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

Chapter 285: Slaying the Japanese envoy to Tang China to add to the excitement of the grand military parade! [Seeking monthly votes]

It's 6 AM in the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty.

After washing up and preparing her backpack, Wu Meiniang said to Li Mingda:

"I'm going to see the Immortal Master. You should study hard. He's been worried that you won't be able to learn, and he even wants to teach you himself. Don't let the Immortal Master down."

Li Mingda nodded heavily:

"Don't worry, Sister Meiniang, I will study hard and strive to learn all the courses up to the fifth grade by the time I reach Hunyuan Palace."

The young girl was clever and sensible, and often led the palace maids and eunuchs to farm. Many old ministers praised her highly in their memorials, wishing they could erect a statue to promote Princess Jinyang's role in encouraging agriculture.

Upon arriving outside the Hall of One Yuan, the cutting machine lay quietly at the foot of the steps. These past few days, Li Shimin had been playing wildly, cutting stones, floor tiles, wood, ropes, steel bars... cutting almost anything he could find.

Fortunately, Li was not so bloodthirsty. If it were Liu Che, he would most likely have tied up the Xiongnu prisoners and then cut them up vertically with a cutting machine to experience the thrill of chainsaw.

Wu Meiniang was worried that Zhou Yi would need a cutting machine, so she planned to take it back with her and bring it back later if needed.

Li Mingda was somewhat reluctant to part with her, and tugged at Wu Meiniang's sleeve, asking softly:

When will Sister Meiniang return?

"Ten days from now, I'm not sure exactly. Next time I come back, I'll bring you lots of food and fill the fridge."

After saying that, Wu Meiniang touched the cutting machine and gently lifted her leg. She and the cutting machine disappeared into thin air in an instant, leaving only Li Mingda with a melancholy face.

The little girl sighed, raised her wristwatch to check the time, and strolled towards the Liangyi Hall, intending to have breakfast with her father and, incidentally, supervise him to eat more vegetables.

Upon arriving at the Liangyi Hall, the morning court session was still ongoing. Today's session was a small assembly, with few attendees, making it more like a less formal cabinet meeting. Many important decrees were passed at the small assembly before being announced at the main assembly.

When Li Mingda entered, Fang Xuanling was introducing Japan:

"In the fifth year of the Zhenguan era, Gao Ying's son, Gao Biaoren, was sent as an envoy to Japan. Upon arrival, the Japanese king wished to address Your Majesty as a brother. Biaoren, in anger, tore up the letter of credence and intended to return it. The Japanese king was terrified and thus treated the Tang envoy with the courtesy due to a vassal state. Biaoren resented this and refused to form an alliance. As a result, our Great Tang has not established diplomatic relations with Japan to this day... Why did Your Majesty inquire about this matter?"

Changsun Wuji, who was standing to the side, knew Li Shimin very well:
"Does Your Majesty intend to wage war against Japan?"

Li Shimin nodded:
"How dare this tiny country presume to be so arrogant? My plan is to take over the peninsula and then send my navy eastward in one fell swoop, through Tsushima Island, to occupy some important towns in Japan, and then slowly nibble away at them."

Changsun Wuji was somewhat bewildered. The war against Goguryeo was still in its preparatory stage, yet His Majesty had already set the next target. Did he not intend to let Li Weigong rest?

Besides, what use would it be to occupy that tiny, mountainous place with little soil and constant earthquakes?
Before he could even ask, Li Shimin produced a map showing the distribution of mineral deposits in Japan, causing several old ministers who were about to object to immediately make a 180-degree turn:
“The operation across the sea is of great importance. We should send people there first to explore the island’s terrain and draw maps in the name of signing the treaty.”

"We need to bring some sophisticated items to bribe officials and extract intelligence on things like ocean currents, manpower, and supplies, in order to prepare for the army's landing."

"The Japanese have a repulsive appearance and talk nonsense, so they may not be trustworthy. It would be best to bring a drone for high-altitude reconnaissance."

"..."

Li Shimin simply set the stage by presenting a mineral map, and the rest was left to his discretion; the veteran ministers could refine the details with just a few words.

This is the source of the Tang Dynasty's confidence. Don't be fooled by the fact that these old ministers have gray beards, walk with difficulty, and constantly spout benevolence and morality. When faced with the threat of national annihilation, they suddenly become as energetic as if they've been injected with adrenaline.

Even a mosquito's leg is still meat; even the smallest country can be the result of conquering another!

Soon, Fang Xuanling drafted a plan to send Gao Biaoren as his representative on an overseas visit. The reasons for sending Gao Biaoren were twofold: firstly, he had been to Japan, and secondly, he wanted to earn some military merit.

After all, when Gao Biaoren returned from his last mission to Japan, the court made no mention of it, and Li Shimin himself didn't take it to heart. But now it seems that Gao Biaoren's actions in upholding the dignity of his country deserve to be commended.

Meanwhile, inside the Hunyuan Palace.

Wu Zetian's arrival made Li Qingzhao very happy, and she took the initiative to tell the embarrassing story of getting drunk from jealousy... Well, in order to avoid Gongsun Da Niang spreading it around, she planned to reveal it in advance.

Zhou Yi cooked porridge and chatted with Wu Meiniang about Xie Daoyun:

"What do you think, Meiniang? If she comes, which palace should she be in?"

Wu Zetian thought this suggestion was good. The Xie family of the Eastern Jin Dynasty had a profound influence on China. Imagine if Xie An had not stopped Fu Jian's army, the entire history of China would probably have been rewritten.

However, the Battle of Fei River also caused the Xie family to decline. Although the family had four prominent members, the power of the Northern Army was taken away, and the successive deaths of Xie An, Xie Xuan and others caused the influence of the Xie family to decline sharply.

By the time Liu Yu rose to power, the Xie family had already split into several factions... The family had lost its leader and began to go their separate ways.

Wu Zetian thought for a moment and said:

"We can try writing her name at the Wenxuan King's Hall. If that doesn't work, we'll think of another way... Immortal Master, what are your thoughts on the history of the Eastern Jin Dynasty?"

Zhou Yi didn't have much of an opinion: "Let's focus on cultivating Liu Yu. Forget about the Sima family; I don't really like that surname."

Wu Zetian smiled and said:
"After the Gaoping Mausoleum, people will be ashamed of the Sima surname... So let's set the tone first: overthrow the Eastern Jin Dynasty and focus on cultivating Liu Yu. If there are better options, we can change course, is that right?"

Zhou Yi nodded:

"That's how it is for now. We'll discuss everything once Xie Daoyun arrives."

After saying this, he went back to the kitchen to make breakfast. Li Qingzhao pulled Wu Meiniang back to the room and took out the coat they had bought the night before last:
"This is what the Immortal Master and I bought. Sister Meiniang, why don't you try it?"

Wu Zetian thought the style of the clothes was quite beautiful:

Does anyone else have it?

“All four of us have one, and the other two belong to Sister Gongsun and Sister Xishi.”

Upon hearing this, Wu Meiniang put on the dress, zipped it up, looked at herself in the mirror, and then went to the kitchen to show it off to Zhou Yi.
"What does the Immortal Master think?"

"She's very pretty. She's pretty, so she looks good in anything."

These words immediately made Her Majesty the Empress blush. It was the first time she had been praised like this, and she was somewhat flattered.

Inside the room, Li Qingzhao looked at herself in the mirror and found that the difference was truly enormous. The loose, casual coat she was wearing became a fitted style on Wu Meiniang.

Li Duidui looked at herself in the mirror and began to criticize herself:
"Gongsun Sister and Xi Shi Sister are white rabbits, Meiniang Sister is a suckling pig, but you're just a suckling pigeon. Can't you stand up for yourself?"

Yeah, she's so into it she's even criticizing herself. No wonder she's the number one arrogant woman in the Song Dynasty.

After breakfast, Li Qingzhao and Wu Meiniang were in charge of changing the incense, while Zhou Yi drove to Qingshui Town. The Dragon King Temple had been repaired, and today the stone statues needed to be moved into the temple and re-consecrated. Zhou Yi was in charge of this matter.

Wu Meiniang originally wanted to go, but Zhou Yi felt that the sun was too strong and told her to stay in Hunyuan Palace and enjoy the air conditioning.

The last time the temple was consecrated, a timely rain fell, saving countless cornfields. So today, the temple held a second consecration ceremony, which attracted many people to come and offer incense. Even Fang Hongyan drove over and donated 50,000 yuan to the temple, becoming the top donor to the Dragon King Temple.

Today, we only moved the statue, which didn't cost much. After Zhou Yi took his share of the appearance fee, he asked Teacher Liu to use the remaining money to buy food and oil supplies to distribute to the elderly living alone in Qingshui Town.

It is said that those who are successful should help others, but unfortunately we don't have that ability yet, so we can only do some small things within our power for now.

Since the last time he experienced the blessing ceremony that brought rain, Mr. Liu has become a staunch supporter of traditional culture. He said he would inscribe the use and destination of the donations on a stone tablet and erect it in the Dragon King Temple for the Dragon King to inspect.

After the second consecration ceremony, it started to drizzle again, and many people exclaimed that the Dragon King had appeared.

They crowded into the Dragon King Temple, kowtowing and paying their respects. Some prayed for wealth, some for children, some for favorable weather, and others even prayed for a volcanic eruption of Mount Fuji or an 8-magnitude earthquake in Tokyo Bay.

While they were busy praying, the martial arts competition at Mount Li was about to take place in the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Longji led 10,000 cavalry out of Tonghua Gate early in the morning, heading east. After crossing the Ba River, they turned right along the official road and arrived at Mount Li.

Minister of War Zhang Yue arrived at Lishan half a month ago to begin military exercises.

The Lishan military exercise in history is known as the strongest military exercise in history, with more than 200,000 troops participating and banners stretching for 50 miles. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty almost mobilized the entire army.

However, there wasn't much time to prepare this time. The army consisted of troops from Longxi, Liangzhou, and Shuofang, which were respectively used to fight against the Tubo, various Hu tribes, and Turks, totaling 60,000 men.

Li Longji had always wanted to reform the military, so he first used these three border troops as a test. Once successful, he would follow the example of Emperor Wu of Han and fight against all the foreign tribes in the southeast, northwest and other regions, greatly expanding the territory and shedding the label of a half-emperor for all ages.

To boost morale and instill a sense of urgency in the entire army, Li Longji ordered Chen Xuanli to arrest all members of the Japanese envoy to Tang China and take them to the Lishan training ground before leaving the city.

Since we are going to follow the path of Emperor Wu, we cannot allow these barbarians to continue learning the technology of the Tang Dynasty, especially Japan, which is a small country that the Immortal Master despises. We must wipe them out completely so as not to disturb the Immortal Master's peaceful cultivation.

At the entrance of the martial arts arena, Li Chengyi, who had been waiting for some time, rode up and said to Li Longji:

"Master Qinglian and Fairy Shiliu have arrived and are inspecting the troops inside using drones. I heard that the Immortal Master calls the martial arts exercise a grand military parade. Should we change our name to that as well?"

Li Longji was currently contemplating what rewards he would receive for destroying Japan, and upon hearing this, he said:

"Alright, let's change the military drill into a grand military parade!"

Zhang Shuo had been busy lately, and the military discipline and appearance had noticeably improved by several levels. Li Longji, riding his Ferghana horse, looked at the gleaming armor and impeccable bearing of the troops, and immediately waved his hand, instructing Chen Xuanli:

"Slay the Japanese envoy to Tang China to add to the excitement of the grand military parade!"

(End of this chapter)