"These provisions won't be easy to carry..." Chen Fang looked at the several vats filled to the brim with rice, her brows drawing together slightly.
Though transporting it would be difficult, she felt they couldn't bring it into the garrison. After all, there weren't enough quarters there. Most people stayed in temporary sheds and tents. If they brought too much money and grain, people would take notice and covet it; some might even try their hand at petty theft.
If they took the grain there, an officer might use "we must defend the city together; military supplies take priority" as an excuse to confiscate it outright.
Lin Xuan had risked his life to earn this grain. If it were seized without compensation, they would lose a fortune, and almost no one would remember his service.
When the time came, they wouldn't have anywhere to appeal.
After thinking it over, Lin Xuan replied, "Let's take enough for a month's food. Seal the rest up and hide it in the cellar. If those Roaming Bandits really do have discipline as good as the rumors say, they shouldn't go from house to house, turning everything upside down in search of grain.
"Leaving it here might actually give it a better chance of surviving than taking it into the garrison."
After all... when bandits came, they combed through everything; when soldiers came, they sifted through it; when officials came, they shaved it bare.
Chen Fang and Lin An both agreed with Lin Xuan.
In a hurry, they hid all the remaining grain, took some necessities, and headed for the garrison.
News that two nearby county seats had fallen had spread throughout Liang City. Everyone in the county was in a state of panic, and entry and exit were being strictly restricted.
Some people were also spreading rumors that the Roaming Bandits were burning and looting as they went, setting farmland on fire and killing many ordinary people.
As the panic spread, grain prices skyrocketed. In a single day, the price of rice and wheat had climbed from forty cash to sixty!
The authorities did nothing to rein them in. The more the rice merchants sold, the more money they could make, too.
The garrison was short of men. With military households fleeing and conscription happening so frequently, it could field only a meager three hundred combat soldiers.
The armor in the armory had gone unrepaired for years. Much of it was covered in rust, and the cords used to fasten it had rotted, yet no one had mended them.
Fortunately, Lin Xuan had the Qin Family backing him. They sent him a set of Iron Lamellar Armor that looked almost new. Looking closely, it seemed to be the very same set he had worn the last time he went out to hunt bears!
Now that he was wearing it, he felt as light as a swallow, as if he had nothing on. Only his joints were slightly restricted.
How could just three hundred men stand against Roaming Bandits who had won two battles in a row? The enemy outnumbered them several times over. Taking the garrison would be child's play.
So, when Lin Xuan arrived at the Thousand-Household Office, his first assignment after officially becoming a Flag Commander—and the first order he received—was to "recruit" able-bodied men from among the common people.
"Recruit" was putting it nicely. In practice, it meant rounding up men.
Each Flag Commander had to seize twenty able-bodied men from the military households and take them to the garrison. Otherwise, they would be punished under military law, stripped of their post and rank, and beaten with military staves.
This war left Lin Xuan not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He had never imagined he would become the "Shihao Official" from the textbooks he had hated in his past life—the man who went around seizing people.
He had thought they were villains. He hadn't realized they had it hard, too. If they failed to complete their assignments, they would be punished.
Perhaps the Shihao petty official had only just escaped death on the battlefield himself. Perhaps his own family was being seized by some other official at that very moment.
Wearing his Flag Commander's battle robe, with his badge and armor, Lin Xuan appeared fully armed in the military settlement.
This time, he didn't bring anyone with him, since the other Squad Leaders had their own assignments.
He went to Zhang Xuan's house first.
Knock, knock, knock.
Zhang Xuan still didn't know anything had happened in the county seat. He was lying on a straw mat, weaving straw sandals.
Hearing the knock, he got up from the mat and went to open the door.
"It's Brother Xuan! Come on in and sit down," he greeted him warmly.
"No need. Pack your things and come with me. The Roaming Bandits are about to arrive. You'll come to the garrison with me to help defend it."
Zhang Xuan flushed and scratched his head. "Well... my family's dirt poor. I don't have anything to bring. I can just go with you, Brother Xuan."
"Then come with me to round up men. I need you there to back me up."
The two of them began calling out in the settlement.
"Men over twenty and under fifty, come with me! We're going to the garrison to defend it against the Roaming Bandits!"
But no one paid him any mind. Nobody wanted to die, and nobody wanted to die for the authorities.
After all, the saying that "bandits comb through everything" had sunk deep into people's hearts. No matter how terrifying the bandits were, surely the authorities were worse?
Lin Xuan shook his head. It looked like if he wanted to keep his position as Flag Commander, he had no choice but to force people to defend the city.
He hesitated, even as he made his way toward the settlements where the surplus men of the military households lived.
"Uncle, open the door. I know you have a twenty-year-old son. We're taking him to defend the garrison, not sending him off to fight the Qiangqu People."
But no one answered from inside. Hearing his young voice, the man might have decided he was young and tried to see if he could fool him.
A wave of irritation washed over Lin Xuan. Impatience showed on his face as he kicked the door open, sending it flying a zhang away.
But then he came to his senses, and regret washed over him. Wasn't what he had just done exactly the sort of thing he had always hated?
He steadied himself and tried to reason with the old man.
"I'm sorry, Uncle. I only need your son to come with me so I can make up the numbers and report back. I'm not here to plunder your belongings or frighten your family.
"I promise that after this, no other official will come to your house to seize men."
Seeing Lin Xuan use such brute force, then speak to him with such courtesy, the old man trembled. His lips moved, but no words came out.
Only after a long while did he slowly fall to his knees before Lin Xuan. "Sir, I'm begging you, spare my son. He's the only son in our family."
Lin Xuan hurried to help him up, but the old man refused to rise. Though his hands were as thin as sticks, his knees seemed rooted to the ground.
The child watched Lin Xuan fearfully, and the young man's wife looked frightened, too.
The young man's eyes were red as he scolded Lin Xuan. "You soldiers usually draw pay for men who aren't even there, and now you want us to go die?"
Lin Xuan shook his head. "Who said I'm sending you to your death? I'll be wearing fine armor and carrying a sharp blade, a strong bow, and powerful crossbow. When the time comes, I'll be right on the front line fighting the bandits."
"I'm the only able-bodied man in my military household, too. All the men in my family died fighting the Qiangqu People! And now I still have to go to the battlefield to defend against the Roaming Bandits! Do you think I'm not afraid to die?"
"You have no choice. Your first option is to come with me. I can't promise you anything, but you might survive.
"If another Flag Commander takes you, your family will be terrorized, your property extorted, and then your son will be sent to the front as cannon fodder.
"You know the risks. You should understand that for yourselves!"
When the time came, Lin Xuan wouldn't let them go off to die without a fight. He couldn't do that. After all, he was the officer in charge of the men being seized. When the time came, he would either lead the charge himself or fight alongside them.
The family looked at one another, their faces showing a jumble of emotions.
"I'll go. I only ask that you keep your word."
Before you continue