I am the Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysterious-Chapter 342 - 306: Conscription Order

Beginning of Summer.

Two old farmers were inspecting the wheat in the fields. The weather was getting hotter, and in another month, this year’s wheat would be ready for harvest.

"I’m afraid this year’s yield won’t be enough to pay the grain tax again."

"Exactly. My younger son just returned from the county and said the rebellion over in Qinzhou can’t be suppressed. The rebel army has joined forces with the barbarians from Yunzhou, and they’ve already taken over half of Qinzhou. Consequently, the grain tax in our Jinzhou keeps increasing, it’s truly unbearable."

"They say the rebel army has people skilled in summoning ghosts, as well as Gu Masters and Ghost Witches from Yunzhou. The people in the Evil Suppression Bureau in Qinzhou are simply not enough, and ordinary soldiers are dying in droves. Now they have even started conscripting soldiers over here in Jinzhou."

"Sigh, I hope they don’t come to conscript from our village. My eldest son’s wife has just gotten pregnant, and my youngest is just sixteen. He’s meant for studying and will surely earn honors in the future. Once he succeeds, we won’t have to worry about him being forcibly conscripted. Let’s not talk about these vexing things anymore."

"Although the wheat this year doesn’t look great, it’s strange because there hasn’t been any Corpse Mud Evil in the fields of our villages. I guess when it comes time to harvest, there will be less Wheat Evil as well."

"Indeed, it seems like heaven’s blessing."

The two old men leaned on their hoes, unconsciously looking towards the range of mountains to the south. Everyone in the surrounding ten miles knew that the once bandit-infested Jinfeng Mountain had been renamed Bright Moon Mountain.

"I heard the Qingfeng Temple at the foot of Bright Moon Mountain has been completed. How about we go there when we’re free and pray for peace?" 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Haven’t you heard? There’s something wrong with that Taoist Temple. Ever since this Kun Dao arrived, the bandits in Jinfeng Mountain fell silent. She must have fed them all to an Evil Ghost that eats people. Recently, a worshipper burning incense at the temple accidentally wandered to the back mountain and saw a ghost."

"I heard people say there’s a Ghost God named ’Xuan Nu’ in the mountain who conquered the bandits in Jinfeng Mountain, renamed it to Bright Moon Mountain, and now the thousand qing of fertile land there are isolated from the world without any Evil Spirits and Evil Ghosts, like an Immortal Realm."

"It would be great if there really were such an Immortal Realm!"

The two old men chatted as they weeded the fields.

As noon approached, the sun grew harsher. Elder Wu and Old Man Cheng carried their hoes back to the village. Before they entered, they suddenly heard the sound of hooves. They turned their heads to see a group of soldiers and officers galloping from the distant official road, stirring up a massive cloud of dust.

The two old men dropped their hoes and ran towards the village, shouting as they ran, "The conscriptors are here! The conscriptors are here!"

The village’s old dogs barked wildly in alarm, and people from each household came out to see. The conscripting officials and soldiers, looking fierce and menacing, charged into the village on their tall horses.

Old Man Cheng stood at the village entrance, shouting at them, "Sirs, there are hardly any strong men left in our village. The wheat in the fields will be ready for harvest in just a month. If you take everyone away now, the wheat will wither in the fields. We won’t be able to pay the grain tax and the whole village might not survive!"

"Get lost!"

The leading officer whipped Old Man Cheng with a horsewhip, causing him to cry out in pain and fall by the roadside.

The soldiers rushed into the village, brandishing a token high above their heads.

"By the court’s decree, every household must provide one male, or be charged with defying the order!"

A young woman clutched her small child, tears streaming down her face as she knelt and pleaded, "Sir, please spare us. Both my parents are deceased; only my husband and I remain with this young child. Without his father, the widow and child cannot survive."

The pleas were futile. The officers dismounted, drew their knives, and searched the village, kicking open one tightly shut door after another, pulling out all the adult males attempting to hide, and chaining them up.

In a dilapidated thatched hut, a boy hid, trembling beneath the bed, only to be dragged out by the officers in the end.

The boy cried out in despair, "Father, Mother, I don’t want to go to war!"

Resistance was futile, and the boy was forcibly taken away by the officers.

In Elder Wu’s house, the eldest son of the Wu family stuffed his sixteen-year-old brother into a water jar, took a look at his pregnant wife, and stepped forward to meet the officers as they burst in.

"I’m the only male in my household, please spare my father and wife. I’ll go with you."

Elder Wu was inconsolable while the wife of the Wu family covered her mouth, trying to hold back her sorrow, as they watched him be taken away.

This was the first forced conscription, and the officers were not thorough. They didn’t discover the person hiding in the water jar.

The entire village was steeped in grief and hopelessness.

Under the blazing sun, the officers took their captured men and rode to the next village.

People from each home came out weeping, bereft of their conscripted menfolk, leaving behind only the elderly women and those with and children under ten.

Some families were fortunate enough to have concealed a few men who weren’t discovered and they came out of hiding.

The young son of Elder Wu, Wu Chonglin emerged from the water jar, hearing the village filled with cries and shouts, he looked angrily at the books of the Saint Book on the table, not knowing who to blame.

Was it the rebel army for inciting unrest, or the barbarians of Yunzhou, or the court’s inhumane conscription policies?

Dripping wet, Wu Chonglin went outside, stood on the village road, and looked around.

"Everyone, the war in Qinzhou won’t end anytime soon. Today’s the first forced conscription, and there will soon be a second, a third, and they will even start taking food. At that time, even the old and children will be grabbed, and those left without food won’t survive. We can’t just sit here and wait for death."

Someone wailed, "Then where can we go? If we leave our homeland, we won’t survive either."

Wu Chonglin didn’t know either. In the past, those who couldn’t pay the grain tax would choose to become bandits. Now it seemed that the only option left for them was the same path.

At this moment, Elder Wu recalled the Qingfeng Temple at the foot of Bright Moon Mountain and the ’Xuan Nu’ within the mountain. He spoke up, "Why not go over to Bright Moon Mountain and take a look?"

Some villagers had heard about the Immortal Realm in Bright Moon Mountain, and it was said that the temple frequently hired workers. Even without an Immortal Realm, they could work for the temple, and it would be a way to survive if the temple accepted them as secular disciples of the Taoist Sect.

The court would not forcefully conscript Taoist disciples, and in critical situations, they would only seek local temples for assistance, with the number of aid decided by the temple.

After discussing, the villagers decided to send Wu Chonglin and a few other men to scout the situation at Qingfeng Temple in Bright Moon Mountain.

The village elders were reluctant to abandon the wheat that would be ready for harvest in a month.

...

Meanwhile, outside Qingfeng Temple on Bright Moon Mountain.

Similarly, a team of soldiers rode in, stopping at the fork outside the temple and dismounting.

Up the forked path, surrounded by lush trees, stood a newly built Taoist temple amidst the forest, accessed by a winding path of blue stone steps.

Outside the temple, piles of wood and stone lay with no one working on them. From behind the temple came the clanging of metal. The mountain’s eerie wind made things seem somewhat ominous. The group stepped in and scanned their surroundings.

The front courtyard was completed, with the main hall’s flying eaves creating an impressive sight. Inside, a tall statue of the Daoist Lord was enshrined. Its featureless face exuded an aura of authority and solemnity.

The group bowed their heads slightly in respect, and one shouted from outside the hall.

"Where is the Daoist in charge?"

Soon, Yao Zhen, dressed in a blue Daoist robe, walked out from the back of the main hall, "I am Yao Zhen, what brings all of you to this Qingfeng Temple?"

The leading officer stepped forward, "We heard you recently recruited a lot of laborers and craftsmen. The court demands conscripts due to the urgent situation in Qinzhou. We need you to cooperate and let us take these people."

Yao Zhen appeared troubled and stepped aside, "Why don’t you see for yourselves? There have been no living people in this temple for some time."

Confused, the group, led by the officer, followed Yao Zhen through the front courtyard to the middle courtyard’s archway. What they saw astounded them, and they quickly drew their long knives.

Throughout the middle courtyard, those working were nothing but Zombies with withered green faces and decayed skin!