Li Yanzhi returned to the war-torn county town of Lingju. Now Lingju has regained some of its previous vigor under Xin Yan's governance. Winter wheat had already been sown, and in the middle of the year, when thieves burned and destroyed the fields, the county government had to spend a lot of money to purchase grain from the rest of the counties. With this hasty escape, the large herd that had previously accumulated in the county is no longer there.

The only thing that can be called good news is that with the large-scale use of troops by the captives and the violent conquest after returning from the defeat, there are households in Longxi fleeing to Liangzhou one after another, including some small Qiang tribes. These small tribes are far less survivable than the large tribes of Yang and Fu. When the ruler of Liu Zhao faced these big tribes, he might still have some scruples, so he would not go too far. And those small tribes will soon be left with nothing under this kind of tyranny.

The tribal leaders who knew the times were unwilling to watch their tribes die out or be swallowed up by the rest of the larger tribes. These ethnic minorities, who had already achieved agricultural development, began to flee to Liangzhou together with the few remaining households in Longxi. As for this wave of refugees that appeared again, Li Yanzhi and Xin Yan were also mixed.

Now, with the influx of these refugees, the number of households in the county is probably comparable to that of Guangwu County. The concern is that the new refugees mean that there are now thousands more mouths in the county. For Lingju, who is not yet wealthy, if it is not handled well, it will be tantamount to a huge disaster.

There is still no news from Su Xiaoniang, and Li Yanzhi, who is covered with this shadow in her heart, is even more powerless when she encounters problems again. After thinking about it, this year's grain has not yet been harvested, and the county government is also overstretched. If you don't give charity, you can't do it, and if you don't give charity, it's never a good way to do it in the long run. The matter that made him entangled almost became the number one major problem that the county government had to face.

In the end, it was Xin Yan who made the decision, and the grain stored in the treasury carefully selected the full grains and continued to store them, so as to be used as grain seeds for next year. The rest was used as relief food, and several porridge shacks were set up outside the city, where some gruel was boiled every day to help the refugees outside the city hang their lives. On the one hand, it strictly prevented the refugees from having bad intentions, stealing chickens and dogs from going out of the camp, and increasing public security crimes. On the other hand, it is also to prevent the residents of the county from storming the refugee houses at the instigation of enemy spies and causing mass incidents.

Rao is like this, Li Yanzhi and Xin Yan, who had a bloody precedent in front of them, still don't dare to be too careless. In the end, it was decided that Li Yanzhi would lead his troops to inspect the temporary camp for refugees. On the one hand, the weapons carried by the refugees must be inventoried, and on the other hand, the camps must be modified as necessary in order to prevent the spread of diseases caused by poor hygiene.

As the sergeants of the battalion were gathered, except for the soldiers who stayed in the camp and inspected the city wall, the rest were all wearing armor and holding swords, and went with Li Yanzhi to surround the four gates of the refugee camp. The lieutenant general of the army listened to Li Yanzhi's instructions and went to invite the old officials and tribal leaders of the refugee camp out of the camp.

Seeing that Li Yanzhi led his troops to come, this group of old officials and other talkers were originally a little nervous, but after listening to his explanation, they put their minds at ease, and then returned to the camp first, gathered their own people, etc., Chen said that the intention of the county soldiers to come to the camp caused a quarrel and discord in the camp.

The fleeing households in Longxi still expressed support for the decision to confiscate weapons and replan the barracks, but in the case of the small Qiang tribes, they hit a nail in the coffin. When these tribeagumen heard that the county soldiers were coming to collect their weapons, they immediately blew up the pot. There was a lot of noise and shouting, and there were different opinions, and there was no result after a long time.

A few small tribal leaders who were at a loss sent people out of the camp one after another to explain the situation to Li Yanzhi. Li Yanzhi, who had been waiting for a long time, saw that the noise in the camp was gradually getting louder, but he still didn't get any results. He sighed to himself, waved his hand, and summoned Liu Jiwu, Zhou Xing, who had recovered from his injuries, Cao Jian, Wei Xu, and Wang Cheng to gather and briefly conduct a military discussion.

After the military discussion was over, when the generals returned to you, Li Yanzhi waved his hand and shouted: "Enter the camp!" With this shout, a soldier stepped forward and slowly pushed the door of the refugee camp open. As soon as the camp gate opened, Liu Jiwu led the Zhanfeng battalion to take the lead in entering, occupying all the key points in the camp, and faintly surrounding the refugees in the camp in the middle. followed by Wei Xu's Jianrui battalion soldiers. One after another, they climbed the low wooden fence wall, and then each drew his bow and arrow, and was ready to attack.

As Cao Jian, Wang Cheng and others led the last wave of Jianrui battalion soldiers into the camp and completed the final encirclement of the camp, the noisy refugee camp gradually quieted down.

Qin Dayong led more than a dozen ironclad soldiers with long knives to guard Li Yanzhi's left and right, patrolling the camp with him, looking back at the past one by one. The refugees in the camp, whether they were those Han people in Longxi or those Qiang tribesmen, all looked at him with fear and hesitation.

The shacks in the camp are scattered and scattered at random intervals, and naturally form clusters according to the different clans in the township. Between the shack areas lies several streams made of sewage. The streams flowed together and flowed towards the ditches dug by the soldiers when the camp had been established.

Li Yanzhi stepped across a small stream that emitted a foul smell, and couldn't help frowning deeply. He walked to the middle and north sides of the camp, which were mainly inhabited by various Qiang tribes. As he walked, he looked at the vigilant and hostile eyes of those tribesmen, and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"I heard that you have come to eat in my county, but you are unwilling to hand over your swords. I have come to speak to you. Li Yanzhi raised his head and looked around at the group of Qiang tribesmen in front of him, and said in a loud voice.

"You have no way to live in Longxi, so you came to Liangzhou and came to Lingju, and all you want is a way to live. Now the Ming government of our county is very merciful and takes out the little food left in the county government to help you. This has given you a way to live. Later, I will work together with the Ming Mansion to find a broader way of life for you. ”

The leaders of the Diqiang tribes, even those small tribes, mostly had a lot of dealings with the Han Chinese. As a result, language barriers are almost non-existent. Li Yanzhi said every word in the ears of those tribal leaders, and everyone was silent, waiting for the following.

"If you want to live, you must follow the local customs!" Li Yanzhi's words invisibly aggravated a little: "There are only two kinds of people in my county, one is the county citizen who does not hold a sword!" And the other is a county soldier with a sword in his hand and a soldier! ”

"If you insist on holding swords and weapons, you can only be organized into the army. In this way, I hope you can understand! If you do not wish to join the army, surrender your sword. Our soldiers have been on the battlefield for a long time, and they have fought several battles in the middle of the year, and they have been killed by more than 10,000 ranks, which can be called a strong team. It is enough to protect the countryside and protect the territory and the people. Therefore, there is no need for you to hang your swords on your waists and run rampant in the countryside......"

After Li Yanzhi finished speaking, the Qiang tribesmen who gathered one after another in the field were a little hesitant. They were exploited by Liu Zhao this time, and then fled to Longxi, abandoning the land, not to mention, the cattle, sheep and horses raised in the tribe were almost all looted. It can be said that now apart from the swords in their hands, there is nothing left.

After fleeing here, it has to be said that some of these tribesmen have the mentality of grabbing daily necessities if they can't find them. In a state where everyone has nothing, it seems that only the sword in their hands can make them feel safe. However, right now, this military attache of the Liangzhou Army actually wants to confiscate the weapons in their hands! Many people have bad intentions, and even have the intention of wanting Li Yanzhi to end. However, the guards beside him who were wearing armor and holding knives, full of murderous aura, knew at a glance that they were not good at fighting.

Forced by the might of these warriors, the tribesmen gradually dispelled their own unrealistic thoughts, and instead thought about how to hold their swords in their hands. After all, only by holding the sword tightly can we rely on and rely on it.

Seeing that those tribesmen were still hesitating, Li Yanzhi also knew in his heart that it was not so easy for them to hand over their weapons. In the midst of this brief silence and stalemate, his mind was also spinning rapidly, thinking about how to solve the current embarrassing situation. The slightest mishandling of such a situation can lead to endless consequences. If Li Yanzhi makes even the slightest concession here, it will give these tribesmen a false impression that it will be difficult to establish any rules in the future.

And if they don't give in at all and behave too toughly, even if the tribesmen don't take a-for-tat approach to resist now, it is difficult to say what resentful they will do to vent their discontent in the future. Li Yanzhi thought nervously, thinking of a compromise to resolve the current situation. It not only allows these tribesmen to willingly hand over their swords, but also gives them enough steps to go down the stairs from serious confrontation and conflict.

Time gradually passed in the silent confrontation between the two parties, Li Yanzhi looked at the Qiang tribesmen in the surrounding shacks, the long-term lifestyle of combining farming and grazing has created their sturdy physique, and I don't know whether it is a lack of clothes, or the body is too good to keep warm, Li Yanzhi saw that many of these tribesmen untied the front of their leather clothes, and let their strong chests be exposed to the slightly cold wind of early winter.

Li Yanzhi looked at the tribesmen in front of him, and then at the sharp soldiers of the Zhanfeng Battalion beside him, and a thought suddenly took shape in his mind. Since so many tribesmen were reluctant to lay down their swords, it was a good solution to support their families on favorable terms and absorb them into the army.

As soon as he thought of this, Li Yanzhi held his head high, looked at the gathered tribesmen at the moment, and said loudly: "The soldiers in my county and county have fields in their families, although they can't be rich and expensive, but they all have a permanent business and support their families, which is enough. All lieutenant generals in the army will be given a monthly salary of one hundred and fifty yuan, two stones of seasonal grain, and one horse of cloth every year. The harvest from the field or the income from grazing is enough to support the family to live a prosperous life! ”

As soon as Li Yanzhi said this, the eyes of those people in the tribe who could understand Chinese were all bright. As Li Yanzhi said before, they traveled through mountains and rivers to flee here, and what they did was just a way to live. The reason why many people are obsessed and unwilling to put down their swords is precisely because they are used to being bullied by Liu Zhao, and if they grasp the sword in their hands, they can resist when they are oppressed, so that they will not be eaten alive without the power to fight back.

"The assets of the enemy's non-commissioned officers and soldiers seized in wartime belong to individuals. After Kecheng, although it is strictly forbidden to loot privately, a part of the enemy's assets and assets will be allocated as appropriate and distributed to the lieutenant generals as an encouragement......"

Li Yanjiong paused, and looked at the surrounding tribesmen: "Since you are obsessed and don't want to put down your swords, you can throw yourself into the army." In the future, if we can recover our homeland, you can also choose a place to live. I know that many of your relatives and friends have sometimes died at the hands of thieves. Are you willing to leave it at that? ”

When Li Yanzhi skillfully transferred the current antagonism to Liu Zhao and the Qiang tribes in Longxi, those tribesmen became agitated, and many people listened to the translation of Pao Ze, who knew Chinese, and immediately became excited, as if the hatred of these Qiang tribes for Liu Zhao of the Xiongnu was far beyond Li Yanzhi's cognition and imagination.

In the excitement of this kind of common hatred and hatred, Li Yanzhi could hear the chaotic nonsense that he could hear at first gradually converged into a voice that soared straight into the clouds, echoing in this slightly humble camp. He smiled and looked at Qin Dayong on the side. At this point, things can be said to have basically stabilized.

"Those who are willing to join the army, please ask the tribal leaders to count them later. Those who surrender to the army can keep their weapons, and after two days, the army will send out its generals and bring you into the camp. Those who do not want to join the army will hand over their weapons, and the county government will arrange for you to cultivate land or graze herds. Since I came to Liangzhou, as long as I was at ease, we would never take advantage of it like Liu Zhao's officials. ”

When Li Yanzhi walked towards the gate of the refugee camp under the protection of Qin Dayong, he met Liu Jiwu, who led the troops to guard. Liu Jiwu raised his eyes to look at the tribesmen who were still excited, and sincerely hugged his fist at Li Yanzhi and said: "This time I came, it was a crisis. Changshi lifted the weight lightly and resolved it, but his subordinates had to obey. ”

Before Liu Jiwu's words fell, Li Yanzhi already smiled bitterly, and sighed leisurely: "Ji Wu." This is just the beginning, and the troubles that come with it are probably not something that can be explained in a few words. There is not much money and grain left in the treasury, and I am afraid that I will have to put all of it into it now......"

When the words fell, Liu Jiwu looked up in shock, but only saw Li Yanzhi's wry face.

"In the future, the army will absorb all the tribesmen as soldiers, and how will the county government calm the hearts of the people. There is still a long way to go......"