Five days later, Di Qing, the Deputy Envoy of the Imperial Court and the Military Governor of Zhanghua, returned from Yan Prefecture.

  After arriving in Bianjing, he was appointed as the Envoy of Xuanhui South Institute, Jinghu South and North Road Declaration and Comfort Envoy, and the Envoy of Guangnan East and West Road to deal with bandits... With so many official positions added together, it is a "full power", Di Qing has the right to make decisions on all major military and political affairs in the south.

  The series of decisions by the imperial court shocked the officialdom in the capital. This was the first time since Emperor Taizong's accession that a military general had been dispatched to lead an expedition without a civil official being sent as a supervisor. This naturally caused great unease among the civil officials, but given the current situation in Lingnan, there could be no room for error, so Di Qing had to be used and power had to be delegated to him. Therefore, all opponents fell silent, leaving only the cheers of supporters - at this moment, Di Qing was the focus of everyone's attention.

  Inside the Tiangong Hall, officials hosted a farewell banquet for General Di, who was about to go on an expedition.

  Looking at this majestic and masculine figure of the former number one handsome man in the Song Dynasty, the only flaw on his face is that golden seal indicating his humble origin. The official couldn't help but feel a little regretful, and he let out a soft sigh: "The most correct thing I've done all these years is to promote Han's officials."

  Di Qing, courtesy name Hanchen, was seven feet tall and had a majestic appearance, with a face as white as jade. At the age of 16, he was involved in a fight between his brother and a fellow villager, and was mistakenly punished by being tattooed on the face with gold ink and forced to join the imperial guard. He fought bravely in the Song-Xia war, earning great merit and becoming one of the most famous generals in the land.

  After the Song and Western Xia negotiated a peace treaty, he returned to the capital. Due to his great reputation, he was summoned by the Emperor and from then on became Zhao Zhen's first favorite general... He started as a guard infantry commander and quickly rose to become deputy commander of the infantry and cavalry, becoming the leader of the Song Dynasty's imperial guards. He was also promoted to be the military governor of Zhanghua, and three months ago, he was further promoted to be the vice envoy of the Secretariat, reaching the pinnacle of the Song Dynasty's military.

  "The imperial court's promotion and support," Di Qing said with gratitude, rising to his feet: "Di Qing is deeply grateful in his heart, and will only repay it with his life, even if it means death!"

  "Sit down, sit down." Zhao Zhen smiled and said: "You are the country's precious vessel, but you lack a corner, cracked and fissured, I would also feel heartbroken."

  "Di Qing is a soldier, how can he be afraid of death?" Di Qing said sternly.

  "Good, good, good!" Perhaps it was because he lacked this himself, but Zhao Zhen greatly admired this masculine energy, saying "good" three times in a row before continuing: "My dear, when you go to the south, just focus on fighting with all your might. As for other matters, I'll take care of them, so you won't have any worries!"

  "Thank you, Officer." Di Qing said in a deep voice.

  "This battle, we must not only win, but also win thoroughly and beautifully!" Zhao Zhen said with slight excitement: "Let's show the prestige of our Great Song! Let those ambitious people give up their illusions!"

  "I will obey your orders!"

  "Come, I'll toast you with a cup."

  "I dare not..."

  When the banquet was over, Zhao Zhen took out a sealed secret letter from his sleeve and handed it to Di Qing: "Open it after leaving the capital, burn it after reading."

  "Ah." Di Qing accepted it respectfully and put it in his bosom, treasuring it close to his heart.

  The emperor again bestowed a brocade robe and golden armor, personally granting him the Heavenly Sword, full of sincere expectations: "When the three armies return triumphantly, I will personally host a banquet for you!"

  "Your Majesty..." Di Qing bowed deeply.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  A large army sets out on a campaign, and it is only natural that it should take some time to make preparations. Di Qing had not yet left the capital, but Ou Yangxiu, who was far away in Luling, Jiangxi, had already received the latest official report.

  For half a month, Chen Ke and the others have become familiar with Old Ouyang. Ouyang Xi is a straightforward person, and Chen Ke and the others are just to his taste. Especially, they never treated him as some kind of literary leader, without any flattering or sycophantic intentions, which made him appreciate them even more. As time went by, this group of people became close friends regardless of age, and their conversations started to become informal.

  Ouyang Xiu showed them the newly received imperial edict and said with a smile, "How's that? An old general leading the charge, one against two?"

  "Deqing DeLan is in charge of our bird affairs," Chen Ke turned the newspaper over and read it twice, after finishing reading, instead of flattering him, he asked: "Why isn't there any news about Uncle Chen?"

  "Hey, you unpatriotic little brat." Ouyang Xiu scolded with a smile, then said seriously: "If Chen Zhixian's name were on this list, that would be something for you to cry about."

  Chen Ke and several others looked at him in confusion: "What does it mean?"

  "This case, too many people have been offended. If your father becomes famous because of this, his future days will be difficult..." Ouyang Xiu said calmly: "This is the imperial family protecting him." He couldn't help but sigh and say: "Since the Three Dynasties, there hasn't been a second ruler who thinks for his subjects like this."

  "I only care about when my father can get out of prison!" The waiting time was too long, and Chen Ke found it hard to keep his mood calm.

  "An impatient young man should show respect to his elders." Ouyang Xiu glared at him and twirled his mustache, saying: "There won't be any special orders in Bianjing City."

  "How did you know?"

  "Pay attention to the imperial edict," Ouyang Xiu tapped his head with a fan and said, "It clearly states that from now on, all military and administrative matters in Hunan and Guangdong will be controlled by Di Hanqian alone, including your father's case!"

  "What should we do?" Chen Ke asked anxiously several times. In his heart, he thought, isn't it difficult to perform another "thousand miles galloping" trick?

  "What's to be done?" Ouyang Xiu said with a wry smile. Chen Ke and the others were so angry that they really wanted to press down this old man and give him a good beating.

  Seeing several little guys rushing to anger, he shook his fan and said slowly: "Nothing needs to be done, the official is a person who values relationships, like Chen Gongbiao, such a fearless and loyal minister, the official must have made proper arrangements and will not let him make mistakes..." Pausing for a moment, he said with deep feeling: "Speaking of being meticulous, no one in the Song Dynasty can compare to the official."

  The same news report, Chen Ke and others can only understand the surface, but Ouyang Xiu can see so many ways to come, this is the gap.

  Seeing several people were skeptical, Ouyang Xiu said loudly: "Put your heart in your belly, if you don't believe me, let's make a bet. If Magistrate Chen makes a mistake, I'll pay for this life with my own!"

  Hearing him say this, Chen Ke felt much more at ease and smiled: "We're still young, it's not worth it."

  "I don't want your lives either." Ouyang Xiu chuckled and said, "I still have to stay here for a year, it's very inconvenient in this poor and remote place. How about you guys serving me as my servants for a year?" As he spoke, he began to assign tasks: "I've already thought it through, Monkey Brother will run errands, Hei Da Ge will guard the door, Little Monk will sweep the floor, and San Lang, how about you being my book boy?"

  "...The crowd was in a sweat, but also somewhat moved. They knew that this was Old Ouyang's way of promoting them...Following him for a year, as long as they studied diligently, their knowledge and experience would take a huge leap forward. Even if one were to take a step back, just having the golden signboard of 'Ouyang Xiu's disciple' would be enough to make one a respected member of the scholarly community, and wherever they went, they would be treated as honored guests."

  Such a generous gift, spoken from Old Ou Yang's mouth, seemed as if he had taken advantage of them. Not letting the few of them feel embarrassed for a moment. Exchanging eye contact with Song Duanping, Chen Ke nodded and said: "Bet on it!"

  "What about Little Monk?" asked Ouyang Xiu.

  "Amitabha Buddha, I'm quite skilled at sweeping the floor." Xuan Yu said with her hands clasped together.

  "... seeing them become a family, made the young master Zhao Zongji so envious that he was scratching his ears and cheeks, yet couldn't speak up. What he was worried about wasn't his own noble status, but another level..."

  Ouyang Xiu seemed to have similar concerns and was very cold towards Zhao Zongji. In these days, he didn't say more than ten words to him in total.

  "One day in the future, you will be grateful," seeing his embarrassed appearance, Old Ou Yang couldn't bear it and sent Chen Ke and a few others to work in the fields. This time he said lightly to him: "I'll take you as my closed-door disciple."

  "Thank you, Mr. Ouyang." Zhao Zongji's eyes turned red in an instant, and he bowed deeply, saying pitifully: "I have never had any unclean thoughts from the beginning."

  "It's a pity that many times, no one cares what you think." Ouyang Xiu looked at him with empathy and said: "Others like to think for themselves."

  "It's... " Zhao Zongji took a deep breath, biting his lower lip tightly and said: "Who made me so unlucky that I couldn't even be a carefree member of the imperial clan?"

  "It can't be said that everyone has a difficult scripture to recite, what's the big deal about your little bit of bitterness?" Ouyang Xiu consoled him: "Don't mention others, just talk about myself. I lost my parents at a young age, and my family was extremely poor. I took the imperial exam multiple times but didn't pass... let's not talk about that anymore. Let's talk about when I was at the peak of my life, I was slandered by political enemies as 'treasonous', not only was I demoted from the capital, but I almost lost my reputation and career. At that time, I was only thirty years old, now I'm already an old man with gray hair and declining energy... who do you think has suffered more between us?"

  "You have suffered a hundred times more than I have." Zhao Zongji said softly.

  "When I was at my lowest, my friends were worried that I would get into trouble and wrote to comfort me. But I replied to them with a guarantee: Firstly, I absolutely will not give up on myself or complain. Secondly, although I was demoted to such a small county town as Yiling, I will do my job well, be diligent in government affairs, and absolutely will not slack off. Thirdly, I will 'advance day by day', studying and researching without stop." Ouyang Xiu showed a proud expression: "Ten years have passed, and I can say that I did it!"

  "Yes." Zhao Zongji nodded in agreement. When Ouyang Xiu was demoted, he didn't have the same level of fame as he does now. Like Fan Zhongyan, they both elevated themselves in their most difficult times, one becoming a sage and the other a literary giant. He couldn't help but ask softly: "How did you overcome despair in adversity?"

  "There's nothing else. Only 'self-love' is left." Ouyang Xiu said calmly: "In this world, everyone who wronged you can be forgiven, but the one person who wronged yourself cannot be forgiven."

  "The student humbly accepts your teachings." Zhao Zongji deeply bowed and said.

  "No one knows what will happen in the future," Ouyang Xiu hesitated for a moment, and still added, "If that day really comes, you must be careful of Zhao Zongyi."

  Zhao Zongji was shocked.