Outside Chang'an City, the Qin family and his party walked with difficulty.

One of the officers was at the front in a wagon, carrying their bedding, food, pots and pans, and other supplies.

Followed by Qin Zhao wearing shackles, his wife Nie Yunniang holding his arm tightly with one hand, and holding his second daughter Qin Zhen with the other.

Qin Heng was also wearing shackles, and he was also carrying the luggage they packed out in the prison, and the hems of his clothes on both sides were tightly grasped by his son Qin Han and daughter Qin Jia.

Qin Yu of the third family followed Qin Sheng.

Qin's mother (changed her identity to change) held her granddaughter who had just been born for a long time, and Lu Songli supported Mrs. Qin, occasionally taking turns holding the child with her.

They all walked forward one foot deep and one foot shallow.

Several officers were scattered around them and watched.

Lu Songli found that the road at this time was really difficult to walk, the road was uneven, and there was snow on the ground, so it was very difficult for adults to walk, let alone children.

This is still the official road around Chang'an City, and when they go farther and farther, the road will only become more difficult.

And they walked in the wilderness, and the north wind blew so much that people could not stand it. Fortunately, they all wore thick and windproof clothes, otherwise they would have to get sick after half a day.

Thinking that they would need to travel like this for the next three or four months, Lu Songli's scalp was numb, but fortunately she had made some preparations, otherwise it would have been a really sad day.

Another fortunate thing is that the great cold in the 24 solar terms has passed, and the next solar term is the beginning of spring, and the weather will gradually warm up.

After leaving Chang'an City, he walked about seven or eight miles, and Xu Zheng saw that the daughters and children of the Qin family couldn't walk, so he found a leeward slope and rested for a while.

After stopping, Xu Zheng brought them some dry food. There was no water, and they were preparing to boil some snow water to drink.

Lu Songli gave the child she was holding back to Nie Yunniang and asked her to take it aside to feed, and Qin's mother naturally wanted to help.

Qin Sheng looked left and right, and then walked to the side.

"Why are you going?"

"I'm thirsty and want some snow." After he finished speaking, he asked her hesitantly, "Do you want it?" "If he wants, he'll dig up a clean one.

Lu Songli looked at him speechlessly, can't he clean it and don't say it, it's so cold, you can't make a stomach when you eat it? But she also knew there was no choice now.

After Qin Sheng finished asking, he remembered that his mother had said that women should not eat cold things, so he frowned.

Drinking water is indeed a problem, Lu Songli glanced at Xu Zheng's side.

Qin Zhen was still a five-year-old girl, and when she heard Qin Sheng's little uncle's words, she asked softly, "Daddy, I'm also thirsty, can I eat snow?" ”

As soon as he said this, the other children couldn't help but lick their lips, obviously thirsty.

The children were very sensible and didn't ask for hot water or anything.

"Don't eat yet, wait for me later." After Lu Songli finished speaking, she walked towards the messengers.

Lu Songli found Xu Zheng and the other guards and servants, "Guys, can you take off the shackles from my husband and the two uncles?" We promise not to run, in fact, Chang'an has no place for us, and this road is icy and snowy, where can we run if we want to run? ”

"The three of them are still in leg cuffs, they can't run, they ran away, don't we women and children want it?"

"If we untie their handcuffs, they can help with a little more luggage, and we can go faster, right? If you're not at ease, unlock them when you're on the road during the day, and put them on again at night when you're resting. ”

While speaking, Lu Songli handed the silver in his hand to Xu Zheng.

The money had been given to her by her father when he had left the city, and she was not sure if she had been seen. She will take it all out, and she won't keep a single tael. When wealth is exposed, it is a curse if it remains in the body.

Besides, the backhand she arranged earlier is sure to come in handy soon. The people of Yang Wei's dart bureau must be waiting in front to meet them.

Now the priority is to see if we can untie the shackles and locks from their hands. If you can't do it, you can find out the bottom of it, and take this opportunity to see if there are any people in the errand who have great malice towards them, and you can take precautions in the future.

There is a basis for her daring to make this request.

The exile system has certain written standards, starting from Chang'an City, and is divided into three grades according to the length of distance, which are 2,000 li, 2,500 li and 3,000 li.

The Qin family was exiled to Pingzhou, which was later known as Liaoyang City, Liaoning. Chang'an is about 1,700 kilometers away from Pingzhou, and the distance of exile is more than 3,000 miles, which means that their Qin family is exiled according to the highest rank.

There is also a time limit for the prisoners to be escorted, and they must escort the prisoner to the place within the specified time to complete the task, otherwise there will be punishment. Almost all dynasties and dynasties have made it clear that the prisoners must walk 50 miles a day.

Walking 3,000 miles, people who are not in good health will definitely not be able to bear it and fall. The prisoners wore shackles and anklets, and it was so hard that ordinary people died before they could get out.

Lu Songli believes that these detainees have requirements for the survival rate of prisoners.

So she guessed that when the prisoners couldn't stand it anymore, the guards would relax the restrictions appropriately, such as letting the prisoners remove some of the locks or something.

Because there is no possibility of escape for the prisoners in such an environment, because the terrain is complicated, walking will also be blocked. Of course, except for those who are extremely vicious, or have a high force value, they will not be considered to take the locks.

Xu turned his hand over, and just let the others see the silver.

"You go back first, we need to discuss this."

"Yes, I can do it, I'm sorry to you. If you can't take off the shackles, we can understand your difficulties. In that case, can you give us some hot water? ”

Before Xu Zheng could speak, a young errand officer under him said, "Head, give them some hot water, right?" "He actively gave convenience here, all because the other party was too sensible, and what he said made people feel comfortable.

Xu Zheng nodded, "Yes, you can do this." ”

So the young messenger took a porcelain basin for their own use and poured half of the hot water for Lu Songli.

Lu Songli estimated that there were three catties like this, she thanked her, and then went back with water.

Xu Zheng glanced at her and withdrew his gaze. His third brother and daughter-in-law, this little sister, is really good at things, building bridges and handing ladders, many things will come naturally, and he has not been saddened, and the relationship between the two of them has always been well hidden.

Lu Songli is not stupid, now it is obvious that the judge is on their side, does it do them any good for her to expose the relationship between the two parties?

After Lu Songli left, Xu Zheng divided the silver, "You also heard what she said just now." I think what she said makes sense, and I agree to untie their handcuffs, let them go during the day so that they can go faster, and lock them up at night, what do you think? ”

"Head, we're okay." A few of the officers took the silver and said with a grin.

Zhao Long swept the silver in his hand, and his eyes swept back and forth towards the Qin family, especially Lu Songli, who was the object of his key investigation.

Sensing his ill-intentioned gaze, Qin Sheng's eyes deepened, and he pulled Lu Songli behind him and used his body to look at the other party's gaze.

Zhao Long raised an objection, "I don't agree!" ”

Xu's face sank, "Why?" Don't forget that we have a time limit for this trip! We have to escort people to Pingzhou within two and a half months. Are you responsible for overtime? ”

"The three brothers of the Qin family are all from martial arts, what if you unhandcuff them and they escape?"

After all, if the prisoners are lost, they will face extremely cruel punishments when they return to the yamen.

Xu Zheng said, "Zhao Long, you really think too much. They're three big men, yes, but let's not forget they're still in leg cuffs. In addition, the six of us, can't we still look down on three sick and elderly female dependents and five children of a few years old? As long as a few of them were held hostage, they did not dare to move. ”

The two waves of people are actually not far away, and their volume is not low, so the people on the Qin family's side also heard it really.

The three brothers of the Qin family all lowered their heads slightly, and thought disappreciably, if you really want to compete, the six of you may not be able to win.

But this will, they can also see something somewhat, Xu Zheng, the boss, is a little problematic, and the other party is a little biased towards them.

Lu Songli and Qin Heng did not inform each other of the backhands they had prepared. First, there was no time, from their marriage, to the news of Qin Yue's death, to the death of the first emperor, to the Qin family's exile and imprisonment, one thing after another. The second is that the less people know about this kind of backhand, the better.

"No matter what you say, I just don't agree." Zhao Long bit this to death.

"Zhao Long, don't mess around. It's not the first time that you've escorted exiled prisoners, and what will happen in the end, whether or not to untie the shackles on the prisoners, everyone knows what to do. Now it's just a matter of moving forward a little bit. For the Chinese New Year, it is not easy for everyone to have such a long trip. I believe that everyone wants to send people safely and come back safely. At this time, give them a little convenience, and we can save some trouble. ”

"Yes, Deputy Zhao Zhisi, Xu Zhusi is right, we only have two and a half months, in fact, the time is quite tight. Like now, most of the day has passed, and I have only walked seven or eight miles, which is too slow. ”

"Zhao Long, you don't need to say more. In this way, if the prisoner is lost, I will be responsible, okay? You now answer my question, and you refuse to let them uncuff them during the day. If we can't send them to Pingzhou on time, can you take care of this? Xu Zheng forced him.

Zhao Long still didn't speak.

"If you say you can be responsible, it's confusing. If you can't be responsible, listen to me. If you don't say anything now, I'll assume that you can't be responsible. After Xu Zheng finished speaking, he asked people to go and untie the shackles on the hands of the three brothers of the Qin family.

Those who can go on this trip have been spotted before departure.

He has a big charge and a deputy charge, and he has four messengers, and he has already greeted these four messengers, but this deputy charge named Zhao Long is not good for oil and salt. He was trying to find a way to replace people, but found that he couldn't. Now I can only find an opportunity to find a reason to suppress him.