Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 13 Inside the Hunyuan Palace, nothing is forbidden! [Seeking monthly votes]

Watching Wu Zetian deceive Chen Tang, Zhou Yi wanted to stop her, but then felt that Wang Zhaojun's tragic fate should indeed be changed.

In the third year after Wang Zhaojun married into the Xiongnu, the Southern Xiongnu Chanyu Huhanye died. Wang Zhaojun expressed her desire to return to the Han Dynasty, as she found life on the grasslands unsuitable.

Unfortunately, Emperor Cheng of Han, Liu Ao, did not agree. Instead, he made her marry his nominal son, Fuzhulei Ruodi Chanyu, according to the customs of the Xiongnu. From then on, this beautiful woman was trapped on the grasslands and died at the age of 35.

When foreign envoys come to the Han Dynasty, the Han people must respect their customs. When the Han people arrive in the territory of foreign envoys, they must still respect their customs... Such a huge army, it's really a waste to raise it!

The current timeline for Chen Tang is 36 BC, which is three years before Zhaojun's departure for the border in 33 BC. There is still plenty of time.

However, Wang Zhaojun was always in the deep palace, and Chen Tang couldn't get in touch with her. This matter had to be done slowly and couldn't be rushed.

Chen Tang, unaware of the subsequent events, stared with his large, round eyes and asked:

"I have just annihilated the Northern Xiongnu, why would Wang Zhaojun still submit to the Xiongnu?"

Wu Zetian sighed:
"After the general's might shook the Western Regions, Huhanye, the Chanyu of the Southern Xiongnu, was so frightened that he fled to Chang'an overnight to show goodwill and repeatedly proposed to marry a woman from the Han Dynasty. Emperor Yuan of Han, Liu Shi, then selected an unknown palace maid from the harem to marry, and the one chosen was Wang Qiang, the most beautiful woman in the harem, who was also known as Wang Zhaojun."

Upon hearing this, Chen Tang slapped his thigh hard:

"Foolish! The Northern Xiongnu have been destroyed. We should organize a large army to divide and conquer the Southern Xiongnu, and then sow discord among them to make them fight amongst themselves... The more scattered the Xiongnu are, the safer the Han Dynasty will be. How can we make peace through marriage now?"

See, this is the strategic vision of a great general.

Although Tom Cruise is greedy, has low emotional intelligence, and lacks connections, his strategic vision has always been top-notch.

During the reign of Emperor Cheng, he was demoted to a commoner and was unable to participate in court affairs for many years. The Wusun Kingdom suddenly rebelled and besieged Duan Huizong, the Protector-General of the Western Regions. Duan Huizong requested the court to send troops to help him. The ministers discussed the matter for several days without reaching a conclusion. Finally, on the advice of General Wang Feng, they asked Chen Tang to make a decision.

When Tom Cruise arrived at the palace, he first made a few sarcastic remarks about Emperor Cheng, and then made his judgment:
"To defeat a Han soldier, you need at least five Hu soldiers. The Wusun's small force can't even get into the Protectorate, so they don't need a large army to support them."

He calculated the dates and deduced that news of the Wusun's retreat would arrive within five days.

Sure enough, on the fourth day, news of the Wusun retreat reached Chang'an, exactly as Chen Tang had predicted.

Wu Zetian said regretfully:

"The dynasty in which the general lived was not worthy of his talent."

Chen Tang's judgment was correct. Although there was peace on the border for one or two decades after Zhaojun left for the border, it was only because the Southern Xiongnu were busy integrating and annexing the territory of the Northern Xiongnu and had no time to harass the Han Dynasty.

After Wang Zhaojun's death, the Xiongnu became powerful again. It happened to be the time of transition between the Western and Eastern Han dynasties, and the people on the border suffered greatly from the harassment of the Xiongnu.

If Chen Tang's idea had been followed, and the Southern Xiongnu had been dismantled after the Northern Xiongnu's demise, there would have been no need for Dou Xian to lead his army on a northern expedition to Yanran to erect a stone tablet. The entire Xiongnu would have collapsed and become nothing more than pork on the chopping block of the Han Dynasty.

Unfortunately, the current emperor is Emperor Yuan of Han, the only emperor of the Han Dynasty who regarded Confucian classics as the ultimate standard.

Although the Han Dynasty began to exclusively promote Confucianism from the time of Emperor Wu, all the emperors knew that the Confucian slogans were just to appease the court officials and the people. The core of the court was still Legalism, which emphasized strictness.

However, Emperor Yuan of Han, Liu Shi, was an anomaly. He studied under Confucian masters from a young age and his mind was full of benevolence and morality. Even before becoming emperor, he advised Emperor Xuan of Han, Liu Xun, to forgive ministers who had made mistakes, even as the crown prince.

Liu Xun was extremely disappointed and uttered the famous statement that has been passed down through the ages:

"The one who has brought chaos to my family is the Crown Prince!"

As it turned out, the reign of Emperor Yuan was indeed the beginning of a significant decline in the Western Han Dynasty. After Emperor Cheng succeeded to the throne, he intensified the decline, giving Wang Mang the opportunity to rise to power.

When talking about Wang Mang, one cannot help but mention Chen Tang.

The title of Marquis of Xindu that Wang Mang was initially granted was recommended to him by Chen Tang through a memorial.

Later, when Wang Mang seized power in the court, he remembered Chen Tang's recommendation and posthumously conferred upon Chen Tang the title of Marquis of Pohuzhuang. He also increased the fiefdom of Gan Yanshou, who fought alongside him, and even lower-ranking officers like the company commander benefited from the honor.

When Wang Mang posthumously conferred titles upon them, the soldiers who participated in the killing of Zhizhi Chanyu had already passed away. However, this still benefited future generations, ensuring that the heroes' blood was not shed in vain.

Chen Tang looked at Zhou Yi and asked:

"Sir, your magical arts are so powerful, could you directly rewrite the humiliation of the Han Dynasty?"

Zhou Yi did want to, but he still didn't know what else he could do besides his great deception skills.

Wu Zetian was clever enough to help Zhou Yi out of the predicament on the spot: "National Master Yuan said that immortals cannot interfere with the fate of mortals, otherwise they will suffer great karmic consequences. If they want to interfere with the course of history, we mortals still need to work hard... General Chen, Right General Marquis of Lechang Wang Shang is a kind and upright man. When you were wronged, he stood up against Kuang Heng and helped you get credit; Zongzheng Liu Xiang, a great Confucian scholar of the same era as Kuang Heng, also pleaded for you. You can befriend these two."

Chen Tang was somewhat surprised:

“When I went to the Western Regions, the people from the Right General’s Mansion came to collect a debt from me. I didn’t expect General Wang to be so caring. When I returned to Chang’an, I paid off their debt. As for Liu Xiang, I don’t know him. I don’t even know where he lives.”

Knowing where you live, you'd come to borrow money, right...? Zhou Yi said:
"It doesn't matter if you don't know him. I'll buy some Xuan paper for you to take over. As a great Confucian scholar, he shouldn't be able to resist the temptation of Xuan paper."

When dealing with these cultural figures, you need to cater to their interests.

Giving money directly is both low-class and inferior; they are more interested in things like writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.

Wu Meiniang knew that Zhou Yi didn't have much money, so she said:
"Taiji Palace has plenty of Xuan paper. I'll bring some next time. I'll also see if our Tang Dynasty's things will turn to ashes when given to General Chen."

Chen Tang, that money-grubbing fellow, quickly thanked him:
"Thank you, Her Majesty the Queen!"

Just as the sun was about to rise, Zhou Yi said to Chen Tang:
"Slaughter these two sheep. Keep the blood; we can cook a pot of offal with the sheep's organs for breakfast later."

Chen Tang scratched his head and asked:

"Sir, in such a remote place, wouldn't slaughtering livestock offend the gods?"

Zhou Yi waved his hand:

"There are no taboos here, you can do anything."

He, a Taoist priest, acted more magnanimously than an atheist, while Chen Tang seemed somewhat restrained.

"How about I go outside the gate to slaughter it, and then bring it back after it's done?"

Zhou Yi smiled helplessly:

"Why make things so complicated? Meiniang, prepare paper and pen."

Wu Meiniang quickly brought over the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Zhou Yi picked up the brush and wrote four characters on a piece of yellow talisman paper commonly used in Taoism:

【No taboos】

After writing, he pointed to the wall next to the peach tree and said:
"We'll put it on the wall later and slaughter it there. There's a tap right next to it, so it'll be easy to rinse."

Looking at the four characters "百无禁忌" (meaning "no taboos") that had just been written, Wu Meiniang exclaimed in admiration:
"The immortal's calligraphy is simple and vigorous; which master did he imitate?"

"When I was a child, my grandfather forced me to practice Yan Zhenqing's 'Duobao Pagoda Stele' from the Tang Dynasty. He said that if my handwriting was ugly, people would laugh at him for ten thousand years."

Wu Zetian searched her memory but couldn't recall anyone named Yan Zhenqing.

"He was a famous calligrapher during the reign of your grandson, Emperor Xuanzong. He was skilled at writing inscriptions. There are several stone carvings of his in the Xi'an Stele Forest. I even went to see them when I was in junior high school."

Wu Meiniang: "..."

Can you please stop bringing up my grandson all the time? If I ever have the chance to see that Li Longji again, I, as his grandmother, will definitely slap him a few times. He's making me lose face all this time!
Wu Meiniang pasted the note, and Chen Tang took the two sheep to slaughter them.

Zhou Yi returned to his room, changed into a white Taoist robe, washed up, practiced the Eight Vajra Exercises once, and then meditated facing the rising sun for half an hour to expel the old and take in the new.

Chen Tang was very skilled at butchering sheep. After bleeding the sheep, he quickly and completely peeled off the skin.

He hung it next to the peach tree, intending to take it back with him when he left.

Sheepskin is of little use here, but it would be very useful to the Han people, for example, to sew cloaks, make leg guards, water pouches, and so on. It would be a real treasure.

Wu Meiniang was busy boiling water and making tea in the kitchen, and all three of them had their own things to do.

On the roof of the Sanqing Hall, a white figure secretly observed this scene, its eyes filled with deep astonishment, as if witnessing the dead come back to life...

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The second update is here! Please read on, vote with your monthly tickets, and add this to your favorites!

(End of this chapter)