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Chapter 304 Hungry People ()

Chen Zhuo knew his old friend's temper very well. Complaining is a complaint, but it will not really stop this good thing. After the nagging is over, I will still be racking my brains to come up with ideas.

Sure enough, after Feng Wenming finished speaking angrily, he pondered for a moment and then said: "This matter cannot be rushed, it must be done slowly."

"That bastard Qin Zhan, if he didn't have some reins, he would dare to stab him in half. I have to write to him immediately to tell him that he must select strong hungry people, whether they are farming in the future, recruit them into the military camp, and send them to dig iron. Mine is fine.”

Try to recruit adult men as much as possible, they can be used after a few days of food.

In fact, during famine years, those who survived the famine were mostly adults. The first to starve to death or die while fleeing famine were mostly the old, weak, women and children. This fact is sad and cannot be changed.

The Nanyang Palace cannot just do good deeds and recruit hungry refugees in order to strengthen Nanyang County. From this perspective, Feng Wenming’s decision was not wrong.

Chen Zhuo said, "That's not how you settled the score. If you go by what you said and only want adult men, old, weak, women and children, you will miss out on many truly good men."

"Furthermore, the most important thing for the county is to enrich the population of the counties. If there are too many men, without a family, it will be easy to cause trouble for a long time, and it is easy to become a refugee and run around. It is better to have a small family, a wife and a mother Men with children are more reliable and more diligent in their work, and we can trust them more."

Feng Wenming thought for a while and had to admit that Chen Zhuo had thought more carefully: "Well, it's up to you to write this letter. Remember to ask that you don't recruit too many hungry people. You can only send back one batch per month, and the maximum number of batches is four or five. Hundreds.”

Chen Zhuo thought to himself, old friend, you are really telling the truth, one batch a month, four to five hundred. Three guard battalions are more than a thousand people. At this rate, tens of thousands of hungry people can be recruited in half a year. The population of Nanyang County will increase by 10%.

"Okay, I'll write a letter right away."

While Chen Zhuo was busy writing letters, Feng Wenming rushed into the house and took out a thick account book and his usual abacus. The fingers moved quickly on the abacus, as if playing a beautiful piece of music.

It was getting late, and the light in the signing room was not bright enough. Feng Changshi, who was focused on settling accounts, had no time to get up. Tang Youyin stood up silently and went to light two candlesticks.

The room suddenly lit up.

Feng Wenming perked up and ordered without raising his head: "Come here."

Tang Youyin immediately stepped forward: "What are your orders from Feng Changshi?"

I saw Feng Changshi pull out two books from Gao Gao's account book: "Go and calculate these two account books carefully, subtract all expenses, and figure out how much can be left in the end."

Tang Youyin responded, took the account book and sat on the table nearby, flipping the abacus while flipping through it. He has been a household clerk in Xi'e County Government for many years and is very familiar with accounting books and calculating accounts. At this time, his luck was flying, and his speed of settling accounts was not much worse than Feng Changshi's.

Feng Changshi took a moment to take a moment and glanced up at Tang Youyin.

This soup has silver, its appearance is not impressive, but it has some abilities. It has been half a year since I entered the palace. I work as a cow and a horse in the household every day... No, I work seriously as an errand. After practicing like this for several years, I can really stand on my own.

Feng Changshi silently praised Tang Youyin in his heart. However, Tang Youyin admired Feng Changshi in his heart even more.

There are so many people inside and outside the Nanyang Palace, and Feng Changshi has to worry about every use. Not to mention anything else, just the Guards Camp and the Nanyang Military Camp are enough to give people a headache. The accounts of the fourteen counties must also be interrogated one by one. Feng Changshi was the princess's housekeeper. He was in charge of money with one hand and food with the other. He had to worry about everything in detail. Without the dedicated and capable Feng Changshi, how could the princess stay in the capital for several months with peace of mind.

He was lucky enough to work with Feng Changshi, so he had to learn Feng Changshi's skills. Maybe he can be the second Feng Changshi in the future.

Tang Youyin, who has a beautiful dream for the future, has his abacus ticked to the third watch. Looking at Feng Changshi again, he still has no intention of giving up.

Tang Youyin continued silently.

……

What Feng Changshi didn't expect was that just a few days after the letter was sent out, people from the first battalion of the personal guards quietly sent a group of people into Nanyang County.

"This Qin Zhan has learned how to kill first and then show off!" Feng Wenming puffed his beard and glared, saying in a bad tone: "Counting the time, he has started secretly recruiting hungry people before he has sent the letter back. Fortunately, the princess agreed, otherwise, I’ll see how he ends up.”

Chen Zhuo laughed and poured a cup of tea to Feng Wenming himself: "Don't be upset now, drink a cup of tea to calm down. Qin Zhan dared to do this because he had a glimpse of the princess's temper and knew that the princess would definitely respond."

"The person who sent the letter also said that the total number of this group of people is four hundred and twenty-three. Calculated by household, there are a total of one hundred and sixteen households. Among them are one hundred and forty-eight adult men and one adult woman. One hundred and fifty-three. There are also more than a hundred children and elderly people.”

"The most important thing now is to settle them quietly."

Feng Wenming drank tea with a sullen face: "I just settle accounts, find money and find food, it's your business how to settle down."

Recently, Feng Changshi has been working hard day and night, and a lot of his hair has fallen out. Chen Zhuo couldn't bear to get angry with him. He smiled and coaxed him: "Okay, okay, I'll do this. This is my plan, please listen to it."

"This is the first batch of hungry people sent here. They must be settled properly. Of the fourteen counties in Nanyang, the three most prosperous are Shangxian. However, Bowang County has iron ore, Biyang County raises horses, and Ye County grows mulberry and weaves. Bu, they don’t have enough food for their own people, and they have to buy food from the palace, so don’t go to these three counties.”

"Among the other counties, Li County is undoubtedly the most extensive in terms of area. Moreover, there are mountains and forests in Li County. No one will die from hunger depending on the mountains. Magistrate Cai is also the most meticulous, diligent and attentive in his work. These hungry people, Just resettle them in Li County and let Magistrate Cai lead them to open up wasteland and farm."

Feng Wenming drank the last sip of tea: "Let Magistrate Cai make a show of it for other magistrates. If hungry people come in the future, they will be assigned to other counties."

Chen Zhuo easily picked up the teapot and poured another cup of tea: "However, we can't just let the people go with empty words. The palace should allocate some money and food first."

Feng Wenming nodded reservedly: "Fortunately, I have been busy for a few days and have been prepared. Let someone come to the house to collect money and food today!"

Sure enough, Feng Changshi was reliable in his work.

Chen Zhuo gave his old friend a thumbs up and gave him a thumbs up.

Feng Changshi was amused: "Stop talking nonsense and do things quickly. The people are here, settle down well and let them call Nanyang County their home."