Chapter 70

Today's weather was particularly good, with a clear blue sky without a single cloud. The distant sea and sky seemed to merge into one, making it hard to distinguish where the sea ended and the sky began. A fiery sun slowly rose, bringing a rare warmth to the cold winter. If one were to sit in a chair and bask in the sunlight at this moment, it would truly be a rare pleasure.

Unfortunately, not everything under the sun was beautiful. Zhou Chong and Xie Lingyun slowly walked through the water village of the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce. Most of the buildings on this land had been burned to ashes, and among the piles of broken beams and pillars, occasional wisps of black smoke still rose.

Although the bodies had been removed, the large patches of blood on the ground testified to the fierce battle that had taken place here. The air was still filled with the smell of roasted meat, which made Xie Lingyun and the third lady behind her look very uncomfortable, even to the point of wanting to vomit, though nothing came out.

The surprise attack last night had gone very smoothly, far exceeding Zhou Chong's expectations. No one had anticipated that the president of the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce, Park Won-gang, and several managers would be so drunk that they remained unconscious. It wasn't until Sun Tong dragged them out of bed that they finally woke up, and even then, some of them were still cursing drunkenly. Only after Sun Tong slapped them several times did Park Won-gang and the others finally come to their senses.

The results of the battle were tallied this morning: out of the 370 people in the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce, over 100 were killed or burned to death. The remaining 200 or so, apart from those who surrendered on the spot, mostly fled to the port. Unfortunately, Zheng Ling had already burned all the small boats, making it impossible for them to escape by sea. Even if they managed to get on a boat, the water gates had been destroyed, making it difficult to escape.

Trapped between the pursuing forces and the sea, some of them jumped into the port's water. Unfortunately, due to the cold weather, many froze to death in the sea. Those who didn't dare jump into the sea surrendered on the spot. Of course, a few lucky or exceptionally skilled Koreans managed to escape to the edge of the water village and climb over the walls, but they were just a few individuals and did not affect the overall situation. After this battle, the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce was almost completely annihilated.

In fact, achieving such a significant victory was not surprising. After all, the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce was just a group of smugglers. Although they had weapons, they were ultimately just civilians and could not compare to a regular army. At best, they were a band of bandits who could only fight when the wind was in their favor. When faced with a surprise attack at night, they had no time to react, and without a leader to organize them, they were naturally defeated.

In the end, it was found that 180 Koreans had surrendered. They were now bound and squatting in an open area of the water village, guarded by people from the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce and the Xie family. Although the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce and the Xie family also had casualties, the losses were minimal due to the rapid collapse of the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce.

Zhou Chong and Xie Lingyun walked to the square where the prisoners were being held. Sun Tong, who was in charge of the guards, immediately came forward and reported, "Young Master, all 186 prisoners from the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce are here. What should we do with them?"

Zhou Chong nodded and then surveyed the Koreans squatting on the ground. Among them, a few in the front were wearing silk undergarments, clearly indicating they were high-ranking members of the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce, and Park Won-gang was likely among them. Behind them were over a hundred Koreans, their bodies blackened from the smoke, some with serious injuries, covered in blood, and even a few with missing limbs. Xie Lingyun's eyes showed a hint of pity at the sight of these prisoners.

Just as Zhou Chong was about to ask Sun Tong how the chamber usually handled prisoners, a sound of crying and wailing came from the direction of the port, which made everyone turn to look.

Soon, Zheng Ling and his son Zheng Longhai led a group of people from the port. In the middle of their group were about twenty or thirty crying and wailing young girls. Most of these girls were around thirteen or fourteen years old, dressed in tattered clothes, and their faces were dirty, but upon closer inspection, they were all quite beautiful.

In addition to these girls, there were also a dozen or so boys in the group, mostly around six or seven years old, and like the girls, they were all very good-looking. Perhaps because of their young age, they were even more frightened, their eyes wide with terror, and they couldn't even cry.

"Aunt, where did these girls and boys come from?" Xie Lingyun asked, puzzled.

However, Zheng Ling did not immediately answer. Instead, he rushed to the group of prisoners and started punching and kicking the high-ranking members of the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce, cursing as he did so, "You bastards, I'll make you pay for trafficking women and children. I'll rip out your hearts and livers and drink them with wine today!"

Although Zheng Ling was not young, he had practiced martial arts since he was young and was very strong. Each punch and kick had the power to break wood and split stones. With his full strength, and the prisoners unable to resist, they soon began to scream in pain, their faces swollen and bruised.

Hearing Zheng Ling's curses, Zhou Chong and Xie Lingyun seemed to understand. At this moment, Zheng Longhai also stepped forward to explain, "Master Zhou, Cousin, the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce is truly despicable. We found these girls and children in the bottom cabins of two large ships at the port. According to the guards, these girls and children were all abducted from the Ming Dynasty and were to be sold in Korea."

"What?" Zhou Chong's hair stood on end, and his eyes flashed with a terrifying light. Xie Lingyun, standing beside him, was also filled with anger, and any sympathy she had for the prisoners was gone.

"Damn the ancestors of the Koreans! Our Han merchants have a strict rule against human trafficking. I never thought Park Won-gang would be so bold as to traffic women and children. If we hadn't caught them today, everyone would have been deceived!" At this moment, Uncle Tu, who had been following Zhou Chong, also said angrily.

The news of the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce's human trafficking quickly spread, and it truly enraged everyone. Both the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce and the Xie family gathered in the square and started beating the prisoners. For a time, the square turned into a scene of mass beating, with several people "serving" each prisoner.

The reason for the anger of the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce and the Xie family was understandable. Initially, as smuggling developed, Koreans and Japanese also came to Shuangyu Port. At first, they did legitimate business with the smugglers, trading silk, porcelain, and other goods. However, over time, some Japanese and Koreans began to have sinister ideas.

In the Central Plains, although dynasties changed, it was always the undisputed hegemon of the surrounding countries. Both Korea and Japan regarded themselves as vassals. This mindset may have caused people from these countries to feel a sense of inferiority when facing the people of the Central Plains.

For example, during the Song Dynasty, there were cases of unmarried Uyghur women and Japanese women seeking out Song men, having intercourse with them, and then returning home when they were pregnant, a practice known as "duzhong." These women, who carried the blood of Song men, were not only not discriminated against but were even honored, and men of their own ethnicity competed to marry them. (Note: This is a historical fact, not a fabrication. You can search for "duzhong" on Baidu for more information.)

This sense of inferiority made the blood of the Central Plains people highly valued in the eyes of the people of Korea and Japan. This was not surprising, as the Central Plains had always been the cultural center of East Asia and was naturally revered by surrounding countries. However, when coastal smuggling began in the Ming Dynasty, a very bad situation arose.

For example, in small countries like Korea and Japan, some nobles, out of admiration for Central Plains culture, not only enjoyed reading Han books and speaking the Han language but also dreamed of owning a Central Plains beauty. Unfortunately, the people of the Central Plains always regarded the surrounding small countries as barbarians, and women would rather marry beggars in their own country than go to those barbarian lands. Therefore, it was almost impossible for these nobles to obtain Han beauties through normal means.

Because of this demand and the prevalence of smuggling, some Japanese and Koreans began to collude with some corrupt elements among the Central Plains people to abduct young girls and sell them to the Japanese and Koreans. Most of these girls came from coastal areas.

Most of the people involved in smuggling, whether from the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce or the Xie family, were also from coastal areas and had been forced into smuggling due to their difficult lives. The girls abducted by the human traffickers were often their fellow villagers, and in some cases, even their sisters. This is why most of the Ming Dynasty's smugglers deeply detested human traffickers.

Fortunately, this situation did not last long. A few years ago, Zhou Chong's father, Zhou Hai, as one of the dominant figures in Shuangyu Port, joined forces with the Xie family and other major Ming chambers to eliminate several Japanese and Korean chambers involved in human trafficking. They then established strict rules prohibiting human trafficking, effectively curbing this evil practice. However, it was shocking that less than ten years later, someone dared to engage in human trafficking right under their noses, completely disregarding their strict orders.

"Miss Xie, according to the rules established by my father and the Xie family and other chambers, how should we deal with these human traffickers?" Zhou Chong asked through gritted teeth. If these girls were sold to Korea, they would surely become playthings, and the boys would suffer even more, as they would become the playthings of perverted nobles, living a life of endless suffering. Therefore, these people must not be spared!