The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 110: Strange Black Donkey in Front of the Imperial Mausoleum (asking for monthly tickets!)

Where did this donkey come from? Zhao Ti raised his eyebrows and looked over.

The donkey was quite large and strong, with shiny black fur and four snow-white hooves. It stopped running and looked up at the team.

Zhao Ti took a few glances and asked Tong Guan beside him, "Are there many wild donkeys in Songshan?"

Tong Guan shook his head: "Your Highness, I have never heard of this incident. I don't think it's possible. I'm afraid it's someone's pet that can't stand the fatigue and bit through the reins and sneaked out."

Zhao Ti shook his head. The donkey looked very energetic. There were no signs of reins or shafts on its neck or back, and it was obvious that it had been outside for a long time.

At this time, the tomb keeper of the imperial mausoleum came with the mausoleum soldiers. The rank of the tomb keeper was not low, he was a fifth-rank official, but he had no power. He also had to worry about the imperial mausoleum being damaged or mishaps, and he would be fined and demoted.

The tomb keeper saluted. He recognized Zhao Ti. When Empress Dowager Gao Taotao was buried, Zhao Ti served as one of the envoys of the tomb, responsible for guarding the safety.

Zhao Ti nodded, pointed his whip at the black donkey on the grass, and asked, "Where did this wild donkey come from?"

The tomb keeper looked back, slightly startled, then smiled bitterly and said, "Your Highness, this donkey has been around for a long time. It was wandering around the northern foothills of Songshan when I was in office, and it was also wandering around when my predecessor was in office..."

"Oh?" Zhao Ti asked, "It's been so long? No one has captured or shot it? Donkey meat is delicious."

He was standing upwind at the moment, and saw the black donkey's ears suddenly stand up in the distance. He didn't know whether it understood human words or was blown by the wind.

The guard said, "Your Highness, I heard from the veterans that the donkey has been on the mountain for a long time, and it is almost impossible to capture it or shoot it. As for capturing it, the veterans said that they could not catch it or shoot it."

"Can't catch him, can't shoot him?" Zhao Ti was surprised: "Which veteran is he? Come out and tell me."

A hunchbacked old man walked out of the team. He looked to be in his fifties or sixties. It was obvious that he was from a family of the imperial guards in the capital, otherwise he would have been expelled from the army with such appearance.

He bowed and said, "Your Highness, I know about this matter."

Zhao Ti said, "You have been a soldier for a long time. You didn't get this job right away and have been guarding the imperial mausoleum all this time, did you?"

The old soldier smiled and said, "Your Highness, I have a good understanding. My family has used their connections to help me guard the imperial mausoleum since I was a teenager. I have been here ever since."

Zhao Ti laughed and said, "What's wrong with the donkey?"

The old soldier said, "I had this donkey when I was a teenager. I heard from the old people at that time that it was there even before that. My comrades had tried to capture it and shoot it for meat, but no one succeeded. Even traps were useless. As time went by, we just ignored it. It lived in the forest on the northern slope and didn't come to the imperial mausoleum all the time, so it didn't cause any trouble."

Zhao Ti nodded. It seemed that the donkey had been here for many years. Donkeys were long-lived animals, with an average lifespan of twenty-five to thirty years. Some could live for more than forty years, and some could even live for sixty years. He remembered that there was a donkey in later generations that was sixty-five years old and still alive.

"Many new soldiers were not convinced and tried to catch it, but all failed. As time went by, they all called it the Spirit Donkey."

Zhao Ti touched his chin. Donkeys have strong memory, strong survival ability, and high IQ, the highest IQ among all livestock. But it is a bit far-fetched to say that so many people cannot catch them. It shows how lazy and useless these tomb-guarding soldiers are on weekdays.

He said, "Bring the bow and arrow."

Zhong Pu next to him immediately handed it over. He looked at the donkey, but before he could put an arrow on it and pull the string, he saw the black donkey turn around nimbly and run towards Songshan, letting out a loud cry and even running in an arc.

Zhao Ti's face twitched, and he slowly lowered his arm. The old soldier lowered his head and said, "Your Highness, this donkey knows the bow and arrow, and even the sound of the bowstring. When I was young, I tried many times, but it ran away before I could shoot the arrow."

Zhao Ti looked a little embarrassed. He thought that donkeys like to live in groups, and there might not be only one in the mountain, so he asked, "Have you looked for its nest? Are there other donkeys?"

The old soldier shook his head and said, "Your Highness, I went up the mountain to look for it, but I only knew that it lived over there, but I didn't find the specific location, and I didn't see any other donkeys, just this one."

Zhao Ti was silent for a moment, waved to the old soldier, and the old soldier returned to the team.

He looked at the tomb keeper and said, "I went south to suppress the bandits and returned victorious. I came here to pay homage to the late emperors and saints."

The tomb keeper hurriedly said, "Congratulations to Your Highness on your triumphant return. You have wiped out the bandits and protected the country. This is a blessing for the court and the people."

Zhao Ti said: "No need to flatter me, just lead the way, I will pay homage to our ancestors."

After saying that, he jumped off the Black Rose and told the soldiers behind him to take the offerings. Then he walked all the way, starting from Taizu's Yongchang Mausoleum, then Taizong's Yongxi Mausoleum, and ending at Yingzong's Yonghou Mausoleum. Gao Taotao's tomb was next to the Yonghou Mausoleum.

There were more offerings offered by Zhao Ti here than in the Yongyu Mausoleum of Emperor Shenzong. The tomb-guarding officer's eyelids twitched when he saw this, and he muttered to himself, "I didn't see it, I didn't see it, I didn't see anything."

Afterwards, Zhao Ti stayed in front of Gao Taotao's tomb for more than half an hour before turning around and leaving with a sad look on his face.

Not long after he left, the soldiers guarding the mausoleum went to take a break and saw the black donkey quietly running out from the forest on the northern foot of Mount Song.

The donkey rode on its four white hooves and headed straight for Emperor Taizong's Yongxi Mausoleum, where it started eating like crazy.

After a while, the soldiers saw it and shouted from afar. It then spread its hooves and went back to hide in the mountains. Not long after, it went around the forest to the Yonghou Mausoleum of Emperor Yingzong. Then, it saw that there were more offerings here than in the previous mausoleums. It seemed to be a little stunned, then raised its head and let out a high-pitched cry...

Zhao Ti led his troops back east. Along the way, the scenery was beautiful, the view was pleasant, and the breeze was cool.

It was already afternoon. Walking along the official road, we could see the Luo River flowing slowly not far away.

The Luo River was beautiful. Zhao Ti could not help but think of the lines "light steps on the water, dusty silk socks, unspoken words, with a fragrance like orchids". He pondered for a moment, stopped the team, dismounted, and walked towards the river with Tong Guan, Zhou Tong and seven or eight others.

The water of Luo River was sparkling and calm. Although it was a tributary of the Yellow River in the north, it was not as violent and roaring as the Yellow River.

Zhao Ti stood by the river and watched the rippling waves, which seemed like a dream. He could not help but think of Cao Zhi, who wrote the poem "Lingbo Weibu", the eternal masterpiece "Shen Shen Fu", and the world-famous Seven-Step Poem.

He walked silently along the river with his hands behind his back, and the military horses followed slowly on the official road.

After walking for nearly two quarters of an hour, I saw someone doing boxing on the gravel beach by the river in the distance.

Zhao Ti could tell at a glance that the man was practicing Taizu Changquan, but this Changquan seemed different from what was said outside. He could not help but walk closer and take a closer look.

The man doing the boxing was about thirty years old, wearing an old grey cloth robe, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, a high nose and a wide mouth. He had a square face that looked quite weathered, and when he looked around, there was a hint of sadness and indignation in his expression.

Seeing this, Zhao Ti couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly...

(End of this chapter)