As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, slavery has gradually collapsed, and with the unification of the Great Qin Empire, the feudal system came into being, but the slavery system perished, but the slaves did not disappear, and will never disappear!

If the bustling commercial street is heaven, the gloomy slave market is hell, the two live next to each other and echo each other from afar, jointly supporting the huge Xuchang City, and also responding to a famous saying: Heaven and hell are only one step away!

"Ahh -Yes! --Oh my God! -Help me! ”

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A hundred steps away from the human market, you can vaguely hear the screams, one after another, not like human voices, but also a bloody, stinking smell, constantly rushing into the nose, but not disgusting, but arousing a strong desire!

The situation in the market is even more miserable, and the kind and timid people will inevitably be frightened when they come here, even if Xiao Yi has experienced a hundred battles and his hands are full of blood, he can't help frowning, and secretly curse the evil slavery system!

Everywhere the eye looks, there are slaves waiting to be sold, young girls, young laborers, ignorant children, even blonde and blue-eyed bearded people, tattooed barbarians, and small widows...... You can find it all!

The slaves were naked, shackled, and glazed-eyed, with straw sticks on their heads and signs on their chests showing their origins, ages, specialties, prices...... Whether she is a virgin or not, whether she has children or not, etc.!

Some overseers, dressed in black and leather boots, wandered around, constantly beating the sluggish slaves with barbed whips, making them jump back and forth to show their physical health, so as to attract more buyers!

In the distance stood a row of tall poles, on which hung several fleshy, inhuman-shaped slaves, their wounds festering, and mung bean flies flying around, which had tried to escape and were captured for public display!

There are a lot of tourists in the market, but there is no sound of bargaining, after taking a fancy to the slave, they will find the overseer in charge, and the two sides will reach out and pull in the sleeve for a while, just like buying and selling livestock, the price is right, the deal will be sold, and often there is an increase in the head!

The price of slaves is very cheap, not even money, but barter, Xiao Yi saw with his own eyes that someone bought two young female slaves, and the price he paid was only a little black donkey, plus ten catties of bean cakes!

"Roar! Roar! --Whining! --Tweeted! ”

In addition to slaves, there are lions, tigers, leopards, black bears, peacocks, dragons...... And a few elephants, all in sturdy cages, from time to time let out all kinds of roars, dazzling at the same time, but also amazed by the ability of the merchants, as long as there is enough profit, these guys can do anything!

There are three main sources of slaves: one is the official who violates the law of the country, after he is beheaded, his family members are often reduced to slaves, so in the slave market, I often see some young ladies who are good looking, proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, as well as young men with fine skin and tender meat!

The former is lucky, and becomes the concubine of a big family, and if he is unlucky, he can only live in the Qinglou Chu Pavilion and become a tool to make money, and the latter's fate is even more tragic, some people who have the good of Longyang are willing to spend a lot of money to buy a pink boy, go back to scold, play for fun, and there is no shortage of ravaged to death!

The second is the prisoners in the war, the Cao army fought in the south and the north, and every time they conquered a city, they would capture a large number of prisoners, the strong ones would replenish the soldiers, and the rest would be sent to the slave market and sold for money for military salaries!

This method seems cruel, but it is the only way to feed the war with war, otherwise Cao Ying's financial resources would have been exhausted long ago, so what about having the strength to fight everywhere, and selling the captives as slaves is better than killing them all, right?

The third is the captured savages, years of war, ten rooms and nine emptiness, the people hide in the mountains, some places take people and horses into the mountains, encounter the savages with a stick to knock down, tied up and sold to the slave market, the government does not stop it, but secretly encourages it, as a good way to increase the population!

Ma Chao waved tens of thousands of troops to the west, and he had already crossed the area of the Green Mountains, and more than ten countries in the Western Regions of Lianke, all the men were killed, and the women and children were sold into slavery, and the slaves sent back every year were at least more than 200,000!

The slave trade is bloody, ugly, and extremely inhumane, but Xiao Yi doesn't want to change it, or is powerless to change it, social development has its own laws, even if it is through a clan, it is difficult to change the direction!

As a sage, Confucius offended the magnates of the Lu State in order to save a little slave Qi Sigong, and finally forced him to leave the country for more than ten years, and he was almost trapped on the way!

If Xiao Yi comes forward and raises a banner of 'abolition of slavery', he will inevitably offend the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty and the lords of the world, and even the generals in the army will probably complain, because there are many slaves in their mansions!

As a result, not only can Xiao Yi not save slaves, but his whole family may become slaves and be bought and sold at will, which means that individuals can't change society!

Not to mention the Han Dynasty, that is, two thousand years later, in the so-called era of civilization, there are still a large number of slaves in the plantations of South America, the diamond wells of South Africa, and the dark coal pits, which no one can change!

"These are all ordinary slaves, they can't get into Song Ye's eyes, and in the auction hall in front, there are all kinds of fine goods, just go and take a look?"

After a few turns, Song Zhong started talking to himself, but his eyes glanced to the side, and after seeing Xiao Yi's nod, he walked towards the center of the market, where there was an auction house!

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Auction hall - spire round body, circumference of more than 100 zhang, three or four zhang high, with gray brick and stone repair, the appearance looks extremely simple, there are more than a dozen guards standing at the door, wearing strong suits, holding weapons, at a glance is a fierce person!

"Smack! --Guide! ”

"It's time for the uncle to come, there are a lot of good goods today, and the auction will start soon!"

"VIP Presence - Private Room No. 11"

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A few people walked forward, Song Zhong took out an identity card, shook it a few times casually, and the guards, who were originally like wolves and tigers, immediately turned into pugs, nodded and complimented, and then led the group in!

After passing through three iron gates and passing through several corridors, everyone came to the inside of the auction hall and found that it was a semi-underground building, simple on the outside, and a hole in the inside, not only luxuriously decorated, but also extremely vast in space!

The interior is divided into two floors, above which is a circular private room, about dozens of rooms, condescending, exquisitely decorated, specially for the use of distinguished guests, and hung with a thick cloth curtain, which can hide the identity of guests!

Below are the stepped seats, for the use of ordinary customers, already filled with all kinds of people, some wearing masks, veils, in any case, the sale of slaves is also dishonorable, things can be done secretly, try not to expose the face!

A square high platform in the middle, the lights are the brightest, as the auction slaves, treasures, there are secret doors at the four corners, spiral steps are faintly visible, it can be seen that there should be a layer of space below the auction hall!

Under the guidance of the attendants, the group came to the private room, which was luxuriously decorated, complete with items, and had been placed with delicious wine and food, and four young girls and two young men in pink costumes, standing aside, they were specially trained to meet all the requirements of your guests!

"There's no need to wait here, so stand down for now...... This auction house has a prosperous business, making money every day, and the background is also extremely strong, it is run by more than a dozen top magnates, and it is said that the Prime Minister's Mansion also has a share!

At the beginning, someone came to the door and proposed to divide the Hou Mansion with a dry share, and the small one kept in mind the lesson of Da Sima and did not earn money with a clear conscience, so he did not agree, but only came over occasionally to buy some poor people to go back, and our farms outside the city would also be operated......"

Song Zhong waved his hand casually, ordered the maid and the young man to retreat, and asked the two personal soldiers to guard the door, and then asked Xiao Yi to sit in the center, while he stood aside and whispered about the situation in the auction hall!

The Hou Mansion has a big business, with a lot of buying and selling, gold mines, pastures, farms, hotels, grain stores...... The income is very amazing, but he never sells people, opens casinos, lends money to usury, etc., which is also one of Xiao Yat's principles - you can't change the world, at least you can do it alone!

"Ding! --Bite! Bite! ”

In a crisp chime, the auction officially began, and four girls walked out of the secret door of the high platform, all tall, crisp breasts, white and tender skin, and wearing thin gauze clothes, under the light of the lights, looming, tempting!

Also on the field was a man less than three feet tall, with a big head, small eyes, provocative ears, and a catfish mouth...... The little dwarf in colorful clothes, who is specially responsible for the auction, stands with several beauties, which naturally has a comedic effect!

"Prostitutes want to be beautiful, they sell to be fair, and only God knows whether they are fair or not...... Under the little golden bean, I came to wait for the uncles, responsible for the auction of the field, and when introducing the goods, if the villain has half a falsehood, the uncles can cut the villain's tongue and throw it outside to feed the dogs!

The four beauties on the stage, from the hometown of Jiangnan Shuize, they are young and beautiful, mild-mannered, all of them are good at piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and have received special training.

Now the auction begins, a group of four is not separated, the reserve price is four hundred taels of gold, everyone please increase the weight, silver, gold are all universal, treasures, livestock, spices can also be priced on the spot, but please do not open the mouth on credit! ”

After Xiao Jindou came to the stage, he first saluted to all sides, and then introduced the 'goods' on the stage, with sharp teeth, clear language, and without losing his sense of humor, plus funny and funny actions, if it is two thousand years later, it will be a first-class host!

At the same time, the four girls twisted their bodies and danced on the stage, showing their most beautiful side, selling for a good price, looking for a good master, if they were favored by a certain noble son and bought back as a concubine, it would be a step to the sky!

"Five hundred taels of gold, the uncle bought them and went back, and they tasted them one by one tonight--haha!"

"Eight hundred taels of gold, the prince has redeemed them, adding fragrance to the red sleeves is an elegant thing, what does the rich man in the countryside know!"

"This official ...... Ahem...... This old man gave 1,000 taels of gold to restore their free body, such a beautiful woman as a cargo, it is really a tyrannical thing! ”

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Under the temptation of beauty, people became crazy, and the price came and went, and after a fierce competition, a pot-bellied wealthy businessman in Xuzhou pocketed four beauties at a price of two thousand taels of gold!

"Xuzhou has the benefit of refined salt, and the wealthy businessmen are rich in the world, so they should add some commercial taxes, and knock them a few more times, so that they can concentrate on making money and don't interfere in the affairs of the imperial court!"

In the VIP room, Xiao Yi sneered and looked at the fierce competition outside, whether it is to compete in the world or to rebel, it is inseparable from three things: money, food, and soldiers.

(End of chapter)