My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 510: Strange Slaves
The man's name is Zhebie.

When he was young, he was also a well-known figure in the Hetao region.

——The word "Zhebie" originally means "sharpshooter" in Xiongnu language.

In the Huns' army, there was even an honorary title called Jebie, or even a direct position.

As for his name Zhebie, there is no doubt about it - if his strength was even remotely unworthy of the name, the man would have been forced to change his name long ago.

Relying on his superb archery skills, Zhebie began to bring back prey for the tribe very early on.

Once on the battlefield, he would remain calm and his hands would not tremble. Although he could not shoot every arrow accurately, he could at least hit the target from a hundred paces away.

If it weren't for the desire to stay in the tribe and in Hetao, instead of being taken around by Shanyu Ting, Zhebei would have participated in the Dailin Conference long ago and opened the eyes of the entire grassland.

For people like Zhebie, life in the grassland's 'old society' was not actually that painful.

There was food and drink, livestock, women, and wealth.

And now, the "new society" controlled by the Han people has no obvious benefits for these people.

Therefore, people like Zhebie were actually quite at a loss as to what to do with the changes on the grassland - or to be more precise, the earth-shaking changes that had taken place in the Hetao region in the past two years.

They, the "Zhebies", do not know where they should be in the new order, what their social position should be;
I don’t know what they should do in the new society.

I don’t even know how to maintain my previous identity and status in the ‘old society’ in the new society.

And Zhebie is actually relatively wise and open-minded among this group.

——Zhebie went to Bowang City.

In order to find out what the new society is like and to explore the future of people like himself in the new society, Zhebie took the initiative to go to Bowang City and stayed there for several months.

What he saw and heard in Bowang City in the past few months undoubtedly overturned Zhebie's understanding of the grassland order and the Han people.

As for the future, Zhebie was confused, but he also began to think about it...

"Ada."

"Then, after Aya learns horse riding and archery, will it be useless?"

While he was thinking, the young man in his arms asked a childish question, which made Zhebie feel surprised.

Subconsciously raising an eyebrow, he heard the young man continue: "If you can't kill people at will, then you definitely can't kill Han people."

"If we can't kill the Han people, then if we learn horse riding and archery, won't we only be able to hunt and shoot prey?"

As he spoke, the young boy Aya pursed his lips with a look of disappointment.

"Aya, is it true that I can no longer be a warrior?"

The boy asked questions one after another, like a machine gun that couldn't stop.

The question made Zhebie stand there in a daze. He instinctively wanted to say something, but he swallowed the words back again and again.

Zhebie’s first reaction was to tell his son Aya: riding and archery are useful at any time.

The nomadic people of the grasslands have never forgotten the skills of riding horses and shooting arrows.

As long as they can master the skills, there will always be an endless supply of brave warriors on the grassland.

But Zhebie swallowed the words back.

Because in Bowang City, Zhebie saw many Han people.

Some of them were so thin that they could not even ride a horse, but they were respected by others because of their ability to write and read.

There are also people who can neither ride horses or shoot arrows, nor fight in battles; who can neither be nomads nor farm; who can neither wield swords nor speak literary language.

But they will count.

Just because they are good at counting, they can gain the favor of wealthy Han businessmen and become respected figures in Bowang City.

Even in the Han army, there were many people who could not ride horses or shoot arrows, but were able to become Han soldiers or even generals in the army by relying on their abilities in other areas.

Now, Hetao is divided into two counties: Shuofang and Wuyuan.

The original Hetao tribes also became counties under the jurisdiction of these two counties.

If Zhebie's guess is correct, then in the future, the nomadic people in the Hetao region will certainly be happy to learn the skills of the Han people.

Some people may learn to read;
Some people might learn arithmetic.

Even if they were honing their combat skills, it wouldn't necessarily be the same as in the past - everyone would learn riding and archery by default, but there would also be 'new warriors' who couldn't ride a horse or shoot an arrow.

So, Zhebie couldn’t answer his son Aya’s first question.

As for the second question - whether it is forbidden to kill Han people in the future, Zhebie's first reaction was to cover his son's mouth and remind him "not to say such things in the future."

But deep down, Zhebie, a privileged class in the "old society", actually still had some hidden expectations for the Chanyu Court and some nostalgia for the Hetao area under the old order.

Zhebie hoped, or did not rule out, the possibility that one day he would wake up and find an envoy from the Chanyu court outside his tent, saying that they wanted to recruit him to fight against the Han people.

But reason told Zhebie that the Han people’s rule in the Hetao region would probably last for quite a long time.

This period of time may be three, five, eight or ten years.

Zhebie is already in his twenties.

In a few years, I will reach the age that is generally recognized as "waste" on the grassland: thirty years old.

After the age of thirty, Zhebie's health will begin to deteriorate and his followers will no longer fear him.

Until one day, his son Aya grew up and became the new leader of the tribe.

At that time, whether Zhebie will be expelled from the tribe will depend on whether his son Aya, who will become the leader of the tribe, is inclined to abide by traditions and safeguard the overall interests of the tribe, or to family affection and his father.

So Zhebie was also unable to answer this question.

——He neither reminded Aya not to say such things as "kill the Han people" in the future, nor did he continue to have a deep conversation with his son Aya on this topic.

He thought for a long time, sighed, and touched little Aya's head.

"From now on, life on the grassland will be very different."

"Aya, you need to adapt to these changes as soon as possible."

"——Next time we go to Bowang City, Aya, you must come with me."

"Go and see the Han merchants, officials, or soldiers."

"Adapt to all the changes, adapt to the existence of the Han people, Aya, and come up with a good path for the tribe."

Zhebie's words were quite ambiguous.

Because Zhebie himself didn't know where the future of himself and his tribe lay.

I don't know if I can still be a "Zhebie" in Hetao, which is controlled by the Han people. What's the point of continuing to be a Zhebie?

I don’t know whether the future of the tribe will get better or worse, how good it can be, and how bad it can be.

Zhebie was very confused.

It was like a wolf king on the grassland, leading only three or five members of the wolf pack into a swamp that had never been reached before.

Zhebie didn’t know where to go, which would cause the wolves to get stuck in the mud and swamps;
I don’t know which direction to look to find the prey hiding in the swamp.

Zhebie didn't even know what kind of prey would appear in this swamp.

Nor do they know whether the appearance of prey will mean a good meal for the wolf pack or burying it in the swamp.

It was as if the whole view before his eyes was covered by a layer of fog - Zhebie could not see anything clearly and could not understand anything.

It was simply impossible for Zhebie to judge the situation in each direction by observation before "setting off".

You can only go into the fog in any direction you choose and leave everything to fate.

Obviously, as the wolf king, one must have this special ability to find survival opportunities in the unknown by intuition.

But it is also obvious: no matter which era, whether it is an agricultural civilization or a nomadic civilization - women's intuition is always sharper and more accurate than men's. "What are the merchants in Bowang City willing to exchange for cattle and sheep?"

“Are you willing to have calves and lambs as well?”

"The Han people should also want the fur of cattle and sheep, as well as the fur of prey, right?"

While Zhebie was lost in thought, the woman's slightly uneasy question brought Zhebie back to his senses.

After a moment of recollection, he nodded slightly.

“Han merchants in Bowang City are willing to exchange anything for the herders’ cattle, sheep and livestock.”

"The goods I saw with my own eyes included grain, cloth, tea, and salt."

"And medicine."

"The Han people also want calves and lambs, and they don't mind them."

"There are even people who specifically want lambs - only lambs, not full-grown sheep."

"You said lamb... the meat is tender?"

Hearing this, the woman took a deep breath and gently stroked her chest with some heartache.

"Plow God..."

"The Han people are really good at eating..."

“Even lambs?”

"Wouldn't it be nice to raise the lambs and then milk them?"

"Even if you want to eat it, you can raise it until it's older?"

Zhebie said nothing and just shrugged helplessly.

After the woman finished her mumbling, he continued, "The Han people also want furs."

"I want all the furs."

"Cows, sheep, and horses."

"There are also wolf and tiger furs - as long as it's fur, the Han people want it."

“And the prices are all very good.”

...

"I heard that someone used a complete tiger skin to exchange for two cows and five sheep from the Han people!"

"Then I took the two cows and five sheep and exchanged them for food that piled up as high as a small mountain."

"According to the Han Chinese, the grain piled up like a small mountain weighed a hundred dan."

"If it's given to only one person, it will last for five years."

Hearing this, the woman remained silent.

Regarding the changes in the Hetao region, Zhebie may be confused and at a loss as to what to do.

But as women, especially women on the grassland, their sense of survival is always so sharp.

For example, just now, when talking about the changes in Hetao, Zhebie sighed and didn't even know how to tell his son.

But the woman was very keen in capturing the key to the changes taking place in the Hetao region.

--merchant.

——Han merchant.

Over the past few decades, Han caravans have been the only channel for various grassland tribes to adjust their material structure and obtain precious resources.

Such as scarce materials such as salt, medicine, and tea needed for bowel movements - unless there were Han merchant caravans refreshing on the grassland, the nomadic tribes would have no way of obtaining them.

Women on the grassland are almost born to rely on the strong for survival.

Therefore, the woman knew very well what the Hetao region would be like if there was no chaos. The Han merchants in Bowang City were at least beneficial to the Hetao region.

With those merchants, the Hetao region will no longer have to worry about scarce materials such as salt, tea, and medicine, and will not even have to worry about food.

Didn’t you hear what Zhebie said just now?

Two cows and five sheep were exchanged from the Han merchants for enough food to feed one person for five years!

In the future, if a disaster occurs in Hetao and the herders can no longer survive, they can take their cattle and sheep and exchange them for food from the Han people.

After all, two cows and five sheep will not last for five years.

In addition, in addition to cattle, sheep, livestock, and various furs, Han merchants have always wanted other rare items.

For example: the blonde and blue-eyed Dayuan slave.

A Kunlun slave with curly hair and dark skin.

As well as all kinds of strange-looking slaves or exotic beauties, they could all be sold at a high price as "rare items" in the hands of Han merchants.

But for the various tribes on the grassland, these slaves with strange appearances were actually not rare.

Han slaves had to graze, Xiongnu slaves had to graze, Dayuan slaves and Kunlun slaves also had to graze.

No one cares what the shepherd slaves look like, they only care whether they are obedient, strong, physically fit, and capable.

And those slaves with strange shapes generally have "quality problems".

Or, they don't understand human language and are as stupid as pigs, so they can only be directed by a whip.

Or they are extremely lazy, only know how to eat and drink, and are not willing to work at all;

If you are a little nice to him, he might even dare to make demands to you!

Even such inferior slaves can be sold at high prices by Han caravans, and most nomadic people are happy to do so.

As for beautiful women - it is true that young and beautiful women are a scarce resource in themselves no matter where you are.

But for the nomadic people on the grassland, the top priority most of the time is always survival.

As the saying goes, when you’re full of food and drink, you’ll think about sex.

The nomadic people on the grasslands rarely have enough wine and seldom have enough food.

Even if you have sexual thoughts, you don't have any high requirements - a living female is enough.

A true beauty is naturally something that only the nobles are qualified and have the energy to enjoy.

But when the tribe really faced a life-and-death crisis, using a few beautiful women to exchange for a batch of food that would allow the tribe to overcome the difficulties would undoubtedly be a very cost-effective deal.

Thinking of all these things, the woman's eyes became brighter and brighter, as if she had seen an extremely bright future.

——The Han people have many goods that the nomadic people need.

The nomadic people could provide the Han people with cattle, sheep, furs, and rare species of slaves and beautiful women.

The woman has no idea whether the Han people make money or how much they make.

But the woman knew very well: in such a transaction, the nomadic people would definitely not lose out!
"Han merchants in Bowang City are even protected by Bowang City."

"This shows that the Han right general also hopes that Han merchants can trade with our nomadic people."

Such words made Zhebie slightly stunned.

The woman stretched out her hand seriously, hooked it around Zhebie's neck, raised her head, looked at him with a burning gaze, and said affectionately, "Let's go to Bowang City again."

"Take all the skins, and the two Dawan slaves."

(End of this chapter)