"Do you know what's going on?" Zhang Huan sneered slightly, of course he knew that this was Pei Jun's spy in Fengxiang who came to him, according to Pei Jun's plan, he wanted to occupy Fengxiang, but the division was unknown, and it was not possible to rely on his two thousand cavalry, which required a lot of preparation, but Zhang Huan only had a day or two.

Although he had no intention of occupying Fengxiang, he still had to give an account to Pei Jun, and on the way he set out, he had sent a fast horse to order the 20,000 soldiers and horses of Longxi County and Kaiyang County to get ready, so that even if he couldn't take Fengxiang, it was not his reason.

Zhang Huan pondered for a moment, and then said to Hu Yong: "The matter is very urgent, I will tell Mr. slowly on the way, now ask Mr. to change his clothes first." ”

As he spoke, he glanced at the pro-soldiers on both sides, and the pro-soldiers understood, and invited Hu Yong down, leaving Zhang Huan alone in the room, he closed the door, turned around and walked towards the inner room.

The living room is a normal room, but the bedroom is different: the scent of gardenias, a pair of red candles are suddenly burning, the floor is covered with a thick Persian carpet, the walls are decorated with tassels of great food, a bed carved from mahogany is covered with a thick tuft of new bedding, and a lilac curtain is dragged down from the roof.

Cui Ning had fallen asleep, her face was red, and her breathing was a little short, Zhang Huan was shocked, and hurriedly reached out and touched her forehead, her hand was hot, Cui Ning seemed to be sick.

Zhang Huan looked at her in a daze, his heart was full of guilt, this was his responsibility, and she ran all the way. My father was seriously ill. Cui Ning endured both physical and mental exhaustion, but she never complained to herself, just followed silently, and now she finally fell ill, but she didn't even have a servant maid.

Zhang Huan hurriedly poured a cup of hot water. whispered softly in her ear, "Ning'er! Ning'er! Cui Ning slowly opened his eyes, hey! sighed, and hurriedly sat up, "Why did I fall asleep." ”

Zhang Huan held her down, and Cui Ning only felt a sharp pain in his head, and his whole body was sore. She had to lie down again. "Huanlang, I seem to be sick."

"Yes! It's that I didn't think about you, and I made you suffer with me. Zhang Huan sat beside her, held her hand, smiled and comforted her: "You lie down, I will take care of you!" ”

Cui Ning saw that Ai Lang was considerate, her heart was full of gratitude, nodded lightly, and closed her eyes again. After a while, she slowly opened her eyes again and said, "Huanlang, you go and get busy!" I don't care. ”

"I'm really fine now, so you can sleep in peace! I'll be by your side. Zhang Huan gently brushed away a few green threads on her forehead and kissed her on the face. He whispered again, "I'll have someone go to the doctor now." You lie down for a while. ”

After speaking, Zhang Huan tucked her quilt. He walked out of the door quickly, he walked into the courtyard, Hu Yong had already changed into a new clothes, dozens of personal soldiers were also ready to go, Zhang Huan stepped forward and said to Hu Yong: "I will leave this matter to you, you go and tell the person, I am still waiting for the news from Kaiyang County, once the deployment is completed, I will immediately send someone to inform him." ”

Hu Yong was Zhang Huan's adviser for less than an hour, so he was ordered to act, but he did not postpone, he looked up to the sky and followed the soldiers with a smile, Zhang Huan looked at his back and walked away, and summoned Lin Jiuhan, and ordered him in a low voice: "Send someone to keep an eye on the people who come from Fengxiang, don't startle the snake, and obey my orders." ”

Lin Jiuhan got the order and immediately went to arrange manpower, Zhang Huan immediately called a few more personal soldiers and ordered them to quickly go to the doctor, and after all the arrangements were confirmed one by one, he returned to the inner room.

The light in the inner room was soft, but Cui Ning's face had turned from red to pale, cold sweat began to break out on her forehead, her eyes were tightly closed, her lips were bloodless, and she moved slightly, as if she was muttering something.

Zhang Huan was so anxious that he rushed to the door for a while, anxiously looked around, and helped Cui Ning up to feed her water, and I don't know how long it took for the doctor to finally arrive.

He diagnosed Cui Ning's pulse, prescribed medicine, and told Zhang Huan that this was caused by excessive fatigue and cold, and he had to rest for a few days, and could not be tired anymore, after taking the medicine, Cui Ning soon fell asleep deeply, Zhang Huan made a bunk next to Cui Ning's bed, in the dead of night, he listened to his lover's even breathing, his heart was full of tranquility and serenity, he thought of Pei Ying and his son in Jincheng County, and unconsciously fell asleep.

Early the next morning, Cui Ningdi's illness improved slightly, Zhang Huan decided to rest in Yu County for two more days, and the army also took turns to take a day off to let the soldiers go to the city to shop and eat, and Zhang Huan took Cui Ning to the county town to buy maids.

On the fourth day of the first lunar month of the new year, Yuxian County is also as lively as other places in Datang, the streets are full of people, the shops are full of dazzling, the merchants carry their burdens through the streets and alleys, the carriages carrying goods are speeding by, groups of children are running and playing in the streets and alleys, and from time to time there are groups of soldiers passing through the street corners.

There is a street called Sibei Street in the west of Yuxian County, here used to be the place where the Hui people concentrated, after several changes, most of the Hui people returned to Mobei, here it became a place where merchants and hawkers were mixed, now this is a famous human market in Fengxiang County, that is, the slave market for human trafficking, for many years, business has been booming here, all kinds of people are sold at a price here, or young and beautiful women, or strong men, or blue-eyed and yellow-haired people from the Western Regions, or the short and sturdy Hui and the tall and strong Qiang, there are also many shabby families who sell maids and servants here.

However, since the beginning of this year, the business here has obviously become much more popular, on the one hand, the land annexation is becoming more and more serious, many yeoman farmers are bankrupt and forced to sell themselves as slaves, and the other is the war in Shuzhong, which makes a large number of people escape from Shu, and many people are controlled by human traffickers, and they are auctioned in Hanzhong, Fengxiang and other places nearby, and Yuxian County has been a prosperous place for Fengxiang trade since ancient times, and it has become a hot place for slave trading in Shuzhong

Slavery has always been a stubborn disease in the Tang Dynasty, and it has not changed since the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, and the laws of the Tang Dynasty have also clearly protected the interests of slave owners.

Zhang Huan was riding on a horse, close to the window, and nearly 100 guards and cavalry were on both sides. Cui Ning leaned in the carriage. Looking at the slaves for sale on the street through the corner of the car window, she originally had two twin sisters and maids, because she went to Hexi with Zhang Huan a year ago, the twin sisters changed to serve Cui Yuan's eldest grandson Cui Yao, and later Pei Ying matched her with a maid in Hexi. But she was too old, and before Cui Ning returned to Chang'an, he gave her some money and let her go home to get married.

Sibei Street is about two miles long, and the road was originally very wide, but now the greenhouses on both sides of the road have been erected to make the road very narrow. There was a lot of people along the way. The shouts came and went, all kinds of slaves stood on the wooden platform in the shed, most of them were thinly clothed, shivering in the cold wind, Zhang Huan and his party were obviously here to buy slaves, they walked over the place, and the shouts were louder.

"Master, please buy me!" Some slaves were forced to kneel in the street to solicit customers, and many young women wore sheer gauze skirts. to tempt the buyer, but his voice was cold and trembling, "Master, I am willing to do anything, as long as ten dollars." I can serve you tonight. ”

Cui Ning is the first time to come to the city. When she saw the miserable condition of these slaves, she could not bear it. said to Zhang Huan through the window: "Huanlang, I don't want to see it, let's go back!" The maid asked her subordinates to buy it. ”

Zhang Huan nodded, then turned around, he saw a lot of tall and strong young men among the slaves along the way, and the prices were very cheap, less than ten yuan can buy a person, and there are many young and beautiful women, he had already moved the idea in his heart, when he returned to the intersection, he beckoned to Lin Jiuhan, took out a gold medal and handed it to him and whispered: "You go back to the barracks immediately, bring a thousand soldiers to come, just say that you are catching deserters, and bring all the slaves on this street to the barracks, listen to me, those slave traders dare to resist, Tell the brothers that they can be beaten and killed. ”

Lin Jiuhan understood what the lord meant, he nodded, and galloped away with a dozen brothers outside the city, Zhang Huan turned around and glanced coldly at this heyday of Yuxian City, and rode a horse to escort Cui Ning back to the inn.

About half an hour later, more than 1,000 cavalry rushed into the county town murderously, the yellow dust rolled, the sound of hooves was like thunder, the street was suddenly in chaos, the people stumbled and fled, calling for their mothers, and it was a mess, many shopkeepers thought that it was the army to wash the city, and they were so frightened that they didn't even have time to close the store door, so they fled, and every house closed their doors, and in a moment, the street became deserted.

Only a few of the soldiers who were wandering in the streets recognized their companions, and they gave up their vacations and followed, and soon the cavalry rushed to the north street of the west of the city, where they split in two and blocked both ends of the street.

At this time, everyone on Sibei Street was stunned, those who bought land, sold people, and waited to be sold, they didn't know what was going on, and several soldiers rushed in and said loudly: "There are deserters from the Hexi Army among the slaves, the army must identify them one by one, all slaves are not allowed to trade, and those who violate the order will be beheaded for the crime of rebels!" ”

The whole Sibei Street suddenly exploded, roaring, scolding, chaos, many buyers who had already paid the money have asked the slave owners for money, and the slave owners were indignant, and everyone spontaneously organized themselves to negotiate with the army.

Lin Jiuhan rode his horse into the street, and several of the largest slave owners saw that he was the leader of the army, and surrounded him together, and one of them said angrily: "We slaves are all from Shu, how can there be deserters from the Hexi Army, you are too unreasonable." ”

The other pointed to his hundreds of female slaves and said, "Since it is a deserter who has been arrested, then these women naturally have nothing to do with it, can I take them away?" ”

Everyone said a word, I said a word, and they all condemned the army for being arrogant, and then an old man with a shiny face stepped forward and smiled: "Since the general is investigating deserters, it is very easy to do!" Why don't I come up with an idea? ”

As soon as his words fell, there was a crisp sound, and he was whipped by Lin Jiuhan on his face, blood splashed, Lin Jiuhan pulled out his knife and pointed at him coldly: "You are a fart, and you want to give Lao Tzu an idea." ”

With a flick of his sword, he said to these slave owners: "I count to three, and those who dare to block it will be killed!" ”

"One!" He shouted the first loudly, and several slave owners stepped forward to help the old man, all glaring at him, not frightened by him. "Two!" Lin Jiuhan's voice began to become cold, and one of them straightened his voice and shouted: "The laws of the Tang Dynasty protect our interests, do your troops want to bully others?" ”

"Three!" Lin Jiuhan's straight lips suddenly burst out with a word, "Kill!" ”

Dozens of soldiers around him hurried forward. Swing your knife and slash. Five or six slave owners were cut down in a row, wailing and screaming were everywhere, and other slave owners and traffickers who were watching from the Middle Earth realized the seriousness of the problem and abandoned the market one after another, and the slaves were also at a loss for what to do.

Several soldiers shouted all the way back, "All slaves squat on the spot, we will not embarrass you!" ”

When the slaves heard this, they squatted down, and then the cavalry began to shrink their formation, forming groups of slaves into groups and escorting them to the military camp outside the city. Soon. All the slaves were taken away, the whole Sibei Street became empty, there was no one left, hundreds of soldiers searched again, sure that there was no fish that slipped through the net, and brought all the valuable things, a captain stepped forward and reported to Lin Jiuhanyu: "General Lin, the whole street is empty, can we evacuate?" ”

Lin Jiuhan glanced at the greenhouses on both sides. Suddenly, he said coldly: "The governor doesn't like to buy and sell slaves, so burn them for me!" ”

At the sound of an order, more than a dozen soldiers lit torches and set fires everywhere to burn Sibei Street. In an instant. Sibei Street burst into flames, and the flames quickly engulfed the greenhouses on both sides of the street. It burned until noon, and the originally prosperous and lively street was burned to the white ground, and after this catastrophe, the people of Yuxian County gradually decayed and died.

Zhang Huan has returned to the inn, Cui Ning is weak, and lies back on the bed to rest, at noon, Zhang Huan is talking with Cui Ning, suddenly there is a rush of footsteps outside the door, only to hear Lin Jiuhan report outside the door: "Governor, his subordinates have done it, I am here to hand over the order!" ”

"I'll take a look." Zhang Huan smiled at Cui Ning, and walked out of the door, only to find that there were two little ladies standing behind Lin Jiuhan, both about eleven or twelve years old, with delicate appearances and quite similar looks, but they looked at Zhang Huan a little timidly.

Zhang Huan pointed at them and smiled, "Is this what you found out of the slaves?" ”

"Yes!" Lin Jiuhan pushed them up and said with a smile: "This is a pair of sisters, one is eleven years old and the other is twelve years old, both from Shu County, they were separated from their parents in the war and abducted by human traffickers. ”

Zhang Huan slowly walked up to them, and when he saw that they were so frightened that they shrank back, he squatted down and smiled at them gently: "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you, it's my wife who is sick and needs someone to take care of her, so I brought you here." ”

The older sister was very clever, she immediately saluted Zhang Huan and said in a low voice: "Slave Mingyue see the master!" ”

The younger sister next to her also gave a salute, and said timidly: "Slave Mingzhu see the master!" ”

"Mingzhu, Mingyue, the names are good!" Zhang Huan smiled and nodded, and said to them, "You come with me." ”

The two little ladies obediently followed Zhang Huan into the room, Cui Ning had already sat up, Zhang Huan pointed at Cui Ning and smiled at the two little ladies and said: "This is your master mother, I will wait for you well in the future, I will not treat you badly in the future." ”

"Huanlang, are they twin sisters?" Cui Ning saw that they looked very similar, and couldn't help but ask with interest.

Without waiting for Zhang Huan to answer, her sister stepped forward and knelt down, "Slave Mingyue, the eldest sister is one year old, knock on the master's mother." ”

The younger sister also knelt down and replied like a fart: "Slave Mingzhu, the young lady is one year old, knock on the master's mother." ”

"Hurry up! I don't like people kneeling. Cui Ning was very happy when she saw that they were delicate and lovely, so she arched her hand to Zhang Huan and smiled: "Thank you, General!" ”

Zhang Huan laughed, and also bowed back: "Do we call respecting each other like guests?" ”

Cui Ning couldn't help laughing and coughing violently, beating her chest gently, the two sisters saw that the master was kind, they were also relieved, and hurriedly stepped forward to help Cui Ning lie down, Zhang Huan saw that they were well-behaved, so he took out two pearls from his arms and handed them to them: "This is the rule of my house, the personal maids of the master and mother have a meeting gift, and I will ask you two in the future." ”

"Yes!" The two sisters took the pearl and thanked Zhang Huanshi, Cui Ning saw that he was thoughtful, so he patted the bed and said to the two sisters: "Come!" Sit here and tell me about your background, where are you from? How can it be sold by human traffickers? Zhang Huan gave Cui Ning a look and pointed outward, indicating that he had something, Cui Ning glanced at him coquettishly, but pretended not to see it.