Chapter 2381
Guzhi County was so eager to send away the local refugees that he even ignored the instructions from Dengzhou Prefecture. Naturally, this was because the current situation in Zhaoyuan County was already very urgent and he could not tolerate any further delay.
At present, there are not too many refugees stationed outside the county, only about two to three thousand people. The county government brings out more than 100 kilograms of rice from the official warehouse every day, and adds some wild vegetables to cook it into gruel, which can be used as a disaster relief method to deal with the refugees. , to ensure that they will not lose control due to lack of food. It would be fine if it stopped at this level, but the number of refugees pouring into Zhaoyuan County in recent days is rising rapidly. Food, medicine, shelter, security, and all aspects of disaster relief measures have begun to fail to keep up with the changes in the situation.
Referring to the recent news about the war situation from Jinan Prefecture, the number of refugees fleeing into the Denglai area is about to increase explosively. By then, the number of refugees stationed in Zhaoyuan County is likely to increase from a few thousand to tens of thousands, or even more. By that time, there were not many official warehouses in the county to store grain, which would definitely not be able to meet the survival needs of so many people. And once so many refugees cannot be accommodated here and cannot be evacuated, chaos will inevitably occur.
Although the Dengzhou Prefecture strictly ordered not to let the refugees go to Fushan County, it did not provide any method to help Zhaoyuan County get out of the predicament. It only symbolically transported more than 20 truckloads of food and left it alone. Such a small amount of assistance is just a drop in the bucket for Zhaoyuan County. If they continue to act according to the instructions of Dengzhou Prefecture, they will simply sit back and wait for death. How can Guzhi County be willing to become a victim of the battle between Dengzhou Prefecture and Haihan.
Now that Haihan took the initiative to come to Zhaoyuan to solve this difficult problem for Guzhi County, how could he refuse this timely life-saving straw. Let these refugees leave the local area. Whether they cause rebellion or starve to death in the future, it will be the fault of Fushan County and the Haihan people, and they will not be blamed on themselves again. As long as the current hidden danger can be resolved, it doesn't matter if it goes against the will of Dengzhou Prefecture.
Lou Bin thought for a while and then said: "The Haihan army in Beizhongguan only has two to three hundred men and horses, and more than twenty baggage carriages. It is estimated that they will not stay in this county for long. If they withdraw, there will be more follow-up A large number of refugees are pouring into this county, what should we do?”
Magistrate Gu frowned and said: "It is necessary to guard against the situation you mentioned... Then what are your ideas?"
Lou Bin said: "Since you feel that you can ignore the opinions of Dengzhou Prefecture for the time being, I think we can do something more thorough. For example, we can secretly support the Haihan Army with some food and grass and let them stay in Zhaoyuan for a longer period of time. Firstly, we can continue to guide the refugees to Fushan County. Secondly, with the Haihan army camping here, you can also deal with the accusations from Dengzhou Prefecture. If Dengzhou Prefecture feels that something is wrong, let them send troops to drive away Haihan. The army is ready... Judging from the current situation in Dengzhou Prefecture, I can only stare at this. ”
The magistrate of Guzhi County considered: "Currently, the Haihan Army in the county does not have many troops, and it does not consume much food. If we can solve the two problems of Dengzhou Prefecture and refugees, it will kill two birds with one stone... Lou Bin, this time you When you go out of the city to meet the other party, you can tentatively mention this matter. If the other party agrees to cooperate, then you can hand over the batch of grain sent by Dengzhou Prefecture to them later... Well, remember to deliver it in batches and don't make it public! ”
At this time, Sun Zhen didn't know that there would be such a good thing as pie in the sky. He was still summarizing all the news he had received so far to judge the changes in the situation in the surrounding areas, especially in the direction of Jinan Prefecture. At the same time, various measures to publicize and guide refugees must be arranged to ensure that refugees arriving in Zhaoyuan can learn how to get resettled in Fushan County as soon as possible.
At present, the channels for obtaining information are mainly from the refugees who can be contacted in the surrounding area. However, these people's descriptions of the war situation in Jinan Prefecture vary widely, and they can only provide fragmented information. Sun Zhen needs to screen and analyze it by himself. Distinguishing and extracting the truly valuable content is not an easy task.
Although Haihan can judge the general direction of the war through some secret historical materials, because the historical process has changed in many places, even the large database known as the "prophet" cannot provide completely accurate information. Battlefield intelligence, therefore the screening and judgment of intelligence information has become a difficult problem that extremely tests the commander's ability.
Sun Zhen rose from a soldier to the position of battalion commander step by step. Of course, he also received professional training in intelligence collection and analysis during this period. However, the current situation in Shandong is still a bit too complicated for him, and it is difficult to confirm the information in his hand. Real and effective.
Such a situation is unavoidable during times of war. Many ordinary people have never left their hometown for hundreds of miles in their entire lives, and their knowledge is extremely limited. It is difficult for them to clearly describe what they saw and heard, and they even fled all the way from their hometown. He couldn't even explain the itinerary to Zhaoyuan, let alone the Qing army's movements that Sun Zhen was concerned about.
In this case, Sun Zhen could only arrange his subsequent actions based on Chen Yixin's prediction of the situation in Shandong before setting off.
According to Chen Yixin's prediction, there is a high probability that Jinan City will fall. At that time, Jinan City and the people within a certain radius will become prisoners of the Qing army, and the surrounding areas will fall into panic because of the fall of Jinan City. Even if the Qing army does not The area you enter is also very likely to cause large-scale exodus due to people's panic.
Refugees often follow the crowd when they flee and do not have a clear destination. Most people just go wherever there are crowds of people. The governments along the route basically do not have the ability to resettle a large number of refugees. It is estimated that only Fushan County is prepared for this in advance.
However, Haihan only has a rough estimate of the scale of the refugee flow. The actual situation depends on outposts like Sun Zhen to obtain more accurate information. This mission assigned Sun Zhen a communications soldier to operate a radio station, so the information he obtained in Zhaoyuan could be sent back to the headquarters as soon as possible, which could probably buy Fushan County four or five days of response time. Although such a short time is not enough to mobilize supplies from overseas, at least some buffer measures can be taken to avoid the chaos caused by a sudden influx of large numbers of refugees into Fukuyama County.
The next day, Master Lou went out of the city again and came to the temporary station of Haihan Army. He conveyed the wishes of Guzhi County to Sun Zhen and asked Sun Zhen whether he would be stationed near the county for a long time.
Sun Zhen misunderstood what he meant, and explained patiently: "Our army has no ill intentions towards Zhaoyuan County, and will not take the initiative to approach the county seat. Please magistrate Gu County not to worry about the safety of the county seat."
Lou Bin saw that Sun Zhen didn't understand what he meant, so he had to speak more bluntly: "It seems that your department does not carry a lot of supplies. It seems that it will not be stationed locally for a long time, but if there are a large number of supplies in the next few days, The refugees have come to the local area and your department has evacuated. How to guide them to Fushan County for rescue? Maybe if they stay in Zhaoyuan for a few more days, more people can be rescued."
Sun Zhen heard that he didn't seem to be hostile, so he nodded and responded: "This matter is indeed difficult. Our department will try to stay in Zhaoyuan for a few more days, or try to collect some food and grass from nearby areas. But now there is a turmoil everywhere, even if we want to It’s also difficult to spend money to buy some food.”
Seeing that he had reached the main topic, Lou Bin coughed dryly and lowered his voice and said: "If Lord Sun is so willing, this county can provide your department with a small amount of food and grass for the garrison."
Sun Zhen's eyes suddenly lit up when he heard this. Lou Bin was the master of the county magistrate. Such words from his mouth should represent the attitude of the county government.
"Is this what Guzhi County means?" Sun Zhen asked tentatively. Lou Bin responded noncommittally: "In view of the situation in this county, the food we can provide is very limited, about two or three thousand kilograms. In addition, it will take some time to raise, so we can only deliver it to your department in batches. What do you think, Lord Sun?”
Naturally, Sun Zhen would not dislike this sudden support, but he still wanted to understand the reason why the Zhaoyuan government did this: "Master Lou, if our troops are stationed in Zhaoyuan for a longer time, it means that there will be More refugees are going to Fushan County. Doesn’t this contradict the order issued by Dengzhou Prefecture to Zhaoyuan County? ”
Lou Bin sighed and said: "Guzhi County has no equal in benevolence and righteousness. How can we sit back and watch the people starve in the local area? As long as we can help more refugees, even if it goes against the wishes of the Dengzhou government, we can only disobey. The official warehouse stores grain It's not much. Even if all of it is given out, it won't save many people. Instead, it will make them greedy for this place and refuse to leave, which will eventually lead to the collapse of local order. It is better to donate these grains to your ministry, and then your ministry will guide the refugees to Fushan. County, so more people can receive assistance.”
Sun Zhen was dubious about this. He didn't think that Gu Zhixian was a good official who loved the people like his own children. If he really wanted to help the refugees, he would just open the city gate and put out a meal of gruel every day, without caring about the living conditions of the refugees outside the city. There are not even the most basic measures to organize refugees to rescue themselves, and there is no way to call it a qualified local government.
Unconsciously, Sun Zhen still used Haihan standards to measure the local government of the Ming Dynasty. Little did he know that the reason for such a gap was not only the professionalism and sense of responsibility of the officials themselves, but also the gap in national power. Haihan can complete the deployment of materials and personnel across regions in a short period of time, and can quickly approve urgent fund requirements, which happen to be the shortcomings of the local government of the Ming Dynasty.
Even if Zhaoyuan County is willing to accept refugees, the local area does not have enough supplies, and it can easily end up in a situation that ends with no end. The Guzhi County knew that it could not take the credit, and did not want to take the blame for this, so it took almost no other relief measures except giving porridge. It was hoped that these refugees could not stand the harsh conditions in Zhaoyuan County and left early.
As for how Haihan plans to receive these refugees after they arrive in Fushan County, and where they will go in the future, that is not something Guzhi County needs to worry about.
But no matter what, if supplies can be obtained from Zhaoyuan County, the reinforced company led by Sun Zhen can extend its stationing mission here, thereby gaining valuable time to guide more refugees to Fushan County. This is definitely a good and beneficial thing for Haihan.
After Sun Zhen thanked Lou Bin, he asked Lou Bin if he had any other requests. He believed that the other party would not offer funding for no reason, and there must be some exchange conditions waiting behind him.
Lou Bin said: "As for the food provided by this county, please keep it secret, Mr. Sun, otherwise there will be a lot of trouble if the news leaks out."
Sun Zhen nodded and responded: "Of course, don't worry, I will strictly prohibit this matter from being spread."
Lou Bin continued: "If too many refugees flood into the county in the next few days, endangering the safety of the county, please ask Mr. Sun to lend a helping hand in a timely manner to help maintain local order."
In a small county like Zhaoyuan, the few garrison troops have been transferred out long ago. Now they rely on the government officials and some military guards from the wealthy gentry's families to maintain the city defense. The city gates can only be closed to ensure safety. But if the refugees rebel on a large scale, this city defense is actually not much different from paper, and it will definitely not be able to stop a decent offensive. And if such an extreme situation occurs, the Haihan Army with strict military discipline is more reliable.
Sun Zhen was stunned and then asked: "Isn't Master Lou worried that our troops will take the opportunity to seize the county seat?"
Lou Bin smiled bitterly and said: "There is no money or food in this county, so what's the use of your ministry taking it? Besides, your ministry's purpose of coming to Zhaoyuan County is for these refugees. They are much more valuable than this county, aren't they?" ”
Sun Zhen couldn't help but laugh and said: "Master Lou is indeed a sensible person. In this city and a pond, how can the population be so important?"
Lou Bin actually didn't quite understand why Haihan was so obsessed with the demand for population, but Sun Zhen's statement did reassure him a little. Haihan people were not very interested in Zhaoyuan County, which meant The situation that Zhuogu County magistrate is most worried about will probably not happen.
After sending Lou Bin away, Sun Zhen recruited the signal corps and drafted a telegram for him to send back to the headquarters. The main content is to inform the rear of the progress they have made in Zhaoyuan and their application to extend the stationing time.
The reinforced company brought by Sun Zhen has a limited number of people, and the food consumed every day is actually not too much. If the county can supply food as promised, then they can extend their stay for at least another half month. Gaining this period of time will not only guide more refugees to Fushan County, but also gradually establish a land passage from Fushan County to Zhaoyuan County, send more materials and personnel to Zhaoyuan, and establish a An outpost that can be maintained for a long period of time.
Sun Zhen never mentioned to Lou Bin that he would evacuate Zhaoyuan after the situation eased, and Lou Bin and his superiors did not seem to be aware of this hidden danger. They were only thinking about solving the current problem, but Sun Zhen did not know In fact, there are other plans.
Occupying Zhaoyuan County does not mean much to Haihan, just like Haihan managed such a situation in Fushan County and did not take action against the county. The control of the county seat is just a symbol. Keeping him will save Daming's face, so both parties can continue to maintain a superficial relationship. Fushan County is like this, and Zhaoyuan County can naturally follow suit.
(End of chapter)