Chapter 185
Su Yibai and his men took the lead and were the first to arrive in Suihua.
When Gu Bin told them that they were about ten miles away from reaching Suihua, Su Yibai immediately sent someone to pass the message to the back.
"Everyone, hold on a little longer. We're only ten miles away from Suihua!"
Hearing this, the already exhausted people in the team were suddenly energized, and then they encouraged each other and supported each other as they walked forward.
Suihua had received the news long ago, and people from all the cities and counties had come, and were now on high alert.
They set up the first checkpoint at a place one or two outside Suihua City. After passing the first checkpoint, there was a large temporary flat land behind it. At the edge was a tent, which was reserved for the medical team to accommodate patients.
Then under the Suihua city wall, six points were lined up in order: Suihua, Songhuafu, Huining, Jiachuan, Houcheng, and Yichun.
Perhaps because Suihua was singled out as one of the only two locations for the reception, Xu Chong and the others didn't compete with Le Boming for the middle seat. Therefore, Suihua and Yichun occupied the middle seats with the best views.
Even so, Le Boming was still so angry that his nose was crooked.
Yao Chunnuan was a bit amused and confused watching this scene. This scene was comparable to the scene at the train station during the opening of the university semester, when each university sent student union members to welcome the new students.
The arrival of millions of disaster victims in Yichun was a major event worthy of being recorded in the annals of Yichun. As the supreme leader of Youzhou, the city lord Xing Changfeng could not fail to show up.
But because the victims had been diverted earlier, the one million victims were divided into two groups, half went to Houcheng and the other half came to Suihua.
Therefore, the officials of Yichun City Lord's Mansion had no choice but to split up into two groups and go to the two places respectively. Under Xing Changfeng's decision, he led a group of people to Houcheng, while Yao Chunnuan led another group to Suihua.
The chief officers of Houcheng, Jiachuan, and Songhua Prefecture followed Xing Changfeng to Houcheng, while the chief officers of Suihua, Le Boming, and Huining, Xu Chong, followed Yao Chunnuan to Suihua.
They encountered a checkpoint before entering the city, which stopped Su Yibai and others who arrived first.
Gu Bin quickly told them to wait for a moment while he went forward to inquire about the situation.
Gu Bin stepped forward and showed his ID card, and someone explained the situation to him. After hearing the explanation, he was also at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
He turned around and explained to Su Yibai, then raised his voice to the team behind him, "It's just a routine inspection ahead, it's okay, everyone follow us forward!"
The first checkpoint requires all disaster victims and refugees who want to enter the city to surrender their weapons.
The victims were very cooperative in this regard.
As soon as they passed the checkpoint, they spontaneously formed two long lines under the organization of Gu Bin, Su Yibai and others.
Seeing this, Yao Chunnuan nodded secretly. After everyone had settled, she raised her voice and said, "Welcome everyone to Youzhou. This is Suihua City. I am Yao Chunnuan. The person on my left is the Suihua Governor Le Boming, and the person on my right is the Huining Governor Xu Chong, Xu Chong."
When Yao Chunnuan spoke, everyone looked up at her involuntarily.
Yao Chunnuan's name was well-known to the millions of disaster victims who had come to Yichun. At least 90% had heard of her name and deeds. Seeing her in person, everyone watched in silence, breathless.
Yao Chunnuan smiled and said, "We all know that you have come all the way to Youzhou. Thank you very much for your trust in our General Xing Changfeng and our Yichun City Lord's Mansion. I won't waste any more time on this nonsense. Next, it's about the separation and resettlement of everyone. We have a total of six cities and counties in Youzhou, namely Yichun, Suihua, Huining, Songhua Prefecture, Jiachuan, and Houcheng. In theory, everyone can choose which city and county to live in. However, I suggest that everyone should be evenly distributed and not rush to one place. Otherwise, the city and county that are neglected by everyone will be very sad."
When she said this naughty thing, everyone couldn't help but laugh.
One of the victims shouted mischievously, "Master Yao, we will definitely separate them and treat them equally. We promise not to put you in any difficult situations!"
Many people in the crowd were whispering about their first impressions of Yao Chunnuan. "I didn't expect Lord Yao to be so approachable."
Upon seeing this, Yao Chunnuan quickly finished her last sentence, "Now, if anyone among you is sick or feeling unwell, please go to the tent on the left for simple medical treatment! Afterwards, we will distribute food per person. After everyone has rested for a while, you can make your own choices."
As soon as Yao Chunnuan finished speaking, everyone started talking again.
"Ah? The people of Youzhou really asked the doctor to treat us?"
"What Lord Yao said himself should not be false."
"Mom, aren't you feeling very uncomfortable? Let's go see a doctor first?"
At this time, a group of soldiers came out and helped the medical team to take some seriously ill and critically ill people in the team to a temporary tent for treatment.
Seeing this scene, they felt relieved. The rest of the people were not in danger of death, so everyone sat on the ground peacefully. They were really tired.
Yao Chunnuan, representing the Yichun City Lord's Mansion, kept her word. Shortly after she announced the food distribution, someone arrived carrying baskets of vegetable dumplings, along with buckets of hot porridge and water.
"This is all clean boiled water, so you can drink it without worry."
Everyone was given a fist-sized vegetable dough ball, the size of an adult's.
As for the frail elderly and patients, an extra bowl of porridge is provided. The porridge is not very thick, but it has vegetable dough as a base. Everyone can only be grateful.
While the disaster victims were eating, the Yichun Recruiting Office began recruiting soldiers. Zhou Yushu, the general of the cavalry battalion, was handsome and known as the "Jade-faced General," making him one of the face of the Yichun Corps. It was fitting that Zhou Yushu read out the recruitment requirements from the city wall.
With Yao Chunnuan leading the charge, Zhou Yushu wasn't intimidated. He climbed onto the city wall and announced, "Hello everyone. I'm General Zhou Yushu of the Yichun Corps Cavalry Battalion. Now it's my turn to read out the Yichun conscription requirements..."
Among the disaster victims, those who were interested in joining the army were listening attentively. In summary, the conscription requirements in Yichun were stricter than those in other places. Candidates had to be between the ages of sixteen and thirty-five and in good health.
After explaining the conscription requirements, Zhou Yushu said coldly, "Those who don't meet the requirements can't serve. Don't waste each other's time. The selection process is very strict. You won't be able to get in by trying to plead or cheat. If you don't want to serve, you can still become a craftsman with your skills. You can open your own shop and make a living from your craft, or work in a workshop. If all else fails, and you don't know how to do anything, you can just farm! You won't starve to death."
Zhou Yushu's words discouraged those who were not qualified from giving it a try.
The Yichun conscription office was the first to select soldiers. Those willing to serve and meeting the requirements were immediately selected. Their families were also taken away and resettled. The remaining people looked on with envy at those who were chosen first.
At this time, Le Boming climbed up the city wall with a smile and introduced the advantages of the city of Suihua to everyone. He then talked about the direction of his future administration, focusing on the fact that Suihua has the largest military boot manufacturing factory in Youzhou and how many workers are needed to work there.
The eyes of the disaster victims below lit up when they heard this.
After Le Boming finished singing, Xu Chong took the stage. Same flavor, same recipe. Xu Chong introduced a different Huining to the disaster victims, focusing on the Huining Textile Factory, the largest in Youzhou. It produced uniforms for the Yichun Corps and required a large number of skilled female workers.
Yao Chunnuan laughed. It turned out that these two guys were whispering together just now, trying to canvass votes for the city and county they were in charge of.
After hearing the two governors' introductions, the victims frequently looked toward Yao Chunnuan, eager to hear her description of Yichun. In their minds, Yichun was truly their top destination. However, Yao Chunnuan had previously stated that Yichun had no shortage of people and would not compete with other cities and counties for these refugees. Therefore, she did not appear on the city walls again, which disappointed the victims.
The Yichun Legion had already begun to develop targeted arms, such as infantry, heavy infantry, navy, cavalry, etc.
Yao Chunnuan intended to build Yichun into the economic and cultural center of Youzhou, so he divided some of the heavy industries. For example, the infantry battalion's military boots were assigned to Suihua, the cavalry battalion's horses to Jiachuan, the heavy infantry battalion's armor and shields to Songhua Prefecture, the navy's large ships to Houcheng, and the military uniforms of various armies to Huining.
Due to the appearance of Xu Chong and Le Boming as the chief officers of Huining and Suihua, the victims' impression of the two cities, no, including Yichun, these three cities was directly raised, much higher than Songhua Prefecture, Houcheng and Jiachuan.
The adjutants from Songhua Prefecture, Houcheng, and Jiachuan secretly cursed Xu Chong and Le Boming for their treachery, while also quickly ordering their own teams to actively recruit people.
"Uncle, I heard you're a bricklayer? Come to our Songhua Mansion. Here, you and your family will definitely live a good life. We in Songhua Mansion are in great need of craftsmen like you."
"Are you good at weaving? We have large weaving and textile mills in Huining. You should come to Huining!"
"I only know how to mend soles and clean the house."
"Can you sew soles? That means you can make shoes. What a great skill it is to be able to make shoes. Your craft is amazing. Stay in Suihua!"
"Dad and Mom, did you hear that? I can also use my skills to work in a workshop to support you." The girl who spoke looked frail, and tears were in her eyes. She had just asked carefully, and a skilled female worker like her, as long as she completed the tasks in the workshop every month, the monthly salary she received could support two people in Youzhou. If she worked harder and worked overtime, she could support three people, but it would be a bit of a stretch. Moreover, she had just inquired, and people like her parents could also work as cleaners. The work was not very tiring, and the money earned was not much, but it was still an income. If the three of them worked hard, they could survive.
The victims discovered that the people of Youzhou were incredibly good at talking. When asked about their skills, they would be showered with compliments after telling the truth. Their warmth and sweet words had them completely bewildered. By the time they realized what they were doing, they were already on board.
The disaster victims were stunned when they came to their senses. Were they so popular in Youzhou? On the way north, they were so ragged and despised by everyone.
Yao Chunnuan discovered that the grassroots personnel in each city and county were truly formidable, each displaying their own unique abilities. They were truly pulling out all the stops to recruit people. For the sake of population, they were truly fighting tooth and nail.
The victims were divided into different groups by pulling each other up one by one. In just one day, the four or five hundred thousand victims had divided up the spoils.
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