Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 552: Wujitu (Special thanks to book friend Zhuo Kan Fengyun for the monthly ticket!)

Chai Jiyu said:

“In reply to the Emperor, I have followed your example and invited famous scholars and ministers to teach Bang’er when he was three years old. Now he has made some progress.

But Bang'er is a playful kid, and his determination to study is not strong enough. I am planning to find one or two talented study companions for him, so that they can help him study hard while being a companion."

Seeing that Chai Meibang was becoming a little shy, Empress Dowager Fu, Queen Fu, and the Fifth Queen quickly called him to their side and took turns holding him in their arms to comfort him.

In recent years, Empress Dowager Fu and Empress Fu have completely accepted Chai Zongxun's arrangement of "one country, two emperors". Crown Prince Chai Jiyu's performance as regent when Emperor Chai Zongxun was on expedition to Maya, and his respectful and benevolent attitude towards the two, finally made the two of them close to the crown prince's family.

Chai Zongxun smiled and said:
“Bang’er loves to play when he is young, and it is also his nature.

Yu'er's idea is very good, but has anyone been chosen as the study partner?"

Chai Jiyu said:

“Your Majesty, I have heard of the names of two child prodigies among the people.

This man's name is Cai Boqi, with the courtesy name Jingfan. He is from Nanyu, Fuqing. He was born in the 37th year of Kaixi (996) and is nine years old this year.

He was able to write at the age of three. At that time, a gatekeeper gave him a couplet "You ride on your father like a horse", to which Cai Boqi replied "A father hopes his son will become a dragon", which caused a sensation.

The other person's name is Yan Shu, with the courtesy name Tongshu. His ancestral home is Linchuan, Fuzhou. He was born in the 32nd year of Kaixi (991) and is 14 years old this year.

He is smart and could write poetry at the age of five. He passed the imperial examination last year.

After hearing this, Chai Zongxun nodded happily and said:

"Since these two are indeed child prodigies, they can be invited to the prince's palace to accompany Bang'er in his studies."

The banquet lasted until late at night, and the prince and his family finally took their leave and returned home.

In the following days, ministers went to the palace to pay New Year's greetings to the emperor, and the party lasted until the Lantern Festival.

On January 17, the 46th year of Kaixi, an envoy from the Eastern Roman Empire arrived in Bian Jing and specifically thanked the Great Zhou Emperor Chai Zongxun for his contribution in mediating between the Eastern Roman Empire and Bulgaria.

Chai Zongxun summoned the Roman envoys to the Huangji Hall in the afternoon.

After the greeting, the Roman envoy, Marquis Joseph, thanked Chai Zongxun repeatedly and spoke praises for a long time before stopping.

Chai Zongxun smiled and said:
"Your Emperor Basil II is so polite, and has sent me so many great gifts.

My Great Zhou Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire are allies and relatives by marriage. When the Eastern Roman Empire is in trouble, I naturally cannot sit idly by.

Without the pressure from Bulgaria on the eastern front, your country should be able to quell the domestic rebellion and repel the Green Caliphate, right?"

Joseph said:

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty!

When the foreign officials set out from Constantinople, our Emperor had already recovered seven states and mobilized 300,000 troops from the eastern front to the western front to join forces with 250,000 troops on the western front, preparing to defeat the Green Caliphate in one fell swoop.

With our military strength and the great advantage in manpower, it will be easy for us to defeat the Green Arabs."

After chatting for a while, Joseph took his leave and the officials from the Ministry of Rites arranged for the group to stay in the Lichen Hall.

Chai Zongxun immediately ordered two hundred beautiful women from the Roman Empire to come to the court.

After greeting, I saw that these 200 beauties were from various ethnic groups in Europe under the rule of the Eastern Roman Empire, including Greeks, Romanians, Franks, Germans, Albanians, Georgians, Alberats, etc. They were all young, beautiful, and curvaceous girls. Chai Zongxun smiled and said:
"Basil II presented me with so many beauties from various ethnic groups. Was he expressing his gratitude to me or was he trying to harm me?

I already have so many beauties in my harem. Last year, I selected more than 200 concubines, and the 100 concubines sent by King Samuel of Bulgaria, but I haven’t even favored half of them. And yet, Basil II has sent me so many beauties from all over Europe.”

Tang Qi, the chief eunuch standing beside Chai Zongxun, said with a smile:

"Your Majesty is a descendant of the Purple Star, and Mr. Baiyun has personally taught you the immortal health-preserving techniques. You are as vigorous as a dragon and as strong as a tiger. With a beautiful woman by your side, you are just what you need to relax and nourish your body."

Chai Zongxun couldn't help but think of Chen Tuan and said:
"Where is Mr. Baiyun now? What has he done?"

Tang Qidao:
“Your Majesty, in the 39th year of Kaixi (998), Master Baiyun told his disciples Jia Desheng and others to carve a room out of stone in Zhangchao Valley of Huashan Mountain for him to practice.

In the seventh month of the autumn of the 40th year of Kaixi (999), the chamber had been completed. Mr. Baiyun entered the chamber and secluded himself for a month. He created the Wuji Tu and left it in the stone chamber. He had disappeared without a trace.

Chai Zongxun sighed for a long time and said:
"Mr. Baiyun has profound skills and is a person with a destiny to become an immortal.

Perhaps he has broken through the time and space of our universe and become an immortal."

Tang Qi sighed for a while.

Chai Zongxun recalled for a long time the process of his interaction with Chen Tuan in Bianjing, and a feeling of melancholy rose in his heart. He said:
"Mr. Baiyun has been very kind to me.

"Decree that all Taoist temples across the country should print more copies of Mr. Baiyun's Wujitu for the Taoists to study diligently."

After "Wujitu" and other works of Chen Tuan became popular throughout the country, they greatly promoted the study of Yi principles.

Later, during the reign of Emperor Jingzong of Zhou (1082-1115), Zhou Dunyi's Tai Chi Diagram and Shao Yong's innate image and number theory were both derived from Chen Tuan's lineage.

Of the 200 beauties from various ethnic groups who were tributed by the Eastern Roman Empire, Chai Zongxun eventually kept one from each ethnic group into his harem, and gave the remaining 100 as rewards to more than 20 princes who had already established their own fiefdoms.

Joseph, the Eastern Roman envoy, stayed in Bian Jing for a month and was greatly welcomed by the people of the Great Zhou. He was entertained with banquets every day, which made him quickly fall in love with the prosperous life of the Great Zhou.

When bidding farewell to the emperor in mid-February, Chai Zongxun ordered the Ministry of Rites to send a return gift to the Eastern Roman Emperor Basil II and sent troops to escort the envoy Joseph back home.

In the following months, there was no war in the fourth week of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the country was at peace. Chai Zongxun attended court early every day, dealt with memorials and wrote economic works in the afternoon, and spent the rest of his time indulging in the beauties of the harem.

On August 6, the 46th year of Kaixi, Cao Bin's eldest son, Cao Can, the commander-in-chief of the Sixth Corps of the Longxiang Army, reported to the emperor that his father Cao Bin was critically ill.

Cao Bin was born in the second year of Changxing in the Later Tang Dynasty (931). At the age of sixty, he retired from the post of Grand Commander of the Longxiang Army Corps and joined the Military Cabinet as a cabinet minister.

In September of the previous year, due to illness, I asked Chai Zongxun for leave and returned home to recuperate.

Chai Zongxun thought of Cao Bin's past military achievements, such as the battles of pacifying the Liugu tribe and Bekala, and that he was a relative of Emperor Taizu, so he decided to go to Cao's mansion to visit him.

At the time of Shen on August 7, Chai Zongxun, escorted by the eunuch chief He Yao and other eunuchs and soldiers from the Wude Division, set out for the mansion of "Duke Cao" in the south of Bianjing City.

About an hour later, the imperial carriage arrived at Duke Cao's mansion. Cao Bin's four sons, including Cao Can, led all the people in the mansion to welcome him at the gate.

After the greetings, Chai Zongxun was welcomed into the mansion and walked to the main hall in the backyard to visit Cao Bin.

Although Cao Bin was lying on the bed and was awake at this moment, he was too old to stand up and salute Chai Zongxun.

Tears flowed from Cao Bin's eyes, and he said weakly:
"Your Majesty! I am useless and cannot perform the ceremony to greet Your Majesty. I shall be punished by death!"

(End of this chapter)