Dingtao County is located in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It is an ancient city in the Central Plains with a long history. From the Spring and Autumn Period to the Western Han Dynasty for more than 800 years, it has been a water and land transportation artery in the Central Plains and an important city in ancient times. It enjoys the reputation of "the best in the world".
Liu Cheng, the officer responsible for guarding the east city gate of Dingtao County, was sitting comfortably in the pergola next to the city gate, feeling the gentle breeze blowing towards him.
The wind in early autumn is warm and gentle, blowing on people's faces, neither dry nor cold, making people feel particularly happy.
Tap tap tap! ! !
Suddenly there was a sound of horse hoofbeats. Liu Cheng, who was closing his eyes to rest, hurriedly opened his eyes, stood up and looked intently, only to see a group of people galloping towards them from a distance.
The leader was only fifteen or sixteen years old. He had clear features and a majestic face. He was wearing a white gown and had an aura of superiority to him.
And to the left of the young man in white is a girl, wearing a fiery red tight robe, tall and pretty, she is definitely a rare beauty.
On the right side of the young man in white clothes are two men. The man close to the young man in white clothes is dressed in gray brocade and holds a black feather fan in his hand. He is thin and has a kind face. He seems to be a scholar.
The man next to the scholar was in sharp contrast to the scholar. He was more than nine feet tall, with a blond face and a long beard, tiger eyes and thick eyebrows. His expression was serious, unsmiling, and he looked majestic.
The more than ten riders behind these four people were all burly men with sturdy backs and hunched waists. They all carried a horizontal sword on their waists. They followed closely behind the young man in white and looked around vigilantly.
Liu Cheng is a native of Dingtao County. He has been working as a errand at the gate of the city for ten years from the Daye period until now. Even when Li Mi swept through the Central Plains and war broke out, he was still the guarding officer of this city gate and a complete local snake.
During the ten years of guarding the city gate, Liu Cheng had met countless people of all kinds and gained countless experiences. After just a few cursory glances at this group of people, he could tell that this group of people had a good background, especially the leader in white. From his temperament alone, he could tell that he was definitely a person of noble status.
Liu Cheng's judgment was correct. The young man in white was none other than His Majesty the Sui Emperor Yang Gao, and the other three were naturally the Red Lady, Liu Bowen and Yuwen Chengdu.
After wiping out Song Jiang's army, Yang Gao appointed Qin Qiong as the commander-in-chief, Di Qing as his deputy, and Zhang Shuye as the army commander. He led Luo Shixin, Qin Yong, Qin Huaiyu and other generals as well as 50,000 elite troops to pursue the victory and strive to capture the entire Qingzhou in one go.
As for Jiang Song, who had killed Dong Ping and defected to the army, he was rewarded by Yang Gao with the position of a partial general and arranged to serve in Li Jing's army. After all, the Tang Dynasty was Yang Gao's biggest enemy, and the Sui Dynasty's next strategic center was still Bashu. Moreover, with the strength of Qin Qiong and others, they can defeat Chao Gai, Wu Yong and others in Qingzhou. It would be a pity for Jiang Song to go.
After arranging these things, Yang Gao planned to continue his plan to inspect the conditions of various counties in the Central Plains.
At this time, the matchmaker, who was from a lower class background, suggested to Yang Gao: "Your Majesty, the matchmaker feels that if your majesty goes there with great fanfare, those officials with poor political performance will definitely prepare to deceive your majesty with lies. This will be in line with your majesty's original intention." Violation. Therefore, in the matchmaker’s opinion, Your Majesty might as well conceal his whereabouts and secretly go to the field for investigation. In this way, it will be clear at a glance who the officials from various places are good and who are bad.”
Yang Gao felt that what the red lady said was reasonable, so he agreed to the red lady's proposal. He ordered Nan Jiyun to lead the large group of people and move slowly under his own banner, while he led Liu Bowen, Yu Wen Chengdu, Hong Niangzi and a dozen guards to the Central Plains secretly.
Along the way, Yang Gao visited more than a dozen counties and counties. The local magistrate did live up to Yang Gao's expectations and tried his best to govern the place, which was highly praised by the local people.
"Uncle Xiao Yu has indeed lived up to my expectations. Officials from all over the country must have been personally selected and screened by him. I think the magistrate of Dingtao County should also be a good official."
With such thoughts in mind, Yang Gao rode to the city gate, turned over and dismounted, walked slowly to Liu Cheng, and showed a harmless smile: "This military master, I am from Jiangdu. I went out on my father's orders." I'm on business. I'm new to Guibao and I don't know the local customs. Can you please give me some advice?" After saying that, he took out a few taels of silver from his pocket and stuffed it into Liu Cheng's hand.
Feeling the weight of the silver in his hand, Liu Cheng couldn't help but narrowed his eyes and asked with a smile on his face: "I wonder what you want to ask me?"
Yang Gao smiled slightly and said: "I dare to ask the military master, who is the magistrate of Dingtao County?" Xiao Ke may need the help of the government for his actions this time, so he wants to inquire about the county magistrate's daily habits. It would be a courtesy to visit him in the future. "
Hearing this, Liu Cheng suddenly showed disdain and said calmly: "Master, if you want to go to the county magistrate to do something, it's very simple. We all in Dingtao County know that, you just need to bring enough silver!"
Yang Gao's face suddenly darkened when he heard this. He could still understand the meaning of this sentence. He felt that the Dingtao County Magistrate was a corrupt official, and the good mood he had been in after days of inspections was completely wiped out at this moment.
Liu Cheng saw Yang Gao's ugly face and thought he was unwilling to spend more money, so he approached Yang Gao and whispered: "Master, I think you are a real person. If you are not willing to give money to the county magistrate, then I suggest you go See the county magistrate Mr. Lu Heng."
"Lord County Magistrate Lu Heng?"
Hearing this name, Yang Gao frowned slightly. He always felt that he had heard this name somewhere, but he couldn't remember it for a while.
Liu Cheng didn't notice anything strange about Yang Gao at this moment, and continued to introduce Lu Heng to Yang Gao: "Although Lord Lu Heng is only the county magistrate, in fact, in the eyes of the people of Dingtao County, he should be our The magistrate of Dingtao County. If he hadn't been in Dingtao County, we, the people of Dingtao County, would have been squeezed dry by that vampire Yang Xi."
When Yang Gao heard Liu Cheng's praise of Lu Heng, a hint of joy appeared on his gloomy face, and he said lightly: "According to what you said, Lord Lu Heng is a good official who puts the people first and makes decisions for the people! "
"That's natural!" Liu Cheng nodded vigorously: "As long as the young master is doing serious business, Mr. Lu will definitely help the young master."
"That's it, thank you so much, Master Jun!"
Yang Gao already had a preliminary understanding of the officials in Dingtao County through Liu Cheng, so he bowed his hands and thanked Liu Cheng, then led Yuwen Chengdu, Liu Bowen, and the Red Lady toward the city with his war horse.
