The next morning, before daybreak, a servant from the escort agency knocked on the wooden door of the woodshed: "Master Lin, Master Lin?"
Lin Rui suddenly opened his eyes and rubbed them. He had returned home briefly last night, and just as he expected, the rice and noodles snacks he had eaten yesterday appeared in their original places at home again.
So even if the ancient world was in chaos due to war and the fields were left uncultivated and the people were displaced and unable to eat, he would not starve to death because of the food in the Golden Finger House.
There is also a medicine box in the house that he has prepared, which contains all common household medicines, including medicines for colds, fevers, anti-inflammatories and analgesics. His survival rate in troubled times is much higher than that of the natives of this era.
Think about it from another perspective, God has already given him a chance.
"I'm here." Lin Rui said softly. At this time, Sanliang immediately opened his eyes and woke up, got out of bed and opened the wooden door.
The servant bowed respectfully and said, "Master Lin, the escort is waiting for you outside."
Lin Rui sat up straight and said, "Okay, I'll be right there."
He and Sanliang quickly washed their faces by the well in the backyard and went into the front yard.
The short-distance escort fee of fifty taels of silver is attractive enough. Longting Town is the closest route to Linjing. Although there are refugees everywhere in this world, being close to the capital and the emperor's feet always has a strong deterrent effect on them, and is much safer than a long journey.
Eight sturdy escorts had already harnessed their horses and were waiting at the entrance of the escort agency. When they saw Lin Rui coming, they politely greeted him: "Mr. Lin!"
Lin Rui also replied: "I'll have to trouble you to take care of me on the way."
The escorts were all straightforward and laughed heartily: "Master Lin, please rest assured. Our escort agency has always been honest in the world. If anyone robs us on the road, they will have to step over our corpses."
Lin Rui waved his hand: "Not really, not really. I just want to go home and take care of my family as soon as possible!"
The route from Linjing to Longting Town is much more dangerous than the route from Longting Town to Linjia Village. Many refugees who escaped from the fiefdoms of the princes poured into the nearby cities. There were many more beggars in the city, and thefts, looting and robbery occurred frequently, causing many officials to directly order the city gates to be closed and no one to enter.
"Okay, we're ready, shall we go now?"
"Go, go, go!" Lin Rui nodded repeatedly, but he felt a little embarrassed when he saw the strong horse that was taller than him. He didn't know how to ride a horse!
Fortunately, these escorts were well prepared. Taking this factor into consideration, they also prepared a carriage. The carriage was simple in style and was enough to carry him and Sanliang.
The carriage, escorted by eight bodyguards, carried each person's documents and left the city. Now the entry and exit of Linjing City are strictly checked. It is easy to leave, but the difficulty of coming in has skyrocketed.
Lin Rui looked through the carriage and saw the refugees who could not enter the city because they had no documents. They were ragged and unkempt. Days of escape had made them physically and mentally exhausted. With their last bit of faith, they fled to Linjing, the capital of the Lin Dynasty, but were refused entry. Their hope of survival was shattered, and they felt like rotten wood.
"Buying people, buying people, a girl for one bucket of grain, a woman for two buckets of grain!" A man dressed as a boy came out of the city with his entourage and guards, opened the rice and flour bags on the carriage, revealing the yellow and moldy rice inside.
Even so, it could not stop the refugees' desire for food, and they all came over like people who had been hungry and thirsty in the desert for a long time and encountered a rain of sweet rain.
"I'll sell you my woman! I'll sell you my woman!" A disheveled, thin man hurriedly pushed out the woman following him.
The woman remained silent. She had become so thin she was unrecognizable. She had no desire to resist her husband's decision; she was completely numb. Perhaps, for her, following her husband would only lead to starvation sooner or later. It would be better for her to be sold to a slave. Although she would lose her freedom, at least she could make it to Linjing City and have a chance to survive, saving her life.
The young man walked up to the woman and pinched her pale cheek, examining her teeth as carefully as if she were an animal. After a moment, he shook his head and said, "No, no, this won't do. It won't be easy to raise if you buy it. If you don't raise it well, it won't live long, and you won't be able to sell it for a good price!"
The boy walked while talking. It was now a complete buyer's market. There were many poor families who were eager to sell their children. Some men whose wives and daughters died on the road sold themselves just to find a way to survive.
When you are starving to death, who cares whether you are signing a slave contract or a contract to sell your body?
The man grabbed the boy and said, "Master, please be kind and buy my wife. I don't want two dou of rice, one dou will do!"
Lin Rui watched as the man, who was almost as thin as a man, grabbed the boy and persuaded him to spend half a bucket of rice to take his numb wife away. Also returning to the city were a group of little girls and young women, and the last group were those who sold their own labor.
People cannot be suffocated to death by urine, and dignity is nothing when threatened with death by hunger.
Lin Rui, who came from a peaceful era, had never seen such a tragic scene. He was caught in the middle of this historical torrent and could do nothing. He was carried forward like a tiny ant.
All he can do now is to ensure that he and his family can survive in these troubled times. As for the lives of others... he is not a savior and cannot save the people from danger.
A horse-drawn carriage cannot be compared with a modern car. In addition, after leaving Linjing, there is an official road. The ancient official road did not have cement and asphalt. He felt like vomiting because of the shaking and bumpy ride in the carriage.
Sanliang looked at Lin Rui worriedly: "Master, how are you?"
Lin Rui waved his hand to indicate that he was fine.
The emperor of Linjing might not be able to withstand the pressure from foreigners and run away at any time. Then Linjing and the surrounding counties and towns will become slaughterhouses for foreigners. Those who are not of our race must have different hearts. In a weak country, even the people will be forced to become slaves to be slaughtered.
"Mr. Lin, are we going too fast? Do we need to slow down?" The escort leader Gao Shu looked at Lin Rui who looked uncomfortable and hurried forward to ask.
Lin Rui waved his hand: "I'm fine." When the nest is overturned, all the eggs are broken. The more he understood the history of the dynasty, the more he felt that it overlapped with the Song Dynasty in his time and space. Zhao Gou was the emperor but was treated badly by the Jin people. His biological mother, sister and daughter were all humiliated and sent to the Jin tent to be abused, not to mention the people whom he regarded as ants.
So the sooner you leave Linjing and Longting Town, the better, and the farther away the better!
"Master Gao, I can still hold on. Please go faster!" He urged Gao Shu hurriedly.
Gao Shu understood what was going on, nodded, and then sped up his horse. The group traveled for two hours straight, and when the sun was high in the sky, they found a shady place to rest and feed the horses some grass and water.
“There are more and more refugees.”
"Yes, the world is getting more and more chaotic. Who knows when Linjing will..."
The escorts gathered together and discussed in a low voice. According to the several defeats in foreign wars fought by the Lin Dynasty, the nobles in the court were completely frightened and had no choice but to ask for peace, even if it meant ceding land and begging for mercy.
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