Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 207 Dingnan
Before Liu Jingshun's tribute entourage even reached Yongzhou, they were blocked by a group of more than a hundred people.

Leading the group was a scholar on horseback, followed by a man in a general's uniform.

Liu Jingshun quickly jumped off the elephant and knelt on the ground.

Meng Hetong, dressed in the robes of a commander of ten thousand households, dismounted and walked up to Liu Jingshun, saying, "Get up. His Majesty has appointed you as the hereditary commander of a thousand households in Linyi County. From now on, you are a member of our Shan Nong tribe. Is there anything else you desire?"

Liu Jingshun looked up at the commander, his face blank and incredulous.

"I...I am a Han Chinese..."

Liu Jingshun spoke very carefully, and he also felt guilty.

Liu Jingshun wasn't sure if he was Han Chinese. He grew up in the mountains and his concept of Han and Yue people was based on whether they were respectable or not.

Meng Hetong smiled and said, "If you want to be a Han Chinese, then be a Han Chinese; if you want to be a Shan Nong (mountain farmer), then be a Shan Nong. It won't prevent you from becoming a hereditary commander of the Shan Nong Kingdom."

Liu Jingshun immediately kowtowed and shouted excitedly, "I want to be a mountain farmer!"

This is the kind of recognition Liu Jingshun wanted!
Meng Hetong helped Liu Jingshun up. “Get up. His Majesty is very pleased with your appearance. Regarding the matter of your military achievements being concealed by others, Lord Zhang and I will investigate. Now you and Lord Zhang will return to Annam Province. In the future, you can speak directly to Lord Zhang if you have any questions.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Jingshun immediately tried to kowtow to Zhang Weicang again.

Zhang Weicang quickly helped him up, saying, "You don't need to kneel. You are a mountain farmer now. You only need to kneel before the Emperor. You don't need to kneel before any of the other households."

Liu Jingshun received unprecedented recognition and respect, discovering that these mountain farmers were ten thousand times better than he had imagined!
"I'm going to present these as tribute to His Majesty!"

Even though Liu Jingshun was from the mountains, he knew the principle of paying taxes and tributes.

Some mountains and hunting grounds are owned.

Zhang Weicang was punished because of Liu Jingshun's matter, and said helplessly, "You can take these back to develop Champa County. How many people there are willing to listen to you?"

Liu Jingshun replied, "More than a thousand people, a dozen or so hundred people, all of them speak gibberish."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Weicang knew that his punishment would be even more severe in a while.

"How many cattle are there?" Liu Jingshun asked, looking at the water buffalo nearby.

Liu Jingshun honestly replied, "Ten heads. I brought half of the cattle as tribute."

"You've brought everything. How do you farm in your village?" Zhang Weicang wanted to know more specific details so that reinforcements could be sent.

Liu Jingshun replied, "Just get me some food; paying taxes is the most important thing."

Zhang Weicang and Meng Hetong were both helpless when they heard this answer.

"Alright," Zhang Weicang sighed. "I'll go with you to take a look. Let's leave these elephants in Jiaozhi County and take a boat back to Champa County."

Zhang Weicang then looked at Meng Hetong and said, "I would like to trouble General Meng to send over a thousand cattle, as well as clothing, food, salt, iron, farm tools, and other necessities for three thousand people."

Meng Hetong nodded. "Alright, I'll go back and prepare. Take care on your journey, Lord Zhang."

Zhang Weicang gave a wry smile. He wanted to be careful, but sometimes you just can't prevent getting sick.

You can't walk on land roads; you'll easily die if you do.

In order to survive, Zhang Weicang chose to travel by water. After handing over the elephant to someone to take back to Jiaozhi County, he and his group of more than 200 people boarded ten boats and headed to Champa.

The Ruan sisters followed and became good friends with the mountain farmer.

Liu Jingshun was willing to go back obediently. He didn't actually have a home in the north, but after the Shan Nong tribe accepted him, Liu Jingshun had a home even after returning.

That sense of belonging was what Liu Jingshun needed most. With the recognition of the mountain farmers, Liu Jingshun no longer felt like a lone wolf.

The farmer asked him to continue working in the south, and Liu Jingshun was willing to go, as if he had family members who needed protection. He was easily manipulated.

The ship passed through Zhuyai County and continued sailing south.

Although Zhuyai County is an island, it has always belonged to the system of the Central Plains dynasties and has never separated from the Central Plains dynasties to stand on its own.

The locals did not resist the rule of the mountain farmers.

After all, the mountain farmers don't collect taxes, have no conflicts with the locals, and even offered grain as a gift.

This place is resource-poor and sparsely populated. The mountain farmers are willing to bring grain, cloth, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea to trade, and even if it only happens once a year, it has won everyone's hearts.

The local ethnic minorities do not have their own written language and use Chinese characters, but they are willing to learn the script and language of the mountain farmers.

There is no preferential treatment for people of other races. The term "other race" itself is discriminatory. As long as the mountain farmers do not discriminate against others, everyone will want to be a mountain farmer.

After learning that the outside world did not require paying taxes, the mountain people of Zhuya County were willing to go to the plains to farm and live, no longer wanting to hide in the mountains and fight as guerrillas.

The people of Annam province also escaped corvée labor and now lived a relatively free life.

However, once the population grows to a certain size, it will form an organization, and at that time, taxes will be paid to maintain the army and the ruler's expenses.

Once that time comes, local regimes will be established under the pretext of national hatred, opposing the northern rulers and institutions.

They will also reject the Chinese language and characters, as well as all the rules and tax-free system of the mountain farmers.

Liu Jingshun's existence was significant because he preemptively occupied the ecological niche and became the ruler of this region ahead of time.

The ruler must be based locally, specifically in the southern region with the harshest climate. By controlling the south, the north becomes the center, unable to simultaneously contend with attacks from both north and south, and unable to form any opposition forces.

Liu Jingshun's value lies in being a nail driven into the southern forces, forming two nails with Lingnan, completely sealing off this narrow strip of land!

Zhang Weicang soon boarded a boat and entered the estuary of Champa County. He traveled more than 20 miles westward along the river before reaching Linyi County.

“This place is suitable for establishing an outlet to the sea. You can take people to build a port nearby, and when I go back, I will have people transport supplies over this route.”

Liu Jingshun said happily, "We have everything here, but it's a bit dirty and messy. It would be great if the adults could give us some clothes."

Having gained acceptance, Liu Jingshun was willing to stay here and also to take in the Ruan sisters to live in this place.

Neither Zhang Weicang nor Meng Hetong allowed him to experience city life, as both knew he was a country bumpkin.

Once they come into contact with the real lives of the mountain farmers, it could very well delay King Wu's important affairs.

"I'll give you the clothes gradually." Zhang Weicang needed to make amends as soon as possible. "Let me see your farmland. We need to keep the locals busy so that we can manage this place properly."

"You must learn Chinese language and characters as soon as possible, especially literacy. Cadres of the mountain peasant ethnic group must be literate; this is His Majesty's decree."

Liu Jingshun nodded and said, "I will study hard!"

“Okay.” Zhang Weicang followed Liu Jingshun into the dilapidated earthen city.

As soon as we entered Tucheng, we saw a group of savages dressed in leaf clothes come out and kneel down.

Here, neither men nor women like to wear clothes. When kneeling, their buttocks are exposed because of falling leaves, and when they raise their heads, their hairy chests can be seen.

Zhu was responsible for translating the findings into the local language.

Seeing this, Zhang Weicang reminded him, "You should talk more in the future, and tell them things yourself."

Without any hesitation, Liu Jingshun replied directly, "They don't understand what I'm saying."

Zhang Weicang advised, "Whether you really don't understand or not, you have to speak. You'll only understand if you speak. Don't be afraid of being lazy."

As an educator who had lived in Jiaozhi County for a period of time, Zhang Weicang had an advantage in language.

In particular, the integration of the Shan Nong ethnic group with several other ethnic groups speaking different languages ​​gave Zhang Weicang a lot of inspiration.

"Start with common commands and then gradually increase the difficulty."

Liu Jingshun was very obedient and could tell that this Lord Zhang treated him very well.

“Yes!” Liu Jingshun volunteered, “I will teach my children the mountain language first, but I can’t write or read.”

Liu Jingshun asked curiously, "Were all your children born to women here?"

"Yes!" Liu Jingshun nodded somewhat embarrassedly, unsure which of his children were his.

Zhang Weicang glanced at the city women holding children and looked at Liu Jingshun with surprise.

“You…” Zhang Weicang wanted to ask him if he was sick, because local women had a very high chance of carrying venereal diseases due to poor hygiene.

However, Zhang Weicang quickly stopped worrying about that and asked, "How many children do you have?"

Liu Jingshun replied, "Dozens of them. Some are other people's children, people who used to stay here with us, but they died of illness."

Amazing!
Zhang Weicang was certain that this man was a divine being; he was the most suitable hereditary lord for this place!
After standing at the entrance of the shed that reeked of decay for a second, Zhang Weicang quickly moved to the side.

"No need to rest. Let's go take a look at the fields here. This place is very suitable for raising mulberry trees and weaving cloth. We need to find something for the women to do. Let's get dressed quickly and establish normal concepts of chastity."

"Tea trees can be planted in the north, and silkworms, fish and rice can be raised in the south. We can develop by relying on the advantages of shipping and maritime transport."

Liu Jingshun quickly followed, listening attentively to Lord Zhang's various instructions.

After looking around, Zhang Weicang said, "Your agriculture here is very backward. The crops are planted haphazardly, and the warehouses are not well-maintained. The grain in these warehouses will not last long."

Zhang Weicang began to teach various agricultural knowledge, including the most crucial rice preservation techniques, as well as proper methods for preventing and controlling plagues and infectious diseases.

Ironically, this kind of conventional disease prevention knowledge is no match for the immunity of a chosen one like Liu Jingshun.

Only the weak need various prevention and treatment techniques; the strong have lived here for two years without getting sick once.

Zhang Weicang dared not stay here any longer, nor did he dare drink the cool river water that Liu Jingshun could drink, or eat the strange animal meat that Liu Jingshun could eat.

People are different. After refusing Liu Jingshun's generous invitation to entertain him with local women, the elderly Zhang Weicang took the waist tags of the other Han people back and distributed compensation to their families according to their names and places of origin.

Zhang Weicang was certain that if he continued to stay, he would end up like those ordinary people who only kept their waist tags.

Having gained the approval of the Shan Nong people and received supplies from the Shan Nong Kingdom, Liu Jingshun quickly gained the recognition of more people and could easily gather more Yue people to come and join him.

Not only did the Yue people receive preferential treatment, but Zhuyai County also gained more trade opportunities due to the court's emphasis on the southeast region.

After returning home, Zhang Weicang began writing a report.

Only Liu Jingshun could adapt to that kind of place. Even if 100,000 people were sent, their effectiveness wouldn't be as great as his alone. With him here, Annam is secure!

(End of this chapter)