Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 202 National Policy
On the sixth day of the first month of the ninth year of AD, a nationwide snow disaster swept across the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Plain. The next day, an earthquake occurred in the Shanxi Province, and the tremors could be felt in the Luoyang Imperial Palace.

As the ruler of a nation, Bei Jiwu swiftly ordered the rescue forces to prepare for action.

While the directly subordinate teams were making rapid preparations, several rotating duty officers and officials also came to the door without prior notice.

Beijiwu summoned his ministers to the newly built Shenwu Palace, which was used to handle minor matters.

The Shenwu Palace is built with reinforced concrete, covering an area of ​​300 square meters, and has two floors.

It was used only for meetings and office work, and included a toilet and medical room for ministers, as well as a guard room and a private changing room for Arctic soldiers.

The meeting place was very small, less than 50 square meters, mainly for handling emergencies. The place that truly demonstrated the country's strength was the Shen Gong Ming Gong.

"Let the people of Xia City handle things in the South, and we can deal with things in the North."

Arctic Military directly set the order of events, determining the sequence of actions for everyone going forward.

When mountain farmers suffer disasters, the mountain farmers take care of the disasters. When Han Chinese in the Yellow River and Huai River provinces and several northern provinces suffer disasters, the northern provinces also take care of the disasters, without asking the south for a single penny.

Because those who work and pay are all mountain farmers, the South does not need to pay tribute or taxes to the Arctic Warriors, nor does it need to fight or work for the Arctic Warriors, nor does it need to abide by the rules of the Arctic Warriors.

Governor Wang Qing of Shanxi Province cautiously said, "Your Majesty, are you really not going to take this opportunity to intervene in the South? Sang Yang'an and his men are capable of disaster relief, but the South is also your territory now, and it has always been a prosperous land. Take this opportunity..."

Beijiwu shook his head. "Rights and obligations are equal. In the future, if anything happens, we should take care of ourselves first."

Wang Qing said, "The earthquake didn't kill many people. The exact number of deaths is currently being tallied in Tongzhou. But judging from the descriptions of the commotion, it shouldn't be serious, far less severe than the previous major earthquake in Northwest China."

When the Northwest earthquake occurred, Beijiwu did not yet have the entire Northwest region, so it did not take action on the matter.

Now that there's more territory, there are naturally more things to manage.

“I understand your considerations.” Beijiwu looked at Wang Qing and the other thousand and ten thousand households.

Sang Yang'an was assigned to Xia City to deal with matters in the south, along with many of Wen Chao's former subordinates.

"The principle of balancing power and obligation, and demonstrating disaster relief capabilities, can indeed win people's hearts and minds."

Arctic Martial did indeed respond to Wang Qing's cautious reminder, but Wang Qing was unaware of it.

At this point, Beiji Wu did not hide anything and frankly said: "When governing the world or conquering the world, you don't need the support of the people, you only need a sound system."

"This system is better than others. Public opinion is something that is relative. As long as it is slightly better than the other one, that's enough."

"Leaving aside Xia City, even if the people of the South themselves stepped forward to provide disaster relief, distributing money and food, it wouldn't affect us at all, because our system is more advanced."

"No matter how kind and charitable the villagers are, they will still go to live in big cities if they want to."

"My attitude is still to prioritize protecting our own people. The world was not bought with money and rice; it was won by killing and seizing land."

"There is no need to blame yourself or avoid such things. If the mountain farmers become corrupt in the future, they will naturally be driven out and forced into exile."

"Go to the province of San Nong first and make sure to save the lives of every San Nong person. Let the South save itself. If anyone can stand out, I am willing to recruit him into our system as an official."

"To protect our home and country, the people of Shanxi Agricultural University prioritize protecting the public good!"

The public is the home of the Arctic Warriors, and the Arctic Warriors are the public of the Mountain Farmers Kingdom. It is because of the Arctic Warriors that the Mountain Farmers people exist today.

"According to the order!"

After receiving their orders, everyone performed their duties according to the pre-established disaster relief system.

Arctic Martial felt that these people probably still didn't understand his words.

But from my own understanding, I think I did the right thing.

A country that treats its own people well is more attractive to other countries.

If a country treats its own people well while seriously harming other countries, its attractiveness will not decrease much.

History has shown that external attractiveness is not necessarily based on military strength and total wealth; some small countries can also be very attractive to other countries.

These countries are not primarily tourist destinations, but rather countries that provide substantial welfare benefits to their citizens.

The Arctic warriors killed so many grassland people, and now every grassland person longs for the Mountain Farming Kingdom.

The Southern literati were ignored, and every single one of them wanted to become a high-ranking official in the Wu Dynasty. Considering the frequency and number of natural disasters in recent years—hundreds of disasters in the past hundred years—the Northern Wu Dynasty had to ruthlessly determine a priority order.

If four regions—east, west, south, and north—are affected by disaster simultaneously, which should be rescued first?
When his wife and child fell into the water, Beijiwu was determined to save his son.

When a palace maid and his wife both fell into the water, Beijiwu prioritized saving his own woman.

Treating everyone equally is impossible; Arctic Martial has always been someone who prioritizes his own affairs.

If you can't even take care of the wheat in your own field, you won't have the heart to help others.

People from Shannong are one of us!

***
"Shannong Daily! Shannong Daily! A major earthquake struck Shannong Province, with preliminary reports of over a hundred deaths and injuries. King Wu has personally gone to Shannong Province to inspect the disaster relief efforts!"

"Shan Nong Daily! Shan Nong Daily! Donghai Province is freezing cold, rivers are frozen solid, and Taihu Lake and Qiantang River are frozen over! Houses are collapsing and grain prices are skyrocketing!"

Chai Yuzi sat in the carriage reading a newspaper.

Besides Chai Yuzi, her maid Shan Tao was also in the carriage.

The carriage was large enough to accommodate two women, and the windows were closed glass doors with tacky "Fu" (good fortune) characters pasted on them.

Underfoot was a bearskin rug added for winter, provided by two brown bears of the same color, with brass strips nailed to the edges, making the rug look as if it were part of the carriage.

Between Chai Yuzi's buttocks and the solid wood chair was a layer of smooth golden silk.

Ten years ago, this golden cushion was a special model reserved for emperors.

This is not in the rules of the mountain farmers. They have freedom of dress and color in their clothing, and we do not interfere with them.

"Miss, is the south or the north more severely affected by the disaster this time?"

Yamamoto was curious about which side was more serious.

Chai Yuzi continued reading the newspaper, glanced at her, and then continued reading.

"Don't talk about this, or your father will definitely marry you off if he finds out."

Yamamoto pouted and continued reading her lighthearted jokes.

Chai Yu-Tzu continued reading the newspaper.

Whether or not it was King Wu's original intention, his personal visit to Tongzhou after the disaster clearly showed that he did not care about the lives of people in the south.

Chai Yuzi's actions would discourage scholars and officials in the south from being loyal to King Wu, which would be detrimental to the unity of the people.

Chai Yuzi, who was deeply concerned about the country and its people, sighed.

Not to mention himself, even his father couldn't persuade King Wu.

If she were King Wu's wife, perhaps she could offer him some advice?
A naive idea popped into Chai Yuzi's mind, one that seemed very simple to Arctic Martial Arts School and a very small number of people.

In fact, this is the opinion of most people. Only a very few people know that Arctic Wu does not treat women as human beings.

These people don't know how to learn Arctic martial arts, and they all feel that discussing the affairs of King Wu's family is a sure way to lose their heads. In addition, they are all adults who make a living from this, so none of them have ever mentioned this matter.

Chai Boshi's wife did a very good job, which was one of the important reasons why Chai Boshi was valued by Arctic Martial Arts.

Other issues of ability and attitude are not the most prominent problems. Bei Jiwu has many capable people under his command, but very few who can control their wives and prevent them from causing trouble.

However, as Czerny had a daughter who enjoyed socializing with noble ladies and was fond of socializing, Czerny's official position could no longer be promoted.

The Chai family couldn't figure out why they were truly valued.

At this time, Chai Yuzi was trying hard to become a member of the Mountain Farmers, stubbornly believing that only after her family became members of the Mountain Farmers would they be valued and would no longer be discriminated against.

Through her efforts and outreach, she gets to know elegant socialites and wealthy women such as Chen Xianzhi, the wife of Wen Shumo, and will gradually distance herself from various power-related affairs.

Many people know that the empress dowager is not allowed to interfere in politics, but few realize the significance of this statement in the Wu Dynasty, nor do they know that the Northern Wu Dynasty implemented it as a national policy.

(End of this chapter)