There were connections even among the refugees.
That was what Shen Tang had her eye on.
She planned to use this group of refugees who hated the Ten Crows court's rule as a starting point, gathering as many "people of ambition" as possible and stirring up strife within the Ten Crows. It was a good idea, but most of these refugees were elderly people, women, and children. They lacked clothes and food, and could barely keep themselves fed. Their fighting strength was pitifully limited; otherwise, Xu Quan wouldn't have flattened them with barely a hundred men.
For them to be of any use, they needed ample provisions. Food was also key to winning over other refugee factions.
Steward Lin had no idea she'd just been saddled with another burden.
Shen Tang had summoned her to ask about the army's food reserves.
Steward Lin took a rough look at the number of refugees and their makeup, and began working out the figures in her head. In an instant, she had estimated the expenses. Gravely, she said, "My lord, although our army has some supplies to spare, there isn't enough to feed this group. They may be refugees, but they're still people of the Ten Crows. Their nature is fickle and deceitful; they're no good sorts and don't deserve our sympathy. We might as well kill them and spare ourselves future trouble."
In short: they were short on food!
Even feeding their own two thousand men was a strain.
Better to kill them all than add more than a thousand mouths that couldn't be put to use or made to earn their keep right away.
Mm. Cost savings.
Steward Lin hadn't hidden what she thought.
She'd even joked about killing all the captives to save on military supplies. Shen Tang hadn't interrupted