Zhao Hu had insufficient manpower left in the south. After dispatching three batches of people to transport grain back north, they really couldn’t spare anyone else, so the stewards could only think of recruiting locally.
When they recruited, they naturally sought young and able-bodied people, so the people they recently found were all aspiring youth between sixteen and thirty years old.
Besides offering higher wages than the low prices in the south, there were the unlimited opportunities in the northern lands.
“Just think about it—the imperial court is in the north. Won’t all the benefits the court gives out be placed in the north in the future?”
At first, the young men couldn’t help but retort: “But there’s warfare in the north.”
“That was all in the past. Now the Great General has recovered the lost territories and pacified the Xiongnu. There will be no more fighting in the north. Even if there is fighting, there’s nothing to fear—we have the Zhao Family Army.”
“Exactly. Right now our north is in a period of reconstruction from devastation. If you go north now, it’s practically like picking up money with your eyes closed!”
“But I heard the north is currently impoverished and still lacking grain. Is it really as good as you say?”
“The grain shortage is real, but impoverished? Hmph, just look—the most precious glassware and books in the marketplace nowadays all come from where? They’re all transported from Yuzhou. Look at those people in the city who spend money like water—more than half are aristocratic families who migrated from the north. And the aristocratic clans who stayed in the north without migrating are even more numerous. Aren’t they even wealthier?”
The young people, fresh from their sheltered lives and still innocent and naive, believed them and couldn’t help gazing toward the north with anticipation.
The Zhao Family’s clerk pressed their advantage, lowering his voice to tempt them: “Besides, do you know who our master is?”
The young people really didn’t know. They referred to this group of northern merchants who came to purchase grain collectively as “those from the north.”
The Zhao Family clerk then said in a low voice: “Our master is the Great General’s grand-uncle, a member of the Zhao Family!”
The young men exclaimed in amazement, full of envy and admiration.
The Zhao Family clerk also became self-satisfied and told them: “So you see, following us won’t be wrong. If we’re lucky and the Great General sees how capable we are, we might even get to serve by the Great General’s side. In the future, we could change our social standing and achieve great success.”
The young people’s eyes lit up even more, the ambition in their hearts stirred up.
So they all wanted to go north with them.
The stewards thus used small amounts of money to recruit a group of passionate young men. While it was called small money, compared to the currently low wages in the south, it was actually quite high.
Due to the massive influx of people fleeing from the north, prices in the south had surged while labor costs had become cheap.
The newly arrived aristocratic families brought their wealth, craftsmen, and servants and tenant farmers. They purchased large quantities of houses, shops, and farmland.
The local aristocratic families were very wary of them, but they could still find various ways to buy farmland, mountains, forests, and waterways from impoverished farmers. Large numbers of farmers who lost their land could only turn to becoming tenant farmers or day laborers.
They also brought various tools the locals had never seen before. Whether for textile production, building houses, or farming, everything was faster and more refined. Then large numbers of local craftsmen lost their jobs because their skills differed from those of the northerners.
Therefore, the market was now flooded with large amounts of idle labor, which caused wages to be very low, but… prices were very high.
The stewards recruited these people, and when they had gathered enough grain for another ten carts, they immediately set off with them back to Yuzhou.
Just as they were advancing toward Yuzhou full of confidence and hope, Youzhou—desolate as a wasteland and silent as death—also welcomed its first batch of grain.
The arrival of this batch of grain was like drops of oil falling into scalding hot water, causing it to boil over instantly. Youzhou suddenly came alive!
Shi Le felt sour inside, but he had to admit that the grain Zhao Hanzhang sent arrived very timely. In order to give the people confidence to survive, he had to publicize it extensively, having people proclaim throughout Youzhou that the Great General had sent relief grain.
At this time, Youzhou had already begun to turn cold. Xu Dayi walked in barefoot, pushing open the half-open wooden door. He went inside with quick steps, reached forward to poke at the person under the tattered quilt, and said in a hoarse voice: “Get up quickly, we need to go to the big village entrance to receive relief grain.”
The gaunt woman struggled to open her eyes but couldn’t speak.
He gave her a sip of water. Seeing her face was still ashen gray, he thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and stood up. He went to the kitchen to get a knife, stood in front of the water vat to measure, then cut off half of his ear with one slash.
He took out a piece of hemp cloth and pot ash he had prepared earlier to wrap his ear, then took that half ear, chopped it up, and steamed it to feed to her.
The gaunt person ate it in a daze, barely managing to survive. Only then did she ask in a barely audible voice: “What is this?”
Xu Dayi said: “Rabbit meat I snatched from outside. Come on, I’ll carry you. When I came back, the village head had already sent people to start boiling porridge. In a bit, we can get a bowl to eat.”
He hoisted her onto his back and took two bowls from the kitchen to stuff in his shirt.
The woman swayed unsteadily on his back. Because she had eaten something, her eyes could gradually see clearly. Only then did she notice that his head was wrapped in hemp cloth, and there were faint traces of red blood on his ear.
She couldn’t help but raise her finger to touch it, asking: “What happened to this?”
Xu Dayi tilted his head to the side, saying impatiently: “I got bitten while fighting for food. Why do you care so much? Save your strength to stay alive.”
He threatened: “If you die, I’ll use you to exchange for rations.”
The woman immediately stopped talking, but she wasn’t very afraid in her heart. She thought, if she was already dead, whether she was eaten by people or gnawed by insects, what difference did it make?
Her two children…
Thinking of this, her heart ached dully, but she couldn’t shed a single tear. She stared blankly ahead with a numb expression.
They began to encounter people on the road. Those who still had strength clutched a bowl and trotted toward the big village. Those without strength moved forward one step at a time. She even saw someone who had fallen down without the strength to stand up, crawling forward on the ground…
Xu Dayi carried her to the big village. The first pot of porridge had already been cooked. He immediately dumped the woman in a corner, then took the two bowls to line up for porridge.
The village head ladled out porridge for them while saying loudly: “Each person can only get one bowl. I’m keeping track of everyone, so you can’t get seconds. After everyone has eaten, we’ll distribute grain. This batch of grain is relief grain sent from Yuzhou. The Great General is thinking of everyone.”
He added: “Those who feel one bowl isn’t enough and still have strength, after eating you can go to the village to carry people. For each person who can’t walk that you bring, you can get half their bowl. It’s best if two people carry together. If you carry someone and they die, it doesn’t count…”
Because of this statement, Xu Dayi drank most of the two bowls of freshly obtained porridge, leaving just the bottom of each bowl for the woman. After she finished drinking, he turned to find someone. “Sansheng, want to team up? Let’s go check on Erzhu’s house. He’s got a few kids and his wife and siblings—don’t know if they’re still alive. If we carry them over, we can exchange them for porridge.”