Casting his gaze on the river outside the window, the middle-aged man sighed and said slowly: "What the second brother said makes sense, but the problem is that it was His Highness who abandoned our boat gang first, not us who betrayed him first. Since he can abandon us interests, it means that he no longer regards our boat gang as a family, so we can naturally find another way out. As for the alliance, we don’t have to cut off contact all at once and just deal with it perfunctorily. After the chaos in Heshuo , it is only a matter of time before the power of the Taiping Religion collapses. People can’t even eat, so who cares what religion you are? I can assert that the owner of Heshuo must be Li Wufeng from the northwest. Looking at the empire, only Li Wufeng is qualified to become Heshuo. The new owner. So we must take the northwest line, and the sooner the better."
When the little man heard what his elder brother said, he frowned slightly and said in a deep voice: "Brother, with our embarrassing status now, the other party may not be willing to believe our sincerity. Even if they believe our sincerity, we What else deserves the other party to accept us?"
"Hehe, second brother, you are too arrogant to belittle yourself. Not to mention that the more than a thousand people in our boat gang are all good hands on the waterway. Li Wufeng is ambitious. He will also need good hands on the water to help him in the future. We are here The army is his best helper. Jinzhong is our base, and we have a strong foundation in Jinzhong. Once the Taiping Religion collapses, he will definitely take the opportunity to invade Heshuo. We can be his pawns and his vanguard. , then his actions in Jinzhong and Hejian will be much smoother. If the person coming today is a smart person, I believe he will make the right choice." The middle-aged man said calmly with a confident look on his face.
When the knock on the door finally came, the four people in the room exchanged glances with each other. The young man calmed down and asked, "Who is it?"
"Guest." A steady voice sounded outside the door, and you could tell that the other person was not old.
"Oh? What kind of guest? We didn't invite any guests." The young man replied as agreed.
"That's my partner." The person outside the door said calmly as before.
The code was finally matched, and everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief. What was supposed to come finally came, and it was time to unveil.
While the negotiations in the imperial capital were proceeding step by step, someone who was boasted by the dye merchants and boat gang men to be unmatched in the world turned blue and walked back and forth in the room like a furious lion.
"Nick, you are cruel! I, Li Wufeng, have seen it all!" While muttering to himself, Li Wufeng walked around the room with his hands behind his back, "Damn it, Kamans, one day, I will make you pay the price. !”
"Sir, what should we do now? The Kaman people's move is indeed sinister. Now the refugees from Longquan Heishan are swarming around. There must be plague patients among them. Hejian and Jinzhong have suffered from the same disaster. Already already It is on the verge of collapse. Now that it is hit by these hundreds of thousands of refugees, I am afraid that the rule of the Taiping people will collapse immediately. If the refugees from these two places are added in, there will be enough-" Xiao Tang took a breath, this is terrible There are nearly two million refugees. No matter where this wave of refugees rushes, there will be chaos and complete paralysis.
"What should we do? Now the plague has appeared in Heishan and Longquan. Although the food we have stored is still sufficient, once the plague is infected, it will be no joke. With the current health and medical conditions in our northwest, we may not be able to control it. Ah." Wufeng's forehead also wrinkled tightly. The plague cannot be controlled by humans. Once the infection comes in, this hot weather will spread easily, and if it doesn't work well, it will spread to the entire Kansai.
"But sir, I'm afraid we can't stop this. More than one million refugees poured into Hejian and Jinzhong from Longquan, Heishan, and they were bundled together with the refugees in Hejian and Jinzhong. The number is at least close to three million. Even if Most of them fled east and south, but it is estimated that there are at least 300,000 coming towards Tianshui. How can we block it?" Xiao Tang asked with a stern face.
Taking a long breath, Wu Feng also knew that the blockade could not be blocked. If he wanted to forcefully send troops to seal the border, not only would it not be possible, but he would probably end up with the same reputation as the Kaman people, which he could not accept. of.
"Xiao Tang, it seems that we have no choice but to take risks. We will mobilize a group of doctors from various places and gather them in Tianshui. We will set up an isolation zone in Tianshui and set up a refugee camp. The refugees from the east must live in the refugee camp. For a period of time, only after inspection and observation that there is no plague can we enter Tianshui and the area west of Tianshui. Let the Department of Culture, Education and Health and the War Preparedness Department prepare more medicinal materials to try to prevent the spread of the plague. Once there are plague patients, they should be isolated and treated immediately. At the same time, let the food from Kansai be transported to Tianshui , to ensure the food supply for the refugees." Wu Feng finally made a difficult decision.
"Sir, the pressure on us is too great, and the risk is extremely high. Once this news gets out, I'm afraid all the refugees will change their way to our side, and we won't be able to bear it at all." Xiao Tang looked at He said with hidden worry.
"You have to accept it if you can't accept it. If we shut them out, all our previous efforts will be in vain, and we can't bear such losses." Wu Feng said decisively, "This is what I wanted to hoard in the first place. Because of the food, now is the time to play the role of these food.”
Exchanging food for people's hearts and minds was originally Wufeng's main intention and purpose in purchasing and hoarding food. When a steady stream of food flows from his hands to the desperate hungry people, his prestige will rise to a position that no one can replace. , the reputation gained with food will far exceed the honor obtained by any other means, this is something Wu Feng is sure of.
"Master Xiao, in fact, the arrival of this group of refugees is not completely useless. We might as well arrange these hundreds of thousands of refugees according to our own intentions. Sometimes bad things can turn into good things." Ling Tianfang then suggested.
"Oh? Brother Ling, do you mean to immigrate these hungry people? Northern Luzon or Myanmar?" Xiao Tang, as the Director of Government Affairs, is naturally very sensitive to the other party's words, and he knows the elegant meaning of the song after hearing it.
"Yes. However, I suggest that we might as well select strong men from this group of refugees to form a reserve army of two to three divisions, which will be used as a reserve force in the Beiyuan and Heshuo areas in the future. The remaining refugees will be sent out in batches after it is confirmed that they are not infected with the plague. Moving to Myanmar and Northern Luzon will provide more cheap labor for the development of Northern Luzon and Myanmar. This will not only avoid the hidden dangers caused by refugees, but also promote the development of these two areas, killing two birds with one stone." As the military leader, Ling Tianfang first considered the military aspect, and then took into account the civil affairs.
As the Chief of Government, it is certainly impossible that Xiao Tang has not considered the immigration issue. As Wu Feng said, maybe food is not a big problem, but hundreds of thousands of refugees, especially those from plague-stricken areas, are no joke. , whether it is from Tianshui to Northern Luzon or to Myanmar, it will pass through many prefectures and counties. Once the refugees are infected with the plague and spread the plague to the prefectures they pass through, the consequences can be imagined. , as the Chief of Government, he must first consider the possibility of this hidden danger.
"Brother Ling, the expansion of the army is a military matter and I have no right to interfere. However, we need to move hundreds of thousands of people from Heshuo to Northern Luzon and Myanmar. The weather is now hot and it is the peak season for the spread of the plague. These refugees are coming How can we prevent the epidemic in an epidemic area? If the plague spreads on the road, who can bear the responsibility?" Xiao Tang questioned calmly.
The question raised by Xiao Tang immediately silenced both Wu Feng and Ling Tianfang. This is indeed an issue worthy of careful consideration. If these refugees are allowed to cross the border and cause the plague to spread, once a large plague epidemic occurs, it will inevitably arouse The strong opposition from the local people may even endanger the stable rule that Wu Feng has established throughout the northwest. After all, the plague is uncontrollable and kills people. No one can remain rational in the face of death.
"Xiao Tang, can't our health department ensure that the plague does not spread?" Wu Feng asked in a deep voice.
"Sir, I'm afraid we don't have enough capacity to do this now. If we just follow the normal flow of passengers crossing the border and we strengthen the quarantine, we can naturally do it. But with such a large flow of people and it's during the summer, I don't think we can No guarantee." Xiao Tang replied decisively.
The atmosphere in the living room suddenly cooled down, and Ling Tianfang did not dare to say anything more on this issue. After all, no one can resist the plague. If the plague really spreads in the counties along the way because of immigration, then this responsibility Not anyone can afford it.
With a long sigh, Wu Feng did not dare to make a sudden decision. This was even more difficult to make than a major battle. The plague was not the enemy. It was full of too many uncertainties and had a certain period of time. During the incubation period, by the time it really breaks out, I'm afraid it's already too late. However, these refugees cannot be stopped, and leaving them temporarily in Tianshui is not a long-term solution. More and more refugees will come. Once they get out of control, the consequences will be disastrous, and those refugees cannot be honest. Staying in the refugee camp, if someone sneaks into other unprepared counties in the northwest, the danger will be even greater.
"Xiao Tang, do you have any better suggestions?" Wu Feng finally turned his attention to his political affairs director. The matter has come to this point and must always be resolved. Delaying and avoiding it will not solve the problem.