Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 204 Power
Tongzhou No.1 Machinery Factory

Arctic Wu is talking to several engineers and blacksmiths.

These people are mostly around thirty years old, and the older ones are under fifty.

Within nine years, the blacksmiths' skills underwent dramatic changes, with a new system implemented every year and a new set of equipment every three months.

From traditional swords and sickles to tin kettles and heavy plows, and then to iron cannons and steel cannons, and spherical cannonballs.

The tools for blacksmithing also changed from manpower to water power.

Tongzhou is surrounded by hills and mountains, so you can easily build a reservoir by simply enclosing a plot of land.

Reservoirs are used not only for irrigation and drinking water, but also for iron smelting and as a source of power.

With the increase in ironware, many tools in the machine shop were also made of iron.

Increased steel production, a growing population, and encouragement of industry during peacetime have spurred the development of all sectors.

The engineers around Beijiwu mainly came from agricultural implement factories, vehicle factories, steel mills, paper mills, and mines.

Different industries can develop different technological focuses.

Aside from his official duties, Bei Jiwu spent most of his time exchanging letters with these people, discussing technical issues.

"Your Majesty, the steam engine has been completed as you instructed. It can carry more than ten tons of cargo for more than a hundred miles with one ton of coal."

Wang Suiliang, who works on water conservancy equipment, reports the work of the group to Beijiwu.

Almost three years have passed since the unification of the world in 6 AD.

The Wu Dynasty has only lasted for 9 years, and 3 years is already a long time.

For the first three years, we focused all our efforts on manufacturing agricultural tools, with our main focus on harvesters.

Once there were enough harvesters, and with improved coal and iron production leading to better manufacturing processes for various materials, the focus shifted to steam engines in the middle and later three years.

As for guns and cannons, those were minor matters, mainly supplied to the Western Expeditionary Army.

Gunpowder was primarily used for fireworks, followed by clearing paths, and only then for fighting.

Due to transportation difficulties, the Western Expeditionary Army mainly relied on mounted archery in combat, and only used artillery and gunpowder when encountering large cities.

With the advent of artillery, the old-fashioned defensive siege warfare had become obsolete; no country could withstand the bombardment of steel cannons.

Arctic Warrior inspects the various machines in the factory.

"Prioritize the use of machinery in manufacturing, and in the future, dangerous and long-term tasks can be handed over to machines, including parts processing and transportation."

"The next step is to optimize and improve the steam engine, reduce its size, and apply it to trains to increase their speed."

"Steam harvesters are mainly for research purposes; we can experiment with them in Shandong Province. We can move directly to the era of internal combustion engines. There are no problems with research on electricity."

Beijiwu shared his understanding, pointing everyone in the right direction and setting a passing standard.

If you can complete a task, it means you're doing alright; if you can't, it's a matter of ability.

Wang Suiliang and several engineers were unaware of the enormous changes brought about by the steam engine.

Because Arctic Martial Arts brought about so many changes, and the Mountain Farmers' technology far surpassed that of the Arctic Martial Arts, everyone saw each change as a testament to the Arctic Martial Arts' brilliant guidance.

Everyone does whatever the Arctic Military tells them to do.

Wang Suiliang immediately chimed in, "Following His Majesty's guidance, within a few years, steam-powered harvesters will surely be able to harvest hundreds of acres of wheat fields in a single day."

"Ten thousand units is one million mu, and one million units means harvesting one hundred million mu a day. The wheat in the whole country can be harvested in less than three days."

He thought that the mountain farmers cared about agriculture and that flattering them in agricultural matters would make them popular.

Arctic Martial's expression was calm, and he did not think that one million units was a small matter.

Seeing that Beijiwu remained silent, Wang Suiliang knew that his flattery had not been effective.

Murong Xinghan followed Beiji Wu and reported the rest of the matters.

"Your Majesty, I recently visited four provinces: Shannong Province, Pingyuan Province, Huanghuai Province, and Jiangnan Province."

"In the dry fields of the north, the annual grain yield is only about 200 jin. In the Huanghuai Province and Jincheng area in the southern part of the mountainous province, the annual grain yield of wheat, millet and beans is an average of 300 jin."

“In the best fields of Jiangnan Province, one harvest a year can yield 300 catties of rice, and two harvests a year can yield 500 catties.”

“In the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, a single harvest a year yields a maximum of 200 jin (100 kg), while two harvests a year yield more than 400 jin (200 kg).

Murong Xinghan paused for a moment, then continued, "In comparison, our Shan Nong Province, especially the northern part of Jiuzhou, is really not a good place for growing crops."

Bei Jiwu replied, "I am familiar with the situation in northern Shaanxi; grain production there is even lower."

"The land in the south is indeed good, mainly because it was developed later and the soil fertility is still there."

"My solution is not to go wherever is good, eat this piece and then that piece, like herding horses and sheep."

"My idea is to improve the quality of fertilizers, supplementing what the fields lack. Just as a person needs to eat when they are weak, and cattle and horses need to be fed when they are hungry, the same applies to barren land."

"Let the South rest for a few more years. When the population grows, grain production will increase. At that time, we will buy grain from the South, and the land in the North will be left fallow for decades to leave some land for future generations."

Murong Xinghan flattered, "Your Majesty's vision is far superior to ours."

Bei Jiwu calmly continued to look at the iron platform used for processing parts. The machine tools on it had changed from water and manual power to steam power.

For example, tasks like drilling holes in sheet metal, grinding and cutting edges, which would normally take one person half a day to complete, can now be finished in seconds.

The invention of the assembly line eliminated the need for moving things around.

Just like when we used to work together, everyone did their own thing in a warehouse, and then they would bring their finished products together to assemble.

Today's assembly lines are a further integration of division of labor and cooperation. They use a rail to put the things to be made on a railcar and pull it forward continuously, with each person repeatedly completing their own set of tasks.

Currently, the assembly line is still manually driven, with several people pulling a pulley cart forward continuously.

However, the work efficiency and standardization are far greater than before.

After the advent of steam lathes and molds, a single factory was able to produce all the waist knives needed by the Conquering Army and the entire army of the Mountain Farming Kingdom.

They stopped making bows and armor, as Arctic Martial felt they were useless. Nowadays, apart from needing some weapons in the west, everything else was just small-scale fighting.

With steam trains, there was no need for so many horses.

"Approximately how many people are still raising horses?"

Murong Xinghan immediately replied, "There are two thousand households in Shannong Province responsible for raising horses. Including the hired workers from Shannong Province who came to help, as well as the horse-raising workers of each production team, there are about 200,000 people."

Arctic Martial pondered the number for a moment.

Behind the simple numbers are numerous adjustments to families and jobs.

"The culling of warhorses is a process that will last for decades. We should not move them now, but we will no longer blindly expand the number of livestock as we did in the past."

"Warhorses were mainly used for transportation and warfare. The surplus warhorses were sold at low prices to the province of Sant'aung to replenish war losses."

"Start with temporary workers, and invest the surplus manpower and resources in construction and agriculture. In the future, we will plant beans and pasture in barren areas."

Arctic weapons have not yet begun their work, as most industries still require horsepower for farming and transportation.

The sheer number of horse-drawn harvesters is a major problem; hundreds of thousands of horses die from exhaustion every year due to these machines.

Murong Xinghan understood this as well. Steam engines were not yet widely available, and it might take another year of research and two years to build a production line for steam harvesters.

During this period, horse-drawn harvesters remained the mainstay.

Murong Xinghan asked, "Does that mean we need to expand the production of the horse-drawn harvester?"

Bei Jiwu affirmed, "There's no need to expand production. Just continue producing 100,000 units per year. Before the advent of steam harvesters, horse-drawn harvesters need to be constantly replaced with new ones to replace the old and damaged ones. The scrapped ones can be recycled and melted down to make farm implements."

After the steam engine came the internal combustion engine, and the key to the internal combustion engine is electricity.

Arctic Wu had already had people study the telegraph system and were laying it based on the telegraph poles next to the railway tracks.

They also intensified their efforts to collect copper coins and issued new currency to eliminate the consumption of copper coins.

The output of assets will affect industrial development. Relying solely on copper from the north cannot support the nation's copper coin consumption, let alone the consumption of electricity development.

The development of electricity cannot be separated from copper and iron. Copper production in the north has gradually increased from a few hundred tons a year to 90,000 tons a year today.

Especially after Arctic Wu realized that the financial system was about to run into problems and there were not enough copper coins, it immediately increased its manpower and resources, doubling its annual output from 2,000 tons to 90,000 tons per year.

Ninety thousand tons of copper is enough to cover the expenses of forty to fifty million people. Most of the future output will still be used for industry, especially copper wire and car body parts that must use copper.

Wang Suiliang asked, "Your Majesty, the grain production in the south is sure to be reduced this year. The harsh winter not only damaged the tea and mulberry trees, but also killed many of the newly recovered oxen. The population in the south is much larger than in previous years, and the consumption of grain will also increase. Should we plant more in some areas after spring?"

The problems in the south are no secret. Once the Qiantang River and the Yangtze River are frozen, one can roughly guess the extent of the disaster and its future development.

Tea and mulberry trees could not survive unscathed in that environment. It is not only the land that affects crop yields, but also farming tools, livestock, and human labor.

The population in the south is not large, and most of them are children born in recent years. They haven't had many peaceful days in the past few years.

The oxen used for plowing in the north and south are not interchangeable, and harvesters are also not good at harvesting rice.

Most of the land in the south is cultivated by hand, and the farm tools used are more suitable for small families.

What others can guess, Beijiwu, with his firsthand intelligence, naturally knows even better.

"The grain has already been transported from the East China Sea. The grain reserves in Huanghuai Province are enough to feed the south, so there is no need to worry."

"Yes."

After his inspection, Bei Jiwu roughly pointed out the future direction of industrial development: industrial manufacturing represented by steam engines and chemical industry mainly based on fertilizers.

When he returned to his hometown and spent time with bored women and children, Beijiwu also told a white lie.

I am deeply gratified that the people of the South donated 100 taels of silver to help the Shan Nong Province with disaster relief. I request that the Huang Huai Province and the Ping Yuan Province donate funds for disaster relief to support the South.

[Each person donated 10 coins, and officials of thousands, hundreds, and tens of thousands of households donated 10 coins each and transported them to the Governor-General's Office for registration. This process ended in June.]

[This is a forced donation from mountain farmers; non-mountain farmers are not required to donate. Personnel from production teams, villages, and counties are prohibited from forcing donations.] Beijiwu did not collect any money from southerners, but in order to foster a unified understanding and consensus between the north and south, he fabricated this well-intentioned lie to help eliminate historical barriers between them.

The principle of saving others comes before saving oneself. Arctic Army prioritizes ensuring the safety of its own people's food and drink, but it will also help others when it has more money and food.

He has always done this all these years, and has never been changed by women, nor corrupted or degraded by a bunch of sycophants and scoundrels.

Of course, he was not influenced by anyone to the point of breaking his principles, nor did he ever turn over a new leaf.

Killing people is as easy as mowing grass.

Unless he is on a battlefield, Arctic Martial has always been the type to kill quietly and dispose of the bodies to minimize the impact.

When it's time to kill, Arctic Martial always takes the initiative.

They could choose to kill or not, but usually they would just kill them and be done with it.

The reason he hasn't been labeled a bloodthirsty person over the years is mainly due to his exile and stagnation, as well as locking up groups of people in cities and letting them die on their own.

The prison is full of people who have committed suicide.

There are also many people who die from altitude sickness in western Xinjiang, the scorching heat in western Xinjiang, carbon monoxide poisoning in eastern Liaoning, mosquito malaria in southern Lingnan...

In particular, forcibly sending officials one dislikes to West Asian provinces to expand territory is certainly more cost-effective than killing them.

The age of steam engines had arrived, and in order to cope with the impending population explosion, Arctic Wu had to build a train to West Asia Province before 20 AD.

The traditional Han-dominated areas could accommodate a maximum of 300 million people, and the rest had to continuously spread outwards.

The climate in Southeast Asia is a major problem, but we can first migrate to the Nanzhao Kingdom and the Lingnan and Guangdong regions, and then move to the islands of Southeast Asia after one or two generations.

If each family in this region keeps three children, the area can be almost filled within a hundred years.

Those who make meritorious contributions and perform well in the future may also be retained as a reward.

By recruiting elites from various regions through the college entrance examination and imperial examination systems, we have enough talent to not be afraid of outsiders causing trouble.

It is now the year 9 AD, and there are still more than ten years until the year 20 AD.

The railway tracks and highways were built two years ago. Now the highways are open and the railway routes have been planned. A large amount of timber and railway tracks have been mass-produced.

Thanks to coal mining, and also due to various reasons such as natural disasters and man-made calamities, the forest and grassland resources of the entire Mountain Farm Kingdom have been very well protected.

We will also be developing maritime transport this year, heading east from Japan all the way to the west, then back along the mainland to Southeast Asia, and then back to Jiangxia from the Yangtze River.

Although Arctic Warrior longed to personally embark on the world's first great voyage, his biggest task for the entire Mountain Farm Kingdom was to stay here and act as a reassurance.

Beijiwu is well aware that everything he has now is because of him.

Because of themselves, the people of the three tribes were not afraid of having their supplies cut off by the people of the Central Plains.

Because of themselves, the people of the Central Plains were not afraid that the three tribes of the Hu people would take the opportunity to grow stronger and launch a counterattack against the Central Plains.

Because of themselves, the Shan Nong Province and the Huang Huai Province do not need to worry about the imperial court treating them harshly.

If it weren't for myself, the taxes that Jinzhou and Jizhou would have to pay would definitely be more than those of other places, and the taxes weren't just commercial taxes, land taxes, and poll taxes, but also blood taxes.

If anyone else were emperor, Jinzhou and Jizhou would be doomed, constantly receiving aid from other regions, instead of being treated like their own sons by the Northern Wudang.

Beijiwu was certain that even if his son inherited the throne, he would sacrifice these two blood bags for the sake of the world.

Therefore, Arctic military forces never practice a system of equal treatment or equality.

In the Mountain Farmer Kingdom, the Mountain Farmers are the elite, enjoying aristocratic privileges that ordinary people cannot enjoy.

Among all the provinces in the land, Shannong Province is the largest, followed by Pingyuan Province and Qin, which were added later, and then Huanghuai Province and Shu.

The treatment varies from region to region. Beijiwu, who comes from Shanxi Province, has never treated outsiders as human beings, nor has he ever thought of being someone's father.

Arctic martial arts refuse to unite everyone, caring only about its own people.

Beijiwu never inquired about how many people were killed by the Western Expeditionary Army in the west, nor did he ever think about how those butchers were operating in the west.

If you find it cruel, then don't enjoy the fruits of others' labor. The world we live in today is a world of peace and prosperity achieved through the fighting of the Arctic warriors.

Having carved out a bright path with their own hands, Arctic Martial's attitude was also clear: as long as there was no overcrowding, they would allow some to follow as lackeys.

But he wanted to point fingers and give orders, and wanted to command the Arctic warriors walking at the front.

No matter who it is, they will die.

武州
The Arctic Martial Arts Station is located in the Wuzhou Commercial Street Square, where construction is underway.

"Your Majesty, your humble servant and the merchant guild have voluntarily funded the recruitment of artisans, wishing to erect a golden statue for you here."

Qiao Guozhong, wearing a square white woolen hat, knelt on the clean, hard, cold ground and carefully reported the situation.

Most people wouldn't allow their statue to stand outside.

Arctic Martial looked at the strange statue, which appeared to be cross-shaped.

"What pose is this statue intended to be in?"

Arctic Warriors were curious about what the statue actually looked like.

Qiao Guozhong breathed a sigh of relief. Actually, he planned to report to the Arctic Martial Arts Association after the construction was completed, otherwise it would definitely not be completed.

"Your Majesty, we have great achievements and intend to erect a statue of you in your proud posture on horseback so that the world may admire you!"

Beiji Wu laughed and said, "Indeed, a stone statue should be erected in Wuzhou, but it is not appropriate to put it here. Let it be carved on the mountain outside, showing my heroic posture of stepping on the Mongols and cleaving the Khitans with my sword!"

Qiao Guozhong carefully observed Beijiwu's feet and noticed that there were also many Mongol and Khitan generals accompanying him nearby.

The pressure made Qiao Guozhong afraid to look up, and he cautiously and humbly asked, "Is this...is this..."

Qiao Guozhong wanted to speak, but he didn't dare to.

They dared not remind Beijiwu that this was inappropriate, but they were also afraid of hurting the feelings of the Khitans and Mongols.

“That’s right, it’s really not appropriate.” Beijiwu looked thoughtful, then quickly smiled and said, “Let’s put a human head on the ground and step on it. It’s not good to erect a statue while riding a horse, so let’s find a mountain and carve a stone statue of me stepping on a Tartar head.”

“A bronze statue would also work. I don’t know much about statues, but since Luoyang can cast a giant bronze statue, it certainly can here as well.”

"Just erect a 20-meter-tall bronze statue, and place it where I fought the Khitans back then, on the Grassland Sky Road!"

Qiao Guozhong dared not speak, but his son Qiao Yunqi kowtowed and said, "Yes! We will obey His Majesty's decree!"

Beijiwu said to Yelü Baocai, "You take your people and work with them. If you need anything, use the funds from the assets in eastern Liaoning."

Yelü Baocai immediately replied, "Your Majesty's decree shall be obeyed!"

Beijiwu looked at the other generals, who all lowered their heads and dared not meet his gaze.

"Now that we have plenty of food and drink, women and servants are readily available, and our clothing, food, housing, and transportation are all ten times more abundant than before."

"But I also know that even in the best of times, there will always be a few traitors who will dictate the country and fantasize about how great their ancestors were."

"If anyone thinks I'm bad, then don't stay on my turf. I rarely reason with people; I prove my attitude through my actions."

"If I wanted to kill someone, I would have done it long ago. The destruction of a country and the extinction of a race are just a thought to me."

"Whether you are a barbarian or a Han, the past is the past. Tell the Liao tribe and the other two tribes not to have any wild thoughts. Since you have followed me, I will lead you to a good life."

“Those who follow me, obey my commands to fight or work, whether it be farming, craftsmanship, or going out to war, will receive greater rewards than ordinary people.”

"But some people are content with just being fed and watered. If you ask them to work, they will try to reason with me. If you ask them to listen to me and benefit their descendants, they will complain about the hardship and fatigue. If you ask them to go out and fight and make a name for themselves, they will always find ways to avoid it."

“I am not targeting any tribe or ethnic group here. Whoever refuses to work will die.”

"Whoever disobeys will die."

"Whoever refuses to fight will die."

"Don't enjoy the wonderful world created by the mountain farmers and then criticize it."

"The core of the Mountain Farmers is violence. They spend money to give preferential treatment to encourage everyone to work, do things, and join the army in order to avoid unnecessary internal friction! Anyone who always shirks their responsibilities should be exiled and not allowed to enjoy the treatment of Mountain Farmers on the territory of the Mountain Farmers Kingdom."

“From now on, everyone will be a mountain farmer. Those Khitans, Mongols, Turks, Han Chinese and mountain farmers who died are all things of the past. We are all mountain farmers.”

"The Mountain Farmer Kingdom has only one ethnic group, the Mountain Farmer Clan! Anyone who doesn't want to be a Mountain Farmer can register as belonging to their original ethnic group, but they must wear traditional clothing, pay taxes according to the old tax rates, and are not allowed to work for the Mountain Farmers, enter the cities established by the Mountain Farmers, or trade with the Mountain Farmers!"

Yelü Baocai quickly knelt down, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger! We have always been grateful for Your Majesty's great kindness and dare not have the slightest complaint. After returning, we will definitely urge our clansmen to join the army and serve Your Majesty!"

The nearby Mongols and Turks also knelt down, accepting integration and forgetting the hatred between different races.

Theoretically, the Arctic warriors killed the most people, and the two groups that were killed the most were actually the most hostile to the Han Chinese.

Arctic warriors kill on the battlefield and that's it; they don't affect ordinary people. In their daily lives, they consistently provide large profits to other races.

The wine sold to the three tribes was cheaper than that purchased in Han areas and the mountainous provinces, and money was also given to the women and children left behind in the rear from time to time.

This pro-people policy is not seen as atonement. Arctic Wu never atones for his sins, nor does he apologize for what he has done.

Just like the message being conveyed by Arctic Martial Arts, a bad attitude can really lead to death.

While being magnanimous in caring for the three tribes, it also possesses a violent core capable of easily killing all three tribes.

If they disagree, we'll kill them; the mountain farmers have no shortage of manpower.

Beiji Wu calmly said, "Now the Shan Nong tribe has a large population. Although the Western Expeditionary Army has more prisoners of war, the journey is long and we can't rely on just tens of thousands of people."

“I will transfer 50,000 men from Shannong Province to the west, and they will advance westward in ten routes. The military colony has already been established in Xiya Province.”

After finishing his sentence, Beijiwu walked out and continued to explore the exotic commercial street.

After the others stood up, they followed suit, becoming even more low-key.

If the sculpture of the Northern Wu Dynasty with its feet on a head were to stand upright, it would represent that the Wu Dynasty was an aggressive dynasty.

But Beiji Wu doesn't care; how can the Wu Dynasty be without Wu!

(End of this chapter)