Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 97 The Lordship System

On the banks of the Sanggan River, Xue Chonghu, a native of Luoyang, works with several villagers.

It's been half a month since we surrendered. We have to eat and work every day.

Xue Chonghu was working digging a ditch when he heard the sound of horses' hooves coming from ahead.

"We're almost there! Maintain formation!"

The commander's voice came from afar. Xue Chonghu looked up and saw a thousand men carrying hoes following behind the commander's horse.

Each commander led a thousand men. Xue Chonghu belonged to the 9th Production Brigade, number 998!

Xue Chonghu continued working. The newly surrendered soldiers were divided into the Northern Plains Army and the Naturalized Army.

The Northern Plains Army were the guardians, while the Naturalized Army had just surrendered.

As long as you don't run away, there's basically no difference.

You get beaten too; if you don't work, you get beaten. It's forced labor here.

Stealing or wandering around at night will also get you beaten and locked up.

They would destroy villages in the nearby countryside and kill anyone caught bullying the villagers.

Fortunately, he is organized and methodical. As long as he doesn't openly oppose them, he will generally not get beaten up or die.

Most of them were beaten, and among those who surrendered, there were still many Luoyang people who looked down on the northern barbarians, especially the sons of noble families and military officers, who cursed them as beasts and barbarians all day long, so naturally they were beaten every day.

Xue Chonghu had always been honest. Sometimes, when he saw his companions being beaten, he felt a strange sense of astonishment as to why they always seemed to be asking for it.

It's like they have a rebellious streak in the back of their head; they're always going against the grain.

Xue Chonghu dared not tell others how he felt, fearing they would say he had no backbone and was willing to surrender to the Hu people and become their dog.

They continued digging ditches over here.

The commander in charge of supervision was Qin Ming, a geomancer who had surrendered with the army. He was responsible for observing the weather and divining good and bad fortune while fighting alongside the troops.

Now, after surrendering, he serves as the commander of the twelfth squad, leading the surrendered soldiers in their work.

The past few days have been for burying the bodies and cleaning up the battlefield.

After cleaning up, we set up tents and dug toilets.

I run five kilometers every morning and evening, then come back to eat breakfast and lunch, and rest for half an hour afterward before getting back to work.

I've increased my distance to seven kilometers these past few days, but thankfully I've been able to keep going after I've eaten and drunk my fill.

Qin Ming shouted, "Keep it up! We'll rest after we finish this last section!"

Xue Chonghu looked up and saw that there were still more than ten meters to dig.

Only one or two hundred out of a thousand people were digging ditches; the rest were responsible for transporting soil, using carts to haul away loads of soil to build houses.

The houses were being built nearby, and three or four hundred people were constructing warm mud houses under the farmers' instructions to cope with the long, cold winter.

The house is located near the riverbank, in a central area about one kilometer from the river.

The task of the group was to dig a water channel to divert water, set fire to the wasteland, and then reclaim the wasteland to establish a production village.

Qin Ming was only twenty-five years old, looking at the people working for him with high spirits.

Thousand households!

The thought of being a commander of a thousand households made Qin Ming unable to suppress a smile.

His long hair had become short, his once elegant robe had become a buttoned jacket, and he wore silk trousers and cotton shoes.

During the reign of Emperor Wen, he was just an insignificant minor official. Although his father had committed suicide rather than submit, Qin Ming did not want to die with him.

The old man did the work of dying for his country, and I barely survived. Because I was literate and knew a little about astronomy and hydrology, I was appointed as a commander of a thousand households!
Just as Qin Ming was feeling smug, Arutai, the commander of the thirteenth squad, rode over on horseback.

"Chief, this is a document issued by the clan chief. He wants you to read it to the 12th team. You are to attend a meeting in Shannong County at 3 PM this afternoon."

Arughtai was a slave before, but by currying favor with a powerful figure, he obtained the position of a chiliarch, mainly responsible for raising horses and cattle for the Northern Warriors.

The duty of a commander of a thousand is to provide soldiers for the Arctic Army, so Arutai, like the other commanders, would supervise the training of his men to keep them in good physical condition for battle.

"Thank you, I will definitely go to see the master this afternoon."

Qin Ming politely walked over and accepted the document handed to him by Arutai.

Arctic military regulations stipulate that people do not need to address each other as "master" in normal times, but they should address each other by their official titles. However, in the officialdom environment, there will never be a shortage of sycophants.

Arughtai continued training his troops while riding his horse.

Sanong Prefecture is much larger than the original Kitahara Prefecture. Because it is currently an autonomous prefecture, there is arable land everywhere.

They can build their own blacksmith shops, mine coal and iron ore at will, appoint officials at will, and train armies and govern the people at will.

The advantage of starting out in the military is that you don't need to care about other people's opinions; the entire county is Arctic Wu's personal property.

Even if they were his own men who fought alongside him, Beijiwu could kill them if he wanted, and no one would rebel over it.

Fortunately, Beijiwu was rather lazy and gave appropriate rewards to those who fought alongside him to the death.

Because they had too few people of their own, Beijiwu also promoted some intellectuals who had surrendered to become his lackeys.

This group of people can kill at will, and if given military power, they can easily take it back.

Qin Ming had no idea what his status was in the eyes of the Arctic Martial Arts. As he looked at the contents of the document, a smile appeared on his face.

The people working nearby looked at Qin Ming and asked, "Lord Commander, what good news is there?"

Qin Ming chuckled as he put away the document. "My master said that the imperial court has appointed you as the General of Shannong County. From now on, Shannong County will be under your administration, and the official position will be hereditary."

"The imperial court has sent the Marquis of Dingxi to negotiate and redeem 5,000 surrendered soldiers! Anyone who wants to go back should just say so. Once the imperial court brings the silver and the master receives the money, he will release you. Then you can leave with your wages."

Upon hearing that they could go home, Xue Chonghu and the hundreds of people around him were overjoyed.

The mountain people are true to their word. As long as you don't openly oppose them or insist on being stubborn, you'll generally be fine.

They were all warriors, and they had seen the Northern Plains Army release prisoners of war to exchange for money before.

However, at this time many people had forgotten about the imperial court's killing of prisoners.

"Great! I can finally go home!"

"The Emperor's grace is boundless!!"

"Father! Mother! Your child can finally go home!"

"I think it's great here, is it okay if we don't go back?"

"Bah! You plan to be a lackey here? You've eaten for a few days and forgotten your home!"

"I'm all alone, and it's much better here than being bullied in the army. Besides, there will be fighting every year when I go back, and I might die any day now."

Upon hearing the speech of a lonely man nearby, Xue Chonghu suddenly began to contemplate the future as well.

Soon Xue Chonghu said, "There are no women here. How will you get married in the future?"

This statement won the approval of many people, as the mountainous county was full of male soldiers who had surrendered.

The county has a population of around 100,000, and the number of men is at least 70,000 to 80,000, or even more.

Wang Dagang laughed and said, "Why don't we go out and rob some more with the clan chief in a few years? A living person can't be held back by their own urine, can they? With the clan chief's abilities, there's nowhere he can't go, from north to south."

This kind of nonsense makes others feel very uncomfortable.

But one has to admit that what he said makes a lot of sense.

Strength is the key. Even if we make peace, we'll fight again if necessary. The mountain farmers aren't exactly moral people.

The southward migration of the Hu people was a normal occurrence; no amount of cursing would change anything. Qin Ming shouted, "Get to work! Do you even want your wages?!"

Seeing the commander urging them on, the people had no choice but to continue working, digging canals and reclaiming wasteland for tens of thousands of military households throughout the county.

There are still 7,000 surviving military households in the county, another 2,000 households are inherited by the families of those who died in battle, and the number of those who surrendered reaches 20,000.

The remaining laborers and artisans were not considered military households, but they were also given land to settle down.

Military households were already able to have cattle and horses in every household, and with each household having fifty mu, they would need a million mu of arable land.

The county's 250,000 mu of arable land is definitely not enough, so we are now carrying out large-scale land reclamation.

The entire territory used to be less than 2,000 square kilometers, but this was within the protected area.

If you include the vast land outside the four major garrisons, you could easily acquire two million acres of arable land.

To the north lies the Mongolian Plateau, in the heartland the Sanggan River Plain, to the southwest the Huliu River Plain, and to the east the Nanyang River Plain.

The Northern Army was not afraid of either the Hu or Han people, and its military deterrent power over the surrounding area was stronger than the million-strong army of the entire Wen Dynasty.

The most fertile lands were managed by Arctic Wu himself, while the rest were given to his subordinates, especially the outer areas.

At 3 p.m., while the 30,000 surrendered soldiers were sharing the joyful news that they could go home, Beijiwu held a meeting in the military camp.

Five or six thousand people sat nearby in the military camp watching, while Beijiwu held a meeting with one hundred commanders, two hundred centurions, and two hundred clerks.

"Before the winter snowfall, houses that can accommodate a thousand people must be built. There must be at least ten large houses with heated kang beds, a communal canteen, public toilets, and stables and cattle pens."

“Each thousand households shall build houses according to the number of people and livestock in their team. They can build more, but not less. The houses do not need to be too far apart. The dwellings shall not be more than five meters apart and shall not be far from the collective village. The courtyard area shall be less than one hundred square meters, which is ten steps long and ten steps wide.”

“I will send people to inspect and supervise. If the houses built before the snow cannot keep warm, cannot provide heating, and cannot accommodate a thousand people, then ten households will be fined and their property confiscated and transferred to public military households.”

"Those who seriously fail to meet the requirements, causing people to freeze or starve to death, and leaving people with nowhere to live, will be directly fined down to the level of a hundred households!"

Arctic Martial Arts spoke about the most important things to pay attention to right now.

Woko hurriedly shouted, "Master, we are using tents; we haven't had time to build a house."

Beijiwu said directly, "As long as no one freezes to death, tents or houses are fine. The focus should be on building houses and clearing land. Report any iron or coal mines you come across immediately."

"I have already obtained grain from Wen Chao. There is enough food for this year. Each household will come and collect grain according to the amount of food for a thousand people each month."

Shi Wenyuan asked, "Master, some of my subordinates have inquired about returning; many want to go back to the south."

Beijiwu said directly, "This matter is still under discussion. Let's talk about it in a few days. Let me first talk about the Thousand-Household Commander's matter."

Many commanders sat on the ground listening attentively. Nowadays, not all commanders are people who have made meritorious contributions, but as long as they have made meritorious contributions, fought on the battlefield, and killed many enemies, they are all commanders.

"The thousand households of the mountain farmers can be inherited. They can be passed down to sons, adopted sons, sons-in-law, or even women. In short, they can be passed down to your descendants."

The position of commander of a thousand households was hereditary, but it could only be passed on to a son.

Gao Shimian immediately asked, "Master, how does this hereditary system work?"

Beijiwu replied, "The military households under my command are hereditary, and the land they cultivate is also hereditary according to the number of military households."

Everyone held their breath.

The Wen Dynasty also had a hereditary military household system, but only the position of commander of a thousand households was hereditary. The Shan Nong tribe, on the other hand, had a hereditary system that included the land of the subordinate military households.

Hereditary land and subordinates?
Isn't this just like granting land and making a king?

Ignoring the astonishment of the crowd, Beijiwu continued to explain his bestowal of titles.

"As long as you lead troops to join the Mountain Farmers' Army during wartime and participate in defense and offense, you only need to pay taxes in peacetime. You can manage the affairs within your territory yourselves. I don't care what you do. As long as you don't attack each other, I won't bother with you."

"Initially, a thousand men will be given, and a thousand-household commander will be in charge of a thousand military households. After that, no matter how many or how few men there are, they will be ignored."

"Even if you have a lot of people, you're still a thousand-household commander. It's hereditary anyway. If you have a thousand households and they have ten thousand people, I don't care. If you want to be a ten-thousand-household commander, you have to fight and make merit or donate money."

"Unless there are casualties in war, if you make a mess of things and there are not enough men, you are not allowed to replenish them. If you can't gather 800 soldiers during the annual inspection, then you will have your hereditary title of commander of a thousand revoked."

"Also, you must pay taxes. I will take 10% of the output from your territory, and you can manage the rest yourselves. Don't be too greedy and go too far, or you'll drive your subordinates to rebellion."

"I'll take care of the women. Getting women from the Mongols and Khitans in the north won't be a problem. I can also get some cattle and sheep while I'm at it."

Beijiwu's moral standards have always been low. He casually said, "There are few women now. As generals, you can keep a few wives who can bear children. Don't go too far. Also, you are not allowed to kill female infants in the future. Those who drown infants will be treated as murderers!"

"If a military household rebels and kills a commander because they can't get enough to eat or a wife, they are not guilty. Of course, if a commander kills someone in retaliation, he is also not guilty. In short, everyone should mind their own business. Whoever is incapable of managing their own territory should not sit in that position."

Ögedei immediately replied, “Master! When are we going to war? This humble servant is willing to be the vanguard!”

Arctic Warrior shouted impatiently, "We'll talk about it next year. The Mountain Farmers are a people who cultivate the land, not robbers! But you can take your own people and go to the north to do it on your own. When you come back, I want 70% of the spoils."

"You can choose not to come back and become the tribal khan on your own outside, but I don't care if you are killed by the enemy or by your own men."

Ögedei knelt on the ground and humbly cried out, "Master! Only the Mountain Farmers can accommodate my soul. Please allow me to lead my troops to raid the grasslands. I will bring back rich spoils to present to you!"

Lu Siming quickly knelt down, "Master! This humble servant is also willing to go!"

Arctic Martial Arts does indeed need to help a group of bachelors solve their woman problems, but he doesn't really care.

"Whoever resolves the issue of land reclamation first will go. A maximum of five teams can go out. Those who go out should bring back any blacksmiths or skilled workers they encounter. If they encounter anyone willing to surrender and pay taxes, do not touch them. Try to find their nobles."

“If you encounter a tough opponent,” Arctic Martial said coldly, “if you encounter a tribe with tens of thousands of members within two hundred miles, come back and tell me, and I will take action.”

The officers bowed their heads and replied respectfully, "Yes, sir!"

No one doubts anything but Arctic Martial's prowess.

It's only natural that Arctic Warriors would take 70% of the spoils without doing anything.

Scholars like Lü Siming and Gao Shimian thought it was acceptable, and so did bandits like Wokoji.

So far, no one has been executed for resisting taxes. The barbarian Hu people like Ögedei and others, with their bandit-like nature, are honest and law-abiding taxpayers. They wouldn't dare to resist the taxes of the Northern Wu even if they had a hundred lives.

The allure of hereditary fiefdoms and military power was too great, and the centurion Li Wenjin hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed.

"Master! Please tell us servants, how can a centurion be promoted to a chiliarch?"

The centurions in the army all watched Arctic Warrior with bated breath, awaiting his decisive answer.

Beijiwu casually said, "One is merit in battle. Those who show bravery can open a thousand-household account on their own. The other is that there are too many people in the public account, so some thousand-household accounts will be allocated to them."

"Another issue is that some commanders of a thousand disobey military orders or force their subordinates to rebel, making it impossible to gather at least eight hundred knights to fight for me. In such cases, a commander of a thousand will be selected from among the commanders of a hundred to take over."

“If ordinary soldiers perform well, or if civil officials such as clerks have good governance skills, their subordinates are numerous, their harvests are plentiful, and every household has surplus grain, I will reward them with land and residents from my public account.”

“If someone stands out from the fiefdom of a thousand households and receives a reward through examinations and meritorious service, I will fill the vacant military households and bestow upon them money, provisions, and horses as rewards.”

"In short, treat your subordinates as your own people; their affairs are your affairs as well."

"This year, if any of the thousand-household commanders in the county freezes or starves to death under their command, for every one who dies, twenty households will be taken away!"

"Alright, meeting adjourned. Go back to clearing land, farming, and building houses! Let's get through this year first. I'll finalize your land allocations before planting next year."

"Yes! Master!"

Many households rushed back to build houses, striving to finish constructing houses that would allow a thousand people to safely spend the winter before the snow fell.

This time, Qin Ming didn't slack off and worked alongside his subordinates.

There are many people like Qin Ming. Even Lü Siming took the initiative to give money to his subordinates and reward women who could not have children to brave soldiers who had no wives.

Beiji Wu didn't care about the future and was well aware that the feudal system would become very troublesome if it encountered an incompetent monarch, but that was a matter for future generations. The probability of wise rulers emerging in every generation was too small, so he might as well enjoy himself today first.

Arctic Wu just wants to live a peaceful life.

However, the things created in the name of stability are full of aggression.

(End of this chapter)