After a while, the guests, watermen, and boatmen on the deck were divided into several groups according to the identity certificates they presented. Even some passengers who were seasick or sick during the journey were helped out and received face-to-face visits. Among them, only the students and scholars received the most preferential treatment.
There was almost no search, I just chatted with the elders for a few words, and the others glanced at him and passed by. Secondly, there were the monks and Taoists on the ship who only asked a few simple questions; thirdly, there were the common merchants who spoke with some obscure Fujian accents;
On the contrary, they were quite strict with the members of the juggling team. Not only were they searched one by one, but they also had all their props and household items brought out and rummaged through them carefully before finally giving them a few words of warning. As for Jiang Tian, he just asked those around him to show his identity card.
The sergeants and soldiers who boarded the ship never came near his corner again. Because this is one of the cover methods prepared in advance; the robber catching Sima from Yangzhou Prefecture officially awarded the Guangling Express Team a token of identity. They can also be regarded as peers in these maritime inspections.
"Escaped slaves? How is this possible..." The thick and dark bow of the boat couldn't help but said in surprise: "To say that there were some vassal slaves who escaped on the island and wanted to go ashore to ask for mercy, but this is going to Yizhou Official ships! How could there be slaves and maidservants who escaped from the Central Plains and fled to the outer vassals!"
"That's right, in recent years, the business of Renyazi in various places has almost been abandoned. There are vassals who have absconded from other vassals everywhere." Another traveler with a face full of vicissitudes, who was guarding the cargo on the deck, also took advantage of the situation and said: "I'm just waiting for the imperial court to grant me amnesty and become a naturalized person."
"I am also doing it under orders!" The bearded patrol military academy also complained helplessly: "This is an urgent mission ordered by the superiors. It is said that many feudal settlements in coastal areas are empty, and they are worried about fleeing to Yizhou. If we let them gather together, I'm afraid something big will happen."
While they were talking, Yigan, who had been forced to stay in the bottom warehouse, and other watermen who looked like other sects were also brought out. They stood hunched on the deck and smiled slyly, accepting the captain's name and identification one by one. The patrolling military academy who boarded the ship did not appear to be embarrassed or targeted.
I just carefully inspected their arms, legs, feet, armpits, lower backs, etc. After confirming some traces of long-term work on a long ship, I basically skipped it. Until the last waterman, a thin man with disheveled beard and hair, suddenly stopped and said, "Is it interesting?"
"Commander, don't get me wrong." At this time, the captain quickly explained: "This is the new vassal I hired on the island to replace the husband who died of colic. The one in Jilongshan Those who have been registered in the Shiguan People's Bank; the military commander can check when he comes back to make sure that the guards have complete records."
Despite this, no matter how much the captain begged and appealed, and tried to lure the general to a corner and have a good negotiation, in the end, the skinny waterman, who couldn't even speak clearly, was still taken away from the ship. After skipping this interlude, Jilongshan Port is not far away.
As one of the major ports and cities in Yizhou, Jilongshan Port got its name because of the bowl-shaped mountain shape that resembled an overturned chicken coop that was first seen on the distant coastline; it was also the reason why Liang Gong sent people to open up Yizhou. The island was one of the first coastal strongholds established and gradually penetrated inland;
Therefore, the port area alone covers a huge area, and the dock areas along the coast are several miles wide, and are densely packed with at least hundreds of docks and trestles that go deep into the sea; The ships also have masts like forests and sails like clouds.
Behind the port area, there are tens of miles of residential areas stacked on top of each other, with various shanties, thatched houses, mud houses, small courtyards, mansions, government offices, and ancestral temples; from low to high, you can pick them up along the low and gentle hills. Go up the stairs; the streets and alleys, as dense as a spider web, stretch endlessly like a maze.
However, compared to the predecessor of Dongning Prefecture, which was based on mountain people and Yi immigrants from Fujian, when the Jilongshan Port in Pingbei Prefecture was first established, Japanese people from the north accounted for a larger proportion. Later, it became a transfer point for recruiting immigrants from vassals from various countries in the East China Sea to fill households in the South China Sea.
Later, a large number of Yin Shang survivors from Xinzhou/Beiju Luzhou in the distant ocean landed here for a period of cultivation and training, and then went to the interior of the Central Plains to make a living or make a living. In addition, the trade exchanges between the vassals of the North Sea and the East China Sea and the princes of the South China Sea became increasingly prosperous.
Therefore, the Hong Kong city at the foot of Keelung Mountain is filled with diverse elements described in later film and television works. There are Tianzhu people with their heads and arms exposed, Persians wrapped in tall hats and long robes, short Japanese people wearing rickety cloth shirts with hooded heads; Yin people wearing long blouses with right lapels and feather crowns on their heads, and Australian people with grass crowns;
And from the southern Shanzhou (African continent) in the outer seas, the real Kunlun slaves with charcoal skin and the short and dark little Kunlun slaves (South China Sea islanders) work almost side by side in the tidal flats and sand; behind them are as if they are stretching. Endless paddy fields, cane bushes, orchards and melon fields.
However, apart from a few lookout towers and simple fences, there were almost no supervisors directly holding sticks and whips; it was as if these Kunlun slave groups were born with a love for work; occasionally, some could be heard , unexplained singing and shouting.
Therefore, although Yizhou Island is only separated from the Minzhong Road by a strait, once you land on the island, it is as if you are suddenly transported to the splendid and exotic mountains and rivers. Although most buildings are of Chinese-earth style, as long as you take a closer look, you will find many differences in details.
For example, the door carvings and flower rails in the shape of naked bodies embracing each other are obviously from Tianzhu and the South China Sea countries, or the Persian mosaics full of symmetrical flames, vines, flowers and fruits and other complex patterns; The totem pole is such a chaotic era that makes people turn a blind eye.
In the market, which is several miles long and half a mile wide, between the residential area and the docks and storage areas of the port, there are signs and flags with various shapes and patterns; all kinds of bulk goods are sold. This is a peculiar flow phenomenon brought about by the era of great expansion initiated by Liang Gong.
Although after Taixing was reformed, the imperial court gradually enacted legislation prohibiting the use of Chinese people as debt slaves, and could only sign contracts for long-term employment; at the same time, it encouraged people who could not survive due to famine to move overseas; as a result, more and more people in the Tang Dynasty sold themselves into slavery. If there are few, the abused slaves will flee to benefit the public.
But on the other hand, a large number of vassal people imported from overseas became an important source of supplementary labor force for these lower-class workers; because the laws of the Tang Dynasty did not expressly protect these ethnic groups who were not educated by the king and did not bear corvee taxes; they were only allowed to work in After two generations of hard work, Zhongtu became naturalized.
However, with the end of the century-old great expedition, the pattern of numerous overseas princes gradually stabilized; these overseas vassals formed the inertia of spontaneous migration towards the Eastern Land and the Tang Dynasty. Because the foreign countries where most people originally lived were too difficult and dangerous.
And even if he was a slave in the Eastern Tang Dynasty, he could still survive by working as a cow or a horse in a better environment. They no longer have to worry about being precarious and being bullied and tortured by chiefs, nobles and enemy tribes; if they perform well, they can even get a designated marriage, and they will be naturalized after two or three generations.
Therefore, among many foreign princes, a mature social structure was born. Immigrants from the Tang Dynasty and descendants of native Tang people were the first-class vassal scholars and good men; naturalized people such as Fusang, Silla, and Bohae were the second-class civilians/foremen. The tamed native barbarians are the third-class subjects.
In regular overseas slave-catching campaigns, the captives, savages and defeated foreign captives became the fourth-lowest slaves. Among them, according to the characteristics of different regions and environments, they are subdivided into three, six, and nine grades, which contain and oppose each other through differential treatment.
It can be said that in such a peak period of feudal society; through the self-taught skills of these foreign vassal princes, the methods of later modern colonists, as well as the essence and advantages of experience and lessons, were brought into full play according to local conditions. It has also become the source of criticism from domestic traditionalists.
Thinking like this slowly, Jiang Tian strolled on the straight avenue that ran through the port area and extended to the residential area on the top of the slope; from time to time he tasted the local drinks and snacks sold on the street; he frequently refused the vendors who filled the streets. Weird and strange things eagerly touted and marketed.
From small pieces carved from bones, wood, and aragonite, to living parrots, orioles, or tarsiers; venomous snakes and gallbladders that were played with and dissected on site; Tianzhu’s secret medicine that is said to strengthen the essence and marrow; clams and clams fished from the seabed Tortoiseshell, giant conch; black iron or copper-clad naked statue.
Of course, there are also pickpockets and thieves who are hard to guard against among the bustling and flowing crowds. The former looks clean and respectable, and speaks kindly; but he has quick eyes and quick hands, while the latter is a group of gangsters, squeezing and bumping into each other when they can.
Therefore, when Jiang Tian walked down this long street, he saw at least three similar pickpocketing behaviors; only one of them was caught in public, and then in front of a accustomed crowd of onlookers, he was punched and kicked so hard that his mouth and nose bleeded. , and then casually dragged away by the police patrolling the streets.
In addition, there are others who are suspected of being scammers; such as well-dressed businessmen or pretty girls wearing heavy makeup. Then, under the pretext of being forced to sell family heirlooms, or asking for help due to violence, they will be lured to remote alleys or small shops on the streets for further seduction...
Of course, relying on Jiang Tian's extraordinary eyesight and hearing, we can find that the people in this generation choose people who seem to be particular and targeted; for example, they only target foreigners who have just arrived, or people who seem confused and ignorant. New customers; but also avoid some seemingly untouchable beings.
For example, when Jiang Tian was walking on this street, there were basically no pickpockets or thieves approaching. Occasionally, a young woman pretending to be a mistaken identity tried to come over; she was also drunk in a street shop. Cha Wangfeng's suspected accomplice rushed out and stopped him.
Therefore, Jiang Tian was able to walk out of the harbor city and the residential area at the back end without any worries, and ate a large plate of local specialties at a small shop outside the wall, including clams, scallops, stone crabs, barnacles, conches, etc. Cook fish roe porridge; then board the long carriage to Taiping Prefecture.
The several followers who came with him to provide cover had already disappeared into the crowd in advance. In other words, from this moment on, their mission is basically over. Next, they investigated clues related to Donghai Society, and this order was issued through Linghu Xiaomu.
As the subordinates she gathered along the way, these few low-level personnel who were originally part of the Wude Department but were frustrated; with the ready-made rewards and incentives, they seemed to be quite motivated; therefore, for them, Jiang Tian was just a fellow traveler with another mission.
(End of chapter)
