Chapter 236: Refugees flock to Yun'an County, Ning Yuanze invites Xiao Ying to discuss solutions
After doing all this, he asked Ling Yun to take the two of them out.
Ling Yun directly carried the two of them to the back mountain and put them on a big tree.
He used to be the deputy commander of the secret guards and knew their habits best. He liked to stay in trees when hiding his identity at night.
When the two wake up, they will only think that everything went according to plan and will not remember what happened tonight.
Sure enough, when the sky was getting light, the two woke up one after another.
He was a little confused at first, but then the memories tampered with by Xiao Ying surfaced in his mind, and he remembered that they had completed the mission and investigated the entire Chenjia Village.
After confirming that there was nothing unusual here, the two of them immediately went back to report.
Ling Yun had been watching from a distance until he tracked the two men out of Yun'an County, and then he returned with peace of mind.
"Master, they have already left Yun'an County."
As soon as he got home, Ling Yun reported to Xiao Ying, but his brows were slightly frowned, as if he was worried about something.
"But what's the problem?"
Xiao Ying noticed something was wrong immediately and started to ask.
Ling Yun hesitated to speak, but finally said, "When I followed them to Yun'an County, I found a large number of ragged refugees gathered outside the city gate. I'm afraid there must be two to three thousand of them."
"Refugees?" Xiao Ying was slightly surprised, then frowned. "It seems these are the people who were affected by the drought in the north and are fleeing here."
Ning Yuanze had mentioned to her before that there was a severe drought in the north and a small group of people had to flee the famine, but they had already been resettled nearby.
Now that nearly a month has passed, it seems that not only has the situation not been curbed, but it has become even more serious.
"Has the magistrate made any move?" she asked.
Ling Yun nodded: "They should have organized porridge distribution and resettlement. I saw some sheds built outside the city."
Xiao Ying seemed a little dissatisfied: "I'm afraid this alone is useless. These are probably just the first batch of victims. There will definitely be more people coming later."
"Mom, what should we do at home?"
Chen Xingyun, who had packed up and was ready to leave, suddenly asked.
She was going to the county town to deliver the goods today. The batch of customized products had been completed ahead of schedule, three days earlier than expected.
Xiao Ying said, "No rush, let's first see what the county magistrate has arranged."
Resettling refugees is the responsibility of the county government. She is just a businessman and it is not her place to interfere.
Thinking of something, she warned him, "Be careful on the road, there might be refugees trying to rob you."
Chen Xingyun was stunned for a moment, then nodded seriously.
"Don't worry, mother. I'm already at the third level of Qi Refining, and I have the protection of Jade Butterfly and Xiao Tian."
No matter how ferocious those refugees were, they could never be their match.
"Well, go ahead."
Xiao Ying was not particularly worried about her safety. Compared to Xingyun, the nearby village might be more dangerous.
After Chen Xingyun left, Xiao Ying asked someone to invite Chen Jie over, wanting to talk to him about the refugees.
Those hungry refugees would do anything. It would be bad if they came to the village to rob. They'd better be prepared in advance.
Chen Jie had already been following her lead. He became alert when he heard the words and immediately decided to gather some strong men to patrol.
Xiao Ying also arranged some manpower and asked Ling Yun to go to the sect to bring back a few people to take turns patrolling around the village.
Unexpectedly, just as Ling Yun left, two yamen runners came to the door and said that the county magistrate invited Xiao Ying to go to the county government office.
"Did the county magistrate say what the matter was?"
Xiao Ying already had some guesses in his mind, but still asked in confusion.
The two yamen runners must have been instructed by Ning Yuanze, and they replied respectfully: "It must be related to the refugees. Not only did they invite the lady, but they also invited some prominent figures in Yun'an County."
Xiao Ying thought to himself that this was indeed the case, and immediately called Xiao Qian and He Changgui, and took a carriage with them to the county government office.
When she arrived outside the city, she saw many refugees standing or sitting. They were all ragged, pale and thin, and some were even just skins left. They looked even more miserable than the Chen Xinghai brothers and sisters she saw when she first came here.
These people were mainly young men and women, with only a handful of elderly people and children. They probably died on the road or were abandoned.
Some people looked at the carriage with greed in their eyes, but they were a little afraid when they saw the two yamen runners holding knives, and finally did not dare to step forward.
Xiao Ying sighed lightly. These were also poor people. She hoped that Ning Yuanze could properly settle them.
When we arrived at the county government office, we found that there were already several carriages parked at the door, all of which were extremely spacious and luxurious.
There was a yamen runner waiting at the door. When he saw Xiao Ying coming, he immediately stepped forward to greet him.
Xiao Ying asked He Changgui to wait outside and only brought Xiao Qian in.
As soon as I entered the hall, I saw Ning Yuanze sitting on it, with the county magistrate Zhang Yu and the chief clerk Tian Chang sitting on his left and right.
Sitting below were seven or eight men in luxurious clothes, ranging in age from twenty to fifty. They must be the prominent figures that the yamen runners had mentioned.
Xiao Ying knew one of them, it was Yun, the shopkeeper of Ruyi Restaurant. He didn't expect that he was also among the invited guests.
But it made sense when I thought about it. After all, Ruyi Restaurant was the largest and most prosperous restaurant in Yun'an County. This year, it was also doing business in spicy sesame oil and soap, and it was truly making a fortune.
She nodded slightly to Shopkeeper Yun, who also smiled and nodded in greeting, as a greeting.
The rest of the people were mostly curious or even contemptuous, probably because they didn't expect that a woman would appear in such an important occasion.
But with three adults present, no one dared to say anything more.
"I, Xiao Ying, greet the County Magistrate, the County Assistant Commissioner, and the Chief Registrar."
Xiao Ying ignored the gazes of these people and bowed to Ning Yuanze and others.
Ning Yuanze smiled warmly: "Madam Xiao, please don't be polite. Please take a seat."
"Thank you, sir."
Xiao Ying then sat down. There was only one seat left, so she sat at the end.
"Okay, now that everyone is here, let's officially get started."
Ning Yuanze looked around and showed a look of satisfaction.
"I have invited you all here today because of the recent arrival of refugees. I'm sure you've all seen a large number of refugees gathered outside the city, all fleeing famine from the north."
"This year's severe drought in the north has affected at least four or five states, affecting at least one to two million people."
"Although the imperial court ordered the opening of granaries and the release of grain, the water problem remained unsolved, so many people still left their homes and sought other ways to survive."
"Among them, a group of people came to our Xizhou. Yun'an County is located in the northwest of Xizhou, so it became the choice of many refugees."
"Already, nearly 3,000 people have arrived in Yun'an County. According to my estimation, this is only the first batch, and there will definitely be more people coming. This is not a good thing for Yun'an County."
"The Emperor has issued an order that all prefectures and counties must accept refugees and resettle them nearby. County Magistrate Zhang, Chief Secretary Tian, and I have already set up tents outside the city to distribute porridge, but this is ultimately not a long-term solution."
"Firstly, the county government has limited funds and secondly, it is short on manpower, so I invited you all here today to discuss a solution."
"You are all from the richest families in Yun'an County. You are intelligent and capable. I believe you can help."
Ning Yuanze explained the cause of the matter in detail, without concealing his purpose at all. He said he was trying to find a solution, but in fact he was there to raise money and food.
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