A commotion erupted below, with people whispering among themselves.
At the same time, there are also those who endure hardship and toil, hoping to gain something for nothing.
"What if you don't want to farm?"
Lin Yinan could see clearly from the city wall, so how could she not understand what these people were up to?
She was just trying to attract more people to Longtan for future development, not doing charity. She sneered and said, "Those who don't want to farm can stand aside for now, and we'll arrange it later."
"Can we go into the city?" asked the person who didn't want to farm.
Longtan is so wealthy; it shouldn't be difficult for them to beg for food there. Why bother going through all that hardship?
Lin Yinan's smile deepened, "Of course!"
“Anan, once you open your mouth, many others will want to go into the city. What will we do then?” The clan chief beside her was a little anxious and wanted to stop her.
Pan Qingfeng was also puzzled, but the city lord must have her reasons for doing so. He did not ask, but when the clan leader asked the question that had been bothering him, he turned to look at Lin Yinan.
“You’ve forgotten about Xihe County. Yunmo should be in dire need of manpower.”
Everyone then realized what was happening.
Lin Yinan continued, "Instead of keeping these troublemakers around and making them difficult to manage in the future, it's better to send them to work in the mines."
"Yes! Anyone who's disobedient, send them all to mine!" said the clan chief.
The refugees below the city wall received a clear answer and proudly boasted to those around them, causing the crowd behind them to surge forward.
It seems that quite a few people share the same thoughts as that person.
Seeing this, Lin Yinan said to Lin Yiheng and Pan Qingfeng beside her, "Go and have them split into two teams, one team that is willing to obey the assignment to farm, and the other team that does not want to farm and wants to go to the city."
Pan Qingfeng quickly followed Lin Yinan's instructions and spoke to the refugees below, and the bustling crowd soon formed two squares.
Lin Yinan looked down and, wow, there were several hundred people who didn't want to farm.
"Qianwu, go to the canteen and ask your second aunt to arrange for someone to cook some porridge. It doesn't need to be as thick as usual, but it shouldn't be too thin either."
"Okay, I'll go right now." Qianwu walked briskly down the city wall.
Lin Yiheng asked, "Anan, the teams have been divided. Shall Qingfeng and I go and register them now?"
Lin Yinan said, "No, let's wait and register tomorrow morning. Maybe we can select some people then."
Those below were unaware of what Lin Yinan and the others on the city wall were thinking.
"Mr. Zhou, what do you think they mean by this?" Zhou Linzhao was the most learned person they knew, so it was always good to ask him if they didn't understand something.
Zhou Linzhao shook his head. "Auntie, no matter what the higher-ups mean, if we want to have enough to eat, we still have to rely on the crops from the fields. Look at the conditions that Longtan is offering, aren't they better than being a good slave in the Yu family in Nanzhou Prefecture?"
The woman suddenly realized, "That's true. As long as we don't become good slaves, we'll do anything."
Suddenly, a rumbling sound rang out behind them.
Everyone turned to see what was happening, and saw Yunye and Yunyi each leading a fully armed team of over a thousand people, rushing towards the city gate from afar.
"What, are the Japanese pirates attacking?" The aunt had heard that Japanese pirates were appearing in this area along the way.
Zhou Linzhao stared intently at the character "Yun" embroidered on the flag. Was it the Yun family he knew?
“No, it’s the Yun family army,” Zhou Linzhao said in a low voice.
Judging by their imposing presence, it's definitely the Yun family army.
How did they end up here? Wasn't it said that the entire Yun family army died at Yanmen Pass, and that the Yun family members were strangled by the Hu people during their exile?
The woman didn't hear clearly, "Huh?"
“They’re not Japanese pirates, they should be the garrison soldiers from Longtan City,” Zhou Linzhao said.
As Yunye and the others approached, the crowd automatically parted to make way for them.
Yunye and Yunyi sat on their tall horses, their posture upright, their sharp eyes sweeping over everyone.
Behind them followed two thousand uniformly dressed, heavily armed soldiers, forming several neat infantry formations. They marched in unison toward Longtan, their heavy footsteps creating a powerful and imposing presence that seemed to shake the very earth.
Lin Yinan and the others, who were on the city wall, were even more shocked. In such a short time, they had actually managed to train the morale of two thousand people.
"Open the city gates! General Yun, return to the city!" Lin Yiheng shouted.
The city gates opened, and the soldiers slowly entered the city.
As the city gates were about to close, most of the people in front saw the newly renovated houses and streets.
The crowd stared in disbelief, unable to recover for a long time; everything about this city was so unique.
Hearing that they would be cooking porridge for so many refugees, Zhang and his colleagues were already quite adept at it, and dozens of large pots were started cooking at the same time.
The stew was ready in less than two hours, and the villagers helped carry it to the city gate.
The refugees lined up with their bowls in hand. The soldiers who had just returned to the city still had a lot of momentum, and no one dared to cause trouble at this time.
Looking at the porridge in the bowl, Zhou Linzhao did not finish it in one go. The porridge was very thick and more filling than the watery porridge with only a few grains of rice that the Yu family in Nanzhou Prefecture had.
Because he was at the very end of the line, he didn't go far after getting his porridge; he just stood by the table and sipped it slowly.
Seeing that he ate in a refined manner, Zhang took the initiative to talk to him and get closer to him.
"The young man looks like a scholar?"
Zhou Linzhao nodded upon hearing this, and said modestly, "I studied for a few years, but I only know a few characters."
"Where did you come from? You must have suffered a lot on the way, arriving a full six months later than us," Zhang sighed.
"You're from the north too?" Zhou Linzhao hadn't expected that they were also refugees.
Speaking of this, Zhang did not hide anything, "Our whole village moved here from Pingcheng. We've already harvested one crop of grain. You need to settle in quickly these next few days so we can plant the second crop."
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