The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 327 Settlement (Part 1)

Just as Gan Minglan's hundred personal guards arrived at their posts.

The more than 200,000 immigrants from Jinzhou Pass finally arrived at Guazhouwei.

These immigrants were different from the more than 70,000 able-bodied young people who had arrived earlier; the elderly, women, and children made up the majority of them.

to be frank.

The new immigrants, having traveled all the way from the Hexi Corridor, felt exceptionally heavy-hearted.

desolate!

It's so desolate!

Once they passed through Heping Pass, they were dumbfounded.

It turns out that what's more terrifying than desolation is the desert.

There was none of the scene one might imagine, where the wind rustles through the grass, revealing cattle and sheep.

Isn't the Western Regions also a pastoral area?
The people inside the Great Wall had never seen such a vast expanse of yellow sand!

The woman and children huddled together, shivering.

The young and middle-aged men were extremely angry.

Turning to the border troops at Heping Pass, he shouted:

"You damned border soldiers, all you know how to do is fool us poor souls! We've traveled over three thousand miles, only to be tricked into coming to this barren land where not a single tree can be seen!"

"They said we were here to cultivate the land, but there isn't even a river to be seen in this vast desert stretching for hundreds of miles. What kind of grain can you possibly grow in this sandy land?"

"Yes, you liars! If you don't give us an explanation today, we will absolutely not go to the garrison to reclaim wasteland! Quickly call your city garrison general to explain things to everyone."

"I'm an honest man! I didn't want to follow those scoundrels in the village to become that damn soldier, but why can't the world give honest men like me a clear path? Damn it, I'm telling you right now, if you dare to fool me, I'll..."

Before he could finish his harsh words, he collapsed in anger.

This time.

Some called out "brothers."

Some call the child's father.

There was also the mournful cry of an old woman calling for her son.

Moments later, a chorus of wailing erupted outside the city gates.

As the situation gradually spiraled out of control, the border troops defending the city panicked.

What's going on?

Are the immigrants going to use this opportunity to revolt?

If over 200,000 people were to cause trouble, they would really be in for a rough time.

Peace Pass is no longer the isolated Peace Pass of the past.

With the protection of the Nine Guards of Kansai, the position of the garrison commander here has gone from being "despised by everyone" to being "highly sought after".

The garrison commander, who had rushed over, understood what these people were wailing about and, in a fit of rage, burst into a tirade of curses:

"Lie to you? Even if you broke every bone in your body, you wouldn't get a single drop of oil out of it! What could I possibly lie to you about?"

Didn't you send people ahead first? Over 60,000 people there got good jobs building a new city in Hami, with food and drink provided and a minimum monthly salary of nine qian of silver! Those craftsmen like bricklayers, carpenters, and blacksmiths will earn even more. The Guanzhong region already had military farms and irrigation canals during the Han Dynasty; not only wheat and millet, but even rice could be grown! And the oases in the desert are perfect for raising sheep and cattle.

Anyway, now that you're here, don't expect to eat rice and noodles every day. Eat as much meat as you want! Even a fat sheep weighing over a hundred pounds only costs two or three taels of silver.

What was supposed to be a severe scolding turned into a round of laughter and smiles from everyone.

"Two or three taels of silver can buy a fat sheep? That's really not expensive! We don't care about rice and noodles, we'll be content as long as we can drink meat soup every meal."

“Our eldest son is a carpenter. Quickly go to Guazhouwei and ask around. I wonder how far that new city is from here? If he can earn one or two taels of silver a month, that's almost enough to buy a sheep.”

Is a month's wages equal to the price of a sheep?

This means that prices are low, but wages are not.

"Let's go, let's go! Stop dawdling at this pass. I heard it's still dozens of miles from here to Guazhouwei. Let's get there soon, they might still need people for that new city construction job!"

The able-bodied men became anxious.

They were the ones who just threatened to riot, and they were also the ones who hurriedly retreated when they heard about a good opportunity to make money.

They all ran incredibly fast.

The dizziness and leg pain disappeared instantly for both the old and the young.

Followed by.

By noon that day, more than 200,000 immigrants had crowded into Guazhouwei.

The guards from Heping Pass followed them all the way here.

The commander of the Guazhou Guard quickly learned that after the incident at Heping Pass, he hurriedly begged Gan Minglan to guide him in completing this resettlement work.

Gan Minglan knew the gravity of the situation.

She summoned the commander of the Guazhou garrison and a dozen or so centurions for a meeting:
"These immigrants will become permanent residents of the Nine Guards of Kansai. Before settling them into their respective guard posts, a routine household registration must be carried out! It would be best if all of them had their pulse checked by doctors, just in case they contracted any diseases along the way."

Upon hearing about the epidemic, everyone's expression changed drastically.

Gan Minglan comforted them, saying, "This is just in case. It's best if nothing happens, but if something does, we should isolate and treat them immediately. I want to emphasize the importance of this isolation."

Everyone: The more we talk about it, the scarier we get. What should we do?
"So! What we need most right now are doctors. From those two hundred thousand people, no matter what kind of doctor, midwife, or even a waiter who used to cut and dispense medicine in a clinic, we'll recruit them all. We'll pay them well, and we'll try our best to provide the necessary medicinal materials!"

The centurion of Guazhou Guard nodded heavily: "Arrange it immediately."

"Next, we'll send all sorts of craftsmen, cooks, and scholars to their respective suitable positions. Then, we'll take the able-bodied laborers. Whether it's building a new city or digging dugouts, we'll make sure these people have something to do first. Don't be stingy with wages, since they'll all end up being spent in Kansai anyway."

Some people were puzzled: "But we've only sent 60,000 people there to build the city, and now there's nowhere left to stand on the Gobi Desert. Can we still send people there?"

"Yes! Of course we can! It might take three months to build a city with 60,000 people, but with a few tens of thousands more, we can finish it ahead of schedule. General Xiong would love to have the new city built overnight so he can mine coal in peace. Most importantly, people tend to cause trouble when they're idle, so we can't give them the chance to cause trouble!"

No one can refute this claim.

Someone asked, "General, all the men have been sent to earn money, so what will happen to the elderly, women, and children who are left behind?"

"The dugouts that have been built should be allocated to the elderly, weak, women and children first. The brothers should pay extra attention to safety and vigilance in the areas where women and children live! I, the general, do not want to see these new immigrants being bullied by the garrison as soon as they arrive!"
With a new home, shouldn't they start decorating? Firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea—what wouldn't these women worry about? Where would they find firewood? Where would they find wild vegetables? Where would their future military farmland be? Would they need to go and check it out?

Also, get the shops in the garrison open as soon as possible! Let them start slaughtering sheep this afternoon! Don't sell the meat at a high price, just sell it to them for 10-20% more than the cost price.

Those who don't have money, but have family members working in Hami New City, are allowed to receive an advance on part of their family members' wages to buy meat.

(End of this chapter)