Chapter 71

"According to the original rules, the main figures involved in the human trafficking were executed, and the rest were expelled from Shuangyu Port, never to return!" When Zhou Zhong asked, Xie Lingyun answered without hesitation. At the time, many people were involved in human trafficking. Zhou Hai and Xie Lingyun's father, not wanting to cause too much bloodshed, only executed the leaders of the human trafficking syndicate, and the rest of the minor figures were simply driven away.

However, after hearing this punishment, Zhou Zhong coldly snorted and said, "It's too lenient. Today, I, Zhou Zhong, will establish a new rule: anyone involved in human trafficking will be killed!"

As soon as Zhou Zhong finished his last word, he suddenly turned and approached the captives, including Park Won-gang. He drew the sword from Zheng Ling's waist, who was beating the captives, and then fiercely slashed down on Park Won-gang's neck.

A "puh" sound was heard, and Park Won-gang's head fell to the ground. Fresh red blood spurted out several feet, even splashing a few drops onto Zhou Zhong's face, making him look both eerie and cruel.

No one expected Zhou Zhong to suddenly kill someone. For a moment, everyone on the square was stunned, some even maintaining their beating poses, as if frozen in time. Xie Lingyun, along with San Niang, Tu Shu, Sun Tong, and others, all wore expressions of disbelief. To them, Zhou Zhong was just a weak scholar, and it was impossible for him to commit such a violent act.

But what happened next was even more unexpected. After killing Park Won-gang, Zhou Zhong did not stop. Instead, he walked to the front of the managers of the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce, and with a few swift strokes, several more heads fell. Two of them, terrified, begged for mercy, but Zhou Zhong, his face covered in blood, seemed not to hear and still cut them down.

After killing several people in a row, Zhou Zhong raised his head and scanned the crowd. He pointed at the captured girls and children with his blood-soaked sword and said with a murderous look, "Brothers, these people are our fellow countrymen, but they were deceived and trafficked by the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce. Their parents at home are crying and wailing. Tell me, should these people be killed?"

"Kill them!" As soon as Zhou Zhong finished speaking, Zheng Ling and Sun Tong, along with other bloodthirsty men, immediately roared in anger. Sun Tong, who always acted faster than he thought, also followed suit, drawing his sword and killing two captives on the spot. This finally opened the curtain on the massacre. Both the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce and the Xie family rushed to join in, and in no time, nearly two hundred captives were killed, with countless pleas for mercy falling on deaf ears.

In a moment, Xie Lingyun watched helplessly as nearly two hundred captives were slaughtered before her eyes, most of them beheaded, with blood spurting from their severed necks, covering the entire area. The air was soon filled with a thick, pungent smell of blood. Xie Lingyun, already feeling queasy from the smell of roasted meat in the village, could no longer bear it and ran to a secluded spot to vomit. Fortunately, San Niang noticed her condition and hurried over to take care of her.

Zhou Zhong had killed people in his past life, and more than one. However, since those he killed would never be reported to the police, he felt no discomfort now, even after killing several people. Instead, he felt a surge of excitement, as if this was the life he needed.

However, Zhou Zhong quickly calmed down and ordered Sun Tong and others to clean up the battlefield. The bodies were to be thrown into the sea from the cliff beside the village, but all the heads were to be kept, as Zhou Zhong had a use for them.

As Zhou Zhong gave orders, he also made a pleasant discovery: most people looked at him with a mixture of fear and respect, especially those from the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce, led by Sun Tong and Tu Shu, who followed his orders without question. This made Zhou Zhong very happy, as it marked the beginning of his establishment of authority within the chamber. Through such bloody means, he also instilled a sense of fear in the Xie family, including Zheng Ling, which would soon spread throughout Shuangyu Port, making him a leading figure in the port.

The Jeolla Chamber of Commerce's village was quickly cleared out. The goods and ships in the port were considered war spoils, but Xie Lingyun gave everything to Zhou Zhong. Of course, she was not doing a losing business; the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce's water village now belonged to the Xie family and could bring them even greater wealth, so in the end, Xie Lingyun still benefited.

After dividing the spoils, the aftermath was not over. Zhou Zhong had the heads of the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce, over three hundred of them, loaded onto several large carts. According to the plan with Xie Lingyun, both sides sent a hundred people each to follow the carts, which circled the entire North Port area three times.

As soon as the carts loaded with heads arrived at the port, they caused a sensation. After all, no one had ever seen so many heads at once, especially when they saw that many people from the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce were among those escorting the heads, and considering the fire they had seen the night before, many people were very curious and began to discuss the matter.

"Brothers of Shuangyu Port, these heads belong to the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce, a total of 367, not one less. Recently, our Nanyang Chamber of Commerce fell into trouble, and these ingrates not only failed to repay our kindness but also conspired with others to plot against our chamber. They secretly trafficked women and children to Korea, committing heinous crimes that cannot be tolerated. To eliminate this scourge, our Nanyang Chamber of Commerce joined forces with the Xie family chamber in South Port and launched a surprise attack last night..."

The heads were meant for propaganda, so on each cart, a skilled speaker explained the origin of the heads and the crimes of the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce, emphasizing the close relationship between the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce and the Xie family.

Many people knew about the grudges between the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce and the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce. Many had no good feelings toward Park Won-gang and his ilk, and hearing about the trafficking of women and children was like a hornet's nest being disturbed. All the smugglers of the Great Ming Dynasty cursed the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce and praised the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce and the Xie family for eliminating such a menace.

However, compared to the ordinary smugglers, the other major chambers in the North Port area had more to consider. They were not concerned about the fall of the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce; what shocked them was that the action was carried out by the suddenly appearing young master of the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce, who had brutally slaughtered over three hundred people. This cold and bloody method made them feel a chill and increased their respect for the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce.

Worse still, the Xie family had joined forces with the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce. Although the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce was not as powerful as it used to be, it was still stronger than most medium-sized chambers, which was why the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce, the Ise Chamber of Commerce, and the Kōri Chamber of Commerce had to join forces to take action against it.

Now, the declining Nanyang Chamber of Commerce had allied with the dominant Xie family in the South Port. The Xie family was one of the four major powers in Shuangyu Port, and the entire South Port was under their control, with only minor chambers that relied on the Xie family for survival. In a sense, the entire South Port was the Xie family's private port.

With the Xie family's power, now allied with the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce, and the elimination of the Jeolla Chamber of Commerce, it was clear that the two chambers had likely formed a secret alliance. This was a significant event for the many large and small chambers in the North Port. Now, they had to decide their stance and how to interact with the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce and the Xie family in the future.

As the saying goes, every family has its own troubles. After returning to the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce and officially taking over the chamber's affairs, Zhou Zhong found another headache: the chamber's financial situation was not optimistic.

"Master, the chamber now owns a shipyard with 137 craftsmen, the western side of the Sha'ao wharf in the North Port is under our management, and there is also a smuggling fleet under Sun Tong's command, consisting of six three-masted ships and twelve smaller vessels. However, except for two new ships, the rest are old and may be dangerous for long voyages to places like Nanyang," San Niang briefly introduced the chamber's current assets in the main hall of the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce.

"Hmm!" Zhou Zhong flipped through the chamber's ledger. The ancient ledgers were all written in text, not in the tabular form of later times, which made Zhou Zhong's head spin, and he could not understand the chamber's financial situation. Finally, he had to give up this futile effort, put down the ledger, and asked San Niang, "San Niang, how are the chamber's current assets performing? How much profit can we expect at the end of the year?"

Upon hearing Zhou Zhong's question, San Niang smiled bitterly and said, "Master, the chamber has no profit. It would be good if we can settle all the bills by the end of the year."

"Debt again?" Zhou Zhong sighed, his face full of helplessness. He had just paid off his family's debts, but now, after taking over the chamber, he had to deal with more debt. Was it because he had not paid off his bank loans in his previous life that he had to continue paying debts in this life?