Marin didn't know how much the "growing betel nut" order he issued was. Because betel nut was a bit addicted to eating it, it became a snack that Europeans liked. Then, oral cancer became a common disease in Europeans...
The betel nut tastes a bit weird, but people are very excited after eating it. In Europe, it is just like this strange taste similar to spices. Later, the Portuguese, who had tasted the taste, got betel nut seeds in Southeast Asia, planted them in West Africa, and provided dried betel nuts to Europe, which was very popular among the nobles. Then, many people in the nobles were caught. Although the proportion was not high, the number was also quite large...
The funny thing is that betel nut was originally used to prevent miasma. The Portuguese did not use it to supply the immigrants who needed the most, but instead transported it back to Europe for snacks. Then, the Portuguese did not gain a foothold in Africa, but relied on black people, laying the groundwork for the loss of colonies in the future.
Of course, this is a later story. Fortunately, Beihai Kingdom avoided various problems because Malin established regulations and prohibited eating too much. People in other countries did not believe it, so they naturally chewed it out loud, and they could not blame others if they were caught. Malin was also happy to laugh at the joke, who made them not listen to their advice. Moreover, the main ones who were caught were those who chew betel nuts all day long. Eating two or three less pills a day was not a big problem. Chewing betel nuts all day long, just like smoking a few packs of cigarettes a day, is just to make one's own death, and no one can blame others.
In order to reduce the harm of betel nutine, Marin specially ordered the large-scale cultivation of lemons in Cuba, and then extracted citric acid and promoted it in tropical and lemonade, and asked the lemonade to stay in the mouth for a while before swallowing it.
The specific requirement is that after chewing betel nut, you must first rinse your mouth with clean water, and then drink some lemon water with citric acid. In this way, neutralizing the acid and alkali can also reduce the harm of betel nutine.
Speaking of which, Cuba Island is a really good place. Although this island is only 100,000 ordinary kilometers, most of the island are plains and are very suitable for agriculture. Therefore, after occupying Cuba Island, Marin planted all the tropical crops he wanted to grow on Cuba Island. As for Panama, only some sweet potatoes, peanuts and other crops were planted there as a food supply to the local area.
In addition, there are world-class nickel ore on Cuba Island. It not only provides a large amount of nickel metal for Marin, but also produces a large amount of sulfurite and sulfuric acid during the extraction of nickel sulfide, which can be used for the processing of phosphorus ores, making it an easy-to-absorb phosphorus fertilizer.
Thinking of Cuba's laterite nickel ore, Marin slapped his head and ordered another 20 million French Transnier "silver coins" of nickel and white copper.
20 million French Transnier "silver coins" are worth more than 186,000 gold coins. It seems that the total value is not much, but it can also buy a large amount of supplies from France. Not to mention anything else, France is a farming country, with cattle and horses, donkeys and mules. These white copper "silver coins" that Marin privately forged can be purchased from France for a large amount of livestock. In addition, wines from Burgundy and Bordeaux can also be purchased from these fake Transniers in large quantities.
In addition, recently, Kohler's spy merchant suddenly discovered that it seemed that he could buy people in France with Transnier silver coins...
Yes, coins can also buy population in France!
Although France, like Britain, had already begun to abolition of slavery. However, in many places in the countryside, there were still many remnants of serfdom. Even during the "French Revolution" period two or three hundred years later, millions of serfs remained in the French countryside.
In France, only large cities such as Paris, Marseille, and Lyon and surrounding areas can be considered developed and their ideas are relatively progressive. However, in the vast rural areas, there are still many residues of feudal serfdom.
Moreover, France is now the country with the least shortage of population in Europe, with a total population of more than 15 million, making it the least valuable country in Europe with human resources.
Because I haven't experienced war and the Black Death for a long time, the population in France has grown rapidly and there have been a lot of surplus populations.
By chance, when Kohler's spy merchant went to the eastern part of France near Germany to buy goods with fake silver coins, he found a down-and-out local noble who was selling serfs at the market...
Of course, due to the restrictions of the laws of the Kingdom of France, the down-and-out nobleman did not dare to sell people as slaves, but instead sold the extra boys in the manor in the form of a contract and sold them to others as contract slaves.
After all, slavery has been abolished by French law and human trafficking cannot be publicly sold. Therefore, when the estate owner sold the excess serf children in the estate, he sold it in the form of a "hire contract".
Although it is said to be not slaves, the "hire contract" does not state any rights of any slaves who are "employed". In fact, French nobles also trade extra serfs in the manor in private. Some are to pay back the money, while others are simply thinking that the manor is too crowded and cannot afford to support it.
Especially for boys in their teens, it is often said that "half-year-old boys are poor." If there are too many boys in the serf family in the manor, the owner of the manor may send them away and be apprentices (the apprentice has been without paying wages for seven years), or some greedy lords simply sell them to others in the form of "contract slaves".
This is somewhat like the slaves of the ancient feudal dynasty in China. Although they are not controlled by slaves like slaves, they are not free and must obey the orders of their employers. Moreover, their property belongs to their masters like serfs. The only thing better than slaves is that the employer cannot kill them easily.
Generally speaking, such transactions are private. Moreover, they are mostly conducted among the owners of the manor. After all, some have a large population, while others have a small population.
But when Kohler's spies went to Dijon (the capital of the Principality of Burgundy) to purchase Burgundy wines, the owner happened to encounter a financial crisis and was eager to sell the excess serf boys, so he took them to the market to hawk, and was discovered by Kohler's subordinates...
Then, Marin was surprised to find that there were people in France who were trading! Although it was hidden deep, there were still some.
After all, in Europe, male servants and maids were still very popular in this era. And male servants and maids must be reliable people. What else is more reliable than contracted servants?
Therefore, in private, the French servant trade is very prosperous. Just spend more than a dozen gold coins to buy a young and a half-old boy as a servant. For half-grown girls, ordinary-looking girls are cheaper than boys, but they all have 30 gold coins. Because, these good-looking maids are usually a noble person who plays with them, or buy them as lovers, and the price is naturally more expensive.
Chapter completed!