A veteran of the frontier army, after marrying a wife, fought his way through the northern border.

"Old Luo! Hurry up, the government is distributing brides!"

They're all beautiful women with big breasts and big butts; if you go late, all the good ones will be taken!

Niu Dabiao shouted, "The village chief said you've done a good job repelling the beggars, so you get to choose first! Plus, you're getting a bride and ten catties of rations. We can't miss out on this!"

Luo Yunxiao, panting heavily, ran from her home to the village entrance. Her heart was pounding, and the wind made her dizzy.

"Da Biao, slow down. You already have a wife, why are you in a more hurry than me?"

"Hehe, isn't this a rare sight? This is the first time the imperial court has come to our village to distribute brides."

Niu Dabiao was the village's butcher, six years younger than Luo Yunxiao.

The two had played together since they were little, sharing a bond forged through playing in the mud and peeing together.

Luo Yunxiao is forty-nine years old this year. He is hunched over, his beard and hair are mostly white, and his face is so wrinkled that it could trap a mosquito. The younger generation in the village all call him Grandpa Luo.

He was originally a special forces soldier in the Xia Kingdom, and died in the line of duty when he accidentally stepped on a landmine during a mission.

When he woke up again three days ago, he found himself transported to Chenjia Village, a poor military household on the border of Youzhou in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The original owner's parents died early, and with no one to support him, he was so poor in his early years that he couldn't afford to get married. He is still a virgin and has never even held a woman's hand.

He got a job as a village security guard, responsible for patrol duties, and he only had one more year left before he retired to enjoy his old age.

Who would have thought that three days ago, a gang of beggars came to the village to steal grain? He fought off the bandits with the others, but was accidentally injured in the head.

However, he received the treatment of "priority in choosing a wife," which can be considered a blessing in disguise.

The key point is that after he transmigrated, he awakened the Marriage Life Extension System, and the lifespan column showed "Estimated lifespan: fifty years old".

According to his birth date, he should be dead by next spring. According to the system's instructions, he needs to get married and consummate his marriage to prolong his life if he wants to live.

Last year, the Tartars stationed troops on the border, and the border army suffered three defeats and lost three cities.

Now, laborers are being used as soldiers, and ordinary people are being used as laborers. The court is practically scraping the bottom of the pot dry, and the war situation is critical.

The Ministry of War issued an emergency conscription order, requiring all males aged sixteen to sixty to serve in the military!

Luo Yunxiao was born into a military household, and although he was already forty-nine years old, he was still a eligible member of the military household register.

These days, people without money or connections cannot be exempted from military service.

He knew that the government was giving wives to military households like them so that they would serve the imperial court.

However, having a wife is better than not having one.

The village entrance was already crowded with villagers, making it even more lively than a temple fair.

After the two of them finally squeezed to the front row, Luo Yunxiao's eyes suddenly lit up.

There were more than thirty women wearing handcuffs and leg irons in the open space in front of them.

Ten officers, each carrying a sword at their waist, stood in two rows on either side to maintain order.

The head constable with a thick beard shouted at the top of his lungs, "Lord Gongsun has ordered! Military households have priority. Single military households under the age of fifty can choose two convicted women, and each will be given ten catties of millet!"

"Hurry up, we need to be back at the county office before noon to report!"

Most of these women had their heads down, many with messy hair covering their faces, covered in dust and looking like refugees.

Ke Luoyunxiao was a special reconnaissance soldier in her previous life, so she has a very sharp eye.

Although these convicts were dressed in tattered clothes, many of them had fair skin and graceful figures, clearly from official families, and were much prettier than the dark-skinned, sturdy women in the village.

These women were either daughters of disgraced officials or family members of officials who had been convicted of crimes.

Normally, these women, considering themselves superior, would never even glance at a rural military household, let alone marry into it.

But now they are like goods to be picked over, showing no arrogance whatsoever of those in high positions.

The villagers of Chenjia Village are known for their fierce and robust character. There is a local saying that "a plump wife brings prosperity to the family," so young men in the village only want women with thick waists and broad shoulders to marry.

In the harsh and cold Northwest, women with slender and frail bodies simply cannot withstand the wind and frost, and are not suited for hard labor.

The two bodyguards who had helped defeat the beggar gang last time stepped forward one by one, and each of them chose two strong-looking women to lead away.

Ke Luoyunxiao is a modern person, and her aesthetic sense is completely different from that of the country folk. Fair skin and beauty are the top priorities.

"Next, Luo Yunxiao!" Zhao Lizheng called out his name, and the surrounding villagers burst into laughter.

"Old Luo is getting on in years and still being picky about wives, he must be out of his mind!"

"Look at his hunchback, he'd be lucky to even be able to work in the fields, let alone marry two women?"

Luo Yunxiao ignored him and squinted as he scanned the crowd.

There were plenty of burly women, but he didn't fancy any of them.

Ultimately, his gaze fell upon the three women.

The woman on the left in the back row is tall and elegant, even in coarse clothes.

Luo Yunxiao's eyes met those of the woman, and he saw that her eyes were like a pool of spring water, captivating and enchanting.

The woman noticed Luo Yunxiao looking at her, and immediately lowered her eyes and head, looking slightly shy.

The one in the middle was petite and delicate, with skin as smooth as jade on her exposed wrists, and her nose and hands were red from the cold; she looked so pitiful.

The one on the right wore a tattered blue robe and stood tall like a winter plum blossom. He had a heroic air about him, but his right leg was wrapped in cloth, and he walked with a limp, clearly injured.

Although the three people's faces and hair were stained with blood and black ash, obscuring their features, they still stirred Luo Yunxiao's heart.

I'll take them!

"Sir, I want these three." Luo Yunxiao pointed.

As soon as he finished speaking, the villagers laughed even louder.

"Old Luo must be out of his mind! These women are all skin and bones, good-looking but useless!"

"Old Luo gets his shoes wet even when he pees; he's such an old man, he shouldn't work himself to death on the bed."

Niu Dabiao quickly tugged at his arm: "Old Luo, are you crazy? Each person can only choose two! With your meager monthly salary, you can't even support one, and you want to marry three? You must have been beaten senseless by the beggar gang!"

Being a guard was practically no different from being a laborer; Luo Yunxiao only received sixty coins a month for his duty.

There was only enough to buy two bushels of millet.

The identity of a baoding (a type of constable) means he will be trapped in Chenjia Village for the rest of his life.

Only by joining the regular border army can one receive real military pay.

Village head Zhao Dezhu sneered, "Old Luo, it's fine if you come to my house for free meals on ordinary days, but if you bring your three wives with you, don't blame me for kicking you out."

The officer glanced at him sideways, a forced smile on his face: "Old fool, you have quite the appetite. Can you feed three? You can only choose two, that's the rule."

Due to years of war and famine in the previous two years, the average life expectancy in the Great Zhou Dynasty was no more than forty years.

The average life expectancy of border soldiers is only 28 years.

Luo Yunxiao, who is nearly fifty years old, is already a grandfather in all right.

It's no wonder the villagers laugh and ridicule them for having an old ox eating young grass.

Luo Yunxiao touched the silver in his pocket, which was his life savings, originally intended for his retirement.

He stared at the officer, then pointed at the woman in blue: "If no one wants her, will she have to become a military prostitute?"

The officer nodded: "That's right."

Luo Yunxiao's heart sank. Wouldn't it be a pity if such a beautiful woman became a military prostitute?

He gritted his teeth, pulled out five taels of silver from his pocket, and handed it over: "I'll pay more, I want all three!"

The official weighed the silver in his hand, then curled his lip: "Five taels isn't enough, add another five taels."

Ten taels of silver!

It was almost all of his possessions.

This is clearly an attempt to make things difficult!

Luo Yunxiao looked at the three women, then at the lifespan countdown in the system, and with a determined heart, took out the remaining five taels of silver: "Ten taels, deal!"

The officer took the money and instructed, "Take them to the auxiliary troops camp on the 30th of next month. If they fail to report by then, they will be treated as deserters!"

After saying this, he waved his hand, and someone removed the shackles from the three men.

The auxiliary troops, also known as the trench-filling battalion or the supply corps, were specifically for the elderly and infirm.

To put it bluntly, the higher-ups sent Luo Yunxiao to the army to be cannon fodder.

These convicted women in front of us are all convicted military wives, and are also convicted laborers, belonging to the war reserve resources.

Instead of wasting food by locking people up in prison, it would be better to distribute it to military households to have children.

They could also accompany the army to perform miscellaneous tasks, feed horses, build camps, transport grain, and other logistical affairs.

Those exiled from the criminal list are ineligible for military merit, but if Luo Yunxiao has rendered meritorious service, he can apply to have the three women removed from the criminal list.

This time, even Luo Yunxiao, who was of the grandfather generation, was conscripted into the army, let alone these women who were sent to serve in the army. Therefore, the ban on family members not being allowed to accompany the soldiers has now been abolished.

Soldiers were given a month to have their wives kept for procreation. If a soldier died in battle, his wife would be taken in by another soldier to continue his lineage and provide for his family.

The mockery around him continued, but Luo Yunxiao paid no attention to it. All he wanted to do now was sleep with his wife to prolong his life.

He signed and sealed the document with the official, and received the auxiliary soldier's badge.

After receiving forty catties of millet, he turned to the three women and said gently, "Ladies, come home with me."

The three women nodded and followed Luo Yunxiao home.

At this moment, Luo Yunxiao was both excited and a little thrilled. He walked with a light step, finally having a wife after living most of his life.

He even married three at once! This would have been impossible in the world before he transmigrated; he would have had a hard time even marrying one!

"My surname is Luo, and my given name is Yunxiao. I am a village security guard. From now on, we are all family. May I ask how the three ladies are addressed and how old they are?"

As Luo Yunxiao walked, he spoke to the tall woman at the head of the group.

"My name is Su Yunshang, I am nineteen years old, and this is my younger sister Su Yushang, who is eighteen years old."

Su Yunshang pointed to the petite woman beside her.

"Yunshang, Yushang, beautiful names," Luo Yunxiao turned to ask the woman in green, "And what about you?"

"My name is Qin Hongxiu, and I am seventeen years old."

"What happened to your leg?"

"He caught a cold on the way and couldn't walk, so the officials whipped him a few times, injuring his leg."

After speaking, Qin Hongxiu coughed softly a few times, clearly indicating that her cold had not yet fully healed.

Luo Yunxiao nodded: "My home is just ahead. Ladies, you must be tired from your journey. Please come in and rest for a while."