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

Chapter 342 The Turks have rebelled! [Seeking monthly votes]

In the Zhenguan era, in Linfen, the capital of Jinzhou in Hedong Circuit, fifty-five-year-old Cheng Zhijie was riding his horse at full speed on the official road.

The day before yesterday afternoon, when Wu Zetian returned, Li Shimin excitedly asked someone to test the distance of the walkie-talkie. At that time, Ashina She'er, who had changed his name to Li She, and generals such as Yuchi Jingde all stepped forward and volunteered to try it.

As luck would have it, Cheng Zhijie, who had nothing better to do, heard about this amazing gadget and immediately stepped forward, punching back the generals who had stepped forward one by one, thus very "democratically" winning the task of testing the walkie-talkies.

He thought he could return after riding his horse for thirty-five miles outside the city, but it took him three days and two nights, changing horses dozens of times along the way, and he ended up traveling more than seven hundred miles to Linfen.

"Old Cheng is really destined to be a workaholic. He only enjoyed a few days of leisure before feeling unwell all over. Horseback riding is so much more comfortable..."

After changing horses at the Linfen post station, he chewed on the flatbread provided by the post station, mounted his horse, and continued his journey towards Taiyuan... He could still communicate across seven hundred miles, and Lao Cheng was also very curious to know the limits of the walkie-talkie.

He ate half of the flatbread, stuffed it into his satchel, then took out a wine naan, rewarded himself with a sip of the imperial wine, and then instructed his son Cheng Chubi, who had accompanied him all the way:

"This wine was bestowed by His Majesty. Do not tell your mother when you return, otherwise... hmph!"

Cheng Chubi said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry:

"His Majesty bestowed this fine wine upon you so that you could rest and relax at the post station. But instead, you didn't take a break and traveled all the way from Wanquan County to Linfen overnight, using wine to keep yourself energized the entire way."

Cheng Zhijie put down the naan bread and gently stroked the walkie-talkie sealed in a foam box in his satchel:

"With such a treasure in our Great Tang Dynasty, how can I sleep at night? This tiny brick can actually allow people to communicate across seven hundred miles. If only we had this thing thirty years ago, many of my old brothers who died in battle might have survived."

Recalling the past, Lao Cheng's eyes unconsciously reddened.

He said to Cheng Chubi:
"This item will be the key to our Great Tang's standing tall in the world. No matter how slow you are, you must thoroughly study how to use it. Whether your generation can succeed depends on your understanding of this item!"

After saying that, he raised his whip and lashed the horse's back hard. The horse immediately charged forward, and Cheng Chubi led the Cheng family's personal guards in hot pursuit, fearing that something might happen to his old father.

At noon, the group rested in a small town in the southern part of Huoyi County.

The town wasn't big, but there were many merchants coming and going, and the streets were filled with the aroma of wine and meat. Cheng Zhijie noticed that one of the restaurants had just finished cooking mutton, so he immediately went over and ordered a whole sheep and a bowl of mutton soup. He soaked the flatbread he had brought in the soup, and it tasted absolutely delicious.

Cheng Chubi spread a lotus leaf on the table, placed the mutton on it, then took out a packet of snow-white iodized salt from his pocket, poured it onto a corner of the lotus leaf, tore off a piece of mutton, dipped it in the salt, and put it in his mouth, praising it:

"The salt His Majesty bestowed is truly delicious. There's another packet in my satchel. How about we send it to Qinghe so that my uncles can have a taste?"

Cheng Zhijie, who was devouring a piece of lamb neck, couldn't help but sigh upon hearing this:

“I, Old Cheng, have been wise all my life, how could I have given birth to such a foolish son as you? What kind of atmosphere is this in the court these days? His Majesty is practically slaughtering the aristocratic families like fat sheep, and you still want to get closer... Right now, the farther away we are from your maternal uncle's family, the safer it is for us, and safer for them as well. Remember this, son: a general in command of troops should never engage in any factionalism. Just obediently listen to His Majesty. In His Majesty's eyes, your little cleverness is no different from that of a monkey in a tree.”

After saying that, Lao Cheng devoured a piece of lamb neck in a flash, then gnawed on a lamb leg, drank a large bowl of lamb soup with flatbread, and then took a nap against the wall of the shop while everyone was eating slowly.

Those who had crawled out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood ate and slept whenever they could find a spare moment. Once Cheng Chubi had eaten his fill, he suddenly woke up, led everyone to mount their horses, and continued on their journey.

On the fourth day, Lao Cheng traveled day and night and finally arrived at Jinyang, the capital of Taiyuan.

Upon arriving at the post station, Cheng Zhijie saw a troop of messengers from the north delivering military intelligence. Seeing pheasant feathers stuck in the messengers' bamboo tubes, he deduced that there was urgent military news.
"I am Cheng Zhijie, the General of the Left Guard. What military intelligence are you delivering?"

The messenger, seeing that he was dressed in the robes of a duke and that the people from the Jinyang post station were carefully attending to him, knew he was an important person, and said in a tearful voice:

"The Turks have rebelled and killed many of my Han Chinese. They are now wreaking havoc in the Shuozhou area..."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Zhijie, who had been traveling for several days, immediately tensed up, took out a walkie-talkie from his satchel, turned on the device, selected channel 001, and pressed the talk button:
"Cheng Zhijie calls for Your Majesty, Cheng Zhijie calls for Your Majesty... I have just arrived in Jinyang when I encountered a messenger. The Turks have rebelled and are wreaking havoc in the Shuozhou area. I request to lead the troops stationed in Jinyang to quell the rebellion!"

Inside the Liangyi Hall in Chang'an, Li Shimin, who was eating noodles, immediately put down his bowl upon hearing this, grabbed the walkie-talkie, and rushed to the courtyard to reply:

"Is it confirmed that the Turks have rebelled? You will immediately go to Jinyang and have the governor of Taiyuan receive the order!"

He never expected that testing a walkie-talkie would actually detect a rebellion. Fortunately, Cheng Zhijie had passed away. If he had to replace him with another general, he would have to send someone from Chang'an to take command.

After issuing the order, Li Shimin rubbed his temples and instructed the chief eunuch:
"I hereby order Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Cen Wenben and others to come to see me immediately and tell them that an emergency military situation has occurred in Shuozhou."

The office of these people was located in the palace, and soon, several elderly ministers, all over fifty years old, rushed over.

In the Han Dynasty, people would describe scholars as having high moral character by saying they were "happy to hear criticisms." However, in the early Tang Dynasty, people of all kinds, whether civil or military officials, had the problem of "being happy to hear about war."

No matter how clumsy one's legs are normally, as soon as one hears that there is a war to fight, one can instantly become ten years younger... This kind of buff makes half of the generals of the Tang Dynasty have the merit of destroying a country, and civil officials of the fifth rank and above have directly or indirectly participated in the war of destroying a country.

Fang Xuanling said as soon as he entered the door:
"It must be His Majesty who ordered the Turks to come to Guanzhong, and they have developed the idea of ​​rebellion."

Cen Wenben leaned against the door frame, catching his breath:

"It cannot be ruled out that someone tipped them off. Furthermore, since their surrender, the Turks have been secretly colluding on the grasslands; this has merely given them an excuse to rebel." Having put aside his own anxieties, Changsun Wuji consciously assumed the role of the Grand Secretary of the Tang Dynasty.
"Your Majesty, we can't let them off this time, can we?"

Last time, when Li Jing captured Jieli Khan, Li Shimin, despite the opposition of his court officials, allowed the Turks to continue their activities in the Yanmen area without any restrictions. As a result, the Turks became increasingly rampant, leading to the assassination attempt by Ashina Jieshe.

Li Shimin looked at Fang Xuanling:

How many troops are there in Taiyuan?

Fang Xuanling's mind was like a living ledger:
"Jinyang has three thousand Right Valiant Guards, two thousand cavalry, and one or two thousand less capable county soldiers in various places..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Shimin asked again:
What is the total?

"More than ten thousand, but that's just the number on paper. Only the Right Valiant Guard, who protects the capital, has any fighting power. The other half are without horses, and their armor is probably not complete either... Hedong is not a heavily defended area, and moreover, some troops have been transferred to Liaodong."

Li Shimin stood up, his eyes fixed on the map on the wall, his mind racing.

At this moment, Cheng Zhijie reported again:

"Your Majesty, I have found the Governor of Taiyuan and the Right Valiant Guard General of the Northern Capital. Please give the order!"

Logically, mobilizing troops requires a tiger tally, but suppressing the rebellion is the priority now, and there can be no delay.

Li Shimin issued the battle order over the walkie-talkie:
"Troops and troops from all parts of Hedong Circuit are beginning to assemble and prepare for city defense. All troops in Jinyang will be under the command of Cheng Zhijie and will head to Shuozhou to quell the rebellion. Chang'an will immediately dispatch a large army there. If there is any military situation, please keep in touch!"

Cheng Zhijie pressed on, asking:

"Your Majesty, should we only punish the ringleaders, or should we exercise discretion?"

He knew that Li Shimin was a very emotional person, so he spoke very tactfully, afraid that if he said the words "annihilate the entire army," he would be stripped of his command of the army.

However, the strongest carbon-based life form of the seventh century, who had always preferred appeasement, surprisingly stated:

"All Turks who participated in the rebellion shall be exterminated!"

Inside the Jinyang Prefectural Governor's residence, Old Cheng let out a joyful shout, patted the shoulder of the Right Valiant Guard Jinyang Garrison General, and said:

"With this statement, military merits are like fallen leaves on the ground, just waiting for us to sweep them away."

Inside the Liangyi Hall, Fang Xuanling exchanged an incredulous glance with Cen Wenben, then asked:

"Your Majesty, are you no longer allowing the Turks to undergo labor reform?"

Li Shimin said angrily:
“They won’t work honestly unless a group of people are killed… Which of you three will lead the Imperial Guard to Shuozhou to settle this matter?”

Cen Wenben volunteered for the mission:
"Your subject will go. What do you need to bring to Cheng Zhijie?"

Li Shimin began to calculate:
"Drones, walkie-talkies, binoculars, night vision devices, high-powered flashlights, laser lights, solar panels, outdoor power supplies..."

He listed a whole bunch of items used in the war, leaving everyone bewildered... Good heavens, is this still a war in the Tang Dynasty?

In the Hall of One Yuan, Li Mingda learned of the Turkic rebellion and earnestly sought advice from Wu Meiniang:

"Sister Meiniang, why did the Turks rebel?"

Wu Zetian said:
"The Turks were not allowed to participate in this expedition against Goguryeo, so they could not obtain military merits and rewards. In addition, His Majesty ordered them to work in Guanzhong, so they rebelled... Didn't I tell you? Foreign tribes are like dogs; if they can't get meat, they'll bite their master. So they must be killed as a warning to others!"

Fortunately, after years of development, the Tang Dynasty had a stronger foundation; otherwise, with war raging in Liaodong, the Western Regions, and Shanxi, it would have been quite difficult to cope.

Fortunately, the famous generals of the early Tang Dynasty were all quite capable fighters, so they could earn a lot of merit.

Thinking of merit, Wu Meiniang unconsciously pictured a handsome Taoist priest in white robes... She could only go to Hunyuan Palace to see the immortal master the day after tomorrow, how agonizing!

Inside the Hunyuan Palace, Zhou Yi was standing in front of the oven, baking sweet potatoes for three beautiful women, one adult and two children.

Li Qingzhao licked her fingers as she ate:
"Master, can this kind of sweet potato be grown in our Great Song Dynasty?"

Zhou Yi nodded and said:

"Sure, Brother Wang said he'll get me some, but mainly cassava and sweet potatoes for starch production. These two have high yields and are truly a reliable emergency food source!"

(End of this chapter)