"The strategy is to divide the family. If there are two males aged fifteen or older in the family and they don't want to join the army, quickly prepare a tael of silver and go to the government office to divide the family and receive new household registration. The new registration will have only one male listed, so they won't have to join the army and fight."
The words passed down by ancestors stated that at the end of the previous dynasty, when inspectors from all over rebelled, the former dynasty Emperor also conscripted heavily. Many families with multiple males preemptively divided their families to exempt from military service.
However, when soldiers were desperately lacking, strong men were forcefully conscripted. Nowadays, though the Great Chu appears to have some time, it's not yet the time for forced conscription. This method can still be used.
However...
