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

Chapter 309 Prodigy Yan Zhenqing! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Dunhua Lane is located directly south of Daozheng Lane, and is only one lane away from Furong Garden, where Qujiang Pool is located. Geographically speaking, it is very remote, but correspondingly, the rent is slightly cheaper.

Officials visiting Chang'an and newly successful candidates in the imperial examinations would typically choose to rent accommodations in Dunhua Ward.

The reason for renting was that housing prices in Chang'an were notoriously high, and ordinary officials simply couldn't afford to buy a house. Bai Juyi, for example, complained about the high housing prices more than once in history, saying that he had no place to stand in Chang'an.

Li Bai looked at the magistrate of Wannian County and asked:

What was Yan Zhenqing's family situation like?

If the conditions are good, let him develop naturally; if they are average, lend a helping hand.

The historically renowned Wen Zhong should be spared as many setbacks as possible, so that he can bring as much benefit as possible to the people and the Tang Dynasty.

In the eyes of Confucian scholars, "Wenzhong" was a posthumous title second only to "Wenzhen," but in Li Bai's eyes, "Wenzhong" was the highest honor for a civil official.

Ever since Li Shimin bestowed the posthumous title "Wenzhen" upon Wei Zheng, countless scholars have tried to imitate it. Many people, in order to obtain the posthumous title of Wenzhen, went against the emperor for both good and bad reasons, in order to create an image of not fearing imperial power... "Loyalty" has become something they despise, and they feel that it is groveling to the emperor.

During the Song Dynasty, the character "Zhen" in Wenzhen's name was homophonous with the name of Emperor Renzong of Song, Zhao Zhen, so it was changed to Wenzheng.

From then on, not only were officials keen to oppose the emperor, but even the emperor's close advisors were impeached in turn, hoping to obtain the posthumous title of Wenzheng through this method... The corrupt scholar spent his whole life struggling for a good name after his death.

For example, Li Dongyang of the Ming Dynasty was still worrying about his posthumous title before he died. When his friend suggested giving him the title Wenzheng, the old man who was about to pass away actually struggled to get up and kowtowed to his old friend on the bed.

Putting aside his personal contributions, the act of kowtowing alone shows that he is far from being worthy of the title "Zheng" in the name of Wenzheng.

The magistrate of Wannian County said:

"Yan Zhenqing's father, Yan Weizhen, passed away last year. Now he is raised and educated by his mother, Lady Yin. The family is of modest means and has little wealth."

Upon hearing this, Li Bai decided to help Yan Zhenqing. After all, if he were to become an immortal in the future, they would be colleagues... However, he needed to think carefully about how to help.

Yan Zhenqing was a direct descendant of Yan Hui, the foremost of the 72 sages of Confucius. People from such prestigious families valued family traditions the most. If money were sent directly to them, it would probably be distributed by the Yin family to the poor in Chang'an.

He thought for a moment, greeted Li Longji, rode his mountain bike away from the group, and led a few members of the Wanqi to Dunhuafang.

As soon as I entered, I saw a lot of people gathered outside the courtyard of a thatched house, craning their necks to look inside, and some were even shouting questions about their future. The scene was very chaotic.

Li Bai asked the soldiers in the ward:
Where did Yan Zhenqing live?

The soldier pointed to the courtyard where the crowd was watching and said:

"It's that one. The little kid just now said he was the Left Judge of the Arctic Exorcism Institute and also served as the Mountain God of Mangshan... Little Taoist priest, is the Mangshan he mentioned the Beimangshan in Luoyang?"

Li Bai nodded:

"That's it!"

He got off his bicycle and pushed it to Yan Zhenqing's house. The courtyard was also packed with people, three layers deep. Li Bai took a portable megaphone out of the bicycle basket and shouted:

"Make way, don't block the way!"

I finally managed to visit my colleague at home, but I didn't expect there to be so many people there.

He shouted at the top of his lungs, and a passage immediately opened up around him. Everyone's attention shifted from the little children in the yard to the megaphone in Li Bai's hand.

Li Bai walked over, looked at the little child with her hair in two buns, and asked:

"So you are Yan Zhenqing?"

A woman in her twenties beside Li Bai gave him a deep bow.

"This is the young Yan Zhenqing. May I ask what brings you here?"

Li Bai returned the bow to her:
"You must be Madam Yin? I am Li Bai, the chief monk of Yiyuan Temple. I have come to meet you because I heard that Yan Zhenqing calls himself the Left Judge of the Arctic Exorcism Institute."

At this moment, Yan Zhenqing stood in the courtyard with his hands tucked in his sleeves, too shy to speak, and he did not respond when others asked him questions.

Yin said:

"When the fiery meteor fell from the sky, my son did indeed utter some absurd words, but after the meteor stopped, he forgot everything. The magistrate refused to believe it and insisted on reporting it to His Majesty as an auspicious omen..."

Li Bai thought Yan Zhenqing had awakened divine power, but he didn't expect it was just a moment when a meteorite fell from the sky.

It was prompted by a Confucian scholar's brush at the time. After thinking for a moment, he took the brush out of his pocket and handed it to Yan Zhenqing.

The little guy had just grabbed the somewhat worn-out calligraphy brush when his expression suddenly changed, and he began to recite a poem in his childish voice: "The lamp burns at midnight, the rooster crows at dawn; this is the time for a young man to study. He who does not study diligently in his youth will regret it when he is old!"

This is Yan Zhenqing's "Exhortation to Learning," which he wrote when educating his children. Unexpectedly, after he got his hands on the Confucian scholar's pen, he recited it decades in advance, which made Li Bai praise it repeatedly, feeling that the Confucian scholar's pen still had great potential for development.

The surrounding people were all extremely excited when they heard Yan Zhenqing recite the poem:
"The child prodigy has appeared again! Everyone, quickly worship the child prodigy!"

Soon, everyone around him knelt down, which terrified Yan Zhenqing, and Li Bai was also somewhat unable to accept it... They all bowed down to the child prodigy; they were all high-quality customers of the telecom fraud park!

Madam Yin was also surprised that her son had suddenly become enlightened again. She was somewhat excited, but more than that, she was worried.
"Master, is my son alright?"

Li Bai put away his scholar's pen and offered a suggestion:
"Here's what we'll do. You pack your valuables and I'll take you to Yiyuan Temple for temporary accommodation. Otherwise, Yan Zhenqing could easily be taken advantage of by people with ulterior motives."

He called the Wanqi members in, and they quickly helped Lady Yin pack her luggage. The ward soldiers also found a carriage to send Yan Zhenqing and his mother away from Dunhua Ward. As for the thatched house, they could just hand it over to a brokerage firm to rent out later.

Inside the carriage, Yan Zhenqing, without his scholar's pen, reverted to being an ordinary child. Madam Yin held him tightly, fearing that something might happen to the child.

Historically, Lady Yin lived with Yan Zhenqing in Chang'an until the ninth year of the Kaiyuan era. Eventually, they could no longer make ends meet, so she took Yan Zhenqing south to seek refuge with her family. Yan Zhenqing lived as a guest for several years.

Now, thanks to the relief provided by the Yiyuan Temple, things don't have to be so complicated anymore. I can live a good life in Chang'an, and learn some modern knowledge along the way. I'm sure I'll become a prime minister in the future.

In the evening, everything was ready, and Gongsun Da Niang, who had spent the whole day idly in the palace, returned.

The girl was initially quite disappointed at not getting any merit points, but upon seeing Yan Zhenqing, who had just turned four, her mood immediately brightened, and she even pinched Yan Zhenqing's chubby little cheeks.

"I'm going to the fairy's abode in a bit. I'll bring you some good food when I come back."

As soon as Li Longji returned to the palace, officials spontaneously entered to celebrate. They disregarded the concept of rest days and began to pledge their loyalty upon entering. Some officials even actively denounced officials from the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families.

Now is the time to kick a dog when it's down and turn its misfortune into our own merit, so that we can reap enough benefits.

The five clans and seven noble families, along with the Guanzhong aristocracy, actively donated land to express their support for His Majesty's military reforms... They wanted to end the Kunming Pool rebellion in a grand finale, but Li Longji did not think so.

If it weren't for divine intervention today, he might have truly become a wronged soul in Kunming Pool. Now, he thinks he can just say sorry and move on? There's no such thing as a simple matter in this world.
He issued an imperial edict on the spot:
"Within three days, all families must report the amount of land they own. Those who fail to report by the deadline will be considered traitors."

Even after the court session ended, the officials still couldn't figure out what Li Longji was planning.

Even Gongsun Da Niang didn't quite understand, so upon returning to Yiyuan Temple, she asked Princess Taiping:

"Little Princess, what is His Majesty's intention in ordering the aristocratic families to report their land holdings?"

Princess Taiping said:

"For the sake of land... to prove they are incorruptible, they will definitely underreport and conceal information. At that time, we will use the figures they report to allocate land to them elsewhere. As for the ancestral lands of the noble families, they will all be confiscated."

In theory, this is a one-to-one exchange, exchanging new land for the family's farmland. The more the family conceals, the greater the loss they suffer.

If the powerful families disagree with the exchange, it's even easier to handle. Li Longji can just kill a few of them on the spot. His tokens haven't been used to distribute red envelopes yet, so they can be used to intimidate the court officials.

Gongsun Da Niang's eyes lit up upon hearing this:
"So, the area reported by the aristocratic families will be their actual land area from now on? The eldest grandson's move is quite clever. I hope a few more aristocratic families are stubborn enough to not have to give them even a single plot of land. How wonderful!"

There were still many things to deal with in Chang'an, such as arresting rebels and identifying core members, but these had nothing to do with Gongsun Da Niang. After packing her things, carrying her backpack, and saying goodbye to everyone, she suddenly disappeared into thin air and appeared in Hunyuan Palace's Xiaopenglai.

She happily arrived at the courtyard and met Zhou Yi and Wu Meiniang, who were preparing for dinner.
"Haha, better late than never! I caught you two sneaking a bite to eat!"

Without even washing her hands, the girl picked up a frosty peanut and popped it into her mouth, crunching away. After being reprimanded by Zhou Yi, she reluctantly washed her hands, then sat down and reported the whole day's events while eating.

Zhou Yi already knew the outcome, but he didn't know the specific details. Upon hearing that his eldest disciple had summoned a meteorite and wiped out the rebels hiding in the forest, he clicked his tongue and said:

"There should be a lot of meteorite iron in there, enough to forge divine weapons."

Wu Zetian was more interested in Li Longji's exchange of land from aristocratic families:
"If this plan succeeds, the power of the aristocratic families will be greatly reduced. However, for them, knowledge is the most important thing. Only by changing the policy of selecting scholars will the aristocratic families truly suffer annihilation."

The examination for the Mingjing (a system of examinations in Confucian classics) was a kind of private domain for aristocratic families to become officials. For example, Cui Rizhi, the Prefect of Jingzhao who joined the rebellion this time, rose to power through the Mingjing examination.

The Book of Changes says:

"The scope of the imperial examination should be broader, not just rote memorization. Otherwise, what's the use if everyone is a master of writing formulaic essays?"

After the meal, Wu Meiniang left Hunyuan Palace with a sextant and other equipment, returning to the world of the Tang Dynasty during the Zhenguan era.

Lady Gongsun put the scholar's pen back in the Wenxuan King's Hall, took some food, and visited all the temples one by one. She had come back for a long time, so she had to visit each one.

While she was cultivating a relationship with the immortals here, in the Liaoxi camp of the Zhenguan world, Li Jing looked at the white-robed general in front of him and asked:
"Xue Rengui, His Majesty wrote to say that you are a pillar of the state. Tomorrow I intend to send men to intercept and kill the Goguryeo cavalry harassing the grain supply route to Liucheng. Do you dare to lead the team?"

(End of this chapter)