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

Chapter 279 The Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, Time to Go Home! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

In the world of Emperor Zhezong of the Northern Song Dynasty, Li Qingzhao rode a pink electric scooter through Bianliang (Kaifeng), eventually arriving at the Ministry of Justice and finding her father, Li Gefei.
"Where do I need to affix talismans? The Ministry of Justice has to pay me. The immortal said I can't help for free, otherwise I'll easily incur karma."

Li Gefei said:
"It's all ready, a total of ten strings of cash, specially approved by the Minister of Justice."

Li Qingzhao came today to help the Ministry of Justice reinforce the walls around the dungeon, so that prisoners wouldn't be able to secretly pry them open and escape.

As for the method of reinforcement, it is naturally the fossil talisman that the talented woman recently learned.

She can draw two talismans a day, and if she drinks some alcohol, she can draw one more, but the price is that she has to sleep for a full ten hours.

During this period of time, the girl used fossil talismans to reinforce the ground, walls, and even the road in front of Li Gefei's house. The walls were completely transformed into stone walls, and the ground was turned into stone slabs.

The results were so good that Li Gefei had the idea of ​​reinforcing the dungeon.

The dungeon walls were quite thick, but the material was just average; they were all made of adobe bricks.

Li Qingzhao followed Li Gefei inside, and the stench that hit her almost knocked the talented woman over. If it weren't for the ten strings of cash reward, she would have given up.

Finally, upon reaching the depths of the dungeon, she took out a fossil talisman and stuck it on the wall. The entire wall quickly petrified, transforming from adobe into stone, and even the temperature dropped several degrees.

Li Qingzhao made a round, using four fossil talismans to petrify all the walls.

After their mission was accomplished, the father and daughter left the dungeon. Li Qingzhao raised her arm and sniffed it, finding herself covered in a foul odor. Her pretty face immediately fell.

"The robe that the immortal master gave me is stinking. Are the people imprisoned inside all the most heinous criminals?"

Li Gefei nodded and said:
“In the past, there were still some members of the old party in the dungeon. After I investigated them all, those who were guilty were sentenced to labor reform, and those who committed minor crimes were allowed to make amends through meritorious service. Only some serious criminals remained.”

Li Qingzhao raised an eyebrow:
"Are you just going to feed and care for them like this?"

"Of course not. The Imperial Medical Academy needs to perform dissections based on the medical books bestowed by the Immortal Master. Some heinous criminals are sent to them as teaching aids... For example, there is a heinous murderer who doesn't even spare children as young as a few years old. Every day such a person lives is another day of wasting air. We can only try our best to turn waste into treasure."

Upon hearing this, Li Qingzhao silently took out her notebook and wrote down medical and anatomical books, hoping that these prisoners would do their best to contribute to the Song Dynasty.

After finishing her business, she left the Ministry of Justice with her reward of ten strings of cash. She first went to check on the construction progress of the Yiyuan Palace, then rode her electric scooter to the tavern, bought two jugs of Tumi wine, and planned to chill them at home, have a couple of drinks in the evening, and then work overtime to draw a talisman. Another diligent day ahead!

After paying for the drinks, the girl was about to go home when she was stopped by two eunuchs who rushed over:
"Reporting to Fairy Osmanthus, His Majesty requests your presence in the palace... We searched several places but couldn't find you. It was Young Master Li who suggested we come to the tavern if we couldn't find you, and we didn't expect you to actually be here."

Li Qingzhao: ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
You brat! How dare you talk about this fairy like that! Your new skateboard shoes are gone!

The girl, carrying two jugs of wine, rode her bicycle to the palace and met Zhao Xu.

Besides, almost all the core figures of the court were present, including his father Li Gefei, the Taoist priest Zhao Ji, the prime minister Cai Jing, the Privy Councilor Zhang Dun, and the Minister of Personnel Zeng Bu.

Li Gefei couldn't help but laugh when he saw his daughter still carrying a bottle of wine.
"Please sit down. His Majesty wishes to assemble a fleet to travel to Japan and has summoned you to discuss this matter."

After Li Qingzhao took her seat, Zhao Ji got up and hung up an enlarged map of the mineral distribution in Japan, which detailed the location and reserves of each mineral.

Silver mines, coal mines, sulfur mines, and so on—all were resources that the Song Dynasty desperately needed.

Zhao Xu glanced at it and said:
"Forget about coal, there are no ocean-going freighters now, the transportation cost is too high. Let's focus on sulfur ore first, use it to produce sulfuric acid to make bombs... Minister Cai, tell us the number of transoceanic ships the court can mobilize."

The shipbuilding industry in the Song Dynasty was quite developed, capable of producing various types of ships. For example, the largest vehicle ship recorded was called "Hezhou Zai," which was 36 zhang long and 4 zhang and 1 chi wide, equipped with 24 sets of oars, making it the number one warship in the Song Dynasty.

As for ocean-going vessels, although they are slightly smaller than warships, their carrying capacity can exceed 800 tons, far surpassing the level of European vessels at the same time.

Cai Jing explained in detail the number of ships that could be organized, then talked about the progress of sulfur mining, and proposed a plan to "set off as a whole and return separately".

"Setting off as a whole" means that the entire fleet will head towards Japan together, destroy Japanese warships, and then offer to exchange sulfur for protection in order to lull the Japanese into a false sense of security. Once a ship full of sulfur is collected, it will be sent back, while the remaining ships will stay behind to maintain pressure on the Japanese navy.

Zhang Dun, skilled in campaign planning, immediately took over the conversation:

"First, seize the opportunity to occupy the dock, then exchange goods with the local people to win their hearts and minds, and wait for the right time..."

Li Qingzhao was quick-witted.
“Just say that my Song soldiers have gone missing and we need to search the city. If they disagree, just kill them. If they agree, find a pretext to kill them in the chaos. Then tell the local people that they can become citizens of the Song Dynasty, but the prerequisite is that they must mine. Once they mine a certain amount, they can exchange it for the right to settle in the Song Dynasty. This item can be made from red cards and is called the ‘Red Card’.”

There were too many elements, and people didn't know how to comment. They just felt that the talented woman's ability to blend ideas was first-rate.

Zeng Bu, slow to react, couldn't help but ask:
"Are we really going to give them those red cards? Such a small place, if we were to give them a grand welcome, wouldn't that be..."

Li Gefei laughed:
"There are many mines in China that need to be mined. Let them come and continue mining. Besides, exchanging for a red card isn't that simple. We can set up many additional measures, such as adding five tons for leaving early, adding ten tons for being late, adding twenty tons for taking leave... The right to reside is like a carrot in front of a donkey, so close yet forever out of reach."

These words silenced the old silver coins present... Others' ruthlessness was just for fun, the real ruthless character was Li Gefei!
With the plan finalized, it was Li Qingzhao's turn to take charge.

Each ship was equipped with two marine-grade walkie-talkies, two high-powered telescopes, a solar panel system, some emergency medicines... basically, any supplies related to navigation should be prepared as much as possible. Li Qingzhao wrote them down in her little notebook, thinking she was being asked to offer advice, but she didn't expect to be there to record a message for the immortal.

Zhao Xu said to Zhang Dun:
"I urge Prime Minister Zhang to arrange suitable naval commanders to be in charge of this voyage as soon as possible. Once the candidates are selected, I will personally meet with them and bestow upon them an imperial meal."

Zhang Dun immediately accepted the order:

"I will make arrangements as soon as possible."

Before leaving after the meeting, Zhao Ji asked Zhao Xu for help in acquiring sulfur-containing minerals such as ferrous sulfate, blue vitriol, and sulfur to manufacture sulfuric acid.

Li Qingzhao, on the other hand, took the wine home to reward herself for her hard work.

On the other side, in the world after Zhou.

Because Zhao Kuangyin had made targeted arrangements, the cavalry inside the city did not dare to charge out in the end, but instead stood on the city wall and swaggered around.

Zhao Kuangyin and Zhang Yongde led their troops to attack the city. The two took the lead and attacked the city wall several times, but were pushed back by the Khitans above.

By evening, they still hadn't captured Zhuozhou City.

This is actually normal. In ancient times, sieges were calculated in months. The first day was often just a probing attack, and it was difficult to determine the winner.

Han Tong glanced at the sky and whispered to Guo Rong:

"Your Majesty, it is getting late. If we do not sound the retreat, will we have to fight again tomorrow?"

Guo Rong glanced at his watch, feeling that the stretching time had been long enough, and said to him:

"Order Zhao Kuangyin to form ranks at the city gate; I am coming to attack the city!"

Han Tong: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Guo Rong didn't explain much, but opened another large box next to him and took out a large loudspeaker drone.

Wang Pu and several other civil officials gathered around, intending to offer some advice, but upon seeing this scene, they suddenly realized that His Majesty didn't seem to be acting rashly, but rather that a celestial being had bestowed upon him some kind of supernatural power or magic.

Amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd, Guo Rong first put on the wireless microphone, then raised the drone, slowly flying it to a height of over 100 meters above Zhuozhou City.

With everything prepared, he turned the volume up to the maximum and used the drone's camera to observe the lives of the people of Zhuozhou, saying loudly:

"Greetings, sons and daughters of China in Zhuozhou! I am Emperor Guo Rong of the Great Zhou Dynasty!"

His tone was slow and his voice gentle. The video was broadcast live over Zhuozhou via the drone's image transmission function, which terrified the people in the city. Wang Pu and the others were also stunned, never expecting that His Majesty could speak directly to the people in the city.

This...this is simply a miracle!

Guo Rong continued:

"You don't need to search everywhere. I'm right above you, watching you busy chopping wood and carrying water, busy cooking, busy teaching your children the Four Books and Five Classics, so that they understand benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness from a young age... This is a fine tradition unique to us Chinese people, and it is the deepest longing for home in the hearts of every Chinese person."

He didn't use classical Chinese phrases or show off his knowledge, but his simple words were filled with deep warmth.

The once bustling city of Zhuozhou quickly fell silent, with adults and children alike tilting their heads back to listen to the voice of the Great Zhou Emperor.

For them, the fact that the emperor of the Central Plains actually condescended to speak to them made their lives worthwhile!

Guo Rong's voice continued:
"Decades ago, the Central Plains were in turmoil and strife. The puppet emperor Shi Jingtang gave the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun to the Khitans as a gift. From that time on, you were separated from the Central Plains and lived a difficult life under the iron heel of foreign tribes. Now, the Central Plains have been stabilized and the Central Plains have been revitalized. You... should go home!"

【go home】

These two short words struck the hearts of the people of Zhuozhou like a heavy hammer.

They were often confused and worried, always fearing that their lifestyle and culture, so different from the Khitans', would eventually become a reason for the Khitans to harm them.

Now, when they hear Guo Rong say he's going home, many elderly people burst into tears instantly.

The Khitans inside the city realized something was wrong and immediately took action, driving the people in the streets home, fearing that if they continued to listen, they would be turned against them.

Seeing this, Guo Rong began to add fuel to the fire:
"When the Khitans attack you, don't just hide. Seize their weapons, cut off their heads, and let these Khitan traitors understand who the true masters of this land are! Sons of China, for the sake of your wives and children from being humiliated, for the sake of not being enslaved by foreign tribes, kill!!!"

At the command, the Han people in Zhuozhou City instantly erupted in excitement!
(End of this chapter)