lcionline Chapter 157: Barricades
Chapter 157: Barricades
Not long after walking, I found that the road ahead was completely blocked.
This time, the road was blocked unlike the previous time when the robbers used branches and stones. Instead, they used large barricades to block the road.
The entire chevaux de frise is made of a whole thick log with holes drilled on it, iron spears installed on it, a slanted wooden board in front, and fixed to the ground with iron chains.
About thirty meters behind the barricades stood a large number of soldiers, holding bows and arrows and aiming in this direction.
Lu Tianming was startled by the scene. He quickly pulled the reins and the carriage stopped suddenly.
The people behind also stopped, and when they saw the officers and soldiers in front of them were on high alert, they all fell silent.
Lu Tianming raised his hands and shouted loudly to the officers and soldiers:
"Gentlemen, we have both household registration and travel permits and wish to go to Lanqing Prefecture. Could you please let us pass?"
One of the officers and soldiers said coldly:
"Zhangyang County and the area to the north have been designated an epidemic zone by the imperial court. No one within the area is allowed to leave. Anyone violating the order will be killed without mercy. Leave immediately!"
As soon as the man finished speaking, the other soldiers had already raised their bows and arrows. Lu Tianming hurriedly told everyone to turn around and go back.
Lu Qingqing's heart sank to the bottom when she heard what the officer said.
Due to the threat of arrows, the team quickly turned around and walked back, and everyone in the team was in a depressed mood.
Lu Qingqing quickly thought of a way out. The Lanqing Prefecture they were in now should be the southernmost part of the epidemic area, and it seemed that the east and west sides had also been blocked.
As for the north, they came from the north, which is the area where the plague broke out, and it will only be more serious.
There's definitely no way back!
Now, the best thing for them to do is to find a place where there are few people and stay until this wave of plague passes, and then they can continue to move south.
The team walked out for a short distance before they stopped by the roadside. Lu Tianming called everyone over to discuss the matter.
After everyone gathered around, they were all silent, and no one spoke for a while.
Seeing this, Lu Tianming was the first to speak:
"Now everyone is trapped in the epidemic area. Where will we go next? Let me know what you think."
Seeing that no one spoke, Lu Tianfu muttered softly:
"We can't go south, so let's just go home. The barbarians must have retreated by now, so let's go back and continue farming!"
The village chief glared at him and said:
"Let's not talk about the barbarians for now. If we go back, we have to pass through the plague-stricken area. We finally escaped, and going back would be a death sentence!"
Lu Tianfu still stiffened his neck and said stubbornly:
"Why do we have to go that way? Let's go back a little further!"
The village chief said:
"You said it lightly, but who knows how to get around it..."
Before the village chief finished speaking, Lu Tianming coughed lightly and said:
"Okay, let's not talk about going back. We fled here to escape the barbarians. Even if the barbarians retreat temporarily, what about next year and the year after?"
As he spoke, Lu Tianming looked around and continued:
"If you have any other ideas, please tell me."
Lu Qingqing thought for a while, and seeing that no one else spoke, she said:
"The imperial court has designated an epidemic area, so it must have been sealed off on all sides."
As she spoke, Lu Qingqing looked at Bai Xing'er at the back of the crowd, and everyone followed her gaze.
"Sister Xing'er, is there any other way to go south nearby?"
Bai Xing'er was a little nervous when she saw everyone looking at her. When she heard the question, she shook her head and said:
"No... As far as I know, there are no other roads nearby. I haven't been to any further roads."
After hearing this, Lu Qingqing continued:
"We're not familiar with this area to begin with. If we run any further and take a detour, it'll be hard for us to find a way out."
Yao County Magistrate nodded and agreed:
"That's right. The government officials have usually been in the area for several years and are very familiar with the surrounding situation. They also usually have detailed maps of the area. The road we can find must have been blocked."
Lu Qingqing continued:
"The same applies to going east and west. As for going north, I just mentioned it."
Erxi was listening anxiously and interrupted her:
"According to what you said, we can't go east, west, south, or north. Where can we go? We are not immortals who can go to heaven or earth. We can't just stay where we are!"
"Of course we can't stay here. The plague is spreading at its most serious right now. We might as well find a place to hide first."
Lu Qingqing said this and continued to ask Bai Xing'er.
"We're not familiar with the area, but Sister Xing'er has lived here for over a decade."
After the previous reply, Bai Xing'er no longer stuttered when answering.
"I heard from the villagers that there's more than one mountain in the nearby Yunchi Mountains. There are many wild animals deep in the mountains, and the mountain roads are steep, so few people usually go up there."
Bai Xing'er said this and turned to point to the northeast.
Lu Qingqing looked over there. It was a bit far away, but she could definitely see a big mountain.
There was a sound of discussion in the team, which gradually died down after a while.
Lu Tianming looked at County Magistrate Yao and saw him nod. Then he asked Master Yan:
"Master Yan, what do you think of Daya's method?"
Master Yan already had a good impression of Qin Lang and Lu Qingqing. After hearing what Lu Qingqing said, he felt that this child was smart, so he naturally nodded.
Lu Tianfu asked everyone in the team again, and seeing that no one else had any objections, he decided that everyone should rush to Yunchi Mountains together.
Not long after they left, a light rain began to fall from the sky.
The children in the team cheered and looked up with their mouths open to catch the rainwater. When the adults saw this, they scolded them.
It's raining now and everyone is happy.
It's been very hot these days as we've been traveling. It's rare to have some rain to cool down the temperature.
But the rain didn't stop until it was almost dark, and it was getting heavier.
Only a few people in the team had straw raincoats, and the rest either wore straw mats or hid under oilcloth, and they were inevitably soaked after being rained on for too long.
Except for a few households that have carriages, the rest are already looking for a place to stop.
However, the team walked for a long time but still couldn't find a place to shelter from the rain.
As the rain got heavier and heavier, their vision began to be obstructed, and everyone became more and more anxious.
Finally, when passing a hillside, Qin Lang noticed that there was a cliff that could shelter from the wind to the right rear, and the team stopped.
At this time, some of the men pushing the carts were sneezing because they were cold.
As soon as the team stopped, those who did not have carriages began to build simple straw huts.
This straw hut was built on a cart. There wasn't much else to use at the moment, so they could only make a frame out of branches, cover it with straw mats, and finally lay out oilcloth.
A simple shed was built. Although simple, it could shelter from wind and rain.
Lu Qingqing and Qin Lang were not idle either. Worried that the layer of tarpaulin on the roof was not enough, they covered the roof with another layer of tarpaulin.
The oilcloth is long enough to cover both sides of the carriage.
In this way, the entire carriage was blocked tightly.
After finishing the work in the carriage, Lu Qingqing looked at the cow next to her. The rainproof rack made of oilcloth and wooden sticks before fleeing the famine finally came in handy.