"Brave man, are you sure you want to go to Great Azure Mountain to farm?"
Zhou Haitao, who was in charge of registration, looked at the burly man in front of him with curiosity, somewhat unable to understand.
Because neither newly arrived refugees nor elderly people who have stayed in Liuzhou for some time would consider farming in Great Azure Mountain as their first option.
Farming in Great Azure Mountain requires going out of the city to do farm work, and many newly arrived refugees prefer to stay in a safe environment, so most of them are somewhat resistant at first. However, after they have a good understanding of the situation in Liuzhou, most of the young and strong will choose to join the army as their first option.
After all, the benefits of military service are better. Serving in the military means better housing and more Underworld pay. Moreover, although the risks are high for soldiers, they can accumulate good karma more quickly in the underworld. The Tiger Guard Army save lives every day, and their relatives in the Underworld enjoy better lives than ordinary people. Many relatives of the Tiger Guard Army who died tragically in the past now have their own ancestral homes in the Underworld. This gives almost all soldiers a sense of security, because even if they unfortunately die in battle, in the Underworld, they can live well with their families thanks to the merit they have gained from saving lives!
This is the fundamental reason why Liuzhou is so keen on joining the army: good benefits, a prestigious reputation, and most importantly, sufficient protection even if one dies in battle. Who wouldn't want to go for such a good opportunity?
If the Tiger Guard Army didn't have such high entry requirements, Zhou Haitao felt that Liuzhou would probably be a place where everyone was enlisting in the army.
"Wow, you're quite the warrior, judging by your physique, you must have some martial arts training, right?" Zhou Haitao laughed. "The benefits for joining the army in Liuzhou are pretty good. Why don't you try signing up with the Tiger Guard Army?"
"No, thank you." Wei Gongzhan grinned. "I used to be a soldier, but I got tired of it and want a more stable life."
"I see," Zhou Haitao clicked his tongue and shook his head upon hearing this, "That's a pity."
"It's really popular to join the army here." Wei Gongzhan looked at the bustling recruitment area in the distance, while the recruitment for farmers was deserted.
"People from Liuzhou are passionate, and not many are willing to settle down as farmers," Fatty Zhou chuckled. "Many young people only consider going to Great Azure Mountain to farm after they've been eliminated. Some young people even stay in Liuzhou for a while to prepare for the next round of military selection. It's rare to see someone like you, brave warrior, who comes here ready to farm."
"Haha, everyone has different ideas," Wei Gongzhan grinned.
Now that his injuries have healed slightly, his face is still a little swollen, but he looks no different from a normal person, except that his face is still a little stiff when he smiles.
"Okay!" Zhou Haitao wrote down the other person's name, " Wei Datao, right?"
"Eh"
"Take the plaque and go to the government office to find Master Lü. Oh, the academy is admitting students today, and Master Lü will be in charge of proctoring one of the examination rooms. You may have to wait a while when you get there; Master Lü may not be able to take you to Great Azure Mountain until the afternoon."
Wei Gongzhan, puzzled, asked curiously, "The teacher? Shouldn't the teacher be in charge of teaching? Does he also have to go outside the city?"
" Master Lü is in charge of teaching," Zhou Haitao nodded. "But besides teaching the Four Books and Five Classics, Master Lü is also skilled in agronomy. He's currently working with the Mountain God in Great Azure Mountain to improve several varieties of crops, which has caught the eye of the Prefect. He plans to open a separate agricultural branch for Master Lü. You'll understand once you meet him."
"Agronomy?" Wei Gongzhan suddenly sensed that Liuzhou was a bit different, because in other places, it seemed that scholars who studied these things would be looked down upon, right?
"Go on, go on," Zhou Haitao said, yawning as he shooed Human Dao away.
With more manpower recently, Zhou Haitao started choosing easier tasks. This task of surveying the farmers in Great Azure Mountain was arguably the easiest, with Heavenly Capital. This greenhorn was asking all sorts of questions, so he hoped it wouldn't interfere with his later chess game with Old Wei.
Hey, doesn't this simple-minded kid look a bit like Old Wei?
--
Wei Gongzhan took the sign and asked for directions all the way to the academy, where he found some men who were also going to farm.
There are plenty of able-bodied young men in Liuzhou, and most of these men who are going to farm are young people under twenty, but they look listless at this moment.
"Hey bro, you're going to Great Azure Mountain too?"
"Yes," Wei Gongzhan with a simple, honest smile.
"Brother, you got eliminated even with your physique?" The others nearby immediately became interested. "That shouldn't be the case. With your build, you should have no problem participating in that 200-pound weightlifting event."
Several people came over and pinched the bumps on Wei Gongzhan's body, leaving Wei Gongzhan quite confused.
However, he didn't dislike this feeling, because everyone was like this in the army before; men were very casual with each other. He just didn't expect that the common people in Liuzhou had the same custom.
"Well... I never intended to join the army in the first place, I didn't even bother to sign up," Wei Gongzhan honestly with a smile.
"Oh, I see. I knew it," a tall, thin man next to him nodded, then said with a regretful look, "Brother, you really have wasted your time."
"Yeah, who would choose to farm if they could join the army? It's a real shame, brother, with your circumstances." Several people around him shook their heads as well.
Wei Gongzhan was immediately bewildered; were joining the army so popular here?
"Gentlemen, since you're so interested in joining the army, why are you here?"
Upon hearing this, the men's expressions immediately turned grim. However, seeing Wei Gongzhan's honest and simple-minded appearance, they knew that he was probably new and unaware of the situation. So, the tall, thin man patiently explained, "Brother, we're not like you. We have no choice. Including this time, we've already been eliminated three times. We can't just stay in the state capital forever, can we?"
"Yes," someone next to him chimed in, "It's been three months. We've been loitering around on North Street like the new refugees, eating and drinking for free. We can't keep doing this shamelessly without people saying anything. Farming may not be as prestigious as joining the army, but it's still earning a living through our own labor. It's not shameful, is it?"
"Exactly, we've been holding out for a long time. Those fellow villagers who couldn't join the army before couldn't stand it anymore and went to Great Azure Mountain after only a month in North Street. Even if they wanted to join the army, they can't keep being shamelessly suppressed like this."
Wei Gongzhan was taken aback. It seemed that the people of Liuzhou not only had a strong martial spirit, but also a very different sense of honor and shame. They actually regarded freeloading as a disgrace, which was quite rare.
I don't know if this is just an isolated case or if it's the general trend.
Just then, he suddenly spotted a familiar face, quickly greeted the people around him, and hurried after him.
Brother Shen?
The familiar figure emerging from the academy was none other than Shen Yuan had come early that morning to take the academy's exam.
"Oh, General Wei. Cough, Brother Wei, what are you doing here?"
Wei Gongzhan briefly explained his situation, then asked, "Brother Shen, how are things going? Did your exam go well?"
Shen Yuan snorted coldly upon hearing this, "The exam covers a wide range of topics, including the Nine Palaces Arithmetic, the Investigation of Heaven and Earth, and Yin and Yang and the Five Elements. An ordinary bookworm would probably fail miserably, but how could it possibly be difficult for me?"
"That's true, Brother Shen is truly talented. How could the questions from a mere district academy be difficult for someone as accomplished as Brother Shen, the second-place scholar in the imperial examination?"
"That's not necessarily true." Shen Yuan scoffed, "I just saw Gu Beiquan scratching his head inside. Heh, that bookworm who only knows the Four Books and Five Classics is probably going to capsize this time!"
His tone was full of schadenfreude, and even a hint of pride.
Wei Gongzhan was taken aback, then exclaimed, " Gu Beiquan? This year's top scholar? He's also at the academy?"
"That Chen guy's methods are clumsy; only those who are registered get the benefits. Gu Beiquan is a spineless man anyway; he probably couldn't stand eating porridge in North Street anymore." Shen Yuan shook his head. "But looking at the content of this assessment, even though Gu Beiquan is the top scholar, he might not necessarily get admitted."
"Ahem, Brother Shen is truly learned and talented." Wei Gongzhan complimented him with amusement. He hadn't realized before that this guy was actually such an arrogant person.
"What's the situation inside the academy? Have you found out anything?" The two walked to an unknown corner, Wei Gongzhan asked about the important matter.
When it came to serious matters, Shen Yuan regained his serious expression and said in a low voice, "It's quite something. This academy is divided into four departments: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. It's said that those who pass this assessment and can learn arrays will enter the Earth Academy Heaven Academy, those who can learn talismans will enter the Mystic Academy. It's planned very well, as if it really wants to train sorcerers. We'll only know the specifics when school starts tomorrow, and..."
"And what?" Wei Gongzhan frowned and said, "Brother Shen, why are you speaking so evasively?"
After hesitating for a moment, Shen Yuan finally said, "I saw a strange thing while I was studying today."
"What strange thing is this?"
"Weren't you here at the academy for reference this morning? When I passed by the City God, I actually saw several teachers coming out of it."
"What's so strange about that?" Wei Gongzhan frowned. "Although I've only been here for a day, I know that the people of Liuzhou seem to believe in the City God of the Underworld. Although most teachers don't believe in ghosts and gods, there are always exceptions. What's so strange about a few teachers coming out of the temple?"
"But those teachers seemed to have appeared out of thin air from the City God statue!"
"Huh?" Wei Gongzhan was taken aback. "What... what did you say? You just appeared out of thin air? What do you mean?"
"It means exactly what it says," Shen Yuan explained with gestures. "It's like in front of a statue of a deity, where, like magic, several teachers just appear out of thin air and walk out of the statue. I was stunned at the time and even ran over to examine the statue closely, thinking it was some kind of mechanism or something."
"Appeared out of thin air?" Wei Gongzhan frowned. "You mean, all the scholars in Liuzhou are sorcerers?"
"That's impossible!" Shen Yuan shook his head. "I've met all those teachers in Liuzhou before. I'm sure they're just ordinary mortal teachers. But this morning's scene was indeed strange. I heard later that those teachers were supposed to go to the Underworld to work at night. Now that I think about it, could it be that the so-called Underworld really exists in Liuzhou?"
"It can't be that weird," Wei Gongzhan, skeptical. "Take me to see it."
And so, the two of them arrived at the City God not far from the academy. It was noon, and there were quite a few people worshipping there, which showed that the City God was indeed very popular in Liuzhou.
This was Wei Gongzhan's first time seeing City God statue. The statue was quite interesting; unlike the exaggerated statues of other deities, which often had three heads and six arms, this one looked more like a masked figure. But strangely, why did this person look so familiar?
Wei Gongzhan stared blankly at the statue, his mind racing, wondering if he had seen the mask on the City God's face before.
It seems like it was when I was very young.
Suddenly, Wei Gongzhan's expression changed. He remembered that he had seen it when he was very young!
The Wei Household had a son born out of wedlock who was favored by the master of the Yuchi Household when he was seven years old and was taken in as his deputy. Because the boy was too young, he would wear a rather fierce bronze mask when he was on duty in the army.
That was a role model that many of the Wei Household's illegitimate sons secretly envied, and also someone they admired when they were very young.
Is it a coincidence?
Wei Gongzhan stared blankly at the City God statue; the mask was exactly the same, even the overall figure and demeanor were identical.