My younger brother Lü Fengxian

Chapter 131 Refugee Resettlement Plan
The more you lose something, the more you cherish it.

A few months ago, they were still poorly clothed and hungry, and were wantonly bullied by the locals of Zhongshan County, but they dared not fight back.

Now that they have come under Lu Yi's command, not only are their most basic needs for food and clothing met, but Lu Yi also tries his best to ensure that their safety and personality needs are treated equally.

In today's environment, such conscientious customers are worthy of being called kind even if they don't pay a penny.

"Don't worry, everyone!" Lu Yi felt relieved upon seeing this and quickly spoke up to comfort them.

"My Jiuyuan is vast and sparsely populated, so there is plenty of land to accommodate you. Anyone who is willing to stay and work for me can choose their own way out."

"Moreover, Jiuyuan is located in the Hetao region. The Yellow River has a hundred harms but one benefit. The land fertility is no less than that of other desolate places. It can even be compared with the rich Central Plains. Even the wasteland that my Lu family reclaimed in the first year can yield two and a half stone of grain a year. After one or two years, the land fertility will surely be comparable to the good farmland in the Central Plains, yielding three stone of grain a year!"

"Whether you want to be a caravan guard, become a tenant of my Lu family, or continue to work, I, Lu Yi, welcome everyone to join my Jiuyuan with open arms and build Jiuyuan together with my Lu family!"

Lu Yi's words caused the refugees to burst into cheers.

Nowadays, natural disasters and man-made disasters are constantly happening, and there are corrupt officials in the countryside causing harm to the people. It is not easy to go anywhere.

On the contrary, in this desolate land of Jiuyuan in the fortress, there is a small paradise under the protection of Lu Yi.

Seeing that Lu Yi was willing to take them in, most of the refugees expressed their willingness to join Lu Yi's army.

They didn't care about the solution Lu Yi mentioned, but just agreed to it blindly. They were even afraid that Lu Yi would drive them away after he had gathered enough people.

After all, under such a benevolent and righteous person, no matter what you do, it would be better to be exploited by those corrupt officials.

These corrupt officials and clerks don't care about any natural disasters or man-made calamities. They will pay all the heavy taxes and levies that should be paid, and they will also find excuses to squeeze the people for things that they shouldn't pay.

Are you kidding? I spent real money to buy the official seal, so I should at least get my money back, right?
"But there can be no order without rules." Lu Yi continued.

"If you want to stay in Jiuyuan Paradise, you must offer your loyalty to the Lu family!"

"May I ask Captain Lu, what do you want us to take you in?"

An old man was nominated by the refugees to step out and ask.

"It's very simple. The first step is for you to voluntarily give up your household registration and become servants of my Lu family."

"Only in this way can I believe in your sincerity. Only in this way can we escape the heavy taxes of the imperial court and only serve the Jiuyuan Lu family from now on!"

"However, if there are those who are unwilling, Lu Yi will never force them. Considering that you have also worked hard for several months to build Luwu for my Lu family, I am willing to offer travel expenses and a month's rations to send off those who are unwilling to sign the contract to sell themselves and degrade themselves to servants!"

As soon as Lu Yi finished speaking, heated discussions broke out among the refugees.

This concerns their future and freedom, and they cannot afford not to consider it carefully.

The only thing they can show off now is their cheap status as free men.

Whether they yearn for the freedom from hunger, or lose their freedom and gain food and clothing, it all depends on their own choice.

The situation of having to have both would not have occurred in the late Eastern Han Dynasty when resources were scarce and technology was low.

Lu Yi did not urge them, but just observed everyone quietly. He could also take this opportunity to screen out those with deep thoughts.

Such people only care about their own interests no matter which group they are in. They disregard the rights and interests of others. They are sophisticated egoists and are black sheep wherever they are. Even if they want to join Lu Yi's team, Lu Yi is unwilling to accept them. Instead, he has to try his best to kick these bad apples out to prevent them from ruining the good soup.

"I wonder if after we sign the contract, we can regain our freedom like the five hundred servants of Lü Tingzhang before?"

After a long time, the discussion gradually died down, and the old refugee asked again, "You bunch of unruly people! Have you forgotten the plight of not having enough food to eat when you were in Zhongshan?"

Before Lu Yi could answer, his confidant Cheng Lian could no longer bear to watch and immediately shouted at the old man.

"At that time, you all begged to be slaves forever in the wealthy families of Zhongshan, but you were not accepted because of your unknown identities and origins. It was my eldest brother who was kind enough to help and take you in. If it weren't for my eldest brother, you would have become a pile of dry bones outside Zhongshan City. How could you have the chance to live until now to make demands with my eldest brother?"

"Have all your consciences been eaten by dogs?"

Cheng Lian's scolding was so loud that the old man and the refugees lowered their heads in shame.

What Cheng Lian said was absolutely correct. They just wanted to survive and hang on.

Now that you have lived a good life for a few months, you are looking back and wanting better treatment. It is indeed a bit greedy.

However, Lu Yi knew that this was due to human nature, and no one wanted to be born a slave.

Once the basic physiological needs are met, people will inevitably pursue higher-level needs.

This is a truth that has been verified by history.

Therefore, there was no trace of anger on his face. Instead, he remained as usual, maintaining a friendly expression as he waved Cheng Lian away.

"Of course you can! Under my command, Lu Yi, as long as you work hard and obey orders, you will have no worries about not having a chance to make a breakthrough!"

"After you become my servants, if you perform well, you can even be freed early."

"You can choose any of the following positions: clerk, tenant, or helper. Talented people can also hold high positions and become stewards!"

Lu Yilang laughed and announced loudly.

After hearing this, the refugees finally felt relieved and expressed their willingness to accept Lu Yi's rule and become his servants.

As for the few people who were unwilling to leave, Lu Yi kept his promise and gave them travel expenses and food rations to let them leave Jiuyuan Pavilion.

Lu Yi currently roughly divides his power into several levels.

Refugees are the first step.

The servants are the second step.

Tenants and hired laborers were the third tier.

The guys are in the fourth tier and are the group with the best treatment and benefits.

As for the other normal indigenous people in Jiuyuan Pavilion, they are all Han people registered in the Jiuyuan County household register. Lu Yi uses his official status to lead them, which is a temporary transition and he cannot directly rule over them.

We can only wait a few years until the world is in chaos before making other plans.

Fortunately, these people are already a minority even according to Lu Yi's current power, and Lu Yi only shows kindness to them, so there won't be any big problems for a while.

In the future, the main way for Lu Yi to supplement his power will be the refugees from the first tier and the servants from the second tier.

……

(End of this chapter)