I have a weird dynasty

Chapter 307: Recruitment Order (asking for monthly ticket)
Beginning of summer.

Two old farmers were checking the condition of the wheat in the fields. The weather was getting hotter and hotter. In another month, this year's wheat could be harvested.

"I'm afraid this year's harvest won't be enough to pay the grain tax."

"That's right. My youngest son just came back from the county recently. He heard that the rebellion in Qinzhou couldn't be suppressed. The rebels and the barbarians in Yunzhou joined forces and have already occupied half of Qinzhou. As a result, the grain tax in Jinzhou is getting higher and higher. We really can't survive."

"It is said that there are people who are good at exorcising ghosts among the rebels, as well as Gu Masters and ghost ladies from Yunzhou. The evil spirit suppression department in Qinzhou simply does not have enough manpower, and countless ordinary soldiers have been killed or injured. Now they have begun to recruit soldiers from Jinzhou."

"Alas, I hope they won't conscript us. My eldest daughter-in-law just got pregnant, and my youngest just turned sixteen. He's a good student and will definitely pass the imperial examinations in the future. Once he passes, we won't have to worry about being conscripted. I won't say any more. It's annoying to talk about these things."

"Although the wheat is not growing well this year, strangely enough, there have been no corpse mud ghosts in the fields of our villages this year. I guess by the time of harvest, there will be fewer wheat ghosts."

"Yes, it is God's blessing."

The two old men were leaning on their hoes, subconsciously looking towards the mountains stretching to the south. Now, everyone in the surrounding area knows that the Jinfeng Mountain, which was originally full of bandits, has now been renamed Mingyue Mountain.

"I heard that the Qingfeng Temple at the foot of Mingyue Mountain has been completed. How about we go over there and pray for peace when we have time?"

"Haven't you heard that there's something wrong with that Taoist temple? There's a man-eating evil ghost behind the temple. Since this Taoist Kun came, the bandits in Jinfeng Mountain have been quiet. This Taoist Kun must have fed all those bandits to the evil ghosts. Didn't a pilgrim who was burning incense in the Taoist temple mistakenly enter the mountain behind the temple and see a ghost a while ago?"

"I heard that there is a ghost named 'Xuan Nu' in that mountain. She subdued the bandits in Jinfeng Mountain and changed Jinfeng Mountain into Mingyue Mountain. Now there are thousands of acres of fertile fields in the mountain. People have no worries about food and clothing. It is isolated from the outside world and there are no evil spirits. It is like a fairyland."

"It would be great if there really was such a wonderland!"

Two old men were weeding the field while chatting.

As it approached noon and the sun was getting hotter and hotter, Old Man Wu and Old Man Cheng, carrying their hoes, returned to the village together. Before they entered the village, they suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves. Turning around, they saw a group of soldiers galloping towards them on the official road in the distance, raising a cloud of dust.

The two old men dropped their hoes and ran toward the village, shouting as they ran, "The conscripts are coming! The conscripts are coming!"

The old dogs in the village were frightened and started barking wildly. People from every household came out to see that the conscription officers were riding on tall horses and rushing into the village with ferocious looks.

The old man of the Cheng family stood at the entrance of the village and shouted at those people, "Sir, there are not many able-bodied men left in our village. The wheat in the fields can be harvested in a month. If you arrest everyone now, the wheat will go to waste. If we can't pay the grain tax, our whole village will die!"

"Go away!"

The leading soldier whipped the old man of the Cheng family with a horsewhip. The old man of the Cheng family wailed and fell to the side of the road.

The officers and soldiers rushed into the village, holding up the token.

"The imperial court has issued an order that every household must produce a male child, otherwise it will be considered as disobeying the imperial order!"

The young woman held her young child in her arms, knelt down and begged with tears streaming down her face, "Sir, please let us go. All my elders have passed away, and only my wife and I and our young child are left. Without his father, neither I nor my child can survive."

Begging was futile, so the soldiers dismounted, drew their swords, and searched the village, kicking open the closed doors, pulling out all the able-bodied men who tried to hide, and tying them up with iron chains.

In a dilapidated thatched cottage, a young boy was hiding under the bed and shivering, but was eventually pulled out by the soldiers.

The boy cried out in despair, "Dad, Mom, I don't want to go to war!"

Resistance was futile and the boy was forcibly taken away by the soldiers.

At Old Man Wu's house, the eldest son of the Wu family stuffed his sixteen-year-old brother into a water jar, glanced at his pregnant wife, and when the officers rushed in, he took the initiative to greet them.

"I am the only male in my family. Let my father and my wife go, and I will go with you."

Old man Wu burst into tears, and his wife covered her mouth to hold back her sadness, watching the man being taken away.

This was the first forced conscription, and the officers did not search thoroughly, so they did not find a person in the water tank. The whole village was immersed in sorrow and despair.

Under the scorching sun, the soldiers left with the captured men and continued to head towards the next village.

People from every household came out of their houses crying and wailing. All the able-bodied men in the houses were taken away, leaving only elderly men and women, as well as girls from each family with children under the age of ten.

Some families were lucky and had many male members hiding and not being captured, and they also came out from their hiding places one after another.

Wu Chonglin, the youngest son of the old man of the Wu family, came out of the water tank and heard the wailing in the village. He looked at the sage books on the table with grief and anger. He didn't know who to blame.

Blame the rebels who started the war, the barbarians in Yunzhou, or the inhumane conscription system of the imperial court.

Wu Chonglin was soaked in water. He walked outside, stood on the village road, and looked around.

"Everyone, the war in Qinzhou will not end in a short time. Today is just the first forced conscription. It won't be long before there will be a second and third time. They will even have to collect grain. By then, the old men and children in the family will probably be captured. Those who are left behind will not be able to survive without food. We can't just sit here and wait for death."

Some people cried, "Where else can we go? We can't survive without our homeland."

Wu Chonglin also didn't know that in the past, some people who could not pay grain taxes would choose to become bandits, but now it seems that this is the only way left for them.

At this time, the old man of the Wu family thought of the Qingfeng Temple at the foot of Mingyue Mountain and the "Xuan Nu" in Mingyue Mountain. He stood up and said, "How about we go to Mingyue Mountain to take a look?"

Some people in the village have heard about the fairyland in Mingyue Mountain, and it is said that the Taoist temple recruits workers all year round. Even if there is no so-called fairyland, they can go to work for the Taoist temple. If the Taoist temple is willing to take them in, becoming a lay disciple of Taoism is also a way out.

When the imperial court recruits soldiers, it will not force Taoist disciples to join. Even when the situation is critical, it will only ask for help from nearby Taoist temples. It is up to the Taoist temple itself to decide how many people to send to assist.

After some discussion, the villagers decided to let Wu Chonglin take the remaining men in the village to Qingfeng Temple on Mingyue Mountain to find out the situation.

The old people in the village were reluctant to give up the wheat that could be harvested in a month.

……

At that time, outside Qingfeng Temple on Mingyue Mountain.

There was also a group of soldiers riding horses, they stopped at the fork in the road outside Qingfeng Temple and dismounted one after another.

The fork in the road leads up, surrounded by green trees. Following the winding bluestone steps, a brand new Taoist temple stands among the woods.

There were a lot of wood and stones piled outside the Taoist temple, but no one was seen working there. There were clanging sounds coming from the back of the temple, and the wind in the mountains was windy and ominous. A group of people stepped in and looked around.

The front yard has been repaired. The main hall in the center has flying eaves and brackets, and is magnificent. A tall statue of the Taoist god is enshrined in the hall. Although its face is blank, it still gives people a sense of majesty and solemnity.

Several people bowed their heads slightly to show respect and shouted loudly while standing outside the hall.

"Where is the Taoist priest in charge?"

After a while, Yao Zhen, who was wearing a green Taoist robe, walked out from the back of the hall. "I am Yao Zhen, I wonder why you all came to my Qingfeng Temple?"

The leader of the team took a step forward and said, "I heard that you have recruited a lot of civilians and craftsmen. Now the war in Qinzhou is tense, and the court has issued a conscription order. I want to take these people with me. Please be lenient."

Yao Zhen showed an awkward look and made way for him. "Everyone, why don't you come and see for yourself? There is no living person in my Taoist temple anymore."

A few people were confused as to what was going on. The team that was leading the way, following Yaozhen through the gate from the front yard to the middle yard, saw the scene clearly, opened their eyes wide in shock, and quickly drew out their long swords.

All those working in various places in the central courtyard were zombies with shriveled and blue faces and rotten skin!

The god I created for Sangque was originally named 'Sang Jun', and I didn't think too much about it, but everyone was so funny. With one sentence, 'Sang Jun, the cherry blossoms in my hometown are blooming', I was immediately broken, hahaha, so I changed 'Sang Jun' to 'Xuan Nu'. The god Sangque was originally going to be written according to the female war goddess 'Jiu Tian Xuan Nu', hum~