For several days, his body had fully recovered, yet he remained on the mountain, staring blankly into the distance, lost in his thoughts.
"Our Zhou family is in such a state, how can we change our fortune?" Zhou Fugui held a foxtail grass in his mouth, gazing at the snow-capped distant mountains and swirling clouds, sighing, "But how can we change our fortune? Little sister, do you have any good ideas?"
"Pfft!" Zhou Xiaomei couldn't help but chuckle at his words. She lay beside her second brother, Zhou Fugui, enjoying the scenery with him, and laughed, "Second brother, you're still thinking about your future sister-in-law, aren't you? I, your little sister, don't have any brilliant ideas. But I also understand that for people like us, changing our fortune and achieving wealth is harder than reaching the heavens."
"Mmm, alas, little sister speaks the truth," Zhou Fugui nodded in agreement.
For the sons of impoverished families, there were essentially three paths to success, to lift the entire family out of poverty and live a life of prosperity: first, to engage in business and make a fortune; second, to pass the imperial examinations and become an official, which would naturally elevate the family; third, to join the army and seek fame and fortune through military service.
However, after some recent understanding, Zhou Fugui learned that with Yan having defeated Wei and driven out Xia, the imperial examinations had essentially been abolished.
Although the Yan court had not explicitly declared the end of the examinations, they had not been held for three years.
The Hu people, who dominated the land with their cavalry and archery, had little understanding of the importance of education. Even among them, those who valued learning were a rare few.
As for engaging in business, it required capital first. The Zhou family was utterly destitute, struggling to even scrape together a few copper coins, let alone have capital for trade.
Even if the Zhou family managed to borrow from neighbors and gather enough capital to trade between the south and north, they would still need connections. However, with constant warfare between Yan, Xia, and other states, and rampant banditry, the trade routes between north and south had been severed. How could they conduct business? Those merchants who dared to risk it often had their goods robbed or even met their demise on the road.
In times of chaos, human lives were as cheap as grass. Simply surviving was a blessing.
The imperial examinations and business were impossible. That left only the path of military service. However, as Han soldiers under a Hu regime, they were little better than slaves. Zhou Fugui certainly had no desire for that.
With all avenues for advancement blocked, Zhou Fugui was left with no choice but to toil in the fields alongside his elder brother, Zhou Dashan, for a meager living.
"She doesn't think highly of our Zhou family and has gone off seeking a better future. Don't mention her again," Zhou Fugui then reminded Zhou Xiaomei.
"Heh heh, I know," Zhou Xiaomei said, lying on the ground, kicking her legs playfully. "But I also know that my second brother is a capable person. In the future, bring home ten or eight sisters-in-law, and make them so angry!"
"Slap!" Zhou Fugui lightly tapped Zhou Xiaomei's head. "What are you thinking with that little head of yours? Ten or eight wives? Do you think your second brother is a stud horse?"
"Ouch, second brother, that hurt!" Zhou Xiaomei cradled her head with both hands and asked, "What's a stud horse?"
"A stud horse is..." Zhou Fugui glared at Zhou Xiaomei and said, "Don't you have a horse for breeding at home?"
"Second brother..." Zhou Xiaomei came to her senses, blushing, "We only have an old ox for plowing. What would we breed?"
"Second son of the Zhou family, hurry home! Something has happened at your house," at this moment, Xu Mancang, from neighbor Old Xu's family, ran up the mountain panting loudly.
Xu Mancang was a sturdy young man, similar in age to Zhou Fugui, and his childhood companion. Running too fast had made his already ruddy cheeks even redder.
"Mancang, what happened?" Zhou Fugui asked, alarmed.
"Some soldiers have come to your home, go back quickly," Xu Mancang replied.
Soldiers? What were they doing at our home? Zhou Fugui didn't have time to think, and carrying Zhou Xiaomei on his back, he rushed down the mountain towards home.
"Officers, officers, our old ones are old, our young ones are young. If you take away our able-bodied men, how can we live?"
As Zhou Fugui carried Zhou Xiaomei back home, he heard his eldest sister-in-law, Gu Sanniang, weeping inside the house.
"We are acting under imperial decree to conscript soldiers. I don't care how you live!" a soldier gruffly shouted at Gu Sanniang.
The so-called conscription was a system of mandatory military service in Yan. Those conscripted were required to immediately drop their tools, prepare their own weapons, horses, and provisions, and report for assembly with the army.
Within Yan, the soldiers recruited by the court were divided into five classes. The first class were Xianbei people, the second class were Di, Qiang, Jie, and other ethnic groups, the third class were Han people who were originally under the jurisdiction of the Wei state, primarily referring to the people of Yan in the sixteen prefectures of Youyun, and the fourth and last class were Han people who originally belonged to Xia, generally referred to as "southerners."
The lower the class, the worse the treatment. However, in terms of charging into battle, sacrificing themselves, and consuming enemy arrows, they were always at the forefront – in essence, cannon fodder. Furthermore, when distributing spoils, this cannon fodder received the least, leading to a pitiable existence.
In the early days of the Yan dynasty, due to the internal strife in Xia and its resulting weakness, Yan could plunder vast amounts of wealth with almost every campaign. At that time, recruitment was met with considerable enthusiasm. However, now that Xia held firmly to the south, Yan's plunder yielded less and less. This not only disrupted farming and herding but also yielded meager gains. Most importantly, it resulted in deaths. Therefore, most of the people in the Great Yan nation were reluctant to be conscripted, whether they were Di, Qiang, Jie, or Han.
Wealthier families could bribe officials to find substitutes and avoid military service. Poor families had no choice but to join the army, and it was possible for all male members of poor households to be forcibly enlisted.
At this time, the Yan army was launching a large-scale campaign south to Jiangzuo. The imperial decree was to conscript one out of every two able-bodied men. The Zhou family had two such men, so one had to be conscripted.
Zhou Dashan was in his prime, and thus was on the conscription list.
"It's not impossible to refuse," the conscription officer, known as a conscription envoy, said with a smile. "Pay enough money, and you can be exempted."
"If you don't have money, you can offer a person in exchange," another conscription envoy said lewdly, looking at Zhou Xiaomei as she entered.
Gu Sanniang continued to plead.
"Sanniang, stop talking. I'll go," Zhou Dashan, who had been silent, finally spoke.
"Your father, your father, no, no, you can't go," Gu Sanniang, who was usually sharp-tongued, was now at a loss, only weeping.
Conscripted Han soldiers were essentially cannon fodder, charging to their deaths at the front lines to weaken the enemy. Few of the Han men who had been conscripted in the past had ever returned. Those who did were often missing limbs, returning with severe injuries. The compensation from the Yan court was meager, a drop in the bucket.
Zhou Dashan's departure was almost a one-way ticket to death.
Zhou Dashan could only sigh and shake his head, utterly helpless.
"Elder brother, eldest sister-in-law, I'll go," Zhou Fugui said, seeing the conscription envoys casting predatory glances at Zhou Xiaomei. He shielded her and said coldly.
The Zhou family had an elderly mother and young children, and the entire family relied on Zhou Dashan for farming. If Zhou Dashan went to war and died, the entire Zhou family might starve to death. Therefore, at this critical moment, only Zhou Fugui stepped forward to take his brother's place in the army.
"Fugui, what are you doing? Go back inside, this has nothing to do with you," Zhou Dashan exclaimed in shock.
Zhou Dashan would rather die himself than let his younger brother go to his death.
"Get out of the way. Who gets conscripted is up to me," a conscription envoy roughly pushed Zhou Dashan aside. He walked up to Zhou Fugui and said, "Boy, how old are you? Hmm, you're in good health, quite sturdy."
"Thank you for your praise, officer!" Zhou Fugui grinned. "I've just turned eighteen."
"Eighteen? Hmm, that's old enough to join the army," the conscription envoy nodded. "Do you know what war is?"
"Isn't it just killing and being killed?" Zhou Fugui sneered.
The envoy, who appeared to be the leader, was stunned for a moment before coldly ordering, "In three days, prepare your horse and military equipment, and assemble below Youzhou City."
...
"Second uncle, eat more. Once you reach the barracks, it will be..."
Zhou Fugui's decision to join the army in his brother's place, or rather, to go to his death in his brother's stead, finally moved Gu Sanniang to tears. She prepared a table of delicious food to bid him farewell.
"Fugui, why did you step forward? I am old and will die, but you... you are not even twenty yet," Zhou Dashan kept blaming Zhou Fugui.
"Elder brother, look at what you're saying, it's too inauspicious," Zhou Fugui said, eating and drinking heartily. "Does joining the army always mean death? I don't think so. I, Zhou Fugui, am blessed with good fortune; I won't die so easily!"
He had joined the army, and not just any army, but a puppet army, a second-class soldier. Zhou Fugui couldn't help but mock himself.
At this time, the large-scale conscription in Great Yan was aimed at attacking the Xia Dynasty, whose population was primarily Han. Wasn't Zhou Fugui a traitor? Wasn't he a puppet soldier? Even though he was forced.
Zhou Fugui was utterly speechless and helpless.
If the Han ancestors of the Zhou family knew this from the afterlife, they would surely be revived by anger, only to die again from frustration.
"Second brother is right, nothing will happen. I'm still waiting for second brother to find ten or eight sisters-in-law for me," Zhou Xiaomei nodded.
Everyone else chuckled at this, bringing a trace of joy amidst the sorrow.
"Go, go away, what do you know?" Mother Liu scolded Zhou Xiaomei, then said to Zhou Fugui, "See? I told you to practice martial arts more, and now it's finally useful!"
Zhou Fugui was utterly speechless.
Mothers typically wanted to protect their children, but Liu Shi seemed to wish for Zhou Fugui to charge into battle.
Zhou Fugui truly wanted to know what his mother's identity and experiences were in the past.
At this moment, Zhou Fugui had become the center of the family, surrounded by a cacophony of concerned voices and countless last-minute instructions.