Magic, steel, heavy industry

Chapter 46, The First Batch of Refugees

Will there really be food?

Under the command of the guards, the refugees on the south bank formed a long line. One of them, a small man in thin clothes who was shivering from the cold, asked his companion in front of him in a weak voice.

"How should I know? But I'd be willing to be killed just to have bread to eat!"

"You're insane! We only escaped from the territory because we didn't want to die."

"Since I'm going to die anyway, I'd rather eat my fill before I die than starve or freeze to death."

His companion muttered a couple of words, and the next second, the faint clamor of these refugees abruptly ceased.

Because they could clearly smell the aroma of meat!

That's not rat meat from the ground, but the real aroma of mutton!

"Alright, follow me. Anyone who causes trouble or cuts in line, I'll throw them into the Amber River."

Bering spoke in an awkward, threatening tone, and sure enough, the starving refugees immediately stirred, with several trying to get to the front.

But the recruits' spears made those few men lower their heads and dare not cut in line.

After walking about ten meters, they came to the open space where the peasant women were cooking. Under Berlin's direction, the first person tremblingly took a black bread, then was herded aside and given a bowl of hot soup.

As he savored the taste of the meat in the soup, the refugee couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Thank you... thank you... God of Iron Law, please protect me..."

"It was Lord Vilan who gave you this food," Igris immediately corrected upon hearing this.

The refugee nodded immediately, "It's Lord Vilan, thank you, Lord Vilan!"

He then squatted down to the side and began to wolf down his food, a look of utter satisfaction on his face.

"They really did give out food!"

"And broth! Oh my god! It's been so long since I've had real broth!"

"Great! I won't go hungry anymore!"

The refugees were energized and couldn't wait to rush over and grab the food.

But under the threats of the new recruits, they could only suppress their craving for food and obediently wait for the people in front of them to receive their food first.

Soon, more than twenty refugees received food. They sat on the grass, their faces filled with tears and smiles.

Meanwhile, the refugees remaining on the north bank, witnessing this scene, completely lost control.

Hunger and cold had already ravaged them beyond recognition, but now that they finally saw hope, they couldn't care less about anything else and began to plead.

"Let me go too! I'll do anything!"

"Please, please give me some food! My mother is starving!"

Cries and wails echoed across the north bank, even their leader, Bear Eyes, couldn't help but swallow hard.

His companion exclaimed excitedly, "Brother Bear Eyes, they really gave out food! They weren't lying to us!"

Bear Eyes nodded and immediately walked up to Rossi.

"Sir, may we also have some food?"

Rossi smiled and said, "Of course, as long as you register first."

Originally, Vilan wanted to select artisans from among the refugees, but Hans found out after counting that there were only two or three real artisans among these refugees. Even if you include those who had worked for artisans and had some experience, there are no more than 10.

There was nothing that could be done about it. After all, the best craftsmen were all free men, while most of the refugees were serfs who knew nothing but farming.

Therefore, Vilan changed his mind and consulted Scarface, learning about the general situation on the North Shore.

The Bear Eyes family were refugees from the North, making them relatively easier to manage and less dangerous, so Vilan decided to take them all in.

Although there is only one group, the number of people exceeds two hundred, which has reached the limit of today's reception.

The remaining refugees can only wait for the next round.

Soon, the Bear Eye family cheered when they learned that they would be able to get food. They obediently lined up and registered with Hans.

Three hours later, all two hundred people reached the south bank by raft and received food.

Because they had been hungry for so long, Vilan dared not let them eat too much at once, so the food he gave them was not plentiful, only enough to make them half full.

But this was enough to make the refugees extremely grateful to him, and everyone sat on the grass, enjoying a long-awaited moment of peace.

At that moment, Hans was reporting to Wieland.

"Young Master Vilan, the territory where these refugees originally lived is not far from Iron Anvil Territory. If their original lord finds out, there may be trouble."

Hans sounded somewhat worried, after all, serfs were the property of the lords, and Wieland's actions could be considered robbery.

But Viran didn't care. "Since their lord can't let them live, then I will protect them."

"...Your kindness is enough to put all nobles to shame."

"Alright, let's talk about the specifics."

Hans nodded, took out his notebook and said, "The Bear Eye family has a total of 214 people, including 20 elderly people over 45 years old, 67 children under 16 years old, 78 young and middle-aged men, and 49 young and middle-aged women, but only 19 women are of marriageable age and unmarried."

"In addition, there is a seriously ill woman who may not make it through."

Hans recited the compiled figures, explaining that for serfs, 45 years or older was considered old age, as most serfs didn't even live to that age due to the excessive labor.

Unmarried women are also an important target for Vilan, not for himself, of course. For a territory, the number of unmarried women is the basis for determining population growth.

According to Vilan's plan, these unmarried women among the refugees need to rest and recuperate, and then be sent to work in a tailor factory.

Once they've gotten used to the wonderful life in the anvil territory, we'll arrange blind dates for them.

Of course, his priority for matchmaking was naturally his guardsmen and the unmarried citizens of the former Anvil Territory.

You're all grown men now, how can you stay single forever? Get married and have kids, the more the better!

Vilan thought to himself, while giving old Hans a grateful smile.

"You've worked hard. The next step is to settle these two hundred-plus people. First, let all the able-bodied men be responsible for choosing an open space outside the town and building houses as quickly as possible. They don't need to be too complicated, just enough to live in. Anyway, they will all be rebuilt after winter."

"Once the accommodations are set up, the heads of the mines and various workshops will select people to supplement the labor force. Of course, the refugees will not receive wages for the first six months; they will need to repay my debts."

"As for the remaining elderly, weak, and children, they can collect goblin cores and corpses to exchange for food. As long as they don't starve to death, that's fine."

"And that seriously ill woman, have Igris isolate her and take good care of her, just do your best."

Wieland quickly finished explaining the next steps of the plan, while Hans quietly took notes in his notebook.

Every order here pertains to people's livelihood and is part of his job.

And this was only the first batch of refugees. In the next two weeks, the number of new refugees would only increase. Hans felt that if this continued, he would definitely be exhausted to death.