Chapter 408

Ten crates full of various kinds of gemstones were given.

And meteoric iron.

Perhaps due to geographical reasons, the Xiongnu had a particularly large amount of meteoric iron falling from the sky.

When Qiangqu learned that the weapon Duan Yu used was forged from meteoric iron, he gave Duan Yu ten thousand *jin* of meteoric iron all at once.

These meteoric irons were all good things.

Especially those high-density meteoric irons, which were exactly what Duan Yu urgently needed to forge the weapons and armor he would use in the future.

The carrying capacity of the Red Dragon Cloud-Treading Beast was clearly not something the Ink Jade Qilin Beast could compare to.

Therefore, Duan Yu was also preparing to use the meteoric iron to update a set of equipment.

And then there were the slaves.

Xiongnu nobles did not have servants; they only had slaves.

Those who served the Xiongnu nobles, whether they were Xiongnu or other races who had been plundered, were all collectively called slaves.

Qiangqu was even more generous.

With a wave of his hand, he let Suhe take away one thousand slaves.

Among them were young and strong male slaves for labor.

And young female slaves from the Western Regions, Xianbei, Dayuezhi, and several other races.

For this, Duan Yu had even asked Suhe.

"Your father gave so many young female slaves all at once; aren't you worried?"

However, Suhe's answer made Duan Yu's jaw drop.

Suhe's answer was that no matter which of these female slaves gave birth to a child, she would treat them as her own children.

And these children would also become her children in the future.

In the Xiongnu, slaves were the private property of the master's house and had no surnames or names of their own.

These slaves belonged only to their masters for their entire lives.

Even the children they gave birth to were the same.

Unless their master gave them freedom, they would remain slaves forever.

Besides wealth and the like, Qiangqu also sent three thousand Xiongnu cavalrymen.

These three thousand Xiongnu cavalrymen, as Righteous Followers, would assist Duan Yu in fighting against the Qiang in Liangzhou.

Actually, they were called Righteous Followers, but in reality, they were Suhe's dowry.

In the future, they would all be Duan Yu's private property.

With so much dowry, Duan Yu was thinking about whether he should go and marry a Xianbei princess or something in the future.

If this cycle continued, then what was the point of conquering the world? Just marrying princesses would suffice.

This trip to the Xiongnu directly doubled Duan Yu's family fortune.

Of course, in order not to be criticized behind his back, he still had to do what needed to be done.

So when Duan Yu sent the cattle, horse, and sheep herds to Luoyang, he sent an extra two thousand warhorses to Liu Hong.

He also sent a letter to Jia Dong in Jinyang, asking Jia Dong to send people to deliver ten million *qian* to Zhang Rang in Luoyang.

Ever since he left Luoyang last time.

Duan Yu found that sending money to Liu Hong and Zhang Rang didn't hurt as much.

Anyway, the wool comes from the sheep.

After leaving Luoyang last time, the sisters He Lingsi and He Lingman had returned one hundred million *qian* to him.

The money sent out this time might be earned back at any time.

Duan Yu didn't feel the pain at all.

And then there was Qiangqu.

As a return gift, he certainly couldn't produce a betrothal gift equal to Qiangqu's.

But he still had to show some meaning.

So he likewise had Jia Dong send some snow salt to Qiangqu as a thank-you gift.

Just like that.

A fully loaded Duan Yu returned from the Xiongnu.

After passing through Boluo Valley from Shengtou Mountain, it was the territory of Hanyang Commandery.

At this time, it was noon.

The scorching sun hanging high overhead was becoming increasingly hot.

On a forest path by the official road near Boluo Valley.

A procession of dozens of people was sitting in the shade of the forest, resting.

The dozens of people were all composed of young and strong Han Chinese.

And everyone had a long bow strapped to their back.

Among them, a tall youth, about nine *chi* tall, was even more conspicuous.

The youth had sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, his arms were unusually thick, and his long hair was simply tied in a bun on top of his head, wearing a military cap.

And the dozens of young men in the forest seemed to be sitting around the youth, or leaning against trees to drink water and rest.

Or leaning against stones to soak up the coolness.

Only the youth sat cross-legged on the ground like an old monk in meditation.

In front of the youth, the weeds had been pushed aside.

Revealing the black soil on the ground.

The youth held a tree branch in his hand and was drawing something on the ground.

Looking closely, it seemed to be two sides of troops fighting each other.

The youth's gaze was fixed on the ground, as if in deep thought.

Suddenly, a call from afar broke the youth's deep thought.

"Lord, they are coming, they are coming!"

A youth wearing coarse hemp clothes ran from the distant official road toward the forest, shouting as he ran.

The burly youth raised his head upon hearing this and stuck the branch in his hand into the ground.

Then he stood up.

His tall and burly figure instantly exuded an extremely strong sense of oppression.

"Lord, General Duan's troops have already passed Boluo Valley and are coming toward us."

The youth who had stood up patted the dust off his back.

"Let's go."

After giving the order, the youth walked out of the forest first.

The dozens of young men behind him all followed the youth out of the forest.

Facing the scorching sun in the sky.

The youth stood on the official road, watching the approaching procession. ===== CHAPTER 410 =====