Chapter 43: Chaos is about to begin Deliver the goods
Although it was only half a year apart, the mood of escorting this time was completely different.
The last time he was escorting, Zhao Ya was just an inconspicuous escort, but now he has become a full-fledged escort.
Especially when walking on the official road, passing merchants couldn't help but look at Zhao Ya with surprise and envy when they saw Zhao Ya walking in the middle of the escort team.
After all, I have seen many escorts, but there are really not many as young as Zhao Ya.
If it were anyone else, they would inevitably feel a little arrogant at this moment.
But instead of showing any signs of pride, Zhao Ya became more and more cautious.
After all, this was his first independent escort trip, so there was no room for error.
At the same time, Zhao Ya also keenly observed that there seemed to be more refugees above the official level.
There were ragged people everywhere.
They gathered in small groups, with dull faces and haggard expressions, wandering beside the official road like zombies.
Zhao Ya's heart tightened, knowing that another place must have been hit by a disaster, otherwise there wouldn't have been so many refugees.
There are only two endings waiting for these refugees, either to be buried directly in the belly of wild beasts, or to starve to death and then be eaten by wild dogs.
Recalling the descriptions of the famine of refugees in the history books that he had read before, Zhao Ya couldn't help but feel heavy in his heart.
This is a sign of great chaos to come.
Seeing the whole leopard at a glance, this vast swallow is obviously as ill as an old man in his twilight years.
In this situation, the only thing Zhao Ya can do is to maintain a cautious and low-key mentality, but at the same time, he must be prepared to deal with challenges.
After all, sometimes if you are cautious, nothing will happen. Especially in the context of such troubled times, sometimes you will kill someone just for an inconspicuous or even ridiculous motive, not to mention that you are carrying a dart. Team.
really.
After walking not far, probably thirty or forty miles away from the city, a chaotic team appeared on the official road ahead.
The clothes of these people are very shabby, but they are better than those of the refugees. At least they are not so skinny, and there is still some light left in their eyes.
The leading men were even more muscular, holding rusty weapons in their hands, and were asking for money from the passing merchants.
Seeing this, Zhao Ya immediately raised his vigilance and winked at the person behind him.
These trippers are all ready.
Tan Dong's face flushed with excitement, and he rushed over just waiting for Zhao Ya's order.
But at this moment, when these people saw Zhao Ya's escort team, especially the escort flag hanging on the escort vehicle, they couldn't help but be startled, and then they took the initiative to get out of the way.
Zhao Ya breathed a sigh of relief and immediately led everyone through.
After walking away, Zhao Ya looked back at these people, his eyes shining slightly.
If I read it correctly, the weapons in the hands of the leaders are only available in the army.
And they all have obvious traces of training.
This shows that they are not farmers, but most likely deserters from the army.
Recalling the news he heard some time ago, which said that several counties and cities in the south had started fighting, Zhao Ya deduced that these deserters should have come from the south.
This is not good news.
However, these deserters were not fools. When they saw their escort car, they did not stop it, but took the initiative to get out of the way.
At this time, Zhao Ya finally felt how valuable the Changlong Escort Agency signboard was.
Because Meng Lei, a warrior of the Three Realms, is in charge, within a radius of one or two hundred miles, no matter whether they are bandits who dominate the mountains or deserters crossing the border, they have to give face.
It can be seen that only strength is the basis for survival in troubled times.
After passing this blockage, the further you go down, the more shocking the scenes you see become.
Refugees were entrenched on the side of the road. Some of them looked at the passing merchants with hungry wolf eyes, as if they could choose and devour anyone at any time.
But most of them still sat there numbly, and then fell down silently, never to get up again.
This situation made the originally enthusiastic trippers a little nervous.
Tan Dong couldn't help but stepped forward and whispered: "Boss, why are there so many refugees?"
After leaving the house, Tan Dong consciously changed his title from Brother Zhao to Tou.
"What? Are you scared?"
"I'm not scared at all, but I feel a little panicked."
Speaking of this, Tan Dong's face became a little solemn, and he looked at the people on the roadside, "Especially after seeing many children inside, I always feel a little worried."
Zhao Ya was silent.
Why didn't he see this scene?
But Zhao Ya knew that he couldn't do anything at the moment, so he could only pat Tan Dong on the shoulder.
"Don't think so much. This is not something we can control. Let's go!"
Everyone was silent for the rest of the journey. In the evening, they successfully arrived at the inn where they had stayed before.
The inn was still open, but it was a little dilapidated and looked lifeless.
It wasn't until Zhao Ya and others arrived that the inn finally gained some popularity.
The waiter greeted the guests enthusiastically, while the shopkeeper came to Zhao Ya and said with a smile on his face.
"This must be Escort Zhao. He is indeed young and brave. Please come in quickly. Please come in quickly."
Zhao Ya smiled and said, "You're welcome. Prepare a small courtyard for us first."
"Don't worry, you don't need to tell me, I've already prepared it."
Zhao Ya nodded.
That's the good thing about staying in a familiar inn. You don't have to ask for many things, the other party has already prepared them.
After setting up the escort car first, and after dinner, Zhao Ya assigned the night watchman, and then called the shopkeeper to chat.
"I see that the inn is empty, and there aren't many guests."
"Alas." The shopkeeper sighed and said with a grimace: "There are wars everywhere now. People don't even have enough to eat. Who is willing to spend money to stay in a hotel?"
"Is the south getting more and more chaotic now?"
Zhao Ya knew that shopkeepers like this were generally well-informed, so he couldn't help but ask.
"Well, I heard that Linhai County and Wanshou County are already at war with each other, and several surrounding counties and cities are also ready to take action. Those rich and powerful are gearing up, but it's just a pain for us common people." The shopkeeper sighed.
Zhao Ya chatted with the shopkeeper for a few more words before resting.
There was no talking all night, and after settling the hotel and restaurant bills the next morning, Zhao Ya and his party set off again.
The rest of the journey went smoothly, and we arrived at Hekou Town in the evening.
Last time Zhao Ya didn't come because he stayed at the inn to take care of Wei Yu. When he came this time, Zhao Ya found that Hekou Town was very lively.
Because it is adjacent to the mouth of the Sancha River, merchants are constantly coming and going, so the business here is very prosperous.
The Hong family in the inner city of Wuxiang City has a bank account here.
Zhao Ya and his party came to the bank, handed over the escort tickets, and took inventory of the goods. After the transaction was completed, the storekeeper of the bank delivered the silver coins to Zhao Ya clearly, loaded them on the truck, and sealed them.
It was already late at night after all this work.
The manager of the Hong Family Bank was quite good. He arranged a few rooms for Zhao Ya and others to stay, and also sent meals.
Although he was still in the bank, Zhao Ya still did not dare to take it lightly, and still sent people to keep vigil in batches.