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

Chapter 192: Trading Han Dynasty warhorses for Song Dynasty infantry armor – is there any potential? [Seeking monthly votes]

Inside the Hunyuan Palace, after lunch, Zhou Yi had Zhao Xu sit down in a chair, then held the black notebook in his hands and used his merits to exchange for a body-strengthening technique.

He had never used it before and thought he had to exchange it in person. But after exchanging it, he found that he had a string of incantations in his mind. As long as he silently recited them to someone, they would work on that person.

From this perspective, both combat and defense items can be redeemed in the future, eliminating the need to constantly flip through notes while fighting, keeping everyone extremely busy.

After exchanging five coins of merit for the Body Strengthening Technique, Zhou Yi silently recited a mantra, formed a Jade Purity Incantation, and released it towards Zhao Xu.

Zhao Xu's originally pale face quickly turned rosy. Then, he began to breathe heavily, and his skin also turned red, as if he had undergone high-intensity training. He was covered in sweat, and the smell was somewhat unpleasant.

It took more than ten minutes for Zhao Xu's breathing to gradually stabilize. His imperial robes were already soaked with sweat, and even his hair was wet.

The Book of Changes asks:

How do you feel now?

Zhao Xu got up and stretched his body:
"I feel much stronger and my body is much more robust, but my stomach is empty and I'm extremely hungry."

The Book of Changes says:

"Go take a shower and change your clothes first. I'll heat up the leftovers and heat up some steamed buns for you."

With the gluttonous Chen Tang and the eighteen-year-old Xin Qiji, a large pot of rice was eaten clean by the two of them. Now, if Zhao Xu wants to eat, he can only heat up a few steamed buns.

While Chen Tang led Zhao Xu to take a bath, Zhou Yi went to the kitchen and heated up the pork ribs and pork belly stew with dried green beans. To make sure there wasn't enough to eat, he also added some vermicelli.

He then took five or six frozen buns from the refrigerator, put them in the steamer, and steamed them over high heat.

With nothing else to do, he picked some green beans, blanched them in a pot, and then drizzled them with sesame paste and minced garlic. The refreshing and appetizing sesame sauce green beans were ready.

While he was busy, Huo Qubing arrived at Hunyuan Palace with fifty horses. He first led the horses to the back of the Taoist temple, then strode into the courtyard. Li Qingzhao, who was sitting in her air-conditioned room browsing shopping websites, rushed out excitedly upon seeing him.

"Lord Champion, did you bring the golden statue used for sacrificial rites to heaven again this time?"

Huo Qubing smiled and shook his head:

"No, we just saw through the Xiongnu's trick and launched a small counterattack, eliminating more than 10,000 men. If Fairy Guihua likes the golden statue used for sacrificial rites, I will capture a few more when the Hexi War begins."

During the Battle of Hexi, Huo Qubing captured at least three golden statues used for sacrificial rites. If all of them had been brought to Hunyuan Palace, outside the Hall of King Wucheng, they could have formed a row of steps.

After saying this, Huo Qubing went to the kitchen and bowed to Zhou Yi to greet him.

When Zhou Yi saw his second apprentice arrive, he took out a few more steamed buns from the refrigerator without saying a word... Another big eater had arrived, and there weren't enough steamed buns to go around.

Next, he took out the lamb from the refrigerator, cut it into large slices, marinated it with black pepper and salt for a while, and then pan-fried the slices one by one.

We originally planned to have mutton stew noodles for the afternoon, but since the hero who killed the Xiongnu has arrived, he should eat first.

After Zhao Xu finished his bath and came out wearing a brand-new Taoist robe, the second lunch was already prepared.

Having already eaten her fill, Li Qingzhao held a lettuce leaf, wrapped up some fried mutton inside, hastily put it in her mouth, took a bite, and her eyes shone with happiness.
"This way of eating is amazing! When my master comes, I have to show him how to make it!"

While eating, Huo Qubing talked about the counter-encirclement tactics he had used against the Xiongnu. Chen Tang was impressed and longed to fight alongside Huo Qubing.

Zhao Xu, who is usually very polite when eating, was now like a starving ghost. He didn't even bother to talk, slurping up the vermicelli, eating one bite after another of the pork belly, not to mention the steamed buns. In the blink of an eye, he had eaten three.

When Xin Qiji returned from changing the incense for the statue of Shennong at the Three Emperors Temple, he was astonished by Zhao Xu's eating habits:
"Didn't Your Majesty just eat? How come... you're not full?"

Zhao Xu said:

"My master just used a body-strengthening technique on me. I've never been so hungry before. It feels so good to eat meat like this. Why didn't I like it before?"

After the meal, Zhou Yi checked Zhao Xu's physique and found that he had achieved the fitness results equivalent to two months of high-intensity systematic training... His muscle lines were beginning to show, his cardiopulmonary function had greatly improved, his metabolism had increased, his appetite had increased significantly, and his body's energy expenditure had increased sharply.

It also seems that some bodily impurities are expelled through sweat, but it's hard to say for sure right now.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Zhao Xu took Xin Qiji to Li Bai's room. The two, a ruler and his minister from different eras, began to chat quietly in the room.

After Huo Qubing finished cleaning up the kitchen for Zhou Yi, he said with a smile:

"Sima Qian was very curious about historians. Master, could you please print out a copy of 'Biography of General Li' from the Records of the Grand Historian? I would like him to critique it and correct his erroneous views."

Historically, Sima Qian and Li Guang's families were old friends. Later, Sima Qian even married Li Guang's granddaughter. In addition, due to his unsuccessful career in officialdom, he included a lot of personal opinions in "The Biography of General Li".

Now that he hasn't yet formed a marriage alliance with Li Guang's family, Huo Qubing plans to intervene.

This was not only to allow future generations to see a more rigorous and objective version of the Records of the Grand Historian; more importantly, it was a way to sow discord between the Li and Sima families through this small incident, which was a good thing for the Han Dynasty, for Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, and even for Sima Qian himself.

As for Li Guang... let's just return him to his original historical status, without exaggeration or bias, and treat him objectively. However, given Li Guang's actions and achievements, he would at most be mentioned once or twice in other people's biographies, and even less so than Li Ju, who barely gets ten sentences in the Records of the Grand Historian.

Although Li Ju was low-key, he had at least two major military achievements, which earned him the title of Marquis and an additional fief.

Li Guang, on the other hand, had absolutely no notable achievements.

Zhou Yi wiped his hands and said:
"I'll print a copy for you now, but the events in the second half of 'The Biography of General Li' haven't happened yet, so I'll print out the first half for you first. I wonder what Sima Qian's reaction will be after reading it; it should be quite interesting."

The Sima Qian of today is a passionate young man with impeccable political credentials, a stark contrast to the frustrated, castrated, middle-aged man he was when he wrote the Records of the Grand Historian.

Upon arriving at his room, Zhou Yi turned on his computer, searched for "The Biography of General Li," selected the first half, formatted it, and printed it out.

After printing it out, he thought for a moment and then printed a complete copy of "The Biography of General Li":
“If the time is right, show Sima Qian the original version and tell him the whole story of his writing history... Sometimes, it’s better to be open and honest than to deliberately conceal something.”

Huo Qubing received it and respectfully replied:
"I will act according to circumstances. This time I brought fifty warhorses for Emperor Zhezong. If there are no unforeseen circumstances, I will bring some every time I come in the future."

The Han Dynasty may lack many other things, but it has plenty of horses. In addition, in this great battle, it captured more than 20,000 warhorses. It's time to give some of them as gifts.

The Book of Changes says:

"You can talk to him later. Zhao Xu is also my disciple, so he's your third junior brother. You can exchange your warhorse for his infantry armor. The Song Dynasty is wealthy, and their defensive armor is more advanced."

Huo Qubing's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he planned to get to know his third junior brother better later.

He had long heard of the Song Dynasty's infantry armor. If he could obtain some, even just in exchange for some armor plates, it would be a huge improvement for the Han Dynasty.

While we were chatting, the deliveryman called:
"Are you on the mountain, Zhou Yi? Three packages with insurance value of 100,000 yuan just arrived, all for you. If you're on the mountain, I'll just drive up there."

"Okay, come on up."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yi realized that the Taoist robes for Meiniang and the other two should be finished.

The tailor said last time not to call him this year, but he's already made three sets of Taoist robes so quickly. It seems we should continue to support his business!
Hmm, when Xi Shi comes next time, I'll have the tailor make her a Taoist robe too. I don't know what color suits this stunningly beautiful woman, so I'll have to ask the tailor for some advice.

The courier company's truck quickly arrived at the mountain and delivered three packages in leather suitcases to Zhou Yi. After Zhou Yi signed for them, he took them to the courtyard and handed the suitcase labeled "Plum Green" to Li Qingzhao.

"These are Taoist robes made for you... These two sets are for Meiniang and Gongsun, put them in your wardrobes."

Li Qingzhao was browsing new clothes online when she heard that they were available for her to try on right away, so she immediately took them back to Wu Meiniang's room to try them on.

Soon, she walked out of the room wearing a brand-new Taoist robe.

The new Taoist robe fit her perfectly, showcasing her elegant temperament to the fullest. Its plum-green color evoked the bittersweet emotions and sorrows of a young girl in her prime.

In addition to the Taoist robe, there is also a crossbody bag in the same color, with the Tai Chi Bagua diagram embroidered on the front and the hidden Nine Palaces and Eight Symbols on the back.

"What does the Immortal Master think?"

Zhou Yi nodded and said:

"It matches your temperament very well, it's really nice."

Li Qingzhao smiled sweetly and gave an elegant bow:
"Thank you for your praise, Immortal Master. I will stay here tonight and wait for Sister Meiniang and Sister Gongsun to arrive tomorrow. Then we will change into our new Taoist robes for you to see."

Zhou Yi nodded:

"Sure, what would you like to eat tonight? I'll make it for you."

Li Qingzhao asked with a smile:
"The lettuce wraps with pan-fried lamb we just had were delicious. How about we have that again tonight?"

"Okay, I'll take another piece of mutton from the freezer, and I'll also take a piece of pork belly."

As the two were discussing dinner, Huo Qubing, hands behind his back, strolled leisurely into the room where Zhao Xu and Xin Qiji were chatting, and asked like a businessman:

“Our army has captured more than 10,000 warhorses, but unfortunately the armor is incomplete. If you two can provide some infantry armor, I will bring all the warhorses with me.”

Last time, he promised to give Zhao Xu two or three thousand horses to form a cavalry unit, but now the number has suddenly increased to ten thousand. Hearing this, Zhao Xu's breathing became rapid.

Xin Qiji was also very envious, but he had not yet started and lacked the resources and manpower to raise horses, so he could only sigh in vain.

Zhao Xu estimated the military and armor inventory in the court, then cupped his hands and asked:
"Right now, our Great Song Dynasty doesn't have much surplus armor. How about exchanging one set of infantry armor for three warhorses?"

Huo Qubing was making a profit without any initial investment; whatever he exchanged would be profitable. He immediately agreed.

"Deal! Third junior brother, let's high-five and swear an oath!"

(End of this chapter)