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

Chapter 236 Chen Tang: I Accidentally Gained a Crown Prince's Disciple! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

In the Yuan Emperor's world, Liu Ao, disregarding everyone's surprise, kowtowed several times and called out "Master," which not only stunned the onlookers but also greatly surprised Chen Tang himself.

When he last went back to Hunyuan Palace for dinner, Zhou Yi instructed him to capture the Crown Prince as soon as possible, and even to use a toy gun to abduct him if necessary.

On the way, he and Gan Yanshou devised several plans to get close to Liu Ao, but before they could put them into action, the prey jumped into the trap and kept trying to get into the net.

This... could be considered exceeding the target, right?

Chen Tang reacted quickly, immediately taking out an M9 military knife from his waist and placing it, scabbard and all, in Liu Ao's hand.

“Two days ago, I visited Immortal Master Yiyuan. He bestowed this item upon me, but I thought it was too short. He said it was not a gift for me, but for someone else. He also congratulated me on the upcoming acquisition of a beloved disciple… I never expected it to be His Highness the Crown Prince. Please rise, I am honored to have such an honor.”

That's how quick-witted people are; before they even open their mouths, lies are already on their lips... If it weren't for the preceding remarks, Chen Tang would definitely be impeached by the entire court tomorrow.

But once you involve the gods, anyone who wants to impeach you has to put themselves in Wang Shang's shoes and imagine what it would feel like to be struck by lightning and turned into charcoal.

Gan Yanshou discreetly gave his partner a thumbs up; his reaction speed and coping methods were impeccable.

Liu Ao got up from the ground, looked at the military knife in his hand, and immediately fell in love with it.

The blade is bright and exquisite, the scabbard has a strong industrial style and is full of power. More importantly, it is a gift from the gods... the approval of the gods. This is much more meaningful than some people spending their days playing tunes with their fathers and studying music theory.

Liu Kang, the King of Dingtao, loved music and was highly accomplished in it. It is said that only Liu Kang could match the music played by Emperor Yuan. The father and son were close friends and often sat together to play music.

But music couldn't save the Han Dynasty. Liu Kang tried every trick in the book to make his presence felt, but the throne was ultimately won by Liu Ao.

Liu Ao was lucky, and with the hard work of his advisors and Wang Feng, he eventually ascended the throne and became the emperor of the Han Dynasty.

Behind Liu Ao, the Imperial Son-in-Law Commandant Shi Dan was overjoyed and tears welled up in his eyes.

Things went much more smoothly than expected, and they even received a dagger as a gift from a deity.

This is no ordinary short sword, but a Maojin sword, a symbol of the Han Dynasty's imperial throne... The more Stan deciphered it, the more brilliant his idea seemed.

So what if you have an emperor's rigorous selection process for the crown prince? I'm still chosen by the gods!

Liu Ao stroked the M9 military knife with obvious affection, and saluted Chen Tang again:

"May I ask, teacher, is the title of that esteemed deity 'Immortal Master Yiyuan'?"

Chen Tang nodded:

"Yes, his Daoist name is Yiyuan. He is an unfathomable immortal. I am not the only one who can visit him. There are also other experts from other worlds, such as Huo Biaoqi, the Marquis of Champion during the reign of Emperor Xiaowu. He has now become a disciple of Immortal Yiyuan. Emperor Wu also built the Yiyuan Terrace in Chang'an City to enshrine Immortal Yiyuan."

Stan leaned closer and asked in a fawning manner:

"May I ask, General Zigong, if we may also offer sacrifices to Immortal Master Yiyuan?"

Chen Tang said:

"Yes, but a special sacrificial site needs to be built. Emperor Xiaowu built the Yiyuan Terrace, Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty built the Yiyuan Hall, Li Longji built the Yiyuan Temple, and Zhao Xu of the Song Dynasty built the Yiyuan Palace. There are not many names left for us."

Liu Xin, son of Liu Xiang and a future scholar of classics, who had come with Stan to watch the spectacle, squeezed through and said, shaking his head:

"Immortals are those who soar freely and fly high. We should build a Yiyuan Pavilion to enshrine that immortal."

He's about thirteen or fourteen years old this year. He looks a bit like a bookworm, but he's quite smart.

Chen Tang pinched his cheek and asked:

"What's your name?"

"My name is Liu Xin, and I greet General Zigong."

Upon hearing that he was Liu Xiang's son, Chen Tang grabbed a handful of hazelnut chocolates from his pocket and stuffed them into his hand:

"This can be eaten by tearing it open along the serrations... Go back and tell your father that after meeting the Emperor, I will personally pay him a visit."

Liu Xin, flattered and overwhelmed, bowed respectfully.
"This humble servant will certainly prepare a warm welcome for Father!"

When dealing with this kind of writer, you shouldn't offer gifts; you should emphasize a gentlemanly friendship that is as light as water.

However, once they arrived at Liu Xiang's house, Chen Tang would give the father and son a bunch of gifts... At this time, Liu Xiang was still called Liu Gengsheng, because he was demoted to a commoner for angrily confronting Shi Xian, the Grand Secretary.

What Chen Tang needs to do is to quickly restore Liu Xiang's official position and reinstate him as Grand Master of Ceremonies. If anyone impeaches him, he will have Liu Xiang take the initiative to fire back... That's right, Chen Tang plans to turn this great Confucian scholar into his vibranium shield, so that if anyone attacks, he can use Liu Xiang's words to deflect the attack.

We're about to become the Emperor's tutor, so we need to be mindful of our image and not resort to cursing all the time.

But Liu Xiang didn't have this kind of burden. As a great Confucian scholar, he could criticize heaven, earth, and even the air. As long as he didn't criticize Chen Tang or the immortals, it didn't matter who he criticized.

Liu Xiang's current predicament is indeed quite tragic. He needs a helping hand and the re-establishment of the Gongyang School, completely crushing the Guliang School advocated by Kuang Heng. Forget about forbearance for the sake of the country, forget about reforming foreign tribes; what Lao Tzu wanted was grand revenge, the kind of hegemonic power where if you harm one of my people, I'll destroy your entire nation.

After exchanging pleasantries, Chen Tang saw that the rescued woman was looking for her family, and thus presented Liu Ao with a perfect opportunity to enhance his reputation:

“Disciple, these sisters were kidnapped by foreign tribes. Now that I have rescued them, you and your friends should find a way to send them home. Give each of them some money so that they won’t be destitute when they get home.”

When Liu Ao heard that he was no longer allowed to read those classical Chinese texts, but could instead run around and play, he was overjoyed and immediately led his entourage to see people off.

This scene deeply moved many people, and the women were especially moved to tears. They had never imagined that the Crown Prince would personally escort them home.

With divine approval and the return of the humiliated Han daughter to her hometown... just for these two points alone, the recent memorials praising Liu Ao could easily overwhelm Emperor Yuan.

Gan Yanshou asked in a low voice:
"Master Zi, this is clearly just a publicity stunt. Could it be suspected of being fraudulent?"

Chen Tang waved his hand and said:

"It doesn't matter."

As they were talking, groups of rescued women came over, knelt down and bowed to Chen Tang and Gan Yanshou to bid farewell to their benefactors.

Chen Tang said:

"Go home and live a good life. If you encounter any difficulties, remember to come to Chang'an to find me. I will take you back to Chang'an and will definitely take full responsibility. Just treat me as your elder brother from your maternal family."

After seeing off the poor women, Chen Tang looked at the Imperial Guards who had been stripped of their armor and said:
"Now we will begin road repairs. We will renovate the road from Shiliting to Chang'an, raise the roadbed, and compact it repeatedly. We will also embed stone slabs on the road shoulders. Anyone who tries to cheat or shirk their duty will suffer the same fate as Wang Shang."

These Imperial Guards might not all be in cahoots with Wang Shang, but at this moment, they need to suffer greatly and endure humiliation so that they will be more motivated when fighting against the foreign tribes.

Seeing the arrogant and domineering appearance of other races, I can't help but recall the days when we were building the road.

Gan Yanshou sighed:
"I thought you were going to kill them all."

"How could that be? Now is the time when we need manpower. There are many infrastructure projects waiting to be built. The surrounding tribes, especially the Xiongnu who have submitted to the Han Dynasty, have something to look forward to."

They came to the Han Dynasty seeking food because they were desperate for survival, but the Southern Xiongnu were arrogant and frequently plundered the people.

Now, it's their turn to contribute to the construction of the Han Dynasty.

Chen Tang and Gan Yanshou were only allowed to enter Chang'an City after receiving an imperial edict, to meet the emperor to report on their duties, and to present the head of Zhizhi Chanyu.

Since we're idle anyway, we might as well explore the road construction process to prepare for driving out foreign tribes from building roads in the future.

At the same time, inside the Hunyuan Palace.

Zhou Yi and Huo Qubing were busy, and their combined merits exceeded two jin each. Their bodies were greatly strengthened by the merits, and they could lift boxes of potato sprouts as if they were nothing.

Wu Meiniang couldn't help, so she boiled a kettle of water to make tea for the two of them, then rode her bicycle down the mountain to town to buy braised chicken, pig's trotters, pig's head meat, and other braised dishes, as well as fried dough sticks and other staple foods.

At noon, Huo Qubing enjoyed a hearty meal and, carrying potato seeds, corn seeds, wheat seeds, five boxes of water cups, and the Black Dragon Flag, prepared to return to the Martial Emperor World.

The Book of Changes says:

"Find a suitable place in Changle Palace or Weiyang Palace to put solar panels and wind turbines. I plan to give your uncle some home appliances to improve his quality of life."

Huo Qubing agreed and disappeared into thin air along with the supplies.

As soon as he appeared in Emperor Wu's world, Liu Che strolled over with his hands behind his back, looking at the boxes of potato sprouts and various woven bags of seeds, his eyes sparkling with excitement:

"What kind of seed is this? Why have I never seen it before?"

"These are potatoes. Master's yield is several thousand catties per mu, and we can easily exceed a thousand catties here... This crop cannot be planted in the same field repeatedly. The plots must be adjusted every year, otherwise the yield will be reduced."

Liu Che waved his hand:
"Don't worry, I will assign someone to take care of this... How does the immortal cultivate the land?"

“In late autumn, the fields are plowed and wheat is planted. The wheat is harvested in early summer of the following year. Then corn, potatoes and other crops are planted. After the autumn harvest, the fields are plowed and wheat is planted again, resulting in two harvests a year. In the south, rice is said to be harvested three times a year, or even seven times in two years.”

Liu Che listened with a look of longing on his face:

"How much grain will that yield? Qubing, next time you go, ask the immortal for some books on planting. If our Han Dynasty can make up for its food shortage, the Xiongnu will be nothing more than a piece of rotten meat on the chopping block, not worth worrying about!"

After saying this, he instructed the nearby officials:
"Move these immortal seeds into the warehouse. Anyone who touches them without my permission will be executed."

As the officials began moving the offerings, Liu Che led Huo Qubing to Yiyuantai... The sacrificial ceremony had been postponed for a long time and had to be carried out immediately.

On the way, he saw that Huo Qubing was wearing high-top military boots, and he raised his leg to compare:
"Was this bestowed upon you by the immortal?"

"Yes, next time before we go, let's measure everyone's foot length. I'll buy everyone some new shoes there; they're much more comfortable than the boots my big guy is wearing..."

Hearing this, Liu Che became even more fascinated by the Hunyuan Palace... He wondered how many wonderful things were there and really wanted to see them!
(End of this chapter)