Chapter 1739: One in a Hundred Survives

In a lonely, desolate stretch of elm forest, a major town like Xiazhou was somewhat livelier — at least there was still some human presence — but even that liveliness was extremely limited. Aside from the heavily stationed troops, there were only refugees receiving relief.

Outside the walls of Xiazhou, the scene remained one of utter chaos. A vast number of refugees had gathered here, and even with the authorities maintaining order, not a trace of peace or harmony could be seen. Everywhere were crudely thrown-together shelters of thatch and wooden palisades — these were the refugees' homes for months on end.

The people moved like walking corpses. Everyone was now enduring in bitter hardship, waiting for the day the blockade would be lifted. Their daily necessities depended entirely on the meager relief rations handed out by the authorities.

In this regard, the authorities enforced strict rationing of grain. And this relief grain was only enough to keep them alive, to keep them from starving to death — eating one's fill was out of the question. The court's grain went mostly to feed the army, supplying the troops on pacification campaigns and rewarding military merit; relieving refugees was merely a side concern.

And even so, the local refugees of Xiazhou still had to be grateful for the favor. Under the circumstances of war, one couldn't demand too much. Otherwise, with production completely disrupted and impossible to sustain, everyone would starve to death.

Of course, to say there was no resentment at all would be impossible — but as the pacification campaign in Yulin progressed, and with the "great purge" unfolding after the start of spring, all that resentment dissolved.

At least they were Han. The authorities still showed them a measure of "care," and they could still receive life-saving rations. They didn't have to worry, like those scattered among the common folk, about having their heads chopped off and taken in to claim a bounty for money.

Xiazhou, as the seat of the Yulin Circuit, was the safest place at present. Even at the height of the rebels' power, they had not dared to rashly attack it. And that was indeed the current state of affairs — across the vast expanse of Yulin, only these walled strongholds still bore any resemblance to the cruel world of men. As for everywhere else, it was like a land of the dead, where only lonely ghosts and wandering spirits roamed.

In fact, the cost to the court of relieving these refugees was considerable. Tens of thousands of people consuming purely for nearly half a year — even at the lowest level of grain supply, the total added up to no small expenditure.

And all the grain and supplies had to be brought in from outside, with transport costs perpetually high. Especially during last year's bitter winter and the height of the great chaos, every dan of grain delivered cost several times its normal price. Only after most of the rebel forces had been wiped out did the transport burden ease somewhat — but only somewhat.

In the past, following the Han army's customary practice in conquest campaigns, wartime production policies would be adopted — settling civilians, maintaining public order, and also reducing pressure on the court. But this approach could not be implemented under Yulin's special circumstances.

In view of the massive losses, after the start of spring, the field headquarters carried out another refugee transfer operation, moving refugees from Xia, Yan, Ling, Sui, and other prefectures into the interior and Hexi, thereby reducing Yulin's consumption and continuing to let neighboring circuit authorities share the burden.

Here in Xiazhou, over ten thousand refugees had originally been taken in — already a considerable number. Those who managed to reach the prefectural city alive and receive shelter were the fortunate ones, and they were also the minority.

But now, fewer than four thousand remained. Most had been transferred away by the authorities under "armed escort," and those left behind were all the old and weak — tough survivors who no longer wished to be uprooted again...

Of course, the primary reason lay with Zhang Qixian, the Yulin Administration Commissioner who had taken office less than half a year ago, and who strongly opposed the resettlement policy. Though for the past six months his focus had been on pacification, now that the unrest was gradually subsiding, he could no longer consider only that one aspect — he needed to make plans for Yulin's recovery.

Yet the rebellion and war had brought massive death. The population had plummeted — not halved, but emptied to nine households out of ten, with not one in ten surviving. Now, watching the few remaining refugees in his territory being sent away, how could Zhang Qixian sit still?

In the second month, he finally hurried over from Yanzhou and took up residence in the circuit government office. At the same time, he sought an audience with Prince Zhao, Liu Fang, hoping he would order the cancellation of the resettlement policy and preserve the last bit of vitality Yulin had left. His words were impassioned, even bordering on offensive, but Zhang Qixian, with blood rushing to his head, could not spare much thought for consequences — even offending Prince Zhao was worth it.

Zhang Qixian's reaction was understandable. After all, if all the people of Yulin were gone, what value would he, as Administration Commissioner, have? If you're a herder of a region and there are no sheep left in the pen, what is there to herd?

For Zhang Qixian, the Yulin appointment was a critical threshold in his official career. He had spent nearly twenty years to finally become a regional magnate, the chief official of a circuit. Cross this threshold, and a broader world awaited, a higher hall to ascend. If the house were to be demolished, then this threshold would lose its meaning.

Over the past six months, Zhang Qixian had performed brilliantly as Yulin's Administration Commissioner — working tirelessly without complaint, actively cooperating with the field headquarters, handling logistics and pacification of the people admirably. Liu Fang, being in Yulin himself, could see this clearly. Moreover, Zhang Qixian was a man valued by his second brother, the Crown Prince, so Liu Fang could afford to be a bit more understanding. After considering his request, he agreed.

In fact, the court had deployed over a hundred thousand troops in Yulin and was feeding them well. Even if only a few scraps and leftover rice were set aside, it could relieve the refugees. The logistical pressure would not be fundamentally alleviated by reducing the refugees' relief grain.

And so, after a round of sincere remonstrance, the further loss of Yulin's population was finally halted. However, things had already reached this point — what remained was a devastated mess.

But no matter how ruined the mess, it was still his own foundation. He had to muster his confidence and grit his teeth to clean it up. Zhang Qixian could only console himself: the greater the crisis, the more it shows one's ability. If he could restore Yulin well, it would be a notable achievement.

Therefore, by the time the "great purge" was drawing to a close after the third month, Zhang Qixian had formally begun preparations for post-war recovery. The first thing he did was conduct a census of Yulin's remaining population — though this covered only the refugees taken in by the various towns and cities.

The results were grim, even hair-raising. The entire Yulin now had fewer than thirty thousand people left — and that was counting the two northern prefectures of Feng and Sheng, which had not been greatly affected by the rebellion.

One must remember that before the rebellion, the entire Yulin had a registered population of over a million. If unregistered residents and the various Tangut tribes were counted, it would have been even more. Now, it had suffered a devastating blow.

Faced with such results, even though he had anticipated it, Zhang Qixian could not help but be horrified — this was worse than even his worst expectations. Thus, Zhang Qixian lamented to his subordinates: in the past, a border prefecture was not as prosperous as a wealthy county in the Central Plains; now, the people under his governance as a circuit chief did not even match a single county in the Central Plains...

However, Zhang Qixian was indeed no ordinary man. His temperament was tough enough that, under such conditions, he still proceeded methodically with all the recovery work. He registered the remaining people into household records while arranging for the resumption of production and cultivation.

Of course, this process was extremely slow and fraught with difficulties, because even the most basic means of production needed for resuming production were severely scarce. All of this, without question, required the court's support — and that too took time.

With no other recourse, Zhang Qixian turned his attention to the military once again, shamelessly petitioning Prince Zhao, Liu Fang, hoping to coordinate the transfer of some livestock and grain. The government troops in Yulin might not have much else — no seeds, no farm tools — but they had plenty of livestock of all kinds, and military grain in abundance.

Perhaps moved by Zhang Qixian's sincerity and sympathizing with his difficult circumstances, Liu Fang was very generous — with a stroke of his pen, he approved over ten thousand head of cattle and horses and fifty thousand dan of grain. Of course, these were also reported to the court, and they essentially served as the capital for Yulin's restoration and reconstruction. For Yulin at present, it was sufficient.

In fact, the court had long since begun discussing the question of Yulin's post-war recovery. Among the proposals, someone suggested simply abolishing the Yulin Circuit altogether and merging it back into the Guannei Circuit.

Originally, the reason it had been split off from the Guannei Circuit — besides the great distance and inconvenient transportation that hindered the smooth transmission of government orders — was primarily the Tangut people. Now that the Tangut had been completely destroyed, maintaining a separate circuit seemed no longer necessary.

Governor Zhang, diligently serving in Yulin, did not even know that his Administration Commissioner's hat was already hanging by a thread.

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