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

Chapter 86 Not for a title, but only to kill more Xiongnu to avenge my family! [Seeking monthly votes]

Seeing Zhang Qian's eagerness for battle, Wei Qing neither agreed nor refused:

"Mount up. If you can persuade me before we reach Xiangling, I will transfer you to Qubing's special forces as deputy captain. If I cannot persuade you, you will remain in the central army as a captain."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Qian solemnly thanked Wei Qing:
"Thank you for your consideration, General!"

He took a deep breath, nimbly mounted his horse, and planned to tell Wei Qing about his grievances and grudges with the Xiongnu.

It was about a two-day journey to Xiangling County, so Zhang Qian wasn't in a hurry and planned to start his story from sixteen years earlier, in 139 BC.

In 139 BC, Zhang Qian was twenty-six years old and served as a court official.

The position of Langguan was a sinecure, with a rank of 400 shi (a unit of grain measure). It was considered the cradle of military officers in the Han Dynasty and the first step for aristocratic families to enter officialdom.

That year, Liu Che was eighteen years old, just coming of age, and preparing to seize power from Empress Dowager Dou Yifang. The two began to secretly compete in the court.

Emperor Wu of Han (Liu Che) never forgot about the matter of counterattacking the Xiongnu. In his spare time, he sent his official Zhang Qian with more than a hundred followers to the Western Regions to contact the legendary Yuezhi and discuss the joint attack on the Xiongnu, led by the Xiongnu man Tang Yifu.

Zhang Qian set off full of confidence, but while crossing the Hexi Corridor, he was captured by the Xiongnu cavalry and taken to the Xiongnu royal court, where he began a ten-year period of imprisonment.

During this period, the Xiongnu Chanyu, Junchen, tried to coerce and entice Zhang Qian to surrender to the Xiongnu. He even invited many Han Chinese who had surrendered to the Xiongnu to persuade him, but Zhang Qian remained unmoved.

Later, Chanyu Junchen married Zhang Qian to the daughter of a Xiongnu noblewoman, hoping that he could live peacefully in the royal court.

He lived there for ten years, wearing Xiongnu clothing, speaking the Xiongnu language, and befriending the Xiongnu people. As a result, his guards became increasingly lax.

Finally, during a hunting trip, Zhang Qian seized an opportunity and led his followers to escape from the territory controlled by the Xiongnu.

However, he did not return to Chang'an. Instead, he kept in mind his mission to cross the border and headed west to find the Yuezhi, hoping to complete the task assigned by Emperor Wu of Han to launch a joint attack on the Xiongnu.

Unfortunately, ten years later, the Yuezhi could no longer withstand the ravages of the Xiongnu and migrated to the Aral Sea region, which is the area encompassing Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan.

Zhang Qian led his entourage on a long journey, visiting each country he visited and recording information on local customs, population, military affairs, and food supplies.

After a long and arduous journey to the Middle East, they finally met the Yuezhi people. However, this people had acquired fertile new territory and had little interest in the desert regions of the Western Regions, nor did they wish to seek revenge again.

However, Zhang Qian did not come away empty-handed. For example, he discovered that the Wusun, who were known as lackeys of the Xiongnu, were now the little overlords of the Western Regions, and he could try to divide and win them over.

In order to find more allies, when Zhang Qian returned to the Han Dynasty from the Middle East, he did not take the old route, but instead went east from Lanshi City, crossed the Pamir Mountains, and visited Shache, Khotan, Shanshan and other countries.

When Zhang Qian returned to the Hexi Corridor, just when he thought he could finally return home, he was captured by the Xiongnu once again and sent to his Xiongnu wife and children, where they were put under strict guard.

A year later, Junchen Chanyu died of illness. The position of Chanyu should have been inherited by his son Yudan, but Junchen Chanyu's younger brother, Zuoguli Wang Yizhixie, suddenly declared himself king, causing chaos in the royal court. Zhang Qian fled with his wife and children and their guide Tang Yifu, and after a long journey, he finally returned to Chang'an.

"Imprisoned by the Xiongnu for ten years, Qian was fortunate to have his wife take care of him and was able to escape with his life. However, his parents were killed by Yizhixie. As her husband, I should help her avenge them."

Zhang Qian's wife was a relative of the Chanyu (ruler of the Xiongnu) and supported him. However, Yizhixie, who usurped the throne, carried out a major purge.

Zhang Qian's wife arrived in Chang'an, but she struggled to adapt and, preoccupied with thoughts of family feuds, died of illness in Chang'an the following year.

Today, Zhang Qian told Wei Qing without reservation that he wanted to personally kill a few Xiongnu people to avenge the woman who had taken care of him for ten years.

After listening, Wei Qing silently took out the packet of peanuts his nephew had given him the day before and handed it to Zhang Qian:
"You have traveled west for thirteen years, opening up the western regions for our great Han Dynasty, a feat worthy of being called unparalleled... Take this bag of peanuts and go ahead to find Qu Bing. From today onwards, you will be the deputy captain of the assault team."

Zhang Qian was overjoyed, not expecting Wei Qing to actually grant his request. He dismounted again, bowed, and expressed his gratitude.

Wei Qing smiled warmly:
"Be careful. If you don't make it back to Chang'an alive, things will get very difficult to handle."

"I will obey the general's order!"

To encourage Zhang Qian, Wei Qing presented him with the Ferghana horse, a gift bestowed upon him by the emperor, hoping that he could reunite with Huo Qubing as soon as possible.

After Zhang Qian left, Wei Qing recalled the historical evaluations of Zhang Qian's westward journey, stroked his beard and muttered to himself: "He opened up remote and desolate regions, making the mighty name of our Han Dynasty resound thousands of miles away. He was truly a brave man!"

Without Zhang Qian's daring journey, the Han court would never have known that the small kingdoms of the Western Regions were so weak. Therefore, after Zhang Qian returned to Chang'an, Emperor Wu of Han (Liu Che) began a large-scale territorial expansion.

By conquering the Hetao region, seizing the Yinshan Mountains, and taking the Hexi Corridor, and establishing the four northwestern prefectures, the territory of China gradually extended its reach to the northwest, eventually encroaching upon the entire Western Regions and making it an inseparable part of the region since ancient times.

As Wei Qing sighed, inside the Weiyang Palace in Chang'an, Liu Che rode a magnificent Akhal-Teke horse adorned with a high-bridged saddle, his face beaming with excitement.

"This item is indeed of great benefit to military campaigns. Men, order the Imperial Household Department to make a copy as soon as possible. Also, replace the stirrups with double-sided hard wooden stirrups. I want the Han cavalry to chase the Xiongnu so far that they have nowhere to escape!"

Liu Ju raised his head and asked, puzzled:
"Father, Master said that a ruler should be benevolent. If we only use force to conquer the Xiongnu, would that be contrary to the way of the sage?"

Liu Che had a smile on his face:

“Benevolence is for one’s own people, not for one’s enemies. Before speaking of benevolence, one must put oneself in a superior position. If in the future the Han cavalry can destroy the Xiongnu and only Yizhixie is left, I can also show benevolence to him and give him wine and meat to eat and drink every day… Ju’er, do you think this is not benevolent enough?”

Liu Ju's little brain couldn't quite understand; he always felt that the benevolence his father spoke of was not the same as the benevolence he had learned.

Inside the Hunyuan Palace on Cloud Mist Mountain, Zhou Yi spent three days finally moving all the flour into the square frame at the entrance of the Hall of Longevity. Next time Huo Qubing came, he could take all the flour away at once.

As for the soybean oil and peanuts that Jin Zhicai had just sent, they were temporarily placed in the open space in the Hunyuan Palace courtyard, to be moved when Huo Qubing arrived.

The statue of Yuantong Zizai Tianzun has been placed in the Guanyin Hall. It was Jin Zhicai's first time offering a statue, and he found everything very novel. After the ceremony, he followed Zhou Yi to the God of Wealth Hall and donated two thousand yuan to the newly set-up donation box.

The donation box was recently added by Zhou Yi, and it has the Hunyuan Palace's payment QR code on it. It is only available in the God of Wealth Hall, and other halls will not have it for the time being.

Jin Zhicai was somewhat puzzled, but Zhou Yi told him that this was an opportunity for the wealthy to redeem themselves and eliminate their inner sins.

Of course, if the person asking for donations is truly guilty, Abbot Zhou will not hesitate to call 110 to report it.

Buddhist monks do not save the poor and needy, and Taoist priests do not protect criminals. Those who are guilty must be judged by the iron fist of socialism and the people.

In the past few days, the highway project team has been pouring concrete, building walls and gates, and truckloads of prefabricated houses have been transported to nearby open spaces. Construction will begin once the concrete has solidified.

Zhou Yi had been waiting for Chairman Xie to appear, but the other party seemed to have vanished without a trace.

While he was still puzzled, Fan Chengye, who had just finished eating Fang Zhongshan's spicy soup, was wandering around in the People's Park of the provincial capital, carrying a bottle of mineral water. Finally, he saw the blind fortune teller he had been searching for for several days in a corner.

He walked over and waved his hand in front of the fortune teller's eyes:

"You really can't see it?"

The fortune teller was in his sixties, dressed neatly and cleanly, with his gray hair meticulously styled, like a retired teacher.

He raised his hand and touched Fan Chengye's palm, then suddenly pushed it away:

"You're destined to die a violent death, don't even try to touch me!"

Just as Fan Chengye was about to lash out, the fortune teller exclaimed "Eh!" and then grabbed Fan Chengye's hand and touched it repeatedly twice:
"Ha, interesting!"

His action made Fan Chengye feel uneasy, and he subconsciously withdrew his hand.

"What's interesting?"

The blind man groped his way out of his pocket and pulled out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes. He took one out, put it in his mouth, lit it with a lighter, and took a satisfying drag.
"The person who made you die a horrible death is quite interesting!"

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First update delivered, please vote with monthly tickets, brothers!

(End of this chapter)