Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 235 10 AD
On the seventh day of the first lunar month, the Arctic Army held a meeting at the Daming Palace. Liu Jingshun and several leaders of the Western Expeditionary Army were all kneeling respectfully on the ground.

It was common for military officers to kneel.

In particular, the Hu people had a clear class hierarchy, and in order to rule and strengthen their personal prestige, they paid great attention to the hierarchy of etiquette.

The military is the place with the clearest hierarchy. Civil officials even interfere with each other. In the military, a higher rank can really crush you.

The hierarchy is even clearer within the same team, so people will go even if they know it's a death sentence.

Not going means certain death anyway.

The Northern Army wasn't always so feudal, but they later realized that being feudal was no longer an option. They actually worked best when they treated their subordinates like slaves and made them do whatever they wanted.

After occupying the three northern provinces, the central government had several years to adopt a relatively free system, granting considerable freedom in various fields such as military, politics, and commerce. This freedom extended to hereditary lords, generals leading troops, and civil officials in the imperial court.

At that time, the focus of Arctic military was on industry and agriculture, and other aspects were delegated.

Later, they realized that this wouldn't work. Too much freedom made the army seem vulnerable, and officers and soldiers were rapidly deteriorating and becoming addicted to pleasure.

So they were all taken back.

In the ten years since the rebellion, the world seems peaceful, but in reality, the Arctic Army has undergone several adjustments.

Centralization, decentralization, centralization again, and then plans to decentralize again.

History repeats itself, and Arctic Martial Arts also progresses through repetition. It does not completely negate certain things, but rather moves forward through continuous improvement.

There is no perfect system in this world, nor is there any institution that does not require oversight.

The dozens of people kneeling before the Arctic Warrior were the lords who had expanded their territory in this foreign war.

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

A group of military commanders from various ethnic groups bowed their heads, crawled on all fours, and showed their submission in the most humble manner.

Beijiwu nodded slightly. "I've been busy on campaigns for the past three or four years. I'll rest in Luoyang for half a month before going home to visit. The conquered territories will be compensated with money based on the soil conditions of the plains."

"The more battles we win and the more territory we conquer, the more silver we will receive. I will send someone to supervise this matter and will also check the rewards at the end. Everything will be based on my decision."

"Go down."

Beijiwu didn't seem inclined to say more.

It was just conquering Europe; it was a trivial matter, nothing worth mentioning.

Conquering those countries is not difficult for Arctic warriors; it's all easy prey.

"Yes!"

"According to the order!"

A large group of people responded somewhat flusteredly, then looked at each other and carefully got up to take their leave.

Arctic Army is not worried about these people rebelling. Without the supply of guns and cannons, and without food, these people will only face death if they rise up in rebellion.

As railways and highways were gradually laid out and extended, the ability to deploy troops to suppress rebellions was also strengthened more than tenfold, and the military factories of the Mountain Farming Kingdom were no longer the first-generation junk guns.

Liu Jingshun wanted to stay in Luoyang, but he also didn't dare to speak to anyone alone.

After seeing everyone else leave, Liu Jingshun obediently followed the group and left, not daring to look at King Wu once from beginning to end.

In a normal country, Liu Jingshun's talent in conquering the entire Indochina Peninsula, along with the Western Expeditionary Army's feat of conquering the fertile plains of Europe, would be considered an earth-shattering achievement.

Each one of them is a magnificent feat, a great achievement that will be remembered in history.

This applies to countries that lack martial virtue.

If it were a country like the Yuan Dynasty, which was full of martial spirit, conquering another country would be nothing, and it wouldn't be a significant advantage.

The current Wu Dynasty is a hundred times better in terms of martial virtue!
Expanding territory was no challenge for Wu of the Arctic. For everyone in the Mountain Farming Kingdom, King Wu possessed the formidable strength to destroy other countries and could attack whomever he wanted.

When the monarch is powerful, his civil and military officials have little presence.

If the monarch is weak, his subordinates will rebel.

Just as the First Emperor did not personally conquer the world, the credit for unifying the world still belongs to the emperor.

Arctic Martial Arts has now achieved unprecedented success, and its base of influence was built by itself, making it a force to be reckoned with in the military.

He can replace his generals whenever he wants, and fire whoever he wants.

The Mountain Farming Kingdom does not have an army of more than 100,000 men, but even a general who commands an army of 100,000 is not worth mentioning in the Arctic Martial Kingdom.

In the past three years, they have not fought any major battles; they have mainly relied on the strong foundation of the Mountain Farming Kingdom to conquer other countries.

Fighting for three years is normal for the people of the grasslands, and it is also normal for the Han people and soldiers of other ethnic groups.

It was neither a meritorious deed to save the country nor an enemy to punish King Wu.

It didn't even qualify as suppressing a rebellion.

King Wu never cared about the situation in Europe; he simply didn't want to fight there because it was too far away.

This is what Arctic Martial said himself, and everyone believes it.

In fact, that is the truth.

If the Frankish Kingdom were located next to the Arctic, it would have been destroyed before 2 AD.

King Wu of the North Pole simply didn't want the tiring long-distance raids on horseback. To others, King Wu's invention of the train was simply to make it easier to conquer rebellious subjects!

Wherever the railway tracks went, that was the place where King Wu had set foot!

It's understandable that the officials of Annam, who recently held the power of the Northern Army in awe, as well as the local officials in the Western Regions and Xinjiang, where the railway had not yet been laid, and the Hu people right at Wuzhou's doorstep, were afraid of the Northern Army.

They were all within King Wu's firing range.

Arctic Wu's mind wasn't on these people. He spent a few minutes meeting with these pioneers who had worked hard for three or four years to expand the territory, and that was it.

The money is enough, and the benefits are also good; Beijiwu thinks that's sufficient.

It wasn't anything major.

Whether it's conquering the west, circumnavigating the East, or unifying the Indochina Peninsula and the South Pacific islands, all the hard work abroad is less important than pleasing the Northern Warlord in the capital.

The contributions made by the three legions were insignificant; anyone could have easily done the same.

Hundreds of thousands of guns and cannons, tens of tons of gunpowder, a large number of warhorses, warships, weapons and armor, and a rear area that would never have any problems and would not need to be reinforced.

The enemies were just primitive people armed with simple bows and arrows; defeating them was as easy as hunting.

The Western Expeditionary Army consisted of three tribes of non-Han people plus a mountain peasant army. These were all surrender factions who had fought against the Arctic and were forced to kneel down by the Arctic.

After defeating the Arctic warriors, fighting those primitive people in the West really doesn't feel like there's anything to brag about.

The conquered territories were merely a hard-earned profit. After being taken over by King Wu, they were all given a very good and fair price, whether it was the icy northern islands or the fertile deserts, grasslands, and farmlands.

Boxes of copper and silver coins were taken from the national treasury, and the leaders and deputy commanders of each legion lined up to receive the money.

Just like selling grain, cattle, sheep, slaves, or daughters during the Lunar New Year, a group of grown men began to sign and affix their fingerprints.

Liu Jingshun also signed and affixed his fingerprint along with the others.

When Liu Jingshun walked to the table, a short-haired mountain farmer greeted him with a smile.

"General Liu, the list of merits issued by His Majesty says that you have conquered most of the Indochina Peninsula and taken over Zhenla, Funan, Pyu, Chitu, Langyaxiu and other countries."

"His Majesty has purchased all the land you have conquered, estimated at 400,000 taels based on the land area. You can deposit this money in the Luoyang Bank or withdraw it from the Annam Bank at any time."

"Like the Western Expeditionary Army, His Majesty will personally pay the wages of the mountain farmers. The guns, gunpowder, and provisions provided over the years have also been paid for by His Majesty himself, without any calculations. Only the rewards for the locals and vassals will be decided by the generals themselves." Upon hearing that the 400,000 taels of silver were all for him, Liu Jingshun felt a sense of bewilderment and helplessness.

With so much money, how should we spend it?
This was not just Liu Jingshun's problem; the chiefs of the three tribes each received a separate reward of one million, and were also given rewards ranging from five million to ten million depending on the quality of the territory they presented.

Arctic Wu spent 40 million taels of silver to buy land and reward his soldiers.

The money came from Arctic Martial Arts, from the Mountain Farmer Kingdom; it was also severance pay.

Unless they are suppressing rebellions, these bandits will basically have no use for their skills in the future.

The wealthy and powerful foreigners quickly began to stroll around the capital, buying all sorts of luxury goods and valuable items.

Although there were many local surrenderers and followers in the Western Expeditionary Army, these people did not have to pay money.

Now that the generals and bigwigs no longer need to suffer in Europe, they no longer care about the lives of those people.

If you're not one of us, don't expect to enjoy the same treatment as us. Everyone is the same.

Not to mention Er Gouzi, even his own trusted subordinates were in complete chaos when it came time to divide the spoils after the war.

There might be a few honest officials, but in this era, soldiers are just a bunch of bandits and robbers. Good people don't live long, and if they don't stick together, they're bound to die.

Beiji Wu didn't care how the Hu people divided the spoils; he only cared about his own people. All the mountain farmers who went to war were given ample compensation, wages, and household registration.

Disputes over the distribution of spoils are inevitable among martial arts groups, and some even abscond with the money.

Liu Jingshun didn't need to pay wages to the Lin Yi slaves and Kunlun slaves; what he received was his own.

The same goes for everyone else; some things don't need to be taught.

Liu Jingshun was the same. No one taught him anything, but as soon as he got money, he immediately bought a trendy aristocratic trench coat and spent seven hundred taels on a beautiful leather coat. He also brought various jewelry and beautiful gifts worth a thousand taels to the gate of 498.

He's like a male who brings food to females, single-mindedly spending money to please them, acting on instinct rather than thinking.

498 was extremely annoyed, but fortunately, after Wu Yue stepped forward and revealed who her father was, Liu Jingshun immediately slunk away.

Xiao Ya took the initiative to follow along, going south to enjoy a life of luxury as a substitute.

Knowing that Liu Jingshun had many women, Xiaoya didn't care, just like she didn't care if the things given to her sister were worn by herself; she only felt joy.

People from Gui Nong Province and Jiangnan Province also left Luoyang one after another.

Merchants and explorers from Jiangnan Province returned with their rewards, recounting the grandeur and bustle of Luoyang to the villagers.

After witnessing the prosperity of Luoyang, the soldiers of the Western Expeditionary Army felt uneasy returning to the grasslands to sleep in tents and with women of large faces.

There are no 24-hour taverns, shops, gambling dens, or brothels here like in Luoyang.

There were no opera houses, dance halls, circuses, or teahouses run by either non-Han or non-Han people.

There are no delicacies or fresh fruits that can be bought everywhere.

There was no bustling or lively neighborhood.

After returning from the battlefield, the men from the three tribes went directly to Luoyang. After the New Year, they returned to their ancestral home in the grassland tribe.

After returning home, I gradually felt uncomfortable.

As soon as it got dark, it became quiet outside, as if we had returned to a battlefield.

The gold and silver in their hands seemed to have turned to stone, and the nearest city was three or four hundred miles away.

Fortunately, on the third day after these people left, Arctic Martial Arts released a recall policy.

[Soldiers from Guinong Province who participated in the Western Expedition were permitted to purchase and reside in Shannong Province, Pingyuan Province, and Huanghuai Province. Prices varied by region. Those with property were allowed to register as independent households (the original public households remained unaffected, and employment opportunities were provided). Requirements included fluency in the Shannong dialect, a certain level of language proficiency, and a maximum of one wife or concubine, with no more than five accompanying children.]

[Other hereditary lords within the province are permitted to purchase property in the provincial capital to address their children's education and family resettlement issues.]

Hereditary lords of thousands or tens of thousands of households are prohibited from moving across provinces or purchasing or renting property outside their home province.

Arctic Martial's policy of extracting profits from the market not only provided an engine for the development of the provincial capital, but also won the unanimous support of warriors and lords from all over the country, especially the hereditary lords of Huanghuai Province.

Liu Jingshun bought a house in Jiaozhi County, and the three tribes also bought houses in areas close to the mountain farmers.

The retired hereditary households of the Western Expeditionary Army bought houses in Luoyang worth 100,000 taels of silver, while the rest who were not wealthy bought houses of lesser quality according to their financial means.

The central part of Yunzhong bought houses in Tongzhou and Yunzhou, the Guihua part bought houses in Wuzhou and Tongzhou, and the eastern part of Liaodong bought houses in Youzhou and Tiezhou.

The people of the grasslands don't actually have a strong attachment to their homeland. As a nomadic people, they naturally go wherever they can find a better life.

The lower-class cattle and horses have no way to move, but this time Arctic Martial Arts is distributing welfare to the middle and upper classes who received money from fighting.

They did receive money, but it was also a benefit.

The military organizational capabilities developed through long-term warfare were directly fragmented and dismantled, and the Arctic military also recovered three-quarters of the money it had distributed.

After quickly dealing with the trivial matters, Beijiwu got back to disaster relief.

In the first month of the tenth year of the Common Era, severe convective weather occurred in Jiangzhou, Huzhou, Fuzhou and other places, accompanied by heavy rain, hail and strong winds.

Jiangzhou, surrounded by various regions, experienced widespread flooding, with crops submerged.

A landslide occurred in Fuzhou, a mountainous city.

Houses, farmhouses, and livestock sheds in Huzhou were damaged by wind and hail.

The affected area of ​​crops reached over 100,000 mu, a large number of houses were damaged to varying degrees, and more than 100 people died.

The deaths of more than a hundred people are nothing to the mountain farmers.

People die in disasters every year; everyone has long been used to it.

Because they don't farm, most people in Luoyang treat newspaper news reports as just numbers and forget about them after reading them.

In those days, unless a disaster struck the capital or an area where mountain farmers lived, it didn't matter how many people died.

Arctic Wu is also very numb. For nearly two hundred years, there have been two or three disasters almost every year, so they have long been numb.

This is just the inland region. If we include Europe and Southeast Asia, then the coastal areas, and if we include the Americas, then it will truly be a place of constant suffering.

I work two hours a day, and after get off work I do whatever I want.

As long as you don't treat outsiders as your own people, you won't feel any psychological pressure or responsibility.

After spring plowing, people in Luoyang started wearing new clothes, with dresses and waist-cinching skirts becoming popular styles.

It's also fashionable among young ladies to wear white triangular headscarves when going out, using the refined aesthetics of sophisticated women to cosplay as farm women doing farm work.

The mountain tribe does not have a rule that women cannot go out on the street... Although Beijiwu believes that women should stay at home and take care of the children, everyone's home is very small, so of course they go out to stroll around during the day when they have nothing to do.

A prosperous era will naturally give rise to a set of rules and trends specific to that era.

With the right to survival guaranteed and life becoming incredibly easy, how to live a more comfortable and luxurious life naturally becomes a concern.

Choosing a man is no longer about looking at his diligence, honesty, and integrity, but rather his job, family, and savings.

Once the fear of death is erased from one's life and one becomes indifferent, the pursuit of fame and fortune becomes obvious.

The world is moving in a positive direction. While it's impossible to please everyone, there are certainly fewer people going hungry.

From the most basic needs for survival, higher aspirations gradually develop.

In the tenth year of the Common Era, the Mountain Farmer Kingdom truly entered its golden age.

(End of this chapter)