Wei Xiuyuan's sudden change didn't arouse any suspicions from the Wei family. They all thought that Wei Xiuyuan had grown up without his grandfather to rely on after they split from the family, so they felt more gratified.

However, he was allowed to help his family with household chores, but he was definitely not allowed to work in the fields. No matter what he said, Wei Sanshi and the Fang Clan remained unmoved, thinking that he was a scholar and shouldn't work in the fields.

Thus, Wei Xiuyuan could only stay at home and think about how to solve his family's current poverty.

As a scholar, Wei Xiuyuan still had some reputation in the village. Logically speaking, he should be able to open a private school to teach his children.

Unfortunately, the world wasn't at peace, and the weather wasn't good either. It was difficult for the common people to even fill their stomachs. How many people would be willing to spend money to send their children to study like Wei Xiuyuan's grandfather?

And those who were willing to send their children to study wouldn't take a fancy to a private school opened by a small scholar like Wei Xiuyuan. They would send their children to private schools opened by scholars in the county town.

Thus, Wei Xiuyuan found it difficult to rely on Wei Xiuyuan's knowledge to make money. He could only think of other ways.

However, what caught Wei Xiuyuan unprepared was that before he could think of a good way to increase his family's income without causing trouble, a thunderous news came — the imperial court was going to recruit soldiers for the border!

In the Daqing Dynasty, except for those who had scholarly achievements, every family had to serve in the military.

If it was during the peaceful times, serving in the military wasn't a big deal. At most, they could deal with some bandits. But now, the Daqing Dynasty was at war with the barbarians outside the border. The battlefield at the border was like a meat grinder. Every time a man was recruited, it was very difficult to come back alive.

In Wei Xiuyuan's memory, he originally had a fourth uncle, Wei Qingshi. His fourth uncle was tall and strong, and he had learned good archery from the hunters in the neighboring village, so his skills were not bad.

Unfortunately, a few years ago, the conscription officer saw that he had a strong physique and forcibly recruited him. He had not returned for a few years, and there was no news of him. It was estimated that he had met with misfortune. Before the conscription, Fourth Uncle had not married and had no children. The bloodline of the Fourth Branch could be considered to have been cut off.

The conscription a few years ago had caused panic among the people. Many families only had one strong man, but he was forcibly conscripted, leaving behind orphans and widows to be bullied and humiliated by others, causing countless tragedies.

Now that there was another recruitment, everyone in the village panicked when the news came. Many families with only one able-bodied man wanted to move into the mountains and forests to avoid the recruitment.

Unfortunately, the civilians were no match for the officials. The officials did not give them any time to escape. Not long after the news spread, a group of officials came to the village to recruit soldiers. They kicked open the doors of every house fiercely.

Wei Sanshi, who had just returned from the fields, had a panicked expression on his face. "What should we do?"

Fang Clan's situation was even worse. She wiped her tears and cried, "Those damned barbarians!

Why didn't the heavens send a bolt of lightning to strike those bastards to death! "She did not dare to curse the imperial court, so she could only curse the barbarians who had started a war with the imperial court.

"Now that we have separated from the main family, each family needs one strong man.

Master, what should we do?

Not many people can survive on the battlefield. Didn't your fourth brother, who was so strong, also disappear without a trace? "

Wei Sanshi was not a very capable person, but at this time, he was also flustered.

When Master Wei was still alive, before the Wei family separated, the Fourth Branch of the Wei family, which had more than a dozen people, could be considered one family. Therefore, when the conscription took place a few years ago, only Wei Qingshi was recruited.

Now that the Wei family had split into three households, it meant that three able-bodied men from the three households had to join the army.

It was still unknown who was going to serve in the military from the first and second branches, but from the looks of the third branch and the Fang Clan and Wei Sanshi, it was obvious that they were going to let Wei Sanshi serve in the military.

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Wei Xiuyuan could tell at a glance that his cheap father was not a strong man at all. He worked in the fields all year round to accumulate some strength, but his body was very weak due to malnutrition. If he went to the battlefield, unless he was very lucky, he would be cannon fodder.

Therefore, Wei Xiuyuan said, "Father, Mother, let me go to the military service this time!

Father is already so old, if he goes, I'm afraid … "

His unspoken words were very clear.

However, Wei Sanshi and the Fang Clan immediately objected, "No!"

Wei Sanshi said, "Son, you can't go!

Even if someone were to go, it would be Father!

Father's life is just like this, a rotten life, it's not a pity to die.

But you are different, you can study, in the future you will definitely be able to change the Wei family and bring glory to our ancestors! "

Wei Sanshi still believed in his father's words, the future of the Wei family depended on his son Xiuyuan!

Wei Xiuyuan sighed in his heart, why didn't the original owner work hard to pass the county level exam?

Or delay the conscription by half a year would have been good!

The prefectural examination would be held in half a year, he relied on the optical computer and his memory to study hard and was confident that he could pass the county level exam.

If he could pass the county level exam, the Wei family could be exempted from the military service.

But there was no time!

Fang Clan cried, "Husband, is there really no other way?" She didn't want her son to be conscripted, but she also didn't want her husband to be conscripted.

Wei Sanshi sighed, "If we had money, we could also use money to pay off the conscription. But one quota costs at least ten taels of silver, even my father couldn't afford it, otherwise he wouldn't have watched Fourth Brother get taken away."

Among the four brothers of the Wei family, Wei Sanshi and Fourth Brother were the closest. When Master Wei was alive, his favorite grandson was Wei Xiuyuan, and his favorite son was his youngest son, Wei Sanshi. Just by looking at his name, one could tell that Wei Qingshi was different from the other three brothers named Wei Dashi, Wei Ershi, and Wei Sanshi. In Master Wei's heart, his position was different.

Unfortunately, ten taels of silver was not a huge sum of money that a peasant family like the Wei family could afford.

Before the family split, more than a dozen people couldn't even afford it, let alone now.

However, Wei Xiuyuan's heart skipped a beat, "Father, as long as we have money, we can pay off the conscription?

We won't be investigated, right? "

Wei Sanshi said, "This is a rule set by the imperial court. How could we be investigated?"

In reality, this was a rule set by some officials in order to make money. In fact, the imperial court didn't need that many able-bodied men for conscription, but the lower-ranking officials would use this opportunity to force the men's families to pay off the conscription.

If there were too many conscripted recruits in the end, those officials would sell the extra men for money or keep them as servants and coolies. They wouldn't even need to send a message to their families.

If there were too few conscripted recruits and the higher-ups weren't strict enough, they could get away with it and still get paid. If the higher-ups were strict enough, they could still collect money and release the conscripted recruits, and the poor families would have to bear the loss of the quota.

Often, after a conscription, some poor families would have two or three able-bodied men taken away. Sometimes, even children in their early teens would be taken away, leading to the extinction of many families.