Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xuanling and Mao Anshi exchanged a glance, each with their own thoughts, before quietly looking away.

After a short while, Jiang Xuanling shifted his position, leaned forward slightly, and looked at Qiu Chengde with sincerity and admiration: "Commander, you are upright and honest, and you distinguish between public and private matters. You are truly a role model for us. Don't you agree, Lord Mao?"

Mao Anshi nodded slightly: "That's natural. The commander is a role model for us to learn from."

"But then again, when it comes to recommending the worthy, one should not avoid relatives. Si Lang's wisdom, strategy, talent, and intelligence are obvious to all and known to everyone. If we deliberately avoid using or promoting him just because he is the commander's apprentice in order to avoid suspicion, wouldn't that be a bit unfair to Si Lang?"

"To abandon talented people because of personal relationships is a huge waste of talent."

“The people below will also be dissatisfied. They might point fingers at us behind our backs and accuse us old folks of deliberately suppressing the younger generation and not letting young people stand out. For both personal and professional reasons, this matter should be handed over to Silang.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xuanling immediately followed up, saying, "Commander, we should give young people more opportunities."

Qiu Chengde shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, no, I absolutely disagree. He is too young. If the task is handed over to him, he will not be able to command respect. If he is not properly managed, it will easily lead to serious trouble. It would be one thing if he were to be harmed, but the key issue is that it will also implicate the two old brothers and all the colleagues in the Censorate."

"So let's forget about it. You experienced veterans are more capable and virtuous, and can handle important tasks."

Mao Anshi frowned slightly, considered for a moment, and then said: "This matter can be resolved simply. Isn't the Commander just worried that Si Lang is too young to command respect? With me in charge, who in the Censorate dares to disobey or cause trouble? I, Mao Anshi, will be the first to step in and deal with them."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xuanling echoed, "That's right, whoever dares to oppose Silang is me opposing him, and I dare anyone to cause trouble!"

"Oh dear, you're forcing a duck onto a shelf." Qiu Chengde looked helpless, then slapped his thigh and said decisively, "Fourth Brother, since Lord Jiang and Lord Mao think so highly of you, then give it a try. Don't mess it up, or you should resign and go home."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng formally clasped his hands in a salute: "Thank you, Commander, thank you, Lord Jiang, thank you, Lord Mao."

Qiu Chengde stood up and said, "Alright, that's all for today. There's still a lot of work to be done at the City Lord's Mansion. Let's call it a day."

Zhou Qingfeng hurriedly said, "Commander, Silang will see you off."

"Commander, farewell." Mao Anshi and Jiang Xuanling stood up and left the side hall of Mingjian Hall one after the other.

The luxurious carriage slowly traveled along the wide road, and Zhou Qingfeng and Qiu Chengde could see a prosperous scene outside through the carriage window.

The avenue is paved with neatly cut stone slabs, and tall sycamore trees are planted on both sides of the road.

The streets were bustling with people, densely packed together. Strangely dressed outsiders could be seen everywhere. You could only see one local person dressed for every three or five outsiders. The number of outsiders was extremely large, and the prosperity was several times greater than before.

Merchants pushed carts piled high with all sorts of goods, street performers performed acrobatics or played musical instruments, attracting many passersby to stop and watch, children laughed and ran through the crowd, and occasionally cavalrymen could be seen quickly passing through the crowd.

Zhou Qingfeng sat beside him, poured tea and water, and respectfully offered it to his master: "Master, please have some tea."

Qiu Chengde hummed in agreement, took the teacup, took a slow sip, casually placed it on the small table, and said indifferently, "You have at least three things to say."

Zhou Qingfeng coughed twice: "Cough cough... Master's eyes are so discerning, nothing can escape Master's discerning eye."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Chengde smiled and held up one finger: "That counts as one sentence."

Zhou Qingfeng looked at his master helplessly and quickly got straight to the point: "So, do you want your disciple to take on this task?"

Qiu Chengde took the tea and smiled faintly: "What do you think?"

Zhou Qingfeng hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Want to?"

Qiu Chengde shook his head: "Let me think about it again."

Zhou Qingfeng remained silent, lowered his head, pondered for a moment, and replied, "Don't want to?"

Qiu Chengde shook his head again, pointing to his head: "Think about it again."

Zhou Qingfeng shook his head and said, "I don't understand. This task is obviously a huge trap. Since you planned to hand it over to Lord Jiang and Lord Mao and didn't want Silang to get involved, why did you agree in the end? Silang really doesn't understand. Please enlighten me, Master."

Qiu Chengde chuckled: "Your advantage is your youth, and your disadvantage is that you are too young. You are only in your forties at most, and you haven't married or had children yet. To put it bluntly, you are just a young boy who hasn't grown up yet. How could you understand my true intentions?"

Zhou Qingfeng clasped his hands in a salute: "Yes, Master is right."

Qiu Chengde patted Zhou Qingfeng on the shoulder and said earnestly, "My apprentice, you're still too green."

"This is a minefield, but also an opportunity to make a great contribution. However, even if I give this great contribution to them, they certainly won't want it. For Mao and Jiang, stability is more important than progress. At this stage, they are no longer willing to take unnecessary risks."

“But if I ignore them and directly hand this matter over to you, how can Mao and Jiang not have their own ideas? Apart from the Fifth Division and the Seventh Division, how many people in the other five divisions are Mao and Jiang’s direct subordinates? Have you mobilized them? Can they cooperate?”

"Even if they can cooperate, how many of them are slacking off, and how many will hold you back?"

"With just a few words and a few secret interventions, the two of them can easily turn things upside down. With your current level of skill, you are no match for them. If I were to send you out to fight them, you would have no chance of winning and would undoubtedly be defeated."

"Therefore, you cannot accomplish this without the approval of Mao and Jiang."

At this point, Qiu Chengde looked up at the dome of the carriage, patted Zhou Qingfeng on the shoulder, and sighed deeply: "You are only in your forties this year, which is too young. It took Mao Jiang and the other two more than six hundred years to get to your position."

"Your success is too dazzling; to them, it is the greatest humiliation and threat."

“Mao and Jiang will absolutely not sit idly by and watch you make great contributions and ride roughshod over them.”

"Don't be fooled by their brotherly relationship with me; they are not truly of one mind with me."

"Mao Anshi and Jiang Xuanling each have their own agendas and their own factions. They have been fighting each other openly and covertly for many years. However, it is precisely because of this that we can trust Mao and Jiang to work with us and are not afraid that they will collude with each other."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qing immediately understood and clasped his hands, saying, "I understand. The more clearly Master forbids me from handling this matter, the less Mao Anshi and Jiang Xuanling dare to take it on. They are afraid that this bomb will explode in their hands and kill them."

"In order to protect themselves, Mao Anshi and Jiang Xuanling will inevitably make compromises and concessions. Your repeated disagreements are not because you really disagree, but because you are forcing them to make a clear statement that they will not cause me any trouble and that you support me in defusing this time bomb."

"Only then can I have a chance to complete this task without displeasing Mao Jiang and the other man."

Qiu Chengde said with a smile, "You are a promising young man, but this is only one aspect of your thinking. Think about it again."