April 8, 1651, fine.

The slave trade was nearing its end at this time, and the Klandians, who had arrived only yesterday afternoon, had brought thousands of slaves to Tian Xing. They were all losers in tribal annexation wars, and belonged to a population that the new conquerors could not digest, and in the previous Klandic tradition, they had only a small chance of being left as slaves, and in most cases were killed to prevent future trouble.

Knowing that the people on the other side of the Wujiang were now interested in slaves and were willing to pay a price, which was obviously the most important factor, the conquerors who had won the war were no longer willing to let these prisoners die in vain. They could exchange iron, food, cloth, liquor, and many other useful gadgets from the Easterners, and the prisoners of war or slaves in exchange would be a good enough adult male population and possess high-quality weapons from the Easterners, so it would not matter if they could attack and plunder other tribes as much as they wanted!

Tian Xing ignored the Klandians who were happily watching the East Coasters unload their goods from pack horses, and instead looked at the dejected, staring "River Slaves" with his hands behind his back—a term that generally refers to slaves who lost their freedom for various reasons in the tribal annexation wars in the River Valley.

These slaves were very tall, generally between 1.7 and 1.8 meters - the Indians of this era were generally very tall, and the further south they were in South America, the Tverche people who were further south than the Klandis were no less than 1.8 meters tall, and the Patagoni and Ona people who were further south were generally about 2.2 meters. However, these people are tall enough, but their bodies are obviously very thin. His face was also chronically malnourished. It can be seen that the reason why these people are so tall is definitely different from the reason why the figure of later Europeans increased dramatically after the industrial revolution. Their growth in height is mostly due to genetic factors, and Europeans are starting to grow taller purely because of nutritional problems.

With such a thin body, it's not necessarily enough to toss when it comes to lifting weights! Tian Xing was a little worried, as evidenced by the large number of Araucans enslaved by Spain in Chile, who were thin, ate crude food, and did heavy work, and as a result, they died and injured on a large scale in a short time, and were not at all as resistant to black slaves.

However, Tian Xing also understands that he can't pick and choose at this time. There is now a general resistance to the importation of black laborers, even if they are sent back to South Africa in a few years. In addition, it is becoming more and more difficult to capture blacks in South Africa, so the executive committee of the poor skills is almost planning to introduce Malay slaves on a large scale, so at this time, if there can be a large number of river slaves, the chief officials in the Wujiang area should secretly laugh - other regions or units do not have such a good thing.

The rammed ground around the ruins of the barracks, and the crowds that frequented the place (all of them were slave traders), led to the growth of mad thistles elsewhere (as the Spaniards did...... It's not often seen in the vicinity. But really, the Krandi people have to thank the Spaniards for accidentally getting the thistles, because these species, which grow as tall as horses in many places, give them a lot of protection. These thistle bushes grow tall and green and dense if not cleaned up often. Many places are actually impassable to people - because people who don't know the geography of the neighborhood are likely to be completely disoriented if they walk in.

The Krandi were people who were familiar with the geography of their vicinity, even the remnants of the rebels who had migrated from the south. After spending two or three years, they are now familiar with the neighborhood. And it is said that their "relatives" in the central and western regions of La Plata often come out to rob and kill people at night under the cover of dense thistle bushes.

Diaspora Spanish peasants, passing Spanish couriers, and even small caravans could be attacked by them. Someone once asked if there were many robbers in the vicinity of the Spanish peasants who lived in La Plata, and the peasants replied, "The thistle has not yet grown", which shows what the security environment is like here.

Tian Xing looked at the panicked slaves for a while, and then lost interest. The chef who was preparing lunch on the side handed him a rabbit rat that was roasted on the outside and tender on the inside, and Tian Xing, who was already a little hungry, unceremoniously took it and ate it. The rabbit rat is a very common rodent in the vicinity, which likes to feed on the roots and stems of plants, and is usually a bit dull - especially at night, this animal likes to crouch quietly at the door of its burrow, even if someone rides by, it does not react, just looks at the rider with a blank face.

After seeing Tian Xing gobbling up the food, the chef simply brought him a table, in addition to another roast rabbit and mouse, there was also a burrowing owl made of yellow mud and stewed in the fire - this flying bird is common in La Plata and the east coast, feeding on rats and snakes, and likes to burrow in the ground (sometimes occupy the burrows of rabbits and rats), the legs of a local common swamp deer, and some bought pickled capybara meat (also a local specialty), mixed vegetables, Finally, there are two bottles of Fragrant Hills dry red wine. It can be seen that even in the wilderness, the pomp and circumstance of wearing the second generation like Tian Xing, who has great prospects, is still quite small - they never treat themselves badly.

Not far ahead, the Klandians were arguing with several East Coast civilians about the "condition" of each slave, as it often depended on the amount of goods they could eventually get back. The Klandians were very nervous, because it was very important to them, and their supplies were always not abundant, which was not good for the development of the tribe, and the salt, cloth, medicine, metal utensils, and even weapons and armor of the people of the east coast were all in desperate need; And the people on the east coast seem to be reluctant to give an inch, but if you are familiar with them, you will find that they are actually a little careless, because some materials are really not a large amount in their eyes, and there are not many people on the east coast, and there is still no shortage of these things that can be produced on a large scale.

The negotiations were finally over after an hour, and the hungry East Coasters, anxious for lunch, made some concessions that seemed to give the Crandians an "advantage," which made them so pleased that they generously gave some Indian children to the East Coasters. These children don't need to be on the east coast, but it's still quite good to send them to South Africa or New China to be servants from an early age, where there will always be some "nouveau riche" who have become rich in recent years and need to buy some relatively reliable slaves—there is no more reliable slave than the children raised since childhood.

The Klandians then began handing over the goods with some of the East Coast Patrol officers, while the heavily armed Ministry of the Interior police, armed with muskets, watched coldly. Although it is not safe that these Krandi people eat black, it is always good to be on guard, what if someone can't think of it?

There were generally no women among the slaves, and there were few children, and most of them were young men, which was determined by the ecology of the Krandi tribe. As is the tradition in the Chinese steppes, women and children are not too much injured in tribal annexation wars, and they are often the "property" of the new conquerors, which is also necessary to perpetuate tribal and racial civilization.

Of the more than 1,000 river slaves sold to the people on the east coast this time, there was naturally not a single woman, and the number of children was only a few dozen - all of them were given as an add-on. The patrolmen of the East Coast had already done a rough inspection before, mainly to see if there were any disabled people among them, and even those who were too thin or sick did not need it, and they naturally would not do such a thing that obviously suffered a loss. Of course, the remaining river slaves picked up by the easterners were generally miserable, and if the conquerors who brought them out to sell were in a good mood, they might have brought them back to continue as slaves until death; If they were in a bad mood or the tribe was not well fed, they would be killed in the blink of an eye, and some of the arrogant Crandic conquerors would not even avoid the East Coasters: they cut these unsellable river slaves in two pieces on the spot, and they showed their cruelty and decisiveness.

"Pack up all these slaves, give each one a loaf of bread, and when they have eaten it, they will set out." While Tian Xing was eating lunch, he slowly instructed the people below. The "tidying" he said in his mouth actually meant tying these river slaves together, which was a method of tying up prisoners on the battlefield, and it was quite appropriate to use it here. Anyway, the morale of these river slaves is very low, and their faces are very numb, as if they have been appointed, so there should be no trouble on the way back to take them. Of course, it doesn't matter if there is trouble, it's very simple, just do it - resolutely suppress it, and the people of the East Coast will never be soft in this regard.

The sun was obscured by dark clouds, the air with the smell of the river was blowing on the grassland, and not far away a group of swamp deer were strolling along the edge of the swamp, eating green weeds; A flock of capybaras swept through the swamp, then stopped in one place, bowed their heads and nibbled on the tender aquatic plants; A few otters lay lazily on the grass by the river, seemingly resting leisurely. Tian Xing looked at this qiē scenery silently, but he was silently pondering in his heart: How can such a fertile soil be given to others? In the future, with the development of the East Bank getting faster and faster, the wild and fertile River Area is destined to belong to the great East Bank Republic!

Think about it, the fertile land has always been the residence of the "virtuous" since ancient times. As for what is a "virtuous person", Tian Xing thinks that whoever has a big fist and a high voice is a "virtuous person" according to his own understanding - what a simple and unbreakable truth! (To be continued......)