Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 199 Authority
Time always flies when things are uneventful.

It's been less than ten years, yet some people feel as if the world has always been this way.

Since the unification of the world in 6 AD, by the end of 8 AD, people had long been accustomed to everything in the Mountain Farmer Kingdom.

Whether it's spring plowing or various industries, everyone is busy according to the established rules.

Spring, summer, autumn, and winter—before I knew it, Beijiwu had been sitting from noon in winter until three or four o'clock in the afternoon.

He reviewed all the memorials in his hand, adding his own comments to each one.

The western continent has completely fallen under the rule of the Mountain Farmers, and now it is just waiting for the Mountain Farmers to come and rule it.

Borjigin died in his tent that winter at the age of sixty-two, which can be considered a peaceful death.

As Borjigin's wife, Adaihai was not inherited by Borjigin's children as his wife, but continued to control the entire grassland as the governor of Guinong Province.

This agreement was made ten years ago, and the thousands of households on the grasslands have all followed Borjigin's will to continue fighting for the Guishan Nong Kingdom.

Yelü Baocai of eastern Liaoning was over sixty years old, and Ashina of central Yunnan was over forty.

Over the course of nearly ten years, all three departments of the Gui Nong Province completed the Sinicization process.

Those who were originally unwilling to learn the Shan Nong language went out to fight and die, while those who remained were quickly corrupted by the Han people's lifestyle, losing their will and fighting spirit.

The children in the tribe all speak and write in Chinese.

Chinese is the common language that all warriors, merchants, artisans and nobles across Eurasia must master as soon as possible, especially on the battlefield, where being able to speak Chinese could very well save the lives of one's entire family.

In less than ten years, the population of Shan Nong Kingdom increased to fifty million, a quarter more than the forty million recorded during the Wen Dynasty.

This is despite the fact that many people died during the war due to various natural and man-made disasters.

With four million births annually and an aggressive foreign policy, the future of the Mountain Farm Kingdom is definitely not limited to the present.

However, just like some of the grassland people in the three parts of Gui Nong Province, the people in the southern regions also degenerated.

Folk songs and dances flourished, especially in many places in the Jiangnan region where the entertainment industry thrived due to the lack of legal jurisdiction.

Both the Khitan princess and the Han princess gave birth to children for Beijiwu.

Despite the fact that many people in various regions choose not to marry, the population of the entire mountain farmer tribe is still increasing rapidly.

Especially after eight-year-old boys and girls can take care of their younger siblings at home on their own, without needing an adult to stay behind to look after them, their desire to have children will only become stronger.

The more people go out to work, the more money they can earn.

The same applies to aristocratic families; each additional child means one more employee in their territory.

Except for urban artisan households who could control the number of children they had because their household registration could not be divided, most other people were having children like crazy.

The number of children in various places has become countless, and the surge in population also represents a large number of events.

The various incidents caused by teenagers, in particular, are increasing the costs of maintaining public order and conducting investigations.

Beijiwu leaned back in his chair, deep in thought.

“Nowadays, whether it’s the construction and development of various cities or the management of various places, I can’t handle it all by myself. I can no longer make specific arrangements.”

"Even the Wanhu Team under my direct jurisdiction can't manage it all."

Beijiwu sighed and quickly stopped forcing himself.

"Leave Fusang to my sons to rack up achievements and complete the final unification."

"Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye, and I'm almost thirty."

After considering his decision, Beiji Wu summoned five ministers the following day.

Prime Minister Li Chengren.

Sang Yang'an, the head of agriculture.

Lu Cheng, the head of the industrial sector.

Meng Hetong, the rotating head of the household.

Li Tangqing, the prefect of Yangzhou.

The five ministers entered and knelt down together.

"Greetings, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!"

Beijiwu said, "Get up. I have something for you to do, but first, let me ask you if there are any replacements for what you are currently doing, and if you can guarantee that there won't be any trouble after you leave?"

None of the five knew the specifics of the matter, and their feelings became even more complicated after hearing about it.

Li Tangqing was the first to reply, saying, "My affairs are all ordinary matters, and there are countless people capable of handling them. I can easily replace you."

Meng Hetong replied, "There is no war outside and no hidden dangers inside. The army has always obeyed His Majesty's orders. There is no problem even without me."

Sang Yang'an and Lu Cheng also said in unison, "Your Majesty, we are the same, and we are willing to obey Your Majesty's orders!"

Finally, Li Chengren respectfully said, "Your Majesty, I am of limited talent and learning. I have accomplished nothing in the past ten years, nor have I recommended a single capable person. I am ashamed before Your Majesty, but this is of little importance and will not affect anything."

The first four people were being modest, but only Li Chengren was telling the truth.

The officials in Zhengcheng have long been useless and incompetent.

Beijiwu said seriously, "I arranged Zhengcheng. Many people have fallen into ruin, but over the years, many others have also stood out."

"Among a mixed bag of people, I have found many exceptional talents."

"Enough with the nonsense. I've been emperor for ten years now, and it's time to think about the future."

Beijiwu stated what he wanted to do, getting straight to the point as always.

"Xia City has been built. The north is now stable, but the south has too many rebels because it has been neglected for the past ten years."

"My children will not inherit the throne according to the eldest son of the legitimate wife. The key is who is capable and who is not."

"He's almost ten years old now, and his personality is basically set, but he still needs to develop his abilities."

“Sang Yang’an, Lu Cheng, you should take your children, who are living in anonymity, to work in the fields and factories. Don’t reveal your identities. Only those who rise from the bottom will not be deceived by civil officials and will not be able to understand the hardships of ordinary people.”

"Li Tangqing manages the people's livelihood in Xia City, Li Chengren manages the officials in Xia City, and Meng Hetong manages public security and military training, as well as clearing out wild beasts and bandits in the vicinity."

"From now on, the tax revenue of Xia City will remain in the local area. You can handle whatever matters you have, and come to me for consultation if there are any major issues."

"I will stay in Luoyang to keep watch, and you should develop Xia City while I am still able to suppress the various regions."

"If the children misbehave, just tell me. I have many children, and there will always be a few that can be put to use."

Upon hearing this, Li Tangqing suggested, "Your Majesty, why not establish a legitimate heir?"

Beijiwu laughed and said, "I am not the eldest son, and entrusting power to an incompetent person who cannot make decisions is an extremely terrifying and disgusting thing for everyone. I do not want to choose an irresponsible successor."

Sang Yang'an asked, "Then what are we going to Xia City for? Is it to develop the Jianghan Plain and cultivate rice?"

In the past two years, many people have been able to guess Arctic Wu's plans, and developing the Jianghan Plain, which has good geographical advantages, is inevitable.

The southeastern province is too remote. Now that we need to integrate the east, west, north, and south, the best place is Ezhou, which is well-connected in all directions.

Beijiwu said, "I have already had the waterways widened for the development of industry, agriculture and commerce, and the houses and cities have been built. I have also arranged for many of my own people who are willing to work to go there in advance."

"Your task is just as I said: while developing Xia City, also educate those kids properly." "Beating them when they need to be beaten, scolding them when they need to be scolded. They may not understand when they're young, but they'll understand when they're older. I'll give you five teacher positions and salaries, so you can discipline a few kids for me in the name of being teachers."

“It will take at least twenty or thirty years to train them. I’m not very good at teaching children, so I’ll have to trouble you five masters.”

The five men replied in unison, "We will devote ourselves wholeheartedly to the cause, even unto death! We will not fail His Majesty's trust!"

The Arctic military must be separated, and the population expansion strategy must be stabilized as soon as possible.

Once a rule is established, things will be much easier in the future.

We need to go out of all four regions: east, west, south, and north.

The summer palace will definitely need to be occupied for a while so that a large number of people can be relocated there to stabilize the forces in the southwest and south.

Xia City developed a more powerful water transport system than Luoyang, and relied on waterways to transport industrial goods and grains to the south.

In the future, the South can support 100 million people, Southeast Asia can support 600 million people, and India can support 500 to 600 million people.

Before reaching the population cap, it is estimated that most people will not want to have children.

Currently, the strongest desire to have children is estimated to come from local officials and lords, who urgently need more people.

In the twelfth month of the eighth year of the reign of Emperor Wu of the North Pole, he invited his family to stay at the palace for a few days, a rare occurrence for him.

Knowing that Beiji Wu had no intention of establishing an empress, the two imperial concubines tactfully addressed the new women as "elder sisters," giving the country women ample face.

Beijiwu never cared about the women's opinions; at most, he let them come over for a get-together during the Chinese New Year out of consideration for the children's feelings.

After the New Year, we should go back home.

Every year at the end of the year, Beijiwu would summon officials from various regions to discuss matters.

The reason for not giving important civil officials in Zhengcheng was that there were other people available for Beiji Wu, and they were more at ease and comfortable using them.

To govern this world, force alone is not enough.

Arctic Wu believes he has never used force to bully others.

I don't think I have anything besides my fist strength.

Arctic Martial prefers challenges to fighting and womanizing.

Always winning fights feels as boring as having a cheat code.

I can have as many women as I want; I could support a million women if I wanted.

Building a colossal palace and making the capital city only inhabited by naked women is something that Beijiwu is someone he wants to do but doesn't want to do, not something he can do.

At its peak, the palace housed 500,000 women, whether female captives, palace maids, concubines, or female officials; they were all playthings of Beiji Wu.

This is a matter of course in this era.

At its peak, Luoyang had a population of two million, all of whom were slaves and servants of the Northern Martial Army, essentially eunuchs and palace maids outside the palace.

Those scholars, officials, and military officers were all, in front of King Wu, just eunuchs and castrated men who were physically healthy but mentally and personally crippled.

Even if Beijiwu allowed their wives to enter the palace, most of them would obediently advise their wives to think more positively.

Or perhaps they committed suicide out of humiliation, rather than rebelling against the Mountain Farmer Kingdom.

Arctic Martial is no longer Arctic Martial; it has become the entire Mountain Farming Kingdom.

Previously, Beijiwu was the Shannong Kingdom, and the Shannong Kingdom was Beijiwu.

Now, Arctic Wu is also Shan Nong Kingdom, and Shan Nong Kingdom is also Arctic Wu.

The difference is that in the past, Arctic Wu used its strength to intimidate all sides, making the Wen Dynasty and the grassland tribes dare not fight.

The concept of "Mountain Farmer Country" is now so oppressive that it's suffocating.

No one cares about Arctic Martial's personal strength anymore; Arctic Martial's will is the will of the entire Mountain Farm Kingdom.

If you offend the Arctic Warriors, you won't be able to escape the territory of the Mountain Farmer Kingdom even after three to five years.

Not only were the small countries and tribes suffocating under the pressure of the Mountain Farmer Kingdom, but the Mountain Farmer Kingdom itself was also being oppressed by the increasingly powerful and robust muscular body.

From hereditary lords to powerful officials and gentry in the south, to ordinary people, retired soldiers, and heroes of the martial arts world, everyone could feel that omnipresent pressure.

Arctic Wu is very hardworking and occupies the best industrial land in the world.

Neither the Americas nor Europe can compare to this land right here at our doorstep.

This is the most perfect birthplace of industry in the world.

none of them.

Coalfields that can be mined in the open.

The Tongzhou-Jinzhou mountainous region is a place where gunpowder resources can be easily obtained.

Next to the Taihang Mountains is the Handan Iron Mine, which contains more than 50% iron and is already being mined, with blacksmiths and workers available to operate it.

The coal and iron mines are less than 300 miles apart, with a network of canals and waterwheels along the Yellow River tributaries in between.

Most importantly, there are a large number of workers and military households in the west, which have a huge demand for weapons, armor, tools, and lathes.

To the east are vast fertile fields with a large number of farmers, creating a huge demand for farming tools, iron pots, and kitchen knives, which are replaced regularly.

The existence of canals made the transportation cost of ironware extremely low, allowing various ironware products to be transported to various parts of the south along the canals.

The supplementation of handicrafts such as pottery, the driving force of large-scale merchants, and the security guarantees and policy support provided by the state.

The reason why Shan Nong Kingdom has been able to develop so rapidly in recent years is because it chose a good initial location.

If this were in the Americas, a group of illiterate Americans would not have been able to escape the era of slavery.

It doesn't really matter if Luoyang is not there; Jinzhou and Jizhou are the real key areas.

Because the focus was on the three northern provinces, the south was left feeling like a lonely young wife confined to her boudoir, inevitably harboring some resentment.

This emptiness, loneliness, and resentment quickly turned into joy and excitement upon learning that King Wu was about to invade the southern forces.

In December of the eighth year of the reign of Emperor Wu of the North Pole, the first decree of change was issued.

"All men over the age of twenty who have no biological children shall pay two-tenths of their income as tax, while the rest shall be exempt from taxation until 20 AD."

"Families with multiple children will receive subsidies. Those with more than five children will receive two iron pots, one quilt, two bolts of cloth, and 1000 copper coins. After seeing this in the newspaper, they can register with their local village head or chief of household and then have them collect the goods free of charge from the nearest county government office. (This section only applies to the Mountain Agriculture Province, Plain Agriculture Province, Yellow River and Huai River Agriculture Province, and Returning Agriculture Province.)"

“Once a family has more than fifty members, they can migrate to a village about twenty miles away to build a new one.”

After discovering that they could enjoy another eleven years of tax exemption, the people of the entire Mountain Farm Kingdom intensified their efforts to have children.

The inequality between the North and the South was something that had been anticipated; people only envied it, and no one objected.

It's already good that the South can be exempted from tax, and I hope that they can be treated equally as soon as possible.

Even with all sorts of guarantees in place, men and women whose mindsets are still stuck in the slave or feudal era are happily having children.

The main birth population is still the generation from the Wen Dynasty and even earlier, which at most amounts to only ten or twenty million people.

Fortunately, women who have given birth to seven or eight children can continue to have more. Ten or eight children are not considered a lot. In this era, no one cares about the impact of childbirth on the body, nor does anyone care about those who die in their thirties or forties.

(End of this chapter)