Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 176 Selfishness
The sixth year of the Wu Dynasty, the New Year

Beiji Wu was playing in the palace with a group of palace maids and country women, and playing with children outside the palace while setting off firecrackers.

Fireworks shaped like cannonballs stood on the ground, their cone-shaped tips bursting with volcanic-like smoke and fire.

The dazzling fireworks, seven or eight meters high, continued to burst into bloom, eliciting excited screams from the nearby children.

Firecrackers were constantly going off in Luoyang. Although Beijiwu spent most of last year away from Luoyang, the city continued to develop very well.

Wages for workers and farmers rose steadily, and the mining of minerals such as copper, iron, and coal became much easier with the help of explosives.

Because there was no rain, road construction became much easier. With the help of explosives and iron tools, a shorter highway was slowly taking shape.

After conquering the western frontier, the population under its rule rapidly approached 20 million.

The increase in population will inevitably lead to overcrowding in housing, and current planning will not last many years.

The initial plan was based on an annual population growth rate of 1% to 2%, but it turned out to be 10%.

The consequences of the long-term practice of killing men and keeping women are becoming apparent.

The strict enforcement of the mandatory order that every man in a public household must have a wife, and the prohibition against infanticide, coupled with a century of war and various natural disasters leading to a baby boom, as well as tax exemptions and tax relief, and the population demand for children to help with dozens of acres of land in each family, perfectly achieved the first baby boom of this era.

Looking at his family of more than ten children, Beijiwu realized that, given the availability of food and a safe environment, polygamy was indeed the structure most prone to population explosion at certain stages.

Especially during periods when there were more women than men, as long as men weren't picky eaters and women had food to eat, they were willing to marry, resulting in such a wildly high birth rate.

Beiji Wu was too lazy to think about so many things. Anyway, the birth rate of Shan Nong Kingdom wouldn't be high for more than a few years. Once having enough to eat becomes an easy thing, it won't be so easy for girls to get married in the future.

The only time when women could be separated from the Khitans was probably when they were destroyed.

The Southern Dynasty is not considered an enemy, and they do not want to fight for the time being.

After destroying the Khitan, we can temporarily leave that area alone, just like we destroyed the Tibetans. The main purpose is not to rule them, but to keep them quiet for a while.

The million people of Tibet could live on their own by herding horses and sheep and growing some barley. They just needed to be given cattle and sheep on time. Beiji Wu was too lazy to care about them.

The Khitans will face the same fate. Large tracts of land in Liaodong are rotten and extremely cold. Most of the plains are now swamps, so even if they occupy them, they cannot develop them.

All we need to do is build a strong city and hold it. The future is the age of firearms, so as long as we are stable internally, we won't have to worry about the bandits from those harsh, cold lands outside.

"Father! Father!"

Beijiwu looked down and realized it was his eldest son calling him.

Li Hong and the others in the distance were watching this side, with smiles on their faces.

"Mm," Beijiwu responded, gazing at the beautiful scenery of Luoyang City in the distance.

Throughout the year, the mountain farmers have hardly ever celebrated.

Therefore, festivals are still celebrated according to the Han Chinese tradition. If you have money and your family can get together, you will naturally like to have a lively celebration.

Arctic Hydrogen cried out, "Father, can I go to school next year?"

“Okay.” Beijiwu patted the tiger-skin hat the child was wearing. “You will go to school with Mulin and the others. From now on, don’t live with your mother anymore. Live with Mulin and the others and go to school together.”

The education of children is also of paramount importance, after all, my son may really be the one to take over the business in the future.

If someone else takes over, it's hard to say whether our family will survive.

Arctic Martial Arts is too lazy to bother anymore; he'll just live his own life.

“Yes…” Arctic Hydrogen lowered its head, looking unhappy. The children clearly didn't want to go to school; they were all forced to say they wanted to go.

Beijiwu laughed and said, "Go to school after spring. You're still young. Eat well and sleep well."

"Yes, Father!" Arctic Hydrogen became happy again and said happily, "Father, I want to eat meat, the kind that's cooked really well, the kind with sweet rice."

Several other children also gathered around.

"Dad! I want some too!"

"I'll eat it too!"

"I'm hungry!"

Beijiwu knew what the child was talking about and said generously, "Okay, eat whatever you want during the New Year."

"Let your mother go home first. You'll stay at the palace tonight. Go take a bath first, and it'll be almost ready by then."

Bei Jiwu's words caused the faces of several women standing nearby, dressed in beautiful clothes, to freeze.

Li Bing walked over and looked at Arctic Martial Arts with incomprehension.

"Your Majesty, are we not allowed to rest in the palace tonight and serve you?"

Beijiwu explained, “I don’t need you to serve me. Don’t just think about yourselves every day. Think more about the children. It is said that adversity breeds talent. I often did chores when I was young, which is how I honed my martial arts skills and learned about the coldness and warmth of human relationships.”

"All you think about is enjoying wealth and luxury. After coming to Luoyang, you've forgotten to work and set a good example for your children. You're clearly poor women from a mountain village, but after just one glance at the rich and powerful palace, you can't stop thinking about it and always want to match your status with a certain air."

"After I became emperor, I was busy for many hours every day. Most of my time was spent on government affairs and fighting wars. I went out to fight three times during the New Year period alone."

"I entered Luoyang, destroyed the Western Xia, destroyed the Tubo, and slaughtered hundreds of thousands of people. Tens of thousands of souls died at my hands, and I brought back one or two million women."

"And you? I provide you with food and drink and let you live a comfortable life, and I'm already doing you a disservice? You're never satisfied! If you feel wronged, you can leave and find someone else to marry. I don't mind if you marry someone else and have someone else's children, as long as you don't get in my way in the future. I can't be bothered with whether you live or die."

Li Bing hurriedly explained, "We are not dissatisfied at all. We are very content. We just asked Your Majesty if you need us to serve you. There's nothing else to it."

Beijiwu casually said, "You all know whether what I said is right or wrong. Don't threaten me with children. Are you betting that I wouldn't dare to kill someone?"

Li Bing and the others were so frightened that they dared not say another word.

"Let's go back," Beiji Wu said to the palace maid. "Arrange for a carriage to take them back."

The palace maid immediately knelt down, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Beijiwu said to the women, "Live your lives well and don't think about showing off anything. If anyone affects me, they can go back to Beitian Village. It's exactly the same as when you left. If anyone makes me unhappy or upset in the future, they can go back to retire there."

"If you don't know what kind of life I lived before, what kind of life will you live after you go back?"

The women nodded obsequiously, "Yes, Your Majesty."

After the troublesome women left, Beijiwu led a group of children who didn't know what had happened to continue setting off fireworks. When they got tired, they took a bath, then ate and slept.

By simply telling those women that he didn't need them, he actually avoided a lot of unnecessary trouble.

If you're willing to behave, stay put; if you have a problem, you don't need to apply—the Arctic Army will just kick you out.

Beijiwu is a selfish person who has never thought about satisfying others or living off the praise of others.

(End of this chapter)