Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

After parting with Lu Ci, Di Qing was depressed for a few days, and then redoubled his dedication to Qinzhou's government affairs.

Since Teng Zongliang was transferred away, the position of the prefect of Qinzhou has been vacant due to the delay in the court decision.

Even so, Di Qing, as a general judge, cannot make arbitrary decisions: except for small or urgent matters, he should make immediate decisions, but he has to sign his name on any matters that can be postponed, and then seal them up first, and wait for Xin Zhizhou to come to any office. , and then review them one by one.

Since Li Yuanhao was severely injured by the coalition forces of Tubo and Song Dynasty more than a year ago, and in a blink of an eye, the severe winter that is most unsuitable for sending troops is coming. Eventually it became a habit.

The relaxed atmosphere always exists only among the common people - just like the court's repeated orders, Di Qing never slacked off, and always raced against time to straighten out military affairs. The entire Qinzhou was in a stable state of looseness on the outside and tightness on the inside.

In this regard, he originally had Zhang Kang available, so he didn't have to come in person for everything.

However, because the threat facing Qinzhou was relatively low, Zhang Kang was temporarily recruited to Binzhou to assist General Cao Wei, the governor of the state, who was in ups and downs in physical condition.

Relying on the pretext of the Xia Kingdom's invasion, which has not yet completely calmed down, Song Ting could confidently dismiss the Liao Kingdom's protest, and Di Qing could also openly organize troops, recruit soldiers to find craftsmen, and rush to repair dilapidated strongholds along the line.

At the same time, Di Qing never forgot to strictly follow up and check to prevent merchants from transporting strategic materials to Xia Guo for personal gain.

The significance of repairing the strongholds along the way is obviously not only to guard against the ambitious Liao Kingdom in the north, but also the ally Tubo who may fight back at any time, and the Xia Kingdom, which is always ready to make a comeback.

Although Di Qing is now a civil servant, because of his life in the military camp and hunter life in the past few years, except for being more particular about personal details, he has always lived more like a military officer wielding knives and axes, not at all polite and elegant.

Whenever he was wearing a bronze mask and patrolling the barracks, some courageous soldiers who had lived with him looked surprised, and greeted this unassuming Di Tongpan with a private smile. A few words.

In their view, Di Qing just went to the capital with Lu Jiedu, and when he came back, he changed suddenly, from an unknown young general to a majestic general judge who dances with words... It is really rare.

Although there are many records in the history books of heroes with both civil and military skills, how could they not know the difficulty of both in the frontier defense army for so many years?

General Cao Wei, who was born in the general family, has made great military exploits over the years, and is recognized as having a deep strategy, but he can't really end up composing with those literati who are full of "Zhihu Zheye", and finally has to be a leader!

People have strengths and weaknesses.For a martial artist like Di Qing who can really read and recite a few military books, and write some decent articles, it's a miracle.

Thinking of having lived with such an extraordinary person and trained together for many years, they felt somewhat honored in their hearts. Rather than unrealistic envy, they were more proud and full of face.

The soldiers of the Wansheng Battalion had a lot more knowledge in comparison, and they had been close to Di Qing a lot, so they were generally not that surprised.

Most of them are the children of military officials' families, whether they were persecuted or influenced by their parents when they were young, they have read some books.

Among the children in the family, there are also those who abandon martial arts and go to literature, and then go to the exam. Although it is far less impressive than Di Qing's selection of the leader, there are occasional candidates who are selected by the bird screen, which is not so rare.

Di Qing, who made others talk about it, was born in an ordinary farm family, but now he has transformed into a phoenix, which makes them even more disapproving.

Birth belongs to birth, but I don't even look at it, who was Di Qing brought with him since he was a child, and whose guidance did he receive?

In terms of talent in the world, I am afraid that there are really few who can compare to Lu Ci who has won three yuan in a row and is always accompanied by countless confidants!

There are even more bitter talkers who can't help muttering in private: Lu Ci has served as the chief examiner twice, and he has won the emperor's heart, and Di Qing has accumulated unreported achievements in the past few years. Under the watchful eyes of the public, he made an act of favoritism and revealed the issue, but the hearts of the people are fleshy, let alone the officials who have always favored Lu Ci, they will inevitably be inclined to him.

These are all things they can't envy.

Anyone with a discerning eye can also see that since Di Qing entered the barracks, he has been reading books every night without any change, and practicing his composition diligently and tirelessly... It is destined that he will be able to grasp his fortune.

Di Qing didn't care at all about the complicated gazes on him.

Not being jealous is mediocrity.But now there is a clear distinction between civil and military, and it is prevalent in the court to use civil to control military...

As long as he is not a foolish and reckless man, for the sake of the future, it is impossible to openly oppose him.

All his thoughts were focused on the edict he received the day before yesterday.

When the edict was issued, the [-] soldiers and horses temporarily incorporated into the ranks of the Forbidden Army had already set off. Based on this calculation, it would take about ten days at most before they arrived.

Thinking about killing such an army that has never seen blood before, I am used to being pampered, and the flamboyant army is full of undisciplined arrogance...

Di Qing narrowed his eyes slightly, revealing a look very similar to Lu Ci's.

He also happened to know the general who led the forbidden army: he was unwilling to accept his uncle's shadow, resolutely ended up at the beginning of the competition, and finally ranked second in the list, second only to Zhong Shiheng under his name.

However, all his thoughts have always been on Gongzu, and he didn't pay any attention to Zhong Shiheng.I only vaguely remember that the man was not tall, but he was quite strong, with a rough appearance and a loud voice...

It shouldn't be too difficult to deal with.

Di Qing thought casually, and methodically prepared to receive such a batch of hot potatoes.

Ten days passed by in a flash.

When he received the report from the city gate guards that the Taoist had arrived with the edict, his impression of Zhong Shiheng improved a bit.

It took only a short ten days to march from the capital to this point, and it is conceivable that there was not much stopover on the way. Just looking at the attitude, it was very correct.

Di Qing got all dressed up, and hurriedly rode to meet him.

After actually meeting Zhong Shiheng face to face again, the other party was really what he remembered, and his conversation was polite and meticulous.

Di Qing also reciprocated. After giving a brief introduction to the general situation in Qinzhou, he led them to the newly expanded barracks. Afterwards, apart from sending a few confidants to help resettle them, he did not interfere much.

He took a general look at the imperial army who were exhausted due to the hard work, and did not find any obvious faults, so he was somewhat sure of Zhong Shiheng's ability.

Regardless of other things, Di Qing decided to go back to the government office first, and sent people to start preparing for a banquet at night, to clean up the dust for him.

The moment he stepped into the threshold of the official office, a deliberately low voice came from behind, with a faint smile: "President Di Tong, please stay a while, here is a new letter, do you want to read it?"

Di Qing's ears went numb inexplicably, and before the thought of "quite familiar" passed through his mind, his body had already reacted first, stopped suddenly, and turned around immediately.

The man who called him was wearing a veiled cap, with a slender figure, and he raised his hands and feet gracefully, and because he was wearing a plain robe, his body lacked a bit of majesty and vigor, but added a bit of warmth and kindness.

This--

Di Qing opened his eyes wide and opened his mouth in a daze, but his mind went blank. He just watched the other party approaching, unable to say anything for a while.

Lu Ci unhurriedly took off his veiled cap, revealing a beautiful face with a smile that seemed to be shining, and handed over the thin letter in a serious manner: "Here is the letter, Di Tong, let's accept it quickly."

It wasn't until the rough paper was stuffed into his palm that Di Qing's out-of-body spirit slowly returned, and his first reaction was to wring himself hard.

It hurts, it's not a dream.

Lu Ci had a panoramic view of his silly and cute reaction, and couldn't help laughing immediately, but he couldn't show it in front of other officials who were watching the show with a good-natured smile, so he coughed lightly, and reminded seriously: "Not long after we parted, didn't you Forget about me?"

Di Qing came back to his senses completely, his eyes lit up with surprise, and at the same time, his cheeks turned crimson.

Why is the grandfather here!

Di Tong, who has always been calm and prudent, showed a look of bewilderment, and misunderstood the reason for the scarlet color on his face. The officials were addicted to watching them, and in order to avoid "revenge", they happily dispersed and went about their business. .

Concerned about being in public, Di Qing exerted all his concentration to restrain the urge to rush his sweetheart tightly into his arms, and stumbled, "How did you get here?"

"Is there still a need to ask?" Lu Ci was admiring his excited appearance, deliberately misinterpreted his question, and answered the wrong question: "I came here on horseback. When the weather is bad, I even took a car."

Di Qing was at a loss for words for a while, and then lowered his voice after a while, and directly changed the question: "...this time, how long can we stay?"

Lu Ci smiled, and said seriously: "Thanks to His Majesty's attention, I will go to Tubo again to discuss the details of the alliance. And because this time the deputy envoy will be concurrently served by Fan Di, plus the preparation of congratulatory gifts and other matters, don't talk about it." It will take half a month."

When Di Qing heard the word 'half a month', his heart was already in full bloom, and the corner of his mouth couldn't help but grinned: "Okay."

Lu Ci nodded with a smile, and urged again: "Don't you read the letter yet?"

After being reminded repeatedly by him, Di Qing finally realized something and hurriedly opened the letter.

There was only a thin sheet of letter paper. When he unfolded it, a few words seemed to be written on it without thinking. At first glance, it looked more like a recipe.

He read silently: "Huanxi soup, you need to take a dijia raccoon slave, pick two taels of sour vinegar, half a liter of red beans, three qian old pear blossoms, and a crabapple, and pound them together according to your strength... It's fine to fry or order. Well, breath together until old."

Lu Ci suppressed a smile, seeing that Di Qing was stunned at first, then his eyes widened suddenly, apparently he had completely recovered, and hurriedly stuffed the letter into his arms.

For Di Qing who was in such a mess, not only did he accept it without seeing it, but he also looked at the little lover who was too shy to speak with a serious face, and made up for it maliciously: "I don't know if Di Tong will be judged after the banquet tonight. Would you like to study this hard-won luminous recipe with me?"

After hearing this, the red tide on Di Qing's face that had not completely faded came back.

This time, it was really ripe red.

The author has something to say: Hey King Lu Ci

Notes:

I blindly adapted this recipe from Su Dongpo Xuwen Soup in "Eight Notes of Zunsheng": two qian of ginger, one liter of jujube, two liang of white salt, one liang of grass (licorice), clove and woody fragrance, each half money, fried or fried, order That's right, red and white face until old.

That's right, Su Shi also has a lot of experience in beauty. He once said that adding peeled poria cocos and white honey with sesame seeds will keep his strength unabated for a long time; Muscle, reduce wrinkles ("Dictionary of Chinese Beauty, Hairdressing and Decoration in Past Dynasties" p51)