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

Chapter 138 True Identity
The rising morning light shone down obliquely, and Zhao Ti wandered in the sunshine holding Black Rose.

Black Rose was frolicking on the grass, seeming to be extremely happy with this land.

Yanyun has many plains with suitable climate, water and grass, making it a natural horse farm. Unfortunately, the Song Dynasty never recovered Youyan, and horse breeding in Luzhou and other places was not smooth, causing the cavalry to be constrained by the Khitan and Western Xia.

It had been seven days since they arrived at the border. Zhao Ti estimated that news would come from the capital by then. After playing enough with Black Rose, he rode slowly back to the market, and sure enough, he saw Zhang Mengqian waiting for him.

As he expected, Yelu Hongji issued an edict inviting the delegation to Beijing for detailed discussions. They set off at noon, and Zhang Mengqian accompanied them to Beijing.

Along the way, the scenery became more and more bleak. It was the beginning of autumn, and walking on the grassland, the desolate and solemn atmosphere became increasingly thicker.

When they were about to go to the capital to Linhuang Prefecture, Yelu Hongji suddenly sent someone to deliver a letter, saying that he was going out of the city to the prairie for autumn hunting, and asked them to meet in the west.

Zhang Mengqian said, "Prince Yan, this is unexpected. Your Majesty has rarely left the capital in recent years. Who would have thought that you would go on an autumn hunt this year?"

Zhao Ti smiled slightly and calculated in his mind. Yelu Hongji was already quite old. He was fond of literature and Buddhism, and was not good at archery and horse riding. He didn't know if he could still catch prey.

The delegation then shifted and headed west. There were Khitan soldiers patrolling every few steps, and they could ask for the direction of the autumn hunting team.

Within two days, they arrived at Shangjing City, more than 300 miles west. They saw the sky and the earth becoming increasingly higher, the white clouds were light, the autumn wind was rustling, and several large tents were lined up in a row, with the golden-roofed royal tent standing among them. Zhang Mengqian hurried to report.

When they came back a while later, Yelu Hongji was in the tent and asked the envoys to come and meet him.

Zhao Ti glanced at the sun in the sky. It was a good time in the morning. Emperor Da'an was not out riding to hunt, so what was the cat doing in the tent?
When they got closer, Zhang Mengqian brought Zhao Ti, Huang Shang and Su Shi in.

Just look at the tent decorated with gold, jewels and precious stones. It doesn't look like a hunting tent at all. It is clearly a luxurious palace.

Armored generals stood on the left and right, and the guards were lined up all the way inside.

At the innermost part was a desk, behind which sat an old man, tall and with a solemn expression, wearing elegant Han clothing.

If you don't look at the old man's hairstyle, but only look at his expression and clothes, no one would think that the old man is a Khitan. He is clearly no different from a Han Chinese.

Zhao Ti knew that this was Yelü Hongji, the Great Emperor of Liao. Yelü Hongji admired the Han people to the extreme. For a while, he even wanted to order the whole country to change their hairstyle, but was desperately stopped by his ministers.

There was a person sitting next to Yelu Hongji. Zhao Ti glanced at him and narrowed his eyes slightly.

She was a stunningly beautiful girl in palace dress, with picturesque eyebrows, skin as white as jade, and eyes as clear as water, and she was looking at him.

Zhao Ti took a breath. It turned out to be the Liao spy who had been hard to find and who he had been chasing in Tokyo for most of the night, but who escaped!
This girl actually ran back, and no one knew her identity. She actually sat not far from Yelu Hongji.

Seeing the girl reveal a pretty smile, Zhao Ti had a blank expression on his face. He was thinking in his heart whether there was any way to capture her and bring her back to Song Dynasty, torture her severely, and ask if there were any remaining spies in Tokyo.

After stepping forward to pay his respects and presenting the letter of credence, Yelu Hongji glanced at it roughly, put it aside, and then looked Zhao Ti up and down.

"I have heard about the conditions for opening a market before. Envoy Zhao, I am here to ask you, what do you want horses for?"

Zhao Ti said with a smile, "Our emperor likes horse racing games. He enjoys it more than ten days a month, betting on gold, silver and precious objects. However, he only has Qingtang horses and Xia horses that can run. Other horses are not good enough, so he wants to buy hundreds of Khitan horses. I wonder if they can beat the other two." Yelu Hongji said with a hint of disdain, "Khitan horses are the best in the world. How can Qingtang horses and Xia horses compare?"

Zhao Ti's eyes sparkled: "But our emperor doesn't know, even the princes and ministers in Tokyo don't know, they just think that Qingtang horses and Xia horses are competing with each other for the top spot."

Yelu Hongji's face darkened when he heard this: "Song State doesn't know our Khitan strong horses?"

Zhao Ti said: "I don't even know the capital, let alone other places."

Yelu Hongji looked at Zhao Ti with a sharp gaze, and suddenly laughed: "The Zhao envoy used this as an excuse, isn't it just to arouse my desire to win, so that I can trade horses with your country? However, Liao and Song have always kept their armaments intact."

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "Please understand, Emperor Liao, these hundred horses are not part of the market at all. They are only a condition for opening the market, just like the gift given by our emperor to the Emperor Liao. It has nothing to do with the transactions in the market."

Yelu Hongji was silent for a few breaths, and then said, "I have seen the gift, it is indeed exquisite. I wonder how much of this kind of item your country can trade?"

Zhao Ti shook his head and said, "This is a treasure, and it is quite rare in our Song Dynasty. But if a new market is opened, our emperor can urge people who have treasures to go to the border to sell them."

Yelu Hongji pondered for a moment, "I wonder what else the Emperor of Song does besides horse racing?"

Zhao Ti said: "In addition to horse racing, your Majesty also likes to collect various treasures. In addition, he also holds poetry and literary gatherings, collects Buddhist scriptures and Sanskrit books, listens to the Buddhist teachings of great monks, and comprehends the principles of heaven and man from them."

Yelu Hongji nodded: "So that's how it is. It seems that the Emperor of Song and I are of the same mind. Isn't it good for him to go hunting, review the military, and watch the military exercises?"

"Hunting and reviewing the troops?" Zhao Ti shook his head and said, "My emperor likes literature and never touches metal objects. Few relatives in my royal family like martial arts. I have a younger brother, Prince Duan Zhao Ji, who is a master of painting and calligraphy in Tokyo and is widely praised by scholars and writers."

"Isn't the King of Yan good at martial arts?" At this time, a pleasant voice sounded beside him. Zhao Ti looked and saw that it was the girl in palace dress.

He took a breath, did not answer, and looked at Yelu Hongji.

Yelu Hongji glanced to the side and showed a kind look: "Emissary Zhao, this is my granddaughter Princess Cheng'an, Yelu Nanxian."

Yelu Nanxian? Zhao Ti's mind turned when he heard this. It turned out to be this woman. Yelu Nanxian was quite famous in Liao and even in the entire prairie. She was known for her wisdom and intelligence, and was a rare talent in the Khitan royal family.

Moreover, Liao and Xia will have an alliance in the future, and this woman will marry Li Qianshun, the fourth emperor of Western Xia, and become the queen of Western Xia. She will be in the Baigao Kingdom in Hexi and consult Xiang Qingtang on political affairs.

But why did Xi Qiaofang, the Liao spy captured in Prince Duan's mansion, say her last name was Yuan? Could it be that she used a pseudonym to arrange spies in the Song Dynasty?

"I also have another name, Yuan Xiaoxian." The girl smiled and said, "My mother is from Xixia, a descendant of the Tuoba clan of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The Tuoba clan changed their surname to Yuan, and I often use this name when I go out."

Yuan Xiaoxian? Zhao Ti looked at her. That was right. This woman had some skills. She dared to go to the Song Dynasty to do confidential things. I don't know where she learned all these martial arts. Her light and fleeting skills were not weaker than the body movements recorded in the Sunflower Manual. Her internal strength was not strong enough, so she couldn't exert her full power.

"It turns out to be Princess Cheng'an. How disrespectful." Zhao Ti smiled slightly.

"Just now, Prince Yan said that there are few people in the Song court who like martial arts. I wonder if you, Prince Yan, like martial arts?" Yuan Xiaoxian looked at Zhao Ti, her eyelashes fluttering like a small fan, and said softly.

(End of this chapter)