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

Chapter 230 Fuchai: What are you doing holding up that sign, woman? [Requesting monthly votes]

In the camp at the foot of Gusu Mountain, Fuchai stepped down from a huge carriage. Immediately, his spies ran over and whispered in his ear about the events of the past few days.

King Fuchai disliked Wu Zixu and Sun Wu, and paid little attention to this military training exercise. However, when he heard in Gusu City that a divine messenger had come to see Sun Wu and was extremely beautiful, he immediately wanted to find out more.

In 488 BC, Fuchai was in a rather carefree state. He conquered the Yue state to avenge his father, then thrashed the Qi state, and also managed to gain some benefits from the Lu state.

They could be described as beating up Nanshan Kindergarten and kicking Beihai Nursing Home, displaying an invincible arrogance.

At this time, upon hearing that an exceptionally beautiful goddess had arrived in the territory of Wu, his ambitions grew even more inflated:

“No matter what kind of envoy comes to my Wu Kingdom, he must first pay his respects to me. This woman is ignorant of etiquette, so I will teach her a lesson.”

When Wu Zixu heard about this, he came over to advise him as usual, telling him to maintain the king's composure and not to be impatient. He suggested that Wu Zixu first send someone to Gusu Mountain to find out the situation, as this would be in accordance with the king's status.

King Fuchai was in high spirits when he heard this, and he immediately became unhappy.

The more you forbid me from going, the more determined I am to go and see. And so, he led his entire court of officials and hurriedly set off from Suzhou, arriving at Suzhou Mountain.

In the crowd, Prince You, son of King Fuchai, asked Wu Zixu for advice:
"May I ask you, Master, are there really immortals in this world?"

Wu Zixu initially wanted to deny it, but now that even the gods had sent messengers, he could no longer deny it.
"The world is vast, and there are countless extraordinary people and events. Like you, I am like a frog in a well, only seeing the sky."

Crown Prince You was the son of King Fuchai and the future heir apparent. His personality was the opposite of Fuchai's; he disliked killing and war, and had no ambition to conquer the world or vie for the Central Plains. Instead, he was somewhat of a bookworm.

In 482 BC, Fuchai went to Huangchi for a meeting, while his son, Prince You, was ordered to stay behind in Gusu. Goujian led his men to launch a surprise attack, pretending to be going to the meeting place to support Fuchai, and asked Prince You to open the gates so that his army could rest and recuperate.

Prince You believed it to be true and opened the city gates. Goujian's troops rushed in, and all of Fuchai's children were killed. Prince You was tied to the Gusu Terrace and burned alive.

Fuchai strode into the military camp and saw Sun Wu come out to greet him alone. His face showed some displeasure.
"I appointed you as a general so that you could build a powerful army and conquer the Central Plains. I've heard that you've been keeping beautiful women in your camp. Is that true?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Tzu felt that his guess was about to come true.

However, as a subject, he still had to fulfill his duties:

"Your Majesty, this person is a divine messenger who can help the Wu Kingdom achieve hegemony; she is not a beautiful woman!"

His meaning was clear: this person is very capable, so don't just focus on the pretty girl; you can benefit greatly from thoroughly studying what's on that bicycle.

Unfortunately, Fuchai was completely bewitched at this moment and wouldn't listen to anything:

"You mean she's not pretty?"

Sun Tzu bowed and replied:

"I am but a common mortal, and dare not presume to speak of the divine and the human."

If it were Helü, Sun Tzu would have argued with reason, but with Fuchai... he was tired, so he destroyed him. The loss of such a tyrannical ruler who relentlessly levied taxes and waged wars on all sides might not have been a bad thing for the people.

Fuchai threw his head back and laughed loudly:

"What immortals and celestial beings? Once they come to my Wu Kingdom's territory, they have to listen to me. Quickly, summon her to see me. I want to see what kind of abilities this woman has that dares to call herself an immortal messenger."

At this point, Sun Tzu stopped insisting, waved to his men, and stood quietly to the side.

Logically, news of Bo Pi's death should have reached Gusu, but now Fuchai is unaware of it. It's highly likely that Bo Pi's men have already fled to Yue.

In the Spring and Autumn Period, it was a serious crime for a follower to live after his master's death, and he would be executed.

Since going back would mean certain death, it would be better to find another place to make a living... Sun Wu immediately analyzed the whole story, then stood aside and pretended to be dead, ignoring even the winks from his friend Wu Zixu.

Soon, Xi Shi appeared, dressed in a Taoist robe.

The moment Fuchai saw her, he was completely captivated. His heart pounded and his breathing became rapid.

The assembled officials were also stunned by Xi Shi's appearance, but Wu Zixu's expression changed drastically... He knew Fuchai's weaknesses all too well, but Xi Shi was a messenger of the gods, and if Fuchai were to harbor any wicked thoughts, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Wu Zixu wanted to offer advice, but Fuchai didn't give him the chance. He walked straight up to Xi Shi, staring intently at her with a strong sense of possessiveness in his eyes.
"What is your name?"

Xi Shi.

"Would you like to come to the palace with me?"

Xi Shi flicked her whisk and said timidly:

"I am a messenger of the gods, and my body and soul belong to the gods. I am unable to serve Your Majesty. Please forgive me."

Her words were reasonable and well-founded, but the more she appeared like a frightened little animal, the more Fuchai was tempted.
"Gods are nothing! I can give you a life far richer than any god could live. The Wu Kingdom spans a thousand miles; you can have whatever you want... Huh? What's that sign you're holding?"

Just as Fuchai was about to take a closer look, a bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, cleaving the king, whose mind was full of grand ambitions, into a charred, human-shaped piece.

Now, the court officials were dumbfounded, Wu Zixu was dumbfounded, and Crown Prince You was dumbfounded as well.

No one expected that cursing the gods as nothing would bring such a terrible retribution... King Wu was actually struck dead by lightning!

Sun Wu looked up at the sky, then down at the half-burnt, still-smoking, charred humanoid figure, and sighed softly. Although it was expected, the speed and force of the heavenly lightning still exceeded his expectations.

Now Sun Tzu fully understood why Xi Shi, a seemingly weak woman, dared to travel alone to visit the various schools of thought. With divine protection, not only could she not go to the Central Plains, but she could travel all over the world without anyone stopping her.

After the protective divine lightning descended, Xi Shi silently turned and left, heading to the place in the military camp where she had set up her tent.

Prince You was the first to fall to the ground, wailing over the half-human-shaped charred remains. But he could only wail; he couldn't mention revenge... This messenger who coveted the gods and spoke so rudely was clearly courting death!
Wu Zixu walked up to Sun Wu and asked in a low voice:

Did you already know this?

Sun Tzu glanced at his friend and lowered his voice to reply:

"A dozen days ago, this divine messenger summoned a protective divine lightning bolt that struck and killed King Goujian of Yue. The day before yesterday, Bo Pi chased after her in his chariot and was also struck and killed."

Wu Zixu's eyes widened in disbelief; he hadn't expected that his two greatest threats had been completely eliminated.
"This envoy, what...why has she come here?"

Sun Tzu said:

"The person who came to me said that later generations called my work 'The Art of War' and revered me as the Sage of War. She asked for the manuscript of 'Thirteen Chapters of Military Strategy' on behalf of the immortals. I have already given it to her, and she will deliver it to the immortals the day after tomorrow."

At this point, Sun Tzu added a reminder:
"This envoy is named Xi Shi, and her Taoist name is Lotus Fairy. Please remember to show her some respect."

Wu Zixu was taken aback:
"Why?"

“She saved your life. If she hadn’t intervened this time, Bo Pi would have continued to slander you, and you would have been put to death soon. Now your fate has been changed, so don’t forget to thank her.”

Wu Zixu's expression was somewhat conflicted. Logically speaking, since the other party had killed his lord, according to the principle that a subject should die for his lord, he should fight her to the death.

But this divine messenger saved his life, which is quite perplexing.

Sun Wu pointed to the wailing Crown Prince You on the ground and whispered a reminder:

"A country cannot be without a ruler for a day. Quickly support Crown Prince You to ascend the throne and become king. Do not delay. If the news reaches Gusu, the other princes may harbor rebellious intentions."

Wu Zixu realized what was happening and quickly stepped forward to calm the officials. He then declared Fuchai's death to be a sudden one and requested that Crown Prince You ascend the throne as soon as possible.

With Fuchai dead, the people of Wu no longer needed to wage wars in the south and north, nor did they need to fight those unnecessary battles.

Prince You was kind and gentle, and with the assistance of Wu Zixu, the Wu Kingdom made great strides.

Sun Tzu ignored this whole affair and instead went into the military camp to inquire about Xi Shi's next destination:

"Where will the fairy go next after leaving the Kingdom of Wu?"

Xi Shi unfolded a map from the Spring and Autumn Period and said:
"The immortal only told me to arrive at Hangu Pass in three years and visit Confucius before then; he made no other arrangements."

Sun Tzu saw the map and found it very amazing:
"Is this a map from the future?"

Xi Shi nodded:

"It is a map drawn by people of later generations based on historical records. It is not very detailed. The immortal master ordered me to make corrections along the way."

Sun Tzu marveled at the map, never imagining that a map drawn in later generations could be so clear. However, since he had the opportunity to contribute to the Temple of Generals, he couldn't let himself be the only one enjoying the credit.

"Have you ever heard of Tian Rangju, fairy?"

Xi Shi opened her tablet, searched using the initials of the pinyin she had learned, and found Tian Rangju's name:
"He was also among the Ten Sages of the Martial Temple... Is Tian Rangju still alive?"

Tian Rangju, also known as Sima Rangju, was a native of Qi. Like Chen Tang, he only fought one battle in his life, but with just that one battle, he defeated the powerful Jin state and the incomparably strong Yan state, and was appointed Grand Marshal by Duke Jing of Qi.

Besides his verifiable battle record, Tian Rangju's most significant contribution was the establishment of the Sima system. He was the most mysterious of the Ten Sages of the Martial Temple, and also the most indispensable.

The Sima Law is the cornerstone of military construction. Even now, the fundamental character of the military is still closely related to the Sima Law. For example, the principle of "strict discipline in the army" was proposed by Tian Rangju.

Sun Tzu said:

"Tian Rangju may no longer be alive, but you can go to the State of Qi to look for him. Even if he has passed away, he should have left behind some works. You can ask his descendants for them. In case the State of Qi falls into turmoil in the future, his works will not be lost."

This is indeed true. During the Warring States period, the constant warfare led to the destruction of countless works. Only five of Tian Rangju's works survived, and the rest of the information is nowhere to be found. Even his birth and death dates are unknown.

Xi Shi recorded this incident, planning to consult the Book of Changes upon her return. If necessary, she would make a trip to the State of Qi and visit other famous figures along the way.

Meanwhile, inside the Hunyuan Palace, Zhou Yi saw the notes in the black notebook and said to Wu Meiniang:
"Xi Shi is moving quite fast, it seems she's already in Suzhou."

Wu Zetian was organizing agricultural-related materials when she asked curiously:

“How come you see?”

"She just summoned the protective divine thunder and killed Fuchai."

(End of this chapter)