Chapter 619: Like Flies Swarming to Stench

In the second month of the thirty-fourth year of the First Emperor's reign, as spring breezes stirred and ice melted into snowmelt, southern Liao was the first to welcome the merchants of the "Haidong Trading Company"…

The thirteen great magnates, their lives precious, would naturally never risk the sea themselves. They dispatched their own concubine-born sons and nephews in their stead. These young men, riding the fitful southern winds aboard their own ships, were the first to reach the southern Liao port of Lüshun, which had already been formally assigned to Jiaodong Commandery as an independent county.

It was said that Liaodong Commandery had protested this, arguing that Lüshun should belong to Liaodong on the grounds that it lay within Liaodong's territory. But the imperial court compared the time it took for Jiaodong and Liaodong to dispatch officials to Lüshun: Jiaodong needed only two days at the fastest, while Liaodong required at least twenty…

Furthermore, the annual tax revenue Jiaodong could submit to the court was nine times that of Liaodong!

Even setting aside who the commandery governors were, just looking at the tax figures, which commandery spoke with a firmer voice in the court — need one even ask?

And so the dispute ended there. The entire long coastline of southern Liao was assigned to Jiaodong, leaving Liaodong with nothing to do but sulk.

When the merchant sons arrived at Lüshun, over a thousand pelts paid as tribute by the nearby Yi tribes had already been stockpiled there: just like the Ba people paying well salt, cinnabar, and chicken feathers, these bizarre and motley goods in kind were the taxes of the barbarian chieftains under the empire's rule. One could hardly expect them to hand over grain they themselves did not have enough to eat.

Although the Haidong Trading Company's motto was "earn money together," there was still competition among its members. Take this thousand sable pelts at Lüshun, for example: if divided equally, the profit would be thin and disputes and discord would easily arise.

The thirteen merchant houses dealt in different trades — some specialized in silk, some in sugar — but when it came to return cargo, apart from Daojian's interest in slaves, most had their eyes unmistakably on furs. Heifu thus divided the region into thirteen territories, and each house would use a "bidding" method to compete for the territory they fancied, winning the exclusive right to purchase furs there!

Lüshun was indisputably the most sought-after, for it was the closest — a round trip took only five or six days, saving a great deal on shipping costs — and the local barbarians proactively delivered their pelts to the government office. All you needed to do was ship them back; it was the safest bet.

The bidding among the merchants was fierce. In the end, the Pang clan of Linzi won the fur-purchasing rights for Lüshun with a high bid, buying at a price slightly below the Linzi market rate. As for how much they could sell the finished sable coats for in the Central Plains, that depended on the Pang clan's own ability.

The Pang clan's ship sailed back satisfied, laden with over a thousand pelts. The remaining ships could only press onward.

…

Upon reaching the archipelago of scattered islands, several ships that had unloaded grain at Lüshun broke away from the main fleet. The huge nets everywhere on board made it clear that their target was not the land, but the sea!

As they neared the islands, the seawater shifted from deep blue to azure. A young man leaned over the gunwale, staring below and shouting:

"Fish! Nothing but fish!"

The Pan clan of Yeyi had been in the sea-fish trade for generations, but in this era, they could only fish in coastal waters. After centuries of continuous Qi fishing, both the size and numbers of fish in the Laizhou Bay coastal grounds had somewhat dwindled. Hearing that the southern Liao coast was teeming with fishing grounds, and having already invested money in the company, they simply sent a son to take a look.

Sure enough, this untouched virgin territory truly held countless fish! The sea fish in the shallows were so dense that you could lower a basket at random and pull it up brimming with fish!

After just one casual afternoon of netting, the cabin and the deck were completely covered in sea fish…

When he returned to Yeyi several days later, besides a whole ship of salted fish, the merchant's son described the scene he had witnessed to his father thus: "Set up a cauldron, and before the water even heats, you've already caught enough fish for supper!"

…

The Fan clan of Jibei, whose purse was too light to win a good territory at auction, had their eyes fixed on Xi'anping, which was not even under Jiaodong's jurisdiction. They believed that in the boundless, inscrutable wilderness and mountain forests east of Liaodong, some commercial opportunity might also be lurking…

After mooring at Xi'anping, the eldest son of the Fan clan took his men and thoroughly explored the market there.

With the stationing of several thousand Qin troops, Xi'anping had grown much livelier. On every market day, besides Liaodong residents, barbarians from Zhenfan, Buyeo, and even Sushen would come here to trade, exchanging their mountain goods for items from the Central Plains.

The stalls were a jumble, filled with unfamiliar tongues, a clamor of shouts and calls. Trade was essentially barter: both sides laid out their goods, pointed at each other's items — a shake of the head meant no, a nod meant yes, and a resounding clap of the hands sealed the deal. Then each would leave, beaming with satisfaction, carrying their desired goods.

Of course, there were also those who, failing to agree, drew blades on each other. Such troublemakers were swiftly seized by the patrolling Qin soldiers.

Besides bear, wolf, tiger, and deer pelts being hawked everywhere, the Fan clan's eldest son also discovered many types of mushrooms. There were matsutake he could name, and many more he could not. To prove they were edible, a Zhenfan man actually chewed one raw on the spot! Fortunately, the man did not keel over foaming at the mouth and die on the spot…

Beyond that, there were precious medicinal ingredients like deer antler and musk, astonishingly cheap here. He also noticed that at a Buyeo man's stall, there was a kind of rhizome plant, its root tendrils resembling fennel root, ginger-yellow in color, but larger than fennel root.

"What is this?"

The Fan clan's eldest son had his interpreter ask for him. The Buyeo man, who had been idly carving a bone flute, saw someone inquiring and rattled off a long string of words.

"The Buyeo man says, send two men up a mountain at the same time. Let one hold this in his mouth, the other not. After each walks for about half a day, the one without it will surely be gasping for breath, while the one with it will breathe as easily as at the start."

"Really?"

The Fan clan's eldest son was skeptical. The interpreter said it was true: boiled into a soup, this thing generated fluids and restored breath.

Since it was cheap, the Fan clan's eldest son bought a small amount anyway. Back on the ship, a fisherman who had been to Xi'anping laughed at him for being cheated, because this thing…

"Not just in Buyeo, Zhenfan, and Sushen — in Liaodong, in Joseon, it grows all over the mountains. If you know what to look for, you can dig up a huge basketful in a day!"

"If it's plentiful, that's good. If we can profit on volume with thin margins, we can at least recoup our costs."

The eldest son of the Fan clan did not take it too seriously. Their family could not outbid the other company members, so to avoid losses, they could only seek business in the neglected corners others disdained. Whatever they did not recognize, they bought, and brought back to Jiaodong to test!

He never imagined that this item would later become, after furs, the next hot commodity from Haidong: ginseng!

…

The fleet sailed against the ocean current. By the time they reached the Joseon port of Yeolgu, occupied by Qin forces, only eight or nine of the original thirteen houses remained.

The difference between merchants and officials is that merchants act only in pursuit of profit. Since they had already joined the company, it was a case of "brothers climbing the mountain, each striving on his own" to find their own profit.

Those who stayed in southern Liao to seek business valued its proximity to Jiaodong, while the merchants who chose Joseon had their eyes on its yet-unoccupied market!

After the Jiaodong fleet docked, Joseon porters with white linen strips tied around their heads came to help unload the cargo. The local officials also came to meet with the company merchants. Following Heifu's suggestion, a "trade fair" would be held at Yeolgu. The merchants would display their respective goods, and nobles great and small from the Joseon royal house, the dian lords, and the nan lords would all send representatives to participate, negotiate with the merchants, and establish trade relations.

The government no longer handled every detail, merely providing a platform for contact. Who could strike a deal with whom depended entirely on their own ability. In any case, border tariffs between Joseon and Qin had been abolished; the merchants only needed to pay a market tax to the local government when they returned to Qi and resold the goods.

The trade fair at Yeolgu was in full swing. The entire area was orderly and clean, and the goods sold were mostly expensive luxury items — clearly not something a small rural market like Xi'anping could compare to.

The merchants all displayed their houses' signature goods: exquisite lacquerware arrayed on magnificent wooden trays, finely crafted lamps, silk as light as cicada wings, and brown sugar that was unforgettable after a single taste. Then, wearing the confident, proud smiles of merchants from a superior kingdom, they waited for the suckers to walk right in…

Since the Zhou and Qin eras, the Central Plains' handicrafts — bronzes, silks, lacquerware — had all reached their zenith. The Qi region was also originally famed for its women's needlework and fine wares. Although nowadays they could no longer compete with the goods of Chu, Song, and Lu, bringing them to Joseon was bound to be an eye-opener for these bumpkins who had been playing a single-player game for eight hundred years!

Prince Ji Zhun of Joseon, invited by Chen Ping, also attended this trade fair. Unlike the goods the government had shipped in the previous year — orderly but still somewhat crude — this time the merchandise was in the quintessential Qi style, leaving the Joseon people even more awestruck. In comparison, the "palace implements" of Wanggeom-seong paled in shame, reduced to the level of common household furnishings.

Seeing them, the impoverished nobles of Joseon all thought: if those exquisitely crafted lacquered pottery horn cups could be placed in their own homes, displayed at banquets, how much face they would gain! If those beautifully patterned silk clothes and hemp sandals could be worn by their concubines and sisters, how enviable that would be!

Unfortunately, the merchants had no interest in the shell currency circulating in Joseon. They demanded payment either in Banliang coins or through barter — preferably in furs!

Some sent their servants to haggle, but in this art, how could they be a match for these shrewd merchants? Instead, they were sweet-talked into agreeing to buy even more goods.

The time had come to pit the wealth and power of Joseon's estate lords against one another. Next, these nobles would have to ruthlessly squeeze the commoners under their rule, forcing them to hunt foxes and deer, strip their pelts, and trade them for those extravagant, exquisite luxuries.

And witnessing this scene, Ji Zhun was suddenly struck by a chilling thought: the eight-hundred-year wealth and national strength of Ji clan Joseon might, in a mere seven or eight years, be drained dry by these greedy merchants swarming in pursuit of profit…

…

Not all merchants made Joseon their final stop. Guan Yan, a merchant from Langya, though fond of complaining, possessed a unique business acumen. What he had his eye on was south of Joseon, the Samhan region closest to Langya!

After the fifth month, the southwest monsoon blew fiercely, making the journey from Langya to Chengshan Cape, and then on to Samhan, a matter of only a few days.

Besides distance, there was another factor worth considering. Guan Tong, son of Guan Yan, gazed ahead. Ten li to their south, there was another massive fleet, sails bulging, banners fluttering.

That was Prince Fusu's expeditionary force. These five thousand elite guards, after a winter's rest and reorganization at Yeolgu, were setting sail once more aboard the ships of Jiaodong Commandant Ren Xiao…

This time, Fusu's army was heading south, still in pursuit of the Lord of Canghai to annihilate him. But first, they would establish a new stronghold east of Canghai City, beside the mouth of a great river, at a place later ages would call "Incheon"!

Establishing a walled town would certainly require vast amounts of grain and equipment. That being the case, the previously profitless land of Samhan might just yield a little gravy after all.

"Guanzi said: 'All under heaven bustle for profit; all under heaven hustle for profit.' Yet the more crowded the trade, the harder the coin is to earn. But in those places no one bothers with, there may lie great profit that others have yet to discover!"

"Nephew!"

Just as Guan Tong was lost in these musings, another voice came from afar.

Turning his head to look, he saw several ships following close behind them!

It was none other than the only great merchant who had come to Haidong in person — the slave trader, Dao Jian!

"Uncle Dao, what is this…"

Guan Tong stared in some confusion at the large ship keeping pace with his own. Shouldn't he have stayed in Chaoxian? Could it be…

Dao Jian at the prow merely laughed and, gesturing at the slave women clustered behind him, called out loudly: "Nephew, the wind at sea is harsh and the weather cold — shall I send you a few to warm your bed?"

Guan Tong's face stiffened. He forced a smile and shook his head, but inwardly he was filled with contempt!

"A way of earning coin like this — only he could have thought of it…"

Not only could you earn the barbarians' coin, you could earn the government's coin too! That was Dao Jian's scheme! He had brought along two shiploads of trained slave women, 'rewarding' the Qin troops all along the way. They need only spread their legs, and they would earn every last coin and bolt of cloth these soldiers, long stationed in a foreign land, had been given as reward!

Guan Tong had forgotten, however, that the inventor of the 'female pleasure-house' trade was none other than his own ancestor, Guan Zhong!

On the other ship, Dao Jian was utterly indifferent to Guan Tong's scorn.

"The rest of them all despise this, but for us merchants…"

Dao Jian smiled frankly. "Where there is demand, there is pursuit. Profit-seekers are like mosquitoes and flies swarming to filth — who cares whether it's dirty or not! Those fellows buying up furs at cutthroat prices, luring the Chaoxian chieftains into buying extravagant luxuries, so that their people are squeezed dry and in the end can only sell themselves to the Qin as slaves — they're no cleaner!"

……

"What we are bringing to Haidong is not only civilization, but I fear lasting calamity as well."

At Qingdao in Jiaodong Commandery, when Hei Fu could not sleep at night, he left his residence and walked slowly along the shore. He thought of how, at this very moment, the thirteen merchants of the Haidong Trading Company had already reached the opposite shore and begun their journey of swarming to filth.

Yet he did not lament the state of the world or sigh in despair over this. Instead, in a low voice, he recited a passage, his tone reverent, more earnest than when he dealt with the First Emperor's edicts…

"From the day capital came into this world, from head to toe, every pore drips with blood and filth!"

(End of chapter)