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

Chapter 198 The Little Sweetheart's Advice, Li Shimin's Red Warmth! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Forty kilometers north of Yiyang City, at the Qingshui Town Expressway Project Department, Zhou Yi had just turned his car in when Lao Huang came out to greet him warmly and handed him a red envelope containing five thousand yuan.

When he contacted the blind man in the morning, the blind man emphasized that he should be paid more and that he should not try to cheat him.

The Book of Changes is about cultivating merit, which requires strict self-discipline in all aspects. The blind man was worried that Huang would be too shy to ask for payment, so he gave Huang a heads-up beforehand.

With the 5,000 yuan service fee in hand, Zhou Yi immediately got to work:
"Let's skip the pleasantries and get straight to the construction site."

Instead of listening to the leaders explain the situation at the project office, it's better to go directly to the site for inspection. Whether it's a metaphysical issue or not, you can tell by using a compass.

Old Huang liked the straightforwardness of the I Ching, so he quickly called a few people to drive and lead the way, and the group headed towards the scene of the incident.

The construction site where the problem occurred was next to a large reservoir. The highway was passing by the reservoir and needed to fill in part of the reservoir's shallows to make a roadbed.

The shallow area is a certain distance from the water surface, so even a dam cannot be built. You can just dig straight down until you reach the hard bottom and then build the foundation layer by layer.

The project started off smoothly, but a few days ago, the foundation, which had already passed inspection, suddenly started leaking water. Although the amount was small, the project was essentially scrapped and needed to be dug up again.

When they dug it up, everything underneath was normal; even the cement mixture layer was intact, with no trace of water damage whatsoever.

This threw the entire construction site into a panic. Many workers suspected they had offended the gods and demanded that the project management offer sacrifices as an apology.

But even after offerings and setting off firecrackers, the foundation remained unchanged. Water started seeping in when it was filled in, but everything was normal when it was dug up.

Left with no other option, the project manager here invited Lao Huang over. Lao Huang suspected it was a problem with the excavator, so he arranged for Zhao Wei's excavator to be brought over overnight. Several drivers took turns working, digging all night in the water-seeping area, and there were no problems. However, after backfilling, the area above the foundation quickly became wet again.

The Book of Changes feels like listening to a folk tale:

"Why did they have to build it right next to the reservoir? Couldn't they have avoided that in the design?"

Old Huang whispered:

"When it was designed, Chairman Xie of the Feng Shui Folk Association said that being close to the reservoir would improve the Feng Shui... Many large-scale projects in China involve metaphysical aspects, but I didn't expect it to not work this time."

Zhouyi: "..."

Finding a group of heretical practitioners as advisors is bound to be ineffective.

He brought his magical implements and went to the construction site with Wu Meiniang. He first stood on the dam and used a compass to measure the water. He found that the pointer was malfunctioning. Every time it passed a certain point on the roadbed, the pointer would shake slightly.

Wu Zetian asked in a low voice:
"Why is this? Does it require the bestowal of auspicious land?"

Zhou Yi, observing the amplitude of the pointer's tremors, said:
"It doesn't seem to be something unclean or evil, but it is definitely a metaphysical issue. I'll go down and take a look to find the cause."

He carefully followed the path trodden by the workers to the roadbed and soon saw the area where water was seeping in.

Zhao Wei's excavator was refueling up there, while there was no one below.

Zhou Yi first used a compass to test the excavated area. The needle shook more, but there was no yin energy or trace of evil spirits around. Instead, there was a faint sense of holiness.

"What's going on? Did they dig up the Crystal Palace?"

He didn't understand the Book of Changes, and there was no similar content in the Taoist scriptures. So he used other divination tools to perform another divination, and even took out the Tianpeng Ruler and tapped it a few times.

After testing with the ritual implements, it was confirmed that there was indeed no evil energy inside.

Since it's not something evil causing trouble, then it must be something else... Zhou Yi waved his hand at Lao Huang and said:

"Let the excavator come down and dig down from here. The thing is down there. Once you dig it out, everything will be fine."

Old Huang asked curiously:
"What is that, Master Zhou?"

"It's not certain yet, but it's definitely not something dirty, so there won't be any retribution. Participating in the excavation might even bring good fortune."

He deliberately spoke loudly, and the workers who were initially reluctant to start work became enthusiastic.

Four or five excavators went down one after another, taking turns digging downwards from the seepage area.

Zhou Yi stood to one side with his compass, judging distances by the vibrations of the needle. The entire construction site roared with activity, and Old Huang silently prayed.

"Please don't let it be a cultural relic, please don't let it be an ancient tomb, please don't let it be an ancient battlefield..."

Meanwhile, in the world of the Tang Dynasty during the Zhenguan era, Li Shimin finished his morning court session, had breakfast with his daughter Li Mingda, and went to the Liangyi Hall to review memorials. As he read, he was stumped by one particular memorial.

A merchant from the Western Regions was arrested by the Chang'an County government for assaulting someone while drunk and abducting a woman near the West Market. In the past two days, officials have been pleading for leniency, some saying it should be treated lightly to demonstrate the magnanimity of a great nation; others saying that these barbarians from a foreign land are ignorant of etiquette and there's no need to make a fuss…

There were many foreign merchants who settled in the western market of Chang'an. They regularly gathered at the western temples and had close ties with many court officials.

Looking at the memorials from his court officials, Li Shimin was in a dilemma. He wanted to uphold the law, but he didn't want to strain his relationship with his ministers too much.

Just as I was hesitating, Li Mingda walked in carrying a bowl of chilled white fungus and mung bean soup:

"It's hot today, Father, drink this to cool down."

Upon seeing his beloved daughter, Li Shimin's mood immediately brightened. He took the white fungus and mung bean soup, and before he even tasted it, his heart was filled with sweetness.

In a good mood, he started thinking about testing his daughter:
"Sizi, here is a memorial to the throne. Please take a look and see how to reply."

"As ordered."

Li Mingda knelt to the side, holding the memorial in both hands and reading it carefully. As he read, the little girl's brows furrowed:

"All the officials claim to be the people's parents, but now that the people have been wronged, they demand magnanimity. Where is their sense of duty to speak up for the people?"

These words made Li Shimin laugh:
"Sizi, such important matters involving foreign lands must not be acted on impulse; we must have the magnanimity of a great nation."

The little girl did not agree with her father's words:

"Father, I am still young and do not understand any grand principles, nor do I have any magnanimity. I only have one question: if this foreign merchant had forcibly taken me, would you have been so magnanimous as to say that you would forgive and forget?"

Before he could finish speaking, Li Shimin's face turned visibly red. His previously smiling face instantly turned furious, and he completely forgot all about the demeanor of a great nation.

Li Mingda put down the memorial, put his arm around his elderly father's shoulder, and said:

“You are the ruler of a country, and I am your daughter. The woman who was forcibly taken by the Hu merchants is also your daughter. If the ruler of a country cannot stand up for his people, who will fight to the death for the Tang Dynasty when enemy countries invade in the future?”

This hit the nail on the head. Wu Zetian had previously told Li Shimin that the Tang Dynasty was not as good as the Han Dynasty in terms of ethnic policies and territorial expansion. At the time, Li Shimin only thought it was because of the Tang Dynasty's tolerance towards foreign powers.

Now, after hearing Li Mingda's words, he realized that the real difference was that during the Han Dynasty, no matter what their status, the foreign tribes dared not forcibly abduct women; on the contrary, they were often abducted by the Han.

In all territories occupied by the Han Dynasty, no foreign tribes were allowed to set foot there. From the Hexi Corridor to the Yinshan region, from the southeastern frontier to the northeastern prefectures, the Han Dynasty had always adhered to the policy of first occupying key locations and then building cities and settling people there.

As for the local ethnic minorities, they either migrated or were killed. Even in border areas, the Han people still lived together with the Han people.

This forceful approach of squeezing the living space of other races ensured that even after the Han Dynasty perished, it still maintained an overwhelming advantage over other races.

Li Shimin finished the white fungus and mung bean soup his daughter had cooked in one gulp and said to Li Mingda:
"Daughter, go now. I will personally handle this case and give that woman an explanation!"

After Li Mingda left with the bowl, Li Shimin immediately threw the memorial in his hand to the ground:
"Anyone who pleads for the Hu merchant will have their salary reduced by six months. That Hu merchant violated a woman of our Great Tang Dynasty and showed no remorse. All his property will be confiscated, and he will be escorted to the West Market to be beheaded and displayed to the public!"

The officials beside him, including the scribes of the Imperial Secretariat, quickly jotted down these decisions. Just as they were about to send them to the Imperial Secretariat for review, Li Shimin stopped them:

"Send it directly to the Ministry of Personnel for promulgation."

"Your Majesty, if any of the officials submit a memorial opposing this..."

"Sending their daughters to the Western Regions to be defiled by foreign tribes! How can they call themselves 'parent officials' if they don't stand up for the people?"

Soon, all departments of the central government of the Tang Dynasty began to operate. Since the founding of the country, no one had been beheaded except for serious crimes. This edict of immediate execution was almost the first of its kind in the Tang Dynasty.

Everyone was asking what the relationship was between the humiliated woman and His Majesty, but in the end they found out nothing. All they knew was that His Majesty was about to agree to release her, until he drank a bowl of white fungus and mung bean soup…

At noon, the Secretariat followed the Chancellery in issuing a new regulation:
"Any foreign people entering the territory of the Great Tang Dynasty, whether they are envoys, merchants, or scholars, must abide by the laws of the Great Tang. Anyone who violates them will be punished to the fullest extent of the law."

In addition to this decree urging the Hu people to abide by laws and regulations, the Nestorian and Zoroastrian temples where Hu merchants often gathered also received land requisition orders at almost the same time, requiring these sects to move out of Chang'an as soon as possible and prohibiting them from building temples in the city in the future.

At noon, the merchant from the west market, who had a few stinking coins, was beheaded and his head displayed in public. Afterwards, many people said that he was defeated by a bowl of white fungus and mung bean soup, but in fact, he was defeated by his father's love.

After Li Mingda asked that question in the Liangyi Hall, Li Shimin even had the idea of ​​personally leading an expedition to Central Asia... Even the greatest emperor of all time couldn't withstand the destructive power of his little darling!
While the Tang Dynasty was sharpening its swords against foreign tribes during the Zhenguan era, at a construction site in Qingshui Town, several excavators took turns digging down more than ten meters, only to unearth a pool of mud. Just when everyone thought their efforts had been in vain, one of the excavators suddenly felt it had struck something hard:
"There's something down there, it feels really heavy. Come on, let's push together..."

The booms of both excavators extended down simultaneously, then with a powerful upward thrust, two antlers slowly emerged from the mud. The excavator operator on the side, seeing what they looked like, was so excited his mouth agape:
"Dragon! Dragon! We've dug up a dragon!"

(End of this chapter)