At the slave market in the Western Capital City of the Western Regions, as the fleets of the Ming Dynasty Logistics Support Firm continued to arrive at the slave market, the entire slave market immediately became extremely noisy and lively.
It had been deserted for nearly half a year. The well-informed slave merchants had already prepared their banknotes and were waiting here, ready to select the best goods and then sell them to various places in the Ming Dynasty and abroad, making a huge profit from them.
The slave trade was a very profitable business.
Generally speaking, there are two modes of slave trading. One is to buy slaves from other people, then resell them. This kind of slave merchants generally make profit from the middle price difference, build scale, and have fixed purchase and sales channels.
Another type is to directly set up a slave-catching team to capture slaves and then sell them. This kind of slave traders are generally active in Tianzhu and the African continent.
This kind of slave traders are those who eat at the edge of the knife. They are ruthless people. They have a group of brothers following them. They do business without capital. If they catch an adult slave, they can sell it for thirty or forty taels of silver, and the profit is quite considerable.
It is considerable, but it faces resistance from the locals.
Both types of slave merchants have their own advantages and disadvantages. The slave merchants active in the Western Regions and the Hezhong region are all the former. They do not capture slaves themselves, but purchase slaves from others and then sell them to various parts of the Ming Dynasty.
The Ming Logistics Support Firm is everyone's main source of slaves, because the Ming Logistics Support Firm is responsible for providing logistic support services to the Ming army.
The slaves captured by the Ming army were sold by the Ming logistics firm, and a commission was given based on a certain proportion of the money obtained.
"They are all women and children, what's going on?"
"Have all the men been killed by my Ming Dynasty's cavalry?"
Seeing the women and children inside the four-wheeled carriages, the slave merchant shook his head in dissatisfaction.
Everyone is still thinking about the feast last winter.
The Ming Dynasty's army swept across the Western Region and the Hezhong area, and captured hundreds of thousands of prisoners alone. These hundreds of thousands, even if one slave is worth thirty taels of silver, that is several million taels of silver. Many people present
Each slave merchant got his own piece of cake.
"I heard that this time the Duke of Australia ordered that all men taller than a wheel be killed, so only women and children were left."
"As long as you have slaves, it's all business anyway. The higher the price, the lower the lower. It's better to make money with some than without."
"That's right~"
Many slave merchants discussed with each other, and then looked carefully among the four-wheeled carriages, hoping to find good goods.
Slave trading is not an easy job, especially when it comes to women and children. It tests your eyesight. If you buy a beautiful woman, you may be able to sell a woman for hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of taels of silver. Then
This is something that has happened before.
There are also some good seedlings among these children. If you find those beautiful children, raise them for a few years, train them well, and send them to brothels or other places, they can also become money-making signs. In short, they are all
Something that really tests your eyesight.
"Hmm~ There are two nice cars here, you can bid on them!"
"This No. 36 car also has good stuff in it."
Slave merchant Zhou Yin carefully looked at the women and children inside the four-wheeled carriages, and silently remembered the slaves he wanted to bid for.
The method of buying and selling slaves at the Ming Dynasty Logistics Support Firm is very simple and crude, that is, it uses bidding, and all the slaves in a four-wheeled carriage are auctioned off at one time, instead of bidding on each slave.
All slave traders know this very well.
"Dang~dang~"
Along with the sound of gongs and drums, a man walked up to a high platform holding a tin trumpet.
"Everyone, everyone, I am Wang Yue of the Ming Dynasty Logistics and Support Firm, who is responsible for this slave auction. I won't go into too much nonsense. The old rules are still the same. Slaves in four-wheeled carriages bid in units, and the one with the highest price wins.
"
"This time our Great Tomorrow Army swept across the Great Yuzi Grassland of the Kazakh Khanate. Wherever it went, it was invincible and unstoppable. It also gained a lot of gains and gained a large number of women and children."
"The number of women and children in each of these four-wheeled carriages is about thirty, some one or two more, some one or two less. The starting price of each unit is 500 taels of silver."
"The auction of car No. 1 will begin below!"
Wang Yue took a tin horn and briefly introduced the rules of bidding, and then immediately asked people to pull up the No. 1 car.
"Five hundred taels!"
As soon as he finished speaking, someone immediately offered a price.
"Five hundred and fifty taels~"
"Five hundred and sixty taels~"
"Five hundred and seventy taels~"
As the voices sounded, the slave merchants who were interested in Car No. 1 began to bid one after another. In the blink of an eye, the price had exceeded six hundred taels of silver.
"Six hundred and thirty taels of silver, is there anything higher?"
"Everyone can see clearly that the women in this car are quite good. Some of the goods are quite good. You can make a small profit by changing hands."
Wang Yue looked at everyone, smiled and said.
This time, they were all women and children, and everyone was not very enthusiastic about bidding. If there were a car full of adult slaves, it would not be like this. Everyone would rush to bid.
"Six hundred and forty taels~"
As soon as Wang Yue finished speaking, someone gritted their teeth and raised their hands.
"Okay, six hundred and forty taels of silver, is there any higher?"
Wang Yue immediately said with a smile.
When the slave merchants below heard this, they immediately shook their heads. There were only about thirty slaves, all of whom were children and women, and they had already received six hundred and forty taels of silver. Calculating, it was almost more than twenty taels of silver each. This price was already
Very high.
Slave merchants like them have to transport them back, eat, drink, eat, drink, eat, drink, etc. along the way. If they are resold, if they don't double the profit, they won't make any profit at all.
"Six hundred and forty taels of silver sold!"
Seeing that no one bid again, Wang Yue immediately smiled and waved.
Soon, the bidding for the second car started, and after it reached more than 600 taels of silver, very few people bid again. Everyone was very accurate in their calculations.
"The auction below is for car No. 36. I think many people are already ready to take action. They have already seen that there are some beautiful things in No. 36."
"No more nonsense, let's shoot for five hundred taels."
Wang Yue looked at the newly pulled up car No. 36, smiled and introduced it.
Hearing Wang Yue's words, many slave merchants looked over and saw several graceful, beautiful, and fair-skinned girls in Car No. 36, who were very young and beautiful.
Goods, they are definitely super popular goods.
"This will cost you a lot of money."
Zhou Yin, who had been staring at car No. 36, looked at the fiery gazes of his colleagues around him, and immediately frowned helplessly. The beauties in Car No. 36 were definitely extremely popular.
There is no whitewashing, and the clothes he wears are very ordinary, and they can already make people feel stunning. As long as they put on a little makeup and put on beautiful clothes, there is absolutely no problem in selling them for thousands of taels of silver.
Rich people here in the Beijing-Tianjin area now really like to buy some Western Beauty bed warmers. They don’t have to worry about selling good products. No matter how expensive the price is, there are always people who want them.
"Six hundred taels~"
"Seven hundred taels~"
"Eight hundred taels~"
As soon as Wang Yue finished speaking, the slave merchants immediately began to bid one after another, their eyes lit up, and the prices continued to rise.
"One thousand five hundred taels~"
Zhou Yin gritted his teeth and directly quoted a high price of 1,500 taels of silver. The slave merchants who were bidding were stunned for a moment and calmed down a lot in an instant.
"One thousand six hundred taels~"
But soon someone else followed suit and bid. There are still many people who know the goods, and some people come here specifically for this kind of top-quality goods. They have special channels to sell them at a higher price, or to realize more value.
.
"One thousand, seven hundred taels~"
"One thousand eight hundred taels~"
There were many people following the price, which made Zhou Yin immediately shake his head helplessly and had to choose to give up the No. 36 car.
"Two thousand taels of silver~"
Wang Yue was smiling all over his face. This car could be used as several cars. The most important thing was the beauties in car No. 36. Scarce resources are always valuable.
The bidding here in the slave market is very hot. Slave merchants gather together and constantly raise their hands to bid. There are also many people here who are full and have nothing to do to watch the excitement.
Each of them looked at the women in the car with bright eyes, discussing with each other, and the discussion kept going on.
Just as the bidding was in full swing, a special group of people came to the slave market.
Li Guaizi led a dozen familiar people to the slave market.
“It’s so lively~”
"Isn't that right? Every time there is a war, this slave market is the busiest."
"I heard that many women and children were caught this time. This time, each of us can buy a woman to keep warm in bed."
Around Li Guaizi, everyone was talking in various directions.
That's right, Li Guaizi and the others came to this slave market to buy women.
The dozen or so people around Li Guaizi were all bachelors, all of whom had spontaneously immigrated to the Western Regions from Lin County, Henan.
Lin County, Henan (as mentioned earlier, is the county where the Red Flag Canal is located, a place where water resources are extremely scarce) has been an extremely poor place since ancient times. It is the poorest among the poor, and it cannot even drink water.
In a place like this, it is conceivable that only daughters from Lin County have been married, and no daughters from other counties have ever married into Lin County.
This has also resulted in the current Lin County people who can immigrate basically all immigrating, and even those who immigrate privately have to immigrate.
The dozen or so fellow villagers around Li Guaizi are all in their twenties, but all of them are single. They couldn't even get a wife when they were in Lin County.
After immigrating to the Western Regions, he learned about the slave market from other people, and also knew that there were women to buy in the slave market, so everyone got interested, and everyone came to the slave market together, ready to spend money to buy a woman.
go back.
This is more or less like having a woman to warm the bed, wash and cook for him, and carry on the family line for him. It is not like here in Lin County, where he can't even get a mother-in-law and can only be a bachelor for the rest of his life.
"Brother Kidnapper, it looks like this costs a lot of money."
"Look, this is just a few hundred taels of silver. How can we have so much silver?"
Next to Li Guaizi, Zhang Aizi from the same village suddenly said with a guilty conscience when he heard the slave merchants shouting prices.
"Afraid of a ball~"
"I have already inquired clearly. Those of us who have immigrated to the Western Regions are supported by the imperial court in all aspects. The same goes for begging for wives and buying women."
"The Chief Envoy of the Western Regions has regulations. When a bachelor buys a woman, he only needs to pay 10% of the price, and the remaining 90% is paid by the Chief Envoy of the Western Regions. It is considered a benefit."
"Wang Ergou, who came here before us, spent twenty taels of silver to buy a beautiful woman from the Western Regions, and now she has a baby."
Li Guaizi looked at Zhang Chaozi beside him and said.
"Then I'll feel relieved~"
When Zhang Chaozi heard this, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief and said.
"Let's go and talk to their leader~"
Li Guaizi limped to Wang Yue's side with a dozen of his fellow villagers. When Wang Yue finished auctioning a car, he said: "This steward, these dozen of us brothers are all bachelors."
, I want to buy a wife from you to warm my bed, I don’t know if that’s okay?”
Wang Yue was drinking tea to moisten his throat. After shouting for more than an hour, his throat was about to smoke.
Hearing Li Guaizi's words, he quickly looked over and immediately smiled and said: "Of course, they are all our own brothers, not to mention that the Chief Envoy has already issued an order to give priority to the brothers who immigrated to the Western Regions.
Start a family."
"Let's see, there are still more than thirty carts left. You can pick whatever you want. Each person can pick up to two. Each one costs twenty taels of silver. Is that okay?"
"Thank you, steward, thank you steward~"
When Li Guaizi and others heard this, they all couldn't help but look at the remaining thirty or so cars with bright eyes, and thanked them repeatedly.
"Thank you, there are plenty of women in the Western Regions. The imperial court also encourages everyone to marry more wives, have more concubines, and have more children. Only in this way will Ming's rule in the Western Regions be more stable."
Wang Yue smiled and shook his head.
"We went to pick~"
Li Guaizi and the others smiled, and then each of them quickly walked towards the four-wheeled carriages. Their eyes began to shine, and they carefully picked through them.
"Twenty taels of silver each, two at most. My legs are weak, so I can buy two women and help with housework."
Li Guaizi looked around inside a four-wheeled carriage with bright eyes.
"Haha, you are a short man. You are only 3 feet 2, but you chose two women who are taller than you. Can you do it? Be careful when you get to the bed and you will be kicked off."
"That's right~"
Here, many slave traders were also idle. When they saw Zhang Chaozi picked two women who were taller than him, everyone couldn't help but laugh.
"What do you know? I'm short myself, so I picked a tall one so that the children born in the future won't be as short as me and be laughed at."
Zhang Aizi heard everyone's laughter, but he smiled and replied.
"I'll go, what you said makes sense, but I'm speechless."
"Okay, okay, this woman from the Western Region has a very good figure. She is generally taller, taller than us Han women. The children born from this will definitely be taller."
When everyone heard this, they couldn't help but nod their heads.
"Brother, do you know how to choose? When choosing a woman, it must be convex and curvy, with a big top, a big butt and a small waist. Believe me, you can't go wrong. You can't do this. Buy it.
I will definitely regret it when I go back."
"That's right, brother, we've all been here before. You must still be a child. You have no experience. You can't do it just by looking at your face."
"That one is good, the bed warmer is the most suitable~"
"Brother, you were specially chosen to farm, right? This person is tall and tall, and you are not as big as her. Are you sure you were chosen to be a mother-in-law?"
"Choose this one. This is a good product. If we sell it to the capital, the horseback riding will cost several hundred taels of silver. It's a bargain for you. You can buy a beautiful woman with just twenty taels of silver."
"Yeah, I even want to immigrate to the Western Regions. I'll pick two of the best to go back to. I'm tired of seeing the tigresses at home."
Many slave merchants watched Li Guaizi and others pick and choose, laughing and discussing while watching the excitement, and at the same time giving some pointers.
As for Li Guaizi and others, they all turned red in the face.
To be honest, they really don't have much experience. They are all still innocent girls. And the slave traders around them are all experienced flower pickers. They all have very powerful eyes and can roughly see things at a glance.
come out.
Li Guaizi swung his legs around the huge four-wheeled carriage, looking around inside.
"This, and this~"
Li Guaizi chose again and again, and also followed the advice of the slave merchants around him. He pointed at the two women in the carriage and said.
"Okay~"
Next to him, the clerk from Daming Logistics Support Firm heard this, nodded slightly, opened the four-wheeled carriage, and began to bring out the two women Li Guaizi pointed to.
"Mom~Mom~"
One of the women had a child with her, a little girl who was only five years old. When she saw her mother being taken out, she couldn't help crying and hugged her mother.
"Please, please allow me to take my child."
Mayila looked at her daughter who was holding her, and then at the Ming people around her. Even though she didn't understand what they were saying, she still knew that she was being treated as a slave and was bought by the cripple in front of her.
She immediately knelt down beside Li Guaizi and begged bitterly.
"what did she say?"
Li Guaizi looked at Mayila, then at the little girl holding her and asked.
"She said she hopes you can buy her daughter as well."
Someone next to me who knew Kazakh translated.
"Please, please, please allow me to take my daughter with me. I will report you well."
Mayila hugged her daughter and begged.
"How much money does this little girl cost? Let's just buy it back together. She looks very pitiful."
Li Guaizi looked at Mayila, then at the child in her arms and said.
"are you sure?"
"She is still very young. If I buy her back, she can only eat but cannot do much work."
"That's right, it's just a burden to buy back."
"But it is indeed quite pitiful."
When the people nearby heard this, they immediately started talking.
Here, someone also asked Wang Yue for instructions.
"Forget it, it's just a little girl. It doesn't cost anything. It's just a gift."
Wang Yue looked over and said.
In fact, during the slave trade, mothers were generally allowed to take their children with them. The children, who were no taller than a wheel, were still very young. They would not be separated unless necessary, which was considered a kind of kindness.
"Thank you~Thank you~"
Li Guaizi soon learned the result, thanked him profusely, and then went through the relevant procedures. After paying the part of the money he wanted to pay, the two women from the Western Regions and their child were considered Li Guaizi's personal slaves.
.
"You two, come with me."
Li Guaizi pointed at the two women he bought and said.
Mayila hugged her woman and looked at Elena beside her. Although she didn't understand Li Guaizi's words, she could understand what he meant.
The two of them looked at Li Guaizi's limp and walked limping towards an open space. In this open space, Li Guaizi's fellow villagers had already bought a wife and were waiting to go back together.
The two hesitated for a moment, but still had to follow.
As women, they have no choice.
What's more, this has been the case on the grasslands since ancient times. The wars on the grasslands are extremely cruel, and it is common for women to kill their husbands.
Sometimes, the husband may not be dead, but the woman is kidnapped and has to be the wife of another man. This is a very natural and common thing.
The people of the Ming Dynasty swept across the Dayuzi grassland, killed their men, and captured them. This was the same as what happened on the grasslands in the past, and there was no difference.
Therefore, it was nothing to them to be Li Guaizi's mother-in-law, and they naturally accepted this fact. Women on the grasslands are different from women in the Central Plains.
They don't care about loyalty, they only obey the strong. This has been the case on the grassland since ancient times.
"Brother kidnapper~"
Zhang Gaizi walked over with two women who were much taller than him, his face full of excitement.
He has always been ashamed of his height. He has been bullied and ridiculed so many times since he was a child. He dreams of marrying a tall woman so that the children he gives birth to will not be tall.
If you are short, you will not be bullied or laughed at.
Now this wish has come true, and there are two of them at once, which makes him smile from ear to ear. It is really right for him to immigrate to the Western Region.
"Haha, you kid can do it. If you choose two tall ones, the children born from this will definitely be tall as well."
Li Guaizi looked at the two women behind Zhang Chaozi, smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
