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

Chapter 62 A Bountiful Harvest of Merit! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

"Huh, my merit points have increased again?"

Inside the Hunyuan Palace, Zhou Yi moved four spinning wheels in a row and found that his strength was still not exhausted. He immediately suspected that the ancient timeline had added new merits to his life.

He wiped the sweat from his face, strode into his room, took out his black notebook, opened to the first page, and began to examine it carefully.

[Merit: 1.6 taels]

Upon seeing this number, Zhou Yi couldn't help but rub his eyes. The last time he checked, it was one tael and three qian. Yesterday, he used the lightning strike technique to scare Huo Qubing, which consumed one qian of merit. He never expected it to surge to four qian today. This was truly remarkable.

He then looked at the notes below to see whose contribution it was, so that he could reward them according to their merits next time they came.

[Emperor Wu of Han executes four sorcerers who spread heretical doctrines, merit +1]

Chen Tang launched a night raid, wiping out the alien tribes harassing Chigu City in one fell swoop. Merit +1

[Li Longji received modern items and resolved to treat the people kindly, thus increasing his merit by 1.]

[Potatoes sprouting roots, merit +1]

Wow, every world has gained merit!

The sprouting of potatoes indicates that the Tang Dynasty was able to cultivate this high-yield emergency food. Some slopes and hills that were not suitable for growing grain could be used to grow potatoes.

It neither occupies existing arable land nor reduces grain production, achieving the best of both worlds.

If we take over the Northeast region, we can bring potatoes there to help restore people's livelihoods and stabilize public sentiment.

As for Li Longji receiving modern items, we'll have to wait for Gongsun Da Niang to return to find out the details... This girl is usually timid in front of authority, but I didn't expect her to handle the matter of presenting auspicious omens so smoothly. Next time she comes, she must be rewarded with the honey-glazed roast chicken she's been longing for.

The cause and effect of Chen Tang's night raid on the foreign tribes are not very clear, but given Chen Tang's style of doing things, it is possible that the foreign tribes harassing Chigu City were deliberately brought in by him... Creating war when there is no war is the specialty of Han envoys.

What Zhou Yi was most interested in was Liu Che's execution of four sorcerers.

Logically speaking, Huo Qubing was the last to return, and even if he wanted to do something, he would have to let it ferment for a while. But unexpectedly, he was the first in his world to earn merit.

That's Emperor Wu of Han for you. Once he sets his mind on something, he executes it swiftly and decisively, without any hesitation.

The same principle applies to his execution of Liu An, the King of Huainan, who was in the preparation stage and had not yet launched a large-scale uprising. However, Liu Che acted without hesitation and nipped the matter in the bud.

However, the fact that the King of Huainan invented tofu should be mentioned to Huo Qubing so that the Han Dynasty can eat hot tofu as soon as possible and increase their intake of plant protein.

After reviewing his own merits, Zhou Yi looked at the others.

Wu Zetian's page still does not have a merit section, but Chen Tang's merit has increased by one point because he killed a foreign rebel.

Both Gongsun Da Niang and Huo Qubing added two points:

[Eliminates Liu Che's age anxiety, broadens the horizons of his ministers, and earns +2 merit points]

[Successfully presented auspicious omens, and persuaded Li Longji to treat the people kindly in the name of the gods, merit +2]

Unbeknownst to her, Gongsun Da Niang's merit had already increased to four coins, ranking first on the ancient merit list of Hunyuan Palace.

Well, we should add "temporarily" because once Huo Qubing completes the sealing of the wolf's lair, he should be far ahead of everyone else.

Chen Tang's thousand-mile raid and slaying of Zhizhi Chanyu could earn him more than two catties of merit. Huo Qubing's sealing of the wolf's lair and drinking from the vast sea should have earned him at least ten catties of merit.
Unfortunately, although Huo Qubing killed the Left Wise King and the Xiongnu kings and captured thousands of Xiongnu royals, he never captured the Chanyu (Xiongnu ruler), which is somewhat regrettable.

This time, Gao Di had to help him capture the Xiongnu Chanyu Yizhixie and bring him to Chang'an, to hold a celebration like the "sheep-leading ceremony," to vent the anger of the Han people who had been captured by the Xiongnu on the border.

Huo Qubing's merits will be even greater then, so we should find a way to buy him more modern items... We've worked so hard to cultivate talent, so it's reasonable for him to gain some merit, right?
Zhou Yi closed the notebook, rubbed his temples, moved four bricks, flipped through the notebook again, and was completely exhausted. He lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep, not waking up until the morning.

After getting up and washing up, he cooked millet porridge, then went to the Sanqing Hall to meditate and begin his daily practice.

After finishing these tasks, Zhou Yi returned to the kitchen, sliced ​​a few leftover steamed buns, coated them with egg wash, and fried them in a pan until golden brown on both sides. Breakfast was ready.

After finishing this not-so-lavish but delicious breakfast, Zhou Yi continued working.

When they got tired, they would take a break, and when they recovered, they would continue working until sunset.

The next day, just as he was about to continue carrying bricks, he saw Wu Meiniang, dressed in a blue Taoist robe, carrying an outdoor backpack, walking leisurely out of the main hall.

Upon seeing Zhou Yi, Wu Meiniang's eyes lit up instantly: "Immortal Master, I have some good news to report to you."

Zhou Yi asked with a smile:

"The potatoes have sprouted?"

The Queen's smile turned to surprise:

"How did you know?"

Instead of answering the question, Zhou Yi began to explain the precautions for potato planting:
"First, sprouted potatoes cannot be eaten, they can only be planted; second, land that has been planted with potatoes should be replaced with other land the following year, potatoes cannot be planted in the same field repeatedly; third, try not to eat the harvested potatoes, and don't let Li Shimin host banquets everywhere, store them well, they will be used as seeds the following year... The more potatoes you eat, the fewer seeds you will have the following year."

Wu Zetian pulled out a palm-sized notebook from her bosom and wrote down these words verbatim with a carbon pen. Then she unzipped her outdoor backpack:

"Reporting to the Immortal Master, I have brought the golden sword of Khan Jieli!"

The Book of Changes and the like are all about this:

"Li Shimin wasn't reluctant to part with it, was he?"

"No, His Majesty said that the spoils of war plundered from small foreign countries occupy most of the treasury. If you like them, it is fine to give them all to you."

Tsk, I can feel the smug look on Erfeng's face when she said that, even across time and space... She's a habitual show-off!

However, these are not spoils of war from foreign small countries, but proof of the Chinese nation's gradual expansion of its borders. It is reasonable for Hunyuan Palace to select a few representative items from its collection.

The Book of Changes says:

"From now on, I will use the supplies here to exchange with Li Shimin little by little. I will not take advantage of him, nor will I want Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, so as not to make him worry."

"The immortal does not force people to do things they cannot do, which shows his gentlemanly character."

Wu Zetian flattered him and took out a long, narrow, curved dagger from her backpack.

The knife is about a foot long, and the scabbard is made of leather and is polished to a shine, indicating that it is regularly maintained.

The scabbard is inlaid with a large amount of gold, which is decorated with intricate patterns and gemstones. The hilt is wrapped with gold thread, and the end is shaped like a dragon's head.

In terms of appearance, Jieli Khan's aesthetic sense was far superior to that of Zhizhi Chanyu of the Xiongnu.

Of course, the two are not from the same era, and are incomparable in terms of both material and cultural aspects.

Zhou Yi took the knife into his hand. The glossy leather on the scabbard immediately became dull, and the glittering gemstones lost their luster. The gold thread on the hilt loosened, revealing the fibrous grip inside... It should be made of the bone of some kind of animal, but now it is weathered like a loofah sponge and will break with the slightest force.

Zhou Yi had intended to pull it out to take a look, but given the current situation, he dared not touch it. He simply went back to his room and put it into the rosewood box.

Also included was a memorial letter personally written by Li Shimin, which, unsurprisingly, turned into a paper artifact when touched by Zhou Yi.

If there is an opportunity to hold an exhibition in the future, these exhibits will definitely cause a sensation in the cultural relics, history and archaeology circles... Of course, Abbot Zhou will definitely innocently claim that he knew nothing about it, and that everything was passed down from his grandfather.

After finishing these tasks, Zhou Yi took out the cell phone he had bought last time and handed it to Wu Meiniang:
"You brought so many good things to Hunyuan Palace, so I'll give you this phone. I still have a few business deals to complete before the end of the month, and I'll provide you all with phones after I finish them."

Wu Zetian's face was full of joy:
"You really gave it to me? But I won't be able to charge it when I get there."

Zhou Yi took out the solar panels he had drawn from the substation a couple of days ago:
“You can charge it when you get back. It’s a good opportunity for you to try out the power generation of the solar panels over there. If it works well, I’ll buy more.”

He originally wanted Chen Tang to take him away for experiments, but Brother Tang had just finished a battle and might not be able to come today. He decided to leave the experiments to Her Majesty the Queen.

Wu Zetian opened her phone and began caching movies and TV shows, downloading various offline apps, as if she had secretly rehearsed it many times.

After finishing all that, she set a password for her phone:
【250418】

This is the date of her first visit to Hunyuan Palace, and also the anniversary of her first encounter with the I Ching!

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Second update delivered, please vote with monthly tickets, brothers!

(End of this chapter)