northernbook Chapter 542 You'll be at my house in just a few steps
Chapter 542 You'll be at my house in just a few steps
Corporal Adel stood behind the chevaux de frise, his eyes bloodshot, which spread like spider webs in the whites of his eyes. His calloused hands tightly grasped the hilt of the sword at his waist, his knuckles turning white due to the force, as if the bones were about to protrude from the skin.
His eyes were fixed on the chaotic area outside the chevaux de frise - huge numbers of Yoda refugees were pouring in like a tide, their densely packed figures swaying in the moonlight, like a group of long-hungry beasts, ready to break through the defense line at any time.
"Damn it...it made my throat inflamed."
Corporal Adel cursed under his breath. His throat was so dry as if it had been burned by fire. He could feel the stinging pain in his throat every time he swallowed. He went to see the doctor in the barracks. The doctor told him that his throat was inflamed because he had not rested well in the past few days. He asked him to rest and drink more hot water.
This is already the third wave of attack tonight. One wave was dispersed during the day, and another one came at night. It seems that these refugees are never tired, and they come in wave after wave as if they are driven by some invisible force.
The border of Det Province has now fallen into complete chaos. Refugees from the Yoda Empire are pouring in like locusts. During the day they hide in the woods to rest, and at night they attack Helderland's border defenses in groups.
They carried ladders, some of which were made from rough wood, and some were even made from stolen farm tools. They built simple wooden bridges and tried to cross the trenches and chevaux de frise.
He knew in his heart that this situation would never end in a short period of time. It was like a nightmare with no end in sight.
Of course, the Helderlan citizens who rescued them also have some responsibility for this, because as soon as these rescued refugees returned to Yoda, they spread the word that Helderlan had no shortage of food, which directly caused the number of refugees attacking the border to increase many times.
"Where are you running to!" Adel heard the voice of the new recruit Rebel, and saw that he was holding down a Yoda refugee and pressing him to the ground.
Rebel's face turned red from the effort, veins popped out on his forehead, and he held the refugee's arms tightly with both hands, as if he wanted to transfer all his strength to him.
Several soldiers quickly stepped forward and handcuffed the refugee.
"Finally I can have dinner."
The Yoda refugee muttered these words as he was taken away.
Rebel was stunned for a moment and looked at him in surprise. It turned out that these people risked their lives to smuggle across the border just to make a living?
"Let me go! Why are you arresting me? I have relatives here!"
Another imprisoned Yoda refugee struggled and shouted, his voice filled with anger and unwillingness, his eyes were wide open and bloodshot, and his face was full of despair.
A squad leader stepped forward, slapped him in the face without saying anything, and shouted angrily:
"Relatives? Even if your relative is an official here, it won't work! Without the identity documents of a Helderlan citizen, you are a stowaway!"
“Why…why!”
The refugee roared, his eyes full of despair.
"The village where I live is less than 500 meters away from here. Why can't you take one more step?"
His voice was filled with tears and his body was shaking as he struggled.
"Who told you not to be ambitious?"
The captain sneered, with a hint of disdain in his eyes.
"You felt that you were having a hard time two years ago, so why didn't you come here earlier? Now even beggars in the city have been given housing, but there are still vacancies in the prison. Take them away!"
The sergeant waved his hand, and two soldiers immediately stepped forward, carried the refugees and walked out.
"Corporal Adel, haven't you noticed that there are more refugees attacking the border recently?"
Rebel asked as he sorted out his messed up equipment. His voice sounded tired and he was staggering from exhaustion.
"Ah."
Corporal Adel nodded.
"It seems like there's a war going on there. The newspapers say it's quite large. Plus, the discipline of Yoda's army is so poor that the common people can't survive at all and can only flee."
The refugee crisis not only plagued the Province of Det, but almost the entire eastern border of Helderland was in chaos.
To make matters worse, the neighboring Kingdom of Barden had no intention of guarding their borders, allowing refugees to flood into their newly conquered lands.
Today, the towns of Barden are filled with refugees, their once clean streets have become overcrowded and their houses are packed to the brim.
King Balden had to ask other countries in the Northern Alliance to send more soldiers to help guard the border.
……
In the royal palace of Helmingen, John was sitting in the main seat in the meeting hall with a frown on his face.
His eyes revealed worry and fatigue. The table in front of him was piled with various documents and letters, most of which were about border refugee issues, but he was now listening to the solutions proposed by Hawke.
"Your Majesty, I believe a border wall should be built."
Hawke spoke first.
"At least the eastern border must be built like this. Otherwise, no matter how well we defend it, refugees will still slip in. That wall will be our first line of defense against refugees, making it difficult for them to cross it easily."
"Yes."
Simon nodded in agreement, a hint of approval in his eyes.
"And places like logging camps, farms, ranches, and mines living near the border often shelter these illegal immigrants. Those industries only want labor and don't care whether these people have identity documents."
"My suggestion is to deploy more troops to the border and impose fines on these harbouring behaviors. We need to let those harbouring people know that their actions will have consequences."
"Everything you say makes sense."
John pondered for a moment and spoke slowly:
"But the reason why the country wants to develop now is the lack of a large labor force. Nowadays, all villages and towns are setting up collective industries, which of course provides a considerable number of jobs for local people.
"But every year conscription takes away some young and middle-aged people, leaving vacant positions unfilled, which seriously affects industrial output. Our country needs to develop, and these workers are indispensable."
He stood up, walked to the map, and ran his finger across the eastern border:
"So, I have an idea - to get these refugees paperwork to allow them to work in Helderland."
“Let them write a letter of guarantee to their relatives in Helderland. If the guarantor commits a crime or absconds, the guarantor will be punished.”
"As for the sponsored Yoda people, they will enter the industry to work under the unified arrangement of each province. At the same time, they are not allowed to change their work location at will and can only live and work in the designated place."
"This will not only solve the labor problem, but also control the flow of refugees and make them work for us."
"Your Majesty, this is a feasible solution."
Hawke finally nodded, a hint of recognition in his eyes.
"It can both solve the labor problem and control the flow of refugees. However, we still need to formulate detailed rules to ensure that this plan can be implemented smoothly."
Simon also nodded:
"At least it's better than letting them pour in in disorder."
This was the only solution John could find at this time, because some countries he knew in his previous life solved the problem of labor shortage by issuing work visas to stabilize the environment while solving the problem of labor shortage.