Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 155 The Long Road
As winter approached, the convoy, which had been traveling for three months, finally arrived outside Luoyang.

Having traversed mountains and rivers, the women, having seen countless magnificent sights, soon thought they were almost there after crossing the Yellow River.

But they traveled for another two days and two nights.

"Almost there!"

A shout came from the front of the convoy, but few people believed it.

The journey was bumpy, and Li Hong was completely listless in the carriage. She had a headscarf wrapped around her head for warmth and lay listlessly feeding her child.

The dozen or so children in the family were all listless, having long lost their initial enthusiasm.

"Mom, I want to go home."

A little child sitting in the carriage crawled toward Li Hong, grabbing her arm with both hands, his little face full of pitiful grievance.

Li Hong said helplessly, "You're almost three years old, not a little kid anymore. You need to be a good older brother to your younger siblings. If they hear this, they'll all cry and want to go home."

"Sweetie, stop fooling around, we're almost there. When you see your dad, he'll buy you something delicious!"

Arctic Hydrogen pouted, his face full of disappointment and reluctance.

Li Bing, who was in the same car, kicked his arm with a laugh. Lying on the quilt, Li Bing joked, "It'll take another two or three months to get back now. You want to go back now?"

Arctic Hydrogen was completely oblivious to the problem and nodded firmly, "Go back! I want to go back!"

Li Hong looked at the child with a stern face, "You want a beating, don't you? If you say you want to go back again, I'll spank you! How old are you? Don't you understand anything? Seeing your father is a big deal! Still crying? Hold it in! If you cry, I'll spank you!"

His Majesty King Wu's eldest son reached out and wiped away his tears with his arm, feeling wronged and distressed, unable to stop himself from crying.

The escort team was a military household protecting them in Tongzhou. Since they didn't know exactly what to do, they rarely chatted with the locals except for cooking and providing food and supplies.

In Luoyang, Beijiwu was known for its benevolence and righteousness, but in present-day Wuzhou, formerly Beiyuan County, it was not just known for its benevolence and righteousness.

It can only be said that most people in Kitahara knew the consequences of doing wrong, and were therefore more honest than later generations.

Li Bing looked at her aggrieved little nephew, her face still bearing the gentle smile of an aunt.

"Go play with Mu Lin, don't make your mother angry here."

Arctic Hydrogen nodded, wiped away his tears, and prepared to get off the bus to play with some older boys.

As soon as he lifted the curtain, Arctic Hydrogen discovered that the wasteland and river in front of him were no longer there. In what seemed not far away, there were many houses that looked like a forest.

"Mother! There's a village ahead!"

Arctic Hydrogen forgot its previous grievances and quickly reported its discovery to its mother.

Li Bing first squatted down and walked outside, where he saw dense buildings that looked like city walls.

"We've finally arrived!" Li Bing finally breathed a sigh of relief and shouted to the cavalry ahead, "Is Luoyang ahead?"

The knight replied, "It's Luobei County. Luoyang is thirty li south of Luobei County. We should arrive today."

Hearing that there were still thirty li to go, Li Bing was somewhat disappointed, but he accepted the not-so-long distance.

"We're almost there." Li Bing placed his hands on Arctic Hydrogen's shoulders and massaged the little boy's shoulders.

Arctic Hydrogen felt a pain in its shoulder, quickly twisted and broke free, shouting, "I need to go down and pee!"

Li Bing casually said, "Okay, don't wander off."

The coachman, holding the reins, stopped the still-moving horse, allowing King Wu's son to disembark smoothly.

Li Bing put the child down on the ground and left him there, knowing that the child must have gone to the carriage behind to find some older boys to play with.

As expected, the Arctic hydrogen didn't pee; it went straight to the car behind to play with its big friends.

She didn't care, but the others didn't dare to be negligent, and some quickly went to protect her.

If a child goes missing, it's a big deal.

Arctic Hydrogen arrived in Mu Lin's carriage. Besides Mu Lin, there were two children, Ai Niu and Ai Zhu, as well as two boys around nine years old.

When Mu Lin saw Arctic Hydrogen climbing up, he said, "Why are you here again? It would have been so much better if the car had been up ahead."

Arctic Hydrogen happily said, "My mom let me come out to play."

Nine-year-old Teng He, standing beside the car, looked at the village outside and said, "We're almost there. Hold on tight and don't fall off."

By this time, Arctic Hydrogen had already climbed into the carriage and squeezed into one with the boys.

Compared to her mother, aunt, and younger siblings, Arctic Hydrogen prefers to play with these newly acquainted boys and watch them play various games that she doesn't know.

Several children, both older and younger, were looking out from inside the car. There were many people herding sheep and horses nearby, as well as people gathering firewood.

Arctic Hydrogen saw many little boys and girls, and while still peering out the car window, it also saw several pretty young ladies passing by looking in its direction.

In just over half an hour, Arctic Hydrogen didn't know how many big and little children he saw, but it felt like there were so many.

This place is different from my hometown; there are a lot more children here.

The road was wide enough to accommodate several carriages, but whether it was nearby merchants, farmers, or officials' convoys, they all stopped immediately and dared not move when they saw this convoy carrying the banner with the character "武" (Wu).

Only one person can fly the flag with the character "Wu" on it; others, even if they have the surname Wu, cannot fly this flag.

"We've arrived in Luoyang!" Arctic Hydrogen exclaimed happily.

The adults and children nearby all wore relaxed and happy expressions as they looked at the village stretching for four or five miles like a city wall.

As the convoy drew closer to the village, it gradually entered the village's main road.

Li Hong looked at the houses outside, which were similar in style to those in her hometown, and breathed a long sigh of relief.

"We've finally arrived. This round trip will take more than half a year. I don't know how long we'll stay before we go back."

Hearing this, Li Bing couldn't be optimistic either, and comforted him, saying, "We'll definitely celebrate the New Year together. Now that the children are older, if there's no war, let them stay with their father, so they don't have to run around."

Li Hong nodded, sharing the same thought. The two fell silent, both looking at the streets nearby.

There were many passersby and pedestrians standing on the street, making it look very lively.

"It's King Wu! Kneel down immediately!"

Someone shouted something, and the men and women eating at the doorways on both sides of the street fell to their knees one after another, like dominoes.

Li Bing, Li Hong, and the others all knew that King Wu was Beiji Wu. After seeing the people in this town kneeling down, they assumed that they were also Beiji Wu's subordinates.

Beijiwu has done this kind of thing many times. Starting from Kitada Village, he forced others to kneel. Later, he single-handedly defeated the Kitahara army and made a large group of soldiers kneel before him.

Li Bing and Li Hong had witnessed how Beiji Wu treated the Beiyuan Army, and they had also seen Beiji Wu's power and prestige in Hukoubao and Tongzhouwei.

This scene is nothing new to me.

Li Hong, who was among those kneeling, reluctantly lowered the curtain.

"It seems the master is in this town. This must be Luoyang."

It's not just outsiders who kneel before Arctic Martial Arts; even family members do it, emphasizing equality for all.

Li Bing nodded and said, "Okay, we'll be there soon."

The carriage swayed and rocked for another two or three hours. Li Hong, needing to urinate urgently, asked, "Why haven't we arrived yet?"

The nearby knights immediately said, "Luoyang City is just ahead, about four or five li away."

At this moment, Li Bing and Li Hong looked ahead and soon saw the majestic city wall and a towering pavilion standing against the sky.

Li Hong couldn't hold it in any longer and said, "Let's find a place, the child needs to go to the toilet."

The knight immediately replied, "Yes, there's one a hundred meters ahead. There's a public toilet every two miles here, and they've cleaned them all knowing the caravan would be passing through today."

Li Hong didn't want to waste any more words, "Okay."

Before long, the convoy stopped near a public restroom by the roadside. This restroom was provided for travelers to prevent people from relieving themselves indiscriminately and causing embarrassment.

Li Hong and Li Bing got off the bus with their crying child, and then gathered the other women who had gotten off in other buses to walk around. They shared toilet paper and lined up to go to the toilet to relieve themselves.

After Li Hong came out of the cleaned-up toilet, she said, "The toilet here is cleaner than the toilet at home."

Jiang Rong laughed and said, "If the roadsides are so clean, the ones in the city must be just as good. Look at that city, it's much taller than Tiger's Mouth Fortress."

At that moment, Arctic Hydrogen and its younger brother Arctic Helium ran over from a distance.

"Mother! Have we arrived yet? What is Father doing inside the city wall?"

"You'll find out when you get inside," Jiang Rong replied with a smile to her boss.

Because their names are difficult to pronounce, remember, and write, the women in the family usually call them by their first, second, third, or fourth names, and the brothers and sisters also call each other by their given names.

"Get on the bus. Check if any of your children are missing. If not, hurry up and get on the bus. Don't delay, the sun is about to set."

A group of women and children boarded the carriages one after another, and the convoy of ten carriages began to head towards the gates of Luoyang.

Five hundred meters from Luoyang city, the number of people coming and going increased.

At this moment, those kneeling were no longer just a few dozen people on the street, but a line of thousands.

Whether they were Hu merchants or Han merchants, whether they were mountain farmers or Han people from the Western Regions, they did not have much choice in the face of the Wu King's banner.

Kneeling is an act of respect, but also an act of fear of imperial power.

Above the red city gate are the three golden characters for Luoyang City.

Armored soldiers on both sides of the city gate knelt on one knee, holding spears, swords and knives.

The wide city gates were open only for this convoy.

The city of Luoyang has quieted down, and the roads have been closed off an hour earlier than scheduled.

Li Hong and the others did not see the bustling city of Luoyang in its normal state, but only its quiet, solemn, and majestic scene, filled with the atmosphere of history.

Qiuyue and Tuchai looked at the buildings on both sides in surprise. After passing through the city wall tunnel, what came into view was a neat, magnificent, and clean bustling city.

The buildings lining both sides of the street are six or seven meters high, and there are countless three- or four-story buildings.

It's hard to tell what kind of shops the red-lacquered buildings are, or how much it costs to enter the lavishly decorated shops on both sides.

The people kneeling on the road, regardless of gender, were all dressed in clean clothes, and many of them had what looked like rare fur hoods.

The convoy was directed to a secluded place where the number of pedestrians began to decrease, and gradually only soldiers on guard duty could be seen; there were no more passersby who looked like ordinary people.

About ten minutes after entering the city, the convoy finally stopped in front of a small courtyard.

When Li Hong saw Bei Jiwu standing at the courtyard gate, her mind, which had been filled with countless thoughts, immediately cleared up and she felt incredibly at ease.

As soon as the carriage came to a stop, Li Hong got off with her child in her arms and knelt down before Beijiwu, just like the others.

"Owner!"

Beijiwu smiled and said, "No need for formalities. Come on over here. You'll be staying here from now on. I've already prepared the food and drinks. You can come in and eat right away."

The other women quickly got off the bus with their children, holding and leading them, and gathered timidly at the entrance.

Looking at Arctic Martial, whom he hadn't seen for a quarter of his life, Arctic Hydrogen felt a sense of unfamiliarity and dared not recognize him.

Li Bing laughed and said, "Master, we've been traveling for more than three months. This road is too far! Several of the wheels have broken down!"

Beijiwu casually looked into the distance, then smiled at the children nearby who were blinking at him and said, "Everywhere you walk is my territory. When you can ride horses by yourself in the future, you can take a good look at this beautiful land."

Li Hong, Li Bing, Tu Chai, and Qiu Yue all looked at Bei Ji Wu in surprise.

This whole journey... has been through the territory of my own man?

So he was...the emperor?
(End of this chapter)