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

Chapter 71 Li Longji: I want to send the Marquis of Champion five hundred swords! [Seeking monthly votes]

The Great Tang Dynasty, Kaiyuan Era, inside the Taiji Palace.

Lady Gongsun was once again summoned by the eunuchs to the Wude Hall to explain the Taoist scriptures to Emperor Li Longji.

Of course, this was only the stated reason. In reality, Li Longji wanted to inquire about the Hunyuan Palace and, incidentally, use this frequent listening to Taoist scriptures to lull his aunt, Princess Taiping, into a false sense of security.

Upon hearing that Huo Qubing had also become a disciple of the Immortal Master Yiyuan, an idea suddenly flashed through Li Longji's mind, and he instructed Gao Lishi:

"I remember that the Armory has hundreds of swords forged for cavalry. To celebrate the arrival of a worthy disciple for Immortal Master Yiyuan, let's move all these swords out and have Fairy Pomegranate transport them to Hunyuan Palace to be presented to Marquis Champion."

When Gongsun Da Niang heard this, she was overjoyed. Next time she saw Huo Qubing, she could openly ask for a return gift.

This girl is carefree, but Gao Lishi frowned slightly and whispered in Li Longji's ear:

"Your Majesty, if the enemy finds out we've secretly transported the Hengdao sword..."

Li Longji smiled slightly:
"The point is to let the other side know that they should make some noise when they're moving things."

Several hundred finely crafted steel swords would be enough to win over Immortal Master Yiyuan, but the sudden disappearance of several hundred swords from the Armory would surely arouse suspicion among Princess Taiping's men.

Now we're forcing them into disarray; once they're in disarray, their weaknesses will be exposed.

Gao Lishi, who had served Li Longji for many years, instantly understood:
"This servant will arrange for a reliable person to handle it immediately."

As Gongsun Da Niang tasted the palace pastries, she said to Li Longji:

"The Immortal Master's eldest disciple is coming to Chang'an from Shu County. Has His Majesty made the necessary arrangements? He is skilled in drawing talismans. If you are feeling depressed, you can have the Immortal Master's eldest disciple draw a talisman. It is very effective."

Li Longji was very interested in this senior disciple:
"Upon receiving the news yesterday, I dispatched a trusted general to the Shu Commandery overnight to instruct the garrison commanders along the route to take precautions and ensure the safe passage of the disciple of Immortal Yiyuan... I have yet to ask, what is his Daoist name?"

Granny Gongsun popped a piece of crispy square cake into her mouth and said in a carefree manner:
"His Daoist name is Qinglian. Your Majesty may call him Daoist Qinglian or Qinglianzi. He once wrote the title Qinglian Tianzun in Xian Changfa's notebook and secretly erased it. He concealed it very well, but unfortunately I still saw it."

After finishing the plate of snacks, Granny Gongsun did not linger any longer. She got up to say goodbye and prepared to take a carriage to see the location of Yiyuan Temple.

Gao Lishi chose two clever eunuchs to accompany him, along with a troop of ten thousand cavalry. This was both a sign of respect and a way to mislead Princess Taiping's people.

After leaving Taiji Palace, Granny Gongsun got into the carriage and took out a small bag of crab roe-flavored green beans from her bosom... She had just eaten too many sweets and needed something salty to balance it out.

The carriage arrived at Daozhengfang. After entering the gate, Gongsun Da Niang got off the carriage and saw many people carrying things out of a Taoist temple.

The eunuch who came along introduced:
"During the Shenlong era, a Taoist temple was built in Daozhengfang, but before it was consecrated, the world changed and the temple was abandoned. It was only recently put into use and rebuilt as Yiyuan Temple."

Li Longji was in a hurry to use Gongsun Da Niang to create momentum, so there was no time to repair the Taoist temple. Therefore, he used the abandoned Taoist temple. As long as it was repaired and a statue of the Immortal Yi Yuan was added, it could be used.

Gongsun Da Niang said:

“My immortal master does not need any statues; a Tai Chi diagram is sufficient.”

When we went back last time, we discussed this matter and felt that it was better not to have a statue of a deity, because Zhou Yi was too young and still had short hair, which did not match the impression of an enlightened master. It would be better to be more mysterious and directly worship the Tai Chi diagram.

The Taoist temple was still under renovation, so Granny Gongsun didn't go in. Instead, she looked at the magnificent courtyard next door and inquired with the eunuch:
Who lives here?

"Your Excellency, this is the Shen Prince's residence, the residence of His Majesty's elder brother."

Li Longji was the third son, with two older brothers, Li Chengqi and Li Chengyi. After Li Dan ascended the throne, Li Chengqi and Li Chengyi successively resigned from their positions as crown prince, giving this honor to their third brother, Li Longji, who had contributed the most to the "Tanglong Coup".

Even after Li Longji became emperor, the brothers maintained a deep bond. He even had extra-long pillows and extra-large quilts made so that all five brothers could sleep in the same bed.

Although there was an element of showmanship involved, it indirectly shows that the brothers had a genuinely good relationship, at least more genuine than the sibling affection of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin.

Gongsun Da Niang asked:

Is it Li Chengqi or Li Chengyi?

"Your Majesty, this is His Majesty's second elder brother, the current Right General of the Golden Guard."

The eunuch dared not mention his name, only hinting that he was Li Erlang, Li Chengyi.

Gongsun Da Niang recalled the history she had read and remembered that Li Chengyi liked to use snakes to cool down his body in the summer. She planned to rewrite the Legend of the White Snake when she had time, creating a story like "Li Chengyi encounters rain at Qujiang Pool, Bai Suzhen follows him for a thousand years," thus giving this snake-playing prince a twist. After looking around, she realized that she wouldn't be able to check into Yiyuan Temple for about ten days, so Gongsun Da Niang had to return to the inn and pass the time by playing with building blocks.

On the other side, on Cloud Mist Mountain, Zhou Yi moved a few bricks and then cleared the grass in the Little Penglai courtyard, working until dark before he finished.

For the next two days, he was busy in Hunyuan Palace tidying up bricks, leveling the ground, and clearing weeds.

With the arrival of the flood season, the grass has become noticeably more vigorous. It was just cleared yesterday, and new weeds have sprouted again today, making Zhou Yi consider using technological means:
"If that doesn't work, we'll buy two bottles of herbicide and give the weeds in the Hunyuan Palace courtyard a thorough cleanup."

Speaking of herbicides, Zhou Yi suddenly recalled how in ancient times, people would write words on the ground with honey to lure ants to eat them, thus achieving the effect of divine will... If we could get some herbicides and write a big "death" character on the grassland, it should be enough to intimidate the Xiongnu, right?
He thought it was worth a try, especially when sealing the wolf's lair, he could have Huo Qubing create more of these kinds of divine retribution warnings on the sacred mountain of the Xiongnu people, which would definitely cause a huge sensation in the eyes of the Xiongnu people who lacked knowledge and culture.

The power of technology combined with the concept of ghosts and gods would have a profound impact on the Xiongnu people's mindset, making them inherently afraid to confront the Han Dynasty. If this had been successfully accomplished, it would have been an immense act of merit.

Upon arriving at the foot of the mountain, Zhou Yi went to the agricultural sales department to purchase herbicides and related pesticides.

The sales department owner is Jia Ziwang, who is in his thirties. Zhou Yi, Zhao Wei, and the others call him Brother Wang.

Upon hearing that Zhou Yi wanted to buy weed killer, Brother Wang chuckled and said:

“Tell me what you want to do, and I’ll bring a drone to spray pesticides for you this afternoon. It’s too much trouble to do this yourself; a drone is much more convenient.”

Zhou Yi smiled and declined:
“I still have a lot of vegetables growing in my yard. If you use a drone to spray herbicide, all the vegetables will die. I’ll just carry a sprayer and spray them slowly.”

Zhou Yi bought the medicine and borrowed a rechargeable pesticide sprayer.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered the role of drones in reconnaissance, so he asked Jia Ziwang about it:

"Brother Wang, can drones fly in areas without satellites?"

Jia Ziwang lit a mosquito coil and placed it in the corner of the sales department, saying without looking up:
"When the satellite signal is weak, you cannot use the one-key return to home function or the automatic flight function. You can only control it manually and perform some simple actions. You must not let the drone out of your line of sight, otherwise it will crash."

Zhou Yi was completely clueless in this regard:

"Can that image be used?"

Jia Ziwang patted the agricultural drone and said:

"The image transmission function has nothing to do with satellites. Even in places without satellite signals, as long as the drone doesn't fly out of the image transmission range, it can transmit images in real time... Why are you asking this? Are you planning to shoot an aerial video of Hunyuan Palace for publicity?"

Zhou Yi chuckled:
"I have that idea, but it's not feasible for now. We'll talk about it after the Hunyuan Palace is repaired. Then I'll ask you for advice, Brother Wang."

"That's easy to say. I've never found a worthy opponent when it comes to flying drones in our town, it's quite lonely!"

After saying goodbye to the arrogant Wang Ge, Zhou Yi was about to ride his motorcycle up the mountain when he suddenly received a call from Hu Lijun at the county mental hospital:
"Master Yi, are you busy right now? I have something I'd like to tell you."

Zhou Yi parked his motorcycle on the side of the road:

"No rush, Master Hu, just tell me what's wrong."

Hu Lijun's voice was filled with excitement:

"Here's the thing, yesterday a dam on the Wenyan Canal was demolished. I was fishing nearby when a family's child accidentally fell into the river and almost got swept away. I saved him, but he's a bit disoriented now. I thought you should be good at this, so I told the child's parents, and they want you to take a look."

The Book of Changes: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

The divination that day said that Hu Lijun's recent fortune was favorable to water. It felt like when he went to the water's edge, he was just helping Hunyuan Palace get a business deal.

The Book of Changes says:

Send me your location, I'll come to the county town to find you!

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

(End of this chapter)