In this way, Zhao Lihe studied literature and martial arts with the more than 30 orphans of Qi's army. Relying on his adult mind and the stories he had heard in his previous life, he naturally became the leader of this group of children.

During this period, Zhao Lihe also met his senior brother who was 13 years older than him, namely Lu Wenzhao in the movie.

Like the descendants of Qi's army outside the village, Lu Wenzhao also chose to continue to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty.

Because of this, the elders in the village never treated him well.

But Lu Wenzhao didn't care about it. He was very friendly to the people in the village and very respectful to the elders. Even when an elder in the village pointed at his nose and called him a traitor, Lu Wenzhao just smiled and let it go.

As for Zhao Lihe and his fellow junior brothers and sisters, there is no need to mention them.

All the toys that the group of children headed by Ding Baiying had since childhood were given by Lu Wenzhao.

The same was true for Zhao Lihe, but he had the mind of an adult after all, and had no interest in children's toys. Instead, he would pester Lu Wenzhao to tell him stories about the outside world every time he came back.

Lu Wenzhao also liked this junior fellow apprentice and always treated him with patience.

Days like this continued year after year.

It was not until the 39th year of the Wanli reign, when Zhao Lihe was 11 years old, that Ding Zhongwei died of a relapse of his old illness.

Faced with the passing of their master, all the children seemed sad and at a loss as to what to do.

It was Zhao Lihe who stepped forward and took more than 30 disciples including Ding Baiying to bury their master, wearing mourning clothes for him.

By the time Lu Wenzhao rushed over after hearing the news, Ding Zhongwei had been buried for more than three months.

Kneeling in front of his master's grave, Lu Wenzhao cried bitterly, with Zhao Lihe and Ding Baiying by his side.

Seeing his senior brother crying so sadly, Ding Baiying couldn't help feeling sad too. He turned around and leaned into Zhao Lihe's arms and started crying.

"……Um?"

Hearing this, Lin Zhongtian couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Zhao Lihe became strange.

If he heard correctly, Ding Baiying was only one year younger than Zhao Lihe.

So when he was eleven years old, Ding Baiying was only ten years old.

Ten years old, can’t you help but take action at the age of ten?

Looking at Zhao Lihe who was still immersed in his memories and chattering, Lin Zhongtian seemed to want to say something but stopped.

But in the end, he didn't have the courage to ask.

After all, we had just talked about the sad thing of the death of a loved one, and it was really disrespectful to ask such a question at this time.

There was no way, Lin Zhongtian could only keep the question to himself for the time being and continue listening to Zhao Lihe tell his story.

"After Master passed away, Senior Brother often came back to the village to teach us martial arts, but he had responsibilities after all, so he couldn't stay all the time. Since Bai Ying and I were more talented in martial arts, we learned most of Master's martial arts early on, so we took the initiative to take on the responsibility of teaching on Master's behalf."

"When I was sixteen, I simply forgot about the excuse of teaching on behalf of my master and let the children in the village directly worship Baiying and me as their masters. Ding Tai and Ding Chong worshipped Baiying as their master at that time."

Lin Zhongtian couldn't help but ask, "What about Ding Xiu and Ding Xian?"

Zhao Lihe explained, "Their situations are rather special. My senior brother brought them here from outside the village when he returned to the village. He said they were descendants of the Qi family army who were stranded outside. I was a little curious at the time and asked them for a long time before my senior brother told me how he found these two people."

Lin Zhongtian asked curiously: "How did you find it?"

Zhao Lihe smiled and said, "My senior brother told me that he was doing business in the city at that time, and his wallet was stolen by these two guys at the door of the inn. My senior brother was a little annoyed, so he taught them a lesson, but he was surprised to find that these two guys actually knew martial arts, and they were just like the Qi Family Army."

"My senior brother immediately asked them about it, and then I found out that they were also descendants of the Qi family army, so my senior brother brought them back to the village and changed their surnames. At that time, because of me, there were too many people who became my disciples, and Bai Ying and I were unable to teach them all, so the two of them were considered my disciples."

Lin Zhongtian said with great interest: "So, you should be their uncle, why do they call you Brother Zhao?"

Zhao Lihe smiled bitterly and explained, "After all, these two have been wandering around for a long time and have been thieves for several years. They are unruly. Seeing that Bai Ying and I are of the same age as them, they are a little unconvinced and don't want to call me uncle. Ding Xiu even threatened to challenge me to a duel, saying that if I could beat him, he would call me uncle."

Lin Zhongtian asked playfully: "What's the result?"

Zhao Lihe spread his hands: "As a result... he still calls me Brother Zhao."

Lin Zhongtian couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Zhao Lihe seemed to recall some interesting things from his childhood and started laughing too.

After laughing for a while, Lin Zhongtian asked with a smile on his face: "What about Ding Xian?"

Zhao Lihe said helplessly: "That guy was a tuberculosis ghost when he was a child. How can I have the nerve to bother with him? It's Ding Xiu who always likes to bully him, but he can only bully himself. If others dare to do so, I'm afraid they will be beaten half to death by him."

"Later, our relationship gradually improved, and I told them stories from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. When I talked about Liu, Guan, and Zhang, the two brothers seemed quite fascinated. Since then, Ding Xiu never bullied Ding Xian again."

At this point, Zhao Lihe couldn't help but smile.

"And then what?"

"After that..."

The smile on Zhao Lihe's face faded and he looked a little sad.

"When the Ming Dynasty and the Later Jin Dynasty went to war, my brother was already a garrison commander under General Du Song. He followed the Western Route Army to attack Jilin Cliff. It snowed heavily at that time, and the Western Route Army was completely wiped out. Although my brother was lucky enough to survive, his personality changed drastically because of this. It took him three whole years to return to the village again."

Lin Zhongtian frowned: "These are the original plots, right? As a time traveler, why didn't you remind your brother?"

Zhao Lihe smiled bitterly and said, "I reminded him, but what's the use? Senior Brother is just a small guard. How many people can listen to what he says?"

"What about you?"

"I was only nineteen years old at the time. I was neither good at literature nor martial arts. What could I do?"

"So you traveled through time for nineteen years and had no impact on the history of this world at all?"

"…It may be a little hurtful to say this, but it is true. But at least I have influenced the people around me."

"Those kids?"

"Yes, they are my first team and the foundation of my alliance."

Zhao Lihe raised his head, looked at the clouds in the sky and said softly, "Three years have passed since the Sarhu War, and Senior Brother has returned to the village again. The difference from three years ago is that this time Senior Brother's identity is the Jinyiwei of the Northern Pacification Division, and he has been promoted to the rank of centurion. Everything seems to have returned to the original plot, as if I had never traveled through time."

"That year, I was just 22 years old, and the children around me had grown up. Relying on their unconditional trust, as well as the contributions I have made to the village over the years and the prestige I have accumulated, the villagers basically tacitly regarded me as the leader. I had the final say on all matters, big or small."

"My senior brother came back this time because he wanted me to send someone to help him. He said that he has met a wise leader who is worth following. Although this wise leader is young, he has great ambitions. He vowed to overthrow Wei Zhongxian, eliminate the eunuch party, and restore peace to the Ming Dynasty."

"Of course I knew who the wise leader he was talking about was, so I thought about rejecting him. But before I opened my mouth, I suddenly remembered that Prince Xin Zhu Youjian seemed to be only eleven years old at the moment, and his worldview was still undecided and he was still young."

"If I choose to help my senior brother, can I take this opportunity to come to Zhu Youjian and influence him in my own way, turning him into a wise ruler with a forward-looking vision who can clear up the chaos..."

Lin Zhongtian raised his lips and said, "So you accepted Prince Xin's offer?"

Zhao Lihe sighed and smiled bitterly: "Perhaps it's because I taught too many children that I gained a lot of confidence. At that time, I actually thought this method was feasible."