Women Wearing Men: The Growth Path of the Bastards of the Aristocratic Family

Chapter 105 The Whereabouts of the Refugees
In March of Yangchun, the weather is getting warmer and the vegetation is flourishing.After a cold winter, Jiangnan was finally awakened by the warm spring breeze, reappearing the warmth and tenderness of the water town in the poplar flowers flying all over the sky.The branches of the trees sprout green buds, and the fluffy grass pokes its head out through the soil layer. Under the warm sunshine, everything is gradually revived, and the earth is full of vitality. It is a bright and lively spring scene.

What is awakened by the spring breeze is not only the vegetation, but also the floating hearts.

Maybe it’s been a long time since the days of homelessness, and people have forgotten the feeling of being cold and hungry; or maybe it’s because they have a higher pursuit of life after eating and clothing, and are no longer satisfied with the current status quo.

In short, today's refugees have faint signs of restlessness, and they have begun to plan for their own future.

In Hangzhou government office, as soon as Gu Yunji walked into the door of the living room, he saw Lu Xianzhi, who was discussing matters with Xu Chengyu, frowning and worried:

"Last night, I caught a few more refugees who went to the village to steal things. In addition to the previous ones, nearly a hundred people were arrested for stealing and robbery in the past half month. The prison is almost out of place. I really don't know. What can I do."

Xu Chengyu sighed when he heard the words: "Now the porridge given by the government has decreased, and the refugees can no longer be like before. They just sit and wait to fill their stomachs every day. They can't adapt to the changes for a while, and naturally they will be distracted. That's more."

Gu Yunji was a little puzzled: "Isn't the government using work for relief? Just around the city, there are several water conservancy projects recruiting civilian workers, and there are also military facilities in the nearby guards that need to be repaired. All of these need people. Working on the construction site is not only Don’t the refugees want to be able to eat enough and have money?”

Xu Chengyu said: "Most people are still willing, but there are also many people who have become lazy because of the free food these days. Little, I am unwilling to do anything, and in the end I can only steal and rob.”

Lu Xianzhi pinched his brows with a headache: "Originally the best way to resettle the refugees is to allocate land and let them take root in the local area as soon as possible. But on the one hand, there is not much land in Hangzhou Prefecture, and the existing wasteland can be quickly opened up. It can only support 4000 people at most, and it cannot take care of all the refugees."

"Moreover, many of them are paddy fields. These refugees came from the north and have never grown rice. In addition, the climate in the north and the south is different, and the seasons and methods of sowing and harvesting crops are different. It is not so easy to get started."

"On the other hand, the customs and customs of the north and the south are different, and the language and customs of the people are very different. The local people are very wary of the refugees because of the previous incident. Even if they stay, they are likely to be excluded and isolated, and it is difficult to truly Blend in."

If they cannot be accepted by the local people, even if they have houses and land, they are actually no different from wandering refugees.What's more, there are a lot of them, and a little friction with the locals may break out into large-scale conflicts, which will be very detrimental to the peace and stability of Hangzhou Prefecture in the long run.

What made Lu Xianzhi and others even more troublesome was that the refugees' desire to stay in Hangzhou was not strong, or even weak.They were originally northerners, but they were forced to go south to seek a livelihood because they could not survive the locust plague.

The road is long and full of difficulties and obstacles. Without the help and mutual assistance of the fellow villagers, it would have been difficult to reach the south of the Yangtze River smoothly.Therefore, although the refugees look scattered and disorderly, they actually have their own fixed small groups, and they are closely connected with each other, making it difficult for outsiders to get in.

This kind of group behavior is not only not conducive to the management of the government, but also a barrier to isolate them from communication with the outside world, making them lock themselves tighter and tighter under the rejection of the locals.

Hearing this, Gu Yunji was also a little worried, and fell silent for a while.

After a while, he seemed to think of something, and raised his head to look at Lu Xianzhi and Xu Chengyu: "Then what if we encourage the refugees to return to their hometowns?"

Facing the surprised eyes of the two, Gu Yunji said slowly: "Since the refugees have gone south, the north must be empty. Now that the locust plague has passed and there is no one to cultivate the large areas of land, the local officials in the northern states must want to introduce people from other places. We Instead of finding ways to resettle refugees locally, it is better to cooperate with northern officials to attract and push refugees back to their hometowns."

"For example, while the North promulgates various tax reduction and exemption policies to attract the population, we promote and guide the refugees and encourage them to return to their hometowns for development. Such a two-pronged approach will definitely be easy for them to accept."

After speaking, he paused: "Of course, it would be best if the court chief can centrally allocate resources for this matter."

Lu Xianzhi thought about his words carefully, and pondered: "It's a good way. But what I'm worried about is that when the refugees went south, they sold their ancestral properties and moved their families, which supported them all the way to the south of the Yangtze River. Now that they are penniless, where can they get the travel expenses for them to go back to their hometown?"

"If it's simple encouragement and guidance, even if the north promulgates various policies to attract people, they may not be willing to take this risk." Lu Xianzhi squinted his eyes, and his tone suddenly became a bit chilly, "Unless we force it."

From south to north, thousands of miles away, the refugees have no cars or horses, and they don't know when to go with only a pair of legs.In addition, there is no money, no food, clothing, housing, and transportation. The refugees who have had enough to eat for a few days are definitely unwilling to go back to their hometowns after starving and eating bark and grass roots.

However, if the states in the south of the Yangtze River refused to take them in and forced them to return to their hometowns with heavy taxes and punishments, the situation would naturally be different.It's just that, and I don't know how many people will die on the way.

Thinking of this, Gu Yunji couldn't bear it, and murmured in a low voice: "It would be great if there is a way to have the best of both worlds..."

Xu Chengyu suddenly smiled: "Maybe there is."

Hearing this, Gu Yunji and Lu Xianzhi looked at him one after another, looked at him intently and continued: "The imperial court has paid great attention to water conservancy projects in recent years, and said that last year, there were more than a dozen large and small projects on the Yellow River alone, and they are needed everywhere. A lot of people are employed."

Lu Xianzhi's brows were full of worry: "But Jiangnan is still a long way from the Yellow River. Even if the refugees want to go to work, they are powerless."

"Then what if workers along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal are also recruiting?"

"The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal?" Lu Xianzhi was taken aback, "As far as I know, there is no ongoing project on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal."

Xu Chengyu stroked his beard unhurriedly: "Not currently, but that doesn't mean there won't be any in the future. Nowadays, the transportation of money and grain in the country from north to south relies mostly on the Grand Canal, but right now the canal is seriously silted up and water transportation is greatly hindered. Your Majesty has long intended to clear it." , but temporarily shelved due to various reasons.”

"Nowadays there is something about the refugees. Maybe we can take the opportunity to start this project. On the one hand, it can dredge the canal for prosperous water transportation, and on the other hand, it can also allow the refugees to work while going up Hebei. The location of the canal is east, and when the refugees arrive In the north, you can go west along the Yellow River, and the roads extend in all directions, so you can go anywhere. In this way, the refugees can not only have enough food, but also earn travel expenses to return home.”

Lu Xianzhi's eyes became brighter the more he listened, and finally stood up all of a sudden, with an excited tone: "I'm going to write a booklet to give advice to His Majesty!"

Xu Chengyu seemed very calm: "Lord Lu, don't worry, you can first contact the river affairs officials like Master Pan Shiliang, and the local officials of various prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River who are also troubled by refugees, and after discussing with them, you can jointly write a letter to His Majesty, so Fang is convincing."

Hearing this, Lu Xianzhi patted his forehead and said, "Yes, yes, Mr. Xu is right, I have to plan carefully, and I can't be impatient."

Seeing that Lu Xianzhi was so happy, Gu Yunji couldn't help being infected by his emotions, and became happy.

But faintly, he was a little uneasy, feeling as if he had overlooked something.

(End of this chapter)