Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 50 The Great Hero
After the millet harvest, the village began planting cabbage.

"Women should be responsible for growing vegetables."

Arctic Wu called everyone to a meeting, and the first thing he said was to assign jobs to the women.

“The village canteen is short of iron pots. I’m going to the city to buy a few iron pots, and I’ll also buy some grain and farming tools for clearing land. Can you think of any other places where I can spend money? I’d like to hear your opinions.”

Arctic Martial Arts School gave the villagers the right to speak.

No sooner had he finished speaking than an old woman exclaimed, "There's a fortune teller in the county who's incredibly accurate at treating illnesses. I'd like to invite her over to tell my fortune!"

Arctic Martial's face turned cold, and he gave the old woman a cold look.

"There's a meeting in the village. Women, don't speak. Get out!"

A group of elderly women, young girls, and old folks were driven away just like that.

Kitada and his group didn't care and had no concept of fighting for the rights of these women.

After these people left, Arctic Martial Arts stopped collecting opinions.

“Buy what you need for your own family. Public funds should be used for proper purposes! In addition to iron pots and farm tools, the village will also buy some salt. Go home and pack your vehicles. This time, all ten of us will go to the county town together!”

The others, not understanding the purpose of the meeting, stood up silently and walked out.

They were used to being ordered around by Master Wu.

After Kitada Root went out, Kitada's mother, who had only been out for a short while, looked at the people who had also come out.

"Why are you guys out here too? What did you talk about in the meeting?"

"It's autumn now, so I'm going to the market in the county."

Kitada replied briefly.

"Oh." Aunt Kitada nodded.

The others also felt that this was a big deal.

The whole village began preparing their carts and horses for the market the next day.

Arctic Martial has money; he can exchange gold for money and other things.

The leopard skin, bones, and whip in their hands can all fetch a good price.

Now it's autumn, the time for border markets to open, and ethnic minorities from the surrounding border areas gather near the garrison to exchange goods.

Generally, there are two major urinations in spring and autumn, but in reality, there is also one minor urination every month.

The more people there are, the more frequent the transactions will be.

The fewer people there are, the greater the interval between transactions.

The area is located north of Jinzhou, with Dingxiang County and Yunzhong County of Bingzhou to the left and the hinterland of Youzhou and Jizhou to the right.

Because it's located in the mountains, when the rear is defended against intrusion, this area is also included in the defenses.

In terms of influence, this area was already considered part of the northern frontier and belonged to the route of nomadic peoples' southward invasion.

Arctic Wu has always felt that this place is terrible, not only because it is poor in resources, but also because it is a place of constant warfare.

To the west and north were the Hu people, and to the east and south were the Han people.

What's worse is the treacherous terrain, situated right in the mountains facing each other. The nomadic tribes wanted to conquer this place when they moved south, and the Han people wanted to defend the frontier.

This area falls under the jurisdiction of the Han people.

Anyone who has studied history knows that the people who treat border residents the worst are their own people.

Not only did a group of soldiers eat the local people and forcibly conscript them to defend the border as military rations, but even when the border troops rebelled, the imperial court would come and massacre the border troops and civilians.

You get to enjoy all the benefits and suffer all the bad ones.

If they wanted independence, they would have to fight the border troops; if they wanted to live honestly as law-abiding citizens, they would be repeatedly exploited by the invading barbarians and Han Chinese.

The land is barren and yields little grain. It lacks water and manpower. Although it appears to be protected by mountains, it is actually not dangerous.

Furthermore, several major cities have built fortresses facing this area, creating an awkward situation where this place is vulnerable to attack but difficult to defend.

If it were in an inland region, Beijiwu would just settle down and farm.

If it were a coastal area in the south, developing maritime exploration would be a great opportunity.

If it were the southwest region, they could also develop in the unmanaged mountains and forests.

In a truly northern region, life would be free and unrestrained, making it easy to establish one's own tribe. However, in this strategically vital area, military strength is much weaker. It's too difficult to escape now, and development is hampered by a lack of resources, making it easy for others to invade and steal the fruits of their labor.

In short, it's a terrible place.

If it were the end of a dynasty, that would be one thing; they would simply establish their own faction.

It's not the end of the dynasty now; most people are long gone. Plus, the war has ended. If anyone shows up now, they'll be targeted.

Unable to advance or retreat, stuck in an awkward position in every sense of the word.

It's impossible to think about things too far in the future. Beijiwu doesn't know how many years this Wen Dynasty emperor can maintain stability, nor does he know when the northern nomadic tribes will come down.

In this era of uncertainty, we should enjoy each day as it comes.

When the market day arrived, Beiji Wu led ten of his men to the market.

Except for Arctic Wu, everyone else was wearing a straw hat or a headscarf.

It was normal for people in ancient times to wear hats, so Beijiwu ignored them.

Two oxcarts, half a cartload of hemp rope, three horses, two wooden sticks, a basket containing leopard bones and leopard skin, and eleven people.

Beijiwu and his group set off early in the morning and arrived at the horse market of Beiyuanwei around 10 a.m.

This wasn't Arctic Wu's first time at the horse market, and he knew the principle of paying taxes to enter.

The horse market was located near the river and slightly away from the city walls. There were soldiers patrolling and guarding the area, and it was strictly forbidden for anyone to bring weapons into the horse market.

When paying, Beijiwu looked up at the distant city wall and saw several women and children lying on the wall looking in this direction.

"Why are women allowed on the city walls?" Beijiwu asked casually.

The soldiers who were collecting the money were fine until Beijiwu's words ignited their anger, and they roared, "What business is it of yours, you bastard?! Go to hell!"

Beiji Wu frowned. He wasn't a Hu person, so he wasn't angry; he just thought the man was strange.

Ai Dake quickly smiled and said, "Master Wu, don't be angry. We're all on the same side. Sir, there are five or six people from our village who are from the garrison. My brother here isn't familiar with military settlements, which is why he asked this question. We're all on the same side."

Bei Gong Dingbian then realized what was happening and immediately said, "Master Wu, the women and children up there are the families of the garrison soldiers. Maybe your sister-in-law and nephew are up there too. There are few people in the county, so sometimes they let the women and children watch over the Mongols from the city wall."

Beijiwu nodded. "Oh, I see. The general here is a real scoundrel."

Bei Gong Dingbian hurriedly said, "Master Wu, keep your voice down, it won't be good if someone hears us."

The nearby officers, soldiers, and registered soldiers all stared at this extraordinary man.

Beijiwu didn't care at all. "What's wrong with cursing him a few times? If he dares to cause me trouble, I'll kill him."

Upon hearing this, Liu Chonggu, who had just been cursing, directly addressed Beijiwu: "You're so young and already spouting such nonsense. Do you dare leave your name?"

“Arctic Martial.” Arctic Martial smiled. “If you ever need my help, you can find me in Beitian Village in the southeast. For matters of eliminating evil for the people, the price is negotiable.”

Liu Chonggu exclaimed in surprise, "Arctic Martial Arts...you're the Arctic Martial Arts who killed a wild boar with one punch?"

"More or less." Arctic Martial was too lazy to explain whether it was a fist or a foot.

At this moment, a soldier nearby searched the vehicle and came over to shout, "Commander, we found leopard skin and leopard bones in the vehicle."

The rank of 10 flag bearers is the lowest-ranking officer here, usually promoted from senior soldiers or sons of military households.

Liu Chonggu got up and went over to take a look, then looked at Beijiwu and said, "Did you do this?"

Beijiwu smiled. "Definitely."

Liu Chonggu smiled and said, "Alright, according to the rules, the imperial court has priority in purchasing. We're all family here, so I won't make things difficult for you. You can sell it yourself."

"Okay, thanks." Beiji Wu was easy to talk to and didn't act as domineering as he seemed.

However, he was already quite domineering, and his behavior of scolding the commander won him the favor of many people in the vicinity.

Emperor Wen of the dynasty ascended to the throne as a powerful minister, and after taking the throne, he allowed military households in various regions to inherit their positions.

The military households in the southeast were alright, but those in the northwest were unlucky; their entire families were imprisoned there.

What's even more hateful is that the first commander was a greedy military general. Not only did he make everyone cultivate wasteland for him, but he also seized the cultivated land for himself. He not only took other people's women, but he also made the garrison build houses for his family!
Everyone was very dissatisfied with this commander, but no one dared to take action.

Now that a ruthless killer like Beijiwu has emerged, Liu Chonggu quickly gave instructions to his men after Beijiwu left.

"Don't talk nonsense. We'll talk about Arctic Martial Arts when Commander Liu dares to treat us badly in the future."

The others nodded and began to keep Arctic weapons a secret.

(End of this chapter)