The mess here in Yangzhou is far heavier and more troublesome than before, but Li Ling can no longer shirk it.

This is not only because he needs this position to ensure his own safety and future, but also because he sees such a desolate scene in Yangzhou and sees that the people in the city are unable to even have a guarantee of survival due to disasters, a fire is burning in his heart.

Although he is a time traveler, Li Ling cannot regard the life and death of these tens of millions of people as nothing. Since he has come this trip, he should do his best to do his best for this world and do things within his ability for these hardworking and simple Chinese people.

Li Ling's brief silence also made Chu Lian feel uneasy. As an official from Yangzhou who had been here, he knew very well how heavy the burden was and how difficult the matter was. He was afraid that the prefect Li, who had just arrived, would suddenly leave his head, just like some officials in the yamen who had not died in the war but had long disappeared.

Under the other party's uneasy eyes, Li Ling finally spoke slowly: "How many people are available in our government's yamen? And how many soldiers will remain in the military camp under Yangzhou?"

Hearing this question, Chu Lian's spirit was refreshed and his eyes lit up. He knew that Li Ling really wanted to take on this important task, so he quickly replied: "To be honest, this rebellion, especially after the fall of the city, the blow to the various yamen in Yangzhou was still quite serious. Many officials and others were killed by rebels. As for the soldiers of the Chuan camp who were responsible for defending the city, there were even heavy casualties... Now the clerks who can use the government office now are only ninety-two people. As for the soldiers and horses in the camp, there are less than two hundred left, and only one deputy general Xiao Dingbo is still trying to support..."

There are nearly a hundred people in the yamen, so if they are placed in the county yamen, it will naturally be a very small loss. The people from Huating County, plus the people, will only be just over a hundred. However, this is the capital city, and Yangzhou, a large city in Jiangnan. There are countless official duties in the capital city alone, not to mention that there are various affairs of the subordinate counties that need to be decided by the government office.

Generally speaking, in the prefectural government offices like Yangzhou Prefecture, the number of people available in the ordinary county offices is five times that of the ordinary county offices, which is nearly five hundred people, which does not include those who wander around and hiring on weekdays. But now, there are only a hundred people left in the entire government office, which shows the shortage.

The loss of military troops in the military camp was even more shocking. The Great Vietnamese military system was 3,000 in the local area, but now it has not even arrived. With this little manpower, if you want to manage a prefecture with a radius of hundreds of miles, you still need to collect this year's taxes according to the court's wishes. The difficulty is at the level of hell.

Li Ling's face became more and more serious, and his fingers kept knocking on the coffee table, his eyes flashed: "I'm afraid that such a few people can't do anything. It seems that if we want to recover Yangzhou as soon as possible, the first step we have to do is to recruit people. Only when there are more people under our command, will the people inside and outside the city regain trust and awe of the government and help them rebuild their homes!"

"The Lord is very worried, but... it's not easy. The dead can no longer be resurrected, and the living may not trust the government. Also, even if we want to recruit soldiers and horses, we are afraid we don't have the capital. All the warehouses in the government have been looted in this chaos. Without silver and food, we can't afford to support people." Chu Lian was helpless and threw a bucket of cold water.

"The matter is not as serious as you think. First, there should be many officials and soldiers who escaped after the city was broken. They may not go far and are still watching the movements of the government office. We just need to issue a notice and not hold them accountable and let them regain their posts. I believe that half of the available personnel will be able to come back in a short period of time."

Li Ling's inference was reasonable, and Chu Lian also agreed. The city was broken that day, and the noise was very loud, but the actual casualties were not as serious as expected. Because the rebellious rebels were actually the people of the past. They either looted property or vented their dissatisfaction with the exploitation of officials, but they did not commit too much murder. At most, they just destroyed some houses and shops.

However, he still had concerns: "Even if these people can come back, whether they use people or raise soldiers, they need money and food to support them. We can't get so much money and food. Moreover, there is a shortage of food in the city now, and it only depends on the porridge-funded support of Lu Xie and other families, and then hundreds or thousands more are spent. Once even these rich families cannot support them, I'm afraid..."

"I will solve the problem of money and grain. You just need to prepare the relevant notice as I said." Li Ling looked solemn and his mighty look, which really made President Chu Tong dare not say much, so he could only bow his head and say yes.

"Also, it should be far from enough to recruit old subordinates, so I want you to post a notice to recruit people from the public. Just tell them that as long as they are hired by the government, not only will the government be responsible for the daily meals, but there will be silver for each month, each person will have at least two taels of silver per month!"

"Sir, think twice..." Chu Lian was really panicked now. What was going on in the city now? Once such a notice was really posted, the yamen would be crowded and maybe another riot would be. And what's more important is that they had no money or food. Isn't this a fraud? And it's destined to be deceived immediately.

"Don't worry, I'm here to do everything." Li Ling took a big fuss.

If he hadn't carefully read Li Ling's official edicts and other certificates and confirmed that he was really the candidate for the magistrate appointed by the governor, Chu Lian would have suspected that this was a fake magistrate and came to make Yangzhou more chaotic. But even so, he still couldn't feel at ease and could not really agree to such an order.

Looking at his subordinate with a embarrassed face, Li Ling smiled and stood up, came to the other party, and patted his shoulder gently: "I know what you are worried about, but it's time. If you don't take the first step, you can't solve a series of problems in Yangzhou City. Believe me, since I have taken on this important task, I naturally want to solve the problem, not to make Yangzhou even more chaotic. I will solve the problem of money and food, so you don't have to worry."

"Okay... OK, the official will obey the order." When Li Ling looked at him closely, Chu Lian was nervous for no reason and dared not refuse to persuade him, and agreed to this request. Although he was still full of doubts, he didn't know what the new adult could do to convert money and food.

After the negotiation of what was most urgent, the two did not continue to talk about the serious matter. After all, Li Ling and the others had just arrived in Yangzhou, and they were in trouble and needed a good rest.

At that moment, Chu Lian led the two to the Houya.

Compared to the destruction of the front yamen, many houses were even burned down by fire. The situation behind the government yamen was better. Although they were still looted by the rioters, the houses and courtyards here were preserved. Moreover, the cross-yards, which are the residences of the prefect, have just been cleaned up and arranged, and now they are convenient and comfortable to move in.

Li Ling was taken by Chu Lian in the backyard and looked around. He was quite satisfied with the arrangement: "Yes, thank you for your trouble."

"This is all the job that a humble official should do. It's getting late today. If the lord has no other instructions, the lord will arrange relevant notices. Also, maybe some gentry from the city will come to pay their respects in the next two days. I wonder if the lord is willing to see them at first?"

"Of course we have to meet each other. The reconstruction of Yangzhou is indispensable for their efforts." Li Ling said with a flash of light in his eyes, "You go and do things with confidence. I have the right official to decide everything for you."

With anxiety and doubt, Chu Tong said goodbye and left. After he left, Li Moyun, who had been silent all the time, asked about his doubts: "Sir, are you planning to pay for these people by yourself? But is this little money enough?"

As the major shareholder of Zongheng Bookstore, Li Ling is indeed very rich now. Although he is not in the capital, the monthly money in his account still enters his pocket. Even if he is by their side, he can now take out tens of thousands of taels of silver.

But Li Ling smiled and shook his head: "No, although I don't want to be a corrupt official, I never thought that I would be a fool. No official would subsidize his own money for the court. What's more, Yangzhou is such a big place and so many places, what is this little money I can't even hear a sound when I invest it."

"Then... why should I promise those people to come to the government office to listen to it?" Li Moyun became even more and more strange, making him, who was not talking too much, unable to help but ask questions.

"Well, I have my own concerns. As long as I take this first step, the subsequent things can go down naturally." Li Ling smiled, looking confident.

Seeing that he was so sure, Li Moyun stopped asking more questions, as long as his son knew it.

Looking at the sun gradually setting in the west, Li Ling stretched: "There should be nothing else to do today, and it seems that no one will hold a special banquet to clean up our dust. Let's go to the restaurant outside for dinner."

Li Moyun responded, put down their luggage and other things, and then followed Li Ling out, walked through the second hall of the government office that seemed a little deserted, and walked out from the main entrance.

Although Yangzhou is already in bleakness, some shops and restaurants are still open. Of course, most people will definitely not be able to spend money now. They only want to have a bowl of porridge in front of those porridge stalls to fill their stomachs. Thank God.

However, there are still many customers on the four-story Mingyue Tower near the government office. When Li Ling and the others entered the restaurant, there was a smile on their faces, and there was no stranger at all. It seemed that this place did not belong to Yangzhou and could not see the hungry disaster victims around them. It was as if the rich people in the poem were smelly of wine and meat, and the road was frozen to death.
Chapter completed!