Chapter 36 Taihang Mountain Road
When this long-distance convoy arrived in Handan, it really shocked many people. Along the way, there were people blocking the road to deliver food. In addition, the convoys from other counties successfully joined Zhao Kuo and the others, making the convoy even larger in size. They drove from a distance, rolling up loess, and there was a knight clearing the road ahead, and they ran back and forth, and there was a vague feeling of a large army's departing. It took a lot of time and finally arrived in Handan.
The knights who were cutting the way forward brought two people, one was fortunate, and the other was Zhao Kuo's disciple, called Ming, and he was Wu's clan, but he was called Mu Ziming because of Mu Ziyi from Zhao State. The two followed the knights, first saw the unhappy face, and then they saw the young king Zhao Kuo. Zhao Kuo was very happy to see them and hurriedly got off the horse. The two hurriedly paid a visit, and Zhao Kuo helped them up.
"The second and third sons are finally here!"
Fortunately, he said, "After learning your order, we left Mafu Township. However, we don't know which road you came from, so we can only wait in Handan." Zhao Kuo laughed and said, "This is right. If it is staggered, it may take a lot of time... Is my mother okay? Everyone in the family and the villagers are fine?"
"My mistress is not bad, so is the same among the villagers... This is what the mistress entrusted us to send..." Xiang took out a package and handed it to Zhao Kuo. When Zhao Kuo got the package, he had already smelled the fragrance of fruits and vegetables. He had guessed what this was in his heart. Xiang took out another stone, which was an ordinary pebbles. He said, "This is what Gong Ping asked us to deliver to you. He said that putting this stone on your body can make you safe and safe all the way without disasters."
Zhao Kuo looked at the stone in amazement. There was no hole on it, it was completely an ordinary pebbles. Thinking of the old man Ping who wished him to exorcise ghosts, Zhao Kuo couldn't help but smile. He put the stone in his pouch and hung it on the left side of his jade belt. He suddenly felt a heavy feeling, and the jade belt was also solid.
After greeting them for a while, asking about the situation of the horse suit, Zhao Kuo said to them: "I heard that the road from Handan to Wu'an, to Lu, and along the river to Changping is very dangerous. The Qin people have cavalry attacking Lu. In Li area, I am very worried that our carriage will be attacked by the Qin people, so I need someone who is very familiar with the southwest terrain of Zhao State, so I send someone to ask..." He slowly looked at Ming and asked: "It turns out that Ming is what I need."
Ming hurriedly leaned over and said, "My name Ming used to live in Muziyi, and Muziyi is in the area of Lucheng. When I was young, I followed my father to Gaodu to sell horses, so I know very well the terrain here."
"That's great!" Zhao Kuo felt that his disciples could always bring surprises to him, and of course, some would also bring shock. Mu Ziming continued: "It is not necessary to take Wu'an Road from Handan to Changping. Shaojun can go south from Handan to Zi County, and take a detour from Zi County to Changping, and he can also get to Changping... However, this road requires passing through Taihang Mountain Road, which is difficult to walk on. If you don't have people familiar with it, you will not be able to get there."
"Are you not familiar with me?"
"There are no people there, and there are no cities and towns. I just know that there is this road, but I have never passed by." Mu Ziming said with some guilt. Zhao Kuo sighed. It seems that he can only walk the Wu'an road, because it is too close to the eldest son, and the eldest son is now controlled by the Qin people, so it is very dangerous here. Zhao State has several teams transporting grain here, and they have suffered heavy losses.
After borrowing grain, Pingyuan Jun made such a big noise. Zhao Kuo felt that the Qin people might have gathered their troops and were waiting for him to fall into the trap. Even the regular transportation troops of Zhao State were difficult to resist, not to mention Zhao Kuo. The main force of the Qin people was in Changping, and there were only cavalry less than a thousand people here. However, Zhao Kuo felt that if Bai Qi knew the news, he might have made some plans. He would never dare to underestimate this man.
He also thought of escorting King Zhao with his soldiers, but facing Bai Qi, Zhao Kuo was afraid that no matter how many soldiers could protect him, he would not be able to protect him. In this way, it would be best to bypass the battlefield and go directly to the rear of Changping to transport the food to the battlefield. This is the safest way. How could the Qin people not bypass Changping? What's more, the area of Lucheng is often subjected to small-scale attacks by the Qin people, but it is still impossible for the Qin people to penetrate the sharp blades into both sides, and they can still defend them.
Just when Zhao Kuo felt embarrassed, Xun suddenly spoke, "Shaojun, I am very familiar with the terrain of Taihang, which is why I followed him." Zhao Kuo was stunned and asked in confusion: "But are you not from Handan? How could you be familiar with the terrain of Taihang? How familiar are you with there?"
Xing was silent for a moment before saying, "I had to live in Taihang for a few years because I needed to hide from some people. I was very familiar with the situation there, and I knew every road." Zhao Kuo was very happy, and pointed to the carriage and asked, "Do you think such a carriage can pass through the mountain road?" Xing looked at the carriage carefully, borrowed horses, and rushed to the end, almost looking at all the carriages, and came back.
"Shaojun, these carriages can be passed. At that time, there were many merchants from the State of Wei and Zhao driving carriages past Taihang. There was also a road opened by merchants, just near Yangyan."
"Yes! I know this!" Mu Ziming suddenly exclaimed, and he said, "I know this sheep intestine! There were indeed many merchants passing by here, but later, the place was occupied by a group of thieves. The merchants spent money to ask the surrounding county magistrates to lead people to encircle and suppress the thieves several times, but they could not defeat those thieves. Later, no one dared to take this path again!"
Zhao Kuo nodded and asked again: "So, should we also be attacked by thieves when we go this path?"
"No, please don't worry, Shaojun." Xun suddenly spoke.
The convoy changed direction again, fortunately, Zhao Kuo was very polite to these people along the way, and Zhao Kuo himself was also very prestigious in Zhao State. These drivers did not complain, but the only leader of the knight came to Zhao Kuo in person. This was also his first time looking for Zhao Kuo. Zhao Kuo didn't even know his name. He rode a horse and rushed to Zhao Kuo. His voice was very low, and he asked, "Young Master, are you going to walk on the mountain road?"
"Yes, I have two disciples. They know the road, so I really have to worry about you." Zhao Kuo said hurriedly. The knight was silent for a long time before saying, "I have followed Ma Fujun to the battlefield. The Qin people are very cunning. After leaving Handan..." He might not know what to say. After hesitating for a moment, Zhao Kuo understood and asked, "Do you want me to obey your instructions and you will command all the disciples?"
"That's how it is." The Knight said helplessly.
"Okay, I obey your instructions. Even if you ask me to command, I don't know how to command. I will bother you more along the way." Zhao Kuo said with a smile. The knight was stunned and looked very surprised. Then, he forced a smile, nodded at Zhao Kuo, and left here. In the following days, Zhao Kuo was silently observing the knight's every move.
He would arrange the time for patrols in detail for the guests. The rotation personnel were transferred. He divided the 300 patrols into ten teams, and patroled from the front of the convoy to the last side of the convoy at a distance of 500 meters. The orders of each team seemed to be different. For example, the front patrol was used by him as a scout. They were responsible for constantly exploring the road ahead. When encountering strangers, they had to come back quickly to report, and the convoy would stop moving forward.
The horses behind the guests had branches hanging on the tails of the horses. They seemed to be destroying the traces of the carriage passing by. When they encountered these unknown things, Zhao Kuo would ask him. He was a little restrained at first. Later, when Zhao Kuo asked, he would answer seriously. He said that there were thieves who could identify materials and escort information based on the traces left by the convoy, so he sent people to constantly destroy these traces, making it impossible for them to obtain accurate information.
Zhao Kuo nodded seriously and took his words in his heart.
Chapter completed!