Chapter 262 Arrival at Cloud Road City
After hearing the registrar's words, Gu Zheyuan shook his head.
No, I don't think so.
Our Yunlu City is located at the easternmost edge of the Longyuan Kingdom. It is a place with mountains and the sea, and has always been sparsely populated. The arrival of these refugees has given us an opportunity to expand our population.
Although some of the refugees have ulterior motives, they were originally ordinary people with stable homes, and they came out to escape famine in order to survive.
I believe that many of them are kind-hearted, down-to-earth, and capable. If we can take them in and give them a stable home, I believe that most of them would be willing to stay and live a peaceful life.
As for those who are restless, that's even easier to deal with. We can just find an excuse to arrest them and send them to do hard labor.
Anyway, Yunlu City has always been short of labor, so why not take advantage of free labor?
Registrar Feng listened and pondered for a while.
"Your Excellency's considerations are very thoughtful; I was merely being naive. I will immediately begin preparations for receiving the refugees."
Gu Zheyuan stared blankly at Gu Yunrou's letter at his desk. He hadn't originally planned to accept all the refugees.
But his sister said in her letter that the group of refugees who helped her numbered nearly 500, and such a large group entering the city would definitely attract attention.
Although he has received less attention in Beijing in recent years, it's not like there has been none.
If Yunlu City does not accept other refugees, but only accepts the group from Shanglin Village.
Those who are observant will surely think that the people of Shanglin Village have an extraordinary relationship with him.
It would be bad if those who wanted to harm him turned their attention to the villagers.
In order to avoid causing trouble for the people of Shanglin Village, Gu Zheyuan decisively accepted all the refugees.
…………
Two days later, Ning Bao and his group finally arrived outside Yunlu City.
At this moment, the open space outside Yunlu City was teeming with people.
The news of Yunlu City accepting refugees has been circulating for two or three days, and refugees from nearby areas have all rushed over upon hearing the news.
As soon as the group from Shanglin Village reached the outer edge of the crowd, they heard people around them talking.
"Have you heard? It's said that the governor of Yunlu City issued an order to accept refugees from the border."
"Yes, I heard that. It is said that the governor said that as long as you are diligent and do not cause trouble, Yunlu City will accept you. You can also cultivate the land yourself, but you will have to build the house yourself."
"As long as we can farm, the housing issue is easy to resolve. Anyway, it's not too cold here all year round, so we can just build a makeshift shed for now."
"We can build a house later when we have more money."
"Yes, yes, that's what I think too."
Everyone started excitedly discussing it, but the excitement didn't last long before a few people walked over, cursing and swearing.
"What's going on?"
We had heard that Yunlu City was accepting refugees, but now they're telling us we have to pay to enter the city—ten copper coins per person.
"If I had these coins, why would I be a refugee?"
"Yesterday we were saying that Lord Gu of Yunlu City was a good official who cared about the people, but I didn't expect this to happen today. I think Yunlu City is just playing with us."
Gu Yunrou frowned as she listened to the noise around her.
“Uncle Gu, based on my understanding of my brother, if he really orders the acceptance of refugees, he won’t charge any more fees.”
Gu Xiang's expression also turned serious.
“Miss, you’re right. I think there might be something fishy going on here. What should we do now? We need to find a way to inform the young master.”
Gu Yunrou took out her group's household registration and identity cards and handed them to Gu Xiang.
Uncle Gu,
Go see if you can enter the city. If you have to pay, pay some. Go into the city first and report to the prefect's office.
Gu Xiang was stunned for a moment.
"Miss, won't you come with me? This place is too crowded and chaotic for you and the young master to stay in for long."
Gu Yunrou shook her head.
"It's alright, you go to the prefect's residence first. I'll wait here and go with Ningbao and the others. I'm worried about leaving the group from Shanglin Village, the old and the young, here."
Uncle Gu, you should go quickly and come back soon.
Gu Yunrou looked at the arrogant guards at the city gate; these kinds of people love to bully the weak.
Now there's an entrance fee to enter the city. Shanglin Village has nearly 500 people, and ten copper coins per person is quite a sum of money.
Gu Xiang pushed his way through the crowd toward the city gate. After finally reaching the gate, he took out his identity token and handed it to the guard.
"Brother guard, I'm going to the prefect's mansion to find my relatives. Could you please let me in?"
Guard Number One took Gu Xiang's identity token and glanced at it casually.
"A relative of the Prefect's household? Pshaw! When did the Prefect's household ever have a relative like you?"
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