Buying all the Han slaves in the Baicheng border market at once was a big deal that shocked the entire market. However, it was not surprising when everyone found out that the buyer was the wife of the governor.
Wu Cishi had eleven villages and ten pastures in Yanzhou, which definitely required a lot of slaves. Although the largest landowner in Yanzhou now is Doulu's son-in-law, who has eighteen villages.
"There are a total of one hundred and ninety-seven. Originally they were for at least eight guans each, and some were for ten guans. In the end, the deal was made for 1,500 guans, which turned out to be eight guans each, with dozens of zero guans wiped out."
On the way home, Wu Niang, the monk's maid, reported to Huaiyu.
Beside the carriage, nearly two hundred slaves, men, women, old and young, were tied to ropes and strung together in a row.
Huaiyu looked at their numb faces and didn't say much.
The monks and maids were still distressed by such a large expense and felt that these slaves were too expensive to buy. "Our family booked 500 rooms for slaves from Lu Guogong. That one was much cheaper. The price of the slaves was only about 5,000.
"She rambled on, purely evaluating the cost-effectiveness from an economic point of view.
The Wu family ordered a lot of slaves from the sister-in-law's house, and the price was cheaper. This was also because of the relationship with the sister-in-law. In fact, now they can transfer the slaves over. Originally, the Wu family had ordered 500 houses, which were to be sold in Guanzhong.
Han slaves are indeed quite expensive.
After taking these people back to the village south of Baicheng City, Huaiyu called the head of the village.
Because this village is close to a border market, the head of the village is Lao Chen, Runniang's father, who was specially transferred from Chang'an. He also brought his wife and daughter.
He has relatively rich experience in managing Zhuangzi, and he is Runniang's father, so he is relatively trusted by Wu Huaiyu. What is lacking most here now is managers, especially trustworthy ones.
Lao Chen is not a slave of the Chen family, but a steward hired by the Chen family. Wu Huaiyu gives him good wages and benefits. He even manages Zhuangzi and gives him some stock dividends. In addition, the land here is cheap now, and Huaiyu also helped him get it.
In some areas, small landowners with property can now be considered.
"Uncle Chen, take them to take a bath first and wash their whole bodies. I see that many of them have fleas and lice on their bodies."
Huaiyu explained carefully that these slaves came from all over the country, but without exception they were in very bad condition. Not only were they mentally numb, but their appearance was also unkempt, their clothes were in tatters, they were also infested with parasites, and many of them had skin diseases.
"After washing, give them clean clothes. It turns out that these rags need to be boiled in boiling water, washed, dried and repaired before they can be used again."
He called Lao Chen's wife and asked her to greet people and start cooking.
Most of these people are malnourished, and now they dare not eat too much food all at once, otherwise their intestines will not be able to bear it.
"Cook more millet porridge, it nourishes the stomach, and make some mutton soup. Remember not to put oil in it, use lean meat, cook it longer,"
Millet porridge with some lean meat soup, let them eat enough first, and then recover slowly.
"It tastes so good when I first come here, it makes me want to eat it in my mouth," said Chen Qian.
Huaiyu could only say, "These cost 1,500 yuan. Each of them costs 8,000 yuan. You have to keep them well. If you don't have any of them, you will lose 8,000 yuan."
This really worked, Chen Qian felt it made sense, "Alang is still thinking far ahead, I'll go make arrangements as soon as possible."
Those slaves were strung up with ropes, and when they arrived at Zhuangzi, they just stood there numbly.
They did whatever they were told. When Lao Chen said he wanted them to take a shower and change clothes, some people immediately took off their clothes.
"Don't worry, wait until the land comes one by one, and you still have to separate men and women,"
Although once you become a slave, you lose your dignity. Even female slaves are often half-clothed and are randomly selected by traffickers or buyers, just like selecting cattle.
But Huaiyu's words still made many people feel warm in their hearts after listening to them. This master seemed to be a good one.
After these people were taken down and lined up to take a bath, they changed into clean clothes one by one. Although most of them were old clothes, they were at least clean and warm. They were brought to Wu Huaiyu.
A table was set up in the corridor of the manor, and Huaiyu sat there, giving these newcomers a simple physical examination, mainly to check for parasites and skin diseases.
Especially for contagious skin diseases, not only should prescriptions be prescribed according to the symptoms, but they should also be arranged to live separately temporarily to prevent the spread of the disease everywhere.
As for those with injuries and illnesses, they should be treated if possible. Now they belong to the property of the Wu family. If the animals at home are sick, they have to call a veterinarian.
"What's your name and where are you from?"
While conducting consultations, Huaiyu would also ask them for some information. Rather than interrogating them, it was more like chatting. A few words could always make people feel the long-lost warmth.
Doctors, pharmacists, and clerks from Baicheng Qianjintang Branch were assisting behind the scenes. Some helped write prescriptions and some dispensed medicines.
There are also daily life assistants such as the state officials and farmers of the Shouyang Duke's office, the chief academic officer, the chief food officer, the chief stable shepherd, the housekeeper, etc., who are also on the side. They register and make books for these people, make ID badges on the spot, and even
Take their fingerprints.
Originally, Lao Chen suggested that for these newly purchased slaves, it would be best to brand each of them with the exclusive slave mark of the Wu family. This would prove that they were the property of the Wu family and prevent them from escaping.
Many slaves have many such marks on their bodies.
Wu Huaiyu finally refused. Although he bought these people, he didn't want to let them go, but he still wanted to take care of them within his own ability. After all, they were of the same race.
Among the nearly 200 people, some were relatively complete families, and many were just single individuals. Huaiyu asked those members of the family to work in the same village without breaking them up.
As for those who have one person, it is the same as in the army. Let them form a group of three, three groups and a small team, and then designate a team leader. In this way, ten people are grouped together. People in the same group and team must take care of each other and
Supervise each other. If members of the team are lazy or run away, they will be jointly and severally responsible.
Huaiyu hopes to treat them as kindly as possible, but there is a bottom line. As for the slaves he bought, he cannot run away, let alone be lazy.
If they work hard, then he will give a few slaves who work hard every year in each village a few places to be exempted from the tribe. If they perform well, they can also enjoy the treatment of rewards and marriages. For example, those who work hard in daily life will also be rewarded.
There are rewards such as extra meals.
He wanted a motivational strategy, not just whips, but if someone had to run away or resist, there still had to be punishment.
An old man is skinny and skinny, which is shocking to anyone who looks at him.
But he said that he was only in his forties, but Huaiyu looked at him as if he was in his sixties.
"In my hometown of Yanmen Pass, in the eleventh year of Daye, the Turkic Shibi Khan led hundreds of thousands of cavalry to hijack his chariots and surround the Sui Emperor in Yanmen. At that time, the forty-one cities in Yanmen County were captured and thirty-nine cities were captured. It was at that time that I
Those who were taken into slavery by the Turks,
After all, this is my thirteenth year as a slave."
When this man spoke, he was quite unusual.
After some careful questioning, I found out that this old man had studied before and was a petty official in Wutai County, Yanmen County.
"My family can be considered a powerful person in Yanmen County. They have been serving as minor officials in counties and counties for generations. My father once served as the county secretary of household affairs. I started my career as a county official to catch money, and later became the county's household secretary...
··”
The old man’s surname is Liu.
In fact, his ancestor's surname was changed during the Sinicization of Xianbei during the Northern Wei Dynasty. It was originally one of the surnames within the family, and later became the eight surnames of Xunchen. His original surname was Dugu. In the Sui Dynasty, his family became a subordinate official in Wutai County, Yanmen County.
He comes from an aristocratic family and has been a minor official in the county for several generations.
Because he had been Sinicized since the Northern Wei Dynasty and had intermarryed with Han people, there were no Xianbei characteristics in this old man.
Thirteen years of slavery.
He was kidnapped when he was thirty years old. Although he was only a minor official in the county at that time, he was quite carefree. Although he was a subordinate official, he was actually quite powerful in the local county government. He was also a powerful landowner in the county.
Life is still very comfortable, and it is this group of people who are known as local snakes.
But at the beginning of the Turks, Khan led 400,000 riders into Yanmen County to besiege Yang Guang. Forty-one cities captured thirty-nine cities, and Wutai County was also defeated. Not only was old Liu Tou captured, but his family members were also taken captive.
His family was ruined early on, and he had been grazing outside the Great Wall for many years. Later, he was sent to Dingxiang to empress Xiao Yang Zhengdao, and became a member of the later Sui Dynasty.
But once you are a slave, it is difficult to get over.
Because some of the sheep he was shepherding were snatched away by wolves, he was whipped and then sold. He was taken all the way to the border city of Baicheng in Yanzhou, and eventually became the domestic slave of the governor of Yanzhou.
He was young and full of energy when he was first captured, but now he is only forty-three, but he is as old as if he is about to die, his back is hunched, his hair is gray, and he is even suffering from aches and pains.
"Your accent hasn't changed yet."
"I dare not forget that I was a slave outside the Great Wall, herding sheep and horses. I often spoke my hometown dialect to the cattle and sheep. I was afraid that I would forget my hometown dialect while speaking Turkic dialect every day. I was afraid that I would die and meet my ancestor Liezu under the Nine Springs.
Lie Zong, I can’t even speak.”
Si Hu Shi, this is the assistant of the county government secretary Hu Zuo. Generally, in the lower county, there are only Si Hu Zuo, two judicial assistants, and then four subordinate Shi Hu Zuo. These twelve people are the main officials in the official document system of the county government.
Responsible personnel, assisting the county magistrate, county magistrate, chief registrar, county lieutenant, and recording their affairs.
Although it is a low-level miscellaneous job, if he were to be released to future generations, he would at least be a deputy county director.
Seeing that he spoke in an organized manner, Huaiyu checked his body, prescribed some medicine, and arranged for him to be Lao Chen's assistant.
After all, Sihu Shina can also write and calculate, especially those who have some experience in organizational management and can work as subordinates in the yamen. In fact, they are still at a certain level. The more junior people are, the more capable they are.
Although Lao Liu is also a mixed-race Han and Hu, and even said to be a Xianbei, the old man does not feel that he is a Hu. In fact, since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Xianbei has basically been completely integrated into the Han nationality, and there is rarely a separate name for Xianbei anymore.
The Xianbei that is truly independent is probably Tuyuhun in Qinghai. The khans and upper-class nobility are basically dominated by the Murong clan of Xianbei, while the middle and lower classes are mainly composed of Dangxiang Qiang and other Qiang Di.
Wu Huaiyu gave Lao Liu a single room. Although he was still a slave, he would enjoy partial treatment and even give him some pocket money every month.
Liu Xiaogan bowed deeply to Huaiyu.
Thirteen years later, there is finally some light again.
"Old Liu, I have brought back many women today. Go and pick one. I will arrange for you to get married and reorganize your family. You are only in your forties. Find someone younger who can have more children and enjoy family love again.
happy."
Gifting your wife is one of the ultimate welfare rewards, and the next level up is getting a exemption.
The sudden happiness caught Lao Liu off guard.
"Good job,"
Liu Xiaogan, who originally didn't want to kowtow to others, finally knelt down in front of Huaiyu. After herding sheep for thirteen years, enduring countless whips and countless hungers, he felt that he was finally alive again.
"I, Liu Xiaogan, will definitely repay Alang for his great kindness!"
