20demayo Chapter 607 Plan
Chapter 607 Plan
When they came back and handed the booklet to Zhang Ping'an, they still felt a little uncomfortable.
Ruan Sandao: "Damn it! This is the first time I feel like I'm a wicked villain. This is too much of a sin!"
"What's the matter? Why are you just saying this?" Zhang Ping'an asked after putting down the document.
Ruan San plopped down on a chair and took a sip of tea before continuing, "You don't know, those bastards originally lived with their mothers. Although some women thought the children were bastards and treated them badly, there were also many women who were very close to the children. When the children were taken away, they cried and screamed, and the military camp was in chaos. It was so annoying!"
Liu Sanlang saw more of the other side and frowned as he said, "Although Runan has been recaptured, I think the women who survived won't have an easy life in the future. When we took these bastards away, many men were shouting and yelling at them to be thrown to death. Their expressions were filled with hatred and disgust, and they even beat and scolded their own women. Sigh!"
Zhang Pingan understood immediately and explained, "Runan is a restored area in the Central Plains with a large population. This area has also produced many prominent families with a long history, and there are many scholars. Even though the Tatars and the Baichao people have plundered it several times, the city still maintains basic operations. It's different from Ze County and Chang County, where there are only a few people left.
Therefore, many of these survivors still have some sense of propriety and honor in their hearts. It is not a glorious thing for their women to be humiliated. Before, they were powerless under the enemy's iron hoof. Now that they have been recaptured, these rules have naturally returned! "
"Well, I can understand that!" Ruan San sighed. They were all men, so he could still empathize with others.
"Is there no other good way?" Liu Sanlang asked with a puzzled frown.
"We can only wait for time to slowly wash away these bad memories," Zhang Pingan shook his head.
This situation is still good as it has just been recovered. As time goes by, the rules for these people will only become stricter and stricter, and they will inevitably be criticized in the future. History always repeats itself.
"What should we do with these people? They need a lot of food every day. We didn't have any prisoners in Ze County before, so we have no experience in dealing with these people," Ruan San scratched his head and asked again.
"Don't worry, these people will not be left idle. The reason why Lieutenant General Liang left these captives behind is to let them work. Repairing the city, clearing canals, and reclaiming wasteland all require people," Zhang Ping'an replied.
"As for the grain stores, wineries, and restaurants that are still operating, we should allow them to open for business as usual, and we only need to visit them every three to five days."
"I think some of those people are quite cunning. They had a good relationship with the Tatars before, which is why they can continue to trade. Are we letting them open their doors normally now?" Ruan San was puzzled.
"Haha, there is no businessman who is not cunning. If he is not cunning, he can't be a businessman," Zhang Pingan laughed.
Then he explained, "These people surrendered when we first arrived and handed over 80% of their property. The city's operations mainly rely on them. We can't confiscate all of this right away. Even a cornered rabbit will bite. Let's wait until we have a firm foothold before we take action step by step!"
"Is that so?" Liu Sanlang lowered his head and seemed to be thinking about something.
"That's right, we should take it step by step. We just arrived in Runan and haven't figured out the water conditions yet. It's not like we were in Ze County. It's not the right time to start a big fight.
"Once you two have thoroughly investigated the troops in the camp and have established your prestige, it won't be too late to change our personnel. We can't let the people think that life is worse after the recapture than when the Tatars ruled. A fox will always show its tail!" Zhang Pingan took a sip of tea and continued slowly.
There are more than 20,000 people in Runan Prefecture, which is a large population for a city in troubled times.
After several years of war, the population in the north has dropped sharply, and the remaining people are very valuable.
Therefore, Zhang Ping'an planned to take the path of benevolent governance first and make Runan Prefecture prosperous.
Liu Sanlang and Ruan San naturally obeyed after hearing this, as they were not very good at governing the people.
"In short, don't think too much about these trivial matters. The most urgent thing is to gain a firm foothold in the military camp first," Zhang Pingan instructed at the end of the conversation.
"I understand," Liu Sanlang and Ruan San nodded solemnly in response.
It's only the beginning of May and there are still many crops to be planted in the fields.
Zhang Ping'an did what he said and immediately arranged for people to plow the soil and raise seedlings. Even if the harvest would be worse if they planted at this time, it would still be better than not planting at all.
In addition, there are a lot of cattle, sheep and livestock, which makes the work more efficient.
The captives and bastards were not allowed to rest either. They had to repair official roads, build city walls, and plow the soil, which were all hard work.
The Tatars are different from the Bactrians. They are more wild and difficult to tame. They will try to escape if you are not careful. They also have no affection for their own children. It will be useless even if you separate their children.
After Zhang Pingan found out, he immediately cut their food intake by one third, making it even more bland.
In this way, they are exhausted after working all day and eat little, so they don’t have much energy to think about other things.
Not long after, the official sent by the court to take office in the county town near Runan arrived, much later than Zhang Ping'an.
Several people even visited him when passing through Runan and were very polite.
His idea was probably similar to Zhang Ping'an's at the beginning, both wanting to establish a good relationship and gain face.
Zhang Ping'an didn't make things difficult for others. After exchanging some pleasantries, he politely invited them to have dinner.
It is always better to have more friends than more enemies.
The other party came from a poor family in Lin'an. Although he held a low official position, he was quite familiar with the Lin'an officialdom and knew Zhang Ping'an's background very well.
He complimented her, "A few days ago, when the Qian family was celebrating Young Master Qian's birthday, I saw your young master. He was plump and eloquent, with a face full of intelligence. I think he will be a good student in the future. Master Zhang is blessed!"
Zhang Ping'an's heart moved when he heard this, and he asked, "Oh? You saw my son? Is it the birthday of the young master of the Qian family? I wonder who it is?!"
This series of questions shows how urgent it is. To be honest, I haven't seen my son for almost two years, so it's impossible not to miss him.
The other party didn't keep the secret and replied with a smile, "It's the youngest son of your brother-in-law, Lord Qian Ying. I happened to be invited to his birthday banquet."
"So it was my brother-in-law who did it," Zhang Pingan understood, and then asked, "Have you seen my family members?"
"No, it was Lord Qian who was holding your little master at that time, and it was he who introduced him to everyone, so we knew it was your little master," the other party replied.
Zhang Ping'an was a little disappointed after hearing this. He asked carefully about his son's specific condition and felt relieved when he learned that he seemed to be fine.