Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 124 Ceding Territory
After undergoing various investigations, Wang Mingyun left the palace and returned home.

Inside the sedan chair, Wang Mingyun pondered how to communicate with Beiji Wu, who was now the King of Martial Arts.

"This Northern Wu has already established the Mountain Farming Kingdom and called himself King Wu. He must have the idea of ​​taking over the throne. Now that he is powerful, he probably won't agree to peace talks so easily."

"Besides, as I said before, if war breaks out here again, the Mountain Farmers will absolutely not propose peace again."

"Looking for his brother, Beiji Yong?"

Wang Mingyun frowned; he had been paying close attention to the Arctic Martial Arts Association for over a year.

Beijiwu has never cared about his brother. Since sending his brother here, he has never written a letter or sent a gift.

They ignored him completely, as if he didn't exist.

Wang Mingyun suddenly thought of something.

"His brother isn't from a mountainous area!"

"Could they have sent a dummy?"

In either case, Arctic Wu will not change his mind because of Arctic Yong.

Wang Mingyun was worried about this matter the whole way home. When he finally got home, he found a servant he didn't recognize behind the door.

The Wang family's butler immediately said, "Master, we have a guest waiting for you in the study."

Wang Mingyun's gaze sharpened. If a guest had been brought to his study without his permission, then this guest must be of much higher status than himself.

"it is good."

Wang Mingyun didn't ask any questions and walked over steadily.

The unfamiliar servant followed behind, while the Wang family members did not.

This further solidified Wang Mingyun's judgment.

"It's probably not a good thing." Wang Mingyun sighed inwardly and stopped thinking about it.

Unfamiliar servants stood guard at the door of the study. When Wang Mingyun pushed open the door and entered his study, he saw two elderly men in their fifties looking in his direction.

"Minister Wang, please forgive my intrusion."

As one of the six ministers, Wang Mingyun knew he was in trouble, so he politely asked, "Duke of Yan, Duke of Wei, may I ask what brings you here?"

Wang Mingyun dared not sit down, nor did he dare to say anything more.

If the emperor finds out that he secretly met with two dukes, he'll probably lose his head.

The Duke of Yan smiled and said, "I heard that His Majesty has sent Minister Wang to negotiate peace and even plans to cede territory through marriage. I wonder when Minister Wang will depart?"

Wang Mingyun's heart skipped a beat. He had just come from the palace and received news from the emperor, only to find that these two not only knew the content of their secret meeting, but had also arrived home before him.

The people around the emperor are probably no longer all his own.

"That is indeed true." Wang Mingyun chose to cooperate in front of the two dukes.

One is fine, but two at the same time must be linked together, and there's probably more than one.

Now the emperor is old, a plague is breaking out in the city, and the Duke of Yan and the Duke of Wei are both generals who lead troops into battle.

They had no military power, no fiefdoms, only estates. They had no administrative power over the localities and had to cultivate relationships to get involved in local affairs, which was illegal.

However, each Duke's mansion has retired guards and servants who have served on the battlefield, with at least a hundred elite men in each mansion.

The emperor was old, and the crown prince had been mentally unstable since returning from Jinzhou. Many of the imperial guards who returned from Jinzhou also contracted the plague.

Nowadays, the imperial family no longer has the prestige to govern the entire country. The few capable members of the Wan family have been assigned to various places to guard the borders. Apart from the Wan family generals who command the Wanzhou Iron Cavalry, the millions of people in Luoyang are mostly managed by a few generals.

Duke Yan did not hide anything and said directly, "I have heard that the Shan Nong tribe has established the Shan Nong Kingdom, and the chief of the Shan Nong tribe is King Wu. They are also preparing to attack Youzhou and Jizhou."

Both dukes were military men and older than Wang Mingyun.

Wang Mingyun knew that the group was not familiar with each other at all, and it was unlikely that bringing up this matter in private would be a good thing.

Yes, that's right.

Wang Mingyun answered politely, but inwardly he felt bitter, knowing that he was going to get into trouble no matter what.

The Duke of Yan said directly, "I am the Duke of Yan, but I have not been to Yan many times. This time I will send someone to accompany you and protect your safety. What do you think?"

Wang Mingyun said, "That depends on His Majesty's decree."

Duke Wei glared at Wang Mingyun with displeasure and reprimanded him, "Do you need to report such a trivial matter to His Majesty? You're not going alone. If you're going with someone, why not bring an extra servant? Who would know?"

Wang Mingyun replied with difficulty, "This is against the rules..."

The Duke of Wei roared in fury, "When I was following His Majesty in conquering the world, you were still nursing in your mother's arms. How dare you try to use the rules to govern me?!"

Wang Mingyun looked at the old man who was about to hit him, his face showing great difficulty.

The Duke of Yan laughed and said, "Minister Wang, just agree. His Majesty will definitely not know about this. You don't need to worry about it when you leave the city. Now that the plague is spreading, if I don't find a trustworthy person to protect you when you leave, I'm afraid you will die suddenly and ruin the country's affairs."

This time, Wang Mingyun dared not be stubborn and could only bite the bullet and say, "Yes, as the two dukes agree."

The emperor is not easy to offend, but how could these military men who lead troops into battle be easy to offend?
The imperial court no longer has many capable veterans left, and the new generation is no match for Arctic Martial Arts. Several outstanding members of the older generation have also been killed by Arctic Martial Arts.

It's not that we don't want to fight, it's that we really can't win. For the sake of our country and the power we hold, we have to surrender to ensure that the country doesn't descend into chaos.

This is the emperor's idea, not the idea of ​​ordinary people and the lower classes.

For the lower classes, the mountain farmers didn't indiscriminately kill civilians, they were well-fed and clothed and ate three meals a day, and the officials had all surrendered, so why not surrender themselves?

For the gentry and landlords, the mountain farmers allowed autonomy, allowed merchants to hold power, allowed powerful families to acquire large amounts of land, and were willing to share power with civil and military officials, and to appoint people based on merit.

For court officials, their official rank at the time of surrender didn't matter. As long as they surrendered with troops, they would be reinstated. Civil officials without troops, as long as they were capable, would also be treated as one of their own and given important positions.

For the powerful dukes, it was impossible to become kings in the Wen Dynasty, but it was not necessarily the case among the Shan Nong tribe.

Nearly twenty dukes in the Wen Dynasty only received stipends and had no fiefdoms. They were all kept in the capital and could be disposed of by the emperor at any time.

Unless they were going out to fight, the emperor would never let them go out, and even if they did go out, he would send people to keep an eye on them.

If this continues, they'll all be killed off one by one sooner or later, leaving only a few as showpieces.

The more powerful a person is, the greater the chance of them being killed.

This has always been the case throughout history: the lives of princes and nobles raised in the capital are entirely at the mercy of the emperor's whim.

They had already resigned themselves to their fate, knowing that the emperor would kill people, but they all gambled that the emperor would remember their past favors.

However, the last time the emperor directly cursed several dukes and ministers as dogs and slaves, the act of driving the crown prince insane, and the countless times he indulged the bad behavior of several princes and nobles, all showed that this world belonged to his family, and everyone else was an outsider in his eyes.

If the emperor doesn't treat the brothers who fought alongside him as family, then he can't blame the brothers for finding their own way out.

Neither the Duke of Yan nor the Duke of Wei had fiefdoms; they only received stipends and fiefs. Fiefdoms were not fiefdoms, but rather the harvest from a portion of the farmland within the fiefdom.

The fiefdom was not a real fiefdom. The three thousand households of fiefdoms of the Duke of Yan and the Duke of Wei only produced the output of two hundred households.

A surrendering garrison commander can easily obtain a fiefdom of a thousand households, with no limit on the number of people.

Those who had previously surrendered to the Northern Army were given important positions and considered themselves to be forged in the crucible of war, naturally believing they deserved even more. Once the dukes began to surrender, their generals, protégés, former officials, and relatives would follow suit.

When the emperor was in good health, he could still supervise those below. But now, for some reason, since returning, he has become exhausted, sleepy, and listless. He only wants to eat thin porridge.

When the emperor began to focus on health preservation and avoiding the plague, many people used the excuse of avoiding the plague to secretly send some family members out of the capital.

Instead of taking the route from Luoyang to Jinzhou and then to Shannong Kingdom, Wang Mingyun sent a thousand-strong envoy team carrying gold, silver, salt, and tea from Luoyang to Jizhou. From Jizhou, they traveled through the Puyin Pass and Zijing Pass, one of the eight passes of Taihang Mountain, to reach the nearest city, Tongzhou.

Puyin Pass is a pass south of Feihu Pass and an important gateway to Youzhou, even more important than Juyong Pass.

Wang Mingyun led over a thousand men to approach Zijing Pass. Horses could not travel there, so donkeys and porters were needed to carry heavy loads.

As you climb up from the foot of the mountain, the path becomes increasingly treacherous.

Entering through Aimen Gorge, the path is narrow, only three or four meters wide, and follows the rocky route.

The right cliff rises steeply into the sky, while the left cliff plunges hundreds of feet into a ravine with raging torrents below, where thunder rumbles from the ground, making it look quite frightening.

The guide wiped his sweat and said to Wang Mingyun, who was walking down the path, "From here we enter Puyin Pass, and further up is Zijing Pass."

Wang Mingyun looked at the high mountains ahead, then looked back at the envoys in the procession. Among them were not only laborers, but also dozens of women and young ladies who had been traveling for more than a month.

After starting to climb the Taihang Mountains, the roads become extremely difficult, but these women are still carried in sedan chairs and don't have to suffer too much.

"How much longer until we get down the mountain?" Wang Mingyun asked the guide, also wanting to get down the mountain as soon as possible.

The guide replied, "This is Wuruan Pass. There is a Wuhui Ridge above it, which requires you to turn back and forth five times and follow a serpentine path to get up."

Wang Mingyun said no more and led his men forward.

This time, some personal guards and servants were mixed into the group. They were all people who had fought in the north and south, so there was no need to worry about order. The son of the Duke of Yan would take care of the arrangements.

After zigzagging their route five times, the thousand-strong army finally approached the Zijing Pass above.

Standing in front of the Zijing Pass and looking back, you can see the mountain path you came from and the fertile plains below, with no further obstacles.

Looking down from the top, one can see Wanren Mountain to the east, Xiniu Mountain to the west, Huangtu Ridge to the south, and Juma River to the north. Nestled against the mountains and beside the water, it is a vital passage that locks the Puyin Pass to Yi County and leads directly to the rear of Youzhou.

This area is also an important defensive line for supporting Tongzhou and resisting grassland invasions. It can be used to support Feihu Pass along the Great Wall.

"Open the door! We are envoys sent by His Majesty! We sent a message to your general long ago!"

Wang Mingyun's men walked to a point five meters away from the city gate and shouted at the eight-meter-high city wall.

The messenger team could only travel forty or fifty li a day, while the messengers sent out could travel four hundred li a day.

For nearly a month, Wang Mingyun had been worried that the emperor would summon him back and accuse him of conspiring with foreign officials to rebel.

But now that a month has passed and there's still no response, it can only be said that the emperor is indeed useless.

Most importantly, whoever is emperor understands the importance of peace negotiations!
As long as I can reach a peace agreement, I will be of use no matter who becomes emperor.

If you're useful, you won't be persecuted; you'll end up like the prime minister, arbitrarily imprisoned and dying of illness.

"Open the gate! Are the people on the city wall dead?"

The hot-tempered man shouted loudly, venting his anger on the gatekeeper above.

At this moment, several men appeared.

As soon as they showed themselves, Wang Mingyun and some of his men sensed something was wrong!
Short buzz cut!!
The soldiers above remained silent. Then, a man familiar to Wang Mingyun stepped forward and looked down at the caravan below.

"This place has been occupied by me. The soldiers in the city fought desperately and have all been killed. You should take these brave men back and give them a proper burial. Also, have your emperor properly settle their families and reward them handsomely."

Wang Mingyun received an unexpected piece of news that he had anticipated.

As expected, Zijing Pass and Juyong Pass will definitely be captured, and they will be no match for Beijiwu.

Surprisingly, Beijiwu personally came to take over this pass at this time, which shows how much he valued it.

“King Wu, I am Wang Mingyun, the official from the Ministry of Rites who previously negotiated peace with you. I have been ordered to come here to discuss the peace talks with you.”

Beijiwu laughed and said, "I said long ago that after you launched the first attack, there would be no more peace talks. Why are you still talking about this?"

Wang Mingyun immediately said, "That is not true. Two months ago, our dynasty did not raise any troops or attack the Shan Nong tribe. On the contrary, the three prefectures of Lanzhou, Xinzhou, and Daizhou were all under the control of the Shan Nong tribe."

Beiji Wu retorted, "In the south, you suffered heavy casualties even before the battle began, and in the east, wasn't it you who sent troops to Jizhou?"

Everyone knew that Wen Chao attacked Shannong County; the Khitans and Mongols were also aware of it, and it couldn't be concealed.

Wang Mingyun called out, "May I enter the city and speak with King Wu in person?"

Beijiwu disappeared on the city wall. "Open the door and come in."

No matter how many people were at Zijing Pass, Wang Mingyun and his men had no intention of launching a sneak attack.

The mountain farmers would be even less concerned about such a possibility.

With the Arctic Warriors here, even if an army of 100,000 came from below, they wouldn't be able to break through this place. Instead, they would have to worry about whether 100,000 people would fall off the cliff like a snowball.

In such a treacherous mountainous area, 100,000 people would only end up killing themselves.

Ten people can kill a tiger with sticks on a plain, but on a steep hillside where you can touch the ground with your hands, many out of 100,000 people would fall down before even seeing the tiger.

After entering the city, Wang Mingyun saw many corpses piled up together.

The dried blood on the ground indicated that it had happened at least half a day ago.

The two met on the city wall, and Wang Mingyun bowed and said, "King Wu."

The name itself reveals the court's attitude towards the Shan Nong Kingdom.

Beijiwu has seen loyal ministers, and killed many of them, as well as many opportunists and those who compromise their principles.

"I will not go back on my word. Since you have started fighting, there is no room for negotiation."

Wang Mingyun stood up and said, "King Wu loves his people like his own children. The Shan Nong tribe also hopes to recuperate and live a peaceful life. Now that the world has just been pacified, the people do not want to start another war. We hope that King Wu will reconsider and turn hostility into friendship."

Beijiwu laughed and said, "Why didn't you think of this when you were attacking me?"

Ignoring Beijiwu's angry words, Wang Mingyun continued to earnestly express his goodwill.

"This time I have brought a thousand bushels of tea and ten thousand taels of gold and silver. If King Wu agrees to the peace talks, His Majesty is willing to marry the princess to me and provide a full dowry. From now on, we will take Yanmen Pass and Xiongzhou and Bazhou as the boundary and maintain a lasting friendship without any war."

Beiji Wu never expected that the Southern Dynasty emperor would be so willing to cede Youzhou and most of Jizhou.

Are you really going to give up the empire you just conquered?
However, considering that he had just given up Lanzhou, Xinzhou, and Daizhou, which he had just acquired, Beijiwu roughly understood the Southern Dynasty emperor's thoughts.

Since it's all territory that's been seized and fought for anyway, it's not a big deal to lose it if things go wrong.

"I want the entire area of ​​Qingzhou, Laizhou, and Daming Prefecture in the east, and I want the whole of Jinzhou in this area!"

Arctic Martial Arts directly made an outrageous demand, and its momentum was overwhelming.

"If we can talk, we'll talk; if we can't talk, we'll fight!"

"I'll attack Luoyang!"

(End of this chapter)