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

Chapter 202 Liu Che: Qu Bing's merits surpass the entire army; I hereby bestow upon him the title of Marquis of Champion! [Requesting monthly votes]

A grand hall without a roof?
Hearing this, Zhou Yi was somewhat bewildered, not understanding what Lao Fan meant. Just as he was about to perform a divination, Wu Meiniang reminded him:

"The ancestor of commerce is the God of Wealth in literature..."

These words immediately reminded Zhou Yi that Fan Li was the God of Wealth, and the hall without a roof must be referring to the God of Wealth Hall in Hunyuan Palace... That hall still hasn't had its beams raised.

Is the God of Wealth impatient and sending a dream to Fan Li to urge him on?
Zhou Yi plans to start working on raising the beam of the God of Wealth Hall after the Dragon King Temple is consecrated.

Although Hunyuan Palace doesn't have many people, everyone's merits have increased by leaps and bounds recently. Huo Qubing, Li Qingzhao, Xin Qiji, and Xi Shi have all broken through the one jin mark, and my own merits have increased from three or five qian to one jin and twelve liang.

The more merits one accumulates, the lighter the building materials of Hunyuan Palace will be. At that time, we can try to raise the roof beams by manpower... We can set up a few pulley systems and combine metaphysics and science. I believe that we can raise the roof beams.

Zhou Yi plans to do this at the end of the month, so he needs to do some preparatory work first.

Once the main beam is in place, the other purlins and such become much simpler, as they can be constructed little by little, and glazed tiles and the like can be laid gradually.

Let's see if Fan Li still has similar dreams after the Temple of the God of Wealth is repaired.

The Book of Changes says:

"Fan Li dreamed of the God of Wealth Hall in Hunyuan Palace. The main hall is not yet under construction, so it has no roof. However, it will be repaired soon, so please be patient."

Xi Shi was somewhat surprised:

Is the strategist a deity?

Wu Zetian said:
"He was worshipped as a deity by the people after his death, and you were also worshipped as the Lotus Fairy after your death. Now, the immortal master bestows this title upon you, which is in accordance with your divine status."

After saying this, Wu Zetian mentioned Lao Tzu's journey west out of Hangu Pass:
"Immortal Master, should we have Sister Xi Shi set off for Hangu Pass now, and bring the original manuscript with her after Laozi bestows the Tao Te Ching upon her, so that Yin Xi can have a copy?"

This suggestion caught Zhou Yi's eye:
“Good idea. The original manuscript of the Tao Te Ching is of utmost importance to those who cultivate the Tao. How many more years does Lao Tzu have left before he leaves Hangu Pass? Can he make it in time?”

Wu Zetian flipped through the calendar and said:

"There are still three years left. It's more than 2,000 li from Kuaiji to Hangu Pass. There's enough time. We can even visit other famous people."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yi agreed:
"Since there's still time, let's go and bring the original manuscript of the Tao Te Ching."

Even just borrowing it for a while would be fine, as it is the foundation of Taoism. Without the Tao Te Ching, there would be no Laozi Xiang'er Commentary by Zhang Daoling, and Taoism would have no basis.

Seeing that Zhou Yi agreed, Wu Meiniang opened the Spring and Autumn Period map on her tablet and began to plan the route:
"Sister Xi Shi should first go to the Kingdom of Wu, and, posing as a mortal from the Hunyuan Palace, find Sun Wu and ask him to inscribe a character for the Wu Cheng King's Hall. This character can then be engraved on a stone tablet and placed at the main entrance for worship. If there are any military treatises, bring them along or take photos of them for future generations of military generals to refer to..."

There were quite a few famous people in the late Spring and Autumn Period. If Xi Shi could visit them all on behalf of Hunyuan Palace and obtain the manuscripts or works of the founders of each school, she might gain a lot of merit.

After all, saving the people is a great achievement, and ensuring the continued transmission of classic works by renowned authors is also a great achievement.

"Confucius should be in the State of Wei now, which is in the northern part of the Central Plains. We should ask Xi Shi to visit him and ask for the original bamboo slips of the *Book of Poetry*, *Book of Documents*, *Book of Rites*, *Book of Music*, *Book of Changes*, and *Spring and Autumn Annals*. Zengzi is only a teenager now, so there's no need to look for him. Remember, you must reach Hangu Pass before 485 BC and obtain the original manuscript of the *Tao Te Ching*. This is very important."

Zhuangzi was born more than a hundred years later, and Laozi was the only founder of Taoism, so we need to find a way to learn more about Taoism.

Wu Zetian quickly outlined her plan, and Li Bai asked:

"Master, may we invite the Dao Ancestor to come and oversee things?"

The Book of Changes says:

"Given Lao Tzu's personality and beliefs, he most likely won't come. But we could ask Confucius. His descendants have drastically altered Confucianism, discarding its essence and taking its dross. By the Ming Dynasty, it was basically just embellishing dung... If he's willing, I'd like Confucius to come to Hunyuan Palace and give a proper critique of the Confucian doctrines of later generations."

When the old master arrives, the true use of the Confucian pen will be revealed... Of course, on the day Xi Shi finds Confucius, Zhou Yi will have her take the Confucian pen with her and ask the old master to help repair it.

Xi Shi was quite interested in this plan to travel around the country. Taking advantage of the opportunity to help the gods on their official business, she enjoyed the beautiful scenery. It was much more interesting than staying in the palace practicing singing and dancing.

After finalizing the matter, Aunt Gongsun insisted on having bicycles. Zhou Yi, thinking that Xi Shi hadn't gone down the mountain yet, asked Li Bai to stay behind. He drove the four beauties down the mountain and picked out four bicycles. He even chose a long-sleeved bicycle for Li Bai so that he could ride it around Chang'an City and show off.

While they were busy shopping, in the world of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, Huo Qubing and others finally joined up with Wei Qing's army.

Upon arriving at the central army camp, everyone saw a row of soldiers kneeling outside the tents, their shirts stripped off.

Seeing his son Su Jia standing guard to the side, Su Jian walked over and slipped a small packet of spiced peanuts into his son's hand, then asked in a low voice:

"What happened?" "The general inspected the central army and caught a group of people who violated military discipline. Some of them tried to tip off the Xiongnu, some had accepted gifts from the Xiongnu, and others were embezzling, extorting, and so on."

Having just won a great victory, the entire army was extremely excited. In order to maintain military discipline, Wei Qing began to enforce discipline and cool down the soldiers.

In addition, he issued an order to the entire army, requiring all officers of the rank of colonel and above to write a post-war report summarizing their gains and losses and reflecting on their shortcomings.

Su Jian followed Gongsun He and others into the central military tent. Wei Qing was sitting at the table, writing a memorial to the emperor on a piece of paper with a carbon pen.

Huo Qubing glanced at it and found that it began with the words "Literacy classes to be set up throughout the army." Clearly, his uncle had recently learned new techniques from military classics of later generations.

Seeing that everyone had come in, Wei Qing put down his pen and said:
"Let's have a meeting first. The army is currently stationed here, consuming countless provisions. I have decided to disperse the army and withdraw it to Yunzhong, Dingxiang, Yanmen and other counties. We will first garrison the border, and then send small groups of cavalry with drones to the north for reconnaissance. If we still do not see any trace of the Xiongnu army by May, we will return to the capital."

After May, the grasslands will be ready for grazing. The soldiers under Yizhixie will have to return to their respective pastures to tend to their livestock and will no longer be able to move south. At this time, the various armies of the Han Dynasty can withdraw back to Chang'an.

Huo Qubing asked:
"How far north should we conduct reconnaissance?"

Wei Qing turned his head and glanced at the map on the wall, saying:

"A thousand miles, two hundred people per team. You are in charge of arranging the manpower, supplies, horses, guides, and routes. Make sure everything is in order and nothing is forgotten."

Huo Qubing agreed and accepted the military order.

After leaving the central command tent, he selected five teams from the special forces to serve as reconnaissance team captains, and each team selected two hundred elite cavalry. The brothers Su Jia and Su Wu were assigned to their respective teams as deputy captains.

Just now in the central army camp, Su Jian kept giving him meaningful glances, so now that tasks were being assigned, he naturally had to take care of him.

Huo Qubing will not participate in this reconnaissance mission. Instead, he will stay in the main camp and learn military management from his uncle. He will not be able to lead such a small army on the next expedition, so he will need to thoroughly understand the logistics management of a large army.

As for the reconnaissance team, Zhao Ponu, Zhang Qian, and Sima Qian were put in charge of coordinating and managing it.

The biggest advantage of following Huo Qubing is that you can get comprehensive training and then unknowingly become a part of his command system.

This innate talent for commanding troops is something others can only envy.

Just as the arrangements were made, Wei Qing summoned Huo Qubing back to the central army camp and presented him with the completed "Report on Establishing Literacy Classes in the Army":
"Please take a look and see if there are any parts that need to be modified."

Huo Qubing received the report, read through it at length (several thousand words), and then shared his thoughts:

“Master said that there are officers in the modern army who are specifically concerned about the soldiers’ lives and mental health. Uncle might as well write that down too, because the more united the soldiers are, the stronger their fighting power will be.”

Wei Qing tapped the table with his fingers:

"You're talking about ideological development in the military, right? That's certainly necessary, but we have to take it one step at a time. Let's try literacy classes first, and then we can gradually reform if we see results."

At the same time, in Chang'an City.

Liu Che held the report of victory in his hands, overjoyed beyond measure:
"Such a great victory has been achieved. Qubing is truly worthy of being raised by my own hands. Zifu, Qubing is now eighteen years old. Quickly find him a good family woman to marry."

Wei Zifu brought Liu Che a cup of tea and said softly:

"Qu Bing once said, 'If the barbarians are not defeated, how can we have a home? Your Majesty need not worry about this matter for now... Was his first battle on the battlefield a great achievement?"

Liu Che, not even bothering to drink his tea, pointed to the numbers on the victory report and said:

"During this night raid, Qu Bing killed countless members of the Xiongnu royal family. His troops beheaded or trampled more than 4,000 Xiongnu soldiers. Adding to the previous kills, the total number of beheaded soldiers was nearly 6,000. His achievements surpassed those of the entire army!"

Although Wei Zifu didn't understand war, the number six thousand still greatly surprised her:
"Qu Bing has achieved such results on his first battlefield mission. The Yiyuan Platform is now repaired. I will personally go there to pray and express my gratitude to the Immortal Master for his guidance and cultivation of Qu Bing... What reward will His Majesty bestow upon Qu Bing?"

Liu Che paced back and forth twice with his hands behind his back, muttering to himself:

"His merits surpass the entire army, his merits surpass the entire army, he is the champion... I will bestow upon Qu Bing the title of Marquis of Champion, and promote him to the rank of General of the Cavalry. His deputy, Zhao Ponu, will be granted the title of Marquis of the Cavalry. Zhang Qian has made meritorious contributions in opening up the Western Regions and has also led troops to kill the enemy, so he will be granted the title of Marquis of Bowang... One colonel will be granted three marquises, which will surely become a legendary story in the future!"

Wei Zifu asked:
"Wouldn't this be too conspicuous? What if the other generals have objections..."

Before she could finish speaking, Liu Che waved his hand and said:
"Stop having any complaints. Qu Bing has already set an example for them. If you want to be ennobled, fight the enemy to the death. The heads of the Xiongnu are the only ladder for all soldiers to be promoted to marquis!"

(End of this chapter)