Logan Carter's face darkened as he threatened, "Your name is already written on the roster, black and white on paper—how could it be erased? Are you looking down on me, Carter?"

　　Henry Sullivan's eyes rolled upward as he hurriedly said, "Sir, how would I dare? It's just that I have an eighty-year-old parent to support... How could I leave my hometown so easily?"

　　Logan Carter looked Henry Sullivan up and down. "How old are you?"

　　Henry Sullivan replied, "Not yet twenty."

　　Logan Carter sneered, "You're not even twenty, and your parents are already eighty? They had you in their sixties—truly vigorous in old age."

　　Henry Sullivan hadn't expected Logan Carter, who looked rough, to be so sharp. He quickly explained, "To be honest, my father really did have me in his sixties, but my birth mother was a concubine and was not yet forty when she gave birth to me."

　　Logan Carter said, "That doesn't matter. When you achieve fame and success, wouldn't it be even better to bring your parents to the capital?" With that, he put away the roster, about to tuck it into his chest. "Your eyes may not be good, but who knows, maybe you have a special talent for archery..."

　　Henry Sullivan was speechless, not understanding the logic. In fact, he didn't really have an eye problem; he just pretended to when he saw the recruitment notice, hoping they'd think he was disabled and leave him alone. Who would have thought this would backfire and become a unique qualification for enlistment.

　　Logan Carter continued, "Your name is recorded. Go home and pack up quickly, and report here tonight. If you don't show up, I'll have the county magistrate of Xihe arrest your whole family, including your siblings and cousins, and send them all to the army. I trust you won't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit?"

　　Henry Sullivan panicked and reached out to grab the roster. Logan Carter snorted coldly, "You little rascal!" Before he finished speaking, he had already grabbed Henry Sullivan's wrist. Henry Sullivan shouted, twisted his wrist, and broke free. Logan Carter, a man famed for his strength, hadn't expected Henry Sullivan's wrist to be so strong and to escape his grip. With a shout, Logan Carter threw a punch. Henry Sullivan couldn't dodge in time and was about to be hit in the face by a fist as big as a bowl, but with a somersault, he avoided the blow. Seeing this, Logan Carter was delighted, clapped his hands, and laughed, "I knew you weren't bad! Anyone who can dodge my punch is truly something!"

　　Before he finished speaking, eight men had already surrounded Henry Sullivan, each drawing a long blade, standing menacingly. The skinny one shouted, "How dare you, scoundrel! You dare disrespect Lord Carter! Do you have a death wish?"

　　Henry Sullivan was startled and dared not act rashly again. Rolling his eyes, he bowed deeply and said, "Sir, actually, it's not just because of my elderly parent that I don't want to join the army—there are other difficulties I can't avoid."

　　Lord Carter picked up the wine jar on the table, took a couple of gulps, and glanced sideways at Henry Sullivan, "Let's hear it. No matter how big the problem, I'll take care of it for you."

　　Henry Sullivan groaned inwardly, never expecting to run into such a just official, determined to force him into the army. But he truly didn't want to enlist—not just him, but most commoners would rather wander and suffer than join the military.

　　It turned out that the Song army had abandoned the conscription system of the Sui and Tang dynasties and instead recruited soldiers, mostly from vagrants and the starving. Though being a soldier meant food and clothing, it was hardly a life of glory. Most importantly, soldiers had to be tattooed on the face. This bad practice, popular in the Five Dynasties, was inherited by the Song to prevent desertion. At the time, the only people with facial tattoos were soldiers, criminals, and slaves. Once tattooed, a soldier would be looked down upon for life.

　　Of course, Henry Sullivan didn't want to enlist. He was in a hurry to take care of something and had taken a shortcut through here, only to be caught by this so-called Lord Guo.

　　In just a short while, Henry Sullivan had already come up with four excuses to avoid enlistment: crossed eyes, weak body, chronic illness, and elderly parents. None of them worked. Henry Sullivan was sweating with anxiety, thinking that even if he claimed to have a terminal illness, this bearded man would probably still insist on tattooing him first. Gritting his teeth, he blinked his crossed eyes, and two streams of hot tears rolled down as he said, "Sir, to tell the truth, the real reason I can't leave my hometown is because there's a girl I love in Xihe. Her name is Little Henry, the daughter of the blacksmith Zhang at the west end of the county. She and I grew up together, childhood sweethearts... But her father, the blacksmith Zhang, is a snob who loves money. He insists I pay a bride price of five taels of silver before he'll let me marry her. Sir, you know how hard it is for a young man like me to earn silver. I steeled myself, got up early and worked late to raise two sheep. Before they were even ready for market, I rushed to sell them today and made three taels of silver. Look..." He held out three taels of silver and said, "This is the money I got from selling the sheep."

　　Lord Carter asked in surprise, "And what does that have to do with whether you join the army?"

　　Henry Sullivan quickly replied, "I've already saved two taels, and with these three, I have enough to get married. But that blacksmith Zhang has always looked down on idlers. If he finds out I've joined the army, that's even worse than being an idler—how would he ever let me marry his daughter? Sir, for the sake of the feelings between me and Little Henry over so many years, please don't force me to join the army. Please don't break up a loving couple, all right?"

　　Henry Sullivan mustered his courage to say all this, thinking Lord Carter would accuse him of insulting the imperial guards, but to his surprise, Lord Carter just sighed and said, "Ah, in this world, anything can be forced—except matters of the heart. This time... even I, Carter, can't help you."