Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 135 Dedicated to Public Service

In Luoyang, lanterns and decorations were everywhere, and pedestrians dressed in new clothes lined both sides of the streets.

"On the third day of the Lunar New Year, I went back to my parents' home, didn't I?"

Fang Huairui sat in the carriage and smiled as she spoke a joyful greeting to Wang Mingyu, who was sitting in the same compartment.

Wang Mingyu and the other girls all smiled.

Wang Minghui exclaimed, "King Wu is truly a man of destiny! He conquered the fertile Central Plains with ease, and captured the intact city of Luoyang with just over a thousand men!"

Fang Huairui laughed and said, "Our family surrendered quickly and accurately. The newspapers say that we surrendered to those dukes in the south, and their mansions have been sealed off."

Wang Minghui pursed her lips and chuckled, "Look at what you're saying, it's clearly our family that has chosen a wise ruler!"

"Yes! We've chosen a wise ruler!" Fang Huairui was overjoyed, holding a handkerchief and laughing loudly. "Hurry back and clean up, and invite all the relatives over tomorrow to visit them properly."

Tong Bao'er, who was sitting outside, opened the curtain and said to the inside, "Our family doesn't have much money left. The master has only been the Duke for three or four years. Last year and this year, he spent a lot of money building and repairing houses and recruiting soldiers. In addition, next year we will need to hire people to grow grain in our fiefdom. We have to be careful with our money."

Fang Huairui retorted irritably, "What do you know, you little brat! Now that our family has two dukes, there are bound to be plenty of people in the city willing to send us gifts. Just wait and see how much money we make!"

Tong Bao'er said with a grin, "Grandma is so wise! How could I not have thought of that? I only thought about saving money for Grandma, I didn't know there were so many ways to make money."

The horse photo made Fang Huairui very happy, and she couldn't suppress the smile on her face.

The Dukes of Yan, Wei, Zhao, and Qi ran around without making any contributions, so naturally they received no rewards.

However, as a matter of prestige, the two original ducal mansions were returned to them.

Also returning were the former concubines, princesses, palace maids, and eunuchs; the women all lived in one palace courtyard.

Apart from Princess Luzhou being granted the title of Beauty, the others were not given any official titles.

Arctic Martial only uses things that others have used before; he doesn't treasure them.

Interference in politics by the empress dowager is not a good thing. Although it was not Beiji Wu's original intention, relatives of the empress dowager really had no chance with him.

Luoyang was an industrial city with a developed economy, making it easy for the newspaper and metallurgical industries to flourish.

The Hanzhong region has been captured, as has the Jinzhou Salt Lake area. The raw materials for gunpowder development are all ready, but they will still be used to make fireworks.

The Arctic's most pressing need is not gunpowder and cannons, but rather the control of the Yellow River.

The Yellow River is like a whip, whipping wildly and changing its course haphazardly; it's completely different from the Yellow River I remember.

The Yellow River in this era was incredibly powerful, capable of slamming into Youzhou's face upstream and flooding the Yangtze River downstream. Except for places as high as Mount Tai and Mount Huang, where it was impossible to pass, the fate of other places depended on the heavens.

Beiji Wu summoned all officials and issued an imperial edict.

"Water control! We must do our utmost to control and prevent the Yellow River from flooding before the flood season arrives this year! As long as it doesn't disrupt agricultural production, we should focus all our efforts on water control!"

Minister of Works Lin Xi said, "Your Majesty, the former Minister of Works Qi Tian is now retired in Kaifeng. He has been in charge of water management in the Ministry of Works for more than 30 years. He resigned from his post because of the usurpation of the throne by King Wen. Now that Your Majesty wants to manage water management, I recommend him."

The Wan family seized the throne, but it was also a usurpation, with the emperor being ousted and the throne taken over by themselves. The previous dukes were all important officials in the court, and they were all good brothers of the Wan family in the court.

It's impossible for everyone to be one of our own; there must be outsiders, and that's how factions came about.

The Northern Army did not belong to the system before the Wen Dynasty, nor did it belong to the Wen Dynasty system. Although it also seized the world, it did not care about such matters at all and would not guard against the loyal ministers of the previous dynasty.

"Very well! Although I am not good at controlling the Yellow River, I have some knowledge of agriculture and have built many irrigation canals to protect agriculture. Send someone to invite him over and treat him with the courtesy due to a duke. Bring him in with a four-horse carriage. If he can control the Yellow River and protect the people on both banks from floods for ten years, I will definitely remember this merit and let him bring blessings to his descendants!"

Lin Xi respectfully replied, "Yes! Your Majesty is wise and mighty; our dynasty will surely enjoy peace and prosperity!"

Beiji Wu nodded and continued, "Yesterday, the Southern Dynasty wanted to negotiate peace with us, promising to pay a tribute of one million shi of rice annually in exchange for the division of the Huai River into north and south. What do you all think?"

Xue Chonghu immediately said, "This humble general believes we should press our advantage and take over Jiangnan within a year, thus completely eliminating the threat in the south."

The other officials of the court remained silent.

A year feels like a bit too long.

According to the speed at which the mountain farmers fought, the speed of attacking a city depended on the speed at which their horses ran.

Minister of Personnel Chen Fa stepped forward and said, "I second that proposal."

Beijiwu said irritably, "I have already agreed to the peace talks and sent people back to the south, but the boundary will not be the Huai River, but the Yangtze River."

"If he agrees, there's no need for him to pay me any tribute. As long as he doesn't send troops against me, I won't bother with him."

"Controlling the Yellow River and Huai River, and allowing the people to rest and recuperate and have enough to eat, are the top priorities of the Mountain Farming Kingdom."

"This year, many places in Yuzhou have experienced heavy snowfall, and the northwest, from the grasslands to Qin and Jin, has also seen a year without snow. Locusts and droughts have also occurred, and by then, there will be piles of bones again."

“I have already sent people to relocate 200,000 mountain farmers from the Nine Provinces behind the mountains to cultivate the land, 100,000 to Youzhou, Jizhou and Qingzhou, and 100,000 to Yuzhou.”

"This year, we must bring the disaster under control and ensure a bumper harvest."

Arctic Martial Arts has made its decision and does not need anyone's consent or disagreement.

The courtiers exclaimed in unison, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Within a few days, as Luoyang stabilized, as the Shan Nong tribe entered the city, and as Beiji Wu gained a general understanding of the situation in Luoyang, he became less polite than before.

Those who should be dealt with will be dealt with, and land that should be confiscated will be confiscated. There is no need to report it in the newspapers or hold meetings to discuss it.

With troops and men at our disposal, we can do it secretly.

The entire Yuzhou province has over 60 million mu of developed arable land. Currently, Yuzhou has a population of approximately four to five million. If each person were given ten mu of land, it would impoverish the Beijiwu kingdom. Beijiwu calmly stated, "When I entered the city, the officials, people, and soldiers all came from afar to welcome me. I am very pleased. Issue the decree:"

Take tens of millions of acres of unclaimed land and official fields near Luoyang and distribute them to the soldiers guarding the city, officials, palace maids, eunuchs, and landless refugees, five acres per person. They can be bought and sold, or sold directly to the government at five taels per acre.

"I hereby order the farmers to establish four counties with ten thousand households each in the east, west, south, and north of Luoyang, so that transactions and land acquisitions can be handled at the nearest location."

Lure them out and kill them!!
This time, we can finally calculate exactly how many people live in Luoyang. Moreover, allocating five mu of land was something that should have been done in the first place—distributing land unsuitable for collective development to individuals.

Upon hearing this, everyone felt that this was a wise and capable ruler who could share wealth and honor, and they all shouted in unison, "Your Majesty is wise! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!!"

Evidence of the crimes committed by officials, gentry, and powerful figures can be easily found through a search. Instead of killing them in Luoyang, Beiji Wu will distribute millions of acres of land to disaster victims, officials, and soldiers, demonstrating benevolence and righteousness.

Elsewhere, Arctic warriors were not welcomed; in fact, many places even invited southern bandits into their cities.

Those who are wrong should be killed and their property confiscated. Traitors deserve to die anyway, so drag them to the execution ground and behead them.

Those who made meritorious contributions were granted fiefdoms in the nine provinces beyond the mountains, a place considered "fertile land" by the people.

Those who have no merits or demerits but own more than 100 acres of land should have their obstructing land reclassified as public land, and land allocated to peripheral areas.

Having 60 million mu of arable land does not mean that there is actually only 60 million mu of land; more than twice that amount of arable land can be reclaimed.

There are no densely populated urban areas, nor factories or highways here; the plains have much more arable land available.

Beijiwu had people gather 20 million mu of land in various places and divide it into ten 2 million mu each, 10,000-household farms.

Each production team of 10,000 households is responsible for 2 million mu of land. Since they don't have the ability to develop all of this land, they only develop one-fifth of it. The rest is used to raise horses and cattle. The number of cattle and horses also needs to be increased, otherwise the machinery cannot be upgraded.

Beijiwu himself became a grain merchant, making tax-free farmers perform labor services and earn wages by repairing the Yellow River to buy grain.

There's no way to increase the number of people for now, we don't have enough manpower, so it's better to give our subordinates some land to collect taxes, we can't just kill them all.

The Southern Dynasties, like children selling off their ancestral lands without a second thought, readily ceded territory south of the Yangtze River to enjoy a life of decadence in the wealthy regions, giving up the areas north of Huizhou and north of Jingzhou.

Now the territory is so vast that it can't be used up. With 200 million mu of public land in hand, plus another 200 million mu that can be freed up by reclamation outside, these places are enough for 10 million people to live and thrive for 200 years.

However, extreme weather events can be very troublesome, so it's best to establish 10,000 farms in multiple locations.

While Beiji Wu was busy sending people to clear the name of the innocent and punish the wicked, news came from Shu.

The eunuch entered Beiji Wu's study and came to his side, where he was reading history books.

"Your Majesty, a letter has arrived from the Emperor of Shu."

Beijiwu put down the history book and asked directly, "What did it say?"

The eunuch opened the letter and began to read it.

Arctic Wu is still illiterate...

After three or four minutes, the eunuch bowed his head and replied, "Your Majesty, the letter says that after entering Shu, the King of Shu had many grievances against Emperor Wen and only allowed his entourage of several thousand people to live in a small county town. Their food, clothing, and lodging were all in dire straits, and many of the mountain farmers who accompanied him complained."

"We've encountered... blackmail by bad guys again." The eunuch omitted the words "blackmail by eunuchs" and continued, "Emperor Wen wants to borrow some money from Your Majesty to buy a house and settle down."

Beijiwu was surprised that Wan Chao was in such a bad situation, and immediately said, "Go and call Xue Chonghu here!"

"According to the order!"

Xue Chonghu was practicing archery in his new house when he heard the summons and quickly changed into his military uniform to come over.

"This servant greets his master!!"

Because there were few people in the house, Xue Chonghu addressed the host according to the customs of the Shan Nong tribe.

Arctic Martial Arts: "I have already written the letter. You take 10,000 taels of gold and 10,000 taels of silver to my elder brother Wan Chao. While you are there, teach those who disrespect my brother a lesson. You stay there for three months and help Wan Chao and his son recruit and train a personal guard."

"I gained Luoyang because of Wan Di's trust. The Shan Nong tribe will never forget our kindness. You can take some men to warn the King of Shu. Whether I want to conquer Jiangnan or Shuzhong is within my grasp. I just don't want to delay farming and affect the livelihoods of millions of people."

"If he respects Wan Dai properly, I will not touch Shu. My wish is for everyone to live in peace. If he thinks he can throw a tantrum, try provoking me, and I will make him vanish into thin air!"

Xue Chonghu immediately replied, "Yes! This servant remembers!"

Beijiwu added, "Send ten cartloads of Wan Chou's court robes and daily necessities over, and also send over some of the Wan family's clan members."

"If my brother needs anything, he can just write a letter and let me know. If he has relatives in the city or needs help going there, he can just let me know."

Beijiwu treated his elder brother, who had offered him territory, very well; they were closer than brothers.

Without him, even if Luoyang were captured, its wealth and population would have shrunk considerably.

Beiji Wu's actions were both a rebellion and not a rebellion. Every battle he fought was a solid victory. He did not attempt to usurp the throne, nor was he a subject of the Wen Dynasty.

The mountain farmers under his command completely disregard the legitimacy of the Wen Dynasty and only seek a suitable successor from among the mountain farmers.

Even if Wan Di returns to Luoyang, he won't be able to control the Mountain Farmers' Legion and the various households.

Xue Chonghu led his men out to handle some business, and Beiji Wu also ordered the withdrawal of guard posts from various places to free up manpower for farming and maintaining order.

The commanders of the Great Wall Guard, Gao Shimian, the commander of the Weizhou Guard, Lin Changmao, and the commander of the Tongzhou Guard, took turns coming to assist in the defense of Luoyang and regularly returned to their territories to manage their affairs.

Hereditary military commanders must be frequently transferred.

(End of this chapter)