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

Chapter 399 Yang Ye's Trail! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Although Guo Rong has arrived, the commander-in-chief remains Wang Yansheng. After he gives the order, Pan Mei gives the order, and squads of Zhou soldiers carrying ladders begin to run towards the vicinity of the city wall.

When they were almost at the base of the city wall, the first few people carrying the ladder put it down and used their bodies to firmly secure the bottom of the ladder to the ground. The people behind pushed hard, and the ladder stood up high due to inertia, and then slowly fell towards the city wall.

When they reached the top of the wall, the person holding the ladder pulled back forcefully, and the iron hook installed at the top of the ladder was firmly fixed to the city wall, and could not be pushed away.

As soon as the ladders were set up, a group of soldiers carrying machetes quickly climbed up the ladders, holding shields in one hand and gripping the ladders with the other. They were the first wave of brave warriors to scale the walls. Their shields not only blocked arrows from above, but also allowed them to quickly clear an area once they reached the city wall, making room for the rear guard.

Among all combat weapons, the shield is not only a powerful defensive weapon, but also a magic weapon for clearing airspace. If you charge forward with your shield raised, you can knock down seven or eight enemy soldiers at once if you're lucky, and that creates an opportunity for the rear guard.

But today, the shield bearers were almost at the top of the city wall and hadn't encountered a single arrow. The lead shield bearer put down his shield and, finding no Khitan figure on the parapet, immediately threw away his shield and began climbing with both hands... After all, compared to safety, the honor of being the first to scale the wall was paramount!

Finally, the first warrior climbed to the top of the wall, only to find it empty, with only bits of flesh and some smoke and dust on the ground and inner walls.

He looked around blankly, and just as he was lost in thought, Wang Yansheng's voice came from the drone above him:

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and pull down the Khitan flag and throw it away. You don't want the reward for being the first to reach the top three ranks, do you?"

This "first warrior," who was the safest in the entire army, suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly pulled down the Khitan flag from the city wall and threw it down to the ground, replacing it with the Great Zhou dragon flag.

At this time, the other soldiers also went up to the city wall. Instead of blindly chasing after the Khitans, they first occupied the city gate tower and found stacks of arrows and oil inside, which made them break out in a cold sweat.

If the cannons hadn't scared the Khitans away, it would have been considered fast if Laiyuan City had been captured within a month.

Soon, there were more than a hundred warriors on the city wall, and two teams were leading everyone down from the city gate tower to seize the city gate.

The Khitans had clearly intended to hold the city at all costs, stuffing the gate with heavy objects such as stone tablets and thresholds to prevent anyone from sneaking in. The Great Zhou warriors searched around and found a few horses, using them to pull the debris out of the gate. After working for quite a while, they finally opened the city gate and welcomed the army into the city.

When Pan Mei led his cavalry into the city, the siege battle became a complete waste of time.

Wang Yansheng looked at Guo Rong and asked:

"Your Majesty, why don't you enjoy the scenery nearby first, and then enter the city tomorrow?"

He was worried that Guo Rong would be assassinated when he entered the city today, so he planned to spend a day purifying the people in the city. Those who did not look like Han people would be sent to prisoner camps and used to build roads for the Great Zhou.

Damn this wretched city! It held off our army for days. Now that it's fallen, we need to capture some of the foreign tribes to vent our anger.

Guo Rong said:

“No need, I’ll go in with you. The immortal gave me a protective token, which I haven’t used yet. If anyone tries to assassinate me, I can show you the power of the divine lightning.”

The city of Laiyuan was captured, and Wang Yansheng, as the commander-in-chief, deserved much credit. Guo Rong was also pleased to have tested the mortars. Only Wang Pu didn't get a chance to fire a mortar and hated the Khitans to the core.

"They were scared away after just two shots. What cowards! They should at least let me fire one shot! When I get back, I'm going to write an article cursing those spineless Khitan idiots to death! I'm so angry!"

Guo Rong said:

"Don't rush. Next, we will attack Jincheng, the capital of Yingzhou. I will adjust the angle and give you a chance to fire."

Yingzhou has three cities, from east to west: Laiyuan, Jincheng, and Heyin. Jincheng is the administrative center and the largest city. It is also a vital passage to Datong and Jinyang, and the Khitan and Northern Han amassed a large number of troops here.

Speaking of Jincheng, Wang Pu took out a piece of intelligence from his pocket and said:
"Your Majesty, Liu Jiye, the defense commissioner of Yingzhou, has been transferred by the Khitans to guard Datong. This man is known as Liu the Invincible, and is said to be the elder brother of Yang Chongxun, the defense commissioner of Linzhou and Grand Tutor. With him away from Yingzhou, this battle should be much easier."

Linzhou, located in the western part of Northern Han, west of the Yellow River, surrendered to Later Zhou along with Fuzhou and Shengzhou, becoming an exclave in the hands of Guo Rong.

However, although they surrendered, they were not honest. As soon as the Northern Han promised good conditions, they immediately rebelled back. Yang Chongxun's position of Grand Tutor was newly added last year to win him over, and then this guy immediately rebelled against the Northern Han and became a "loyal" subject of the Later Zhou.

During the Five Dynasties period, local officials were always like this: they had no loyalty whatsoever, and all they wanted was to be carefree local emperors. They would cheer for whoever offered them the best conditions.

Guo Rong has recently been studying the officials of the Northern Han Dynasty quite a bit:

"Liu Jiye, whose original name was Yang Chonggui, was a brave man who once saved Liu Chong and was therefore granted the imperial surname... I took the southern route this time for him, but I didn't expect him to be in Datong."

Liu Jiye is the prototype of Yang Ye, the general of the Yang family. He is now a key minister of the Northern Han Dynasty. Guo Rong felt that it was not good for a hero to be underappreciated, so he planned to recruit him and let Yang Ye lead an army to exterminate the Mongols.

Of course, it wasn't called that yet; it was just a small tribe of the Shiwei. But that didn't stop Guo Rong from nipping this ethnic group, which had caused enormous harm to Chinese history, in the bud.

The Great Zhou Dynasty is destined to dominate the world; it has no time to play hide-and-seek with these barbarians.

Historically, Pan Mei's campaigns extended all the way to Guangxi, nearly conquering Vietnam. This time, he was allowed to fight freely, sweeping across the entire Southeast Asia and turning the local inhabitants into slaves.

It is still more than four hundred years before Zhu Yuanzhang unified the country. Guo Rong cannot wait that long. He plans to unify China ahead of schedule, and will exterminate the surrounding foreign tribes and mine the mines as they wish, bringing them the blessings and good fortune of a great nation.

As everyone prepared to enter the city, Wang Yansheng asked:
"Your Majesty, what should we do with these cannons and shells?"

Guo Rong said, “Wipe the inside clean with a cotton cloth and take it with us on the road. Let’s try to crush the Western Liao and Northern Han before we run out of these fifty shells.”

While Li Qingzhao was triumphantly conquering the city, inside the Hunyuan Palace, she sat in front of the computer, playing a matching game while saying:
"I wonder how things are going with the God of Wealth. I hope he didn't explode."

Zhou Yi said with a smile:

"He's supposed to be the God of Wealth, or even the Emperor; his luck can't be that bad."

He flipped open the black notebook and saw that Guo Rong had already finished:

Guo Rong used mortars to capture Laiyuan County, and the local people submitted to him. Merit +20

Truth is indeed within the range of artillery! Originally, we couldn't take the city, but after using artillery, we not only conquered it, but also boosted public morale. This is a good thing!
Zhou Yi asked Li Qingzhao:

Have you made bitter acid yet?

"Not yet. Emperor Huizong isn't here, so no one dares to try. I plan to try it with the blue dye that offsets taxes when I go back this time. As long as I can make picric acid, the explosive effect of the shells will be further improved. I'll also make a 100mm mortar. A 60mm mortar is too small and not satisfying enough."

At this point, Li Qingzhao leaned back, resting her head on Zhou Yi's shoulder, and asked:

"What if I blow myself up into the sky while operating it?"

Zhou Yi opened the drawer, took out a golden talisman, and handed it to the girl:

"Carry this talisman with you, and it will ensure that no accidents happen to you within a year."

Li Qingzhao's first encounter with golden talismans:
"What kind of talisman is this? It looks really powerful."

The Book of Changes says:

"Grandpa drew a talisman for purification. If you carry it with you, you will enter a state of purity and non-action, just like being protected by Laozi. No accidents will happen."

Li Qingzhao found it amazing:

Are there any drawbacks?

"No, this talisman incorporates the Supreme Dharma Seal. If it had any flaws, wouldn't that be a slap in the face to Laozi?"

Upon hearing this, Li Qingzhao quickly folded the bag and stuffed it into her pocket. That afternoon, she went back and began to study bitter acid to increase the lethality of the Song Dynasty's cannons.

Today, all the tiles in the new house have been laid. After the interior walls are painted, it will be time to build the cabinets. Wu Zetian, Li Qingzhao, and Xi Shi each had different requirements for the cabinets.

Xi Shi requested that the fabric be wider and deeper so that she could store more clothes.

Li Qingzhao wished for more drawers so she could store her various trinkets.

Wu Zetian wanted all the cabinets and furniture to be made with glittery lacquer... People in the Tang Dynasty were flamboyant and loved to decorate their homes with something shiny.

When communicating with the renovation workers, Wu Zetian took out a small notebook containing the requirements of other people:

"Gongsun wants more red in her room, as she says it's her birth color; Wang Qiang prefers more muted colors and would like a place with greenery; Yan'er and Rui'er's room should be more cartoonish, with solid wood bunk beds; Mingda is young and likes soft pinks, so let's make it mainly pink..."

Comparatively speaking, men don't consider this aspect. Even Zhou Yi himself feels that having a bed and a desk is enough.

As long as you're comfortable, the room doesn't matter. Even if you want to decorate, just get a RGB-lit computer tower that's shiny and bright, and you'll be more enthusiastic about playing games.

During lunch, Zhou Yi gave Zhao Yan and Zhao Rui a simple test on their knowledge and found that after a month of study, they had actually caught up with the third-grade curriculum. Even Zhao Rui, who was playful and didn't like studying, was able to answer the third-grade math questions with ease.

The Book of Changes says:

"You two sisters can study on your own for a few more days to consolidate your knowledge. Next month I will send you two to school. You will be boarding students then. You can come back to stay for three days every two weeks. If we are not busy, we will also go to the school to see you two and bring you delicious food."

Zhao Yan, preoccupied, asked with tears welling up in her eyes upon hearing this:
"Immortal Master, you wouldn't abandon Yan'er, would you?"

Zhou Yi rubbed her head and said:

"How could that be? I'm still waiting for you two to grow up and chant sutras and beat bells for me at the Taoist temple. Be good and eat your food. Don't cry. If you cry again, you won't be as pretty as Ruier."

While he was coaxing Zhao Feiyan, in the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty, in Rajagaha, India, Xuanzang found Wang Xuance and said loudly:
"After diligent study, I have found a way to use the Indians for my own purposes..."

Wang Xuance had been scratching his head in frustration these past few days, and upon hearing this, he skillfully poured Xuanzang a glass of juice:
"Master, please tell me quickly, what is the method!"

(End of this chapter)