The weak scholar in the end of ancient times

Chapter 40 Floating Bridge
Wen Gu spent two days drawing a rough map covering parts of his county and neighboring counties.

Previously, when planning the route, Wen Gu would deliberately avoid certain official roads.

At this time, the big families and forces in the south were migrating from south to north, but our side was small in number and weak in power, and it was easy to be swallowed up or even killed or robbed when encountering a large group.

Now that their numbers have increased, Wen Gu has become a little bolder in planning the route.

Taking long detours and back roads is exhausting. Roads were quite difficult to navigate in those days, so, taking all factors into consideration, I'd like to choose routes with more official roads or smoother roads later in the trip. They'll be faster and less tiring.

The day before departure, Wen Gu called everyone over.

Of course, since there are so many people, they can’t all squeeze together, so they are divided into inner and outer circles.

In addition to Wen Gu and Zhou County Magistrate, the inner circle also includes He Da, Yu Er, and Cheng Zhi.

Others were scattered around.

Xiao Liu and Tietou were in charge of keeping watch and keeping an eye on the surroundings.

It didn't matter whether they listened or not, so they simply took over the guard duty.

In the courtyard, Wen Gu took out a notebook with drawings on it.

"Over the past two days, I have developed three routes based on the information provided by Brother Cheng."

He explained the advantages and disadvantages of each of the three routes, encouraging everyone to participate and make a choice. It was especially important for those in the inner circle to use their brains.

Of these three routes, the most conservative one is safer, but also takes longer.

He Da stared at the diagram on the paper for a while. Seeing that others were still hesitating, he pointed to the one that took the shortest time and said first:
"If I had to choose, I'd choose this route because it saves the most time. It's one to two days faster than the other two!"

They found a lot of supplies in the town and took a lot of things with them on the road.

A day saved is a day saved.

County Lieutenant Zhou also agreed: "We have so many people now, we can deal with minor dangers. This route is feasible!"

The others nodded in agreement. With so many people, they could afford to take fewer risks. If they could reach their destination in five days, there was no need to take seven, and they could even save two days' worth of food!

Wen Gu had originally chosen this one, but he waited for everyone to finish speaking before asking the following question:
"No matter which route we take, we will face the same problem next."

He pointed to a few arcs ahead on the road map.

"Cross the river!"

Everyone present was stunned.

"Is this a river ahead?"

"I can't just swim over there... Hey, I don't dare to swim in the water now!"

"Is there a boat over there?"

Wen Gu waited for everyone to discuss for a while before continuing:
"That river is quite wide. If it were a cold winter, the river might freeze over and we could walk across it. But it's still early in the freezing season, so we need to find a way to cross the river.

"I also considered this issue when I was formulating the route."

Wen Gu only pointed to the shortest route, the front part near the river.

"This is the county seat of Bailu County, built by the water, with a floating bridge. Brother Cheng's classmate's good friend has a relative from Bailu County and once mentioned the floating bridge there."

He Da glanced at Cheng Zhi quietly.

Cheng Zhi’s memory is really terrible!
I don’t know how good his hearing is. If he hears the crickets chirping behind me, will he remember it for the rest of his life?

Next time you whisper to someone, be sure to stay away from him!

Yu Er then asked, "Didn't you say before that we should try to go to villages and towns instead of the county seat?"

Especially in this county town built by the river, where residents draw water from the river, if their living habits are not right, many people will surely be possessed by evil spirits.

Isn't that a monster's nest?

Wen Gu looked at Yu Er with a praising look, as if to praise him for asking a good question.

He explained: "Five years ago, there was a plague in Bailu County, and the county town was also affected. The people there should have more protection awareness and response experience, and the survival rate is higher."

Counties with such high survival rates are either like Feng County, where officials and wealthy families take the survivors north, leaving a few people in the city to fend for themselves.

Or, there are so many people in the city that a closed small society has been formed.

“We chose that place because there used to be a floating bridge there.”

The so-called floating bridge is a bridge floating on the water formed by laying beams and planks on boats or wooden boxes.

"The floating bridge needs repair and maintenance. If it is not maintained, it will definitely be severely damaged and may even be washed away by rising water during the rainy season.

"If there were many survivors in Bailu County, the pontoon bridge might still be there. Even if it's been dismantled now, the components are likely still there. We can just reassemble it when we want to cross the river. Our team's livestock and vehicles can all make it across."

Wen Gu explained it to everyone.

In order to escape in such troubled times, he still hopes that the people in his team will understand more, form a united front, and not hinder each other.

He Da asked, "There are many survivors, and the floating bridge is there? Do they also want to cross the river?"

Wen Gu said, "Just in case. If there are a large number of survivors, the people in charge there should be prepared to leave a way north. Even if they don't need it themselves, the wealthy families in the south who migrate north between late autumn and early spring might need it. They could charge a toll for crossing the bridge."

hiss--

The people around took a deep breath. Bridge toll!

They are carrying so much supplies, how much will they be charged for the bridge crossing?

Wen Gu consoled him, "If there's no pontoon bridge, and no components, we can think of other solutions, like making a raft of wood or bamboo. If there's an existing small boat, we can fix it up and use it to cross the river. However, getting livestock and carts on it will be difficult. We might have to make some sacrifices."

Others were silent.

Thank you, I was not comforted.

He Da's face was twisted with heartache. Doesn't that mean that the truck I just got a few days ago will be thrown away?

"Why don't we go and take a look first?" he suggested weakly.

County Magistrate Zhou also said, "Let's go and have a look first. If that doesn't work, we can try other options."

After crossing the river, the road to the north is still long, and livestock and carts are very useful.

They had to cross the river, and they were reluctant to abandon their livestock and vehicles.

Almost everyone was praying in their hearts, the floating bridge must be there!

Let's review the route everyone voted for and mark it out:

"Then let's take this route. Once we get there, if there are many survivors in the city, we'll first see how the order is in the city before deciding whether to enter or not."

We are about to set off and everyone is packing up.

Cheng Zhi's mother came out carrying the statue as if it were a treasure.

It was just a two-palm-high, very abstract wood sculpture. It was hard to tell what it looked like, and the carving was quite sloppy.

Taoist Qingyi glanced over there, sneered, and said nothing more.

County Captain Zhou and Xiao Liu were concerned.

The Cheng family often burned incense, and the wood carving had been marinated with flavor, and when it was moved, it still carried a whiff of incense smoke.

Xiao Liu and County Captain Zhou also wanted to put us on the donkey/mule cart.

Unfortunately, the Cheng family placed the statue on a newly assembled two-wheeled wooden cart, where the Cheng family's luggage and supplies were mainly stored.

After a night's rest, the escape team set off again to the north.

The team now had a wheelbarrow with a shelf and a two-wheeled wooden cart, and the number of people increased by five - four people from the Cheng family and veterinarian Uncle Fu.

A number of important materials were added.

"Some" means that several cars are filled up, and everyone is carrying bags of varying sizes.

During this stop, in addition to replenishing food and supplies, some weapons and tools were also modified.

The conditions are limited and time is tight, otherwise Wen Gu would like to ask Yu the blacksmith to make a few sets of armor.

The good thing is that we found some animal skins, which can be used to make several sets of leather protective gear.

The peddler's yard was bustling for three or four days in a row, with people going to the town to search for supplies from time to time.

If there were any survivors hiding in the town, they would have probably heard the noise.

Perhaps some people are still hiding secretly and are unwilling to come out.

There is no need to force this.

After the town was cleared, perhaps the survivors felt safe enough and were reluctant to leave, lacking the courage. They even believed that even if they left, they wouldn't last much longer, and they preferred to die in their own homes, returning to their roots rather than dying in a foreign land.

Respect their choice.

Review the past and focus on the team.

We have the cart and the animals to pull it, but we still need enough manpower to protect such important property.

In troubled times, we must not only guard against evil things, but also against people.

There are still not enough people!
If there are enough people and animal power, a few vehicles can be set aside to install bridge components.

With more people and higher military strength, there is no need to deliberately test or avoid. You just need to choose the most convenient way, just like marching, and build a bridge when you encounter water.

Please bring more people!

Saves me from my lack of firepower anxiety!
Five days later.

They arrived at Bailu County as scheduled.

Good news, the pontoon is still there.

Bad news, someone is guarding it.

The good news is that the floating bridge is outside the city and there are not many people guarding it.

Bad news, the pontoon bridge is close to the city wall and there are archers on the wall.

If you don't pay the bridge toll and try to cross it, you'll probably be shot like a porcupine.

(End of this chapter)