novelaction Chapter 1033 The People's Livelihood is Full of Hardship
Chapter 1033 The People's Livelihood is Full of Hardship
The Zhang family hurried along, finally arriving at the inn closest to the dock at dusk.
Given Zhang Ping'an's rank, if he wanted to rest at an inn, the inn would usually receive an official document and notification in advance. However, Zhang Ping'an changed his route at the last minute, so the people at the inn were unaware of it. When they saw the Zhang family suddenly arrive, they were quite apprehensive.
"I am on my way to take up my post in Huainan. I am just passing through and will be resting here for the night. You don't need to be too polite or entertain me. Just do as usual." After a day of traveling by carriage, Zhang Ping'an was a little tired. After giving his instructions, he went to his room to rest.
After eating, he took it upon himself to arrange the night watch and other chores. Little Fish was not idle either, as he vaguely knew his father's worries.
Li had just finished her postpartum confinement and her body had not fully recovered. After serving Zhang Lao Er and Xu Shi their dinner early, she went back to her room to rest.
Of all the people, perhaps only two young boys with their hair in buns seemed oblivious to the troubles, still full of energy. After dinner, they even played with the servants in the courtyard of the post station for quite a while.
It wasn't the time of year when officials from all over the country went to the capital to report on their work, so the inn was currently only occupied by Zhang Ping'an's family. It was quite empty. After all, it was close to the capital. Although the furnishings weren't particularly exquisite, they were still acceptable and very clean.
After taking a nap, Zhang Ping'an got up to eat and felt much better.
Seeing that her son looked tired, she urged him to go and rest, saying, "You should go to sleep too, it's most important to get some rest!"
"Dad, it's still early!" Little Fish looked at the sky.
Without waiting for Zhang Ping'an's reply, he suddenly seemed to remember something, understood, and nodded in agreement: "I'll go and rest now!"
"Okay, go ahead!" Zhang Ping'an waved his hand.
Tonight will probably be the most restful night's sleep they'll get on their way to taking office!
After a good rest, everyone felt much better the next morning. After an early breakfast, Zhang Ping'an led his family on their journey again, giving everyone some instructions:
"From today onwards, everyone must sleep fully clothed and not sleep too soundly. Guards will take turns resting and keeping watch at night. If they hear the sound of a gong, they must get up immediately."
These words were spoken in front of everyone, including Zhang Lao Er and Xu Shi. Upon hearing this, the two of them were quite worried: "What's going on? Could there be bandits on the road?"
Faced with his parents' questions, Zhang Ping'an softened his tone and explained gently, "Father, Mother, in recent years, disasters have occurred frequently in various places, and people's lives have been difficult. There are many more refugees and mountain dwellers than before, so it is naturally not as peaceful as a few years ago. We still need to be more careful when we are away from home. Once we get through this period, things will be better when we take office."
"Yes, yes, we understand. We need to be more careful," Xu nodded, agreeing verbally, no longer as careless as she had been yesterday.
Further ahead, they would pass a hill. Zhang Ping'an had been on the battlefield and knew that this kind of place was the most dangerous and the easiest to be ambushed. Therefore, he made the guards extremely vigilant.
After eating their fill, the little fish split into two groups, each with a guard on either side.
Under the blazing sun, the official road was eerily quiet at midday. Large beads of sweat dripped from everyone's faces, except for the few people sitting in the carriages, who were slightly better off. The two children looked listless.
Fortunately, the journey was uneventful, and they finally made it out of the hilly area. Zhang Ping'an was relieved for the time being. In broad daylight, he thought that no one would be so bold as to openly ambush him.
Just as I breathed a sigh of relief, a loud voice suddenly rang out from ahead, "This tree is mine, this road is mine, if you want to pass, leave your toll!"
Zhang Ping'an: ...I put my mind at ease too early.
However, when he lifted the carriage curtain, he found that the people who were blocking the road and extorting money from passersby were just a dozen or so ordinary middle-aged men. They were dressed very plainly, and although they had a fierce look on their faces, they lacked the ruthlessness of those who made a living as bandits. Most of them were armed with hoes and shovels, and the leader had a long knife.
Because they had been instructed in advance, Xiaoyuer and Chibao acted swiftly and decisively without hesitation when faced with this obstruction!
The anticipated fight didn't even last long.
The other side consisted of mountain people from the nearby mountains, a motley crew with only brute force. They were disarmed in no time and knelt on the ground begging for mercy.
The interrogation didn't last long before the other party confessed everything. It turned out that the villagers from the village in front saw several horse-drawn carriages passing by with their heavy luggage and tipped them off. They assumed they were just ordinary wealthy merchants trying to extort money.
Little Fish never believed such feigned sympathy, and sneered, "You didn't expect to run into a tough opponent, did you?!"