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Chapter 281: Chapter 206: Even if Given Another Hundred Years, the North Country Would Not Develop_2

Seeing that Lu Chen remained silent, Liu Zhong thought Lu Chen was still not planning to agree and continued, “Prince, before I left Qi Country, our king had discussed with the grain merchants of Qi Country. If North Country is willing to accept those refugees, North Country can purchase grain from Qi Country at the prices before the outbreak of the war between Great Sum and Great Wu, and Qi Country promises not to increase the prices within a year.

Lu Chen thought to himself that it seemed the refugees had seriously affected the local landlords and aristocratic families in Qi Country. Otherwise, they would not have agreed to this condition.

Seeing Lu Chen still silent, Liu Zhong frowned, wondering if the North Prince was still unwilling to agree. Was he being too greedy?

It was evident that North Country now needed people, and Qi Country was both offering people and grain, having lowered their stance so much. If North Country still refused, that would be truly ungrateful.

Just then, Lu Chen said, “Considering that the Qi Prince is my uncle, I will give Qi Country this face. The refugees may be sent to North Country, but not a grain less of their annual food supply can be missing. When the time comes, I will arrange for the military to receive them.”

Seeing that Lu Chen agreed, Liu Zhong relaxed inwardly and then said, “Of course.”

Afterwards, Lu Chen said to Wu Yuan, “Commander Wu, Lord Liu has traveled a long way. Make sure he is treated well.”

Wu Yuan immediately replied, “Yes, Prince.”

Liu Zhong then said, “Thank you, Prince. I take my leave.”

After Wu Yuan took Liu Zhong out of the study, Lu Chen immediately sent for the officials of Yan County to discuss receiving the refugees.

The number of refugees from those three districts was assuredly vast; several hundred thousand was the least to expect. Otherwise, Qi Country would not have paid such a high price.

With its vast land and many wastelands, it was not too difficult for North Country to accommodate these refugees. However, managing these refugees well would not be easy. Hence, it was necessary to discuss how to settle these refugees and where would be best to place them.

Meanwhile.

In the Capital city of Great Sum, at the East Palace.

Crown Prince Lu Shuyun was dealing with some governmental affairs in his study when one retainer after another entered the room.

After seeing them arrive, Lu Shuyun put down what he was doing and said, “Recently, many refugees have arrived outside the Capital city. My emperor father has tasked me with dealing with these refugees, but I have yet to find a good solution.”

The refugee issue was the first political matter Lu Shuyun had taken on since becoming Crown Prince, and he had to handle it well, or he would inevitably be impeached by the people of other princes in the court.

For this reason, Lu Shuyun had called all his retainers, and some officials from the aristocratic families were also present in his study.

At that moment, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Household said, “Your Highness, the farmland within Great Sum has already been fully allocated, and it is hard to find any more land to settle so many refugees. Therefore, I suggest relocating all these refugees to North Country to prevent disasters and chaos.”

“North Country is full of wastelands, and it is in dire need of people. I believe the North Prince would be happy to accept these refugees, which would conveniently solve the problem.”

Hearing these words, Lu Shuyun frowned slightly.

Whenever he thought of the North Prince, he was reminded of what Wang Yong had told him not long ago. The Wang Family had dispatched an assassin from the Spirit Martial Tower to kill the North Prince, and it had been so long without any news.

At that moment, Lu Shuyun turned to Wang Yong and asked, “Wang Yong, is there any news on that matter?”

Wang Yong replied, “Your Highness, there is still no news, and I’ve even inquired at the Spirit Martial Tower. Their people also haven’t received any information from North Country. Su Teng and his group disappeared after going to Yan County.”

Lu Shuyun thought for a moment. Su Teng was at least an Extreme Realm Master, yet he disappeared upon reaching North Country?

Moreover, during this time, numerous aristocratic families had sent assassins to North Country, yet the North Prince was still alive, and those assassins had all vanished without a trace.

How many experts does the North Prince have by his side?

At that time, an adviser in the study said, “I don’t recommend that Your Highness send the refugees to North Country. If North Country develops, it will definitely become a major threat to Your Highness.”

Although the refugees from those three counties are indeed a big problem, if all these refugees were sent to North Country, it might become an even bigger problem in the future.

So many aristocratic families within Great Su have sent assassins, yet none have managed to kill the North Prince. This proves that the North Prince has already secured a firm foothold in North Country. If he were to receive so many more people, then North Country will surely experience further development and strengthening.

After hearing the adviser’s words, the Assistant Minister of Revenue said, Mr. Li’s concerns are not without reason, but currently, North Country lacks clothing and food and simply cannot support such a large population. These refugees moving to North Country will only create more chaos. I think it is unlikely that the North Prince can manage these refugees well.” “Moreover, this is the first policy matter Your Highness is dealing with after becoming the Crown Prince. The most urgent task is to first resolve the refugee crisis. In my opinion, we should not be concerned about North Country’s problems at the moment.”

“Additionally, North Country has already reclaimed all land ownership rights back under the North Prince Mansion. These refugees going to North Country will not get any land. In time, these refugees will inevitably revolt, which actually is advantageous for the court to handle North Country’s issues later

on.”

Hearing the Minister of Revenue’s words, Lu Shuyun thought there was some merit to them. Although there were many refugees from the three counties, enough to significantly supplement the population of North Country, it was precisely because there were too many people that North Country wouldn’t be able to manage them, potentially leaving behind seeds of trouble.

Such a poor feudal state definitely couldn’t support such a large population. Moreover, the court has already decided not to interfere with North Country’s affairs. Any difficulty North Country faces, the court will not step in. As soon as these refugees move to North Country, internal strife will be a matter of time. Thinking of this, Lu Shuyun said, “Lord Qin is right. If I am unable to quickly resolve the refugee crisis within Great Su’s borders, I will inevitably be subjected to the ministers’ impeachment. This is the first policy matter I am dealing with after becoming the Crown Prince, and I must resolve it quickly.

“As for North Country, not only is it impoverished, but the winter there is also long. If they can’t solve the problem of food and warmth, they won t be able to develop even in a hundred years.”

Seeing that Lu Shuyun had made up his mind, no one in the study said anything more.

They all understood that for their faction, it indeed wasn’t the time to consider how to deal with North Country. Lu Shuyun had just become the Crown Prince and had to accomplish something significant; otherwise, he couldn’t stop the ministers’ mouths.

If he couldn’t even quickly resolve a refugee crisis, what kind of Crown Prince would he be?

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, another half month had gone by-

North Country, Hall of Political Affairs.

The main topic of today’s court meeting was the matter of North Country accepting refugees during the past half month. Qi Prince was true to his word, not only sending the refugees to North Country but also sending a fair amount of grain. Moreover, in the past half month, Lu Chen had instructed the North Prince Mansion to hurry and purchase grain from Qi Country.

Lu Chen anticipated that a civil war was about to break out in Great Su, which would drive up the price of grain. Finally having an opportunity to buy grain at pre-war prices, the North Prince Mansion couldn’t afford to miss this chance. Now Yan County had established quite a few grain storages, specifically for storing grain.

As the court meeting neared its end, a Brocade Guard entered the hall, “Prince, urgent news from the capital city.”

Upon hearing this, the hall immediately quieted down.

Lu Chen on the dais said, “Present it.”

The Brocade Guard then placed the intelligence before Lu Chen, who picked up the freshly arrived report and painstakingly read it.

After a while, he put down the report and said to the officials in the hall, “The court has decided to relocate all refugees from the three counties to North Country. The imperial decree will arrive in Yan County in a few days.

Hearing this, the hall immediately burst into discussion.

At this moment, Li Rui asked, “Prince, is the court going to provide grain to North Country?”

Lu Chen chuckled and then said, “Grain? Lord Li really has a sense of humor. When the court recalled Lin Xiuming’s army of twenty thousand last time, it was said that from now on, the court would not aid North Country with anything, including grain.”