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

Chapter 263 The Han people's suffering will be tasted by the Xiongnu too! [Seeking monthly votes]

After issuing the order, Sima Qian rode to the center of the tribe. At that time, the tribal chief was still blabbing and pledging his loyalty to Zhao Ponu when the enraged Sima Qian chopped off his arm with a single stroke.
"Commander Zhao, there are hundreds of Han Chinese imprisoned inside, many of them covered in wounds and without even a piece of clothing..."

Zhao Ponu immediately terminated the interrogation:

"Summon the best swordsman in the army, tie this man up, and chop him into a human stick!"

As a wandering child who grew up in the Xiongnu region, Zhao Ponu knew all too well what kind of humiliation those Han people had suffered. He dismounted and walked to the camp that Sima Qian mentioned. Just one glance brought back a flood of childhood memories.

"Dress them, treat their injuries, then capture all the Huns and chop off their heads against the wheels of a cart!"

The entire tribe consisted of several thousand Xiongnu people, with far more men than women. Young Xiongnu women were taken back as spoils of war to reward veteran soldiers, while the men…

"The General has ordered that any man shorter than a cartwheel shall live!"

Upon hearing this, many Xiongnu people called their children aside and began to instruct them not to forget the national humiliation, creating a very tragic scene.

But this somber atmosphere didn't last long before it was broken by the brothers Su Jia and Su Wu.

The two brothers pushed over four or five cartwheels, laid them flat in front of the Xiongnu, and then began to carry out General Wei Qing's military order: anyone whose weight was lower than the cartwheels could live.

But the leveled wheels were less than a foot high, and the Huns, who had just been relieved that their son was alive, instantly collapsed.

To further break them down, Zhao Ponu ordered that they start with the children:
"You went south to plunder the Han people, now you will feel the pain of the Han people losing their homes and loved ones!"

Soon, the execution began. Cries, pleas for mercy, and screams filled the air. Three thousand cavalrymen took turns carrying out the executions. After the executions were completed, the corpses of the Xiongnu were dragged to one side and a mound of corpses was built to serve as a warning to other Xiongnu tribes.

If you want to raid southwards, you should be prepared to have your entire clan wiped out!

While the execution was being carried out, Su Jia led a group of men to collect all the weapons, arrows, food, mounts, sheep, gold, tents, and other items from the entire Xiongnu tribe.

There weren't many prisoners of war in this battle, so we need to take some spoils back with us; otherwise, it would look like we'd suffered a defeat, which wouldn't be honorable.

The army medics began treating the Han Chinese servants, cleaning and bandaging their wounds, and temporarily placing those with mobility issues on oxcarts.

Most of these servants were women, and they looked as if they had been tortured for a long time; each of them had a numb expression on their face.

Only after all the Xiongnu people had been killed and their corpses were neatly stacked into a mound of corpses did they seem to come alive, grabbing the hands of the Han soldiers and asking repeatedly:

"Are we dreaming? Can you take us home?"

These few simple words brought tears to the eyes of the warriors who had just experienced blood and fire, and several of them hacked at the corpses of the Huns to vent their frustration.

On the other side, Li Ju, worried about the young men, led a squad of personal guards to a location dozens of miles away:
"Deploy the drones and see what they're doing."

Soon, the drone took off. The soldier operating the drone, seeing the image transmitted from it, asked in confusion:
"They seem to be... building a mound of skulls!"

Hearing this, Li Ju was somewhat puzzled. Why build a mound of skulls instead of dealing with other Xiongnu tribes during such a pleasant, breezy day? That kind of thing takes a lot of energy and time.

He picked up the walkie-talkie, tuned to Zhao Ponu's dedicated channel 099, and began to speak:
"I am Li Ju, Zhao Ponu. What are you doing?"

"Reporting to the general, we are seeking revenge!"

Zhao Ponu gave a brief report of the process, which made Li Ju's blood boil:

"You can retreat after you're done. Leave the tribes on the left to me. We can't just watch you take your revenge. My men are also eager for battle and need to calm their nerves by killing some Xiongnu."

The last raid on the camp wasn't enough, and now that we're in this situation again, we naturally want to seize the opportunity to make new contributions.

After issuing the orders, Li Ju began to assemble the cavalry and release all the scouts, preparing to wipe out a small Xiongnu tribe on the left and build a mound of corpses there as well.

Before leaving, he asked about the origin of the phrase "laying the wheels flat," and learned that it was a military order issued by the general, so he decided to carry it out to the end.

Inside the Hunyuan Palace, Zhou Yi flipped through the black notebook and discovered that his merits had silently increased dramatically.

Zhao Ponu breached the Xiongnu camp and rescued hundreds of Han slaves, earning him +30 merit points.

[Zhao Ponu ordered the wheels of the cart to be knocked down as revenge for the extermination of the Xiongnu, merit +30]

He quietly gained six ounces of merit, proving that a quiet person can be surprisingly ruthless and taciturn!

We should find a way to give them an extra reward later; we can't be stingy with those who have made contributions.

Speaking of Zhao Ponu, he was quite impressive. He was the first Eagle Strike General in Chinese history. This title, which was later called a "miscellaneous general," was given to him by Emperor Wu of Han, and it fits Zhao Ponu's position as a top-notch deputy.

Many people say that Zhao Ponu relied solely on Huo Qubing, but that's a one-sided view. Zhao Ponu later managed to destroy the Cheshi and capture the King of Loulan, which shows he was quite capable. Moreover, he was later captured by the Xiongnu, endured for ten years, and finally escaped back with his son. Isn't that more impressive than some boastful family's generals?

Unfortunately, they were implicated in the witchcraft scandal and both father and son were killed.

Now that the witchcraft scare is over, if Zhao Ponu is properly trained, he will surely become a prominent figure in the Han military.

Just as he was reminiscing, Wu Meiniang brought a cup of tea to Zhou Yi's room:

"Immortal Master, how much merit will be rewarded for killing that Director Cao today?"

Zhou Yi nodded:

"The reward of one or two taels is so-so..."

Originally, I was quite happy to receive one or two taels of merit, but compared to the six taels that Zhao Ponu brought, Director Cao's one or two taels of merit was somewhat insignificant.

Zhou Yi closed his notebook and asked Wu Meiniang:

"The micro-wind generators in the Northern Song Dynasty have been installed. What's the situation on your side?"

Wu Zetian said:
"His Majesty ordered that the blower head be installed on the roof of the Liangyi Hall with expansion bolts. Two bags of cement were left for research, and the rest were mixed with sand and gravel to make concrete, which was then spread in front of the Zhuque Gate so that the people and officials could see the new building materials. He also issued an edict that whoever could mass-produce the cement would have it named after them."

The Book of Changes reveals that some emperors were highly regarded, and this was no exaggeration. Two tons of cement, mixed into concrete, wouldn't cover a large area, but using the right to name things was enough to motivate their officials and the people.

In the coming decades, Datang will definitely ignite a surge of interest in science, engineering, and materials science.

There's no way around it; once the naming rights are handed over, even the most indifferent people will fight and scramble for them.

Don't underestimate this name. For many people, it may be a great opportunity to make a name for themselves in history and for a family to rise to prominence. Missing it could lead to a lifetime of regret.

Zhou Yi gave Wu Meiniang a copy of the coke data he had compiled:
"Go back and have the Ministry of Works study this. Using coke to smelt steel can greatly increase steel production and also save timber. The Tang Dynasty should promote the use of coal as much as possible. As for the labor force for coal mining, let Li Shimin go to the grasslands to find it himself."

At the same time, in the world of the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin led his officials to the Zhuque Gate, and stepping onto the solid, paved road, he looked at his ministers and asked:

"What are your thoughts, my esteemed ministers?"

Changsun Wuji squatted down and scratched the hardened concrete with his fingers a couple of times, sighing:
"This old minister feels as if he has lived in vain for decades at the bottom of a well."

Fang Xuanling tapped the concrete pavement with his cane and said in a deep voice:
"If this item is used to connect the roads between Guanzhong and Luoyang, the Tang Dynasty will certainly not have to worry about food."

Chu Suiliang flipped through the concrete user manual and asked Li Shimin for advice:
"Your Majesty, the instructions say this item will expand and contract with temperature changes, so expansion joints need to be cut in it. What are expansion joints? How should they be cut?"

Li Shimin said:
"When Meiniang returns this time, she will bring a cutting machine. You will understand then... The technique for calcining cement has been given to you. You can ask for any equipment you need. My requirement is very simple: before next summer, I want to see finished cement calcined by our Great Tang Dynasty!"

He had already decided that once the cement was available, he would start building roads as soon as possible, ending the embarrassing situation of Chang'an being covered in yellow mud every time it rained heavily.

As for the roads and bridges outside the city, they will be repaired and reinforced. In winter, the stockpiled cement will be used to build two new bridges over the Wei River to alleviate traffic pressure.

As for the pontoon bridge that is laid in Kabashanazu every spring and summer, permanent piers will also be built to make the laying of the pontoon bridge more convenient.

Coal, cement, electricity, wind power, solar energy... New terms that were unheard of before have now surged before the court officials like a giant wave, instantly broadening their horizons many times over!
The world of Emperor Wu of Han, the northern grasslands of Dingxiang.

Wei Qing received the intelligence several days later. He did not expect that the Xiongnu people right under his nose would also be so unruly. He immediately ordered generals such as Gongsun He, Gongsun Ao, and Su Jian to conduct a thorough investigation of the Xiongnu's forces in their respective jurisdictions. If any Han people were found to have been plundered, they were to be exterminated.

They won't be afraid unless we inflict heavy losses on these Xiongnu people.

Just as Wei Qing was about to rest after issuing the military orders, an imperial edict from the capital arrived.

Wei Qing took the bamboo tube, opened the sealing wax, and instead of seeing the bamboo slips, he poured out a small USB flash drive.

He dismissed those around him, plugged the USB drive into the tablet to read it, quickly finished reading the entire contents of the edict, then chose to delete it. He stood with his hands behind his back in front of the map, helping Su Jian plan a route around the Zhao Kingdom.

Killing a prince is an extremely risky undertaking. A slight misstep could lead to impeachment by the imperial clan, just as Emperor Jing was forced by the princes to have his mentor Chao Cuo executed by being cut in half at the waist. Even if the princes rebelled, it was not something an outsider like you could interfere with.

Wei Qing began to think of a plan, how to make the Zhao family infamous, so that even members of the royal family would avoid them, so as not to implicate Su Jian.

While he was devising a foolproof plan, a completely different scene unfolded inside the Hunyuan Palace.

After a few days of waiting, all the members of Hunyuan Palace finally gathered together again. Everyone arrived before six o'clock, changed into their work clothes and selected suitable work gloves. Under Zhou Yi's leadership, they prepared to raise the beam of the God of Wealth Hall!
(End of this chapter)