"Shi Ge'er, are you really going to enlist?"
On the bed.
Chen Sanshi and Gu Xinlan nestled against each other.
"Is it because of Shunzi's family?"
"Yes, but not entirely."
This was only one thing that had provoked Chen Sanshi.
It made him think of Qin Feng.
He had killed Qin Xiong and left no evidence behind, but who knew whether his younger brother would suspect him? Would he use the same methods? How would Chen Sanshi deal with it then?
Or what if the other side did not care about evidence at all and simply wanted him dead? What could he do?
He did not even know how martial practitioners were ranked. Could a single bow really protect himself and his whole family?
As for peace and stability?
From the moment he had transmigrated here and caught Qin Xiong's eye, it had ceased to exist.
Even if he did not strike first, they would find a chance to persecute him.
Enlisting.
Not only would it let him practice martial arts, it would also give him a chance to gain status.
Climbing upward, rising in every aspect, was the only right way to seek stability in these chaotic times.
Chen Sanshi said softly, "What, you don't want me to go?"
"You're the head of the household. You have the final say in whatever you want to do. I'm just afraid something might happen to you..."
Gu Xinlan said she had no objections, but her tone carried a trace of resentment. Her almond eyes had turned watery as well; clearly, she was worried about being left alone.
"What a crow's mouth. Say another word of nonsense and I'll plug it up!"
"No, mmph..."
After two full hours of intense discussion, the husband and wife reached an agreement.
Chen Sanshi did not rush to sleep. He picked up his book and began reading.
Before he knew it, he had become completely immersed in it, his proficiency steadily increasing.
When it reached a certain point, sudden enlightenment struck him. Looking at the words in the book, he found them simple and easy to understand. Everything he had failed to comprehend before suddenly became crystal clear.
Skill: Reading (Proficient) Progress: (0/800) Effects: Seven Orifices Exquisite, Spirit Revitalized, Eidetic Memory
Seven Orifices Exquisite?
Unlike archery, which directly strengthened the body, the changes brought by reading could not be seen outright. They had to be felt with the heart.
Chen Sanshi's most immediate impression was that he could easily understand what he read and absorb it all into his mind.
"This should be a great help to my martial arts training."
"But why have the advancement requirements increased so much?"
"And the improvement this book gives me is getting slower and slower. Looks like I need to read more different books."
"Archery is the same."
"Only the army has heavy bows."
"Enlisting is imperative!"
Closing the book, he too fell into a deep sleep.
The next day.
The sun rose as usual.
Chen Sanshi carried cured meat and grain into town.
"The county town is under lockdown?"
From far away, he saw armored soldiers at the city gate inspecting every pedestrian entering and leaving. After asking around, he learned that the barbarian martial artist who had previously attempted to assassinate the County Magistrate had not only escaped capture, but had even returned in hiding and killed the master of Yunhe Martial Arts School in the south of the city.
"What a ruthless man!"
Chen Sanshi sighed.
After being searched and questioned, he smoothly arrived at the market and found Old Xu.
"Since you've made up your mind, come with me."
Old Xu did not stand on ceremony. After accepting the goods, he led out a donkey cart and took him out of the city. "I'll take you to see my son."
Military households of the Great Sheng Dynasty were hereditary.
If your father was from a military household, then your family would be military households for generations to come.
Once the father was done, the son took over. Even without a son, another male member of the clan would be chosen to fill the position, thus maintaining the army's numbers.
According to Old Xu, military household registrations were limited in number. During prosperous times, outsiders were rarely recruited, but now that they wanted recruits, they found it hard to get any.
Back in the early days of the dynasty, military households received quite good treatment. Rations and pay were distributed according to the number of people in the household, martial arts training was free, winter clothes were issued in winter, and their standard of living was generally above that of middle peasants.
But little by little, everything changed its flavor.
For some unknown reason, the amount of military farmland kept dwindling, while the soldiers' corvée labor grew heavier and heavier.
Old Xu said the situation had been at its worst when he first enlisted.
Many military households could not even afford food on their rations and pay alone. They had no choice but to become tenant farmers for nearby gentry and martial arts schools. Some had practically become household slaves.
With no road ahead and no way back, many military households simply fled.
For a time, more than half the entire Liangzhou Garrison had run away!
It was not until Grand Secretary of the Cabinet Yan Liang took office and spent ten years painstakingly turning the tide that the Garrison System was kept from collapsing to this day. But its Combat Power remained extremely weak.
Liangzhou's borderlands supposedly had twenty-nine garrisons and over one hundred sixty thousand military household soldiers. In truth, having more than one hundred thousand would already be considered good...
The true main force defending the Great Wall was the Eight Great Zhenbei Camps under Lord Governor's command. They were the elite troops that cowed the barbarians.
The Eight Great Camps offered generous treatment, but recruited only elites. Only after making a name for oneself in the garrisons would one have a chance to join Zhenbei Camp.
As the two chatted, they unknowingly left Poyang County Town.
West of Poyang County Town lay the Tiger Head Mountain Range, while to its north stood the Border Great Wall.
Between the county town and the Border Great Wall was where the army was stationed.
The garrisons were not vast stretches of tents like in television dramas, but villages built for people to live in.
When there was no war, the soldiers lived like ordinary commoners, farming at sunrise and returning home at sunset.
The Military Camps between the various villages were equivalent to command posts and training grounds.
"Although Poyang County lies on the border, the Dragon Tiger Mountain Range makes marching difficult, so it usually does not have to face the barbarian main force directly. Most encounters are with small groups of cavalry, so it is relatively safe."
"Whoa—"
Old Xu stopped the donkey cart outside the Military Camp and gestured for the youth to follow him inside.
"You want to enlist?"
Old Xu had become a father late in life. His son was not very old, less than thirty or so, with a short beard and a vigorous air about him.
Upon learning that he was the child of one of his father's acquaintances, he did not ask much and helped register him.
"Military households are exempt from grain taxes every year."
"If you are alone, your monthly pay is four mace of silver. If you have a wife, seven mace. For a household of five or more, one tael of silver."
"My father said you can hunt?"
Old Xu cut in first, "Little Stone is extraordinary! Every village within dozens of li outside Poyang County Town knows he's a skilled hunter now!"
Xu Bin nodded. "If you can't become a Warrior Recruit later, you won't have to become a formation soldier. You can become an archer instead, with a monthly pay of one tael and five mace of silver."
No matter the dynasty, archers were absolute elites. How could their status possibly be lower than that of Warrior Recruits? After reporting to the office in the Military Camp that managed military registration records, he received a set of old armor, a red conical hat, and a manual of martial arts techniques.
On the cover of the yellowed stitched booklet were six large characters: Basic Soldier Spear Technique.
Only after taking these things did Chen Sanshi officially become a border soldier of the Great Sheng Dynasty.
The full name of his unit was the "Poyang Left Army Thousand Household Office of the Anding Prefecture Frontier Defense Vanguard."
"We've recruited a few people here and there recently."
"Come report to camp officially tomorrow. Lord Hundred Households will give a speech at the Training Ground and teach you martial arts."
"Make sure to prepare well. Your performance at the start of enlistment concerns your prospects in the army for the rest of your life."
"Once you become a formation soldier, you'll never have another chance to climb upward in this life."
Cannon fodder used to fill the line—one charge, and they died in droves, not even leaving behind a whole corpse.
Before you continue