The melon-eating swordsman in the ancient dragon world.

Chapter 562 Detour
The escort team safely left Chang'an City, went through Xianyang, passed Xingping, went out of Wugong, passed Fufeng, and arrived at Fengxiang Prefecture, walking more than one-tenth of the distance.

The journey was not smooth, but it was also calm. Even spies rarely showed up.

Lian Chengbi looked at Situ Zhongping who was commanding with such confidence and praised him, "He is indeed as steady as a rock. He has commanded such a large escort team in an orderly manner without any flaws."

Not to mention Situ Zhongping's true character, but he does have real abilities. Just in terms of management experience in commanding the escort team, this person is definitely better than himself, even stronger than Tie Zhongqi.

He is worthy of being the chief escort of the 72 affiliated escort agencies. Whether it is in detail management or in cheering and encouraging each other, he can always lift the spirits of the escort team and not give the enemy any chance to take advantage.

Unless the other party really confronts us head-on, this escort mission can indeed be said to be as stable as a rock.

But if they force their way through, although the escort team's bodyguards may not be as numerous as the bandits, those monks are real. With a few monks plus a group of Shaolin monks forming an Arhat formation, the bandit leaders are worried that they will never return.

After all, those bandits were not in the same group, and everyone was worried about making things difficult for others.

So the situation came to a standstill.

Situ Zhongping's strategy was to be open. He was neither arrogant nor impatient and made steady progress. First of all, he was invincible because the stalemate was obviously in favor of the escort team.

Hearing Lian Chengbi's praise, Shen Bijun also smiled and said, "Master Situ has been in the escort agency for forty or fifty years. He has escorted countless escorts in his life, but he has never failed once. It is definitely not luck. Even if I don't leave my house, I can often hear his name."

……

When going out during the day, there would be two bodyguards with seven or eight porters to scout the way ahead, and report back every incense stick.

For meals in the morning and evening, the porter would buy the groceries himself and watch the chef cook in the kitchen, and everyone would eat in batches.

When staying in the hotel at night, we set up visible and hidden sentries, prepared water buckets to prevent fire and horses from being poisoned, and gave reminders in secret codes from time to time.

Situ Zhongping was almost leading the escort team according to the standards of marching and fighting, which was enough to deal with ordinary ragtag armies. Although these bandits had high martial arts skills, how could their rules and disciplines compare to those of the army?
So after leaving Fengxiang Prefecture, they safely passed through Sanguan and entered Ganlong, followed the Wei River to Qinzhou, then took the Longxi Road through Lintao Prefecture, and finally arrived in Lanzhou.

At this point, the journey is halfway done.

"Hahaha!"

"The chief escort is so powerful and has arranged everything along the way. The bandits didn't even have a chance to attack!"

“We’ve finally arrived in Lanzhou.”

"The chief escort said that we can take turns in Lanzhou, rest for a day, and then set off again."

"The road ahead will be difficult. We need to buy more supplies in Lanzhou. We may have to walk through the desert and sleep outdoors."

“But it will be fine once we reach Jiayuguan.”

"I heard that Dunhuang is very prosperous and there are beautiful women from the Western Regions. When the reward is given, why don't we go there and have some fun together?"

"Hahaha!"

Lanzhou is the last big city on the way to the northwest. Under Situ Zhongping's arrangement, the escort team rested for two days, and specially set aside two carriages to prepare sufficient supplies before continuing their journey.

"We've come so far, and I noticed there haven't been any spies around for a while."

Shen Bijun asked, "Have they given up? It's more than a thousand miles. The bandits outside the Great Wall are okay, but can the bandits from Taihang Mountain, Guanzhong, and Bashu follow us all the way?"

"That makes sense." Lian Chengbi rubbed his chin. The current situation was not beyond his expectations. It could be seen that the joining of Liu Yongnan and Peng Pengfei did not trigger a butterfly effect.

It looks like a big scene, but in fact, nothing will happen. "Chief Escort!"

At this moment, a porter in front of us quickly reported, "There is a landslide ahead, blocking the road. The nearby township is organizing people to clear the road, but it will be impassable in the short term!"

Lü Shiheng, who was leading the team, raised his hand to stop the escort team. Situ Zhongping and Ai Ziqi, who were in the middle, rode their horses forward and asked, "What's going on?"

"There is a mountain road three miles ahead. I heard that an earthquake three days ago caused a landslide. Huge rocks and trees rolled down and almost blocked the road." The porter said, "When we went to explore the road, the nearby village elders were still clearing the road."

Situ Zhongping asked, "Three days ago?"

The porter nodded repeatedly, "We asked several people and it was indeed three days ago."

Ai Ziqi frowned and asked, "The road is impassable?"

"People can walk, but cars can't." The porter said, "Captain Long asked us to move forward, and we encountered three large rocks that were difficult to move by human power."

Just then, Long Changxing, who was exploring the way ahead, came back with the rest of the porters.

"Captain of the Escorts," Long Changxing said with a bow, "I asked the villagers nearby, this kind of landslide is not common, but it happens every few years. It will take at least ten days to clear the road."

"Too slow!" Situ Zhongping shook his head.

Ai Ziqi asked, "What if we join?"

Long Changxing shook his head. "The place is so small, and there are already a lot of people here. Even if we all come together, it won't make much difference."

"Then we have to take a detour." Situ Zhongping looked at Ai Ziqi.

Ai Ziqi shook his head and said, "I am not familiar with the terrain here. Apart from this official road, I don't know any other roads."

"I asked." Long Changxing said, "If you want to go to Liangzhou from here, besides taking this official road through Zhuanglangwei, there are two other roads, one to the south and one to the north. The north is easier to travel, but it's a longer detour and it will probably take nearly ten more days."

"What about the south?" asked Situ Zhongping.

"The road to the south is shorter, but there are many mountain roads. It is said that there are wild beasts and bandits in the mountains, which is quite dangerous." Long Changxing said, "But the speed is fast. If you don't stop on the road, it will take at most one day."

Ai Ziqi laughed when he heard this, "Would we be afraid of robbers?"

Long Changxing also smiled when he heard this, "So I have already inquired about the road to the south, and even invited a guide who is willing to accompany us."

Only then did everyone notice a man with a nervous look on his face standing among the porters.

Situ Zhongping dismounted, smiled and patted the man on the shoulder, "Just lead the way, and when we get out of this road, you will get your reward."

"Yes, yes, yes!" the guide nodded repeatedly.

Then, led by the guide, the escort team took another route, bypassing the nearby village and moving along the mountain road.

Although this road is not an official road, it is still drivable.

According to the guide, this road was an official road a hundred years ago. Later, the imperial court re-surveyed and rebuilt the road, and the road was mostly abandoned. However, there are still people living in villages in the mountains along the way, so it is still in use.

The escort team drove all the way and finally arrived at a village before dark.

(End of this chapter)