Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 117 God’s will
Arctic Martial Arts needs a base of support, but after thinking for a long time, it can't figure out who its base of support is.

First of all, they are definitely not farmers. Those farmers are quick to surrender and can help, but as soon as they get close to you, they will become part of the bureaucratic group.

Arctic Martial Arts began to organize the forces commonly encountered in ancient times.

The imperial clan group consisted of the emperor's relatives with the same surname, a group of princes and nobles bound by blood ties.

The aristocratic clans were powerful families that monopolized official positions, land, and knowledge and culture.

The eunuch group, those close to the emperor.

The civil service group, mainly composed of Confucian scholars who passed the imperial examinations, frequently clashed with eunuchs and imperial relatives.

The maternal relatives group, the Empress's maternal family.

Local powerful groups, including large local landowners and gentry, controlled the local economy and grassroots government.

religious groups
Merchant groups, including wealthy merchants, salt merchants, tea merchants, and foreign trade merchants, influenced policies through their economic power, but were suppressed for a long time (emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce).

Minority Group, leaders of border ethnic groups

Ordinary people could join any group, becoming part of the imperial power, the civil service, or the imperial relatives.

"Currently, the only group that can leave is the meritorious group. I have the highest prestige in the army, and I am not worried about my subordinates leading troops to rebel."

"These people are bad at handling domestic affairs, but that doesn't matter. As long as they can keep those civil officials from causing trouble, that's fine."

"The meritorious group serves as political officers to complete my instructions and targets, while the civil service group selected below assists them as administrative officers."

"In the name of training, we call people from various fiefdoms to help. Firstly, it can cultivate loyalty and reduce some taxes, and secondly, it can select outstanding talents."

"Merchants play a significant role and need to be closely monitored. Under the feudal system, landlords and powerful families are dealt with by their respective lords."

Arctic Wu became interested in politics and began issuing orders.

***
As evening fell and the village community finished their meal, Sang Yang'an sat in the steaming canteen reading the newspaper with the villagers.

An elderly man nearby was wearing a sheepskin coat and carrying an iron tea mug with a lid. The mug could hold a liter of water at a time.

The women were wearing thick cotton-padded coats, and some were wearing sweaters while holding their children.

The children were still eating, and some people were drinking not far away.

Sang Yang'an looked at the newspaper and read: "In Daizhou, Lanzhou, Xinzhou and other places, disaster victims were massacred by the emperor of the Southern Dynasty. After a severe drought last year, they were hit by a snow disaster. Houses collapsed and there were frozen refugees everywhere on the roadside."

A middle-aged man laughed and shouted, "Our village didn't feel much of a cold winter this year, but we've had all-you-can-eat mutton! Haha!"

A nearby woman accused him, saying, "You have no kindness at all! Everyone else is suffering so much, and you still have the nerve to laugh!"

The man said, "Why can't I laugh? As long as we're full, that's enough. Those people listen to the emperor in the south, they're not on our side. It's better if they die sooner."

The old woman next to her whispered, "They're all Han Chinese."

The man cursed, "Old woman Wang, are you being unreasonable? What's wrong with being Han or Hu? If you want to be Han, don't eat a single bite of food here. All the food here is given to us by the mountain farmers!"

The old woman's husband quickly stood up and cursed, "You're talking nonsense! Now that I've cut my hair, I'm a mountain farmer. We're all mountain farmers who work and farm with the clan chief. I'm a mountain farmer, my wife is a mountain farmer, and my son is a mountain farmer too!"

The Mountain Farmers do not forbid others from joining; as long as one respects the customs and habits of the Mountain Farmers, one is a member of the Mountain Farmers.

Every farmer who cultivates the land can call themselves a mountain farmer; this is something that Arctic Wu allows.

All children born in San Nong County are considered to be San Nong people.

Sang Yang'an shouted, "Stop making noise! ​​Sit down and listen properly. If you don't want to listen, go home and go to sleep!"

Everyone quickly sat down, unwilling to accept defeat.

Sang Yang'an was not good at fighting and was not much of a figure, but he was the head of the centurion's office, and everyone else had to listen to him.

The mountain farmers have a clear hierarchy.

Arctic Warrior and the others were in a relationship of personal dependence, that of master and servant.

The rest were divided into two systems: the public household registration system had a hierarchical relationship, while the feudal lord's military household registration system had a master-servant relationship.

The higher the rank, the more powerful they are; superiors must have the authority to control their subordinates, otherwise they simply cannot manage them.

Sang Yang'an wasn't one to meddle, so once the scene quieted down, he continued reading the newspaper.

“The three prefectures of Lanzhou, Daizhou, and Xinzhou have come to surrender because the glorious benevolence and righteousness of the mountain farmers have moved them. We should help those suffering people who are willing to join us.”

"This year, the farm implement factory has produced more farm implements, and a large number of oxen were also preserved intact during the snow disaster, so it is expected that 50,000 people can be freed up to do work outside of agriculture."

"According to the clan chief's decree, all villages under the public household registration are required to carry out road repair work in units of one thousand households. The disaster victims from the three prefectures who are being resettled will be included in the public household registration and will earn wages for road repairs."

"This year's spring plowing work remains the same as last year. After completing their public field tasks, each public village may, at its discretion, cultivate private fields to generate income. The harvested wheat belongs to the individual, and the granary will purchase it at a price of 100 wen per 100 jin."

"You can use the oxen and production tools provided by the government, and you must pay for any damage at the original price."

The group of people quickly perked up.

A woman asked, "Can I start farming this year?"

The old woman next to me said, "Where do you own land? You're not a military household!"

The woman replied, "I used to be from Shuozhou. When we surrendered, my family was allocated fifty mu of land. The fields by the river were exchanged for the land at the foot of the mountain."

Sang Yang'an said directly, "What are you talking about farming private land? Don't you want a public household registration anymore? Even if you farmed fifty acres, would you be doing as well as you are now?" The woman thought this made sense, but she felt lost. "Then what about the land my family owns?"

Sang Yang'an advised, "Don't worry about it. Otherwise, I'll make you farm near your rotten land, and your whole family won't be able to stay in the village anymore. There are so many things to do in the village every day, how can you have time to worry about your broken land?"

Seeing that the woman still couldn't understand, Sang Yang'an reminded her, "Look at the tens of thousands of people who came this time, they all own land, and they're living just as miserably, aren't they? If you own land, you have to pay taxes, but now you don't have to pay taxes. As long as we have some meat to eat, you won't go hungry."

Upon hearing this, the dozens of households that owned land quickly abandoned their idea of ​​cultivating private land.

Farming doesn't make money, so naturally people stop farming. And nowadays, there are other ways to survive besides farming.

Sang Yang'an continued reading the newspaper: "This year, our county has built 3224 new 3-meter heavy iron plows and has 2500 old 2.5-meter iron plows. It is estimated that 200,000 mu of land can be cultivated every day. In order to harvest more grain to cope with disaster years, 2 million mu of wheat will be planted this year, which will require 100,000 laborers."

"The nine provinces of Shannong County have a total of 20 million mu of arable land."

Sang Yang paused for a moment, then continued reading: "The population of Shan Nong County this year is 492421. It is estimated that the Kyushu region will not be fully developed until the next generation grows up in twenty years."

"Ensure food production, guarantee three meals a day, and defend our homes. If enemies invade, both men and women should take up arms and go to the battlefield to fight for our happy home!"

“In the past two years, about 30,000 people from Shannong County returned to the south, and there has been no news of them since.”

“All generals who return to the south who are not members of the imperial family or aristocratic clan shall be executed and severely punished for their serious crimes.”

"All the soldiers who returned to the south, under the supervision of the battle team, led the charge and died in the attack on the city and the capture of the stronghold."

“All the farmers who returned to the south were farmers conscripted from Qin and Jin, who died from drought or froze to death in the wind and snow.”

"The mountain farmers do not waste land. Those who return to the south will have their allocated houses and land reclaimed, and their wives will remarry."

The men and women in the entire farmhouse listened quietly; this was a crucial announcement concerning the vital interests of everyone.

Sang Yang'an continued reading the new regulations.

"According to the soldiers of the new three prefectures, Emperor Wenchao was not as good as Shan Nong in both civil administration and martial arts. So he devised a treacherous plan and trained a group of crossbowmen who were specifically tasked with killing the commanders. They advanced with shield soldiers and shield carts, and then shot them with crossbows when they got close."

"In order to deal with the situation where the army is leaderless after the loss of its commander, which leads to the collapse of morale and gives the enemy an opportunity to take advantage, according to the chieftain's supreme order, each commander must clearly transfer command when going out to war or defending."

"After the commander is unfortunately struck by an arrow, the deputy commanders will take over in order. If the deputy commander dies, the military staff will take over. If the military staff dies, the 100th commander will take over. The strategic objective will be the priority. If anyone surrenders, they may be killed and replaced! Fight to the death!"

"If the clan chief unfortunately falls into danger, military affairs in the prefecture will be jointly managed by the garrison troops of Daizhou, Xinzhou, Shuozhou, Tongzhou, Wuzhou (Nongjiakouwei), and Weizhou. The five regions are required to defend themselves to the death and resist external invasion."

"The seven ministers of the Interior will continue to manage the affairs of government and agriculture, while wives and children will return to the rural villages and enjoy the same benefits as those of a thousand households."

"Ten years later, Shannong County will be mainly composed of those with high military achievements."

Beiji Wu made clear arrangements for his own affairs after his death, and also gave the newly surrendered general of Yanmen Pass a surprise gift.

At the Shiling Pass General's Mansion, the Yanmen Pass garrison commander was reading the newspaper from two days ago. After reading the last word, a joyful smile unconsciously appeared on his face.

"King Wu is indeed a man of unparalleled righteousness and boundless heroism!"

Several officers inside the general's residence also smiled.

Bai Mu laughed and said, "I knew it! It was the right thing for us to submit to King Wu. The court doesn't care whether we live or die. When they don't need us anymore, we'll just be like those people who died at our hands, getting shot to death by those bastards with arrows!"

The general guarding Shiling Pass beside Bai Mu was Bai Shi, who was also Bai Mu's brother. Because they were brothers, they did not guard the same pass together, but instead guarded Shiling Pass behind it.

The two were brothers and came from a family with a long history of military service.

The main reason for choosing to surrender was that, having been rooted in Jinzhou for decades, the people there had long been united.

The imperial court killed refugees in Jinzhou, causing the 100,000 mu of land cultivated by the Bai family to become wasteland.

Since joining the Arctic Martial Alliance would allow them to continue enjoying wealth and luxury, the Bai family naturally chose the Arctic Martial Alliance.

Bai Mu is younger, just thirty years old, while Bai Shi is thirty-three. Neither of them is the head of the Bai family, and their surrender this time is a temporary act.

Bai Shi sighed, "The family members have already come from Taiyuan City. If King Wu sends troops, Taiyuan City will immediately fall to him. What a pity!"

With the strength of the Arctic Martial Arts and the Bai family's inside help, it would be very easy to break through Taiyuan City. Then we could occupy Jinzhong and take over the entire Jinzhou.

Bai Mu was not so pessimistic. He smiled and said, "For now, we just need to hold Shiling Pass. Xinzhou and Daizhou are our family's foundation. Taiyuan City is the territory of the Prince of Jin. Now that there is no one left in Jinzhou, there is no use in leaving it there."

"King Wu values ​​us so highly. As long as we hold Shiling Pass and Yanmen Pass, we will surely achieve great things in the future!"

Bai Shi nodded. "There are already 300,000 people from Jinzhou outside. If they don't come in soon, they will all die outside. Our Bai family has surrendered to King Wu. The other families in Jinzhou should also think about it carefully."

Before the Wen Dynasty, there was a century of chaos, so there were no aristocratic families; all were military families.

Because of hereditary succession and the relatively quick surrender, most of their land was preserved.

Because they could still lead troops into battle and guard the border, the garrison commanders could easily seize a large number of military and civilian settlements.

For hereditary officers, having their soldiers work for them is a normal thing.

As long as Arctic Martial can guarantee everyone's continued wealth and status, powerful families and noble clans will be willing to follow Arctic Martial.

The reason for surrendering at this time was mainly because the Wen Dynasty had gone too far and suffered two divine retributions, making people feel that the Wen Dynasty's fate was sealed.

Confidence is very important. Now the people of Jinzhou have lost faith in the Wen Dynasty. Here they are suffering from severe drought and snow disasters, and even their own people are killing each other. On the other side, however, they have a bumper harvest, can eat their fill of mutton, and receive money every month. As a result, soldiers from all three classes have chosen to go north.

One aspect is the warning from heaven, and the name of Beiji Wu is also very fitting, as King Wu replacing the Wen Dynasty is in line with feudal superstition.

This is the will of Heaven, and naturally, there is a legitimate reason for our actions.

(End of this chapter)