The Taoist priest thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. "It's very likely. Besides this reason, what else could make these honest farmers abandon their fields, wives, and children and rush up the mountain? And judging from their appearance, they've obviously been on the mountain for several days."

Although Lu Chuan and the Taoist priest were only guessing, they already had the answer in their hearts. After all, it was the autumn planting season, and if it wasn't for conscription, why would these farmers run into the mountains?

Moreover, the group of people we just met were all men aged fifteen to forty, all strong laborers in their families; there were no women or girls among them.

Upon hearing this, Lu Chuan was at a loss for words. He was worried about his children and wife at home, and at the same time, he felt helpless about the conscription.

The Taoist priest seemed to have seen through Lu Chuan's thoughts and said, "Don't worry. Since they have stayed in the mountains for so many days without daring to go deeper into the mountains, it means they have not been forced into a desperate situation, and they will not go deeper into the mountains anytime soon. The girls are safe at home."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chuan felt a little relieved. That was good; it meant that his child and wife would be safe for the time being.

The Taoist priest stood up, patted the dirt off his backside, and said, "Let's go down the mountain and take a look."

Before the two even reached the foot of the mountain, they encountered soldiers who had come to arrest them.

There were quite a few officers and soldiers, about fifty or sixty in total. Each of them was dressed in military uniform and carried a broadsword and a shield. They were fully equipped and clearly came prepared.

It must be said that if the farmers and villagers on the mountain really encountered these soldiers, they would have absolutely no chance of winning.

Their weapons alone were more than enough to overwhelm them, not to mention the disparity in size.

The people had just survived a natural disaster, and then the grain tax and various miscellaneous taxes kept increasing. In the past year or two, they had hardly had enough to eat, and everyone looked thin and emaciated. Naturally, they could not compare with the officials.

Although the world is unstable these days, even ordinary government officials live much better lives than ordinary people.

If the two sides really start fighting, even though the civilians outnumber the civilians, they may not necessarily win.

As the soldiers drew closer and closer, they were about to reach the two men.

Upon seeing this, Lu Chuan and the Taoist priest quickly hid. It wasn't that they couldn't win, but rather that it was better to avoid trouble. They had more important things to do and didn't want to waste time here.

The Taoist priest gestured for Lu Chuan to follow them for a while and see if these soldiers were really there to search for the group of people on the mountain.

After tracking for a while, Lu Chuan discovered that the group of soldiers were constantly searching in the mountains, but they remained on the outer perimeter and did not seem to have any intention of going deeper into the mountains.

Upon seeing this, Lu Chuan immediately returned to the place where he had just been to meet up with the Taoist priest and recounted what he had discovered to him.

The Taoist priest snorted coldly, "Hmph, it seems that these soldiers still have a conscience. They don't intend to kill unarmed civilians. I just don't know how long this situation can last. What will they do if the government issues an order to arrest them all?"

"They probably didn't want to arrest people either, but their positions were different. After all, they had their jobs. They worked for the government and received a monthly salary from the government, so they had to work for the government."

Upon hearing this, the Taoist priest waved his hand and said, "It's getting late. Let's go down the mountain to check the situation first. If we don't leave now, we won't be able to get back before dark."

The two continued their journey, but when they reached the village at the foot of the mountain, they found that every household had its gates tightly shut, and the village was eerily quiet.

Lu Chuan asked, "Why is it so quiet? Could there be no one in the village?"

"They were probably afraid of being caught, so they hid inside the house and didn't dare to come out."

"What a disaster! Judging from the situation, the crops in the fields probably haven't been planted yet. If this continues, we'll be starving again next year."

"There's no other way. Right now, their lives are the most important thing. I'm afraid the officials won't be able to find any male laborers, so they'll take their anger out on the elderly, women, and children at home."

"That makes sense. Alas, the world is unstable, and it is the common people who suffer the most."

As the two were talking, the Taoist priest suddenly sensed someone coming this way and immediately pulled Lu Chuan aside to hide.

Lu Chuan was completely bewildered. When he came to his senses, he realized that he had already hidden himself.

However, Lu Chuan trusted the Taoist priest and didn't ask any more questions, as it wasn't the right time to speak.

Sure enough, after waiting for about three or four minutes, a group of soldiers came from the direction of the village entrance.

Among them were officers and soldiers who walked along shouting, "Announcement, announcement, government announcement! All men aged fourteen to forty-five must report to the county government to enlist in the army. Anyone who disobeys will be killed without exception."

Despite the shouts, not a single household opened their door. It seems that this kind of thing has been happening all along, and the people have become numb to it.

Seeing that no one answered the door, the officers started knocking on doors from house to house again. After a lot of smashing and banging, still no one answered the door.

After the soldiers had searched all the houses in the village and found nothing, they left.

Lu Chuan and the Taoist priest emerged from behind the straw. Upon closer inspection, they realized that these officials were also conscientious.

Although the noise from the smashing was quite loud, the damaged items were all worthless, such as firewood, tables, chairs, and benches.

They really held back; all bark and no bite.

After the officials had completely left, the previously closed doors slowly opened.

At the nearest house, a woman cautiously opened the gate, trying to see if the soldiers had gone far away.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw the Taoist priest and Lu Chuan standing on the road, and he was so frightened that he immediately closed the door again.

Lu Chuan touched his nose sheepishly, wanting to explain something, but in the end he said nothing and followed the Taoist priest away.

The two wandered around for a while and found that there were indeed soldiers on the official road who had captured a number of people, and it seemed that there were quite a few of them.

These people must have either failed to hide properly, or they just happened to run into the soldiers on their way home.

Now that they'd run into them, the soldiers couldn't pretend they hadn't seen it, since they had daily tasks to complete.

However, it was clear that the soldiers did not mistreat the captured laborers; apart from their hands and feet being bound, there were no signs of beatings.

Lu Chuan and the Taoist priest waited until the group of soldiers had gone far away before they began to walk up the mountain.

Given the situation, we definitely can't go into the county town today. Going there now would be like walking into a trap, just asking for trouble.

Lu Chuan wasn't that stupid. He had a wife and children at home, and he certainly wouldn't ask to be arrested by the officials.