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As Wang Zhicai continued to read, his happiness grew. The content of this notice was exactly what he had told that person last night.
Since that influential person had adopted his proposal, it meant that he had definitely caught the attention of that person.
Wang Zhicai himself was about to turn things around. A bright future lay right before his eyes.
With a loud voice, Wang Zhicai enthusiastically read the contents of the notice, almost straining his voice.
The content of the notice detailed arrangements for the refugees outside the city.
Firstly, the drought in Changding Wang’s fiefdom has been somewhat alleviated, and the refugees outside the city are allowed to return to Changding Wang’s territory via the original route.
After enduring hardships and obstacles to arrive at this place, no one wants to leave at this time.
Therefore, the surrounding refugees began urging Wang Zhicai to continue reading the following content.
Secondly, the refugees outside the city can settle in the city but needs to pay five taels of silver as a fee.
The hearts of the crowd sank again. They had barely any food left after making it this far, let alone silver.
Moreover, even during normal times without disasters or hardships, it would be considered good for a family to have five taels of silver. How could they afford the entrance fee of five taels of silver per person?
Wang Zhicai continued reading, “You may also voluntarily join the Fourth Prince’s army…”
“What? Join the military!”
The surrounding refugees began to protest loudly, clearly extremely opposed to this idea.
You see, if someone in their family joined the military, their descendants would also have to join when they reached a certain age.
Wang Zhicai’s voice was interrupted, and he felt a bit displeased.
However, he continued reading, “Family members of those who join the military will receive proper arrangements. The above choices are all based on voluntary participation. Everyone can make their own choices. However, lingering outside the city gate for too long is not allowed. Otherwise, it will be considered voluntary enlistment.”
After finishing reading, Wang Zhicai looked at the emotionally charged refugees and added with a smile, “The Fourth Prince is truly considering us common people. At present, we have no fixed abode, but the Fourth Prince is willing to accept us useless people into the military, ensuring that we have no worries about clothing and food…”
Wang Zhicai exaggeratedly praised the Fourth Prince, portraying joining the military as a desirable opportunity that everyone would want but couldn’t obtain.
People’s hearts began to waver. Could it be that they had misunderstood the Fourth Prince?
On a section of the city wall, a man dressed in luxurious garments stood with his hands behind his back, looking down.
On the robe he wore, a four-clawed dragon was embroidered with golden thread.
He was the owner of this fiefdom, the Fourth Prince, who was currently the most favored by the emperor.
The direction in which the Fourth Prince was looking happened to be towards Wang Zhicai, who was standing in the crowd, reading the notice with great enthusiasm.
The Fourth Prince nodded in satisfaction, showing his admiration towards Wang Zhicai.
Standing behind him was an elderly man who spoke, “If my lord takes a liking to that young man, bringing him in would greatly alleviate the difficulties and burdens of my lord’s grand undertaking.”
The elderly man was a respected advisor in the Fourth Prince’s residence.
They had arrived outside the city late last night, and during their conversation, they were inadvertently overheard by Wang Zhicai.
Originally, they had intended to silence Wang Zhicai, who had unfortunately stumbled upon their conversation, by killing him.
Perhaps it was his strong survival instinct that caused Wang Zhicai’s mind to race rapidly. He came up with some methods to solve the current troubles of the Fourth Prince and voiced them, taking a gamble.
And the truth was, he guessed right.
The admiration in the eyes of the Fourth Prince and the elderly man did not seem fake at all. Today, they even posted his proposed methods.
There were too many gathered refugees outside the city, and it would require a tremendous amount of resources to settle them all.
However, the emperor was currently obsessed with Daoism and paid no attention to state affairs. So far, no order had been issued to settle the refugees.
The Fourth Prince wanted to send away these refugees without tarnishing his reputation, and this matter was giving him a headache.
At the same time, the Fourth Prince had another headache.
The court was becoming increasingly chaotic, and the emperor could ascend to immortality at any given day. This meant that the Fourth Prince needed to hold enough leverage in his hands.
The Wuding King was unwilling to stand on his side, so he had to find a way to increase his military strength.
Therefore, Wang Zhicai proposed a solution that could both send away the refugees and bolster the military.
The Fourth Prince nodded lightly and said as he turned to leave, “Find an opportunity to bring him and his family in.”
Under the city wall, after reading all the contents of the notice, Wang Zhicai slipped out of the crowd and left.
The people of Shen Village also followed him as he left.
After leaving, the villagers surrounded Wang Zhicai and bombarded him with questions about the contents of the notice.
“Zhicai, joining the military means being in a lowly position. It doesn’t seem like a good choice at all.”
Wang Zhicai smiled and once again unleashed the power of his eloquent tongue, convincing them otherwise.