Lin Hai did not let anyone know that he had arrived.
Although Zhaoyang Tongzhi was surprised by Qinghe's reaction, it was not because "the prefect's entire family was burned to death", but because Qinghe's unwavering persistence in his own plan and unusual reaction speed made this Tongzhi, who had been in officialdom for a long time, feel something was wrong.
He knew very well that this situation occurred because either the actual controller of Qinghe gave very clear instructions and great pressure to Zhaoyang, causing Qinghe's people in Zhaoyang to take extreme actions to achieve their goals, or a senior official from Qinghe came to command in secret.
No matter what the situation was, the Tongzhi was not going to follow in his superior's footsteps, especially since the people of Qinghe had cleaned out the prefect's mansion, which had been burned into ruins. It was said that the burnt crystals were taken away, but those that were not burned, including various gold and silver jewelry, now appeared in the Tongzhi's mansion, so the Tongzhi had no intention of going against the money.
In this case, let these Qinghe people do whatever they want. After all, the imperial court is only concerned about preventing the refugees from causing trouble. As for where they go, who cares?
"We need to change our process requirements for receiving refugees." Lin Hai organized a meeting in the Qinghe County camp on the north side of the refugee camp.
"As long as they are human, we want them. This is our principle. And once the refugees are within our control, no more should starve to death. Every refugee who starves to death is a loss for Qinghe. I hope you will remember this. This is also our principle. Not only do we have to abide by it, but the officials of the Tran Dynasty, Cambodia, or the Empire who cooperate with us must also follow this principle."
Lin Hai stood up, supporting himself on the desk with both hands, leaning forward. He stared at his carefully trained subordinates with wide eyes and said, "If any of you forget this principle, go to the Phoenix Mountain military camp. The death squad there is always short of people. If any of the other officials cooperating with us forget this principle, you have an obligation to strengthen their memory. If they really can't remember it, ask them to step down and let someone who can remember it take over. I don't care what method you use!"
"You must remember that as long as these refugees want to come to Qinghe, they are our people. If other local officials cannot protect their people, we will do so. If other local officials cannot feed their people, we will feed them. If other local officials cannot serve as local officials, we will do so. It's that simple."
"What if there are refugees who are unwilling to come to Qinghe? We have encountered this in practice..." an intelligence station officer raised his hand and asked.
"That's very simple. In the short term, you need to increase publicity for Qinghe, especially in terms of food security and taxation. In the long term, this means that your efforts in local grain trade are still not enough. The area ruled by the Chen Dynasty is a traditional grain-producing area. Even though local officials have plundered a lot of grain to satisfy the appetite of their court, there is still enough grain in local warehouses to stabilize grain prices and for disaster relief. Although they are reluctant to waste this grain, the existence of this grain is still a threat to us, but they will definitely be willing to sell this grain." Lin Hai replied indifferently.
"What you are doing is artificially creating famine. Isn't that..." the official continued.
"Keeping the grain in the warehouse won't do anything. If local officials are willing to risk their lives to release the grain, I won't object. I'll support them and use Qinghe's power to protect them. Unfortunately, to this day, I still haven't seen any officials willing to do so."
Lin Hai whispered to the director of Zhaoyang Station, "When I leave, I'll take this person with me. He's more suitable to be a civil affairs official. Intelligence work isn't for him."
With this tone set, the meeting that day went very smoothly.
Simply put, Qinghe County's future refugee camps will no longer be located on the border of the controlled zone, but will instead extend as far into the opposing territory as possible, allowing refugees immediate access to the camps and receiving food and safety guarantees. Of course, at this point, the camps won't be labeled "Qinghe County Refugee Camp." Instead, they'll likely use the names of local wealthy businessmen, making them appear more like a spontaneous disaster relief effort by kindhearted locals, making it easier for everyone to explain themselves.
The refugees entering the refugee camp will undergo a full fourteen days of identification, screening, isolation and registration, and then be sent to the Qinghe control area and assigned to various jobs according to their wishes and Qinghe's needs.
Everyone was very satisfied with this, except Shi Ming, the 26th brother who managed the mine.
His mines were mostly populated by captive bandits who "actively participated in permanent compulsory labor," a key reason why the Qinghe Iron Mine's costs were so low. However, after a long period of "intensive use," the number of existing captive bandits could no longer support the demand for ore. However, Lin Hai repeatedly emphasized that unless someone had been confirmed to be a heinous criminal, such as a refugee with a life on his hands, they would be assigned to the mine after screening and join the "voluntary labor brigade." Other refugees would at most be assigned to the mine as ordinary miners, a point that greatly dissatisfied Shi Ming.
However, Lin Hai promised him that he would help him make up for the shortage of bandit prisoners after a while, and even have more. In addition, Shi Ming did not come to the meeting, so he had no chance to protest, so this item was passed smoothly.
In the refugee camp...
Liu Sanwa didn't quite understand what the Qinghe people did. After a brief interrogation, they gave him a wooden sign and let him into the refugee camp. They even gave him two rice balls mixed with vegetable leaves and pickled vegetables. This could at least be exchanged for a pretty and smart little girl in the refugee group.
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