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

Chapter 105 Chen Tang: I Want to Build a New Force in the Imperial Court! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Chen Tang dismounted and noticed that he was wearing Tang-style cavalry armor. He decided to change his clothes to avoid being impeached for wearing armor that did not conform to regulations.

Ever since he read about his own life, he has been extremely careful, not giving anyone a chance to find fault with him.

Gan Yanshou shook his armor and said to Chen Tang:
"This is a gift from the gods, how can it be replaced? After reading the imperial edict, you and I will submit a memorial to His Majesty informing him of the divine gift, so that the entire court can prepare for our return to the capital."

These words reminded Chen Tang:
"That's right. Now that we have a powerful backer, we should be more flamboyant, otherwise it will seem like we're just pretending."

Once we arrive in Chang'an, we can do many things under the guise of immortals, such as finding the beautiful woman named Zhao Feiyan, finding a way to bring her to Hunyuan Palace, and completing the task assigned by the Empress.

The Tang Dynasty keeps sending gifts to the gentleman, but I, Old Chen, am poor and clumsy with words, so all I can do is try to find some beautiful women for him to put the Tang Dynasty in its place.

It must be said that there were quite a few beauties during the Chen Tang era. Wang Qiang is currently in the palace, and if the Zhao Feiyan sisters were all brought to Hunyuan Palace, their numbers would exceed those of Wu Zetian and Gongsun Da Niang, who represent the Tang Dynasty.

Upon entering Wulei City, Chen Tang and Gan Yanshou arrived at the post station at the entrance of the Protectorate General's Office, where they met the messenger and saw the imperial edict sealed with wax.

By the Han Dynasty, the system of relaying orders was already in place. When an imperial edict left the capital, the messenger and horse would be changed at each relay station to continue the relay. The messenger was completely unaware of the contents of the edict.

This method allows for the fastest possible transmission of imperial edicts, but it comes at a very high cost; transmitting a single edict requires the mobilization of at least several hundred people and several hundred fine horses.

Gan Yanshou verified his official identity, obtained the imperial edict, and went with Chen Tang to the front hall of the Protectorate to open and examine it.

Chen Tang calculated the date and said:
"Judging by the pace, the news of our killing of Zhizhi Chanyu should have just reached Chang'an. The imperial edict that has arrived this time should be a reply to my forged edict to send troops... Old Gan, if the court orders you to escort me to Chang'an to be beheaded and displayed to the public, don't forget to put in a good word for me."

Gan Yanshou had no interest in making such jokes.

"If we are guilty, I will share the blame with you!"

Two months ago, Chen Tang heard that Zhizhi Chanyu had established Zhizhi City near Kangju. He immediately forged an imperial edict and sent troops. Before setting off, he and Gan Yanshou wrote a letter explaining the necessity of the war and expressing their willingness to bear all the blame.

Now that the two have returned victorious, the imperial court has finally responded.

The imperial edict was sealed in a bamboo tube with sealing wax. Gan Yanshou took out a small knife from his waist, scraped off the sealing wax, opened the bamboo tube, and took out a piece of silk cloth with words written on it. This was the imperial edict.

The two carefully unfolded it; the edict was short and its contents were not complicated.

Emperor Liu Shi's attitude was simple: if they won, they would be rewarded, and the matter of forging an imperial edict to send troops would be forgiven; if they lost, they would be punished, along with the forged edict and other crimes.

This attitude was impeccable, but Chen Tang and Gan Yanshou, who had already read the historical records, were not happy. This was because Liu Shi's attitude was too easily changed, and he might be easily swayed by Kuang Heng and others with a few words, and then change his stance again.

Simply put, Emperor Yuan of Han, Liu Shi, was an emperor without a backbone.

When he first came to power, he was full of ambition and planned to implement benevolent governance. He appointed his teacher, Xiao Wangzhi, the Crown Prince's tutor, as General of the Vanguard, Grand Master of Ceremonies, and Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, giving him full authority to carry out reforms. He was determined to be a wise ruler.

But when Xiao Wangzhi actually offered reform suggestions, such as replacing the domineering eunuch Shi Xian with an upright person, Emperor Liu Shi actually wavered. This hesitation allowed the two eunuchs, Grand Secretary Hong Gong and Minister Shi Xian, to join forces with the emperor's relatives and force Xiao Wangzhi to commit suicide by drinking poison in just two rounds.

Upon hearing the news of his teacher's death, Liu Shi was enraged and vowed to avenge his teacher. However, after only two days, Shi Xian cried and complained to him, and his desire for revenge vanished without a trace, without even a symbolic punishment.

Shi Xian never expected Liu Shi to be so easily fooled. From then on, Liu Shi controlled the court for more than ten years until Emperor Cheng Liu Ao ascended the throne. Only then did Shi Xian lose power and be demoted, and then he died in grief and indignation.

Liu Shi was equally indecisive regarding Chen Tang's expedition to defeat Zhizhi Chanyu.

Kuang Heng and Shi Xian believed that forging an imperial edict was a serious taboo and should be punished, so Liu Shi ordered Chen Tang and Gan Yanshou to be imprisoned. Xu Jia, Wang Shang and others argued on reason and wrote a letter to speak in support of Chen Tang and Gan Yanshou. He thought their words made sense and released them... The main point is to be flexible and adaptable.

Gan Yanshou put away the imperial edict and looked towards Chang'an, saying:
"We have won the battle, but now it depends on how Chang'an will decide. I hope that the Xuan paper we sent out will actually reach the hands of the Right General and others."

When Chen Tang withdrew his troops from Zhizhi City, he ordered his trusted men to take the Tang Dynasty Xuan paper given to him by Wu Zetian and ride back to Chang'an at full speed. This was partly to build momentum for himself and partly to win over Wang Shang, Xu Jia, Liu Xiang and others.

In addition, Chen Tang also brought back the remains of Gu Ji, the Han envoy who was killed by Zhizhi Chanyu ten years ago. When he sent them to the Gu family, Gu Ji's son, Gu Yong, the Grand Master of the Palace and a famous scholar of the Western Han Dynasty, would become Chen Tang's natural ally even if it was just out of filial piety.

By making more connections with similar people, one can create a new force in the court that is distinct from the maternal relatives, corrupt scholars, and eunuchs.

Chen Tang said:

“I have made all the arrangements. I even printed a note on a copy paper with the words ‘Those who embezzle will be punished by heaven. Do not say you were not warned.’ I put it in the rice paper. It is written in Chinese regular script. When they see it, they should be so scared that they will wet their pants.”

Gan Yanshou instructed his clerk to prepare pen and ink, intending to reply to the imperial edict. Chen Tang said:
"You rest for a while. I'm going to see the teacher to see if I can bring back some little trinkets to intimidate the officials, to scare them a little beforehand, so they don't throw us both into jail as soon as we get back to Chang'an." After saying that, he bid farewell to Gan Yanshou and went to Hunyuan Palace.

As soon as he appeared in front of the statues of the Four Heavenly Kings, he hurriedly went to the courtyard, took out all the power banks from his backpack, and plugged them into the sockets to charge.

After doing all that, he took out his phone, connected to Wi-Fi, opened WeChat, found Zhou Yi's WeChat account, and sent a voice message:
"Sir, where are you? I have something to report to you."

Just then, Zhou Yi came out of Sanlizhuang and suddenly received a voice message from Chen Tang, an ancient person, which felt unreal.

He replied:

"I'm on my way back. Wait for me at Hunyuan Palace. I'll be back within an hour."

"Okay, I'll take a shower first."

After ending the chat, Zhou Yi drove quickly towards Yunwu Town. Passing by Uncle Wu's stall, he stopped and bought a few pounds of fried dough cakes. He also bought two roast chickens, two spicy ducks, three pounds of cold-dressed pig's head meat, and a large portion of vegetarian platter from the braised food shop next door.

Chen Tang has come all this way, so we should make sure he eats well.

Zhou Yi drove back to the mountain. Chen Tang had just taken a shower and was eating watermelon in the yard, shirtless. He carefully collected the watermelon seeds one by one, seemingly planning to dry them and take them back to plant.

Zhou Yi arrived at the restaurant carrying various foods he had bought, and Chen Tang followed him in carrying a watermelon.

"We have arrived at the Protectorate General's Office. His Majesty has also sent an edict, but it is our reply to the edict to launch the expedition."

He explained his purpose, and Zhou Yi asked:

"You want to make a little gadget and send it back with the military intelligence dispatches to intimidate the officials, right?"

Chen Tang nodded heavily:
"Yes, yes, that's exactly what I mean. Before the troops move, let's first intimidate them."

Zhou Yi thought for a moment, then found a laser pointer in a box. The red light emitted by this thing served as both a warning and a deterrent to the ancients, and it was also very novel.

It doesn't matter how you interpret it; it just gives those pedantic scholars something to do instead of constantly fighting amongst themselves.

The laser pointer used a button battery. Zhou Yi packed it up, then secured it in a foam box, and handed it to Chen Tang.
"Is that bamboo tube big? Can it fit anything else?"

Chen Tang gestured with both hands:
"It's not big. If we put my and Lao Gan's letters in it, plus this box, it will be packed full."

After the meal, he tidied up all the leftovers and fried dough sticks, taking them along with the laser pointer, intending to treat Lao Gan to a meal and also discuss the specifics of how to write a reply.

After he left, Zhou Yi calculated his income during this period, which included cash and transfers through WeChat and Alipay, totaling about 200,000 yuan.

"I saved so much in just one month, which is better than working for a year... Grandpa was right, my future really lies in Hunyuan Palace."

In the past, Zhouyi always thought that wandering outside was about pursuing ideals or something, but now it seems that was really too naive and foolish... I grew up in a Taoist temple and my household registration is also in a Taoist temple, so I am definitely a chosen Taoist master!
Money really can make people accept their fate! But while making money, we must not forget to accumulate good deeds.

Only by accumulating enough merit can one gain the ability to protect oneself, and at the same time, accelerate the construction progress of the Hunyuan Palace.

At the same time, in the meeting room of the Yiyang City Fengshui Folk Customs Association, an election for association members was underway. Xie Yukun stood on the stage, full of vigor, and announced the vote count results:

"After a vote, Master Han Chu Jiu, a master of bone reading and fortune telling, has been officially elected as a director of this association, ranking ninth among the nine directors. Let's give him a round of applause!"

Applause erupted, and the blind man, supporting himself on the table, stood up, waved to the crowd, and said a few simple pleasantries.

He was wearing a stand-up collar Zhongshan suit, sunglasses, a meticulously styled haircut, and a finely trimmed beard, making him look like a retired professor attending a senior citizens' matchmaking event.

After exchanging pleasantries, the blind man sat down, reached for his teacup, and was about to take a sip when Xie Yukun suddenly leaned in and whispered in his ear:

"Mr. Han, I have fulfilled my promise to you and made you a director of the association. From now on, I will take care of all your food, clothing and daily necessities. I only hope that you can fully support me and do the right thing at the right time."

The blind fortune teller, Han Chu Jiu, nodded with a smile:
"I swear on the life of my mortal enemy, if your fate goes astray, I will correct it immediately and guarantee that you will live to... ninety-nine years old!"

(End of this chapter)