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

Chapter 373 Tong Guan Struck by Lightning! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Inside the Hunyuan Palace, Wu Meiniang took a notebook with the words "Token" written on the cover from the bookshelf in Zhouyi's room, opened it, and wrote Confucius's name on it.

As time went by, a total of nine Black Iron Tokens had been issued, and the holders were:
Liu Che, Wei Qing, Gan Yanshou, Li Shimin, Li Jing, Li Longji, Princess Taiping, Li Gefei, Cai Jing.

In the future, it will also be issued to Liu Ao, Wang Mang, Liu Ju, Huo Guang, Li Zhi and others, but there is no rush. It will be granted after they ascend the throne or grow into great figures who can stand alone.

After noting down Confucius's name, Wu Zetian pulled a small box from the bookshelf, opened it, and took out a black token, handing it to Xi Shi.
"Let's send this to Confucius. I wonder how many more pilgrims the Hunyuan Palace will gain and how many ancient worlds it will open up after all the tokens in the box are sent out."

Xi Shi took the token and asked with a smile:
"Didn't the Immortal Master say there would be a total of forty-nine pilgrims? Sister, would you prefer them to arrive sooner or later?"

On this point, both Wu Zetian and Zhou Yi were conflicted.

If you arrive early, you can intervene in some things in advance and earn merit; but if you arrive late, the mutual support between different worlds can be much greater.

Both Tang dynasties are currently at the height of their power, and Zhao Xu's side is extremely wealthy. If the Later Zhou dynasty were to develop further, grain, weapons, horses, and so on could be supplied without restraint.

Wu Zetian closed the box and said:
"I do hope that a monarch from the late Tang Dynasty will come along, so that our Great Tang can make up for its mistakes. But my grandfather said in his letter that we cannot force it, and we cannot deduce variables from fixed numbers, so we can only let nature take its course."

Xi Shi had also read Zhou Banxian's letter. She never expected that her coming to Hunyuan Palace was arranged by her grandfather. After reading the letter, she even went to Zhou Banxian's grave to pay her respects.

Stepping out of Zhou Yi's room, Xi Shi arrived at Xiao Penglai. In the courtyard were dozens of bags of flour, as well as salt, noodles, and other items, along with some basic medicines and equipment such as blood pressure monitors and blood glucose meters. These were all gifts that Zhou Yi had prepared for the disciples of Confucius.

After everything was prepared, Zhou Yi took out more than ten health-enhancing talismans from his satchel and handed them to Xi Shi:
"If anyone is physically weak, you should let him carry this with him; it should help."

It's a pity we can't come to Hunyuan Palace, otherwise, a single body-strengthening technique could greatly improve even the weakest body.

Xi Shi placed the talisman and the token together, as if to leave:

"If you don't kiss me soon, I'm leaving."

The Book of Changes: ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Good guy, are you playing hard to get with me?
He opened his arms and kissed Xi Shi, separating a few minutes later to send the beautiful woman back to the Spring and Autumn period to deliver supplies to Master Laozi and his group.

After Xi Shi left, Zhou Yi continued working at the construction site, hoping to finish the house as soon as possible so they could move in sooner.

Today, all the roof formwork has been completely removed. Next, we will begin installing mesh on the exterior walls and repairing the interior floors in preparation for laying underfloor heating to maximize comfort.

Wu Meiniang sat in Zhou Yi's room, recording accounts and various supplies. Sixty tons of armor plates would be distributed to different worlds according to everyone's needs.

For example, Huo Qubing and Chen Tang, two Western Han dynasties, each received twenty tons of supplies to facilitate their formation of lightly armored cavalry and their reaping of the Xiongnu's lives.

Give them some from the two Tang dynasties so they can learn to refine their processing techniques.

Zhao Xu's side wouldn't give it to them. Their steel production is quite high, so not only do they not need it, they can even dump a wave of it into the Han-Tang world.

The same applies to Guo Rong's side. Once the military leaders choose to be ambitious and proactive instead of being passive and lazy, neither the Liao Kingdom nor the Northern Han Kingdom will be a problem.

Ban Chao's forces are not needed for the time being, but some should be reserved. Once we are to sweep across Central Asia, we need to build a heavily armored cavalry force to give the bumpkins of Central Asia a little shock.

After Wu Zetian had properly divided the armor plates, she began distributing military overcoats.

This needs to be emphasized in relation to the Tang Dynasty, because the Song and Han Dynasties were not located too far north and were relatively less cold, while the two Tang Dynasties had already extended their military reach into the subarctic region, where winters were exceptionally difficult.

On the other side, in the world of Emperor Zhezong of the Northern Song Dynasty.

After Zhao Xu led his army to Fenglingdu, he visited the Tongguan garrison commander and then ordered the army to set up camp on the spot. He himself led Zhang Dun, Zeng Bu, Zhao Ji and others to cross the Yellow River by boat to Wanquan County to worship Houtu Niangniang (Goddess of the Earth).

Zhang Dun made arrangements along the route from the north bank of Fenglingdu to Wanquan County to ensure that the entire worship process would not be disturbed.

Although it was autumn, the Yellow River was flowing very fast. When the ferry reached the middle of the Yellow River, it suddenly began to spin. Zhang Dun and Zeng Bu were startled, and Zhao Ji also began to prepare rescue supplies.

At this moment, Zhao Xu calmly took out the Hunyuan Palace token from his pocket and pointed it at the Yellow River. The swirling boat immediately calmed down, and even the current became less turbulent.

Zhao Ji was taken aback and asked in a low voice:

"Brother, can the immortal's token still command the river god?"

Zhao Xu said:

"It may not be the river god. When the Lotus Fairy crossed the river in the Spring and Autumn Period, she also encountered this situation. As a result, several divine thunderbolts fell from the sky and destroyed an evil spirit that was entrenched deep in the Yangtze River."

The ferry safely reached the other side. After everyone disembarked, the prefect of Hezhong Prefecture and others immediately came to greet them and escorted Zhao Xu all the way to Wanquan County.

Zhao Xu turned to look at the Yellow River and said to Zhang Dun:
"After the fall of Western Xia, I selected a brave and valiant man from among the martyrs of my Great Song Dynasty and personally bestowed upon him the title of Yellow River God, so that no evil spirits might ever again collide with the ferry."

Zhang Dun quickly wrote it down, then asked:

"Does the mountain god of Helan Mountain need to be officially appointed?" Zhao Xu nodded:

"Having been defiled by the Tanguts for so long, it is indeed necessary to re-grant titles. When the time comes, give me the list, and I will report it to my master and ask him to make a decision on this matter."

After making these arrangements, Zhao Xu mounted his horse and headed to Wanquan County to worship Houtu Niangniang (Goddess of the Earth).

When they arrived at Kahoto Castle near Pubanjin, a troop of cavalry suddenly rushed out of the castle. The leader was dressed in a scholar's robe, with a beard as sharp as steel needles. He looked imposing and like a military general.

Zhao Xu tightened the reins and stopped the train. The nearby soldiers immediately surrounded him and raised their large shields for defense.

The prefect of Hezhong rode over and whispered:
"Your Majesty doesn't recognize this man? He is Tong Guan, the military supervisor of the Northwest. Hearing that Your Majesty was coming to Wanquan County to worship the Earth Goddess, he specially came from the front lines and prepared a temporary palace and food and wine in the city to welcome Your Majesty and wash away the dust of your journey..."

Zhao Xu glanced at the prefect of Hezhong and sneered:
"What? Do you intend to place me under house arrest?"

The prefect of Hezhong was so frightened that he immediately tumbled off his horse and kowtowed repeatedly, as if pounding garlic:

"This humble official has never had such a thought; I beg Your Majesty to see the truth!"

He only wanted to curry favor with Zhao Xu in order to climb to a higher position, but he didn't expect to be misunderstood as plotting a rebellion. He immediately begged for mercy and said that it was all Tong Guan's idea.

Just then, Tong Guan squeezed in and, upon hearing this, was startled and knelt down to kowtow as well.

However, he didn't think anything would happen, because the war in the Northwest was in full swing, and the Emperor would definitely be lenient.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Xu didn't even bother to ask any questions. He raised his token and cleaved Tong Guan into a crisp, then looked at the horses the group was riding and said:
“Master transferred warhorses from another world not so that you would flatter him. The Prefect of Hezhong is hereby dismissed and never to be employed again. Tong Guan has abandoned his post and is plotting a rebellion. His entire Tong family is to be executed.”

After saying this, Zhao Xu rode his horse to Wanquan County, and Zhang Dun began to carry out the imperial edict to conduct a thorough investigation of Hezhong Prefecture.

Zeng Bu also began investigating the whereabouts of the warhorses. If the warhorses that the government had worked so hard to bring were divided up by officials at all levels, then a number of officials would have to be punished to make way for those waiting for their positions.

Zhao Ji spurred his horse to catch up with Zhao Xu:

"It seems that my brother's sacrifice to the gods has given rise to many people's wicked thoughts."

Zhao Xu calmly said:

“It’s good that we can find problems before the big battle. After this battle is over, I will send Li Gefei with a token to inspect the Song Dynasty, clean up a group of corrupt officials, and kill a group of tyrannical landlords who oppress the people.”

Zhao Ji was taken aback, then asked:

"Would there still be a place for Li Gefei in the entire Song Dynasty?"

Officials who offend local power will surely suffer a miserable old age, and may even bring ruin to the entire Li clan of Zhangqiu.

Zhao Xu glanced at his younger brother:
“My dear brother, in a few days, I might have to call the Osmanthus Fairy my master’s wife. Are you still worried about her father’s safety? The future is full of uncertainties, but one thing is certain: Li Hang will become the prime minister of our Great Song Dynasty. Even if it’s just for the sake of the Osmanthus Fairy, Master will raise Li Hang to be an outstanding person.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ji decided to cultivate a good relationship with Li Hang after returning to the capital... If we can't curry favor with the immortal, can't we at least curry favor with his brother-in-law?
While the two brothers were on their journey, the world under Emperor Yuan of the Western Han Dynasty presented a completely different picture.

After a day of searching, Chen Tang captured about five thousand Xiongnu people and rescued over a thousand Han people. Most of these Han people were from Shuofang Commandery. After the Xiongnu migrated south, they gradually encroached on their living areas and eventually became slaves.

Several Xiongnu nobles of some standing tried to argue with Chen Tang about fair trade, but Chen Tang chopped off their heads one by one, and the Xiongnu all became obedient.

Wang Zhang, carrying a bloodstained machete, strode up to Chen Tang and reported:

"General, the entire area within dozens of miles has been searched, and there is no trace of the Xiongnu."

Chen Tang grinned and asked:

How does it feel to chop someone up?

Wang Zhang glanced down at the bloodstains on his machete and said:
"I feel like I'm putting my knowledge to practical use. For many years, I have been practicing the Six Arts of a Gentleman proposed by Confucius, and today I finally have a chance to put them to use."

Another captain reported the spoils:

"We found over ten thousand horses and more than one hundred thousand cattle and sheep... General, what should we do with these Xiongnu people?"

Chen Tang had never experienced the feeling of getting richer with each battle, but this unexpected battle gave him a real taste of it:
"In Huo Qubing's world, the method of beheading by wheels is currently being implemented. All foreigners with Han blood on their hands who are taller than a wheel are beheaded."

Wang Zhang gestured to indicate the height of the giant man's cartwheel and immediately asked:
"If the other party were a short person, wouldn't they have escaped this predicament?"

Chen Tang nodded:

"So, Huo Qubing's men chose to flatten the wheels... Let's try flattening them too. If there's any that slip through the net, I'll keep my word and let them go!"

(End of this chapter)