Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 190 Eastern Expeditions and Western Wars
If we're talking about a place worse than Annam, then we have to say Goryeo.

Annam has been occupied at least several times, while Goryeo, this wretched place, has never been occupied or ruled even once during this era.

It was poor and desolate, with many mountains. To get to this wretched place, grain had to be transported from Jizhou to Youzhou, and then from Youzhou to Liaodong, crossing mountains and rivers to reach Goryeo. The supply line could stretch for three or four thousand miles.

Winters are cold, and beyond the country lies a vast ocean and coastal marshes, making it impossible for ships to land.

However, this was not a problem for Arctic Wu. Since the construction of Shanhaiguan, the Shan Nong Kingdom had begun to manage Liaodong.

In eastern Liaoning, the Jurchens also built water conservancy facilities under the command of the mountain farmers, draining the seawater and turning it into arable flat land.

The issue of grain transportation is a minor matter for the Mountain Farming Kingdom, which has a large number of carts and horses for transporting grain and an abundance of grain.

The frigid weather was not a problem, as the mountain farmers were given priority in being provided with warm sheepskin clothes and sweaters, and they also received assistance from a large number of Liao people who were adapted to the cold climate.

If the city is well-fortified, use cannons.

In Arctic Martial's vision, this expedition would not present any difficulties.

It doesn't matter how many people die, we must succeed!

"Your Majesty, the King of Goryeo requests to submit to the Kingdom of San Nong. He is willing to bring the entire royal family to reside in Luoyang and offer twelve prefectures and five hundred counties to the Kingdom of San Nong."

Beijiwu sat on the throne of Daming Palace, witnessing the surrender letter from the Goryeo envoy along with civil and military officials.

Beijiwu was not in a good mood after Goryeo's surrender.

“Go back and tell your king that these are barbarians who don’t understand your language and are too troublesome to discipline.”

The ministers were all shocked. They could all sense that the Arctic Emperor disliked foreign races, but they did not expect him to be so ruthless!
The king of Nanzhao was extremely nervous at this moment; he too had come to surrender…

The envoy dared not return and hurriedly knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty, we, the nobles, merchants, and farmers of Goryeo, all speak Chinese. We are not much different from the mountain farmers and we all make a living by farming and fishing. We have admired the culture of the Central Plains since ancient times. Goryeo is just a dialect spoken in private and we are not barbarians from beyond the borders."

Beiji Wu thought they were speaking a foreign language, but he didn't completely believe the envoy's words.

"What do your kings eat? What do the nobles eat? What do the peasants eat?"

The messenger replied, "The king eats a hundred-meter-long beef dish, mutton, and clear tea."

"Nobles eat white rice and mixed grains, pickled vegetables, chicken, and rice wine, and have two meals a day."

"Farmers eat coarse grains and wild vegetables, thin porridge, and only one meal a day."

The civil and military officials standing nearby couldn't help but smile, maintaining proper etiquette before the palace without laughing out loud, but their expressions clearly showed disdain.

The king of Nanzhao also looked embarrassed.

Before coming here, I thought that Shan Nong Kingdom was a peasant army that had successfully rebelled, and that it was only good at fighting, but must have a lot of internal problems.

However, once they arrived in the territory of the Mountain Farmer Kingdom, they discovered that everyone there, from farmers to merchants, ate better than the nobles.

If at first they thought it was just posturing, deliberately driving away the poor and using the rich to pretend to be poor, then as they approached the capital, the scene they witnessed completely overturned the perceptions of the nobles of both countries.

It was the time of summer grain harvest, and walking along the official road one could see golden fields covering the hillsides, as well as a million fine horses representing millions of cavalrymen.

Everyone has three meals a day, everyone has clothes to wear, and they can get new clothes once a year. Every family has enough food to last for more than a year, and after a year of eating and drinking, they can still save one-fifth of their income for emergencies.

With billions of acres of fertile land, a million soldiers, countless warhorses, and an inexhaustible treasury of gold and silver, they destroyed one kingdom after another.

“All the land that historically belonged to the Central Plains dynasties has now been reclaimed. Goryeo is neither the homeland of the Han people nor the homeland of the mountain farmers. I only intend to use it for military training and have no intention of governing it permanently.”

Arctic Martial frankly expressed his thoughts.

If it's going to be war, then it's war. Arctic Martial Arts is not the type to wait for others to provoke them before retaliating.

Arctic Martial Arts is similar to others; it will also take the initiative to fight outwards.

The envoy knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please be magnanimous. The kings and nobles of our Goryeo Kingdom all have Han surnames and share the same ancestry as the Han people and the mountain farmers. How can we be outsiders?"

Arctic Martial was amused, finding it utterly ridiculous.

But it's really hard to refute this joke.

"The King of Goryeo can remain in Goryeo. I will not concern myself with matters in the north. Your nobles can continue to do as they please. However, I will send people to manage the relocation of 500,000 farmers and artisans to the islands south of Goryeo."

"It is only a thousand miles by sea from Yancheng, my country. In the future, Huanghuai Province will provide food and salt to the island, and the island's residents can also take a boat to Yancheng to work and earn money."

"In return, I will transport enough grain to feed 600,000 people to your northern nobles every year, and allow the Koreans to purchase ironware, seasonings, silk, and tea from Liaodong in the north, but they are no longer allowed to travel south through the poor people's passage!"

Upon hearing this, the envoy quickly expressed his gratitude, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Given that the Arctic Army is preparing for a war of annihilation, the only options are to either fight to the death or surrender decisively.

The Liao people surrendered, and everyone in the country was preserved well. They were not mistreated or treated as second-class citizens, and even the nobles were not punished.

The Jurchens were not convinced, and as a result, they sent troops to destroy them within a month.

The Western Xia and Tibetan kingdoms were the same; they were all wiped out and exterminated with lightning speed, leaving not a single royal man alive.

Before the Mountain Farmer Kingdom, the difference between life and death was too great. Surrendering did not mean becoming a slave, there would be no mistreatment, the lives of the whole family would be preserved, and they would be well taken care of and entrusted with important tasks.

There are many who refuse to surrender, and so far no force has been found capable of resisting the conquest of the Mountain Farming Kingdom.

All resistance was as fragile as paper, easily dismembered like vegetables or melons.

They were simply incapable of waging a protracted war; all of them were wiped out cleanly and efficiently.

The southwestern barbarians were ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth, but several countries with populations exceeding two or three hundred thousand were well aware of the strength of this Mountain Farmer Kingdom.

The king couldn't help but take the war seriously; if he gave the wrong order, he would be killed very quickly, with nowhere to run.

After the Goryeo envoy surrendered, the emperor of Nanzhao also knelt down and kowtowed.

"Long live the Holy One, long live the Holy One!"

Han language was the "high-end language" of Nanzhao. The Nanzhao Kingdom was also glad that it had learned Chinese from childhood, otherwise it would not even have had the chance to kneel down and surrender.

Beijiwu looked at the kneeling southwestern barbarian on the ground and asked, "How have you been in Luoyang?"

The King of Nanzhao dared not raise his head, and answered while lying on the ground with a pounding heart: "The Central Plains have countless delicacies, the houses and beds are clean and fragrant, everyone loves beauty, and we have no worries about food and clothing. My family and I like this place very much and do not want to go back."

Arctic Martial Arts: "Then let's do it this way. We'll settle your family in according to the treatment of a king. There are several duke's mansions in the city. Take a look and choose a suitable one to stay in."

“From now on, your family will receive 10,000 taels of silver every year. You can keep one-tenth of the treasures of the Nanzhao Kingdom, as well as the palace maids and concubines. From now on, the language of the mountain farmers will be the main language. Do not teach future generations the language of barbarians.”

The King of Nanzhao quickly bowed his head and agreed, "Your subject will obey Your Majesty's decree!"

At this point, the surrounding countries were either caught off guard by the attack, surrendered quickly, or were killed.

Basically, there are no capable fighters left.

During this period, Japan and the Central Plains did not interfere with each other. Due to the relationship with the sea, Japan practiced isolationism and its understanding of the outside world was limited to Goryeo.

Moreover, our ancestors have always treated the Central Plains region as a good student, showing political dependence and cultural admiration.

Before that, there were hundreds of years of war, and the Central Plains were without a ruler.

Now, an unprecedented hegemon has emerged in the Central Plains, and the restoration of tribute relations in the future is certain.

With the main force of steppe cavalry, the Shan Nong Kingdom's westward expeditionary force successfully expanded its territory westward with the help of the provinces of Gui Nong and Shan Nong.

The three-pronged attack, involving Yunzhong, Guihua, and Liaodong, relied on seizing food from the locals. All they needed were wine and medicine from the Shanxi Agricultural Province, replacement ironware, and explosive packs for breaching the city.

In just one year, they had already defeated all the Central Asian countries surrounding the Western Regions.

These people who went out to rob and massacre cities certainly wouldn't say they were Turks, Mongols, or Khitans; in the end, the blame fell on the mountain farmers.

The territory is too large to manage. Arctic Army also needs to take over several newly conquered areas and will need to wait for the first wave of population growth before relocating people out.

After the Western Route Army conquered Central Asia, the Caucasus countries, and the southern Russian steppes, except for a portion that remained to continue ruling, the rest returned to the steppes to receive rewards.

Beijiwu accepted the craftswomen as his concubines and paid them money according to the gifts they brought.

The money you get can be used to buy cattle and sheep, as well as fine wine, Buddhist statues and scriptures, silk clothes, sharp weapons, cannonballs and gunpowder, and better warhorses.

It can also be left for the wife and children's food and education expenses in Shan Nong Guo.

For the grassland people who knew only how to fight and not how to farm, there were not many pastures for grazing horses and sheep, and they were also subject to layers of exploitation by the upper-class nobles.

Only by fighting can one obtain rewards, and the benefits of fighting for the mountain farmers are greater, and their hometown will not be stolen.

With the Mountain Farming Kingdom in existence, the Western Expeditionary Army would not need to rush back home, nor would it retreat simply because its leader had died in battle.

The mountain farmers' system of succession after death in battle had long been applied to the grasslands. The grassland people had applied the tough military rule of fighting to the death and dying if they did not succeed earlier than the Arctic warriors.

The mountainous agricultural country provides excellent logistical support.

Firstly, it's safe; there's no need to worry about neighbors rebelling and attacking family members.

Secondly, the availability of weapons and medicines, especially the advent of explosives and siege artillery, made the war a one-sided and overwhelming victory.

Thirdly, the value of the land.

Because mountain farmers need land suitable for cultivation and grazing, grassland people do not need to go into the mountains or fight for difficult territories.

Because the mountain farmers would pay according to the land, even if they couldn't find gold, silver, jewelry, slaves, or other spoils of war, it wouldn't be a wasted trip.

This safety net system stabilized morale within the military.

Knowing that the mountain farmers would eventually reward them, the subordinates were relatively obedient to their superiors, preventing too much internal strife.

The stronger the Mountain Farming Kingdom becomes, the more stable its army will be.

The fact that the Northern King Wu mobilized the Mountain Farmer Legion to destroy the eastern Liaodong, Linyi Kingdom, Nanzhao Kingdom, southwestern barbarians, and Goryeo Kingdom made all the grassland generals realize that King Wu had a Mountain Farmer Legion under his command that rarely went out but was invincible!
(End of this chapter)