Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 158 Same Clan, Same Origin
"498, what's going on?"

After a large number of people gathered, Jin Yuzhen, the head of the 115th team, quickly inquired about 498.

As the newspaper sales director of Luoyang, who manages one hundred newsboys, Jin Yuzhen controls the total business of 20,000 newspapers per day in Luoyang and is in charge of one hundred sales outlets in the four regions of east, west, south and north.

He usually stays in the city, but sometimes he goes out to inspect.

I had just heard about the fight at 498, so I quickly brought people over to see what was going on. I didn't expect things to escalate so much.

When Sijiuba saw the team leader arrive, he immediately shouted indignantly, "A fried dough stick vendor robbed our mountain farmer children of their money. I'm going to stand up for the children and beat him up!"

Jin Yuzhen noticed that hundreds or even thousands of people nearby were watching them, and immediately urged, "Have you found out who the child is?"

The main reason why women could become banner chiefs or centurions was that they were literate and their performance could satisfy the Arctic Army.

It doesn't matter how much money a family has; they'll just rob it. They never need donations from others.

No matter how powerful the men in his family are, Beijiwu has never taken the women under his command seriously.

Among his subordinates, Xue Chonghu and Meng Hetong are currently the most capable, and Xue Chonghu should be the one who has made the most contributions.

Xue Chonghu didn't dare to say that Luoyang was conquered by him in front of Beiji Wu, or even in front of others.

Luoyang was conquered by Beiji Wu himself. It was originally given to Beiji Wu by Wan Shi. Xue Chonghu just didn't make things worse and didn't ruin this good thing.

Jin Yuzhen's husband is not a high-ranking official like Xue Chonghu or Meng Hetong; this woman in her twenties remains unmarried to this day.

Jin Yuzhen was originally a young lady from a wealthy family. Due to the decline of her family, she was forced to become a child bride. Her father-in-law refused to surrender to the Beiyuan Army and was killed. She then entered the Beijiwu textile factory as a slave. She stood out by virtue of her literacy and arithmetic skills, as well as her decent appearance.

The position of centurion was not hereditary. Generally, civilian positions were staffed by ten people, with ranks ranging from centurion teams to regiments of a thousand people and ministries of ten thousand people.

The military officer of ten thousand households corresponds to a general, and the civil officer of ten thousand households naturally corresponds to the Six Ministries.

Up until Jin Yuzhen began her questioning, Jin Yuzhen, the team leader representing the Shan Nong people, was also trying to downplay the matter and avoid causing trouble for herself.

498 immediately said, "It's Team 1001! His name is Mu Lin, and he said he saw you selling newspapers in Tongzhou before! There are also two children named Niu'er and Zhu'er; their fathers are both commanders!"

Normally, Si Jiuba wouldn't speak so loudly to the team leader, but at this moment he was confident and showed no sign of backing down.

"That fried dough stick vendor is taking advantage of us mountain children, robbing us kids of our money! Let's beat him up!"

Upon hearing that the child being bullied was from a thousand-household family, the nearby mountain farmers immediately chimed in, "Beat him up!!"

"Damn it! You're asking for it!"

"kill him!"

"kill!"

The couple selling fried dough sticks were so terrified they wanted to die, yet they endured the torment of fear every second.

"Grandpas and grandmas, please spare me! I was blind and didn't recognize your greatness. Please, grandpas and grandmas, have mercy on me!"

The stall owner immediately knelt down and kowtowed to the group of mountain farmers, begging for mercy.

The local mountain farmers were not about to let this Han Chinese go.

"There's no law anymore! How dare they bully us mountain farmers!"

"Today we'll teach those Han people a lesson and show them how powerful we mountain farmers are!"

"beat!"

People nearby swarmed forward, ready to punch and kick the peddler couple who were begging for their lives.

Fang Huairui and Wang Daoji retreated repeatedly, and Wenshu Mo also retreated to avoid being accidentally injured.

Chai Boshi glanced at the "mountain farmers" nearby.

The Han people have been divided into mountain farmers and Han people. Nearly a million people in Luoyang consider themselves mountain farmers. In the future, the Han people will either all become mountain farmers or be bullied by a group of Han people who consider themselves mountain farmers.

There aren't that many mountain farmers.

Chai Boshi was well aware that King Wu intended to separate the Han people from the mountain farmers; it was impossible for all Han people to become mountain farmers, otherwise who would cultivate the land…

Chai Boshi's thinking quickly stalled, and he suddenly realized that the main force in farming had always been the mountain farmers.

Throughout the entire Wu Dynasty, the Han people were never expected to farm. The problems of food and military affairs were always solved by mountain farmers, who were the main force in this endeavor.

The people of Shannong were the ones who conquered the country, and they are also the ones who solved the problem of feeding everyone in the country.

Even though Chai Boshi had received Han Chinese education since childhood, he now realized that the mountain farmers had no need for Han Chinese at all.

The Hu people needed Han people to farm, work, fight, and serve as officials to help with administration.

But the mountain farmers cultivate the land, do their own work, fight their own battles, and train their own cadres, and they do it much better than the Han people.

As a sub-prefect, Chai Boshi has handled many old cases in the past two years, more than 90% of which came from Han Chinese nobles.

Most of the mountain farmers were actually the group that was brutally oppressed by the Han people in the past.

The Han people are of no use to the mountain farmers. As the number of mountain farmers increases, the Han people may really be coming to an end.

Chai Boshi understood that there would inevitably be a life-or-death battle between the mountain farmers and the Han people, but at least it wouldn't happen today.

As long as King Wu was alive, the difference between the Han people and the mountain farmers would not be so great.

We'll deal with the future later. I'm already old, and I'll definitely pass away before King Wu. My grandson will become a farmer in the mountains. There's no need to be so attached to anything.

"Stop! I am a prefectural judge of the imperial court! Do you intend to kill someone in front of me?!"

Chai Boshi stepped forward and shouted loudly!
The farmer from Guihua Mountain, who was about to make a move, suddenly heard a strong voice. Looking in the direction of the voice, he saw a burly man with a fierce and imposing appearance and short hair.

Chai Boshi didn't want to get involved in this trouble, but after thinking about the conflicts between the mountain farmers and the Han people, he decided to do something.

Most importantly, King Wu was still alive. Chai Boshi believed that King Wu would not allow this matter to escalate, which is why he dared to step forward and resolve the issue.

If King Wu can protect Chai Boshi, Chai Boshi will naturally be willing to do something.

If Chai Boshi felt that King Wu would not protect him, he naturally wouldn't have stepped forward to resolve the matter and become involved in such a thorny problem.

When the villagers saw Chai Boshi's hair, they all assumed he was a cadre of the village.

A nearby man immediately shouted, "This unscrupulous merchant is bullying us! You are also a farmer from the mountains, you must stand up for us farmers!"

"Exactly! We can't let him get away with this!"

"kill him!"

"kill!"

"kill!"

"kill!!"

There were many people around, all of whom were members of the Shan Nong collective. They had a sense of pride and superiority that belonged to the Shan Nong people. At this moment, they had the upper hand and were determined not to swallow their anger.

Li Tangqing knew that Chai Boshi was a Han Chinese, and once those around him found out that he was a Han official, they would no longer listen to him.

Wearing Hanfu and with long hair, Li Tangqing shouted loudly, "I am the magistrate of Luonan County, appointed by King Wu just a few days ago. I have already escorted the three children home. I will handle this matter myself, and I will report to His Majesty later. You must not interfere with me and this official handling the case!"

Chai Boshi and Li Tangqing exchanged a glance and instantly reached a tacit understanding.

"Don't cause trouble here. He's just a nobody selling fried dough sticks. Do you think he can escape my grasp? Go back! Do your jobs. What kind of behavior is this, blocking the street?!" Chai Boshi had to keep these people in check. If anyone made a move, others would swarm in, and they would surely die before he would stop.

The fried dough stick vendor cried out to Chai Boshi, "Sir, save me! I was foolish for a moment, blinded by lard, I will never dare to do it again!"

Chai Boshi cursed, "I saw everything clearly from here just now. You beast, you took advantage of the child's ignorance, scared the child away, and stole a tael of silver! Now hand over the money!"

The fried dough stick vendor hurriedly pulled out the scalding silver tael from his pocket and offered it with both hands: "Sir, spare my life! I will never dare to do it again!"

Chai Boshi snorted, "Bah! One tael of silver isn't enough! You've offended some big shots. Hand over all your money, or you'll risk your life for money. Only by handing it all over can we buy your dog's life!"

The boss hurriedly got up and picked up the money box, looking at Chai Boshi with nervousness and fear.

"Sir, this is all the money I have! Please spare my life, sir, and let me make a living here."

Chai Boshi felt that this person was incredibly stupid.

"Still thinking of making a living here?" Chai Boshi said coldly, "Do you really think you've committed a minor offense? Let me tell you, it's not easy to survive. Just look around at how many people want you dead, and how many are willing to speak up for you and let you live."

Upon hearing this, the farmers living near the artificial hill immediately started to jeer.

"kill him!"

"kill him!"

"Cut off his head!"

"kill!"

"kill!"

"kill!"

The farmers of the artificial hill, who had never been to the battlefield and whose main method of joining was surrender, were now filled with indignation and voiced their collective opinion.

Sijiuba is also a member of the Shannong people. She has never been to the battlefield and does not know the history of the Shannong people, but that does not stop her from being excited to be part of the Shannong people and feeling proud of the powerful group.

Amidst the public outrage, the situation quickly spiraled out of control for Chai Boshi and Li Tangqing.

Neither of them had dealt with anything similar before, nor did they understand what a unified identity and sense of honor meant to the complex and peculiar group of mountain farmers.

An egg flew from a distance and hit the man selling fried dough sticks.

When the crowd saw the woman buying groceries throw out an egg, their collective will quickly followed suit, driven by the signal that the egg represented!

"kill him!"

"kill!"

"kill!!!"

The men at the front received the signal to attack and moved forward without hesitation, kicking the kneeling merchant couple.

The crowd surged forward like a tidal wave, like a restless herd of beasts that had finally received a hunting signal and began tearing at their struggling, howling prey in a frenzy.

Chai Boshi reached out and pulled Li Tangqing, who was trying to stop them, and led Li Tangqing and his grandson back quickly to avoid the frenzied crowd.

"Stop!" Li Tangqing shouted loudly, "Stop! His guilt will be judged by the Emperor! Do not move!"

The people around him didn't listen to the Han official at all; they all used lethal force.

Less than half a minute later, someone shouted from afar, "The soldiers are here!!"

The crowd quickly dispersed, leaving behind only the two dead bodies on the ground, a pool of blood, and scattered silver and copper coins.

The ground is shaking.

As a thousand regular soldiers ran in orderly fashion, the sound of their shoes striking the floor echoed with the rhythmic thud of their collective footsteps.

The mountain farmers who had started the attack quickly scattered and fled, with only a few remaining in place.

When the officers and soldiers arrived, they immediately surrounded the area.

496 tried to leave, but was quickly forced back by the pointed gun.

When 498 saw a group of mountain farmers and soldiers surrounding him, he immediately shouted, "I'm from Team 115! We're all on the same side!"

The surrounding soldiers looked at the group of people indifferently, without raising their weapons, but pointing them at them.

498 felt fear and realized that he might not be one of them anymore, so he quickly hid behind Jin Yuzhen.

Jin Yuzhen felt that this subordinate was really good at causing trouble. After being pushed out by Si Jiuba, she could only cautiously watch the man riding over from a distance.

The man leading the troops was Wanhu Lang Wubing, the only general in the entire Wu Dynasty who was younger than Beiji Wu.

Lang Wubing was not yet twenty years old. Because of his good fortune, he fought several battles with Beiji Wu and Meng Hetong. In addition, he followed the rules and did not do anything extra. He was granted the title of Wanhu of Wuzhou. His fief was located between Wuzhou and Tongzhou, with 510,000 mu of land and 13,000 households inherited by him.

"Who killed him? And why did he die?"

Lang Wubing glanced at the two people who had died tragically, then looked at Li Tangqing and Chai Boshi.

Wang Daoji and Lang Wubing, who were in the distance, also saw each other, but Lang Wubing, who was also a commander of ten thousand households, ignored the man.

Li Tangqing immediately said, "This merchant overcharged the children by one tael of silver due to some misunderstanding. Those three children are children of mountain farmers who just arrived recently. I have already sent the children back. When I came to deal with this matter, many people knew about it and wanted to seek justice for the children of the mountain farmers. Prefect Cai and I could not stop them and could only watch as these two were beaten to death."

Lang Wubing frowned. He thought it was just a normal fight, but he didn't expect it to involve troublesome people.

"Have the people nearby clean it up."

Lang Wubing casually gave an order, then turned his horse around and left.

"withdraw."

The death of two merchants was nothing to Lang Wubing; it wasn't worth making a fuss about.

The number of people who die on the battlefield is far greater than this; we've long been used to this kind of thing.

When Si Jiuba saw that Lang Wubing was standing with the Shan Nongren, he clenched his fists with joy.

Si Jiuba said happily, "The general is one of our own! The mountain farmers will definitely help the mountain farmers!"

Li Tangqing sighed, knowing that such things would inevitably happen again in the future, and the gap between the mountain farmers and the Han people would only widen, especially with the influx of a large number of fake mountain farmers, which would only make things more difficult.

Just as everyone was about to leave, Li Tangqing said to his son and grandson, "Let's help tidy up."

Seeing this, Chai Boshi immediately advised, "What are you packing for? Hurry up and leave, don't get involved in this mess."

Like Chai Boshi, Li Tangqing saw the problem and wanted to solve it, but when faced with trouble, Chai Boshi, realizing that things were beyond his control, chose to let nature take its course.

Li Tangqing sighed, "I think there should still be people in this couple's family. Return the money owed to the child, and keep the rest for their child. Anmin, go and ask where this family lives, and then find a car to take them home."

Chai Boshi frowned and quickly walked out, thinking, "He asked for trouble."

Chai Boshi doesn't like this kind of thing and won't help.

Wen Shumo and Wang Daoji and his wife also left tacitly. Lang Wubing had already resolved the matter, and no one had the ability to compete with the Wanhu of the Shan Nong tribe.

After Li Tangqing and his two grandchildren found out the family's location, they returned the money and the mess, and gave the elderly, weak, women and children an extra two taels of silver to bury the dead.

It was already afternoon when things were settled. After returning home, Li Tangqing thought about it all night and decided to do something.

(End of this chapter)