Chapter 93: Taking in Refugees

Mo Xiaobai left some herbs and Nine-Fragrance Rice with Li Ji. Since he knew Madam Shan could cure him, he stopped worrying about it.

After lunch, Mo Xiaobai took his mother and Li Guang out. The three of them headed straight for the Pinggao County Government Office.

Using his title of Baron, Mo Xiaobai quickly met the current County Magistrate of Pinggao. He was a middle-aged man named Wang Hui, with a goat beard and a yellow face.

“This noble has accidentally passed by your county and has come to disturb you today. I hope the County Magistrate of Pinggao does not take offense.”

In a guest room, Mo Xiaobai and the County Magistrate of Pinggao, Wang Hui, sat on opposite sides. Both were accompanied by others. Next to the County Magistrate was the County Commandant Liu Tan, while next to Mo Xiaobai were Mother Mo and Li Guang.

“This noble is mistaken. Although this old man is old and you are young, we still felt a sense of kinship upon meeting. Since you have come to Pinggao, how could it be right to miss this meeting?”

Wang Hui squinted his small eyes, showing a hint of shrewdness in them.

With just Baron Mo Xiaobai’s status, he would have received him, but not so familiarly. However, because Mo Xiaobai came in a hurry to make an uninvited visit, Wang Hui already suspected in his heart that Mo Xiaobai wanted something from him.

No matter what Mo Xiaobai wanted, he could not avoid this County Magistrate of Pinggao County for anything happening within the county.

For now, he was making polite small talk, but the real talk would come later.

Wang Hui was calculating in his mind, and Mo Xiaobai began his performance, shaking his head and saying: “It is truly embarrassing. My title as a Baron is only due to the protection of my ancestors. It is nothing special.”

Mo Xiaobai dared to say this because in the Plane world, as long as Players did not lie about their Noble Rank, no NPC would investigate how the title was obtained.

The NPCs only knew that Mo Xiaobai truly held a Noble title. Just like Wang Hui at this moment, he heard this and immediately smiled: “A Noble title protects you. Where is the shame in that? You are being too humble, too humble.”

“The County Magistrate is mistaken. Even though we younger nobles enjoy the honor of our Noble Rank, we also wish to serve the Emperor. Unfortunately, I am neither literary nor military, so I can only find another way to serve the Emperor.”

“I would like to hear the details.”

“Recently, war has broken out in the Central Plains with beacons of fire everywhere. I also heard that the Bingzhou army is ravaging the old capital of our Great Han. Many people have been displaced in the Sanfu region. Although I am not talented, I have a few Zhuangzi estates, and supporting over a hundred people is no problem. My power is small, but saving one more person means the Great Han saves one more commoner. Does the County Magistrate agree?”

Although the geography of Henei was different from the south, Mo Xiaobai’s excuse had not changed much. He had simply replaced Liu Bei and Liu Pi with Bingzhou’s Gao Gan.

Now that Cao Mengde was in big trouble, besides the area around Xudu which was still safe, other places were either frontline war zones or were a mess caused by refugees. The same excuse worked anywhere.

“Oh? Does the Baron wish to take in refugees?” Wang Hui had been waiting for Mo Xiaobai to say “official business.” Now that the real business was here, he felt an illusion of sudden delight.

Was the refugee problem in Henei serious?

It could be said to be very serious!

People like Zhang Wang, whose ancestral home was in Henei, were okay. Although they lost their servants and silver on the road, they at least had an old family home to return to. But those who truly fled from disaster did not get this treatment. As the County Magistrate of Pinggao, Wang Hui was very clear about the current situation in Henei Commandery.

Even in Pinggao County, the one closest to the Yellow River, many refugees were stranded. If he had not strongly driven all the refugees to the dilapidated earthen temple in the north of the city, the area inside and outside Pinggao County would be full of refugees fleeing from military disasters.

How to handle this group of people had always made his head hurt.

Now, suddenly a Baron who was willing to take in refugees appeared. To him, this was like rain falling after a long drought.

“How many refugees does the Baron wish to take in?”

“One hundred and twenty.”

“Are you serious?”

“This is a great matter of serving the Emperor. How dare I speak nonsense?”

Mo Xiaobai asked seriously, paused for half a breath, and then continued: “However, if I accept refugees, I will not take those young and strong men. They have hands and feet, and they should be able to survive no matter what they do. I will only take women over the age of ten and under forty. In the future, when they go to my Zhuangzi, they can learn skills like mulberry picking and weaving.”

“Only women?” Hearing this, Wang Hui frowned, and his expression also hesitated: “The refugees are a mix of the old, young, weak, and strong. If the Baron only selects women, I am afraid this is not appropriate.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he shook his head repeatedly, and his right hand rubbed his left little finger continuously.

What did this mean?

When Mo Xiaobai saw this old man’s actions, he knew he was not hesitant because of Mo Xiaobai’s request. Instead, he was indirectly asking for a reward.

This was within Mo Xiaobai’s expectations.

This group of people disobeyed Cao Cao’s orders openly while agreeing privately. Expecting them to help for free was only a dream.

Silently, Mo Xiaobai stacked three shiny Gold Coins on the desk. He glanced at Wang Hui’s expression. Seeing that his face had clearly softened, Mo Xiaobai immediately placed another three Gold Coins.

In that instant, Wang Hui’s stern face could no longer hold. His small eyes sparkled with greed no matter how you looked at them.

Six Gold Coins did not look like much, but converted into copper coins, that was a full sixty thousand.

If there were no suitable opportunities, an ordinary County Magistrate could not earn so much extra wealth in a year.

Seeing this ugly look of the man, Mo Xiaobai shook his sleeves: “This noble knows this matter is a bit abrupt, but I hope the County Magistrate of Pinggao can offer help.”

“It is easy. It is easy. Since the Baron has such a sincere heart, how can this County Magistrate fail to complete a good deed for him?”

Wang Hui chuckled, and his expression quickly changed. At the same time, he looked at Liu Tan, who was beside him: “You handle this matter personally. You must ensure the Baron is satisfied.”

“Yes!”

Liu Tan, the County Commandant, was definitely a trusted aide of Wang Hui if he was allowed to accompany him. After clapping his fists and answering loudly, he also looked at Mo Xiaobai: “When does the Baron go to select the people? I can go with you.”

“No rush. Wait until tomorrow when everything is prepared, and I will come again.”

Mo Xiaobai waved his hand and then stood up to take his leave. Wang Hui did not try to keep the guest. His mind was now entirely on the desk across from him.

As soon as they left the Government Office, Mo Xiaobai heard his mother say angrily: “These corrupt officials only know how to eat, take, and demand. I say we should not have given it to him.”

“If we don’t give it to him? Where will your son get the people?”

Mother Mo disagreed: “He said they are in the earthen temple. We can go and recruit them ourselves. Six gold coins can buy a lot of grain and recruit many refugees.”

“Mother, you don’t know a word called ‘gathering a crowd to commit rebellion’? In Huaxia, any group activity with more than thirty people must be reported. Do you think the Great Han Dynasty allows you to just take in people at will?”

“He dare! If he dares to frame you, we can let General Li Guang eliminate the harm for the common people.”

After Mother Mo finished speaking, she immediately looked at Li Guang next to her. Li Guang moved his right hand slightly and said in a deep voice: “Such a corrupt official deserves death.”

“Yes, he should be killed. But what happens after he is killed? Your lord, me, will definitely be wanted by Cao Cao. Then you two will follow me to flee like criminals in the Instance for a month, and then come back to Daming Village in disgrace?” Mo Xiaobai shook his head. Officials demanding bribes were a feature of the Dynasty set by the Intellect Brain, and this could not be changed for now.

“If a problem can be solved with money, there is no need to create trouble. For us now, female Territory Citizens are the most important. Six Gold Coins are just like feeding dogs.”

Mo Xiaobai was very open-minded. Because in his eyes, solving the big problem of gender imbalance in his Territory was far more important than gold coins.

But Mother Mo still could not understand it and could not argue with her son. She rolled her eyes and said: “I think you have just gotten used to spending money wildly. One day I will find you a smart girlfriend who manages the household, and she will watch over your money bag.”