Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 213 Cure
The Arctic military's insane orders have resulted in the breaking up of countless illicit couples.

Many women in Luoyang started to cry.

A grain of sand in the era becomes a mountain weighing down on some women.

"Sell newspapers! Sell newspapers!"

Si Jiuba casually shouted a couple of times, then continued reading the newspaper while fanning himself.

He fanned himself with one hand, wiped away the sweat with a towel in the other, and then took a sip of brown sugar and jujube water from the iron tea mug next to him.

Every summer is tough.

In the past, I would only sell newspapers for a short while in the morning and then stop. But in recent years, I've been selling until three or four in the afternoon, and I sit here all day long.

While Sijiu was reading the newspaper, an older girl from his team walked over quickly.

The woman was twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. Like Si Jiuba, she was from Gaoliu in Tongzhou. She already had a household registration and was the wife of the man who was killed by Beijiwu.

There are quite a few widows who have emerged from the Arctic war!

The Beiyuan Guard lost several thousand men in one wave. Gaoliu Guard, Hukou Fort, and Tongzhou and other places were all ruthlessly killed as long as they resisted.

Those who did not surrender were killed. Excluding the Tibetan and Western Xia kingdoms, Beiji Wu killed the most people in Shannong Province.

However, today, the province of San Nong is the stronghold of the Arctic Army, its most loyal lair.

At that time, a large group of orphans and widows accepted the rule of the new monarch and entered the public ranks lying down.

Liu Xinling is just an ordinary person. She brought her daughters to Luoyang to work as employees of a state-owned enterprise, and five or six years have passed in the blink of an eye.

"498, aren't you tired sitting here all by yourself?"

Liu Xinling greeted Si Jiuba with a smile.

Si Jiuba knew this woman, but they weren't close.

"I'm not tired. What's so tiring about sitting here? It's not like I'm going to work in the fields."

Si Jiuba continued to look down at the newspaper, not wanting to say anything more.

Seeing that Si Jiu Ba didn't want to talk, Liu Xinling continued, "I heard your sister is getting married?"

"Hmm." 498 said casually, "I'll get married in a couple of years, I'm still young now."

The younger siblings don't get along, but fortunately, the marriage has been arranged, and Xiaogua's anger only lasts for a day or two; things will be fine once the anger subsides.

Now, Xiao Gua and Xiao Ya can talk normally. After all, they are siblings, so it's normal for them to bicker.

Liu Xinling and Si Jiuba were indeed not familiar with each other and could not exchange more than a few words.

"Um... do you need anyone here?"

Liu Xinling looked at 498 with a mixture of embarrassment, awkwardness, and anticipation.

Si Jiuba looked up, puzzled, and asked, "What?"

Liu Xinling wanted to turn away awkwardly for a moment, but she still shamelessly said, "Your brother has Hu Yan helping him, and I heard that your sister has been going to the team leader's house to eat and work these past few days."

“I thought you might be too busy here and would need to rest for a few days. It must be inconvenient for you to eat or go to the toilet alone.”

“I happen to be at home with nothing to do. The alley I live in is only about ten minutes away from here. If you need to hire someone, see if I am suitable. I can help you cook the meals and watch the shop for you during the week.”

498 has always been a one-man operation.

When there was only one household registration in our family, my younger brother and sister came to help.

When we were waiting for the two household registrations, only my younger sister came to help. Now that my sister has met the family she was engaged to beforehand, she has become very familiar with Captain Jin's son and daughter. She even helps them with laundry, cooking, and selling newspapers.

Seeing that Si Jiuba was silent, Liu Xinling played the victim, saying, "I lost my job. My boss said that because I got married, my original household registration was canceled, my job was canceled, and they refunded my housing money and made my whole family move out. Now, my mother and I, along with our four daughters, really don't know how we're going to survive..."

"498, please have mercy on me, considering we're both women. Even if you don't need my help, could you take one of my daughters as an apprentice?"

"No wages needed, just room and board provided! If the children misbehave, you can hit them as much as you want. My three daughters are all good daughters, they will definitely listen to me!"

498 knew about the reforms in the newspaper.

This has nothing to do with 498; anyway, 498 has never thought about getting married.

That's a good reason to get married, and no one will pressure me to get married anymore.

A woman's household registration cannot be inherited by her husband's family, even if the household registration was not given by her father or husband, but was allocated to her by herself.

It can only be passed down to my son!

498 asked, "I heard that the household registration inherited after the husband's death cannot be given to outsiders. You were allocated your own household registration, right? Since you have a household registration, even if it's not given to your current spouse, you can give it to your son in the future."

Upon hearing this, Liu Xinling almost burst into tears, choking back sobs as she said, "The higher-ups are completely unreasonable. They've already canceled my household registration. They say the imperial court doesn't recognize illegitimate children, and children born out of wedlock aren't recognized as having legal inheritance rights."

"Don't even mention me, even those hereditary lords outside can't do it. They used to be able to transfer their household registration to people they designated, but now it's suddenly been tightened up and all of it has been canceled. Only their own sons can inherit it; their godsons, sons-in-law, and husbands can't either."

The only thing that allowed widows like Liu Xinling to live a peaceful life was her household registration.

Because of their shared household registration, Liu Xinling's family of four all received money, could do leisurely jobs, and could be considered one of their own in Luoyang, the most prosperous city in the world.

Now that household registration has been abolished, those who have no real ability have been exposed for what they truly are.

Just as Liu Xinling was feeling wronged and shedding tears, a man walked over.

Beijiwu wasn't familiar with Sijiuba. He just happened to see a woman in a white dress with her back to him while he was out shopping. He thought her buttocks and back view were quite nice, so he came over to take a look.

“498, I heard from my son that your brother was beaten at the train station.”

When Sijiuba saw Beijiwu, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, he was overjoyed and immediately got up from the straw mat he was sitting on, and stood up in his slippers.

"The child doesn't understand things, it's all over now. What have you been busy with lately? Are you still doing business in the palace?"

Beijiwu laughed and said, "Not bad. Is this your relative?"

Beijiwu glanced at Liu Xinling and found that she was just so-so, not particularly pretty.

There are plenty of beautiful women; the palace has no shortage of them.

Si Jiuba bent down and reached out, waving his outstretched arm between Beiji Wu and Liu Xinling.

"What are you looking at? He's already married. Aren't all the women in your house enough to kill you? Why are you still looking!"

498 angrily teased Arctic Martial.

Bei Jiwu smiled, while Liu Xinling, standing beside him, felt embarrassed and shy. She then took the initiative to ask, "What kind of business does this gentleman do in the palace? Does he need any more staff?"

Beiji Wu stopped smiling and casually asked Sijiuba, "Who is this?" Sijiuba was inexplicably happy to see that Beiji Wu didn't care about Liu Xinling.

“She is Liu Xinling, from my team of 10,000. Now she has lost her household registration because she got married, and she is homeless and wants to find a place to stay. I don’t need anyone here. Hiring someone would cost money, so I can manage on my own.”

Beijiwu casually said, "I see you're all alone and have nothing to do. My daughter is just sitting around anyway, so why don't you take a couple of them with you to play with? They might not be good at anything else, but they can definitely help out at the shop."

498 was overjoyed. "Great! We all know each other well. If your daughter comes to help, I'll give her fifty coins a day. Is that alright?"

“That’s too much,” Beijiwu said seriously. “Children are unreliable. At most, they can help watch over things for a while. Thirty coins a day is enough. Apprentices don’t need such high wages.”

"If they misbehave, you can discipline them as you please. If they really don't listen, just tell me."

498 was even happier, his eyes crinkling with laughter.

“If your daughter is disobedient, where am I supposed to find you? I’ve been to your house several times, but I’ve never seen you. I heard you only come home a few times a year.”

Arctic Martial pointed to the tallest building in the distance.

At the end of the 6,000-meter-long street, two tall buildings stand proudly in the city of Luoyang.

A divine palace, a bright palace.

The Arctic weapon is tilted, pointing towards the sky.

"Just go there, tell the guards at the city gate your number, then take any one of my kids to the gate and let them go. The kids will then find their way and lead you inside to find me."

498 still doesn't understand what Arctic Martial does, but he knows how to find Arctic Martial.

As long as you find the son and daughter of Beijiwu and bring them to the gate of the palace, the children will return to their parents on their own.

Seeing that Beiji Wu was working in the palace, Liu Xinling quickly said, "Sir, do you need any maids or servants?"

Beiji Wu was used to seeing beautiful women. There were plenty of beautiful women of all kinds in the palace, and Liu Xinling, who had been married and remarried, was simply not worth his attention.

“I don’t lack any.” Beijiwu laughed. “I have so many women in my family that I can’t even count them all. Besides, you’re not pretty enough. No, you need to be at least like 498, young, beautiful, energetic, and with sparkling eyes!”

Sijiuba was teased by Arctic Martial Arts, and he couldn't suppress the joy on his face.

"Who wants to be your servant! You're so vain!"

Beijiwu chuckled, ignoring the embarrassed woman beside him.

"I don't have time this month, but I'll send you a box of fruit as a gift next month. Please help me discipline my daughter."

"Okay!" 498 thought it was something like an apple plow and readily agreed.

Si Jiuba and the married man chatted happily, exchanging flirtatious glances, completely oblivious to the fate of the woman next to them who had lost her household registration and job.

It's going to rain, and my mother is going to get married.

If she doesn't get married, her household registration will remain indefinitely.

If she married someone with a registered residence who served the Arctic Army, she could live a good life.

Since she refused to do anything for Beijiwu or marry someone who worked for Beijiwu, Beijiwu naturally wouldn't treat her as one of his own.

The national policy of the Mountain Farmer Kingdom is to prioritize its own people.

"Our own people" refers to more than just those registered residents.

Those who work for Arctic Martial Arts and make Arctic Martial Arts happy are the ones who are truly on our side.

A country that only favors its own people generally... can last long.

Organizations that consistently provide benefits and privileges to outsiders are most prone to collapse.

After chatting with the beautiful young woman for a while, Beijiwu felt even better.

Upon returning to the palace, Beiji Wu began issuing documents for the beauty pageant.

"If I don't enjoy all the beautiful women in the world, others will. If I don't make a move, others will."

"So many women have been distributed over the years, but they always end up benefiting others."

"It is required that each hereditary prefect and hereditary household commander in various regions offer ten beautiful women as palace slaves, with beauty as the primary consideration and virtue, talent, and birth not taken into account. The women must be between 15 and 25 years old and must be the ten most beautiful women in their respective regions!"

"Those who have an improper attitude and use inferior materials will have their hereditary titles revoked! Those whose actions are egregious will be severely punished as a warning to others!"

Arctic Army has put pressure on its subordinates in various locations.

There are two or three hundred hereditary prefects and hereditary households of ten thousand households nationwide. If we take two hundred as an example, that would be two thousand people.

Life constantly taught Arctic Warrior lessons, and unknowingly transformed him from someone who originally wanted to govern peacefully into someone with the moral qualities expected of a truly ruthless emperor who had fought his way to power!
The transformation of Arctic weapons is not caused by one or two events, but by a series of events that have laid the foundation for an undeniable fact.

From soldiers to bureaucrats, it seems that starting with the earliest batch of the Kitahara Guard, a large group of people acted as slackers, neither willing to escape nor help in the fight.

In the early years, Arctic Martial thought this was normal, so he did everything himself, no matter how hard he had to work, and didn't rely on those scoundrels who surrendered.

With the country stabilized, apart from the workers and farmers who were working diligently, the bureaucrats and the army began to slack off, refusing to work even a little bit unless they were forced to!

An ordinary emperor would have had no good way to deal with this group of scoundrels, but Beiji Wu was not an emperor who had been in the middle; he was an emperor who had truly fought his way out and was least afraid of killing people!

No matter how many people come, we are not afraid; even killing a million people in the Arctic would not be too many.

The unique structure and experiences of the mountain farmers resulted in the army's fighting power being concentrated in the hands of the Arctic warriors' lackeys, rather than the bureaucrats.

Killing a million or ten million is no big deal for him. Beiji Wu is the emperor who is least afraid of killing people. However, he doesn't actually have a strong desire to kill, especially since he has always taken good care of his obedient people. He also doesn't need to put on airs or maintain his authority.

From beginning to end, Arctic Martial Arts has had a preconceived notion: you get paid for what you do.

A large group of people below told Arctic Martial: "I won't listen to reason. This salary is what I deserve. Don't kill me, I'll do anything!"

Social education educated the Arctic Warriors, and after many failures and frustrations, the Arctic Warriors also figured out a unique system suitable for the feudal imperial era and for the Mountain Farmer Kingdom.

Although exceptionally brave, Beijiwu is actually very intelligent. He is knowledgeable in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, astronomy, and geography, but he doesn't like to show off and has no vanity to display his literary talents in front of others.

Having reigned as emperor for nearly ten years, he has encountered many things and reflected on them for many years, realizing the problems of the mountain farmers.

The mountain farmers are fundamentally a group of surrendered, scoundrels, and treacherous officials who have become their vassals.

Today, the Arctic military is using the most violent and unreasonable power to eradicate all kinds of problems.

It's hard to pinpoint a specific key moment that changed Beiji Wu's mind, nor can we pinpoint the exact time, but there's no doubt that what continuously propelled Beiji Wu to begin acting inhumanely was not the Duke of Yan, Ai Dake, or Meng Hetong, nor the hundred or two hundred corrupt officials he encountered over the years, but the efforts of everyone inside and outside the entire court.

Corrupt officials, bad elements, and surrenderers can't be completely eliminated, but Arctic Martial Arts can kill them to their heart's content.

(End of this chapter)