At the end of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 587
On Daye 12 years, on the tenth day of the first month of winter, the weather was extremely cold, with cold rain falling in the sky, the north wind blew past the trees in the garden, and the bare treetops whimpered bleakly.

Wang Cong, the prefect of Hejian County, is old and afraid of the cold. Although there are two charcoal stoves next to him, he still wraps himself up tightly. Sitting there, he looks like an old hen hatching an egg. It's kind of funny.

Wang Cong looked at the trees in the courtyard that were blown to this side by the north wind, and said to himself naturally: "Is it going to snow again?"

At this time, an official hurried into the lobby holding an umbrella. It was Xu Qingyun, the prime minister of the county. A small official hurried forward to take the umbrella and put it away. on the shelf.

Xu Juncheng stomped his legs that were a little numb from the cold, bowed to Wang Cong and said: "I have seen the prefect."

"Master Xu, you don't need to be too polite. It's cold, so come warm yourself by the fire." Wang Cong said.

Xu Qingyun walked to the stove and sat down, drank another cup of ginger soup brought by the servants, and then he let out a sigh of relief: "I just received the news that Gao Changqing and Dou Jiande have married and formed an alliance."

Wang Cong said in surprise, "Is the news accurate?"

Xu Juncheng nodded and said: "It's absolutely true. A few days ago, Gao Changqing and Dou Jiande set up an altar to sacrifice to heaven in the outskirts of Nangong City. The people nearby saw it, so it shouldn't be false. Gao Changqing chased Dou Jiande so hard, the officials thought he was To kill Dou Jiande, I didn't expect things to turn around."

Wang Cong stroked his beard and said: "It is indeed a bit unexpected, but it is also reasonable."

Xu Qingyun lowered his voice and said mysteriously: "It is said that Gao Changqing and Dou Jiande's daughter, Dou Xianniang, have known each other for a long time. The reason why the emperor wanted to get rid of Gao Changqing was because of this suspicion.

Hey, it’s really a hero’s sad beauty. The ancients don’t deceive me. Gao Changqing had the opportunity to kill Dou Jiande and occupy all his territory, but he gave up because of a woman. It’s a pity. But now it seems that this son is too affectionate, without the resolute and decisive as a superior, I am afraid that sooner or later he will fall into the hands of a woman. "

But Wang Cong shook his head and said: "On the contrary, in this way, the official is more optimistic about this son."

Xu Qingyun was surprised and said: "The lower officials are stupid, so I ask the prefect to enlighten me."

Wang Cong smiled and said: "Could it be that Xu Juncheng thought that Gao Changqing let Dou Jiande go, and it was really just for a woman?"

"Isn't it? Youzhou's army is strong and strong, and they took advantage of it. Dou Jiande was defeated. Under the pursuit of victory, I believe it is not difficult to win Pingyuan County and Qinghe County. However, Gao Changqing gave up this great opportunity and let Dou Jiande go. , it is undoubtedly raising tigers." Xu Qingyun plausibly said.

Wang Cong shook his head and said with a smile: "Zhiyuan (words on the table), your layout is too small!"

Xu Qingyun couldn't help feeling slightly embarrassed, cupped his hands and said, "Can my lord teach me?"

Wang Cong lightly stroked his long beard and said, "Zhiyuan, you only saw one, but not the other. The reason why Dou Jiande lost so quickly and so thoroughly this time is entirely because he was too proud and underestimated the enemy, so he took the initiative to send his troops northward." In a decisive battle with the Youzhou Army, using your own weaknesses to attack the enemy's strengths, the result was a complete defeat.

If Dou Jiande had defended the city from the beginning and fought steadily, it would be absolutely impossible for the Youzhou Army to capture most of Xindu County so quickly.Dou Jiande is quite capable. After he recovers, if the Youzhou army wants to take down Pingyuan County and Qinghe County, the price will not be low, and the Youzhou army is still attacking Luo Yi. Fighting on two fronts consumes a lot of energy. If it is delayed for a long time, the Youzhou army will be in danger of falling into the quagmire. If it is not careful, it will even drag down the people's livelihood in the entire Youzhou, and ruin the hard-earned battle in vain. great situation.

Therefore, it is undoubtedly a very wise choice for Gao Changqing to form an alliance with Dou Jiande. He has already defeated Dou Jiande and acquired Hejian County. What he needs to do now is to slowly absorb and digest Hejian County. The serious injury no longer poses a threat to Youzhou. "

Xu Qingyun nodded and said: "Your Excellency makes sense, but..."

Wang Cong waved his hand and said, "Let's just listen to what I have to say."

Xu Qingyun's face was slightly embarrassed, and he cupped his hands to express his apology.

Wang Cong continued: "To the south of Qinghe County is Qi County, where there are Xu Yuanlang and Meng Haigong, and further south is Jiangdu. The emperor's power can still reach Qi County, and to the southwest of Qinghe County is Zhaowei Second County, which is very close to Wagang forces. .”

Xu Qingyun's heart moved, and he blurted out: "Your Excellency, what you mean is that Gao Changqing deliberately kept Dou Jiande as a barrier to temporarily resist these forces?"

Wang Cong nodded approvingly and said: "That's right. If Yingzhou hasn't been captured for a day, the rear of Youzhou will not be stable. Gao Changqing needs time to stabilize the rear, and also needs time to digest the newly acquired territory. Those who are temporarily allied with Dou Jiande The benefits are self-evident.

This son seems to be obsessed with the love of his sons and daughters, but in fact, he is steady and steady, step by step, and has no strategy left. The most powerful thing is that this son can take over Xindu County, Pingyuan County and Qinghe County, but he can hold back. .

Everyone has desires, and the vast majority of people will only be led away by desires, so the person who can control desires in turn is the most precious, so this officer is even more optimistic about this child. "

Xu Qingyun suddenly said: "So that's the case, the lower officials have been taught, what do you plan to do next?"

Wang Cong sighed and said: "A good bird chooses a tree to live in, and a virtuous minister chooses a master to serve. Now we naturally have to judge the situation and offer the city to take refuge. Yuan Zhi, prepare your household registration and land mu, as well as the map of this county. When Gao Changqing returns, I will personally go out of the city to surrender.

Gao Changqing was born in the Gao family of Bohai. After the Northern Qi royal family, he has the full support of the Qinghe Cui family and Youyan seven surnames. It is not humiliating for me to devote myself to him. Moreover, this son is benevolent and generous. It is said that Shi Weizheng, the governor of Youzhou, He has been reprimanded face to face many times, but he can also accept it with pleasure. With such a big heart, the future can be expected! "

Xu Qingyun sighed after hearing the words: "It's really better to listen to the king's words than to read ten years of books. It's like being an official, it's like enlightenment, and you're enlightened!"

Wang Cong smiled and said: "By the way, I also have correspondence with Cui Hongsheng, the governor of Shanggu County. I received a letter from him a few days ago. The Boling Cui family is planning to marry Pei Xingyan, who is under Gao Changqing's command. Although this old fox didn't say it clearly, he read between the lines. From the information disclosed, one can vaguely guess that he is also planning to sacrifice Shanggu County to Youzhou, and Boling County is the territory of the Cui family, so he probably won't be able to escape."

Xu Qingyun was slightly taken aback when he heard the words. If Gao Changqing got the support of a top family like the Cui family in Boling, it would be a disaster. In addition to Hejian County, the territory would almost double in an instant.

Tsk tsk, it seems that I am really small!

On the 12th day of the winter month in the [-]th year of Daye, Gao Bufan led his army back north from Xindu County and passed through Hejian County.

This time Wang Cong didn't wait for Gao Bufan to come to persuade him to surrender, and led a group of local officials and gentry out of the city to block the road ahead of time, with both hands holding the household registration and farmland of Hejian County, as well as the atlas of the whole county to Gao Bufan offered soil to take refuge in.

Gao Bufan readily accepted, and appointed Wang Cong to continue to serve as the governor of Hejian County. The official positions of other officials remained the same, but Lu Sheng was sent to be the governor of Hejian County, leading 5000 people to station in Hejian County.

After accepting Hejian County, Gao Bufan continued to lead his army back to the north. After entering the border of Zhuo County, the road was full of people who lined the road to welcome their triumphant return. The grand occasion was unprecedented.

Not long after Gao Bufan returned to the government office in Youzhou, another big gift came to his door one after another. First, Cui Hongsheng, the prefect of Shanggu County, and Li Jing, the governor of the county, came hand in hand and presented the household registration and farmland of Shanggu County. The prefect also ran over in a hurry, and also offered his household registration and Tian Mu Bo of Boling County.

As a result, Shanggu and Boling counties were incorporated into the territory of Youzhou without a single soldier. With the addition of Hejian County, the territory under Gao Bufan's name increased nearly double in an instant, and his strength naturally increased greatly.

Of course, it will take a while for Gao Bufan to successfully digest these sites. Fortunately, there are so many talented people in Youzhou Prefecture now, and there are many things that Manager Gao does not need to do by himself, otherwise it would be a very headache to manage such a large site .

(End of this chapter)