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

Chapter 341 Li Shimin Tests the Walkie-Talkie! [Requesting Monthly Tickets]

In the evening, Zhao Rui had just put down her first-grade textbooks when she couldn't wait to go back to her room to change into new clothes, ready to go to the food street to broaden her horizons.

She didn't actually know what a food street was, but since it had the word "eat" in it, it must be related to food.

Although Zhao Yan didn't speak, her beautiful eyes were also full of joy... The little girl wasn't interested in the food, but rather in the feeling of being cared for.

From childhood to adulthood, she has always accommodated others at home, and no one has ever done anything with her in mind.

Now, Zhou Yi is taking the two of them to the food street to broaden their horizons, which makes Zhao Yan very happy. She even hums a song softly while changing clothes.

The two sisters wore pink hoodies, jeans embroidered with various flowers, and sneakers that felt like walking on clouds; everything was so beautiful.

After changing their clothes, the two combed each other's hair, tied it with hair ties, and put on pink hair clips.

Dressed up, the two little cuties walked out of the room one after the other, making Li Qingzhao feel like she had been caught up in it. Without saying a word, she went back into the room and changed into matching outfits with Zhou Yi.

After changing her clothes, she took a selfie with Zhou Yi on her arm and posted it on her WeChat Moments:

"Wow, my boyfriend is taking me to a Michelin three-star restaurant!"

After seeing this, Zhou Yi flicked the girl's forehead:
"Don't let Michelin stars tarnish the food streets of Xiuchuan County."

After everything was packed up, the group locked the door, drove down the mountain, and headed straight for Xiuchuan County.

Upon arriving in the county, the food street had just opened, and there wasn't much to see. Zhou Yi then turned into Sanlizhuang, touched the statue of the God of Fortune and Virtue, and collected some merit.

Li Qingzhao placed the small twisted dough sticks she had bought on the way in front of the statue of the deity, and led Zhao Yan and Zhao Rui to worship the God of Fortune:

"May the Earth God bless our Great Song Dynasty with favorable weather and abundant harvests, and may the people live in peace and health."

The Book of Changes says:

"Next time I go to pray to Houtu Niangniang, Fude Zhengshen is just a local deity, so I can't make any big wishes."

Li Qingzhao said with a smile:
"It's nothing. I just bowed to the gods when I saw them. It's good to be polite, right?"

After collecting the donations, Zhou Yi was about to lead the group to the food street when they ran into Du Chunyi, the village head of Sanlizhuang:
"Master Zhou, what brings you here? Welcome, welcome! Come to my house for tea. I recently bought some new tea cakes, and the flavor is excellent."

The Book of Changes says:

"Let's do it another day. I still need to take them to the food street. Is there anything going on in the village lately?"

"It's alright. With favorable weather, there are far fewer conflicts among the villagers... Even people from nearby counties come to worship the local earth god, and some are even considering bringing one back with them. If they do, will it affect the feng shui of Sanlizhuang?"

Zhou Yi shook his head:

"No, it will only get better. If someone wants to invite the Earth God, tell them to go to Hunyuan Palace. Inviting him from other places may not have the same effect."

Du Chunyi wrote it down, intending to help promote it.

In any case, the Sanlizhuang Land God Temple is the first Land God; all the others are inferior!

After saying goodbye to Du Chunyi, Zhou Yi drove to the snack street, parked the car, and led three beautiful women—one adult and two children—to squeeze into the bustling snack street to sample the delicious food, which was full of local flavor.

When I passed the T-junction, I ran into Xu Wenhai's family again. This time, Xu Tian's stall was more professional, and he had even added hot drinks like almond tea... It's getting cold, and fewer people are eating ice jelly, so we need to add new items.

Upon seeing Zhou Yi arrive, Xu Wenhai greeted him from afar:

"Master Zhou, come and try this, authentic almond tea. My son Xiaotian learned it in Kaifeng, and it tastes exactly the same as the almond tea at the Kaifeng night market."

During the time Xu Tian had been running his stall, his personality had become noticeably more cheerful. He greeted Zhou Yi and even asked for a few servings of brown sugar mochi from the mochi stall next door for everyone to try.

Zhou Yi told Xu Wenhai about Zhao Yan and Zhao Rui's schooling, and Xu Wenhai patted his chest and assured him:
"Don't worry, I'll take care of everything. I'll arrange the class and dormitory for you. If you need extra lessons, I'll help you contact a responsible teacher."

With this guarantee, Zhou Yi felt much more at ease.

Before leaving, he tried to give Xu Wenhai's family money, but they refused. Helpless, he secretly put a lucky charm in the food cart of the stall, and Xu Tian's business would be good for a while.

After strolling around, everyone was full and satisfied. The two little girls, in particular, broadened their horizons and tasted all sorts of delicious food they had never seen before, which made them extremely happy.

On the other side, in the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty, the Liangyi Hall was brightly lit.

Li Shimin, Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji, Cen Wenben, and others knelt on the couch, observing the long-distance walkie-talkie brought by Wu Meiniang.

Old Li stylishly raised his wrist and glanced at the time on his tactical watch with a flamboyant air:
“Cheng Qing set off yesterday. Judging by his pace, he should have already crossed the Yellow River and reached Hedong by now… Why don’t we ask him and see?” When Wu Meiniang came yesterday, she brought several walkie-talkies. Li Shimin had the idle Cheng Zhijie learn how to use them, and then ordered him to rush to Hedong overnight. They could then communicate with each other and see how far the communication could reach.

Fang Xuanling rubbed his hands together excitedly:
"Ask away, this is a new chapter for our Great Tang Dynasty, and it should be remembered."

He had just finished speaking when Cen Wenben, who was standing to the side, prepared his pen and ink, intending to personally record this moment that transcended history.

Li Shimin solemnly picked up the walkie-talkie, tightened the more than one-foot-long flexible antenna, tuned it to the preset channel 111, and pressed the intercom button:
"Yi-jeong, Yi-jeong, please reply upon receipt."

Soon, the green indicator light on the walkie-talkie lit up, and Cheng Zhijie's distinctive loud voice rang out:

"Your Majesty, I have arrived in Wanquan County. As you instructed, I have just offered incense to the Goddess Houtu... Is letting go the end of it? Is it enough to just let go?"

Upon hearing the name Wanquan County, Fang Xuanling laughed until tears streamed down his face, Changsun Wuji tore off his beard, and Cen Wenben was so excited that he could barely hold his brush... It was only 500 li from Chang'an to Wanquan, yet they could actually have a conversation, and this was far from the limit.

Li Shimin replied:

"Yizhen, it's getting late. Take a rest and continue your journey towards Taiyuan tomorrow. Turn off your walkie-talkie and we'll contact each other again after the morning court session tomorrow."

"As ordered!"

After ending the call, Li Shimin placed the walkie-talkie on the table, equally excited:
"Hundreds of miles apart, they can communicate as if they were face to face... According to Meiniang, this thing can exert its greatest advantage in places with high terrain and no obstructions... I hereby issue an edict to order the Ministry of Works to build a three-zhang-high wooden platform on Longshouyuan overnight, so that I can personally test the maximum distance of the walkie-talkie."

Longshouyuan is a hill behind Taiji Palace, where the future Daming Palace will be built. It is the highest point in Chang'an.

Because of its low-lying location, Taiji Palace was humid and hot in the summer and often flooded. Li Shimin then conceived the idea of ​​repairing Daming Palace. He officially started the project after Li Zhi came to power, but the entire project was interrupted and not completed until ten years after Li Longji came to power.

Currently, the Daming Palace is still nowhere in sight, but Longshouyuan could potentially become the communication center of the Tang Dynasty.

Cen Wenben asked:
"Your Majesty, is this the most powerful communication artifact bestowed upon us by the immortal?"

Li Shimin shook his head:
"No, Meiniang said that the Immortal Master recently purchased a batch of radios, along with an antenna. Once they are set up on both sides, we can even communicate with Li Weigong and keep abreast of the enemy's situation in Liaodong."

This distance made everyone present feel like they were dreaming. They couldn't imagine how far the Tang Dynasty's territory could expand after the entire army used this communication tool. They felt that after coming into contact with immortals, their horizons had expanded many times over.

Changsun Wuji said with tears in his eyes:
"It's a pity my sister passed away too soon and couldn't see all of this!"

The reason he mentioned Empress Zhangsun at this time was because he realized that the trend of the Tang Dynasty was developing in the opposite direction to what he had imagined... The aristocratic families were becoming more and more of a hindrance to the court, and Zhangsun Wuji himself was the spokesperson for the aristocratic families.

Ever since Fang Xuanling and Li Shimin put on a show together in court, Changsun Wuji had been somewhat uneasy, and even offered up a lot of land in Guanzhong because of it.

But land alone is not enough; if he wants to regain his position as the most powerful person in the court, he has to cut himself in the stomach.

Li Shimin understood his brother-in-law's thoughts very well, and recalling Empress Zhangsun's voice, appearance, and smile, he said:
"If Guanyinbi were alive, she would definitely fully support the immortal's advocacy and put the people first... I want to abolish all kinds of lowly status and give this status only to foreign races in the future. What do you all think?"

Although he was asking the three central leaders, he was actually asking Changsun Wuji.

Because Fang Xuanling and Cen Wenben had already expressed their opinions on this matter, and even the idea of ​​transferring the status of the lowest class to foreign ethnic groups was Cen Wenben's idea... The Han people are the foundation of the Tang Dynasty, and raising the status of the Han people will make the Tang Dynasty more stable.

Changsun Wuji immediately knelt on the bed to pledge his loyalty:
"Your Majesty's decisions are fully supported. All servants of the Changsun family shall be registered and their fertile fields and mountains shall be handed over to the court."

As for being a leader of a powerful family, let whoever wants to be one be it. I just want to go with the flow and not be swept away by the tide.

This decision pleased Li Shimin, who bestowed upon Changsun Wuji a powerful flashlight and allowed him to freely take food from the refrigerator while handling state affairs.

The next day, after the morning court session, Li Shimin rode his horse to Longshouyuan and saw the wooden platform that had been built. It was nearly four zhang high and was constructed entirely of solid wood. There were steps around it, making it easy to go up and down.

Upon arriving on the stage, Wu Zetian was already waiting with a walkie-talkie.

Before he could ask, Cheng Zhijie's loud voice came through the walkie-talkie:
"Your Majesty, I changed my mount several times last night and have now arrived in Linfen. Can you hear me?"

Linfen is more than 700 li away from Chang'an... Li Shimin trembled as he picked up the walkie-talkie, pressed the answer button, and said:
"I understand. Keep going and find the limits of this device's intercom!"

After putting down the walkie-talkie, Li Shimin excitedly paced back and forth on the stage. Based on the distance from Linfen to Chang'an, this area already covered a region spanning more than a thousand miles, including Longyou, Hanzhong, Ankang, Mianchi, Yanzhou, and Xiaoguan.

If you go even further, you can even communicate directly with places like Luoyang and Jiexiu... This isn't just a walkie-talkie, it's practically the "wind-hearing ear" mentioned in Taoist scriptures.

No, I must immediately inform Guo Xiaoke in the Western Regions to destroy a few more small countries in the name of the immortal, otherwise I will not be at ease!

----------

Wishing everyone a happy National Day holiday!
(End of this chapter)