noffsinger Chapter 192: No Entry to the City
Chapter 192: No Entry to the City
The woman chatted for a while, and when she saw that the wood was almost moved away, she returned to their own cart.
After all the wood was moved, Lu Tianming returned to the carriage, panting. The old village chief's wife told Lu Tianming what they had just talked about.
When Lu Tianming heard the woman say that Lanqing Prefecture was located at a high altitude and was not easily flooded, his eyes brightened.
Their team is now short of water and food. It would be great if they could go into the city to replenish supplies.
But remembering that the imperial court had previously designated the epidemic area, Lanqing Prefecture sent officers and soldiers to set up barricades to prevent people from passing.
I guess even if Lanqing Prefecture hadn't been flooded, refugees wouldn't be allowed into the city.
In fact, he had discussed this with County Magistrate Yao and Master Yan when the flood receded.
The team set out again, but they could only head towards Lanqing Prefecture.
There were previously barricades set up in the direction of Lanqing Prefecture to prevent people from passing, but after this flood, the barricades no longer block the way.
Even if Lanqing Prefecture does not open the city gates, they can still bypass the city and continue heading south.
The team continued to move forward, and Lu Tianming saw that the family behind them was always about 100 to 200 meters away from their team.
He ignored them and continued to move forward with the team.
When we set up the barricades earlier, there were indeed no more soldiers blocking the way.
After everyone made way for them, they were able to pass through this road smoothly.
After passing the barricades and walking for about a quarter of an hour, Lu Qingqing saw Lanqing Mansion.
The city walls of the prefectural capital are tall and majestic, and traces of time are left on the surface of the walls, as if they have witnessed countless storms and wars.
Outside the city wall is a wide and deep moat.
At this time, the moat was piled with a large amount of debris and swollen corpses washed in by the flood, emitting a strong stench.
Lu Qingqing covered her face with her scarf and looked at the city wall not far away. The guards on the wall looked at them indifferently.
She looked at the drawbridge at the city gate and knew that the Lanqing Mansion had no intention of letting them in.
Later, the family also came to the foot of the city wall and looked at the city wall separated by the moat.
A man from that family shouted towards the city wall:
"We are villagers from the surrounding area. We are not infected. Let us in!"
After the man finished shouting, he saw that the soldiers on the city wall did not move, so he shouted several more times.
The soldier on the city wall turned around and left without even looking back.
The man was very disappointed and kept muttering to himself.
"What should we do? We are not allowed to enter the city. What should we do?"
Seeing this, Lu Tianming said to the man:
"Brother, it looks like the prefectural government won't let us in. Do you know of any water sources nearby, or any county towns or market towns that haven't been affected by the flood?"
After hearing Lu Tianming's question, the man thought for a moment and said:
"The closest place to Lanqing Prefecture is a market town thirty miles southwest. There are mountains near that market town, and it's quite high up, so it should be better. I've been there before, and there's a river in the mountains."
Lu Tianming's eyes lit up when he heard this.
"Could you tell me how to get to that market town?"
The man was about to introduce himself when he was stopped by the old man behind him.
The old man stood up and said:
"We can't get into the city, and we have nowhere else to go. If you want to go to the market town, let's go together!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Tianming quickly agreed. It would certainly be better to have someone lead the way than to walk on their own.
On the afternoon of the second day, everyone rushed to the market town that the man mentioned.
There are mountains not far from the town, and there are rows of bungalows inside, which were not affected by the flood.
There were also men patrolling at the entrance of the town, and they saw Lu Tianming and his group coming.
The patrolling men all covered their mouths and noses, and one of them raised a knife and shouted:
"Stop, don't get too close!"
Seeing that everyone had stopped, the man continued:
"Where are you from? Are you infected with the disease?"
The old man in the family hurriedly explained:
"We didn't get sick. The old man and his family are from Qiantushan Village in the north. They were hit by a flood there. We hid in the mountains for a long time and only came down after the water receded."
The old man saw the man inside looking at their family and hurriedly explained:
"These four are my sons, these two are my daughters-in-law, that one is my daughter, and this child is my grandson. We are all honest farmers, and my sons are all very strong! You..."
Before the old man could continue speaking, the man patrolling inside raised his hand impatiently.
"Okay, got it. What about you guys?"
As he spoke, the patrolling man looked at Lu Qingqing and her group.
There are still so many people here, and they have carriages, so they are obviously not ordinary people.
While the man was looking at Lu Qingqing and her group, Lu Qingqing was also observing them.
The men patrolling the town didn't have chapped lips, and none of them were skinny.
I think there should be food and water inside.
Lu Tianming also noticed this, and after hearing the man's question, he said:
"We came from the north, our hometown is Yidu County, and no one in our team is infected with the disease."
When the patrolman heard that they were from Yidu County, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
He had never heard of Yidu County, so he thought it must be very far away.
This group of people must have some abilities to be able to get this far.
The patrolling man looked more serious and said to Lu Tianming:
"Our town is Xiluo Town. We do have food and water, but..."
At this point, the patrolman deliberately dragged out his tone, and then the old man said anxiously:
"We have plenty of strength. As long as you can give us some food and water, we can do anything!"
The patrolman smiled and continued:
"You come from the north, so you should know how valuable food is now. I don't accept idlers here. If you want food, you have to work hard."
The old man and his family responded quickly, saying they would spare no effort.
Lu Tianming looked inside the market town and secretly wondered what kind of work there was in this town.
The most important thing is that their team has no intention of stopping. It would be great if they could use the money to buy some food and water.
Seeing the patrolman looking over, Lu Tianming asked:
"Brother, do you know if there is a shop selling food and water in Xiluo Town? We would like to buy some."
When the patrolman heard this, he said coldly:
"It's hard to get food from the south here now, and the town won't sell its food outside. Now that coal mines have been discovered in the mountains, we have to work if we want food."
When the old man and his family heard this, they happily took a few steps forward and said:
"We're willing to dig coal as long as we can eat!"
The patrolman was startled by their forward movement and said sternly:
"Everyone, stand back! If you want to come in, you have to stay outside for a day to make sure you are not infected with the plague before you can come in."
As he spoke, the patrolling man pointed to the straw hut next to them and motioned them to stay there.
When the family heard that they could go in, they quickly pushed their cart towards the straw hut.
When the people in Lu Qingqing's team heard that they were unwilling to sell grain, they began to discuss it in low voices.
Most people in the team said that they had no water or food at home and wanted to stay. Among them, Erxi and Lu Laosan were the loudest.