diskusbooks Chapter 282: Prefect Su's Escape
Chapter 282: Prefect Su's Escape
"Exactly, you're not trying to say that you were refugees carried in last night, are you?"
"Those people looked half-dead. Even if a miracle doctor were reborn, he couldn't suddenly be alive and kicking overnight, could he?"
"That's right, I know the doctor at that clinic. I had no idea he had the ability to bring the dead back to life."
The man who had been rebuked was furious. He glanced at the refugee he was still carrying and forced himself not to put him down: "Let's go. Let's not argue with these idiots. It would be bad if we delayed the treatment of these people."
The procession carrying refugees continued forward, and the civilians who had been rebuked, thinking that they were just feeling guilty because they had been exposed, followed along resentfully.
This time, however, they went to a different clinic.
Just like the one last night, there was a tent set up outside the clinic, and some refugees were already treating their wounds.
As the newcomers were about to push their way forward, they heard those who had arrived earlier already discussing it.
"Did you see those people carrying people? I heard some of them were refugees who just received treatment last night."
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Why would I lie to you? Not all the refugees from last night are fully recovered. Some are still unconscious. These few weren't seriously injured, they were just extremely hungry. Now, after they went back, ate and drank their fill, and rested for a night, they're lively and energetic again."
"Can it really be that fast?" Some people didn't believe it.
"Of course not, it's not something that can be fully healed overnight. You can't use much strength with your hands yet. Look, it takes five people to lift one."
"Hiss... So, in that case, these guys do know how to be grateful."
"The prince said that there is no such thing as a free lunch. If you have been treated and fed, you have to work. There are no idlers to be supported."
"That's still much better than starving to death. Could it be that those notices yesterday weren't just a joke?"
"If that's true, we can give it a try. I don't have much food left at home."
There are always things in this world more terrifying than waiting to starve to death. Although many people still had doubts about this matter, the first record was finally made in the register prepared by Li Jingyang at noon that day.
It's a good thing that people are starting to sign up.
Most refugees need to rest for several days after being treated before they can get out of bed and cannot become the main workforce in a short period of time.
The people in this city are different. Most of them are also hungry, but they are still very energetic and have plenty of strength.
By forcibly treating the refugees, they inexplicably solved the initial manpower problem.
With the people issue resolved, the next step is to plan the residential areas.
The city is only so big, and the housing is almost all occupied, but the notice has already been issued, and the refugees in the process must have a place to live.
Li Jingyang ordered his men to temporarily set up a series of shacks near the city wall. During the day, they would distribute porridge there, and at night, they would provide shelter for the refugees who had not yet entered the city. It was better than them being exposed to the wind and rain.
There wasn't enough room in the city, and Suzhou was close to the frontier, so Li Jingyang couldn't stay outside the city forever. After much deliberation, he decided to expand the city wall on one side.
This is no simple project, but fortunately we have plenty of manpower now. We can't just feed the refugees and not let them work.
Getting something for nothing is never a good habit.
With the first person signing up, a second person followed, and with enough manpower available, Li Jingyang issued a new notice regarding the construction of the city wall.
This time, the people were all very enthusiastic, and even the previous notice attracted a large number of people to sign up.
Women, being less strong, mostly choose tasks involving heavy lifting, while men, with their abundant strength, naturally prefer to do the more lucrative work of repairing city walls.
Those children could attend classes and study in schools in Suzhou City, and each child only had to pay ten coins per month.
In this way, the elderly can leave home to work without worrying about the safety of their children being alone at home.
In just two days, the plan was on track. Li Xiao Kui, who was familiar with the road to Lingzhou, took a letter in Li Jingyang's handwriting and led a group of people to Lingzhou to borrow medicinal herbs.
Thanks to the proper handling of the situation by the prefect of Lingzhou, there were few casualties in Lingzhou, only a shortage of food, while medicinal herbs were plentiful.
The letter was not stamped with the official seal of the Suzhou prefect, but with Li Jingyang's private seal.
For the prefect of Lingzhou, this was far more useful than the prefectural seal of Suzhou.
Just as the whole of Suzhou was bustling with activity, the Suzhou prefect, who had been holed up in his mansion with his concubine for several days, finally left his harem and prepared to go out and see the results of the two women's efforts over the past few days.
To his surprise, once he stepped outside, Suzhou seemed to have transformed into a completely different place in just a few days. The people coming and going were in a hurry, but their faces were full of smiles.
How could someone locked up in the city waiting to die possibly have such an expression?
He randomly stopped someone to ask a question, and the person's expression vanished the moment they saw it was him.
But because of his position, he still answered every question.
"I'm asking you, what have those two... that is, Prince Jinglie, been doing these past few days?" Prefect Su almost slipped up and said the wrong thing.
Those Suzhou residents were refugees just a few days ago, but now their lives have changed dramatically.
Upon hearing him mention Li Jingyang's name, his eyes lit up immediately: "Prince Jinglie truly lives up to his reputation, these past few days..."
Li Jingyang hadn't given any specific instructions, and since the Suzhou prefect had personally handed over the reins of Suzhou to Li Jingyang, the refugees naturally wouldn't think too much about it.
Hearing his questions, she recounted everything in detail.
The more Prefect Su listened, the darker his face became, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet all the way to the back of his head.
Were those two people lying to him?
No, those two people might actually be Li Jingyang and Lin Rusi themselves.
No wonder, he said, how could there be such a masterful art of disguise in this world? For several days in a row, no one had noticed anything amiss.
What disguise? That's just him.
For a moment, the Suzhou prefect felt as if he had a thorn in his side. He returned to his residence, feeling dizzy and lightheaded, knowing that the prefecture was no longer safe.
These past few days, so many big things have happened in Suzhou, but when any of it reaches him, it's either that his people have already been taken into custody, or that there are basically no more of his people left in this mansion.
If he stays any longer, he won't even know how he died!
This discovery sent chills down his spine. He felt like everyone he saw wanted him dead, and he even suspected that his concubine, with whom he had been spending the last few days, might also be working for the other party.
The Suzhou prefect harbored resentment and wanted to go back and kill the concubine, but he was afraid of being discovered and alerting the enemy, thus missing his chance to leave. He forced himself to suppress his anger, packed some small valuables and silver notes that were easy to carry, and secretly left Suzhou through a secret passage.
By the time Lin Rusi and her companion had the energy to focus on the Suzhou prefect, he had already been away from Suzhou for three days.