Chapter 1731

Qiqi sighed softly: "He's really cunning, he's figured out the thoughts of those commoners completely." Her finger lightly tapped the arm of the chair, as if thinking about something.

Quan De'an said: "Old servant has something to say, but I don't know whether I should speak or not."

"Speak up, don't beat around the bush!"

Quan De'an said: "I think it was improper to turn away the refugees at the gate back then, after all those refugees are Dakang's commoners, and now rumors are spreading everywhere that the court doesn't care about the lives and deaths of the commoners."

Qiqi glared at him and said: "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Quan De'an said: "Your Highness has always disliked inner officials discussing state affairs."

Qiqi waved her hand and said: "Never mind, it's not a big deal. Convey my order: reward Hu Xiaotian for his merit in quelling the rebellion, promote him to Grand Commander, grant him ten thousand taels of gold and two hundred bolts of silk, and let Yunyang be temporarily under his management."

"What?" Quan De'an almost thought he had misheard, but he quickly understood Qiqi's meaning. Since the matter had become a fact, Qiqi couldn't easily change it, and Hu Xiaotian's power had already grown; by taking Yunyang under the pretext of pacifying the rebellion, it was essentially outright plunder.

Qiqi's response was to placate him for now, and wait for a later opportunity to make a final decision.

Not long after Quan De'an left, Yang Lingqi came to request an audience.

Upon arriving before Qiqi, he noticed the Princess's grim expression and guessed that it was most likely related to Yunyang.

As expected, Qiqi snorted coldly and said: "Yang Lingqi, you've come up with a great idea for me!"

Yang Lingqi said: "I don't know what Your Highness is referring to."

Qiqi rose and slowly walked toward him; Yang Lingqi, intimidated by her presence, slowly lowered his head, not daring to meet her gaze.

Qiqi said: "Refusing the Xichuan refugees at the border and not letting a single one enter the pass—you really came up with a good idea."

Yang Lingqi said: "The Princess doesn't intend to take Xichuan; now is the best opportunity—if Xichuan falls into internal chaos, it will collapse without attack."

Qiqi sneered: "Collapse without attack? It's Yunyang that collapsed without attack—now Hu Xiaotian has taken Yunyang without losing a single soldier. Yang Lingqi, I truly don't know whether you're helping me or him."

Yang Lingqi said: "If Your Highness doubts my loyalty, you can cut out my heart to examine it—I am willing to die to prove my innocence!" His face was filled with fervor.

Qiqi wearily sighed and said: "It's not that I doubt your loyalty, but I doubt your judgment. You proposed sealing off Xichuan to let it descend into chaos, yet Hu Xiaotian has found a way to open a gap."

Yang Lingqi said: "Even if he opened a gap, it couldn't change the overall situation; this earthquake has severed the roads in northeastern Xichuan and elsewhere, so Yunyang's strategic importance is naturally not what it used to be."

Qiqi said: "Are you suggesting that I give Yunyang to him?"

Yang Lingqi said: "By now, even if we used troops against him, it would be too late; better to do him a favor. Hu Xiaotian, no matter how talented, could not quickly open a route to Xizhou. As I've heard, this disaster has affected many refugees in Xichuan, with over three hundred thousand currently stranded at the border. Since he wants to do good deeds, we could publicize it and let all the refugees flock to him. Although Hu Xiaotian is capable, his current finances probably cannot sustain the food, clothing, and daily necessities of so many refugees; the outcome is easy to foresee."

Qiqi gazed at Yang Lingqi with deep meaning and said: "You won't disappoint me again this time, will you?"

Yang Lingqi said: "I exhaust my mind and effort constantly considering the Princess's great cause; if I harbored even a hint of selfish thought, may I not meet a good end!"

Upon hearing his vicious oath, Qiqi's pretty face turned cold instead: "Enough, why swear such a vicious oath for no reason? You just need to carry out your duties diligently, and I will naturally see clearly."

While taking over Yunyang, Hu Xiaotian also acquired one hundred tortoise-shell war chariots and two hundred sky-shaking crossbows—these were originally supplied by the Heavenly Mechanism Bureau to Su Yuchi for use against the Xichuan army, and after the Yunyang campaign ended they lay in the armory. Hu Xiaotian treasured them as if they were priceless; although mechanical manufacturing is not his forte, he could still see the ingenuity in the construction of these war machines, many of which make extensive use of bolts and nuts. It seems these are not his original inventions, from which we can infer that Hong Beimo possesses much mysterious technology, thus adding corroboration to Old Lady Xu's earlier words.

Qiqi's reaction was not beyond Hu Xiaotian's expectations; as the actual power holder of Dakang, she ought to weigh pros and cons, and choosing to concede under the current circumstances was nothing short of wise. Of course, Qiqi is not that simple either—the recent surge in refugee numbers is also related to her deliberately opening the border, leaving a passage for refugees to flee to Hu Xiaotian's territory.

As Yang Lingqi had predicted, Hu Xiaotian would inevitably face doubled pressure from the influx of refugees; wanting to be a savior is not that easy.

During this period, Hu Xiaotian stayed in Yunyang the whole time. Although he took Yunyang without losing a single soldier, Su Yuchi still wielded great influence in the Yunyang army, and Hu Xiaotian worried the situation might change, so he personally remained in Yunyang: first to pacify the Yunyang troops, second to ensure refugees entered the interior in an orderly manner.

Looking at history, if the refugee problem is not handled properly it will trigger a series of conflicts. To avoid problems as much as possible, Hu Xiaotian poured in large amounts of manpower and material resources; within a single month, the number of refugees he had taken in had already reached 100,000, and the figure continued to rise.

The rainy season on the Yong River had finally paused temporarily, and the scorching sun, long absent, appeared in the sky. Hu Xiaotian early in the morning welcomed his senior aide Zhuge Guanqi, who had come along with the grain transport ships. After Hu Xiaotian took charge of Yunyang, he demarcated a large area between Yunyang and Xingzhou for temporary refugee settlement; the biggest problem they now face remains a food shortage.

Zhuge Guanqi arrived at the residence where Hu Xiaotian lived, and Hu Xiaotian had already personally come out to greet him. Zhuge Guanqi bowed with clasped hands and said, 'Subordinate pays respects to my lord!'

Hu Xiaotian laughed, 'Brother Guanqi, no need for so much ceremony. These days I've been bored to death; I have many things I want to say to you, and many questions I'd like to ask you.'

Zhuge Guanqi laughed, 'My lord, you flatter me; I dare not accept the words "please teach me".'

Hu Xiaotian invited him to sit in the flower hall; after the servant served tea and withdrew.

Zhuge Guanqi said, 'Congratulations, my lord.'

Upon hearing this, Hu Xiaotian immediately knew what he meant and chuckled, 'It's nothing but an empty title—what's there to be happy about? The Yongyang Princess now wishes she could devour me alive, but she currently lacks the energy to attend to so much, and she dare not lightly challenge our Gold and Jade Alliance.'

Zhuge Guanqi said, 'No matter what, it's ultimately a happy occasion. By the way, the princess consort originally wanted to come in person, but you sent word forbidding anyone from coming, and the ladies were quite disappointed.'

Hu Xiaotian sighed; in fact he also wanted to see Long Xi Yue and the others, but Yunyang had just been pacified, the situation was still unstable, and he worried that their coming would bring danger.

Zhuge Guanqi naturally understood his feelings and said softly, 'My lord, you've been away from Dongliang Jun for many days; it's time to go back and have a look.'

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, 'I'd also like to go back, but the situation here is still unstable; refugees keep arriving day after day, so I can't leave just yet.'

According to preliminary statistics, as of today the number of Xichuan refugees taken in by my lord has reached 100,000, distributed according to your wishes among various settlement sites.

"Is the food sufficient?"

Zhuge Guanqi said, 'According to our grain reserves, if it's only these 100,000 people, we can still afford it; at least we'll have no problem lasting until this autumn's harvest.'

Hu Xiaotian nodded in relief and said, 'That's good!' The situation was even more optimistic than he had anticipated.

Zhuge Guanqi said, 'However, the refugee influx shows no sign of diminishing; lately, refugees have been pouring in from the south in increasing numbers, and if this continues we may face even greater pressure from refugees.'

Hu Xiaotian smiled, 'The court refuses to accept Sichuan refugees; now that I propose taking them in, they've simply left a road open, allowing all the Sichuan refugees to come here.'

Zhuge Guanqi nodded; this was obvious—Hu Xiaotian's scheme to seize Yunyang had dealt the Dakang Court a secret loss, tit for tat, and letting the Sichuan refugees flood into Hu Xiaotian's territory was one of their means of revenge.

Hu Xiaotian said, 'I once said that I would take in however many refugees come.'

Zhuge Guanqi said slyly, 'Sounds like there was such a thing.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Words spoken are like arrows shot; if I were to take them back now, wouldn't that be losing face before the whole world?'

Zhuge Guanqi said, 'My lord, do you intend to risk leading all soldiers and civilians for just a single word, causing the hard-won favorable situation to retreat?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'These days I've been hesitating all along; 100,000 disaster victims probably won't affect our economy, but if it continues it's hard to say.' He looked at Zhuge Guanqi and asked, 'Sir, what do you think I should do?'

Zhuge Guanqi said, 'Water can carry a boat but also capsize it; my lord, your approach this time is full of resolve. Although judging from the present situation, it may bring our economy to a severe test, yet if we can successfully overcome this trial, my lord will not only win the people's hearts, gain the admiration of all under heaven, but also obtain hundreds of thousands of subjects loyal to you. The biggest problem we actually face now is a shortage of population. By taking Yunyang this time, my lord has shown that we now control a vast region stretching west to Ji City, east to the mouth of the Yong River, north to Dongluo Storehouse, and south to Yunze—land enough to support ten times our current population.'

My cold hasn't healed yet; I have a fever and cough, feeling weak all over, but I persisted in writing two chapters, my head is a bit muddled, hoping to recover soon. Exciting content is pushed daily; recently the Three Palaces have been updated in the push (to be continued~^~)