Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 125 Peace and Acquisition
"I'll attack Luoyang!"

Whether or not Beiji Wu attacks Luoyang, he has already said it.

The immense pressure caused Wang Mingyun to break out in a cold sweat.

"This..." Wang Mingyun glanced at Beiji Wu with difficulty. Seeing that Beiji Wu was unyielding and had the air of a king, he immediately lowered his head and dared not look at him anymore.

Wang Mingyun didn't dare to mention that the emperor had sent Beijiwu to negotiate peace.

If Beiji Wu really went to Luoyang, the emperor would probably be scared half to death.

Beijiwu sternly warned, "It's already May or June, and the plague in Luoyang probably hasn't completely subsided yet. The Yellow River might rise again in July or August this year."

"Among my 500,000 mountain peasants, there are 100,000 elite soldiers and 100,000 miscellaneous soldiers, which can easily form an army of 200,000!"

"The mountain farmers are invincible in battle, and countless people want to make meritorious contributions, be ennobled, and have their wives and children granted titles. These people are not afraid of death or hard work, but they are afraid of being poor for the rest of their lives!"

"I have stated my demands. I give you a reply within ten days, or I will lead an army of 200,000 south. At that time, I will not only want these few places!"

Wang Mingyun had only recently left Luoyang and knew that the garrison there had lost its fighting spirit.

Many people already know that the mountain people do not kill Han people. Since surrendering would not result in death, they must have surrendered.

Large cities with a population of over one million are simply too big to defend!

The food and drink of a million people must be transported from outside. A prolonged siege will inevitably lead to chaos. In addition, the city is full of people suffering from the plague. When the time comes, there will definitely be more than one person who will open the gates and surrender.

Wang Mingyun sighed and said, "I really can't make this decision. I will send someone to deliver a message, and there should be a reply within seven days."

Bei Jiwu coldly replied, "That's your problem, not mine!"

Arctic Wu was just bluffing; he had no intention of sending troops and delaying the wheat harvest.

If his 500,000 men went to Luoyang, he definitely wouldn't be able to call them back.

If there's a good place, who would farm in a rotten field?

Besides, things are developing quite well now. Once the territory expands, people's hearts will wander.

Before Wang Mingyun arrived, the Northern Army's plan was only to occupy Zijing Pass and Juyong Pass to create a deterrent effect, and they had no intention of going out to occupy Youzhou, Jizhou and Qingzhou.

But when it's time to ask for something, you have to be assertive and demanding!

A victorious nation should act like a victorious nation!

If we win the battle, we must also win at the negotiating table.

From occupying just over one-sixth of the original Jinzhou territory, to now talking about the entire Jinzhou, plus Youzhou, Jizhou, and Qingzhou!
Wang Mingyun was unaware that the Mountain Farmer King was bluffing; he only knew that if the King really led an army of 100,000 south, Luoyang would certainly not be able to hold out.

There is a plague in the city now, so it is impossible to move the capital at this time. If the emperor dares to leave, the people below will dare to rebel.

At this time, a major conflict will only worsen the plague.

If you can't win a fight and can't hold your ground, it's hard for the weaker party to stand up for itself at the negotiating table.

Knowing the actual situation, Wang Mingyun could only reply, "This humble official will send someone back to report the news immediately. May I ask if my men can come in and rest in the city for a while?"

Beijiwu said bluntly, "I'll just go back with you. What are you doing here? You'll sleep more soundly back in the county at the foot of the mountain, and it'll save my men from having to be on guard against you at night. I'm going back later, and I won't be waiting for you here."

We only need to leave a few people to defend Zijing Pass. Even if it is taken, it doesn't matter. We will definitely retaliate tenfold.

Even after the Wen Dynasty army captured the pass, they dared not invade the Shan Nong Kingdom, and the Shan Nong Kingdom was not afraid of these people invading.

Wang Mingyun could only tell the truth.

"Accompanying me this time are the families of the Duke of Yan and the Duke of Wei. The two dukes brought their families here, wishing to speak with Your Majesty alone."

Wang Mingyun carefully observed Beiji Wu's expression and found that Beiji Wu frowned and looked unhappy at all.

Arctic military forces are still focused on development and do not trust those who have surrendered.

However, since they have voluntarily surrendered, it wouldn't be good to refuse them.

"Okay, let them in."

A private conversation is definitely not an option; Arctic Martial would never talk to a stranger alone in a room.

"Yes!"

Wang Mingyun walked to the edge of the city wall and shouted down, "Come in!"

The delegation of over a thousand envoys finally arrived before their master.

Beijiwu watched from the city wall as people entered the barbican, and noticed several young ladies, maids, and old women dressed in rich clothes.

"Miss, it's King Wu!" the maid Yumen excitedly reminded those around her.

The young ladies all looked towards the city wall, but a lady nearby immediately stopped them, saying, "Don't be impolite!"

The most lively one, Wang Mingyu, laughed and said, "What do mountain farmers know about etiquette?"

Fang Huairui, the wife of the eldest son of the Duke of Yan, could not argue with him after hearing this.

At this moment, Beiji Wu walked down, and Wang Daoji, the eldest son of the Duke of Yan, and Li Yuanrang, the fourth son of the Duke of Wei, quickly walked over and knelt down.

"Greetings, King Wu!"

After the two men knelt down, their guards and servants, who were more than ten meters away, also knelt down.

Upon seeing this, the ladies and young women in the neighborhood also knelt down with their children.

“No one ordered you to kneel,” Beijiwu said directly. “You are nobles of the Wen Dynasty, not people under my jurisdiction. Why are you kneeling before me?”

Wang Daoji raised his head and bowed to Beiji Wu again, "I have heard that King Wu is a man of great righteousness and broad-mindedness, and whose civil and military achievements are unparalleled in the world. Although my father is the Duke of Yan in the Wen Dynasty, he has always held King Wu in high esteem!"

Beijiwu scoffed, "Just say what you want to say directly. It seems that everyone here is one of your people and one of mine. The Mountain Farmers don't like beating around the bush. The more direct you are, the easier it is to communicate and the less likely there will be any unnecessary misunderstandings."

Wang Daoji immediately replied, "Yes, Master! This time, I have come with over a thousand family members and retainers, along with Li Yuanrang, the fourth son of the Duke of Wei, to pledge our allegiance to you and serve as your vanguard!"

“Alright.” Beijiwu readily agreed. “Then you will stay here and defend Zijing Pass. If you are willing, you can stay; if not, go back now.”

“I did not kill the envoy, but the people here killed the envoy who persuaded me to surrender, so I killed them all as well. You may take the corpses of these loyal ministers and soldiers with you when you go down.”

Beiji Wuzheng didn't really want to defend Zijing Pass. Since there were traitors coming, he decided to let them guard the city.

So far, the surrendered generals have been quite diligent in defending the city.

Li Yuanrang raised his head and pleaded with Beijiwu, "I am willing to stay here! It's just that my elderly mother, wife, and sisters have traveled thousands of miles to get here, and the mountains are bitterly cold; I'm afraid they may not be able to handle it."

Beiji Wu casually said, "Then the women will come back to Tongzhou with me. You few hundred men can stay here and guard the city. I plan to have Wenchao cede Jinzhou, Jizhou, Qingzhou, Youzhou and other places to me."

"You wait here for ten days. If they don't agree, I will divide my forces into two groups to attack Ji and Yu provinces. At that time, you and your father will each receive ten thousand households, and you can choose any of the newly conquered territories."

"If they agree, your family of four households can settle in Wei County. Each household will receive fifty mu, and each household will receive fifty thousand mu, totaling two million mu of fertile land. Local self-government will allow you to build a county town."

Neither Wang Daoji nor Li Yuanrang expected the Arctic Martial Arts Conference to give so much!

"Your servants thank you for the reward, Master!" The two quickly kowtowed in gratitude.

This is far more than what Emperor Wen of the Ming Dynasty gave!
With 500,000 mu of stable hereditary land, the annual rental income alone could reach 400,000 to 500,000 guan, and the construction of a self-governing county town was also permitted!
Beijiwu added, "Your loyalty is commendable. You must perform well in the future. If you are fickle, you will surely die without a burial place!"

Wang Daoji kowtowed nervously and said, "Master, rest assured, this servant will definitely repay your kindness! I will go through fire and water for King Wu, even if it means being shattered to pieces!"

Li Yuanrang echoed, "This servant will forever remember the great kindness and virtue of my master. My entire family will obey your every command and will not dare to show the slightest disrespect!"

Arctic Martial said coldly, "A group of women is quite troublesome to settle. You two will each take turns guarding this place, and I will send a hundred men to serve under you. From now on, supplies will be delivered to you every two days."

"The rest of you, go to Tongzhou to settle down first, then come with me!"

Arctic Warrior wants to go home. He's just finished a major battle and is exhausted and sleepy.

Regardless of whether the people behind him could keep up, Beijiwu went down the mountain first.

Li Yuanrang and Wang Mingyun stayed behind, while Wang Daoji led the Wang family and the Li family to serve the servants of Beiji Wudang.

Wang Mingyun sighed, then began writing a letter to the emperor and sent it to the court by fast horse.

As for the Purple Gold Crown soldiers who refused to surrender and were killed by the Northern Martial Army, they were burned to ashes by Li Yuanrang and others who had just surrendered.

A journey of a thousand miles can be covered in two days by fast horse.

Wanye had no other choice.

The Tatars had previously raided and plundered, and nearly 20,000 of them were slaughtered. Fortunately, they surrendered quickly and were not all killed.

The Khitans attacked, and all 50,000 of their troops were wiped out. 50,000 cavalry died in a single day, shaking the very foundations of the state and rendering it powerless to conquer the Central Plains. The Wen Dynasty's army suffered repeated defeats, each campaign resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, with each loss of soldiers and generals increasing daily.

Where can we find another 300,000 troops to send to their deaths?

If a large army were to be assembled and marched north to attack the mountain peasants, the court officials would not agree, and rebellions would break out in various places.

Peace talks are the only way out at present, otherwise the country will perish.

The Wen Dynasty simply lacked the strength to win.

Four or five days later, Beijiwu met Wang Mingyun in Tongzhou City.

"Your Majesty has agreed to the peace talks. As long as Your Majesty swears not to invade Wen Dynasty's territory again, Wen Dynasty is willing to pay 100,000 taels of silver annually, exile 2,000 women, and send 10 beautiful women as tribute each year. In return, Jinzhou, Jizhou, Youzhou, and Lu will be divided into two parts, with Handan, Qizhou, Qingzhou, and Laizhou as the main administrative divisions, and each region will be governed by its own ruler."

Beiji Wuzhen never expected that Wenchao would so easily cede territory and sue for peace.

"Very well, I agree."

Beijiwu nodded calmly, "I won't go there this year. I'll give the people in these places a year to choose. Those who want to stay can stay, and those who don't can wait until the wheat is ripe before going south to make a living."

"This year, Shan Nong Kingdom will not send out a single soldier. When you return to report, you can ask your emperor to send people to maintain order, so as to avoid unnecessary chaos and prevent some villains from taking advantage of the chaos to rob."

"Furthermore, since we are now coexisting peacefully, I will no longer accept the surrender of the Wen Dynasty's rulers and ministers. I will still accept those who come to seek refuge, but I will not give them official titles or land, so as not to damage our harmony."

It's almost June now, and Beijiwu is too busy with his own affairs to take over a large area of ​​land at this time.

The situation in the three towns of Jizhou was extremely complicated. The hundreds of thousands of soldiers there were no pushovers, and settling them down would be too much of a hassle.

Arctic Martial does not want those people to surrender; they have killed too many people and have committed cult of the Lord more than ten times.

The best solution for these people is to clean them up.

Wang Mingyun said gratefully, "Your Majesty King Wu is magnanimous and generous; I greatly admire you!"

Beijiwu laughed and said, "Let your troops and people evacuate in an orderly manner. After harvesting the wheat, you can leave when it snows, so you won't go hungry on the way."

"Yes!" Wang Mingyun said happily, "Then when does King Wu think it would be appropriate to arrange a marriage alliance?"

Beiji Wu Tantang said, "After the spring planting next year, send the princess over. It would be best to choose a beautiful one. If I like her, she can be my wife. If I really don't like her, I can keep her at home."

Wang Mingyun cautiously replied, "Yes!"

Whether she's pretty or not, Wang Mingyun really didn't know, and couldn't guarantee it.

After Wang Mingyun returned, Beijiwu summoned his staff and generals to discuss the matter.

Wang Daoji and Li Yuanrang, who had just surrendered, quickly knelt down.

Wang Daoji exclaimed happily, "Congratulations, Master! You've conquered half the country without lifting a finger!!"

The others also knelt down excitedly, "Congratulations, Master!"

Arctic Martial wasn't so happy. "Just do what needs to be done. This year, prioritize agricultural production. Don't go to any new places yet. Everyone should stay put in the Mountain Farm Kingdom. Anyone who goes out on a mission will be expelled!"

Gao Laishun was very puzzled. "Master, this servant doesn't understand why we have to wait a year to get those places? If we go there now, the people, food, gold, silver, jewels, and mansions there will all be yours!"

Beijiwu shook his head and sighed, "It's one thing if those guys who just arrived or are just reckless warriors who don't understand, but you're usually in charge of internal affairs, how can you be so eager for quick success?"

Gao Laishun knelt on the ground and kowtowed, "This servant knows his crime!"

Beijiwu said irritably, "Get up, all of you. From now on, if there are more than ten people, you can refer to yourselves as subjects. I'll tell you about this year's mission."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" the crowd said in unison, and then they all stood up and stood at attention.

Today, the Northern Army has over a thousand civil and military officials under its command, but fewer than fifty people are involved in discussions.

"The climate remains harsh this year, with very little rain in the entire Northwest and North China regions during March and April."

“Wheat is in its critical jointing stage in March and April. If irrigation is not provided at this time, drought can reduce yield by up to 70%.”

Lang Wubing said, "Didn't we have a heavy snowfall here? Doesn't that make irrigation easier this year?"

Beijiwu explained, "The area is vast. It snows in the northwest, but not in North China. Last year, the entire north suffered a severe drought. Springs dried up and birds disappeared in Jizhou. This year, locusts will definitely be active."

"We have the Taihang Mountains blocking our way, so there shouldn't be any problems. We can talk about the plains to the east next year."

"If nothing happens this year, the people will not leave their homes, and it will be easy for us to take over."

“If something happens this year, we will be a righteous army when we go there next year. The villagers and gentry who stay behind will not be too hostile to our mountain farmers.”

"A little gold and silver is nothing to be surprised about. If we want long-term peace and stability, it doesn't matter if we wait another year or two. Let's govern the Mountain Farmer Kingdom well first, store up enough food to deal with disasters, and prioritize the well-being of our own people!"

When everyone saw that Beijiwu had great foresight, they knew they had chosen the right person to follow.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Everyone praised Arctic Martial's wisdom.

While it's possible to go there and collect wealth without caring about the disaster victims, that would only lead to more rebellions, requiring more people to manage and suppress them.

Now that the Southern Dynasty emperor has ceded territory and paid reparations, the Northern Army no longer needs the surrender of local garrisons and nobles, nor does it need to bestow any further rewards.

The other dukes found it increasingly difficult to obtain such near-royal titles from the Wang and Li families.

The Arctic warriors weren't exactly benevolent; they weren't willing to send men out to fight generation after generation, and their territories were hereditary and autonomous.

If they refuse to fight and bleed to death, or if they are defeated in battle, then there are plenty of ways to deal with them.

As long as someone is capable and gets things done for him, he can certainly afford to provide them with wealth and honor. Beijiwu doesn't mind if others live a good life and become superior people.

***
"Mountain Farmers' Daily! Mountain Farmers' Daily! King Wu has decreed: Starting next year, all fiefdoms of a thousand households will receive a thousand taels of silver, which they may use as military expenses!"

"Shan Nong Daily! Shan Nong Daily! This year, Youzhou, Jizhou, Qingzhou, and Xuzhou are experiencing severe drought, causing grain prices to rise! One jin of wheat costs 6 wen, and one jin of millet costs 4 wen!"

"Shan Nong Daily! Shan Nong Daily! Three months of rest and recuperation, preparing for the summer harvest!"

"Mountain Farmers' Daily! Mountain Farmers' Daily! King Wu has decreed that food should be taken care of first, especially for our own people!"

In Tongzhou City, newsboys began to walk the streets and alleys, waving newspapers and shouting out the main contents.

Wang Daoji's maidservant quickly came over and called out, "How much per serving?"

The newsboy replied, "Five coins for five newspapers."

Seeing the pitiful state of the newsgirl, Yumen gave her one tael of silver and said, "Give me twenty copies, and the rest can be delivered to the gates of the big houses on the street every day."

"If you have no food, come to my house. We happen to be short-staffed and can let you be a maid."

Yumen smiled and gave the newspaper girl a chance to live: to become a maid in a wealthy family.

The little girl selling newspapers smiled when she heard this, "I'm not going, I have a public household registration."

Yumen had heard of the public household registration system and knew that it was a lackey of the Arctic Armed Helicopter.

"That's good, I thought you had no one to take care of you and no food to eat."

Yumen smiled and spoke to her.

The newsboy counted the newspapers. "Here you go, it'll cost you a hundred coins. You want to use the newspapers to wallpaper the walls, right?"

Yumen laughed and said, "No, my family has more than two hundred people, and there will be more in the future, maybe even a thousand."

"So your family is a thousand households." The newsboy handed over the newspaper. "I am 115, 498, the fifteenth thousand households team, number ninety-eight of the four hundredth team. You can just call me 498, that's what everyone in the team calls me."

Yumen found it very interesting, "Okay, 498."

Si Jiuba was very happy that people called her Si Jiuba. She happily put the silver away and placed it in the inner pocket of her bosom.

Yumen asked, "How much money do you make selling a newspaper?"

Si Jiu Ba happily replied, "Earning half a copper coin per serving, selling a hundred servings a day can earn fifty copper coins, which is more than one tael of silver a month."

Yumen laughed and said, "That's great! One and a half taels of silver is quite a lot. You earn more than I do. You can sell a hundred servings every day!"

498 thought she was genuinely praising him and nodded proudly.

"There have been more people buying newspapers these past few days. A hundred copies sell out quickly. We sell five thousand copies a day in the city, which adds up to more than forty thousand copies across the nine cities. The newspaper sellers in Tongzhou are all from our team!"

Yumen chatted with this 498 for a while longer before taking the thick newspaper home.

(End of this chapter)