Chapter 2383
Even if Haihan sends troops to intervene now, the situation in Jinan Prefecture can no longer be reversed, let alone the damage caused by the Qing army. What Haihan can do now is to try his best to deal with the chaos that will arise in Shandong, and to divert and resettle the large number of refugees who fled into Dengzhou to avoid other secondary disasters. After talking about the war situation, Gong Shiqi will next talk about the situation of the refugees.
Gong Shiqi said: "According to my observation, the governments in various places along the way have made resisting the Qing army their top priority. No one paid attention to the people fleeing from the war zone. Most of the city gates were closed and refugees were not allowed to enter the city at all. . Of course, this is not entirely because the government is unwilling to save people. In such a chaotic situation, once the city is opened, a large influx of refugees will soon overcrowd these cities, and then supplies will be exhausted, order will collapse, and the city will If you don't attack, you will be defeated. And no one can guarantee how many Qing army spies are mixed with so many refugees. If they sneak into the city and cooperate with others, the consequences will be equally serious. "
Sun Zhen nodded slightly and said: "This is the situation here in Zhaoyuan County. Refugees from outside are not allowed to enter the county, and the local government is unable to organize them to save themselves. Therefore, a large number of refugees will gather near the county, creating a situation that is difficult for the government to resolve. ”
Gong Shiqi continued what he said: "I have seen many situations like this in Zhaoyuan County on the way. Basically no local government dares to take the risk to resettle refugees locally. Most of them just divert the refugees to continue to move away from the war zone. These refugees without any reasonable resettlement will take over more people on the way, causing the refugee flow to grow like a snowball.”
Sun Zhendao: "If we judge based on the war situation you just mentioned, it is estimated that a considerable part of the people of Jinan Prefecture will be kidnapped by the Qing army. The number of refugees who actually escaped from Jinan Prefecture may not be particularly large. On the contrary, they passed by on the way to escape. In Qingzhou Prefecture and Laizhou Prefecture, more people will join the fleeing team due to panic or other reasons.”
Gong Shiqi nodded and said: "That's right. I don't think there will be more than 100,000 refugees escaping from Jinan Prefecture. A considerable number of people chose to flee south into the mountains, and it is estimated that only half of them fled to Dengzhou. . But the number of refugees joining along the way is likely to be more than the number of people actually fleeing from the war zone, so I estimate that the number of refugees fleeing to Tengzhou may exceed 100,000."
Sun Zhen was secretly shocked when he heard this. Before setting off for this trip, he specifically inquired about the number of refugees that Haihan took from Shandong during the Denglai Rebellion. The total number of refugees taken by Haihan was only 20,000 to 30,000, and this time The flow of refugees may be several times that of the previous year, and he can't help but worry about whether Fushan County can withstand such a test.
Gong Shiqi could see that Sun Zhen was uneasy, and comforted him in a deep voice: "Since General Chen sent you to Zhaoyuan to guide the refugees, it means that there should be a plan to resettle the refugees. I guess they are mostly planning to use ships to transport them overseas. For resettlement, many places in the south need to introduce a large number of Han immigrants. This time we can gather a large number of helpless refugee populations. This is a rare opportunity for our country. You and I don’t have to worry too much. We just need to follow the instructions given above. Just give the order and get things done.”
Gong Shiqi has been traveling in Shandong with Hao Wanqing recently. Naturally, he is also very aware of the actual situation in Fushan County. He knows that it is impossible to absorb this refugee flow in one place. He must transfer refugees out to resolve the situation. pressure. As for allocating shipping capacity, neither he nor Sun Zhen was obviously able to do anything and could only concentrate on completing the tasks they were responsible for.
While he was talking, Sun Zhen's orderly had already brought hot tea and food. In the current environment, it is naturally impossible to serve any big fish or meat. I just boiled a bowl of noodles, added a spoonful of spicy oil, and then put a few pieces of dried meat the size of my little finger in the bowl and sprinkled some pickles. Grains, that's all. Gong Shiqi didn't refuse. After thanking Sun Zhen, he picked up the bowl of wind and residual clouds. It seemed that he was really hungry.
Gong Shiqi poured the bowl of noodles into his stomach in one breath and drank all the soup and water. Then he said to Sun Zhen with unfinished thoughts: "I ran back from Zhangqiu and didn't eat any hot food on the way. Every day. I got through it with cold water and fried noodles. I finally had something hot, and now I feel better.”
Sun Zhen said: "I guess you didn't get enough rest on the way. I'll have someone set up some tents for you and your brothers. You can rest for a few hours first."
Gong Shiqi waved his hand and said: "Let's wait until night to talk about sleeping. While it's still early, I have to go out to do some things and meet back before dark."
Gong Shiqi didn't take the initiative to explain, and Sun Zhen wisely didn't ask further. He knew that people like Gong Shiqi had too many unspeakable secret tasks, and he didn't have the authority to inquire about his actions.
Gong Shiqi drank the remaining half cup of hot tea, then stood up and said goodbye to Sun Zhen, went out of the tent to gather his troops, and then left like a gust of wind.
Although Gong Shiqi didn't say where he was going, since he mentioned that he would rush back to meet up at dark, the place he went to must not be too far. Sun Zhen even wondered whether Gong Shiqi was going to quietly go into the city to meet with Magistrate Nagu.
Every two hours or so, Sun Zhen would pick up his binoculars and take a look at the temporary refugee settlement area about two miles away from the camp. One is to observe whether there are any special circumstances there, and the other is to look at the expansion speed of the refugee area to judge the growth rate of local refugees.
Although his troops have begun to carry out propaganda and guidance to the refugees staying in the local area, encouraging the refugees to go to Fushan County to seek resettlement on their own, there are still many refugees who do not intend to leave here immediately due to various reasons.
Some people are worried about food supplies on the road. After all, if they stay in Zhaoyuan, they still have a bowl of gruel every day, but if they leave here and hit the road, they can only provide the food they need on their own. They must at least think of a way to solve the problem of food and accommodation on the road before leaving Zhaoyuan.
Others are preparing to return home as soon as the war subsides, so they do not want to seek refuge further away. They just want to stay in Zhaoyuan and slowly endure the hard days, so that when they can return, they The journey back home will be easier.
Of course, there are still some people who are unable to do so even if they want to leave Zhaoyuan County because they are injured or injured, or are burdened by family members.
But no matter what the reason is for staying here, their living conditions will inevitably become worse with the influx of more refugees. Sun Zhen called the propaganda officer and asked him to adjust his propaganda strategy and inform the refugees in the county that Jinan Prefecture had been captured by the Qing army. He also told them that more refugees would flow into Zhaoyuan County in the future. Those who wanted to live well People must leave for Fushan County as soon as possible.
Releasing such news will undoubtedly cause a certain amount of panic among the refugee community, but this is exactly the effect Sun Zhen wants to achieve. The manpower and materials he can use now are very limited, and he can only try to let the refugees go to Fushan County to seek life on their own. Maybe some of them will die on the way to Fushan County due to hunger and cold, but this pair of refugees This is already the best chance of survival. If they can get through this and reach the refugee camp in Fushan County alive, then their chances of surviving this catastrophe will be very high.
Of course, those refugees from other prefectures may not necessarily believe these propaganda, because they may not know the origins of the Haihan Army at all, and just regard them as civilian armed forces from Fushan County. Therefore, even if Haihan's propaganda will make some refugees choose to leave Zhaoyuan County as soon as possible, there will still be many people who will continue to stay and wait and see the situation.
According to observations over the past two days, the number of refugees who have recently arrived near the county seat is indeed much greater than those who have left here, but those who are among them often do not realize the risks involved in this situation. Although Sun Zhen was very anxious about this, he couldn't come up with a better solution for a while.
In the evening, Gong Shiqi and his team came back after a long journey. However, there are many small bamboo baskets on the horse's back, and they are specially padded with cloth. I don't know what treasures they contain. But looking at the way these horses walked, it was obvious that the weight of these things was not light.
Sun Zhen noticed that most of Gong Shiqi and others had mud marks from their feet, and the same was true for the horses. It looked like they had not wandered around the county town, and then he jokingly asked: "Which ravine did Brother Gong run to?" Have you gone digging for treasure?”
He was joking, but he saw Gong Shiqi's expression stiffened slightly, and then returned to normal. Gong Shiqi said: "I got some game from the mountains, let's cook it and eat it now!"
Sun Zhen really thought that I had gotten the correct answer just by being so casual. Sure enough, Gong Shiqi and others had entered the mountain. But Gong Shiqi left in such a hurry today that he didn't even bother to rest. Could it be that he just wanted to go hunting in the mountains?
The prey brought back by Gong Shiqi and others were not many, they were basically birds. After all, there are few large animals active during this season, and even if you want to hunt, it will be difficult to find decent prey. But the small bamboo baskets they brought back with their pack horses were placed uniformly. Sun Zhen even sent two people to watch over them. Obviously, the contents in these bamboo baskets were not simple.
When Sun Zhen saw this, he calmly asked Gong Qi Qi to move the luggage and belongings of his team into the tents that had been vacated for them. Gong Qi Qi did not refuse, and immediately complied with the request, and also moved all the small bamboo baskets. Moved into tent.
After Gong Shiqi and others settled down, Sun Zhen finally couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked him: "What kind of treasure did Brother Gong bring back?"
Gong Shiqi was obviously surprised when he heard his question: "Brother Sun already knows, doesn't he?"
"What do I know?" Sun Zhen was also confused.
"You just said that I went into the mountains to dig for treasure...did you just say it casually?" Gong Shiqi finally thought of what the problem was.
Sun Zhen nodded and said: "I was just joking with Brother Gong...Brother Gong really went digging for treasures!"
Gong Shiqi made a silence gesture, pulled Sun Zhen aside, and lowered his voice: "This is a secret mission and cannot be discussed in public. Brother Sun will follow me into the tent before we talk."
Sun Zhen was curious, but he didn't rush to ask any more questions. He followed Gong Qiqi into the tent with the small bamboo basket. Gong Shiqi opened the cloth wrapped in the bamboo basket and motioned to Sun Zhen to look closer.
Sun Zhen leaned over and took a look through the light outside the tent, but was a little dumbfounded at the moment. Of course, he had also guessed in a short time what treasures were contained in these bamboo baskets. He would not be surprised at all if they were filled with gold coins, silver ingots, gems, and pearls. However, what was contained here was something inconspicuous. The earth and rocks are still covered with some mud and dead wood. They have obviously been dug out of the ground not long ago.
Sun Zhen glanced at the other small bamboo baskets. Gong Shiqi nodded and motioned for him to take a look. Sun Zhen bowed and lifted the covers on the small bamboo baskets. The things inside were exactly the same, just earth and rocks.
"That's it?" Sun Zhen didn't know what to say for a moment. This obviously didn't look like a treasure. Could it be some secret plan by the Ministry of Security?
Gong Shiqi said: "When I go out today, I go into the mountains to pick up these things. I will set off to transport these things back to Fushan County early tomorrow morning."
The more Sun Zhen listened, the more confused he became: "Brother Gong, what kind of treasure is this?"
Gong Shiqi reached out and patted Sun Zhen on the shoulder and said: "It's a mine! A very valuable mine!"
Sun Zhen asked subconsciously: "As valuable as the copper mines in Fushan County?"
"More valuable than that!" When Gong Shiqi said this, his eyes seemed to be shining: "If we can confirm the mineral deposits through these soil and stones, it will be a great development!"
Sun Zhen was originally from Dengzhou. After going back and forth like this, he slowly remembered some things, widened his eyes and said: "It's a gold mine! A gold mine!"
"Hush!" Gong Shiqi made a silence gesture again: "This matter is very involved, so no news should be leaked!"
Sun Zhen came back to his senses, nodded repeatedly, but fell silent.
Gong Shiqi said: "I just thought that Brother Sun already knew about this mission, so he misunderstood. However, since Brother Sun is leading the team to be stationed in Zhaoyuan, he will know about it sooner or later, so I just informed Brother Sun."
Sun Zhendao: "But the Zhaoyuan gold mine has been mined by the imperial court since the Northern Song Dynasty. How can we allow our country to get involved?"
Gong Shiqi smiled and said: "What the imperial court mines is the imperial court's mine, and my ore is not digged out from the imperial court's gold mine. Do you understand?"
Sun Zhen suddenly realized when he heard this. When the copper mines were mined in Fushan County, it was Haihan's own exploration and mining organization, and now it is obvious that he wants to apply this method to the gold mines in Zhaoyuan County. Although the imperial court also mined gold here, Gong Shiqi and his party probably found another mineral vein that had not yet been discovered. The ore they transported back covertly should be brought back for further testing to confirm whether the local veins are worth mining.
(End of chapter)