Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 139 Diversion
In June, Beiji Wu, who had been touring north from Youzhou, Jizhou, and Qingzhou, returned to Luoyang.

Civil and military officials greeted the Northern Martial General together and followed him into the main hall.

Beiji Wu sat on the wide dragon throne, with princesses from the previous dynasty standing on either side as palace maids.

Every separatist regime had many imperial relatives and associates. They might not have many children, but they would have many relatives.

The emperors before the Wen Dynasty had completed the unification of most of the southern regions, using Luoyang in the Central Plains as the core to exert pressure on both the north and south.

The Wan family was the one who swept through the south, and many of their followers surrendered and remained in the wealthy Jiangnan region.

After the Wan family became emperor a few years ago, wealth from all over the country flowed into Luoyang like rivers flowing into the sea.

Gold and silver alone are certainly not enough; there are also the enemy's women.

The Arctic warriors, on the contrary, had no interest in the women of the Wan family; they were more concerned with agriculture and the stability of the regime, and rarely spent time on women.

"Greetings, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!"

Beijiwu watched as a group of people knelt down three times, and then all knelt on the ground to wait for the meeting to begin.

Initially, it was indeed about giving orders based on position, but later it was found that this made it difficult to implement policies effectively, so it was changed to giving orders from a kneeling position.

Order requires a clear distinction between superiors and subordinates. Now, Beijiwu sits at the top, and the rest kneel below. This is order.

Of course, others will also kneel when they see them; order is not the exclusive domain of one person.

Even the worst order is better than no order at all. Nowadays, if we don't force people to work, most people won't want to work once they've had enough to eat.

To achieve equality, power must also be equal, and Arctic Military has no plans to do so for the time being.

"I've been gone for over a hundred days. Has anything happened in the city?"

Prime Minister Rong Dingwen kowtowed again, holding up a notebook that looked like a Chinese textbook, and said:

"Your Majesty, Luoyang is in good order, and the people are living in peace and contentment. The millet and beans in Huaihai Province are growing well, and the harvest will be ready in another month."

Beijiwu remained silent, continuing to wait in quiet contemplation.

Two seconds later, Rong Dingwen braced himself and continued, "This year, the Censorate handled 264 cases, including gambling debts, disputes over cattle and sheep, and theft. The most serious case involved the son of the Luoyang city gatekeeper who led three hundred servants to forcibly abduct a woman. He has been arrested and imprisoned in the Imperial Prison according to the laws of the mountain farmers, and will be publicly tried after the evidence is conclusive."

Arctic Martial Arts: "Those who are guilty should be arrested, not killed indiscriminately. At the earliest, they should be arrested. This applies to both ministers and commoners. No one should act rashly or abuse their power for personal gain, which could lead to irreparable wrongful convictions."

"If he is guilty, it is not too late to kill him after a hundred days."

Rong Dingwen immediately replied, "Yes! I will obey His Majesty's decree!"

Beijiwu said, "Go on, what else is there? No need for nonsense, just say the important things."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Rong Dingwen knelt on the ground, looking at the notes he had prepared in advance as he reported on his work.

"When merchants from the Western Regions came to do business, it was said that a great earthquake struck the kingdoms of the Western Regions at the beginning of the year, and the rivers changed their course after the year. Several major rivers became dry and abandoned, and then a locust plague broke out, leaving the land barren for thousands of miles. The sandstorms were incessant, and many roads and villages were covered by sandstorms. The Qiang, Tibetan, Uyghur, Turkic and other ethnic groups began to fight for water and pasture, and the trade routes could no longer be traveled."

"The garrison commander of Tianshui in Qinzhou requests reinforcements from the governor of Chang'an, hoping that His Majesty will send troops to aid him."

Beiji Wu, too lazy to deal with the mess outside, asked directly, "How was it resolved?"

Rong Dingwen replied, "We have sent 200,000 shi of grain from Chang'an to provide relief, and also provided weapons such as bows and arrows. Tianshui has less than 5,000 soldiers and civilians, and I'm afraid it cannot be defended."

Beijiwu casually said, "Let the people of Tianshui guard it themselves, and allow the Western Regions to graze horses, sheep, and farm in the west. According to the tax rate of one-tenth, one-tenth of the cattle, sheep, and horses should be sent out every year for the New Year. One-third of that one-tenth should be kept locally, and the remainder should be sent to Luoyang."

“Those who move their tribes to the territory of the Mountain Farmer Kingdom, each tribe shall send one person to the city to discuss matters. They may return home at other times and discuss matters together when they arise.”

"If anyone is dishonest, or if anyone abandons their proper tribal leadership to become the city lord, I will kill all the non-tribal people in the area if the other tribes do not kill them!"

"Unless they can hide in the sand and eat dirt, my cavalry can cut off their heads as easily as harvesting wheat!"

Arctic warriors chose the most direct and violent means: either pay taxes quietly or die.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Rong Dingwen then spoke of the appointment and removal of court officials, mentioning that some were replaced due to illness, others died of illness, and the affairs of the Later and Southern Dynasties.

"The emperor of the later dynasty, grateful for the Emperor's kindness, has already sent his crown prince, Wan Qizhen, with gifts."

"The emperor of the Southern Dynasty did not accept any money, but sent back three thousand water buffaloes from the south and three thousand people from Xinyang, as well as three beautiful women."

Beijiwu replied, "Have Wan Qizhen come to the palace to meet me tomorrow. I will meet him in the study. As a return gift to the South, use ten ceremonial items from the palace, plus an additional 100,000 taels of silver."

"The minister obeys the order."

Beijiwu continued, "Half a month ago, there was a torrential rain in Hedong. Many places in Haizhou, Xuzhou, Kaifeng Prefecture, and Daming Prefecture were affected by the disaster. The water vapor filled the sky and made it impossible to see people. Houses and trees were destroyed. The river overflowed and flowed for more than 20 miles on both banks. 200,000 mu of farmland in the area were affected, and about 60,000 mu of private farmland were completely destroyed."

The main hall was very quiet.

After a few seconds, Arctic Martial, helpless against the natural disaster, was too lazy to say anything to blame.

"Properly resettle the disaster victims. When I came from Jizhou, there was a severe drought and locust plague there this year."

"Tongzhou is fine, but too many people have gone there, and with the severe drought this year, it will be difficult to transport grain here."

"Now, as long as Jinzhou can manage its own affairs, and the five eastern prefectures can also manage their own affairs, there will be no problem as long as the damage to Huanghuai Province is not too great. Continue to build houses, plant some vegetables and fruits, graze horses and sheep, and let people recuperate."

Having a small population has its advantages. The entire Central Plains region has only about four million people, enough to survive by herding horses and sheep. When the population decreases to a certain level, minor natural disasters become less of a concern and are simply considered normal occurrences.

After resting for a day, Beiji Wu then brought Princess Luzhou, who was sixteen or seventeen years old and still less than 1.5 meters tall, to see the Crown Prince.

Princess Luzhou has now been granted the title of Noble Lady, Consort Wan.

Consort Wan was only named with the character "Fei" in it; she was not fat at all, but rather short and thin, though lively and active.

Her mother, Cui Qing, now serves as a lady-in-waiting to Consort Wan, responsible for etiquette instruction, but her treatment is far worse than before.

Guided by a eunuch, Wan Qizhen entered the Imperial Study, where she met Beiji Wu and Consort Wan, who were already sitting and waiting.

Mr. Cui is not here. He enjoys playing martial arts in the Arctic, but he never does it in a big way.

Whether it's Jiang Rong, Gao Conglian, or Gao Qiuyue, Beijiwu always plays at home and has never been taken out.

Wan Qizhen entered and bowed, saying, "Qizhen greets His Majesty King Wu!"

Beijiwu pointed to the seat opposite him and smiled, "Sit down. From now on, we can address each other as uncle and nephew."

"Thank you, Uncle!" Wan Qizhen thanked the man who was much younger than himself, acknowledging this powerful man as his uncle.

Beijiwu said, "I didn't touch anything from the Crown Prince's palace. Take it with you when you go back this time. I'll also give you a thousand cows, two hundred thousand bolts of cloth, and several cartloads of oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and other seasonings from the palace."

Wan Qizhen hurriedly said, "Thank you, Uncle! My father is grateful for your kindness and sent me to express his gratitude."

Beijiwu said, "Now Luoyang has recovered and the people have settled down. Although there have been some disasters, I can send people to provide timely assistance."

"The people of the world yearn for stability, and I am not a pedantic or hypocritical person. I have taken over the world and Luoyang, and the capable shall have it. But I have no ill intentions towards my brother's family."

"Don't worry, brother. I can accommodate Hu people, Han people, and all kinds of mixed races. I can also take in civil and military officials and surrendered soldiers from Luoyang. You have treated me well, brother. I am not the kind of person who forgets kindness."

"I didn't conquer Luoyang either. My brother is just not suitable to be emperor, not guilty. He can continue to live a carefree life as emperor in Shu."

Seeing that Beiji Wu had explained the matter clearly, Wan Qizhen respectfully replied, "Yes! Your Majesty is divinely gifted and possesses great virtue and wisdom. None of my clansmen can compare to you!"

The palace maids brought tea to the three of them, but Beiji Wu didn't drink it. He casually asked, "How are the soldiers that Xue Chonghu trained for you doing? Are they obedient?"

Wan Qizhen replied, "Thank you for your help, Uncle. Thanks to these mountain farmers, my father is now building a palace in Shu City, and the King of Shu no longer makes things difficult for us."

Beijiwu said, "You can support those people yourselves. I will not interfere in the affairs of Shu, nor will I set up troops in Hanzhong and other places. I am still young, and you are young too. Just help your father to establish that land of abundance."

Seeing that Beiji Wuzhen had no intention of attacking Shu, Wan Qizhen asked, "The King of Shu has many grievances against me and my father, and he is also recruiting soldiers. My father is afraid that he might suddenly launch an attack, so he wants to abolish his title and become the King of Shu himself. What do you think, Uncle?"

Beijiwu asked curiously, "Isn't the King of Shu your father's younger brother? Why is he still disobedient?"

Wan Qizhen sighed and said, "The Prince of Shu is a few years older than my nephew. He is lustful and spends his days fighting cocks and dogs, killing people to refine the Dragon Tiger Golden Elixir. My father has advised him many times, so he has long harbored resentment. He and the Prince of Qin and the Prince of Jin are like brothers."

Beijiwu laughed and said, "I don't care about your family affairs. How you use the soldiers is your business. I'll give you a thousand iron armors and a thousand crossbows, and 100,000 taels of silver. You and your son can handle the rest yourselves."

Wan Qizhen exclaimed excitedly, "Thank you, Uncle!"

With a thousand crossbows and a thousand iron armored soldiers, the King of Shu will be replaced!
Crown Prince Wan Shi's mind is perhaps too normal, to the point that he behaves abnormally in many ways.

He handed over the kingdom to outsiders, was indecisive and unambitious in foreign affairs, but was incredibly brave and ruthless when fighting his own brother.

On the very day they obtained the powerful crossbows and armor, they killed the King of Shu, seized the throne from the King and his son, and saved themselves the trouble of building palaces.

He did exactly what Beiji Wu did, directly exempting the people from taxes and distributing money and grain to soldiers and officers, thus securing his throne as the crown prince.

When the battle report from Sichuan was received, the Yellow River, like a stepmother, once again surged forth. Originally flowing north to the Jiaodong Peninsula and into the sea, this year's torrential rains breached its banks, and the waters surged from the Yellow River bend east of Kaifeng, diverting the Huai River to flow into the sea.

Mount Tai, Mount Yi, and Mount Meng block the flow of water.

Only then did the Yellow River, this "stepmother," spread its legs wide, one leg extending along Cangzhou and Dezhou into the Bohai Sea, and the other leg extending along Xuzhou and Huaiyang into the Yellow Sea.

The diversion of the Yellow River may alleviate flooding in the short term, but in the long term, the accumulation of silt will cause the river to continue to churn.

Historically, successful strategies for controlling the Yellow River have all focused on concentrating hydrodynamic forces.

What Arctic weapons need is time!

It won't take many years; as long as there aren't major floods every year for the next ten years, the Arctic Army will have time to mobilize manpower and resources to solve the problem.

The Yellow River's flood season is concentrated in summer and autumn, and the harvest time for crops is also concentrated in summer and autumn, so the timing overlaps.

If the Yellow River throws a tantrum two or three times a year, no one can play along with it.

After the rainy season, which was prone to flooding, finally passed, summer grains and autumn crops were harvested in various places one after another.

Various vegetables, wild greens, and seasonal fruits are gradually coming to market and being transported by farmers who grow them to the market for unified sales.

Vegetable vendors are not allowed to set up stalls in the city; there are designated comprehensive markets.

The first crop harvested is soybeans, which can be ground into flour and added to wheat flour sheets to make steamed buns.

Beans are much cheaper than millet, wheat, and rice, and are mostly used as feed for cattle and horses. They cost about half the price of normal grains, and their yield is also lower than that of normal grains.

(End of this chapter)