He Qigong shook his head and said teasingly: "Officials from all over the country concealed the disaster, made up stories about big things, and ignored small things. [ ] Coupled with the changes in the country's political situation, local tyrants colluded with warlords, expropriated and exploited the common people. Naturally, man and nature are in trouble.
Jean can no longer live."
Everyone present understands these words. In the past, disasters were mostly made out of trivial matters, in order to obtain more disaster relief funds from the court, and then profit from them. However, in the past two years, the provincial tax banks have been cut off, and the national treasury is empty, and even suppressing uprisings has been unable to do so.
, let alone appease the victims. Therefore, many local officials knew this well and simply did not report it to the police, trying to embellish their official achievements with a little peace, just in the hope of better promotion in the future.
Anyway, for the bureaucrats and gentry who live at the leadership level, they will not go hungry no matter how big the disaster is. It will be over after a while. The common people are used to being exposed to fire and water, so there is no need to make a fuss.
After a brief pause, Chen Wennian then asked: "Sir, what is the purpose of Shanhaiguan sending this telegram to us? Is it to ask us to send food for relief?"
Yuan Su said expressionlessly: "That's not true. Even if we want to send food relief, it is a matter for Tianjin and Beijing. How can we, small counties, get the turn?" Wu Chenglu mentioned in the telegram that the number of people affected by the disaster was large, and that people were arriving every day.
With the increase in the number of people, the people are very restless, and there have been many cases of damaging railways, looting homes, and making riots in front of the gate. He is worried that the victims will lose control. If a team of tens of thousands of people forcefully rush through the border, it will be difficult to hold on to the border."
Although Shanhaiguan is a pass, closing the city gate does not mean that traffic outside the pass can be eliminated. [] Since there are railway lines, it means that there are places that cannot be defended by the city wall. What's more, the victims are also civilians. If we are ruthless to attack the victims
If you shoot someone, not only will you not be able to deal with the aftermath, but you will also be reviled by the world. When the authorities come to investigate, you will inevitably take the blame.
"Then what Wu Chenglu means is for us to send troops to help him guard the border?"
"He didn't say that in the message. On the surface, he just said that our First Mixed Brigade is the closest unit to Shanhaiguan and hopes that we will send troops to assist in protecting the customs. But to put it bluntly, he is still worried about the tens of thousands of victims rioting, and his men
There are only six patrol battalions, and once the situation gets out of control, it will really lead to a disaster." Yuan Su said calmly.
"But even if we go, how can we stabilize the situation? Is it possible that when the victims riot, we and Wu Chenglu shoot to stop it? This is simply ridiculous. Whoever gives the order to shoot will become a sinner through the ages." Chen Wennian
He said decisively.
"I agree with Mr. Chen. Since ancient times, disaster victims are like rivers. They need to be channeled and managed, rather than blocked. Blocking and blocking can bring peace for a while, but it will lead to chaos for a long time. The problem of disaster victims outside the customs is how to relieve them.
Rather than how to prevent it." He Qigong said insightfully.
"Wu Chenglu must have reported this matter to Beijing. It depends on when Beijing will approve the relief materials. Even if he has not reported it, I will forward the message to Beijing tonight." Yuan Su said methodically.
"But sir, what if... I am just saying what if..." At this moment, Li Jinfu, who had not spoken much, stepped forward and said hesitantly. [ ]
Yuan Su glanced at Li Jinfu and said with some displeasure: "If Captain Li has anything to say, just say it."
"Yes, yes. I believe that if the victims really riot outside Shanhaiguan, the Shanhaiguan guards will be unable to prevent the victims from entering. Our Changli County is only three or two days' walk from Shanhaiguan. The victims will lose their minds and fear along the way.
If there is robbery, how will we deal with it?" Li Jinfu said matter-of-factly.
"Master Yuan, this is indeed a problem. Once a disaster breaks out, it will inevitably be out of control. A large number of victims will flood into the pass, and the disaster will not stop." He Qigong said solemnly.
Of course Yuan Su knew this. At the same time, he also knew that Li Jinfu was worried that his territory would be affected. But no matter what, a hungry man can do anything, and there must be no mistakes in Shanhaiguan. The victims of the disaster gathered together.
It is easy to manage, and it can be distributed uniformly after the disaster relief materials come out. If they rush in, not only will the flow be scattered, but it will also cause harm to many parties.
"This matter must be handled with caution. The heavy rain is not stopping now. Even if we send troops, we will have difficulty. In this way, it is better to let Brother Gongtai suffer a little. Brother Gongtai, please prepare first. In two days, you will lead a battalion of the Third Regiment to set off for Shanhaiguan. 1
The first is to investigate the situation of the victims, the progress of relief dispatches from all parties, and how Wu Chenglu himself comforted the victims. The second is to prepare for our follow-up troops to respond." Yuan Su explained.
"That's fine." Chen Wennian agreed without hesitation.
"I will try my best to cooperate in my humble position." Li Jinfu also quickly echoed.
"Send a telegram to Beijing tonight to convey this matter. I will set off back to Luanzhou early tomorrow morning to arrange the next response measures. If necessary, this military training will be put on hold for the time being, but it will definitely happen someday.
The training process will be resumed." Yuan Su added.
"Sir, it's still raining, and it looks like it may not stop tomorrow." Du Yu on the side reminded him with concern.
"So what if it rains heavily? Have you lost a piece of meat in the rain and wind these days? In short, it has been decided. You hurry up and make preparations." Yuan Su said to Du Yu in a commanding tone.
"Yes, I humbly obey my orders." Du Yu did not dare to disobey and said quickly.
It was the evening of the next day when Yuan Su and his party returned to Luanzhou from Changli County. Both people and horses were soaked by the rain. As soon as they entered the Biaobu compound, Zhao Shanhe, Guo Wenyuan, and Sun Desheng
People had heard the news and rushed out to greet him.
Zhao Shanhe and others had read the telegram from the Shanhaiguan garrison earlier, and they all realized that this matter was of great importance. Now Yuan Su had come back specifically to deal with this matter.
When he got to the stable and got off his horse, Yuan Su took off the raincoat on his shoulders and asked Zhao Shanhe: "Is there a telegram from Beijing?" He sent a telegram to Beijing in Changli County last night about the situation at Shanhaiguan, so
Beijing will definitely take such a major incident seriously.
Zhao Shanhe was slightly startled, then shook his head and said: "This morning I only received a telegram from Changli County, informing Mr. Yuan that you have set off to return to Luanzhou. Apart from this, I have not received any other telegrams."
Yuan Su took a deep breath and his face looked serious, but he didn't think much about it. Whether it was the delay in the telegraph line or Beijing's need for time to discuss, it was normal for a day or two to be delayed. He didn't think much more.
Anyway, they took Zhao Shanhe, He Qigong and the others back to the camp office, changed into dry clothes, drank a bowl of hot soup, and then began to discuss how to deal with the victims of Shanhaiguan.
Zhao Shanhe and Guo Wenyuan agreed with He Qigong that the most important thing was how to provide relief, rather than using the army to intimidate and guard these refugees. Sun Desheng still considered guarding Shanhaiguan as the top priority. After all, relief was
It depends on the arrangements of the central government. Their capabilities are limited. Tens of thousands of refugees are not a small number. It is already a big expense to ensure that these people have one meal a day.
Yuan Su believes that the opinions of both parties are reasonable. It's not that he doesn't want to rescue these refugees, the problem lies precisely in the "limited capacity". The local government alone cannot afford the tens of thousands of people fleeing famine without support from all sides.
This is why he immediately asked if Beijing had sent a telegram. Only after waiting for Beijing's reply to confirm the central government's relief plan could he cooperate in formulating an action plan.
However, since support from all sides is needed, East Zhili should still contribute funds and efforts.
He decided to go to Wang Litong to discuss the matter early tomorrow morning, and then mobilize a member of the Consultative Bureau to see if he could raise a batch of disaster relief materials locally. As long as he had disaster relief materials in hand, he could lead a team to Shanhaiguan.
With some confidence, the refugee mood can at least be stabilized for a period of time until the central government allocates relief.
But everything must be prepared for the worst. On the one hand, it is impossible to raise enough relief materials locally. On the other hand, it is impossible to support the arrival of relief materials from the central government. In addition, emergency measures must be considered if the refugees get out of control.