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

Chapter 393 Xin Qiji is going to seize grain! [Seeking monthly votes]

Upon hearing Liu Che's cold words, sweat finally broke out on Di Shan's forehead... His recent vigorous opposition to the war was originally intended to win over some political allies.

Instead of allies appearing, it ignited His Majesty's fury. Di Shan, forcing a smile, replied:

"Yes! With just one fortified village, I can guarantee that the Xiongnu will not invade."

Liu Che beckoned, and two eunuchs carried in a huge map. The emperor rose, looked at it for a while, and finally said:
"I am sending you to the northern border, and I will give you a fortified village. If you can hold out for a year, I will reinstate your position as a scholar."

Emperor Wu of Han established the position of Erudite Scholar to recruit learned individuals to fill in his own gaps in knowledge. However, these Erudite Scholars often liked to contradict the emperor and assert their own presence.

Now, it's time to give these PhDs a warning. If they don't want to serve the court, they should get out of here and go home as soon as possible.

Di Shan, who prided himself on being a learned scholar, was demoted to a fortified village on the frontier. His face immediately turned pale, and he regretted his recent efforts to submit memorials to the emperor.

He slumped his head like a sick chicken, completely devoid of his former energy. He couldn't even listen to the political discussions in the court, his mind preoccupied with how to survive a year in Beidi County.

During the reign of Emperor Wu, the Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia regions were still under the control of the Xiongnu, and Ganquan Palace in the northern mountainous area of ​​Guanzhong was already within the border defense zone.

Although Wei Qing conquered the area on the east bank of the Yellow River along the Yellow River valley in 127 BC, many Xiongnu forces remained, and the Beidi Commandery was not peaceful.

Especially in the areas bordering the Xiongnu, battles for fortified villages were fought almost every day.

This also shows how amazing Emperor Wu of Han was. During his reign, he extended the border defense of the Han Dynasty from Ganquan Palace to LT County in the northwest, which expanded the territory of China by thousands of miles.

The title of "Emperor of the Ages" is truly well-deserved!

After dismissing Di Shan with a few words, Liu Che had the map taken away and began discussing serious matters:
"The General will be withdrawing his troops from Dingxiang soon, leaving only the border commanders to garrison the various prefectures. I plan to appoint a Xiongnu general stationed in Dingxiang to oversee the border commanders of the various prefectures. Who do you think would be the most suitable candidate?"

Chang'an is more than 2,000 li away from Dingxiang. Even if enemy activity is detected, it cannot launch a counterattack immediately, which puts it at a disadvantage.

In the northern frontier, each prefecture has a commandery stationed there, but they are not under each other's command, and even their military pay and provisions are different. Now, by appointing a Xiongnu general, not only can the supplies of the various tribes be coordinated, but also the troops can be organized to launch a rapid counterattack when the Xiongnu are discovered to be moving south.

At this point, everyone in the court was eager to make a move. The position of Xiongnu General was a prestigious one, and it was easy to achieve results there... Every now and then, they would lead their troops to sweep northwards, which would not only earn them merit and profits, but also weaken the Xiongnu's strength. It was a win-win-win situation.

In a corner, Li Guang, who was attending the grand court assembly, was about to volunteer himself when his cousin Li Cai stopped him.
"This position was not created for you, so don't overthink it. His Majesty has already shown great respect to the Li family of Longxi by not publicly stripping you of your military power. If you still don't understand this, you will become the enemy of the entire Li family of Longxi."

Now that powerful families are just emerging, everyone is desperately trying to embellish their reputation. Anyone who tarnishes the family's image at this time will be condemned as a sinner for all time.

Li Guang opened his mouth, wanting to argue, but in the end he slumped down on the couch.

Everyone wanted to compete for it, and even members of the imperial family and officials wanted to go to the northern frontier to experience its unique charm.

Ultimately, on the recommendation of Zhang Tang and others, the position was given to Su Jian, the Marquis of Pingling, while the position of Xiongnu General Sima was filled by Su Jian's son, Su Jia.

This was decided before the morning court session. Originally, Emperor Wu of Han (Liu Che) intended to hand over the position of Sima to Sima Qian, but this guy's military achievements were not enough, and he needed to continue to accumulate seniority in the army.

Liu Che had already planned that when fighting the Hexi campaign, he would have Sima Qian and Su Wu accompany the army to train as many young people as possible and cultivate more talents for Liu Ju.

While the court was holding a meeting, Huo Qubing, dressed in plain clothes, rode a white horse and quietly left Chang'an. After crossing the Wei River, he traveled eastward to Pingyang County to meet his biological father.

At this time, Wei Qing's army had already set off and was on its way back to the capital.

Although the achievements of this battle have been reported, many of them cannot be summarized in a mere written document. For example, the hundreds of thousands of Xiongnu prisoners captured in this battle represent a considerable fortune.

These prisoners were not the old, weak, sick, or disabled; most of them were young and strong. They worked exceptionally hard on the road construction, and some even discovered that the food in the prisoner-of-war camp was better than on the grasslands. They were already planning to do this for the rest of their lives.

On the way, Wei Qing sat in a huge carriage, writing down plans for building an intelligence transmission system as he went. He had already tested that the walkie-talkie signal could be transmitted for hundreds of miles. If more walkie-talkies were set up along the way, intelligence from the northern frontier could be obtained in a timely manner.

However, whether it will work or not depends on whether Huo Qubing can get assistance from Hunyuan Palace. Without Hunyuan Palace, the intercom system simply cannot be established.

At the table beside him, Zhang Qian was looking at a map. This time, he was going to the southwest with a team of men and also planned to establish a wireless intelligence center in Chengdu to report the situation in Shu to the court at any time.

Looking at the map brought by Huo Qubing, Zhang Qian sighed:
"It's a pity that the Shu Road is too difficult, so much so that the grain from the Land of Abundance cannot be transported to Guanzhong. If the Shu Road could be repaired, it would be a great thing that would benefit generations to come."

Wei Qing kept writing, but was able to distract himself by chatting with him:

“We need to capture Qiang people to make revisions. I’ve seen the memorials from Shu and Longxi. Although the Qiang people are weak, they have never been honest. It’s time to teach them a lesson.”

Zhang Qian asked:

"What should we do if we encounter something that is beyond human control?" "When we see Qubing, we should ask him to consult the immortal. The water purification talisman that the immortal gave us before was quite useful. Symptoms such as malaria and stomach upset in the army have decreased by 70 or 80%. From now on, we will be a civilized army blessed by the immortals. We must always pay attention to hygiene and can no longer be as slovenly as before."

Zhang Qian nodded and continued studying the map.

Outside the carriage, Su Jia was chatting with his younger brother Su Wu about the results of the battle when Zhao Ponu said with a smile:

"The Marquis of Pingling has made too many military achievements. You brothers may very well be ennobled. Congratulations!"

Su Jia asked:

"Zhao Sima has made great contributions in this battle and should be granted a title."

Zhao Ponu was uncertain. He had been wandering in the Xiongnu lands since childhood, with no family background or connections. He was able to join the army only because he was fluent in both Xiongnu and Han languages ​​and was familiar with the Xiongnu's southern court. Otherwise, he wouldn't even have had the opportunity to join the army.

Su Wu was the youngest and had little interest in being granted a title; he only wanted to kill the Xiongnu to his heart's content.

"Now that we've returned victorious, when will we be able to set out on another campaign?"

Zhao Ponu sighed:

"Our Han Dynasty is good in every way, except that our food supplies are running out. If we have enough food, we can launch an offensive after a month of rest. If we don't have enough food, we can only wait until next year."

The grain harvested in various places in autumn takes a whole winter to transport to Chang'an before it is handed over to the army for expeditions.

During Emperor Wu's reign, the Han Dynasty always followed this procedure: once enough grain was stored up, an expedition would be launched. Sometimes, the national treasury was not even enough to reward meritorious officials.

Even if it means tightening our belts, we must still defeat the once-powerful Xiongnu.

This is a war for the fate of the nation. If we don't defeat the Xiongnu, the Han Dynasty will collapse. This is the same principle as when the whole country was united in building the atomic bomb.

Without developing the atomic bomb, the people will never have enough to eat and will always be bullied. Only by developing the atomic bomb can we truly stand tall and earn the right to eat at the table.

While this region was struggling to secure food supplies, the Southern Song Dynasty was also in turmoil.

Xin Qiji has been at the base these past few days, teaching several people how to operate excavators and systematically training them on procedures such as charging and greasing.

Not far from the residential area, there are rows of leveled land, each with irrigation ditches dug at its edge. Once the reservoir is completed, automatic irrigation will be possible.

Xin Qiji said:
"You've learned enough, it's time for me to go out and travel around, and procure some provisions."

As the fame of the Yimeng Mountain base area spread, more and more people came to visit, all of them with their families. Some of them even had a skill that could be put to good use in the base area.

A member of the Xin clan, who was operating an excavator, asked:
"Where is Tanf going? Does he need us to accompany him?"

Xin Qiji said:
"Let's go to Kaifeng first. I heard that the Jin Kingdom has made it their southern capital and stockpiled a lot of grain. I plan to seize it... You guys don't need to come with me. If I encounter danger, I can go to my master for temporary refuge, or I can summon divine thunder to protect myself. If you come with me, I will be more easily controlled by others."

It is said that Kaifeng has stockpiled enough grain to support a major battle, and Xin Qiji plans to go and find out the truth.

If we can steal it, I wonder if the Jin dynasty will suspect that the Southern Song dynasty was behind it. Then we'll have a good show to watch.

After confirming that several excavator operators had mastered the techniques, Xin Qiji returned to the living quarters, took a bath, changed into a Taoist robe, and quietly went to Hunyuan Palace, where he met Zhou Yi, who was working there.
"Greetings, Master. The people in the base area have mastered how to use the excavator. I plan to go to Kaifeng soon to bring some grain and fodder."

The Book of Changes reminds us:
"You can go, but be careful. If anything happens, either come back immediately or summon the protective lightning to protect yourself. Don't be stingy with your lightning strikes; my merits are for you to use to strike the lightning."

These words gave Xin Qiji a great deal of confidence:

"Master, rest assured, I will not hesitate to act if we encounter danger."

Just then, Li Qingzhao arrived with some provisions, and Wang Qiang also appeared from the Hall of Salvation from Suffering, wanting to see if it was suitable to bring horses. If it was, she would immediately bring over the mounts prepared by Liu Ao and the others.

These mounts are all equipped with high-bridged saddles and double stirrups... Supporting the old master, their comfort must be maximized, which will also enhance the prestige of Yunwu Mountain School.

Confucius' disciples riding horses through the streets was the best form of publicity for the school. Once Confucius finished compiling the military treatise and supplemented it with groundbreaking cavalry tactics, it would surely cause a stir among the nations.

It will be much easier to promote the idea of ​​unification then... Might makes right, this is an age-old truth!

(End of this chapter)