Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 148 Buddhism
After autumn arrived, Li Hong and her women had just finished harvesting the millet from their three acres of backyard a few days earlier when they heard someone knocking on the door.

"Who?"

Li Bing went over and called out to them.

A woman's voice came from outside the door, "I'm your mother! Open the door!"

As soon as Aunt Zhang called out, a young man next to her immediately said, "Mother, you can't be rude, there are ladies inside!"

Li Bing was completely puzzled. What was this "mother" thing?

Li Bing removed the latch, not to guard against bad people, but mainly to prevent the children from running out.

In just a short while, several children ran over to watch the excitement.

Beijiwu's son and daughter are over two years old. They can talk and run around. They are greedy and active, and are often beaten.

After opening the door, Li Bing quickly recognized Xiulan's mother, but then looked her up and down and at the men and women nearby.

"Xiulan's mother, why are you dressed so nicely?"

Li Bing was wearing an embroidered long dress, but Aunt Zhang was wearing a more presentable silk dress.

Aunt Zhang had mistaken her daughter for someone else and quickly apologized, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive us. It was the King who sent us to fetch you to Luoyang. The King is waiting for you there."

king?

Li Bing immediately realized it was Arctic Martial Arts.

The Arctic Warrior has many names, and the names are frequently changed.

He called me Brother Wu, Master, Sir, Clan Chief, Godfather, Boss, Husband, and finally, he became Master.

"I understand!" Li Bing shouted into the yard and house, "Sister! Everyone get ready, the master is coming to pick us up! Xiulan, Xianglan, your mother is here!"

Xianglan and Jiangcao ran out together, followed by two toddlers who had just learned to walk. They curiously crawled out and peered at the large group of people outside from the doorway.

Xianglan walked over quickly and said happily, "Mom, what brings you here? We were just taking a nap, and my sister is getting dressed. She'll be out in a bit."

Aunt Zhang smiled and said, "Let me introduce you, this is your brother's wife."

"Hello, sister-in-law!" Xianglan greeted with a smile, then added, "You're so beautiful, sister-in-law!"

Sun Zhu quickly replied, "Thank you for your praise, Your Highness!"

"What Empress?" Xianglan asked, puzzled.

Aunt Zhang laughed and said, "Stop talking and hurry up and pack your things. The King has sent ten carriages to pick you up. You can take the carriages to Luoyang. Your sister-in-law and I won't go. Mu Lin, Zhu'er, and Niu'er will all go with you. Ma Gui will escort you with his men."

Seeing the Zhang family chatting idly, Li Bing said seriously, "It's already afternoon. If we pack up, it will be dark by then. Can we get to Luoyang in an hour or two? If not, we can leave tomorrow morning."

These women had no idea where Luoyang was.

Aunt Zhang had never been to Luoyang, but she had often heard people talk about it.

"That place is very far away. It would take seven days and seven nights to get there on horseback, and even by carriage, it would take a month and a half to get there."

Li Bing's eyes widened. "So far away, no wonder the master only comes back once in a long while."

Aunt Zhang looked at Li Bing, then at her own daughter Xianglan, and said, "Hurry up and get ready so you can live a good life with the King from now on! Which one of these is my grandson? I don't even recognize him."

The children in the yard looked at the outsiders with curiosity. The oldest child was already helping his mother hold onto his younger siblings to keep them from crawling around.

The women, who had been cut off from the outside world, did not learn until more than ten minutes later that Beiji Wu had changed from Shan Nong Hou to Shan Nong Wang.

Even at this point, these people still did not have a clear concept of King Wu.

Inside Luoyang, Beijiwu found a decent residence in the government office area, two streets away from the imperial palace.

This is a three-courtyard siheyuan (traditional courtyard house). The front courtyard is a rectangle more than three meters wide, and the back courtyard is about the same width. Only the middle courtyard is a bit wider.

There are two long houses in the front and back, three rooms in the middle of the courtyard, side rooms on the left and right, plus a side room, enough for a family of twenty or thirty people to live in.

The palace is a workplace, so working overtime is normal.

After a large number of Luoyang residents were relocated, many officials' houses remained in the city.

This house used to be the residence of a minor official of the sixth rank, and now it is used as a government residence.

The surrounding area was inhabited by farmers from the mountains with respectable families. Some were from the northern plains, some were from Tongzhou who had surrendered voluntarily, and some were family members of a thousand households.

Living in the mountainous area, safety is already quite guaranteed.

Growing up in the marketplace is definitely healthier than growing up in the palace.

"Clean this place up."

After Bei Jiwu gave the order, the palace maids and eunuchs behind him quickly entered in single file with brooms, dustpans, feather dusters and other tools, sprinkling water and sweeping, and tidying up various discarded furniture.

Seeing this, Beijiwu laughed and said, "Don't worry about the furniture, just leave it there. Just clean it up quickly within an hour. After you're done, close the door and go out to play. Remember to be back before five o'clock."

The palace maids all said in unison, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Beiji Wu walked outside, accompanied by two eunuchs.

"How many people are still in the palace?" Beijiwu asked the servant behind him casually as he walked along the street from the mountain farm to the palace.

Gu Mifu replied, "Reporting to my master, about 100,000 palace maids and eunuchs have left in the past six months. Now there are 6,000 eunuchs, 80,000 palace maids, and 13,000 palace guards on duty. In addition, you have captured more than 1,000 beauties from various countries, making a total of 100,000."

Beijiwu asked, "Is everything operating normally in the palace?"

Gu Mifu said, "Everything is normal, much more efficient than before. Currently, with two groups of people taking turns working and resting, there are quite a few people with nothing to do. In my opinion, we can release quite a few more people."

The Arctic warriors were not interested in women, and the palace did not need hundreds of thousands of servants.

Palace maids and dancers, and even princesses and concubines from previous dynasties, could go out and get married and have children.

Even with 100,000 fewer palace maids and eunuchs, the entire palace still functioned normally, and those who cooked, washed clothes, and carried manure had a much easier time.

"That's enough."

Beijiwu concluded, "When you get back, tell the rest of you that you won't be persuading anyone to leave for the time being. If you want to go home to retire or get married, you can take the severance pay and leave."

Gu Mifu bowed his head and said, "This servant obeys the decree."

Beijiwu asked curiously, "What do you usually do when you leave the palace? Do you visit brothels?"

Gu Mifu smiled and said, "How could a servant have such ability?"

Beijiwu walked casually with his hands in his pockets, but said seriously, "In the concept of our mountain farmers, even if a person is disabled, their soul is still whole."

"For example, even if you don't have an arm, you can still feel its presence."

"Even without legs, I can still feel leg pain."

“I only heard this from an elder of the mountain farmer tribe, because I myself am not disabled and do not understand it much.”

Even if you have nothing down there, does that mean you have no desires in your hearts?

"Yes!" Gu Mifu said excitedly, "Yes! This servant often thinks about that matter, but as a crippled eunuch, I dare not think too much about it, and I am too embarrassed to go to brothels. I go to temples to burn incense and pray to Buddha, and donate money for incense. I think that monks do not get close to women, so when I get old, I can also go to the temple to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddha's name."

Beijiwu laughed and said, "Okay, most Han Chinese temples don't accept eunuchs, but the mountain farmers don't have this rule. We mountain farmers believe in the cycle of the four seasons. Wheat will grow back after it's harvested. No matter how many times it's harvested or burned, the wheat that grows out of the land will still be wheat in the shape of wheat."

“If you’re still a man at heart, then you’re still a man. I’ll give you a night off. Go to a brothel. Even if you can’t take your pants off, you can still get your hands on each other and talk. If people ask why you’re not responding, just say you’re gentlemen. Buy some clothes on the street before you go.”

Upon hearing what Beiji Wu said, the two eunuchs knelt down excitedly: "Your Majesty, we thank you for your great favor!"

Arctic Martial waved and left first.

The street has been temporarily blocked off, with guards and imperial soldiers stationed at several intersections to prevent bystanders from approaching and to prohibit people from going out to watch the spectacle.

Not many people knew about the Arctic Martial Arts School, and they were all given orders to keep it a secret.

Whether in terms of clothing, agriculture, systems, culture, or ideology, the mountain farmers are more advanced and enlightened than the mainstream thought of this era.

Arctic Martial saw the rotating shift of the thousand-household commander.

"Wokoji, I'm giving you a task. If you can't complete it, you can go back to the grasslands and herd horses."

The bearded Woko was now in a panic and hurriedly said, "Master, please give your orders! If I fail, I will commit suicide immediately!"

“Fine.” Beijiwu said casually, “Even if you don’t commit suicide if you fail to complete the mission, I will still fulfill my promise and kill you.”

Woko threw a punch at his chest, shouting, "I will never be a coward!"

Beijiwu asked, "Do you believe in Buddhism?"

Woko shook his head. "I don't believe it."

Beijiwu nodded and said, "After nightfall, take your thousand-household squad to the largest temple in the city and have them hand over half of their gold, silver and jewelry, as well as house and land deeds, to me. From now on, I will take 90% of the temple's annual income, and they can use the remaining 10% themselves."

"When you talk to them, remember to close the temple gates."

“Those who disobey will be sent to see Buddha.”

Ögedei asked curiously, "How do we get to see the Buddha?"

Beijiwu took a breath and said helplessly, "Kill them, but remember that money is just an external thing. Bring all the money back with you."

"People can stay in temples and get moldy, but money can't."

"Tell your deputy before the operation that if you don't complete the mission today, he will be a commander of a thousand tomorrow."

The Hu and Han people nearby all lowered their heads carefully, not daring to say anything even though they heard it.

Woko watched the Arctic Warrior walk away and immediately went to call people to do the work.

For the sake of my own life, I can only let others die.

Overnight, thousands of Hu people looted thousands of cartloads of spoils from temples large and small throughout Luoyang.

There were 3,000 crossbows, 400 sets of armor, countless gold bowls and silver stoves, and at least tens of thousands of catties of gold and silver. The grain alone was enough to feed 100,000 people for half a year.

Many monks, nuns, and Taoist priests died. Beiji Wu arranged for the palace eunuchs and maids to go down and chant scriptures. Everyone chanted the Mountain Farmer Scripture together.

When it comes to Buddhism, the palace maids and eunuchs who clean the scriptures at the Wanshang Shrine are probably of higher rank than the monks and nuns outside.

(End of this chapter)