Chapter 9 189 Di Qing is Not Afraid of Low Birth

When Han Qi and Fan Zhongyan first arrived in Shaanxi, someone recommended to them that there was Di Qing among the local officers, who was brave and good at fighting, and had the ability of a general.Fan Zhongyan was in need of a general, and he was very interested after hearing this, and asked his subordinates to explain Di Qing's deeds in detail. It turned out that Di Qing was originally an ordinary soldier in the Forbidden Army in the capital.He practiced martial arts since he was a child, and he was proficient in everything, including horseback riding and archery. He was brave and strong, and was later selected as a small officer.

After Yuan Hao of Xixia proclaimed himself emperor, Song Renzong sent forbidden troops to the border to defend, and Di Qing was sent to Baoan, Shaanxi (now Zhidan, Shaanxi). Soon, Xixia soldiers attacked Baoan.Baoan's Song army was defeated by Xixia soldiers many times, and the soldiers were a little scared when they heard about the war.Guard Lu Shouqin was worrying about this matter.Di Qing took the initiative to ask him to be the vanguard to fight against the Xixia army. Seeing that Di Qing was willing to be the vanguard, Lu Shouqin was naturally happy, so he assigned him a force to fight the invading Xixia army.

Every time Di Qing went into battle, he changed his attire first.He loosened his bun, disheveled his hair, and wore a copper mask on his head, revealing only two piercing eyes.Holding a long gun in his hand, he took the lead in rushing into the enemy's formation, picking and killing.Xixia soldiers have never encountered such a powerful opponent since they invaded the Song Dynasty.When they saw Di Qing dressed like this, they were already terrified.After Di Qing and Song Jun rushed for a while, the Xixia Army was in chaos and retreated one after another.Di Qing led the Song army to charge over and won a big victory.

When the good news spread to the imperial court, Song Renzong was very happy and promoted Lu Shouqin to the official position and Di Qing to four ranks.Song Renzong also wanted to recall Di Qing to the capital and meet him in person.Later, because Xixia soldiers invaded Weizhou again, Di Qing was transferred to resist, so he had to cancel the plan to summon him, and asked someone to draw a portrait of Di Qing and send it to the court. In the next few years, Xixia soldiers continued to invade all over the border, making the place uneasy.Di Qing took part in twenty-five battles, suffered eight arrow wounds, and never lost a single battle.As soon as the Xixia soldiers heard Di Qing's name, they were too frightened to confront him.

After hearing the recommendation from his subordinates, Fan Zhongyan summoned Di Qing immediately and asked him what books he had read. Di Qing was born in a soldier and was not very literate, so he couldn't answer what books he had read. Fan Zhongyan persuaded him: "You are now a general. If a general cannot know the past and present, it is not enough to rely on personal bravery." Then, he also introduced Di Qing to read some books. Di Qing was very grateful to see Fan Zhongyan encouraging him so enthusiastically.Later, he used the spare time of the war to study hard.After a few years, he was familiar with the art of war of famous generals since the Qin and Han Dynasties, and because of his military exploits, he was constantly promoted and became more famous.Later, Song Renzong transferred him back to the capital to serve as the deputy commander of the Ma Jun.

The Song Dynasty had a cruel system.In order to prevent soldiers from deserting, tattoo words on the faces of soldiers.Di Qing was also tattooed when he was a soldier.After more than ten years, Di Qing became a general, but there were still black writings on his face. Once, after Song Renzong summoned him, he thought it was unseemly to be a general with black letters on his face, so he asked Di Qing to apply medicine to remove the black letters after returning home. Di Qing said: "Your Majesty doesn't think I came from a humble background. I am very grateful for raising me to this position based on my military achievements. As for these black letters, I would rather keep them so that the soldiers will see them and know how to make progress!"

After hearing this, Song Renzong admired Di Qing's knowledge and valued him even more. Later, because of Di Qing's many meritorious service, he was promoted to be a privy envoy who controls the country's military.It has never happened in the history of the Song Dynasty that a person who was born as a small soldier became a privy envoy.Some ministers thought that Di Qing was of low background and advised Renzong not to raise Di Qing to such a high position, but Song Renzong was emphasizing general talents at this time and did not listen to these opinions. Di Qing became a privy envoy, and some people always felt that his background and status were too inappropriate.A person who claimed to be a descendant of Di Renjie, a famous minister of the Tang Dynasty, took Di Renjie's portrait and gave it to Di Qing, saying: "Aren't you also a descendant of Di Gong? Why don't you recognize Di Gong as your ancestor!"

Di Qing smiled modestly and said: "I was originally a person from a humble family background, but I got a high position by chance. How can I compete with Di Gong?"