bookrandom Chapter 51 Refugees Entering the City
Chapter 51 Refugees Entering the City
In just a few days, under Qin Xuan's arrangement, the entire Beining City workshop was like a berserk machine, starting to run wildly.
Although Qin Xuan was trapped in the villa, Zhao Luoying, Du Manjiang, and the others were making preparations for the arrival of 200,000 refugees without stopping for a moment.
"Brother Qiu, how have you been?"
At this moment, as Qin Xuan rode out on his warhorse to personally greet them amidst the snow-covered landscape, the dignified Confucian scholar of the time could only wail and weep, unable to utter a single word.
He felt ashamed of his doubts about Qin Xuan, but also moved by Qin Xuan's arrival.
Heaven is unkind, but there is the King of Chu.
"Your Highness, Xingzhi conveys the gratitude of these 200,000 refugees to you."
Qiu Xingzhi bowed deeply, then knelt down completely: "From now on, I, Qiu Xingzhi, will acknowledge you as my master and am willing to go through fire and water for Your Highness to create a new golden age."
Hearing this, Qin Xuan was deeply moved.
It should be noted that Qiu Xingzhi was a great Confucian scholar of his time, and behind him stood millions of scholars throughout the world.
In particular, before serving at the Imperial College, Qiu Xingzhi was the dean of Qingshan Academy, the largest academy in the Great Qi Dynasty.
His teacher was the founder of Qingshan Academy, a special figure whom even people from other countries would bow to.
It is no exaggeration to say that with Qiu Xingzhi's addition, Qin Xuan has essentially opened up a broad road for himself among the literati.
At that time, a steady stream of scholars will flock to Beining City.
"Brother Qiu, you're too kind. Please get up."
Qin Xuan quickly helped Qiu Xingzhi up, then ordered someone to bring him a mink coat, which he then personally put on for him.
"Your Highness, these two hundred thousand refugees..."
Just as Qiu Xingzhi was about to speak, he staggered and almost fell.
He was actually exhausted along the way, and only by sheer willpower was he able to reach Beining City.
Qin Xuan reached out to support him and said, "Now that you've arrived in Beining City, sir, leave the rest to me!"
Looking into Qin Xuan's resolute yet warm eyes, Qiu Xingzhi finally smiled and nodded vigorously.
Then Qin Xuan turned to the refugees who had already surrounded him and said loudly, "Fellow citizens, you have endured many hardships on your journey, but rest assured, Beining City will not turn you away like other cities."
"Beining City has made preparations to accommodate you, but since you come from an epidemic area, for everyone's safety, everyone must follow the Shence Army's arrangements and enter the city in an orderly manner."
As soon as Qin Xuan finished speaking, cheers erupted from the audience.
"We're saved! Beining City really didn't reject us."
“That’s great. I was really afraid of being kicked out, otherwise my whole family would die here.”
"Thank God! Thank King Chu! We can survive!"
"..."
The common people's wishes are actually very simple; they just want to live.
So in the following process, no matter how hungry and cold these people were, not one of them disrupted the order.
Everyone lined up neatly and followed the instructions of the Shence Army, slowly entering the bamboo rafts with railings that had been placed in advance.
At the very front of the passage were huge tents, with enormous water vats already placed on makeshift earthen stoves.
Boiling water was churning inside the vat, and many of the refugees who had already entered were required to wash themselves immediately.
Although it was the dead of winter, Qin Xuan had arranged for tens of thousands of coal stoves to provide warmth, so the scene was not very cold.
"Your Majesty, what are you doing..."
As Qiu Xingzhi walked, he asked questions with curiosity.
Qin Xuan explained, "I have learned about the epidemic in Danxia City and have developed methods for its treatment and prevention."
"Really?" Qiu Xingzhi was deeply moved and excitedly grabbed Qin Xuan's arm.
Qin Xuan smiled and nodded: "It is indeed true."
Qin Xuan then gave a brief explanation of smallpox, and continued, "The disease is transmitted through air and skin contact, so everyone must first wash their bodies to keep clean before entering the tents in turn to be injected with cowpox."
Qin Xuan explained it simply, but the whole process of taking in the animals is actually quite complicated.
Before entering the city, the refugees first washed themselves, then changed into temporary clothes made of hemp, and then were isolated according to their physical condition.
Those who have already developed symptoms will be isolated in a separate area; those who have not will be directly moved to the rear tent area for vaccination.
To accommodate 200,000 refugees, the Shence Army mobilized 10,000 troops.
Fortunately, the smallpox vaccination method had already worked on monkeys, so Qin Xuan ordered more cattle to be captured for smallpox vaccination, and then the pus was extracted and injected.
"Sir, please have a cup of ginger tea to warm yourself up."
Wearing a burlap mask, Zhao Luoying personally served ginger tea to Qiu Xingzhi.
Qiu Xingzhi quickly expressed his gratitude, feeling flattered and overwhelmed, saying, "Thank you so much, Your Highness!"
“Sir, there’s no need for such formalities. This is a military camp. You can call me Luo Ying or General Zhao.”
Zhao Luoying smiled faintly, and then led her people to distribute ginger tea to the refugees queuing behind her.
Qiu Xingzhi stared blankly at everything before him, his depression completely gone.
This was clearly a deadly epidemic, but when it arrived in Beining City, there was no trace of sorrow; instead, there was a strong sense of human warmth and security.
Those Shence Army soldiers who were brave and skilled in battle, killing countless enemies, were now as gentle as fathers and brothers.
Qiu Xingzhi couldn't even see a trace of arrogance in them.
The city of Beining and the Shence Army are both thanks to the young King of Chu by his side!
"Sir, you must be tired from your journey. Please come with me to the Prince's residence first. This resettlement work will probably take at least ten days to half a month to complete."
Qin Xuan suggested.
Two hundred thousand refugees entered the city one after another, and they all had to be vaccinated, which naturally took time.
Fortunately, Beining City was well prepared, and the three major chambers of commerce had successively opened up trade channels, with a steady stream of food and supplies arriving every day.
Otherwise, the very problem of feeding these 200,000 refugees would be enough to plunge Beining City into crisis once again.
Time flies, and ten days have passed in the blink of an eye.
Most of the refugees have successfully entered the city, but they are still temporarily housed in separate areas.
Meanwhile, within the city, the people had begun to receive vaccinations to prevent smallpox.
At this moment, in the council hall of the Prince's Mansion, Qin Xuan was discussing various matters with Qiu Xingzhi, Zhuge Xuan, Zhao Luoying, and others.
The two most crucial issues are: first, how to solve the housing problem for 200,000 displaced people; and second, the long-standing problem of officials in Beining City.
“Your Highness, Beining City lacks effective governance, but after carefully reviewing the historical records and documents of the government office, I discovered that the reason Beining City is in such chaos is entirely due to the collusion between officials and clerks, who are corrupt and embezzling funds together.”
Qiu Xingzhi truly deserves to be called a great Confucian scholar of our time; his words hit the nail on the head.
In ancient times, the term "official" actually referred to two different positions.
An official is an administrator appointed by the imperial court and has a rank.
However, the position of "li" (吏) is more like an employment relationship. They only receive a salary and do not hold an official position. This generally refers to yamen runners, clerks, and secretaries.
To put it bluntly, officials have official positions, while clerks are temporary workers.
“The minor officials in Beining City are all recruited locally. The original intention was that it would be convenient for locals to manage locals, but now corruption is rampant and there are snakes and rats in the same nest. It is better to use officials from other places.”
Qiu Xingzhi suggested.
Everyone was puzzled, but Qin Xuan's eyes lit up and he couldn't help but praise, "Sir, you are indeed wise. This is a brilliant move."