Chapter 381: Tide of Refugees

Not wanting to deal with Zhao Dashan and the others for the time being, Shen Xiangwan took Wei Chengyi to Binzhou. In just a few days, the couple not only persuaded the remaining rebels in Taizhou to join Binzhou, but also provided them with a large amount of food and military supplies. They also spared no effort to give them advice and taught them how to resist the Binzhou army. Ten days later, the two returned with two guards, driving two off-road vehicles.

During this period, Ji Shaohan and his wife, and Yue Ruyan were in charge at home, and there were also Yan's father and son, generals from the eastern border, and Xie Yanzhi and others outside. Nothing too went wrong. The only tricky thing was that someone said that Chenzhou had enough food to feed the refugees. In just ten days, countless refugees poured in. From the government office to the county office, all officials were busy all day and night. They had no idea how many refugees they had settled.

“Why are there so many refugees?”

The off-road vehicle entered the territory of Chenzhou. Looking at the groups of refugees outside, Shen Xiangwan, who was sitting in the passenger seat, frowned slightly. She knew that because of the dog emperor, many refugees were driven to Chenzhou, but she really didn't expect the number to be so large. People who didn't know might think that Chenzhou had become a severely affected area.

"We'll go back later. Let's go to the government office first."

Such a large number of refugees was obviously abnormal. Wei Chengyi, who was in charge of driving, pursed his lips. If nothing unexpected happened, something must have happened that he didn't know about.

"Um."

Shen Xiangwan did not object. Chenzhou was their base camp, and no mistakes could be made.

Wei Chengyi then picked up the walkie-talkie again and had a brief communication with the two guards behind him. The two off-road vehicles drove steadily towards the provincial capital. In order to properly arrange the refugees and not cause too much chaos in Chenzhou, Xie Yanzhi asked the officials of the government office to set up a porridge distribution point outside the city, so that the refugees could fill their stomachs first and also to properly settle them after the meal.

The hungry refugees were capable of doing anything, but at the same time they were accustomed to the inaction and disdain of the government. Seeing that the Chenzhou government directly provided porridge and quickly settled them, they were very moved. Basically no one made trouble, and everyone lined up quietly to receive porridge, waiting for further settlement by the officials.

"Look what that is?"

On the official road, an off-road vehicle was approaching from afar. Someone shouted, and almost everyone's attention was drawn to it. Everyone's face and eyes were filled with naked shock, but Wei Chengyi and others didn't care at all. From the time they took out the off-road vehicle until now, they had already gained too much shock.

What they cared about was that the number of refugees outside the city was much greater than what they had seen along the way. It would not be an exaggeration to describe it as a sea of people. The two men's faces became even uglier because of this.

"Quick, stop them!"

Seeing that the off-road vehicle was about to enter the city, the city guarding general came to his senses and roared. The soldiers did not dare to hesitate and immediately pulled over a roadblock full of spikes to block their way.

Wei Chengyi, the driver, had already slowed down and stopped at the city gate. However, he had no intention of arguing with the soldiers guarding the city. He opened the car window, took out a token, and handed it to the leading general: "I am Wei Chengyi. Let me pass. I want to go to the government office."

"Wei..."

Is there anyone in the military and political circles of Chenzhou who doesn’t know the three names Wei Chengyi?

The general's voice choked, and he quickly checked the token he received. After confirming that it was the Second Master's identity token, he shouted, "It's the Second Master. Let him pass!"

"I'm sorry, Master. I was blind and didn't recognize the great man..."

"No problem, you did great."

Taking back the token he was holding in both hands, Wei Chengyi gave him his approval. Seeing that the roadblock had been opened, he did not delay any longer, and the off-road vehicle quickly disappeared at the city gate.

Chenzhou government office.

"Sir, the more than 10,000 refugees from the day before yesterday have all been resettled."

Inside the government office, officials were swamped with activity. Xie Yanzhi, the leader, was constantly flipping through files. "Tell the household registration officials to hurry up and resettle all the remaining refugees. If they can't plant potatoes anymore, let them plant vegetables. Plant whatever they can until it's too cold to plant anymore!"

It is already late August, and it is obviously unrealistic to plant another season of potatoes. However, with so many refugees, if they are not allowed to plant anything, the government will have to support them. Even if they can collect a lot of taxes when the second season of grain is harvested, they cannot support so many idle people. After all, the government and the army have to support so many people and they also need food.

"yes."

The official who was specifically responsible for conveying orders picked up the walkie-talkie and went out. The officials in charge of household registration and the yamen runners had to make timely arrangements for the refugees. They all settled down outside the city, and none of them stayed in the yamen.

"Sir, the number of refugees is increasing every day. If this continues, I'm afraid we will be worn down."

A man who looked to be in his thirties or forties said with a sad face that three days ago, the number of refugees pouring into Chenzhou every day exceeded ten thousand, and in the past few days the number was even increasing. They had to be prepared for Chenzhou to be overcrowded.

"so what?"

Xie Yanzhi paused in flipping through the files and looked up. "Should we, like other prefectures, close the city gates and keep them out? Even if that's the case, they've already arrived in Chenzhou and can't enter the city. They'll surely flood into the villages and harass the people. Should we just ignore them?"

Things have come to this point, and saying anything more is redundant. The only thing they can do is to settle these refugees and try their best to prevent them from causing trouble. As long as they can get through this period, they will be able to usher in a new life by the beginning of next spring at the latest.

“I’m not…”

"Sir, the Second Master is here."

Before the man could finish his words, a yamen runner ran in from outside. At the same time, Wei Chengyi and his wife came in with two guards.

"Second Master, Madam, you are back."

Seeing them, Xie Yanzhi secretly breathed a sigh of relief and stood up to greet them.

"Greetings, Madam!"

The government office was already full of their own people, and when they saw them, everyone stood up and saluted.

"No need to bow!"

Wei Chengyi nodded vaguely, waved his hand to signal them to stand up, and then asked directly, "What's going on with so many refugees outside?"

"Let's sit down first and talk."

Speaking of this, Xie Yanzhi raised his hand and made a gesture of invitation, then led them to the side hall. "This matter was caused by those grain merchants and wealthy families. They spread the word everywhere, saying that Chenzhou was not affected by the disaster and that there was a large amount of grain to settle the refugees. On the surface, they said that the government was benevolent and would never abandon the refugees. But in fact, they put us in the abyss of having to take over all the refugees. Three days ago, the daily influx of refugees exceeded 10,000. Datong County, Dayuan County, Da'an County, Daming County, Dapeng County, and Dacheng County have each successively settled more than 20,000 people. If this continues, the refugees can only be settled in Daping County, Dalin County, and Dafeng County, which are closest to the border."

The three counties behind are basically all filled with exiles. Every time the Western Hu people invade, they are the first to suffer. At present, they have not solved the problem of the Western Hu people. Placing the refugees in those counties is likely to harm them, but if there is really no other way, they can only do so.

[End of this chapter]

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