Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 131 Southern Dynasties
The Wen Dynasty had lost its ambition to dominate the world. In order to prevent the invasion of the Shan Nong Kingdom, after the peace treaty, Wan Ye led the civil and military officials to retreat from south of the Yellow River to south of the Huai River, and then directly from south of the Huai River to south of the Yangtze River, reaching Lin'an Prefecture, 1,300 miles away.

The areas south of the Yellow River and south of the Yangtze River have clearly been abandoned.

Crown Prince Wan Die remained in Luoyang to oversee the state and preside over the marriage alliance.

Anyone with eyes could see that Wan Ye wanted to replace the crown prince, so he left the crown prince alone in Luoyang to handle government affairs.

Princess Luzhou, who was to be married off, and several concubines were also present. The emperor only brought his sons, daughters, and ministers with him, as he was now so weak that he could not touch women.

In November, Wan Dai, who was handling government affairs in the Imperial Study, received a letter from Bei Jiwu.

[To His Highness the Crown Prince: I have heard that Your Highness is tolerant and kind. Although you did some things in Jinzhou that I disliked and killed many disaster victims, I have also done similar things when disaster victims robbed my grain transport team in the autumn. So I will not say anything more.]

The purpose of this letter is to work with Luoyang to manage the Yellow River. In recent years, natural disasters have occurred frequently, and people have suffered greatly. For the sake of national peace and prosperity, it is necessary to calm the Yellow River and let it nourish the people on both banks.

The Loess Plateau in the upper reaches of the Yellow River should focus on afforestation to preserve vegetation and prevent silt from flowing downstream. I have already sent people to conquer the Hetao region and restore the vegetation ecosystem in the Hetou area. The main problem is the Loess Plateau region.

This region is the Qin land of Guanzhong. After two thousand years of cultivation, the soil has lost its fertility and is now sparsely populated and barren. I hope that both sides can work together to manage the Loess Plateau, for the sake of future generations, and to recreate the Yellow River's eternal stability that lasted for eight hundred years during the Han and Tang dynasties.

I hope that the people of Qin will stop cutting down trees and can burn coal for warmth.

Currently, I am in charge of winter wheat planting in Jincheng, Zezhou. In the future, I will establish my capital in Youzhou to defend against the Khitan Tatars. I have already sent people to Youzhou to build a city in preparation for my wedding.

If the Crown Prince is free during the cold winter, he may come to Tongzhou for a visit. After the marriage, we will be half-brothers.

If the Crown Prince agrees to let me take the Guanzhong region to control the floods, I am willing to treat him with the respect due to an elder brother. All the annual tributes mentioned before will be cancelled, and I will no longer set up defenses in the eastern and northern regions. This will save both sides the cost of stationing troops and avoid further burdening the people and wasting resources.

If that doesn't work, we'll continue as before, and there will be no further fighting. We only hope that the Wen Dynasty can govern the Guanzhong region well and prevent further bloodshed. Please reconsider.

Suddenly, Wan Dai's eyes cleared up from his dazed state.

Forced to kill by his father and brothers, Wan Dai suffered psychological problems and was deprived of comfort for a long time. He lived in constant fear of being deposed as crown prince and imprisoned and murdered by his beastly brothers. Suddenly, he discovered that someone cared about him.

Beijiwu didn't care about Wanchao's life or death, but Wanchao did feel cared for and valued from this sincere letter.

It was a rare, or even almost nonexistent, form of equal communication.

Wan Shi, who is in his forties, has a son who is older than Bei Jiwu.

But now, Beiji Wu is the ambitious and talented King Wu, while he is just a useless crown prince who could be deposed at any time.

Wan Chu was eager to meet with Beiji Wu, so he quickly gathered his own team.

Wang Mingyun and the other six ministers and officials have gone to Lin'an Prefecture. Not only is there no capable old general by the Crown Prince's side, but even his teacher and a few close ministers have been taken there.

Everyone thought the crown prince had gone mad, and with the emperor's intention to depose him becoming increasingly clear, many people jumped ship.

The emperor had several sons who had come of age, and many princes in their twenties and thirties were available for investment, not just the crown prince.

Those who followed the Crown Prince were all loyal ministers and lower-ranking officials who had not become traitors.

"Do you think I should go there?"

Wan Shi asked his subordinates for their opinions. He looked eager to meet the Martial King.

The Crown Prince's advisors quietly circulated Beiji Wu's letter. Although Beiji Wu used a language they could understand, his self-reference and straightforward manner of speaking were very common.

The Crown Prince's nephew, Wan Jingzhi, frowned and asked, "This letter wasn't stamped. Is it really written by King Wu?"

Wan Dai then realized that the letter wasn't stamped!
Gu Yizhi, a staff member in the Crown Prince's residence, who was in his forties or fifties, quickly determined whether it was true or false.

"It should be true. It is said that King Wu was illiterate and did not understand literature. He only knew the language of the Shan Nong tribe. Moreover, King Wu was young and unconventional. He was very casual about titles and forms of address. He probably did not call himself king because he was not used to it yet."

"Besides, no one should dare to forge King Wu's letter. If we are worried about being scammed, we can send someone to ask. There is no need to risk going there."

Gu Yizhi's words convinced the others to accept this seemingly illogical situation.

Wan Dai asked, "If that's true, may I make a trip to the Mountain Farming Kingdom?"

Gu Yizhi quickly said, "Your Highness is of noble birth, how can you take such a risk? If the Shan Nong tribe harbors ill intentions, it will surely become a national disgrace!" Wan Dai smiled insincerely, clearly not taking it seriously.

He truly doesn't care about national humiliation or anything like that.

Wan Shi was being driven crazy by his father.

The youngest person present was Wan Qizhen, Wan Chu's son.

Twenty-two-year-old Wan Qizhen spoke up: "Your subject is willing to go and take a look. There are still four months until the wedding day. Would it be alright for your subject to escort Aunt there?"

Wan Chao nodded. "Pack your things now and go discuss the wedding arrangements. Come back when I tell you to."

Everyone was silent.

The crown prince had received formal imperial education, had served as a military supervisor in battles, and had participated in numerous political decisions.

Now the Crown Prince is sending his son to the Shan Nong Kingdom and forbidding him from returning without orders, clearly indicating his wariness of the Emperor's purge of this faction.

Wan Qizhen realized this as well and lowered his head, saying, "Yes, Father."

Wan Dai looked at the others and asked, "King Wu wants the Qin territory. What do you all think?"

Qin Yang, the commander of the Eastern Palace Guards, said, "Now that he has taken over Yan, Zhao, Qi, Lu, and the entire Jinzhou, if he gives it to Qin, will he even give Luoyang to him in the future?"

Wan Chao no longer considered Wen Chao his own home, and casually said, "Father Emperor went from the Yellow River to the Huai River, and then crossed the Yangtze River to the south. Now Luoyang is only two hundred li away from Jincheng and Yuncheng. The army can arrive in a day. Now that the emperor has gone to the south to seek refuge, all the civil and military officials are thinking of surrendering. What harm is there in giving up another place?"

"Besides, with uprisings constantly breaking out in Qin, where would we find the troops to suppress the rebellion in Guanzhong? If we give it up, the people of Qin can settle down and be spared the suffering of bandits."

The Wan family only held sway over the country for a little over a year before their power waned.

Because the period of rule was short, the cession of territory did not face the same level of resistance as that of a unified dynasty.

Last year, the locusts ravaged the Qin and Jin regions to the point of desolation, and this year the entire north has suffered severe damage, with even the drought-stricken Guanzhong region not escaping repeated locust infestations.

Those who went west included not only people from Qingzhou, Laizhou, and Qizhou, but also refugees from the Guanzhong region who could not survive there.

If they were not mountain farmers, these people would seek refuge with the Mongols and Turks.

The officials of the Wen Dynasty were all busy acquiring land and positions in Jiangnan, and no one cared about the disaster situation of the people in Huaibei and Yubei, nor did anyone care about the people of Qin.

As the group was discussing matters, a eunuch rushed in.

The eunuch knelt on the ground, crying out, "Your Highness! His Majesty... has passed away! The messenger said that His Majesty's will appointed Prince Wan Hu of Qin as the new emperor!"

Crown Prince Wan Dai clenched his fist and quickly said, "Write a letter to King Wu! I will give the Qin territory to King Wu and borrow 50,000 troops from him!"

"Qizhen, immediately take Princess Luzhou to the Shannong Kingdom for help. The rest of you, immediately prepare the city's garrison. I am the new emperor of the Wen Dynasty!!"

When everyone saw that the crown prince had finally rallied and was determined to become emperor, they immediately devoted themselves to assisting the new ruler.

"Yes! Your Majesty!"

If the crown prince is determined to die, no one can help him up.

But he rallied and refused to wait for death, directly denying the emperor's will, which made it legitimate for everyone to follow the crown prince in rebellion!
The messenger rushed the letter to Jincheng, two hundred miles away, where Beijiwu, who was in charge of agricultural work and land division, thought for a few seconds and quickly wrote a reply.

I have received your letter, brother. You have been busy with farming and growing crops lately. The population in the mountains is small, only 500,000. These people are either busy farming or driving out the Tartars. There are really no 50,000 idle people available.

However, I cannot stand idly by in the matter of Luoyang. I will send two thousand iron cavalry and five thousand cavalry to provide support. These men will be back in three months. During these three months, I will send several officers to help you train your troops. There should be quite a few officers' sons in Luoyang. Within three months, they can form an army.

The swords and armor that are needed can be sold at market price and transported to Luoyang. If there is a demand for warhorses and grain, they will also be sold at 80% of the market price.

Unless there are urgent matters, I will be in Jincheng handling some things recently. Please feel free to contact me by letter if needed.

(End of this chapter)