"Mr. Li, please check out the number of refugees collected this month."

Jiang Yueguang hurried in from outside the door with a form and handed it to Li Xiao, who was watching letters from all over the place at the desk.

"The number of refugees collected this month is 24,420 in Shaanxi, 30,895 in Huguang, 6,260 in Xuanfu, 5,203 in Henan, 4,159 in Zhili, 3,605 in Zhili, and 3,021 in Shandong..."

Li Xiao whispered the numbers on the form, but his brows frowned unconsciously.

"Jizhi, why did he only collect more than 70,000 refugees this month, but it is much less than in previous months?" Li Xiao's words were obviously dissatisfied.

Jiang Yueguang replied urgently: "Sir, the reason why the number of refugees has decreased greatly compared to before is that our army has been purchasing refugees. The Xiang'an monk and Mo Changrong two troops stationed in Suizhou, Huguang and Heyang, Shaanxi. According to their reports, the surrounding villagers have been captured and sold to us by the official army as bandits. These refugees are not leeks, and they can grow after being cut. Our army has collected refugees for nearly a year. It is inevitable that the number of refugees will be reduced."

When Jiang Yueguang said this, he smiled and replied: "Mr. Li, the number of refugees in this war-torn area has decreased greatly, which has also brought heavy blows to the local bandits. The reason why the bandits in Huguang and Shaanxi are now greatly subsided, although the official army has made every effort to suppress them, the bandits do not have enough troops to supplement them is also an extremely important reason."

Li Xiao smiled and sighed in his heart that if these refugees had not been through time, they might have either become bandits or died under war. How could they have the chance to resurrect themselves in Taiwan and other places?

Li Xiao pondered for a moment and said to Jiang Yueguang: "When you say it makes sense, this number of refugees is still too few, far from meeting the needs of developing Taiwan. There are many undeveloped places in Taiwan, and it requires great manpower, so it is still necessary to think of more ways to transport refugees as many as possible to pass the most important thing."

He paused, sighed slowly, and said, "By the beginning of next year, this marquis will most likely have to break up with the court due to the rule of Taiwan. Therefore, it is too late to wait, and it is still necessary to try our best to transport more refugees in the next 7 months, even if you take some extraordinary measures, you can do it."

Jiang Yueguang asked in a low voice: "What do you mean by sir?"

Li Xiao looked stern and said in a deep voice: "In my opinion, we need to immediately send the General Army of the Century of the Xiying to Shanxi, and the General Army of the Dingbeiying to Datong, called the Suppression of Bandits, which is actually two more places to absorb refugees. In addition, our army can raise the purchase price of refugees a little, so that the Ming army everywhere can have more motivation to capture refugees."

Speaking of this, Li Xiao snorted lightly, and a sneer appeared on his face: "Maybe, under the preferential conditions of our army, the current bandit suppression army can find ways to get all the people in the county town after capturing the people in the countryside and sell them to our army."

After hearing Li Xiao's words, Jiang Yueguang's face changed slightly, and he said, "Mr. Li, we are the Ming Dynasty's official army, how can we act like this?"

Li Xiao sneered, "Everyone needs to be considered for the long term. In my opinion, although the bandits are suppressed now, their momentum is difficult to be destroyed suddenly. If the Qing soldiers enter the pass again in the future, the bandits are likely to resurrect. Even if these residents and people hide in the prefectures and counties, they may not escape the disaster. It is better to escort our army now and go to Taiwan to develop and settle down. From now on, the whole family can live a stable life without any turbulence and war. Wouldn't it be a blessing in disguise?"

Jiang Yueguang sighed, "It's better for the long-term plan, so let's make arrangements."

Soon, everything was as arranged by Li Xiao, and the generals of the Xiying Bing were transferred to Jiang County, Shanxi, while the generals of the Northern Camp A were transferred to Lingqiu, Datong.

At this point, the Tiger Army stationed in Suizhou, Huguang, Heyang, Shaanxi, Jiangxian, and Lingqiu, Datong. They all assisted all the officials and troops in suppressing bandits on the surface, and secretly tried their best to recruit refugees.

After all the troops in the Western Camp were transferred out to suppress the bandits, the garrison in Shandong was transferred from the General C of Xingzhong Camp to station in Shan County, leaving only two troops of General A and General B to station in Dengzhou.

After arranging the dispatch of troops, Li Xiao's price increase and buying people did achieve good results.

The first person to have bad ideas was Zu Kuan, the general officer of the Liaodong aid and suppression.

Zu Kuan's Liaodong troops are now stationed in Yunyang, Huguang. Together with Yunyang Governor Dai Dongmin, he will do his best to eliminate the old Hui Hui and Luo Rucai troops who are rampant in the local area.

After receiving the news that the Chang'an monk from the Battle of Xiying Battalion reported that he had increased the price to acquire refugees, Zu Kuan, the greedy and cruel person, immediately discussed secretly with his servant captain Hou Shangde in the dark room.

"Shangde, now Lao Huihui and Luo Rucai's tribes have hid in the mountains and fields near Zhuxi County, but it is difficult to suddenly be destroyed. In my opinion, in order to prevent the resurgence of the thief, we must vigorously do a good job of strengthening the walls and clearing the fields." Zu Kuan said in a low voice with a long-lasting look.

"Sir, the villagers in the countryside near Zhuxi County were first plundered, burned and killed by bandits, then plundered and gathered by our army, and then sold to the Tiger Army. The countrysides in Yunyang are now clean as if they were washed away like water. What else should I do to clear the fields?" Hou Shangde didn't quite understand.

"Hmph, this is hard to say. Our army is a foreign guest and may be transferred to other places at any time. In this way, these bandits who hide in the mountains are afraid that once our army leaves, they will become rampant again. Dai Dongmin, the governor of Yunyang, has only more than a thousand militias under his command. How can he be the opponent of the bandits of Lao Huihui and Luo Rucai?"

"What does General Zu mean?"

"In my opinion, the countryside has been cleaned up. Then, the people in remote counties such as Zhuxi, Zhushan, Shangjin will be ordered to leave the city and hand them away to the Tiger Army. In this way, the people can be protected, and the remaining few abandoned cities are useless to the bandits. The bandits cannot feed the food, so it will be difficult for the Yunyang land to gain a foothold. I am afraid that they will either go to Sichuan west or flee to Shaanxi north. In this way, our army's fight against bandits in Yunyang can be much less easily."

After Zu Kuan finished speaking, he sneered with his hands, while Hou Shangde, the captain of the servant, looked shocked.

"General, how can this be done! As the Ming Dynasty official army, we have burned, killed and looted many rural people, and we are already suffering from blood and have lost our conscience. How can we not even let go of the people who hide in the county town? If so, what is the difference between our Ming Dynasty official army and those vicious bandits!" Hou Shangde looked at Zu Kuan with an incredible look.

"Shut up! You know what a big deal! Youdao is to follow power in wartime, and Ci is not in charge of the army. This is a helpless move for me. Since the past few years, wars have occurred frequently in Huguang. There are probably tens of thousands of people hiding in each county. In my opinion, if the bandits rage again in the future, these people will definitely not escape death. Instead of letting them die under the swords of the bandits, we might as well force them away first, even if they get a temporary infamous, but save these people for a lifetime. What's more, the Tiger Army is now collecting people at an increase in price, and this money will be in vain if it doesn't make any money!" Zu Kuan's face was cruel and he said with a word.

"Then Zhuxi County Magistrate Lu Zhiming, can you agree to our army to do this?" Hou Shangde still looked full of doubts.

"Hmph, of course this nerd won't agree, but I want to see if it's his neck hard or the steel knife in my hand hard! If this person doesn't know what he knows and must stop him, don't blame me Zu Kuan for being polite!" Zu Kuan said with a sneer.

Hou Shangde sighed and stopped talking.

On May 12, the 12th year of Chongzhen, Zu Kuan used the excuse of strictly observing the bandits to surround Zhuxi County, located at the intersection of Huguang and Sichuan.

Zhuxi County Magistrate Lu Zhiming was shocked and hurriedly left the city to pay a visit.

Zu Kuan, with a cold face and a full of armor, stood on the horse, looking at the county magistrate Lu Zhiming out of the city gate with a look of contempt.

"General Zu, General Zu, why did your army suddenly run to Zhuxi County?"

Seeing the solemn military formation outside the city, Lu Zhiming was frightened, but he still had a smile on his face.

Zu Kuan glanced at him, but said coldly: "I heard recently that a large number of people have mixed into Zhuxi County. I am afraid that the bandits will take advantage of the chaos to seize the city, causing death to rekindle. Therefore, I came to Zhuxi County to investigate the facts. Magistrate Lu, please move aside and wait for the general to lead his troops into the city to verify."

Lu Zhiming was shocked when he heard this. He looked pale and hurriedly said: "Although my Zhuxi County is a remote small county, it has always been a strict investigation of those who come to the city and will not let people in easily. To this day, the city is full of stability and no cause of turmoil. But I don't know where the general got the news from? Moreover, if the general's soldiers forcefully enter the county town, if they disturb the people and cause trouble, wouldn't it be a bad thing?"

Seeing Lu Zhiming ask himself back, Zu Kuan felt a heat on his face without realizing it. He shouted: "You scholar and civil servant, what do you know! I don't have time to get out of here with you Luo Zha quickly. I have a reason for my actions. If I want to stop it, don't blame me for being rude!"

After Zu Kuan finished speaking, Lu Zhiming's nerd became angry. He opened his hands and stopped him at the entrance of the city gate and shouted: "Zu Kuan! As a general in command, you dare to ensnare soldiers into the city privately. Is there any military discipline and national laws? I am so kind to persuade him, but you don't listen to a word and ridicule him. Okay, okay, then if you want to enter the city, just step over my body!"

"Okay, you nerd, I thought I was afraid of you, so I will chop you now!" Zu Kuan was furious, pulled out his waist knife, and made a gesture to chop Lu Zhiming on the spot.

"General Zu, don't be reckless!"

Hou Shangde, the captain of the servant, hurriedly held Zu Kuan's arm and whispered: "Although he is just a magistrate, he is still an official in the court. How can General Zu kill him privately?"

When Zu Kuan saw Hou Shangde holding him, he was so angry that his face was tightly excited. He then showed a look to a person who followed him next to him. The person who knew him, rode his horse forward, raised his sword and fell down with a muffled sound, chopping Lu Zhiming two corpses.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the two followers were about to turn around and ran away, but they were quickly killed by Zu Kuan's personal soldiers.

"General Zu..."

Seeing Lu Zhiming's headless corpse falling down softly in front of him, Hou Shangde's voice trembled, but he couldn't say much.

"Lu Zhiming communicated with the bandits and secretly responded to the bandits in detail, intending to offer the city and defect to the bandits. Fortunately, my army discovered it in time and led the troops to seize the city to stop this conspiracy." Zu Kuan sneered: "I passed the order of my army to enter the city, search all the people in the city, and take away all the property in the city!"

"Get orders!"

As Liaodong soldiers roared into the city, a catastrophe began.

The raging fire was ignited all over the sky, screams and howlings came one after another. Liaodong soldiers and horses plundered and captured people in Zhuxi County, and took the opportunity to feast their personal bags. What's more, while plundering money, they were even more powerful. Rape women, these guys who were under the banner of the Ming Dynasty's official army, were like a group of crazy and indulgent beasts.

Zu Kuan looked at his soldiers coldly as he did evil deeds, but did not want to stop them. Instead, he felt an inexplicable pleasure.

The only order he gave was not to kill the people at will. Because in Zu Kuan's view, every person could be exchanged for precious goods with silver, and the goods should not be destroyed by himself before they could take action.

Three full hours passed, and the small Zhuxi County Town finally became a ruin.

"Reporting to General Zu, our army entered the city and captured 36,502 people, including 17,053 strong men and 13,651 strong women. The rest were all old and weak, and even seized tens of thousands of yuan in the city, more than 5,000 stones of food and grass, and weapons and weapons..."

After listening to the follower's report, Zu Kuan was happy.

According to Li Xiao's current price, a strong man purchases a price of 4 taels, a strong woman costs 2 taels and 5 taels, and a weak woman costs 1 taels, and a 1 tael for each old and weak. This time, Zu Kuan got more than 120,000 taels of silver for sellers at once, and tens of thousands of taels of silver from the county's silver warehouse, which was a big deal.

Although the Tiger Army no longer uses silver to buy people, but uses cigarettes, silk, cloth, wool velvet, sea salt and other items to exchange them at market prices, these affordable and affordable commodities produced by Li Xiaojun are even more popular with the soldiers of various Ming army.

"What should we do with the general, the militia guarding the city and the officials?" The personal soldiers who had finished the report asked Zu Kuan for instructions.

Zu Kuan, who looked happy, was in a good mood at this time. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Forget it, I don't want to do it too well. These people should save them a life. The county town is so dilapidated that it is impossible to live in. I will give each of them 2 taels of travel fees."

"Get orders!"

After tying the people and their property separately, Zu Kuan ordered to take the property back to the military camp, and ordered Hou Shangde to take the people to Suizhou and deliver it to Monk An who was stationed here.

At this point, Li Xiao's plan to speed up the transport of refugees was first realized by the Liaodong general Zu Kuan, who was aided by bloody means.

Next, Zu Kuan did not do it again and again, connecting Zhushan and Shangjin counties, and also adding more plunders.

However, after learning about the burning, killing and looting of Zhuxi County, the county magistrates of these two places were all frightened and allocated the cruel and fierce Zu Kuan. Therefore, Zu Kuan also generously dealt with them. In addition to protecting the families and property of the county magistrates and yamen runners, more than 2,000 ordinary people in each city were left in each city, so that these two county towns could barely operate.

With Zu Kuan's example, other generals in Huguang, such as Fan Zhipiao, Zuo Liangyu, Li Bei, etc., all followed suit and began to enter remote counties and loot and capture the people. In the next month, nearly 200,000 people in Huguang alone were washed away and became refugees with nothing, and then sold all to the Tiger Army.

In Shaanxi, Shanxi, Datong and other places, under the stimulation of money, the Ming army from all over the county towns were also plundered like in Huguang. Together, nearly 300,000 refugees were sold to the Tiger Army.

Li Xiao was extremely happy when he received the report.

Thinking back to the time, in one month, I could only get more than 100,000 refugees. Now, with the local refugees in Northern Zhili, Henan, Southern Zhili and Shandong, after only more than a month, I actually collected more than 500,000 refugees!

In this way, with sufficient manpower as a guarantee, the treasure island of Taiwan will be developed more quickly.

At the same time, there are more refugees who can be arranged to go to the vast and wilderness of Northeast Asia.
Chapter completed!