That night, Ruo Lin brought all the purchased slaves back to the workshop behind the shop. After learning of Du Wei's identity, the slave trader gifted several young and beautiful female slaves to curry favor with the young duke.
These aborigines from Nanyang seem to be very honest, but Ruolin still feels a little inappropriate. It's just that what was wrong, she couldn't say clearly for a while.
These slaves... seem to be a little too obedient.
It is different from Du Wei who lived in seclusion since he was a child. Ruo Lin traveled on the mainland and met many slaves. Those slaves were either unruly savages, and only the whip could make them obedient. Or, those slaves who have been tamed always have numb and dazed faces, empty eyes, shoulder heavy labor with their thin bodies, and look sad.
But this batch of slaves... From the introduction when the slave trader delivered them to him, they should be a group of "slaves", but this batch of slaves is too obedient.
The expression on the face of twenty strong young men is not so much numbness as it is a surprising... mechanical
Yes, it's mechanical!
They seemed to simply obey their own orders, and there was no joy or anger on their faces, let alone the sadness after becoming slaves, or the loss of being plundered and far away from their homeland.
What made Ruolin even more ridiculous was that for a moment, she seemed to feel a breath similar to... soldiers on these twenty male slaves!
Yes, soldiers! They move neatly, quickly, and efficiently. After Gou Lian was assigned to the workshop, it seemed that the servant who was holding a whip was about to drive them away. They have all become decorations. These slaves consciously walked into a big house where they lived, and finished their dinner in a very quiet manner—Ruo Lin is quite a kind person, and the dinner she prepared for these slaves was not bad.
But these slaves were neither happy nor angry. After eating quietly, go to rest silently... And. When they were eating, they actually knew to queue up!
The only ones who didn't move were the old and the young among the slaves. The two guys sat quietly on the bottom, and there was naturally a strong young man next to them who brought them food. Even Ruolin secretly observed that the other slaves dared to eat only after the old man and the young man had finished eating.
After secretly observing Ruo Lin all night, she seemed to have caught some idea, and she immediately went to see Du Wei that night. He told the young master what he found tonight.
Du Wei was wearing a nightgown, and he had already gone to bed, but was called up by Made. Because Du Wei gave an order that if Ruolin asked to see her, she must tell herself immediately at any time. The subordinates are not allowed to refuse the request of Her Majesty Ruolin Knight without authorization.
At this moment, Du Wei saw Ruolin in his study, and he sat on the chair in his nightgown, pondered for a while, and glanced at the female knight in front of him: "What do you mean, the old and the young seem to be The head of this gang of slaves?"
"It's not that simple." Ruolin said slowly, "I don't know how to describe it, but I mainly feel that there are two people, the old and the young. That old man seems to be used to the behavior of a superior. I seem to have only seen this kind of temperament in some nobles in the imperial capital, and these slaves are all young and strong. They are obviously well-trained, and I suspect that they have even received some training similar to soldiers. Although in our eyes, they are far worse than the soldiers in the imperial army... But, they already look a little bit You know, they are aboriginals, they were originally just a group of barbarian-like aboriginal tribes, isn't it strange to find such a temperament in this kind of people?"
Du Wei's eyes lit up, and he immediately went back to the bedroom to get dressed, asked Made to prepare the horse, and rushed back to the workshop behind the shop with Ruolin overnight.
Then, in a prepared empty house, Du Wei asked Ruolin to find the two slaves, one old and one young.
He wanted to meet these two guys in person.
The rooms in the workshop are not big. Du Wei sat in a chair and quietly observed the two guys in front of him.
Soon, he made a judgment. This old man seemed not easy to deal with, because there was no panic in his eyes, his lips were pursed, and his face was calm. And that kid also looked quite calm, but after all, he was still young. When he first walked in, his eyes rolled, revealing an imperceptible timidity, but Du Wei clearly caught it.
"Say your name." Du Wei sat on the chair and said lightly, he looked into the eyes of the old slave: "I know you can speak our language, the person who sold you to me has introduced you, you Seems to be the smartest of the bunch."
"Benka." The old slave spit out a short word: "Benka, that's my name."
He speaks the mainland language well, although the articulation is still a little unclear, but the meaning is very accurate.
"Your original identity." Du Wei smiled.
The old man sank without answering.
"You have to understand one thing." Du Wei said in a slow tone: "I don't care what your identity was in your place before, but now, here, your identity is my slave, you and you Everyone's life is mine! Do you understand?"
There was a trace of struggle on the old man's face, and then he seemed helpless, and whispered: "I used to be a tribal priest."
Du Wei nodded.
His old man made his fortune by virtue of his military expedition to Nanyang, and Du Wei also had a little understanding of some customs of Nanyang tribes. In those tribes in Nanyang, the identity of the priest is even more honorable than the tribal chief.
"So, what about him?" Du Wei glanced at the child beside him: "What is his identity?"
Old Benka hesitated for a moment: "He is the son of the chief of our tribe... Our tribe was destroyed by your army. Most of the people have died, and the rest have been captured."
Oh... the son of an extinct tribal chief
Du Wei smiled: "So, those young slaves who are with you are all members of your tribe?"
"Yes." Benka nodded. "All of them. They all respect me and the chief's son very much. This is our tradition."
Well, such an explanation seems reasonable.
Du Wei smiled, stood up, and said to Benka: "Your answer is very good, but I need you to understand one thing. No matter how prominent your status was in the past, you are all my slaves now."
"I understand." Old Benka didn't show any resistance on his face, and seemed very obedient.
Du Wei nodded: "I am a benevolent person. I will not abuse you, let alone treat you like animals. I will let you eat well and dress warmly. Even as long as you are obedient, I will treat you well." You can be allowed to have a little free time every night to pray to the gods you believe in."
"..." Old Benka raised his head and looked at Du Wei in surprise.
This young boy actually understands our customs
There are many islands in the vast waters of the South China Sea. On different islands, there are many different tribes. These indigenous cultures are similar, and their beliefs are completely different from those on the mainland. Du Wei once became interested in this point. Quietly delved into some.
After all, his father was a naval commander, and his family still has a lot of customs and customs about Nanyang, and many of the guards at home are veterans who once accompanied Earl Raymond to Nanyang. For this young master's curiosity, no one thinks it is strange; it is normal for young children to be more curious. Du Wei also heard some old guards tell about some Nanyang customs.
It is different from Roland Continent. There is only one temple in the Roland Continent, and the entire continent only believes in one god, the God of Light.
And those tribes in Nanyang, the system of gods they believe in seems to be more complicated than the civilized and prosperous mainland!
According to the legend of the Nanyang tribe, a god in ancient times created the world, and after the god gave birth to a bunch of sons and daughters, these became many kinds of gods, and these gods were in charge of the world and nature. The complexity of it is far better than the temple scriptures in the mainland.
For example, there are goddesses in charge of harvest, goddesses in charge of the rainy season, and sun gods in charge of the sun... (Because of the climate. The indigenous people in the tropical ocean have never seen snow, so the legend of the natural god lacks the ability to control ice and snow. gods.)
As for those Nanyang tribes, each tribe has its own gods they believe in, and they will choose a son or daughter of a god to be the protector of their tribe.
They obey the common creator god and recognize the existence of the god. The existence of patron saints of other tribes is also recognized among each other.
This made Du Wei very interesting. Because on the continent of Roland, the teachings of the temple are very clear: there is only one god in the world, and that is the God of Light believed by the temple. Apart from this, all other so-called gods are evil heresies, false gods. The God of Light is the only God between heaven and earth, and such a religion is very exclusive.
Of course, the only thing that is quite enlightened is: you can choose not to believe in religion and gods.
However, even if you don't believe in it, you are not a believer, you must not insult the gods, you must not slander the gods and other believers, this is a law, and it is absolutely not allowed to believe in other religions.
Either you believe in the God of Light, or you are not allowed to believe in anything, otherwise, you may be arrested by the temple in the name of heresy. You may even be burned to death.
However, the aborigines in Nanyang never seem to have conflicts over each other's religious beliefs. They admit and respect the gods of other tribes, and admit that the world is governed by many gods.
Most of the tribes in Nanyang, every day at dusk, will hold a ceremony of kneeling and praying to the gods in the tribe, and the ceremony is presided over by the priests in the tribe.
"You know our customs very well." Benka opened his mouth, and only said this for a long time.
"Yes, I understand a little bit." Du Wei smiled lightly: "I can give you more freedom, of course, unless you are obedient."
"Thank you, you are a kind master." Old Benka bent down: "I will make them obedient."
Du Wei then walked to Benka's side as if casually, his eyes casually drifted over the exposed part of Benka's arm, where there was a tattoo.
"What is this?" Du Wei smiled and said, "Is this the totem of your tribe?"
"...Yes." Benka nodded: "Our envelope is the sun god. This is the totem of the sun disc, and it is also the totem of our tribe. Our former tribe is called the sun disc tribe."
Du Wei nodded, then he seemed to smile, and asked Ruolin to take the old and the young down.
Just when Old Benka and the boy were about to go out, Du Wei stopped him suddenly, and said abruptly from behind: "Why doesn't this chief's son have any tattoos on his body? I heard that in your place, Anyone with a high status should have tattoos, right?"
Old Benka turned around with a calm expression on his face: "Yes, you are right, master, but in our place, only those who have reached the age of fourteen are considered adults, and they are eligible for tattoos after they have passed the coming-of-age ceremony." Yes. And he is only twelve years old."
"Oh, then, one last question." Du Wei walked up to the boy with a smile. He had a kind smile on his face, and said softly, "What's your name?"
There was some panic in the boy's eyes, and he couldn't help but say: "Lufik..."
Du Wei smiled. He glanced at the old Benka, and the smile in his eyes gradually cooled down.
"Lufik. It's a nice name." Du Wei sneered, "Ruolin, take this Lufik to the next room and let him taste something interesting!"
After finishing speaking, Du Wei suddenly turned around and returned to the chair, and sat down quietly.
Ruolin has already stood up, and behind her, two strong men with ferocious faces have strode up, and they can't help but grab the little Lufik one by one, lift the boy up, and then grab Went into an adjoining room.
These two subordinates of Ruolin are both pirates, with hideous smiles on their faces, they are definitely not good people at first glance. Lao Benka's expression changed immediately, he turned around and shouted anxiously at Du Wei: "Honorable master, you are..."
"This is the punishment for lying." Du Wei sat on the chair and looked at the old guy coldly.
Old Benka fell to his knees with a plop, and shouted again and again: "I... I didn't lie! Everything I said is true..."
"Hmph!" Du Wei sneered, "Sunlun Tribe? Priest? Chief's son? Lufik? Do you really think I'm such a foolish nobleman!"
At this moment, the boy suddenly screamed in panic from the next room. Then came the sound of a loud whip!
Snapped!
It was the sound of a whip being whipped on the flesh, loud and crisp, mixed with the miserable cry of the young man, old Benka's face changed wildly, and he was about to jump up and run to that room, when Ruolin pushed him, he retreated powerlessly. went back.
"Ruo Lin, let them give that child twenty lashes first." Du Wei said indifferently, "Old Benka... Huh, I don't care if this is your real name or not. But you must know that a child's body may not be able to bear it." My punishment here. Twenty lashes, after he finishes these 20 lashes, if you still don’t tell the truth, I will let people continue to lash him forty lashes, then eighty, and after eighty, it will be one hundred and sixty Ten! Until you tell the truth!"
Lao Benka was dripping with sweat. Shouted: "I... what I said is the truth! It's all the truth!!"
"Truth?" Du Wei sneered, "You just made up a plausible lie to deceive me!"
He stood up suddenly, and threw a teacup at his side over his head and face, and it hit Lao Benka's feet. With a bang, the teacup shattered and the tea splashed everywhere, and Lao Benka was shocked.
"Do you think I don't know?" Du Wei sneered: "Sunlun tribe? A joke! Yes, there is indeed a Sunlun tribe in Nanyang. But that tribe was wiped out by the empire's expeditionary fleet fourteen years ago! The ninth expedition of the empire, the sixth day of glorious triumph! The Sunlun Tribe is the twenty-sixth tribe conquered by the Imperial Expeditionary Force in the records of the Empire!! The Sunlun Tribe, also known as the "Medesa Tribe", after the sun God is their own patron saint, and the surnames from the patriarchs are all "Medesa", because they believe that their ancestors are a servant named Medesa next to the sun god. You said that the chief's son is called Lufik? Tell you, I also know the surname Lufik. Lufik means "wind" in some aboriginal languages of your Nanyang! The son of the chief of the Sunlun tribe named him "Wind" "? Do you think I'm a fool? Or do you think I'm like other nobles who don't know anything about Nanyang?"
Du Wei's cold eyes finally fell on Lao Benka's tattoo: "Finally, your tattoo! Dear Mr. Sacrifice! Indeed, according to legend, tribal priests have tattoos, but your tattoo is a sun wheel Is it the sun god? A joke! Bullying me for not understanding Nanyang culture?"
Du Wei suddenly raised his hand, dipped it on the tea stain on the table, and quickly drew a pattern on the ground in front of him.
"This is the totem of the Sunlun tribe! The sun god's totem!"
Looking at the pattern Du Wei casually drew on the ground in front of him, Lao Benka suddenly felt a chill rising from his heels to the back of his head!
He looked at the young noble in front of him as if he was looking at a ghost.
He... How could he know! How could he understand so clearly? !
Du Wei drew this pattern. Of course the old card is recognized! Not bad at all, even every pattern has no deviation! It is the sun god totem of the orthodox Sunlun tribe! This young aristocrat's familiarity with Nanyang culture is far beyond the estimate of this card!
"Do you want me to continue?" Du Wei sneered and looked at Lao Benka: "Are you still determined? Then let me tell you again, the tattoo on your body is not a totem of a god at all, but a flame! Joke! Do you think I can’t even tell the difference between the sun god and ordinary flame tattoos? In the tribal culture of Nanyang, this kind of flame tattoo on your body simply represents nobility and auspiciousness! It’s nothing like the protection of gods It doesn't matter much!"
Old Benka was drenched in sweat.
"How?" After Du Wei finished speaking in one breath, his tone gradually calmed down: "Are you surprised? Then tell your true identity! Hmph, you are considered smart and cunning, and you actually made up such a set. A plausible lie to lie to me! If it weren't for my young master's research on Nanyang culture, if it were someone else, I would have fooled you!"
Old Benka was still in a daze, and Du Wei reminded him just right: "That poor Lufik is still being whipped, do you want to waste time by thinking about it like this?"
Lao Benka suddenly woke up suddenly, and hurriedly shouted: "No! Don't! Don't hit him! I say! I say everything!!"