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

Chapter 303 Guo Rong: Zhao Ji is so intelligent, he must be a good emperor, right? [Requesting monthly votes]

Inside Hunyuan Palace, Li Qingzhao was trying to play the flute given to her by Xi Shi, Li Bai was discussing the newly arrived electric air pump with Chen Tang, and Zhao Xu and Xin Qiji were talking about policies for governing the country.

In the kitchen, Zhou Yi was busy cooking, while Xi Shi and Wu Meiniang helped out in aprons. Huo Qubing sat on the kitchen threshold, peeling garlic and describing the appearance of Yunwu Mountain in the Wu Emperor's world.

When Xi Shi heard that the area was bare, she couldn't help but worry about her family's secluded life:
"Is there soil on it? Can it be cleared for farming?"

Huo Qubing nodded and said:
“That’s no problem. An Guo Shaoji roughly estimated that there are at least one and a half hectares of arable land that can be cultivated on the entire mountain. If the back mountain is also connected, there will be even more land that can be cultivated. Lotus Fairy will not have to worry about her secluded life.”

One qing is one hundred mu. Considering the agricultural output in ancient times, it would be quite difficult to live in seclusion. However, if modern fertilizers were available, the grain produced would be enough to eat, and one could even raise some chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep.

In the courtyard, Xin Qiji told Zhao Xu about the recent progress of land reclamation, which moved Zhao Xu deeply.
"With this spirit of unity and cooperation, anything can be accomplished. You should recruit talents from the Southern Song Dynasty without feeling guilty. The iron mines in Yimeng Mountain should also be mined. Get things on track as soon as possible. If you need anything, just tell me, and I'll take care of it for you."

Xin Qiji thanked Zhao Xu and then asked for his advice:

"If someone with ulterior motives comes to serve me, should I refuse or accept them?"

Zhao Xu smiled gently:
"You must accept them at all times, and never refuse them, otherwise it will damage the reputation of Yimeng Mountain... As for ulterior motives, that's easy to deal with. Your token is for that purpose. If all else fails, just transfer them to the mine. That would be one more source of labor."

He originally intended to teach Xin Qiji some imperial arts, such as the art of balance, but then he thought, "They're already armed to the teeth, what's the point of balancing them? As long as they have the support of the people, they don't need to play those imperial games."

Moreover, this thing is very easy to backfire. Even Emperor Wu of Han still made a mess of things in his later years, and was made a clown by Empress Wei Zifu and Liu Ju.

After the mother and son rebelled, they committed suicide one after another. Liu Che had no chance to get revenge and could only be furious and indiscriminately kill his court officials.

Zhao Xu reminded him:
"Although the emperor is the ruler of all under heaven, at its core, he still represents the interests of a certain class. Since you are following the people's line, then you should implement it from the beginning. Those who have surrendered to you and harm the people should be severely punished, and even publicly tried, in order to win the hearts of the people."

Xin Qiji nodded and carefully memorized it.

As they were talking, Guo Rong walked out of the God of Wealth Hall with a joyful expression. Zhao Xu and Xin Qiji stood up and bowed respectfully.

"We've been waiting for you. Have you taken Youzhou yet?"

Guo Rong, with his belly protruding, waved his hand with a smile:

"We have just captured them. Xiao Siwen, the Liao Kingdom's garrison commander in Nanjing, has surrendered to the Great Zhou with his three daughters. Yelü Talie, the Southern King, has also been captured alive by Wang Yansheng. I have come here to report the good news to you, Immortal Master!"

After saying that, he put his arm around Zhao Xu's shoulder and said:

"Brother, those explosives you gave me were really effective, especially your brother's trick of adding sulfur to the explosives. The Khitan warhorses were all terrified and completely out of control. That was a brilliant move... I heard that your brother succeeded you to the throne in history. He was so capable, he must have been a good emperor, right?"

It would have been better if this matter hadn't been brought up, but now that it's been revived, Zhao Xu is even more eager to beat up Zhao Ji.
“My brother is someone who can do everything well except be the emperor. Just mentioning him makes me want to punch him.”

Upon hearing the gossip about the Zhao family, Guo Rong immediately said he was all ears... Lately, he had been relying on jokes about the Zhao family to entertain himself, such as the Donkey Cart God and the Gaoliang River Cart God, to the point that Guo Rong even wanted Zhao Kuangyin to cosplay as him.

Xin Qiji briefly described Emperor Huizong's actions, leaving Guo Rong dumbfounded:

"Didn't my brother Zhao Xuxian work diligently to govern the country when he was in power? How come there's such a huge difference now that someone else has taken over? This great dynasty is really too bad!"

He was too embarrassed to swear in front of Zhao Xu, but Zhao Ji's actions were impossible to judge without swearing.

Finally, after a long silence, Comrade Zhou Shizong patted Zhao Xu's shoulder forcefully:

"Well done! This kind of humiliating traitor deserves to be beaten to death... Brother, you must live well. Don't let your brother take over. Let him do scientific research. If he needs any materials, just tell me, and I can fund him."

After finishing the melons from the Zhao brothers, Guo Rong walked into the courtyard with satisfaction and gave Zhou Yi a report... Youzhou had been recovered, and he was overjoyed.

Zhou Yi was also quite pleased. Youzhou was the core city of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. Once it was taken back, none of the remaining prefectures could escape it.

Wu Zetian glanced at a map of the Later Zhou dynasty, then flipped through a map of the Liao dynasty under Yelü Jing's rule, and reminded Guo Rong:

"Pay attention to the direction of Datong; Xijing might become independent."

The Zhou dynasty's recapture of Youzhou and the Liao dynasty's western capital, Datong, effectively severed ties with the Liao central government. Although they could detour through the Mongolian Plateau to return, the Yelü imperial family, who were stationed in the western capital, might not do so.

With the capital city, the existing staff, and the existing royal nobles readily available, it would be better to ascend the throne and become emperor on the spot than to travel thousands of miles to make contact with Dading Prefecture.

During the reign of Emperor Muzong of Liao, members of the Khitan royal family rebelled and declared themselves emperors every year, attempting to overthrow the incompetent Yelü Jing. Now, with such a great opportunity before them, the Yelü royal family stationed in Xijing could not resist the temptation. After Xijing became independent, it allied with the Northern Han, which occupied Taiyuan. It had territory, population, and vast pastures that provided a huge number of warhorses.

Both the Liao and Zhou dynasties would be somewhat helpless.

Upon hearing this analysis, Guo Rong slapped his thigh in exasperation:
"Forget about that. If Datong were to become independent, it would be quite troublesome. We need to open up a passage to attack Liaoxi Capital as soon as possible."

He had originally intended to sit down, chat with everyone, and enjoy some delicious food, but now that he had sensed an opportunity, he needed to quickly mobilize his troops and make preparations in advance.

He planned to send two armies westward: one to attack Feihu County from Zijing Ridge, driving a wedge into Weizhou; and the other to Juyong Pass, occupying Huailai County or Ruzhou, thus retaining the initiative to advance westward.

At present, Datong is not the focus of the attack. The focus should be on quickly sweeping through the surrounding prefectures and counties of Youzhou and building confidence among the sons of Han. This is actually more important than occupying territory.

Guo Rong hurriedly left with some farm tool samples, intending to have them sent to Kaifeng so that blacksmiths could begin to replicate them.

He had just left when lunch began at Hunyuan Palace.

There were many people today, so Zhou Yi prepared a lot of dishes. The sweet and sour flavors were to cater to the ladies. It's a pity that Aunt Gongsun wasn't here, so we couldn't have the cola chicken wings she'd been craving.

Guizhou spicy chicken is the most beloved dish of the most beautiful woman. The aroma of the spicy chicken makes her happy from the bottom of her heart.

Li Bai brought over the rice cooker and began serving rice to everyone. Huo Qubing set out the tableware and asked if they should continue to train An Guo Shao Ji.

Zhou Yi thought for a moment and said:
"There's no need for much training. When we attack South Vietnam later, we can make him more skillful, and Zhong Jun won't have to die with him. Maybe the two of them can even make a lot of contributions."

Talented people are hard to come by, and the Han officials who are sent on missions are all outstanding figures. If they can be saved, they should be saved, because as long as they live, they can continue to benefit the Han Dynasty.

While one-off deals are easy to make, they still have costs in the end.

Li Bai shoveled rice into his mouth and began to recount Li Longji's plan to use himself as bait, which greatly surprised Wu Meiniang:

"Tell him that if he succeeds, he'll be rewarded with a refrigerator!"

Starting with Li Shimin, the imperial family tried every means to weaken the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families, but with little success. In particular, when Li Zhi ordered a ban on intermarriage between the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families, the families not only did not restrain themselves, but became even more unruly.

Unfortunately, before the art of engraving and printing became popular, books were monopolized by various nobles. Talented people belonged to them, land belonged to them, and even the transmission of government decrees was up to them.

Now that Li Longji has taken the risk of weakening the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families, Wu Zetian is very pleased, feeling that her grandson's ambition is even stronger than she imagined.

Zhou Yi thought for a moment and set a small goal for Li Longji's actions:
"If he can wrest back 10,000 hectares of land from the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families this time, I will give him a wind and solar power generator set, a lighting system, a laptop computer, and upgrade his refrigerator to a double-door refrigerator."

Li Bai put down his chopsticks and wrote these words down in his phone's notes.

Ten thousand hectares is equivalent to one million mu. Now that a small goal has been set, Li Longji will get the land even if he has to resort to outright robbery.

This emperor was quite ruthless at the beginning of his reign. He demoted all those who had helped him ascend the throne, such as Guo Yuanzhen, Liu Youqiu, Wei Zhigu, Zhang Shuo, and Wang Ju, to remote areas.

A minister who would support a new emperor at the slightest disagreement—who wouldn't be wary of such a minister?

While Zhou Yi was setting a small goal for Li Longji, in the depths of an inconspicuous mansion in the Kaiyuan World of the Tang Dynasty, representatives of aristocratic families quietly gathered together to discuss the matter of establishing another emperor.

Li Longji's sharp and ambitious nature did not align with the interests of the powerful families, so he needed to be replaced.

The person who advocated for this meeting was none other than Li Linfu, a member of the fallen imperial family. He was a lively and resourceful man who unknowingly became a representative of the imperial clan in the rebellion forces.

Cui Rizhi, the Prefect of Jingzhao representing the Cui family, asked:
"If we kill Li Longji, who should we install as the next emperor?"

In the past, everyone had nominated Li Chengyi, a fat guy who was lazy and didn't seem very smart. But recently, this guy has become motivated and started to lose weight.

Since a positive image is desired, the emperor cannot be worshipped. The newly enthroned emperor must be foolish and incompetent, so that it is easy for powerful families to manipulate him, just like the foolish emperors of the Jin Dynasty.

Li Linfu said:
“I have a suitable candidate, the retired emperor. It is said that he is lonely and isolated in the deep palace and can be easily instigated. Moreover, I have also found out that he will leave the palace to go to Yiyuan Temple to offer incense that day. At that time, I will personally lead people to Yiyuan Temple to invite him to come out of seclusion and become emperor!”

(End of this chapter)