Those who lose their personal freedom at the command of their masters are slaves.
There are mainly three sources of slaves: first, those captured through war and defeated into slavery, especially among the nomadic tribes of the steppe, one of the main purposes of waging war being to plunder the enemy's population, which also serves as the primary source of slaves; second, prisoners, many of whom, along with their families, are punished by the authorities and become slaves; and third, "citizens" or the poor who, driven by hardship, sell their wives and children, and their wives, children, or even themselves become slaves.
The lives of slaves are, of course, incredibly miserable. They lack sufficient clothing and food, and many slaves bear brands or tattoos that prevent them from escaping or shedding their slave status for life.
In the city of Bei Pang Er, slave traders drag many slaves onto a high platform, selling them like livestock. Among them are men and women, the young and strong, and children, but almost no elderly. Old slaves are either killed and discarded or die during the journey.
The slaves wear very little clothing, some with only a few strips of cloth for modesty, and some are completely naked, exposed for the slave traders or interested merchants to examine. Their expressions are extraordinarily numb, as they are long accustomed to such treatment.
"I'll trade you three female slaves for a big green horse," says a barbarian, stroking his beard, to the slave trader.
"Oh, my lord, you want to trade one horse for three of my beautiful, like-blooming-flowers female slaves?" the slave trader shakes his head in refusal.
"What do you mean, like-blooming-flowers? They're covered in dirt, how can we tell?" the barbarian laughs.
"Heh, what's so difficult about that?" The slave trader smiles at this and instructs his subordinates.
The slave trader's subordinate brings clear water and splashes it onto three female slaves. After a few buckets of water, the slaves' bodies are washed clean, revealing fair skin, but they shiver uncontrollably from the cold.
"Two horses for four people," the barbarian says, satisfied at the sight.
"I want all of them," a woman suddenly says, just as the slave trader hesitates to agree.
Everyone turns their heads to look. A tall, elegant, and beautiful woman in a white robe stands amidst the crowd.
The woman's skin is as fair as snow, her eyes like clear springs, and she gazes at the slave traders and the assembled slaves.
"Oh, what price are you willing to offer, young lady?" the slave trader, overjoyed, ignores the barbarian and walks up to the white-robed woman, bending over and asking respectfully.
It seems they have met a major patron, the slave traders think to themselves, delighted. The woman's appearance, temperament, and attire are all extraordinary, so her identity must also be unusual. Perhaps she is a woman from a noble family on the steppe.
Such major patrons generally do not care about price, so the slave traders are secretly pleased.
Zhunjin steps forward, knife in hand, and pushes the slave trader away from Lin Yue. "Bring them over. Do you think my master will shortchange you?"
Although Zhunjin is over forty, he is even more robust, and his imposing presence intimidates the slave trader, who glances at Zhunjin fearfully and mutters assent.
"Who gave you permission to buy these slaves?"
At this moment, a sturdy middle-aged man, surrounded by several attendants, pushes through the crowd and walks up to Lin Yue. With bulging eyes like fish bladders, he asks Lin Yue.
"City Lord Tujin Zhele, what do you mean by this?" Lin Yue frowns slightly. Before she can answer, the slave trader, with a distressed face, asks.
The newcomer is the City Lord of Bei Pang Er, Tujin Zhele, the tribal leader of the Chile tribe.
"Hmph, what do I mean? I want all these people," Tujin Zhele snorts coldly.
"Alas, City Lord Tujin Zhele, I have already appeased you with many people. Why do you still want more? These people were claimed by this young lady first," the slave trader says, still distressed.
To do business in Bei Pang Er, Tujin Zhele naturally demands a cut, and not a small one. The slave trader has already sold Tujin Zhele many slaves at a very low price, about a hundred in number, who are currently held in iron cages nearby. Yet Tujin Zhele is still so insatiably greedy?
"This City Lord is short of people lately. The more, the better. It's not impossible for this young lady to buy people, but it requires this City Lord's consent. Please, young lady, let's discuss it indoors," Tujin Zhele says, no longer addressing the slave trader, and turns to smile at Lin Yue.
Tujin Zhele's true intentions are obvious.
Lin Yue is so beautiful, a rarity on the steppe. Upon seeing her, Tujin Zhele developed covetous intentions and deliberately made things difficult for Lin Yue, intending to possess her.
As for a few slaves, Tujin Zhele doesn't care at all. He has countless servants at home and commands an army of slaves, numbering ten thousand, called the "Kuli Army."
The Kuli Army consists of children or youths captured or bought by Tujin Zhele, usually under ten years old. They are brutally trained from a young age in combat skills, battlefield tactics, and so on. As they grow up, they become killing machines that obey only Tujin Zhele.
The formidable Kuli Army of over ten thousand soldiers has become Tujin Zhele's foundation for survival on the steppe. Other tribes on the steppe do not dare to provoke Tujin Zhele lightly.
"Clang!" The sound of blades clashing against scabbards rings out repeatedly. Tujin Zhele's insult to his master causes Zhunjin and four or five other guards to partially draw their swords, staring coldly at Tujin Zhele.
"Who are you?" The imposing presence of Zhunjin and the others forces Tujin Zhele back a few steps, but he quickly regains his arrogant demeanor and shouts at Lin Yue.
On his own territory, Tujin Zhele has never feared anyone.
"My mistress is Yan Zhi, consort of the Great Chieftain Duo Yongjian. What do you want?" one of Lin Yue's maids answers for her.
"Ah? Duo Yongjian? So she's his woman?" Tujin Zhele sneers. "Hmph, but here in Bei Pang Er, everything is under this City Lord's command."
Duo Yongjian commands a hundred thousand archers and is indeed a hegemon on the steppe. However, it would not be easy for Duo Yongjian to annex Tujin Zhele and his forces. Tujin Zhele, relying on the sturdy city of Bei Pang Er, can contend with Duo Yongjian. If they were to fight, it is yet unknown who would emerge victorious.
However, upon learning Lin Yue's identity, Tujin Zhele temporarily puts aside his covetous intentions towards her. To possess Lin Yue, he would at least have to kill Duo Yongjian and then annex his troops, pastures, and lands.
What a wonderful prospect this is, Tujin Zhele muses, his plans racing through his mind.
"I don't want the people anymore. Lin Yue only asks City Lord Tujin Zhele for one favor," Lin Yue finally speaks, her voice as clear and melodious as a lark's.
"You are called Lin Yue? What is it? Tell me about it," Lin Yue's polite words make Tujin Zhele nod with satisfaction.
"Yes, Lin Yue only wishes for them to live more comfortably. What do you think, City Lord Tujin Zhele?" Lin Yue asks, gesturing towards the slaves.
"Live more comfortably? What do you mean?" Tujin Zhele asks, bewildered.
The slaves are packed tightly into an oval iron cage, only able to breathe through the front bars. They are all in rags, gaunt and emaciated. The air inside the cage is extremely stale and foul-smelling, their condition is so pitiable that it evokes sympathy, unless one has a heart of stone.
Lin Yue does not reply. She orders Zhunjin and the others to buy some food and water. Then, she leads her people to the oval cage, asks the guards to open it, and releases the slaves.
City Lord Tujin Zhele does not obstruct this scene.
She wants to use her own money to feed the slaves, why should he stop her? Tujin Zhele laughs inwardly. Women are women; women are soft-hearted, it is their nature.
There are countless slaves in the world; how many can she feed?
Lin Yue orders her subordinates to distribute the food and water to the freed slaves and comforts them with gentle words.
"Miraculous Goddess Qimoni!"
"Great Compassionate Goddess Qimoni!"
Slaves are lowly beings, considered worse than pigs and dogs by many. Yet, Lin Yue, like a celestial maiden, treats them this way, which moves the slaves to tears. They kneel and worship Lin Yue as if she were the goddess Qimoni on a snow-capped mountain.
At the same time, the legend of Lin Yue being an incarnation of Goddess Qimoni begins to spread on the steppe.
......
"How is the Prince...?" In a large tent, Duo Yongjian asks a shaman with a furrowed brow.
Duo Yongjian has many wives and concubines, who have borne him numerous offspring, but he has only one son, the sixteen-year-old Prince Bian.
Prince Bian has been sickly since childhood, appearing frail. At sixteen, he is still as small as an eight or nine-year-old child, extremely weak. Recently, a severe illness nearly took his life, causing Duo Yongjian great worry.
No one would not worry about the potential inheritance of such a vast enterprise.
"Great Chieftain..." the shaman, adorned with various bones and wearing strangely shaped clothes, replies, "The Prince's body is afflicted with Hani, which is suppressing his Woren."
Hani is equivalent to an evil spirit, and Woren is the soul of life.
"Hani?" Duo Yongjian frowns. "Then please perform a soul sending for the Prince."
Soul sending is the expulsion of demons.
"Great Chieftain, soul sending requires a woman to engage in intimacy with the Prince," the shaman adds.
The shaman's intention is similar to the Han custom of "crashing the wedding" to ward off evil spirits.
"What difficulty is there in this?" Duo Yongjian's frown eases. He says to the shaman, "You may choose any woman from the tribe. Whichever one you select, send her to the Prince's tent."
"Great Chieftain, this woman must be a woman close to the Great Chieftain, to suppress the Hani with her bloodline," the shaman further instructs Duo Yongjian.
"Heh heh, I've already said it, you may choose any woman from the tribe. My women are also at your disposal. Whichever one you choose, send her to the Prince," Duo Yongjian laughs heartily.
Northern nomadic tribes have a custom of levirate marriage, so it is perfectly normal for Duo Yongjian to bestow some of his women upon his son, excluding those with a direct blood relation, of course.