Chapter 51: The Slave Market (Part 1)
Ye Feng still liked the European-style armor that wrapped people tightly like a tin can when he was an advisor. Ye Feng thought wearing a suit of that armor would be cool, and it would be perfect for picking up girls. However, that kind of canned armor was just for show.
After seeing the current state of Norman armor manufacturing, Ye Feng believed that with some modifications to the current infantry armor and adding protection for exposed areas, it could fully serve as cavalry armor.
The bow and arrow technology in the world today is really low, they only play a supporting role in the army, to the extent that some armies do not use archers, but instead have troops equipped with slings.
In Norman's legion, all the archers were mercenaries from other tribes. The archers of the Xiniya City Guard were simply infantrymen who took on a secondary role, so when Ye Feng pulled out his crossbow and shot at the pirates, it only elicited laughter from them.
With the removal of one of the greatest threats to cavalry, archery, Yefeng can focus on improving armor for direct sword and knife attacks.
Norman infantry armor was composed of articulated plate armor produced by standardized manufacturing, with each suit consisting of over forty plates.
When donning the Norman coat of plates, no assistance was needed; it could be put on as easily as a jacket. The shoulder and abdominal laminations were overlapped and riveted to an inner leather belt. The four parts - shoulder, abdomen, breast and back - were connected by straps and buckles.
The helmet was made of iron or copper, with a neck guard sloping downwards at the back and cheek pieces that formed a complete enclosure for the head.
And all of these were made by skilled craftsmen.
All that was needed was to extend the shoulder guards to cover the entire upper arm, and add armor for the forearms and legs, and it could be used as a perfect cavalry armor.
The craftsmanship required for these changes can be said to be very simple.
The three of them discussed until late at night and finally had a preliminary plan for their future work. In the next phase, Ye Feng's main task was to guide craftsmen in making armor and find a location to set up a training camp.
Niya is in charge of finding blacksmiths to manufacture equipment and pays for all of Ye Feng's needs.
……………
The next morning, Nia set out with Ye Feng and Oola. Their destination was a trading market outside the city. The goods traded in this market were somewhat special - people, to be precise, slaves.
Here, slaves are called talking livestock, and they come from many sources: prisoners of war, slave traders' raids in the barbarian regions of the Mu continent, and those who cannot pay their debts being sold by their creditors.
Their "uses" were many, including servants, maids, farm laborers, craftsmen and gladiators for entertainment. Although Sinia did not have a grand arena like other cities, many nobles and large slave owners kept gladiators who served as their armed guards in everyday life. When needed, such as during banquets, they would be ordered to fight each other for the amusement of all.
Among slaves, there are two kinds that are most valuable: one is a gladiator and the other is an artisan.
The Normans never stopped waging war against outsiders and often turned the entire population of a conquered city into slaves, as spoils to be divided among soldiers.
Slave traders followed the Norman armies, and it had become a Norman tradition.
Civilians in a conquered city may be slaughtered, but artisans will survive because they can be sold for a good price.
The human circle is a spontaneously formed slave market, which is located very close to the dock.
The oldest elder in Xiniya can't tell when this market was formed. Its history seems to be longer than that of the city itself.
The scenic area is surrounded by a low earth wall, with complete facilities, including inns, hotels and hot spring baths.
The inns here are very distinctive, with beautiful villas for slave traders to live in, as well as low and dark wooden sheds used to hold slaves. The wooden sheds have horizontal bars like animal pens, with rows of slaves locked on top. The stench emanating from the sheds can be smelled from a great distance, so that when slave owners take out slaves to sell, they must first pour several buckets of water over them.
The most numerous races among the slaves were the wild Normans of the North and the blacks from the continent of Mu.
Ye Feng and Nia got off the horse-drawn carriage at the entrance of the human circle, where the bustling scene was just like the temple fair in Ye Feng's memory.
What's different is the peddlers' cries here.
"The new barbarians from the north, with golden hair and robust muscles, one can take on three"
"Eunuchs as young children, twelve or thirteen years old, were used in the harem of the Parthian emperor."
"Hei zhen zhu, hen zhen zhu."
Translation: "Black pearl, very precious."
Ye Feng saw that all the slaves were naked, with at most a cloth wrapped around their waists.
Ye Feng and Nia had just entered the market when a group of slave traders surrounded them.
"Come and take a look, I have all kinds of them here. There are farm workers, laborers, and even beautiful Aberdeen slave girls."
"Beautiful miss, blonde, red hair, black curly hair, I have them all there, come and take a look even if you don't buy"
A slave trader dragged over a slave, pinched open his mouth and said: "Look at the teeth, absolutely healthy, no matter how you use him, he won't die."
Ye Feng had a very familiar feeling of going back in time, it was at the train station where a group of people surrounded him and asked "Brother, do you want to buy a watch?"
Looking at the slaves with collars and shackles, being whipped by their masters, either in despair or numbness, or with a pitiful gaze like a beaten dog, Ye Feng reminded himself "This is the true face of this world."
He looked at the people beside him, Nia pursed her lips, with an impatient expression on her face towards the slave traders who came running to hug their business, while Ora was interested in looking at all kinds of "goods", just like shopping in a supermarket, Ye Feng thought.
Nia's guards stared at the female slave unobstructedly, commenting and evaluating her with great enthusiasm.
Seeing Nia's impatient expression, several guards roughly pushed aside the slave traders standing nearby.
Niya turned to Ye Feng and said helplessly, "These people all have ordinary things in their hands that can only be used for ordinary work, but every time they surround you like flies. We need to go find some larger-scale merchants, where we might find what we want. However, ironwork slaves are in high demand, so we'll also need a bit of luck."
"Hey sis, it's been a while, can I take a stroll around?"
Nia looked around and said: "Okay, you go for a walk by yourself."
She dispatched two guards to follow Oola, then squatted down and carefully smoothed out the wrinkles on his collar, saying: "Let's get one thing straight, we're just looking, don't buy anything, I'm not going to spend any money."
"Got it, I've taken a liking to it myself. No need for you to give it to me, I have my own money." Oola said with a swagger, patting the purse at his waist.
Niya's eyebrows rose, and she asked: "Where did you get that money?"
"Oh no, I've said too much." Oola turned around and quickly ran off with a "whoosh", the two guards hastily following after her.
Niya turned her head and asked Ye Feng: "Was it you who gave it to him, little kid? How can he be so extravagant with money? Having one old man at home is already a headache for me."
Yefeng chuckled and said, "Don't be too strict on the kid, let him spend his money if he has it. Do you want the next generation's duke to become a miser who can't walk down the street when they see money? Extravagance in moderation, extravagance in moderation. Hahaha..."
Niya glared at Ye Feng and said, "Why do you always have a twisted argument?"
She led the way towards a large house in front of them.
