Chapter 15: - The Labor Draft

Something really had happened out front.

When Zheng Fan and Feng Siniang reached the front hall, they found two soldiers standing at the entrance, both dressed in black leather armor.

The Great Yan Dynasty revered black, and black was the dominant color of its military uniforms. But these two men wore only leather armor, which meant they were neither elite Imperial Guards nor hardened field troops. They were most likely soldiers from Tiger Head City’s local garrison.

Below the stage stood two middle-aged men. One was dressed as a clerical official and held a register in his hands. The other wore armor and bore the rank of Lieutenant Commander, his expression openly arrogant.

“The one on the left is a local registrar here in Tiger Head City. Surname Chen. He eats at our place all the time. I don’t know the one on the right. Never seen him before,” Feng Siniang quietly told Zheng Fan.

Then she stepped forward to greet them, all smiles.

“Aiyo, what wind blew our dear Registrar Chen all the way here? You should’ve sent word first. I could’ve had the girls wash up and make themselves pretty for you.”

The moment Registrar Chen saw Feng Siniang, a flicker of lust appeared in his eyes. He laughed and cursed, “Forget it. My old bones can’t survive the girls at your place. Their skin’s so rough even the grunts in the barracks outside the city are smoother. You, though, Fourth Lady... I heard you personally took a customer last night?”

“Aiyo, my dear Registrar! I have this whole household to feed, all these mouths depending on this little business of mine. Everything’s getting more expensive now. What else am I supposed to do? I can’t just stand there watching everyone’s rice jars go empty.”

Registrar Chen reached out as though to take Feng Siniang’s hand, but she quietly slipped away without making it obvious.

Beside him, the Lieutenant Commander frowned in displeasure. Apparently, Registrar Chen referring to soldiers as “grunts” had rubbed him the wrong way.

He did not make a scene over it. Great Yan had been founded on military strength, but the realm had enjoyed peace for a long time. The tendency to esteem civil officials and suppress the military was nowhere near as severe as in several of the other great states, but the wind had already begun blowing in that direction.

Still, when Registrar Chen kept laughing and flirting with the madam instead of handling official business, the Lieutenant Commander finally gave an impatient snort.

Though, to be fair, this madam really was something.

Registrar Chen heard the snort. His expression changed immediately, becoming faintly ingratiating as he glanced at the man beside him.

“Lieutenant Commander Xue, don’t be impatient. Don’t be impatient.”

Then he flipped through the register in his hands and said to Feng Siniang, “Fourth Lady, the court is levying another round of labor service. According to your household register, you owe four able-bodied men.”

“My heavens! Didn’t they already levy this year’s labor service?” Feng Siniang covered her mouth in shock.

For ordinary subjects of Yan, taxes and labor service were two unavoidable hurdles, obligations every common household owed each year. But rules were rules and people were people. If you had enough money, you could pay to redeem yourself from the labor draft.

The inn did decent business, and when the levy came earlier in the year, Fourth Lady had paid money instead.

“Can’t be helped,” Registrar Chen said awkwardly. “Something came up again.”

“How can they do this? Are common people like us supposed to live or not? Heaven above!”

“Insolence!” Lieutenant Commander Xue barked. “The army is about to march. As a subject of Yan, transporting grain and fodder to the forward troops is your duty. Woman, if you keep obstructing the levy, don’t blame my blade for showing no mercy!”

He made a show of reaching for his saber. Feng Siniang cooperated perfectly, stumbling backward in fright and covering her mouth, no longer daring to complain.

Registrar Chen shrugged. He was a local minor official whose family had served as clerks in Tiger Head City for generations. Because his roots were here, there were times when he could not afford to be too ruthless with the locals. Fortunately, this military brute was standing beside him and could play the villain.

“Fourth Lady, according to the household register, your family owes four men: Zheng A’Ming, Zheng Cheng, Zheng Li, and Zheng Fan.”

The instant Registrar Chen finished reading the names, Lieutenant Commander Xue planted one boot on a chair and shouted, “Then hurry up and call them out!”

“This... this...” Hesitation appeared on Feng Siniang’s face. She first glanced back at Zheng Fan, then dipped into a small bow. “My lords, it isn’t that I’m unwilling to serve the country, but my household truly cannot provide four men right now. My A’Li left with a merchant caravan two days ago. I don’t even know where he is now or when he’ll be back. And my A’Ming is sick. I’d send him if I could, but if he goes and spreads that wasting disease of his through the army camp, wouldn’t that be an enormous crime?”

“You’d better not be lying to me,” Registrar Chen said suspiciously.

“Aiya!” Feng Siniang slapped her hands together helplessly. “Go ask around if you don’t believe me. Everyone knows my A’Li went out two days ago. You know that big fool eats like a horse. A caravan wanted him, offered to feed him and pay him on top of it. Naturally I kicked him out the door myself. As for A’Ming, he’s still lying in the rear courtyard right now. We’ve even got his coffin ready.”

Registrar Chen summoned one of his men and told him to go make inquiries. Then he and Lieutenant Commander Xue personally went into the rear courtyard to inspect A’Ming.

Even on an ordinary day, A’Ming wore a pale “dead man’s” face. Now that he was injured as well, the sight of him was... impressive.

Lieutenant Commander Xue looked displeased. “Fine. Forget the one who’s sick and about to kick the bucket. But the one who left with a caravan counts as evading labor service!”

As a regular customer of the inn, Registrar Chen actually spoke up for them. “Lieutenant Commander Xue, that’s not quite fair. They already fulfilled this year’s labor service in the first half of the year.”

Lieutenant Commander Xue licked his lips. He still looked unhappy, but there was not much he could do. This military mobilization had come too suddenly, and many preparations had not been made in time. So in the end he could only shout, “What about the other two men?”

“Right here.” Feng Siniang pointed toward Zheng Fan and Liang Cheng.

“Hm...”

Lieutenant Commander Xue seemed quite interested in Liang Cheng’s physique. Liang Cheng was not especially tall, but he carried a compact, dangerous toughness.

Then the Lieutenant Commander looked at Zheng Fan and instinctively frowned. Zheng Fan had awakened only a few days ago. Although his complexion had recovered considerably, his frame still looked somewhat thin and weak.

Still, according to the household register, the two men were relatives, practically brothers, and this family seemed to have decent means.

So Lieutenant Commander Xue asked, “Can you provide your own armor?”

“Yes, yes. We can. We can even bring our own rations,” Feng Siniang answered immediately.

Lieutenant Commander Xue nodded and pointed at Liang Cheng and Zheng Fan. “Provide your own armor. Report to the army camp outside the city for muster before noon tomorrow.”

“You heard him. Don’t be late,” Registrar Chen added.

“We heard, we heard.” Feng Siniang nodded repeatedly. “Aiyo, my lords, leaving already? Stay and have a meal.”

“No. We still have more labor rolls to check,” Registrar Chen declined.

Then he and Lieutenant Commander Xue left the inn together.

...

Everyone gathered in a circle inside the small reception room.

Even A’Ming had climbed out of his coffin. Pale-faced, he sat off to one side.

Blind Man Bei pursed his lips and said, “There are only two roads in front of us now. One, pack everything tonight and leave Tiger Head City, then find somewhere else to settle. The other is...”

“I think we should just go,” Zheng Fan interrupted. “It would be a shame to abandon this place.”

The inn was the business everyone had spent half a year building. It was also their first home in this world. Walking away from it just like that would be far too wasteful.

They had probably paid a considerable price to obtain legal identities as subjects of Yan in the first place. If they fled now, every one of them would become an unregistered illegal.

And Tiger Head City was supposed to be the first target of their next stage of development. Abandoning it so casually would be an enormous loss.

There was, technically, a third road.

Raise a banner and rebel immediately.

But that one was not realistic yet.

Blind Man Bei nodded when he heard Zheng Fan’s decision. “As expected, Master sees farther than the rest of us.”

In truth, Bei had already made the same choice himself. But some decisions needed to come from Zheng Fan’s own mouth. As a subordinate, he naturally had to place Master’s safety above everything else. No matter what he thought privately, what he said aloud had to reflect that.

That was the political correctness of being a retainer.

“Liang Cheng, Master’s safety will depend on you.”

Liang Cheng, seated beside Zheng Fan, nodded. A wisp of baleful aura flashed through his eyes and vanished.

Blind Man Bei continued, “San’er, you go with them tomorrow too. We’re bringing our own rations. Even if you’re a dwarf, you can still help with odd jobs, right?”

Xue San showed no sensitivity at all toward the word “dwarf.” He simply nodded.

“Yessir.”

Blind Man Bei could sense the changes in Liang Cheng and Xue San. With those two beside Master, and with the assignment apparently limited to civilian laborers transporting grain and fodder in the rear, there should not be much danger.

The inn’s household register actually included Blind Man Bei and Xue San as well, under the names Zheng Bei and Zheng San. But one was blind and the other a dwarf, so neither fell within the labor draft.

Feng Siniang hesitated. “Why don’t I go with Master too? If I’m there to take care of him, Master...”

“You planning to go as a camp prostitute?”

“...” Feng Siniang.

Blind Man Bei faced Zheng Fan and slowly stood.

His eye sockets were empty, yet Zheng Fan still had the strange sensation that the Blind Man was “looking” directly at him.

“We are, in the end, only Master’s subordinates. We will gather around Master, cut through thorns and brambles for him, and sweep away every obstacle from the road ahead. That is our responsibility. That is our purpose. But Master is the king seated upon the throne. He must sit higher than we do, and he must see farther than we can. And knowing Master’s temperament, I’m certain you would never want us to treat you like Liu Shan.”

Zheng Fan nodded.

Remembering how he had barely dared step outside the inn these past few days, a smile appeared on his face.

“When I used to watch costume dramas, I always thought the battle scenes looked fake. Either the production budget was too low or the extras couldn’t be bothered to act properly. This time I’ll finally get to see the real thing with my own eyes. Heh. Truthfully, I’m actually looking forward to it.”

At that moment, pale-faced A’Ming cut in.

“Master, you’re going as civilian laborers. Chances are all you’ll see are carts and fodder.”

“...” Zheng Fan.

[End of Chapter 15]