Chapter 52: Slave Market (Part 2)
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Ye Feng walked over, carefully sizing up the place. It wasn't quite accurate to call it a house - half of it was dug into the ground, and the upper half was surrounded by thick wooden bars as thick as a bowl's mouth, through which he could see the slaves packed tightly inside the cage.
The top of the cage is made into a platform with wooden boards, and on it stand the slaves on display. Behind the platform is a two-story earthen building.
Seeing Nia arrive, a fat man with a handful of gold rings and a thick gold chain around his neck came over with a flattering smile, starting to nod and bow from ten steps away.
"Noble Miss Nia, you've come in person. If there's anything you need, just call out and Harman will attend to you at your doorstep. Ah, Lord Longrid has also arrived, please come in quickly. Lole, use the whip to drive these plebeians away, don't let them crowd around the esteemed nobles."
Niya nodded impatiently and followed Ye Feng into the building behind the exhibition stand.
The first floor was a spacious hall, very clean, Nia and Yefeng sat down beside a wooden round table, the guards stood behind Nia.
Haman hastily turned around and busied himself, loudly urging the maids to bring wine and fruit. He wasn't particularly afraid of delaying Nia, but he was afraid of delaying the Dragon Rider Lord who could pluck his hair like a wild goose, in which case he would have to go jump into the sea.
Niya introduced Ye Feng: "This Harman is a businessman who can be counted on in the market. His business scale is not large, but the slaves he sells are all in short supply."
Haman bowed and scraped as he came forward, saying: "Thank you for your praise, sir. Quality is my business, not boasting. You won't find better goods anywhere in the market, whether it's craftsmen, gladiators or beauties. I have even got the daughter of the Earl of Aberdeen, guaranteed to be a virgin..."
Nia waved her hand to interrupt him and said: "Alright, alright, otherwise I wouldn't have come here."
Haman stole a glance at Ye Feng and asked cautiously: "I don't know how many people the master wants this time? Warriors or craftsmen, women or eunuchs?"
Yefeng rubbed his chin with his fingers and said: "First, let me take a look at the prettiest little girl you have here."
Niya fiercely kicked Ye Feng under the table and said to Hama: "Don't mind Lord Ye, I need a few skilled blacksmiths."
"Good heavens! Praise the all-powerful Zos, miss, you've arrived just in time. Just a short while ago we emerged victorious from our battle against those detestable Parthians, and the fearless Third Norman Legion captured the key eastern stronghold of Carrhae, where I acquired a batch of skilled Damascus steel smiths, buying up the best among them at no small expense, merely to keep them in good health."
Niya was impatient with his nagging and waved her hand saying: "Bring them here and let me take a look, if I'm satisfied, I won't make you lose out."
Haman hastily ordered his attendants to bring people.
Soon six Patties were brought into the hall, Ye Feng took a look, among them an old man in his sixties and five middle-aged men in their thirties and forties.
It can be seen that Harman is quite satisfied with these good goods that can be sold at a high price, although they are all wearing shackles and handcuffs. The old man's face looks not bad, the other five people look healthy too, but their expressions are all gloomy and depressed, with a poker face, staring blankly at Ye Feng and others.
Haman pointed at those people and began to introduce them: "That old guy is Karak's..."
Niya waved her hand to interrupt his introduction and looked at the old man, saying: "You introduce yourselves. Any slave who works well under me for ten years will be released."
Several people moved at the same time.
"Your Excellency," said Haman with a fawning smile, "you are indeed too kind. You even take pity on these wretched creatures who are no better than pigs and dogs."
In this world, one day as a slave, a lifetime as a slave.
To the master, slaves are nothing more than livestock.
Slaves are not only lifelong, but also the children born to slaves will be the master's slaves. The slave owner has control over all aspects of a slave's life, including their life and freedom.
They wore metal collars around their necks engraved with their master's name and had slave marks branded on their bodies.
There are only two ways to get rid of the status of a slave: either your family is willing to ransom you and the slave owner is willing to sell, or the army of your country comes over and liberates you. However, this is not absolute, as many times the army of the slave's home country has come over, but the generals and soldiers will still sell him as a slave for money.
The only hope a slave could have was that their master would take pity on them and set them free, becoming a freedman, but this did not mean the slave regained complete freedom.
Freeing slaves is no longer treating them as livestock but as a human being. Freed slaves are still the property of their masters.
Simply put, if a master kills his own slave, there is no problem; if someone else kills the slave, he only needs to compensate the master for the value of the slave. However, if a master kills a freedman, he will be fined by the authorities; if someone else kills a freedman, not only must he pay compensation to the former master many times over, but also hand over a huge fine to the authorities.
To put it bluntly, the release of a slave's identity is merely to ensure that slaves are not indiscriminately killed by others.
But the treatment of freed slaves in their master's household was much better than that of slaves, similar to that of ordinary hired laborers, and some masters even paid wages to freed slaves.
A slave is not allowed to go out freely. If you see a slave with a collar who is not accompanied by his master, catch him and hand him over to his master, there will definitely be a reward, because that slave must have run away.
Slaves were allowed to have some freedom of movement.
In Normandy, to free a slave required the master's consent, then going to the authorities for registration and paying a fee of one silver coin. The freed slave would receive a certificate signed by the master and the authorities.
For these few blacksmiths, both ways of obtaining freedom have become utterly impossible.
Their families had long since died in the war, and Xinya was thousands of miles away from Patia.
The old man asked in a rusty Norman dialect: "May I know the lady's identity?"
Haman, in order to show his zeal, hastily jumped out and pointed at the old man's nose, shouting loudly: "You rascal, shut your stinking mouth, you have no right to ask questions."
Nia said: "It doesn't matter. People with skills should be respected, even if they are slaves. I am the daughter of Governor Xinya and Grand Duke Xisi."
The old man was taken aback, his right hand on his chest, bowing and greeting: "Nice to meet you, Duchess. The one beside you must be the Dragon Knight Ye Feng. Your reputation is now known throughout the land."
Seeing his popularity so high, Ye Feng couldn't help but feel a little proud of himself.
The old man continued: "I am Yaqub az-Zarad, formerly the master builder of Karak. Before becoming a slave I served in the royal foundry at Damascus for thirty years. These five are all my pupils."
Niya and Yefeng exchanged a glance, both moved at the same time.
