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

Chapter 143 Li Shimin: Encountering a Price Assassin! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Upon hearing the name of Prince Duan, Li Qingzhao's mind automatically conjured up images of the Jingkang Incident, instantly erasing her pleasant mood while playing cards with her family.

"I won't see him. Tell him to get lost!"

Yesterday at Hunyuan Palace, she read the descriptions of the Jingkang Incident and the devastation caused by the Jin army's southward advance. She was so angry that she trembled all over. She never imagined that such a large capital city would be besieged by the Jin people twice.

The second time, they even offered all their concubines and princesses to the Jin state as slaves, which was an utter disgrace!
Seeing her older sister on the verge of exploding, Li Hang couldn't resist popping a White Rabbit candy into her mouth:

"Sister, are you going to summon divine lightning to strike him down?"

Li Gefei quickly stopped him:
“Prince Duan is a prince, the current emperor’s brother. Killing him will not benefit the immortal’s plan. Zhao’er, don’t worry. Didn’t the immortal have some instructions? Write a note and let him do as he says.”

If Zhao Ji can do it, then it's not too late to talk about cultivation; if he can't, then it's best to draw a line between us as soon as possible.

Li Qingzhao thought for a moment, then took out a sheet of A4 paper from her bag, and pulled out a ballpoint pen. She quickly wrote down the requirements of the Book of Changes on the paper:
[To renounce royalty and live forever as a commoner; to become a monk and strictly adhere to the precepts. Only by fulfilling these four points can one have even a sliver of hope for cultivation; otherwise, the path to immortality is forever severed!]

After writing it down, she folded it and handed it to the gatekeeper:
"Give this to Prince Duan and tell him that I am unwell and cannot receive guests."

After the gatekeeper left, Li Qingzhao instantly transformed into a seasoned gambler, slamming her hand on the table and saying:

"The last round was interrupted, so it doesn't count. Let's start again."

Li Hang scratched his head, feeling that something was amiss:

"Sister, I just won, so you and Father should give me money. If it doesn't count, then I'll be at a disadvantage."

Li Qingzhao pinched her younger brother's cheek and said:
"Suffering a loss is a blessing; I'm doing this for your own good."

Li Hang: "..."

You learned to bully children from the immortal master, didn't you?
While the siblings were bickering, Prince Duan, Zhao Ji, stood at the gate, holding an A4 sheet of paper, carefully reading the words on it, his expression becoming serious.

On the other side, in the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty, at the Liangyi Hall of the Taiji Palace.

Li Shimin rushed down to Li Zhi at the head of the table and asked:

Where have Li Jing and the others gone?

Li Ji, the Minister of War, also accompanied the army on this expedition against Goguryeo, serving as the Grand Commander of the Central Army. Li Zhi, the Crown Prince, was temporarily reassigned by Li Shimin to the Ministry of War as the acting Minister.

Comrade Erfeng originally planned to personally lead an expedition and have Li Zhi oversee the country, but since he did not go on the expedition, there was no way to talk about Li Zhi overseeing the country. He could only be sent down to the Ministry of War for training.

Although he was only temporarily serving as Minister of War, Li Zhi had a great deal of work to do.

He was so busy negotiating with the Ministry of Revenue about military provisions and conscripting laborers, comforting veterans who volunteered for battle, and tallying the troops, armor, and arrows of each prefecture... He was constantly on the go.

Before being transferred to the Ministry of War, Li Zhi always thought that these tasks were just a matter of talking, but now he truly understood the complexity and hardship of the Ministry of War's work, and the advantages and disadvantages of the Tang Dynasty's military system.

In short, this experience allowed Li Zhi to fundamentally understand the basic operation of the Ministry of War, and his understanding of some political affairs was no longer superficial.

Upon hearing Li Shimin's question, Li Zhi rose and went to the large map hanging to the side. Pointing to Zhen Ding City, the seat of Hengzhou, with a wooden stick, he said:
"The central army, where Li Weigong and Minister Li are stationed, has just arrived in Zhengding. The central army will rest here for three days before setting off again."

After stating the locations of Li Jing and Li Ji, Li Zhi pointed upwards again, directing the wooden stick towards Jizhou:

“Su Dingfang’s vanguard has already arrived in Jizhou, and his own vanguard is even further ahead, and should have reached Pingzhou.”

Pingzhou is the area around Tangshan and Luanxian in later times. Beyond Pingzhou is Yingzhou, which is near Qinhuangdao and is the gateway to Northeast China.

Li Shimin glanced at the map and then asked about the navy:

"How are Cheng Mingzhen's preparations going?"

Cheng Mingzhen was a relatively unknown general in the early Tang Dynasty, but he was very skilled in warfare. Historically, he served as the deputy of Zhang Liang, the Grand Commander of the Navy, and crossed the Bohai Sea to launch a surprise attack on Bisha City, which is the area around DL City.

The original battle plan was for Cheng Mingzhen to launch a surprise attack on Bisha City, while Zhang Liang would lead the main force across the Yellow Sea and march straight to Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo.

Unfortunately, Zhang Liang was completely incompetent when it came to online trolls; not only did he fail to complete the mission, but he also suffered considerable losses.

Now that Zhang Liang has been removed from the eastern expeditionary force, Li Shimin made a snap decision and handed over all the naval forces to Cheng Mingzhen, appointing him as the commander-in-chief of the Pyongyang Road Army, in charge of matters related to the amphibious operation.

As for Liu Rengui, who was transferred to the navy, he can only serve as a mid-level officer now. He needs to earn military merits to be promoted.

Li Zhi explained:
"The navy is gathering towards Laizhou, and the ships being requisitioned are on their way."

Li Shimin nodded and gave the instructions:

"Give Cheng Mingzhen the order that once the navy has assembled, it can first train to storm the beach and postpone crossing the sea. When the fighting starts in Liaodong and Pyongyang's defenses are weak, then it can cross the sea and seize the city."

In amphibious operations, surprise is essential to achieve success.

As the father and son were chatting, Xiao Sizi, Li Mingda, sneaked in, carrying two bowls of mung bean soup, and said:
"Father, elder brother, I made mung bean soup and added several pieces of rock sugar. Try it, it's delicious."

With Wu Zetian absent, this girl, in her spare time from studying, began to think about tinkering with food, fantasizing about one day going to Hunyuan Palace to do laundry and cook for the immortal master. However, cooking requires practice, so Li Shimin and Li Zhi became this girl's personal guinea pigs.

Li Shimin smiled as he accepted the mung bean soup his beloved daughter brought him, but upon seeing seaweed in it, his expression turned somewhat puzzled.
Why was seaweed included?

"Mei... Consort Wu said that adding seaweed would make it taste even better. This is the recipe from the Immortal Master. I also added some rock sugar while cooking it, and it tastes amazing."

Having experienced Li Chengqian's rebellion and Li Tai's struggle for the throne last year, Li Shimin's broken heart was completely healed by Xiao Sizi. He would find even a pound of bitter herbs in mung beans incredibly delicious, let alone seaweed.

After all, it was cooked by my own daughter, so even if it tastes terrible, I'm still happy.

Military affairs were still at hand, so Li Shimin and Li Zhi quickly finished their meal and were about to continue their discussion when Xiao Sizi extended her fair and delicate hand:

"Have you finished eating? If you have, let's settle the bill."

Li Shimin asked, puzzled:

"Your father eats a bowl of your mung bean soup, and you expect me to pay for it?"

The little girl put her hands on her hips:

"Of course, my daughter runs a small business, so she doesn't give credit. Even the Emperor would have to pay!"

Li Shimin: "..."

My heart, which had just been healed, has broken again. Girls are so extroverted!

The father and son had no money, so they had to pawn their jade pendants. In this way, the little boy exchanged two bowls of mung bean soup for the emperor and the crown prince's jade pendants... It can be called the most expensive mung bean soup in history.

Back in the Yiyuan Hall, the little maid pulled a small box with a combination lock from a cabinet, opened it, carefully placed the jade pendant inside, and stroked the pendant's tassel, murmuring to herself:

"I hope the immortal will like it, and bless my father to live a long and healthy life, and protect my brother to keep him healthy."

Compared to Li Chengqian and Li Tai, she preferred the usually gentle and refined Li Zhi. The siblings had a close relationship, and when they lived in the Wude Hall, the little maid would escort Li Zhi to court every day.

She closed the box, put it back in the cabinet, and then knelt before the Tai Chi diagram in the main hall, silently praying for her father and brother.

Inside the Hunyuan Palace, Wu Meiniang sipped the milk tea brought by Zhou Yi, pondering the supplies she needed to buy next:

"Ten thousand wild boar spearheads are enough for now. We should increase the purchase of telescopes, drones, and walkie-talkies. Compared to weapons, these three are the real magic weapons, and they can even change the course of history."

Zhou Yi nodded, about to speak, when he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. He heard what sounded like someone praying or the buzzing of mosquitoes. He looked around and patted his head, wondering if he hadn't slept well last night.

Wu Zetian noticed his unusual behavior:

"What happened to the immortal master?"

"It's alright. I'll ask Wu Aimin to buy some more solar panels and the like in the next couple of days. As long as there's sunshine, generating electricity in the military won't be a problem."

Whether it was Li Jing's attack on Goguryeo or Wei Qing and Huo Qubing's sweeping victories over the Xiongnu, both took place in high-latitude regions with long hours of sunshine.

This type of region is ideal for solar power generation and should be utilized effectively.

Wu Meiniang wrote it down and also noted the price of the wild boar spear in her notebook for future reference.

Zhou Yi mentioned the consecration of the local earth god temple:
"The blessing ceremony will be held this weekend. Everyone might not be back that day, so you'll have to come with me to perform the ceremony."

Wu Meiniang was hesitating about whether to go back, but upon hearing this, she happily decided to stay a few more days and go with the immortal to perform the ritual. Perhaps she could even have another big pot of stew.

Two days later, the statue of the Ziwei Emperor in the Zhongtian Hall had been worshipped for nine days. Zhao Dengke drove over to take it back, and brought a carload of freshly made pickles with him.

He recently purchased traffic for his online store, and product sales have steadily increased, with a positive review rate of 98%, achieving a good start.

Zhou Yi accepted all the pickles, then filed his taxes online, paying all his recent income in taxes and receiving a reward of one coin of merit.

While people here leisurely wait for the weekend, the Tang Dynasty Kaiyuan World presents a completely different scene.

The situation in Chang'an was turbulent. Li Longji and Princess Taiping were mobilizing troops and clashing over matters such as the court and the appointment and removal of officials. The generals of several important city gates were changed three times a day, and the commanders of the various guard camps were changing constantly.

Everyone knew that the moment that would determine the future of the Tang Dynasty was fast approaching. Only the retired Emperor Li Dan was still trying to mediate the conflict between his son and sister. He even held a banquet in the Ganlu Hall in an attempt to turn the aunt and nephew into friends.

Inside the Yiyuan Temple, Granny Gongsun, resting her chin on her hand, said:

"This retired emperor is really clueless. In this situation, whether it's Princess Taiping or her grandson, they're already in a bind. How can they just stop like that?"

Li Bai felt that Li Dan's actions were correct:
"It's normal that the Emperor Emeritus doesn't want to see his relatives killing each other. It just shows how good Li Longji's acting is; even his own father was fooled... Many people will die tomorrow. Let's recite the 'Treatise on the Response of the Supreme Being' in the main hall to pray for the Tang Dynasty."

Gongsun Da Niang nodded:

"it is good!"

(End of this chapter)