Chapter 53 Emperor Wu's Reaction
Jili Khan looked puzzled and asked Di Renjie, "Di Gong, can you explain this matter in detail? I am a little confused."

Di Renjie said in a deep voice: "Oh, after the envoys were robbed and killed, a fake envoy group sneaked into Chang'an and deceived the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty and all the officials. According to what General Zhao saw, there were quite a few Turks in the fake envoy group." He turned and pointed at Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji stepped forward and confirmed, "Yes, when the fake envoys came to see the emperor, I was on duty in the palace and saw with my own eyes that there were many Turkic nobles in the fake envoys. At that time, Your Excellency thought that the rebels of the Great Zhou and the Turks colluded to plan this conspiracy."

"Is there such a thing?" Jili Khan widened his eyes, feeling a little unbelievable.

"Hiss... That's right. There are Han people among the assassins who tried to assassinate me from the Turkic side, and there are also Turks who are pretending to be the envoys from the Great Zhou. It must be that Modu is colluding with the rebels of the Great Zhou and wants to disrupt the peace talks and seize the throne of Khan." Jili Khan said with sudden realization.

"What the Khan said is absolutely true, but I don't know what the situation in the Turkic country is like now that the Khan has fallen to this place?" Di Renjie asked.

Jili Khan frowned and said thoughtfully, "To be honest, after I was attacked by Modu, I originally intended to sneak back to the Shiguo Yazhang, but I encountered many blockades and pursuits by Modu's generals and those purple-clothed assassins on the way, so I knew very little about the situation in the country."

"However, it is conceivable that Modu's deliberate plan to ally with the Han people to assassinate me will inevitably cause an uproar in the Turkic country. The commanders of various armies will most likely request to send troops to avenge me, and the domestic situation may fall into turmoil."

"So, war between the two countries is inevitable?" Li Yuanfang said worriedly.

Jili Khan shook his head: "That's not the case. In Turkic, Tiger Master is absolutely loyal to me. As long as I can show up in Turkic, Mordo's conspiracy will be broken."

"That's why I want to go to Chang'an via Youzhou, meet the Emperor of the Great Zhou, and borrow troops to protect me when I return to the Turks to quell the civil unrest. But..."

"But the Khan was arrested as soon as he entered the gate of Youzhou city," Di Renjie continued.

Jili Khan sighed softly and said slowly: "That's right. At that time, an official interrogated me and said I was a spy. I was worried that my whereabouts would be exposed, so I kept silent. I thought that as long as they found the letter, documents and ring I carried with me, the governor of Youzhou would know my true identity."

"At that time, the two countries were negotiating peace. I expected that the governor would treat me with courtesy and arrange for me to meet the emperor of the Great Zhou. But who could have thought that the governor of Youzhou would actually order my execution... From that moment on, I became a target of pursuit again, just like in the Turkic Empire. This puzzled me."

Di Renjie let out a long sigh: "Don't worry, Khan. Youzhou Governor Fang Qian has been executed before. Now, this old minister has thoroughly sorted out the whole story of this case."

Jili Khan looked expectant and said, "I'd like to hear more details."

Di Renjie stood up, turned to Zhao Ji and Li Yuanfang, and began to narrate:
"Fake Fang Qian, Liu Jin, Viper, and the rebels behind them colluded with Mordu both internally and externally. Mordu used and helped them to eliminate the envoys and assassinate Jili Khan."

"They used Mordo as external aid, threatened officials with the list to rebel, occupied Youzhou, and actively prepared to cooperate with Mordo's army to plunge Dazhou into war and thus reap the benefits. What a wishful thinking!"

Li Yuanfang finally understood it at this moment. He slapped his forehead and said, "Sir, everything can be connected now!"

Di Renjie smiled and said, "Yes, now we can confirm that the truth about the murder of the Turkic envoy has been revealed. Our top priority is to quickly destroy this evil organization and help the Khan return home. Otherwise, once a war breaks out between the two countries, the consequences will be disastrous."

Jili Khan nodded in agreement: "Di Gong is absolutely right."

"Khan, please rest assured. I have already submitted a petition to the Emperor in advance, requesting that I be granted the power to mobilize troops nearby, which will be enough to help Khan return to the country. I hope I will get a reply soon."

"During this period, for your safety, I have to temporarily inconvenience the Khan and disguise myself as your follower. Wait for the imperial edict to come." Di Renjie bowed.

Jili Khan stood up and said solemnly: "Everything is up to Di Gong to arrange."
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On the other side, Di Chun finally arrived in Chang'an after days of trekking.

According to Di Renjie's instructions, Di Chun first came to Fengge Panshi Hall (Zhongshu Sheng), found Fengge Shilang (Zhongshu Shilang) Zhang Jianzhi, told him the whole situation, and asked him to present a memorial to Wu Zetian on his behalf.

After reading the memorial, Zhang Jianzhi realized that this matter was of great importance and did not dare to delay, so he immediately went to the palace to ask for an audience with Wu Zetian.

In the Purple Hall of the Daming Palace, Wu Zetian sat on the throne, reading Di Renjie's memorial requesting the mobilization of troops.

Shangguan Wan'er, wearing a light makeup and elegant palace dress, accompanied her. Recently, Wu Zetian was in a bad mood because of the diplomatic mission case, and everyone around her was cautious and did not dare to show off. Zhang Jianzhi was waiting below, and when he saw the smile on Wu Zetian's face, he knew that the request would most likely be approved.

However, the face of Liang Wang Wu Sansi next to him was not very good. His eyes were rolling around, and he might be thinking of some bad ideas.

"I never thought things would turn out like this. It's hard for Huaiying. He must find out the inside story of the diplomatic mission case within a few months." Wu Zetian closed the memorial, feeling surprised and happy, as well as an inexplicable anger.

"This is also because Your Majesty knows how to appoint the right people to the right positions. He transferred Lord Di back from Pengze, which made this extraordinary achievement possible." Zhang Jianzhi praised.

When Wu Zetian heard Zhang Jianzhi's compliments, she smiled and said, "This Di Huaiying has never let me down."

"Mr. Di also mentioned in his memorial that Jili Khan is now in Youzhou and intends to borrow troops to return to the country to quell the rebellion. Let's discuss how to deal with this matter."

Wu Sansi had shown an indignant look on his face when he heard Wu Zetian praising Di Renjie, and he immediately jumped out to object.

"Your Majesty, I think this is not possible. Di Renjie's words cannot be trusted. Who knows if this is a trick of the Turks? If we rashly send troops, if we are ambushed by the Turks, the consequences will be disastrous. Moreover, it is not wise to waste the military strength of the Great Zhou to fight for the interests of the Turks."

Wu Sansi opposed purely for the sake of opposing. He would obstruct any matter related to Zhang Jianzhi, Di Renjie and other old ministers of the Li Tang Dynasty.

Seeing Wu Sansi's mischief, Zhang Jianzhi naturally refused to be outdone and retorted:
"Your Majesty, I think the King of Liang is wrong. Lord Di has always been a mature and prudent man who never speaks nonsense to deceive his superiors. Moreover, according to Lord Di, our Great Zhou does not need to fight the Turks. We only need to send troops to escort Jili Khan back to the country, and the impending war can be eliminated. This is a great opportunity for the two countries to reconcile. I think there is no reason not to agree to Lord Di's request."

Wu Zetian nodded and said, "Well, Jianzhi is right. I mean the same thing. With a little help, Jili Khan will be grateful to us and our Great Zhou will have the upper hand."

"Your Majesty!" Wu Sansi hurriedly wanted to speak again, but was interrupted by Wu Zetian.

Wu Zetian said decisively: "I have made up my mind. No need to say more. I will immediately draft an order to appoint Di Renjie as the chief military commander of Hebei Province and Wang Huaizhen as the deputy chief military commander. They will gather the local troops to help Jili Khan return to his country."

"Your Majesty is wise. I will go down and draft the decree right away." Zhang Jianzhi immediately accepted the order and then hurried away to draft the decree.

Wu Sansi, however, looked sullen and dissatisfied.

After Zhang Jianzhi left, Wu Sansi could not help but make a slanderous remark: "Your Majesty, isn't it a bit risky to hand over the army to Di Renjie for command? If he has other intentions, wouldn't it be disastrous?"

Upon hearing Wu Sansi's low-level attempt to sow discord, Wu Zetian's face suddenly darkened.

This is a matter of great importance to the safety of the country. If this can be accomplished, Jili Khan will come to Chang'an to pay homage to Wu Zetian, and Wu Zetian will surely be greatly honored.

Not to mention sending Jili Khan back to his country, even lending him troops to help him quell the rebellion, I guess Wu Zetian would be willing to do it.

Wu Zetian scolded him: "What Di Renjie said is a business with no investment and huge profits, which is beneficial to the country and the people, but you only want to criticize the ministers. Is this what you do as prime minister?"

"I have already told you that you should always put national affairs first and not always think about eliminating dissidents. Are you turning a deaf ear to my words?"

Wu Sansi knelt down hurriedly and said in fear: "I have spoken out of turn, Your Majesty, please punish me."

"Why don't you step back!" Wu Zetian was extremely disappointed with her nephew.

Wu Sansi quickly stood up and fled the hall in a panic.

(End of this chapter)