At the end of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 614 Eighteen Bachelors
The majestic Taihang Mountain is more than [-] miles away, running from northeast to southwest. The mountain is steep and dangerous, like a barrier separating the Hebei Plain and the Shanxi Plateau. The bridge head is naturally straight.

Although the Taihang Mountain is majestic and high, it is not without roads. The valleys between the peaks have become the main roads for crossing the mountain. Since ancient times, there have been eight important roads through the Taihang Mountains, called Taihang Baxing, Pu Yinxing and Feihuxing are one of them.

Li Jing sent troops from Yi County in Shanggu County this time, and he went to Puyinxing, first arrived in Laiyuan County, and then went to Feihuxing to attack Lingqiu County in Yanmen County. Unfortunately, due to his sudden assassination, the plan finally failed.

At this moment, Gao Bufan was leading fifty cavalry soldiers on Puyinxing, but he saw that the surrounding mountains were rolling up and down, towering and steep, but the road was still barely passable for horse-drawn carriages. It was Li Jing who spent several months repairing it. As a result, in order to facilitate the passage of baggage vehicles, a post station was built every [-] miles for the army messengers to rest and deliver messages. It can be seen that Li Jing was indeed very well prepared this time.

Around the afternoon, the terrain in front of me suddenly became open, but I saw a small city in front of me surrounded by mountains.

Captain Gao Dahe pointed out: "Look, King Qi, Laiyuan County should be there."

Laiyuan County is under the jurisdiction of Shanggu County. It is a mountain basin with a small area and an estimated resident population of less than [-]. This is an important base for Li Jing's logistics supplies. All military supplies will be transported here for storage and then transferred.

Gao Bufan and others rushed to the outside of Laiyuan County. Guo Xiangxin, the magistrate of Laiyuan County who received the news in advance, led the local officials out of the city several miles early to wait.

"Guo Xiangxin, Magistrate of Laiyuan County, pays homage to King Qi." Magistrate Guo led the crowd to kneel down to welcome him, very respectful.

Gao Bufan turned over and fell off his horse, helped the old county magistrate whose hair was already greying, and said: "Excuse me, everyone get up."

Since Shanggu County was led by the prefect Lu Hongsheng to seek refuge in Youzhou, the local officials have not changed, and they are still the same people. Everyone is seeing King Qi for the first time today, so they are very nervous. Seeing that Gao Bufan is so approachable, he is obviously not a difficult person to serve, and everyone heaves a sigh of relief.

After everyone exchanged a few words, the county magistrate Guo flattered his face and said: "The king of Qi has been exhausted all the way, and the officials have prepared thin wine for the king of Qi and the officers and men to wash away the dust, and I invite the king of Qi to go to the city with the officials to enjoy it. "

The sun is still high now, Gao Bufan planned to rush to Feihu Ridge in one go, but when he saw the carefully flattering smiles on the faces of all the magistrates present, he couldn't help but feel moved, so he nodded and said: "Alright! "

Guo County Magistrate was overjoyed and said quickly, "Please, King Qi."

Gao Bufan was about to take a step, but suddenly stopped, pointing to an inconspicuous scribe in the team and asked, "May I ask what your name is?"

County magistrate Guo was a little stunned, and carefully introduced with him: "To the King of Qi, this person is the Sihu of this county. His surname is Chu, his name is Liang, and his surname is Ximing."

The county secretary is just a small official in charge of managing the household registration documents, and he is not popular, so he can only stand at the back of the line to fill the number, so the county magistrate Guo didn't intend to introduce this person at all at first, but Gao Bufan didn't expect Gao Bufan to ask about it.

However, County Magistrate Guo only thought that King Qi was upset by Xuan Liang's stinky face, so he couldn't help secretly regretting bringing this guy out, and frowned, "Chu Ximing, why are you standing still, why don't you come to see King Qi?"

Hearing this, Chu Sihu went forward and said neither humble nor overbearing: "Your Majesty has seen His Royal Highness King Qi."

Gao Bufan took a look at this person, and found that this person was about fifty years old, with a quiet demeanor. Although he was dressed plainly, his face was full of bookishness. They all had smiles on their faces, but this person had been silent all the time, with a look of indifference, and seemed out of place, so he attracted Gao Bufan's attention.

"Where is Chu Sihu from?" Gao Bufan asked with a smile.

Chu Liang's heartbeat suddenly sped up, and he replied, "I'm an official from the Qiantang family in Hangzhou, and my ancestral home is Yangzhai, Henan."

Gao Bufan nodded thoughtfully when he heard the words, and didn't say anything else. He just walked towards the city gate. A slight sense of disappointment flashed in Chu Liang's eyes, and his heartbeat returned to normal. Return to silence.

Let’s talk about Gao Bufan’s entry into Laiyuan County, the county magistrate Guo Xiangxin really prepared a reception banquet, but this wine is not just thin wine, delicacies from mountains and seas, it really has all kinds of "sea, land and air". For a small county, it is extremely extravagant. Gao Bufan estimated that the cost of this meal should be enough for ten ordinary households to eat for several months, and after the banquet, the county magistrate Guo thoughtfully arranged He hired two beautiful maidservants to serve Gao Bufan overnight, and a group of personal soldiers also benefited, each of them got a hundred coins.

As night fell, candles were burning in the room, and Gao Bufan sat behind the desk, holding a charcoal pencil and tapping gently on a map of Yanmen County.

At this time, the captain of the personal army, Gao Dahe, came in, put a large bag of heavy copper coins on the ground, and said with a sneer, "His Royal Highness, this Guo county magistrate really doesn't know what to do, and actually gave each of the brothers a hundred coins." , all the subordinates collected them."

Gao Bufan nodded, and said casually, "Save it for the brothers."

In fact, Gao Bufan's personal soldiers are treated very well. The monthly military salary alone is [-] Wen. Naturally, he will not take a mere [-] Wen in his eyes. Accepting bribes from others is just like the so-called embankment of a thousand miles will collapse in an ant's nest, and we must prevent it from happening.

"By the way, have you heard what this king asked you to inquire about?" Gao Bufan asked.

Gao Dahe replied: "I heard about it. It turns out that this Chu Liang really has a lot of background. He was originally an old minister of Nan Chen, and he was an official to the Minister of Shangshu. Later, when Nan Chen perished, Chu Liang became an official in the Sui Dynasty and served as a scholar of the Eastern Palace. , but this person is too upright, because he offended the emperor with his remonstrance, he was demoted to be the Sihu of Laiyuan County."

Gao Bufan was overjoyed, it seemed that he hadn't misjudged him, this is a talent, to be awarded the post of Bachelor of the East Palace by Yang Guang, it shows that he must have quite a literary talent, and he was demoted because of direct remonstrance, his conduct should not be good will be bad.

Conquering the world depends on military generals, but governing the country still depends on civil servants. At present, Gao Bufan has three pens under his command, Wei Zheng, Du Ruhui, and Wen Yanbo, but it is obviously not enough. As it gets bigger and bigger, the demand for talents will get bigger and bigger.

Gao Bufan swung Gao Dahe away, took out a small notebook, and wrote Chu Liang's name on it.I have to say that Boss Gao Da’s vision is quite vicious, and his luck is surprisingly good. Although this Chu Liang is not well-known now, he later became one of the eighteen bachelors in the early Tang Dynasty. Although he is not as famous as Yu Shinan, his works are also very popular a lot.

On the second day, the county magistrate Guo sent Gao Bufan away with a bitter face... Oh, no, Guo Xiangxin is no longer the magistrate of Laiyuan County, because Gao Bufan let him "retire from old age and return to his hometown" on the grounds of his advanced age. In other words, he was overwhelmed by the tall boss, Miao Squid, and the person who took over the post of county magistrate was actually the county secretary——Chu Liang. In this way, not only other people were surprised, but even Chu Liang himself was dumbfounded , Secretly lamented that His Royal Highness Qi Wang was swift and resolute in his work!

In fact, Gao Bufan is not a harsh person. He understands the truth that when water is clear, there will be no fish. This kind of thing who only flatters horses and flirts with speculation, you can tolerate it if you say that you are greedy, but you are greedy and mediocre, and you have no ability to do things. Exempted, and made an exception to appoint Chu Liang as the acting county magistrate.

Gao Bufan's plan is to let Chu Liang work as the county magistrate for a period of time, and verify his ability by the way. If he is really a talent, he will be transferred back to the central committee to entrust him with important tasks and enrich his team.

Besides, after Gao Bufan left Laiyuan County, he arrived at Feihu Ridge at noon.Feihu Ridge is really dangerous. There are high cliffs on both sides. It is really difficult for apes to climb. In the middle, there is only a narrow valley with a width of seven or eight meters. Even if you come here with thousands of troops, you can't even think about breaking through.

Due to the narrow space on Feihu Ridge, Li Jing's tent was set up at the foot of the mountain. When Gao Bufan came to the tent, Li Jing came out to greet him and saluted, "I will see King Qi."

A trace of surprise flashed in Gao Bufan's eyes, and he blurted out, "Second brother, is your injury?"

Although Li Jing's complexion was a little pale, but his actions were not hindered, he winked and said in a low voice: "Go in and talk!"

Gao Bufan's heart moved. It seemed that the second brother's injury was not as serious as what was written in the emergency report. It was probably to deceive others and have other plans, so he hurriedly stepped into the tent, while Gao Dahe and other personal soldiers guarded the tent vigilantly. Off the account.

In the big tent, Gao Bufan checked Li Jing's injuries and found that it was a sword wound, right in the back of the heart. Fortunately, it was not pierced, but this location is also quite dangerous. If the sword tip goes a few inches deeper, it may stab the heart.

"Second brother, did you see the appearance of the assassin?" Gao Bufan asked solemnly.

Li Jing shook his head and said: "The other party is disguised as a patrolling soldier, and he is easy to get over. His martial arts are extremely high, and he can walk away with one blow. Fortunately, I react quickly, otherwise I have already confessed."

Gao Bufan raised his sword eyebrows, and asked in a deep voice, "Second Brother, who do you think did it?"

Li Jing pondered: "It's hard to say, but the most suspected ones should be Li Tang and Liu Wuzhou, especially Li Tang."

Gao Bufan hurriedly asked: "Why?"

(End of this chapter)