After the Feiyan Army in Huaibei defeated the Nian bandits in Yongcheng, they quickly integrated local forces and the number of troops grew to 4,000 people, the size of two regiments.
Lu Feiyan followed Dong Shuheng's model and organized the construction of farms in the local area after laying down a piece of land. There was a lot of land in Yongcheng that was in the hands of the original Nian bandits, which could be used to build farms. After Feiyan's army moved in, they attacked some local bully landlords and obtained
A lot of land.
With the establishment of the farm, the local social order quickly returned to stability. The people were working on the farm. Although there was no harvest yet, the Huaihai Navy sent a large amount of grain from Xuzhou. This could temporarily solve the food and clothing problem of the farm workers.
Every farm is an armed force, and they stabilize the local social order like nails.
At this time, Kaifeng on the edge of the Yellow River was in a hellish scene. There was not even a living villager on the land washed away by the floods.
The scorching sun scorched the earth, and the hardened land that had been soaked by the floods was cracked with large holes, as if a wild beast that chose people to eat opened its mouth to people.
The only food they had in their homes was destroyed by the flood. The people were waiting hard for food relief from the court, but the government seemed to be silent.
Because the Taiping Army was raging through Henan, Kaifeng Mansion now has little food reserves, and the prefect's Yamen is also powerless.
What else can be done?
After all, Kaifeng was a place prone to disasters, and the people had their own ideas. They began to gather in whole villages on the official road, eating up all the grass roots and wild vegetables they could dig along the way.
Sixi is sixteen years old this year. He lives with his father, mother, and older sister. His younger sister is also among the refugees. His family was originally a small landowner, but after the flood, the refugees robbed the last bit of food from his family.
Sixi wanted to take the shotgun left behind by her grandfather and drive away the refugees, but her father stopped him. They were all poor people who could not survive.
Sixi was also touched when she saw a child among the refugees grabbing the sweet potatoes he had saved at home and gnawing directly on the soil.
The food was gone, the government officials could not be seen, and the city gates were all blocked. The parents could only take themselves and their sister, and the younger sister followed the procession of refugees. They went all the way south, and everyone believed that the south was richer.
Sixi followed the team of refugees who robbed his house. They were originally from the same village. Everyone felt guilty after eating the food from Sixi's family, and they took good care of Sixi's family. However, this kind of care can only be reflected in the spirit.
of respect.
Sixi's father is a simple and honest middle-aged man. Although Sixi's family is a small landowner, they just have more land than other families. In fact, they are still farmers in essence, and they also need to farm their own land.
The Zhao family had enough to eat, so they allowed Sixi to attend private school for a few years. However, this child was not good at studying, but he liked to wander around. He had previously worked as a clerk in a shop in the county town.
Si Xi still remembers a caravan saying that with many farms and factories built in southern Jiangsu, it would be easy to find a job to support a family.
"Dad, let's go southeast, pass Shangqiu and go to Xuzhou." Sixi said to her father.
"My dear, Xuzhou is also on the bank of the Yellow River, so it might have been hit by a disaster too! I think we should go south to Anhui."
"Hey, Mr. Zhao, the north of Anhui is full of bandits. It's very poor. I went with someone when I was fleeing famine before, and the people there robbed even the refugees."
"Hey... Is there no way to survive? What a world!" Sixi's father sighed, "Xizi, is what you said reliable? Can we really have food in Jiangsu?"
"Dad, it's true. I heard from the caravan from Jiangsu. There are many factories built there and river embankments need to be built. Many people need to be recruited. As long as they work, everyone will be given food."
"Okay, let's go to Shangqiu first. Do you agree?"
The people in the village also agreed with Sixi's plan. So, the group went to Shangqiu.
When we arrived in Shangqiu, the scene we saw was similar to that in Kaifeng, and the land was also washed away by floods.
The refugees accompanying them began to hesitate whether to continue moving forward.
"Sixi, why don't you go south? There has been a disaster here too. If you go further, you may not even be able to dig up the grass roots." Sixi's father was still thinking about going to Anhui.
"Dad, have you noticed that this place is different from other places?"
"Huh? Why is it different? The crops are gone too."
"There is no one here. Where are the refugees here?"
"right."
"Dad, let's keep looking forward."
"middle!"
The team continued to move forward, and finally a market town appeared in front of them. The market town was crowded with people.
"Dad, don't move yet, I'll come over and take a look."
"Why is this such a big battle?" someone in the crowd asked.
Sixi ran into the crowd in a few steps and squeezed in. There were also people inside, but there was a long queue, and there was a long row of tables in the center of the crowd.
There is this ink paper on the table, as well as wooden signs. People who look like clerks are constantly registering something behind the table.
There is also a very wide banner behind the table, which says Huaihai Company Recruitment Office, and behind it there is a row of words - "If one person is hired, the whole family will be fed!"
Si Xi, who had been hungry for many days, saw the word "full" and licked her lips unconsciously.
He quickly turned around and ran towards his team of refugees.
"Dad, there is a way to survive. We are looking for workers in front of you. Take care of yourself!"
When a group of refugees heard the word "Guan Feng", they immediately became excited.
In everyone's opinion, whichever owner can manage enough at this time must be the most generous owner. In times of famine, food is the most valuable.
It is said that Dong Shuheng is really not short of food now. He has been prepared for it. After the summer harvest, when food is the cheapest, he buys it in large quantities in the south and stores it in the granaries of various farms.
Now he has opened up trade with Nanyang, and a large amount of Nanyang rice is continuously transported to the port of Haimen via sea ships.
After listening to Sixi's words, this group of Kaifeng refugees also began to run forward. They reached the edge of the crowd and could no longer move forward. Further ahead, there were Huaihai Navy militiamen wearing green military uniforms to maintain order.
The uniforms of these militiamen are different from those in the field. They are pure green, and each person wears a green military cap with a brim on his head.
In this way, he became a great master king in the eyes of the refugees.
The refugees at the back were very anxious, because only those who had registered could go to another resettlement area to eat. Although their sight was blocked, the refugees could still see the smoke coming out of the porridge cooker.
A few dishonest refugees tried to jump in line, but were shot out by the militiamen with rifle butts. No one dared to violate the order, and everyone waited in line carefully.
"Old Liu, this is too slow and we have too few manpower." Zhong Ruihua, the administrator of this refugee camp, said to a clerk beside him.
"Yes, the president needs to recruit too many people this time. There are dozens of places like ours, and people from every company have been transferred. These homeless people can't even speak clearly, and it's very troublesome to register."
"However, Manager Zhong, when I just registered, I met several people who can write. Can we go to the refugees and recruit some people who can write to help us register together, so that the speed will be faster."
Liu suggested.
"Okay, Lao Liu, you have a good idea, let's do it like this!"
Si Xi and her family are waiting anxiously. They are still in the crowd outside and have not yet joined the queue.
The smell of rice porridge and steamed buns wafted from the distance.
"Dad, Yaya is hungry and wants to eat." My sister became a little impatient and sat on the ground crying. My mother walked over and threatened her for a while before she calmed down.
At this time, an old man wearing a round hat and a gray beard walked over from the team, followed by two soldiers in green uniforms.
"Is there anyone here who can write?" the old man asked the crowd.
"I can, I can..." Sixi shouted excitedly.
"Okay, then you come with me."
"Can you bring my family with you? I have to be with them." Sixi begged the old man.
"Okay, let's come together!" the old man thought for a while and said.
Sixi followed the old man to the temporary settlement area where the smoke was rising.
Many people who can write like Sixi have been recruited here.
"Hurry up and have something to eat. You guys can go over there later and help register the refugees together."
Sixi was given a big steamed bun and a bowl of porridge with a pickle floating on top.
His family members were taken aside to re-register. Once registered, they were able to eat.
Sixi was given a wooden sign in her hand, with the words "Bao" and "A" written on it. In order to facilitate management, the Huaihai Company organized the refugees into Bao-A groups and organized them into Bao-A groups on a household basis.
Five households are one group, fifty households are one group, and each group is a collective action unit. They move together and work together.
Sixi was smart and worked in a merchant, so he quickly learned how to ask for registration information. Mr. Zhong, who was in charge of the business, asked him to open a window by himself.
…
Dong Shuheng had made a plan for recruiting refugees this time. Food was basically concentrated in Xuzhou through canals, and then refugee reception points were set up nearby in Shangqiu and other places.
Further afield, the Huaihai Navy's forces have not yet penetrated. There will be people from the Intelligence Department spreading news among the local refugees and guiding the refugees to gather in Xiao County, Shangqiu, and Yongcheng.
The Feiyan Army has not continued to expand recently, but has sent cavalry deep into western and northern Henan to recruit refugees to prevent these refugees from being recruited by other Nian bandits when they are desperate.
Because of the favorable conditions offered by the Feiyan Army, many refugee groups began to move towards Shangqiu and Xuzhou.
In order to ensure that the refugee team could reach the resettlement site smoothly, Huai Haijun even established some supply points along the way in the name of local gentry to provide porridge to the migrating refugee team to ensure that they had enough physical strength to complete the migration.
Huai Haijun's move to recruit a large number of refugees in Henan even attracted the attention of Lu Yinggu, the governor of Henan. Lu Yinggu wrote to the court to participate in Jiangsu's recruitment of refugees across the border in Henan.
Of course, this memorial was suppressed. Now the Qing government is busy besieging the Taiping Army heading north, and has no time to provide disaster relief. At this time, people are helping you to relieve the refugees. Just don't thank them. If you still check them, your brain will be fucked.
Soon Lu Yinggu was dismissed from his post on the grounds that he was not in a good position to protect the river embankment and provide relief to the victims.