Ren Xiaosu had no intention of fighting anyone on this trip to the Central Plains, so he was not going to bring too many people with him.
Moreover, the Central Plains was now the territory of the Wang Consortium and the Zhou Consortium. For the Northwest to carry out the Prosperous Northwest’s plan there, it would be better to keep a low profile.
However, the Great Hoodwinker was still worried and insisted on following him there.
In the words of the Great Hoodwinker, he was in charge of the entire Northwest’s field operations. With him around, the future commander could obtain any intel immediately.
Actually, everyone slowly realized that while the future commander’s relationship with Wang Fugui ran deeper, it was the Great Hoodwinker who was Ren Xiaosu’s second-in-command when it came to the political affairs of the Northwest.
On one hand, the Great Hoodwinker was indeed very capable. For example, Wang Yun and Ji Zi’ang, who had joined the Prosperous Northwest, were also recruited by him. He also carried out his intelligence gathering duties in a very dependable and orderly manner.
On the other hand, this Great Hoodwinker was way too good at sucking up to others. Furthermore, he was old, yet he was totally shameless when it came to flattering the future commander. He was way too good at cozying up to the powerful!
Before leaving, Ren Xiaosu had a short meeting with Wang Yuexi. Wang Yuexi asked Ren Xiaosu why he was going to the Central Plains at a time when the Northwest needed someone to take charge of the overall situation.
Ren Xiaosu replied he was going there to solve the population problem.
Wang Yuexi was stunned by the answer. In his opinion, the population problem could only be solved with time. Starting by encouraging the people to have children this year, there would naturally be a population increase in 15 to 18 years.
As for other ways to attract talent, it was not that they did not dare to think about it, but that it was truly impossible to achieve. The Wang Consortium stood firm between the Central Plains and the Northwest, so the Northwest would not have any such opportunity.
But when Wang Yuexi saw how relaxed Ren Xiaosu looked, he realized he apparently already had a plan.
…
At this moment, a large number of escapees and refugees had congregated outside the various strongholds of the Zhou Consortium. Their numbers easily exceeded everyone’s imagination.
Actually, Ren Xiaosu and the Great Hoodwinker had also somewhat misunderstood the Zhou Consortium. In their opinion, it had to be the Zhou Consortium’s inaction and internal strife that caused the escapees and refugees to starve.
But in fact, it was not that the Zhou Consortium did not want to intervene but that they really could not!
The Kong Consortium and the Pyro Company had a total of more than 40 strongholds in the North. Currently, they were almost half empty after everyone fled to the South. Some of the escapees had died along the way, but most still managed to reach the Zhou Consortium’s territory safely.
Their numbers were definitely not something the Zhou Consortium could sustain.
Before this, the Wang Consortium had reestablished Stronghold 61 to take in the refugees, causing many of the Zhou Consortium’s factories to stop operating and their farmlands to turn into wastelands. As such, the Zhou Consortium was now at a stage where they were unable to accept any more refugees. This made them care even less about whether the people lived or died.
Sometimes, the Zhou Consortium’s people wondered if the Wang Consortium had already thought of this outcome when they announced that Stronghold 61 was accepting refugees from the other strongholds.
This was not to deify Wang Shengzhi’s strategic foresight, but everyone had dealt with him for over a decade now. In the past, Wang Shengzhi had used seven years to plan a silkworm breeding industry to lure a large number of refugees into the mountains to breed silkworms, and that left the consortiums around the Wang Consortium extremely disgusted.
During that period, he also deployed food policies, business policies, and countless others policies to attract the inflow of refugees.
On the surface, it looked like the Wang Consortium, the Kong Consortium, and the Zhou Consortium were the three most powerful forces in the Central Plains. However, the Wang Consortium was actually the richest and most powerful organization in the Central Plains. Otherwise, they could not have supported Wang Shengzhi’s policy of conscripting everyone into military service.
This was a completely different strategy from Qing Zhen’s. Qing Zhen was better at preparing for rainy days in military affairs, while Wang Shengzhi was best at laying plans that concerned livelihoods, industry, agriculture, and commerce.
Although their personalities were completely different, they were undoubtedly the most troublesome opponents one could have.
Ren Xiaosu looked quietly at the refugees who had gathered outside of the Zhou Consortium’s Stronghold 69. He had rushed over here excitedly to abduct some people back to the Northwest. But when he saw what they were going through, he could not bear to do it anymore.
The refugees had set up their shacks outside the stronghold to shelter themselves from the elements. Every day, they would only receive a bowl of porridge from the Zhou Consortium. The porridge was so thin they could not see any rice grains.
The trees surrounding the stronghold had all been stripped bare, and the bark was gone, leaving only the sight of white tree trunks behind. The leaves were also gone, and it was as though spring had never arrived. They looked like they were still stuck in the withering winter.
Some of the refugees were lying in their shacks with numb expressions on their faces. Their children next to them were crying and complaining that they were hungry, but the adults were helpless. Everything that could be eaten in the vicinity had already been eaten up, and some of them had even died of poisoning after consuming the wrong stuff.
This sight was hell on earth.
Ren Xiaosu said in seriousness, “The Prosperous Northwest is their only way out of this misery!”
The Great Hoodwinker nodded solemnly.
“Actually, Wang Shengzhi could have stopped all of this from happening.” The Great Hoodwinker said, “According to the intel that I received, he could have implemented a quick pacification policy so that the escapees would not have to flee to the South. But the fact was that he did not do so. Instead, he sat back and watched the escapees come to the South and destroy all of the Zhou Consortium’s material foundations. The Zhou Consortium can’t support so many people, and the civilians will soon turn into rioters. At that time, the Zhou Consortium’s troops will have to spend a lot of resources just to protect their factories and farmland. In this way, by the time the Wang Consortium is ready to annex the South, the Zhou Consortium will already be riddled with weaknesses.”
However, the Great Hoodwinker changed his opinion and said with a sigh, “We’re not in a position to blame Wang Shengzhi either. The struggle between the consortiums is always a battle to the death. If it were the Northwest facing the Zong Consortium, we would also resort to any means to win.”
“Mhm.” Ren Xiaosu said, “Rather than blaming Wang Shengzhi, why don’t we quickly take everyone to the Prosperous Northwest? The steam locomotive has a total of 1,196 seats, but if everyone is standing, it shouldn’t be a problem to hold up to 5,000 people. Based on the speed of the steam locomotive, we’ll only need 23 hours to reach the Northwest.”
The steam locomotive! This was the reason why Ren Xiaosu wanted to personally make a trip to the Central Plains.
If it were anyone else, it would be impossible to take so many refugees away from under the Wang Consortium’s noses. After all, they were still part of the Wang Consortium’s plans.
But Ren Xiaosu was different. He had the most efficient transportation tool in the era of the wastelands.
When the Great Hoodwinker previously brought up the difficulties of abducting all these people, Ren Xiaosu had already decided on this plan. After all, if even Wang Congyang could provide a delivery service, it was only natural that Ren Xiaosu could also run a transportation business.
“But how should we convince these people and make them trust us?” the Great Hoodwinker said disconsolately. “I’m afraid they won’t be willing to go with us that easily, right?”
Ren Xiaosu gave an eerie smile. “They’re starving, so they’ll definitely go with us as long as they’re given something to eat.”
Then Ren Xiaosu took out a potato as big as a soccer ball from his storage space. “We were supposed to arrive here yesterday, but I deliberately delayed our departure for a day so that Zhou Yingxue could prepare enough potatoes for me. With these in hand, are you still afraid that these starving people won’t follow us?”
