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

Chapter 209 Ninth-Rank Wind-Attracting Technique? [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

In the reign of Emperor Zhezong of the Northern Song Dynasty, just after noon, the Qingshou Hall was filled with wails as Empress Dowager Xiang passed away.

Soon, white lanterns and white cloths were hung throughout the palace, eunuchs and palace maids changed into white clothes, all decorations related to the celebration were removed, and officials, upon receiving the notice, rushed to the capital.

Inside the Hall of Celebrations, Zhao Xu expressionlessly took out a brass token, placed it on the table, and coldly said to the kneeling palace maids and eunuchs in front of him:
“Swear an oath, on the oath of your parents and family, that if you dare to divulge even a single word of this in this lifetime, may you be struck by lightning and annihilated.”

Ever since he was supported to ascend the throne, Zhao Xu's every need, from eating and drinking to relieving himself, has been controlled by the Empress Dowager Gao Taotao and Empress Dowager Xiang. He is often hungry and cold, and as the emperor, he is frequently starving.

According to the regulations of the Song Dynasty, after the emperor ascended the throne, his birth mother would enjoy the same treatment as the empress.

However, under the control of Gao Taotao and Empress Dowager Xiang, Zhao Xu's birth mother, Consort Zhu, not only did not receive a better treatment, but was also targeted at every turn, making it difficult for her to even see her son.

After Gao Taotao's death, Empress Dowager Xiang, fearing retaliation, took the initiative to ease her relationship with Consort Zhu.

Zhao Xu originally intended to let her go, but since this Empress Dowager dared to poison him, he would settle both the old and new scores.

Historically, Zhao Xu is often referred to as the Song Dynasty version of Emperor Wu of Han, not only because he advocated for a strong confrontation with foreign tribes, but also because his methods of dealing with the Empress Dowager's interference in politics were very similar.

After seizing power, he completely negated all of the Empress Dowager's decrees, and even went to extremes to suppress the court officials supported by the Empress Dowager.

Now, Zhao Xu has taken an even more radical action than Liu Che – he murdered his mother.

Although it was only nominal, if the news got out, he would definitely be condemned by the entire world. However, for the future of the Song Dynasty and to get rid of the Song Dynasty royal family's reputation as cowards and weaklings, Zhao Xu had no other choice.

A group of palace maids and eunuchs swore an oath with trepidation. Two of them, who were clearly disloyal, were struck by lightning that pierced through the roof and turned into charred remains, setting an example for the rest.

After these people finished swearing their oaths, they then dressed Empress Dowager Xiang, who had been forced to commit suicide by poison, and prepared her for burial.

Zhao Xu took off his outer robe, wearing only a white inner garment, and knelt in the Qingshou Hall, bursting into tears. When his birth mother, Consort Zhu, arrived, Zhao Xu's voice had become hoarse from crying.

"My son, don't cry and hurt yourself, get up quickly."

Consort Zhu was a gentle and virtuous woman. Despite being suppressed by Gao Taotao and Empress Dowager Xiang for so many years, she never complained. In fact, she even helped Gao Taotao when the Gao family fell on hard times.

Seeing her son crying so heartbrokenly, she felt very sorry for him, never expecting that her precious son was such a drama queen.

When the officials arrived, Zhao Xu had already changed into mourning clothes. He announced a three-day suspension of court and requested that the Taoist priest Zhao Ji of Yiyuan Palace come to perform a ritual... Hmm, he had to have his younger brother come to say goodbye, and at the same time, he had to symbolically promote the Xiang family members to show his favor.

Meanwhile, inside the Hunyuan Palace, Zhou Yi saw that one or two more merits had been added to the black notebook:
Zhao Xu poisoned the Empress Dowager, drastically altering the course of Song Dynasty history. Merit +10

Zhou Yi read this note three times.

Good heavens, Zhao Xu actually killed the Empress Dowager. Is there some hidden story behind this?

Knowing his analytical skills were lacking, Zhou went to the Three Emperors' Palace and told Wu Meiniang the whole story, asking Her Majesty the Empress to help him analyze it.

Wu Zetian frowned and said:
"Last night, the Ziwei Emperor suddenly sent down a divine leaf. You divined that it was related to Zhao Xu. Could it be that Zhao Xu's life was threatened, and the Ziwei Emperor, who governs the Imperial Star, intervened to help him resolve the situation, thus sending down the divine leaf to inform you?"

Upon hearing her words, Zhou Yi suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment:
"So, it was Empress Dowager Xiang who threatened Zhao Xu's life? If that's true, then it makes sense that he poisoned her... After Gao Taotao died, all the court officials who wrote memorials criticizing the Empress Dowager were promoted by Zhao Xu. This guy is somewhat vindictive."

Wu Zetian smiled gently:
"That's normal. Didn't I kill the Wu brothers to retaliate after I came to power?"

Zhou Yi nodded, then, recalling the mysterious deaths of the Wu brothers in history, asked curiously:

"Are you going to kill them again this time? I can ask Li Shimin for this small favor."

Wu Zetian shook her head:
"Let them be. Once I get my household registration, I'll have nothing to do with them anymore. Whether they're good or bad, alive or dead, it's none of my business."

She was so carefree that Zhou Yi felt awkward about discussing it further, so he simply changed the subject:
"Next time I go back, I'll bring back the information about the Uyghurs causing chaos in Chang'an during the reign of Emperor Daizong and show it to Li Shimin, so that he won't always try to imitate Emperor Wen of Han and follow the path of a benevolent ruler."

The Uyghur uprising in Chang'an was a major event during the reign of Emperor Daizong. At that time, Uyghur nobles occupied Chang'an and committed all kinds of atrocities, including burning, killing, and looting. When Emperor Daizong drove them away, they even abducted thousands of noblewomen and indulged in debauchery along the way, which became one of the disgraceful events of the Tang Dynasty.

It is believed that after Li Shimin read the whole story, his ethnic policy towards foreign tribes would have become more extreme.

Wu Zetian had handled numerous memorials over the years and was very familiar with the situation in Chang'an.

"The calamity of foreign tribes is already showing signs... There are no fewer than 100,000 foreign tribes settled in Chang'an now. Most of them are gathered in the West Market area, and the crime rate is high. The magistrates of Chang'an and Wannian counties have severely punished them, implicating the entire clan for each person's crime. However, His Majesty believes that one person should be held responsible for their own actions and advocates education as the primary means of moral reform... I didn't think much of it before, but after reading the history books, I realized that this is a harbinger of chaos."

While Wu Zetian was discussing this, in the Tang Dynasty's Zhenguan era, Li Shimin was also reflecting on his past strategies towards foreign tribes:
"I thought that because they sincerely submitted, they were one of my own people in the Great Tang Dynasty. I was too shallow."

Before him lay criminal files from Chang'an and Wannian counties, seventy percent of which were committed by people of foreign ethnicity, some of whom were even frequent visitors to the government offices. During interrogations, he would pretend not to understand Mandarin or Chinese characters.

If you bring his clansmen over, they will try to smooth things over, and the matter will eventually be dropped.

Minister of Justice Zhang Liang asked:

"Your Majesty, how should we decide if such a matter were to occur again?"

“The maximum punishment! Those who pretend not to understand the language of my Great Tang Dynasty shall all be thrown into the Nanshan quarry to quarry stones... I originally wanted to be a benevolent ruler, but these foreign tribes have taken advantage of my kindness. So be it, forcing a good name after my death will only make future generations laugh at me.”

Li Shimin's idol was Emperor Wen of Han, and he longed for the kind of demeanor that exuded benevolence and righteousness in every gesture. Unfortunately, the more he tried to do so, the less cooperative the foreign tribes became.

Since he couldn't be Emperor Wen of Han, he decided to settle for being Emperor Wu of Han... After a series of events, Li Shimin's mindset underwent a dramatic change.

Soon, he issued an edict:
"All officials of the Tang Dynasty, regardless of kinship or distance, and regardless of ethnicity or Han nationality, must undergo a cultural assessment at the end of each year. Those who fail the assessment will have their promotions suspended, and those who fail three times will be dismissed on the spot. All officials of ethnicity must use Han names and are prohibited from using the names of people or places of ethnicity in formal occasions. All goods from non-Han peoples must have Han names and are prohibited from direct transliteration."

Li Shimin was a man of great ability to take action. Since he wanted to emulate Emperor Wu of Han, he decided to start by reforming the officials.

With the implementation of these measures, it is believed that some unhealthy trends will soon be reversed.

But mere restrictions weren't enough. Li Shimin paced back and forth in the Liangyi Hall with his hands behind his back, feeling that he still needed to give those foreign tribes who were wholeheartedly devoted to the Tang Dynasty a chance:
"If only we could bind the alien races with oaths, I wonder if the Immortal Master of Hunyuan Palace has such a thing. Next time Meiniang comes, I should ask her more. At worst, I can present her with a few more pieces of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy!"

By evening, the shacks behind Hunyuan Palace had been installed. With many people working together, and since everyone was from the town, everyone put in as much effort as they could without slacking off.

The ground outside the gate has been leveled, and the space is quite large; Zhou Yi even thinks it's big enough to build a museum.

However, the timing isn't right yet; we need to wait a bit longer.

After settling the wages, Zhou Yi saw everyone down the mountain and then went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Wu Meiniang took a bath, her hair loose, and came to the kitchen doorway. Looking at Zhou Yi's busy figure, she felt a little guilty.

"I need to learn how to cook as soon as possible, otherwise if people see you cooking while we have nothing to do, wouldn't that be going against the natural order?"

Zhou Yi said with a smile:

"Everyone should do what they are good at. If you are not good at something, don't force it."

It's too hot, so Zhou Yi plans to make some appetizing and refreshing hot and sour noodles to satisfy his cravings. He'll also pick some pumpkin blossoms, coat them in batter, fry them, and eat them with salt and pepper as a snack.

After dinner, Zhou Yi returned to his room, intending to change clothes and take a shower, when he suddenly noticed that the Bagua mirror embedded in the cover of his black notebook was flashing once again.

Eh?
What's happening here?
He walked over, took it, opened it, and carefully looked at his page, discovering lines of notes appearing:

[Li Shimin's comprehensive policy of changing the ethnic minorities' ways, merit +10]

Wow, another ounce of merit has been added. The total merit has now exceeded two pounds, bringing me one step closer to turning my lightning strike into a Gatling gun.

After the initial excitement, Zhou Yi continued reading, and this note was also very helpful:
The black and white Taoist robes cycle for forty-nine days, rewarding the beginner-level Heaven and Earth Power series spell – Wind Summoning.

Wind-drawing technique?
This sounds a bit strange. Is it for use with a wind turbine?

His gaze moved down, and he noticed that there was a new item in the cultivation technique section:
[Techniques: Eighth-Rank Lightning Strike Technique, Ninth-Rank Wind Drawing Technique]

The name "Heaven and Earth Power Series Spells" is a bit strange. Does it mean that there will be spells like water control, fire control, rain control, and freezing in the future?
If that's the case, then we can indulge ourselves a little when we go abroad in the future, like capsizing a Western warship or sinking a small Self-Defense Force aircraft carrier... Fighting foreign races shouldn't just be something we call on the ancient world to do; the modern world has to keep up too.

Earning merit is nothing to be ashamed of.

As for the domestic situation, let's leave it at that. We are law-abiding citizens, so we try not to use magic if we can avoid it. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be the most handsome man in the universe in peace and quiet?

Just as I was lost in thought, Uncle Ming suddenly called:

"The statue of the Goddess Houtu is finished, and it's perfect in every way. The bus departs early Thursday morning, and I'll be going to Yiyang with it. There's something I need your help with..."

The Book of Changes: ? ? ? ? ? ?
No way, is the blind man's prediction going to come true so soon?

(End of this chapter)