1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2398
Zeng Xiaowen took the order to go, and not long after, another subordinate came to report that three local officials currently taking refuge on Zhifu Island wanted to see Chen Yixin.

In fact, Chen Yixin didn't have much interest in these people. It was only because they had cooperated with Haihan in the past two or three years and silently accepted the reality of being evaded, so he arranged for them when the other party proposed asylum. The whole family went to live in the military base on Zhifu Island.It was planned to arrange for them to settle down in the south in a few days, but the three of them seemed to have other ideas.

Without his order, the three of them would never have been able to leave Zhifu Island. They said they were taking refuge, but in fact they were in a similar situation to house arrest.Chen Yixin thought about it for a while, and agreed to their request, and asked someone to arrange a carriage to take the three of them from Zhifu Island to Majiazhuang.

"The three of you are eager to see me. I don't know what's the big deal?" Chen Yixin deliberately emphasized the word "big thing", which meant to remind them not to waste their time with trivial matters.

Zhang Pucheng, the magistrate of the county, was the leader of the three, so he responded, "General Chen is busy with official duties, and I shouldn't bother, but seeing that the whole county is busy helping refugees recently, we, as parents and officials, have been busy all the time. It is really unreasonable to stand by and watch on Zhifu Island. So I want to ask General Chen for an errand, so that I can play a little role."

Zhang Pucheng's words sounded quite sincere, but Chen Yixin knew that things were not as simple as he said.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the three thought that the influx of refugees would lead to the collapse of social order in Fushan County, and even hiding in the county would not help, so they asked Haihan to take them in for refuge.In this way, even if Fushan County becomes a mess in the end, they don't have to worry about the personal safety of themselves and their families on Zhifu Island.

But after the three of them stayed in Zhifu Island for so many days, they didn't see any obvious changes in the local situation. They only heard that dozens of refugee camps in Fushan County were built in one go, and all the refugees who entered the area had already died. got placement.

Later, a series of large fleets arrived at Zhifu Port, and then began to transfer refugees from the local area. They could see a general situation on Zhifu Island.Seeing thousands of refugees being sent away by sea, they also understood Haihan's real means of handling the refugee crisis.If Haihan can maintain such a scale of transshipment, the number of refugees who must have poured into Fushan County should not lead to a local collapse.

This should have been good news, but not necessarily for them.When they applied for asylum to Haihan, they had actually given up their official positions and made preparations to join Haihan and settle overseas in the future.But if the local situation does not deteriorate to the extent they expected, then they will lose more than they gain.

Although their official positions are very low, they are just a county magistrate, a general manager, and a head catcher who doesn't even have a rank, and it seems that there is no possibility of promotion in the future, but Zhima officials are also officials. If you continue to dawdle in the world, then why leave your hometown to live overseas.And they themselves knew very well that after leaving Fushan County, they would not be of any use to Haihan.At that time, all the special benefits they can enjoy now will be terminated, and they will also lose their source of income, and they will have to find another livelihood.

But the good thing is that they haven't left Fushan County yet, and there is still a possibility of redemption. As long as they have the cheek to beg Chen Yixin, and then let them go back to the county government to "perform their duties", then the matter of running away should be fooled.After the chaos subsides slowly, they can continue to enjoy their previous comfortable life.

Of course, Chen Yixin had to nod for these plans first, and after hearing what Zhang Pucheng said, Chen Yixin had already realized their intentions, and asked blankly: "As far as I know, when the three of you asked to go to the island, , I even moved all my belongings here, so I probably don't plan to go back to the county again, do I?"

Among the three, the headhunter Han Qin has the lowest status, but he is also the one who can lower his figure the most, and replied with a smile: "Don't blame the general, we did plan to go to the island to seek refuge, but now the situation has changed, we When we adapt to the situation, we should do our part to help the refugees."

Han Qin almost said the words "I've changed my mind". Of course Chen Yixin understood what he meant, but if he nodded too quickly in such a matter, it would be too easy to talk.

"Then Butou Han is telling me, what do you guys plan to do?" Chen Yixin leaned his body on the back of the chair, his eyes swept over the faces of the three of them in turn, as if he was examining whether they had the right to repent.

As for how to do it, the three of them had already discussed it carefully on the island.At that moment, Huang Qu said: "A few days ago, the general entertained rich people who came to seek refuge in Zhifu Island. At that time, I also arranged for me to come forward with Zhangzhi County. The effect seems to be pretty good. I thought that if I could wait in front of the local refugees Show up and persuade the refugees to cooperate with your country in the name of the county government, which may relieve some pressure on the general."

In order to make Chen Yixin nod, the three of them went all out.If they made public appearances in the name of the government to appease the refugees and persuade them to accept Haihan's arrangement, it would be tantamount to treason from a certain point of view.However, survival in troubled times is the top priority, and probably no refugee will complain that the government has found a way for them to survive.

Chen Yixin nodded slightly and said, "Go on."

Seeing Chen Yixin's calm face, Huang Qu knew that what he just said was right, so he hurriedly continued: "These refugees have escaped from other prefectures in Shandong, and they don't know the local conditions, so it's probably hard to deal with them." Keep your trust in the assistance provided by your country. If we persuade you, the people will definitely be more willing to trust us. In addition, the three of us made a total sum and are willing to donate a thousand taels of silver together for the relief of refugees."

A thousand taels of silver is indeed not a small amount, but the three of them have received a lot of subsidies from Haihan in the past few years, and it is not too painful to pay this money, mainly Just to show Chen Yixin his sincerity.

Chen Yixin didn't make a sound after listening, and the three of them could only wait obediently. After a long time, Chen Yixin said, "There's no need to donate money. Since the three of you want to help refugees, you should do more practical things." I hope that you can go around the local refugee camps in the future to understand the needs of the people, dispel their doubts and anxiety, and help them live a good life."

Chen Yixin knew that these three people were willing to follow Haihan's arrangement, largely because of the money, otherwise, anyone with a bit of backbone would have resigned long ago.Since these people value money so much, if their so-called donations are really accepted, they will definitely have a lump in their hearts.Besides, the wool came from the sheep, and if I want to keep these people in Fushan County in the future, I have to continue to pay them extra salary, which is not bad for 1000 taels.

Besides, if they could really do what they promised and persuade the refugees to accept Haihan's arrangement and go overseas by boat to receive resettlement, then the effect they could play would far exceed the value of 1000 taels of silver.

When the three of them heard that Chen Yixin finally let go, the big stone in their hearts fell to the ground.What they were most worried about was that they would annoy Chen Yixin because of their repentance, and they would lose both sides' benefits.But now it seems that their judgment is quite accurate. The Haihan people really need to transfer these refugees overseas. As long as they can help Haihan complete this matter, then Chen Yixin will not care about their repeated attitudes during this period.

The three hurriedly agreed, expressing that they would definitely complete the task assigned by Chen Yixin.

Chen Yixin didn't have a good impression of these three people in his heart, knowing that they were just jumping around repeatedly for the sake of profit. It's okay for such people to take money to do things, but they must not be given too much trust.

Chen Yixin said: "Sit here for a while, and I will arrange for someone to discuss the follow-up matters with you."

The three knew that Chen Yixin was busy with business and it was not easy to find time to meet them, so they got up and sent Chen Yixin off respectfully.

Not long after, another person entered the reception room, and greeted the three of them, "My lords, long time no see."

When the three of them saw it, the visitor was indeed an old acquaintance, so they quickly got up to salute.

At present, the refugee affairs in Fushan County are mainly managed by Liu Shang. Since these three people are willing to help Haihan appease the refugees, the specific arrangements will naturally be handed over to Liu Shang.When Liu Shang was working in Fushan County, he also had dealings with these local officials. Although it was not a deep friendship, they were indeed old acquaintances.

"The three discussed with General Chen just now, let me come down to make arrangements. Do you have any opinions?" Liu Shang also has a lot of things to deal with at any time, so he didn't spend much time talking to the three. People exchanged pleasantries slowly, and got straight to the point.

The three of them had just finished talking with Chen Yixin, and they had won the opportunity with great difficulty. How could they have any opinions, and they all politely expressed their willingness to obey Liu Shang's arrangement.

Liu Shang was not polite when he saw this, and began to assign tasks to the three: "Huang Bazong and Han Butou can go to the two official roads in this county respectively. Our Haihan Army has checkpoints on the official roads. Please go to the two official roads. Go there to show your identity, whether it is coaxing or intimidating, in short, let the refugees entering this county obey our arrangements."

Liu Shang continued: "Zhang Zhi County is the official of the county's parents. If you can come forward to appease the people in the refugee camps and persuade them to settle overseas, there must be good results. But now there are as many as dozens of refugee camps in this county. , Zhangzhi County may suffer a lot."

If these arrangements are rejected, then they are really worthless to Hai Han. The three of them have no room to pick and choose at this time, and Liu Shang can only accept any tasks assigned by Liu Shang first.

Seeing that they did not express any objection, Liu Shang was even more impolite: "Without further delay, I will arrange a carriage to send the three of you to their respective places of responsibility. Is it okay?"

Zhang Pucheng was still thinking about other things, so he quickly interjected: "Master Liu, can our family members stay on the island?"

Liu Shang smiled and said, "The safest place in Shandong is Zhifu Island. Let the family members stay on the island, so the three of you can do things with peace of mind, don't you? Don't worry, the three of you just do your best, and leave everything else to us. That’s right. I will release the news outside in two days. During this period, the three of you are helping resettle the people in the refugee camp, so they didn’t open office in the county.”

The three of them didn't expect that Liu Shang's arrangements were so thoughtful, that they had thought of the reasons for their disappearance from the county during this period of time.Although this kind of reason may not be very convincing, at least it can allow them to return to the public view in a more reasonable way, and it will not make people think that they have defected from the country.

Of course, Liu Shang's words actually have another meaning. The news will be released in two days, just to see how they perform next.If Hai Han's request is not met, then perhaps the news released by then will change.This also means that whether they can still gain a foothold in Fushan County in the future will probably depend on Haihan's face.

However, the three of them had already made plans to leave Fushan County. Now that they can earn a little money, it is better to stay in Fushan County as a land lord than to go overseas and start from scratch.

Now that they have won the opportunity to perform, the three of them can no longer be vague. Liu Shang asked them to start work immediately, so they can only fight.

Immediately, Liu Shang arranged for two carriages to take Han Qin and Huang Qu to two official roads entering Fushan County, so that they could deal with the influx of refugees.Zhang Pucheng, accompanied by Liu Shang, went to a refugee camp near Majiazhuang to practice.

The checkpoints that Haihan set up on these two roads are mainly to exclude those refugees who are unwilling to accept the arrangement first, preventing them from entering the country and becoming a factor of local instability.This arrangement will of course cause dissatisfaction among many refugees, because the main reason they come here is to know that there is an institution here that specializes in accepting refugees and will provide them with food and shelter, but when they arrive here, they find that there are thresholds for such assistance conditions , You need to "voluntarily" accept the arrangement to settle overseas in order to be rescued.

If you agree to this condition, you will pass through the checkpoint and enter Fushan County, and then you will be placed in a refugee camp in batches.People who do not agree with this condition tend to gather near the checkpoint. When such people gather together, it will become a security risk.

Of course, in the environment of lack of food and clothing, it is difficult for the refugees to persist for too long, so it is inevitable that many people will die near the official road due to hunger and sickness.For this reason, Haihan also sent someone to collect the corpses, so as to prevent the refugees who came to the local area from having doubts about the local refugee acceptance policy.

(End of this chapter)