaves came from the British's southern Tianzhu, not our Ming's northern Tianzhu.
"Li Frey's British trading house is responsible for purchasing goods in South Tianzhu.
"The villain's Ming Dynasty Trading Company is responsible for transporting it to the Ming Dynasty.
"We are equivalent to making a transaction on the high seas, which is legal on both sides.
"The villain heard that there are three thousand single workers here in Liusha City, so he cooperated with Lu Furay and sent three thousand Orchids over."
Facing a prince like Zhu Jingyuan, Gu Rui did not dare to conceal his plan for fear of offending him.
After discovering the orchid boat at the pier, the two's expectations for this business have been infinitely lowered.
Now I just hope to improve my credibility, show my abundant supply, and strive for continued trade in the future.
Zhu Jingyuan was slightly shocked by the actions of these two people.
"It turned out to be shipped from South Tianzhu, which is controlled by the British? Now the British allow you to sell slaves outside the country at will?"
Gu Rui nodded first and said:
"Yes, Your Majesty, the British did allow it, otherwise Luvrey and the others wouldn't be able to transport so many female slaves."
Luvrey also nodded in agreement:
"Yes, now Britain allows us to transport and even traffic people from Southern Tianzhu to all over the world..."
There were some words that neither Gu Rui nor Lu Frei said.
But Zhu Jingyuan quickly thought of:
"The main thing is to transport them to Mozhou to work as workers and farmers, right? It's more expensive to transport young men to Mozhou, right?
"Tianzhu, which has just finished fighting the World War, has an absurd ratio of women.
"Now the British are selling Tianzhu men to Mozhou, causing the proportion of Tianzhu women to be even higher.
"Tianzhu female slaves must be very cheap and hard to sell now, so you just transported them to my Liusha City?"
Gu Rui and Lu Frei suddenly felt uneasy.
But after all, they are both businessmen and slave traders, and they are all very opportunistic.
Spiritual ones also have no bottom line.
Gu Rui immediately responded with a smile:
"This is just about transporting the right products to the right place.
"The various colonies in Mozhou need obedient strong men to work and clean up the disobedient Mo natives.
"Our big food country also needs Orchid to help workers raise families..."
Zhu Jingyuan's most curious thing has been clarified.
The British began to support the Tianzhu slave trade. It was a bit like they were not worried that the Tianzhu area would not be preserved, so they started transporting property out in advance.
Population is also a very important asset.
With a new market and a new source of goods, this industry may continue to thrive.
Therefore, slave traders were willing to leave money and get on big ships.
Next, we should discuss the specific transaction, which does not require Zhu Jingyuan to do it himself.
But I have already met these two businessmen, so why not settle the deal as soon as possible on the spot.
So Zhu Jingyuan laughed dryly and said:
"What you said is very realistic, but you brought too many female slaves.
"I already have other sources of female slaves here, so I may not need you slave girls.
"When you were at the dock, you should have seen three other ships, right?"
Zhu Jingyuan knew that the two slave traders had 3,000 people crammed into their boats, so he deliberately did not mention how many people he had packed into his three boats.
Let them make their own estimates. The more estimates, the better. The more estimates, the lower the psychological expectations.
The two slave traders immediately nodded feebly.
Then Gu Rui came out and said:
"Your Majesty's great food country is not just Liusha City, nor is it just these immigrants.
"An extra three thousand female slaves can be reserved in advance.
"Besides, in the future, when bachelors immigrate to the country, it will be more attractive to directly issue female slaves than to work for a year and then get them, right?
"So these three thousand female slaves are still meaningful to His Highness."
Zhu Jingyuan said noncommittally:
"It costs food to raise them, and more houses have to be built.
"The food in our big food country is basically imported. All this is money. The land in the big food country is barren and the products are scarce...
"Besides, Hu Ji from Beitianzhu knows a few words of Ming Dynasty elegance, so there is no problem in barely communicating.
"You guys from Nan Tianzhu don't understand at all. Communication is a big problem.
"I can definitely wait for the new immigrants to arrive, and then let the slave traders transport the female slaves from Tianzhu or other places."
Gu Rui and Lu Frei could tell that Zhu Jingyuan was somewhat interested in this batch of goods, but he had to give them a very affordable price.
Otherwise, there is a high probability that you really won’t want it. It is the most natural thing to just wait until you need it and then order it.
In order not to lose the goods, Gu Rui took the initiative to give Zhu Jingyuan a discount:
"Your Majesty, we don't distinguish between levels. All prices are based on the lowest price. One hundred and fifty silver notes for oily ears, two hundred and fifty silver notes for dry ears..."
Zhu Jingyuan waved his hand directly:
"Since you are not sincere, then take him away."
Gu Rui carefully tested and said:
"Then please give me a price, Your Majesty."
Zhu Jingyuan said very casually:
"One hundred and fifty for dry ears, eighty for oily ears, fixed price, take it away if you don't sell it."
The price Zhu Jingyuan wanted was a 40% or even 50% discount on the lowest retail price of similar slaves on the market.
Even if Tianzhu's situation is special, the current price of female slaves in Tianzhu is relatively low, and it is already very close to their cost price.
And this kind of price does not take into account the outstanding individuals among the female slaves.
Gu Rui felt that he could not accept this price, which was basically a waste of Zhu Jingyuan's work.
I took on the risks of this business in vain.
But only the meager profit was obtained.
Lu Frei, an Englishman, was more direct. When Gu Rui hesitated on how to persuade, he tried to speak:
"Your Majesty, at the price you gave us, we really don't have any profit.
"To avoid the cost of shipping it back, we will sell it this time, but there will definitely be no next time.
"The Great Food Country will definitely need more female slaves in the future. I really don't recommend that you cut off a supply channel just for this trade."
Zhu Jingyuan glanced at Lu Frei, making the rather fierce-looking Thai man shrink his head in fear.
Then Zhu Jingyuan smiled dryly and said:
"Then when you come back next time, let's make a deal based on two hundred for dry ears and one hundred for oily ears."
The two slave traders were stunned for a moment, and a bit of surprise immediately appeared in their hearts.
Zhu Jingyuan's words showed them that they could continue to supply female slaves to them in the future.
This is considered a long-term supply contract, not a one-vote sale.
This transaction is basically not profitable, but it will be profitable in the future. This transaction is considered sincere.
The channels of Da Shiguo will be officially opened in the future, and you can make money step by step.
But the price given by Zhu Jingyuan really made them feel worried.
Gu Rui subconsciously wanted to talk about the price.
As a result, Zhu Jingyuan directly waved his hand to stop him again:
"Don't tell me the price, it's whatever I say."
Gu Rui and Lu Frei looked at each other again, and then nodded with a bit of entanglement and helplessness:
"Then it will be as the king wishes."
Tianzhu is less than 3,000 kilometers away from Liusha City, and they are both offshore routes in the northern part of Xiaoxi Ocean. The danger on the road is very low.
Nowadays, there are mature three-expansion steam engines, ships are becoming larger and more stable, and the actual transportation cost is also very low.
Cooperate with the trading company that sends young male slaves to Mozhou and accept a large number of their remaining ordinary female slaves in batches. The cost can be reduced to seventy silver coins.
One hundred silver notes are sold in batches to the big food country. As long as there are no major accidents during transportation, you can make some money.
The key is that Zhu Jingyuan offers a higher price for the female slaves who have their ears fucked, and the profit margin is also higher.
In some rural areas of Tianzhu, the probability of dry ears exceeds 30%.
If you specifically look for the source of female slaves with dry ears, the actual cost may only be around one hundred and twenty.
Maybe you can find more female slaves with dry ears and sell them to the big food country in batches, and you can make more money.
If sold individually in the Mexican and European markets, these female slaves would definitely make more money.
But that would take too much time and effort.
Rather than bothering like that, it would be better to make more trips to the Big Food Country and sell the goods directly to the Big Food Country.
This was actually Zhu Jingyuan's deliberate guidance.
In the future, we should try our best to fuck the ears of female slaves in the Big Food Country to reduce the proportion of body odor in the Big Food Country.
Anyway, it's only two hundred silver coins. A food worker can buy one after working for a year.
Tianzhu's gender ratio is distorted, and it would be appropriate for Da Shiguo to help balance it out.
After the deal between the two parties was settled, Zhu Jingyuan asked Dian Book to draw up a simple peace agreement.
The peace treaty did not mention slaves, but it talked about two enthusiastic businessmen who helped single workers in the food country find concubines.
The Big Food Country gives a certain amount of remuneration, which is ultimately paid by the individual workers.
Zhu Jingyuan himself did not sign the contract.
Although the words and sentences are as elegant as possible, the essence is still the slave trade.
How could I, a prince of the Ming Dynasty, sign such a peace treaty?
So Shi Liu Zhixin, the palace chief, came to sign a contract with Gu Rui and Lu Frei.
After the cooperation was thoroughly confirmed, Zhu Jingyuan asked Dian Bu to pass the order that Gu and Lu's ship could start unloading.
It was supposed to be seeing off guests here, so Gu Rui boldly asked before leaving:
"May I ask, Your Majesty, which trading company transported the female slaves in the other three ships on the pier? We have never seen them in Tianzhu..."
Zhu Jingyuan didn't have to answer, but he gave a misleading answer with a smile:
"It was sent by the Ottomans. Of course you can't see it in Tianzhu."
The Barbary pirates were originally vassals of the Ottoman vassal, and they would continue to move to Mozhou with the Ottomans.
Of course these female slaves were sent by the Ottomans. This answer is completely consistent with reality.
Gu and Lu suddenly realized that it was completely normal for Osman to sell female slaves.
However, Ottoman's supply of goods is no longer as sufficient as that of Nan Tianzhu.
The Ottoman population was not as large as that of South India. The key was that South India had just experienced a war of attrition.
Men have died in large numbers in the past dozen years, leaving an absurdly high proportion of women.
When the two sides really compete, Tianzhu has sufficient supply and is cheaper.
