Chapter 420

Da Wang tossed aside his study duties, took Lu Hen, who was in charge of the first process, and rushed to the site. Today, over a thousand slaves and the draught oxen sent by the Chief Steward officially entered the field to begin clearing the wasteland.

Da Wang arrived at the site and was dumbfounded—where were the promised draught oxen?

He asked the Deputy Commander of the Snow Cavalry in charge of the farm's livestock shed, "Where are the oxen?"

Deputy Commander: "Your Highness, I heard from the soldiers escorting them that there aren't many spare oxen, and they're too slow to get here. If we sent draught oxen, they'd at best be halfway there, but you need them urgently. Chief Steward Zhu Ti said horses can also pull plows and carry cargo, and they're faster, suiting our large farm."

Da Wang: "... Is that possible? Then hurry up and try it—don't try to fool me, I, the King."

He looked closely; these horses seemed to be the low-quality ones his cavalry had previously discarded—really, they were all sorts of shapes.

Da Wang forbade selling large numbers of horses to the south to arm the enemy; since the cavalry now had Black Wind Horses, the previously inferior two or three thousand horses were discarded. This batch of discards was too much for the poor northern border to absorb, so the Chief Steward managed to unload these hot potatoes.

Fortunately, the Chief Steward was generally reliable and sent over a few experienced horse handlers; soon they had the plow hitched up and gave Da Wang a demonstration.

Hitching one horse to the plow is indeed faster than using oxen; with two horses, the person steadying the plow behind needs to jog…

Da Wang watched from behind, grinning broadly—wonderful, the efficiency just shot up!

Lu Hen, in charge of the initial land clearing, also stood by laughing; ever since he learned the whole clan had safely relocated to the northern border, he and Lu Jia hadn't stopped smiling, and even being pulled into work now left him beaming.

Da Wang gave him a disgusted glance: "Did you see? Those two horses are already almost out of sight."

Lu Hen nodded: "Yes, yes, it's too fast! The grass has been turned over; those behind just need to pick it up…"

Da Wang: "... If they're almost out of sight, does your ridge need to be three li long? You're supposed to be in charge of planning—why are you just watching the spectacle?!"

Lu Hen: "Lu Jia handles the planning; I'm actually in charge of weeding and plowing."

Da Wang realized dividing the work too finely wouldn't work either: "Everyone, come here!"

"Got it!"

Suddenly feeling refreshed and invigorated—anyone?

Jiang Yong took Zhao Bao with a map to look for the households inside; along the way they passed a few old locust trees that two people could embrace, turned left two li, detoured around a small hill thick with shrubs, and really saw two rows of thatched huts—his astonishment was beyond words.

Which county does this belong to? Does the county know there are still people living in this wasteland?

Judging by the layout, there are certainly six or seven households.

Then another question arose: when was the survey done that Da Wang marked the houses and fields with a red pen? It's too precise! Da Wang's efficiency is unbeatable.

They stopped outside those courtyards; Zhao Bao's little eunuch went door to door, knocking and calling them out to discuss.

After those few households timidly came out, they were told their farmland and houses had been requisitioned by the government; they needed to sign a waiver and move out by a deadline.

When the trembling old lady heard this, she was so frightened she almost fell to the ground, but Zhao Bao, quick-eyed and quick-handed, grabbed her.

A group of officials on horseback silently surrounded their thatched huts—clearly no good news. Whether they hid inside or were dragged out, upon hearing it they knew it wasn't good; it felt like the sky had fallen.

"... Don't rush, I haven't finished. The Prince of the Northern Border is benevolent: each household settled in the farm receives fifty taels as settlement funds, plus twenty mu of wasteland; the unclaimed wasteland outside the farm but within Anding Commandery can be freely chosen, and once selected, the Commandery Governor's Office will immediately issue the land deed."

As soon as those words were spoken, the crying stopped and silence fell.

After a long while, a middle-aged man trembled and asked, "Really? Are five, fifty taels genuine?" These six households together didn't even know if they possessed five taels in total.

Zhao Bao pointed to Jiang Yong beside him and said, "Absolutely certain! This is Lord Jiang, the Prefect of Anding Commandery—what the Prince of the Northern Border personally ordered cannot be wrong."

Once the Prince of the Northern Border and the Commandery Governor's Office were mentioned, the six households, old and young alike, erupted in excitement.

Know that in Bing Province one tael of silver buys one mu of good farmland; fifty taels would be enough to go to a prosperous village elsewhere, build a grand manor, and purchase another twenty mu of good fields!

But… does the world really have such good fortune?

Only when Jiang Yong produced the official relocation notice from the Commandery Governor's Office and Zhao Bao produced the silver did this group finally become overjoyed.

Heaven has eyes; the fates shift. This little village has dwindled to this state, but now it can leave the wasteland and change its destiny. From now on, the northern border also has a legend of relocation—such good fortune comes only when ancestral graves emit green smoke.

Simple folk of old could never imagine profiting from sitting on land, nor dare to. Da Wang only needed to spend three hundred taels to clear the sole obstacle, and now he can launch a major undertaking.

Da Wang stood with hands on hips, pointing at the land: "Clear it within half a month, then sun-dry it; if grain planting is delayed, we can still grow a season of sweet potatoes and radishes! Over three thousand mu, at minimum we could yield six million catties of sweet potatoes—when the time comes, I'll give each of you four a thousand catties, letting you achieve sweet‑potato freedom!

"Work hard, hear me?"

The four unlucky ones: …

Should we shout thanks to the Lord's blessings? Honestly, I don't really want to.

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Anding Commandery's large farm was quickly divided into several major zones for management; Da Wang and Ling Yin cooperated, selecting spots within to toss in four large springs and seven or eight small ones, which will later be dug into reservoirs and irrigation channels for watering, and incidentally can be used to raise fish and grow vegetables for extra profit.

The farm's three thousand mu have over a thousand workers—a bit many, given that the northern border truly has few people; Da Wang plans to take half of them to Long West.

While the farm was preparing in full swing, Da Wang couldn't stay too long—he was busy.

Although he handed the farm over to Jiang Yong, before leaving Da Wang still gathered the servants together to perform one of his signature feats.

"Today I've gathered you all to announce some good news—listen carefully. You are all people I purchased from the south, each of you a slave. No one in the world doesn't want freedom, so today I, the King, am pleased and give you a chance at rebirth."

Those thousand slaves only then realized that the youngster who had been wandering the fields for days was actually the renowned Prince of the Northern Border!

"Since I, the King, have used people to ransom you out, it shows you performed well in the mine. You also saw in the mine that the Xiongnu there do the toughest work; whenever there's a chance, I, the King, am still willing to lend a hand to my fellow Great Jin."

"It's rare that I, the King, make a trip to Anding; now I give you a chance to receive a pardon."

"As long as you perform well in the farm, if Anding Commandery's farm yields grain continuously for five years meeting the standard I, the King, set, everyone here will tear up their servitude contracts and register as residents of Anding Commandery."

The crowd below exchanged glances—does the world still have such good fortune?

"Don't get too excited too soon, nor be discouraged; I, the King, will have someone work out a reasonable figure, but it will certainly require everyone's joint effort to achieve."

"I, the King, am about to depart for Long West; five hundred of you will go with me, receiving the same treatment as in Anding. After I leave, this place will be taken over by the Commandery Governor's Office; you also shouldn't harbor hopes of luck—fugitive slaves and unregistered households have no future in the northern border. Fleeing south is useless too; the south is a hundred times more chaotic than the north, and you'll remain fugitive slaves for life, never able to turn your fortunes around."

"Prefect Jiang, when you have time, teach them our northern border's laws; these people have always lived in the deep mountains and probably don't know how sharp the cavalry's swords of I, the King, are."

"I, your subject, obey the order."

After the king finished threatening the servants, he walked away with a ruthless, kin‑ignoring stride, swaggering.

Lu Zhu caught up and said, "Your Highness, you were just incredibly imposing! Combining kindness and authority, your aura is immense!"

The king warned, "I already said I wouldn't take you; even if I boasted, I still wouldn't bring you."

Lu Zhu and the three followers who had chased up from behind all felt dejected, saying, "Your Highness, you really intend to leave us here to farm? We don't want to be separated from Your Highness!"

Wei Shen enjoyed watching the commotion: "Eh! Don't believe — His Highness said that the biggest taboo in doing things is having divided loyalties; you should first achieve some results in Peace and Stability before talking! Look at you all, isn't it fine not to have to rush?"

Not having to rush is certainly good; the bad part is changing locations to bask in the sun.

The Great King waved his hand without turning his head: "Perform well, I'll come see you on my return!"

The sky has collapsed… there's nothing left to collapse.