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

Chapter 139: People from the capital come to the four directions, and the eagle shoots the bow to the frontier

Zhao Ti shook his head upon hearing this and said calmly: "This king does not like martial arts. This king has always considered himself to be a man of great literary talent, not a martial artist."

"The King of Yan is not good at fighting, but thinks he is talented in literature?" Yuan Xiaoxian smiled and said, "The King of Yan is indeed treacherous and can't be trusted."

Yelu Hongji showed an interested look: "The Zhao envoy boasts of his literary talent, how does he compare to the Su envoy?"

At this time, Su Shi was standing behind with a confused look on his face. He thought that although the Liao Emperor was greedy for Han culture and Han rule, he could not help but try to please him at this moment, but it was not right for the King of Yan to brag about himself like this, right?

Everyone in the court knows that you are illiterate and can only play with sticks and wield weapons. Even if you want to hide the might of the Song Dynasty in Liao and not let the other party be afraid, but if you talk nonsense like this, what if the Liao emperor is interested and holds a literary and poetry meeting, won't it be exposed? The negotiation will definitely fall through.

"Compared with Envoy Su..." Zhao Ti glanced at Su Shi behind him. Su Shi's reputation in the literary world was well-known throughout the world. Not only was his reputation famous in the Song Dynasty, but his poems were also spread to foreign countries, especially in Dali, Liao Kingdom and other places, where his poetry collections were distributed.

Su Shi's scalp tingled, and he didn't know how to answer. But since Zhao Ti had already said it, it was not easy to expose the fact that he had never read anything, so he had to go along and say, "Well... the literary talent of the Prince of Yan is not as good as mine."

Yelu Hongji raised his thick eyebrows when he heard this: "The talent of the Zhao envoy is not inferior to that of the Su envoy? I never thought that the Su envoy is very famous in the Liao Dynasty. His poems such as Water Melody and Nian Nujiao are widely sung."

Su Shi gritted his teeth and said, "I am ashamed, the King of Yan is indeed very talented, and he is praised by many people in our court and among the people."

He was secretly thinking that he was afraid that Yelu Hongji would suddenly come back to Beijing to hold a poetry gathering. When he left the tent, he would definitely consult with Zhao Ti and give him a few poems and essays that he had kept in his box and asked him to memorize them for emergency use. But this was not a safe idea. What if he encountered a designated topic? He was extremely conflicted.

"Okay." Yelu Hongji nodded with satisfaction: "When I return to Shangjing, I will discuss this with the two envoys. As for what the letter said, I will think about it before I speak."

Zhao Ti said: "I will wait for you."

Yelu Hongji said, "Originally we were going to go out hunting this morning, but the divination showed that the time was not good, so we postponed it to the afternoon. The three envoys will go out to eat and drink, and then go hunting with me in the grassland in the afternoon."

Zhao Ti bowed and left the big tent. Zhang Mengqian arranged accommodation and meals for him. When the afternoon time came, the horn sounded in the camp and the owners of each tent came out.

Most of the Liao officials facing north came, both civil and military officials, and like the Western Xia, they were all able to ride and shoot, and to wield swords and guns.

Zhao Ti couldn't help but look at Huang Shang and Su Shi. Huang Shang said, "Your Majesty, there is no problem for me to hunt. I will not be inferior to these Khitans."

Zhao Ti pondered for a moment, "Has Mian Zhong practiced martial arts recently?"

Huang Shang said, "Ever since Wang Jia mentioned it to me in Fujian, I have kept it in mind. Recently, I have often studied Taoist boxing and have gained some insights."

Zhao Ti said: "Why don't you find a master to teach you?"

Huang Shang shook his head: "I have been reading scriptures and loving Taoism since I was young, and I have a good understanding of what Huang Lao said. That day, I listened to the Taoists of the Hundred Schools discussing scriptures in Prince Duan's mansion. In fact, they were not much different from what I heard, and some of them were even not as good as what I understood. I think it's better to understand it by myself."

Zhao Ti nodded: "What do you think of what Lin Lingsu said, Mian Zhong?"

Huang Shang thought for a moment, "The idea of Shen Xiao may sound absurd at first, but after careful consideration, it does make sense. However, I don't think it is something that Taoist Ling Su could have come up with."

Zhao Ti thought for a moment, then looked at Su Shi: "There is no need to say more about Zizhan. He can draw a bow like a full moon, look northwest, and shoot the wolf in the sky. Zizhan has long had the heart to pacify Xixia. He is not good at riding and shooting, but he is also proficient in martial arts."

Su Shi was stunned when he heard this: "Your Highness, those are just exaggerated words in poetry, how can you take them all seriously? I can ride a horse and shoot arrows, but how can I be proficient in martial arts?"

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "It's just that I'm not proficient in it. Does that mean I really know how to do it?"

Su Shi bowed his head and said, "I know a little bit, but I cannot compare with Your Highness."

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "Then let's go!"

After saying that, he led the two of them on horseback, and then Zhang Mengqian led the way to meet up with the hunting team.

Great Song Dynasty, Jingji Road, Dongjing City.

The middle-aged man in the blue shirt had been standing there for a whole morning, watching the hustle and bustle in front of the city gate, with no expression on his face.

At this time, the sun was moving towards the southwest. He closed his eyes slightly, then opened them again, with a restrained look, and walked towards the city.

Just a few breaths after he entered the city, a man in green on the side of the road looked at him.

The middle-aged man in the blue shirt looked calm. He ignored it and continued walking forward with big strides.

The man in green looked at his back, frowned, and gestured behind him. Two people appeared behind him and followed him. He headed straight for the inner city and walked towards the alley opposite the Qisheng Temple.

There is a royal mansion in the alley that has never been given out. It is the mansion that Zhao Ti explored last time. At that time, he saw Zhao Xu inside listening to the report of the Red Dragon Guards of the Wude Division.

The man in green entered the mansion and walked quickly towards a pavilion, where two people were playing chess.

One of them was wearing a black robe, with thick eyebrows and a broad face, looking dignified. The other one had white hair and beard, looking like an immortal.

The man in green stepped forward and bowed to the majestic man in black robe. "Head, we found a person entering the city who is unusual. His appearance, aura, movements and steps are like those of a top master."

"Oh?" The majestic man in black robe held the chess piece and hung it above the chessboard: "Did you sense it correctly?"

The man in green said, "I cannot be completely sure of the strength of the opponent, but I cannot see the real strength of his martial arts. I feel that his temperament and posture are very vague and ethereal. If he is not much better than me, it would be impossible. So I think he must be a master."

"Master?" The majestic man in black robe murmured, "It has been many years since we have seen a master in Shenjing. Let's take a look at his appearance."

After the man in green described his appearance, the majestic man in black robe looked at the old man with white hair and beard opposite him. A thoughtful look appeared on the old man's face, and then he shook his head.

The majestic man in black robe said, "Send someone to keep an eye on him. If he doesn't cause any trouble, wait for him to leave the city. Don't worry about anything else. Just take care of the palace. If he dares to take even a single step toward the palace, he won't be able to escape no matter how skilled he is in martial arts."

The man in green nodded, bowed and left.

The old man with white hair and beard said, "It is better to inform the palace."

The majestic man in black robe said, "Someone come here."

Two red-clad guards flashed out from the shadows behind the pavilion: "Lift it up!"

The black-robed man said, "Go to the palace and inform the Imperial City Department's Kuanyi Tianwu and other departments, and then inform... Qijiyuan!"

"Yes!" The two men in red turned and left. After a moment, they changed into the official uniforms of the Imperial City Bureau, left the mansion, and headed straight for the palace.

There are several stables lined up in the Qijiyuan of the imperial palace. It was originally called Tiansijian, and the name was changed in the second year of Yongxi. It is the place where imperial horses are raised.

At this moment, an old eunuch with a hunchback was seen staggering out of the stable, holding a wooden fork in one hand and dragging a bamboo basket full of horse manure in the other. He was panting and sweating, as if he would fall down from exhaustion in the next moment.

Looking back at the red horse in the stable that was staring at him with big eyes, the old eunuch complained: "You are the most difficult to serve. Every time I discipline you, you kick me. Alas, I am old and useless. I even despise horses."

He went to empty the horse manure muttering to himself, his face, covered with walnut wrinkles, full of emotion and sighs.

At this moment, a guard from the Imperial City came quickly from a distance. He was one of the two Red Dragon Guards who had changed clothes at the Wude Division earlier.

The old eunuch squinted at the other person, it seemed that his eyes were blurry and he could not see clearly. When he rubbed his eyes hard, the Red Dragon Guard was already close.

"Envoy Guo."

The old eunuch frowned and said, "What do you mean by 'court envoy' or not? Can't you see that I am doing the work myself? Which of those little guys would respect me as a court envoy? Are you mocking me by calling me that?" The Red Dragon Guard smiled and said, "What else can I call you if not the court envoy? Besides, isn't it the court envoy who wants to do the work? Who dares to force the court envoy to clean up the stables?"

"Alas, I am working to atone for my sins..." The old eunuch showed a look of nostalgia when he heard this, but then his face became serious and he said, "What are you doing here?"

The Red Dragon Guard said, "Teacher Zhou asked me to come and inform the court envoy that a master has arrived in the city."

"Master..." The old eunuch looked thoughtful: "How high is it?"

Chilongwei said: "I don't know about this."

"It's been a long time since a master came to the capital." The old eunuch sighed, "I really want to go out for a while, but unfortunately I can't go anywhere. I have to guard the palace. I want to die here..."

"Your Excellency, I will go back first." said the Red Dragon Guard.

The old eunuch smiled, revealing a mouthful of snow-white teeth. His upper and lower teeth were calloused into one complete piece, with no difference in number, just like two rows of bone plates.

Watching the Red Dragon Guards leave, he slowly dumped the horse manure, then staggered out of the Qiji Courtyard and headed towards the Funing Palace...

Zhao Ti rode on Black Rose and followed the ministers and generals of the Liao Kingdom, heading west along the grassland.

After running for a few miles, the team began to disperse. Some soldiers galloped to the north and south, and then rushed over here with wild animals to be hunted by Yelu Hongji and his ministers.

However, after the hunting in the previous few days, the wild animals were scarce in this grassland, so Yelu Hongji ordered his men to fly away with arrows.

After running on the grassland for a while, Yelu Hongji ordered the soldiers to release a few falcons. The falcons flew up into the sky, intending to capture passing geese and other birds.

At this time, the ministers and generals had long since stopped gathering together, but slowly dispersed to look for wild animals on their own.

Zhao Ti was not far away from Yelu Hongji, and the other party only shot five or six arrows along the way, but got nothing except a rabbit that was already injured.

He shook his head and looked at the falcon in the sky. It was obvious that the falcon was planning to use it to hunt and keep it as its own harvest.

The eagles were circling in the sky, and suddenly they saw a shadow flying in the distance from the west, and they immediately flapped their wings to meet it.

Zhao Ti leaned his hands on the pergola and looked up. The shadow was very large, with a very long wingspan. He didn't know what kind of bird it was.

A young man beside Yelu Hongji suddenly shouted: "Your Majesty, it's an eagle, it's an eagle!"

The big bird was now flying closer, and the ministers who had not left Yelu Hongji's side all said, "Your Majesty, it is really an eagle. It looks like it has just grown up. I wonder if the falcon can capture it."

There are many species of eagles, all of which are larger than hawks. Zhao Ti didn't know what kind of eagle it was in the sky, and he saw it fighting with those eagles in the blink of an eye.

Falcons are usually well-trained and know how to attack, but the eagle was very brave and it injured one of them in just a moment, causing it to fall from the sky.

At this time, the remaining eagles were increasingly outmatched. The young man who had just spoken to Yelu Hongji shouted, "Your Majesty, shoot the arrows."

Yelu Hongji nodded. The young man raised his bow and was about to put an arrow on it when he saw Yuan Xiaoxian standing beside him: "Sister, you have good archery skills. Come on."

Yuan Xiaoxian said with a smile: "Thirteen, you haven't gained anything in this autumn hunting, but if you can shoot down an eagle, it will be considered a gain. Those who can shoot eagles are heroes on the grassland."

The young man's face turned red when he heard this. He no longer refused to be modest and raised his bow and shot an arrow. His archery skills were actually quite good, but the eagles in the sky were all flying, and the arrow passed by the eagle.

The eagle was startled in mid-air and let out a high-pitched cry from its beak, seeming to be extremely angry.

The young man scolded, "What are you yelling about, you flat-haired bastard? I'll shoot you down and pluck out your hair to eat, and see if you still act arrogantly."

He shot a few more arrows, but the eagle half dodged in the air and was not even scratched by the edge. At this moment, the eagle confirmed who was shooting the arrows from below, and immediately started barking fiercely at the young man.

The young man was furious, and he couldn't hold back his face. He shouted, "Shoot together, shoot together..."

The general next to him immediately raised his bow and shot at the eagle. The eagle did not run away at first, but changed its posture as if to show off. But suddenly, an arrow hit its tail feathers. Then it seemed as if its feathers stood up and it turned around and flew to the west.

Arrows were flying like rain at this moment. The eagle was hit by two more arrows from behind and cried miserably.
Yelu Hongji stroked his beard and nodded, saying, "It is indeed a newly grown eagle. Now that it is injured, I am afraid it will fall soon. Whoever can catch it alive will be promoted one rank and rewarded with 100 gold coins. Even if it is killed, there will be a reward too!"

Upon hearing this, the young man next to him immediately said, "Your Majesty, I will go and catch this beast." Then he rode his horse and chased after it.

The officers who stayed behind looked at each other and asked for orders. Half of them headed west to chase the eagle. Yuan Xiaoxian glanced ahead and also raised his whip and ran away.

At this time, Zhang Mengqian shouted to Zhao Ti, "Messenger Zhao, why don't you chase the eagle? If you catch it, Your Majesty will reward you handsomely."

Yelu Hongji looked over and nodded, saying, "The Zhao envoy may go."

Zhao Ti smiled awkwardly: "Your Majesty, I am not good at archery and horse riding, so..."

Yelu Hongji frowned: "Could it be that the Zhao envoy despises my reward?"

Zhao Ti shook his head and smiled, "It is better to obey than to be respectful. Then the outsider will go and take a look."

After saying this, he winked at Huang Shang and Su Shi, and the two immediately followed him and headed straight to the west of the grassland...

Tokyo City, Prince Yan’s Palace.

Wang Yuyan put down the book in her hand and looked at Ah Zhu: "I wonder when Your Highness will return?"

Ah Zhu smiled and said, "Miss Wang, do you miss His Highness?"

Wang Yuyan blushed and said, "No, I've read all these books and I just felt bored."

Ah Zhu said, "Why not go out for a walk? I heard from the people ahead this morning that there is a temple fair at the Wuyue Temple today, and it will be very lively."

Wang Yuyan hesitated and said, "His Highness told me to take Tong Diao Si and Zheng Diao Si with me when I go out."

Ah Zhu said, "I'll go call them. They seem to be very idle and probably want to go out and play."

After a while, the four of them left the palace and went straight to the Wuyue Temple outside the Suanzao Gate. They saw that it was really lively and bustling, with people praying to the gods, drawing lots and buying goods. There were huge crowds of people.

The two of them worshipped at every temple. When they came out of the last one, they saw a huge gap in the temple wall. Wang Yuyan asked curiously, "What's the place on the other side? It looks spacious and has a nice view."

Tong Guan bowed and said with a smile: "Miss, over there is the big vegetable garden of Xiangguo Temple."

Wang Yuyan asked in confusion, "Why isn't the Xiangguo Temple's vegetable garden in the same building as the temple?"

Tong Guan explained, "Miss, Xiangguo Temple has too many properties, and there are several vegetable gardens. Usually, the temple sends some monks to look after them, but they are all lazy and don't grow vegetables properly. They just grow some flowers and plants."

Wang Yuyan smiled and said, "Since there are flowers and plants, why not go over and enjoy them."

Tong Guan agreed and took the lead. After wandering around the garden for a long time, he got tired of it and started to turn back.

At this moment, they suddenly discovered that there was a middle-aged scholar in a blue shirt standing not far away. When the middle-aged scholar saw them looking at him with surprise, he put his hands behind his back and smiled slightly.

(End of this chapter)