"Gentlemen, you have arrived so quickly in Pinggu County, it can be seen that your hearts are eager to suppress the bandits. As the father and mother official of Pinggu County, I am truly grateful. Please accept my bow." Zhao Chuhai, covered in dust, made a grand gesture of respect to Qiu Fu and others.

  His humble attitude startled Qiu Fu, and according to official rank, Qiu Fu was a fifth-grade thousand-household who was only half a level higher than Zhao Chuhai, the Pinggu County Magistrate. The difference in status between the two was not great, even if he was a personal guard of the King of Yan, it would not be necessary for a dignified county magistrate to show such respect to him.

  But since the other party had already taken this attitude, and Qiu Fu also had something to ask of them, he took advantage of the situation to help Zhao Chuhai up.

  "Magistrate Zhao is being overly polite. Our troops are just following orders and cannot accept such a grand ceremony, this would be an insult to me, Qiu."

  "It's only right, it's only right. Come on, come on, all of you have traveled far and are exhausted. At this moment, I've already arranged a banquet in the city tavern to treat all of you."

  Qiu Fu waved his hand repeatedly, after all, he had just refused Wu Qianhu's invitation, and now saying that he agreed with Zhao Chuhai would be a loss of face for Wu Qianhu.

  "Brother Qiu, don't be so polite. How can we decline Zhao Zhi-xian's kind intentions? Besides, the Zhao family has plenty of money to spare, and this banquet won't make a difference." Wu Qian-hu chimed in at this moment with a hint of deeper meaning.

  "It's extreme, it's extreme, there is quite some wealth in the lower inner chamber of the house." Zhao Chuhao's smile stiffened for a moment, and he glanced at Wu Cheng with his eyes, but found that Wu Cheng was looking at Qiu Fu with a serious face, as if what he had just said was intentional.

  Qiu Fu saw that both the military and political sides of Pinggu County had come to persuade him, so he no longer refused. He ordered his soldiers to set up camp on the spot and took the remaining three thousand households and their trusted subordinates to the city to attend a banquet.

  At this time, several ox carts were parked on the side of the road, and a group of servants were unloading goods to be taken to the military camp. Qiufu and others were puzzled and about to ask questions when Zhao Chuhai explained first.

  These were originally used to comfort the thousands of soldiers who suppressed the bandits, all of which were donated by the wealthy households in the city, wanting the soldiers to eat and drink enough to have the energy to suppress the bandits, in exchange for a peaceful Pinggu County.

  Qiu Fu and others naturally accepted with pleasure, entrusting Wang Zhen to remain on guard without relaxing his vigilance, and also asking him to send more men into the mountains to scout out enemy intelligence, striving for an early victory.

  Wang Zhen naturally listened and acted, on the one hand assigning people to distribute meat food, and on the other hand selecting capable personnel to prepare for entering the mountain.

  "Gentlemen, gentlemen, let us raise our cups to General Zhang and wish him success in suppressing the bandits, so that Pinggu County can be at peace soon."

  "Good! We await the arrival of each general's success!"

  At this moment, in the wine tower within the city, Qiu Fu Zhu Nai, Li Dan Li Jun and four others were drinking in the banquet hall. Qiu Fu sat at the head of the table, Zhao Chu He was next to him, the other three thousand households followed, and the rest were the wealthy merchants of the city.

  This group of people is in high spirits, and just now the master of the Sun family stood up to lead the four thousand households in a toast. After several rounds, Li Dan and Li Jin were already drunk, and Qiu Fu was dizzy and staggering, as if he was about to fall to the ground at any moment. Among the four people, only Zhu Neng is still relatively sober.

  Zhao Chuhai walked over with a wine cup in hand, "Why isn't Zhu Qianhu drinking? Isn't the fine wine in this cup to your taste? Come! Call your family's shopkeeper to bring out the best wine, we want to let the great exterminators drink their fill!"

  "Never mind," Zhu said hastily, getting up. "I have a shallow capacity for wine and am not like the other three gentlemen who can drink so much. Besides, the matter of suppressing bandits has not been arranged properly yet, and I also need to keep a clear head."

  "Since that's the case, Zhao won't force you to drink anymore. This delicious dish, Zhu Qianhu, mustn't be wasted at all costs! If there's anything else you need, just let me know and I'll do my best to help." As he spoke, Zhao Chuhai revealed a mysterious smile.

  "Thank you for your understanding, the dishes on this table are enough for me to enjoy, no need to trouble anymore." Zhu Neng shook his head and declined Zhao Chuhai's kindness.

  "Oh, no need for that, I'll go invite Qiu Qianhu myself. Please feel free to take your leave, Brother Zhu."

  "Please," Zhu Neng smiled in response.

  Looking at the three drunk men, Zhu Neng let out a faint sigh. Indeed, they couldn't compare to the group of people with the right guard. If they had encountered this situation, they would have been more restrained. Socializing was unavoidable, but they definitely wouldn't have gotten as drunk as these three. That's the difference.

  Zhu Neng was quietly eating his meal, thinking about how to narrow the gap with You Qian Hu. Chi Fu, who had a strong smell of wine on him, came over and grabbed Zhu Neng's shoulder, saying: "Hua Yuan, what are you thinking about? Come drink some wine..."

  "Lord Qiu, it's getting late, don't you think we should head back to camp? After all, we still have the mountain sealing ceremony tomorrow and need to prepare. Don't forget, this is a direct order from His Highness, the King of Yan."

  Qiu Fu suddenly sobered up more than half, ah, this time the task is done well and can get the appreciation of Yan Wang Gongxia, besides, there are two competitive opponents in the left guard, how could I be so careless and entangled by this cup.

  Thinking of this, Qiu Fu suddenly stood up, but due to drinking too much wine, his legs were weak and he almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Zhu Neng supported him in time.

  Qiu Fu rubbed his temples, forcing himself to sober up, and put down the wine cup, saying to Zhao Chuhai: "County Magistrate Zhao, today's banquet can end here, we should also go back. Also, please County Magistrate Zhao dispatch some skilled catchers from your county to assist us in sealing off the mountain, is that possible?"

  Zhao Chuhai was taken aback, but inwardly delighted. As he had expected, the large army would inevitably be short-handed when sealing off the mountain, and Qiu Fu's suggestion to borrow men was exactly what he wanted to hear.

  "This is a small matter, of course it can be done. I'll immediately mobilize most of our men to cooperate with Master Qian."

  Qiu Fu belched and cupped his hands in a gesture of gratitude, saying: "Thank you, let's celebrate together with a drink when we return victorious."

  "Lyusui! Take the two Li Qianhus and the others back to the barracks!" Zhu Neng also ordered at this time. Now it's not just the three drunk Qianhus, but also their subordinates who have arrived in large numbers, which gives Lyusui and Zhu Neng some confidence after all, his subordinates are known for their extraordinary drinking capacity among the guards, with a reputation of being able to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk.

  Liu Sheng's face turned slightly red as he heard Zhu Neng's shout, and he hastily ordered the soldiers to carry away the drunken and unconscious qianhu and baihu.

  Zhu helped Qiufu, who was already unable to support himself, out of the wine tower. He nodded his hands at Zhao Chuhai and others who were seeing him off behind him, and then walked towards the military camp outside the city.

  The wealthy merchants in the city also left one after another, leaving only Zhao Chuhai standing alone at the entrance of the wine building. At this time, Zhang Shiyeye quietly approached him.

  "Master, I've already made arrangements, Old Chen and the others will know what to do when the time comes."

  "Hmm, very well. This time, we will not only eliminate those unruly people, but also break the gradually disobedient Zhu Jiu's knife. When the time comes, my smooth promotion will naturally not lack your benefits. Remember, following me requires loyalty, otherwise, Zhu Jiu's today will be your tomorrow. Do you understand?" Zhao Chuhai said coldly while stroking his long beard.

  Zhang Shifu wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead and replied tremulously: "Naturally, I am loyal to Master with all my heart, without a single dissenting thought."

  Zhao Chuhai let out a cold snort and didn't respond, but instead gazed north of Pinggu County, where in his stern expression seemed to see the doom of those rustic bandits, saw Zhu Jiu's angry roar before his death, and also saw the moment when he himself would rise through the ranks...

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