bestfiction Chapter 400 Heartbeat
Chapter 400 Heartbeat
But what's done is done; their eldest son had already been selected by the conscription officer, and they couldn't refuse even if they wanted to, so they could only let it be.
Fortunately, the imperial court at that time was relatively wealthy. Because their eldest son had been conscripted into the army, the government provided the family with some grain, which made Mr. and Mrs. Fang feel somewhat better.
After that, the eldest son left Qingzhou under the leadership of the conscription officer, and stayed there for three years.
It wasn't until two years ago that Fang Yong returned to Qingzhou and saw his parents again.
As for why Fang Yong returned to Qingzhou, it all started with his experiences in the Three Camps.
When Fang Yong first entered the three battalions, he had some longing for life after enlisting, because as far as he knew, although soldiers were looked down upon, the treatment was quite good. At least he could eat two meals of white rice every day and receive a monthly military salary.
But it wasn't until he actually entered the military camp that Fang Yong discovered things weren't as wonderful as he had imagined.
In his imagination, after enlisting, he would be able to eat his fill and receive a monthly military salary to send home.
In reality, however, the military paid no wages at all, and even getting enough to eat was extremely difficult.
In the military camp, soldiers are only provided with two meals a day, and instead of white rice, they are given a thin porridge made from old rice, so thin that you can see your reflection in it...
Since entering the army, Fang Yong has lived a life even more difficult than at home. He has two meals a day of thin porridge, so thin that you can see the bottom of the bowl. His stomach growls loudly every night.
Of course, not everyone in the military camp was like Fang Yong. The generals lived very well, with wine and meat at every meal, and they would even patronize prostitutes in the camp every night...
In short, the military camp had a clear hierarchy. The upper level consisted of officers who ate meat and fish every day, while the lower level consisted of soldiers like Fang Yong who had to endure hunger every day.
After spending three years in the military camp, Fang Yong, filled with despair, asked the officer in charge of him to leave the military camp and return to his hometown.
Fang Yong remembered clearly that the officer had a prostitute in his arms at the time. When he heard his request, the officer only glanced at him and agreed without thinking.
Fang Yong then relied on a small amount of dry rations to risk his way back to Qingzhou from Jingzhou.
The reason why the officer agreed to Fang Yong's request was simple: Fang Yong had left, but his position on the payroll would not disappear. In other words, the court would continue to pay Fang Yong's military salary, which would benefit the officer by allowing him to receive a salary without working. Of course, he had no reason to refuse.
As for the imperial court's investigation... the imperial court would never send anyone to the military camp to check. Even if they did come, they would just find a beggar from the capital to deal with them and that would be the end of it.
Two years have passed, but the experience of hunger and cold in the military camp still lingers in Fang Yong's mind like a shadow.
Therefore, upon hearing that he had to join the army, he almost instinctively shook his head and said, "No way! I don't want to join the army."
Fang Hao felt a pang of anxiety when he saw his elder brother shake his head. He quickly said, "Brother, listen to me. The soldiers in Chenjia Village are different from the soldiers of the imperial court."
"What's the difference?"
Fang Yong still shook his head and said, "We'll still be enslaved by those military officers."
During his three years in the military, Fang Yong did more than just drills; he served as a servant to the officers…
Whether building houses or moving things, the officers would immediately think of low-ranking soldiers like Fang Yong. It could be said that they were no different from the officers' servants.
"It really is different!"
Fang Hao said urgently, "The soldiers in Chenjia Village are treated much better than the soldiers of the imperial court. From what I understand, soldiers in Chenjia Village can eat three meals of steamed buns a day, and they are full every meal. They can also eat meat every other day!"
"Really?"
Mr. and Mrs. Fang stared wide-eyed. Three meals of steamed buns a day and meat every two days? They never even dared to dream of such a thing!
You should know that even the Fang family, who lived a relatively good life in Tupo Village, couldn't afford to eat meat all day long!
"I saw all of this with my own eyes, how could it be fake?"
Fang Hao said with certainty, "In addition to their food, the soldiers of the Chenjia Village Guard also receive a tael of silver in military pay every month, which is much better than the soldiers of the imperial court!"
"Is there still one or two taels of silver left for military pay?"
Fang's parents were stunned. If things were really as Fang Hao said, then the soldiers in Chenjia Village were indeed a thousand times better off than the soldiers in the imperial court.
How do you know this treatment is genuine?
Fang Yong didn't quite believe it. When he enlisted, the officer told him that he would receive a military salary and be able to eat his fill once he joined the army, but what was the reality?
Forget about military pay, they couldn't even get enough to eat. All of this went into the pockets of those officers.
"Oh, brother!"
Seeing that Fang Yong still didn't believe him, Fang Hao stomped his foot and said, "I already said I saw it with my own eyes! The training ground of the Chenjia Village guard team is near my delivery shop. I see what they eat every day. How could it be fake?"
Upon hearing this, Fang Yong fell into deep thought. He and Fang Hao were brothers and had an excellent relationship. Fang Hao was unlikely to lie to him, which at least proved that the food provided by the Chenjia Village guard team was indeed real.
"Besides the food and pay, there's another benefit to joining the Chenjia Village Guard!"
Fang Hao continued, "I heard from others that as long as you join the Chen Family Village Guard Team, you can learn martial arts and have the opportunity to become a martial artist!"
Upon hearing this, Fang's parents didn't react much, but Fang Yong's expression changed drastically.
Having been to the capital, he had gained more experience and knew how powerful and prestigious martial artists were. Therefore, when he heard Fang Hao say that joining the guard team would give him the opportunity to become a martial artist, he immediately became agitated and couldn't help but ask, "Is this true?"
"It really can't be true anymore!"
Fang Hao nodded emphatically: "I saw with my own eyes that the Chenjia Village guards knock down a tree as thick as a bowl with one punch. Brother, do you think it's true?"
Fang Yong nodded without hesitation. No matter how strong an ordinary person is, it would be difficult to knock down a tree as thick as a bowl with one punch. Only a martial artist can do it.
"Yong'er, why don't you give it a try?"
Fang's mother looked at Fang Yong and tentatively asked.
Clearly, she was tempted by Fang Hao's description.
There was no way around it; the treatment of the Chenjia Village guards was simply too generous. Not only were they given plenty of food and meat, but they also received a tael of silver in military pay every month. This was an irresistible temptation for the Fang family.
You have to understand, the Fang family only had a few acres of poor land. Even if the whole family worked themselves to the bone for a year, they might not be able to save a single tael of silver. But Fang Yong only needed to join the guard team to earn more in a month than the whole family could save in a year. This generous military pay was really hard for Fang's mother to refuse.