Chapter 357: Chapter 357 Conscription
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“But if you want to spread these makings to others, you have to be careful. You can only tell Manager Liu verbally. Do you understand?” Gu Chengrui solemnly instructed.
If this thing were to be discovered and used by others, it would be another disaster for the Ming Dynasty.
Sun Hongliang looked at his serious expression and nodded firmly, “1 understand.”
“Great, 1’11 leave this place to you. If there’s a crisis, we’ll rush over as soon as this thing sounds.” After Gu Chengrui finished speaking, he gave him a few more instructions.
Only then did he and Zhou Ying go to find Uncle Nian and ask him to butcher a sheep every day or a cow every two days to ensure the workers’ constant food supply.
After that, he took a piece of beef brisket and some lard, went to Hu Chun’s place to give the same news, and then returned to the village.
After the village chief got up, he didn’t eat breakfast and called two young men to follow him to the town to find Tian Jingzhong. He needed to tell him about the group of refugees as soon as possible.
“How are there such wicked people?” Tian Jingzhong stood up in shock.
“That was my reaction exactly, but there really are some.” The village chief answered with a bitter smile.
“How should we deal with these people?” He asked. “Should we kill them or…”
“Come with me to the county. We’ve just planted the sweet potatoes, and it’s a huge problem for refugees to come now. We have to tell Magistrate Kong.”
“Alright,” the village chief replied, and his stomach began to growl.
“You guys haven’t had breakfast yet?” Tian Jingzhong asked, stunned.
“I just wanted to get rid of those people as soon as possible, so…”
“But you still have to take care of your body.” Tian Jingzhong reminded the old man and asked the maidservant to bring them each a black vegetable bun and a bowl of mixed flour paste.
After they finished eating, they took a carriage and rushed to the county government office.
It just so happened that Manager Liu was there as well. He seemed to be talking about something, and his expression was grave.
Seeing that the village chief and the constable were here, they were surprised. After both parties looked at each other, County Magistrate Kong asked, “What happened?”
Tian Jingzhong looked at the village chief.
The village chief nodded and told everyone everything that happened last night. “As for how to deal with those people, please make the decision, magistrate.”
County Magistrate Kong stayed silent for a long time after hearing this. Problems were coming one after another, and it was hard to be an official these days.
How were they going to settle this many refugees? Would these refugees wait for death if they didn’t settle them down? It would be troublesome if a riot happened.
“Ahem.” Manager Liu coughed dryly to remind him that everyone was still waiting for his answer.
This cough reminded him of something, and he answered, “How about this? No matter what, they are human lives, and it would be a pity to kill them just like this.
“It just so happens that we received an imperial decree yesterday requesting conscription.”
“Conscription? Conscription at this time? ” Tian Jingzhong exclaimed.
There was no place of peace in the country currently. If they were to recruit soldiers again at this time, there was an 80% chance that there would be chaos.
No wonder their expressions were so ugly when they came in.
“Yes, the northern borders are getting rowdier and rowdier. War is only a matter of time, so we must recruit soldiers.” County magistrate Kong affirmed
“We have to discuss this matter before announcing it,” he said. “So, don’t tell anyone for the time being.”
“Understood.” Tian Jingzhong nodded.
The village chief and the other two could only nod their heads, but their hearts were in a mess.
Especially the village chief. Their village was still safe and sound until now because of the white potatoes and abundance of strong labor; these were the reasons why they could resist the outsiders invading their village.
What would happen to their village if the strong labor were to be taken away?