After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 639 - 633: Saving Lives

Zhao Ju stepped forward quickly and saluted, "Mr. Ming, why have you returned? It’s not completely safe here yet. Please, sir, follow the guards to return immediately to the Yu State’s stationed army."

Ming Yu looked ahead and saw that there were still three soldiers from the Yu State Army alive. He then said to Zhao Ju, "We were cautious all along the way. I don’t know how our whereabouts were leaked. They had an ambush here in advance, and I’m afraid they’ve already sent a message back to the camp."

Hearing this, Zhao Ju immediately did a headcount and found they had only eighteen people. Narrowing his eyes, he stepped forward to ask, "How did you know the convoy would pass this way?"

The soldiers, not having been killed, were equivalent to having been captured. They had no particular loyalty to anyone, so they said frankly, "We discovered it ourselves."

He said, "We changed the patrol time and arrived early this morning. As soon as they left the village, we saw them from a high point. So we sent someone back to notify the camp and set up an ambush here."

The soldiers grumbled a bit, "The whole way is surrounded by farmland with nowhere to hide. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have set the ambush in this small grove. It’s too close to the border."

But they were not afraid, thinking that their eighteen men against the other side’s ten would surely win. If not, they could just slip across the border; after all, they frequently crossed the border line.

Little did they know that the other side had reinforcements, and they came so quickly.

Upon hearing they had spotted them from the moment the convoy exited the village, Zhao Ju’s expression changed.

Ming Yu raised his eyelids subtly and glanced at him, then said deeply, "So, the Yan State Army already knows we borrowed the path through the village?"

Zhao Ju pursed his lips and turned to Ming Yu, saying, "Please, Mr. Ming, get in the carriage and leave quickly. This place is dangerous."

Ming Yu didn’t move but instead looked worriedly in the direction of the village.

Zhao Ju’s heart tightened, and he grew a bit anxious. After a brief thought, he said, "I’ll take people to move them over."

Ming Yu raised his brow, "Relocate?"

"Yes," Zhao Ju said, "If Gou Chun finds out the convoy borrowed the path from the village, no one in the village will live."

He asked, "How many villages are up ahead?"

"Three, all very small," Ming Yu said, "The furthest one is nine miles away."

It’s not far; on horseback, they’d reach quickly. But moving, that involves taking families along, and they have no horse-drawn carts. Such a relocation is time-consuming and can’t be completed before the enemy reinforcements arrive.

Zhao Ju narrowed his eyes, recalling how, not long ago, Gou Chun had let his soldiers rob their side, grabbing some grain and injuring people but not taking lives.

But the people on this side of the Yan State border weren’t so lucky.

Regarding Gou Chun’s deeds in this area, even the officials in Yan State might not understand as well as Zhao Ju does. With Gou Chun’s temperament, if he discovered that the villagers knew but didn’t report, he would surely massacre the village.

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Zhao Ju became more determined. He ordered, "Chang You, take ten men and escort Mr. Ming back to the camp with Quan Wu. Bring Yuan Li and the others, and command Gao Yi to mobilize two thousand troops to respond. The rest, follow me to relocate the residents."

Everyone folded their fists in response, "Yes!"

This time, Ming Yu didn’t say more, performed a courtesy with Zhao Ju, and then turned to get in the carriage. This time, he took along the two most seriously wounded. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Zhao Ju mounted his horse and told them, "I will go to the village nine miles away. You two teams stay at the other two villages, persuading them to relocate. Everything should be treated as the lowest-level craftsmen."

When something is done repeatedly, it will be continually improved to better benefit oneself and the situation.

Therefore, Zhao Hanzhang now categorized the treatment of accepting refugees into three, six, nine tiers.

Ordinary refugees are given relief food for a certain period, a place to stay, assigned fields and land, and then begin to work for relief, building their houses, cultivating the land...

These are first recorded on the accounts, and they can repay when the land yields produce later.

Oh, to encourage production, newly settled refugees are tax-exempt for the first year. Hence, even though they live in newly built houses and need to apply to the government for materials and other items accounted for, they still feel the treatment is excellent.

But there are exceptions, like special talents, whose houses do not need to be accounted for and are given by the government for free.

The lowest-level craftsmen enjoy such treatment. If their skills are more refined, evaluated as high-level craftsmen, or they are well-read scholars, upon settling down, not only do they have housing, but also materials, grain, and even resettlement money to take.

Of course, such requirements are very high, and currently, very few can obtain them.

The trusted aides are well-versed in these conditions, as they often help the government resettle refugees and then pick suitable individuals from them to join the army.

They divided into four groups, with one group going to watch the Yan State reinforcements and give early warning.

The three teams set off immediately together and reached the first village moments later, with only two riders stopping there while the other two teams proceeded onward without stopping.

With such a cacophony of hoofbeats, the villagers couldn’t pretend not to hear, so some people secretly looked outside. As they looked, someone noticed, "They don’t seem like the Yan State Army."

Two trusted aides had already ridden into the village, shouting, "Where is the village chief? We are the Yu State Army from the other side. The carriages that left here this morning are friends of ours from Yu State, but they were spotted by the Yan State Army when they left the village..."

As the words came out, the villagers were shocked. Someone immediately pushed open the picket fence and said with wide eyes, "We didn’t betray you. Don’t falsely accuse us."

The trusted aides paused before regaining their pace, "We didn’t say you betrayed us. They found out on their own, and now the Yan State soldiers have been killed."

"Then why come to us? You can just run away yourselves."

Noticing that they hadn’t realized the danger, the trusted aide said, "We, of course, could run away, but what about you?"

Only then did the villagers respond, eyes widening. Yes, what about them?

An elder sat down straight away in his courtyard, slapping his thighs and wailing, "Heaven scourged, there’s no way to live. Gou Chun will surely kill us!"

A young man rushed into his house, grabbed a fork, and went out, saying, "If they dare to kill us, we’ll take them down with us. We’ll kill one if we can. Who’s afraid of whom?"

But young men can fight enemies, what about the elderly, children, and women?

The village was immediately filled with cries, and the village chief, who had been hiding, finally rushed out, asking the two men, "Masters, did you come just to inform us, or do you have other ways to help us?"

Many felt somewhat resentful, thinking they could have gone elsewhere instead of passing through their village.

Passing is one thing, but then they got discovered.

The trusted aides immediately said, "Our General has a way to save your lives, but we don’t know if you’re willing."