Chapter 274: Population Dividend

"Your Highness, the porridge sheds and medical sheds are all ready."

The North Gate of Yancheng.

At this moment, a massive crowd of Jinzhou commoners had gathered on both sides of the city gate.

Because attracting refugees to Yanzhou was a long-term strategy designated by Yan Wang.

Liu Fu had simply built one hundred and sixty porridge sheds on both sides of the city gate.

Each porridge shed was responsible for over three thousand people, capable of providing food for more than three hundred thousand refugees at once.

Besides the porridge sheds, there were also medical sheds located alongside them.

These were temporary medical stations with Medical Officers presiding inside.

If the commoners had acute illnesses, these doctors would treat them.

Furthermore, there were the grass sheds erected by the Government Office.

These grass sheds were rectangular structures made of nailed wood, with straw surrounding all four sides.

Although crude, for these starving and freezing Jinzhou commoners, it could be said they finally had a place to settle down.

Therefore, after arriving outside Yancheng, the sorrow on the faces of the Jinzhou commoners gradually dissipated.

Replacing it was excitement.

There was food, there was shelter, and if they fell ill, there were doctors.

For many commoners whose lives were already full of hardship, such days were simply luxurious.

"Order the officials to register their names, places of origin, and the number of people in their households," Zhao Xu said while walking toward the nearest porridge shed.

Picking up the chopsticks in front of the porridge shed, he inserted them into the pot where the rice porridge was boiling; the chopsticks stood straight up.

Seeing this, Liu Fu smiled slightly.

Zhao Xu nodded, "The porridge must be boiled this thick; if the chopsticks float, I will punish those responsible!"

"Yes, Your Highness."

Zhao Xu's expression was stern, and Liu Fu responded.

Then, he specifically had the official in charge of distributing the porridge record these words.

"Is that Yan Wang?"

While Zhao Xu was inspecting the porridge sheds, a young girl among the commoners tilted her head and asked her mother.

Because there were too many Jinzhou commoners, three thousand Wangfu Army soldiers had been sent to maintain order.

These soldiers stood in a human wall, blocking the commoners outside the porridge sheds to prevent them from rushing forward to snatch the porridge.

A Wangfu Army soldier was standing right in front of the girl; seeing the girl's mother shake her head to indicate she didn't know,

he said, "That is Yan Wang."

"It really is Yan Wang!" Many commoners, though they had guessed as much, had not dared to be certain.

Now, they all became excited.

Many of them were able to arrive in Yancheng alive, rather than being captured by the Xiliang people to be made into slaves, all because Yan Wang had sent Cavalry to save them.

They had seen the scene of Yanzhou's Cavalry fighting a bloody battle against the Xiliang Cavalry.

Even now, recalling it, they were still full of gratitude.

Immediately, some Jinzhou commoners suddenly knelt down, shouting: "Thank you, Your Highness, for your grace in saving us," and "Thank you, Your Highness, for saving our lives."

The voices rose and fell, at first weak and chaotic, but in the end, they became like a mountain-shaking roar.

Zhao Xu turned to the commoners at this moment; he actually felt a bit ashamed.

If not for his own lack of capability, he could have marched his troops into Jinzhou right then.

The Jinzhou commoners would not have continued to suffer three months of Xiliang devastation.

But this was a situation with no other choice.

This temporary forbearance was simply because he wanted to resolve the issue of Xiliang repeatedly invading Yanzhou once and for all.

This time, upon entering Jin, he was determined to take all the passes held by Xiliang and completely drive Xiliang out of Jinzhou.

"Everyone, please rise! Please rise!" Zhao Xu walked toward the Jinzhou commoners.

When he was only two meters away from the commoners, Xu Lie stopped Zhao Xu.

The crowd was mixed, and he had to protect the safety of Yan Wang.

To him, Yan Wang was the cornerstone of Yanzhou.

Nothing could go wrong.

Otherwise, everything in Yanzhou would collapse, and Yanzhou would once again fall into darkness.

Zhao Xu was accustomed to this; he did not blame Xu Lie.

He said to the Jinzhou commoners: "At present, Xiliang soldiers are running rampant in Jinzhou, and I am still thinking of ways to save the rest of you back to Yanzhou. Since you have arrived first, live here in peace."

"Later, cooperate with the Yanzhou Government Office to register your households. If you have any skills, you may disclose them to the officials—for example, if you were a carpenter or a potter, the Government Office will prioritize your placement, and there will be a monthly wage of at least one tael of Silver, while food and housing will cost no Silver," Zhao Xu said loudly.

He was effectively promoting it himself.

"Of course, this is all voluntary; the Government Office will not force you. As for commoners without skills, do not worry; if you are willing to stay in Yanzhou, the various counties of Yanzhou will allocate farmland to you."

"For those who do not wish to stay, the government will also provide you with some travel expenses," Zhao Xu said.

Liu Fu and the officials of the Government Office nodded as they listened.

To them, this was simply a piece of good fortune falling from the sky.

In the entire Great Song, there was no such good fortune.

If the former Yuan Family were still here, it would be a blessing if they didn't rob these commoners of the little they had left.

"There is such good fortune?" a young man said.

He had the skills of a carpenter; even in Jinzhou, he couldn't earn one tael of Silver a month, let alone having food and housing provided for free.

"This is what Yan Wang said himself, how could it be false? This time it really is a blessing in disguise!"

"I had long heard that Yan Wang was benevolent; now that I see him, it really is so."

"It is said that the agricultural tax in Yanzhou is only ten percent, and they don't even require payment in cloth or silk. Wouldn't the women of Yanzhou be happy to death?" a woman said with a look of longing.

"Coming to Yanzhou this time was truly the right choice; even if you drove me away, I wouldn't leave."

"..."

Zhao Xu's words sparked whispers among the many commoners.

However, Zhao Xu saw a longing for a new life on most of their faces.

Seeing the commoners caught up in a heated discussion, Zhao Xu waved his hand at them and went to the inner side with Liu Fu to continue their deliberations.

"What I have said must be turned into notices and posted at the city gates, and soldiers must be sent out to patrol and announce it to the commoners," Zhao Xu said.

Liu Fu secretly took note.

"Also, the registration of craftsmen must be carried out immediately. Now the Shipbuilding Department, the Armory, and various Workshops need to expand, and all of them are short of people," Zhao Xu added.

Taking advantage of this opportunity to expand production capacity, he wanted to standardize the handicraft industry in Yanzhou.

This included not only the Prince's Mansion but also the private sector.

Every Workshop must report to the Government Office and obtain a permit before it can open for business.

On one hand, this is for supervision; on the other hand, it is a matter of commercial tax.

This includes the Workshops under the Prince's Mansion, which will also pay taxes to the Prince's Mansion in the future.

The Government Office will use these taxes to pay the salaries of officials and to build the infrastructure of Yanzhou.

Although this is merely moving money from the left hand to the right hand.

But the significance is different; this represents the birth of a system that everyone must obey.

"Yes, Your Highness," Liu Fu replied.

Having given these instructions.

Zhao Xu returned to the city and summoned Wang Ying and the managers of every Workshop in the Prince's Mansion.

First, he had Wang Ying prepare for the relocation of the Nanfang District of the Chengde Workshop, and at the same time, asked him to estimate how many craftsmen were needed.

As for the Beifang District, its completion would only be a month or so later than the southern Workshop.

He also asked the Workshop managers to estimate the lack of manpower so that it could be uniformly dispatched.

At the same time, he sent someone to Fanyang to find Chen Shou.

Although all the ships of the Shipbuilding Bureau were destroyed this time, the craftsmen did not suffer many losses.

However, this has greatly affected the progress of shipbuilding.

Therefore, he prepared to give the Shipbuilding Bureau more manpower to let Chen Shou churn out Warships like dumplings.

After all, he could not waste this demographic dividend.