The various urban districts of Xiangyang City are strictly divided according to different functions. For example, Dongcheng District is the location of officials' mansions and the Xiangyang Third Hospital, Xicheng District is home to some important warehouses and barracks, and the western suburbs of Xiangyang City have many production bases for training centers and research institutes. Therefore, the east and west gates of Xiangyang City, the general public can not enter and exit at will, and most of the people who enter and exit Xiangyang are through the south and north gates.

In the heart of Xiangyang City is a bustling business district, home to green houses, wine shops and the famous illusion hall. The southern and northern districts are both places where ordinary people live, but they have their own characteristics.

There are relatively more wealthy people living in Beicheng District, so there are many shops along the street, and the goods sold are relatively more expensive, such as Moxiangzhai, White Porcelain Pavilion and Dahan Qianzhuang are located in Beicheng District, and Ma Yun and several of them have opened silk villages, rouge shops, and jewelry shops are also there.

Although the people living in Nancheng District are not poor enough, they are definitely not well-off, and the shops there sell mainly daily necessities. However, there are also many large and small markets in the southern part of the city, where farmers from the surrounding countryside and merchants from the north and south can set up a stall and pay a symbolic "management fee" to sell their own vegetables, fruits, chickens and ducks, or goods trafficked from other places. The goods sold in these markets are considered to be of good quality and low prices, so they are very popular, sometimes much more lively than the heart of Xiangyang City.

It was the Xiongnu envoys who came to Xiangyang, not ordinary people, and it stands to reason that Liu Xin could have arranged for them to go through the east gate, but Liu Xin chose to let them enter the city from the south gate. Liu Xin's arrangement, of course, is not to let them enjoy the lively scene in Nancheng District, but for another purpose.

However, the open-air bazaars along the streets in Nancheng District still deeply attracted the attention of these Xiongnu envoys. Horses were not allowed in Xiangyang City, and these Hun envoys also obediently led their horses, but they unconsciously slowed down.

The living environment on the grassland is very harsh, and the materials are extremely scarce, and one of the important reasons why they have to harass the Han border every year is that the daily necessities such as salt, iron, and cloth they need cannot be met through the mutual market. The dazzling variety of commodities in the market in the southern city of Xiangyang dazzled these Xiongnu envoys, and made them salivate, if this was a certain village and town on the border, I am afraid they would have robbed it a long time ago, but this is Xiangyang, borrowing their ten guts, they did not dare to act rashly, they could only swallow and swallow their saliva.

Suddenly, Hu Chuquan, Chi Wule, and Gu Tu'an stood in unison, staring at a market not far away without blinking.

On all sides of the market, the inner and outer three floors have long been surrounded by water. On the high platform in the center of the bazaar, groups of young women and girls are lined up, each with a wooden sign around their necks, on which various numbers are written in Chinese characters. These young women and girls wore many slender braids on their heads, wore sheepskin jackets, and wore sheepskin boots, all dressed in short beats, which was exactly the clothing of Xiongnu women.

Hu Chuquan roughly estimated that these Xiongnu young women numbered about 2,000 people, and they were obviously taken captive in this battle of the Han army's counterattack against Monan.

Soon, Hu Chuquan understood that the Han people gathered these Xiongnu women here, of course, not to show their achievements, but to sell them into slavery publicly, and the numbers on the wooden plaques on the chests of these women were the value of these women. Because Hu Chuquan had already seen that a Han man had handed over a certain amount of silver taels, and then took away one or more women. In fact, the number on the wooden plaque is not just the value of those Xiongnu women, but the reserve price at which they were publicly auctioned, but the meaning is not much different.

It is extremely difficult to survive on the steppe, and it is almost difficult for women and children to survive without men. Therefore, in the grasslands, even if you kill their men and take them for yourself, they will not resist, let alone avenge their original man, but will treat the person who possessed them as their new man. It is precisely because of this that there is a custom of robbing relatives on the grassland, killing the groom with your own hands or with the help of friends, and the bride is yours.

After these young Xiongnu women were captured by the Han army, they were well fed, warmly dressed, and no one bullied them, they were also at ease, even if they were auctioned off in the public like now, they didn't feel anything wrong, because in their eyes, whether they could survive or not was the most important thing.

After Liu Xin came to this era, he also thought about whether to abolish the slave system, but he soon found that it was unrealistic to do so. Rich people always pursue pleasure, and without a large group of slaves and maids waiting, all the housework must be done by themselves, so what is the use of asking for a lot of money? All he could do was to strengthen the household register, register all the slaves and maids, and try to ensure their right to life.

However, due to the rapid economic development of Jing, Yi and other places in recent years, many people have lived a life without food and clothing, and the phenomenon of selling themselves into slavery has naturally been greatly reduced. However, the noble families and the wealthy who became wealthy still preferred the slaves and maids who were absolutely dominated by them. In this case, both male and female slaves have gradually become a relatively in-demand commodity.

These young Hun women, although most of them have darker skin and have the smell of mutton, still attract many people to rush to buy.

Hu Chuquan's face was difficult to see, seeing this scene, if he didn't know it clearly, this was Liu Xin demonstrating to him. Otherwise, why don't they auction sooner or later, just when they enter the city, and the auction venue is still set up on their necessary route.

Liu Xin did not summon them immediately, but asked them to settle down in the post house first, and did not allow them to leave the post house, after all, there were too many people in their group, and they were all barbarians who did not know etiquette, Liu Xin did not want these people to affect the stability of Xiangyang.

Although they were not allowed to leave the inn, they did not neglect them in terms of wine and food, and good wine and food were brought up in one go. The ** living on the grassland is more rough and bold, and they like to drink more, but the wine they drink daily is some light milk wine, which is not as strong as the good wine in the inn.

Chiul and Gu Tu'an were called warriors, and they were like this, and the two of them took up the wine jar and fought there shouting.

The more Hu Chuquan looked, the more angry he became, slapped the table, and said angrily: "You two only know how to drink, but you don't want to think about business!" ”

Chiwule and Gu Tu'an are also the leaders of a tribe, but their own tribe is not as strong as the tribe controlled by Yu Fuluo and Hu Chuquan.

Gu Tu'an heard Hu Chuquan angry, reluctantly put down the wine jar in his hand, and muttered: "Lord Wang, you also saw it today, although this Liu Xin is not the Han emperor, but he is more ruthless than the Han emperor, and the two generals under him look at our entire Xiongnu, who is their opponent?" ”

The people on the grassland respect heroes the most, and the Huns are no exception, Chiwule lost to Wei Yan, that was convinced, and he deeply agreed with Gu Tu'an's words, and said: "Lord, in my opinion, let's not be the enemy of the Han Dynasty." Sending us and other envoys must have meant the same thing. It's all to Tu Mulan, what is the Han border to attack at this time, if you want to do it, you will wait until the spring of the next year, grab it and run, the vast grassland, no matter how strong the Han army is, where will you go to find us? ”

In the past, relying on the superiority of military strength, and few emperors and high-ranking officials of the Han Dynasty were willing to take such a small matter as the Xiongnu raiding the border to heart. But this time, Hu Chuquan has keenly sensed that the situation seems to be a little different from the past.

This time, after the tribes of Tumran attacked the Han border, the Xiongnu suffered losses far more than the Han people, if you count the women and children who died of cold and starvation, the losses are almost nearly 100 times that of the Han people, which is unbearable for the Xiongnu whose population is far less than the Han people. Even so, Liu Xin also arranged this public auction of the young Xiongnu woman as a slave to show him, obviously not only for Liwei, but also to show that the next negotiations will be very difficult, so give them a foreshadowing first.

Hu Chuquan is a good Chinese scholar, knowing that the Han people are good at scheming, although he likes Jingzhou very much, but he doesn't want to be played by Liu Xin, seeing that Chiwule and Gu Tu'an seem to have been shocked by the two Han generals, he suddenly said angrily: "You two don't want to fall for the Han people's tricks!" How can there be so many warriors in the Han army, and you two just met them? ”

Chi Wule was stunned for a moment and said, "What does the prince mean is that the two people who escorted us over were deliberately arranged by the Han people?" ”

Hu Chuquan frowned and said, "Yes, I suspect that these two people are the best masters in the Han army. Now that these two people have gone back to Liangzhou, when they see Liu Xin tomorrow, you will propose to challenge their warriors and see who else under him can fight with you?" ”

Gu Tu'an arched his hand and said: "Lord Wang, we have already lost a game, where is there such a thing as a challenge again, it is better for us to make Shan Yu's conditions clear." ”

Hu Chuquan sneered: "If you don't show your strength and determination, do you think Liu Xin will agree to Shan Yu's conditions?" Besides, don't you see the women in the bazaar today? Think of your people! ”

Chiwule and Gu Tu'an shivered in unison. This time, coming from the royal court, passing by the camps of several tribes, those charred corpses, frozen women and children, made them feel for the first time that there are such powerful means under the cowardly appearance of the Han people, if these things happen to their people, the result is really unimaginable.

(All the chapters owed, so relieved!) ）