Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

Gao Jiong first bowed respectfully to Lu Hui, then greeted Liu Yanzhi and Huangfu Changshui in turn: "Student Gao Jiong greets the teacher, greets the co-magistrate, and greets the marquis!"

Lu Hui looked at Gao Jiong in front of him and asked in confusion, "Zhao Xuan, what are you doing here?"

Gao Jiong bowed respectfully to Lu Hui and said, "I have come here to ask you for permission to purchase stolen goods."

Lu Hui waved his hand irritably and said, "Just go find the head clerk of the household department. This place is already in chaos. If you come here now, you will only cause more trouble for me!"

At this moment, Huangfu Changshui suddenly interrupted and asked, "Could it be that Gao Jieyuan wants to purchase some saltpeter?"

Gao Jiong nodded quickly and said, "That's right, Lord. I hope the Quartermaster Department can help me when the time comes."

Huangfu Changshui laughed heartily and responded generously, "How difficult is that? My useless son-in-law has mentioned this to me several times. All you have to do is go get the approval document!"

Gao Jiong hurriedly bowed and thanked him, "Thank you, Lord! However, I have taken the liberty of visiting you today to ask you a favor. I am preparing to ship a batch of goods, but the city is overflowing with refugees, and the roads are extremely congested. I have a plan to lure the refugees out of the city. Please allow me to use the police station!"

Liu Yanzhi came forward curiously and said, "Let me hear what you have to say."

For the entire afternoon, Gao Ying discussed his strategy with several adults.

……

The east courtyard of the Hou Mansion.

Wang Ergou reported to Zhang Jingwei with a serious expression, "Master, after some investigation, we've finally figured out that these refugees were driven out from Hebei Province! They had previously traveled to Beizhou and Yizhou, hoping to find a place to stay, but were ruthlessly expelled by the local authorities. In the end, even the governor of Hebei dispatched troops to forcibly expel them from Hebei. These are tens of thousands of civilians! During their escape, some died of starvation, and many were unfortunately kidnapped by wild animals... It's truly a horrific sight!"

Hearing this, Zhang Jingwei could not help but be furious and cursed loudly: "Is that chief official of Wuzhou a fool?"

Wang Ergou quickly explained, "Young Master, calm down. The chief of Wuzhou fled as soon as the incident started! These refugees have been wandering around for a full two weeks now!"

Zhang Jingwei frowned and asked in confusion, "Even so, Wuzhou hasn't fallen yet. How could it have ended up like this?"

Wang Ergou sighed and replied helplessly, "Alas, this is all due to the constant harassment of the Rong people. Those abominable Rong people have trampled on the villages of Wuzhou with impunity, severely damaging a large amount of farmland. If this continues, even if these farmers survive until next year, they will not be able to pay the full tax. Coupled with the fact that the chief official has been inactive and indifferent to these things, the villagers have no choice but to flee their hometown in order to survive."

At this time, Qian Ming hurried into the room and said nervously, "Master, I just got the news. The military bank sent a message saying that the head manager will ship the goods tonight! In addition, he also embezzled a full twenty strings of cash to purchase a batch of oats."

Zhang Jingwei frowned slightly and asked in confusion, "What is oatmeal?"

Qian Ming quickly explained, "Young Master, you may not know this, but oats are a type of concentrated feed specifically for horses. They have a thick outer shell, but the grains inside are very few. However, this kind of thing can be found everywhere in the mountains and fields. Normally, one guan of cash can buy several dan."

Zhang Jingwei was even more puzzled after hearing this, muttering to himself, "So, could it be that Gao Jiong intends to give this oats to the refugees?"

Qian Ming shook his head and replied with a wry smile, "In my opinion, it's probably hard for people to swallow this. It tastes even worse than brown rice!"

Zhang Jingwei couldn't help but recall the first time he tasted brown rice. The rough and dry taste still makes him feel scared, and he couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

……

At dusk, the military camp's warehouse was loading bales of goods onto carts. Twenty carts in total set off from the military camp in a mighty procession. Along the way, Captain Yang banged gongs and shouted, "Military convoy, please make way!" The refugees squeezed their way forward, but were all driven away by the constables.

The two cars at the end of the convoy deliberately spilled some food, which was looted by the refugees. The convoy went out from the north gate, and all the refugees in the north city were led out of the city.

As soon as they left the city, Captain Yang ordered a retreat, but the refugees ignored him and started looting.

When they opened it, they saw that it was actually buckwheat. An old man didn't bother to say anything and just grabbed a handful and stuffed it into his mouth. Seeing this, the refugees began to tear it apart.

The same method worked on the other gates. Finally, a yamen runner shouted, "There's food in the northern suburbs!"

With just a shout, the refugees began to rush towards the north city. The mess on the ground was picked up by the old, weak and sick. They knew that they could not compete with the young and strong, so they just ate what was left.

At least fifty stone of buckwheat was pulled out from the north city gate. After unloading the carriages, the grooms quickly led the horses away to prevent the hungry refugees from killing the horses for food.

The effect was very significant. Most of the refugees gathered at the north gate, while Gao Jiong started transporting goods from the south gate. His way of transporting goods was very special. Instead of using horse-drawn carriages, he used donkeys. He hung fifty kilograms on each side of the donkey's back, and each donkey weighed one hundred kilograms. One rider controlled three donkeys, which meant twenty people and sixty donkeys, plus a team of cavalry as guards.

After watching the caravan leave the city, Gao Jiong breathed a sigh of relief.

The little servant came trotting up to Gao Jiong and announced, "Sir, the master is waiting for you at the military camp."

Gao Ying's face was filled with joy as he replied, "Yes, I must tell Brother Jingwei!"

After arriving at the military bank, Zhang Jingwei's face was tense and he stared at today's bill with an extremely serious expression.

At this moment, a figure hurried over. It was Gao Jiong. Before the other party could gain a firm foothold, Zhang Jingwei couldn't wait to ask, "Why did you rent so many donkeys?"

Faced with this sudden accusation, Gao Jiong remained calm and composed. He replied calmly, "We rented these donkeys to transport goods. Using conventional horse-drawn carriages, with their frequent stops along the way, it would be difficult to reach the destination in just a few days. However, donkeys have excellent endurance and relatively small appetites. Although they walk a little slower, we should be able to reach Wuzhou in three to five days."

Hearing this, Zhang Jingwei frowned slightly and continued to ask, "Oh, so that's how it is. So you bought those oats to feed the donkeys."

Gao Jiong shook his head and said firmly, "No, these oats are used to feed the refugees!"

Before he could finish his words, Zhang Jingwei sneered, "Wow, Gao Jieyuan is truly compassionate! He actually treats refugees like livestock and feeds them with oats."

Gao Jiong's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this, as he continued to chat and laugh, "They have now become refugees. What's the difference between them and livestock?"

At this moment, a crisp "snap" sound suddenly rang out. Immediately afterwards, Gao Ying felt a burning pain on his face, which made him stand there in a daze.