Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 110 Naturalization 2
After Bei Jiwu left, in order to make it easier to manage these prisoners, he arranged for someone who could talk to come over.

Wokoji, Tuoba Niu, Arutai, come over and take over management.

The four did not communicate in the grassland language, but continued to communicate in the mountain farmer language of Beijiwu.

After introducing themselves to their respective tribes, the four became acquainted.

Tuoba Niu explained, "As long as you behave and work obediently, there won't be any problems. The mountain farmers are very easy to talk to."

Borjigin knew very well what these naturalized grassland men had done. In winter, this group of people went out to rob grassland herders, but they were driven back.

These despicable bandits were the kind of lowlifes that Borjigin hated most; they even managed to trip over a sheep while robbing others.

Borjigin wanted to speak with Arctic Warrior, for he was the only man who could defeat him and make him submit.

Tuoba Niu saw that Borjigin was just nodding and not saying much, so he assumed that Borjigin was just trying to save face and hadn't quite come to terms with his surrender.

Fortunately, there was no need to say much about this; the four of them took charge of more than 10,000 prisoners.

The Kitahara Army had extensive experience in managing prisoners of war; they simply had the prisoners stand guard with knives and guns, since they couldn't escape anyway.

Those who surrender rarely have the courage to resist. As long as they are not mistreated and are promised to be released later, there is usually nothing wrong with them.

If you encounter a troublemaker, it's simple: just kill them. The mountain farmers have never had a rule against killing prisoners.

Anyone who disobeys, whether they are one of our own or an outsider, should be killed.

Borjigin and others managed the people who wore braids. These people had a strong sense of obedience and a clear sense of class, so after they were able to eat their fill, they obediently worked to redeem themselves.

Arughtai was born a slave and became a chiliarch after surrendering to the mountain farmers, so the others did not feel that surrendering was a disgrace.

His example made everyone feel much better. In addition, since they had not been mistreated, and he promised them that they could choose two hundred people to go back and report the news so that people could come and redeem them, they all accepted this situation.

From invaders to market guards who willingly help herd horses and sheep, assist in leveling wasteland with tools, and even patrol and maintain order on horseback with weapons.

All of this was completed within three days.

Yelü Baocai and a group of people wandered around the city and the market for three days, and the more they saw, the more outrageous it became.

Why are the people here not afraid of those barbarians?

Yelü Baocai had a bribed banner chief by his side. The banner chief took money and provided conveniences, just like last year and in the past, with no major differences.

Banner Chief Liu Chonggu said with a smile, "There are all kinds of people here. Mountain farmers have attacked us, the southern army has attacked us, and the Hu people have attacked us. Now there are all kinds of people in the city, and everyone is used to it."

Upon hearing this, Yelü Baocai suddenly found himself speechless.

"That's true." Yelü Baocai nodded, then said softly, "I'd like to purchase three hundred warhorses this time. I wonder if you could do me that?"

Liu Chonggu quickly asked, "What kind of convenience do you want? The price is not something I can decide; that's not my responsibility. There's someone else in charge of the accounts."

Yelü Baocai realized that things were not as he had imagined, but they were not troublesome; on the contrary, they were much easier.

"The price here is fine, but if I buy too many horses, will that cause any trouble?"

Yelü Bao then voiced his concerns, since warhorses were strategic resources and the Southern Dynasty had always kept them under strict control.

Liu Chonggu thought Yelü Bao was going to lower the price, but when he heard that Yelü Bao was worried about the warhorses leaving the pass, he laughed and said, "That's simple. We have so many warhorses here that we can hardly afford to keep them. Now the price of a horse is almost as high as that of an ox."

"Don't even mention three hundred, five hundred is no problem. Fifteen taels a horse, however many you want, I'll get them for you!"

The warhorse, which originally cost eight taels, was sold by Liu Chonggu for fifteen taels.

Because the Arctic Army lacked the ambition to fight abroad, its demand for draft horses and drudge horses far exceeded its demand for warhorses, so it always sold its warhorses.

They were almost sold out, but then Borjigin gave away a whole bunch more.

There's simply no time to raise horses now, so horse prices in the entire horse market have dropped significantly.

Yelü Baocai had no shortage of warhorses, but he lacked good horses.

"Alright!" Although he didn't want these expensive horses, he still agreed to the deal because of his relationship with the flag chief.

Liu Chonggu asked in surprise, "You have that much money?"

Yelü Baocai laughed and said, "No, I will exchange it with ginseng and other medicinal herbs, and if that's not enough, I will exchange it with gold and silver jewelry."

Liu Chonggu was relieved; the kickback would definitely be substantial.

Whether they were Khitans or Mongols didn't matter; the mountain farmers didn't care about such things at all.

After purchasing several hundred warhorses, Yelü Baocai left the area, also sensing the attitude of the Shan Nong tribe towards the outside world.

"Let's hurry back and tell the king about the strength of the Arctic Warriors."

Yelü Baocai returned on horseback as soon as he left the pass.

Yelü Poluo also began to take this magical country more seriously, knowing that the soldiers of this country would become exceptionally brave once they had a Northern Martial Commander.

Emperor Wen of the Ming Dynasty soon received a letter from Beiji Wu, and upon reading it, he was so angry that he lost his appetite.

"A bunch of incompetent and despicable traitors! They betrayed my empire and became lackeys of the Northern Wudang, serving as loyal guards against the Tartars. But when they're working for me, all they do is ask for money and food!"

Emperor Wenchao was not surprised that the Northern Army had managed to subdue those barbarians. What angered him so much that he couldn't eat was how well those traitors had served as the Northern Army's lackeys. The Northern Army was clearly not in the border region, yet they had all successfully defended against the fierce attack of 30,000 cavalrymen, each one an impregnable fortress.

Wanye used to think that once the Hu people conquered the city, this group would definitely open the gates and let the Hu people in to fight against Beiji Wu. At worst, they would just go through the motions and run away at the first sign of trouble.

The battle report was a slap in the face to Wan Ye, making his old face turn red and filling him with a great sense of humiliation.

Enraged, Wan Ye kicked over the table and started throwing things and cursing in the study.

If those lackeys were loyal and dutiful when serving the Northern Army, but only knew how to ask for money and food when serving themselves, what's even more infuriating is that they took the money and food but did nothing, and ran away and surrendered when faced with difficulties, yet they devoted themselves to the Northern Army to the point of exhaustion, even to the point of dying for the Northern Army, and were willing to die with their whole family to guard the thousand-household garrison for the Northern Army.

Doesn't that make me look like an incompetent fool?

Wan Ye would absolutely refuse to admit that he was that kind of fool!!

To prove his leadership and imperial aura, he decisively spent 300,000 taels of silver to buy the lives of 15,000 prisoners and return them to Borjigin, and then spent another 200,000 taels of silver to buy 20,000 warhorses.

Borjigin was escorted to Luoyang to meet the emperor, and returned a month later, when it was almost June.

Beijiwu released the people as requested by the imperial court.

At the city gate, Borjigin, who had already been granted the title of Naturalized King, bid farewell to Beijiwu.

"Emperor Wenchao wants me to control you, but I know I am no match for you. I will establish Guihua City three hundred miles away from Tongzhou and Gui Nong Department fifty miles northwest of Tongzhou to graze horses and sheep for you. In the future, I will expand westward, so please continue to open trade markets with us."

Despite receiving rewards from the emperor, Borjigin clearly identified more with his powerful neighbor, the Northern Warrior.

The emperor gave him money and the title of Prince of Naturalization, but the money did not move the heart of Borjigin, this man of the grasslands.

It's like an insignificant person offering to recruit you, giving you money and territory, but this territory belongs to your powerful neighbor, and you've just been beaten up.

What's most baffling is that the Southern Dynasty emperor who gave himself money and a title was also brutally beaten up. Borjigin knew the power of the Northern Army and knew how to choose.

After working here for a few days and living in Luoyang, the capital of the emperor, for half a month, I encountered corrupt local officials and Han nobles who treated me like a human being. In comparison, I found the mountain farmers to be easier to talk to, more generous, and less scheming.

Most importantly, trade was managed by the Arctic Army. The grassland people had a strong need for tea and grain, while the people in the south had always been wary of the northerners and were unwilling to do business with them.

Borjigin looked at Arctic Martial nervously; he genuinely wanted to associate with him.

Arctic Martial just wanted to get rid of these troublesome guys as soon as possible. "Okay."

Borjigin was overjoyed. He knelt on one knee before the Northern Warrior, placed one hand on his chest, and shouted, "Your bravery and benevolence are the spur and encouragement of heaven for us men of the grasslands. I am willing to cut off my hair and lead my people to join the Mountain Farmers!"

"Fine," Arctic Martial said lazily. "Whatever you want, hurry up and go, I'm leaving first."

Beijiwu didn't want to waste time talking to this grassland man, so he left after seeing him ramble on and on.

Anyway, once the money is taken and the person is released, the rest is no longer my responsibility.

Borjigin watched the departing Arctic Warrior and smiled easily.

Shortly after Arctic Warrior left, a dozen or so male and female knights quickly arrived.

The visitor was Borjigin's young wife, Adaihai.

"Great Khan, many of our people have already returned. There are still five thousand people working here. They collect our wool here and can exchange the clean wool for tea and pots."

Borjigin immediately asked, "How is the tribe while I was away?"

The twenty-something-year-old Adaihai replied, "The mountain farmers allowed us to exchange livestock for slaves and women for men. We exchanged girls and young women who were no taller than a cartwheel for some of the people. The rest said they didn't need to exchange, so they exchanged cattle and sheep for grain."

“Those slaves who worked for the mountain farmers received copper coins. I took the women into the county and collected their wages to buy pots and salt for the women of the tribe. Our people all set up tents in the valley, about ten miles from here.”

“Because we can get money and food from the mountain farmers, the people of our tribe have all come with me. In the original place, there were only some people who refused to come. Now there are 30,000 people and 20,000 sheep here. The mountain farmers have given us pastures and asked us to abolish our original marriage customs. Sons cannot marry their fathers’ wives, and people with close blood relations cannot marry.”

“The Arctic chieftain told me that if I didn’t obey, the consequences would be severe.”

In the grasslands, it is normal for a son to marry his mother, and it is normal for a wife to bear children for her husband. Only in this way can a woman hold power in the tribe.

Moreover, among the grassland people, it is very normal to marry one's mother, granddaughter, or sister-in-law.

If a child is born mentally challenged, it's fine if he dies; if he dies and is reborn, the locals won't feel any psychological burden.

They also felt no psychological burden when the Arctic warriors killed them.

Arctic warriors don't reason with people; if you obey them, you can continue doing business and working diligently within their sphere of influence.

If they disobey, it would be very easy for Beijiwu to go on a killing spree. The entire Shannong County would be free to go out and rob, and they wouldn't care about their reputation.

Borjigin nodded. "Then let's follow the rules of the mountain farmers."

Borjigin, who was over fifty years old, was well aware of the Han people's discrimination against the customs of the grasslands. Now that the mountain farmers were also opposing it, there must be a reason for it.

Although the Northern Plains Army killed many Mongols, it also quickly accepted them.

Just as the Arctic Wu killed many of the Wenchao army, it was also accepted very quickly.

Everyone was a surrenderer, and the mountain farmers did not oppose the inclusion of Han and non-Han people, so no one objected to the mountain farmers accepting Han and non-Han people, and no one thought about it that way.

A nation of farmers, comprised entirely of mountain farmers, would naturally not harbor xenophobic sentiments.

(End of this chapter)