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

Chapter 317 The Leaves of the Goddess Houtu! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Guo Rong was very well prepared. In addition to the crown, he also had a letter of offering, but the contents could not be made public because Guo Rong in official history never conquered Youzhou, let alone presented Yelü Jing's crown as a gift.

Zhou Yi put the headdress away in the cabinet, and Chen Tang began to busy himself with slaughtering the sheep... It was the first time Chen Tang had eaten Khitan sheep, and he was very excited:
"I hope that in my lifetime I can eat sheep raised by all the foreign ethnic groups surrounding China."

To diversify his culinary options, Chen Tang even considered shaving sheep's wool to make mutton with the skin on. However, this was quite difficult, so to be on the safe side, he planned to practice it several times in the Yuan Emperor World before performing it at the Hunyuan Palace.

Zhou Yi put away his headdress and listened to Guo Rong recount the situation in Youzhou. The Khitans had attempted to counterattack, but were all pushed back. Meanwhile, the troops from Datong began to retreat, suggesting that the garrison commander of Xijing in Datong was indeed going to take the path of ascending the throne and declaring himself emperor.

The fact that the Khitan was suddenly divided in two was great news for the Later Zhou dynasty.

While the two were chatting, Xi Shi went back to her room to change into some loungewear, then opened the tent to air it out, and put all the clothes into the washing machine to wash.

Chen Tang sat by the peach tree, skillfully butchering a sheep while inquiring about Ban Chao's situation. Upon learning that Ban Chao was fifty-five years old, he sighed:

"At fifty-five, he can still wield his sword to slay foreigners. He truly deserves to be a role model for envoys. From now on, he will be the head of the Hunyuan Palace."

Before Ban Chao arrived, the oldest person in Hunyuan Palace was Guo Rong, who was thirty-nine years old (by Chinese reckoning), not yet forty, and was generally considered a late-blooming youth.

With Ban Chao's arrival, Hunyuan Palace immediately gained a fifty-year-old man, and Chen Tang, this senior, could even impersonate a young man.

After Guo Rong finished explaining the situation in Hou Zhou World, he pointed to the woven bags piled up near the main entrance and asked:

"What are those?"

The Book of Changes says:

“The stems of sweet elephant grass can be buried directly for planting. It is a top-grade forage grass that can even be eaten by people. It also has a very high yield. Here, one acre can yield 30 tons a year, which is 60,000 catties.”

Guo Rong, a ruler who rose to power on horseback, was immediately stunned by this number:

"With such high yields, wouldn't it be easy to breed fine horses if we just planted some in the heart of the Central Plains?"

In the past, horse breeding was either done in Gansu or the Hetao region because these two places had abundant water and grass, which helped horses gain weight. In particular, the alfalfa brought by Zhang Qian greatly reduced the cost of raising horses.

Now that we have high-yield sweet elephant grass, we can open up new horse farms in both the Central Plains and the Jiangnan region.

Guo Rong's mind works very quickly:
"With this, both Bianliang, where my virtuous brother Zhao Xu is, and Yimeng Mountain, where my virtuous brother Xin Qiji is, can raise horses. Farmers can plant some around their houses and raise mules and other livestock. The more poultry and livestock there are, the more prosperous the people's lives will be. It is truly a treasure that benefits the country and the people!"

The fact that the yield of sweet elephant grass immediately brought to mind the people's livelihood shows that Guo Rong truly deserves to be called the first emperor of the Five Dynasties.

The Book of Changes says:

“In the next two weeks, ten acres of sweet elephant grass will be delivered one after another. You can divide it up and plant it yourselves. I will buy some other forage grasses later to enrich the variety.”

One mu of sweet elephant grass stems can be planted on hundreds of mu. Wang Ge's second aunt's ten mu of land can be planted on at least three thousand mu. If it is expanded again next year, it will be more than one hundred thousand mu.

But planting only sweet elephant grass isn't enough; we also need to plant other things, such as sweet sorghum, which has an extremely high sugar content. This variety, which was only developed in the 1980s, can be used to make sugar and also as pasture for livestock. Its extremely high sugar content makes it an ideal choice for fattening livestock.

As for high protein, you can grow leafy greens, which have a protein content as high as 48.7%, build muscle quickly, and every bite is like eating protein powder.

Other examples include alfalfa, rumex, ryegrass, and so on. These are all high-yield forage grasses cultivated in modern times, with nutritional value and yield far exceeding those of ancient varieties.

Guo Rong now has a strong and well-equipped force, and he was too embarrassed to compete with everyone else, so he took the initiative to demonstrate his good character:

“I only need one bag. We’ll plant it in the Royal Villa first, and then start promoting it around Kaifeng next year.”

The Yuan Dynasty doesn't need it either. The Han Dynasty has plenty of horse farms, so there's no need to bother with these things for now. We should focus on building the bridge first. Once the Yellow River Bridge is completed, the route from Guanzhong to Wuwei will be unobstructed, and the entire Northwest will change.

The Northwest will be developed, the Qiang people will be driven to the area west of the Qilian Mountains, and social conflicts will be alleviated... Whether or not there is pasture will not have much impact on these things.

The porridge was cooked and the steamed buns were heated through. Zhou Yi opened the jar in the kitchen, took out some watermelon bean paste that Zhao Wei had brought, and stir-fried it with chili peppers and other ingredients in hot oil until fragrant. It was delicious whether stuffed with steamed buns or served with porridge.

Xi Shi changed into her home clothes and fried seven or eight eggs and about ten pure meat sausages in a frying pan, taking perfect care of the nutritional aspects.

Just as the group began to eat, Huo Qubing arrived. He had already reached Gushi County, and in three more days, he would be able to enter the Huainan Kingdom. At that time, he would look for the original copy of the "Huainanzi" and bring it all to the Hunyuan Palace.

Guo Rong took a sip of millet and pumpkin porridge and asked Huo Qubing for advice on cavalry tactics, which stumped the Marquis of Champions.

"I've never used any tactics. I just make some simple deployments based on the enemy's movements, and then charge forward. Does that even need tactics?"

One sentence left the God of Wealth speechless, and he vowed never to discuss tactics with a genius again. This wasn't communication; it was just asking for trouble.

Chen Tang broke the steamed bun open, put a fried egg, a sausage, and a spoonful of watermelon bean paste inside, took a big bite, and was overwhelmed with excitement:

"This sauce goes so well with pasta, can I take some with me?"

The Book of Changes says:

"After we finish eating, I'll cook a big pot of it. You can take some back in jars." At this point, Zhou Yi thought it would be better to ask Zhao Dengke to process some. It would be more convenient to make it on an assembly line, and after bottling, the whole thing could be sterilized, making it safe and hygienic.

When the time comes, let Chen Tang reward the soldiers in the army. This stuff is not only delicious, but the glass jars are also a form of hard currency that can be exchanged for a lot of supplies.

After dinner, Xi Shi tidied up the kitchen, hung the clothes from the washing machine to dry in the yard, and then changed all the sheets and blankets in her and Zhou Yi's room, washing them in the washing machine as well.

Chen Tang and Huo Qubing continued processing the mutton, while Guo Rong sat in front of the computer, diligently searching for information on the Later Zhou and early Song dynasties.

When Zhao Xu and Xin Qiji arrived, the mutton was already stewed in the pot, and the big carp had been cleaned, marinated with seasonings, and then deep-fried.

The full name of braised carp noodles is soft-fried Yellow River carp with dragon beard noodles. The fish must first be fried thoroughly, and then put into sweet and sour sauce, using a soft-frying method to allow the sweet and sour sauce to seep into the meat.

After plating, pour the sauce over the noodles, then top with the crispy fried noodles. Only then is the dish ready.

Zhou Yi's culinary skills were actually not good enough to make this kind of dish, but he could use tricks, such as using tomato sauce and sugar directly for the sweet and sour sauce, and using thin noodles instead of dragon beard noodles.

By lunchtime, the braised carp noodles that Chen Tang had been longing for were finally ready.

Zhao Xu told everyone that his son was born and was now very healthy, and asked Zhou Yi to give him a name. He then talked about how Hou Tu Niangniang had soothed his heart.

The Book of Changes says:

"Later, we'll take the offerings to the Houtu Temple to thank the goddess. As for her name, let's keep it Zhao Mao."

It's quite interesting that Zhou, who had only been in charge of Hunyuan Palace for less than three months, actually became a grandmaster and even bestowed names upon his grandsons.

Historically, Zhao Mao died in less than two months, but things are different now. He was born under the care of the Goddess Houtu, and his name was given by his master Zhouyi. After his full moon, he will be given a peace plaque from the First-Rank Heavenly Official of the Upper Yuan... Hunyuan Palace has always been particular about saturation preparation, and naturally, taking care of the next generation of little babies also requires full display.

After lunch, Zhao Xu carried the offerings prepared by Zhou Yi to thank the Goddess Houtu.

On the way, he mentioned the Japanese delegation being used as guinea pigs. Zhou Yi, recalling historical accounts of the Japanese's extreme admiration for the Southern Song Dynasty, said to him:

"Find some virtuous monks and send them to Japan by ship. Designate Japan as an island of sin, and as long as the people there wholeheartedly support the Song people, they will be reborn into a good family in the Song Dynasty in their next life... Given Japan's veneration of Buddhism, this propaganda will greatly reduce their resistance."

Zhao Xu never expected it to be like this:
"What if those monks refuse?"

Xi Shi, who was standing beside Zhou Yi, timidly offered a reminder:
"Don't you have a token?"

Zhao Xu immediately realized that the Lotus Fairy, who had cleaved Goujian and Fuchai in two at the slightest disagreement, was indeed concise and to the point... That's right, with the token, disobedience could be dealt with by simply chopping them to death.

Zhou Yi felt that these two conservatives were too radical, and pointed to the main hall of the temple, saying:

"In a little while, prepare another offering, go to the Buddha to burn incense and pray, explain the pros and cons, and this matter should be resolved."

Zhao Xu was a little unaccustomed to directly using deities:
What if Buddha doesn't respond?

The Book of Changes says:

“Go back and check on the Buddhist sect’s movements. If there’s no reaction, next time you come, have Aunt Gongsun help you communicate with the Mahavira Hall. She’s quite good at using someone else’s power to intimidate others; she can easily manipulate even the Buddha.”

Zhao Xu: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Is the Pomegranate Fairy that powerful?

Next time, I must show enough respect. Anyone who can manipulate Buddha is definitely not simple!
Upon arriving at the Houtu Hall, Zhou Yi wrote Zhao Mao's birth date and time on a talisman, then wrote the two characters "Zhao Mao" in Yan style calligraphy, thus finalizing the name of his grand-disciple.

The reason for writing it in the Houtu Palace is also to ask the Houtu Goddess to continue to take care of this little guy.

Just as he finished writing the characters, a yellowish-brown leaf fluttered down and landed on the offering table. Zhou Yi was surprised, never expecting that bestowing a name upon Zhao Mao would bring such a reward.

He held it in his hand, feeling a vast yet reassuring power within the leaf, as grounding as the mountains and earth.

The collection of leaves in the Modern Chinese Dictionary has been expanded to include one more.

Zhao Xu bowed earnestly to the Earth Goddess Houtu, then stared at the leaf on the tree:

"Master, what is the use of this?"

Zhou Yi was also curious. He left Houtu Palace with the leaf in his hand. Thinking that the golden leaf of the Ziwei Emperor would take effect if placed on the ground, he took a black notebook in one hand and the yellowish-brown leaf in the other and came to the entrance of Wucheng King's Palace.

As soon as I entered the teleportation range, a note appeared in my notebook:
[Using the Leaf of Earth can concentrate the teleportation range of all pilgrims onto one pilgrim. While this is active, other pilgrims cannot teleport resources. Each activation lasts for one hour, after which the teleportation range automatically returns to normal.]

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Thank you so much to reader [Lying on the Beach for Three and a Half Years] for the 10,000 book coins! You've really gone to a lot of trouble!
(End of this chapter)