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

Chapter 228 Sun Tzu, the Master of War: The Best Strategy is to Outwit the Enemy! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

On Mount Gusu, Sun Tzu is testing the climbing speed of his soldiers.

He drilled a small hole in a bamboo tube, poured in sifted sand, and the person who climbed up the mountain before the sand ran out was considered to have passed the test; otherwise, they would be punished.

Sun Tzu was the first military strategist to advocate strict discipline and obedience. When King Helü invited him to come out of seclusion to train troops, he planned to use women from the imperial harem for tactical drills to test Sun Tzu's true abilities in military strategy.

During the drill, Helü's two most favored concubines laughed and joked incessantly, and Sun Wu, in accordance with military law, ordered them to be beheaded.

When King Helü heard this, he was heartbroken and sent someone to summon Sun Wu, ordering him to pardon the two concubines. Then Sun Wu uttered the phrase that commanders of troops often said:
"When a general is in the army, he may disobey the emperor's orders!"

After saying this, he beheaded the two concubines. Helü was furious, but in the end, he was helpless.

Now, twenty-four years have passed since Sun Tzu practiced tactics by beheading his concubine. The strength of the State of Wu has risen from a small border state to one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period.

Of course, Wu's rise to power was somewhat due to a loophole. At that time, Qi and Jin were both in internal strife, which gave Wu and Yue the opportunity to sit down and eat together.

Once the division of Jin into three states ended and the Warring States period was established, Wu and Yue were no longer relevant.

"General, a woman has come down from the mountain. She says she is a messenger of the gods and asked me to give you this."

The officer jogged over and presented the blank sheet of paper with both hands.

Sun Tzu took the blank paper, looked at it from left to right, and even rubbed it with his fingers, his eyes full of surprise:
"How is this material made so that it's even easier to write on than silk?"

“The messenger said, ‘You will know when you go down the mountain.’”

Sun Wu nodded, ordered his men to continue supervising the training, and then took the paper and walked down the mountain.

Upon seeing Xi Shi dressed in a Taoist robe, he took the initiative to bow.
"Where does this sorcerer come from, and what is his/her name?"

As he spoke, he noticed the bicycle next to him and the large and small bags hanging on it, which aroused his curiosity even more.

Xi Shi said:

“I am from the Yue Kingdom, and my name is Xi Shi. Not long ago, I was favored by the gods and became an envoy of the immortals’ cave. I have come to find you today on the orders of the gods to put your military treatise into the immortals’ cave to be offered to Jiang Shang.”

Wu Zixu recommended Sun Tzu seven times, and Helü was finally moved and summoned Sun Tzu. Sun Tzu presented him with thirteen chapters of military strategy, which clearly explained the construction of an army and the strategies and tactics. This is the famous "The Art of War".

"The Art of War" holds a pivotal position in the history of Chinese military affairs. Unlike Jiang Shang's "Six Secret Teachings," which is obscure and difficult to understand, this set of military strategies is written in simple and straightforward language, making it easy for even ordinary soldiers to comprehend.

Sun Tzu was somewhat surprised to hear Xi Shi's request:

"I have only a little reputation, yet the immortals have heard of my name?"

Xi Shi nodded:

"We not only know your name, but also what you will experience in the future."

After she finished speaking, she recounted in detail what had happened after entering the Hunyuan Palace, and emphasized the significance of the Wucheng King's Hall to the military generals of China, which greatly impressed the military strategist.

At the same time, inside the Hunyuan Palace, Zhou Yi flipped through his notebook and discovered that new merits had been added:
[Chen Tang summons divine lightning to strike and kill Cavalry Commandant Wang Shang, causing a significant deviation in the timeline of the Yuan Emperor's world. Merit +10]

Upon seeing the name Wang Shang, Zhou Yi subconsciously thought of Wang Shang, the Right General and Marquis of Lechang, who had tirelessly advocated for Chen Tang's rescue. After checking the records, he learned that Wang Shang was the Marquis of Chengdu, who was Wang Mang's uncle.

The Wang brothers were of mediocre character, but Wang Mang was of noble character, treated people with sincerity, and cared for the common people. Everyone thought that a gentleman had emerged from the Wang family. But it turned out that this guy was a scoundrel and directly usurped the throne.

Compared to the arrogant and domineering Wang Shang, the historians now see him as handsome and refined.

Well, his character was a bit lacking, but at least Shang Zi didn't usurp power or rebel!
After closing his notebook, Zhou Yi gave Wu Meiniang some instructions and then drove down the mountain to the Dragon King Temple construction site.

The Dragon King statue will soon be moved to the Dragon King Temple. We'll need to affix some purification talismans to the statue to prevent it from being corrupted and turning into an evil god.

Meanwhile, in the world of Emperor Zhezong of the Northern Song Dynasty, after the promulgation of the new military system, people near Kaifeng expressed their desire to join the army.

There was once a saying in the Song Dynasty: "Good iron is not used to make nails, and good men do not become soldiers." The reason was that the Song Dynasty's military system was for life. Once you joined the army, you could never leave the military camp for the rest of your life. Moreover, as soon as you entered the military camp, you would have a gold mark tattooed on your face, just like a prisoner.

Now that the old military system has been changed, the villages and towns around Kaifeng are overflowing with people, with recruitment registration points packed to capacity. Some families with many brothers are registering three or four people at a time, so Zhao Xu had to issue an additional decree:
"If multiple brothers sign up, at least one person in the family must stay to support both parents; not all of them can join the army."

As for the farmland to be rewarded, that's actually the easiest thing to do. The corrupt officials who were investigated recently had a million acres of fertile land. That land alone is enough to recruit more than 100,000 soldiers.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, despite its relatively small territory, it had a considerable amount of arable land. The official arable land area exceeded 500 million mu, and the actual arable land area should be over 700 million mu. With just a little effort, it could easily have attracted an army of millions.

Moreover, the imperial court will soon introduce policies restricting land ownership by officials. Even officials with tainted records, like Zeng Bu, are actively donating land to the court. Now that the destruction of Western Xia is a foregone conclusion, everyone is waiting to reap the rewards of war and bring glory to their ancestors. What's a little land transfer?
Once the Western Xia is conquered, Zhao Xu's status in the Song Dynasty will rival that of Emperor Taizu, and the status of the court officials will also rise accordingly... If the Liao Dynasty is also destroyed, this generation of court officials will be able to hold their heads high even when they go to worship their ancestors.

Inside the imperial study, Cai Jing respectfully placed a memorial on the emperor's desk:

"Your Majesty, Empress Dowager Xiang has passed away. According to the rites, it is time to request that she be posthumously honored as Empress Dowager Zhu. Here are the specific procedures. Please take a look."

Normally, on the first day Zhao Xu ascended the throne, his birth mother should have been the Empress Dowager. However, the Grand Empress Dowager Gao Taotao and Empress Dowager Xiang jointly suppressed this, and it is only now that Zhu's imperial title is finally about to be implemented.

Zhao Xu glanced through the memorial, picked up his vermilion pen, and wrote an approval note. This matter would be announced in court the next morning and then proceed to implementation.

Li Gefei also presented a small cage containing insects and a few birds, all of which were now dead.
“We fed these insects and birds with soil from the palace, and they were all poisoned to death. The mercury placed during the construction has endangered the foundation of the country. We request that Your Majesty temporarily move to the temporary palace.”

During the Northern Song Dynasty, in addition to the imperial palace, there were two imperial palaces in Kaifeng and several royal villas outside the city.

Those places were alright; there was no record of mercury or other heavy metals being placed there, and the insects and birds didn't have any obvious reactions after eating them. Only in the palace did Li Gefei's scalp tingle after the experiment; he never imagined attending court in such a high-risk environment every day.

Fortunately, he was demoted to Luoyang for a few years, otherwise he might have contracted various blood diseases or heavy metal poisoning just from attending court... Old Li felt a sense of relief and thought that being demoted was not a bad thing.

Zhao Xu was already mentally prepared:

"Then let's go to the temporary palace to live. When the emperor personally leads the expedition, I will stay in Xijing for five days. I ask Prime Minister Cai to make the necessary arrangements."

Li Gefei's heart skipped a beat, and he tentatively asked:

"Does the emperor intend to move the capital?"

Zhao Xu shook his head:

"I just want to pay my respects to the ancient lands of the Han and Tang dynasties. As for moving the capital, I do have this idea. Bianliang is too far from the northwest. Once we take over Western Xia, the court will be confined to a corner and will not be suitable for control. Not to mention the Western Regions... But we still need to consider where to move it. This matter is very important and cannot be rushed."

Luoyang during the Song Dynasty was in ruins and its groundwater was severely polluted. If the capital were to be moved, a new city would have to be built.

As for the Grand Canal, after the Five Dynasties, the canal from Kaifeng to Luoyang was completely silted up. If the capital were to be located in Luoyang, it would require a great deal of effort to dredge it, which would be very difficult. However, the capital still had to be moved. Once the Western Xia and Liao dynasties were conquered, Kaifeng, a place that was neither here nor there, would be in a somewhat awkward position.

Li Gefei and Cai Jing exchanged a glance. If this matter were announced, it would definitely cause a huge uproar... Those unscrupulous merchants in Kaifeng who hoarded and sold land would probably cry themselves to death at home.

If the Song Dynasty is to become a great power like the Han and Tang Dynasties, it needs to make more rational plans. However, Zhao Xu was unsure about the specifics of such plans and planned to consult his master, the Book of Changes, before making a decision.

Once the location for the capital is determined, the rest will be much easier. All the money that Zhao Ji swindled from the Liao Kingdom will be used to build the new capital, so there will be no need to use the national treasury in the early stages... Well, we should thank the Yelü family for the capital they have provided.

Next, the group discussed strategies such as limiting Buddhist and Taoist temples and restricting the per capita arable land to no more than ten mu, in order to further strengthen the country and reduce internal friction.

As for the number of monks, it will also be limited, and some monks of bad character will be executed on the spot.

In the Spring and Autumn Period, Xi Shi cooked noodles and had lunch with Sun Tzu. They chatted for more than two hours before she recounted all her experiences.

When Sun Tzu learned that Goujian had been struck by lightning and died, he was greatly surprised. They had not received any news of this, and the State of Wu was completely unaware of it.

This is where Fan Li's skill deserves praise. He immediately blocked the news that day; otherwise, if it had spread, the State of Wu would have immediately sent troops to annex the territory of the State of Yue.

Sun Tzu remained silent for a long time, then smiled wryly:

"I never imagined that my casual doodle would be revered as a military strategist by later generations. I am truly ashamed."

He had been quite depressed these past few years. Fuchai was becoming increasingly arrogant and self-willed, and was constantly distancing himself from him and Wu Zixu. He had a premonition that Fuchai's future would not be good.

Xi Shi said:

"Fan Li and Wen Zhong will leave Yue in three years, either to travel to other states or to live in seclusion in the mountains. I also intend to take my parents to live in seclusion. If you are interested, General, why not go with us? When I meet Confucius, I will also invite him."

Sun Tzu thought about it and was actually quite tempted:
“That would be best. By the way, I recently had a stone tablet carved on the mountain. I intended to use it to warn the King of Wu. If that Immortal Master Yiyuan doesn’t mind, you can take it with you.”

Xi Shi asked:

What is engraved on it?

"The best strategy is to subdue the enemy without fighting!"

(End of this chapter)