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

Chapter 369 Sixty Tons of Armor Plates! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Confucius advocated that the ruler should act as the ruler and the minister as the minister, and that benevolent governance should be implemented to treat the people well. However, the Spring and Autumn Period was an era in which the ruler was not a ruler and the minister was not a minister. Therefore, he believed that the collapse of rites and music was a bad era.

When Confucius heard Xi Shi say that this was the beginning of a new social form, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
“My teacher Laozi once said that yin and yang complement each other and generate life endlessly. Could it be that the development of the times also contains this law?”

Xi Shi said:

“My ancestor once said that the world will eventually unite after a long period of division, and will eventually divide after a long period of unity. The hundreds of vassal states in China today will be unified in more than two hundred years.”

These words startled the Confucian students present. Yan Hui put down the mooncake, cupped his hands, and asked:

"May I ask, fairy, is the one who unified the world the state of Lu?"

Xi Shi shook her head:

"After the division of Jin into three states, conflicts began, and this period is known in history as the Warring States period... The State of Lu was annexed by the State of Chu two hundred years later and did not last until the end."

Yan Hui, a man from Lu, suddenly felt a sense of defeat. Zigong asked:
"The fairy has never mentioned the Warring States period before. Who will unify the world? Is it my Wei Kingdom?"

Xi Shi shook her head again:

"Although the State of Wei was the last of the vassal states to be destroyed, it had long been a vassal state of another state and was forced to relocate to Yewang, existing in name only."

Yewang is the later Jiaozuo Qinyang. During the Spring and Autumn Period, this place was the front line against the Li Rong. The fact that the royal family of Wei moved to this location shows that the royal family of Wei had become a mere figurehead and did not even have a decent fiefdom.

Upon hearing that it wasn't Lu or Wei, Zilu and the others were all extremely disappointed. Ziyou, who was in his early twenties, asked:
"But what about my Wu Kingdom?"

Zixia, who just turned nineteen this year, muttered:
"The King of Wu was cleaved in two by the Lotus Fairy. What about the Kingdom of Wu? Even if the Qin Kingdom were to unify the world, it could never be the Kingdom of Wu!"

Xi Shi said:

"The one who unified the world was indeed the Qin state. They built the Zheng Guo Canal, turning the Guanzhong Plain into fertile land, developing the population, reforming the government, destroying the six states and unifying China. They standardized the written language and the width of carts, laying the foundation for the great unification of China, which influenced thousands of years to come."

Every word she uttered astonished Confucius's disciples. They never imagined that the Qin state, considered a country bumpkin by the other states during the Spring and Autumn Period, would become the unifier of China.

Confucius seemed to have a sudden realization and said:

“A few years ago, I visited my mentor Lao Dan. He said that he would go west out of Hangu Pass to Guanzhong. I always thought that he was disheartened and went to Guanzhong to exile himself. If the Qin state is the one that will unify the world, then my teacher’s westward departure from Hangu Pass may be because he deduced that the aura of the Son of Heaven is in Guanzhong.”

At the same time, inside the Hunyuan Palace, the carriage that Zhou Yi bought for Wu Meiniang finally arrived.

There were two carriages in total. One was a covered carriage with doors and windows that could be locked from the inside. The other was a flatbed carriage with railings, which could carry the cavalrymen's supplies and armor, allowing the caravan to travel faster.

Both carriages were specially made, with carbon steel frames, two-horse shafts, and the ability to accommodate two more horses on the outside. The carriages were equipped with leaf springs for shock absorption, and the wheels were solid rubber tires, so they were not afraid of tire blowouts.

Throughout the journey, Wu Zetian will remain in the Hunyuan Palace. The carriage doesn't need much decoration, but curtains should still be installed to maintain an air of mystery.

Wu Meiniang looked at it and said:

"With this carriage, and the cooperation of the post stations along the way, the time to reach Liaodong should be greatly reduced."

In the Tang Dynasty, a horse-drawn carriage could travel at most a few dozen miles a day, but with modern horse-drawn carriages, bearings and shock absorbers, the speed can be increased significantly, easily reaching over a hundred miles a day.

At this rate, they should be able to reach Liaodong within two months.

Li Qingzhao led her two daughters, Zhao Yan and Zhao Rui, to climb into the carriage and play. They felt that this carriage was much better than the carriages of the Song Dynasty and wanted one too.

The Book of Changes says:

"Don't just think about playing around. I'll order a batch of four-wheeled carriages with steering capabilities on the chassis, with a load capacity of up to two tons. I'll have the craftsmen at the Military Equipment Bureau replicate them to improve the Song Dynasty's transportation capacity."

Li Qingzhao obediently wrote it down on her phone's notes: After yesterday's kiss, the number one arrogant sister of the Song Dynasty became a good girl in front of Zhou Yi, listening to whatever Zhou Yi said and no longer being arrogant.

Grandma Gongsun hung several small bells on the roof of the carriage and planned to install a small loudspeaker to play some popular music on the way.

Zhou Yi firmly stopped it, as he didn't want Wu Meiniang to become a ghost-fire empress.

Wu Zetian said:
"When Sister Xi Shi arrives, I'll go over there first, call the caravan, find a nearby inn, and change to a new-style carriage."

Just then, Xi Shi returned from the Spring and Autumn Period, bringing with her a pile of bamboo slips:

"Upon hearing that the Qin state had unified the world, the old master believed that his own views were incorrect and planned to revise the classics. He has now gone into seclusion."

Confucius advocated restoring ancient rites and recreating the simple and honest customs of the Yao, Shun, and Yu era, but Yao, Shun, and Yu only exist in legends, and few people can reach that level.

Furthermore, the Chinese nation must possess a unified ideology; only with unification can it expand extensively and create prosperous living conditions for its people. The Book of Changes (Zhou Yi) did not expect Confucius to be so decisive:
"Send more supplies over the next couple of days, so they don't go hungry."

Wu Meiniang returned to the Zhenguan world with the blood-red leaves of Emperor Gouchen. She ordered the caravan to stop and, upon learning that they would soon be entering Weizhou, instructed them to rest at the Weizhou post station.

After dark, Wu Meiniang returned to the Zhenguan world. After getting off the carriage, she first contacted the garrison in Luoyang using a walkie-talkie to report her location, and then brought a new carriage with her.

The two new carriages stunned the cavalrymen, especially the flatbed carriage that could carry a lot of heavy loads. It was twice as long as the carriages of the Tang Dynasty and could fit all the cavalrymen's armor inside.

The group didn't even have time to eat. They first led the horses over, harnessed them, and tried them out. Both carriages were perfectly fine, and they were easy to operate and drive.

A cavalryman asked:
"Fairy Peony, won't this flatbed carriage be very bumpy if it's overloaded?"

Wu Zetian said:
"The more goods you transport, the less bumpy the ride will be. The spring steel plates underneath are specially designed for bumpy roads, so you can drive with confidence. When we reach Zhen Ding City in Hengzhou, I will stay there for a day to install some solar panels and leave a few walkie-talkies to contact Jinyang and Luoyang, so that messages can be transmitted to Chang'an."

In the past, walkie-talkies required a repeater station for control, with each repeater station covering a range of about 300 kilometers in diameter. Modern walkie-talkies have built-in repeater modules, enabling long-distance communication without channel interference, making them very suitable for use in the ancient world.

Of course, when conditions permit in the future, we will build signal towers and use high-power repeaters to facilitate wireless shortwave communication between different regions.

Once this is achieved, the probability of rebellion will be greatly reduced, even if there are regional military governors in various places.

After arranging things here, Wu Meiniang brought two more boxes of mooncakes to everyone, then got into the carriage and returned to Hunyuan Palace.

Tomorrow morning, the cavalry will set off in their new carriages, and in just a few days they will pass through Hebei and reach Youzhou.

Inside Hunyuan Palace, the concrete for the roof has been poured. Once the scaffolding is removed, the interior decoration can begin.

Underfloor heating and other systems have been installed to ensure everyone has a warm winter.

At dinner time, Aunt Gongsun rode her electric scooter back from town, bringing back a lot of fried cakes and snacks, all given to her by the neighbors.

This girl, having nothing better to do, spent an afternoon volunteering at the senior activity center, telling jokes to the elderly people in town and making them happy. Surprisingly, she gained two coins of merit, and was overjoyed!
"I was just showing concern for the elderly living alone in town, I never expected to receive such a reward. I feel unworthy of it!"

While showing off, she enthusiastically ate the dry-pot braised pig's trotters that Zhou Yi had made, which made Zhao Rui want to volunteer too.
"Sister Gongsun, are there age restrictions for volunteers?"

Li Qingzhao said:
"Whether there are age restrictions or not is another matter, but the homework that needs to be done cannot be missed."

Upon hearing this, the chubby girl gave up the idea of ​​becoming a volunteer.

The next day, no one came to the construction site, and Xi Shi no longer needed to travel to the Spring and Autumn World. Gongsun Da Niang, holding the leaves given to her by Emperor Gouchen, excitedly returned to the Kaiyuan World and transported an entire stack of grain to the Hunyuan Palace.

The grain was piled up like a small mountain, not only filling the courtyard of Xiaopenglai to the brim, but also overflowing outside the courtyard, making it practically a fountain made of grain.

Just as the grain was delivered, Li Bai arrived at Hunyuan Palace and was startled by the sight of it:
"I didn't expect the royal family to have so much grain. It seems we really need to give them a good talking-to from time to time."

In the Kaiyuan era, Li Longji watched in disbelief as the stacks of grain in the Forbidden Garden vanished without a trace, speechless with shock for a long time:

"If Aunt and Uncle cooperate with each other, the people of Guanzhong will never have to worry about food again. This is a blessing from heaven!"

Gao Lishi whispered in his ear:

"Your Majesty, what should be done about Princess Jincheng?"

Li Longji thought for a moment and said:

“Send someone to the Tibetan capital. If she is willing to return, I will continue to recognize her as my sister. If she does not return and is willing to live and die with Tibet, then issue an edict saying that Princess Jincheng has been poisoned to death by the Tibetans.”

Gao Lishi understood immediately and quickly invited Chen Xuanli over. After whispering something to him, the matter was handed over to the Wanqi.

They would disguise themselves as a caravan and travel to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, to secretly contact Princess Jincheng.

Regardless of whether Princess Jincheng returns or not, there are corresponding countermeasures, and no rash actions will be taken.

Chen Xuanli hadn't expected that the Ten Thousand Cavalry would suddenly transform from the Emperor's personal guard into a secret service organization. However, he quite liked this kind of work and found it very challenging. For this trip to Tibet, he planned to arrange for a reliable person to lead the team to ensure everything went smoothly.

Two days later, Zhou Yi finished his work and was just about to call Uncle Ming to ask about the progress of the Lijia Ferry Land God statue when Uncle Ming drove up the mountain, followed by two semi-trailers.

"Master Yi, these are the steel armor plates I found for you, a total of sixty tons, plus half a truckload of ropes to string the armor plates together. Where would be a good place to unload them?"

Sixty tons?
Zhou Yi suddenly felt like he had underestimated the blind man... If so many armor plates were transported to the ancient world, they could definitely form an invincible army!

(End of this chapter)