Chapter 88

In the village of River Bend, over ninety Tartar heads were cut off, each worth fifty taels, making a total of five thousand taels. In addition, Emperor Wanli rewarded another twenty-five thousand taels from the imperial treasury, making a total of thirty thousand taels of silver.

Actually, Zhang Ke had achieved military success and proposed a profitable strategy, and Emperor Wanli wanted to reward him more. However, the emperor was not wealthy. Despite the widespread appointment of mining and tax supervisors, the three major campaigns were bottomless pits of expenditure, and the current spending in Liaodong was like a flowing river, leaving little to spare.

Thirty thousand taels was not a small amount for Zhang Ke. He had originally planned to make money by suppressing bandits, but with this silver, it seemed he could sustain for a while...

"Sir, take a look. Two more groups of civilians have arrived. What should we do?" Tang Bi rushed over, beads of sweat on his forehead.

Zhang Ke was also surprised and quickly asked, "Sir Tang, why are the civilians leaving their homes to come to Daqing Fort?"

"Sir... They all say that you are benevolent and a rare good official, and they are willing to seek refuge with you, asking you to take them in!"

Zhang Ke frowned. He was not like other officials who saw civilians as a burden, but he had to consider the capacity of Daqing Fort! In the past three days, six or seven groups of civilians had come to Daqing Fort, totaling four or five hundred people, which was a significant burden!

However, he could not ignore those who came to seek refuge. He thought for a moment and asked, "Sir Tang, the court has just rewarded thirty thousand taels of silver. It should be enough to help the civilians. How much do you think we need?"

Tang Bi shook his head hurriedly, "Sir, you are willing to spend the silver, and I admire that, but having silver alone is not enough. We have no place to buy grain!"

"How can that be? With money, we can't spend it?"

Tang Bi's face fell, "Sir, to settle the over a thousand civilians from River Bend, we have already bought all the grain in Yizhou. In recent days, you also ordered the purchase of meat, and all the pigs, sheep, chickens, and ducks within a radius of thirty to forty miles have been bought out. It's also the New Year, and merchants usually don't transport grain from inside the pass until after the first month. There is a gap of over twenty days, and I really have no idea what to do!"

Zhang Ke was also taken aback. Tang Bi glanced at him and tentatively suggested, "Sir, in my opinion, we should drive these people away. Who knows how they came here? I think they are just causing trouble for you."

"No!" Zhang Ke waved his hand, "Sir Tang, we must put people first. Follow me out of the city and see the civilians."

Tang Bi secretly smiled bitterly, thinking Zhang Ke was young and fond of a good reputation! He would see, and once he saw so many people, he would know the difficulty!

Tang Bi shook his head and followed Zhang Ke out of Daqing Fort.

Outside the east gate, a large row of temporary shelters had been set up, with a dozen iron pots boiling thick millet porridge. Aunt Qiao led a group of women busy, and Ma Rufeng led a team of soldiers maintaining order.

Looking further, Zhang Ke's blood pressure suddenly rose, and he felt dizzy.

It turned out that a large number of civilians had gathered inside and outside the shelters, stretching as far as the eye could see, a vast sea of people, many of whom had brought their families, supporting the elderly and carrying the young.

The arrival of civilians was a good thing, but at this time, it was too bad. The weak Daqing Fort was already struggling with the burden of River Bend Village, and now so many more people had come. This was a matter of life and death!

Seeing Zhang Ke's bitter expression, Tang Bi secretly asked in a low voice, "Sir, you have seen it, right? Our stored grain can only last until February. If we save them, what will we do? Moreover, more civilians are still coming, making the situation even worse!"

Zhang Ke's face was stern, and he did not speak. He hurriedly walked to the pot of porridge.

" Aunt Qiao, prepare twenty bowls of porridge for me!"

"Sure thing!"

Aunt Qiao moved quickly and soon served the porridge. Zhang Ke waved his hand and called Ma Rufeng over.

"Go and select a few civilians. Remember, pick those who look honest and a bit foolish. I want to ask them some questions."

"Sir, Sir, did I hear you right? You want to talk to a few smart ones, not a bunch who can't even speak clearly!"

Zhang Ke glared, "No nonsense, just do it!"

Ma Rufeng nodded and soon brought over a dozen people. Zhang Ke looked at them, and indeed, they all looked simple and honest.

Zhang Ke picked up a bowl of thick millet porridge and smiled, "Everyone, come and get your porridge."

They all followed, took the bowls, and started eating, the sound of slurping filling the air.

One young man, about seventeen or eighteen, had a good left face, but his right face had a large scar, making his features look distorted and fierce.

"What's your name?"

"Wolf, Wolf Shengzi."

"I've heard of Dog Sheng, but not Wolf Sheng. Why do you have such a name?"

The young man blinked and suddenly asked timidly, "Can you give me another bowl? I'll tell you."

Zhang Ke couldn't help but laugh, "I can guess from your scar. Do you think the porridge is good?"

Wolf Shengzi scratched his head and suddenly said, "Not good."

Tang Bi frowned and said angrily, "Young man, this is the best millet porridge, and you might not even get it on New Year's Eve. You still think it's not good? Do you want a feast?"

"Well, well..." Wolf Shengzi stammered, "Why is there no meat? Zhang Sir is stingy and doesn't give us meat. He's a bad guy!"

"You dare to insult Zhang Sir, looking for death!" Ma Rufeng raised his fist to strike, but Zhang Ke quickly held him back.

"Wolf Shengzi, if you want to eat meat, it's not hard. First, tell me who told you that Daqing Fort has meat?"

"It's... No, I can't say!" Wolf Shengzi shook his head firmly.

Zhang Ke frowned. After the New Year, according to Ming Dynasty rules, creditors do not collect debts, and the government does not arrest people until the 15th day of the first month. There was no news of war, so why were so many refugees coming? It was strange!

"Go, bring a bowl of braised pork!"

"Yes!"

Soon, someone brought a bowl of red braised pork, the aroma wafting, and Wolf Shengzi's eyes widened.

"Speak up, and you'll get the meat!"

Wolf Shengzi frowned and said hesitantly, "That's not right. They told me not to say there's meat, but now they say I'll get meat if I speak!"

Zhang Ke, seeing Wolf Shengzi's confused look, smiled and picked up a piece of trembling fatty meat, "Speak up, or you won't get any."

"I'll speak!" Wolf Shengzi swallowed hard, "It was the head of the village who told me. He said that if we go to Daqing Fort, we'll have a place to live, clothes to wear, and meat to eat. Each person will also get..."

Wolf Shengzi painfully pulled at his hair, trying to remember what other good things there were. But Zhang Ke and Tang Bi exchanged glances, both sensing something odd.

"Sir Tang, go and investigate immediately. Find out what's really going on with these refugees!"

Tang Bi turned and ran off, returning an hour later, his face twisted with anger.

"Sir, I've asked around, and over ninety percent of the civilians were deceived by officials."

"What?" Ma Rufeng asked in surprise, "Why would officials deceive civilians to come here? What's the benefit?"

Tang Bi smiled bitterly, "Of course there's a benefit. They get rid of their troubles and can watch our misery!"

...

Zhang Ke finally understood why so many refugees had come. It turned out that the defense officials of the nearby forts had told their civilians that Daqing Fort was wonderful, and the newly appointed Zhang Ke was generous, giving silver and meat to his subordinates!

Many civilians didn't believe the lies at first, but when some of their friends and relatives from Daqing Fort praised Zhang Ke, they became convinced.

After New Year's Eve, when their food at home was gone, many poor civilians came to Daqing Fort in groups. Even those who didn't want to come were forced by the officials, and in just a few days, hundreds of refugees gathered at Daqing Fort.

Tang Bi gritted his teeth, "They are all scoundrels! Daqing Fort is not a temple! As defense officials, they should take care of their own civilians, not push them onto us. It's outrageous! Sir, I'll go to Zhenyi Fort, Da Jing Fort, Wazi Valley, and Hu'er Camp to ask who came up with this idea!"

Tang Bi turned to leave in anger, but Zhang Ke said softly, "Sir Tang, wait!"

"Sir, we can't let them off. They incited the civilians to come here, clearly trying to deplete our resources. If you drive the civilians away, it will damage your reputation. Their intentions are evil!"

"Ha ha ha, they want to scheme against me, Zhang Ke, but they've come to the wrong temple and burned the wrong incense!"

Zhang Ke stood up and said loudly, "Everyone, listen. Guests are welcome, and the civilians have had a hard journey. Quickly slaughter a few pigs; I want to treat everyone well!"

Tang Bi and Ma Rufeng looked at each other, not understanding Zhang Ke's plan. Giving porridge was one thing, but giving meat? Wouldn't these people stick around and be hard to get rid of?

They were full of questions but had to follow Zhang Ke's orders and make arrangements.

By evening, the east side of the city was filled with the aroma of meat, and the gathered refugees drooled, many of them prostrating on the ground.

"Sir Zhang is kind and righteous. We thank Sir Zhang for his kindness!"

Zhang Ke walked among the people, enjoying their prostrations.

"We are all family, and I, Zhang Ke, will not let you down. To be honest, Daqing Fort has plenty of grain and fat pigs, sheep, and cattle, enough for you to eat!"

"Thank you, Sir!" Their eyes lit up with excitement.

"However..." Zhang Ke deliberately drew out his words and smiled, "We have food, but it's cold and we can't build houses. We can't let you sleep outside, or you might freeze. I have an idea. After this meal, I will send Daqing Fort's soldiers to escort you back home, and then we will distribute supplies to each of you. What do you think?"