On one side of the boundary river between Yanzhou and Songzhou, tens of thousands of densely packed tents stretch as far as the eye can see. The distance between tents is relatively large, which is also to prevent fire from igniting the whole tent.
There were tens of thousands of early refugees coming from Songzhou. This was the first batch of civilians, and there were still a large number of refugees on the road behind them.
The open space in front of the tent is crowded with people, and thousands of soldiers are maintaining order. Arrivals must first register and be assigned tents. There are long lines in front of more than a dozen tables. Registration is also very simple. Where are you from, what is your name, and how many mouths are there? Then you will be given a wooden sign and a piece of paper. The area and number of the tent are assigned on the paper. It doesn't matter if you are illiterate. There will be special soldiers who will take you to the designated area.
"Are you from Chuqiu County?" an official asked an old man.
"Yes! I am from Sanwang Township, Chuqiu County, and my official name is Wang Huai."
"As long as the county is enough, old man Wang, how many people are in your family?"
"There are seven people in my family, including me and my wife, two sons, the eldest daughter-in-law, a grandson and a granddaughter."
"Are you sure there are seven people? The number needs to be verified. If you make a false report, you will be fined!"
"Why did I lie to you? There are really seven people. Here! They are all over there!" The old man pointed to a large car in the distance and said a little excitedly.
"Don't be excited, I know!"
The official took a red wooden sign, which is a sign for a family with more than five people. He used an ink pen to scribble on the back of the sign next to the seven people, and handed it to the old man along with a note, "Okay, go to the seventh District ninety-one!"
"I don't know where it is?"
The official called a soldier next to him, "Take this old man to District 7!"
The soldiers nodded and said to the old man: "Old man, where are your family members?"
"Over there, I'll call them!" the old man said anxiously.
"Don't worry, you take them to the gate of the military camp and wait for me. I'll call a few other people from District 7 and we'll go together."
The old man hurriedly went to find his family and quickly disappeared into the crowd.
There was a huge flow of people, and groups of refugees were led into the camp. Everyone was amazed. The tents were neat and orderly. There were about two hundred tents in one area. The tents were all ordinary marching tents, not the standard military tents. .
This was cleared out by the Jin army from the treasury of the State of Qi. There were more than 100,000 tents. The first batch shipped 60,000 tents, half of which were placed in Yanzhou and half in Bozhou. Generally, one tent was used to house one family.
Wang Huai quickly arrived at the seventh district and found his family's tent. His family had a larger population and it was a slightly larger tent. The soldier pointed to the tent and said, "This is Tent 91. Your family's residence is relatively large inside." It’s big, you can divide one into two, you can make your own arrangements, and the district chief will come later to explain things like meals.”
"What kind of official is Ou Zheng?" Wang Huai asked puzzledly.
The soldier chuckled and said, "Ou Zheng is a young civil servant who is in charge of the Seventh District. If you have any questions, just ask him."
"I understand, thank you little brother for leading the way."
The soldiers waved and left. Old Wang and his family moved their things inside. There were several rolls of mats and a curtain that divided the camp into two.
Old man Wang lives with his wife and youngest son in the south, and his eldest son's family lives in the north. In fact, the conditions are still relatively difficult. The two children enjoy the novelty and jump up and down with joy.
"Dad, we have to find something to do and make some money."
The eldest son said to his father: "Otherwise our family will starve at the end of the year."
Wang Huai nodded, "Let's ask the district chief later!"
Just as he was talking, someone outside asked: "Is anyone there?"
"Here! Here! Here!"
Wang Huai hurriedly walked out. Standing outside was a young scholar of medium height, about eighteen or nineteen years old. He was wearing a scholar's turban and a blue scholar's shirt. He had a pretty face.
"Are you... District Zheng?"
"I'm not talking about being the district chief. I was appointed by Wang Changshi to be in charge of the seventh district. I mainly see what difficulties everyone has."
"Honey, hurry up and get two bar stools!"
Old man Wang's wife brought two bar stools. Wang Huai wiped them with his sleeves and said with a smile, "Let's sit down and talk!"
The young scholar smiled and nodded, "My surname is also Wang, my name is Wang Zhantu, and I am an escort in Licheng County."
Old man Wang was in awe. He didn't understand what the district official was, but he knew what the district official was. He was one level lower than the chief clerk and was also a powerful official in the county.
"Excuse me, Wang Yasi, how long will we stay here?"
"I don't know about this. It depends on when the war will end. I estimate it will take a few months. Anyway, don't worry about food. His Royal Highness the King of Jin is very concerned about the refugees. He specially ordered to allocate 300,000 shi of food to the victims. This is wise.
monarch........"
At some point, a lot of people gathered around Wang Zhantu. They were all refugees who had just moved in. They were all chattering and it was very noisy. Wang Zhantu waved his hands and said, "Everyone, please be quiet and listen to what I have to say!"
Everyone calmed down, and Wang Zhantu said: "The rules here are relatively strict, one is for fire prevention, and the other is for epidemic prevention, so it is not allowed to use fire for cooking in the big tent. Three meals a day are delivered together, and hot water is also delivered. Tomorrow
We have begun to collect the fire and will return it to everyone in the future. I hope everyone will cooperate. This is related to everyone's personal safety and cannot be ignored at all!"
"Don't worry! We will definitely cooperate in turning it over. This is for everyone's benefit." Everyone expressed their willingness to cooperate.
Wang Zhantu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "There is also the toilet, over there!"
Wang Zhantu pointed to a long row of wooden houses in the distance and said to everyone: "If you see any wooden houses over there, they are huts. The red ones are for women and the white ones are for men. Everyone should restrain their children and not stay in the camp.
Urination and defecation, mainly because the weather is hot, we must consider preventing the spread of plague, and everyone must drink a bowl of herbal soup every day to prevent illness."
Wang Zhantu mainly wanted to explain these two things clearly to everyone. He felt relieved when he saw that everyone understood them.
At this time, Wang Huai asked: "I have two sons in my family. They both want to find something to do and earn some money. I would like to ask Wang Yasi, is there any such opportunity?"
Wang Zhantu smiled and said: "I originally thought about it in two days, but there is really an opportunity to make money. I can participate in dredging the river channels for about two months. Food and accommodation are included. The money is one hundred cents a day, and it is Tianbao big money!"
I heard that I could earn one hundred wen a day, which was a lot of money. This made everyone eager to try. Wang Huai asked again: "How far is the place where you work?"
"Just thirty miles away to the east, there are more than 100,000 acres of military land. The irrigation canals are blocked and need to be dredged again. It will take about 100,000 young and strong men."
"I'm almost sixty years old, can I go?" Wang Huai couldn't help but ask.
"If you have special skills, you can go, and the wages will not be low."
Wang Huai was overjoyed and said quickly: "I can do carpentry and build waterwheels. I built all the waterwheels in our village."
“This is a good craftsmanship!”
Wang Zhantu smiled and said: "In water conservancy repair, this skill is the most needed, so it's not a big problem."
At this time, the sound of a horn came from the distance, and Wang Zhantu smiled and said: "Dinner is about to be served, everyone, please prepare bowls and chopsticks!"
When everyone heard that dinner was about to begin, they all ran to their tents. Wang Zhantu stood up and turned around, only to see his father Wang You standing not far away, looking at him with a smile.
Wang Zhantu hurriedly stepped forward and said with a smile: "Why is father here?"
Wang Zhantu is Wang You's youngest son Wang Zhan. He is 18 years old this year. When he took the imperial examination last year, Wang You changed his name to Wang Zhantu. This year he went to Beijing to take the imperial examination, passed the Ming Jing Ke and was assigned to Licheng.
He became the county's chief inspector and became the youngest chief inspector in the history of Qizhou.
Wang You's wife has passed away, leaving only two sons. The eldest son Wang Hong serves as the governor of Dezhou. What he cares most about is the youngest son. Wang You is a practical person. Although his son still has the potential to continue studying, Wang You still let his son
Taking part in the imperial examination early, passing the Ming Jing Ke examination, and starting from the lowest level of civil servants, this is a great test for the son's ability, and it is much more meaningful than those who just study hard.
Moreover, Ming Jing Ke’s starting point is just a little low. After five years of working as a civil servant, he will be qualified to be the ninth-grade registrar and officially enter the official rank. At that time, his son is only twenty-three years old, he is young and powerful, has outstanding abilities, and has rich experience.
It is easier to achieve political achievements.
However, working as a civil servant for five years does not necessarily mean that you will be promoted to an official position. It mainly depends on your background and resume. If you have connections and connections, coupled with your own hard work and a good resume, basically promotion will not be a problem.
Therefore, Wang You found many opportunities for his son to gain experience. For example, this time he came to the refugee camp to serve as district magistrate. Many people were unwilling to do it, but Wang You knew that if he did this well, it would be a shining mark on his resume.
.
"Are you busy today?" Wang Youxiao asked.
"Today is quite busy. Refugees have been arriving one after another in the past few days. I have to arrange for them, solve their problems, and also prevent fires and epidemics. I am so busy."
"Is there any difficulty?" Wang You asked again with a smile.
"Many refugees want to make some money, so my child tells them about water conservancy construction. When will it start?"
Wang You nodded, "The day after tomorrow! All the district officials will gather together the day after tomorrow, and then officially announce the plan, which is similar to what I told you before becoming a father."
At this time, a soldier brought food, and Wang You happily went to his son's camp to have dinner with him.