0p0 Chapter 179 Obtaining Guidance from an Official
Chapter 179 Obtaining Guidance from an Official
The caravan traveled on the official road. After entering the territory of Jing'an Prefecture, Meng Fuqing had the white wolf lead the gray wolves through the forest to follow the caravan.
I want to find an opportunity to bring the pack of wolves into my space so they won't attract the attention of the authorities outside.
Unexpectedly, the caravan was questioned by officials after only a short while.
Having experienced similar situations in Qingzhou City, Meng Bochang was quite familiar with the procedures. He told the officials that they were refugees fleeing together and that they had all been law-abiding citizens before. He even showed the officials their household registration records.
But the officials of Jing'an Prefecture were not as easy to deal with as those of Qingzhou.
Looking at the caravan with suspicion, they asked, "If you're just ordinary people, why are you all wearing face coverings? And why are there so many carriages? What's on them?"
As if he had expected it, Meng Bochang answered fluently: "Reporting to the sir, we are not wearing ordinary face towels, but face masks. The doctor in the caravan said that they can prevent the plague."
Among the group were people who used to run a carriage and horse trading business, and a wealthy family who had more carriages and horses. They had lent us their carriages and horses to transport goods; the carriages were fully loaded with everything, mostly grain and personal belongings. If the officials don't believe us, they are welcome to search us."
Although he said that, Meng Bochang was actually quite nervous.
After entering Qingzhou territory, they discovered that the weapons they had carried on their escape route had become a hot potato, and they had no idea how to deal with them.
When they were caught in a dilemma, it was Young Master Xie who stepped forward and said there was no need to worry. Although he did not explain why, they believed that Young Master Xie had a way to deal with the situation. So they put the stolen weapons together with the weapons in the hands of the bandits and hid them in some of the vehicles in the caravan.
These carriages are currently being driven by Xie Gongzi's men.
The officials exchanged glances, and the head official asked again, "Where did this wealthy family come from? Who are the merchants from the carriage and horse trading company? Do you have any household registration documents?"
Du Zhong stepped forward and produced household registration documents, saying, "We are from the Lu family of Yezhou, sir, please take a look."
The household registration documents he produced were obviously obtained by picking up corpses on the road.
Niu Da also stepped forward and showed his family's household registration documents, "We come from Qingping County in the north, and we are in the business of trading carriages and horses."
The lead official was reviewing household registration documents, while the other officials went to inspect several vehicles in the convoy.
Seeing this, everyone's hearts were in their throats, fearing that these officials had chosen a vehicle that was hiding weapons.
One of the officials walked to the middle of the caravan and was drawn to Mu Sheng. He sized Mu Sheng up and asked, "Are you a member of the martial arts world? What did you do before? What's in the carriage?"
Mu Sheng was surprised that a lowly official could have such insight, so he immediately got off the carriage and bowed respectfully.
“Sir, I do have some martial arts skills. I was trading in the north when the Hu people attacked. I exchanged silk and tea for grain on my way to escape. My cart is full of grain. Please be lenient with me.”
He quickly approached and shoved a gold leaf into the officer's hand with lightning speed.
When the official saw the gold in his hand, his eyes widened suddenly. He panicked for a moment, but quickly regained his composure.
He lifted the tarpaulin on the carriage, glanced at it hastily, and then solemnly instructed Mu Sheng, "Once you enter Jing'an Prefecture, you must not act like a local ruffian, or you will be severely punished!"
Mu Sheng bowed deeply and said, "This humble subject will remember this."
Other officials were experiencing the same thing, receiving varying amounts of silver, and even the head official at the front received one.
Along the way, they encountered government officials several times, but this time they chose to resolve the issue with money.
Du Zhong dismounted and stuffed the bribe into the leading official's palm, then asked in a low voice, "I've heard that there's a place in Qingzhou Prefecture that provides porridge for displaced people? May I ask, sir, is this place outside Jing'an Prefecture?"
The head constable weighed the item in his palm, feeling satisfied. He glanced at Du Zhong, then remained speechless for some reason.
"Now that you have food, don't fight with other refugees for food..."
Du Zhong quickly waved his hand and explained, "No, no, no, sir, you must have misunderstood. We just wanted to avoid trouble. We kept asking for directions and encountered officials, and we kept taking wrong turns..."
He said this half-truthfully, his aim being to get a precise route so he wouldn't be constantly questioned by officials.
The head constable understood and gave a wink to his men who had returned to his side. Seeing them shake their heads, he said, "The Prefect has shown compassion for the refugees and has set up two relief points within the territory of Jing'an Prefecture, one of which is outside the prefectural city."
"You came here because you heard that Jing'an Prefecture could resettle refugees, right?"
Du Chong nodded hurriedly: "What the official said is right, it's a pity we arrived a step too late."
"You guys are quite well-informed." The head constable saw that although Du Chong had a bandit-like air about him, he was honest in his words and deeds, so he was happy to share more information with him.
"It's not impossible to settle you here right now, as long as you pay money. However, with so many of you, even if we emptied our savings, we still wouldn't be able to settle you all. So, there's only one other way."
He paused, then pointed to the sky, "I can talk to the big shots up there."
Du Zhong hesitated for a moment, then asked carefully, "May I ask if Your Excellency knows of the Qiao family in Jing'an Prefecture?"
"...You have connections with the Qiao family?" The head constable was shocked.
Du Chong waved his hand, looking very troubled. "It's just that Lord Han from Qingzhou is mediating. Whether he can actually get through to us or not, we'll only know when we get to Jing'an Prefecture."
The head constable remained silent for a long while, thinking that if they could get the Prefect of Qingzhou to mediate, these people must be extraordinary. If he could establish a relationship with them…
In a split second, he immediately said, "It's not difficult to save yourself a lot of trouble; all you need is people like us following you."
Du Zhong hesitated: "This..."
“My surname is Zhou, Master Lu can just call me Zhou Tou.”
Being addressed as "Master" for the first time made Du Zhong feel very awkward, but he didn't show it at all. He immediately seized the opportunity and said, "If Zhou Tou can follow us all the way without going through the trouble, I, Lu, will definitely reward you handsomely once we reach the outskirts of Jing'an Prefecture."
Seeing that he did not mention his subordinates, Zhou Tou felt that although the other party was big and burly, he was quite worldly-wise, so he readily agreed.
"Don't mention a thank-you gift. When you're traveling, you should help out if you can. But these days, fate is unpredictable; who knows who will be in trouble next?"
After saying that, he went back and gave his men some instructions.
At that moment, Zhou Tou probably never imagined that his words would soon become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The news quickly reached the ears of Meng Fuqing and Xie Jin.
Meng Fuqing never expected to be accompanied by officials and his men. Worried that the large number of people in the group might lead to gossip and reveal things that couldn't be said during their escape from famine, he told the messenger to be careful with their words and actions, and gave extra instructions to those with children at home.
Soon, the group set off again, led by Zhou Tou.
At the front of the group, Zhou Tou was chatting enthusiastically with Du Zhong, as if they had met a kindred spirit.
Within the team, Meng Fuqing's instructions were relayed closely to everyone in the convoy, without Zhou Tou noticing anything amiss.
The benefits of having Zhou lead the way soon became apparent; at least it made it easier for them to find a place to rest.
In order to reach Jing'an Prefecture as quickly as possible, they traveled in the dark for a while, and at the hour of Hai (9-11 PM), the group arrived at a place called Shunji Inn to stay.
With officials accompanying them, the innkeeper's price wasn't too outrageous.
The cost of staying overnight this time is much cheaper than in Gyeongju Prefecture.