Besides becoming a Wu Zhang, Li Yuan had another stroke of good fortune.
Because Li Yuan had lifted the three-hundred-jin stone lock.
He was also the top performer in this conscription.
According to regulations, he received a reward of ten taels of silver.
This made the other Soldier Families incredibly envious.
Because for an ordinary Soldier Family's able-bodied man, the settlement money issued by the Military Governor's Office was only 500 cash, which was half a string of coins.
Auxiliary soldiers received even less, a mere 200 cash.
Ten taels of silver, converted to Great Liang's Jianxing Tongbao, was a full ten strings of coins, or ten thousand cash.
It was twenty times what others received; how could it not make people envious?
If spent frugally, this money would be enough for an ordinary family to eat their fill for more than half a year.
However, even though these Soldier Families were envious, even somewhat jealous, there was nothing they could do.
Who told them they didn't have the ability to lift that three-hundred-jin stone lock?
After the conscription was completed, the Military Governor's Office issued rough wooden waist tokens to all new Soldier Families.
From then on, they shed their civilian status and entered the military register as Soldier Families.
It was already Shenshi (3-5 PM) in the afternoon.
It was too late today to send these Soldier Families to their respective General Fortresses.
The Military Governor's Office therefore ordered these Soldier Families to spend the night in the temporary shelters around the training ground.
Tomorrow morning, officials would escort them to their respective General Fortresses.
The Military Governor's Office did not restrict them, and the Elders also permitted them to move about in the county town.
These Soldier Families were now registered, and there was no fear of them escaping; if they ran, they could simply be apprehended at their homes.
By then, they would no longer be Soldier Families but military slaves.
These newly enlisted Soldier Families knew that tomorrow they could go to the military camps to be assigned land, houses, and wives, so why would they run?
Many people had been single their entire lives and had never touched a woman.
They were currently dreaming of having a wife.
At this moment, some Soldier Families surrounded a middle-aged man.
They were all jokingly asking questions.
Li Yuan looked over; this middle-aged man was precisely the person who had just explained the Soldier Family system to several people nearby.
He now had an auxiliary soldier's rough wooden waist token hanging from his waist.
It seemed he was about to leave the training ground and head into the county town.
Just then, someone stopped him and said,
"Uncle Fu, don't be in such a hurry to leave."
"You only have 200 cash on your waist; what can you do in the county?"
"Are you perhaps in a hurry to go to a brothel and sleep with a young lady?"
"Why don't you first explain the intricacies of being a Soldier Family to a few brothers?"
"Then we'll chip in some coppers for you so you can find a half-open door tonight, how about that?"
After he finished speaking, the group of newly enlisted Soldier Families burst into a round of crude laughter.
The man named Uncle Fu could only shake his head helplessly and say,
"Alright, ask whatever you want to ask."
"Everyone will be Soldier Family comrades from now on."
"What I know, I will naturally tell everyone."
Li Yuan asked around among the people nearby and only then found out.
This Uncle Fu, it was said, had applied to enlist three times before, but because he was slightly older, he hadn't succeeded the previous two times.
This time, because the Soldier Families had suffered heavy casualties, the Military Governor's Office was lenient in selecting Soldier Families.
As long as they were adult males without disabilities, they were all recruited.
So Uncle Fu also became an auxiliary soldier this time.
Because he had applied many times, he was somewhat acquainted with the officials of the Military Governor's Office.
He knew more about the rules and inside stories of the Soldier Families than the average person.
At this moment, a pockmarked man jokingly asked Uncle Fu,
"What our brothers want to know most is what kind of wives are assigned by the General Fortress."
"I also heard today that the assigned land, houses, and women are divided into 'upper households' and 'lower households.'"
"How is this calculated?"
"Uncle Fu, quickly tell our brothers."
The surrounding men all nodded.
Everyone's faces were filled with anticipation.
Uncle Fu saw that they were all impatient and could only shake his head, smile, and say,
"It's not hard to understand."
"If you're selected as an able-bodied Soldier Family, you can enter an 'upper household' as the head of the household."
"An 'upper household' means that there is at least one young, fertile woman in the family."
"The house will also be larger, and at least half of the assigned land will be fertile 'upper fields.'"
Upon hearing this, everyone's faces showed longing.
Several men who had already received their able-bodied waist tokens just chuckled foolishly.
Naturally, their hearts were filled with joy.
Uncle Fu continued,
"As for 'lower households,' there are many situations."
"The assigned houses are usually more dilapidated, and the land is mostly 'lower fields' with inconvenient water access."
"As for the woman assigned to you, don't expect her to be beautiful; she can only be guaranteed to bear you children."
"Actually, that's not the worst of it."
"The worst is when you enter the household and find not only an ugly wife but also several half-grown children who can eat and need you to support them."
"At that time, you'll be calling out to heaven and earth, but no one will answer."
The men around him all burst into laughter upon hearing this.
Uncle Fu sighed.
"Household selection is decided by drawing lots, which is fair enough."
"The so-called 'conscripting able-bodied men to support households' means that the male must be able to support the household and live a life."
"He must be able to support the women and children in that household and earn food for them."
"Whether you get a good one or a bad one, it's your own luck; you can't blame others."
"The luckiest one among us here is this young man."
Uncle Fu pointed to Li Yuan, who was standing to the side, listening carefully.
"He is the top performer; when he enters the fortress, he has the right to choose a household."
"He can choose any family's house or woman he fancies."
"Others, even if they are able-bodied men, can only draw lots and leave it to fate."
The others naturally looked at Li Yuan with even more envy.
Li Yuan saw that everyone was looking at him.
He walked up to Uncle Fu and asked,
"Brother, I saw you were in a hurry to go into the city just now. Are you perhaps going to buy something?"
"Do we also need to prepare anything when we go to become household heads tomorrow?"
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded.
What Li Yuan said made a lot of sense.
They couldn't go to be household heads empty-handed, could they?
They definitely needed to prepare something.
Uncle Fu also smiled slightly and said,
"Brother, you are truly meticulous."
"That's right, I am indeed going into the city to buy some things."
"The reason is also very simple."
"Tomorrow, when you enter the village, the woman you choose will have to prepare a welcome feast for her husband."
"Additionally, according to the rules, the Soldier Family Baizhang and the village Elders must come to welcome the new household."
"And the new Soldier Family must also offer them three cups of wine."
"But think about it, these women are all relatives of fallen Soldier Families; because they were observing mourning, they have been without a man to support the family for half a year."
"Although the Military Governor's Office issues them some rice and grain for relief every month,"
"What good does that do? They could only rely on selling their family assets and working hard to get through these past six months."
"At this time, these women must have no food left at home and be extremely poor."
"And to prepare a welcome feast, there must be wine and meat for it to be considered respectable."
"With my 200 cash settlement fee, I plan to go to the city market to buy some coarse wine and meat, and bring it directly tomorrow so as not to trouble my future wife."
"If I bring her wine and meat, she will surely be happy, and she will certainly treat me well in the future."
The surrounding people all nodded in agreement after hearing this.
They thought to themselves, "So that's how it is."