The Tang Dynasty: Wu Zetian made me her imperial tutor

Regarding the timing of the military action in Anxi, Lu Jun also felt it was rushed, but she had some idea of ​​what was going on.

Historically, Wang Xiaojie decisively defeated the Tubo and recovered the four towns two years later in winter, which was in late October, so the season is not a major issue.

Regarding the source of soldiers, it was finally agreed that the Anxi Army would prioritize recruitment, while the expansion of the army in the Hexi and Longxi regions would mainly rely on conscription and household registration.

Therefore, there was not much concern about the fighting capacity of the expeditionary force, and with strong liquor to warm them up, the morale of the new recruits could be maintained.

Besides, Lu Jun still has a way...

The next day, after the court session, he made a suggestion:

"Your Majesty, I have heard from a foreign merchant that there is something that might be helpful for military operations in the Western Regions."

"Because it was too valuable, the Hu merchants had only seen it in Daqin (the Qin Dynasty), but they could not obtain the goods and could not buy it."

"I have considered the underlying principles, and I believe it is possible to instruct the craftsmen of the Construction Bureau to create it. May I give it a try?"

I've briefly explained the principles and background.

Wu Zetian was taken aback, not understanding: "Since it's related to military affairs, shouldn't we contact the Imperial Armor Bureau and the Crossbow Bureau?"

The Shangfangjian was the same as the Shaofujian, and the Armor Workshop and the Crossbow Workshop, which manufactured swords and armor, were under its jurisdiction at that time.

Upon hearing that it was related to weapons, she frowned, and a look of vigilance instinctively appeared on her face.

Lu Jun said, "It's not something like swords or armor that can be used directly in combat. It's for coordinating with the army and requires exquisite craftsmanship, so we're looking for the Imperial Workshop."

He wasn't offering weapons, much less firearms or cannons.

Although the formula for gunpowder is simple, the experimentation involved too much noise and was far from being ready to be attempted.

Now is a critical moment in the Empress Dowager's plan to ascend the throne, and any small movement will be seen as an anomaly or a threat.

If others find out, they will definitely impeach me.

Even if it could be made, it would most likely be useless, because the winds in the Western Regions were strong, and the technology at that time could not control the accuracy.

Winter marches are prone to encountering heavy snow, making moisture protection and storage problematic.

We can only do other things...

When Wu Zetian heard that it wasn't a weapon, her expression softened.

"Recapturing Anxi is the most important task for the imperial court. Since it can be of help, you should give it a try."

"I have Wan'er issue you an imperial edict. Take the edict to the Construction Bureau, and they will obey you."

The Imperial Workshop was the same as the Imperial Workshop, a place for civil engineering and royal handicrafts. There was no danger there, so she didn't ask any questions and settled the matter in the time it took to drink half a cup of tea.

With precedents in tea and wine, she knew Lu Jun was very inventive and ingenious, so she let him do it.

I don't even listen to his detailed explanations; I just ask him to report on his progress every two weeks, because I can't understand it anyway...

As soon as Lu Jun left Huiyou Gate, Shangguan Wan'er handed over a warrant with the Empress Dowager's imperial edict and seal.

"Thank you, Your Excellency." Lu Jun bowed in thanks.

Wan'er glanced around out of the corner of her eye, then lowered her head and asked softly, "What you said the other day... was it true?"

Today she wore a thin, scarlet ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), her waist was slender and delicate, and below her pink neck was a snow-white scene.

Her eyebrows were lowered, and her eyes darted around her toes, unsure whether she was looking at her own toes or Lu Jun's.

"Of course it's from the heart." Lu Jun's heart skipped a beat, and a warm feeling welled up in her chest. "Does Sheren have a way?"

"You're kidding me!" Wan'er retorted angrily.

A slight twitch of the eyebrows; it was the season of blooming flowers, and thoughts drifted away with the delicate fragrance.

After a moment of silence, he uttered softly, "You're so smart, can't you think of a solution yourself...?"

She pursed her lips, turned around, and left briskly.

The Construction Bureau was located in the northwest corner of the East City. Lu Jun brought a blueprint and talked for two whole hours, until his mouth was dry, but he still couldn't explain it clearly.

In his past life, he was a liberal arts student, eloquent in strategy and writing, but his understanding of physics was...

If he weren't stuck within the nine-year compulsory education system, he probably wouldn't have been able to fool those craftsmen.

Fortunately, he had the Empress Dowager's edict, and Liu Renjing, the junior craftsman in charge of construction, personally came to receive him, treating him with great courtesy.

Liu Renjing was the nephew of Liu Hongji, a meritorious official of the Lingyan Pavilion. He came from a family of famous generals. Upon hearing that he was a military man, he was given ten skilled men to command at will.

Lu Jun spent several days getting the craftsmen a general understanding and then they started looking for raw materials to begin work.

Whether it can be done is hard to say.

Therefore, Lu Jun did not give any guarantees to Wang Xiaojie or Li Zhaode, and only told the Empress Dowager that she would try.

The reason he had time to come to the Construction Bureau these days was because after the matters concerning Hexi and Anxi were settled, Wu Zetian focused her energy on her own important project.

The regular court sessions were almost a formality; the prime minister would only summon the officials together once every three to five days to give a brief report on important military and political matters.

Lu Jun rarely had the opportunity to meet the emperor.

Wu Zetian had originally said that he would accompany her after court each day, explaining in detail the parts of the policy document that needed to be implemented, and also take the time to talk about interesting stories from foreign countries, but that no longer counted.

Because the people she meets and the things she follows up on every day are far more important than those things.

They can be broadly divided into two categories—

cruel officials

Offering auspicious omens.

In early April, Fan Libing, who was imprisoned, was killed, and the authors Miao Shenke and Han Chubin also died mysteriously at home. Thus, the "Northern Gate Scholars" all disappeared.

Rumor has it that the wife of Wu Youning's younger brother, Wu Youji, the Right Guard General, suddenly died of an illness one day.

A wave of denunciations surged again, with a man named Hou Sizhi accusing Pei Zhen, the governor of Hengzhou, and the governor of Huazhou of conspiring to rebel.

There was another man named Lai Junchen who accused the governor of Hezhou of preventing him from warning Li Chong, the Prince of Langya, of plotting a rebellion.

The governor of Huazhou was Li Yuanming, son of Emperor Gaozu and Prince of Shu.

The governor of Hezhou was Li Xu, the grandson of Emperor Taizong and the Prince of Dongping.

The fire spread to the Li clan again.

Wu Zetian ordered Qiu Shenji, the Grand General of the Left Golden Guard, to arrest the two men and strictly ordered a thorough investigation, ensuring that no traitor was let go.

Not to be outdone, veteran ruthless officials such as Zhou Xing, Suo Yuanli, and Wang Hongyi also began new activities.

Many officials mysteriously disappeared on their way to court, just like Lu Jun did, but most of them never returned home.

For a time, everyone was on edge, and officials would say goodbye to their families before leaving home, fearing they might never see them again.

When they encountered colleagues on the road, they dared not speak and could only communicate with each other through eye contact.

Lu Jun didn't have this worry, but she couldn't help either. She could only go to the Construction Bureau after the court session and try to push forward the tea-related matters in her spare time.

The Classic of Tea bears the Empress Dowager's signature and preface, and upon publication, it was immediately collected into the Imperial Library as an official collection.

Under the guise of guiding the production of tribute tea, the document was checked and copied by collators such as Cui Shi and Du Shenyan, and then distributed to tea-producing prefectures and counties as a guide, thus becoming an absolute authority.

Scholars and merchants alike eagerly copied and circulated his name, and Lu Jun and several other famous figures were recorded again and again.

Some people have begun to call Lu Jun the Sage of Tea...

After the official edition of "The Classic of Tea" was published, Tuanzixuan immediately removed its advertising signs and dared not promote the anonymous version anymore.

Li Qiao, posing as an imperial censor from the Censorate, claimed that someone had reported him for counterfeiting and came to question the shop owner about the details.

Nowadays, cruel officials are in power, and everyone in the capital is afraid of the Censor, the Censorate, and the Court of Judicial Review. If you get involved with any one of them, your family may be ruined and your life may be destroyed. The shopkeeper dared not hide anything and honestly gave out a person's name.

As a result, Song Zhiwen was severed from his ties by Chen Zi'ang, Du Shenyan, Su Weidao, and others.

His postscript and accompanying poems were also erased.

Lu Jun was not surprised by the name, because according to unofficial historical records, Song Zhiwen was a plagiarist.

He has a famous poem called "Thoughts," a seven-character ancient poem that poignantly depicts a woman's sorrow in the spring.

The famous line, "The flowers are similar year after year, but the people are different year after year," is said to have been written by his nephew, Liu Xiyi.

Liu Xiyi first wrote a poem titled "Lament for an Old Man with White Hair," which was seen by Liu Xiyi. Liu Xiyi then secretly killed his nephew to steal the poem.

This matter is an unsolved mystery. Even if it's just hearsay, Song Zhiwen's character is highly questionable.

More than ten years later, in order to curry favor with Wu Sansi, he betrayed his benefactor Zhang Zhongzhi, causing his benefactor's entire family to be killed.

You should stay away from people like that.

To avoid him getting struck by lightning one day and dragging himself down with him.

After excluding Song Zhiwen, Lu Jun brought his friend Zhang Yue into the circle of famous scholars, and they often met to drink tea and discuss poetry and literature.

Li Qiao, Su Weidao, and others would occasionally bring in other people, saying they came because of Lu Jun's great reputation.

Some people wanted to meet the Sage of Tea, while others were interested in the copyright decree.

After the imperial edict was issued, few people actually spent money to register, but the scholars generally had a positive opinion of it, believing that the court valued the matter and was intentionally protecting scholars.

I heard that Lu Jun made the suggestion, and someone came to him indirectly just to praise him.

When the scholars saw that Lu Jun had been promoted two ranks in just ten months, they knew that he was enjoying the emperor's favor and had a bright future, so they were even more eager to befriend him.

They all hinted that if there were any official needs in the future, they could contact them for assistance...

Half a month later, the matter of "The Classic of Tea" came to an end, and Lu Jun devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Construction Bureau.

At the beginning of the month, he was promoted, and his honorary title was increased by two ranks, from Senior Attendant Gentleman of the Eighth Rank to Senior Attendant Gentleman of the Eighth Rank.

Although the monthly salary and official land remained unchanged, the stipend for rice increased by ten bushels. The family celebrated every day, with Ninth Sister taking turns serving up her signature dishes.

With the chattering and sweet voices of Yan Niang and Ying Niang, Lu Jun felt very comfortable when she got home, even though she was tired during the day... in a mental sense.

I worked overtime that day, discussing things with the craftsmen for a long time, and it was already past midnight when I got home.

As soon as they arrived at the gate, Uncle Zhong stepped forward and whispered:

"My lord, a distinguished guest has arrived."

"He was said to be the Prefect of Luozhou, named Di Renjie."