Chapter 573: They Even Want to Snatch People Now
The refugees from Daning County sat aboard large cargo ships, their journey steering them south.
Most northerners weren't skilled sailors, but Daning County sat beside the Xinshui River, making its residents different from typical northerners. Most knew at least a little about the water; even if they couldn't row or fish, they had usually taken ferry boats.
The ships swayed and rocked throughout the journey, but surprisingly, few suffered from seasickness.
The river stretched for over a hundred miles; carried downstream, the journey took less than half a day.
Suddenly, a refugee on one of the ships cried out, "Look, quick, look ahead! A bridge! Such a massive bridge!"
It was then they realized they were approaching the Dragon Gate Ferry.
The refugees took one look at the Dragon Gate Yellow River Bridge and were utterly stunned.
Even those suffering from seasickness perked up, invigorated by the sight, instantly forgetting their discomfort.
"That bridge is incredible!"
"How was it built?"
The refugees buzzed with chatter, when a crewman at the bow turned, chuckling, "Why all the fuss? This is a divine bridge, brought here from the Celestial Realm by the Heavenly Lord."
A collective gasp rose from the refugees.
Someone else called out, "Look at the bridgehead! There's a grey-white fortress built there."
The refugees' gaze shifted towards the eastern end of the bridge. At Dragon Gate Ferry, a cement fortress had now been erected, named the Longmen East Fortress.
Stationed there, of course, was Shi Jian. The last time, for his 'meritorious defense of Dragon Gate Ferry,' where he repelled Lao Huihui and the Eight Great Kings, Cheng Xu had even written a memorial on his behalf, one that Cheng Xu himself found unbearable to read.
Unexpectedly, after the memorial was submitted, Wang Cheng'en, his superior, pretended to believe it, and immediately petitioned the court to recognize Shi Jian's achievements, even promoting him to thousand-household commander.
After becoming a thousand-household commander, he was assigned another four hundred garrison soldiers.
He already had six hundred garrison soldiers under his command, and Gao Family Village had transferred another two hundred troops to him, bringing his total effective strength to four hundred Gao Family Village soldiers and six hundred garrison soldiers.
Hong Chengchou, the Supreme Commander of the Three Borders, ordered him to “guard Dragon Gate Ferry and prevent bandits from crossing the river.” Thus, Shi Jian was essentially stationed there permanently.
At this moment, Shi Jian was holding a telescope, scanning left and right from atop Longmen East Fortress. His eyes quickly spotted three large cargo ships approaching on the river, each packed to the brim with people.
Shi Jian's eyes lit up instantly. He rushed out of the fortress, taking huge strides, and hurried to the ferry crossing, waving vigorously at the three large ships.
Wang Tang poked his head out from the bow and grinned at Shi Jian, "Brother Shi! What's up? Standing there like a lighthouse beacon on the shore."
Shi Jian chuckled, "Are these three boatloads of refugees from the north?"
Wang Tang replied, "That's right! I'm under orders from Instructor Xing to take these refugees to Puzhou City for resettlement."
Shi Jian's eyes widened. "Instructor Xing's orders, not the Heavenly Lord's?"
Wang Tang thought carefully for a moment. "Hmm, it seems the Heavenly Lord hasn't given any specific instructions regarding their destination."
Shi Jian immediately beamed with delight. "Then don't send them to Puzhou! Just leave them here with me."
Wang Tang was speechless.
Shi Jian rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Look, my Dragon Gate Ferry dock just got a bridgehead fortress, but the supporting facilities are terribly inadequate. The nearby towns and villages haven't caught up with development yet. This is a bridgehead that the Heavenly Lord personally commanded us to develop and build properly. If we don't have enough manpower and don't build it well, won't that disappoint the Heavenly Lord?”
Wang Tang could only laugh and shake his head. "You're actually trying to snatch people now?"
Shi Jian pleaded, "I have no choice but to snatch them! My manpower here is simply too scarce. We only have a few residents from Hejin County who came over, and as soon as they see Hejin County is safe, they immediately run back to their hometown... they just won't stay at the dock and work peacefully.”
Wang Tang spread his hands. "It's the natural inclination of our people, isn't it? To love their homes and always wish to return to their roots."
Shi Jian insisted, "That's not the point! The point is I need people. Dragon Gate Ferry is situated on the riverbank at the border of Shanxi and Shaanxi. Once bandits cause trouble, no one comes to this place at all. I'm severely short-handed here. Without people, we can't develop. Puzhou, on the other hand, is a huge prefecture, overflowing with manpower, more than they can ever use. So just let me have these refugees from the north, please!”
After hearing his lengthy argument, Wang Tang actually found it quite reasonable.
"Alright then!" Wang Tang conceded. "Leave these people here with you. I still have to make a few more trips; there are about three thousand people in total. I'll bring them all here to you. That should significantly bolster your manpower.”
Shi Jian was overjoyed. "I knew you were a reasonable man."
Wang Tang warned, "But if Instructor Xing comes looking for trouble with you, don't expect me to get involved."
Shi Jian scoffed, "Instructor Xing is also a reasonable person; she won't cause me any trouble."
With just a few words, the two young men had finished their ‘division of spoils.’ The three cargo ships then docked at the pier. Long gangplanks were extended from the ships to the shore, and the crewmen called out to the refugees, "Everyone, disembark! You can settle down and live peacefully here."
The refugees on board looked utterly bewildered.
Wang Tang and Shi Jian had been shouting from a considerable distance earlier, their voices necessarily loud, lest the river wind carry them away.
Since their voices were so loud, how could the refugees on the ships not have heard them?
Hearing them discuss “snatching people,” the refugees genuinely couldn't comprehend what was happening. They had only ever heard of local officials complaining about the trouble of resettling outsiders, never of them actually fighting over people.
Why would anyone want to 'snatch' a bunch of poor, miserable folk like us?
They'd even have to provide us with food, lodging, and allocate farmland. That would be an enormous burden for any local official.
They didn't even consider themselves worth much, yet others were fighting over them.
The refugees disembarked, spreading out loosely on the dock. This first batch of three boatloads totaled about a thousand people. Shi Jian approached them with a grin, stopping in front of the crowd. "Welcome to Dragon Gate Ferry! Once you're here, you won't have to worry about food or shelter anymore. See that fortress over there? Every day, food will be distributed at the castle gate, ensuring no one starves to death.”
The refugees were ecstatic.
Shi Jian continued, "However, simply not starving isn't enough, is it? Who doesn't want a better life? So, you can also earn more wages by working.”
That made perfect sense.
The refugees craned their necks, eagerly awaiting instructions.
Shi Jian then produced Gao Family Village's standard wage schedule, and in a flash, displayed a list of various positions needed across all trades.
The refugees saw it and gasped, "What?! The wages for working here were actually so high?”
What was there to hesitate about?
A crowd of people quickly scrambled to sign up, and Dragon Gate Ferry immediately gained a large influx of new labor.
Shi Jian's face bloomed with a wide smile, while Wang Tang wondered inwardly, "I wonder if Xing Honglang will be angry when she finds out?” He quickly dismissed the thought. “Ah, forget it, forget it!”
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