Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 222 Filling the Mangke Gap
Arctic Wu is always very meticulous in his work; he needs to consult materials before undertaking any construction project.

Construction is not war; it's not as simple as killing people and then it's over.

The reason I've always been accustomed to killing to solve problems is because it actually solves them.

For example, the first batch of North Plains Army soldiers who knelt down and surrendered back then certainly did not have the potential to become saints.

They were so terrified of being killed that they had no will to resist whatsoever.

Millions of people have been killed over the years, and not a single one has sought revenge.

However, it's always good to be cautious about security. Beijiwu shouted to the eunuch next to him, "Call over Granny Pan, who is in charge of the female slaves."

"Yes!"

The young eunuch quickly went to carry out the task.

While Beijiwu continued to handle matters and wait for others, a young eunuch entered from outside.

"Your Majesty, Bai Yushe Tongxi took a nap this afternoon and hasn't gotten up since. He's gotten cold."

Beijiwu was fairly familiar with this name. Over the years, this eunuch had been in charge of the palace's pigeons, and he was also the mentor of Teng He, the current chief eunuch of the imperial palace.

"He was buried in the Lao Jun Mountain Cemetery, and palace eunuchs were permitted to go and pay their respects."

"According to the customs of the mountain farmers, he was cremated and then buried."

"When you get old, you don't have to work anymore. You can just retire to a nearby temple. People over 65 can receive a normal salary and settle down in a nearby temple. For those with official positions, I will arrange for their burial and mourning, and give them an extra ten taels of silver per month for medicine."

Nowadays, military service is just a formality, about ten taels a month, and the reimbursement is limited to that amount.

The young eunuch kowtowed and said, "Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty!"

Even eunuchs and palace maids had places to return to after their deaths.

After the first eunuch died of old age, Beiji Wu ordered the construction of a public mausoleum. Rows of mausoleums located on the mountain were like terraced fields, waiting for people to move in.

Eunuchs are buried in the Lao Jun Mountain public cemetery, while palace maids are buried in the Fenghuang Mountain public cemetery.

The area around Luoyang is rich in natural beauty and talented people; it would be hard to find two mountains with such nice names elsewhere.

The key point is that the meaning is also good, and everyone is quite satisfied.

After another familiar eunuch died, Beijiwu began to think about the issue of the new generation.

There were so many palace maids and young maids around her that she couldn't fit them all; some were even several years old.

Some women enter the palace while pregnant, but how can the North Pole Military Academy know whose child it is?

Sending these women away would mean certain death. Those who are reasonably attractive are kept and given a stable job, allowing them to have and raise children at the same time.

Many women also brought young children into the palace; these were usually noblewomen from outside the palace.

The Arctic has no shortage of women, but it does lack eunuchs.

Nowadays, the poor in the world no longer need to pay taxes, and they have all been allocated land to farm and make a living.

Various disasters occur frequently, but as long as the imperial court does not put pressure on them, they can get through them.

Farmers who don't pay taxes are definitely more resilient.

The imperial court would also provide some form of disaster relief.

For Arctic militants, it's just a token gesture. Apart from their own people, when most areas are hit by disasters, they just give a token response and that's it; they can't be bothered to care at all.

Even a simple gesture is a tremendous relief for the poor affected by the disaster, like being given a rope after falling into the water.

If you want to die, don't come up here; if you want to live, come up here yourself.

People at the bottom of society lived relatively well, so naturally they wouldn't sell their capable sons to the palace to become eunuchs.

Half an hour later, an elderly woman in her seventies came over by herself and quickly knelt down and kowtowed.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Lady Pan was an empress in her youth, and then became empress dowager. After her son was killed, she became someone else's prisoner, her daughter became someone else's woman, and she even had grandchildren.

Then the country that conquered them was conquered by another country, their grandsons were killed, and their daughters and granddaughters were also violated more than a dozen times.

Emperor Wenchao was too old to play, but his son did.

There were too many empresses, concubines, and princesses who had been captured and wanted to get involved. Now, almost the year 9 AD had passed, and Lady Pan had enjoyed nearly ten years of good life, peacefully awaiting her death, without worrying that her family and descendants would once again become playthings.

"Get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Beijiwu strongly believes in genes. This old woman possesses longevity genes; at seventy-four or seventy-five years old, she can still walk and kneel on her own, showing no signs of frailty or old age.

Although her hair was all white, she still looked elegant and noble, clearly the kind of wealthy woman who lived a good life.

"I originally wanted to ask how the training of the girls in the palace was going, but I just heard that Tong Xi from Baiyushe died in her sleep. She was only sixty years old, I think."

Upon hearing this, the elderly man in his seventies stood there and bowed slightly to the twenty-seven or twenty-eight-year-old young man sitting there.

"It is a blessing to be able to leave peacefully, thanks to His Majesty's great fortune."

Beijiwu smiled after hearing this, "I mentioned a while ago that I wanted to build a royal clubhouse to give the palace maids a place to rest and relax. You can also go to the temple to worship Buddha and burn incense during your free time. It's fine to be more casual when you're resting."

Granny Pan said happily, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

As people get older, they tend to become superstitious. Like many palace maids and eunuchs, Granny Pan had a habit of worshipping Buddha.

The largest Buddha is in the temple. Beiji Wuping doesn't go there often, but if he doesn't ask, no one else dares to go there casually.

Going to Buddhist pilgrimage, a highly ritualistic activity, would definitely feel very awkward if done secretly.

When people go to worship Buddha in the middle of the night, even the kind-looking Bodhisattvas seem to turn fierce and frightening.

Beijiwu asked, "You are more knowledgeable and familiar with palace affairs than I am. There are quite a few palace maids now, but the number of eunuchs has not increased for several years. I remember the last batch came from Jiangnan six years ago."

The palace basically never recruited people from outside; they were all captured or robbed, or were given male and female slaves by others.

Over the years, we've been sending people out, and even after many times, the number keeps increasing.

There were many palace maids, not eunuchs.

For emperors, women were incredibly cheap resources.

The original meaning of Arctic Warrior is to treat women as men.

Who says women are inferior to men?
As long as you work hard, you can be just as strong as a farm girl and be able to handle simple physical labor.

Just as Madam Pan was about to suggest that Granny Pan train more capable women in the future, Madam Pan misunderstood her meaning.

Over the years, Madam Pan has watched the Arctic Martial Emperor's palace grow stronger day by day, and she can also tell what kind of beautiful women the Arctic Martial Emperor likes.

Meanwhile, Madam Pan, who had ruled for many years, also knew that Beiji Wu was a good emperor who cared about his reputation.

"There are indeed fewer eunuchs in the palace. If we recruit from the common people, there will surely be many who are grateful for the Emperor's grace and send their children to serve His Majesty."

Madam Pan paused for a moment, then suggested, "However, His Majesty has conquered all nations and is the emperor of all people. I have heard that in the West, children of both genders undergo circumcision. Since those people are castrated from a young age, why not select some smart and good-looking ones to become eunuchs?"

Beijiwu frowned for a moment, then quickly relaxed.

"That's good. I'll speak with the governors who are conquering foreign lands and ask them to send some boys and girls who can become palace maids and eunuchs, so as to reduce the bloodshed."

Madam Pan smiled and lowered her head, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Beijiwu originally wanted to ask about foreign architecture, but suddenly felt that he should do whatever he wanted, and that knowing too much would easily distract him.

We can't just stop designing something because someone else has done it, can we?
Anyway, as long as you destroy other people's work, you become the original. It doesn't matter to future generations whether it was 800 or 900 years ago, they are all ancient people.

"Go down."

"Yes."

Beijiwu summoned a eunuch to write.

I can write it myself, but there are eunuchs who help polish the drafts and translate the Mandarin into official documents, so there's no need for me to write it myself.

“Each province of Ningxia, Annam, and Donghai should prepare five hundred boys and girls to enter the palace. They must be healthy, clean-looking, and obedient. Foreign captives will be given priority. After the city is captured, boys under the age of ten should not be killed.”

After Beijiwu finished speaking, the eunuch quickly began to revise his words.

This kind of thing would definitely not be reported in the newspapers; it was a confidential document sent separately to local officials.

(End of this chapter)