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

Chapter 169 Zhao Xin, I can leave you a whole corpse! [Seeking monthly votes]

Zhang Shuye handed the memorial to the eunuch, and was about to leave after the exchange when Zhao Xu suddenly called him back:
"Zhang Shuye, are you willing to go on a diplomatic mission to the Liao Kingdom?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuye was stunned and immediately bowed to the ground:
"Your subject is willing to give your life, even unto death!"

Zhang Shuye, 34 years old this year, is a hereditary official. Hereditary official means that one’s father has made meritorious contributions and thus obtained an official position.

However, because he did not take the regular imperial examination, Zhang Shuye's official position was not very secure. When he first obtained his official position, he was a poor military advisor in Lanzhou, fighting alongside the army.

This was originally a job with no future, but Zhang Shuye was lucky enough to catch up with the only emperor of the Song Dynasty who suddenly became powerful. He not only defeated the Western Xia, but also conquered a large area of ​​territory, and gained military merits along with the army.

Later, Zhang Shuye served as the magistrate of Xiangcheng County, where he also made outstanding contributions. He also temporarily served as the prefect of Qinzhou for a period of time. However, because he was not selected through the imperial examination, he was soon impeached and transferred back to Kaifeng, where he was demoted to the eighth-rank position of Tongshi Sheren.

Of course, this demotion is relative, because he has military achievements, and the current emperor is a well-known warmonger. It is obvious that Zhang Shuye is being groomed to be a key figure by Zhao Xu's side.

The so-called eighth-rank official position is just a joke. Can just anyone become an eighth-rank official in the emperor's court?

Zhang Shuye longed for another opportunity to distinguish himself in battle and repeatedly petitioned to go to the front lines in Western Xia and Miaochuan, but his requests were never granted.

Just when he thought he would waste his life in official documents, things took an unexpected turn, and the current emperor actually asked him if he would be willing to go on a mission to the Liao Kingdom.

Zhang Shuye agreed without hesitation. If it weren't for the distinction between ruler and subject, he would have even asked the emperor to write a written agreement for him.

Zhao Xu waved his hand, and the eunuchs in the imperial study immediately withdrew.

With no one around, Zhao Xu poured Zhang Shuye a cup of tea from the teapot and asked with a smile:
"Tell me, what would you do if you went to the Liao Dynasty?"

Zhang Shuye, with his neck stiff, said:

"I will take Ban Chao, Fu Jiezi and other predecessors as my role models, and remain neither arrogant nor humble, and fulfill my mission without disgrace. If the Liao people dare to disrespect my Great Song, I will teach them a lesson even if it means my death!"

Zhao Xu immediately laughed:

"I want you to go on a diplomatic mission to the Liao Kingdom to reaffirm the Treaty of Chanyuan and promise that neither side will invade the other, so as to buy time for the army to conquer Western Xia. If you are so tough, wouldn't that give the Liao Kingdom a pretext to send troops?"

Zhang Shuye was stunned:

"Does the Emperor mean to lull them into a false sense of security?"

"Yes, lull the Liao people into a false sense of security. Make them think that the Song Dynasty is all bark and no bite, and that it is only attacking the Western Xia to save face, and that it poses no threat to the Liao. Think about the specifics carefully. Don't always target Fu Jiezi and the others. As an envoy, being able to bend and stretch is also a skill."

After reading Zhang Shuye's biography, Zhao Xu felt that this famous general was capable, but he was too straightforward and inflexible, which ultimately led to his death for his country, which was a great pity.

Therefore, taking advantage of the opportunity of being sent as an envoy to the Liao Kingdom, Zhao Xu hoped that Zhang Shuye could change his personality and not be so rigid.

These promising generals only need a little guidance to become capable of leading independently, which is much easier than teaching those novice generals step by step.

Zhang Shuye bowed and asked:
"May I ask Your Majesty if I may draw up a map of the Liao Kingdom along the way, so that we can send troops to reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun in the future?"

Zhao Xu was overjoyed that this young minister would actually add more tasks to the assignment.

"Recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun has always been my dream. If you can bring back a map of the Liao Kingdom on this trip, I will grant you the title of Jinshi!"

Granting Zhang Shuye the title of Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) filled a gap in his record. With the Jinshi status from the imperial examinations, he would no longer be subject to criticism when he was appointed as a local official.

Zhang Shuye in history was like this. During the Daguan era, in the early years of Emperor Huizong's reign, he was granted the title of Jinshi and then began to serve in important positions such as Assistant Minister of the Treasury and Vice Prefect of Kaifeng. Later, he offended Cai Jing and was demoted to Prefect of Haizhou. While he was at leisure, he also suppressed a bandit and wiped out the rebellion of Song Jiang.

After Zhang Shuye left, Zhao Xu instructed the eunuch to note down the matter and make a formal announcement at the morning court the next day.

After finishing with the memorials on his desk, Zhao Xu read through some historical records of the Jin army's siege of Kaifeng, then angrily ordered the eunuch:

"King Xuanduan has come to see me!"

Yes, that's right... If you're in a bad mood, you hit your younger brother; if you don't have a good appetite, you hit your younger brother; if you see a nonsensical memorial, you need to hit your younger brother to vent your anger.

At the same time, at Li Qingzhao's home.

Li Gefei finished his shift early today, and his family gathered together to play cards.

"It seems there's another victory report from the Northwest front. The Western Xia envoy plans to host a banquet for the Ministry of Rites officials tomorrow. It seems they're going to back down... My lord!"

Li Gefei skillfully played a four of diamonds, which was countered by Li Qingzhao's ace of diamonds. After a round, the ace was the highest.
"Don't accept gifts from others, there are so many people waiting to impeach us, don't give them any reason to criticize us... Five of Clubs!" Li Hang looked at his own cards, then secretly glanced at his older sister's, and threw in the only Seven of Clubs, then drew a Four of Hearts.

Next, he played only diamond main cards, and could control whatever he played.

Li Qingzhao also noticed that her younger brother's hand was full of trump cards, and on a whim, she threw her cards into the deck:
"Stop playing! Stop playing! How can we waste such precious time at the card table? Go study, my boy, and stop being so playful."

Li Hang: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
After losing ten or so games, this game was just starting to look like a chance to win, and this happens. You're being too unfair!
Unfortunately, the suppression from his bloodline forced Li Hang to choose to study. After dinner, he still had to polish his skateboard shoes, something that couldn't be delayed.

In the evening, inside Hunyuan Palace, Zhou Yi and Wu Meiniang, having finished watching a movie, were too lazy to cook. They bought some snacks to take up the mountain, ate and drank their fill, took a bath, and then began to study.

Wu Zetian needed to learn modern knowledge and study Taoist classics, and she could not slack off in either.

Two days later, the bronze statue of the Ziwei Emperor was delivered. Fang Hongyan and his family drove to Hunyuan Palace and held a ceremony to invite the deity. Fang Yuanyuan also brought some new information:
“I have a close friend who is in a mental hospital, and two other people who were riding shared bikes illegally carrying passengers fell and were seriously injured. One of them even broke his leg and can only use a wheelchair when he goes out… Master Zhou, are they suffering retribution?”

Zhou Yi nodded:

"Justice prevails, and retribution is inevitable. Do you still want a tattoo now?"

Fang Yuanyuan quickly shook her head, no longer daring to think about the tattoo that meant not paying for meals... The family wasn't so poor that they couldn't afford to eat, so why be stingy in this regard?

After the ceremony, Fang Hongyan walked around the various halls and saw a donation box in the God of Wealth Hall. He donated 100,000 yuan on the spot... Since Jin Taiyang changed its name to Wan Ke Lai, the mall's customer traffic has been increasing day by day. Several previously empty shops were quickly rented out. Now, the daily transaction commission is almost as much as it was in the past week.

All of this is thanks to the I Ching, so he spends as much money as possible on it. As the saying goes, the more incense you burn in ordinary times, the less flustered you will be when trouble comes.

At noon, Zhou Yi took Fang Hongyan's family to Jin Anchao's Mountain Retreat Restaurant for a farm-style meal. They ate free-range chicken, wild mushrooms, wild vegetables, and cured pork, among other things. Fang Hongyan ate with gusto, praising the quality of the ingredients and saying he wanted to come more often.

While everyone was enjoying lunch, Huo Qubing and his entourage arrived at the banks of the Huanggan River and set off upstream.

As Huo Qubing walked, he deployed drones to scout the surrounding area.

Now we are in the trap phase. If we encounter Xiongnu scouts, we should either avoid them or kill them to prevent them from returning to report, so that the Xiongnu will mistakenly believe that the Han army is still far away.

After the drone surveyed the area, there were no traces of the Xiongnu within a 50-mile radius. Huo Qubing judged that his position was still some distance from the source of the Huanggan River and had not entered the reconnaissance range of the main scouts.

Just as he was about to order the army to continue its advance, Zhao Ponu arrived with a junior officer from the central army:
"Huo Biaoyao, the General has sent a military order!"

The junior officer verified Huo Qubing's token as required, then took out a bamboo tube sealed with wax from his pocket and handed it over.

Huo Qubing took it and opened it. Inside was a roll of A4 paper, about the size of a palm. Unrolled, it contained a military order written in carbon ink:

"Zhao Xin intends to rebel against the Han Dynasty and join the Xiongnu again. He has already sent someone to the Xiongnu camp to contact the Chanyu. He is probably waiting for a high price to sell him. I will let Zhao Xin go. If he returns to the Xiongnu, the Chanyu's main force will definitely set off, creating an opportunity for our army to annihilate his troops!"

After reading the note, Huo Qubing casually tossed it to Zhao Ponu, instructing him to pass it around with Zhang Qian and the others.

Historically, Zhao Xin and Su Jian encountered the main force of the Xiongnu Chanyu and fought a bitter battle but were defeated. Zhao Xin then defected to the Xiongnu again, while Su Jian escaped back to the camp alone.

Unexpectedly, this Marquis of Xi, personally appointed by Emperor Wu of Han, rebelled against the Han Dynasty because he saw no opportunity to make merit, completely offending Huo Qubing.

"All generals, listen to my command! If you encounter Zhao Xin, notify me immediately, and I will escort Xi Hou on his way!"

Zhao Xin is going to join Yizhixie, so it's reasonable for me to stab him in the stomach a few times, right? Being wounded and defecting to the enemy makes it more convincing; we're helping him.

After the junior officer who delivered the order returned, Huo Qubing's army advanced upstream along the Huanggan River.

After traveling for about half a day, as the drone took off, Zhao Ponu saw a group of people dressed in Han army armor rapidly advancing northeastward, about thirty miles to his left.

"Could this be Zhao Xin's men?"

Huo Qubing controlled the drone and flew it slowly forward for a while. He switched to a telephoto lens and realized that it might really be Zhao Xin. He immediately ordered a pursuit.

The group rushed forward in a grand procession until nightfall, when they finally managed to block the path of the other group.

Huo Qubing's original plan was to inflict serious injuries on Zhao Xin, so that even if he went to the Xiongnu camp, he would be crippled and not a threat.

But the moment the two sides met, Huo Qubing noticed the binoculars hanging around Zhao Xin's neck, and his plan to wound him instantly changed to kill him:
"Zhao Xin, hand over the telescope my master gave me, and I might leave you a whole corpse!"

After saying that, Huo Qubing silently took out the stainless steel token from his pocket, preparing to use the protective divine thunder to kill Zhao Xin and boost the morale of his side!

(End of this chapter)