Chapter 113 — Gaosong's Morality

Byron's proposal left everyone present somewhat puzzled, Hetty most of all, and she asked outright: "Buying slaves at thirty percent of market price? And in the form of a mercenary commission? How could anyone possibly agree to that? Never mind the absurdly low price—the mercenaries' own fee would have to come out of that thirty percent, wouldn't it... For those mercenaries it would be a complete loss."

To this question Byron merely replied, calmly: "Which is why we add one more clause: no requirement of slave registration or contract."

Hetty and Rebecca exchanged glances, while Amber had already caught on. The half-elf thief was about to say something, but before she could, it was Gaoyi who spoke first: "In that case, the mercenaries will seize displaced people and sell them as slaves for coin."

Amber glanced at Gaocen in some surprise, as though she had not expected the Duke to know of such things, while Sir Byron nodded, astonishment and all: "A sturdy serf or slave laborer with complete registration and contract papers and a clearly documented origin usually costs twenty to thirty silver pennies, or sixteen or seventeen silver shields. But the greatest cost of all is the registration itself, for it is recorded in the rolls of identity, and so the slave must be bought through proper channels. Beyond the price of the slave himself, the slave owner, the lord's tax official, the local church, the slave market, and even the 'slave labor association' formed by local thugs and scoundrels—all of them take their cut, layer upon layer, driving the cost up severalfold, even tenfold. But displaced people... displaced people cost nothing. No one protects them, they have no identity records whatsoever, and their disappearance or death draws no attention at all."

Here Byron paused, as if to give Hetty and Rebecca a moment to think, then went on: "Under normal circumstances, nobles will not buy slaves without registration contracts, because such slaves come with no guaranteed origin, and they make a noble look miserly, shabby, and vulgar. What is more, if such a slave is killed or taken by another slave owner, there is no compensation to be had. And yet even so, there are still those who issue commissions to buy cheap unregistered slaves. This is an unspoken understanding—a black rule, and what it actually refers to is... displaced people."

Hetty pressed a hand to her chest. Though she was already a model among nobles for how closely she walked with commoners, she had never come into contact with this deepest layer of darkness: "Such a thing truly happens?"

"Not only does it happen—it happens every year, and everywhere, my lady," Sir Byron said, his voice low. "In certain circles of mercenaries with no morals, these displaced people are called 'long-legged money.' They even circulate the gathering places and shelters of the displaced as paid intelligence, traded in the shadows, watching those uprooted souls like sharks and hyenas, just waiting for someone to want cheap unregistered slaves—usually in large quantities—and then they all descend at once."

Rebecca unconsciously tightened her grip on the iron staff in her hand, her knuckles going white with the force, and she murmured as though to herself: "Mercenaries... I heard their stories in taverns, tales of them wiping out bandits, slaying monsters, exploring ancient castles and secret realms. I thought that was the life of a mercenary, but..."

"My lady Viscount, when you were in the tavern, the mercenaries in that tavern were not being mercenaries," Sir Byron said, fixing Rebecca with a deep look. "Not all mercenaries do what I have just described, and what you speak of is indeed part of a mercenary's life. But it is also true that some mercenaries' hands are destined to be unclean—the only question is how much evil they have done."

Then the middle-aged knight raised his head and looked at Gaoyang: "My lord, what is your will? Regarding the commission..."

Gaoyang looked at the knight with a half-smile. The man had laid out the darkest truths before everyone, and his unspoken meaning was plain enough, but Gaoyang had no wish to call out this halfway knight who seemed to have quite a past: "I do not intend to save that money."

Hetty and Rebecca visibly let out sighs of relief.

"We are not short of money; the gold and silver in the treasury are enough to sustain the whole domain for a long, long time. But if we saved money by encouraging evil, the debt upon our souls would not be so easily redeemed," Gaoyang said unhurriedly. "Follow the proper procedures. Post notices in the neighboring domains and send men to read them aloud. Negotiate with whatever nobles we can make contact with. Hire carts and horses and prepare dry rations. If we buy serfs, buy them through proper channels. Do not stint on coin. I have only one requirement: see to it that every person who is about to come to this land understands one thing—whatever they did before, they must obey the law here."

Byron bowed his head, hand to his chest: "That is their bounden duty."

Gaoyang nodded: "You are skilled at dealing with people of that sort, so I leave this matter entirely in your hands. However much money you need, draw it from Hetty, but there must be clear accounts and a clear plan of expenditure. Also, if you have the channels for it, it would be best to find out where the displaced people gather."

With the infrastructure work now on track, there was a little slack in manpower, and the domain's minting had begun on a small scale. Some days earlier Gaoyang had designed the first few denominations of coin and ordered them struck, and had sent these coins to the nearby town of Tansang and several other more distant towns, where they were notarized before merchants and nobles. The coins were now in circulation.

After Byron and the others had left, only Gaoyang and Amber remained in the tent. The latter had been sizing Gaoyang up and down with an odd look, making him thoroughly uncomfortable: "What are you staring at now?"

"Making those money-grubbing mercenaries go catch displaced people and bring them in is obviously far less trouble, far less effort, and far cheaper than sending your own men to spread word and search, not to mention preparing carts, horses, and rations. I would have thought you'd choose the more practical option—don't you always say you're a pragmatist?"

"I am indeed a pragmatist, but I am not a villain. I can picture with my back teeth the ways those mercenaries would go about catching displaced people to sell as slaves. How many would be killed on the spot in the process? How many families would be torn apart? How many would die of hunger and disease during those mercenaries' rough 'transport'? Even if I expressly stressed in the commission that the 'slaves' must be kept healthy, how many mercenaries do you think would actually listen? These things might not be done by my own hand, but they would be set in motion by me, and that goes against my principles."

"But you know, even if you don't do it, others will. Stingy farmers and black mines buy unregistered slaves from mercenaries every year, and the quantities they buy would fill this little camp of yours several times over."

"Which is why I intend to destroy that state of affairs and build a new order. Not only will my own actions follow these standards—on every piece of land I establish, these standards must be followed. Whether they are slave owners, mercenaries, local thugs, bandits and profiteers, or hereditary nobles and professional strongmen—all of them alike. I do no evil, and neither will they be permitted to."

Amber gaped at Gaoyang, stunned, and it was a while before she spoke: "That's a big mouth you've got... But why are you so set on protecting the weak? Is it really because of those so-called 'classical noble virtues' or 'chivalric spirit'?"

"No. It is simply basic morality."