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

Chapter 328 Is there any potential in building a Yuan Shen Temple in the Western Regions? [Seeking monthly votes]

Dinner at Hunyuan Palace officially began at 6 p.m.

Ban Chao sat at the dining table wearing a set of middle-aged and elderly home clothes. He was a little uncomfortable with his clothes and the communal dining style, but he liked the atmosphere. Everyone was happy and harmonious, just like the Yao and Shun era recorded in history books.

Ancient scholars always regarded the era of Yao and Shun as the highest form of society, and the great poet Du Fu paid homage to this period in his poems:

"May the ruler be like Yao and Shun, and may customs be restored to their purest form!"

Su Shi also adapted these two lines from Du Fu's poem "Qinyuanchun: The Lamp is Green in the Lonely Inn" to express his patriotism:
"To make the ruler like Yao and Shun, what difficulty is there in this matter?"

Unfortunately, Du Fu never realized his political ambitions until his death, while Su Shi was disliked by both the New Party and the Old Party. Even at the height of his power, he only served as the Minister of Rites, responsible for praising Gao Taotao. However, he was driven out of Tokyo after only a few months and then wandered around. His talk of making the emperor like Yao and Shun became empty words.

Tonight at Hunyuan Palace, we had flatbread rolls with vegetables. The flatbread was made by Xi Shi, and the vegetables were stir-fried by Zhou Yi. We also had cooked donkey meat bought from Lushan County.

Zhou Yi rolled up a flatbread, took a bite, and looked at Ban Chao, asking:

"Are the populations of the Western Regions large? Would it be convenient to govern them if they were incorporated into the Han Dynasty?"

Ban Chao shook his head and said:

“The number of people in each country ranges from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. They are poorly clothed and starving. If the Han Dynasty were to forcibly bring them under its control, it would inevitably become a heavy burden. Not to mention anything else, there would not be enough food alone.”

Zhou Yi opened the tablet and pointed to the Ili River Valley region at the junction of the Tianshan Mountains, saying:
“This place has abundant rainfall and fertile land, which can be developed into hundreds of millions of acres of good farmland. It can not only be self-sufficient, but can even support the Han Dynasty. However, if it cannot be managed, then development will be temporarily suspended to avoid turning the Western Regions into ungrateful wolves.”

Ban Chao stared at the map, his expression somewhat lost in thought.
"There are so many fertile fields?"

Zhou Yi searched for the arable land and pasture area of ​​Kazakhstan in the lower reaches of the Ili River and found that this place is indeed a treasure land suitable for cultivation.

Considering the different eras, the Ili River Valley region during the Eastern Han Dynasty was not as fertile as it is in later times, but developing tens of millions of acres of fertile land was not a problem.

Ban Chao was tempted, put down his chopsticks, cupped his hands, and said:

"If we can grow grain, it would be more prudent to bring the Western Regions under the control of the imperial court... By the way, Immortal Master, when I returned last time, many foreign tribes expressed their desire to become your followers. May I spread your faith in the Western Regions?"

The Book of Changes is somewhat unexpected:

"Can they really listen and not cause trouble? In my memory, the kingdoms of the Western Regions are the most prone to rebellion."

Ban Chao laughed:

“Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t dare to make such a boast, but now that you have bestowed this token upon me, I can use an oath to restrain them. If we also have the blessing of faith, this matter will be even easier to carry out.”

Zhou Yi thought this was not a bad thing. Before the rise of Islam, it was a good idea to occupy the high ground of faith in advance. In addition, Ban Chao was good at handling ethnic conflicts. Promoting faith in the Western Regions would effectively control the people.

Thinking about this, he nodded in agreement:
“I can promote my faith, but how to start is still a matter for careful consideration.”

Wu Zetian seemed to have been prepared, and put down her chopsticks, saying:

"Marquis Dingyuan can have the Western Regions build temples of the One Yuan God, promote the Chinese belief based on immortals, and appoint a divine messenger in each temple who has sworn an oath before the token to handle conflicts among the people. If there is a dispute, it should be resolved in the temple of the One Yuan God, thereby reducing the influence of the royal families of the Western Regions."

One Yuan Temple?
Ban Chao really became interested:

"If the divine messenger can also take on the responsibility of teaching the people to speak and write Chinese, then after three generations, the countries of the Western Regions will become true subjects of the Han people."

Maintaining relations between the Western Regions solely through Han envoys was extremely difficult and required a great deal of ability from the envoys. Ban Chao was so outstanding because no one else could do this job; he was the only one capable of stabilizing the Western Regions.

But Ban Chao will grow old one day, and the states will rebel again. Therefore, it is necessary to use faith and force to compel the states of the Western Regions to become subjects of the Han Dynasty, so that they will genuinely believe that they are Han people. Only in this way can we avoid repeating the same mistakes.

Li Qingzhao excitedly raised her hand and asked:
"Can I write the rules of the Temple of Oneness?"

Gongsun Da Niang found it somewhat strange:
"Didn't you say that compiling textbooks was tiring? Why did you volunteer to take on this heavy responsibility? This isn't like you."

Li Qingzhao chuckled:
"The capable should do more work, and I am very much looking forward to the idea of ​​promoting the belief in immortals in the Western Regions."

After the meal, the girl excitedly returned to her room and began compiling various rules and regulations for the One Yuan Divine Palace. When Granny Gongsun glanced over, she immediately became displeased:

"What the heck is this Osmanthus Fairy, the protector under Immortal Master Yiyuan? You little devil, no wonder you're so proactive, secretly smuggling your own ideas into the rules... Hmph, you don't want the Daoist Master to know about this, do you?"

Li Qingzhao gently nudged her with her shoulder:
"How about I write your name down too?"

As the two were discussing, Xi Shi entered, and the guardian under her command added the great beauty's name to the list. Thus, of the four female fairies of Hunyuan Palace, three were now written into the sect's rules.

To avoid displeasing Wu Zetian, the three discussed it and added the name of the eldest sister of Hunyuan Palace to the list, and changed the protectors under the Immortal Master Yiyuan to the Four Goddesses of Yiyuan Temple. Early the next morning, Chen Tang led two sheep into Hunyuan Palace:
"It wasn't easy. We ran along the riverbank for dozens of miles and finally found the Tan sheep. They're even raised by the Qiang people. This buff is about to be fully stacked."

Tan sheep are widely recognized as a delicacy, and the people of Hunyuan Palace enjoy eating sheep raised by other ethnic groups. In addition, the character "Qiang" in the Qiang ethnic group's name contains the head of a sheep... With these three advantages combined, it's hard for such mutton not to be delicious.

Upon seeing Ban Chao, Chen Tang immediately gave him a bear hug:
"I never imagined that the Marquis of Dingyuan, who was once a legend, was not even as big as me... How many countries has he destroyed? I have a few tricks to share with you to make foreign tribes obey."

Ban Chao was somewhat bewildered by this guy:
"General Zi... General Zigong?"

"It's me. We can talk about trivial matters later. Tell me first how you deal with disobedient alien races."

Ban Chao was a little slow to follow this guy's train of thought, but he still answered honestly:

"Dig a hole in the desert, fill it with a person, leaving only their head sticking out, and let them fend for themselves. Or tie them up in a place where wolves roam, and after one night, not even bones will remain... What brilliant idea does General Zigong have?"

Chen Tang never expected that Ban Chao, who seemed so honest and simple, would be so skilled in torture... I am not alone in this path!

The topic he wanted to discuss was rather cruel. To prevent the female fairies of Hunyuan Palace from being offended, Chen Tang dragged Ban Chao to the pavilion. Just as he was about to share his insights, Huo Qubing arrived with a pile of bamboo slips.

Now, heroes from three different periods of the Han Dynasty have gathered together and are chatting enthusiastically. However, it's mainly Chen who's sharing his insights and experiences, while Huo Qubing and Ban Chao are primarily responsible for being shocked.
"What? A solar cooker can be used like this?"

"I never imagined that a laser pointer could be shone directly into someone's eyes."

"So lighting a sky lantern starts from the belly button? I thought it started from the forehead."

"..."

Before long, Xin Qiji and Guo Rong also arrived. Guo Rong brought five hundred warhorses. Everyone first drove the horses to the back mountain, and then gathered under the pavilion to continue listening to Professor Chen's lecture on punishments.

Guo Rong sighed:
"Fortunately, Wang Yansheng wasn't here, otherwise he would definitely have dragged General Zigong to become his disciple... Compared to General Zigong, Wang Yansheng's act of eating ears was as childish as a greenhorn."

Chen Tang humbly replied:
"The art of punishment is profound and complex; I am merely a primary school student, not worth mentioning."

Having had his fill of showing off, he secretly reported to Wu Meiniang and Zhou Yi, just before breakfast, that Gan Yanshou had found the Zhao Feiyan sisters.

Wu Zetian said with a smile:

"The Immortal Master already knew about Zhao Feiyan's fate just as it was about to change. Once everyone was here, he planned to conduct a test of bringing people with him. We were able to bring weapons and living creatures, so it was time to try and see if we could bring people to Hunyuan Palace."

Chen Tang blinked. He had wanted to surprise everyone, but he didn't expect to be the last one to find out... The gods are indeed unfathomable!

After breakfast, Chen Tang inquired about the development of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia triangle.

The Book of Changes says:

"First, develop the arable land in the Yellow River Valley to achieve self-sufficiency in grain. Then I'll get you some grapes suitable for winemaking and plant them in the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains, which is the country's wine-making base. As long as you can make a name for yourself, you can not only revitalize the economy but also attract people from Guanzhong and the Central Plains to migrate there."

During the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region developed tens of millions of acres of fertile land. Now, with foreign ethnic groups as a free labor force, it would not be a problem to develop millions of acres of fertile land in the Ningxia and Gansu areas.

With fertile land comes food, and people can continue to multiply generation after generation.

Guo Rong was also tempted when he heard this number:
"Since it has such potential, I will take it down as soon as possible, capture the Tanguts and use them as laborers, and strive to turn that place into a Jiangnan-like land beyond the Great Wall."

Wu Zetian believed that the most urgent task now was to attack Datong:

"We must closely monitor the movements in the Western Capital of Liao. Once someone ascends the throne and declares himself emperor, we should send envoys to the Upper Capital of Liao. The Great Zhou will help them clean house and the Khitans will retreat beyond the Great Wall. Otherwise, the Great Zhou will cooperate with the newly established Liao... Yelü Jing will definitely make a choice."

Guo Rong took out paper and pen, wrote down the Empress's words, and prepared to arrange for someone to keep an eye on Datong.

At the entrance of the Hall of Longevity, Zhou Yi put on gloves and slowly opened a bamboo scroll, on which were lines of standard small seal script... He had obtained the original version of the "Huainanzi"!

The Huainanzi played a very important role in the enlightenment of Taoism, and even contained fantasies about immortals. It can be regarded as an ancient book that systematically summarizes various concepts of cultivating immortality.

Zhou Yi plans to move all these bamboo slips to the Sanqing Hall, take some time to read through the entire set of books, and then try to save them as electronic documents to see if he can make any progress in his Taoist skills.

Xi Shi followed him, numbering each bamboo slip to prevent them from getting mixed up from being handled so often.

While they were busy, a pile of weapons suddenly appeared in front of them. Then Zhao Xu walked out of the Hall of Longevity, cupped his hands, and bowed to Zhou Yi:
"Greetings, Master. Marquis Dingyuan has come to Hunyuan Palace. I have nothing to repay you with, so I have brought some armor and weapons. I hope he will not find them distasteful..."

When everyone heard that Ban Chao was coming to Hunyuan Palace, the first thing they thought of was to provide him with some weapons and equipment... That's the true value of the Marquis of Dingyuan!

(End of this chapter)