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

Chapter 76 Li Longji Gains Two More Uncles! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Zhou Yi, who was making breakfast in the kitchen, heard the noise, wiped his hands, and came out.

Li Shimin, Li Longji, and Li Bai each prepared gifts for Huo Qubing, all of which were cavalry equipment that could be used in the campaign against the Xiongnu.

This whole ordeal directly elevated the cavalry equipment and tactical concepts of the Han Dynasty to the level of the Tang Dynasty... Good days are coming for the Xiongnu!

The group arrived at the Mahavira Hall and saw that the originally spacious hall was filled with Tang Dynasty-style armor.

The well-tailored leather armor is inlaid with polished plates, and some vital areas have been reinforced to improve defense while reducing weight and increasing mobility.

The Tang Dynasty's iron cavalry dominated the world, but heavy cavalry was not numerous and only existed for a period of time in the early Tang Dynasty. By the time of Emperor Gaozong, the mainstream warfare tactic of the Tang Dynasty became the combination of light cavalry mobility and archer cavalry volley fire. Relying on mobility, they advanced to the west of the Aral Sea and occupied thousands of miles of territory.

Conversely, both the Song and Jin dynasties built themselves into iron turtles, which improved their defenses but reduced their mobility to almost zero. Historically, the Southern Song dynasty missed several opportunities to launch counterattacks because its armor was too heavy.

Huo Qubing's eyes lit up when he saw the armor:

"So beautiful! May I ask, Fairy Peony, are all these for our Han people?"

Wu Zetian nodded slightly:
"His Majesty hopes that the Marquis of Champion can capture the Xiongnu Chanyu in one fell swoop and make up for the regret in history."

Historically, Huo Qubing had captured a number of Xiongnu nobles, but never the Chanyu himself. Now that there was an opportunity to provide military equipment, Li Shimin naturally hoped that the Marquis of Champion could fulfill his long-cherished wish.

After all, he embodies the pursuits and beliefs of Chinese men for thousands of years.

Chen Tang examined the armor and found that in addition to armor for human use, there was also horse armor. However, most of them were frontal protective armor, such as the horse's face shield and neck armor, which were all light armor made of leather inlaid with iron plates.

Wu Zetian took out a piece of paper from her bosom and said:

"Five hundred and five sets of armor, five hundred and three sets of horse armor... While organizing, Cheng Zhijie added two sets of horse armor to his own mount, and said that if the Marquis of Champion was dissatisfied, he could write a letter to scold him!"

Zhouyi: "..."

Cheng Yaojin was really clever; he actually used this method to trick a celebrity into writing a letter.

Huo Qubing said to Chen Tang:

"General Zigong, these suits of armor are of great benefit to our Han Dynasty. How about we divide them equally?"

Chen Tang glanced longingly at the gleaming Tang Dynasty armor and shook his head in refusal:
"Old Gan and I are leading our troops back on our way, and we don't need such good equipment... Here's what we'll do: give us two sets of armor, one for Old Gan and one for myself, and you can take the rest with you. Kill a few more Xiongnu and prove the might of our Han warriors!"

After saying that, he rolled up his sleeves and began to help Huo Qubing organize the armor.

Zhou Yi asked Wu Meiniang:

"How did you bring so many suits of armor?"

"I had the armory staff pile the armor together, then grabbed a corner and silently chanted 'Come to Hunyuan Palace,' and brought all the armor here... Sister Gongsun, what about you?"

"That's how I came here, Brother Li Bai. I brought 517 cavalry sabers. And you, Brother Li Bai, how many saddles did you bring?"

Li Bai bowed slightly, feeling somewhat apologetic:
"My father and I mobilized the entire clan to buy them from all over the place, but we only managed to get two hundred sets. Next time we come, we should be able to bring another two hundred sets. When the prefectural government heard that they were for the Marquis of Champion, they also started making preparations. When I came here just now, I disappeared in front of the governor."

The sudden large-scale purchase of cavalry saddles by someone is a major event for a prefectural governor. He must keep a close eye on it to prevent a bandit army composed entirely of cavalry from suddenly appearing right under his nose.

Wu Zetian said:
“The saddle is simple and easy to imitate. The Marquis of Champions took the sample back and can replicate it in less than half a month. Taibai, there is no need to worry. You should go to Chang'an as soon as possible to meet up with Sister Gongsun. This will be good for both you and Yiyuan Temple.”

Li Bai bowed:
"I will heed Her Majesty's instructions."

Wu Zetian waved her hand:
"Don't call me that. If you don't mind, just call me 'elder sister' like you do, like Gongsun sister."

Li Bai quickly seized the opportunity to establish a connection:

"Greetings, Sister Meiniang."

Grandma Gongsun laughed heartily:
"His Majesty not only gained me as his great-aunt, but now he has also gained an uncle! Hahaha, this is so funny."

Huo Qubing also wanted to participate in the matter of being an uncle:
"Fairy Peony, Qubing grew up in the palace since childhood and has never had an elder sister. I wonder if I could be so honored as to acknowledge you as my elder sister?" Wu Meiniang was somewhat surprised and quickly replied:

"I'm out of my league."

Huo Qubing bowed respectfully to her:
"I am about to go to war and have no time to pay my respects to my master. I ask my sister to take care of our master so that I can fight the enemy with peace of mind and wipe the Xiongnu off the grasslands as soon as possible."

This kid went through a long and winding road, but finally managed to stand on the same side as the female steward of Hunyuan Palace.

Abbot Zhou strolled around the main hall with his hands behind his back, his mind entirely focused on the Tang Dynasty cavalrymen brandishing their swords:
Are all those swords straight-edged?

It is said that the straight-bladed Tang sword was made using the steel-filling method, which is extremely difficult. I wonder what the quality of the one that Li Longji sent through the leftover rice thief was like, and whether it was as good as the manganese steel machetes sold online now.

Gongsun Da Niang gestured as she explained:
"It looks like a sword, but it's only sharpened on one side. Gao Lishi said that making this kind of knife is extremely difficult. It not only requires repeated forging and hammering, but also quenching in animal urine... When I first heard that, I felt disgusted, but then I thought about how it was made to kill alien races, and I felt that it wasn't disgusting enough."

Zhou Yi couldn't touch the armor, otherwise Hunyuan Palace would have an extra set of Tang Dynasty armor artifacts. So he simply left the Great Buddha Hall and strolled to Xiaopenglai, where he saw the Tang Dynasty horizontal swords piled up like hemp in the main hall of Xiaopenglai.

In terms of the development of swords, the Tang Dynasty horizontal sword should have evolved step by step from the Han Dynasty ring-pommel sword. The single-edged design was to strengthen the blade and increase its armor-piercing ability. By the Song Dynasty, this type of sword was basically eliminated because both sides in the war were heavily armored and swords were ineffective. Instead, blunt weapons such as hammers, maces, and whips shone brightly and were very effective in striking the armored enemies.

Zhou Yi looked at the ornate scabbard and the straight blade, and wanted to grab one and feel it, but he felt that it would be unwise to lose a weapon for his curiosity.

Let Huo Qubing take the weapon to fight bravely. One more weapon might mean dozens more Xiongnu heads... This is a more worthwhile deal.

After examining the weapons from Xiaopenglai, Zhou Yi went to the Wenxuanwang Hall to see the saddlery brought by Li Bai.

The high-bridged saddle, paired with double-sided hard stirrups, freed up the hands to the maximum extent, and the cavalry thus evolved into a main force that determined the outcome of wars.

Zhou Yi returned to the main hall, holding a tablet computer, and said:

"This contains instructions and illustrations about horseshoes. Take a look. I also bought some horseshoe samples online. After we take them back, the armies of the Han and Tang dynasties can promote their use to reduce the loss of warhorses."

Huo Qubing, being a cavalry general, immediately put down his armor to see what horseshoes looked like.

Chen Tang and Wu Meiniang also looked at Zhou Yi, surprised that even the hooves of warhorses were protected. They wanted to know what the horseshoes were all about. If they were true, future cavalry would be even more invincible.

Zhou Yi handed the tablet to Huo Qubing and went back to the kitchen to continue cooking. Chen Tang, having figured out the principle of horseshoes, ran to the peach tree and began to slaughter sheep.

Slaughter the mutton as quickly as possible, remove some of the tendons and membranes from the meat, then roll up the mutton, wrap it in plastic wrap, and put it in the freezer.

I originally planned to test my two apprentices and Chen Tang's knife skills today, but now I need to organize hundreds of sets of armor and weapons, so I can skip hand-cutting the mutton and just freeze it before putting it in the slicer.

With such excellent armor and weapons, the original hot pot theme is no longer so important.

Zhou Yi made several large flatbreads, sliced ​​some mutton, stir-fried it with vegetables grown in the yard, and served it with millet porridge. Breakfast was ready.

Everyone sat down together to eat breakfast. Wu Zetian took a sip of millet porridge and said:

"First, organize the armor this morning. Place the organized armor at the entrance of the Hall of Longevity and have General Huo take it to the Han Dynasty... By the way, Immortal Master, I saw a lot of white things piled up at the entrance. What are they?"

Zhou Yi took a bite of the flatbread and said casually:

"I helped a flour mill break a feng shui arrangement a few days ago. This is the payment they gave me: a total of thirty tons of wheat flour."

Grandma Gongsun was not very familiar with modern units of weight.
"How much is that?"

"Thirty tons is thirty thousand kilograms, which is sixty thousand jin..."

Upon hearing this number, Granny Gongsun took a big bite of the salt and pepper flatbread in her hand:

"Good heavens, that would take to make so many pancakes!"

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(End of this chapter)