Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 206 Golden Time
When Beijiwu arrived in Luoyang, Liu Jingshun was still on his way.

It's about two thousand miles from Liu Jingshun's small southern county town to Hanoi.

It is not easy for buffalo, elephants, and human men and women to travel such a long distance by land. Many places are swamps, which elephants cannot cross and must take detours.

The group traveled north through Rinan County and Jiuzhen County before entering Jiaozhi County.

In spring, the snow on the mountains melts, and clear water flows everywhere in the Red River Delta.

Liu Jingshun longed to return home every day, yet he was also filled with fear.

What should you do if you encounter someone from the mountains?
I hadn't contacted them before. I was thinking of ignoring them and becoming the village chief myself. They asked me why I hadn't contacted them. What should I say?
Liu Jingshun was terrified and subconsciously placed all the blame on himself, believing that he had betrayed the Shan Nong people.

As he drew closer to the north, Liu Jingshun endured his fear while gritting his teeth, wanting to go back.

Going back to my hometown, a place I have no emotional connection to.

Go back to a hometown I don't even know where it is.

Go find a home that can accept you and that you can identify with.

After walking for more than twenty days, the group finally saw two living people.

Zhu Suo, Liu Jingshun's translator, rode an ox over and shouted, "Hey! How far is it from here to Jiaozhi County?!"

Upon hearing this, the woman rowing the boat shouted in her local dialect, "Four or five days' journey still to go, what are you doing here?"

Zhu shouted, "We are the centurions of the Shan Nong Kingdom, and we are going to pay tribute to the Shan Nong Kingdom!"

Upon hearing this, the woman rowed over and curiously observed Zhu Suo and the group on the shore from a distance of more than twenty meters.

"The mountain farmers don't ask for money or taxes. They give us rice every month and clothes. We can exchange straw hats for salt."

Upon hearing the words "mountain farmer," Liu Jingshun quickly jumped off the elephant and hurried to the shore.

"what did she say?"

Liu Jingshun looked excitedly at the woman on the small boat, noticing her trousers and narrow-sleeved shirt—clothes worn by mountain farmers!
The woman also noticed Liu Jingshun's military uniform and asked, "Are you from the mountain farm?"

Zhu answered Liu Jingshun's questions first, and then spoke to the woman.

"This is the head of the mountain farmers' household. We need to go to the head of the mountain farmers' household to pay our taxes."

Ruan Yu said, "I'll lead the way, sister, row the boat across."

"The mountain farmers will give you a reward. Do you have one?" Ruan Yu said, taking a small copper coin out of the mountain farmer's trouser pocket.

When the Ruan sisters approached, Liu Jingshun looked at the money in her hand and listened to Zhu Suo's translation, so he quickly took out a handful of money from his pocket and handed it over.

These were all wages I received while serving in the military; some were my own, and some were money that others planned to take home.

After reaching the shore, Ruan Yu walked ashore and saw Liu Jingshun holding a handful of copper coins in his hands. He quickly reached out and took twenty copper coins.

“That’s enough! This is a reward!” Ruan Yu replied to Liu Jingshun in the local dialect. She had learned some of the local dialect from her interactions with the mountain farmers over the past two years.

Liu Jingshun looked at her happily, "It's all yours!"

"Okay! Thank you!" Ruan Yu accepted the money and gave it all to the younger sister who was rowing the boat.

After sending his sister home with the money and then to Jiaozhi County to wait for others, Nguyen Nghi became a guide for the mountain farmer official.

The young man and woman, who were of similar age, began to communicate awkwardly but patiently while sitting on the elephant.

The conversation was mainly in the local dialect of the mountain farmers. Although he often didn't understand what the other person was saying, Liu Jingshun no longer had the idea of ​​running away.

Liu Jingshun was very certain that he could only gain mutual recognition on the land of the mountain farmers.

Happy times are always short. The originally tedious and arduous journey became less boring after meeting a woman of the same age. Several days and nights passed in the blink of an eye, and they arrived in Jiaozhi County.

At the gate of Jiaozhi County, a group of people pointed spears and bows at Liu Jingshun.

"who are you?"

The soldiers guarding the city shouted in the local language.

Liu Jingshun had grown to the point of disgust from hearing such words.

Zhu shouted, "We are from Linyi County, Zhancheng Prefecture. This is our centurion, Lord Liu, who was appointed by the Shan Nong people!"

Upon hearing this, the garrison quickly shouted, "Nonsense! The mountain farmers have all evacuated to Yongzhou, 500 li away. Only Han Chinese merchants will come here to distribute grain!"

The mountain farmers had long since disappeared from Jiaozhi Commandery. They couldn't even adapt to Jiaozhi Commandery in the far north, let alone Champa Commandery, which was two thousand miles away.

Everyone thought that the person who went to the southernmost point must be dead, or perhaps had already evacuated.

Because they were Han Chinese, the mountain farmers didn't have the patience to deal with it. Once they were sure their own people were all there, they fled as if their lives depended on it.

The Lingnan Army also disregarded the lives of the people in the south. After staying for a few months, the soldiers' mortality rate was 60-70%. After the mountain farmers ran away, they also started to riot, and if they were not allowed to leave, they would mutiny.

From beginning to end, no one thought that anyone would adapt to the southernmost climate and even voluntarily stay there!
Many people don't fail to adapt; they simply don't want to. Even if they can adapt physically, they will gradually break down psychologically.

Especially the mountain farmers in the north, who are extremely resistant to this uncivilized place, both physically and psychologically.

The garrison didn't believe there were any high-ranking officials from the mountain farmers here, but Zhu Suo was full of confidence and shouted loudly:

"This centurion fought bravely during the attack on the Kingdom of Lin-yi, personally killing more than ten Lin-yi people. The Mountain Farmer King rewarded him by appointing him as the centurion of Lin-yi County in Champa Prefecture!"

“Everyone in our county has seen him, it’s absolutely real! Now we’re going to offer tribute to the Shannong people, but is this area really under their jurisdiction?”

The garrison commander looked at the man on the elephant with a puzzled expression.

The Han and Yue people have very different appearances, which is immediately noticeable.

"You wait here! I'll go and call the Han Chinese merchants out!"

Zhu quickly translated the garrison's words for Liu Jingshun.

Liu Jingshun didn't know what to do at this point, but he really wanted to see the Shan Nong people and hoped to get their forgiveness.

Not long after, a Han merchant arrived.

There were several southerners around Han Shang.

Everyone looked at the man in soldier's uniform with curiosity.

After confirming Liu Jingshun's place of origin and that he was one of the veterans from the war, a merchant sent a messenger on horseback to Yongzhou, Guangxi, to deliver a message.

At this time, Meng Hetong was leading troops to suppress bandits in Yongzhou. Since his subordinates did most of the work, Meng Hetong spent most of his time in the city.

"Tell His Majesty by carrier pigeon! Send someone to bring over that man named Liu Jingshun."

Meng Hetong was very certain that this man named Liu Jingshun would be valued by King Wu, so he immediately used a carrier pigeon, which was only used in emergencies.

***
Luoyang
While Beijiwu was handling official business, he saw Tenghe walking quickly over.

"Your Majesty, Meng Hetong sent a letter saying that in the past, a Han Chinese named Liu Jingshun was left in Linyi County of Champa Prefecture as a centurion. That Han Chinese took five elephants to Jiaozhi Prefecture to pay tribute."

Beijiwu, who was handling official business, looked up, his eyes filled with confusion and anger.

"Why doesn't Zhang Weicang mention this? What did he do in Yongzhou?!"

Teng He lowered his head and bent over, not daring to answer.

Beiji Wu suppressed his anger, and a nearby palace maid went over and handed the small note to him.

After seeing Meng Hetong's brief introduction, Beijiwu immediately said, "Appoint him as a hereditary commander of a thousand households! Promote him to a mountain farmer! Let him lead his men back to Champa County to recruit soldiers and attack those disobedient tribes. Give him whatever he needs!"

This man's appearance disrupted Arctic Wu's plans, allowing the development of the south to begin decades earlier.

Moreover, once they have people who can adapt to the southern climate, it will be much easier to rule the South American region in the future.

Rainforest climates are not limited to Annam; they are present in almost the entire Southeast Asia.

What makes Annam more difficult than other tropical island nations is disease. Malaria has a high mortality rate, unlike the South China Sea islands where it is just a common tropical disease.

The humid jungles there are high-incidence areas for malaria and dengue fever. The climate, terrain, and the local people's resistance have turned this region into a Southeast Asian graveyard and one of the most difficult areas to manage in Southeast Asia.

If we can handle this region, the first island chain will be no problem at all.

A man who is not afraid of malaria and can adapt to both northern and southern terrains and climates without difficulty is exactly the kind of talent that Arctic military urgently needs!
As long as he is willing to speak the Shan Nong language, promote the Shan Nong script, farm and build roads, or even if he wants to rebel and establish his own state, it doesn't matter. Beijiwu is willing to help him establish a country!
Beijiwu quickly issued another order to Zhang Weicang, who was far away in Guangxi.

[Go to Jiaozhi County to administer Annam Province!]

Zhang Weicang knew that King Wu was angry.

Even if it means death, I will go to Jiaozhi County to take up my post.

**
After Liu Jingshun appeared, Beijiwu was willing to use human lives to fill Jiaozhi County!

The mortality rate of 60-70% doesn't matter; those who survive are the ones Arctic military needs.

Without Liu Jingshun, the chosen one, Arctic Martial Arts was unwilling to gamble with such a high mortality rate by forcibly filling places that were not currently of use. They had already cleaned up once, and things would be easier to deal with once technology advanced in a few decades.

However, with this chosen one, things are very different. Combined with the economic strength of the Mountain Farming Kingdom, they can take advantage of the golden time when the people there are the fewest and most respectful of the Mountain Farming Kingdom to resolve all kinds of future troubles in one fell swoop.

Missing this window will cause a lot of trouble later.

We cannot let the locals manage the locals; we must arrange for a Han Chinese or a mountain farmer to manage the area.

Arctic Martial was furious that no one had reported this before, leaving this person to guard the southernmost point for two years, wasting the best period of his life.

The investigation into the Army incident two years ago proceeded quickly, and after the Arctic military took it seriously, those who deserved punishment would be punished, and those who deserved to die would die.

(End of this chapter)