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

Chapter 358 Xi Shi Kills Someone Again! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Linzi was a large city, and finding Tian Rangju's family there would not be easy. Fortunately, Sun Tzu had given Xi Shi some advice when they set out from Wu.

Speaking of which, both Sun Wu and Tian Rangju were descendants of the Tian family. Tian Rangju was a collateral branch of the Tian family, while Sun Wu's grandfather, Tian Shu, was granted the surname Sun for his meritorious service in conquering Ju. From then on, Sun Wu's family changed their surname to Sun.

In addition, the original surname of the Tian family was not Tian, ​​but Chen. Their ancestor, Chen Wan, was the crown prince of the State of Chen. After the State of Chen was destroyed, he fled to the State of Qi.

Duke Huan of Qi admired Chen Wan and invited him to serve as a court official in Qi. However, Chen Wan refused to serve in order to protect himself. He changed his surname to Tian and became a minor official in charge of a hundred people.

Despite their low-key demeanor, the Tian family harbored great ambitions. Through generations of development, during the reign of Duke Jing of Qi, the Tian family gradually became a prominent clan in the state of Qi, and was known as one of the four great clans, along with the Gao family, the Guo family, and the Bao family (descendants of Bao Shuya).

After Duke Jing of Qi died, the Tian clan took advantage of the chaos to attack the other three families, completely usurped the power of the ruler, seized power, and gradually replaced the Jiang clan of Qi, becoming the new rulers of Qi. They accomplished the feat of replacing the Jiang clan with the Tian clan, and the royal family of Qi changed from the Jiang clan to the Tian clan.

The Tian family has a long history and remains active in modern society. In the process of its development, it has given rise to more than twenty surnames.

The Sun family ranks first, from Sun Bin to Sun Jian, and then to Sun Yat-sen, who is known as the Father of the Nation, all of whom are descendants of Sun Wu.

At the end of the Warring States period, when the State of Qi was destroyed, Tian Zhen fled to the State of Chu and became its prime minister. He was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Yingchuan. Since Yingchuan was the former territory of the State of Chen, he changed his surname to Chen. This is the origin of the Yingchuan Chen clan. People like Chen Qun at the end of the Han Dynasty and Chen Baxian during the Northern and Southern Dynasties were descendants of this branch.

After Qin destroyed Qi, the direct descendants of the ruler of Qi changed their surname to Wang and multiplied generation after generation, eventually leading to the family of Wang Feng and Wang Mang.

Tian Rangju was named after his book "Sima Fa" (The Laws of Sima), so his descendants all took Sima as their surname... Of course, although this branch is quite long, it has not left a good reputation in Chinese history.

In addition to these surnames, the Tian family also gave rise to the Hu, Yao, Lu, Xue, Che, Wen, Jing, Fa, Pi, Zhan, Yu, Xian, Zi, Yang, Wu, Fang, Gao, Wei, Wu Wang, Third, Fifth, and so on, making it the largest family in China.

The reason why Chinese civilization has never been interrupted lies here: every family has its own roots and can trace its origins.

Xi Shi pushed her bicycle, ignoring the strange looks from passersby, and took out a scroll of bamboo slips from her bag. It was written in the bronze script of the State of Qi... This was a letter of introduction written by Sun Wu, which could help Xi Shi find some acquaintances in Linzi.

Before long, she found an old friend of Sun Wu, and with his guidance, Xi Shi found Tian Rangju's house.

Now that Tian Rangju has passed away, his descendants live in thatched huts and are quite poor. But when they heard that Xi Shi had come to retrieve the military manual on the orders of the immortals, they immediately slaughtered the family's only hen to entertain the immortal messenger.

This made Xi Shi feel a little guilty, so she gave half of the items she was carrying on her bicycle to the descendants of Tian Rangju. Even Sun Wu's friend received a few lighters.

"You can use this to exchange for some money to supplement your household income. Don't keep it for yourselves, or it will bring you disaster."

The State of Qi is currently in turmoil, and Xi Shi dares not give them anything too valuable, lest it bring them death... Ordinary wealth can move people's hearts, let alone items bestowed by gods, they would definitely fight tooth and nail for them.

After delivering the items, Xi Shi soon saw the military treatise written by Tian Rangju, which consisted of more than a dozen bamboo scrolls.

Tian Rangju's son said:

“My father once presented this military treatise to the king, but it was deemed useless. Disheartened, he hid the treatise at home, waiting for a destined person to come to him.”

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, a hundred schools of thought contended, and ambitious people all wanted to spread their ideas. Tian Rangju, as a master of military strategy, naturally wanted his ideas to be passed down to posterity, but unfortunately, military strategy did not have a market at that time.

It wasn't until the Warring States period that various states began to try every means to improve their own combat effectiveness, and Tian Rangju's "Sima Fa" finally came into use. This was because the rulers of various states discovered that organizing and training troops according to the methods written by Tian Rangju did indeed significantly improve their combat effectiveness, and military strategists ushered in a golden age.

Fearing complications, Xi Shi, after obtaining the complete set of "Sima Fa" (The Laws of Sima), used the leaves given to her by Emperor Gouchen to bring all the bamboo slips to Hunyuan Palace, just in time for lunch.

When Zhou Yi saw the beautiful woman return, he got up and served her a bowl of rice.
"Have you found Tian Rangju's family?"

Xi Shi nodded and said:

"Found it. The complete set of Sima Fa has also been brought and is piled up in Xiao Penglai Hall... Sima Fa not only contains military works, but also methods for gathering troops, pacifying the people, and governing the country. In later generations, only five chapters of Sima Fa remain, which should have been intentionally deleted."

Wu Meiniang planned to move to the Wu Cheng King's Palace after dinner and translate these contents when she had time. If they were useful, she would send them to various worlds.

Xin Qiji bowed to Xi Shi and asked:

"May I borrow a leaf from Emperor Gouchen, Lotus Fairy? I've been learning how to operate an excavator from my mentor these past few days, and I wanted to go back and let him know so that the people there won't worry."

Xi Shi took out the leaf, and Xin Qiji took it and immediately went to the Wu Cheng King's Palace, returning to the Southern Song Dynasty.

Not long after, he returned to Hunyuan Palace, intending to learn how to operate an excavator before going back.

After lunch, Xi Shi took a large pot of stew made by Zhou Yi and two boxes of salt and returned to the Spring and Autumn Period, intending to let Tian Rangju's family taste the delicacies of later generations.

As soon as they appeared, they found the courtyard full of soldiers. Tian Rangju's descendants and Sun Tzu's friends were all kneeling on the ground, being interrogated one by one. There were also several noblemen playing with lighters.

Xi Shi's appearance startled everyone. The interrogator turned around; he was about thirty-six or thirty-seven years old, with the arrogance of someone in a superior position on his face.

"So you are the messenger of the gods?" Xi Shi didn't answer the question. Instead, she placed the large pot of food she was carrying on the stone table in the courtyard and said coldly:
"Leave this courtyard, and I might spare your life!"

Upon hearing this, the other party burst into laughter:

"I, Tian Heng, have never been threatened like this before in my entire life. What kind of divine messenger is this? I think you're just playing tricks on me."

Upon hearing this name, Xi Shi glanced sideways. She hadn't expected that this person was actually Tian Chengzi Tian Heng, the key figure in the Tian family's usurpation of power.

Tian Heng was also called Tian Chang. When Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng, ascended the throne, all characters with the same pronunciation as Heng were changed to Chang. Tian Heng was changed to Tian Chang, Heng'e was changed to Chang'e, and even the ancient Northern Mountain Heng was changed to Changshan. Hengshan County thus became Changshan County.

If it weren't for this name change, Zhao Zilong of Changshan would have been Zhao Zilong of Hengshan.

(Note: Before the Qing Dynasty, the Northern Sacred Mountain Hengshan was Da Maoshan in Baoding. During the Qing Dynasty, the Northern Sacred Mountain was moved to Xuanwu Mountain in Hunyuan County and renamed Hengshan.)
Tian Heng's greatest achievement in history was killing the disobedient Duke Dao of Qi, eliminating the Bao family, and firmly grasping control of the court.

In order to conquer the cities and towns of Qi, Tian Heng found hundreds of women over seven feet tall to take as his wives and concubines, and allowed his retainers to freely enter and leave the harem.

In less than ten years, he had more than seventy sons and more than one hundred daughters. These children became the key to his conquest of the State of Qi, making him arguably the biggest cuckold in history.

The reason Tian Heng brought people here today is because he heard from his retainers that a woman with exceptionally long legs was pushing a strange cart into the city, which gave him the idea of ​​taking her into his harem.

As for why the retainers were so eager, it was simply because they could freely enter and leave the harem... The more beautiful women there were in the harem, the happier they were.

Xi Shi looked at Tian Heng and asked:

Has your son, Tianpan, been born yet?

Tian Heng said with an arrogant expression:

"You're already fourteen this year. What? You want to marry my son?"

Xi Shi said no more, raised her hand and held up her token, and a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, turning Tian Heng into charred remains and prematurely ending the life of the cuckolded king of China.

This unexpected turn of events stunned everyone.

The current prime minister, Tian Heng, son of Tian Qi, was actually struck dead by a bolt of lightning from a deity. How will he explain this when he goes back?

Tian Qi had long ago designated Tian Heng as the next ruler of the Tian clan and had even devised a plan to gradually erode the Qi state. Now, the entire plan needs to be overturned and rewritten.

Xi Shi said loudly:

"I have no intention of changing the course of the Tian family's usurpation of the Qi throne, but if you seek death, then don't blame me!"

She raised her token again and killed all the dozen or so retainers who had led Tian Heng there. The Tian family's private soldiers were so frightened that they ran out of the courtyard for their lives, fearing that they would be killed if they were a step too late.

After these people left, Xi Shi put away the token and asked Tian Rangju's two sons:

"We are all members of the Tian clan, so why does Tian Heng treat you this way?"

"Thank you for saving our lives, Immortal Envoy. We are from a collateral branch and can only obey the main branch. We must not act rashly."

Xi Shi inquired about the descendants of Yan Ying, and Sun Tzu's friend said:

“Last year, the prime minister drove them away. Now, Yan Ying’s son, Yan Yu, is in the State of Lu. The prime minister has recruited a group of assassins, intending to eliminate them completely.”

Yanzi's descendants fled, and Yanzi's writings were probably taken to the State of Lu as well.

Xi Shi sighed:

“After I leave, Tian Qi will surely blame you. Let’s eat first. If it doesn’t work, I’ll take you to the State of Lu to prevent you from dying because of me.”

She planned to go back and ask Zhou Yi whether or not she should kill Tian Qi.

Without Tian Qi, the entire history of China might have been rewritten. And if he hadn't been killed, given Tian Qi's character, Tian Rangju's descendants and Sun Tzu's friends would definitely not have had a good ending.

Originally, Xi Shi only wanted to get the "Sima Fa" and leave, but she found that she was becoming more and more entangled with this world, and felt a sense of helplessness that she could not control.

On the other side, Tian Qi was furious when he heard that his carefully groomed successor had been murdered, but when he heard that it was a deity who had struck him down, he trembled with fear.
"Could it be that our intention to seize Taigong Wang's fiefdom has incurred his wrath?"

After much deliberation, he decided to first pay his respects at the ancestral temple of the Lü family, and then go to Tian Rangju's house to personally apologize to the divine messenger...

(End of this chapter)