Chapter 53

Fifty-three, Seeing and Hearing in the Great Zhou Slave Market

Many prefectures and counties in the Great Zhou Dynasty imitated Chang'an and established East and West Markets.

Not to mention Longcheng County, the throat of Jiangzhou, where trade from all directions was endless, and the trade in the East and West Markets was naturally lively.

The East Market was mostly operated by Han merchants, close to the local wealthy streets, including Luming Street, tending to serve the officials and wealthy households of Longcheng County.

The West Market was more open, close to Peng Lang Ferry, gathering visitors from all directions, more inclined to internationalization, with many Hu merchants stationed in the market. The prosperity of the West Market had always exceeded that of the East Market.

Therefore, in the Great Zhou, buying goods was also called "buying things."

Like Chang'an, Luoyang, and many other prefectures and counties, the slave trading market in Longcheng County was in the Livestock Row in the West Market, specializing in trading slaves, horses, and other livestock, showing that their legal status was actually the same, regarded as private property, for people to choose and trade at will.

Ouyang Rong was setting foot here for the first time and unexpectedly found that it was not as chaotic, dirty, and noisy as he had expected, but rather... orderly.

On both sides of the street, slaves and livestock were placed separately. Not all slaves were tied hand and foot and locked in cages; this was the treatment for ordinary slaves. Many high-level slaves were dressed up by Hu merchants with clothes and even jewelry, attracting wealthy guests at the door.

On the bulletin board at the entrance of the Livestock Row street, there was even an official standard slave price list, such as the prices for ordinary slaves, high-level slaves, good horses, famous horses, female slaves, and fine maids, which were further divided into Han and Foreigners.

However, the prices given in the announcement were only reference prices, naturally not the price ceiling.

The ceiling depended on the degree of scarcity, such as foreign treasures, rare slaves, young and beautiful or singing and dancing female slaves, etc., the prices of which were definitely skyrocketing.

Hu merchants who could do business all over the world were naturally shrewd and sophisticated, knowing the hobbies and aesthetics of the dignitaries of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

So beautiful concubines and fine horses were the two most expensive things in the Livestock Row, and they were never out of date.

However, the only slightly comforting thing was that the procedures and systems for slave trade in the Great Zhou were very strict. After all, they were things sold together with horses, and the latter belonged to strategic materials.

At the end of this Livestock Row commercial street, there was also a market order to assist in management. Every slave trade must be issued a market ticket by the market order, otherwise, both the buyer and the seller would be whipped, and the market order officials would be implicated.

This was to prevent the oppression of the good into the lowly. In this dynasty, the boundary between good and lowly status was extremely distinct, and the system in this regard was strict.

At the same time, this was also for taxation. The tax extracted from slave trade was the source of military funds for the Great Zhou, so the market order and other officials in the local government were not entirely managed by the local county office, but were commanded by special affairs offices in the two capitals and various circuits.

The local government could exert little influence.

Looking all the way, Ouyang Rong's eyes were opened.

Stepping into this street, he felt a strange sense of order, both civilized and barbaric, both gentle and violent. The most critical thing was that everyone participating in it regarded it as a matter of course, even the objects being sold, the slaves, were not indignant about why slavery existed, but why they had fallen into lowly status.

If one wanted to get involved or even shake this barbaric order, a small county magistrate was absolutely not enough, unless one could hold part of the imperial power of the two capitals.

Regarding matters related to my dear nephew, Madam Zhen was very generous, just taking Ouyang Rong and his party to look at the bulletin board at the street entrance for a while, and then walking directly toward the largest Foreigner shop in the Livestock Row.

Before entering the door, Ouyang Rong glanced at the embroidered cloth sign above:

Jin Xiao Livestock Row.

Leading the welcome for them was a Dashi merchant, medium-high in stature, with a thick beard, black hair and deep pupils, and a large, aquiline nose.

Behind the Dashi merchant followed two Kunlun slaves, curly hair and black skin, as strong as oxen. Most of these Kunlun slaves came from Nanyang, because they were steady, honest, and hardworking, and were old laborers. The dignitaries of the Great Zhou Dynasty liked to keep them, but most were not used for work, but to show off their wealth.

Just as Ouyang Rong and Madam Zhen's party entered the door, the shrewd eyes under the Dashi merchant's hat stared straight over, as if wanting to see through the guests.

Seeing these familiar Central Asian facial features, and that piece of cloth on his head... Ouyang Rong was a bit surprised, sizing him up.

Listening to Madam Zhen and others explaining in a low voice, he learned that these Arab and Persian foreign merchants in the Livestock Row almost all came from the Guangzhou Governor's Office further south in the Lingnan Circuit, which was the most prosperous place in the Lingnan Circuit.

Although the Lingnan Circuit, which was further south than the Jiang Nan Circuit, had not been thoroughly developed in many areas and belonged to the barbarian land in the traditional impression of the Great Zhou people, it was a place of exile for demoted officials.

But this barbaric "South" had an exception, which was the only big city in the Lingnan Circuit, Guangzhou. This was the largest port in the Great Zhou Dynasty, economically prosperous, with foreign merchants gathering, and many vassal Hu merchant ships, a scene of all nations coming to court.

All this stemmed from a prosperous trade route famous at home and abroad, the Guangzhou Maritime Barbarian Road.

Ouyang Rong estimated that it should be a maritime silk road that had taken initial shape, but he didn't expect that the maritime trade of the Great Zhou Dynasty was so developed, spread all over the country, and these Dashi and Persian merchants were so active in front of him with goods and slaves of exotic customs.

He thought that communication would require translation or something, or hearing a broken accent, but he didn't expect that this Dashi merchant's Great Zhou elegant language was even more fluent than Ouyang Rong's, and even when introducing himself, he had an authentic and genuine name, "Li Yan."

If you put aside his appearance, he was truly no different from a Great Zhou person.

Madam Zhen didn't seem surprised by this, and didn't talk nonsense, directly ordering:

"Shopkeeper Li, bring out your best fine maids and beautiful concubines for my dear nephew to choose. The age must not be older than twenty, and the foreign women must be able to speak elegant language. They cannot be chattering barbarian languages; this lady can't stand this the most."

"Madam, please rest assured, the beautiful concubines selected and cultivated by our Jin Xiao are naturally already transformed by the King, proficient in elegant language, and obedient and pleasing."

Li Yan touched his beard, his rich experience in looking at people made him very confident and even proud, and he laughed:

"And each has its own style, which will definitely please the young master and make him return with a beautiful companion."

Madam Zhen said noncommittally, "It's best if it's like that." She paused and added: "However, my dear nephew's requirements might be a little bit high."

This Dashi merchant smiled slightly, not taking it to heart.

A young man who had just reached the age of twenty, full of vigor, how high could his requirements be?

Moreover, this noble lady looked like a strong personality. If this handsome young man grew up in the hands of a noble lady, his taste would be easy to guess:

Either he liked obedient, exquisite, gentle, and clingy little family girls, which could give him a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that was difficult to get from a noble lady;

Or he liked lively, cheerful, straightforward, and charming older sisters, which could soothe the lonely personality raised in a deep mansion, and he would have no resistance to a passionate, understanding, and caring older sister.

However, Li Yan's expression still became slightly serious.

First, he invited the noble lady and the handsome young man who was looking around as if he hadn't seen much of the world into the elegant room to drink tea, leaving two Kunlun slaves to take care of them, and he went to the back to pick people himself.

Ouyang Rong was looking around not because he hadn't seen many foreigners, but because the painting style in front of him was too damn strange. Perhaps in the eyes of Madam Zhen and Liu Ashan, these were all "barbarians who hadn't opened their wisdom," and they didn't look any different, all very ugly. But in his eyes...

Imagine, in an antique shop, a short Arab with two black strong men, wearing Chinese-style gorgeous clothes, speaking fluent Chinese, releasing slaves of various races from exotic lands from cages, and respectfully introducing them one by one to you, who are in a Confucian shirt, hair tied and wearing a crown...

A bit strange, take another look.