Chapter 1636: Riots

The King was so enraged that he smashed his cup. "This is outrageous! I opened the granaries, I distributed food, I helped the refugees – and this is how they repay me? Where is Bai Tan? Summon Bai Tan to the palace at once!"

He had even considered releasing grain from the military granary to Tian Shui City, despite it being a strategic reserve for soldiers, never to be lightly touched.

The King had also issued orders to set up relief shelters in the south and west of Tian Shui City, providing gruel to starving refugees. No matter how thin the gruel was, providing food at such a critical juncture meant drawing money and grain from the national treasury to subsidize commoners and refugees!

Yet, these refugees showed no gratitude; they bit the hand that fed them!

With the monarch's thunderous rage, the imperial court immediately acted with the efficiency honed by the Tian Shui East Expansion project. Bai Tan swiftly dispatched city patrols and a portion of the imperial guards to personally suppress the unrest.

That night, a thousand patrolmen and constables stormed the northern district, conducting a meticulous search to apprehend every refugee suspected of lurking or fleeing.

Another two thousand soldiers burst into the shacks where the uprising had begun, arresting everyone they saw.

Wielding swords and chains, they mercilessly beat anyone who didn't immediately prostrate themselves, regardless of gender or age.

Instantly, the shacks descended into chaos, filled with the sounds of struggle and ear-splitting screams.

Normally, the refugees might have swallowed their pride and endured, as the people of Tian Shui City, from officials to commoners, had never treated them as human beings. But not tonight. Tonight, they knew that once caught and imprisoned, they and their families would face certain death!

Those with strength fought back, while the timid ones scurried away, covering their heads, rushing to other shacks for refuge.

However, Bai Tan had set up a perimeter in advance, so none of those who fled managed to get far; they were all captured.

The uprising was suppressed before dawn, and hundreds of people were arrested by the authorities.

Inside and outside the shacks, debris was strewn everywhere, and blood stained the ground.

The stench of blood carried far, prompting surrounding residents to cover their noses and stay indoors.

Seizing the momentum, officials promptly interrogated the arrested rebels. The refugees who participated in the riot all claimed they had no food and were starving, which led them to the idea of robbing wealthy households. How much surplus grain could ordinary commoners in Tian Shui City have? Robbing them would be like trying to squeeze oil from a stone – arduous and futile. It was then that two refugee leaders told them that if they wanted to steal, they should target rich merchants and nobles, as those places had plenty of rice, flour, gold, and silver. If they succeeded, they would surely eat their fill!

These refugees, half-dead from starvation, found this reasoning compelling and didn't hesitate. They picked up sticks, branches, stones, even pitchforks from stables and shovels from latrines, and charged forward with their leaders.

Bai Tan's swift response, rapid suppression of violence, and effective crackdown earned him high praise from the King.

In fact, Tian Shui City experienced refugee unrest every few years, and Bai Tan had handled all of them effectively over the past five years.

The King felt quite confident in his methods.

The only flaw was that the two refugee leaders who organized the rebellion had both died in the chaos. Whether their actions were self-initiated or prompted by others, the answer could no longer be found.

Before Tian Shui City could even relax, and even before Bai Tan had left the palace, a new wave of riots began!

Riots, once they start, tend to spread like wildfire.

Seeing this precedent, other refugees realized it was feasible: they could indeed seize food and fill their bellies, provided they acted together.

Although they would be pursued by authorities afterward, between starving to death immediately and eating several full meals before dying, the refugees much preferred the latter.

Besides, hadn't many refugees successfully escaped with food? Rumors circulated everywhere about individuals who had not only stolen and eaten their fill but also carried away considerable gold, silver, and jewels!

In contrast, the gruel distributed at the official relief shelters was as thin as water, with only a few grains of rice floating on top. No matter how much one drank, it merely filled them with water.

The refugees understood: If they didn't steal or plunder, they would likely starve to death. But if they fought and took what they needed, they could at least get a few full meals, and perhaps even escape.

The more people who participated in the riots, the smaller the chance of being caught themselves. Surely they wouldn't be *that* unlucky, right?

In just three days, Tian Shui City experienced seventeen refugee riots of varying scales!

Many commoners suffered, as the refugees were now desperate, robbing anyone who caught their eye. When asked why they looted, their answer was simple: "Nonsense, those who don't rob are starving to death!"

It's worth noting that Tian Shui City had a refugee population of 100,000!

What would happen if such a massive group became agitated?

Tian Shui City became a place of widespread fear. Officials and nobles spent more effort and money reinforcing their residences. Once their protective formations were activated, refugees couldn't break in, forcing them to target shops and ordinary residents instead.

In stark contrast to the refugees' "growing enthusiasm" was the increasingly poor initiative of patrolmen and constables. Sometimes, upon receiving news of a refugee riot, they were too sluggish to even respond.

On one hand, the riots were simply too frequent; before they could finish dealing with one in the east, a host of new ones would emerge in the west and south. How could they handle a dozen or more cases per person?

On the other hand, the patrolmen and constables themselves had limited food rations.

More movement meant more consumption, and they were getting hungry too quickly. Their superiors hadn't considered providing them with extra meals.

Eventually, they became too lazy to act. When their superiors urged them, they would just take a few token steps to show effort.

Earning such meager pay and only two bowls of dry rice a day, who would risk their lives for that?

He Lingchuan lived in the suburbs, some distance from the center of Tian Shui City, and yet his Flowing Spring Manor had been invaded four or five times.

At this point, Zhao Song and his nearly one thousand imperial guards found their purpose once more.

Flowing Spring Manor was vast, and Yang Shan was severely understaffed. If a hundred or so refugees climbed over the walls to steal, He Lingchuan would have had to turn a blind eye. After all, the protective formations couldn't be kept active at all times, as the energy cost would be even greater than the losses from theft.

However, with Zhao Song and the imperial guards defending the manor, all petty thieves were driven away.

This security force was far greater than that of an ordinary noble household.

Learning from the lesson of the Red Lodge owner, Zhao Song was diligent, proactively arranging personnel and adjusting guard rotations, beating any trespassing refugees half to death before throwing them out.

He contacted his colleagues in the palace and learned that the King had ordered the court to also practice austerity as an example. Consequently, even food within the palace gates was now rationed and served at fixed times. The sturdy imperial guards were given only two steamed buns and two or three small dishes per meal, and meat only once a day—

Tiny slivers of meat played hide-and-seek among the pickled vegetables, requiring great effort to find. Only then did they realize the chef's knife skills were formidable, as each piece was barely thicker than paper.

As for wine... it had now become the hard currency of the palace. If one wanted something done, bringing a bottle of wine guaranteed success!

In contrast, Flowing Spring Manor was like a paradise. Its thousand-plus guards had abundant rice, flour, vegetables, and meat. Every day, the manor would also retrieve fruit from the cellar to share, and the frozen grapes and persimmons preserved since autumn were incredibly sweet.

Oh, and there was wine to drink too! The manor even had its own wine cellar.