Chapter 17

Creak!

The door was slowly pushed open, and a man who looked to be about twenty-eight or twenty-nine walked in with a tiger-like gait. He was fully armored, wearing a light golden suit of armor, with a long sword hanging from his waist. Two bright breastplates on his chest reflected dazzling light.

"Name: Li Shimin.

Plane: Romance of Sui and Tang, Emperor of the Tang Dynasty."

"Quite a flamboyant man!" This was Zhou Yang's first impression.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." Zhou Yang bowed to Li Shimin, showing his respect for the emperor. Li Shimin had achieved greatness at a young age, capable of leading troops into battle and governing the state, and the Zhenguan era he initiated spread China's prestige throughout the world.

"Greetings, shop owner." Li Shimin bowed slightly, his face anxious. "I have come here to ask for your help with a matter."

After speaking, Li Shimin held out a red nanmu box. Inside the box was a ginseng root several dozen centimeters long, with clear patterns and complete roots and hair, resembling a miniature old man. Zhou Yang could even smell a faint fragrance from it.

This was a spirit ginseng that was over a thousand years old. Zhou Yang had obtained three thousand-year-old ginseng roots from the private treasury of the Han dynasty emperor, but although they looked similar to this one, they lacked the fragrant aroma.

"What matter does Your Majesty need help with?" Zhou Yang asked, not taking the ginseng from Li Shimin. Even without appraising it, the value of this ginseng was definitely higher than a thousand-year-old ginseng, which was worth 1000 value points. If Zhou Yang failed to complete the transaction, the consequences would be dire, possibly costing him his life.

Li Shimin said coldly, "The Tujue, led by Khan Jiali and Khan Tuli, have taken advantage of the internal weakness of the Tang Dynasty to attack Chang'an. This time, I want to ask the shop owner to repel the Tujue."

Repel? Not annihilate.

"Li Shimin is indeed a very proud emperor," Zhou Yang thought to himself.

"The Treaty of Weishui." Zhou Yang was familiar with this event. The Treaty of Weishui was the second major blemish on Li Shimin's record after the Incident at Xuanwu Gate. Shortly after ascending the throne, he was attacked by the Tujue near the capital, Chang'an.

For the ambitious Li Shimin, this was a great humiliation. After resolving the Weishui crisis, the entire Tang Dynasty began to tighten its belt. In the third year of the Zhenguan era, they launched a military campaign and completely destroyed the Eastern Tujue.

"System, can I directly enter the Romance of Sui and Tang to conduct a transaction?" Zhou Yang asked in his mind. Even if he provided Li Shimin with some explosives, he couldn't feel at ease unless he personally intervened. He had to abandon this transaction.

"Only during fixed trading periods," the system replied.

"I agree, but I need ten days to prepare," Zhou Yang said excitedly. After pacifying Dong Zhuo, the historical trajectory of the late Han and Three Kingdoms era had changed dramatically, which was a source of regret for Zhou Yang, who wanted to participate in the Three Kingdoms conflict. However, this was a good opportunity to gather Three Kingdoms figures and tackle other scenarios, fighting a grand battle.

Li Shimin thought for a moment and agreed. The Tujue forces were still some distance from Chang'an, and ten days would not pose an immediate threat to the city.

After handing over the ginseng, Li Shimin quickly left. With the Tujue invasion, the entire Tang Dynasty was in turmoil, and he needed to remain in Chang'an to calm the people and prevent panic.

"Ding! Discovered a three-thousand-year-old spirit ginseng, estimated value: 8000 value points." As Zhou Yang took the ginseng, he heard the system's notification. His heart tightened; 8000 times ten was 80,000. If the transaction failed, it would cost him his life.

Zhou Yang knew he couldn't rely solely on the late Han and Three Kingdoms era. He needed a backup plan, as Li Shimin's request was to repel the Tujue. If the Tujue fought to the death, it would be a major problem.

With this in mind, Zhou Yang drove out of the villa and parked in a parking area in the city. He then walked to an area without surveillance. Soon, he saw a man about 1.6 meters tall, dressed in a suit, walking towards "Tianxing Mining Company."

"Bone Shrinking Technique!"

A powerful skill from the Nine Yang Manual, capable of changing one's height and appearance.

"Is your company's boss here?" Zhou Yang asked a female receptionist who was playing with her phone as he approached the front desk.

Before entering the company, Zhou Yang had spent 20 value points to investigate the general manager of this state-owned enterprise, who had repeatedly abused his power and embezzled minerals. If discovered, he would spend the rest of his life in prison.

"Who are you? You can't just see our boss whenever you want," the receptionist said disdainfully, continuing to play with her phone.

Bang!

"This is for you. Go get your boss," Zhou Yang said, taking out 10,000 Chinese yuan from the system space and throwing it at her face.

"I'll go right away," the receptionist said, not angry but flattered. She quickly picked up the money, put it in her pocket, and ran upstairs with a smile.

Zhou Yang walked into a nearby reception room and sat down to wait.

Soon, a middle-aged man approached.

"My name is Li Hou, the company's general manager," Li Hou said politely.

Zhou Yang shook his hand and said, "I have a special item I hope to purchase from Mr. Li."

"What special item?" Li Hou asked, puzzled.

"Explosives," Zhou Yang said in a low voice.

"Do you have a permit?" Li Hou's expression changed. If it were a mining company, he wouldn't mind selling some explosives.

"No."

"Get out. Our company is legitimate. I'll call security if you don't leave."

"You must know about the Sanfeng Mine, right?" Zhou Yang said calmly.

Li Hou's pupils dilated, and his body trembled. He was familiar with the Sanfeng Mine. He had used his position to sell minerals worth three million yuan, a very secretive operation. How was it discovered?

"Explosives are strictly prohibited from being sold. We have a limited supply," Li Hou said, his voice trembling.

"Ten million yuan," Zhou Yang said, as if he hadn't heard Li Hou.

"How much do you need?" Li Hou was clearly shocked. He had never made that much money in four years as general manager. He swallowed hard.

"As much as possible," Zhou Yang said.

"I can only divert 100 kg without being noticed," Li Hou said, looking around and speaking softly.

"I need one ton," Zhou Yang said.

"One ton? Our company only has a little over one ton. Missing that much would definitely be noticed," Li Hou said urgently.

"I'll add another ten million. Half a ton is the minimum," Zhou Yang said, knowing he couldn't ask for more.

Li Hou gritted his teeth. "Alright."

Soon, Li Hou drove a minivan with Zhou Yang out of the city and stopped in a suburban area.

"The goods are here," Li Hou said, placing the explosives and quickly leaving.

Seeing no one around, Zhou Yang used his mind to transport himself to the Three Kingdoms era.

After placing the explosives in a safe house, Zhou Yang headed straight for the imperial palace to obtain some imperial edicts for mobilizing troops.

At the same time, Zhou Yang had Liu Biao draft several edicts to recruit various figures. Liu Biao did not hesitate.

"County Magistrate of Pingyuan, Liu Bei; Governor of Beiping, Gongsun Zan; Governor of Changsha, Sun Jian; Governor of Xiliang, Ma Teng; Zhao Zilong of Changshan; Tian Feng of Jizhou; Huang Zhong of Nanyang; Guo Jia of Yingchuan; Xizhi of Yingchuan..."

Zhou Yang cast a wide net, hoping to catch as many fish as possible. He issued edicts to all the famous generals and strategists of the late Han and Three Kingdoms era.

After leaving the palace, Zhou Yang carried a stack of edicts. Time was short, so he didn't have the eunuchs deliver them. Instead, he found some local elite soldiers from the army and sent them out on an urgent mission.

Zhou Yang also used the edicts to order Lü Bu, Cao Cao, and Jia Xu to select elite soldiers from the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, and the Eight Commanderies of the Western Garden, forming a force of 50,000 elite cavalry.

For a time, Luoyang was in turmoil. Although people were curious about Zhou Yang's actions, the recent suppression of the Xiliang rebels still intimidated them, and no one dared to oppose him. They could only observe secretly.

After arranging these matters, Zhou Yang returned to the modern world and headed to a large steel factory.

He paid a one million yuan deposit to have 50,000 sets of horse equipment and 50,000 sets of armor made. Zhou Yang also wanted to have weapons made, but weapons were prohibited, and the steel factory dared not take such a large weapons order.

Leaving the steel factory, Zhou Yang posted a bounty online, offering one million yuan for a map of the situation before and after the Treaty of Weishui. To avoid being traced, he spent 5 value points to erase his information.

After completing these tasks, Zhou Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief. In an uninhabited area, he returned to his original appearance and drove back to the villa.

As soon as he entered the villa, Zhou Yang saw a man in a worn suit with a scruffy beard standing in front of the Multiverse Tower. He looked about 70-80% like Zhou Xingchi.

"Name: Ah Xing

Plane: Kung Fu, Small-time hoodlum."

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