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

Chapter 218 Cai Jing: What is "Bright Sword"? [Seeking monthly votes]

Wu Zetian took out her mortal travel token from her bosom and said:

"This item can be used to verify oaths. Every morning during the Song Dynasty, Emperor Zhao Xu would place his token on his desk. Any official who submitted a memorial to impeach him had to first swear that he was acting for the Song Dynasty and had no selfish motives whatsoever."

These words made Li Shimin's eyes light up:
"If I had this, the court would run much more smoothly and efficiently. Could you ask for one for me, Meiniang?"

Wu Zetian said:
"The Immortal Master recently made a batch of black iron tokens, which will be given to those who cannot go to Hunyuan Palace. I will ask you for one when the time comes. However, the oath-taking ceremony cannot be completely copied from the Song Dynasty. Your Majesty can use some large-scale ceremonies to test the loyalty of your ministers."

This proposal was approved by Li Shimin, as the Tang Dynasty was governed by aristocratic families, unlike the scholar-official class of the Song Dynasty.

The scholar-officials were a group of landlords banding together. If one of them was killed, his colleagues would only take the opportunity to kick him while he was down. It didn't matter who they allied with; if he died, so be it.

The system of ruling by powerful families is a typical board of directors system, where every family member is a board member. A change in one family can have far-reaching consequences, so things cannot be allowed to get too tense.

If one could use the opportunity of the Buddhist ceremony to strike down disloyal people with lightning, then everything could be attributed to Heaven and the gods, and the emperor himself wouldn't have to bear too much blame.

However, Wu Zetian wasn't sure whether a single black iron token could support a major event.

Moreover, most Buddhist ceremonies are for praying for blessings. If lightning keeps striking people from the sky, it doesn't fit the atmosphere of the event. Therefore, a suitable Buddhist ceremony needs to be carefully planned.

After thinking for a while, Wu Zetian came up with a way to make dumplings with vinegar:
"Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, countless people have shed their blood on the battlefield. Besides the generals and commanders, there are also soldiers whose names have not been recorded. Your Majesty might as well erect a monument to the heroes of the Tang Dynasty for them. On the day of its completion, all civil and military officials will attend and swear allegiance to the Tang Dynasty in front of the monument. If anyone has any disloyalty to the Tang Dynasty, they will be struck dead by divine lightning. The monument to the heroes will win the hearts of all the soldiers and make their fighting spirit soar."

Upon hearing this suggestion, Li Shimin was genuinely tempted:
“When I first came to power, I elevated the barbarian tribes to the same status as the Han people of the Central Plains, and gave them enough favor and honor. However, the assassination of Ashina Jieshe five years ago served as a wake-up call for me. Barbarians are never grateful. The better you treat them, the more they take advantage of you.”

Ashina Jieshelu was the son of Shibi Khan and the younger brother of Tuli Khan. After the fall of the Turkic Khaganate, he surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. To show his gratitude and set an example for the surrendered Turks, Li Shimin appointed Ashina Jieshelu as the General of the Imperial Guard, responsible for protecting the palace. He also selected five hundred Turkic cavalrymen to be incorporated into the Imperial Guard.

As a result, Ashina Jieshe acted recklessly all day long, taking advantage of his position as commander of the Imperial Guard to commit all sorts of evil deeds, and even instigated Tuli Khan's son, Heluogu, to return to the grasslands to restore the country.

He used his position to find out the day Li Zhi would come to the palace to pay his respects, and then colluded with the Turks in the Imperial Guards. Under the cover of night, they broke into Li Shimin's bedroom. If it weren't for the timely arrival of the Imperial Guards led by Commander Sun Wukai, who risked his life to block the Turks, Li Shimin's life or death would have been uncertain.

From then on, Li Shimin became wary of foreigners and issued an edict to settle the Turks, ordering them to migrate to areas south of the Yellow River.

He had said something about treating everyone equally in the past, but he never mentioned it again. Instead, he imposed various restrictions on ethnic minorities, such as giving them official positions but not power.

Now, as Old Li recalls the assassination attempt five years ago, he worries about what will happen next:
"Meiniang, what is the Immortal Master's view on foreign races?"

“They fear power but do not cherish virtue. As long as they do not genuinely consider themselves Tang people, the Tang Dynasty will not have peace.”

Li Shimin sat on a prayer mat in the main hall, his face showing distress:

"How can we do this?"

"Just don't give them special privileges. Whatever you ask of the Han people, you ask of them too. If they can't meet those requirements, kill them or punish them accordingly. As for religion, they can only worship Chinese gods and cannot believe in the religions of other ethnic groups."

Although the religions of China have different doctrines, they all encourage people to do good. However, the religions of the grasslands and Western religions are different. They have always emphasized their own core ideas and even wanted to absorb the Han people into their religions.

After some thought, Li Shimin prepared to issue an edict declaring that all other religious sects, except for Buddhism and Taoism in China, would be considered licentious and needed to be resolutely resisted.

As for the monument to the heroes, it can be erected directly outside the Vermilion Bird Gate. A square can be built there, with the stone tablet in the middle, so that the officials can take oaths in front of the tablet.

With the founding heroes and the great destiny of the Tang Dynasty, how could we fear not being able to suppress a small foreign tribe?
Li Shimin then asked:

"How do we approach this from a religious perspective? We can't just kill people without thinking, can we?"

Wu Zetian said:
"Zoroastrianism advocates marriage between fathers and daughters, which is a major taboo for civilized races. Some Zoroastrian believers in Chang'an are already secretly trying it. Your Majesty can use this as a pretext to restrict the development of Zoroastrianism and then gradually eradicate it."

Li Shimin immediately accepted the suggestion:

"Just as you said, I will send people to implement these matters as soon as possible... Meiniang, you are so knowledgeable about state affairs. In the original history, you should have accomplished something after my death, right?"

Wu Zetian held the token in her hand and said calmly:
"I am just a nobody, not worth mentioning."

On the other side, Zhou Yi returned to Yunwu Mountain after finishing his dinner with the blind man and Uncle Ming. He received the water cups that Wang Lixia and her husband had sent up the mountain. There were two large trucks full of them, packed in cardboard boxes, and it took them a long time to unload them.

Then Wang Ge delivered another truckload of potato seeds with sprouts. Zhou Yi planned to plant some in the open space outside the Hunyuan Palace gate, and transport the rest to the Martial Emperor World and Xin Qiji's place.

At the same time, the various sparkly trinkets ordered in bulk have also been shipped and will arrive soon.

Zhou Yi was eager to see how much these trinkets, which cost no more than five cents wholesale, would fetch when Zhao Ji sold them in the world of Emperor Zhezong. Of course, making money was secondary; the key was accumulating merit.

With enough merit, everything becomes easier.

The world of Cheoljong is a gold mine full of merit; the more you dig, the more you find, so you have to put in a lot of effort.

While Zhou Yi was reciting these things, Zhao Ji was also at the construction site of Yiyuan Palace, where he began to plan the sale of goods to the Liao Kingdom. He was very efficient and on the same day, he got two smugglers out of prison who were smuggling luxury goods to the Liao Kingdom.

A while ago, Cai Jing began investigating an arms smuggling case, and in the process, he arrested all the smugglers in Bianliang City. He even borrowed Li Gefei's torture chamber, and the "investigation" went very smoothly.

Those two luxury smugglers were dealing in more sophisticated items. They didn't smuggle weapons, but rather various exquisite little objects that princes and noblemen would play with, each of which could be sold for a high price.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) had the two men released from prison and began to build his own smuggling ring.

Of course, now that it has an official backing, it's no longer smuggling, but a legitimate caravan; it's just that some "contraband" will be mixed in with the goods.

Emperor Huizong planned to test the waters with one or two items after the goods arrived. During this time, he took two dealers with him and taught them everything from sales pitches to clothing and manners.

Despite being vendors selling luxury goods, these two peddlers were nothing more than two snotty-nosed elementary school students in front of Prince Zhao Ji, who had seen plenty of fine things.

"When you arrive in Liao, if anyone asks about the origin of your goods, just say that they were recruited by the former king and are now working for the prince."

Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) knew very well that these unprofessional intelligence personnel were no match for the questioning of those with ulterior motives.

Rather than being asked, it's better to just say it outright, and then add some anecdotes about princes being forced to relinquish their titles and having no choice but to sell royal items to make a living. That would definitely have a market in the Liao Kingdom.

To prevent the two dealers from disobeying orders, Emperor Huizong invited Li Qingzhao to inspect the construction of the Yiyuan Palace. He also made the two dealers swear an oath before the token that all the treasures they handled would only be sold to the Liao people and never to the Song people.

After the two vendors made their vows, two muffled claps of thunder sounded in the sky, and the matter was considered settled. Li Qingzhao, carrying her whisk, boarded a carriage and leisurely arrived at a lotus pond that stretched as far as the eye could see outside Kaifeng City to participate in the annual Lotus Viewing Festival.

The area around the lotus pond was filled with sheds erected by various families, with maids and servants busy preparing food, and children running around chattering away, much like a modern camping trip.

Li Qingzhao jumped off the carriage and found that there was no wind outside. She waved to her younger brother, Li Hang, who came running over and carried an outdoor power supply out of the carriage, followed by a floor fan.

Once plugged in, the fan starts spinning rapidly and even has an oscillating function.

Finally, a sealed insulated box was taken down from the carriage. Inside were frozen ice cubes and ice cream. Li Gefei took out a bottle of white wine, put the ice cubes into a glass, poured in some wine, and handed it to the slightly reserved Cai Jing.

"Try it, this wine is very sweet and is best served chilled."

Cai Jing prides himself on being a person who values ​​quality of life, but in front of Li Gefei's family, he seems like an uncivilized primitive.

Not far away, by the lotus pond, Cai You, who had just been released from the Kaifeng Prefecture prison, was wearing a lotus leaf as a straw hat and fishing earnestly with a bamboo pole in his hand.

After his release from prison, he resigned from his official post and went out early and returned late every day. He would wander around with a bamboo pole, digging up earthworms and swinging the pole whenever he saw water, until it got dark before going home.

Cai Jing picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and asked Li Gefei:

"I've heard that your family has a brand new shadow puppet show every night. May I have the honor of watching it?"

Li Hang was peeling lotus pods with great effort:

"It's not shadow puppetry, it's called projection. You project a picture onto a screen and play it quickly to create a continuous picture... Tonight we're watching 'Bright Sword.' If you want to see it, remember to go early, they won't wait for you."

Upon hearing this, Cai Jing immediately bowed.
"Alright, I'll head over early. I hope you won't mind me bothering you."

After saying that, he asked about the origin of the name "Bright Sword":

What does "drawing the sword" mean?

Neither Li Hang nor Li Gefei knew the answer to this question, because neither of them had watched "Bright Sword." Li Qingzhao said:

"When faced with a powerful enemy, even if you know you are no match, you must still have the courage to draw your sword. Remember, in a narrow encounter, the brave will prevail. In life and in work, you must dare to draw your sword. Those who are timid and hesitant are not worthy of being called brave!"

Cai Jing: "!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I've been busy investigating smuggling cases lately and haven't had much time to investigate the manor outside the city. My cousin Qingzhao told me that when two people meet on a narrow road, the brave will win. Was she trying to get me involved?
Thinking of this, Scholar Cai was filled with fighting spirit and decided to confront the corrupt officials of the Song Dynasty head-on and bravely draw his sword!
(End of this chapter)