After Xiao Chen said goodbye to Luo Ling, he was very excited. He wanted to take these slaves just to make more money for the school and develop his own people faster. He didn't think deeply about what his actions would bring to the world here. But after talking with Luo Ling, he suddenly found that he was standing at the beginning of a road. If he continued along this road, this world would probably part ways with its past.
Standing at the fork in history, as a promoter of it, this feeling makes people feel like they are in the clouds. But can he really do it? He was just a graduate student who had worked as a reporter for two years. Apart from his quick mind, he didn't have much special. He had read some history and knew how huge and terrifying the power of history was. Being in it was like sailing in the sea ravaged by a typhoon. Even if you are extremely cautious, you may be buried in the belly of a fish at any time.
Can he really do it? He looked around, trying to find a companion, but at this time, whether it was Luo Ling, Li Jia, or Lao Chen, these companions had already gone to do their own things. He felt shrouded in loneliness for a while.
Xiao Chen's palms were sweating and his feet were cold. He hoped that someone would come and talk to him at this time, anyone would do...
As expected, a soldier under Roger rushed over and shouted, "Master Xiao, something happened outside!"
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In the open space behind the hillside outside the city of Suero, the slaves were divided into teams of two to three hundred and rested on the spot, watched by Calanda, Roger and his warriors.
A dozen large pots had been set up among them, and the women had brought water to boil, preparing food for the evening.
Perhaps there was a collision during the work, and several slaves started fighting. With pushing and shoving, the original small conflict turned into a group fight involving dozens of people. The idle slaves around saw the lively fight and gathered around to watch and cheer. Even many guarding soldiers came over.
Kalanda angrily took a few soldiers to stop the riot and knocked dozens of troublemakers to the ground.
However, they did not expect that another group of slaves, while everyone's attention was focused on the fighters, attacked the soldiers guarding a baggage cart, stole food and property, and started to escape.
This immediately caused a chain reaction among the group of uneasy and insecure slaves. Many people who wanted to escape, or those who did not trust Xiao Chen, joined the ranks of looting supplies and began to escape.
There were not many soldiers left to guard the baggage. The leader was Roger's adjutant Jacob, who had only about 40 or 50 soldiers under his command. Among them, only two of Roger's original team were left. He was afraid that his men would also have ideas and lose control, so he ordered them to form a battle array and guard the most valuable property tightly. Several carts of food on the periphery were looted by the slaves.
When Kalanda saw this, he did not chase the escaped slaves. Instead, he came to the remaining slaves, chopped down a foot-thick tree nearby with his sword, and shouted, "Everyone, sit down where you are. Anyone who dares to move will be like this tree!"
Roger rode out of the camp...
When Xiao Chen followed the soldier who brought the news and ran out of the outer city of Suero, he happened to meet Roger who was blocking a group of escaped slaves.
Roger held a sword, with blood dripping from the tip of the Thunderscar Sword. In front of him, two men fell in a pool of blood, with food and property scattered around them. Behind the bodies was a group of trembling people, men and women, young and old, the only thing they had in common was that they were all carrying or hugging some food and property.
"What's going on?" Xiao Chen asked.
"Sir, it was our incompetence. We didn't keep a close eye on them, so they escaped. I chased them here, and two men tried to attack me, but I killed them. I had to be ruthless at times like this."
Xiao Chen glanced at the corpses on the ground and said, "It's not your fault. It's not easy for us to control slaves who are a hundred times more than us. I asked you and Kalanda to take care of so many people. It's hard for you. You did the right thing. Take them back."
"Yes!" Roger's face turned cold, and he shouted to the dozens of people in front of him: "Did you hear me? Go back quickly, otherwise the two people on the ground will end up like you."
Those people looked at each other, and the first few knelt down at once. A middle-aged man pleaded in a pitiful voice: "Sir, please let us go. We will be grateful to you for the rest of our lives."
Xiao Chen looked at them carefully and found that they looked honest and simple, not like evil people. He asked curiously, "Why are you leaving? Didn't I promise to take good care of you?"
“This…, this…” Several people began to stammer.
"Don't you know that if you run away like this, you may be captured by other lords and forced to do hard labor, or even executed?" Xiao Chen asked puzzled.
Instead of explaining, several people began to tremble like they were sieved.
Xiao Chen didn't have time to waste with them, so he picked up a man and dragged him in front of him. His body had been slowly growing stronger since it was transformed by the white light, and although he couldn't compare to warriors of the same level, it was effortless for him to lift a person.
"You know, I'm a magician. If I want you to talk, there are many ways. It doesn't even matter whether you are alive or dead. Now my patience is limited. You'd better tell me clearly why you want to leave."
The middle-aged man he mentioned was obviously frightened by the name of the magician. In front of a magician who could talk to the dead, he wisely chose to surrender and blurted out everything he knew: "At the beginning, we all just wanted to fight you out of the slave camp, but we didn't expect things to change later. I don't know why no one chased us. Later, someone found out that you bought us all. Whether it was the slave traders, Suero's people, or the Knights Templar, they all admitted it. Now many people feel that something is wrong. No one has ever been able to buy so many slaves. Everyone is very scared of this kind of thing that has never happened. Some people say that our food is not enough for a few days. If we are sent to open up wasteland, we will probably starve to death. You are solving the problem for the slave traders. Some people say that magicians will...will...eat people. We bought so many people and planned to save them for food. Others say that if so many slaves are requisitioned at once, they will definitely be pulled to the front line of the empire to build fortifications, and they will be pushed out to die in the war."
"Do any of you believe it?"
“Many people believe it.”
"Didn't I tell you to come with me and build your own new home?"
"Ah? Do you really think so? Which lord would buy slaves and let them build their own homes? The masters would like to squeeze every slave dry and eat them. Who would think about the slaves? Although no one can explain the things they guessed, they sound more reliable than 'building their own new homes'."
Xiao Chen was furious. His own ideas were regarded as nonsense in this era, and were not as credible as the "rumor of magicians eating people". However, he could not get angry when he saw these poor people trembling in front of him. Such ignorance and blind faith were not their own fault, but the evil consequences of this society. This was one of the biggest challenges he had to face.
Xiao Chen let go of the middle-aged man and said to the people who were still kneeling on the ground: "I swear here on my honor as a magician that I will never hurt any of you. Now, get up and follow me!"
But those people still lay on the ground and no one stood up.
Xiao Chen knew that time was running out, so he gritted his teeth and released his trustworthy charm magic.
One minute later...
"Knight Roger, you are so handsome."
"Young man, those two guys just killed well. It's a pity that I couldn't help you even though I wanted to."
"Brother Luo Da, we will rush to wherever you point and chop down whoever comes."
"Lord Roger, please come to our tent at night!"
Roger was surrounded by the slaves. The men wanted to put their arms around him, and the women wanted to touch him. Roger dodged left and right, sweating profusely. He shouted, "Sir, why are you here again?"
"It's okay, they just like you. You're already very experienced, now take them back to the camp."
When Xiao Chen and Roger returned to the slave camp, most people had calmed down. However, more than 200 people escaped, and another 20 or so were killed by the guards while escaping. More than 50 people were injured in the chaos. The riot still caused considerable losses.
Xiao Chen looked at these frightened slaves and decided to do something. He did not release the charm magic again, because it could not cure the root cause, and Roger's pleading eyes were too pitiful.
He decided to use words to convince the people in front of him.
Xiao Chen stood among the slaves, picked up a copper trumpet, looked around, and spoke to the slaves: "Dear brothers and sisters..."
As soon as this sentence came out, there was silence around them, and then there was a loud noise. All the slaves were frightened by Xiao Chen's address. No one had ever called these slaves like this, not to mention that many masters only treated them as animals. Even Roger and Kalanda were surprised and wondered if Xiao Chen had said something wrong.
"I'm not joking or mocking you by calling you this. I see you as dignified people, just like me. We can talk and chat with each other like brothers and sisters. I can swear on my reputation as a magician and even my life that what I say now is all true.
When you think of yourself as a real person, those gentlemen are no different from us. We all have the same head and hands. We can laugh and cry, we are attached to our parents and love our children. But why are they so high up and why are we here? "
Xiao Chen looked at these people and felt confused, resentful, jealous, puzzled, numb, and so on.
"Because this world doesn't give you such an opportunity! This world makes you born into a miserable life, or slowly walk into a state of ruin. This world is cold, ruthless, and full of malice towards you! But I will give you a chance. I come from a very far place, and I don't follow the ugly rules here. Follow me, you can save yourself and regain your dignity as a human being.
Some people died today. I feel sorry for them, but I don't sympathize with them. People who don't even want to give themselves hope are not worthy of sympathy! I don't want to say more, because a thousand words, ten thousand words, are not as convincing as facts. I hope you will follow me, take a look, and give it a try. This will definitely change your life! "
Xiao Chen saw some people showing hope, but most people were still expressionless and indifferent. He knew that gaining their true trust was a long process.
He pointed to a large group of livestock tied up not far away and said, "Today, to celebrate your new beginning, we will kill ten pigs and give everyone some meat."
"Long live!" At this time everyone showed an ecstatic look, and the shouts that broke out resounded through the sky.