City dwellers in particular knew nothing whatsoever about land reclamation or agricultural techniques. Many could do nothing but tighten screws or fit iron hoops around wagon wheels; send them out to farm, and they could not even tell crop seeds apart.
Yet no one cared what those refugees thought—or rather, what they thought did not matter. What mattered was profit and stabilizing the situation.
When US Army soldiers raised their gleaming bayonets and black gun barrels, the refugees could only obey—or be eliminated as dangerous elements threatening social stability.
In truth, many people had tried in free America, but without exception, they all met the same end. They could be eliminated on the spot without even doing anything particularly extreme.
But the refugees were not merely capable of destruction. In fact, more of them hoped to integrate into a new collective, a new life.
Although the overwhelming majority had lost their savings and property, many possessed a trade—tailors, cobblers, carpenters, blacksmiths, and the like.
Given the right opportunity, these people could easily find work. It was only that America's market was small at this point and could not accommodate so many craftsmen.
Many skilled workers had already found jobs before the army arrived, so they would most likely escape this calamity.
On the surface, the worst off were still the able-bodied laborers and farmers. The sheer number of refugees had caused the value of labor to plummet, and their lives were bound to become even more difficult.
Forget finding steady work—even whether they could feed themselves was a question. They were also the group that caused the most trouble, though it had nothing to do with their morals or education.
The main reason was their miserable circumstances; secondly, they themselves often possessed strong, sturdy bodies.
But in truth, those white-collar