Prince An’s sole purpose in coming was to buy people’s hearts. After making a pretense of touring the area and reaping a harvest of gratitude, he left with his own men. From start to finish, he never once mentioned seeing the owner of the farm, likely assuming that even a tiny farm fell under his own thumb and that no one would dare to oppose him.
Acting on Xie Qiqi’s advice, Senior Grand Secretary Zhang gathered the refugees, selected several leaders among them, and organized them into teams. He told them they could settle in Snake Shadow Village and that they would be allocated land. Many refugees were willing to stay, while some still hoped to return home once the floods subsided. Senior Grand Secretary Zhang then had Lin Zeming and Wang Yan register the refugees, arranging for sites to be selected, shelters to be built, and land to be distributed starting the next day. He selected a number of refugees capable of manual labor to assist the soldiers in building the shelters, offering them wages or grain in return. This prompted many refugees to sign up enthusiastically, greatly alleviating the pressure on Senior Grand Secretary Zhang. The women were also given opportunities to help care for the sick or assist with brewing porridge and medicine.
By the time Xie Qiqi finished treating the patients and emerged, the state of Snake Shadow Village had transformed. It was no longer chaotic; instead, everyone was busy in an orderly fashion. Seeing Xie Qiqi, Senior Grand Secretary…
Chapter 333