Ma Hongjun's mother was cooking when the village chief came to their house and knocked on the door.
"Something happened! Your man was taken away by the soldiers!" Old John said, panting heavily.
"What?" Mother Ma said in shock.
"The Empire is conducting a massive conscription, seizing able-bodied men everywhere. More than a dozen households in the village have had their men taken away," Old John said.
Mother Ma trembled and nearly collapsed to the ground.
Little Ma Hongjun stared, his mouth hanging wide open in shock.
With his father gone, the family had lost its pillar.
It seemed that surviving until he was six and going to find Flender would be difficult.
However—
Misfortunes never came singly.
The conscription officers had barely left the village when tax collectors arrived.
The bearded man in splendid robes sat in a grand chair at the center of the village, with a group of armored soldiers standing behind him.
He had summoned every household in the village.
Holding an account book, he flipped through its pages and read aloud, "Li Erniu's family must submit XXXX of grain this year."
"Wang Ergou's family must submit XXXX of grain this year."
Old John frowned. "Wait, sir, this isn't right, is it? Why are we paying so much more than in previous years?"
The tax collector glared at Old John. "This year, our Heaven Dou Empire is launching a war against Spirit Hall. I assume you're all delighted? You should be. That cancer known as Spirit Hall will be destroyed in this great war. As members of the Empire, shouldn't you contribute your labor and strength to this great war?"
"This is a war tax. The previous rate of one tax in ten is now one tax in three."
"Not only that, but aside from these