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

Chapter 260 Xin Qiji Kills Monk Yiduan with His Spear! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Xin Qiji was no stranger to the monk Yiduan; the first time he faced death in history was caused by this frivolous monk.

In 1161 AD, the thirty-first year of the Shaoxing reign of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Jin ruler Wanyan Liang launched a major southward invasion, intending to destroy the Southern Song. Geng Jing and others rose up in rebellion, leading their troops into the Dongshan Mountains, which is now the Yimeng Mountains, to resist the Jin people. Their rebellion was very powerful, and people of ambition throughout the north actively responded.

At that time, Xin Qiji also led a force of two thousand men to join Geng Jing's army.

Seeing that Xin Qiji was eloquent and came from a prestigious family, Geng Jing appointed him as the chief secretary of the rebel army, an important position of confidential secretary.

Xin Qiji recruited the monk Yiduan, who had broken free of the rules and regulations and become an outlaw, to fight against the Jin dynasty.

As a result, Yi Duan stole the seal of the rebel army and defected, intending to exchange it for money in the Jin camp to live a wealthy life. Geng Jing almost beheaded Xin Qiji, who recommended Yi Duan, and displayed his head to the public.

Xin Qiji made a pledge, stating that he would accept punishment if he did not retrieve the imperial seal. Then, he ambushed Yi Duan on a side road and beheaded the traitorous monk.

From then on, Xin Qiji rose to prominence in the rebel army, and he was even in charge of important matters such as going south to contact the Song court.

Now, just as we're about to enter the Yimeng Mountains, we've unexpectedly encountered the monk Yiduan who's trying to rob us on the road. Without a doubt, we must cut off his head.

Xin Qiji, carrying a long spear, rode forward and looked at the burly monk Yiduan, saying:

"With the nation in peril, all you do is bully the weak. Make your move, I want to see what kind of person you really are!"

The monk Yiduan grinned maliciously:
"Pretty arrogant, huh? Just wait and see what happens when you try to be arrogant with me!"

He spurred his horse and charged towards Xin Qiji, gripping his machete in both hands, intending to deliver a fatal blow.

The two horses approached quickly. Xin Qiji braced his spear with both hands. Everyone could see that this was a defensive stance. When facing a weapon like a machete, choosing to defend was the safest course of action.

This was exactly the effect the monk Yiduan wanted. He planned to get close and, instead of slashing the spear shaft, cut it open by slicing it, bypassing the spear shaft's defense, and directly slit open Xin Qiji's belly.

His ideals were lofty, but unfortunately, when the two horses were about ten feet apart, Xin Qiji suddenly changed from parrying to thrusting straight at the monk Yiduan, who watched helplessly as the dragon-like spear pierced his heart.

"Oh!"

His body crashed heavily to the ground. Xin Qiji calmly dismounted, drew his short sword, swiftly severed the monk's head, and, with a spear, tossed it into the band of bandits.

"If you're not afraid to die, come on!"

To everyone's surprise, these cowards all ran away in a flash, abandoning even the body of the monk Yiduan.

Xin Qiji said:
"Hang up Yi Duan's headless corpse and let the bandits who rob us on the road see what happens when you oppress the people!"

Xin Youzhi rode up on horseback, carrying an iron spear, and asked curiously:

"Brother, why didn't you use divine lightning to kill him?"

Xin Qiji carefully wiped the bloodstains from the dagger, and said disdainfully:
"How could such a despicable person be worthy of Divine Thunder? Killing him with a single spear thrust is already too lenient on him!"

After saying this, he ordered everyone to continue forward, saying that once they reached the Yimeng Mountains, they would be invincible.

Historically, Geng Jing followed this route when he rebelled: he led his army to hide in the Yimeng Mountains, where the main army could not break in, but he was able to threaten several surrounding counties from the mountains, and even the port of Jiaonan was under his military might.

The Jin army besieged Geng Jing for more than a year with little success, but instead made Geng Jing even more famous.

Left with no other choice, the Jin dynasty had to change its strategy, attracting the rebels with high-ranking official positions and generous rewards. They also promised that all the rebels would be forgiven for their past crimes once they came down from the mountains. As a result, the rebel army quickly collapsed.

Zhang Anguo killed Geng Jing and obtained the position of prefect of Jizhou. However, before he could take office, Xin Qiji stormed into the military camp, took Zhang Anguo to Lin'an, and beheaded him as a warning to the public.

Now, Xin Qiji planned to seize Dongshan before Geng Jing, and then write letters to Jia Rui of Caizhou and Wang Youzhi of Daming Prefecture. Both of them were key members of the rebel army, and were both brave and resourceful. After joining the Southern Song court, they had both made military achievements.

Unfortunately, because of their status as reformed officials, Jia Rui and Wang Youzhi, like Xin Qiji, were never given important positions.

To prevent the bandits on the mountain from gathering again, Xin Qiji led a group of his family members on horseback up the mountain, collected all the gold, silver, and kitchen utensils, and then set the entire mountain stronghold on fire.

Over the next few days, they continued their journey. Although their pace was slow, they were gradually getting closer to their base in Yimeng Mountain.

Inside Hunyuan Palace, Zhou Yi worked tirelessly for several days, setting up scaffolding and hanging up the cured pork to dry. In a few more days, they would be able to eat the dried salted pork.

Just as they were busy, a figure flashed in the main hall. Wu Meiniang, dressed in a blue Taoist robe and carrying a backpack, returned to the Hunyuan Palace she had been longing for.

She hurried to the courtyard and saw Zhou Yi hanging pieces of meat on the clothesline, so she quickly came over to help:

"Immortal Master, is it the season for making cured meat now?" Zhou Yi asked.

"No, Uncle Ming brought me half a pig, but I can't eat it all right away, so I'll just have to marinate it for now... With the black iron token, Li Shimin's efforts to Sinicize the foreign tribes are going quite smoothly. He's killing ten foreign officials a day. In the past, he would have cried for days, wouldn't he?"

The man who proclaimed in the early years of the Zhenguan era, "Since ancient times, all have valued the Chinese and despised the barbarians, but I alone love them equally," later in his life, angrily declared, "The barbarians are beasts; they fear power but do not cherish virtue."

From Lao Li's speech, it is clear that he was deeply hurt by the foreign tribes... In the early Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty fought against all the surrounding foreign tribes, and then supported them by sending them technology and talents. In the late Tang Dynasty, these foreign tribes grew stronger and took turns ravaging the Tang Dynasty.

This influence was extremely profound and was not eliminated until Zhu Yuanzhang rebuilt China. However, the rift between the Han people in the north and south was difficult to repair.

Wu Zetian said with a smile:

"Ten officials of the fifth rank or above died in a single court assembly, which shook Chang'an. The foreign tribes inside and outside the city became much more obedient, and overnight all the Hu people in the West Market put on round-necked robes and adopted Han names."

After saying this, she asked Zhou Yi with a question in her mind:
"On the second day of the grand court assembly, many Han-assimilated non-Han ethnic groups began to suppress their own people who resisted the imperial decrees, and even murders occurred. Why is this?"

The Book of Changes says:

"This is called convert fanaticism. Spend more time online. Those who blindly praise the West are typical convert fanatics. They call themselves 'high-class Chinese,' but in China they are more often called 'brains.'"

Wu Zetian never expected that this could reflect reality, so she decided to take a look when she wasn't busy and first understand these kinds of terms.

The two of them worked together and quickly hung the marinated meat to dry.

Zhou Yi washed his hands, went to the God of Wealth Temple to change the incense for the statue of Guan Gong, and then began to prepare lunch... With Meiniang coming, he couldn't just make do with whatever he could find; he had to be more particular.

While he was chopping meat in the kitchen to prepare stir-fries, Wu Zetian leaned against the doorframe, talking about the Zhenguan era:

"Li Weigong's token has been sent along with the imperial edict. It will take until next month at the earliest to receive it. His Majesty is somewhat worried about the war situation in Goguryeo and wants to send more troops, but he is also worried about the instability in the northwest."

The Book of Changes says:

"We can have him recruit some volunteers. Anyone with combat experience who wants to contribute to the Tang Dynasty can sign up for the battlefield... The Tang Dynasty is a nation of soldiers, and they can even bring their own horses. Why not use them?"

Wu Zetian's eyes lit up:
"Could you please explain in detail, Immortal Master?"

Zhou Yi was merely a smooth talker, spouting nonsense all along. Seeing the Empress's intense gaze, he braced himself and said:

"You can shout some slogans, such as avenging the people who died unjustly in Liaodong, or slogans like 'Every inch of our land is bought with blood, ten thousand youths and ten thousand soldiers,' whatever gets the blood pumping. But remember, after the war, reward them as you would like to be. Don't be like Yang Guang and try to renege on your promises. Once trust is broken, it's very difficult to rebuild."

Wu Zetian took out her notebook and wrote down the words of the Book of Changes verbatim:
"Master, is there similar information online?"

"Yes, you can search for 'Song of Educated Youth Joining the Army,' modify it to the style of the Tang Dynasty, and then you can use it to recruit soldiers."

It's a pity we can't broadcast videos, otherwise, if we filmed some videos of them bravely fighting on the battlefield and played them on a loop in various prefectures and counties, the number of Tang Dynasty soldiers joining the army would have overwhelmed the registration offices.

While the recruitment of soldiers was being discussed at Hunyuan Palace, inside the Military Equipment Bureau of Emperor Zhezong of the Northern Song Dynasty.

As Zhao Ji and the others stepped on the rock-solid concrete, they exclaimed in disbelief that what had been a soft, mushy mess just five days ago had become this.

Following the instructions, he slowly poured a basin of water onto the concrete surface for maintenance, but his mind was entirely on the wind turbine.

To install the 400-pound motor, he had someone set up an extremely large scaffold nearby, where people would pull it with ropes, lift it, and stand on the scaffold to pull it upwards.

With everyone working together, the motor can be easily installed.

The Ordnance Bureau has now started using electricity. At the forging workshop, a high-volume blower has been installed. The air it blows is much stronger than a bellows, and it can heat the steel to be forged to the predetermined temperature in a short time.

In addition, electronic thermometers for forging have begun to be used, which allows for better temperature control and ensures the stability of ordnance materials.

Li Qingzhao rode over on her electric scooter, took a picture of the concrete base, and then looked up at the time on her digital watch:
"Let's start installing now."

Emperor Huizong asked for instructions:
"Isn't five days too short? Should we let it solidify for a few more days?"

Li Qingzhao was in a hurry to get to Hunyuan Palace, and waved her hand, saying:
"No need. This kind of generator isn't heavy, and the base is embedded in the ground. Even if the concrete hasn't completely hardened, gravity will still hold it down firmly. Besides, the Immortal Master has fossil talismans. I'll bring two next time to reinforce it and make sure it's foolproof."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ji waved to the nearby workers and said:

"Come, come, get ready to install the generator! The military equipment manufacturing of our Great Song Dynasty is finally about to enter the electrical age!"

(End of this chapter)