Became a feudal lord in the late Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 41 Grace
  The city gate of Zhuozhou City had been expanded a few days ago, but the purpose was still to consolidate the city's defense.

There are hundreds of simple tents, wooden houses, and shacks set up outside the city. Some of the refugees who have migrated here don’t even have a place to live. They can only find a place under the wind to put down all their belongings and huddle there silently waiting for the civil servants in the city to come and call for help. .

More than a hundred civil servants in the city, including the minor officials who usually guard the treasury, were also brought over. Liu Ling also selected an additional fifty literate people in the city to register the refugees outside the city and let them know their identities. Become a good citizen under the rule of Zhuozhou.

Yes, a batch of people bought by Liu Ling have been sent in advance, and the first batch is more than 2,000 people. Although many of them are women with families and anxious faces, ranging from young to The middle-aged lady even had white hair on her head, but Liu Ling still nodded with satisfaction.

There are many lieutenants in the army who are not yet married, but we can make a call: those who get married first and start a career will be given priority to be promoted to lower-level officers, such as corps commanders and so on. But going a little further up, it still has to be calculated in terms of military merit.

More than 2,000 people would be nothing in future generations, a larger high school could reach this number, but they and they are already a very valuable asset to Zhuozhou, where people's livelihood is now in decline.

"I heard that Liu Ling bought all these people with his own money and food." Cai Songnian said, looking at the long queue outside the city with a complicated expression.

Because Liu Ling was a "big customer," the traffickers were particularly happy to negotiate prices because the merchants sent by Liu Ling clearly expressed their intention for long-term cooperation.

Cai Jing, his son, and several accompanying Song officials were equivalent to the upper echelons of Zhuozhou, but now they could only stand on the tower and enjoy the cool breeze while watching Liu Ling order the middle and lower officials.

Naturally, they don't know the details of "trading people". Even if they want to buy a concubine to fill their house when they are at home, they just ask the housekeeper to call someone over and pick a good-looking one in person.

Buying more than 10,000 people at one time is equivalent to the population of a medium- to lower-sized city. It can be said that they are all Liu Ling's private property.

"I'm afraid this guy's ambition is not small."

Cai Jing sighed. The scene he did in front of Liu Ling's house a few days ago ended up making him extremely embarrassed. The middle and low-level officials in Zhuozhou were all from Yan. They were old officials from the Liao Kingdom or local officials. A gentry who was promoted to an official position.

After hearing this, all these people laughed at Cai Jing.

Now, they are even more willing to work for Liu Ling, clearly showing their attitude.

Cai Jing returned home and thought about it all night, and finally smiled helplessly; he could cut off Liu Ling's money and food supply with just one sentence, but if he did so, it would be tantamount to directly bringing the conflict between the two to the surface. Cai Jing I don't really like this head-on style of doing things.

It can't be hardened, so it can only be rubbed softly.

He looked at the long queue outside the city and said softly: "These people are equivalent to his private property, that is, his domestic slaves. If Liu Ling has other intentions, he can rely on these people to start a business in the future.

This guy has such deep calculations. "

Several Song officials nearby nodded with deep understanding.

As a general, all you have to do is lie down in the military camp and be a dog, but now you are doing the job of winning people's hearts;

Why are you?
  Who do you think you are?
  "Quante mother, please be honest, otherwise don't blame me for being rude!"

When the Zhuozhou sergeants shouted, they also flashed their sabers. Under their power, a group of refugees were urged to stand up and go to the more than twenty "windows" set up at the city gate to complete their entry procedures.

More than 2,000 people are enough to make the hundreds of bureaucrats in Zhuozhou City dizzy, so they have to rely on soldiers to maintain order. There are many wild-minded people in the refugee team. They must be deterred before they can be obedient and register. .

When many people were registering there, they would see a grand master's chair placed near the city gate. A young man was sitting on the chair with some books on his lap, looking through them one by one.

Young and strong, with a heroic air between his brows, some widows couldn't help but look at him twice, guessing that he was probably an officer?
  The first batch of registered people were temporarily arranged to stand next to the city gate. At this time, they would be provided with some food and hot soup and asked them to wait there after eating.

When about three hundred people gathered, the young man stood up.

He was wearing black uniforms and a wolf fur coat. When he glanced over, the Zhuozhou soldiers immediately began to yell at the refugees nearby to quiet down.

Liu Ling stood with his hands behind his hands, looking around the crowd, feeling a little nervous for the first time. He used to shout and do things in front of thousands of troops at the head of Yuyang City. At that time, he had already planned to burn the boat and didn't care about so much.

Now, everyone was looking at him. Liu Ling paused and said:

"This general is the defense envoy of Zhuozhou personally appointed by the official family of the Great Song Dynasty."

Several Song Dynasty bureaucrats on the top of the city immediately pouted.

"But my background is the same as yours. I was born in Yanjing, and you and I can be considered fellow citizens of our homeland."

To Pharmacist Guo, he said that he was a Han from Tiezhou, Bohai Sea.

To Zhang Wu and other lieutenant generals, he said that he was Han.

For the Zhao Guan family, there is actually no difference between calling themselves Han people and calling themselves Song people.

Now, he can openly and openly call these refugees that we are fellow villagers.

Human traffickers in the North are quite ritualistic, and almost everyone they deliver comes with a "certificate of slave status." Therefore, when Liu Ling shouted, most people didn't actually see any fluctuations in their eyes. After all, they were just bought by him. domestic slave.

In ancient times, slave status was not something you could deny if you wanted to. Even if someone fled to Song or Jin in the future, Liu Ling would be able to send people there to ask for it openly and honestly.

The books Liu Ling looked at earlier were actually the certificates of slave status, but in order to reduce working hours, the Northland human traffickers wrote them in the books.

He noticed that there was no change in the expressions of the refugees, so he quickly cut off those words that could win people's hearts before he could say them. At the same time, he raised the book in his hand and said:

"Your slave status is all here."

After hearing this, some people's eyes began to change, but it was definitely not kindness, but a slowly brewing hatred.

"Is this kid planning to say something nice?"

Standing on the top of the city, he could clearly see the scene below. Cai Songnian smiled maliciously. Whether from a selfish or public perspective, he did not want Liu Ling to successfully win the hearts of these refugees.

Promise money, food, benefits, huh, maybe they will get more and more angry, and eventually they will rebel and eat you.

Where everyone's eyes converge,

Next to Liu Ling was a deep pit dug. The soldiers lit a torch and threw it in. The pit was filled with flammable materials such as kerosene, linen cloth, and other flammable materials. With a bang, raging flames suddenly burst into flames. Under the stunned gazes of the refugees, the moment Cai Jing's smile suddenly froze,

He raised his hand and threw the book into the fire pit without hesitation.

"This general will be your parent officer from now on. Remember, my name is Liu Ling."

Liu Ling looked at everyone. Behind him, soldiers carried boxes one after another and dumped all the books inside into the fire pit. As the flames grew stronger, just like the expressions in the eyes of the refugees, they began to gradually brighten. stand up.

He said loudly: "Under my rule, as long as you behave honestly, everyone will have food to eat and clothes to wear. After you enter the city, you will be given a sum of money and food to settle down, and you will also be provided with accommodation.

In Zhuozhou, I will protect you from the pain of war! Everyone can live and work in peace and contentment. From now on, you will no longer be refugees, let alone slaves.

But you must remember who gave you this grace! "

(End of this chapter)