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

Chapter 162: Treading Snow Without Traces on Gaoliang River (asking for monthly tickets)
Zhao Ti gained a lot from this trip to Songshan Shaolin Temple.

Not only did he obtain the Yi Jin Jing, but he also obtained the Shen Zu Jing, and based on it, he practiced the Ice Palm.

After practicing the Ice Palm for less than a day, it was already able to match the internal strength of Li Qiu Shui, which was more than sixty years. This was astonishing and showed how extraordinary and powerful it was.

He did not use his full strength against Li Qiu Shui at first, in order to practice and familiarize himself with the icy true qi. He fought with Li Qiu Shui for a long time, and later switched to the Sunflower Manual. In total, he only used two sword attacks, and he almost defeated the opponent.

Although Li Qiushui mistakenly thought that his Sunflower Manual was the same as Li Xian's, and had preconceived ideas in his mind, which led to his going astray in defense, a slight mistake can lead to a huge loss. When masters fight, it is not only about their skills and combat power, but also their ability to respond and make judgments on the spot.

Li Qiushui's judgment of his Sunflower Manual was wrong, so she failed to dodge the second sword. If Li Qiushui's body had not become strange after the backlash of the Sunflower Manual simulated by the Xiao Wuxiang Gong, the sword that slashed backwards would have seriously injured her.

In addition to these, there is also the encounter with the Sweeping Monk, who was then provoked to attack. It turned out that the other party's internal strength had reached perfection, and was shockingly strong. He could even create a three-foot wall of air to block all attacks. I don't know what kind of martial arts it was, but it was simply magical. However, the identity of the Sweeping Monk is still a mystery, and no one knows who he was originally.

The Sweeping Monk enlightened Li Qiu Shui, and when Li Qiu Shui left, she said that she would return to Xixia to build a temple and live there, and would no longer ask about worldly affairs. This meant that she would not get involved in court affairs and would no longer intervene in the disputes between Song and Liao. This could be considered a gain.

Zhao Ti's skills at this moment have increased a lot compared to before he came to Songshan. Even if the Shenzu Sutra is not actively circulated, as long as he is in action, he will generate internal strength, which can be said to be a rare magical skill.

Before leaving, he told Xuan Ci about Xu Zhu's affairs. Although Xuan Ci wondered why he took care of this menial boy, he still agreed, accepted him as his disciple, and taught him personally.

After leaving Songshan, Zhao Ti did not walk fast, because according to the tomb keeper, the black donkey would not appear until the afternoon at the earliest, so he would definitely be too late that day. So he walked slowly and arrived at the imperial tomb at the northern foot of Songshan at noon the next day.

Just like the last time when he came back from Jiangnan, he burned incense and offered sacrifices at each imperial tomb. He placed more tributes in front of the Yonghou Mausoleum of Emperor Yingzong and Gao Taotao, as well as the Yongyu Mausoleum of Emperor Shenzong. The tomb keeper dared not say anything when seeing this, and turned his head away pretending not to see it.

After noon, the black donkey still didn't come out. Zhao Ti was bored, so he rode on Black Rose and took Tong Guan and Azhu to stroll by the Luo River.

Black Rose was aware along the way that she was going home again, so she hesitated a bit, just like the last time she returned from Liao. But she couldn't help being happy when she saw the river.

Zhao Ti put the reins around its neck and told it to go to the water by itself. It let out a long neigh in excitement, and then like a flash of black lightning, it reached the shallows of the river and actually ran straight into the water, jumping and hopping in it with great joy.

Zhao Ti sat on a big rock not far away and thought, I don’t know what your original master is doing. What happened last summer, now it’s been a year and autumn is almost over, and there is still no news. But it seems that you have forgotten about her, so just live with me from now on.

When the horse had enough fun, he whistled, and Black Rose came back from the Luo River kicking, with water dripping from her body.

Zhao Ti asked Tong Guan to get a dry cloth and wiped the black rose himself. The weather was cold at the moment, not like summer, and he was worried that the horse would get sick.

After wiping, Black Rose's fur shone like satin, and her big eyes sparkled like black gems. She buried her head in Zhao Ti's arms and rubbed against him affectionately.

Zhao Ti led the donkey back slowly towards the imperial mausoleum. When he could see the locations of the mausoleums, the mausoleum keeper came trotting over and said, "Your Highness, the donkey is out and eating grass among the mausoleums."

Zhao Ti said, "This donkey has done a lot of good things. Don't you prepare some food and drink for it every day?"

The mausoleum keeper said, "Your Highness, we have prepared it, and the mausoleum soldiers now respect it and dare not harass or chase it. However, this donkey has a big appetite, and the food we prepared is not enough for it. It can eat the fodder of five horses, and it still doesn't seem to be full."

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "It's a good thing to be able to eat. Where is it? Take me to see it."

Upon hearing this, the tomb keeper led the way and entered the imperial tomb a moment later. He saw the donkey eating dry grass on the ground not far from Emperor Taizong's Yongxi Mausoleum with its head down. It seemed like the whirlwind, eating nothing but grass without even chewing. In the blink of an eye, a piece of grass was empty on the ground.

The tomb keeper said, "We just gave it food and other things, and it has already eaten them. This is just a snack."

Zhao Ti nodded and looked carefully. Although the donkey was tall, its four snow-white hooves were clearly visible. Among horses, there is a saying that goes "leaving no footprints in the snow." It is a rare and fine horse. As for donkeys, the same saying is not known.

At this moment, he saw that this black donkey was almost identical to the donkey in the painting of the Chen family in Huashan, especially the feature of one ear being long and the other being short. It was also the donkey that had been protecting the Yongxi Mausoleum. He was completely certain that it was the donkey that pulled the carriage for Emperor Taizong in Gaoliang River.

At this time, the donkey stopped eating. It raised its head and looked around vigilantly. It saw Zhao Ti standing in the distance looking at it. It didn't want to pay attention to him, but suddenly seemed to remember something. It straightened its neck and shouted at Zhao Ti, digging the ground with its hind legs while shouting, and looked very unhappy.

Zhao Ti narrowed his eyes upon seeing this, and couldn't help but feel puzzled. It looked like this donkey was somewhat unfriendly to him. Where did such strong hostility come from?

He stretched out his finger and beckoned at the donkey, but the donkey refused to come over and its braying became louder and louder. He had no choice but to walk forward with his hands behind his back.

The donkey did not turn around and run away as it did the first time they met. Instead, it stopped braying, looked at him cautiously, and made a gesture as if it was ready to run away at any time.

When Zhao Ti and the donkey were three feet away, he stopped and said with a smile: "You have lived for so many years, so you must be able to understand some human language."

The donkey stared at him with its copper-bell-like eyes without any response.

Zhao Ti said: "Even cats and dogs, after being raised for a few years, will know what people mean. I don't believe you don't know."

The donkey bared its teeth, looking like it was half laughing and half angry.

Zhao Ti raised his lips and said, "You are the donkey that pulled the carriage for Emperor Taizong back then, right? Why did you come here? After Emperor Taizong passed away, was there no one to take care of you?"

The donkey didn't say anything and just stared at Zhao Ti.

Zhao Ti said, "Then why don't you go back to Huashan? Weren't you originally the donkey of the old master Chen Tuan? Now everyone in Huashan still remembers you. Isn't it better than sleeping in the open air here?"

The black donkey let out a "hum" sound when it heard that, as if it was quite unhappy. Then it walked a few steps to the side, and when it saw the sword on Zhao Ti's waist, it stopped.

That sword was Taizong's sword. Taizong left behind two swords, both of which were given to Zhao Ti by Gao Taotao. One was this ordinary sword, and the other was suspected to be Moye, which he had been hiding in his sleeve.

Zhao Ti noticed Hei Lu's gaze, smiled slightly, raised the sword on his waist and shook it: "Do you recognize it?"

The black donkey seemed a little annoyed by his words, and started to bark again. This time, it almost jumped and barked, and the dirt was kicked up by its hooves. Zhao Ti asked in confusion, "What's the matter? Why is it so angry?"

The black donkey ran forward, and Zhao Ti thought for a moment and then followed.

The black donkey came to the front of Emperor Taizong's Yongxi Mausoleum, kept barking at the fruit offerings in front of the mausoleum, and then ran to the other side. Zhao Ti pondered for a moment and followed slowly.

After a while, they arrived at Yingzong Yonghou Mausoleum, where they saw many more offerings than those at Yongxi Mausoleum. The black donkey was braying at the offerings, and Zhao Ti couldn't help but touch his forehead.

When they went to the Yongyu Mausoleum of Emperor Shenzong again, the black donkey behaved in the same way. Zhao Ti understood and shook his head, saying, "I know what you mean..."

Before he could finish, the black donkey barked at the sword on his waist. Zhao Ti sighed, "You really have become a spirit. I know. Next time I will not offer sacrifices unevenly. Since you have recognized Taizong as your master, it is inevitable that you feel unfair and blame me, your descendant, for being unfair."

The black donkey then calmed down a bit, and looked at the offerings in front of the mausoleum with a drooling look on its face.

Zhao Ti was amused and said, "In the battle of Gaoliang River, you saved Emperor Taizong and made great contributions. Although I don't know what happened to you after Emperor Taizong passed away, you shouldn't live in the mountains. Would you like to come back to Tokyo with me? I will find a place for you to stay, with a house, food and drink, so that you can enjoy the rest of your life."

The black donkey jumped back warily upon hearing this, as if it understood what Zhao Ti said, and bared its teeth in displeasure.

"You don't want to go back? You just want to stay here?" Zhao Ti raised his eyebrows and thought for a few breaths: "It's good that you are willing to stay in the imperial mausoleum. You can help with the guarding. Those soldiers are lazy. Although it is unlikely that anything will happen here, it will be safer with you here."

The black donkey did not respond when he heard this, but kept stealing glances at the offerings in front of the tomb.

Zhao Ti looked at the mausoleum guard next to him and said, "If you have any problems or find anything wrong, you can go find the mausoleum official. You have lived for so long, so you naturally know who the official is. Ask him to send a message to me and I will come over here to check."

The tomb keeper bowed and said, "I understand. If the divine donkey is looking for you, I will definitely send someone to inform Your Highness."

Zhao Ti nodded and said, "When a successor comes, pass this message on and say it is my order."

The tomb keeper said, "I don't need to worry about that."

Zhao Ti looked at the donkey for a moment, then turned around and led the group out of the mausoleum, saying as he walked: "What I just said is valid. If you want to go back to Tokyo, you can also go find the mausoleum keeper."

He led his men farther and farther away. The black donkey looked at his figure in front of the mausoleum. Indistinctly, he revealed a look as if he was thinking...

Zhao Ti took the official road and the team returned to Tokyo. Within two days, they entered the capital and entered the capital city that morning.

He went back to the palace to change his clothes, and then went into the palace to report. Without saying anything else, he gave the Yi Jin Jing to Zhao Xu, who showed a very happy expression.

It was naturally impossible to confer a title on Zhao Ti for such a private matter, and Zhao Ti did not want any reward. After all, his wealth was too great now. Although he was not as rich as a country, he was not much less wealthy than it.

The treasures of Guifan Tower for tens of hundreds of years, the gold and silver accumulated by the Jiangnan Mingjiao for generations, the Mingjiao wanted to start a rebellion, how could they start a rebellion without money? This was not the kind of uprising where the officials forced the people to rebel.

At that time, apart from sending some to Zhao Xu, he left the rest in the palace. However, the storehouse in the palace was simply unable to hold all the money, so he finally dug a huge cellar to store it.

The source of this money was obvious, so he was not afraid that Zhao Xu would know a lot about it. After all, if he really knew, he would not have sent some to the palace every time.

Finally, Zhao Xu gave him a month's vacation so that he could have a good rest at home. In addition to leading his men on outings out of the city, he also practiced martial arts in the mansion. He became more proficient in the Shenzu Sutra and the Hanbing Shenzhang, and his internal strength also increased a lot.

In a blink of an eye, a one-month vacation was about to end, and on this day, I received a letter from Wang Yuyan sent from Jiangnan.

The letter was as long as seven or eight pages, mostly explaining why he left without saying goodbye, saying that he would go to Tokyo to apologize in person one day, and then talked about some daily trivial matters in Mantuo Villa, including learning martial arts with Xiaoyaozi, and what he learned was the Wulianghai Baolu passed down in the Li family.

Zhao Ti read her description of Xiaoyaozi and the places where he learned martial arts over and over again. During the conversation, Wang Yuyan mentioned the Mountain Character Sutra and said that Xiaoyaozi said that this martial art was strange and that there were extremely harsh conditions for mastering it, so Xiaoyaozi taught her the Wuliang Hai Bao Lu first.

After putting down the letter, Zhao Ti couldn't help but fall into deep thought, remembering that when he was in the Liao Dynasty, Yelu Yanxi said that he was practicing the Shan Zi Jing. But now it seems that it doesn't seem like it was taught by Xiaoyaozi. So where did Yelu Yanxi learn this skill?

He also discovered that Wang Yuyan did not mention anything about the Southern Tang Dynasty, but only mentioned the Li family. So it should be that Xiaoyaozi did not tell the other party the true origin of his Li family, and Wang Yuyan only thought that it was a martial arts family in the world.

Combined with Xiaoyaozi's performance when he came to Beijing last time, this man seems to no longer care about the destruction of the Southern Tang Dynasty. Even if he still feels a little resentful, he doesn't seem to intend to take any action.

But think about it, more than a hundred years have passed. For ordinary people, it has been five or six generations. Times have passed, and the world has changed. Even if they hated the Song Dynasty at that time, a hundred years have passed, and time may have diluted these things.

However, it is also possible that he was helpless and felt there was no hope. After all, the Song Dynasty had been established for too long, and he was not as stubborn as those people in the Murong family. He felt that there was still hope for the restoration of the country.

As for assassinating the Song Emperor for revenge, it does not make any sense at the moment. It was Taizu who issued the order to attack Southern Tang, and it was Taizong who wiped out Shanhaiguan. Both of them have been dead for a long time. So, should we assassinate the current emperor?
Not to mention how many masters are hidden in the Wude Division in the capital palace. Even if they can be killed, they will definitely not be able to escape and will definitely die here.

As for the large number of royal family members of the Song Dynasty, they could just push another one to be the emperor. Even if the court was shaken, it would only be temporary and would not shake the foundation at all. It would be a useless effort and would get themselves involved, which would be like going to Shanhaiguan for nothing.

As Zhao Ti began to attend court, winter had arrived and the capital city welcomed its first snow.

Then, as the New Year approaches, the city becomes bustling with activity and people begin to prepare for the New Year.

On the afternoon of the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhao Xu summoned Zhao Ti to the palace. After they sat down in the imperial study, Zhao Xu said, "The Liao Kingdom has sent a letter, saying that they want to increase the variety and quantity of goods in the market, and will send an envoy to Beijing for negotiations after the New Year."

Zhao Ti touched his chin when he heard this: "The Liao Kingdom sent an envoy?"

(End of this chapter)