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

Chapter 396 Li Shimin: I'm Kind-Hearted! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Back in the room, Zhou Yi took Xi Shi's phone, opened the latest video he had just recorded, and clicked play.

The video begins with a towering figure, just like a basketball star from an ordinary person's perspective. Confucius, with his white hair and beard, exudes the dignity of a teacher, instantly giving Zhou Yi the feeling of being stared at by his homeroom teacher.

He initially thought Confucius was just spouting empty platitudes, but after hearing the Three No's Principle, his eyes lit up. Confucius had completely deconstructed Huo Qubing's miraculous actions.

After Confucius finished explaining the three principles of no, quick, and three strikes, Zhou Yi was filled with nothing but admiration... He had actually summarized the essence of human warfare overnight. This was no longer just taking away the military strategists' livelihood; it was practically smashing their pot.

Of course, to be precise, Wu Qi, the founder of the military school, was also a disciple of Confucianism. He first studied under Zengzi, but Zengzi disliked his filial impiety and drove him away. When he served as the governor of Wei, he became a disciple of Zixia in his later years and studied Confucian classics.

Now, Confucian disciples no longer need to ponder military strategy themselves; the old master has directly extracted the most essential parts of warfare, especially the three-strike principle. Almost all wars in human history have revolved around these three points: striking the command center, destroying the spiritual totem, and cutting off the economic lifeline.

After watching the video, Zhou Yi saved it on his computer and planned to make a copy for all the generals so they could study it carefully.

Throughout history, China has produced countless famous generals, but few have been able to clearly explain the core of warfare. Now, the old master is extending his reach into the realm of military strategists, which is a good thing.

The core principles of war were discussed as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, emphasizing macro-strategy and implementing the concept of unification. Suddenly, the Book of Changes was filled with expectations for the Spring and Autumn Period world. Confucius, who was both a scholar and a warrior, might lead China to an incredible height.

Xi Shi put away her phone, went outside, and handed the Gouchen leaf to Wu Meiniang.

Wu Zetian, carrying a leaf, arrived at the Great Buddha Hall and stepped onto the carriage of the Tang Dynasty's Zhenguan World. She lifted the curtain and asked outside:

Where are we?

The cavalry general outside replied:
"Reporting to Fairy Peony, the carriage has just entered Youzhou territory and will arrive in Fanyang in three days at most."

Upon hearing this, Wu Meiniang opened her phone calendar, made a note for the date three days later, and prepared things like solar panels in advance. She then started installing them once she arrived in Fanyang. After that, she made all the members of the Lu clan in Fanyang swear allegiance to the Tang Dynasty to prevent them from having any other thoughts.

Just then, the cavalry captain rode up and said from outside the window:
"Reporting to Fairy Peony, this morning at the post station I received an urgent message from Chang'an, sent over 400 li, specifically requesting that you personally open it."

Upon hearing this, Wu Meiniang opened the window, took the bamboo tube handed to her by the cavalry captain, unsealed it, and pulled out a rolled-up A4 sheet of paper. On it was a secret letter written by Li Mingda in pinyin.

The letter was simple: she had received a divine revelation from Guanyin on June 27th, and that she would go to Hunyuan Palace forty-nine days later to inform Meiniang in advance.

The reason for using pinyin is that Li Shimin did not want the aristocratic families to know this. Previously, he announced in the court that Li Mingda would enter the Yiyuan Hall and serve the immortal for life, without mentioning anything about going to the Hunyuan Palace.

The court officials thought Li Mingda was just burning incense and setting out offerings at the Yiyuan Hall of the Taiji Palace, and didn't pay much attention. They only lamented that the plans of those officials who were eager to propose marriage might fall through.

If someone really starts making trouble later, it won't be too late to reveal Li Mingda's identity then. We can play dumb and give the officials a little surprise.

After reading the secret letter in pinyin, Wu Meiniang calculated the date and found that it was about the same date she received her household registration in Yunwu Town. She thought that she could hold a grand welcoming banquet for Li Mingda and let this Tang princess, who was only interested in being a maid, experience the food at Hunyuan Palace.

While she was pondering these things, in the Yiyuan Hall of the Taiji Palace in Chang'an, Li Mingda was munching on a cornbread bun and earnestly reading the "Taishang Ganying Pian" (Treatise on the Response of the Supreme Being), intending to memorize it before going to the Hunyuan Palace so as not to be tested by the immortal.

While they were busy, Princess Li Chengyang of Hengshan slipped in carrying a basket. Finding no one around, she lifted the silk cloth covering the basket and presented it to Li Mingda like a treasure:
"Sister, try this! It's a freshly baked sponge cake from the Imperial Kitchen. Not a drop of water was added. It's soft and delicious. I guarantee you'll want more after you try it."

Li Mingda shook his head and refused:

"Yuebao, how many times have I told you not to secretly give me food? I'm eating cornbread because the Immortal Master is also suffering by eating cornbread, not because I'm being punished by Father. Don't get confused."

Li Chengyang's eyes widened:
"There's no one around, so even if we eat a single immortal, no one will know."

Li Mingda said solemnly:

"The Immortal Master is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. With a single thought, he knows what you and I are thinking. Do not utter such impolite words. The fate of our Great Tang Dynasty is closely related to the Immortal Master and is by no means a trivial matter."

Li Chengyang looked around and secretly covered the basket with his hand:
"Since the immortal is so powerful, will he try to steal my chicken cake? It tastes much better than cornbread."

Li Mingda was completely speechless:

"They are immortals, and they can live on wind and dew all day long. Eating cornbread is just a way to temper their hearts in the mortal world. If you keep talking about immortals, be careful he doesn't flick your head."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengyang quickly abandoned his idea of ​​using chicken cake as bait to catch cacti.

"Sister, when you go to the immortal realm, will you be like Consort Wu, able to travel back and forth every few days and bring me lots of beautiful clothes and headdresses?" Li Mingda asked, sounding like a little adult.

"Sure, but you can't keep bothering the immortal, otherwise I won't buy it for you..."

Li Chengyang took a sponge cake from the basket, took a small bite, and brought it closer to Li Mingda, where they began reading the "Treatise on the Response of the Supreme Being" together.

Historically, after Li Mingda passed away, Li Shimin devoted all his attention to his youngest daughter, Li Chengyang, and went to great lengths to find her a good husband.

First, she chose Wei Zheng's son, but after the incident of smashing the monument, she changed to Changsun Quan from the Changsun family. Just before she was about to get married, Li Shimin passed away. Li Chengyang observed three years of mourning and married into the Changsun family at the age of eighteen.

Before her marriage, Li Zhi changed her title to Princess Xincheng and granted her a fief of 5,000 households... This fief was the largest among princesses in the Tang Dynasty.

Princess Taiping worked tirelessly to help her brother Li Dan ascend the throne, and in the end, she was granted a fief of five thousand households.

Princess Xincheng received the same fiefdom simply because she had come of age and was about to get married, which shows that Li Zhi truly doted on this younger sister to the core.

A few years later, the Changsun family fell from power, and Li Zhi remarried Princess Xincheng to Wei Zhengju, a man of excellent character and learning. The two lived together for a few years, but their relationship was not very good.

After an argument, Princess Xincheng suddenly died. Without hesitation, Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) executed her husband, Wei Zhengju, and then neglected state affairs, weeping for several days. He felt that the funeral rites for a Tang princess were too simplistic and unworthy of his sister, so he overruled objections and buried Princess Xincheng with the rites due to an empress.

Now, this little girl, who is showered with love and affection, is eating small bites of chicken cake while diligently reading the "Treatise on the Response of the Supreme Being," carefree and without worries.

Inside the Liangyi Hall, Li Shimin stood before a huge map, listening to intelligence reports from Jinyang:
"More than 30,000 of the rebellious Turks were killed by the Left Guard General's troops, their corpses littering the ground. The Turks tried to surrender many times, but the General refused each time..."

Cheng Yaojin led his army out of Yanmen Pass to quell the rebellion, and he certainly wouldn't return until he had his fill of killing. Li Shimin pondered for a moment and then issued the order:

"Let the prefects of various regions guard the area and do a good job of burying the corpses to prevent the outbreak of plague. The court has appointed Cheng Zhijie as the Grand Commander of the Hedong Road Army, in charge of all matters in Hedong Road. From now on, there is no need to report to the court on matters involving killings."

Old Li was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see people being killed, so he simply stopped listening and delegated the power directly to Cheng Zhijie, letting him act as he saw fit.

Historically, the Turks soon re-established their kingdom on the grasslands. It was time to suppress the Turks. After this battle, the remaining Turks were all relocated to the Guanzhong Plain to mine, quarry, pave roads, and build canals, contributing to the rise of the Tang Dynasty.

Changsun Wuji, who was standing nearby, picked up his pen and wrote down the matter, then recounted the movements of the Turks in Chang'an:

"The vast majority of Turks share the same attitude as Li She, believing that the Turks on the grasslands are indeed uncivilized and should be quelled. A small number of people, however, intend to cheer on the cause and have been arrested by the Ministry of Justice. They are currently undergoing intensive interrogation."

Li Shimin asked:
Has Li She volunteered for the battle?

Changsun Wuji flipped through the memorials and said:
"He was invited, but not to the Hebei DTZ's unit. He hoped to go to the Anxi Protectorate in the Northwest to fight alongside Guo Xiaoke."

Last time in the court, Li She tried to mediate and buy some time for the Turks, but was instead called a traitor. The general was disheartened and stopped paying attention to Turkic affairs.

Not long ago, he burned all the Turkic items in his home and rewrote his family history, becoming a Han Chinese son who had lived in Guanzhong for generations.

Li Shimin said:
“Select a fine horse from the Imperial Horse Stables and bestow it upon Li She, so that he can focus on making contributions in the Western Regions.”

After arranging all that, Old Li sat in his ergonomic computer chair, enjoying the comfort of the lumbar support, and began to ponder strategies for containing Tibet.

The threat to the Tang Dynasty lay with Tibet, while Tibet's advantage lay in the Yarlung Tsangpo River valley, a region with a warm climate, fertile land, and relatively low altitude, making it the core area of ​​Tibet.

Li Shimin sighed:

"High altitude is a real obstacle. If it were a plain, I could lead my army alone to crush Tibet and relieve the great threat to our Tang Dynasty!"

Changsun Wuji became nervous upon hearing this:

"Your Majesty, you must obey the divine decree and not entertain the idea of ​​personally leading the expedition again. After we have pacified Goguryeo, it will not be too late for us to devise a strategy against Tibet... If we want to destroy it, we will surely be able to destroy Tibet."

Li Shimin nodded and continued reading the memorials.

Meanwhile, in the world of Emperor Yuan of the Western Han Dynasty, on the plains of the Hetao region, groups of Xiongnu people were being escorted from various places to the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains, preparing to undergo...labor reform from the Han court!
(End of this chapter)