After Xue Shao reconsidered, he personally wrote a table for Wu Zetian, describing three things.

First, it was very likely that there would be a war between the Great Zhou and the Turks, and Xue Shao asked the imperial court to send soldiers and generals to help in the war.

Xue Shao did not name which generals and which soldiers and horses he wanted, but now in the autumn harvest, the only ones that the imperial court can send expeditions are the left guard, the right guard and the Yulin army, which are stationed in the capital. The Yulin Army will definitely not leave Beijing easily, the two field king divisions of the left guard and the right guard are now Wu Zetian's destiny, especially in the current turbulent juncture of the court, she will definitely not send them out. Therefore, Xue Shao did not mention this request, and he didn't expect the imperial court to send many royal divisions to help in the war.

Second, Xue Shao, in the name of "inspecting the school list in the history of the governor of the Dadu Protectorate", requested to mention the right to control the soldiers and horses of the three surrendered cities in the north.

This request is a bit of a "snake to add to the sufficiency", because Xue Shao was already the deposed ambassador of the military towns of Zhuzhou County in Helong Dao when he set off, and he also served as the Xia Guanshangshu and the inspector of the school Shan Yu Dadu Protector Shi, and he could manage all the things related to the military in the north. However, Xue Shao's trip was a "secret operation", and only Wu Zetian himself knew the inside story, and now he formally made a request through the above table, but in fact, it was to disclose the inside story so that the whole court could know about it. As a result, covert operations will become a militaristic affair.

Third, Xue Shao asked the Great Zhou Dynasty to sanction the Turkic Khanate's khans Ashnamo Thorn Lian and Mohe Dagan (i.e., the masterminds of the Tun Desire Valley) in the name of the suzerain, on the grounds that they had wantonly slaughtered the steppe people, including more than 10,000 Han Chinese, in the war.

This third point is where the key lies.

Xue Shao directly targeted the highest echelons of the Turkic Khanate. He did not elaborate the details and reasons in the above table, thus bypassing Wang Yu, a sensitive person. The meaning of the word "sanctions" is also very lively, and the specific way to do it is up to Wu Zetian and the prime ministers to discuss. There is no doubt that military action will be the last option, but it is also essential to prepare in advance.

Just like every cooperation in the past, Xue Shao himself gave up the vast majority of the initiative, leaving Wu Zetian with a lot of room to play. At this moment, what he thought in his heart was that if Wu Zetian could still maintain a tacit understanding with me, she would first express the tough attitude of the Great Zhou suzerainty through diplomatic channels, and order the khans and masterminds of the Turkic Khanate to be responsible for the massacre, even if they were not abolished, at least they would be forced to come to Luoyang, the divine capital, in person to accept the reprimand and education of the Great Zhou Empress. Silent and Lust Valley will definitely not come, so there will be more severe warnings and finally military action.

At the same time, the empress would also explicitly instruct the north to make intensive military preparations in order to recover the steppe and solve the Turkic problem once and for all.

These "expectations" did not come from Xue Shao's wishful thinking, but the consensus he and Wu Zetian had already reached before departure.

But when the above table was issued, Xue Shao's heart had some hesitation, and he always felt that this time the "tacit understanding" would not be as reliable as before. He also found that the reason why Wu Zetian so readily agreed to let him deal with the Turkic issue this time was actually to weaken the "Xue Clan's power" when he left Beijing and prepare for the future transfer of imperial power. The sudden attack of the first Zhang family brothers like mad dogs is the specific manifestation of Wu Zetian's heart.

Therefore, the one who flew to the imperial court with the above table also had Xue Shao's temptation.

A few days later, the above table arrived in the capital and was handed to Wu Zetian.

The content of the above table was not unexpected by Wu Zetian at all. With a routine attitude, she announced the content of Xue Shao's table above the court.

It caused an uproar on the spot.

For many ministers, the "war" is too far away, too undesirable. Now that the Great Zhou Dynasty is peaceful and well, why should it take the initiative to stir up troubles and provoke disputes?

Therefore, the vast majority of ministers advocate resolving disputes through diplomatic means, including old prime ministers like Cen Changqian.

So Wu Zetian made a decision and sent the minister Tian Guidao to the Turks to investigate the truth of the massacre on the spot, and by the way gave "strong condemnation". As for how this incident should be handled in the end, we will wait for Tian Guidao to return to China and resume his post, and then discuss it.

Then, Wu Zetian also gave Xue Shao's approval in this way. In short, one word, etc.

As for Xue Shao's other two requests, sending reinforcements and giving the soldiers and horses of the three surrendered cities the right to control the soldiers and horses, Wu Zetian selectively ignored them.

As soon as the above table was approved, nearly a month passed.

When he got the approval, although it was not expected, Xue Shao still felt half cold.

This was the worst answer he could expect, and Wu Zetian did not even give the three surrendered cities the right to control the soldiers and horses.

Logically speaking, Wu Zetian's approach is impeccable. But she violated the previous tacit understanding between the two. All Xue Shao could do at the moment was to wait, and wait for Tian Guidao to send the Turks back to China before making plans. However, this made Xue Shao's heart full of sighs: there are really no eternal friends and no eternal enemies in the political situation. For more than ten years, my alliance with Wu Zetian has always remained intact due to interests; Now, will it also be broken down by a conflict of interests?

This made Xue Shao's mood very bad.

He told Xuan Yunzi about the matter, and he didn't ask for any advice or advice, but he was uncomfortable in his heart, and it was more comfortable to say it.

After listening patiently, Xuanyunzi said: "From Luoyang, the capital of the gods, to the tent of the Turks, it is thousands of miles away. Tian Guidao is a good and conscientious official, but he goes back and forth without delay all the way, at least for half a year. ”

"The Empress made a 'drag' trick on me." Xue Shao said, "Knowing that Tian Guidao's trip was protracted, she neither let me start preparing for the military nor summoned me back to Beijing. She just let me float at the Fengzhou border all the time, but I had no military power in my hands. In other words, I was put on hold. ”

Xuan Yunzi pondered for a moment, "This is dangerous. ”

"I know." Xue Shao frowned, "I was betrayed." by the Empress herself. ”

Xuan Yunzi sighed softly, "You really can't escape the four words of the Meritorious Master." In particular, you are still dealing with an empress who does not understand military affairs. ”

"I had expected this day to come. I just didn't expect it to come so quickly. Xue Shao said, "When I discussed with the empress to solve the Turkic problem, her attitude was very sincere. It's me who is too naïve to ignore women's fickleness and the tricks of the emperor. ”

Xuan Yunzi smiled, "I'm also a woman. ”

Xue Shao also smiled and said, "The empress pretended to be confused, which made me very passive involuntarily. But she seems to have forgotten a little, the most important one. ”

"What?"

"In this land of Helong, the word Xue Shao is a soldier." Xue Shao said, "Unless she announces the dismissal of my post and the abolition of my official in front of the people of the world, no one will be able to stop me from ascending to the top and shouting with 100,000 troops." ”

"Yinchuan Juntun has money, food and armaments, Helong Horse Husbandry Supervisor has war horses, and you have prestige. The Empress will not ignore this, and she will not let the worst happen. Xuan Yunzi said, "Except for the two of you, no one knows what kind of consensus you reached before. What she is doing now is justified from the royal law and morality. Therefore you will not have enough reason to act against her will, or you will become a rebel. ”

"That's what she's good at." Xue Shao snorted and said, "The whole person is also so untraceable." ”

"So, don't fight with women." Xuan Yunzi smiled, "That will make you depressed to death." ”

"That's true." Xue Shao smiled bitterly, "I've been fighting with her for more than ten years, and I have almost never won." Every time I was half angry, and then I went crazy. Then, she stopped angry with me. ”

"I'm afraid it's not that simple this time." Xuan Yunzi said, "Because the identities and status of the two of you are different from before. ”

"Yes." Xue Shao nodded and said, "I never wanted to fight with her, you live or die." But if everything is inevitable, I won't back down. ”

"That's what I like about you." Xuan Yunzi smiled happily and said, "Knowing the general body can forbear, and dare to act responsibly." When it comes to the critical moment, there is no lack of courage to rush to the crown and domineering to give up who else! ”

"Angry at the crown, who else should I be?" Xue Shao smiled faintly and said softly, "The price of doing this is to lose a lot of beauty that can never be remedied." ”

"So, that's the last one, there's no choice."

"Yes."

The north wind rose overnight, bringing the first hint of coolness to the north of Yinshan.

Winter is just around the corner.

The resettlement of the Uighur settlers was in full swing, and Xue Shao took the Jumping Army led by Xue Chuyu and the Uighur cavalry led by the Dujiezhi from Fengzhou to Lingzhou under the pretext of inspecting the resettlement of the border people.

Tang Xiujing, the governor of the Lingzhou Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, led the officials and generals under the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion to go out of Guo to greet him.

Today, Xue Shao's reputation and status in the Helong area are unparalleled. In the absence of anyone to initiate, many people followed Tang Xiujing and others out of the city and came to greet Xue Shao.

As a result, the team has become very large, and the momentum is quite impressive.

Among all the welcoming crowds, the most excited was the "one-armed god general" Niu Ben.

The four words "one-armed god general" are the new nicknames given to Niu Ben by the Tubo people who were beaten badly, and he enjoyed it very much.

At this moment, the one-armed god rode an unusually majestic black horse, restlessly walking around the front of the procession. When a little shadow of the flag just appeared on the horizon in the distance, Niu Ben slapped his horse and rushed forward, no matter what the officialdom salute was orderly.

Tang Xiujing and the others only smiled when they saw it. Niu Ben's stinky virtue of "only recognizing love and righteousness and not knowing the king's law", they have long been accustomed to it.

Xue Shao rode all the way, already a little tired. But at a glance at the dark horse and black man running towards him, he smiled heartily and was in a good mood, and all his fatigue was swept away in an instant.

Sure enough, fame and fortune are all empty. Only the word love and meaning in the world are true and eternal!