Chapter 288: Devising A Plan

The light from the fire reflected on the faces of Wang Hui and his men. These men had been on the road for so long that their faces were rough, baptized by hardship. Now, under the orange glow of the fire, their faces appeared as if they were made of copper, and they looked tougher than ever.

The structure of an escort agency was simple and highly effective. Simply put, it followed a bureaucracy. The agency boss was the chief, and underneath him was the escort leader. The escort leader led the escorts while the escorts dispatched runners who would do the groundwork. The agency boss rarely went out into the field. Escort leaders would head most of the projects just like project managers. During an escort service, the escort leader would manage everyone, including the runners. Among the escorts, everyone helped each other while they each had their own specific roles to perform, covering all imaginable aspects. The escorts represented the core characters in an agency. Runners would often be promoted to escorts once they were deemed qualified, while escorts could also be promoted to become escort leaders. An escort leader would be treated like a shareholder, where he would qualify to obtain the dividends, or shares of the profits. That would be similar to a senior manager in the modern world.

Now, Escort Leader Feng was gone. Only three escorts survived including Wang Hui. The other two escorts would be Wang Sheng, and another man with his face covered with a beard called Gong Dequan. Gong Dequan had only managed to return back at noon today.

He was not really comfortable with the Yan Liqiang’s sudden rise of status in the escort agency. However, he respected the decision, and he was also impressed by Yan Liqiang’s wisdom throughout the event in Jinling City. So he accepted it, hoping only for the best for the agency.

Yan Liqiang had finished speaking by now, and the three escorts remained quiet. Finally, Wang Hui broke the silence, “Since nobody wants to speak, allow me to offer my opinion. I think we will not be able to accomplish the mission this time. We only have forty men right now and there is no way for us to deliver the goods which require hundreds of manpower. Even if we were request backup from headquarters, it will take three or four months. During that time, nobody can assure the safety of our men here. We went to Jinling City today, and Brother Liqiang was right about it. Jinling City is now a stateless place with no order. Thieves and robbers are everywhere. To make matters worse, the weather is getting warmer now. Jinling City will be infested with plagues or chaos.”

“And it’s not only in Jinling City. We all saw the disaster happen last night. It was an extremely big one, perhaps the biggest in history. Even in Jinling City itself, so many people lost their lives that the whole city was gone, and we don’t know about the situation in other places. I think the entire Great Han Empire might be affected…” Wang Sheng said with a stern face as he aimlessly poked the fire with a stick. “Even if we request for backup and they manage to reach us here and we are able to guard the goods safely here, it is still uncertain if we can deliver the goods much further. The bridges might be broken, and we will be stuck there…”

“I passed by the Jinlan Bridge today. It has already collapsed. To deliver the goods, we must find another route. But even then we would still have no idea if the route will be accessible…” Gong Dequan sighed and said in disappointment, “It seems that God does not want us to get our job done this time. Even if the Chief were here, he would not be able to complete the job. This job is doomed to fail…”

“Not only are we unable to deliver the goods to the Storm Army, we can’t bring the goods back either. With so many goods with us, we are vulnerable, and Escort Leader Feng is not here either. If we bump into any dubious people, we will easily become their food. We will die, every last one of us…” Wang Sheng added.

The escorts fell silent again. Then, they had their eyes on Yan Liqiang. Wang Sheng and Gong Dequan signaled at Wang Hui, and Wang Hui spoke again, “Brother Liqiang, we are just three uneducated people with nothing much in our brains. Please, tell us, what should we do now?”

Yan Liqiang knew this job would end in failure. This was an era where transportation was still largely dependant on human power and horses. Any natural disasters or big events, in addition to such a massive loss of men, would mean that completing the job was virtually impossible.

However, he knew that he was in no position to make any decisions. Otherwise, he would be held as the scapegoat if anything went wrong. The three escort had to reach an agreement before he could give any further comments.

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“All three of you are experienced escorts who have gone through tough times. Since you all agree that this job cannot be carried out any further, I can only agree because I’m helpless too!” Yan Liqiang looked at the three escorts, “The important thing now is that we must discuss three matters.”

“Brother Liqiang, please tell us, what are the three matters?” Gong Dequan asked.

“First, since this job cannot be completed, we must find a way to minimize the loss. We must understand that Tianqiao Hall spent a great amount of effort to produce these weapons. There are twenty thousand of such weapons. This is enough for eight army regiments. These weapons mustn’t fall into the hands of ill-intended people, even if we can’t deliver them to the Storm Army!”

“That’s right! Just like what happened earlier today when we bumped into those thieves in Jinling City. These weapons must not fall into their hands. Otherwise, it would be our sin. Fortunately, Brother Liqiang reacted quickly over the matter. Now, everyone thinks that we are delivering porcelain. Nobody gives a damn about porcelain now in Jinling City!” Wang Hui nodded, while Wang Sheng and Gong Dequan followed.

“Brother Liqiang, what is the second matter?” Wang Sheng asked.

“The second matter is survival. We must find a way to survive and make sure that everyone in our team returns to the Divine Sword Sect alive!”

All three escorts nodded instantly. It was already a miracle for them to remain alive, and their will to stay alive was even stronger now. This was especially true for them since they were all men with families to care for.

“What is the third one?” Gong Dequan asked.

“For the third matter, let’s put ourselves in the shoes of the Sect Lord and the elders. What happened yesterday will surely reach their ears in a few more days. Once they hear about the news, their main concern will be the situation in the Imperial Capital, not the job.”

Yan Liqiang’s words stunned the three escorts. He stared at them with a stern face, “Afterall, this failed mission will only cost the Divine Sword Sect twenty thousand weapons, but the situation in the Imperial Capital is going to impact the future of the whole empire. You all witnessed the disaster yesterday. Most of the impact was in the direction of the capital. Nobody knows what is happening in the capital now. As for the Sect Lord and the elders, they will be deeply concerned. If anything goes wrong in the Imperial Capital, we are the closest men they have to the capital. So, we must think and act on behalf of the Sect Lord and the elders. Get the information on the situation of the capital, and pass the information to the sect. If we can help them get accurate information about the situation of the capital, this will be a great contribution to the sect.”

Wang Hui, Wang Sheng, and Gong Dequan were all at a loss for words. They had never expected that in such a time when everyone was lost, Yan Liqiang could still find an opportunity to make a contribution. Additionally, it was such a great idea, and all three of them could not find a reason to disagree…

“Brother Liqiang, just tell us what to do!” Wang Hui cut to the chase…