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

Chapter 270 Liu Che: The bridges of the Tang Dynasty are only six zhang wide? Then I'll build eight zhang wide! [Seeking monthly votes]

Zigong was heartbroken. He had gone to great lengths and spent all his wealth to promote his mentor's ideas and political views, only to find that they had become tools for these scoundrels to fool the people.

What's even more infuriating is that the descendants of our revered teacher are spineless sycophants who actually kneel before barbarians, which is a disgrace to the Confucius family!
He calmed himself down and looked at Xi Shi, asking:

"How do the people of your world view my mentor?"

Xi Shi said:

There's a saying there: "Down with the Confucian shop, save Confucius." They deeply resent some of the Confucian doctrines, but they still have great respect for Confucius himself.

Although Confucianism has been distorted, Confucius himself was absolutely fine. A tall, 1.9-meter-tall Shandong man, he would casually drive his car and smash someone's head in. He was a model of both literary and martial prowess.

Upon hearing this, Zigong's desire to change the Confucian doctrines of later generations became even more fervent. He planned to learn as much as possible along the way, summarize his mentor's words and ideas, and pass them down from generation to generation.

To prevent them from being lost during historical upheavals, special personnel were assigned to carve stone tablets every few decades and bury them underground. If a book burning and burying of scholars occurred, the stone tablets would be dug up so that the world could see the true doctrines of Confucianism.

While he was devising how to prevent Confucian classics from being misinterpreted, Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Che, stood in the courtyard of Weiyang Palace, staring at the long arms of the spider crane, speechless with astonishment.

He had someone try lifting the turbine head; it weighed 400 pounds, and it wasn't easy.

But now, the crane lifted the machine head with ease, without any effort at all:
"Qubing, when will our great Han Dynasty be able to create such a thing?"

Huo Qubing held the remote control in both hands, operating it as he spoke:
"It's very difficult. The long arm of this thing is forged from manganese steel, which is strong and not easy to break; the cable is woven from steel wire and can withstand a pulling force of ten tons; not to mention the hydraulic system, which has its own leveling function. Starting from scratch requires overcoming a lot of difficulties... We can't build it for now, but it will definitely be possible in the future."

The biggest advantage of the Han Dynasty now is its large population and strong fighting power, which allows it to capture Xiongnu people to work in the mines.

Coal mines, iron mines, limestone mines, copper mines, and so on all required a large workforce for mining, and at the same time, roads throughout the country needed to be built... There was so much to do, and it was all thanks to the Xiongnu brothers who burned themselves to illuminate the Han Dynasty.

The turbine head was hoisted to a height of six meters, then the angle was adjusted, and it was steadily placed on the generator pole.

After it was placed, three officials who had received a few days of mechanical installation training stood on the bamboo frame and skillfully began to install the protective plates and tighten the screws with wrenches, busy as bees.

Before long, the generator was installed, the generator head slowly turned, and the generator indicator light came on.

Liu Che looked up at the plane's nose turning and said with a smile:

"What would normally require dozens of people to do, this thing was done in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Is there anything else in Chang'an that needs to be hoisted? We can drive this thing over and hoist it together."

Like Huo Qubing, he wanted to lift something whenever he saw a crane.

As Huo Qubing was considering his options, Li Cai, who had come to the palace to watch the machine being installed, said:

"Your Majesty, several wooden beams on the Weihe Bridge have rotted and need to be replaced. However, the Weihe River is flooded this year, making it impossible to stand on them. If these beams could be used to lift them up, it would surely benefit the country and the people, and make things easier for them."

The Wei River Bridge existed during the Han Dynasty, but it was a wooden structure that required regular maintenance to prevent it from collapsing.

Upon hearing of such a promising project, Emperor Wu of Han ordered Huo Qubing to drive a crane to the Wei River to replace the wooden beams on the bridge. He then inquired about the bridge repair project.

"Qubing, how were bridges built in later generations?"

Huo Qubing thought for a moment and then mentioned the Dongwei Bridge built during the Tang Dynasty:

"After several years of preparation, and taking advantage of the winter, the people of the three counties were mobilized to build a bridge six zhang wide in more than a month. Although it has been repaired many times since then, the whole bridge has been in use for more than a hundred years. Even more than a thousand years later, the remains of the bridge piers can still be seen."

Upon hearing this, Liu Che also decided to build such an imposing bridge.

What's so special about building a 60-zhang-wide structure in the Tang Dynasty? I'll just build an 80-zhang-wide one!

Thinking of this, Liu Che said to Li Cai:

"Starting today, corvée labor will be conscripted from Guanzhong. Wealthy families can pay to offset the labor, and the money raised will be used to support the laborers, quarry stone and timber from Nanshan, and burn lime to prepare for bridge construction in winter!"

Emperor Wu was a typical action-oriented person. He would implement good ideas on the spot. As for the manpower issue, he would later transfer some foreign prisoners to do hard labor to relieve the pressure on the people.

Huo Qubing used a remote control to retract the crane's boom and outriggers, and then controlled the crane to move outwards.

Seeing the driver's seat was empty, Liu Che jumped in without a word, feeling the smoothness of the rubber tracks, and exclaimed in admiration:
"This thing is truly a divine weapon! With a few cranes and a little modification, it can become a siege ladder, making sieges a piece of cake!" Huo Qubing remarked from the side.
“Master has fire ladder trucks for rescuing people. Sister Meiniang said that if there is a need for attacking the city, we can buy two and modify them to use them. There are also lifting vehicles that can lift ten people to several feet high at once. If we launch a night attack, we can send more than a hundred people to the city wall in a few rounds.”

Although siege warfare often requires tens of thousands of people to fight, a night raid can easily open up a battlefield with just over a hundred people, and if things go smoothly, they might even be able to open the city gates.

Upon hearing of such a treasure, Liu Che said:
"If there is an opportunity in the future, we can ask the Immortal Master to buy one for siege drills. We can take turns using it across our various worlds. If we encounter a siege battle, we will surely be able to take it down in one fell swoop."

Huo Qubing felt that practicing siege warfare here was a bit redundant.

Because from beginning to end, Emperor Wu was causing trouble for foreign tribes. He didn't even attack cities, let alone build decent city walls.

The Tang and Song dynasties needed this thing, especially the Song dynasty. They built fortified villages with the Western Xia, and both sides were like iron turtles with maxed-out defenses. Having a siege weapon would save them a lot of trouble.

As they left Weiyang Palace, the moving tracked crane attracted a large crowd of onlookers. Liu Che, known for his eccentric personality, even stood up and gave an impromptu speech, inviting everyone to go to the Wei River to watch the entire process of lifting the logs.

It must be said that the Liu family has a good gene for eloquence. Whether in the Western Han or Eastern Han Dynasty, the Liu family produced several eloquent speakers in each generation. Impromptu speaking is a basic skill.

Just like Liu Bei, who relied on his superb eloquence to escape death from many warlords, and even persuaded the assassins who came to kill him to abandon their orders.

This is the unique personal charm of the Liu family. If it were the Li family of the Tang Dynasty, they would be significantly weaker, especially in their ability to turn the tide in adversity. The Li family was far inferior to the Liu family in this regard.

The fact that emperors of successive dynasties after the Han Dynasty were wary of the Liu family as if they were a fire is the best proof of this.

The crowd followed the crane, making a chaotic exit from the city gate. Just as Huo Qubing was about to operate the crane to the Wei River, Liu Che noticed a stone tablet standing outside the city gate, somewhat obstructing the passage of merchants. He immediately waved his hand dismissively:
"Qubing, move this thing aside!"

Soon, several soldiers came over, took shovels, dug out the base of the stone tablet, put on slings, and were steadily lifted by a crane and placed ten meters away, which immediately relieved traffic.

Next, Huo Qubing controlled the crane to the Wei River, hoisted several rotten logs aside, and replaced them with prepared logs, winning cheers from the people.

This scene further strengthened Liu Che's determination to build roads:
"We will be fighting the Xiongnu for a long time in the future. How can we do without a proper road? Li Cai, send the prisoners from Yuzhou and Shu to mine the rocks and timber."

Inside the Hunyuan Palace, Li Qingzhao finally received the Chinese medicine granulation machine. She took the items and excitedly bid farewell to Zhou Yi and Wu Meiniang, preparing to return and have Zhao Ji make some more gunpowder granules to try.

After the girl left, Zhou Yi and Wu Meiniang climbed onto the roof of the God of Wealth Temple to continue their unfinished work.

Several layers of materials need to be laid on top of the wooden rafters, then cement is spread on top, and glazed tiles are laid one by one. White cement is also applied to the four corners and the drip edges of the eaves. There are quite a few requirements.

The last main hall of Hunyuan Palace, once its roof is completed, must be done with great care.

Wu Meiniang asked:
"Immortal Master, what should we do if Guo Rong ultimately fails to unify China?"

Zhou Yi thought for a moment and said:
"It shouldn't be a big problem. With so many strategists and supporters, as long as he doesn't die too early, the goal of unifying China can be achieved. Moreover, when he returns, he can bind Zhao Kuangyin with an oath, which can be considered as combining the fortunes of two emperors. If you still can't figure it out, you can only say that Zhao Kuangyi is doing more harm than good."

Zhao Kuangyi and Zhao Pu are two ticking time bombs, and Guo Rong needs to be careful. If the timing is correct, the plaque that reads "The Inspector-General is to be Emperor" has already been delivered to Guo Rong by someone with ulterior motives, with the aim of sowing discord between Guo Rong and the current Inspector-General of the Palace Guard, Zhang Yongde.

Historically, Guo Rong was indeed provoked. Before his death, he dismissed Zhang Yongde and appointed Zhao Kuangyin, who had the weakest foundation, to the position. As a result, the plaque became a prophecy for Zhao Kuangyin's ascension to the throne.

Although Zhou Yi was very confident, Wu Meiniang decided not to go back to deliver the cutting machine for the time being. She would wait until Guo Rong came next time and have a good talk with him... The Later Zhou could fail, but the Hunyuan Palace could not fail. This was related to the Immortal Master's face and could not be lost!

For the next two days, the two worked on the roof all day, and the progress was quite fast, especially since the way the tiles were laid was much more convenient than before; they could just be laid one by one in a regular pattern.

As Wu Meiniang was passing tiles up the roof, she noticed that some tiles were missing from the ridge. She counted them several times, then looked up at Zhou Yi and said:

"Immortal Master, it seems three pieces are missing. What should we do?"

Zhou Yi climbed down the scaffolding from the roof, looked at the tiles, and seeing that there weren't enough, said:

"I'll call and order a few more. You can check if we have enough tiles for the other parts. If we're short, we can buy them all at once."

He had wanted to call the person who ordered the tiles for a long time to find out who they were, and now that he had the opportunity, he could finally find out.

Wu Meiniang counted the tiles; none were missing. Zhou Yi then returned to his room, retrieved his grandfather's notebook, found the building materials supplier's phone number, and dialed it…

(End of this chapter)