Chenghua established governors and magistrates in Yunyang, and each county appeased the people, granted them fields and seeds, and resettled the refugees as common people.
But even so, there are still many refugees who fled here. They live in extreme poverty in the mountains, but they do not want to be tenant farmers of big families in their hometown, or to be taxed by the government.
The living conditions of the refugees are almost on the edge of survival.
Some people may ask, Yunyang gave them land. If it was so hard, why not go to the government to get the land, and then pay a little tax and try to settle down?
In fact, the truth is very helpless.
It's not that the Yunyang government failed to honor the promise, but that the counties didn't have very good land either.
There is no difference at all between growing your own crops in the mountains and the land provided by the county.
The county still has to pay taxes, so I might as well escape to the mountains to survive.
That's the reality.
However, these refugees did not rebel, they just survived on their own. When they produced mountain goods, they also went to the counties and towns to trade to make a little money.
Although most of this money was used to buy food, it was just enough to survive.
Wang Hongyu felt that the old man spoke clearly and had some knowledge of the past and present, so he should not have fallen to this level.
The old man sighed: "I once studied in a county school, but lost my support due to a disaster. My family's savings quickly declined, and I was invaded by a wealthy family with the same surname. In the end, I lost all the land in my family, and... finally became a refugee."
Being able to study in a county school also shows that the land supply at that time was enough to afford education, at least for rich peasant families.
But something unexpected happened and it was very unfortunate. If other powerful members of the clan had ambitions to merge, they would probably end up losing everything.
It was estimated that because he was literate and able to talk, he could work as a servant for a wealthy family, but he finally refused and came to the mountains to become a refugee and survive on his own.
Wang Hongyu also truthfully said that he was a general who had returned from the bloody battle in Hunhe River, and he came here to develop this place well.
I love and hate the refugees.
"Pickpocketing and begging are serious crimes according to the "Ming Dynasty Law". The general is determined to revitalize Yunyang, so this matter can be tolerated, but these people you are familiar with must cooperate with me in the future."
"Yes, little old man, I obey!"
"You don't have to call me old boy. You can tell me my name. If you can sort out the refugees you know and can read and do math, of course you can become an official."
The old man burst into tears with gratitude and immediately knelt down and said, "A certain person named Liu and named Fuwen will definitely not disappoint General Wang."
"Uncle Liu, please let the refugees you know know that I, Wang Hongyu, want to start farming, develop a number of industries, and build roads and ships. If you cooperate, your life will get better."
Liu Fuwen then returned to the mountains and whistled a few times, only to see the refugees who had just escaped come back.
He communicated with these people for a while and then brought them together to pay homage.
Wang Hongyu saw them kneeling on the ground, all of them with disheveled faces. Their clothes were very ragged, and through the holes in their clothes, their emaciated bodies could be clearly seen.
The leading group of people gathered here, followed by hundreds of adults. In the mountains and forests in the distance, there were many old people and children, looking at themselves with worried expressions.
Wang Hongyu estimated that there were thousands of people around Liu Fuwen. This was already a large group of people in the vast and sparsely populated Yunyang.
"I have brought my workshop, technology, tools, money and food. As long as you believe in me and are willing to contribute, I can help you have land, work, houses and a future."
He was responded to by waves of exclamations, and then cries.
These refugees can barely survive in the mountains. When they heard these words today, they were immediately released.
At this moment, dozens of cavalry came from the direction of Zhushan.
"How dare you block the road! How dare you steal? Can't the robbery be successful!?"
"Did you stop General Wang?"
"General Wang is not your enemy!"
It sounded like the voice was scolding the numerous refugees on the road.
Even through many people, the shouts can be heard with great power and momentum.
Liu Fuwen hurriedly asked someone to explain, but Wang Hongyu directly said loudly: "I am Wang Hongyu!
These people are friends with me! From what I hear, everyone who comes is also a friend, so please don’t hurt each other!”
The sound was very loud and echoed in the valley.
After hearing this, he laughed and said: "Hahaha, I am a friend of Zhou Dunji, and I came here to greet you!"
It turned out that Wang Hongyu was patrolling in plain clothes, and of course the county officials did not know, but Zhou Zhaoan immediately sent someone to Zhushan County to inform him.
There are dozens of Zhou family members and Zhou Dunji's former comrades and friends in Zhushan County. They know that the road from Fang County to Zhushan is not so easy to walk.
Therefore, we immediately rushed to greet him, fearing that the refugees would steal from Wang Hongyu, extort money, and cause conflicts.
Everyone was happy with the result, and Wang Hongyu had convinced Liu Fuwen and the large number of refugees.
The three groups of people met and briefly explained the whole story, and everyone burst into laughter.
This night I rested in nearby villages and huts of homeless people.
Wang Hongyu specially asked the previous guides and scouts of the Zhou family to live in the village. He, Zhou Yijie, his eldest brother's friends and others lived in Liu Fuwen's thatched hut and chatted until late at night.
Combining information from multiple sources, we quickly became familiar with the situation.
It turns out that several counties, villages and towns have common people who belong to the government, so of course the refugees will go to places further in the mountains.
But more or less conflicts arise. There are conflicts between the common people and the refugees. Both sides are full of martial virtue, and there are fights and trade.
For example, the Zhou family in Zhushan County and the families of dozens of veterans are very united and lead the people in the county to practice martial arts and maintain law and order.
Bamboo, iron ore and turquoise are produced here, and sometimes they also play darts.
The refugees are also very interesting, divided into two groups.
One group is aggressive, and the other group is focused on life.
Liu Fuwen and his group of refugees are aggressive.
In fact, they are not very aggressive. When they encounter those who are alone, they usually steal. When they encounter rich people, they forcefully surround them and beg. When they encounter the Zhou family and veterans, they hide as far away as possible.
The refugees here in Yunyang actually all escaped, and there were also a small number of fugitives and deserters who made suggestions to rob their homes and turn themselves into bandits.
However, most refugees still want to live a good life. After all, as long as they go to Yunyang to report to the government, their innocence will be settled, so the most radical and sabotaging people have never been able to gain the upper hand.
】
The Zhou family and the veterans were also in contact with the refugees. They had fought with each other before, but they were mostly doing business.
After all, in the deep mountains, the population is not small, there is not enough food to eat from farming, and they have to rely on trade with mountain products.
The Zhou family and Veterans sometimes trade with them, so there is friction between the two sides, but more cooperation.
Wang Hongyu was quite happy.
Now it has not reached the point where the refugee population was extremely large in the late Ming Dynasty and it was very difficult to settle down. I can just tap the potential of the mountains, forests, special products, rivers and refugees here.
The basis of force for the refugees to cooperate includes, of course, the eldest brother's family and friends.
The next day, he gave Liu Fuwen the task of ensuring stable production and persuading other refugees to cooperate, and continued towards Zhushan.