This is a relatively large Xianbei family, in addition to the young and strong men who have left home in response to the call of the leader, there are thirteen people left, there are ten old and weak women and children, and two men, one woman and three slaves, including Luo Xiang.

Ma Chao stood in front of them with a gun, and as long as the iron spear stopped in front of anyone, that person would be immediately carried by the soldiers to the river and beheaded with a knife.

The slain were all old men and half-grown boys taller than the wheels, and in the end only three slaves were left, two women, one older and one younger, and three young children.

Ma Chao asked, "Luo Xiang, which one is your hostess?" ”

Luo Xiang was stunned for a moment, then pointed at the slightly older woman with her head down and said, "That's her!" ”

In the steppe tribes, the status of a slave is not as good as that of an animal, and not only the owner, but also the children can beat and scold them at will. Luo Xiang was only seven years old when he was taken captive by this family, and then he began to live a life that was inferior to pigs and dogs. When the hostess got married, Luo Xiang had grown into a teenager and could do more work, but being beaten and scolded was still commonplace.

Don't look at this Xianbei woman standing there obediently now, in fact, in the past ten years, she has not beaten Luo Xiang with a whip. She did this not because she was a fierce woman, but in their eyes, Luo Xiang was no different from the cattle and sheep they grazed, and they had the right to dispose of them at will, including depriving them of their lives.

Luo Xiang and the two slaves have been enslaved by these Xianbei people for more than 20 years, and it is false to say that they don't hate them, but if they want to rise up and resist, they don't have the courage to do so. If it weren't for seeing that Ma Chao and those soldiers were also Han Chinese, Luo Xiang might not even dare to identify his hostess.

Ma Chao picked up the woman's chin with the tip of the gun, seeing that the woman was in her thirties, although she was not very beautiful, her appearance was also thoughtful, and he couldn't help but nod and said, "Luo Xiang, from now on, she is your woman!" ”

"Ahh Luo Xiang was taken aback, and said in a daze, "General, this ......"

Ma Chao sneered: "What? Don't dare to ask for it? Didn't you just say that you also want women? Don't you think she's old? If so, the younger one will also be rewarded to you, so that they may bear birth for you together. ”

Looking at Luo Xiang, who was stunned, Ma Chao pointed at the three young children again and said, "These are your slaves, and you are their masters!" ”

Luo Xiang glanced at the two women, then at Ma Chao, lowered his head and said, "General, general, you, what you said is true, true?" ”

Ma Chao laughed and said: "If someone says something, how can it be fake? Haven't eaten pork, haven't seen a pig run? Luo Xiang, when you were herding horses and sheep, didn't you see rams and ewes fighting? I don't need to teach you that little thing between men and women. ”

The surrounding soldiers burst into laughter, and although the two Xianbei women didn't understand it, they also knew that what Ma Chao said was not a good thing, and their faces turned red. Luo Xiang looked at Ma Chao, then at the two women, and suddenly caught a glimpse of the envious eyes of the other two slaves, and couldn't help gritting his teeth and said, "Thank you, General!" The slave and maid have not only seen the ram and the ewe fighting, but also seen the two of them fighting, and the slave and maid have the same example, and fight with their mother and daughter! ”

The younger woman looked to be in her twenties, not to mention these nomadic tribes at such an age, even among the Han people, they should have married a long time ago, so Ma Chao thought she was the daughter-in-law of this family at first, but he didn't expect it to be a mother and daughter. It turned out that the family had more children, and the eldest daughter stayed at home to help her parents take care of her younger siblings. However, the peoples on the grassland do not pay attention to any ethics, and it is not a strange thing that there are many mothers and daughters who serve the same husband.

turned over as a slave and became the master, Luo Xiang suddenly raised his toes, pulled the mother and daughter over, and walked towards the tent with one hand. The mother and daughter didn't have the slightest intention of resisting, and obediently let Luo Xiang lead them.

It is extremely difficult to survive on the grassland, and the people who live here have to fight not only the ferocious wolves, but also the bad weather, and even more with people! By "people" we mean not only those of different races, but also those of different tribes of the same race, and even those within the same tribe. Therefore, for thousands of years, the peoples of the steppe have formed many customs that are inconceivable and even immoral in the eyes of the Han people.

For example, many grassland ethnic groups have the custom of robbing relatives, as long as they fall in love with someone else's fiancée, and kill the groom on the day of someone else's wedding, they can marry someone else's bride back home openly. For example, after the death of the father, the son can inherit all the wives and concubines of the father except for the biological mother.

These customs have only one purpose, and that is to ensure that their own race can continue to reproduce. Also to ensure the reproduction of the race, when fighting each other, the captive women and children often do not resist. No matter how much the women love their husbands, they will not avenge him, but will take this new possessor of them as their own dependence, take care of his food and daily life, and bear children for him. As a result, female slaves were rarely seen in the steppe tribes, and captive women were often taken as wives and concubines.

In fact, in the steppe tribes, even women and children were able to ride horses and shoot arrows. However, if they rise up and resist, they will only cause more casualties, and the end result will be that the entire group will become less and less numerous, until they will die.

There were, of course, exceptions, and there was a female slave in the family. She was taken captive by the head of the family during a tribal conflict two years ago. At that time, she was only a fifteen-year-old flower girl, and she was quite beautiful, and the man of the house wanted to include her in the account, but met the fierce resistance of the girl, so she became a slave. However, life after becoming a slave was not easy, and it was not long before she was killed by the male master while she was asleep. And that's not all, when the man got his hands on it, in order to show his anger, he tattooed insulting patterns on her cheeks, thighs and buttocks, declaring his possession of the girl. When the girl is old, she will be assigned to the two slaves, and the children she gives birth to will also be slaves for generations.

Therefore, in this society where there is no law and military force is admired, the first consideration of women is not their chastity and dignity, but how to survive. The mother and daughter now think the same way, if they want to survive on the grassland, the family needs a man to support them, even though this man turned out to be just a slave in their family.

Ma Chao had been living in Xiliang before, had dealt with both the Qiang and the Xiongnu, and knew these customs of the grassland people, so he dared to make this decision. Seeing that Luo Xiang pulled the two women and was about to leave, Ma Chao suddenly said, "Wait! ”

Luo Xiangzheng was complacent and happy, and when he heard Ma Chao's shout, he was startled, hurriedly stopped, and asked, "General, what does the general command?" ”

Ma Chao pointed to the men, women, and children by the river, and said, "You are responsible for dealing with these people, all the slaves are released, the men who are taller than the wheels are beheaded, and the women and children are distributed to the slaves who have regained their freedom like you, and a new tribe will be formed again, and you will be the leader of this tribe from now on!" ”

Luo Xiang listened to Ma Chao's words, and was so excited that he couldn't speak for a while. Suddenly, a slave in the crowd shouted, "General, I have something to say!" ”

It was a yellow-bearded and blue-eyed Xianbei man, who spoke fluent Chinese, which surprised Ma Chao, and couldn't help nodding and said, "You come to the front." ”

In fact, this man was not a Xianbei man, but the son of another small tribe leader on the steppe, who was captured in a battle. The culture of the Han Dynasty has always been admired among these foreign dignitaries, so it is not uncommon for him to be able to speak Chinese fluently. What was truly remarkable was that an adult man like him should have been beheaded. But because he was the son of a tribal chief, his captors thought he was a strange commodity, and in order to show off his exploits and in exchange for a rich ransom, he was kept.

The young slave, named Moya, knew many secrets because he was the son of the tribal chief, and he reported to Ma Chao that he knew where Jian Man was stationed.

Jian Man is the son of Helian, and after the death of Helian, although the Xianbei Khan was taken away by the Kuitou, and the Kui Tou was also very unpopular when he was in power, there are still many people who are loyal to Jianman. Now Jian Man is still just a child, and it is definitely impossible to go out with the leader and capture his camp, and it is very likely that he will capture this son of the former Xianbei Khan!

Ma Chao couldn't help but be overjoyed: "Okay! You go and show us the way now. Just catch Jianman, and you'll be a boss too! ”

Moya's tribe, with the exception of women and children who were taken captive by the Xianbei people, had been slaughtered, and his tribe no longer existed. But as the son of the tribal leader, Moya dreamed of one day reorganizing his tribe and developing it until he took the place of the Xianbei people. It is precisely because of this dream that he endured humiliation and persevered to this day.

In the past, this could only be a dream, and the chances of achieving it were slim. But Ma Chao's words made Mo Ya's heart ignite a raging flame of hope, and he immediately patted his chest and said: "Please rest assured, the villain is willing to drive the general!" ”

Not far away, there were suddenly two long horns, which were pre-agreed signals. Both had a long horn indicating that they had successfully destroyed one of the Xianbei camps, and if it was three short horns, it would indicate that they had met with fierce resistance and needed to call for reinforcements.

Hearing these two horns, Ma Chao's expression froze, and he glanced at Mo Ya meaningfully, waved his hand, and said, "Then what are you doing in a daze, hurry up!" ”