It would take Ren Xiaosu 23 hours for the steam locomotive to travel from the Zhou Clan to the Northwest. However, they would have to stop many times along the way to rest, so the actual journey would take about a day and a half.
After all, the steam locomotive was not a sleeper. Everyone would not be able to sleep even if they stood on the train, and they would not even be able to move their bodies to the bathroom. Therefore, he had to set up camp and let everyone rest for a few hours.
Along the way, no one complained about the crowded train or how tired they were from the journey. Everyone harbored hope that they would be able to live a stable life once they reached the Northwest.
At that time, they would have food to eat and jobs to work. They would not have to worry about getting caught up in the chaos of war for the time being.
Everyone knew there would definitely be a battle between the Wang Clan and the Zhou Clan in the near future, so it would definitely be a blessing to be able to leave that place as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the Northwest and Southwest were relatively stable for the time being. The escapees had heard that the headquarters of Hope Media had relocated to the Northwest.
Before Ren Xiaosu set off, he had promised them that they would have food to eat once they reached the Northwest. No one was worried that he would go back on his word. Perhaps even Ren Xiaosu himself did not expect he would have such a reputation in the Central Plains.
Actually, Ren Xiaosu had also thought about whether he should hang more people outside the train. That way, they could transport more escapees at once. But the problem was that the steam locomotive was traveling at 120 kilometers per hour, so he was really worried the people hanging outside would be blown away by the strong winds.
A day and a half later, the steam locomotive arrived outside Stronghold 144 in the Northwest. Wang Yuexi had already organized the stronghold's staff to carry out the household registration. There were even many banners hanging in the open space.
"You're all from the Northwest."
"You've contracted your own farmland and planted your own land."
"Welcome to the big family of the Northwest."
The stronghold's staff stood guard at the entrance of the steam locomotive and patiently said to every escapee who got off the train with a smile, "Welcome to the Northwest. From now on, we're one family."
At this moment, the aroma of roasted sweet potatoes and stir-fried sweet potatoes was still wafting through the town. All of the escapees could not help but swallow their saliva.
Each carriage of the steam locomotive had a door, but this time, Ren Xiaosu did not open all the doors. Instead, he let the refugees line up and alight from the first carriage. He waited outside the door and warmly shook hands with every refugee.
Ren Xiaosu smiled amiably as he shook hands with everyone. "Everyone is saved. Let's hurry up and do the household registration. After the registration, we'll be a family and we'll have potatoes to eat!"
The refugees were extremely touched, thinking that this Young Marshal of the Northwest was indeed as upright, kind, benevolent, excellent, and kind as the rumors said …
"Thank you, Young Marshal!"
"Thank you so much Young Marshal!"
"Young Marshal, I love you!"
Ren Xiaosu corrected him seriously, "Don't love me, just thank me."
The escapees lined up and got off the train one by one. Just the process of getting off the train lasted for several hours. Ren Xiaosu kept shaking hands with everyone, and it was a very touching scene.
Off to the side, Wang Yuexi said with emotion, "Young Marshal is truly benevolent. These escapees must be a little fearful when they first came to the Northwest. Young Marshal is helping them to eliminate their fears. The only way to eliminate their fears is with the most sincere enthusiasm! Young Marshal has to shake hands over 6,000 times. If it were any of you, would you have the patience to do that? Only Young Marshal can do that! "
With that, Wang Yuexi said solemnly to the stronghold's staff, "Everyone, you must learn from Young Marshal's selfless spirit. What do you think Young Marshal will get out of appeasing these refugees? Will he get money? He couldn't get it! He's doing this for the sake of the cause in the Northwest, as well as his heart that truly cares for the escapees! Although we're officials of the stronghold, we must always remember our mission of serving the Northwest. We must understand that we're the service providers, not the ones in power! Learn from Young Marshal! "
These words brought tears to the eyes of the stronghold's staff. They all expressed that they wanted to learn from Young Marshal. At this moment, Big Bluff, who was standing next to Ren Xiaosu, heard his Young Marshal mumble, "5891 … 5892 …"
Big Bluff wondered, "Young Marshal, what are you mumbling about?"
"Oh." Ren Xiaosu casually explained, "I'm just checking the number of people."
To be precise, he was counting the number of gratitude tokens.
Why did Ren Xiaosu have to shake hands with everyone? It was all for the gratitude tokens.
This time, they had brought a total of 6,012 escapees from the Zhou Clan, and Ren Xiaosu had received a total of 7,131 gratitude tokens. It could be said that on average, everyone had contributed more than one gratitude token to him.
A lot of people thought that the biggest gain from the refugees' relocation this time was that the Northwest would gain enough people to develop. But to Ren Xiaosu, he had received an unimaginable number of gratitude tokens!
The third weapon in the palace could finally be unlocked!
Ren Xiaosu went to look for the busy Wang Yuexi and said, "Have you done an accurate calculation on how many people are missing from the reclamation efforts in the Northwest?"
Wang Yuexi answered without hesitation, "70,000 people. Although more than 6,000 people came this time, we're still short of people. Of course, I know that this number is a little exaggerated. If you think it's too much, Young Marshal, 20,000 is fine too. "
Ren Xiaosu was taken aback. "Only 70,000 people? That's too little? How about we abduct more people? "
Wang Yuexi was also stunned by Ren Xiaosu's words. In his opinion, it was already not easy for the Young Marshal to abduct 6,000 people. Asking the Young Marshal to abduct tens of thousands of people might be a little too much.
But he realized his thinking was completely different from the Young Marshal's. The other party could not wait for him to report a number like a few hundred thousand.
Ren Xiaosu asked, "What will happen if the number of people in the Northwest exceeds 70,000?"
Wang Yuexi gave it serious thought and said, "Young Marshal, it's not always better to have more people. If there are too many outsiders, there will also be a lot of hidden dangers. This is a very comprehensive consideration. First of all, if the infrastructure can't keep up with the treatment of large amounts of sewage and garbage, it will lead to the local groundwater being halogenated. Secondly, there's the issue of public security. We'll need to allocate a lot of manpower to maintain order, which will also increase the burden on the stronghold. Then there's the issue of education, and so on. It's very complicated. The Northwest isn't ready to accept that many people yet. "
Ren Xiaosu nodded. "Alright then …."
Wang Yuexi realized Ren Xiaosu was still a little unsatisfied. He suddenly said, "But I'm only talking about what Stronghold 144 can handle. If Young Marshal can convince the commander to implement our policies in the other strongholds, there'll be a huge gap!"
Ren Xiaosu's eyes lit up. "That's a good idea!"
At this moment, Ren Xiaosu waved at Big Bluff. "Let's go to the Central Plains again. We'll make ten trips there first before deciding what to do next!"
Next to him, Wang Yuexi said, "Young Marshal, why don't you take a break? There's no need to rush."
"No way." Ren Xiaosu said righteously, "You don't know how miserable the Central Plains refugees are. If I'm a day late, many of them might starve to death. How can I just watch them starve to death!"
The refugees and stronghold staff next to him burst into tears again. Everyone cheered as they munched on their potatoes, "Young Marshal is so benevolent!"
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