Daming Town Haiwang

Chapter 1834, A Day of Slave Freedom

The slave market is crowded with people, and it is very lively.

Slaves were trafficked like livestock, and the dark side of human nature was fully released in the slave market.

Emperor Hongzhi looked at it for a while, then shook his head slightly and left.

There were a lot of slave trades in the previous Ming Dynasty. Rich families like to buy some little girls to use as maids, or they use these little girls as dowry gifts for young ladies, and some of them buy them home as slaves. Room maids and the like.

As for men, they are often used by current people and servants. Being a slave is not a joke, but a real servant, like an animal in the master's house. Even if he is beaten to death by the master, the official side It doesn't matter either.

Later, under Liu Jin's insistence, Daming announced the abolition of slaves and servants. Of course, this was only for Daming people. No one is allowed to enslave Daming people, and all agreements and contracts such as slave trading are null and void.

Therefore, on the local side of the Ming Dynasty, more and more rich families began to buy foreign slaves to be used as maids and housemaids. As for male slaves, they were not allowed to appear in the mainland of the Ming Dynasty.

Overseas, especially in the provinces of Nanyang, slaves are very common. Every year, millions of slaves are trafficked here, so that the number of slaves here has increased year by year, and now it has exceeded tens of millions.

These slaves became an indispensable labor force in the large plantation economy in several Nanyang provinces.

Although Emperor Hongzhi couldn't stand the slave trade like this, he didn't think about banning the slave trade or liberating these slaves.

The economy of Nanyang relies on these slaves to provide labor. Moreover, the reason why the people of Ming Dynasty in Nanyang can live a prosperous life is not based on the exploitation and extraction of slaves.

"Liu Jin, after these slaves are bought and sold, will there be a day of freedom?"

Emperor Hongzhi asked Liu Jin as he walked.

"Of course there is~"

"According to the slave law promulgated by our Ming Empire, slaves can also be freed sometimes."

"The first situation is that the slaves work until they are 60 years old. According to our tradition of respecting the old and loving the young, the slave owner must return freedom to the 60-year-old slave, and also give a certain amount of money and food so that the slave can survive after he is free. go down."

"The second situation is that after the death of the slave, the slave owner must burn the slave contract of the slave to show that he is free again and leads to the world of bliss as a free body."

"The third situation is that the slave owner feels that the slave has worked hard for him, or has made great contributions. After the slave owner reports to the government for review, he can also give the slave freedom."

"The fourth situation is that after giving birth to the slave owner, the female slave only needs to have four children. According to our tradition that mothers are more expensive than children, they can also be free. Of course, under normal circumstances, as long as they have children, the slave owner will generally Give her the status and treatment of a concubine."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jin hurriedly told Emperor Hongzhi in detail.

The Slave Act was formulated by Liu Jin alone. Liu Jin is naturally the clearest about the various provisions in it. Although Emperor Hongzhi reviewed the Slave Act, he must have not read it carefully, or it has long been forgotten. Two clean.

"Well, that's how it should be."

Emperor Hongzhi nodded in satisfaction after hearing this.

After all, the Ming Empire was a state of etiquette and civilization. Although it also had slavery, it had to behave differently from other regions.

It is also necessary to give slaves some hope and momentum. This not only reflects that Ming Dynasty is a state of etiquette and civilization, but also can greatly reduce the conflict between slaves and slave owners.

The two were chatting, wandering around Crescent City very casually, and came to the government office of Crescent City before they knew it.

In the huge open space at the entrance of the Fuya, the flagpole stands tall, and the Daming Dragon Flag is constantly fluttering on it.

Under the dragon flag, a large number of people gathered together to take a closer look at these.

Surprisingly, they were all slaves, because these people did not look like Orientals at first glance. They were all blond and blue-eyed, with high noses and deep eyes. There were a large number of men and women.

Many women came with their children in their arms. As for the male slaves, they put on clean clothes and shoes one by one.

"What is this doing?"

Liu Jin pulled a passerby and asked curiously.

"What else can I do, of course it's a free day every month."

The passer-by asked curiously.

"Freedom Day?"

Liu Jin was even more puzzled.

"It is the day when the slaves are given freedom. On this day, the officials and lords of Crescent Moon City will announce to the slaves who are eligible for the restoration of their freedom that they have been freed, and at the same time grant them the status of Ming people."

The passer-by patiently explained.

"Oh, so it is~"

Liu Jin immediately understood that he had mentioned this matter to Emperor Hongzhi just now, but he did not expect such a coincidence that it happened to be a free day once a month.

Emperor Hongzhi and Liu Jin naturally decided to stay and take a good look at the process of this free day.

Here in the venue, the slave owners are well dressed, and there are rows of slaves standing behind them. Not all the slaves were freed, some of them were brought here to have a look, let these slaves have a look, and see how others are freed , so as to give them hope and let them work hard, so that they can be free as soon as possible.

Tang Quan, an official from Crescent City, was wearing a four-rank official mansion, holding a list in his hand.

"Slave Chen Baqi~"

Following Tang Quan's words, a 60-year-old slave stood up excitedly.

It can be seen that this slave is relatively old, but his body is quite good. He is strong and tall, and he is a Slav.

I used to be a serf, but was plundered by the Tatars and sold as a slave to the Ming people, and then came to Nanyang and became a slave, because I am already in my forties and have worked for more than ten years. It's 60 years old.

According to the Ming Slave Act, he can now be free and become a free Ming citizen.

The original name has been forgotten, his master is Master Chen, so he was named Chen Baqi according to the order of slaves, which means the eighty-seventh slave.

"My lord!"

Chen Baqi fell to his knees and lowered his head.

"Slave Chen Baqi, who has been a slave all his life, has now reached the year of Jiazi. According to the Slave Act of the Ming Empire, we respect our tradition of respecting the old and loving the young. Now the government announces that the slave Chen Baqi, starting today, you will officially resume Freedom, and become my people, from now on allegiance to the Son of Heaven!"

Tang Quan looked at the slave in front of him, and immediately announced loudly that Chen Baqi was free again.

"Thank you, my lord~ Thank you, my lord!"

After hearing this, Chen Baqi kowtowed excitedly. He was so excited and happy that he was finally free.

Although they are both 60 years old, they are free after all. They have been slaves all their lives.

"Hmm~"

Tang Quan nodded in satisfaction and said, "Remember, from now on you are a citizen of Daming, and the object of allegiance is the Son of Ming."

"I remember, I remember~"

Chen Baqi nodded repeatedly.

"Master Chen~"

Tang Quan immediately nodded to Master Chen.

Master Chen immediately understood, and immediately took out Chen Baqi's slave contract and showed it to everyone: "This is Chen Baqi's slave contract, and now I will officially burn it down."

After speaking, he threw the slave contract into the brazier beside him, and with the burning of the fire, the slave contract was completely burned.

Immediately, Master Chen took out ten silver dollars and a land contract and said: "This is a land contract for ten silver dollars and a land of 2 acres. Now I will give these ten silver dollars and 2 acres of land to Chen Baqi. Thank you for his hard work for my Chen family over the years."

Master Chen showed the ten silver dollars and the land contract to everyone, and besides showing them, he also handed these two things into Chen Baqi's hands.

"Thank you sir, thank you sir!"

Chen Baqi hurriedly knelt down again and kowtowed continuously. He has been a slave all his life. He never thought that one day he would get 10 taels of silver and own his own land. The whole person was so happy and excited.

"Well, you can come to me at any time if you have any difficulties in the future."

Master Chen nodded with a smile.

For the 60-year-old slave, the people of Ming Dynasty still have to pay attention to it.

Respecting the old and caring for the young is an excellent traditional virtue. At the age of 60, I have worked for you all my life. Even the cattle and horses in the family should be treated kindly, let alone slaves.

Treating these people well is not only a tradition, but it can also earn you a good reputation. This is also very important. Sometimes reputation is more important than anything else, and everything is precious.

Daming has always paid attention to the word filial piety, and respecting the elderly is also a part of filial piety. Even if you are a slave, you still have to respect and give what is due.

If you don't give it, if the reputation is bad, it will be difficult in the future. It is estimated that everyone will not be too willing to marry a daughter and a daughter-in-law.

Especially for those scholars, people with status and status, they value their reputation even more, and they will definitely not marry a family with a bad reputation.

If a person has a good reputation, even if his family background is average, he can be appreciated by many people. It has always been a tradition to value righteousness and despise wealth.

In the past, many wealthy men were very happy to marry their daughters to those poor scholars. Not only did they value the potential of the scholars, but more importantly, these scholars often had extremely good character and reputation.

Emperor Hongzhi and Liu Jin watched silently. One slave after another was named and then freed. Most of them were female slaves. After giving birth to children, they were freed and became concubines at home. And so on, there are also a few who have made great contributions to the master, so the master specially gave him freedom.

(End of this chapter)