Chapter 87

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(With the start of the second volume, Liu Jun has already begun to show his potential, gaining a larger stage and opportunities.)

Liu Jun had invited a highly skilled doctor, who came to the shack and diagnosed the young Zhao boy. The doctor immediately took out silver needles for acupuncture and then fetched an old ginseng root, instructing Zhao Shun's wife to stew it into a ginseng soup to feed the child. Soon, the young Zhao boy broke out in a sweat, regained consciousness, and began calling for his parents, even complaining of hunger.

Zhao Shun and his wife were overjoyed, continuously expressing their gratitude to the doctor and Liu Jun, even offering to kneel. The old doctor and Liu Jun both helped them up, and the doctor said, "The child has just recovered from his illness, and his body is still weak. He needs careful rest and nourishment. Add more nutritious foods to his diet, such as egg drop soup or fresh fish, but be careful not to overdo it."

Zhao Shun's wife looked worried, as their current situation made it impossible to provide eggs or fish for the child. At this moment, she was unaware that Liu Jun had already given new hope to the refugees in the shantytown.

"Don't worry about these things anymore. I have good news to tell you. We will have better days ahead. Let me introduce you to the second son of the Liu family from Xibay, who is the captain of the Nine-Headed Bird and now also the inspector of Tiger Head Pass. He helped us resolve the trouble with the pawnshop and has invited me to be the chief craftsman of the Nine-Headed Bird, with a monthly salary of five taels of silver and one dan of grain."

Zhao Shun, holding his son, excitedly shared the good news with his wife, while Liu Jun watched from the side.

The news quickly spread throughout the shantytown. At first, many of the women and elders who remained in the shacks were skeptical, but soon the men and sons began returning from the county town. They did not return empty-handed; they brought white silver coins for resettlement, bolts of cloth, and even bags of rice.

If it weren't for the presence of Young Master Liu Jiye in Zhao Shun's shack, some of the elders might have suspected that these young men had raided the county town.

Once everyone understood the full story, they were moved to tears.

Leaving their homes and fleeing to a foreign land, struggling to survive, the bitterness of such a life was unbearable. Many felt lost and suffocated by the future. But unexpectedly, heaven had shown them mercy, and they had encountered such a good person.

The shantytown, with over three hundred households and more than a thousand people, was to be moved by Liu Jun to the area near Tiger Head Pass in Taiping Township. Over a hundred young and strong men would become new recruits of the Nine-Headed Bird, dozens would become craftsmen, and the rest would become workers. Their families would also be properly settled.

In short, Liu Jun was determined to see this good deed through to the end.

Moreover, Liu Jun felt that helping these refugees was not just a good deed. These were people who had left their homes and were now dependent on him. They could become his people, his soldiers, and his craftsmen, all relying on him.

That night, the shantytown was lit up with torches and bonfires, as bright as daylight.

Every household was cooking the rice they had just received. Since fleeing, few had tasted fragrant rice. Today, these refugees found a new path and a renewed hope for life, and they began cooking rice to celebrate.

Liu Jun became the most beloved person. Wherever he went, people wanted to kneel and praise him, treating him like a savior in their hearts.

The entire night, no one slept. Everyone was too excited to sleep, men and women, young and old, all dreaming of a new life. The children, who rarely got to eat fragrant rice, ate until their bellies were full and couldn't sleep.

At dawn, Magistrate Lu Jinxi arrived with a group of people.

He did not come to arrest anyone but to deliver silver.

Magistrate Lu Jinxi had not slept all night, tossing and turning, increasingly afraid.

The refugees in the shantytown outside the city walls had initially been just an eyesore. After they arrived, they built a cluster of shacks, and over a thousand people stuck to Macheng like a band-aid. Their presence worsened the city's security, with beggars and thieves everywhere.

He had to send people to provide porridge to prevent starvation.

Although he disliked these people, he had only disliked them. But yesterday, hundreds of refugees from the shantytown stormed into the county town, causing a conflict with the pawnshop, almost leading to a fight. He later heard that some refugees were even shouting about rebellion.

Fortunately, Liu Jun had calmed the situation. If a fight had broken out and the refugees had rebelled, burning and looting, he would have lost more than just his position.

Thinking about it made him shudder. This shantytown was not just a nuisance; it was a powder keg, ready to explode at any moment.

After a night of contemplation, Lu Jinxi decided to fully support Liu Jun, helping him move these refugees as soon as possible. Fortunately, Liu Jun was willing to take them in, treating them as treasures, recruiting them as soldiers and craftsmen. He was now worried that Liu Jun might change his mind, leaving the shantytown to stick to the county town again.

To ensure Liu Jun moved these people quickly, Lu Jinxi convened an emergency meeting with his colleagues early in the morning. They decided to provide a sum of silver as resettlement fees to help the refugees leave sooner.

He even contacted the merchants and shops in the county town, urging them to donate silver to help these refugees leave. After yesterday's incident, the merchants would not want to be suddenly attacked by these refugees.

Lu Jinxi first thanked Liu Jun for his calm and wise handling of the situation last night.

"The county is very grateful that you plan to take these refugees to Tiger Head Pass. You have solved a major problem for the county. Properly resettling them has eliminated a significant隐患. We all know you have done a lot, and after discussing with my colleagues, we decided to provide you with five hundred taels of silver to help resettle these refugees. Additionally, we have mobilized the merchants and shops to raise another five hundred taels of silver for their resettlement."

A thousand taels of silver, Lu Jinxi was very serious. The merchants in the county were likely surprised as well. In these turbulent times, no one wanted a thousand refugees to turn into bandits. Contributing some silver to send these people far away to Taiping Township was the best solution.

"Thank you, Magistrate and all the good people. I will accept this on behalf of the refugees and express their gratitude. I assure you that they will leave today and head to Taiping Township. The thousand taels of silver will be distributed to the refugees, one tael per person, and I will cover any shortfall from my own pocket."

"Can they really leave today?" Lu Jinxi didn't care if the thousand taels ended up in Liu Jun's pocket or the refugees' hands; he cared that Liu Jun would actually move these people.

"They don't have much property, just a few shacks and some pots and pans. They don't even need carts; they can pack up and carry everything on their backs. It's not far to Tiger Head Pass, about seventy to eighty li, and they can make it in a day's hard work."

Lu Jinxi's face relaxed, and he breathed a sigh of relief. This powder keg was finally being moved, even if it was only to Taiping Township, seventy li away from the county town.

"Do you need carts and horses? I can arrange for some from the county office."

"That would be best. Among the thousand people, there are many elderly, children, and women with bound feet. It would be too difficult for them to walk seventy to eighty li."

"I'll take care of it. I'll arrange for some carts and horses immediately." Magistrate Lu now wanted these people to leave the county town as soon as possible, the farther the better.

The refugees in the shantytown were not particularly moved by the sight of the magistrate in his official robes. They had not received much help from him since settling in his county, so they were more indifferent, just observing him.

Each household was preparing fires and cooking. They had already agreed the night before to pack up their belongings after breakfast and head to their new home in Taiping Township at Tiger Head Pass.

"Jiye, have you heard about the new resolution from the court recently?" After resolving the refugee issue, Lu Jinxi's mood improved significantly. He then began to consider how to solve another problem that had been troubling him. Standing there, Magistrate Lu suddenly found a new direction.

"Which matter, Magistrate?" Liu Jun asked. He respected Lu Jinxi, who was a young and diligent magistrate, a genuine scholar. Although he lacked experience, he was diligent and had been very supportive of Liu Jun.

Liu Jun, now an inspector, had Lu Jinxi as his direct superior, so he was willing to cooperate with him.

"Of course, it's about the court's order to increase military training funds and to train troops in various regions. Our Macheng has been assigned two tasks: a large sum of additional military training funds has been allocated, and the county must train five hundred soldiers."

Mentioning this, Magistrate Lu's good mood vanished. The additional funds were not a major issue. The military training funds were mainly levied based on land ownership, with those owning more land contributing more. Macheng had many gentry families, many of which had retired or current officials who generally supported the court. With the leading families like the Mei, Li, Liu, and Zhou, he could manage to collect the funds with some effort.

The more troublesome issue was the five hundred soldiers.

These five hundred soldiers were not just five hundred local militia but would need to be trained and inspected. If the training failed, there would be problems. Traditionally, such soldiers were assigned to each village, with each village contributing a few young men, who would then be trained together for two to three months in the fall and winter.

However, in the spring and summer, these men would need to return home to farm. The most troublesome part was that such local militia rarely became effective soldiers. Spending time and money, only to fail, would be a disaster for him.

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