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

Chapter 69 When the army sets out for battle, its officers must be addressed by their official titles! [Seeking monthly votes]

In the world of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, at Pubanjin on the Yellow River, Wei Qing led the Han army to cross the river.

After crossing the Yellow River and entering the Hedong region, they continued north, passing through Taiyuan and other places, until they reached Dingxiang County, which was the starting point for their campaign into the grasslands.

Through the previous wars, Wei Qing gradually figured out the combat characteristics and weaknesses of the Xiongnu.

The Xiongnu preferred to raid southwards in autumn because it was the season when the Han people harvested their grain, and their troops, having replenished themselves during the summer, were all strong and healthy, making them suitable for long-distance expeditions.

In the spring, livestock have been starving all winter and have little weight to gain. The female animals are also in their labor period and are simply unable to travel long distances.

Having grasped this clue, Wei Qing launched the spring offensive without hesitation.

While you are sick, I will kill you!
In the fifth year of Yuanshuo, he launched his first spring offensive and won a great victory over the Right Wise King of the Xiongnu, capturing more than 15,000 Xiongnu people and countless cattle and sheep. As a result, Wei Qing was appointed as the Grand General, with a fief of 6,000 households, and ranked above the Chancellor.

This year is the sixth year of Yuanshuo. Wei Qing plans to launch an expedition from Dingxiang County. This is his first time going to the Yinshan area where the Xiongnu Chanyu is active. He intends to capture the Chanyu in one fell swoop and escort him to Chang'an to be presented as a prisoner.

At this moment, in the camp at Pubanjin, Wei Qing stood with his hands behind his back, marveling at the stainless steel soup bucket brought by his nephew Huo Qubing:
"Such a divine object is actually used to make soup. If the court officials see this, they will surely impeach us for being disrespectful to the gods."

Although he was already a great general, Wei Qing always maintained a low-key and humble style. When he saw a stainless steel soup pot, his first thought was not to give others cause for criticism.

Huo Qubing, clad in full armor, held a wooden bowl and offered his uncle a bowl of meat soup.
"This was a gift from my mentor, who instructed us to fight bravely against the enemy. Uncle, come and try this bowl of meat soup. It has the seasonings given by my mentor, and it is extremely delicious."

Wei Qing took the bowl, not very satisfied with his nephew's carefree attitude:
"In the military, there are no uncles or nephews; when going on a military expedition, one must address them by their official titles."

"As the General commands!"

Wei Qing gently kicked his nephew:
"Go patrol and stay away from me."

After Huo Qubing left with a grin, Wei Qing tasted a sip of the meat soup and was immediately drawn in by its fresh and spicy flavor:

"This is truly delicious!"
After saying this, he looked at his spirited nephew outside the tent, his face full of satisfaction:
"I am truly happy for Qubing that he has such an opportunity to become a disciple of a deity."

Wei Qing picked up a piece of wheat cake, ate it haphazardly with some meat soup, then spread the Han Dynasty map that Huo Qubing had brought on the table and began to study the marching route.

On the other side, inside the Xiuchuan County Industrial Park, Ding Zhenhua pointed to the billboard at the entrance and said:
"Is this thing affecting the fortunes of my factory?"

Zhou Yi nodded:

"The ceramic tile company went bankrupt. From a metaphysical point of view, it's dead. A dead object, plus a large area of ​​white, is full of deathly energy. No matter how good your business is, it will be affected."

Ding Zhenhua found this explanation somewhat far-fetched, but recalling the factory's business, it seemed to have started after the billboards were replaced.

He quickly came up with an idea:

"How about I have the people in the industrial park remove this banner and replace it with our factory's advertisement?"

Zhou Yi thought about it for a moment, then shook his head and rejected it:
“Your flour mill is currently in a downturn. Replacing it with a new one can only delay things for a while, but the overall downward trend will not be abated.”

The other party was quite confident in their curse-casting technique and wasn't afraid of being discovered, so they did it openly and honestly.

Mao Cong asked:

"Master Yi, how should we resolve this? It would be even better if we could launch a counterattack."

Zhou Yi glanced at the entrance of the flour mill and gradually formed an idea:

“It’s the flood season now. According to the law, it is not allowed to carry out river damming operations during the flood season. Call the water conservancy department to complain. As long as the Wenyan Canal in front is open to water, all problems will be solved.”

The reason why the opponent's curse was successful was not only because the billboard tactic was indeed effective, but also because the Wenyan Canal, which was cut in half, played a significant role.

In particular, the dilapidated corrugated iron walls caused the stagnant energy from the dammed river to flow into the flour mill. Once the river was dredged, the stagnant energy would turn into a continuous flow of wealth, and the flour mill would be revitalized as a result.

The deathly atmosphere brought by the billboards will be carried away by the natural flow of the river.

Advanced sorcery is always an open strategy, letting you know what I'm doing, yet leaving you helpless.

In the second year of the Kaihuang era of the Sui Dynasty, Yuwen Kai was ordered to build Daxing City, which is the Chang'an City of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. At that time, the Southern Chen Dynasty had not yet been destroyed and was still dreaming of seizing control of the southeast.

When Yuwen Kai built Daxing City, he dug a huge artificial lake in the southeast corner, filled it with a large amount of river water, and prohibited people from living there, thus exhausting the national fortune of the Southern Chen Dynasty. This is a typical application of the art of cursing.

You know what he's doing, and he knows you know what he's doing, but you're just helpless.

Now, Zhou Yi doesn't take the billboards seriously; instead, he directly targets Wenyan Canal, which means he thinks outside the box and uses the mindset of a sorcerer to deal with it.

You're really good at designing billboards, huh? Well then I'll change the whole environment... That's what "changing the situation" means in witchcraft.

Ding Zhenhua no longer doubted Zhou Yi's abilities, but he worried that after the flood season, the river channel would be blocked again for construction.
"Master Zhou, is there any way to solve this problem once and for all?"

Zhou Yi nodded:

"Yes, but it's a bit troublesome... You can find someone to design a rockery at the main entrance, and put some artificial fountains on it, with running water. As long as it's done well, you won't have to worry about billboards anymore. The rockery and flowing water will block most of the curses."

To be honest, the flour mill is in a really good location, the best spot in the entire industrial park. As long as you don't slack off and manage it diligently, it's easy to make a name for yourself.

Upon hearing this, Ding Zhenhua thought the idea was quite reliable. Nowadays, artificial mountains and the like are all semi-finished products, and as long as you are willing to spend money, they can be completed in a few days.

Mao Cong is an impatient person, and he has already started calling the water resources department.

Although it's only the beginning of the flood season, the weather this year is somewhat abnormal, making it easy for severe convective weather to form. The water resources department took Mao Cong's feedback very seriously and said they would resolve the issue within two days.

After hanging up the phone, Mao Cong was still worried, so he called several good friends at the Water Resources Bureau and gave them the same feedback about the river being blocked for construction.

After all this commotion, the curse caused by the river was no longer a problem. Ding Zhenhua took Zhou Yi to the flour mill's office and asked if they wanted to put a statue of Guan Gong in the lobby.

Zhou Yi looked around and said to him:

"Your factory is located in the Qian position, where the Qi is quite strong, so you don't need the Martial God of Wealth to suppress it. Just invite a statue of the Civil God of Wealth. However, for you personally, you need to wear a peace amulet, preferably the one of Wang Lingguan, to avoid being targeted by villains."

Soon, Ding Zhenhua transferred 30,000 yuan to Zhou Yi, 20,000 yuan of which was used to purchase a wooden statue of the God of Wealth, and 10,000 yuan was used to purchase a peace amulet for the whole family.

Ding Zhenhua printed out the birthdays of all his family members and asked Zhou Yi to match suitable peace amulets based on their birth dates.

The service fee was two thousand, which brought in another thirty thousand. Add to that the one hundred thousand yuan worth of flour, and Zhou Yi suddenly felt that his assessment of Zhao Gongming that morning was not objective enough.

Old Zhao did a good job arranging this business; I should light an incense stick to express my gratitude when I get back.

However, he still didn't quite understand who the person who used witchcraft against the flour mill was. If this trick didn't work, the other party might resort to other underhanded methods.

We need to find a way to fight back.

He asked Ding Zhenhua:
Has anyone wanted to buy your flour mill recently?

Ding Zhenhua shook his head:
"No, it's so hard to do business in the physical world these days. If the price is fair, I'll sell without hesitation. In this era where cash is king, nothing gives you peace of mind as a large sum of cash."

Zhou Yi then asked:
"Have you offended anyone? Or have you recently encountered a competitor?"

Ding Zhenhua took several bottles of mineral water from the office refrigerator and handed them to everyone. After thinking carefully for a moment, he said:

“Last month, the person in charge of the industrial park brought a feng shui expert to take a look around here. He even pointed at my flour mill and said that the feng shui here was good. A few days later, the billboard in front of the gate was replaced with a new spray-painted cloth.”

A feng shui master? Did I run into a fellow practitioner?

Zhou Yi took a sip of mineral water:

"Mr. Ding, could you call someone you know in the park and ask for that person's name?"

As one of the most profitable factories in the industrial park, Zhou Yi believed that Ding Zhenhua must have acquaintances in the park.

Sure enough, after making this request, Ding Zhenhua took out his phone and called the director of internal affairs in the park office. In just a few words, he found out the identity of the feng shui master who had come here last month:
"His surname is Xie, and he is the president of our Yiyang Folk Customs and Feng Shui Association."

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

(End of this chapter)