Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 96 Negotiation
Upon receiving the order, Marquis Zhang Jian of Dingxi immediately set off. To prevent any unforeseen complications, he spurred his horse onward, taking only a dozen or so light cavalrymen to Tongzhou.

The two sides did not officially meet until five days later.

Zhang Jian led five men into the wide-open gates of Hukou Fortress, and after climbing the city wall, they met Beijiwu, who had prepared a banquet there.

"Please sit down, sir. This is just a simple meal and nothing more."

Behind Beijiwu stood more than a dozen Hu people, who did not look like good people.

Zhang Jian held the imperial edict in his hand, gazing at the seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy before him.

Arctic Wu is not particularly robust and doesn't appear to have much strength.

He was neither tall nor short, and lacked any striking presence.

His hair was only as long as a thumb, and he wore a buttonless jacket and gray riding breeches.

The Marquis of Dingxi raised the yellow cloth scroll in his hand, "Imperial edict has arrived!"

Seeing how rigid he was, Beijiwu had no choice but to kneel down on one knee, which was considered a gesture of respect.

Beijiwu didn't feel anything about kneeling, especially since he was the one who wanted to negotiate peace.

Seeing that Beiji Wu was not as unruly as ordinary Hu people, Zhang Jian breathed a sigh of relief.

The dignity of the imperial court is essential. The fact that Beiji Wu is willing to kneel means that the subsequent negotiations will be much easier.

Zhang Jian opened the imperial edict and began to read it aloud.

The emperor was sent to heaven to carry the order, and the edict said:
I, having received the Mandate of Heaven, rule over all lands, employing both benevolence and severity to pacify both near and far. I have recently learned that General Hong Enzhong of Beiyuan County oppresses the people and fails to govern with benevolence, leading to an uprising by the mountain tribes who have occupied the county seat. Although you have been forced by circumstances to temporarily occupy the city, you have always cherished loyalty and righteousness, and have not forgotten the laws and regulations of the court. Now, considering your skillful command of troops, your protection of the territory and the people, and your efforts to spare the people from the ravages of war, you are truly a pillar of the state.

By special grace, I pardon his past transgressions and hereby appoint him General of Beiyuan County, retaining command of his troops to guard the region. I expect you to diligently perform your duties, pacify the area, and maintain military order to protect the nation. If you can ensure the people's well-being and the borders' tranquility, I will generously reward you with hereditary honors. However, if you harbor any disloyalty and betray my leniency, then Heaven's punishment will surely befall you, and the laws of the land will not forgive you!

This is it.

Zhang Jian looked towards the Arctic Martial Arts Center.

Arctic Martial Arts obtained the legal rights certification it wanted. Although peace could be maintained for a while without this, everyone can live relatively peacefully after the alliance is established.

Beiji Wu had no intention of learning from the Eight Banners, after all, the other side was not the chaotic and inhumane Ming Dynasty.

To conquer the world by force requires constant fighting. Arctic martial arts may be capable of fighting, but they don't want to go through that kind of hardship.

A county is already quite large; the territory is too big to handle all the affairs, and people are too lazy to deal with government affairs all day.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Beiji Wu stood up, in a fairly good mood, to receive the imperial edict.

Zhang Jian withdrew the imperial edict, placed it beside him, and looked at Bei Jiwu, reminding him, "General, since we have already submitted, we should also release General Li's orders to show our sincerity."

Beijiwu frowned. "These weren't in the surrender document I wrote."

Zhang Jian advised, "This is the proper thing to do. How can you show the general's willingness to make peace if you don't even release the people?"

Beijiwu looked unhappy as he stared at Zhang Jian and his men.

"We negotiated peace, and I followed your procedures for recruiting me. Why are you adding more? Do you think I'm easy to bully? The prisoners I released before were all shot dead by your own people. How dare you say this now?"

"If you don't want to negotiate, then we won't negotiate. I don't care. You can take the imperial edict and leave now. I won't kill the envoy."

Zhang Jian was already in his fifties or sixties. He wasn't afraid of death, but he didn't want to continue fighting.

"General, you are wise. What happened before was General Li's business. I didn't know anything about what happened here. As long as you release them, I promise to bring them back alive."

Beijiwu shook his head. “Those people have lost the battle. If they go back now, they will definitely be killed by you. I have seen too much how you officials treat the people and soldiers. Apart from your personal guards, you don’t care about those new recruits and ragtag soldiers. You treat them as expendables and force them to go to their deaths to attack the city.”

“When the mountain farmers attacked the city, I personally led the men to fight. After winning the battle, we distributed money and land, and each dead person received fifty taels of silver as compensation. Unlike you high-ranking officials who hide in the back and watch people fight to the death, and then embezzle the compensation money for the dead after winning the battle.”

"Your princes and heirs have done countless immoral things, disregarding human life, and yet they never receive the punishment they deserve. You divide people into different classes, and now you definitely want to save those princes, nobles, and scions of aristocratic families, right?" Zhang Jian now understood why the Northern Plains Army was so powerful, but they couldn't learn this model.

Charging ahead is likely to result in death, and in a dangerous undertaking like a siege, anyone at the front faces a near-certain death.

Seeing that Beijiwu was unwilling to release the people, Zhang Jian began to reveal some of his bottom lines.

"If the general is willing to release the people, the court is willing to pay the ransom. As the general said before, one tael for each person, ten taels for a hundred households, one hundred taels for a thousand households, and one thousand taels for a general."

Beijiwu thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I will send back 10,000 of the bravest men. They are all the siege warriors who were at the forefront of the battle. Although they have all surrendered, they can be trained to become elites. I will exchange 3,000 of my elite soldiers for 50,000 taels of silver. That is a good deal."

Zhang Jian pondered for a few seconds and readily said, "Okay, but we need to include the Wanzhou Iron Cavalry and some military youths. I hope to go to the prison to take a look and select the right people."

Beijiwu shook his head and said, "There are at most three thousand spots. Here, everyone is treated equally. They are all given the same food and lodging, and the same wages for food, drink, and work. But since you have different classes over there, you offer two hundred taels for each Iron Cavalryman. If you want, you can exchange; if not, that's fine too!"

Zhang Jian only wanted iron cavalry and noble sons.

"Could you give me a discount? I was in a rush and didn't bring that much money with me."

Upon hearing this, Beijiwu impatiently retorted, "I think you don't value other people's lives at all. If you don't want to, fine, I'll keep it for myself. Get out of here! You bunch of corrupt officials, always boasting about your benevolence and morality, what do you consider human lives to be? Selfish and greedy!"

Zhang Jian immediately said, "Alright! Let's set it at two hundred taels each! The men and armor are all required!"

Beijiwu refused, saying, "People can take their armor with them, and one horse can be taken as well. The warhorse and armor alone are worth about a hundred taels of silver. Weapons and horse armor can be left behind. I still need to deal with the northern barbarians. I also need to keep the armor of the dead for my own use."

Zhang Jian asked with concern, "How many Wanzhou cavalrymen are still alive?"

I had already learned about Arctic Wu before he came here.

"There are still 788 people, of whom more than 80 are seriously injured and unable to move. If we calculate based on 800 people, that's 160,000 taels. As for the sons of officials and noble families, the starting price is 100 taels, and the maximum is 10,000 taels."

Zhang Jian said with difficulty, "This is too much."

Beijiwu laughed and said, "If you think it's too expensive, you don't have to buy it. The imperial court spends at least a million taels of silver on a single northern expedition, right? Besides, you attacked me first, and after your defeat, I kindly let your people go home to reunite with their families. You still think it's too expensive?"

Zhang Jian was no longer as arrogant as before, and said awkwardly, "I don't have that much money."

“Then we can buy them cheaper!” Beijiwu suggested. “I can give you a discount on farmers and soldiers. You said you would sell 3,000, but if you redeem the poor people you have conscripted to fight, I can give you 5,000 slots. I will give each person 10 taels of silver. 5,000 people will only cost 50,000 taels.”

"However, if we take these people, we don't need the Iron Cavalry, the Light Cavalry, or those aristocratic disciples. Which is more important, the thousand people worth more than 200,000 taels or the five thousand people worth 50,000 taels? You tell me yourselves."

Zhang Jian answered without hesitation, "I want those thousand men!"

"Deal!" Beiji Wu was too lazy to curse anymore. "You can use tea and silk to pay off the debt, or you can use coal and cotton. Iron Cavalry will conduct normal transactions, while noble families and high-ranking generals must exchange prisoners as extras."

Zhang Jian exclaimed in astonishment, "Prisoners? We have no prisoners."

Beijiwu reminded, "The families of surrendered generals, such as Lü Siming and several commanders of Beiyuan, as well as the families of commanders of Tongzhou, should be sent over. Parents, wives and children are fine."

After being reminded by Beijiwu, Zhang Jian had no choice but to agree for the sake of those elite troops and scions of powerful families.

"Then let the Wanzhou cavalry return first. I will have someone bring silver over. As for the matter of exchanging prisoners... it requires His Majesty's decision."

Beijiwu readily agreed, "Then we'll exchange them once everything is ready. You guys need to hurry, lest someone gets sick and dies from acclimatization issues. Also, if anyone doesn't want to go back, I won't sell them to you like merchandise."

Zhang Jian could only report the matter to the emperor.

In the end, they agreed to the exchange. It was still the early days of the founding of the nation, and the imperial court had collected tens of millions of taels of silver in taxes.

We have plenty of money, but we lack mid-level generals, especially the sons of founding military heroes. If we don't buy them back, we'll have a big problem.

If the imperial court is willing to spend money, the problem can be easily solved.

(End of this chapter)