Chef God of the Wuxia and Fantasy World

In the martial arts world, with Li Shimin's ascension to the throne, Cihang Jingzhai achieved a great victory. With Li Shimin's tacit approval, Buddhist forces led by Cihang Jingzhai and Jingnian Zen Temple began to flourish throughout the Tang Dynasty. However, Li Shimin made a three-point agreement with them from the beginning, never allowing Buddhism to become a place of filth and corruption, otherwise they would not be able to blame the emperor for being ruthless.

Fan Qinghui and Liaokong naturally agreed. Although Buddhism is supposed to save all sentient beings, it won't let any scoundrel go unpunished. As long as the court establishes various rules and regulations, such as regular assessments of Buddhist teachings, and Buddhism can still flourish, then there's nothing more to say. But if you don't live up to expectations, don't blame the court for not giving you a chance.

These systems were actually Ling Chi's ideas for Li Shimin. Although Ling Chi had a good relationship with Cihang Jingzhai and Jingnian Chan Temple, he also knew about some of the historical situations of Buddhism. Not to mention anything else, the affair between Li Shimin's daughter, Princess Gaoyang, and the monk Bianji was enough to ruin the reputation of Buddhism.

To prevent the Buddhist community from engaging in any unsavory activities, Lingchi employed methods used in later religious governance, which, so far, have been quite effective. This is also related to Lingchi's personal intervention with Fan Qinghui and Liaokong.

Given Ling Chi's strength and the unconfirmed but persistent clues that suggest he is a god descended to earth, Fan Qinghui and Liao Kong basically agreed with Ling Chi's statement and promised to keep their disciples in check to prevent them from acting recklessly.

At that time, Ling Chi also had a heart-to-heart talk with Fan Qinghui, but Fan Qinghui ultimately did not reciprocate his feelings. She only said that she wanted to dedicate her life to Cihang Jingzhai and hoped that he could understand her.

Although Ling Chi felt regret, he could only sigh: What a wonderful woman, but unfortunately she doesn't belong to me.

After Li Shimin ascended the throne, he vigorously promoted agriculture domestically and, centered on Chang'an, extensively constructed bridges and roads to develop the local economy. Simultaneously, the imperial court allocated funds to establish royal schools in almost every county and village within the Tang Dynasty, providing children with a three-year education. After three years, outstanding students could continue their studies, while those who did not excel would at least have learned to read and write, which would greatly benefit them whether they engaged in farming, commerce, or other professions.

Of course, many powerful clans saw that this move undermined their foundations. Previously, they controlled almost all aspects of culture, and could do as they pleased, whether in official positions or business. Even rulers had to treat them with respect; otherwise, how could they convey government orders and govern the country if these powerful clans refused to serve as officials?

If Li Shimin were still the second son of the Li clan, he wouldn't have said anything about these powerful families. But now that he's the emperor, he naturally has to find ways to suppress them. Selecting and training people from the common people to serve the court is the best way to consolidate imperial power and weaken the power of these powerful families.

When Ling Chi proposed the corresponding method, Li Shimin was so excited that he couldn't sleep for several nights. He felt that if this matter was implemented smoothly, the Tang Dynasty would never lack talent again, and the powerful clans would no longer have the ground to be high and mighty.

If you don't do it, plenty of others will, and they'll do it much better than you. Let's see how smug you can be then.

The empire was won by Li Shimin with iron and blood. With the promotion of high-yield crops, his prestige had reached a height that all the powerful clans could only dream of. Although any powerful clan was unwilling to promote education, they knew that the consequences of standing up to oppose it would inevitably be rejected by the people. If Li Shimin were to deal with them harshly, their families, which had lasted for hundreds or even thousands of years, might be destroyed in an instant.

No one dared to take such a risk. Even if they gritted their teeth, they could only accept the changes in the educational environment of the Tang Dynasty. Now, besides worrying about their own descendants, they could only do their best to teach their clansmen and younger generations, hoping that they could work harder and not lose the family's heritage and glory.

That day, in the rear hall of the imperial palace.

Ling Chi held Changsun Wugou's eldest daughter, Li Lizhi, and teased her with various snacks. Then, looking at Changsun Wugou, who was heavily pregnant, he frowned and said, "You've already given birth to two. Don't have any more after this one. It's not good for your health."

It is now the second year of Zhenguan. Empress Zhangsun has given birth to a son and a daughter for Li Shimin. Unlike in history, Prince Wei, Li Tai, was not born. Instead, Li Lizhi arrived as expected and is now three years old, one year younger than in history.

Ling Chi knew the reason: in the original history, during the two years when Li Tai and Li Lizhi should have been born, Li Shimin was always leading troops outside and did not have time to have children with Empress Zhangsun. Therefore, Li Tai was not born. However, Li Lizhi was a year younger than in the original history. Although she was still called Li Lizhi, who could say for sure whether she and the historical Li Lizhi were the same person?

However, in this world, Li Lizhi is extremely cute and has a wonderful personality. She is both considerate and obedient, making her Li Shimin's little darling. But compared to her uncle Ling, who always manages to produce delicious treats, Li Shimin has to take a backseat.

Empress Dowager Changsun smiled slightly: "Although I don't want to have any more children, having only one legitimate son is still a bit too weak. I still want to have another son so that if something happens to Chengqian in the future, there will be a child to take his place."

“A child’s future depends on two things: the parents’ words and deeds and the teachers’ guidance. So choosing a good teacher for Chengqian is of utmost importance,” Ling Chi said. “But don’t choose any old-fashioned scholars or antiques for Chengqian. They can’t teach Chengqian well.”

Empress Changsun nodded: "I will discuss it with Erlang." She paused and smiled: "Actually, I hope that Brother Ling can teach Chengqian."

"I'll pass!" Ling Chi waved his hand. "I don't know anything about governing a country. If I accidentally turn Chengqian into a cook, my brother-in-law will definitely fight me to the death."

Empress Zhangsun covered her mouth and laughed.

Ling Chi glanced at the sky and said, "It's already this late, shouldn't the court session be over?"

“There are many affairs in the court these days, and it will probably take some more time.” Empress Changsun sighed and said, “These past two years, Erlang has been extremely busy every day, often working until late at night. Although I feel sorry for him, there is nothing I can do.” She paused, “Erlang wants to be a wise ruler too much.”

"..." Ling Chi glanced at her sideways and said, "You're acting so pitiful, but you just want to get something out of me. So, tell me! What do you want me to do?"

Changsun Wugou said somewhat embarrassedly, "Brother Ling, the national treasury is out of money."

"..."

"Although high-yield seeds have been introduced in the past two years, disasters have continued, and grain production is much lower than expected. Many places have even experienced plagues, resulting in widespread displacement. The imperial court has too many expenses, but the Tang Dynasty has only been established for a short time, and with insufficient production, the national treasury naturally cannot collect much tax revenue. Erlang has even turned his hair white with worry because of this..."

"Alright, alright," Ling Chi couldn't take it anymore. "Just tell me! How much do you want?"

"The more the better." After saying this, Empress Changsun blushed a little and said, "Of course, this is all borrowed from the court and Brother Ling. Once the court has the money, it will definitely repay the principal and interest."

"No need for interest," Ling Chi waved his hand and said, "Have my brother-in-law send more people to help me find more rare and precious materials to pay off the debt!"

"This... Brother Ling is at a great disadvantage." Although Changsun Wugou was delighted, she also felt that she owed her sworn brother too much.

"There's no such thing as losing out," Ling Chi said. "Money is nothing to me, but rare and precious materials are hard to come by. Even if I searched for a hundred years by myself, I still couldn't find as many as my brother-in-law could find with just one imperial decree. Let's just say it's a win-win situation!"

"Then, on behalf of Erlang, I thank Brother Ling." Changsun Wugou stood up and was about to bow.

"Sit down." Ling Chi gestured for her to sit down. "You're already seven or eight months pregnant, don't do anything unnecessary." He paused, looked at Changsun Wugou's belly, frowned, and sighed.

"What does Brother Ling mean by this?" Changsun Wugou was taken aback, and became somewhat nervous.

"It's nothing," Ling Chi sighed. "It's just that Wu Gou, this time you're having a daughter, so it looks like you'll have to have a fourth child."

"Ah? This..." Empress Changsun's expression changed slightly, and she stroked her belly with both hands, her face showing sadness.

"Don't say that, having a daughter is great," Ling Chi said. "Daughters are their parents' little darlings, much better than those naughty boys."

Empress Zhangsun forced a smile: "Brother Ling is right."

Perhaps sensing that Empress Zhangsun was in a bad mood, Li Lizhi jumped down from Ling Chi's arms, ran to Empress Zhangsun, and held the milk candy in her hand to her lips: "Mother, this milk candy is very sweet, you can have it."

Seeing her daughter's concern for her, Empress Zhangsun smiled and said, "Thank you, Lizhi."

Empress Zhangsun ate the milk candy, and Li Lizhi smiled broadly: "Mother, is it delicious?"

"It's delicious." Empress Zhangsun nodded, stroking her little head with her delicate hand: "Lizhi is such a good girl."

"Hehe." Seeing that her mother was in a better mood, Li Lizhi happily ran back to Ling Chi's side and sat on his lap: "Uncle Ling, is there any more milk candy?"

"Yes." Ling Chi flipped his hand, and two milk candies appeared in his hand. He smiled and said, "Since Lizhi is so well-behaved, your uncle will reward you with two candies this time."

"Thank you, Uncle Ling." Li Lizhi happily took the two milk candies, then jumped down and ran to Empress Zhangsun: "Mother, Lizhi has two more milk candies. Please have them."

Seeing her daughter so obedient, Empress Zhangsun almost burst into tears, stroking her cheek: "One is enough for Mother, but Lizhi can have these two!"

"Then, Mother and Lizhi will eat together." Li Lizhi put a milk candy to her lips.

Empress Zhangsun ate it with a smile, and Li Lizhi happily peeled open another milk candy and put it in her mouth. The sweet milk candy made her squint her eyes: It's so delicious.

"See, it's better to have a daughter!" Ling Chi laughed.

Empress Changsun smiled slightly: "Brother Ling is right, my daughter is indeed very good." She paused, "It's just that my daughter has grown up and will eventually get married."

"So what if you get married?" Ling Chi said, "Does that mean you'll stop caring about your family after you get married? Putting aside everything else, how much benefit has the Changsun family gained since you married your brother-in-law, Wugou? Even your uncle, who was exiled, has become a high-ranking official. He's living the high life now!"

Empress Zhangsun was speechless and could only give an awkward smile.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the hall. The two turned their heads and saw Li Shimin, dressed in a dragon robe, walking in from outside the hall. Upon seeing Ling Chi, he happily took a few steps forward: "Brother Ling, I've missed you so much!"

"Miss me?" Ling Chi sneered. "You're more interested in my money!"

“Uh…” Li Shimin turned his head to look at Empress Zhangsun. Seeing that Empress Zhangsun was covering her mouth and chuckling, he couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly twice and said, “I had no other choice! Otherwise, I wouldn’t have troubled Brother Ling to come out of the island to help me.”

"No need for formalities." Ling Chi waved his hand. "I'll give you thirty million taels of silver, plus some antiques and paintings. If you can sell them, you can have them all."

"Thirty...thirty million taels of silver!?" Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun were both startled.

They couldn't help but be shocked. The Tang Dynasty had been established for less than ten years and was in dire need of rebuilding. Money was needed everywhere. At present, the annual fiscal revenue was only eight or nine million strings of cash, which was eight or nine million taels of silver. Ling Chi took out thirty million taels of silver in one go, which was equivalent to more than three years of fiscal revenue of the Tang Dynasty. How could they not be shocked?

Moreover, Lingchi also gave him a batch of antiques and calligraphy. Even if these things weren't sold, they would be good to enrich the palace's collection.

"Brother Ling, we will never forget your kindness to me and the people of the Tang Dynasty." If it weren't for the difference in status, Li Shimin would have knelt down before Ling Chi. But he was, after all, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and a single bow was enough to show his sincerity.

"Alright." Ling Chi waved his hand: "It's not like I'm giving it to you for free. Remember to help me collect more rare and precious materials. I'll buy them at market price. We'll stop when we've spent all 30 million taels of silver."

Li Shimin was stunned. He never dreamed that Ling Chi would not ask him to repay the debt, but instead offer rare and precious materials as payment. Although rare and precious materials were very valuable, they were of little use to the country. If they could be exchanged for 30 million taels of silver, it would be a huge profit for the entire Tang Dynasty.

"Brother Ling, your little brother... your little brother..." Li Shimin was so excited that he couldn't contain himself. If he didn't know that Ling Chi was straight, he would have loved to offer his chrysanthemum to the big boss.

Chapter Sixty-Two: The Sun and Moon in the Sky

With the financial support of 30 million taels of silver from Ling Chi, Li Shimin was full of confidence and launched various initiatives to improve people's livelihoods. Guided by the theories in the books in the secret room that Ling Chi had given him, he made good use of various engineering-related men from the martial arts world, such as craftsmen, doctors, and sorcerers, hoping to pool their wisdom and efforts to develop state-owned industries such as industry, medicine, and chemicals.

Externally, Li Shimin was also strengthening military development, hoping to eliminate the Turks as soon as possible, while also keeping a watchful eye on Goryeo. He hoped to accomplish the great feat that Yang Guang had failed to achieve.

But all of this will take time.

Fortunately, Li Shimin had enough talented people under his command, and Shi Zhixuan once again transformed into Pei Ju to serve Li Shimin. Because of Ling Chi's recommendation, Li Shimin valued Shi Zhixuan highly, bestowed upon him many official titles, and put him in charge of many affairs. Moreover, Li Shimin chose him as Li Chengqian's teacher, hoping that he could cultivate the future crown prince of the Tang Dynasty into a capable person.

Shi Zhixuan was deeply moved by Li Shimin's trust in him and did his best to fulfill his duties. With his Grandmaster cultivation, he could also serve as the last line of defense in the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace to protect Li Chengqian's safety to the greatest extent possible.

Time passed year after year, and the Tang Dynasty changed every year, developing at an unbelievable speed.

As the economy and people's livelihoods in the Tang Dynasty improved, the number of wealthy people increased, and correspondingly, business on Peach Blossom Island improved year by year. Now, it has surpassed its peak visitor volume, earning at least two to three thousand taels of silver every day, and an annual income of one million has become a certainty.

Now it is the tenth year of the Zhenguan era, the world is well-governed, and even a golden age has arrived. Moreover, in the foreign wars, the Tang army went on a expedition to the northern desert in the sixth year of Zhenguan, gunpowder was invented for the first time, and the Tang army defeated the Turks in one fell swoop. In this battle, the Martial Venerable Bi Xuan died at the hands of Shi Zhixuan, completely eliminating the threat in the north.

In the seventh year of the Zhenguan era, the Tang army launched a campaign against Goguryeo. Faced with the Tang army's gunpowder troops, Goguryeo had no power to fight back and was easily conquered by the Tang. Fu Cailin was also killed by Shi Zhixuan. Goguryeo had no power to resist and was annexed by the Tang.

As gunpowder research progressed, the Tang army grew stronger and its territory expanded to an immense size. However, Li Shimin had no intention of stopping there. After seeing the world map in those books, he knew that he still had so much to do in his life, and he would not stop until he accomplished it.

He wasn't worried about not being able to complete this enormous task, because as early as the fifth year of the Zhenguan era, Ling Chi had taught Empress Zhangsun how to make a dish called "Longevity Fish." Since then, Li Shimin had no more worries about his lifespan, but he treated Empress Zhangsun even better. After all, only Empress Zhangsun knew how to make Longevity Fish. Because of Ling Chi's threat, Empress Zhangsun dared not pass on the recipe, and even Li Shimin couldn't learn it. So, if he wanted to live a long and healthy life, he had to be good to Empress Zhangsun forever.

Otherwise, if he angered Empress Zhangsun and she abandoned him, he would be finished.

Thanks to the longevity fish, Empress Zhangsun, who is over thirty years old, still looks as young as a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, and Li Shimin looks only in his early twenties. Standing next to Li Chengqian, who is already fourteen years old, they look more like brothers.

Seeing that the Tang Dynasty was on the right track, Ling Chi's time in this world was also drawing to a close.

On this day, Shan Meixian and Shan Wanjing arrived at Peach Blossom Island. Although Shan Meixian is now over fifty years old, she still looks like she is only in her twenties, while Shan Wanjing, who is over thirty years old, looks like she is eighteen or nineteen years old, her youth undiminished.

"Master, my mother and I have come to see you." As soon as they arrived on the island, Shan Wanjing exclaimed.

"What are you yelling about? Who asked you to watch this? All you do is freeload and never pay. Who gave you the nerve?" Ling Chi's voice came from somewhere on the island, full of sarcasm.

Shan Wanjing had long since developed a thick skin like a city wall, completely unconcerned about her master's sarcasm. She chuckled and said, "Master, we really miss you, and Mother misses you too. Don't you miss us?"

"You really miss your mother, but forget about you." Ling Chi appeared in front of the two women. Seeing Shan Meixian, Ling Chi nodded with a smile, and Shan Meixian returned the smile. But when he looked at Shan Wanjing, Ling Chi sneered, grabbed her face with both hands, and pulled her to the sides: "You've got some nerve! Last time you actually stole the roast duck from the kitchen, how dare you!"

"Uh... um... Master... I've collected all the hunger points (I know I was wrong)." Shan Wanjing put on a pitiful and helpless expression and begged for mercy repeatedly.

"If admitting mistakes could solve problems, the world wouldn't need an imperial court," Ling Chi sneered. "If I don't teach you a lesson today, I'm not your master."

...Violence in progress...

"Waaah..." Shan Wanjing lay on the bed, tears streaming down her face, "It hurts so much!"

"Serves you right." Shan Meixian laughed and scolded, "You dared to steal your master's roast duck, it's too lenient of me not to beat you to death."

“Mother, why are you taking Master’s side too? Don’t forget, you ate those roast ducks too,” Shan Wanjing said.

"Huh?" Ling Chi turned to look at Shan Meixian, who blushed and said, "How was I supposed to know you stole it?"

“Sister Meixian is right.” Ling Chi nodded: “Ignorance is no excuse, it’s all Wanjing’s fault.”

"Waaah, you're all bullying me, I feel so wronged..." Shan Wanjing cried, covering her head with her hands.

"You're still complaining?" Ling Chi smacked her on the back of the head again. "Has your master ever been short of food or drink? What haven't you eaten on the island? How did you learn to steal roast duck?"

"I...I couldn't help it..." Shan Wanjing said weakly.

"I told you not to hold back!" Ling Chi slapped him again.