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

Chapter 180 "The Song Dynasty may perish, but China must not perish!" [Seeking monthly votes]

Li Qingzhao listened with stars in her eyes; the image of a powerful female protagonist she dreamed of was perfectly embodied in Wu Zetian.
"I'll lead the horse back now, and bring a few more pots. The iron pots at home are too thick and not easy to use."

Wu Zetian helped the girl straighten her Taoist robe and said:
"This matter is urgent, so your father will accompany you to the palace. Next time you come, I'll stay with you for a few more days and buy you new clothes."

"Thank you, Sister Meiniang! I'm off now!"

Several people led the horses from the back mountain over, and Wu Meiniang also brought several woks, soup pots, and steamers of different sizes and placed them at the entrance of the Wenxuan King's Hall.

Xin Qiji watched Li Qingzhao disappear at the entrance of the Wenxuan King's Palace and found it very magical.

Li Bai asked:

"Which palace did you come from?"

Xin Qiji pointed to the Hall of King Wu Cheng:

"Today I climbed Mount Tai with my friends. When we came here while visiting the Dai Temple on Mount Tai, we saw the statue of King Wu Cheng and I kowtowed to it."

He had now finished reading about his life, and felt a little uneasy.

He thought that going south to join the Song court was the best solution. He would then train a large army and, in three to five years, lead it on a northern expedition, joining forces with the rebel army in the north to strike at the heart of the enemy.

Upon reviewing his own experience, he realized that even after the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, the northern territories had not been recovered.

He traveled thousands of miles to join the Southern Song Dynasty, only to end up as a "reformed person"—truly laughable!
In the Song Dynasty, those who had fallen into foreign lands and returned to the Song Dynasty were called "Guizhengren," meaning those who returned to the rightful ruler. This was a derogatory term used by the Southern Song Dynasty for those who came south from the occupied northern territories to seek refuge.

Xin Qiji was well-versed in military strategy from a young age and had deduced countless possibilities of destroying the Jin Dynasty. In his "Ten Essays on the Beauty of Celery," he proposed a battle plan to create momentum on the front lines in Sichuan, Huaihe River Basin, and Xiangyang to attract the Jin army to defend, and then send the navy to land on the beach in Jiaonan and other places when the rear in Shandong was undefended.

The naval commander at the time was Li Bao, who came from Yue Fei's army and had led the navy to annihilate the Jin navy. The plan to storm the beach was definitely feasible.

Unfortunately, the imperial court never implemented this plan before Xin Qiji passed away.

Wu Zetian handed the letter brought by Chen Tang to Xin Qiji:

"Your ancestor Xin Qingji heard about your deeds in resisting the Jin dynasty and wrote you a letter, which he entrusted to General Chen Tang to bring over. Please open it and take a look."

Upon hearing the name Xin Qingji, Xin Qiji was somewhat lost in thought:

"Is General Chen Tang, who vowed to punish even the most distant enemies, also here?"

"Yes, he is also a member of Hunyuan Palace, but he left early today and didn't wait for you to arrive."

Xin Qiji thanked him, took out a piece of silk from the envelope, on which many words were written. He held it in his hands and read it carefully.

As he read, tears streamed down his handsome face.

Grandma Gongsun asked, resting her chin on her hand:

"What did you write? And why are you crying?"

Xin Qiji wiped away his tears, spread the silk cloth in his hand on the table, and said:
“My ancestors told me that the Song Dynasty may perish, but China must not perish. The loyalty of the Xin family lies in the common people, not in one family or clan.”

Zhou Yi instantly understood that Xin Qingji was worried that his descendant would be blindly loyal, so he was giving him a heads-up in advance... However, Xin Qingji was overthinking it; his descendant was not rigid at all.

Xin Qiji faced many impeachments throughout his life, the most common of which was bullying his superiors... There were plenty of officials who preyed on the people and ran rampant in the countryside, but officials who dared to bully their superiors were rare in the entire history of China.

Historical records do not explain why Xin Qiji bullied his superiors, but the fact that he dared to do so shows that he was not a blindly loyal person who adhered to dogma.

Li Bai gave Xin Qiji a bottle of chilled cola:
What are your plans next?

Xin Qiji thought for a moment and said:

"After I get back, I will organize my men and start an uprising in Shandong. Once I have a firm foothold, I will make other plans."

Shandong has a long history of rebellion, especially under the rule of the Jin Dynasty, where rebel leaders of all sizes were numerous throughout the province.

The Jin army ruled the Shandong region for over a century, but ultimately failed to win the hearts of the people.

Since heading south is not the best solution, let's start a rebellion first and drive the Jin troops out of Shandong.

Wu Meiniang asked:
"What year is it in Shaoxing now?"

Xin Qiji replied:
"June of the 29th year of Shaoxing".

Wu Zetian took out her notebook, wrote down the time, and then said:

"You can go back first, contact the local militia and righteous men, stockpile grain and fodder in the mountains, order people to cultivate fields and plant grain, and prepare for a long-term war of resistance."

Huo Qubing held a tablet computer, opened a map of Shandong, looked at it, and gave Xin Qiji an idea:

"The Yimeng Mountains are easy to defend and difficult to attack. You can lead people in and focus on development. Try to mobilize the people as much as possible. If there are iron mines in the mountains, you can smelt iron on the spot and make weapons."

Zhou Yi glanced at it and thought his second apprentice's strategic vision was truly unique. The Yimeng Mountains were an old revolutionary base area during the War of Resistance against Japan, a natural place for recuperation and development. With the addition of modern equipment such as drones and telescopes, coupled with the guerrilla strategy of "retreating when the enemy advances, harassing when the enemy camps, attacking when the enemy is tired, and pursuing when the enemy retreats," they could definitely outmaneuver the Jin army.

Zhou Yi gave Xin Qiji a pair of binoculars and some food:
"Since you and your friend are in Mount Tai, go back soon so your friend won't worry. Once you're back, start contacting righteous people from all sides. Remember to come to Hunyuan Palace in five days, and I'll send you some other supplies then."

Xin Qiji was deeply moved. He had thought his rebellious remarks would be met with rebuke, but to his surprise, his decision not to go south instead won him everyone's praise and admiration.

Staying in Shandong to start an uprising was a near-certain death, but it was better than wasting one's life in the south until old age!
Everyone saw Xin Qiji off to the entrance of the Wu Cheng Wang Palace. Just as they were about to step over the threshold, Li Bai pulled Xin Qiji to stomp on the Hunnic golden statue a few times.
"Don't rush off, step on it a few more times."

Xin Qiji asked, somewhat puzzled:

"What is this?"

Aunt Gongsun chuckled:
"This is the golden statue used by the Xiongnu for their sacrificial rites. It was sent by the Marquis of Champion and turned into a foot pedal for the Martial Temple by the Taoist priest. When you destroy the Jin Kingdom in the future, remember to bring their sacrificial objects with you."

Upon hearing this, Xin Qiji jumped up and down several times, then bowed to everyone and said:

"Qiji will certainly live up to everyone's expectations!"

Zhou Yi addressed the gate of the Wu Cheng King's Palace:
"I allow Xin Qiji to travel freely to and from the Southern Song Dynasty."

Other worlds are named with imperial titles or reign titles, but in Xin Qiji's world, Zhou Yi really has no good feelings towards Zhao Gou, so he's too lazy to mention his name and will just use the Southern Song Dynasty world instead.

In today's society, many people are trying to whitewash Zhao Gou, even portraying him as a wise ruler, while Yue Fei, who was devoted to the country, has become a warlord and a bully in the eyes of some.

But no matter how you try to justify it, in Zhou Yi's eyes, Yue Fei is undoubtedly a national hero, while Zhao Gou is a typical coward and scoundrel. The nickname Wanyan Gou is quite fitting!
At the same time, in the imperial study of Emperor Zhezong of the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Xu received Li Qingzhao and her father late at night:

"You two have come in such a hurry, does my master have something important to tell me?"

Li Qingzhao nodded:
"In the evening, while we were having dinner, Xin Qiji from the Southern Song Dynasty came to Hunyuan Palace. Sister Meiniang asked me to come and find you."

Upon hearing his daughter call Wu Zetian "Sister Meiniang" in such a rebellious manner, Li Gefei was about to refute her on the spot, but then he thought that it might not be bad to establish a connection.

Even Li Bai and Huo Qubing called their wives "sister," so it's not too outrageous for my daughter to address the Empress as her sister.

Li Qingzhao recounted her meeting with Xin Qiji, and finally made the request of Wu Zetian:

"Sister Meiniang wants you to provide Xin Qiji with some necessary assistance so that after he starts his rebellion, he can save face for the Southern Song royal family."

Li Gefei: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Daughter, do you want to hear what you're saying? Asking the current emperor to fund a rebellion in future generations? This... this... your father doesn't have a token bestowed by an immortal!

To everyone's surprise, Zhao Xu not only wasn't angry, but actually got quite excited:
"In the near future, I will have people requisition the manors outside the city. It is said that some people have secretly hoarded weapons and armor. If we can find them, I will give them all to Xin Qiji."

Historically, Zhao Xu died childless, none of his children survived, and he had little to do with the Southern Song imperial family; instead, he bore a great deal of shame.

Supporting Xin Qiji now serves two purposes: firstly, it aligns with the Hunyuan Palace's stance, and secondly, it's like asking Xin Qiji to help clean up their own mess.

Li Gefei felt his brain wasn't working properly, and he asked weakly:

"With the Jin army being so powerful, Xin Qiji might not be able to gain any advantage in enemy-occupied territory, would he?"

Li Qingzhao said:
"Father, you may not know this, but Sister Meiniang will personally guide Xin Qiji. If she can't do it, Emperor Taizong of Tang and Wei Qing will provide remote guidance. If that still doesn't work, the Immortal Master can bring the God of War to the Hunyuan Palace... Oh, by the way, I saw that Sister's notebook also has Bai Qi's name written on it. He was criticized for massacring 400,000 Zhao people, but if he massacred 400,000 Jin people, people would only think that it wasn't enough."

This lineup made Li Gefei gasp... One military genius was enough to sweep away the Jin, Southern Song and Mongol kingdoms. If Bai Qi were added, wouldn't it become an open-book exam?

Zhao Xu picked up his pen and wrote down Xin Qiji's name:
"Next time I go to Master's place, I hope I can see Xin Qiji and have a good talk with him so that he won't feel any psychological burden."

Li Gefei: "..."

Well, even the Emperor has become a close confidant, it seems Xin Qiji is destined for the throne.

When I get back, I'll have to write some encouraging poems for my daughter to send over. His contributions to the founding of the nation are so rare; Old Li should also get a piece of the action.

Meanwhile, in the world of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu received the news of Huo Qubing's capture of the Xiongnu prince. Overjoyed, he couldn't sleep. Since it happened to be Dongfang Shuo's turn to be on duty that night, he excitedly asked:
"How is the construction of the Yiyuan Terrace going? Qu Bing's letter mentioned that the statue of the Immortal Yiyuan is a Taiji diagram. That shouldn't be too difficult to build, right?"

Dongfang Shuo replied respectfully:

“It is indeed not difficult, but the Taiji diagram sent by Huo Biaoyao contains the words Taiji. Ancient immortals are related to this. If we use it rashly, I am afraid that the immortals will blame us.”

Liu Che was immediately displeased:

Which deity?

"The gods of Taoism are all related to Tai Chi."

Liu Che, too lazy to dwell on such matters, waved his hand and said:
"Set up the altar first thing tomorrow morning and inform the gods of the four directions that Immortal Master Yiyuan wants to use the Taiji Diagram as a divine statue. If they have any objections, they should show themselves in person. If they do not show themselves before noon, it means they agree to use it... I have given the gods a whole morning. Isn't that generous enough?"

Dongfang Shuo: "..."

Your Majesty, where did you learn these cheating tricks from?

(End of this chapter)