Chapter 1 Trouble Ahead

Indeed, something had happened up ahead.

When Zheng Fan and Feng Siniang went to the front hall, they saw two soldiers standing at the front entrance, both wearing black leather armor.

The Great Yan Dynasty favored black, and the main color of their military uniforms was black. However, the fact that these two soldiers were only wearing leather armor proved that they were not elite troops of the Yan Dynasty's Forbidden Army, nor were they elite field troops, but merely local garrison soldiers from Hutou City.

Beneath the front hall stage, a middle-aged man dressed as a clerk and a middle-aged captain in armor stood together. The clerk held a booklet in his hand, while the captain had an arrogant expression.

"The one on the left is the local clerk of Hutou City, surnamed Chen, who often comes here to eat. I don't recognize the one on the right, I've never seen him before." Feng Siniang whispered to Zheng Fan, and then she stepped forward and greeted them proactively, "Oh my, what wind has blown our Clerk Chen here? You should have given us a heads-up earlier, so we could have had the girls doll themselves up a bit."

When Clerk Chen saw Feng Siniang, a glint of lust flashed in his eyes, and he chuckled and scolded:

"Come on, the girls here, my old bones can't handle them. Their skin is so rough that even the soldiers in the barracks outside the city are more supple than them.

But you, Siniang, I heard you took a customer yesterday?"

"Oh dear, my Clerk, I have such a big family, so many mouths to feed, and we rely on this little business to survive. Now everything is getting so expensive, there's nothing I can do, I can't just watch the rice bin empty, can I?"

Clerk Chen reached out to grab Feng Siniang's hand, but Feng Siniang dodged it without leaving a trace.

At this moment, the captain next to him frowned slightly, seemingly dissatisfied with Clerk Chen's referring to him as a soldier.

However, he didn't make a fuss about it. Although the Great Yan Dynasty was founded on military strength, it had been peaceful for a long time. Although the trend of valuing civil affairs over military affairs was not as strong as in those other great countries, it was already emerging.

However, seeing that the clerk next to him was only interested in chatting and laughing with the madam, delaying the main business, the captain snorted with dissatisfaction.

Still, to be fair, this madam was indeed quite charming.

Clerk Chen heard the snort and immediately changed his expression, showing a hint of flattery as he looked at the captain next to him, saying:

"Captain Xue, don't be impatient, don't be impatient."

Then, Clerk Chen flipped through the booklet in his hand and said to Feng Siniang:

"Siniang, the imperial court is conscripting labor, and according to your household registration, you must provide four laborers."

"Heavens, wasn't the labor conscription already done this year?" Feng Siniang exclaimed, covering her mouth.

For the common people of the Yan Dynasty, paying taxes and performing labor were unavoidable burdens and obligations that every citizen had to fulfill each year. However, rules were rigid, but people were flexible. If you had money, you could redeem yourself from labor with money.

The inn's business was quite good, and the labor conscription for the first half of the year had already been carried out, and Siniang had redeemed herself with money.

"This, there's no way around it, haven't there been more events?" Clerk Chen said with some embarrassment.

"How can this be? Are you trying to make it impossible for us commoners to live? Oh heavens."

"Impudence! The army is about to go on an expedition. As citizens of the Yan Dynasty, it is our duty to transport grain and fodder to the front lines. Woman, if you dare to refuse again, be careful my sword shows no mercy!"

Captain Xue threatened to draw his sword, and Feng Siniang cooperated by backing away in fright, covering her mouth, and daring not to shout anymore.

Clerk Chen shrugged. He was a local official in Hutou City, and his family had been officials in Hutou City for generations. Sometimes when doing things, he couldn't fully let go. Fortunately, he had this soldier next to him to play the villain.

"Siniang, according to the household registration records, your household must provide four laborers: Zheng A'ming, Zheng Cheng, Zheng Li, and Zheng Fan."

After Clerk Chen finished speaking, Captain Xue stepped on a chair and shouted:

"Hurry up and call the people out!"

"This...this..." Feng Siniang hesitated, first glanced at Zheng Fan, and then bowed, saying, "My lords, it's not that we're unwilling to serve the country, but in reality, my family really can't provide four laborers right now."

Before the captain could get angry,

Feng Siniang immediately continued:

"My A'li, went to run business with a caravan the day before yesterday, he doesn't even know when he is coming back;

My A'ming, is sick, I would like to send him, but what if he goes and infects the barracks with his illness, that would be a great crime."

"Don't you dare lie to me?" Clerk Chen was a little skeptical.

"Alright!" Feng Siniang clapped her hands helplessly, "You can ask around, did my A'li go out the day before yesterday. You know, that silly big guy eats a lot, if a caravan wants him, providing meals and rewards, I'd naturally kick him out."

"As for A'ming, he's still lying in the backyard right now, we've already prepared his coffin."

Clerk Chen beckoned for a subordinate to come over and asked him to inquire about the situation. Then, he went to the backyard with Captain Xue to check on A'ming's condition.

A'ming usually has a pale "dead man" face when he's fine, but now that he's injured, the way he looks...tsk tsk;

Captain Xue said with some dissatisfaction: "Forget about the one who's sick and about to die, the one who went out to run business is considered to be evading service!"

Clerk Chen, as a regular customer of this store, spoke a few good words for the inn, "General Xue, you can't say that, they already completed the labor service for this year in the first half of the year."

Captain Xue licked his lips, guessing that he was still very unhappy in his heart, but there was nothing he could do. This time, the dispatch of troops was rushed, and many places were not well prepared, so he could only shout:

"What about the other two laborers?"

"Here." Feng Siniang pointed to Zheng Fan and Liang Cheng, who were standing there.

"Hmm..."

Captain Xue seemed very interested in Liang Cheng's physique. Although Liang Cheng was not tall, he had an extremely refined temperament.

When he looked at Zheng Fan again, he frowned subconsciously. Zheng Fan had only been awake for a few days, and although his complexion had recovered a lot, his body was still a little too thin.

However, according to the registry, these two should be relatives and brothers, and the family's conditions seemed to be good, so he asked:

"Can you provide your own armor?"

"Yes, yes, we will also provide our own dry rations." Feng Siniang replied immediately.

Captain Xue nodded, pointed to Liang Cheng and Zheng Fan, and said, "Bring your own armor and report to the military camp outside the city before noon tomorrow."

"Did you hear that? Don't delay." Clerk Chen added.

"Heard it, heard it." Feng Siniang responded immediately, "Oh, are you two lords leaving now? Stay for a meal."

"No, we still have to continue checking the census of civilians." Clerk Chen refused and left the inn with Captain Xue.

…………

In the small hall, everyone sat in a circle.

Even A'ming crawled out of his coffin, his face pale, and sat beside them.

Blindman Bei pursed his lips and said:

"Now, we have two paths in front of us. One is to pack our things and leave Hutou City tonight, and find another place to settle down.

The other is to only be able to…"

"I think, let's just go, it's a pity to give up this place." Zheng Fan said.

Obviously, the inn was an industry that everyone had built up over the past six months, and it was also everyone's first home in this world. It was really too uneconomical to abandon it like this. At the same time, a lot of effort should have been put in to obtain legal citizen status in the Yan Dynasty. If they just ran away like this, everyone would become illegal residents.

At the same time, Hutou City was also the first point in the upcoming target plan, and it would be too much of a loss to give it up so easily.

In fact, there was another path, which was to start a rebellion now. But this path was not realistic at the moment.

Blindman Bei nodded when he heard this, and said, "Our lord is indeed far-sighted."

In fact, he had already made his choice, but some things had to be said by Zheng Fan himself. As a subordinate, he could only prioritize his lord's safety. No matter what he thought in his heart, he had to say it like this.

This was the political correctness of being a subordinate.

"Liang Cheng, the lord's safety depends on you."

Liang Cheng, who was sitting next to Zheng Fan, nodded, and a wisp of baleful aura flashed in his eyes and disappeared quickly.

Blindman Bei continued, "San'er, you go with them tomorrow too. We'll bring our own dry rations, even if you are a dwarf, you can still help out, right?"

Xue San didn't seem sensitive to the word "dwarf" and nodded directly:

"Alright."

Blindman Bei had a feeling about Liang Cheng and Xue San's situation. With these two people around the lord, even if they were just doing civilian work in the rear, transporting grain and fodder, the problem shouldn't be too big.

In fact, Blindman Bei and Xue San were also registered in the inn's household, one was called Zheng Bei, and the other was called Zheng San, but one was blind and the other was a dwarf, so they were not within the scope of labor conscription.

Feng Siniang hesitated and said, "How about I go with the lord too? With me serving by his side, the lord…"

"Are you going to be a camp prostitute?"

"..." Feng Siniang.

Blindman Bei faced Zheng Fan and slowly stood up. Although his eye sockets were empty, Zheng Fan had the feeling that he was "watching" him.

"We are, after all, just the lord's subordinates. We will rally around the lord, fight through thorns, and remove all obstacles on the road ahead. This is our responsibility and our mission!

But the lord is the king sitting on the throne, he must sit higher than us, and see further than us!

I think, with the lord's character, he definitely wouldn't want us to treat him like Liu Shan."

Zheng Fan nodded, recalling his mentality of not even leaving the inn's gate these days, and a smile appeared on his face, "I used to watch costume dramas, and I always thought the war scenes in them were too fake, either the budget was not enough, or the extras were too casual. This time, I can see it with my own eyes."

"Heh,"

"To be honest,"

"I'm quite looking forward to it."

At this time, A'ming, whose face was pale, interjected:

"Lord, you are going to be civilians, you will probably only see carts and fodder…"

"..." Zheng Fan.