Three hundred thousand people …
Zhang Dongyun frowned slightly. This was different from the mission he had set in the game.
The mission was still the same, which was to recruit a second batch of people.
But he remembered that he had set it to be ten times the number of ten thousand for the first batch to be one hundred thousand.
But now, the system had directly set a target of three hundred thousand, which was undoubtedly a lot more difficult.
In fact, the current population of Chang 'an had already reached more than sixty thousand people and was approaching seventy thousand after a period of continuous growth.
Although the Eastern Tang had constantly blocked news from both inside and outside Qinzhou prefecture, because the famine in Longbei County hadn't been effectively controlled, refugees continued to appear.
Some of the refugees who heard the news sneaked past the blockade one after another and rushed to Qinzhou prefecture and Chang 'an.
The population of Chang 'an continued to grow.
Slowly, the reason why the literacy and illiteracy task had been delayed until today and the illiteracy rate had only been reduced to below fifty percent was because the total population had actually been growing all this time.
If it was a target of one hundred thousand people, then it wasn't far from it.
But three hundred thousand people would take a lot of effort.
Zhang Dongyun sat in the hall, deep in thought.
There were a lot of people in Qinzhou prefecture itself. If there was no other choice, it would be easy to gather three hundred thousand people by force.
But unlike the people in other places in Longbei County, most of the local people in Qinzhou lived and worked in peace and contentment, and were loyal to Chang 'an. Zhang Dongyun didn't want to force them to leave their homes until the last moment.
For now, it was better to target the refugees in Longbei County first.
It was also time to break the Eastern Tang blockade around Chang 'an.
As he pondered, Zhang Dongyun summoned Blood Shadow.
When the Old Devil hurried to the hall, he found that Mr Dark Cloud had an audience with him.
"We can add some people to the city recently."
Zhang Dongyun, who had transformed into Evil Emperor, sat high on his throne and instructed indifferently, "Dark Cloud, take charge of this matter. Blood Shadow, assist from the side."
The two men, one in black and one in red, said respectfully at the same time, "We obey Your Majesty's imperial edict."
Zhang Dongyun waved his hand, indicating for them to leave.
After the two elders left the main hall, Blood Shadow said calmly, "His Majesty has decreed that you will be in charge of this matter, and I will assist you from the side. If you have any rules, feel free to state them."
Mr Dark Cloud did not answer immediately. Instead, he stopped in his tracks and glanced at the man.
Blood Shadow's expression was calm, as if nothing had happened.
It was as if he had already admitted defeat in the competition between the two of them.
But in fact, the Old Devil's current state of mind was stable, and he was determined not to fight for a momentary advantage. He wanted to fight with this old ghost in black for a long time, and in the future, look back and see who won and who lost.
"At that time, the surrendered soldiers of the Tang Army all sincerely pledged their allegiance. His Majesty was magnanimous and tolerated them. They are also the people of Chang 'an.
Most of these people are locals of Longbei County and have their own families. They can all move to Chang 'an. "
After Mr Dark Cloud glanced at Blood Shadow, a smile appeared on his face.
"In addition to these people, Longbei County is now full of refugees. We can take the initiative to guide them to Chang 'an and bask in His Majesty's grace."
He looked at Blood Shadow and continued, "Right now, there are many businesses waiting to be built in the city. I need to plan for His Majesty, so I can't leave. After we leave the city, you will still have full authority to command."
Blood Shadow's usual impatient appearance was gone. He nodded calmly and said, "Okay, let's do it."
Mr Dark Cloud immediately gathered his men.
The Chen family, the Hanshan school, and some members of the Perak Dynasty who had moved to Chang 'an to settle down in Chang' an were all ordered to come.
In addition, Xu Xingzhi, who had been teaching in the city, was also there.
After Mr Dark Cloud gave the order, everyone saluted Blood Shadow. "Mr. Dark Cloud, please advise us."
Blood Shadow nodded slightly.
His attention was fixed on Chen Jiezhi of the Chen family.
Although the other party hadn't shown his strength, the Old Devil's intuition told him that this person seemed to have changed slightly.
He had heard that some time ago, the Chen family had been rewarded with advanced martial arts … this thought flashed through Blood Shadow's mind.
When he looked at Chen Jiezhi again, he gradually realized that the other party's cultivation had improved.
He had originally been at the sixth realm of martial arts, which was General. Now, it seemed that Chen Jiezhi had very likely broken through his bottleneck and reached the seventh realm of martial arts, which was Human Butcher.
The iron-blooded aura of weapons had condensed into a thick murderous aura, which was why it gave people a vague sense of change.
The other party was also a cultivator at the seventh realm. Although Blood Shadow was a little surprised, his state of mind didn't change.
You were rewarded with a supreme art, but it came from that old bastard Dark Cloud. This old man has been practicing the Blood Book of the Phoenix with His Majesty …
After cultivating diligently and painstakingly these days, Blood Shadow could already see the dawn of a breakthrough in his current realm, and it was just a few days away.
"Jie Zhi, Xingzhi, and Guo Zi will be your assistants," Mr Dark Cloud said on the side.
Blood Shadow nodded slightly.
Mr Dark Cloud then said to Xu Xingzhi, "Do your job well and make contributions. When you come back, this old man will naturally give you a chance to fulfill your ambitions."
The blue-robed scholar's eyes flashed slightly.
He had no problem with concentrating on his studies or teaching and educating people.
But what he wanted most was to be able to fulfill his ambitions and help the people.
When he was born in White Horse College, the whole atmosphere of the Academy had always been hostile to the Eastern Tang imperial court. That was why Xu Xingzhi submitted to the Eastern Tang.
After that, he resigned from the Eastern Tang and returned to the Academy, also because he couldn't change the bad habits of the Eastern Tang. Instead, he was left idle.
He had been in Chang 'an for more than a month and taught people to read and write every day. Xu Xingzhi could bear the loneliness, but in the deepest part of his heart, he still hoped to fulfill his original ambitions.
Now that there was finally an opportunity, he naturally would try his best to seize it.
"I will do my best for Chang 'an. Gentlemen, please give me more advice."
Xu Xingzhi bowed deeply to Mr Dark Cloud and Mr Blood Shadow.
Zhang Dongyun saw this and smiled slightly.
If the other party had talent in government affairs, he didn't mind giving him a chance.
Whether or not he could seize the opportunity depended on whether Xu Xingzhi had real ability.
Guo Zi, the head of the Hanshan school, stood side by side with Chen Jiezhi and Xu Xingzhi, looking calm.
In terms of strength, he was naturally not as good as the other two.
In terms of knowledge and talent, Chen and Xu were the elites cultivated by the Chen family and the White Horse College. Even Guo Zi felt inferior.
Guo Zi knew the reason why Mr Dark Cloud put him on the same level as the other two. It was because the Hanshan school was the local tyrant of Qinzhou and Longbei County, so it was more familiar with the situation in all aspects.
Naturally, he had to make good use of his advantages to live up to Mr Dark Cloud's trust.
"Then it's them." Mr. Dark Cloud waved his hand again.
A group of people came from the side.
They had an obvious military aura, but they had changed their Tang Army uniforms.
The leader was Gao Qi, the former General of the Eastern Tang Army.
As for the rest, there were captains and soldiers.
"Whether or not everyone can reunite with their families depends on your performance this time."
Mr Dark Cloud's tone was indifferent. "You won't have to worry about your families, and you can also establish yourself in Chang 'an. You will no longer be criminals."
Mr Dark Cloud didn't need to say what would happen to them if they didn't perform well.
Gao Qi and the others saluted. "We understand. Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty. Thank you for your grace."
Mr Dark Cloud turned to Blood Shadow and said, "Most people's hometown and family residence have been calculated. They will listen to your orders and take you to find them."
"Since you're all ready, let's go."
Blood Shadow glanced at the people in front of him and said lightly.
These people were the subordinates promoted by Mr Dark Cloud. Although they listened to his orders now, they were all thinking about Mr Dark Cloud. If he wanted to win them over, it would take twice the effort for half the result.
In order to compete with the black-clothed old man, in addition to personal strength, Blood Shadow also had to cultivate his own trusted subordinates.
But now, the most important thing was to complete the task His Majesty had ordered. This was the foundation of everything and the most important thing …
While thinking, Blood Shadow led Chen Jiezhi and the others out of Chang 'an.
They left Longling and Qinzhou all the way. Then, they divided into several teams and went to the east, west, north, and south. They searched for the families of the Tang Army soldiers and the refugees in Longbei County. They either forced or guided these people to relocate and enrich the population of Chang 'an.
Zhang Dongyun stayed in Chang 'an and watched all this quietly.
As time went by, more and more people moved to Chang 'an.
The movement was bigger than before, and it shocked the people of Eastern Tang again.
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