Chương 40: The government office

"By His Majesty's order, from this day onward, recruitment of soldiers begins."

"All commoners of Great Yu: among three adult males, one shall be drawn; among five adult males, two shall be drawn. Those who have reached fourteen and have not yet reached forty all bear military service!"

"The government office has the Fish-Scale Register as proof. I advise all of you not to think of escaping service, otherwise you will be heavily punished!" Once the soldier finished speaking, the commoners below were all stunned! Among them, aside from some old people, many had never even served corvée service, let alone military service. This sudden imperial order filled them with panic.

"Military service… Looks like the court is going to war again…" When an old man in the village heard that it was military service, he immediately shook his head and sighed.

"Once war begins, who knows how many young men will be buried on the battlefield. What a pity for these children…" A one-armed old man looked around at those familiar faces. Decades of peace, and the heavens had been kind as well, granting consecutive years of good harvests. Golden Willow Village's population had grown quite a lot. But after a war, how many of these juniors would be able to return alive?

Listening to the villagers' discussions, the soldier on the platform shouted impatiently, "All of you shut the hell up!"

"Before the beginning of next month, all of you who bear military service must report to the County Military Commandant's office on your own. Those who fail to arrive by the deadline will be punished as deserters!" The soldiers left, seemingly still needing to rush to the next village to announce this matter. Seeing this, the village commoners all crowded around the village headman, Yang Changlin, and clamored noisily. Yang Changlin smiled bitterly and explained, "This is an imperial order.

This old man cannot make the decision either. Everyone, hurry back and prepare." The villagers were helpless and could only slowly disperse. At evening, Zhao Shuan knocked on the gate of Jiang Huanyu's courtyard. As soon as they met, Jiang Huanyu saw the worry covering his face. Zhao Shuan had two sons. The eldest, Zhao Jinhu, was already married and had just had a son. The second was only ten years old now.

According to the law, Zhao Shuan himself had not yet reached forty, and his eldest son Zhao Jinhu was already over fourteen. Both of them bore military service. Among three adult males, one was drawn. The father and son had to have one person go serve.

"A-Huanyu, what will your family do?" Zhao Shuan casually asked. In Jiang Huanyu's family, there were four males in total, but the three brothers had not reached fourteen. This time, for military service, it was likely only Jiang Huanyu himself who had to go. The two families had a good relationship, so Zhao Shuan was naturally somewhat worried. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Uncle Zhao, I will serve in Father's place," Jiang Wenfeng, who was practicing martial arts at the side, said with a smile.

"You?" Zhao Shuan frowned slightly and looked at Jiang Huanyu. Jiang Huanyu smiled faintly.

"The stinky boy wants to go temper himself, so I'll let him go." Now that the conscription order had already been issued, there was no room to think too much about this matter. He planned to take Jiang Wenfeng to town in the afternoon and ask Huang Yunxiao for help, arranging his son by Zhang Bin's side as soon as possible.

"That's true…" Zhao Shuan said with some envy, "Although Stone is young, he has martial arts skills, and he's also quite sensible."

"Sigh…" After the two chatted for a while, Zhao Shuan got up and left. At night, the courtyard gate was knocked on again. This time, the person who came was a young man with a body as sturdy as an ox.

"Brother Jinhu?" Jiang Wenfeng opened the door and saw that the person who had come was Zhao Shuan's eldest son, Zhao Jinhu. He quickly invited him in.

"Uncle Jiang, Auntie." Zhao Jinhu walked into the courtyard and greeted Jiang Huanyu and Hu Yufen with a smile.

"I came to find Stone." After Zhao Jinhu sat down, he looked toward Jiang Wenfeng.

"Jinhu, have you eaten?" Hu Yufen asked.

"Auntie will go fill a bowl of rice for you."

"I've eaten. Auntie, no need to trouble yourself." Zhao Jinhu quickly stood up to stop her. Then he looked at Jiang Wenfeng and said, "I heard you're going to serve in Uncle Jiang's place?" Jiang Wenfeng nodded. Zhao Jinhu pondered for a moment, then stammered, "My father is getting older. If he goes to serve in the army, I'm afraid it will be very hard for him to come back alive."

"Stone, Brother knows you've practiced martial arts for many years and are very strong. There is something I want to ask of you." Jiang Wenfeng did not speak, only glancing slightly at his father. Jiang Huanyu showed no intention of speaking. He only helped Hu Yufen clean up the bowls and dishes on the table.

"Brother Jinhu, say it first." Zhao Jinhu rubbed his hands and sighed.

"I also intend to serve in my father's place, but… but you know, your sister-in-law just gave birth. The child cannot lose his father from childhood."

"I came this time to ask whether you have any way to help Brother get a good post that does not require going to the front line. At the very least, one that can preserve my life." Jiang Wenfeng hesitated. Zhao Jinhu had also studied martial arts at the town martial arts school for a few years before. But because he had never eaten medicinal meals, he had only learned some moves and had not even broken through to the Acquired Realm. The barbarians were good at fighting.

Whether he himself could preserve his life was hard to say, so how could he promise to help the other party?

"Heh…" Seeing the troubled look on his face, Zhao Jinhu laughed dryly.

"Brother's request was too high."

"How about this? Can you think of a way to have us brothers assigned together? That way, we can at least look after each other."

"I'll pay whatever money needs to be used!" War was cruel. Although he did not know what realm Jiang Wenfeng was currently at, he had heard from his younger brother that Jiang Wenfeng was already a teacher at the martial arts school. If the two could be assigned together, relying on the relationship between their two families, there would at least be a greater chance of surviving on the battlefield. Assigned together? Jiang Wenfeng thought about it and felt that this matter should not be difficult.

Huang Yunxiao was the County Military Commandant of Willow County, and the military service of the entire Willow County was arranged by him. When the time came, speaking to him and asking him to assign Zhao Jinhu under Zhang Bin's command as well should not be a problem.

"Brother Jinhu, I'll ask about this first. If it works, I'll tell you." Zhao Jinhu quickly cupped his fists.

"Good, good! Then I'll trouble you. If we can come back alive this time, Brother will treat you to wine!" After seeing Zhao Jinhu off, Jiang Wenfeng came before his father and said, "Father, did I do something wrong?" Jiang Huanyu pondered for a moment and said, "When poor, cultivate yourself alone; when successful, help the world."

"With the relationship between our family and your Uncle Zhao's family, helping them is not wrong. But in the future, you must pay attention. A little rice creates gratitude, but a bushel of rice creates hatred. Sometimes, when helping others, you must also act according to your ability." In his previous life, there was a famous psychological paradox called the malice of the aided. These principles of dealing with people had to be made clear to the children.