Long before Mo Yan decided to settle tens of thousands of soldiers who could no longer enter the battlefield and who had little labor power left, Qi Nan had already roughly explained the situation to Zhao Mu.
Therefore, over the past few months, Zhao Mu had been paying close attention to the condition of each soldier. Once the news was confirmed, he selected the elderly soldiers who would have great difficulty getting through the winter. Even if they ultimately could not escape death, he hoped they could at least experience some final warmth and not perish miserably in the cold winds.
Besides the nearly half who were elderly, the remaining soldiers retained some working capability. They couldn't do heavy labor, but weeding, planting trees, watering, and loosening soil were no problems. Having lived off farming on the frontier, they had become adept at managing their impaired bodies. The only difference was that they worked slower than healthy people.