On May 12, the twelfth year of Daye, the sun was as scorching as a blazing sun. A fast horse galloped into the county seat of Shanggu County, its hooves rapped rapidly on the sun-scorched stone streets, and headed straight for the prefect's mansion.

The horse galloped to the gate of the prefect's mansion. The knight rolled down his saddle and rushed into the hall, crawling on the ground, and loudly announced: "Gao Changqing, the general manager of Youzhou, is about to arrive outside the city."

Cui Hongsheng, the governor of Shanggu County, looked uncertain, and his younger brother Cui Hongtu even shivered subconsciously. Gao Changqing was indeed here, what should he do now?

It is said that Li Jing sent a horse back yesterday to report that the evil monk Gao Tansheng had been killed by Gao Bufan, the governor of Youzhou. Laishui County was also "temporarily taken over" by the governor. Gao also planned to come to Shanggu County tomorrow to visit the prefect. .

When brothers Cui Hongsheng and Cui Hongtu heard this, they thought that Li Jing had already defected to Gao Bufan, and the so-called "visit" was a slang term. It meant that he would lead an army to attack Shanggu County tomorrow and take the head of the governor of Shanggu County by the way. So The two brothers were so frightened that they stayed up all night. They mobilized manpower to reinforce the city's defenses and requested support from surrounding counties at the same time.

"How many troops did Gao Changqing bring?" Cui Hongsheng asked in a deep voice.

The spy looked strange and said: "I only brought three people, and I was also accompanied by Li Juncheng and Miss Daoyun."

Cui Hongsheng and Cui Hongtu looked at each other in astonishment. They only brought three people with them? Is Gao Changqing so trusting? Or is he really just here to visit?

"How many troops did Li Jing bring?" Cui Hongtu was a little worried and asked quickly.

The spy replied: "Li Juncheng also brought back all the troops he brought, but he stopped stationed twenty miles away."

Cui Hongsheng's eyes flashed, he stroked his beard and thought for a moment, then waved his hand and ordered the butler: "I ordered people to prepare a banquet. I will personally go out of the city to greet the senior manager."

When Cui Hongtu heard this, his heart moved and he whispered: "Brother, do you think Gao Changqing has no ill intentions?"

Cui Hongsheng nodded and said: "Gao Changqing came without any soldiers, and Li Jing also camped twenty miles away. The purpose is naturally to express his sincerity in visiting us, and the other party also brought Dao Yun back, so there should be no Malicious."

Cui Hongtu's eyes flashed and he said: "This Gao Changqing is very courageous. He dares to come without troops. Aren't he afraid that we will be disadvantageous to him?"

However, Cui Hongtu thought about it and realized that Gao Changqing really didn't seem to be afraid. With Youzhou's current strength, he had touched a hair on his head. He was afraid that those arrogant generals in Youzhou would immediately lead their armies to attack the entire Shanggu County. It was bulldozed. You must know that Xu Shiji, Yuchi Jingde, Lu Sheng and others under Gao Changqing are not vegetarians. There are also a group of very good counselors.

Cui Hongsheng said calmly: "No matter what the purpose of Gao Changqing's visit is, I will always respond to any changes. As long as he doesn't quarrel, we will entertain him with wine and meat, and then send him away."

"Well, brother's words make sense." Cui Hongtu nodded.

In Cui Hongsheng's view, Gao Bufan's visit this time had only one purpose and two methods. The first method was to seize Shanggu County by force, and the second method was to persuade him to surrender Shanggu County through lobbying.

Nowadays, the Great Sui Dynasty is in turmoil and may collapse at any time. However, Youzhou has strong soldiers and horses and is close at hand. If Gao Bufan leads a large army to attack, Shanggu County will definitely not be able to withstand it. In the end, he will have to surrender.

Fortunately, Gao Bufan did not come with an army this time, so he would most likely have to lobby for trouble. In this way, his life would naturally be safe, and the room for maneuver would be larger. This is a "drag trick", and in the end, it does not offend Youzhou, who is just around the corner, but also has an explanation to the court, and waits for the situation to become clearer before expressing its attitude. This way of playing both sides is undoubtedly the best strategy.

Hey, I have to say that this Cui Hongsheng is indeed a veteran who has been in the officialdom for many years. He is obviously not a stupid person to be able to get the position of county governor.

Soon, another scout came back to report that Gao Changqing, the general manager of Youzhou, was five miles away from the city. So brothers Cui Hongsheng and Cui Hongtu immediately led the local officials to open the city gate and go out to greet him. For safety reasons, they also brought hundreds of officers and soldiers into formation. Protection on both sides.

Cui Hongsheng led the officials out of the city and waited for a few minutes. Sure enough, he saw Liuqi appear on the official road and trot towards the city gate unhurriedly.

At this time, a horse came out of the crowd and rushed towards this direction at a faster speed. Cui Hongtu recognized at a glance that it was his daughter Cui Daoyun, and he couldn't help being surprised and happy.

"Dad, uncle!" Cui Daoyun ran to the crowd happily, with a white falcon standing on his shoulder, which was very impressive.

Cui Daoyun got off his horse and saluted cheerfully: "Daoyun, please say hello to your uncle, please say hello to your father, and please say hello to all of you."

All the local officials in Shanggu County had different expressions and returned the courtesy. They thought to themselves that this aunt looked like she was not kidnapped, but more like she had just returned from an outing.

Cui Hongtu frowned and said, "Yun'er, where did your falcon come from?"

Cui Daoyun said with a smile: "The pure white Gyrfalcon is a gift from Gao Changqing, the general manager of Youzhou. It is very precious."

Cui Hongsheng and Cui Hongtu looked at each other, their hearts skipping a beat, and they vaguely guessed a possibility.

At this time, Gao Bufan, Li Jing and others also came close. This time, Pei Xingyan, Changsun Wuji and Du Ruhui came with Gao Bufan.

Although Cui Hongsheng had never met Gao Bufan, he recognized him from his demeanor at a glance. He clasped his fists and bowed his head, and said respectfully: "Cui Hongsheng, the prefect of Shanggu County, has met Mr. Gao."

Although the position of Governor of Youzhou was taken by Gao Bufan and had no rank, he was still the boss of Youzhou and a powerful figure who dominated the area. Cui Hongsheng, a third-rank governor, also exercised the courtesy of lower officials very wisely. As for other local officials Then it is even more important to practice the etiquette of lowering an official.

Gao Bufan smiled and said: "Prefect Cui doesn't need to be too polite. Let me introduce you to everyone. This is Pei Xingyan, the eldest son of General Hu Ben and Lord Pei Renji of Guanglu. This is Changsun Wuji, the third son of General Changsun Sheng. This is This is Mr. Du Ruhui, who once served as the captain of Fuyang County."

"Nice to meet you!" Everyone chatted in vain for a while and then went into the city.

When Cui Hongsheng saw Gao Bufan following him into the city with a calm expression, he couldn't help but secretly admire his courage.

When everyone entered the prefect's house and sat down, Li Jing said: "For your information, Your Excellency, the lower official went to pacify the rebel monk Gao Tansheng on your orders. However, when the lower official arrived, Gao Tansheng had already been wiped out by the general manager. Tan Shengben was also shot and killed."

"Got it!" Cui Hongsheng just nodded and said nothing about the fact that Laishui County was occupied by Gao Bufan. Obviously, he also acquiesced that Laishui County was under the rule of Youzhou. There was no other way to fight. He couldn't beat him again. It was obviously impossible for Gao Bufan to spit out the fat he had eaten.

After everyone chatted for a while, Gao Bufan smiled and said: "There was a misunderstanding between Xingyan and Miss Daoyun a few days ago. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Please forgive Cui Taishou and Cui Yuanwai. Xingyan, please don't make peace with Cui Yuanwai." Miss Daoyun apologizes?"

Cui Hongtu had no official position, so Gao Bufan called Cui Yuanwai.

Pei Xingyan stood up, clasped his fists and said, "Exceptor Cui, Miss Daoyun, I'm sorry."

Cui Daoyun snorted lightly and turned his face to one side, but a proud smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. The heartless guy finally apologized to this girl!

Cui Hongtu said quickly: "It doesn't matter. In fact, it was my daughter who provoked me first, and she was also at fault. Dao Yun, please apologize to Mr. Pei!"

Cui Daoyun was dumbfounded and said: "I... apologized to him? Dad, have you seen it or made a mistake?"

Cui Hongtu's face suddenly dropped, and Cui Daoyun had to reluctantly say: "I'm sorry, Pei-da-lang!"

Pei Xingyan immediately felt comfortable and grinned. Cui Daoyun glared at him angrily.

Gao Bufan smiled and said: "You can't get to know each other without fighting. It can be seen that Xingyan and Miss Daoyun are actually quite compatible. I wonder if Miss Yun has ever been married?"

As soon as these words came out, Cui Hongsheng and Cui Hongtu both felt their hearts skip a beat and secretly said, "It's here, as expected."

Cui Daoyun was stunned, with two red clouds flying on his face. He was so nervous that his heart was pounding. Damn it, Gao Changqing, a playboy, wouldn't really like this girl and propose marriage to his father, right?

Cui Hongtu coughed carefully and said: "My daughter is not married yet."

Gao Bufan happily slapped his thigh, making a snapping sound. Cui Daoyun shook subconsciously, stared straight at Gao Bufan, and blurted out: "No, no, I don't want to marry you, you have a wife, Ning If I am the head of a chicken and not the queen of a cow, I will not be a side wife!"

As soon as these words came out, the crowd was so quiet that one could hear the drop of a pin. Gao Bufan and Changsun Wuji were dumbfounded, and Pei Xingyan's face turned red from holding back.

Gao Bufan couldn't help but laugh and cry, and coughed slightly in embarrassment: "Miss Daoyun, you misunderstood!"

Cui Daoyun's face suddenly burned as if on fire, and he said: "I...did I misunderstand? Haha, it turns out I misunderstood, haha, then it's okay, I'm sorry!"

Looking at the silly elder sister with an awkward smile on her face, Pei Xingyan couldn't help but have black lines on his head.

Gao Bufan coughed again and said, "That's right. As the saying goes, gentle ladies are good at marrying. Brother Xingyan happened to not be married yet, but he fell in love with Daoyun at first sight. Therefore, I behaved shamelessly and asked Brother Xingyan to marry me." Miss Yun, I wonder what happened to Mr. Cui in the accident?"

"What? Love at first sight, you...me?" Cui Daoyun lost his voice and pointed at Pei Xingyan and then at himself, with a look of disbelief on his face.

Even though Pei Xingyan is not thin-skinned, he can't help but want to find a crack in the ground to get in. Changqing, your wording is too exaggerated. Brother, don't I want to lose face?

"Ahem, I am really interested in Miss Daoyun... well, I don't know if Miss Yun is willing to marry me." Pei Xingyan said bravely.
Chapter completed!