Chapter 554

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Protagonist:

Chen Yi

Hundreds of thousands of refugees were an eye-opener for the gentlemen from Earth.

These fellows, generally over two meters tall, had marched west all the way from the Temple Frontline, eating clean nearly every animal and fruit in the forests along the route, like army ants. Even fierce monsters such as saber-toothed beasts, crocodile lizards, and spotted bears, once they fell into their hands, could only contribute their flesh.

One must admit, the West Continent is truly a land of abundant resources; even such an endless fleeing host could still obtain wild game from time to time to feast on — creatures that ran on the ground, swam in the water, flew in the sky, all could be used to fill their bellies. If they were truly starving, they just had to keep digging into the ground; from ten centimeters down to ten meters deep, all kinds of insects and animals of various sizes survived, and aside from being ugly, their protein content was absolutely not low. Besides that, wild fruits were common and often poisonous; some people could identify them, some could not, but they were usually eaten clean regardless, and few died.

This great army seeking to escape war and slavery avoided most slave-holding city-states and ultimately gathered at the West River City-State, and their numbers kept increasing.

Very few knights captured slaves at this time; on one hand, military strength was stretched thin, on the other, it easily aroused public anger — during the Temple War, stay-behind knights not going to the front was already disgraceful enough; if they still had spare capacity to scheme for private gain, that was even worse.

In previous years, the long refugee column would continue west along the West River until they reached the hinterlands of major temples like the Water Dragon Temple and Fire Dragon Temple, where the priests would settle them. This was like a natural population migration, just right to replenish the faithful's numbers and incidentally produce more Divine Art knights.

However, when this year's refugee tide surged into the West River City-State, many people who had never traveled far had already begun kowtowing and praying.

Open-pit mining carts tens of meters high that moved, broad and level highways and streets, and the frequently appearing banners of Divine Art knights — every single thing represented the core status of the Temple.

Apart from the city walls and the altar, everything here matched the ancients' descriptions of a Temple.

Iyar had to spend most of his time pacifying the refugees and reorganizing Ma La's remaining troops. Talk of repatriation, naturally, he did not dare even mention.

However, the number of refugees soon increased to a shocking degree.

One million, perhaps two million, began spontaneously gathering outside the West River City-State. Among them were inevitably some defeated soldiers.

A population of this scale was commonplace for a Chinese official from a county where populations ran into the millions, but for High Priest Iyar, it was far too terrifying.

He began appealing to the High Priest for help, then to the surrounding garrisons; if the refugees had not been so many, and Ma La's troops had not suffered excessive losses in the earliest confrontations, he might have dared to massacre a portion of them first.

In the end, watching Ma La's own food reserves dwindle day by day, Iyar panicked and could not help thinking of Chen Yi.

In his eyes, these strange Jiangning people were almost omnipotent. Even in private, he suspected the West River City-State had migrated from some remote minor Temple. However, there were plenty of Temples on the Continent; the alliance of the Water Dragon Temple and Fire Dragon Temple was also born of helplessness — even if another minor Temple appeared later and seized a few million faithful, it would still be on his own side.

The Temple War frontline was thousands of li away; Ma La could be called a forward hinterland. Whoever tried to establish a hostile Temple here would truly be courting death.

After reporting to the High Priest, High Priest Iyar organized the resources at hand and, bringing the 10 tonnes of gold that had just been delivered, went to the West River Office.

He believed these "door-knocking bricks" would surely open the West River people's doors.

Now, all the Temple's gold and platinum had been concentrated, solely to supply and purchase the West River people's goods. The West Continent had no concept of foreign exchange, but the slow rise in the price of gold and platinum was self-evident, and it made it difficult for the Temple to gather such materials.

A few years ago, 10 tonnes of gold Ma La alone could have produced — until Chen Yi personally swept Ma La-State clean.

Recalling that year's ferocity, even Iyar's sphincter tightened.

"High Priest, Mr. Chen is ready to see you." Li Changning, who had just been promoted to aide-de-camp, looked strangely at the protruding motion of Iyar's rear buttocks, finding it unspeakably vulgar, and thought to himself: Could it be that Temple priests cultivate? What technique is this?

Li Changning led the way, escorting him to the Council Hall's main gate, eyed his buttocks suspiciously, and said: "The gentlemen's time is tight; you have only 10 minutes, no exceeding."

Iyar's buttocks protruded again.

Li Changning looked satisfied, glanced twice, and pushed the door open.

Ten minutes was only enough to state the facts; the full story might not even be told clearly.

High Priest Iyar ultimately used 15 minutes to explain the matter, then closed the Council Hall's main door under Li Changning's vicious glare.

The instant the latch touched, intense discussion began inside.

"We really have to undertake the resettlement of 2 million disaster victims? This isn't just money, and it's very dangerous. We only have tens of thousands of people on the West Continent; in a single night, they could overturn everything here." The Li Family opposed first. They had just established a Food Company on the West Continent, with nearly 800 employees, able to produce 100,000 portions of Military Rations per week, all sold to the Temple frontline, with a profit margin as high as 5000%. And the raw materials for these Military Rations mainly used locally produced ferns and meat.

Without a doubt, if they took in millions of refugees, the locality would no longer be able to supply food raw materials. The daily-gold-earning Food Factory would instantly fall into a desperate situation. This is no joke; West Continent logistics and transport are extremely poor, and mostly used for the busy war effort — externally supplied material prices would likely skyrocket over tenfold. As for transporting grain from Earth to the West Continent — that profit would always belong to Chen Yi and his West River Association.

Old Zheng was present and spoke: "The 10 tonnes of gold Iyar produced is not a small amount; I think we should still strive for some political benefits."

This was tantamount to agreement.

Xu Chengchu watched Chen Yi and said: "Refugees can solve the labor problem."

"These natives, how can they be workers? Language doesn't communicate, and they're hard to manage; our mechanization level is this high, there's no need to look for them." The Zhang Family did metal processing and was moving into construction, which also did not welcome large numbers of refugees. They occupy land without paying, and are not good construction workers either.

"Just give refugees something to eat, at least they can do work like miners, right?"

Among those present, some nodded, some shook their heads, each with their own thoughts.

Chen Yi turned to Old Fo, who had just arrived for an inspection, and smiled: "What do you think?"

Old Fo stroked his beard and laughed: "Back during the great war, we organized millions of people into transport corps to help the army with construction. Today it's only 2 million — could it be we can't handle it?"

The Li Family's middle-aged man boldly said: "Not only must we handle them, there must be benefits. Besides, if we take in 2 million now, who knows, 20 million might come later."

With opinions not unified, everyone looked to Chen Yi. Although just over 20, at this moment Chen Yi firmly controlled the passage to and from the West Continent and the position of Chen Family Heir, and had the qualification to make any dictatorial decision.

After brief contemplation, Chen Yi gave his answer: "Since the refugees have gathered at West River, in the end it is West River's affair."

He then had someone summon Iyar and said: "Since I'm helping you resettle refugees, I want corresponding administrative authority."

"You mean... a noble title?"

"A higher title."

"Then..." Iyar had no authority to grant titles; after much hesitation he said: "Would the title of Grand Knight satisfy you?"

"Fine, I'll help you resettle these 2 million people."

Iyar left with profuse thanks.

Everyone looked at Chen Yi.

Classmate Chen had long since planned it; he spread his hands and said: "For every refugee resolved, a one-time cession of 100 kilograms of tonnage."

Old Fo immediately laughed with delight.

The families who had just chosen to oppose, seeing the decision made, instantly changed their tune and began considering how many refugee quotas they could get.

Even giving refugees food for free, exchanging for 100 kilograms of tonnage is a bargain. Moreover, refugee work efficiency might be lower, but they are by no means non-working.

"We want 500,000." Xu Chengchu spoke first: "We're preparing to expand the airport."

"We also want 500,000; building highways and railways can use them."

Several families scrambled to compete for it.

Chen Yi stroked his chin without speaking, letting them negotiate; after all, he was only putting up half a month's tonnage. In reality, once the canal was completed, what would 200,000 tons matter.

Human efficiency is much slower than machinery, but it also cannot withstand the sheer number of people. Even to this day, China has not truly entered full mechanization; rural areas using oxen, horses, or even human labor are not uncommon, workshop-style factories are everywhere, and piling on manpower for major projects has been a tradition from beginning to end.

Only a few projects on the West Continent are complex; most are simple brute labor. As long as they can be managed well, any number of people can be put to use.

Of course, whether they are useful or not, the money for food is indispensable. The West Continent currency each family obtained in the short term was all returned to the nobles of Ma La to purchase various ferns and meat; after slight processing, these became the refugees' food. Due to the increased quantity, prices also rose considerably.

Currency circulation is the foundation of commercial economics. Because of the Temple War, the temple families' continuous expenditure suddenly received powerful supplementation.

Any family with a manor stored at least ten or eight years' worth of food; selling it at high prices was originally one of their business strategies.

Over a million refugees stabilized, also creating a prosperous scene near the West River City-State. Originally empty, uninhabited forests saw the appearance of small villages dotted like stars; the slums surrounding the cities and mining areas, though conspicuous and unsightly, turned West River into a major city.

If one calculates the population, this would even exceed the number of Yin Min in Ma La-State.

Faced with such enormous temptation, the Iyar High Priest applied for the title of Grand Knight for Chen Yi on one hand, while secretly sending people everywhere to proselytize on the other.

Chen Yi seized the opportunity and also quietly sought out his elder brother Chen Heng, saying: "Should we consider expanding the number of pure native teams?"

"Expand by how much?"

"One division."

……(Unfinished. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian. com) to cast recommendation tickets and monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation.)