Starting with a Wei Wu soldier

Chapter 98 Population Exceeds 10,000

Golden potatoes filled the granaries, and filled the hearts of all the soldiers and civilians of Xinghuo Fortress. The news of the harvest, like a monsoon, carried the most tempting promise of "having enough to eat" in this chaotic world, sweeping from Xinghuo Fortress to more distant and desolate corners. It pierced through the hills, crossed the rivers, and reached the ears of refugee settlements, defeated bandit groups, and even some small fortresses on the verge of collapse, struggling between hunger, banditry, and war.

At first, there were only sporadic, tentative inquiries. A few emaciated refugees, accompanied by their families, cautiously appeared at the refugee reception point outside the east gate of Xinghuo Fort, following vague rumors. They ate thin porridge while observing the orderly scene around them with suspicious yet hopeful eyes. When they saw the mountains of potatoes, heard the registration clerk calmly explain the "Order of Merit" and the land allocation policy, and received temporary identity tags with the names of their family members and the simple wooden seal of the household registration office, disbelief began to flicker in their numb eyes.

The news spread faster than anyone could imagine among the survivors. One told ten, ten told a hundred, a hundred told a thousand. More and more ragged, emaciated people, like iron filings drawn by a magnet, converged from all directions. Some came from villages further south utterly destroyed by war, some from the western regions repeatedly ravaged by nomadic cavalry, and some even from the eastern territories of small, heavily taxed, and exploited warlord states. Among them were farmers who had lost everything except their lives, artisans with skills but no means of livelihood, veterans whose families had been destroyed, and ordinary people with children, simply seeking a safe haven to live in.

Outside the east gate of Xinghuo Fortress, the once spacious temporary reception camp quickly became overcrowded. The number of cooking pots increased from two to eight, simmering thick porridge mixed with potato chunks day and night. The clerks at the household registration office were so busy they couldn't lift their heads, and the hemp paper for registering names was being consumed at an alarming rate. Li Shu had to urgently recall some of the more literate boys from the school to help. Wang Jian also led the students from the medical training class to set up more makeshift thatched huts on the edge of the camp to provide initial diagnosis and isolation for the sick and hungry newcomers.

The peak of the crowd occurred on the twentieth day after news of the bumper potato harvest spread. That day, from dawn till dusk, the flow of people outside the East Gate was almost non-stop. By evening, when the headcount was taken, the number of newly registered people for the day had exceeded eight hundred! This number stunned the officials in charge of receiving the crowds.

"Lord! At this rate, our population will probably more than double before the autumn harvest!" Zhao Tiezhu reported to Chen Xing with a mixture of joy and worry. "We have more people and more strength, but the places to settle them, the food rations, the tools, and the management... I'm really worried!"

Wu Xuejiu stroked his beard and pondered: "The influx of refugees is certainly a popular and inevitable trend. However, it is inevitable that there will be a mix of good and bad among them. There may be spies from other places or unruly individuals. We must be vigilant against the spread of disease along with the flow of people. Settlement, screening, education, and labor allocation... there are so many things to do. If we are not careful, chaos may ensue."

Chen Xing stood on the fortress wall, gazing calmly at the bustling temporary camp outside the east gate, resembling a massive ant colony, and the figures still winding their way closer on the road further away. He had long anticipated the harvest would bring a population surge, but the speed and scale of it still exceeded his expectations. This was both an opportunity and an unprecedented challenge.

"Order: First, immediately expand the area outside the East Gate to receive the camp, and build more temporary shelters to ensure that newcomers have at least a place to shelter from the wind and rain. Drinking water and sanitation facilities must be in place. Wang Jian's medical office should send more staff to make rounds and strictly prevent disease. Food supplies must not be interrupted, even if they are a little thin, people must be fed first." Chen Xing spoke quickly and clearly.

"Secondly, Li Shu, all personnel in the household registration office must devote themselves fully to registration and screening. Registration must be meticulous, not only recording names, ages, places of origin, and skills, but also inquiring about their origins, companions, and what they saw along the way. Establish an 'observation period,' where all new registrants will be uniformly arranged in the receiving camp or the newly built 'new annexed camp' for ten days of observation. During this period, Chen Wei will send elite veterans to infiltrate them, secretly observing their words and actions and screening out suspicious individuals. At the same time, vigorously promote the 'Fortress Rules,' 'Spark Law,' and 'Meritorious Service Order,' clearly explaining the rules and expectations."

"Third, after the observation period, we will immediately conduct preliminary reassignment," Chen Xing continued. "Honest and law-abiding farmers, craftsmen, and those with families will be assigned to various settlements for land reclamation, or to craft groups and fortification teams, according to their wishes and abilities, based on the original plan. Young, strong, and single men with no criminal record can be added to the 'Naturalization Camp' after preliminary training and loyalty assessment, serving as reserve soldiers and the main force for heavy physical labor. Those of unknown origin, suspicious behavior, or with obvious bad deeds will be separately organized, strictly monitored, and transferred to the 'Education Camp' to perform the most arduous and dangerous tasks, to observe their performance."

He looked at Chen Wei and Murong Mingyue: "In terms of military affairs, newly recruited young men are an important source of soldiers, but we must be selective and not compromise on quality. Chen Wei, you and Mingyue should discuss and formulate a more rigorous selection and initial training program for recruits. The primary focus should be on loyalty and obedience, followed by physical fitness and martial arts skills. Cavalry should be selected from those recommended by the Murong tribe and from Hu people with experience in horse herding and archery. Infantry should strengthen their formation and discipline training."

"Fourth, accelerate the expansion of infrastructure in each settlement," Chen Xing said to Zhao Tiezhu. "New houses, new reclamation areas, and new water conservancy facilities must keep up with population growth. Zhou Dashan's craftsmen's group should be given priority in providing the necessary building materials and tools. We can organize newly arrived refugees to participate in work-for-relief programs, allowing them to familiarize themselves with the environment while earning merit."

Commands were quickly relayed down. Starfire Fortress, already operating at high speed, had to readjust its gears to handle the sudden and massive demographic dividend, operating at a higher load and with more precise coordination.

The camp expanded rapidly, with new shelters springing up like mushrooms after rain. Despite the rudimentary conditions, for the long-suffering refugees, a stable, protected place to stay, two simple but reliable meals a day, and well-dressed, law-abiding officials and medical personnel was a dream come true. The vast majority showed remarkable obedience and gratitude, listening intently to the expounded rules and regulations of the fortress and diligently completing their assigned tasks.

The registration and screening work at the household registration office was proceeding in a tense but orderly manner. Drawing on his previous experience in establishing an intelligence network, Li Shu designed a more detailed registration form and cross-verification method. Chen Wei's veterans, disguised as ordinary refugees, silently observed the crowd and indeed discovered several suspicious individuals who were evasive or secretly inquiring about military deployments and granary locations. These individuals were quietly marked and subsequently taken away by the personal guard under other pretexts for separate investigation.

The new population, like streams flowing into a lake, was quickly guided, dispersed, and settled into various parts of the ever-growing social organism of Xinghuobao. Old settlements such as Dongtun and Nanshaoying began to spread to the surrounding areas, with new settlements emerging; the crafts teams welcomed dozens of new members with skills in blacksmithing, carpentry, pottery, leatherworking, and other crafts, which was expected to further improve production efficiency; on the city construction site, the increased labor force significantly accelerated the progress of rammed earth construction; even the newly established "Firearms Research and Development Team" was assigned two strange refugees who claimed to know some alchemy, who were stuffed into the isolation research area by Chen Wei as if they were treasures.

Murong Mingyue's cavalry selection process became more flexible. After rigorous screening and background checks, a group of young non-Han people with solid horsemanship skills and clean backgrounds, along with a few skilled Han riders, were added to the "Sharpening Edge Camp" and began their brutal and systematic training.

In just over a month, the total population of the Starfire Fortress controlled area has officially surpassed 10,000, reaching over 11,700, according to Li Shu's latest statistics! And the growth momentum continues.

This number might not seem significant in a county during peacetime, but in this desolate and chaotic frontier, for a force that has risen to power in just over a year to effectively govern a population of over ten thousand is an astonishing milestone. It signifies that Xinghuo Fortress has truly transformed from a large fortified village into a formidable separatist force.

The news of the population exceeding ten thousand spread quickly throughout the fortress, further boosting morale. Veterans felt proud, new recruits felt fortunate, and everyone was filled with even greater confidence in the future of Starfire Fortress. The market became more bustling, and the variety of goods exchanged increased daily. In the school, a new batch of children enrolled, and the specialized courses attracted even more ambitious young people.

However, the core leadership was not blinded by this apparent prosperity. The management pressures, resource consumption, internal integration issues, and the inevitable increased external apprehension brought about by the population explosion were all swords hanging over their heads.

At a core meeting, Wu Xuejiu warned with concern: "A tall tree catches the wind. Our fortress has seen a rapid increase in population and strength. How could the Black Mountain Commander not know this? His retaliatory attack is probably not far off. Moreover, with a population exceeding ten thousand, the internal structure also needs time to integrate and adapt. Although many of the new vassals are obedient, their hearts are not yet with us. We need to educate them, establish rules, and offer tangible benefits to gradually win them over."

Chen Wei also said, "Although there are many new recruits, it takes time to form an army. Facing the potential large army of the Black Mountain Commander, elite veterans will still be the backbone. We need to intensify integration and training, and we cannot be blindly optimistic."

Chen Xing nodded: "What you and Chen Wei said is absolutely right. The population exceeding ten thousand is a joyous occasion, but it is also a responsibility and a test. What we need to do is to take advantage of this brief window of opportunity before the storm arrives and quickly transform the new population into a force for construction and defense, and to unite the hearts of the newly arrived people into a will to live and die with our fortress."

He gazed northward, his eyes deep and thoughtful: "The Black Mountain Commander won't give us much time. Order all units to accelerate everything! Build walls, train troops, stockpile grain, reorganize the army… We must make this population of over ten thousand a tough nut for the enemy to crack, not a disorganized mess!"

Starfire Fortress, this fortress ignited by a spark, after reaping an explosive increase in food and population, is like a rapidly developing teenager, its bones growing taller and its muscles becoming stronger. But at the same time, it is also entering the most dangerous stage of its growth – it must learn to control this surging power as soon as possible and prepare to use this power to meet the ultimate test from a powerful enemy that will determine its fate.