Chapter 550: Finally able to do some real work (Updated 2)

"Your Highness, the number of people gathered outside the city has far exceeded 30,000. It is now difficult for the officers and soldiers and yamen runners to guard them."

Qin An tried to calm down and report.

The little prince was really happy this time, and even his smile was a little brighter, "Very good, very good, I said, the four great families have so many literati who are building momentum for them, and many great scholars have complicated relationships with them, how could they not think of such a simple way to target me?"

The fourth prince on the side shifted his gaze from the scroll just now, "You are worthy of being the prince, I was wondering where you were going to find so many people for me to use, it turns out that you are planning to use the disaster victims."

The little prince smiled . He laughed, "The government has limited rice and grain. If we keep feeding the disaster victims for free, I can't afford it."

The Fourth Prince pondered, "More than 30,000 people, excluding the elderly and children, it would be good if there are more than 10,000 people who can work. The manpower is still a bit tight."

The little prince shook his head, "It shouldn't be so few. The four great families will attract so many fake refugees later. They should all be young and strong people with huge appetites. These people will definitely be useful. There will be no problem rebuilding the river embankment!"

The Fourth Prince looked at Qin An, "How many of them can be used?"

"If it's a heavy job like building a dam, at least 15,000 people can be used." Qin An finally understood the Crown Prince's plan, and silently lit a candle for the four great families in his heart.

They spared no effort to promote the relief center for disaster victims outside the city, and even had people falsify the information. In the end, they only helped others.

If the four great families knew about this, they would probably be choked to death.

The problem of the sudden increase in the number of people in the disaster relief center has been solved, and the only thing left is how to deal with the captured Red Lotus Sect members.

If this is not handled well, it will be a matter of being scolded.

The followers of the Red Lotus Sect are all poor people. Basically, they joined the sect because they were hungry and did not want to starve to death. It can be said that joining the sect was a helpless choice.

However, after joining the sect, they burned, killed, and looted in order to have enough food, and their hands were stained with human lives, which is a crime.

However, if these people were really beheaded, those scholars would surely come out and quote classics to criticize His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for his cruelty and inhumanity, and that he would definitely be a tyrant in the future.

But if these people were released, or treated lightly, those were all living lives!

Such treatment would be unfair to the people who lost their lives, and it would send a signal that as long as they were forced to commit a crime, they could be forgiven and their crimes could be mitigated.

In the future, when dealing with similar matters, the Crown Prince's actions this time would be brought up and talked about, and things would get out of control.

Therefore, this matter is not easy to handle.

Qin An knew the interests involved, so he was very nervous and embarrassed for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Who knew that Lu Zexu looked at him with a smile, "Lord Qin has worked really hard in this siege of the Red Lotus Sect. Logically, Lord Qin should be allowed to rest for a few days and spend time with his wife and children. However, this matter is indeed very difficult to handle, and only Lord Qin can do it."

Upon hearing this, Qin An immediately knelt on one knee, "But according to the order of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I will definitely do my best!"

Then, the little prince handed over a pamphlet, "This is the arrangement for the followers of the Red Lotus Sect, Lord Qin just needs to do as it is said."

Qin An took it dazedly. Obviously, this was something that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had already prepared, and he really wanted to work hard.

After Qin An left, the Fourth Prince spoke, "Do you like Lord Qin very much?"

The little prince smiled brilliantly, "Of course! Who wouldn't like a subordinate who likes to work so much, is obedient and capable?"

The Fourth Prince thought about how busy Qin An had been recently and nodded, "Lord Qin is indeed a rare good official."

"Starting tomorrow, I will let the secret guards protect you secretly. Fourth brother, you must also be careful. There are many people on the embankment, so don't let strangers approach easily."

The little prince said seriously.

The fourth prince said nothing, "Don't worry, nothing will happen. I'm just on the embankment. The fifth prince is everywhere. His business is booming. The money he made in the past few days is enough to make people jealous. It's more dangerous over there."

"I sent people to the fifth brother early in the morning. Besides, the fifth brother has traveled far and wide and has experience. He has always been protected by experts. Don't worry, fourth brother."

The young prince even sent people to secretly protect the second and third princes, for fear of assassination.

He brought his brothers out, so he naturally had to bring them back safely!

"You should be most concerned about your safety. You are not in good health, and you have been working with us all night long to formulate the plan for the river dam construction. You should rest more."

The fourth prince was very worried.

The young prince didn't care at all, "It doesn't matter. I know my health. After everything here is handled, I will definitely talk to my father after returning to the capital. I must dig out more good things!" The fourth

prince smiled. As for the fight between his father and the prince, let them solve it. He just needs to watch the excitement in the Ministry of Works.

Anyway, every time the father is angry, he blows his beard and glares, but he can't do anything about it.

The next morning, there was a huge change in the disaster area outside the city.

The government needs to clean up the river and build dams again, and a large number of people are needed, 5 copper coins a day, including three meals.

Hearing this, people signed up one after another. The disaster victims who had been resting for more than half a month were extremely happy.

They were still worried that their houses were washed down by the flood and their fields were flooded. Even if they survived now, they would have no home to return to when the prince returned to Beijing. How would they survive the long winter?

Now they don't have to worry. There is work to do and money to earn. As long as they can save money, they don't have to worry about their future life.

Therefore, although the salary is not much, no one wants to miss this opportunity.

The registration place is crowded. From morning to night, the list is counted by the Tongzhi, and the disaster victims are already very familiar with him. The people spontaneously abide by the order.

"His Royal Highness is such a good man. He not only gives us food so that we don't starve to death, but now he also gives us work to do and pays us. It's really great. We must do this job well."

"That's right! We must do it well! We can't let His Royal Highness pay us money in vain. Now we don't have to worry about not surviving the winter."

"The prince is really kindhearted. My baby almost starved to death. If we hadn't rushed here in time, our family of three would definitely not have survived. If they didn't refuse to accept girls, I would have signed up."

...

Within three days, the team to build the river embankment was directly formed, and half of the people at the disaster site were gone in an instant.