The group traveled day and night and finally entered Qingnan territory on the afternoon of the tenth day.
Along the way, Zhang Duyun initially had reservations about Jiang Yimian and her group joining them, but after encountering several bandit raids, he changed his opinion of them.
The bandits they encountered along the way were all driven away by them, without needing the soldiers he brought. They were truly formidable, no wonder Lin Yan'an insisted on bringing a few men with him.
With these people following them, they were indeed much safer.
He should be able to save his life.
After spending time together, everyone has become quite familiar with each other.
Once they could vaguely see Yuncheng Prefecture in the distance, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Lin Yan'an lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the city shrouded in a light mist, saying, "We've finally arrived. If I had stayed in this carriage any longer, I would have been completely exhausted. It's been a long journey!"
These days he felt like he had ridden in a carriage for the entire rest of his life, traveling day and night for almost half a month straight.
He had never done anything like this before in his business career; it was the first time in his life.
Zhang Duyun nodded, stretching his neck as he glanced enviously at the group riding horses, saying, "That's right, I regret not knowing how to ride a horse. Look at Xiao Jiang and the others, they've traveled for so long and they're still full of energy, unlike us, we're about to be shaken to pieces."
I'm getting old, and I can't take it if this happens a few more times.
However, it's strange that we haven't seen anyone along the way.
In the past, he had heard many stories from the Censorate about disaster relief efforts. Usually, once he arrived in a territory, he would encounter many refugees.
They were either in porridge distribution sheds or gathered at resettlement sites outside the city.
For this reason, he made a point of buying a lot of steamed buns and flatbreads when he passed through the previous town, just in time to distribute them to the disaster-stricken refugees.
But they've been gone for so long and haven't seen a single person. That's really strange.
Lin Yan'an looked around, somewhat surprised, and said, "Could it be that the flood in Qingnan is not serious? Then we should send the news back so that the people from the Censorate and the Ministry of Works don't have to come with such fanfare."
The first batch of supplies we've sent is enough.
Jiang Yimian frowned, feeling that something was amiss, especially when she saw the rushing river in the distance; this feeling of unease reached its peak.
The narrow river channel had been completely washed away, and the turbid water was spreading in all directions, gradually staining the official road as well.
In the distance, there were mudslides and sandstorms, with a large pile of yellow earth on the road. A lot of water had also accumulated in the collapsed hillside next to it, which clearly showed how heavy the rain had been in the past few days.
Looking at the pile of dirt blocking the road not far away, Zhang Duyun glanced helplessly at the gloomy sky and hurriedly said, "Quickly, clear that road. It looks like it's going to rain again. Let's hurry into the city to take shelter from the rain."
After saying that, he quickly got off the carriage and followed the soldiers to dig soil with shovels.
Along the way, they encountered many mudslides and landslides blocking their path, both large and small. They were already used to shoveling them away, and now they were quite efficient.
Jiang Yimian was staring at the breached riverbed when she suddenly heard a heavy thud as something fell to the ground.
It seemed to be coming from the piles of wild grass on the hillside.
She looked in the direction of the sound and saw a woman lying in the waist-high weeds.
She rushed over, and as soon as she parted the weeds, the woman covered her head and cried out, "No, don't kill me, don't kill me!"
The commotion attracted the attention of people who were cleaning the road over there.
Seeing this, Zhang Duyun scolded, "What are you looking at? Hurry up and dig! Do you want to stay here and get soaked in the rain?"
Upon hearing this, everyone resumed vigorously digging with their shovels.
Zhang Duyun walked over with Lin Yan'an, staring curiously at the woman in front of them.
When the woman saw them, she trembled violently again and immediately knelt down to kowtow. Jiang Yimian quickly pulled her up and looked her over.
The woman was dressed in coarse linen clothes, the original color of which was no longer visible due to the mud. She was soaking wet, as if she had been pulled out of the water.
Jiang Yimian simply said, "Don't be afraid. We are officials who came from the capital to deliver supplies. I just want to ask you how the situation is here. Are the casualties heavy?"
Upon hearing this, the woman not only did not relax, but became even more nervous. Her eyes were filled with fear as she stared at the crowd, and she trembled like a leaf.
If Jiang Yimian hadn't been holding me up, I probably would have collapsed to the ground in the next second.
Jiang Yimian assumed she was just cold, so she asked Liu'er to get a thick coat from the carriage and handed the person in front of her a bowl of hot tea before saying, "Don't be afraid, we're not bad people. Just tell us what's going on inside."
The woman remained silent, not touching the bowl of hot tea in her hand, and only cautiously watching the crowd.
Lin Yan'an looked at the woman and asked in confusion, "Is this person frozen stupid? Why doesn't she say anything no matter what I ask?"
"We're all quite handsome; we're not that scary, are we?"
He stroked his chin, looking puzzled.
Zhang Duyun snorted coldly and shoved Lin Yan'an aside. "She must have been frightened by you. Let me handle this."
After saying that, he stroked his mustache and revealed what he thought was a kind smile. "Little woman, I am a government official in the capital. You know what a government official in the capital is, right? Tell me what you know."
Otherwise, we'll expose you as soon as we get into town; you're hindering our disaster relief efforts.
As soon as she finished speaking, the woman suddenly stood up, bumping her head on Zhang Duyun's chin, and hurriedly ran towards the hillside beside the official road, tightly holding the bowl of hot tea in her hand.
Jiang Yimian frowned and simply said, "Wait a moment."
The woman had already climbed the slope. After hesitating for a while, she stopped because of Jiang Yimian's shout, but she still stared intently at the group, her body trembling slightly.
Jiang Yimian took a bundle from the carriage and threw it directly at the people on the hillside. "There is food and water in it, as well as medicine for treating injuries and relieving fever."
The woman was startled and subconsciously touched the herbs at her waist. The things that had been neatly placed there were all gone.
Those were herbs she had finally managed to find.
Just as they were getting anxious, they heard Jiang Yimian say, "The herbs you found were accidentally crushed by us earlier. Although these herbs can also treat external injuries, they are not as good as the ones in the bundle. You can just take the bundle."
The woman stood frozen in place, staring intently at the crowd below the hillside.
Just then, the people cleaning the road ahead finished clearing away the accumulated dirt and called out to them, "Lord Zhang, you can go now."
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