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

Chapter 257 Laying the Wheels Flat, Spreading Civilization! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

While Liu Che was playing with a magnifying glass with childlike enthusiasm, Wei Qing was reviewing the reports gathered by his scouts on the northern grasslands of Dingxiang:
"Yizhixie actually went to the northern desert. Doesn't he want revenge anymore?"

Wei Qing hoped that Yizhixie could maintain his momentum of hatred and march south again, but unfortunately the last battle went too smoothly, to the point that it left the Xiongnu Chanyu with a psychological shadow... If only he had held back a bit and not exerted so much force.

As he was pondering this, Sima Qian entered the camp.

He put the fully charged drone battery back into the box and then reported:

"Reporting to the General, we have ventured over a thousand miles into the grasslands and repeatedly scouted with drones, but found no trace of the Xiongnu army. However, we did find some small tribes and marked their locations."

Upon hearing this, Wei Qing, adhering to the principle of disciplining children on rainy days, prepared to send young soldiers to lead a team to annihilate the small Xiongnu tribes.

Captives were brought over to repair roads, and livestock were used to improve the lives of the soldiers... If these small tribes were not restricted, they would grow and become a scourge to the Han Dynasty within a few years.

Sima Qian asked:
"What should we do if they put up a stubborn resistance?"

Wei Qing initially intended to suggest exterminating the entire clan, but considering the later treatment of the Han Chinese by the Mongols, he instead said:

“Any man who is taller than a cartwheel and brought back as a woman shall be executed.”

After speaking, he issued a military order, ordering the cavalry special forces to cooperate with the two thousand cavalry of the central army to launch an attack. Zhao Ponu was appointed as the commander-in-chief, Sima Qian was appointed as the military advisor, and the brothers Su Jia and Su Wu were to accompany the army in the battle.

As for Zhang Qian, he can simply focus on drawing maps of the area north of Dingxiang.

This battle was mainly to train the young men. In order to prevent any accidents, Wei Qing ordered Li Ju to lead 3,000 armored cavalrymen 500 li to the north for training, in order to provide support.

Soon, Zhao Ponu mustered his troops, brought sufficient supplies, and led them north with Sima Qian.

Su Jia was honest, and upon seeing the order, he asked:

"The wheels of our Han Dynasty carriages are divided into three grades, the taller ones being over five feet and the shorter ones being less than three feet. Which size should we use?"

Zhao Ponu looked at Sima Qian:
"What did the General say?"

Sima Qian scratched his head, and the sly, mischievous side of a cultured man came to the fore:
"The General only said that it was up to him to decide, but did not give any specific dimensions... In order to be fair and just, why don't we just lay the wheels flat? What do you all think?"

Su Jia thought this was indeed a good way to resolve the dispute, and Su Wu was even more excited and hoped to take on the role of executioner.

A few young people got together and, unwittingly, began the campaign to exterminate the Xiongnu.

Outside Weiyang Palace in Chang'an, Huo Qubing rode up on horseback. Just as he was about to enter the palace gate, he suddenly noticed that a certain eunuch in the distance was unfamiliar, so he asked:

"What's your name?"

The eunuch, not expecting the Marquis of Champion to condescend to speak to him, hurriedly came over and said humbly:
“My name is Su Wen. I have only recently entered the palace and am now serving under the Empress.”

The name startled Huo Qubing, who then drew his ring-pommel sword and handed it over.

"Help me get it!"

Su Wen, unaware of what was going on, accepted the sword with both hands.

Huo Qubing acted swiftly, immediately pulling out the Hunyuan Palace token from his robes:
"You audacious scoundrel! How dare you commit violence with a knife inside the palace! Lei Lai!"

A bolt of lightning struck from the sky, instantly turning Su Wen, who was holding the sword with both hands, into a charred corpse. The ring-pommel sword was reduced to scrap metal and could no longer be used to cut people.

Su Wen was Liu Ju's eunuch after he came of age. He repeatedly framed Liu Ju, which made Empress Wei Zifu furious. She ordered Liu Ju to kill him, but Liu Ju felt that he was doing the right thing and was not afraid of being framed, so he didn't take it seriously.

As a result, when those rumors reached Emperor Wu of Han's ears, they indeed aroused suspicion, which in turn led to the witchcraft accusation.

Getting rid of Su Wen now is not only to eliminate future troubles, but more importantly, killing this eunuch will bring merit, which is a win-win situation.

It's a pity that Su Wen's subordinates Chang Rong and Wang Bi hadn't entered the palace yet; otherwise, these villains could have been dealt with in one fell swoop.

While the Marquis of Champion was accumulating merit here, the housewarming banquet for Uncle Ming's family officially began in a luxurious restaurant in Yiyang City.

Uncle Ming doesn't have many friends in Yiyang City, but fortunately, his neighbor Fang Hongyan is quite honest. He brought the homeowners' committee members over to celebrate the housewarming, and the blind man also brought a few new members of the association.

There were four tables, and each table had a very rich selection of dishes, making it basically the most upscale banquet in Yiyang City.

During the gathering, many people noticed Zhou Yi's presence, not because he was wearing a Taoist robe, but because he was sitting on either side of two stunningly beautiful women.

The one in the red Taoist robe is lively and outgoing, while the one in pink and white is refined and elegant, always leaning against the Book of Changes. She clearly has the introverted personality of being timid and not very willing to talk to strangers.

Chen Tang and Li Bai sat in the corner, concentrating on the dishes on the table.

Roast suckling pig, roast goose, king crab, Boston lobster, stir-fried sea cucumber with scallions, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall... it's a grand gathering of ingredients from both the north and south, with everything from land to sea and air.

The blind man used his empty eyes to observe the people brought by Zhou Yi. The more he observed, the more curious he became. He wanted to try to tell fortunes by feeling their bones, but he was worried about being too forward. He had a lot of questions on his mind.

When Uncle Ming came to offer a toast, Chen Tangteng suddenly stood up, took a large bowl, poured all three cups of wine into his own bowl, drank them all in one gulp, and then sat down to continue eating meat.

The whole process was completed in one go, and before Uncle Ming could even express his gratitude, it was all over.

"Master Yi, who is this esteemed person...?"

"He was a wandering Taoist priest who came to Hunyuan Palace. He called himself the Money-Grubbing Taoist Master and was skilled in exorcising evil spirits and protecting homes. He was naturally able to subdue all demons and monsters."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Ming offered three more cups of wine:
"Brother, you're a big guy, you're obviously good at reasoning. Please come to my house for a cup of tea and a chat after dinner." Since he's good at warding off evil spirits, I'll definitely invite him home for a visit.

After Uncle Ming finished offering his toast, he went to the next table. Zhou Yi picked up a crispy fried pork knuckle and put it in his mouth, crunching away.

"This pork knuckle is fried to perfection. I'll try making it at Hunyuan Palace sometime tomorrow."

Gongsun Da Niang was afraid she wouldn't make it in time:

"Don't rush it until tomorrow, can't we finish it this afternoon?"

Zhou Yi calculated the time and nodded, saying:

"Alright, I'll give it a try this afternoon. I won't keep you here today. Go back after lunch, we can't delay the time for raising the roof beam."

Upon hearing this, Xi Shi silently took out her phone, set an alarm for five days later, and even wrote the words "shangliang" (meaning "raising the beam") in pinyin, emphasizing her meticulousness.

After the meal, Chen Tang noticed that there was still a lot of food left on each table, some of which hadn't even been touched. He waved to the waiter.

"Give me thirty takeout containers and pack up all the relatively intact dishes."

What are leftovers here will become delicacies in the Yuan Emperor's World.

After the takeout containers were brought over, Gongsun Da Niang, Li Bai, and Xi Shi all got up to pack up the dishes on the table, making Uncle Ming a little embarrassed.
"Master Yi, shall I order another table?"

Zhou Yi waved his hand:

"No need, they're used to a life of quiet contemplation and can't stand waste."

Gongsun Da Niang preferred sweet and sour dishes, Li Bai was fond of fried food, but Xi Shi was different; this woman from Jiangnan preferred spicy food.

After the food was packed up, we put it in the car and then went to Uncle Ming's house together.

Zhou Yi gave the wooden "Fu" character he brought to Uncle Ming, which made the guy extremely happy. Now he has no worries about business or money, only about whether his good fortune is deep enough.

Having a "福" (fortune) character offered before the statue of the Ziwei Emperor can greatly enhance one's fortune.

After having two cups of tea at Uncle Ming's house, the group said their goodbyes and left. The blind man wanted to ask something, but ultimately chose to remain silent.

After watching Zhou Yi and his group leave, he instructed the association members:
"Find out the information on Yiyang Xishan Cemetery. I heard that Director Cao has secretly returned. Now that Xiao Yi urgently needs merit, it's a good time to kill Director Cao to replenish his blood."

Back at Hunyuan Palace, Zhao Xu had just changed the incense stick.

Although he stayed behind at noon today, he was not mistreated. Before leaving, Zhou Yi bought him two catties of pig's head meat and four or five sesame seed cakes from the town. He ate them with a small beer and had a good time.

Now that everyone has returned, he won't stay any longer and prepares to lead his horse back.

Aunt Gongsun said with a smile:

"Remember to tell Sister Zhao'er that we went to the city for a big meal today. We had all kinds of seafood, land and air ingredients, and there were four or five kinds of drinks. We ate very well, so she doesn't need to worry."

Zhouyi: "..."

Are you not afraid that she'll roll up your blanket when you share a bed?
After Zhao Xu left, Zhou Yi singed and cleaned the pork hock he bought from the supermarket and stewed it, preparing to make braised pork hock. Chen Tang didn't linger, put Gan Yanshou's token in his pocket, and hurriedly returned to the Yuan Emperor World with the leftovers he had packed.

Five days later, the roof beam will be raised. He needs to earn some more merit so that he won't be laughed at for not being able to carry the beam.

But where does merit come from?
As soon as Chen Tang appeared at home, Wang Mang, Liu Ao, and Liu Xin, who were waiting there, gathered around. Seeing the neatly stacked takeout boxes, their curiosity was immediately piqued.
"Master, what is this?"

Liu Ao smelled the aroma and guessed it was food, but he couldn't ask directly, as that would seem too greedy and wouldn't be in accordance with royal etiquette.

Chen Tang said:

"Today I attended a housewarming banquet for an acquaintance with the Immortal Master. There were quite a few leftover dishes, and I felt it would be a waste, so I packed some up for you to try."

Upon hearing that it was food, Wang Mang subconsciously swallowed, but then he felt that it wasn't mealtime and that eating it now would make him seem ill-mannered.

Chen Tang's family didn't have this custom. He simply took out the lunchbox, opened the lid, and let the boys sit down and eat slowly.

Liu Ao picked up a piece of braised pork knuckle and started eating it with gusto.
"It's delicious, you all eat it quickly, so I don't have to enjoy it all by myself."

Liu Xin advised:

“Your Highness, please do not be so arrogant. This morning, Master Zhang impeached you for your improper behavior. If he finds out, he will surely impeach you again.”

Chen Tang poured the juice he brought into a glass, intending to offer one to his wife for her to try, but upon hearing this, he couldn't help but ask:
"Which Master Zhang? He's my disciple, Chen Tang. Does he have the right to point fingers at me?"

Liu Xin was surprised by her mentor's protectiveness and immediately started tattling:

"It is Zhang Yu, the Grand Master of Ceremonies. He was originally the Crown Prince's tutor. Now that you have become the Crown Prince's Junior Tutor, he has expressed his resentment, saying that we should be friendly neighbors with foreign tribes and that those who recklessly wage war will not have a good end!"

Upon hearing the name, Tom Cruise immediately became interested:

"So he's the person in question who holds a position without performing his duties. I'll meet him personally at the morning court session tomorrow, and if I get the chance, I'll send him to see Kuang Heng!"

(End of this chapter)