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

Chapter 273 The Antarctic Immortal Emperor Has Also Started Taking Orders! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Last time, Guo Rong was in such a rush that he didn't even have time to drink a sip of water. Today, he made a special trip early in the morning just to experience the heavenly food.

Today's breakfast at Hunyuan Palace is pumpkin and millet porridge. The pumpkin is cooked into a puree and mixed with the millet, making it sweet and delicious. It goes well with the vegetable pancakes and vegetarian buns made by Zhou Yi.

Guo Rong served himself a large bowl of millet porridge, ate a steamed bun in two bites, and exclaimed in admiration:
"The flour here in the immortal's place is very fragrant and the filling is also exceptionally delicious. As the emperor, I have never tasted such a delicacy."

The Book of Changes says:

“We have a wider variety of seasonings here. Once you have completed your northern expedition, I will give you some seeds so that you can promote them within the Great Zhou territory and enrich the people’s diet and lives.”

While they were talking, Guo Rong had already eaten his second steamed bun and even managed to steal a couple of sips of pumpkin and millet porridge, praising the taste of the pumpkin.

Wu Zetian introduced:

"This thing is called pumpkin. According to historical development, it was not introduced to China until the mid-Ming Dynasty. However, now that we have the immortal, the people of the Great Zhou will soon be able to plant it and make use of the open space in front of and behind their houses to grow fruits and vegetables and improve their living standards."

Guo Rong wrote them down one by one, and unconsciously began to envision the future of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

He drank two large bowls of pumpkin and millet porridge, ate six steamed buns, and two vegetable pancakes. If Zhou Yi hadn't promised him a big lunch, this emperor could have continued to show off.

To be honest, with that appetite, he could easily live for another twenty years.

After the meal, Guo Rong mentioned that someone had poisoned him:
"I thought that as long as I worked hard, acted fairly and justly, and ended the chaos, everyone would support me. Who would have thought that they didn't want to end this chaos, but only wanted to rely on their power to trample on the people and act like tyrants."

The Book of Changes says:

“Should we kill such people? If it’s inconvenient for you to take action, just summon divine thunder. The gods of the Thunder Department are eager to eliminate national traitors and earn merit.”

Guo Rong didn't mind purging the troops, but he didn't know how to change the soldiers' mindset.

“They massacred cities, looted, killed innocent people to claim credit, and some even took pleasure in cannibalism and torture. Although I have tried my best to restrain them, some generals still do as they please in private.”

The Five Dynasties period can be described as hell in Chinese history. Many people who came from that era were somewhat perverse. For example, Wang Yansheng, a founding general of the Song Dynasty, liked to eat people's ears raw. When he was in charge of the Western Xia, the Tangut people were even traumatized by his eating.

Zhao Kuangyin's brother-in-law was a cannibal, eating prisoners, slaves, concubines... he was worse than an animal.

The Book of Changes says:

"I will help you establish your authority as soon as possible, and then we can start cleaning up these scum and scoundrels."

We cannot launch a large-scale purge operation right now, otherwise it would easily drive these soldiers to revolt... They are so familiar with this process that they don't even need to practice it.

Guo Rong also wanted to establish supreme authority in the army, the kind of authority that meant no one could have his word and that everyone would obey his call.

However, the various armies were not under each other's command, and infighting among the generals was constant. As the emperor, he could only balance the various forces and could not command the army as easily as he wanted.

Wu Zetian had a lot of experience in how to establish authority:

"Where are you going to attack next?"

"Zhuozhou is where tens of thousands of Khitan troops are stationed, mostly cavalry. Their generals all want to avoid direct confrontation, feeling that they cannot defeat the Khitan."

Starting from the late Tang Dynasty, the foreign tribes surrounding China began to wreak havoc on the Central Plains time and time again. The people and military officers in the Central Plains once again had the illusion that "foreign tribes are invincible" as they had during the Five Barbarian Invasions.

Actually, this is a psychological issue. With proper training, even the weak Southern Song Dynasty could produce an army like Yue Fei's that could inflict post-traumatic stress disorder on the Jin people.

The armies of the Later Zhou dynasty were all drawn from the crucible of the Five Dynasties. As long as they could overcome their mental obstacles, destroying the Liao dynasty during the reign of Emperor Shuizong would not be a problem.

Wu Zetian looked at the map of the Later Zhou period and sighed:
"This was originally the land of the Han and Tang dynasties, and the Lu family of Fanyang was a prominent clan that spanned the Han and Tang periods. Now, it has been destroyed by the iron hooves of foreign invaders... Are there still many Han people left here?"

Guo Rong's intelligence work was quite thorough:
"There are many, nearly 90% of the residents are Han Chinese. The Liao Dynasty implemented a system of Han people governing Han people in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, and did not interfere much with the lives of the Han people."

Upon hearing this, Wu Meiniang said:

"Immortal Master, you have a treasure here that can fly into the sky and carry your voice for miles. If the attack on Zhuozhou goes poorly, you can use this method to incite the people in the city to rebel against Liao. If you succeed, your prestige will surely rise greatly. Even if you fail to incite them, you can still give a pre-battle speech to the entire army so that everyone in the army can hear your voice..."

In an era of supernatural phenomena, a drone flying through the air and shouting messages could easily be mistaken by everyone as a divine miracle... and of course, it is a miracle in itself.

As long as Guo Rong has good speaking skills, inspiring people is a piece of cake.

Zhou Yi thought this method was good; it required little investment and yielded quick returns—it was practically a sure-fire way to make money.

To make this "Emperor's Speech" even more successful, he told Guo Rong about Napoleon:

“Napoleon had a talent for remembering everyone’s names. When he was arrested during his last uprising, he called out the names of the soldiers who were arresting him. The soldiers were surprised that the emperor could even remember their names. They immediately turned against him and supported Napoleon’s ascension to the throne. I hope you can also chat with the ordinary soldiers often, talk to them, and listen to their needs, instead of just sitting in a high position and not knowing the hardships of the people.”

Guo Rong bowed and said:

"I will heed your teachings, Immortal Master!" Zhou Yi stood up and said.

"Let's go see who wrote this sign."

After saying this, he led Guo Rong to the Sanqing Hall, set out offerings, and then brought out the Bagua abacus.

Zhou Yi had Guo Rong kneel on a prayer mat and placed the plaque that read "Inspector to Emperor" on the Bagua abacus. Then, he turned the abacus and a hexagram quickly appeared.

He analyzed the hexagram and derived the character 【炅】.

Jiong? Isn't that Zhao Guangyi's name after he came to power?
Zhou Yi initially thought it was Zhao Pu's doing, but he had guessed the wrong person... He looked at Guo Rong and said:

"It was written by Zhao Kuangyin's younger brother, Zhao Kuangyi, but how exactly it got into the memorial is probably a matter of many other people involved. It would be too much trouble for you to check them one by one, so I'll just handle it for you."

After saying this, he led Guo Rong to the Hall of Longevity and paid homage to the Antarctic Emperor of Longevity.

Guo Rong's lifespan has been extended, and since Huo Qubing and Zhao Xu both came from this hall, let's now offer some merit to the Antarctic Longevity Emperor.

Zhou Yi placed the plaque inscribed with "Inspector Becomes Emperor" on the offering table, lit an incense stick, and Guo Rong knelt on the prayer mat, kowtowing repeatedly.

Soon, a bright green leaf drifted down onto the offering table. The leaf was so vibrant and full of life that it looked as if it had just been picked from the tree.

Guo Rong looked on in surprise and asked curiously:

"Immortal Master, what is this?"

"A token given by the Antarctic Emperor of Immortality".

Before he knew it, he had already collected four leaves. Apart from the red leaf belonging to Wang Lingguan, which was for protecting the soul, Zhou Yi was completely clueless about the functions of the other leaves.

He planned to wait until Guo Rong and Wu Meiniang left, then try them out one by one to find out how to use these leaves as soon as possible.

As the two spoke, the writing on the wooden sign gradually faded, and then disappeared completely, as if it had never existed.

At the same time, the world after Zhou.

In the camp outside Guiyi City, Zhao Kuangyi, the chief of the Imperial Guard and the official in charge of the Imperial Sacrifices, was passing by the stables when he was suddenly kicked in the chest by a mad horse. He fell to the ground, coughing up blood, and died in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

While he lay on the ground vomiting blood, several other low-ranking officers and attendants in the emperor's tent also died due to various accidents.

Some drowned in cesspools, some choked to death while drinking water, some choked to death while eating pancakes... It was like an exhibition of accidental deaths.

Inside the Hunyuan Palace, Guo Rong rose respectfully from before the statue of the Longevity Emperor and said:

"I hope I haven't caused the Emperor any trouble."

Zhou Yi saw that the writing on the sign had disappeared and said with a smile:

"Even the gods would love to have this kind of trouble... You were supposed to come out of this temple, but we all forgot that you became a god after you died. The nine gods of wealth recommended you here, probably because they felt that your unfulfilled ambitions were too tragic, so they gave you a chance to realize your aspirations again."

Guo Rong said with deep concern:
"But I still feel like I don't know where to start. I always feel like I have to worry about everything, and I wish I could split myself in two."

The Book of Changes says:

"Make good use of your token. First, use oaths to maintain relations with a group of officials, formulate practical laws, and then gradually improve people's livelihoods. You have a long lifespan, so don't worry about not having enough time."

As long as one continues to perform good deeds, one's lifespan can be extended indefinitely.

Guo Rong nodded and followed Zhou Yi out of the Hall of Longevity to ask Wu Meiniang how to use the token.

At noon, Zhou Yi stewed some meat and prepared several stir-fried dishes, which made Guo Rong very happy.

However, what made him even happier was understanding how to use the token, especially after learning that Zhao Xu had successfully bound himself to a notorious historical villain using an oath, which he found eye-opening.

In addition, Guo Rong also obtained a large box of lighters, a set of folding solar panels, a high-capacity outdoor power supply, a tablet computer with a lot of data stored, four reconnaissance drones and a loudspeaker drone.

After the meal, he mastered the operating essentials of the drone and even tested the sound transmission effect of the loudspeaker, filled with anticipation for the upcoming pre-battle mobilization.

In the evening, Guo Rong left Hunyuan Palace, and then Wu Meiniang returned to the Zhenguan World with a pot of diesel oil and a cutting machine.

The vast Hunyuan Palace was once again left with only Master Zhou as the lone commander.

He ate a hasty dinner, picked up the Modern Chinese Dictionary with the leaf tucked inside, and planned to figure out how to use the three leaves given to him by the Buddha, the Ziwei Emperor, and the Longevity Emperor...

(End of this chapter)