Zhu Yuan rushed out of the city, and the refugees who had been living peacefully together were thrown into chaos.
The sounds of children and the elderly crying filled the air, accompanied by the unbearable wails of patients.
Zhu Yuan glanced at the scene indifferently and noticed that several middle-aged men were missing.
He glanced indifferently at the general guarding the city gate that day: "What's going on?"
The general's face paled, and his fingers turned slightly white. He honestly confessed, "Several refugees suddenly caused a disturbance and, taking advantage of the moment when everyone was off guard, robbed everyone else of their belongings."
Although the stolen items were nothing out of the ordinary to them.
But for these migrants who have left their hometowns, this is their fate.
"Give the order to open the granaries and distribute grain starting today. Also, send men to arrest the rebellious refugees!"
When refugees run out of food, their hearts will surely be unsettled, and if they become too hungry, they may even rebel.
The most urgent task is to reassure the displaced people and make them understand that Anqing Prefecture has the capacity to accept them.
After finishing her breakfast, Zhen Wanwan went into Zhuyuan's study to write a letter of reassurance to Old Lady Li and the others.
Generally, a study is a place where only important people are allowed to enter.
However, the servants guarding the door, upon seeing Zhen Wanwan, hurriedly and attentively opened the door for her.
Zhen Wanwan looked around the layout of the study and found it to be quite similar to her manor in Guangling County.
The reason it's described as 50% similar is simply because, apart from the items she took out of the space, everything else that can be found in reality is also here.
Zhen Wanwan thought about it and realized that Zhu Yuan must miss home a lot, otherwise he wouldn't have made an exact replica of the study.
After she finished writing her letter home, she began to decorate her study. Apart from Zhuyuan and herself, no one else had ever come in.
"My lady! I have something to say!"
Xiaomei looked a little flustered, but remained relatively calm.
Zhen Wanwan left the study and looked at Xiaomei with a puzzled expression.
Seeing the cold sweat on her forehead, I knew the matter was somewhat tricky.
"Xiaomei, what happened outside? Why are you so worried?"
Seeing Zhen Wanwan's gentle appearance, Xiaomei swallowed hard before calmly explaining, "It's like this, this servant went out to buy daily necessities today, and heard cries coming from outside the city gate..."
"I was worried that something had happened, so I went to see what was going on. It turned out that the only valuable thing the refugees had was stolen."
Upon hearing this, Zhen Wanwan frowned. In ancient times, theft was a very serious crime.
Not to mention this is blatant robbery. If these thieves are not caught, I'm afraid the people's hearts will not be united.
Moreover, since the villagers' food rations were lost, the government would definitely have to release the grain.
Zhen Wanwan estimated how much of the grain she had given to Zhuyuan last time was left, and couldn't help but sigh.
At first, she thought that the people Zhu Yuan was raising were just the soldiers who fought against him, and that he was giving them less than usual.
We plan to send him fresh rice every now and then.
Now there are hundreds more refugees, and soon there will be thousands.
How much food could they feed them then?
Another concern for Zhen Wanwan is that people who enjoy things they can get without effort are more likely to become lazy.
If that's the case, then for her and Zhuyuan, it would be like shooting themselves in the foot.
What they want are people, healthy and capable people.
So, as for food, we should still give it to them, but not just give it away for free.
Having thought all this through, Zhen Wanwan sent someone to find Zhu Yuan, wanting to talk to him in person.
On the other side, when Zhu Yuan heard that it was the lady looking for him, he immediately abandoned the others and left without looking back.
He knew his wife well; she wouldn't come to see him when he was out, unless it was something urgent.
With something on his mind, Zhu Yuan shook off the servant who was leading the way and used his lightness skill to return home.
He went straight to the main house, his eyes constantly searching for Zhen Wanwan and her two children.
Seeing that they were alright, he relaxed and greeted them with a slight smile.
Looking at the woman before him, his heart softened: "Madam!"
While Zhen Wanwan was comforting her child, she was calculating in her mind how to resettle so many refugees.
Lost in thought, he heard Zhuyuan's voice.
She turned her head and saw that it was Zhu Yuan who had returned.
If she remembered correctly, it wasn't far from when the servant left!
How come you're back so quickly?
"Husband! You're back? No official business today?"
Zhu Yuan stiffened, his expression somewhat unnatural; he had a lot of official business to attend to today.
When the servant came to find him, he was discussing official business with his subordinates.
But one should still maintain a certain level of decorum in front of one's wife.
Zhu Yuan stepped forward and hugged her, shaking his head with a slight smile, saying, "They're all trivial matters."
Zhen Wanwan glanced at him suspiciously and asked directly, "I just heard that something happened outside the city? Does my husband know about it?"
Zhu Yuan raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly and said, "Some of the refugees are causing trouble, and I have already sent people to deal with it."
When it came to serious matters, Zhen Wanwan became unusually serious. She took Zhu Yuan's hand and asked, "Husband, do you still remember what I told you a few days ago?"
Zhu Yuan nodded. His wife's affairs were of paramount importance. Even if he forgot his own name, he would never forget her.
“Of course I remember! I have already selected some for you, Madam, in the past few days.”
Zhu Yuan always kept Zhen Wanwan's matter in mind.
When selecting servants, in addition to including promising young men from among the refugees, he also selected some of his own secret guards.
He didn't trust anyone else to protect Zhen Wanwan and her two children!
He can only feel a little more at ease when he's with his own people.
Zhen Wanwan nodded, not dwelling on the selection of candidates, and put the problem back on the refugees.
"I wonder how my husband plans to settle these refugees?"
Although Zhu Yuan didn't know why Zhen Wanwan was so interested in them, he still told her his plans truthfully.
After finishing, Zhen Wanwan nodded and sighed. Zhu Yuan's plan was to recruit able-bodied men into the army.
The women and children stayed at home, and he built another 'Plum Village' for these villagers so that they could cultivate the land themselves and increase their harvest.
Zhu Yuan's thoughts were similar to hers.
However, based on Zhuyuan's current plans, it is unlikely that the survival problem of the refugees can be solved.
“Husband! It’s good that you’re willing to build resettlement houses for the refugees, but there’s a saying that ‘one should not accept a reward without merit.’ Let’s not even talk about the large number of refugees or whether there’s enough land to distribute. Let’s talk about what’s right in front of us!”
The most important thing for the refugees now is to have enough to eat and drink. If survival is difficult, expecting them to be self-reliant, cultivate their own land, and pay high taxes will likely lead to unrest sooner or later.
Zhu Yuan paused for a moment, then asked curiously, "What does Madam think we should do?"
Zhen Wanwan patted her chest and assured me, "Just ask me about these things!"
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