Ren Xiaosu did not plan to fight with anyone on this trip to the Central Plains, so he did not bring that many people with him.
Moreover, the Central Plains was now the territory of the Wang Clan and the Zhou Clan. It was better for the people from the Northwest to carry out the plan of Daxing in the Northwest.
However, Big Bluff was still worried. He shamelessly insisted on going to the Central Plains.
In the words of Big Bluff, he was in charge of the field work in the entire Northwest. With him, the Young Marshal would be able to get information as soon as possible.
In fact, everyone slowly realized that the Young Marshal might have a deeper relationship with old people like Wang Fugui, but in the Northwest's government affairs, the number two person beside the Young Marshal was definitely Big Bluff.
On the one hand, Big Bluff was indeed very capable. For example, people like Wang Yun and Ji Zi 'ang who suddenly came to Daxing in the Northwest were also poached by him. His intelligence work was stable and orderly.
On the other hand, this Big Bluff was really good at flattering people. Moreover, he was already so old, but he did not even intend to save face when he flattered the Young Marshal. He was too close to the Young Marshal!
Before leaving, Ren Xiaosu and Wang Yuexi had a small meeting. Wang Yuexi asked Ren Xiaosu why he was going to the Central Plains. Now, the Northwest needed someone to take charge of the overall situation.
Therefore, Ren Xiaosu answered that he was going to solve the population problem.
This answer stunned Wang Yuexi at that time. In their opinion, the population problem could only be solved with time. From this year onwards, they would encourage childbirth. After 15 or 18 years, there would naturally be more people.
As for other methods to attract talents, it was not that they did not dare to think about it, but it was really impossible to achieve. The Wang Clan was blocking the road to the Northwest and would not give the Northwest a chance at all.
However, now that Wang Yuexi looked at Ren Xiaosu's relaxed expression, he suddenly realized that the other party had a card up his sleeve.
…
At this moment, a large number of refugees and refugees had gathered outside the Zhou Clan's strongholds. The number was beyond anyone's imagination.
In fact, Ren Xiaosu and Big Bluff had also misunderstood the Zhou Clan. In their opinion, it must have been the Zhou Clan's inaction and internal strife that caused the refugees and refugees to starve.
But in fact, it wasn't that the Zhou Clan didn't want to interfere, but they really couldn't!
In the north, the Kong Clan and the Pyro Company had a total of more than 40 strongholds. Almost half of them had fled south. Some of them died on the way, but most of them still managed to reach the Zhou Clan's stronghold.
This number was definitely not something the Zhou Clan could handle.
Before this, the Wang Clan had established Stronghold 61 to take in refugees. This caused many of the Zhou Clan's factories to stop working and their farmlands to be abandoned. Therefore, the Zhou Clan was also in a period of shortage of manpower. This made it even more impossible for them to care about the refugees' lives.
Sometimes, the Zhou Clan wondered if the Wang Clan had already thought of this strategy when they announced that Stronghold 61 would take in refugees.
This was not because of the Mythical Wang Shengzhi's strategic ability, but because everyone had been dealing with him for more than a decade. In the past, Wang Shengzhi had spent seven years setting up a silkworm rearing business and tricked a large number of refugees into escaping into the mountains to raise silkworms. This disgusted the surrounding consortiums.
During this period, there were also countless food and business strategies.
On the surface, the Wang Clan, the Kong Clan, and the Zhou Clan were the three most powerful clans in the central region of the Central Plains. But in reality, the Wang Clan was the one with the strongest financial resources. Otherwise, they would not have been able to support his policy of compulsory military service.
This was a completely different approach from Qing Zhen. Qing Zhen was better at preparing for a rainy day in the military, while Wang Shengzhi was best at making arrangements from the perspective of the people's livelihood, industry, agriculture, and commerce.
The two of them had completely different personalities, but they were undoubtedly the most troublesome existences for their opponents.
Ren Xiaosu watched the refugees quietly from outside the Zhou Clan's Stronghold 69. Initially, he had come here excitedly to kidnap them. But when he saw what the refugees had gone through, he really could not bear to see them.
The refugees set up shacks outside the stronghold to shelter themselves from the wind and rain. They could only receive a bowl of porridge from the Zhou Clan every day, and it was so thin that no grains of rice could be seen.
The trees around the stronghold were all bare. The bark was gone, leaving only the white tree trunks behind. The leaves were also gone. It was as though spring had never arrived, and the scene of winter's withering was still everywhere.
Some of the refugees were lying in their shacks with numb expressions. The children next to them were crying and complaining of hunger, but the adults could do nothing about it. All the edible food in the vicinity had been eaten, and some people even died of poisoning on the spot after eating something wrong.
Such a scene was like purgatory on earth.
Ren Xiaosu said in a serious tone, "Daxing in the Northwest is their only way out!"
Big Bluff nodded solemnly.
"Actually, Wang Shengzhi has the ability to stop all of this from happening." Big Bluff said, "According to the intelligence I received, he could have quickly implemented a pacification policy. That way, there would not be so many refugees fleeing south. But in reality, he did not do that. Instead, he watched as the refugees came south and destroyed all of the Zhou Clan's material foundation. The Zhou Clan can't support so many people, and the commoners will soon become rioters. At that time, the Zhou Clan will have to expend a lot of energy just to protect their factories and farmlands. In this way, by the time the Wang Clan wants to head south, the Zhou Clan will already be riddled with holes. "
However, Big Bluff sighed and said, "We're not in a position to blame Wang Shengzhi. The struggle between the consortiums has always been a life-and-death struggle. If it were the Northwest, they would have also resorted to all means to deal with the Soong Clan back then."
"Mhm." Ren Xiaosu said, "Instead of blaming Wang Shengzhi, why don't we hurry up and take everyone to the Northwest of Daxing? The steam locomotive has a total of 1,196 seats, but if everyone is standing, it won't be a problem to accommodate 5,000 people. Based on the steam locomotive's speed, it'll only take us 23 hours to reach the Northwest. "
The steam locomotive was the reason why Ren Xiaosu wanted to make a trip to the Central Plains in person!
If it were anyone else, trying to take away so many refugees under the Wang Clan's nose would be a pipe dream. After all, these refugees were part of the Wang Clan's plan.
But it was different for Ren Xiaosu. He had the most efficient means of transportation in this era of the wastelands.
When Big Bluff mentioned the problem of abducting the refugees, Ren Xiaosu had already decided on this plan. After all, Wang Congyang could work as a courier escort, so it was reasonable for him to run the transportation business.
"But how are we going to make these refugees believe us?" Big Bluff said melancholically, "I'm afraid they won't be willing to go with us, right?"
However, he saw Ren Xiaosu smile strangely. "They're already so hungry. If you give them something to eat, they'll be willing to go with you."
Saying that, Ren Xiaosu took out a potato the size of a soccer ball from his storage space. "We were originally scheduled to arrive here yesterday, but I deliberately delayed our departure time by a day so that Zhou Yingxue could prepare enough potatoes for me. With these potatoes in hand, are you still afraid that these refugees who are so hungry they're chewing on tree bark won't go with you? "
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