I went out to help others today. I went out at around two o'clock in the morning and I just came back now.

There will be another chapter later.

The kind-hearted Xiaozhou begs for all support.

~~~~~~~

It was already late at night when we returned to Guanglu Island. Fortunately, some soldiers came back early and notified Shang Laoliu. At this time, Shang Laoliu had already set up a dozen large pots in the open space outside the kitchen.

Inside, the rice porridge has been cooked, blowing by the sea breeze, emitting a steaming and attractive aroma.

As the entourage got off the ship one by one, the soldiers who had been waiting here for a long time led them outside the kitchen in an orderly manner, where they drank some hot porridge to warm themselves up.

On the side, several huge bonfires have been lit. The red fire dissipated the deep cold at night, and with the hot porridge to warm their bodies, these refugees seemed to feel the warmth of home. Many people couldn't help but

Cry.

Chen Zhong and Li Yuanqing walked side by side.

Looking at this scene, Chen Zhong felt very uncomfortable, "Yuan Qing, thank you so much. If it were me, I definitely wouldn't be able to do this well."

Li Yuanqing sighed deeply, "This is only a temporary solution. The population has suddenly increased so much, and our food is not enough."

Chen Zhong also realized this problem and couldn't help but spit out fiercely, "Hi~his~mother, this is such a stupid world."

Li Yuanqing was relieved. At this time, blaming others could not solve any problems at all. If he wanted to change, he could only rely on his own hands to do it and change it.

"Brother, it's getting late. You should go and rest. I'll think about it tonight, and we'll discuss it again tomorrow."

Chen Zhong nodded and did not refuse. He knew that he could not be of much help here, "Yuan Qing, thank you for your hard work."

Li Yuanqing smiled and shook Chen Zhong's hand vigorously.

Chen Zhong left, and Li Yuanqing slowly let out a long breath.

At this time, contact with Mao Wenlong's headquarters was restored, and it was no longer easy to imagine pulling Chen Zhong to do something together as before.

Although the Ming Dynasty was in decline and declining day by day, the orthodoxy of the court was still there, the righteousness was still there, and the entire system was still complete. Regardless of Mao Wenlong or Chen Zhong, although they were both heroes of the day, they were limited by the times, or in other words, they had suffered from childhood.

Education, "loyalty to the emperor and patriotism" makes it difficult for them to break out of this limitation and consider issues from the most realistic perspective.

On Mao Wenlong's side, firstly he relied on North Korea, and secondly he relied on the imperial court. In addition, the six thousand taels of silver given to him by Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong should be able to maintain it in a short period of time.

On Chen Zhong's side, Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong had half of the 16,000 taels of silver, leaving them with 8,000 taels. Each of them gave Mao Wenlong another 3,000 taels, leaving 5,000 taels left to deal with the Dingkou under his command and spend this time.

Cold winter is no problem either.

However, the pressure on Li Yuanqing was a bit high.

On the ship when he came back, Li Yuanqing had already communicated privately with Chen Zhong. Due to Chen Zhong's financial pressure, Chen Zhong only needed to raise the 500 young men Mao Wenlong gave him, as well as the 00 soldiers from his headquarters, and the rest

The old, weak, women and children will all be supported by Li Yuanqing.

This is not because Li Yuanqing is too rich, but because Li Yuanqing deeply understands that land and population are the greatest wealth.

Rather than letting these old, weak, women and children starve with Chen Zhong, it is better to let them do their best work under Li Yuanqing's command, which can fill their stomachs and stabilize the morale of the two troops.

As a result, it was inevitable for Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong to separate their families.

But it was winter at this time, and there were so many old and weak people in the team. It was definitely not a good idea to move hastily.

Li Yuanqing couldn't help but let out a long breath. Although the population under his command suddenly increased several times, far exceeding the "heyday" period when the quota was filled when he was in Zhenjiang, but without the support of Mao Wenlong's headquarters and the imperial court, all the pressure will be on the whole.

Carrying it on Li Yuanqing's shoulders.

At this time, Shang Laoliu came to Li Yuanqing and said, "Yuanqing, we don't have so many houses. How should we arrange the accommodation for these people tonight?"

Li Yuanqing had completely calmed down at this time, "Ask the soldiers to give up the barracks. All the young and strong men will sleep outside tonight, and give up the rooms to the old, weak, women and children. Brother Shang, please let people burn a few more bonfires."

Let the brothers bring their bedding and sleep beside the bonfire. Also, let Caizi give up my room so that the women and children who come later can sleep first."

"this?"

Shang Laoliu couldn't help but be speechless, "Yuan Qing, there's no need to give up the room over Cai Zi's side, right?"

But Li Yuanqing shook his head, "If you don't sweep one house, why sweep the world? Since they live with me, Li Yuanqing, I, Li Yuanqing, can't treat them badly."

Shang Laoliu had no choice but to do it.

It was late at night, and the soldiers and young men gathered in the campfire to rest with their bedding. Even with the warmth of the campfire, how cold was the night in Liaodi and the seaside?

Many people's bedding is not thick enough, so they can only cuddle up with their companions as much as possible and rely on each other's body heat to stay warm.

But none of them had any complaints.

Because they knew that their master, Li Yuanqing, was also outside with them, and even his little wife was also outside with them.

In the night sky, stars were shining brightly, and Cai Zi nestled in Li Yuanqing's arms, her delicate body trembling uncontrollably.

Guanglu Island has suddenly gained such a large population, and various supplies are really in short supply. Although Li Yuanqing and Cai Zi did not take off their clothes and were covered with two quilts, they were still unable to withstand the biting cold.

Caizi's whole body was covered by the quilt, hugging Li Yuanqing's body tightly. Li Yuanqing didn't know what it was like in his heart. But he made an oath in his heart. Although this woman was a Japanese and not his first wife, she would definitely be the one in this life.

Can't let her down.

…………

The night passed quickly, and the sun peeked out from the clouds. The young men in the entire camp felt as if they had been given an amnesty.

Li Yuanqing also breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately ordered officers such as Shang Laoliu and Shunzi to lead people to cut down the surrounding trees and build houses as soon as possible.

At this time, naturally we can't be too elaborate. Just building a simple large wooden house like a barracks, as long as it can shelter from wind and rain, is enough.

Although newly cut trees are inevitably too moist and are not suitable for direct use, at this moment, no one can care so much.

It's cold in Liaoning, and stoves will be lit at night. At that time, the only way to use the warmth of the stove is to dispel the moisture in the wood.

Although Li Yuanqing's camp was very close to Chen Zhong's, there were still some gaps between them during the previous construction. Chen Zhong also got the news after dawn and couldn't help but rush over.

"Yuan Qing, why didn't you tell me about such a big thing? What should you do if you get frozen?" Chen Zhong was full of annoyance and blame.

Li Yuanqing smiled and said, "Brother, it doesn't matter. We've already come here, right? Your guys over there also want to build houses, so let's have a great job."

Chen Zhong was speechless, but he was also ignited by Li Yuanqing's enthusiasm. Soon, people on both sides became busy quickly.

After a day of hard work, at night, both camps had undergone tremendous changes.

Chen Zhong's side was full of young men and they worked quickly. After finishing their work, they came to help Li Yuanqing's side. The two sides worked together to greatly improve the progress of the project.

At this time, there were seven or eight rows of large wooden houses between the camps. They were all tens of meters long and more than ten meters wide. They were more than enough to accommodate two people.

However, although there was a house, firewood was somewhat insufficient.

Although Guanglu Island is rich in resources and has dense forests, both soldiers and civilians have limited firewood storage.

Liao land is different from Guan Nei, and even more different from the south. If you want to survive on this land, especially in winter, the first thing is food, and the second thing is firewood.

Especially at this time, the climate of the Little Glacier is terrifying. If there is not enough firewood to burn, even if people can eat well, they will freeze into "popsicles" sooner or later.

"Yuan Qing, let's ask the soldiers to go to the forest to cut more firewood first. Let's think of a way slowly." Chen Zhong didn't have a good idea, so he could only say this most primitive way.

Li Yuanqing nodded, time was tight, so this was the only way.

Originally, with such a large population, Li Yuanqing wanted to do a big job, train his troops well, and prepare for landing on Changsheng Island, but now, where does he have time to train his troops?

Letting these people under his command survive is the first priority.

The soldiers and young men worked frantically to temporarily overcome the immediate crisis. At night, the entire population gathered in the house and leaned against the stove to keep warm.

But in this situation, it is no longer possible to maintain a small family.

In order to maintain order, Li Yuanqing could only choose to live in separate camps for men and women. This was also the case for the family members of the previous Shandong Saltworks.

The individual obeys the team, and the part obeys the whole. On this core point, Li Yuanqing leads by example, and no one can violate it.

If there are still people who are ungrateful, we cannot blame Li Yuanqing for being cruel.

In the evening, in Li Yuanqing's room, all the officers, except Xu Heizi who was on Changsheng Island, gathered to discuss the future development of Li Yuanqing's headquarters.

The red fire light dissipated the chill of the night. After a hard day's work, everyone looked tired.

However, since there were so many more people, the food reserves were already stretched thin. Li Yuanqing also stopped training, so everyone's rations could no longer be as sufficient and in place as before.

But in this state, no one dared to complain, including Li Yuanqing himself, who only received half of his usual rations.

Shang Laoliu was the eldest among the people and Li Yuanqing's direct confidant. He glanced at the people and took the lead in saying: "Sir, everyone, with the current situation, we must take action. Otherwise, with such a large population, our

The food reserves are far from enough to last until the Chinese New Year. The severe cold is about to begin, and the freeze period is coming. We don't have much time."

All the officers understood the seriousness of the matter. Once the severe cold passed and the sea surface froze, it would be impossible for them to go out to work.

The Dingkou under his command could only choose to live frugally on the island and compromise with their fate.

Although it can be maintained by then, the centripetal force of the entire team is probably...

Shunzi said: "Sir, didn't we make a fortune last time in Dengzhou? I think, this time, we can still set our sights there. There are many gentry in Shandong and they are extremely wealthy. They have money that they can't spend.

, why don’t we help them solve their problems?”

Everyone present was Li Yuanqing's confidant, and Shunzi spoke without any scruples.

Wang Hai also nodded and said: "Sir, this is the only way for now. We can attack the Liu family again."

Guan Canghai, Duan Xiliang and others also expressed their agreement.

Li Yuanqing shook his head, "It's not impossible to go to Dengzhou. However, after the last time, they will definitely strengthen their defenses. If we act rashly, I'm afraid we won't get any benefits. This matter should not be rushed at this moment.

, you can go back and prepare quietly, and take care of the affairs of the camp itself first. I will think about this matter again."

"Yes." All the officers left one after another.

However, Shang Laoliu and Shunzi stayed.

Shunzi said: "Brother, how about I go to Dengzhou first to set up the front station? I will definitely bring back the news in three to five days."

Li Yuanqing shook his head, "Shunzi, go find Yang Xiaochuan and Huang Guoshan."

"Eh? Yes." Shunzi hurriedly left.

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Chapter completed!