Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 175 Expedition
From local gentry to ordinary people, and then to officials and nobles who had long been learning the local language, the young masters and princes.

With the example of Crown Prince Wan Shi surrendering Sichuan to the Wu Dynasty, many people in the Southern Dynasty also hoped that King Wen could bring the people of the north and south of the Yangtze River back to peace and to be under the same holy ruler.

However, King Wen would not agree to such a thing. Just like his father, the Wan family chose the most pragmatic approach.

"Reading Wu Dynasty newspapers is forbidden! Merchants are forbidden from bringing Wu Dynasty newspapers back! Violators will be severely punished!"

King Wen, Wan Hu, controlled the army by winning over a small group of people. In addition, since the Wu Dynasty did not want to fight, he could continue to be a happy emperor and would not surrender and lose his throne like the foolish Wan Yu.

Jiangnan was a prosperous place. With no threat from the north, Wan Hu and his people were naturally willing to pay tribute to the north while enjoying the service of ten to twenty million people in Jiangnan along with the scholar-official class.

It's not too late to surrender when the Wu Dynasty attacks; let's enjoy every day we can now.

With this mindset, life was naturally not good for the people of the Southern Dynasties.

In order to prevent people from the Southern Dynasties from moving north, the Wen Dynasty began to strictly prohibit the movement of refugees in various places, and gradually took back the military power of various cities and set up officials to govern the refugees.

Even if someone rebels, the grain and troops in Jiangnan can be quickly suppressed and replaced with our own people in charge.

Public opinion doesn't mean anything; it's normal for a minority to rule the majority.

Beiji Wu had no time to concern himself with matters in Jiangnan; the military situation in Youzhou displeased him greatly.

"The Khitans migrated westward from Liaodong due to the cold climate, moving from Liaoyang to Shangjing, which is near the grasslands."

"Lang Wubing, after Wang Xiang received the intelligence, led four thousand men to launch a surprise attack, but was captured."

The five scholars who heard this all felt that there was something fishy going on.

"Your Majesty, could it be that the Khitans deliberately set a trap?"

Yan Boyan felt that they had most likely fallen into an ambush; Lang Wubing and Wang Xiang were both quite reckless.

Arctic Warrior angrily retorted, "Four thousand men fighting three thousand men and you call that an ambush?"

Yan Boyan and the others lowered their heads and remained silent, awaiting Beijiwu's decision.

Most of the advisors to the Wu Dynasty were assistants to the ruling officials and did not affect the personal decisions of the Northern Wu.

Arctic warriors are too angry to celebrate the New Year.

"After Wang Xiang and Lang Wubing were captured, the rest of the men were cut off and unable to charge. They were also afraid that the Khitan reinforcements would come, and the weather was too cold for them to fight in the area."

"More than two thousand people have come back. I told you long ago, if you don't have the ability, don't rush forward. Being captured will affect the morale of the army!"

"I have ordered the rest of you to continue the defense and not to go out and do anything foolish!"

"Go to Tiezhou and investigate this matter thoroughly. If the Khitans are willing to release the people, ransom them and give them some food, salt, and tea."

"The rest of the people continued to assist in the flood control work, taking advantage of the Yellow River freezing over upstream to reinforce the river channel, and in a few days they would be able to prevent ice jams."

"Utilize natural lakes or depressions to store the overflow during the ice jam season and reduce the pressure on the main river channel."

"Accelerate the construction of water conservancy facilities to cope with droughts and floods."

After discussing political matters, Beijiwu calmed down again.

"This year, we will continue to focus on agriculture and develop the Jizhou Plain."

"We will recruit 1,000 duck farmers from the local population to raise 100,000 ducks each in the waters of eastern Huanghuai Province and near the rivers of Jizhou in the spring. The ducks raised will be purchased by the city councils and used to control locusts. In spring and summer, they will be mainly used for mobile grazing."

Shi Wenyuan asked, "Your Majesty, what should we do about the Khitans? Should we send a large army to conquer them?"

Beijiwu said indifferently, "Focusing on agriculture and keeping things stable internally means that external disturbances are just minor issues. Last year, the Yellow River broke out into a new channel. If we don't manage it properly this year, we don't know which channel will be flooded."

“I have ordered people to restore the ecology of the Loess Plateau and reduce the flow of sediment, but this is not something that can be done in a year or two; it will take hundreds of years to take effect.”

"A loss is a loss. It should be reported in the newspapers. It won't affect Shan Nong Kingdom. I will personally go there next year to resolve this problem."

Arctic Martial was still somewhat angry when he said this.

"Publish it in the newspaper! Tell the truth! And add this: after the spring planting next year, I will personally lead troops to conquer the land a thousand miles east and north of Shanhaiguan. Those who surrender and settle down before the sixth year of the Wu Dynasty will be given land, fields, and houses. Those who do not come to surrender with their families will be killed!"

The crowd replied in unison, "Your Majesty, we obey!"

After Beiji Wu and the others left, they looked at the memorial requesting a southward migration from the cold, dry grasslands.

The Great Northwest region is desolate, and even in places suitable for human habitation, incidents occur frequently.

The Arctic Army will not rule there for the time being, nor will it be responsible for it.

The most pressing issue right now is the land we're sitting on. If the Wen Dynasty hadn't ceded Luoyang, the Northern Martial Empire's grand ambitions would have been limited to Ji Province and Qing Province.

Shandong Province has experienced the fewest disasters in northern China.

After comparing several regions, Beijiwu increasingly felt that the area near Luoyang was not suitable for population growth.

Luoyang Prefecture was the region most severely affected by the triple disasters of floods, droughts, and locusts, mainly due to the Yellow River changing its course and climate fluctuations.

The Yellow River breached its banks, causing floods; droughts triggered locust plagues.

Floods (extremely high), droughts (extremely high), locust plagues (extremely high).

Jinzhou experiences the most frequent droughts, which trigger secondary locust plagues, but floods are less frequent due to the rapid drainage of the Loess Plateau.

Jiangning Prefecture was frequently hit by floods, but its droughts and locust plagues were less severe than those in North China.

Sichuan experiences alternating floods and droughts, but locust plagues are relatively rare, as the basin's enclosed nature inhibits locust swarm migration.

The Northeast region has the lowest overall frequency of disasters, but localized flooding and spring drought still exist, and cold weather is actually normal, as it has never been very hot.

"I increasingly feel like I'm sitting on a toilet. No matter how much we try to control it, the Yellow River and the drought will still come."

"The weather is bad now, and it's a period of frequent disasters. I've been sitting in Luoyang all this time, and the population pressure will soon reach its limit."

“This unstable region is not suitable as a capital; we must find a place with a stable climate to serve as the capital.”

After reviewing a century-old log, Beijiwu discovered that there was no place that was absolutely safe.

It's either that there's no record of it, rather than that there was no disaster.

The best land is Jiangnan!
Arctic Martial frowned.

Yellow River's stepmother has been causing trouble for Arctic Wu for several years, and Arctic Wu is considering whether to attack Jiangnan.

Although floods are frequent there, and typhoons are common, and there are occasional periods of extreme cold and freezing temperatures, it is definitely much better than Luoyang, which is known for its high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol.

As Bei Jiwu was thinking about something, Tong Xi, who was in charge of the pigeon business, strode in.

"Your Majesty, military intelligence has arrived from the Longxi Protectorate in Chang'an: the Tibetan army of 120,000 has advanced eastward and occupied Shanzhou."

Beijiwu looked distressed; the situation in the north hadn't been resolved yet, and now chaos was brewing in the southwest.

"So annoying." Arctic Martial sighed.

Tong Xi lowered his head and dared not speak, for King Wu looked very angry.

Beiji Wu was indeed very angry. He had never looked down on the highlands of Tibet, nor did he want to ride a horse for three or four months to the plateau to breathe oxygen.

"Send a message by carrier pigeon to Tongzhou, instructing the Guihua tribe and the Yunzhong Turkic tribe to immediately head south and converge on Shanzhou, each leading five thousand elite troops to Shanzhou."

"Order the troops in Shu to be at your disposal. Order the 90,000th Company to send 5,000 men to build roads and bridges to the west, and the 100,000th Company to send 10,000 men to transport grain. Transport 10,000 tons of grain from Luoyang and southern Shanxi to Shanzhou!"

The eunuch Gu Mifu, who was serving nearby, hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, Shanzhou has been captured by the rebels."

Beijiwu said indifferently, "I will take it back. Go and get to work."

The crowd responded, "As you command!"

Arctic Wu checked the map and distances, and soon felt extremely uncomfortable.

It's 700 li from Luoyang to Chang'an, 1500-1600 li from Luoyang to Longnan, and 2300-2400 li from Luoyang to Shanzhou. If you were to climb mountains to reach the capital of Tibet, you would be exhausted.

Beiji Wu led a hundred imperial guards and set off quickly towards the front line along the road that had only been built two years ago.

The affairs in Luoyang are temporarily being handled by Sang Yang'an, Shi Wenyuan, Yan Boyan, and others.

Three or four days after Beijiwu set off, Adaihai arrived in Luoyang. Seeing the situation, he could only stay at the embassy and tour this bustling metropolis.

Ashina Bingzhen and Borjigin, upon receiving the orders from the Northern Warrior, dared not delay and quickly summoned people from various tribes.

Beijiwu traveled westward, passing through Chang'an, Qizhou, Qinzhou, and Xizhou, and arrived in Lanzhou after twenty days.

At this time, Shanzhou had already been occupied by the Tibetans, and Beijiwu only had about five hundred men and a thousand horses with him.

The two sides met in Lanzhou. The Tibetan vanguard cavalry was quickly wiped out, while Beijiwu rested and ate on the spot, and successively killed several thousand Tibetans who came over.

Apart from Beijiwu's two horses, the other people changed their horses several times along the way.

He also had Western Xia surrendered soldiers and Western Region Hu people under his command who knew the way. As long as he could find or find out the enemy's main force, he could kill them.

After storming the military camp and killing thousands, the remaining 100,000 soldiers and civilians quickly fled.

Because of the language barrier, they did not accept the surrender.

Anyone wearing Tibetan military uniform was to be killed.

Those who knelt down were not killed because there weren't enough people.

Arctic warriors mainly pursue and kill large enemy forces, often going directly into cities and camps to indiscriminately slaughter them, while their subordinates, along with guides and translators, receive prisoners from behind.

Five or six days later, Borjigin and his men arrived outside Shanzhou City, where corpses were scattered everywhere.

The short-haired man was cleaning up the corpses and did not run away when he saw the cavalrymen approaching.

Borjigin led a group of his men to a group of laborers who were working.

Without looking up, they saw the corpses on the ground, many of which were broken into two pieces, and bloodstains were everywhere.

"Khan, many of these people were slashed or stabbed to death from behind by sharp weapons. It must have been the work of cavalry. They were probably thrown into the air while fleeing, as if they were propelled into the air?" Even though he was experienced in combat, he could think of such a way of dying, but he couldn't actually carry out such a killing method that required extremely high arm strength.

Borjigin said, "It must be King Wu who has arrived."

Without raising his head, he seemed somewhat uncertain. "Khan, how many men did King Wu use to defeat the Khitan's 50,000-strong army?"

Borjigin replied, "Two or three thousand people. The important thing is not the number of people. Many people in our tribe have encountered King Wu on the battlefield. Those who got too close died on the spot."

They didn't even look up, and the newly joined generals stopped talking, all quietly observing the nearby corpses whose clothes had been removed.

Because these corpses were no longer covered by clothes, the wounds on their bodies were more clearly visible.

Borjigin arrived at the city gate of Shanzhou and asked the mountain farmers standing guard, "Is King Wu in the city?"

The mountain peasant soldiers puffed out their chests and proudly declared, "His Majesty led 500 troops here six days ago and recaptured this place in half a day. Within two or three days, he captured 30,000 to 40,000 prisoners and killed 60,000 to 70,000."

"His Majesty is currently leading his men into the heart of Tibet. The Sichuan Army and the Northern Plains Army arrived this morning and are cleaning up the battlefield along the way, sending prisoners and spoils of war back to Luoyang!"

Borjigin said, "I am the naturalized king of the naturalized tribe. Could you prepare some food and a place for us to rest? We will rest for half a day and then leave."

The mountain farmer readily agreed, “Sure, the Tibetans have killed everyone in the city. After Your Majesty goes in, you can kill all the Tibetans in the city. Just go in and find a place to rest.”

"Food can be found in the house. A lot of grain that couldn't be taken with us was stored in the nearby houses."

Borjigin nodded his thanks and then took out a three- or four-tael silver coin and tossed it to the soldier.

The soldiers were so happy that their mouths were crooked from grinning.

Borjigin immediately determined that this was a Han Chinese, not a mountain farmer.

The mountain farmers must have gone to fight, not stood guard here.

Borjigin, having thought of this, led his men into the city to rest.

The city was eerily quiet, with dead bodies everywhere.

Without lifting them up, the others carefully examined the corpses on the ground. Too many people had died here, frozen solid in the cold winter.

This silent city made many people realize that King Wu's conquest of a country in a single day was not just a legend.

With the addition of the Yunzhong Turkic tribe and the Guihua tribe, as well as the influx of a large number of soldiers from Sichuan and the mountainous agricultural provinces, the Tubo Kingdom, with a population of over three million, was quickly destroyed.

Arctic warriors don't care whether the people they encounter are from a tribe or Tibetans; unless they surrender and kneel down quickly, they will all die.

The Tibetan royal family, Tibetan nobles, Bailan people, Sogdians, Tanguts, Yangtong people, Qiang tribes, Tuyuhun people, and Han Chinese slaves of the lowest status.

These people became slaves after the arrival of the Arctic warriors.

All the original nobles, warriors, and monks were killed and counted as having died in battle.

Because Han Chinese could understand some of the language, their status rose sharply.

After plundering enormous wealth from various temples and tribal regimes, it was already the fourth or fifth month of the lunar calendar.

The Tibetan population has dwindled to less than one-fifth of its former size, and Beiji Wu is constantly waging war across the land, except on rainy or windy days.

After receiving the letter from the Central Plains, he left 800,000 people to manage several pastoral areas, while he led his men back first.

This year, the Central Plains suffered a severe drought, with not a single drop of water falling during the five months leading up to the Lunar New Year.

Even worse, the mountainous and plain provinces are in similar situations, with a massive drought sweeping across the entire continent, and even Suzhou and Hangzhou are experiencing drought and no rain.

After last year's floods, locusts laid eggs, and there will most likely be another locust plague this year.

The climate here in Tibet is also bad, with the same snow disasters and the same shrinking grasslands. The worst part is that the altitude is too high and the sunshine is too strong. Beijiwu doesn't want to stay here any longer.

After entrusting the task of hunting down the escaped nobles to the Yunzhong Guihua Second Division, Beijiwu returned to his country in September.

"Your Majesty! I am utterly incompetent! The Yellow River has breached its banks, and Suizhou, Caozhou, Qizhou, Bozhou, Suzhou, Sizhou, Xuzhou, Huai'an, Yangzhou and other places have been flooded! Tens of thousands have died or been injured!"

Looking at the old man kneeling in front of him, Beijiwu remained calm.

"Do your best and have a clear conscience."

Qi Tian cried out, "Thank you, Your Majesty! I will certainly devote myself to the cause until my dying breath!"

Beiji Wu ignored him and sat on the dragon throne, lost in thought.

There are one troublesome thing after another, and none of my subordinates are capable.

Something always happens here or there; running around all day is exhausting.

"How's the situation with the Khitan? I just got back and don't want to ride around on horseback anymore."

Sang Yang'an stepped forward and respectfully said, "When the Khitan attacked Wuzhou once, they led 30,000 men to attack, but more than a thousand of them were killed by local crossbows and collapsed without a fight."

"Wang Qing, the governor of Shannong Province, used Liao people who had voluntarily surrendered from Liaodong to govern the Khitan people. He used 2,000 Liao soldiers to conquer several Khitan strongholds in northern Wuzhou and accepted the surrender of more than 50,000 Khitan people from various tribes."

"Since His Majesty issued the military order to kill all barbarians in the sixth year of the Wu Dynasty, barbarians from all over the country have come to join us. In particular, more than 100,000 Jurchens came to Wuzhou. They were all settled in villages built on the grasslands outside the Great Wall. They would help Wuzhou with farming and work in exchange for wine, meat and grain."

It was no surprise that the Khitans surrendered in the Arctic. Both the Khitans and the Tibetans were a union of numerous tribes, with a small number of nobles integrating them.

Most people chose to submit because they were intimidated by the threats from the Khitan nobles, and they did whatever they were told when it came to matters involving their interests.

The Khitans were not a unified group; most Khitans wanted to migrate south, not to migrate south violently.

If Wuzhou is willing to accept the Khitans and classify them as Liao people, then the Khitans will find their right place.

The Liao people wanted to obtain wine, grain, cotton clothing, and tea from Wuzhou.

If one cannot win in a fight, exchanging one's own cowhide, sheepskin, minerals, gold, silver, and women for them is acceptable.

Moreover, they also gave money and women to those who helped the mountain farmers fight the Khitans, so no one minded helping the mountain farmers fight the Khitans.

Beijiwu knew this, but he didn't need to go to such lengths to conquer the Khitans. He could have simply obtained huge spoils of war, just like he had done with the Tibetans.

Tens of thousands of taels of gold, two to three million taels of silver, tens of millions of copperware and coins, four million yaks, tens of millions of sheep and goats, a million horses, and a million people.

The Arctic Martial Arts Department was surprised that Wang Qing, originally a mere warehouse manager, possessed such abilities.

How was this year's grain harvest?

Beijiwu did not interfere with Wang Qing's affairs, nor did he force his subordinates to do anything. In any case, gold will shine on its own.

Sang Yang'an lowered his head and said, "The production has decreased by one-third compared to last year. All three provinces have encountered severe drought this year. Although the two lakes and southwestern provinces have not been affected, their output is limited."

Beijiwu remained silent, then sighed, "Fortunately, I went there myself and destroyed Tibet and Western Xia. Otherwise, with constant natural disasters and external enemies, we would never have peace."

Meng Hetong, who was on duty, knelt down and said, "This humble general is incompetent! Please punish me, Your Majesty!"

Beijiwu waved his hand casually, "It's not your fault. Continue, how are the Khitans doing lately?"

Sang Yang'an replied, "The Khitans exchanged over four hundred captured men and two generals for grain. At first, they asked for an exorbitant price, but they became much more obedient after seeing that we didn't care. Xue Chonghu exchanged five hundred thousand catties of grain, one thousand catties of wine, and one thousand catties of tea for the two generals and over four hundred men."

"I have arranged for them to farm in Nanyang, and will make further arrangements when Your Majesty returns."

Beiji Wu casually said, "Besides the Khitans, there doesn't seem to be anyone else to fight nearby. Let Lang Wubing and Wang Xiang retire from their military posts and return to their fields in Guanzhong to work in public households, demoting them to commoners."

"The remaining soldiers, along with those who abandoned their general and fled last time, went to the western frontier with their families to cultivate the land and smelt iron."

Meng Hetong immediately replied, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Beijiwu waved his hand, "If there's nothing else, let's call it a day. I'm going to take a few days to rest."

The crowd said in unison, "We take our leave."

The fifth year of the Wu Dynasty was not a good year, but the glorious victory of the Northern Wu Dynasty in destroying the Tubo Kingdom with a population of four million excited millions of people.

Now, besides the Khitan, there is only the south. The people in the south are easily defeated, so the Khitan dare not invade the Shannong Kingdom.

That year, a severe drought, floods, locust plagues, and epidemics struck, and no province in the entire Shan Nong Kingdom, except for the Sichuan region, was spared from the disaster.

However, there was no war, no chaos, no forced labor, and the grain reserves in various places were sufficient to feed everyone, so the one-third reduction in production did not cause panic.

Thanks to improvements in farming tools, an increase in cattle and horses, the construction of water conservancy facilities, timely replanting of crops and vegetables after disasters, and the development of fisheries and animal husbandry, the nation's strength is steadily rising.

The disaster didn't just affect the north.

The same thing happened in the south: drought followed by locusts. The locusts swarmed, darkening the sun, destroying all vegetation, and starving people swallowed dirt.

In the dead of winter, while Beiji Wu was having hot pot with his sons and daughters who had come to the palace, Teng He walked in.

"Your Majesty, good news has arrived from Tiezhou, from Liaodong."

Beijiwu, while eating mutton hotpot, casually asked, "What good news?"

Teng He exclaimed happily, "The heavy snow in Liaodong has lasted for three days!"

Good news, which wasn't bad news, came from Youzhou.

The heavy snow continued for three days straight; houses in this era would surely collapse under its weight.

Livestock such as cattle and sheep can freeze to death due to prolonged low temperatures, and the death of warhorses, in particular, can affect overall combat effectiveness.

Snow accumulation can also disrupt traffic and prevent people from receiving rescue.

Winter snow is not so easy to shovel; people are trapped in ice and snow for at least a month.

Especially since it is still the tenth month of the lunar calendar, not the dead of winter, many people do not have sufficient supplies for the winter.

Seeing that the upper, middle, and lower kingdoms were all suffering together, Arctic Martial felt less distressed.

"Snowfall is normal and nothing to worry about. Reply to them and tell them not to make a fuss. Because the Khitans attacked our country this year, trade was suspended during the New Year. We will talk about it again next spring."

Arctic Martial Arts Academy doesn't offer help in times of need.

(End of this chapter)