Cases of concealing population numbers were extremely rare in the Austrian Empire. After all, everyone had a chance to receive tangible benefits, and no one was willing to give that up.
Other countries, however, were different. The main reason was evasion of military service.
Modern people, especially readers from the mysterious great Eastern nation, found it hard to understand what was so frightening about military service.
First came facing death head-on, something ordinary people could scarcely imagine.
World War I claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. To outsiders, that was no more than a number, but it was made up of living flesh and blood.
Then there were the brutal corporal punishments. In the past, beating and berating soldiers had been commonplace. Many generals specialized in studying how to beat and berate soldiers in order to improve an army's combat effectiveness; there were even writings devoted to the subject.
Some famous commanders also agreed with such views. Duke of Wellington, for instance, had said:
"A soldier who has never been beaten is worthless."
A certain Prussian general had said:
"Make soldiers fear their officers more than bullets, and they will no longer shrink back."
Most of the various instruments of punishment had already been introduced earlier: Britain's nine-tailed whip, the dragon-claw whip, the Austrian Empire's heavy horsewhip, Russia's Cossack whip, nose-pullers.
As for so-called dignity, there was almost none. Unlike modern film and television works that prettified the military, in reality, the first thing done before entering an ancient army was to shatter one's personality.
Their daily treatment was worse than a dog's food and worse than a horse's lodging, while pay was practically nonexistent. Whether in East or West, officers skimming soldiers' wages was the norm. In some countries, being an army officer was itself a business.
And freedom?