Traveling through ancient times, I led my family to prosperity

When Xiao Lan saw Fu and Liu looking at her eagerly, she shook her head gently at them.

One tael of gold is equivalent to one thousand taels of silver, which is not something that an average family can afford. After seeing off Shen Ada, Xiaolan's family sat together with sad faces.

"Why do we have to pay so much money? It seems that we can't escape this time." Fu said with tears in her eyes.

"If it really doesn't work, I'll go into the military. Anyway, I'm old enough and I've lived enough." Zhang Shanfeng said.

"Dad, how can this be possible? I am in my prime and the eldest in the family. I should go." Zhang Qingfeng said.

"Brother, Dad, stop arguing. Let me go." Zhang Qingnian said, "I feel at ease while you take care of the children at home." Zhang Qingnian said.

Listening to the speeches of the men in the family, Fu, Liu and the children began to cry quietly.

"Why are you crying? That's outrageous!" Zhang Shanfeng shouted angrily, "It's settled. I'm going."

"Grandpa, don't worry about this. I heard from Ada Shen that the conscription period is as long as half a month. Let's think of other ways. If it doesn't work, I will borrow from Manager Zhang." Xiao Lan said to Zhang Shanfeng.

If the Hu people hadn't gone south to collect grass, Xiao Lan would have earned a thousand gold coins, not to mention a hundred. But now the family is in a difficult situation. For more than half a year, the family has been spending their savings. Now the family can't even take out ten gold coins.

"Although we live together, the conscription is levied on our family. How can I ask you to find a way to raise money?" Zhang Shanfeng said, "My life is not worth a hundred gold coins. Take it if you want."

"Dad, what are you talking about?" Zhang quickly interrupted Zhang Shanfeng.

"That's right. Let's think of a solution together. Dad, you are in your prime and you can't be so self-deprecating." Sheng Xuan said.

"Grandpa, we must study hard and strive to pass the imperial examination to become a scholar, so that our family won't have to worry about military service." Xiaohu said.

"Grandpa, we will definitely learn well from Mr. Huang." Xiao Cheng and Xiao Qiang also expressed their determination.

Zhang Shanfeng laughed twice and said, "Okay, okay, military service is not without its benefits. At least it makes the children at home more motivated. Okay."

"Xiao Lan, don't ask the Zhao family. They have a large family and paid more money. Besides, I heard that Shen Ada said that many people's land was confiscated by the court and will be used as military farms."

"We can't ask Manager Bao's family for help either. I don't want the Bao family to look down on our family. I also don't want Xiaoting to be unable to hold her head up in front of the Bao family after she gets married because of this matter." Zhang Shanfeng said.

Xiao Lan came to her senses. If the land was confiscated as military land, would the household registration also be classified as a military household? In order to earn money for food and fodder, Shen Liu would probably collect high amounts of silver and food from those who did not want to be classified as military households.

Once classified as a military household, not only will the land under their name become military land and 40% of the harvest will be taken away, but their descendants will also not be able to escape the fate of military households. This is like a bolt from the blue for the wealthy families who have always lived a good life, and they will definitely pay money and food to buy back their freedom.

In the past few days, every household in the capital city was in a gloomy mood, and people's cries could be heard everywhere. However, some bachelors were happy to serve in the army, because this way they could fill their stomachs.

The document issued along with the land collection and the designation of military households also stated that as a military household, the imperial court would provide grain seeds and farm tools next year, which was good news. However, the families designated as military households were not very happy. Because joining the army meant death, and this was not only believed by Xiaolan's family, but by everyone.

As the general of the prefecture, Shen Liu acted quickly, shouting out orders for half an hour every day on the high platform in the city. "For every military household, males are entitled to 20 mu, females to 10 mu, and minors to 5 mu. These are all permanent farmlands. The men will guard the border, and your families will have farmland to rely on. You will have no worries, and you can go to the battlefield to fight and make achievements."

After a few days of propaganda, ordinary people did their homework. Although they were classified as military households, the land they received was much more than what they had originally purchased. They could not earn so much land even if they worked for several lifetimes.

The situation has changed recently, and ordinary people are no longer so sad. However, the rich people in the city are not in such a good mood, because they have received accurate news that if they don't want to be classified as military households, each person must pay 200 gold to redeem themselves.

Shen Liu has been in a bad mood recently. The wealthy families in the city know that ants cannot shake elephants, so they can only accept the ransom. Shen Liu looks at the increasing silver and money, thinking that these are the soldiers' rations, and his mood becomes brighter. But he also knows that these silver and money can only relieve the pressure temporarily, and he has to wait until next autumn to harvest food. With so many soldiers, he needs to solve the problem of food and grass by himself, and his good mood disappears in an instant.

"Why is it so hot? Will there be another drought like last summer?" Zhang fanned herself with a palm-leaf fan early in the morning. "It would be nice if we had ice at home."

"In this kind of weather, it's okay for the rich, but I don't know how many of us ordinary people have suffered from heatstroke. I heard that there are long queues at the pharmacies." Xin said.

Xiaolan's family has recovered from the sadness they felt when the conscription started, and Zhang Shanfeng is still determined to join the army.

Xiao Lan accidentally heard the conversation between Zhang and Xin. The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was intentional. Xiao Lan immediately had an idea. From the conversation with Shen Ada, she deduced that Shen Liu was short of money, or a lot of silver. And she was holding a huge treasure, could she negotiate a business deal with him?

Xiao Lan found Sheng Xuan in the backyard. Her father was grinding shell powder at this time. "Dad, don't be busy. Go to the pharmacy and buy me some saltpeter first."

"Saltpeter?" Sheng Xuan asked in confusion, "Girl, what do you want saltpeter for?"

"Dad, don't worry about it. Just go quickly. I have urgent need. Maybe my grandpa won't have to serve in the military." Xiao Lan said.

When Zhang Qingfeng and Zhang Qingnian heard that the old man might not have to serve in the military, they quickly took over the work in Sheng Xuan's hands and said, "Brother Xuan, go quickly. Buying saltpeter for Xiao Lan is a big deal. Don't delay."

After buying the saltpeter, Xiao Lan didn't ask for help from anyone. She crushed the saltpeter into powder by herself over the past two days.

Sheng Xuan and the brothers Zhang Qingfeng and Zhang Qingnian were curious about what Xiao Lan was going to do with saltpeter to prevent Zhang Shanfeng from serving in the military. But they didn't want to put pressure on her, so they just let the military service take its course.