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

Chapter 187 Afterglow, Girl

When the troops came over, the people stepped aside and saluted, shouting "General Zhe".

Zhe Keshi had always been a military officer before, but when a military officer in the Song Dynasty reached the fifth rank or so, he would be transferred to the civil rank if he had made great contributions or had good connections.

Because military officers cannot lead troops alone, their real power ends at the fourth rank, and any positions above that are just honorary titles.

If one wants to lead troops as a general, or continue to be promoted and assigned, one must transfer to a civil position. In fact, whether it is some famous generals during the reigns of Emperor Zhenzong and Emperor Renzong, or the four generals and seven kings of the later restoration, they were all civil officials, and most of them were transferred from military to civil service.

If one's rank is high and one's training is excellent and one's accumulated military merits catch the emperor's eye, one's official title will be transferred to another. Or if one's family background is special, one will be transferred to another as an exception and the case may be considered.

After a military officer becomes a civil servant, there are two career paths: entering the Privy Council or being in charge of border military and state affairs.

The Privy Council is mostly a place for retirement. Even if a military officer transfers to a civilian position, it is extremely difficult for him to become the Western Palace Prime Minister or Privy Councilor. Therefore, most of them will choose to continue serving on the border in order to seek to govern the region in the future.

Zhe Keshi came to Beijing some time ago to transfer from military service to civil service. He had accumulated sufficient military merits and was born into the Zhe family, the best family in the Western Army. Although he was not a direct descendant, he was a close branch. No matter which aspect was considered, Zhao Xu wanted to transfer him to a civilian position.

But the people in the northwest do not recognize this. The title of prefect is far less convenient than that of General Zhe. They will wait until the other party is promoted to a general and then change the title. At that time, they will call him General Manager.

Zhe Keshi nodded to the people, then looked at the two groups of people fighting with a gloomy expression.

Cai Jing laughed on his horse and said, "People in the northwest are tough and brave, so street fights are nothing. If you don't have such bravery and courage, how can you resist the Xixia thieves?"

Zhe Keshi looked unhappy: "Well... I didn't do that just because I saw them fighting on the street..."

Before he finished speaking, he heard someone among the people shouting, "Erlang won."

Someone else shouted: "General Zhe has a good father and a bad son."

"Zhe family's Erlang is the best in Ningzhou in terms of boxing and kicking."

"Zhejiro is invincible!"

"Oh? The second son of the Zhe family?" Cai Jing glanced at Zhe Yanzhi, reached out and touched his thick black beard, with a smile on his face.

"It's the little dog Yanzhi." Zhe Keshi sighed, bowed to Cai Jing, and then shouted at the young man who was the leader of the three people: "Come here quickly!"

The young man had just noticed the approaching team, but he was just in high spirits and about to lose, so he ignored them. Now when he looked carefully, he immediately lost his vigor and energy, lowered his head and lingered in front of Zhe Keshima: "Dad..."

Zhe Keshi said: "You bastard, why are you fighting with others again?"

The young man grunted and defended himself, "We met on the road and bumped shoulders. They relied on their numbers to speak rudely, so I naturally taught them a lesson."

Zhe Keshi said: "Go back home and stay at home for half a month. You are not allowed to go out."

"Ah?" The boy said reluctantly, "Dad, three days is ok? Half a month is too long..."

Zhe Keshi said: "How can you bargain?"

"Dad..." The boy scratched his head when he heard that.

"Why does the prefect Zhe have to punish him so severely? I think three days will be enough." Zhao Ti stepped forward and said with a smile, "Over in Guanzhong, the children of the Zhong and Yao families also fight with each other every day. It would be better if they don't disturb the people."

When Zhe Keshi saw Zhao Ti, his heart skipped a beat. He knew that Zhao Ti was among the envoys. In fact, he had vaguely recognized him outside the city, but there were so many people around that it was not convenient for him to greet him politely.

Hearing Zhao Ti speak, he hurriedly said, "Then... three days. Erlang, why don't you thank this envoy for his intercession?"

The young man looked at Zhao Ti, rolled his eyes, and saluted, "Zhe Yanzhi thanks you very much, envoy."

Zhao Ti looked at Zhe Yanzhi, who was about fifteen or sixteen years old at the moment, looked handsome and had a slightly childish face. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

If development had continued normally, thirty years later, the Jurchens moved south, and the then head of the Zhe family, Zhe Keqiu, and his legitimate son, Zhe Yanwen, were captured. Under pressure from Wanyan Loushi, Zhe Keqiu led the main branch of the Zhe family and some of its branches to surrender in Linzhou, Fuzhou, and Fengzhou.

However, Zhe Keshi's branch did not surrender to the Jin Dynasty. Zhe Yanzhi continued to resist the Jurchens. Later, the north and the south were separated. He was admitted to the Privy Council during the Shaoxing period and served as the Vice Prime Minister. However, his descendants all gave up military affairs and turned to literature. He was called the last ray of light of the Zhe family.

Zhao Ti waved his hand and said, "Erlang, follow the team back to the palace."

Zhe Yanzhi nodded and came to Zhao Ti's horse: "I will go with the envoy."

Zhe Keshi said: "How disrespectful! You are not allowed to disturb the envoy. Why don't you just fall behind!"

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "No problem, I'll chat with Erlang."

Zhe Keshi was helpless, not knowing how this troublesome second son caught the eye of this person, so he could only say: "Yes..."

Zhao Ti and Zhe Yanzhi talked as they walked, and after a while they arrived at the Ningzhou government office. The government office here was very simple. Not to mention that it could not be compared with those government offices in the south of the Yangtze River, it was even difficult to compare with the government offices in some remote places in the southwest.

After entering, they settled down separately. Zhao Ti gestured to Cai Jing to go to the back to talk, and then went to the back hall to pay his respects to Zhe Keshi.

Zhao Ti said, "During this trip to Xingqing Prefecture, you can discuss the purchase of horses. I will not show up. I will just listen to your reports. If there is anything wrong, I will point it out. I have other things to do and will be walking around in Xingqing City. If I leave halfway, you can find someone to replace me."

Zhe Keshi nodded: "I know, the replacement has been arranged, Your Majesty, please rest assured."

Zhao Ti thought about it, and gave some instructions on things to pay attention to in Western Xia, then called Zhe Yanzhi out to watch him perform martial arts in the yard.

Afterwards, a banquet was set up in the mansion. After eating and resting, they left Ningzhou the next day, passed Qingzhou and Huanzhou, and went out of the country to Weizhou, the Jingsai Military Headquarters of Western Xia.

As you enter the territory of Western Xia, the scenery gradually changes, and the ethnic groups become more diverse, with different clothing and languages.

Xixia was a land of various ethnic groups, including Tanguts, Han people, Tubo, Uighurs, and Khitans, as well as various surnames of Tatars. However, Xixia ruled the country with Confucianism, respected Confucius, and promoted Confucianism. After Li Yuanhao became emperor, he established Tibetan studies and Chinese studies in imitation of the Tang and Song dynasties, using Confucian classics as the main teaching materials to teach the children of Tanguts and other ethnic groups.

After crossing the border, Western Xia sent a deputy commander-in-chief to escort the delegation all the way. Within a few days, the delegation arrived at Xingzhou City, Xingqing Prefecture.

Xingzhou is the capital of Western Xia. Although it is located in the northwest, it is bustling and prosperous. The streets in the city are crisscrossed and bustling with people. There are many Buddhist temples and pagodas, and shops are lined up with a wide variety of spices, furs and other goods. There are also street performers performing acrobatics, and the sounds of camel bells and shouts are endless.

The envoys went directly to Qingsong Posthouse to rest. On the second day, Cai Jing and Zhe Keshi went to the Xixia court to meet Empress Dowager Xiaoliang and Li Qianshun and reply to the letter from the credible envoy.

On the third day, they began to discuss the purchase of horses. The envoys went to the Gate of Heavenly Court, but Zhao Ti did not go with them. Cai Jing used illness as an excuse to deal with the Xixia officials.

Zhao Ti quietly left the posthouse and wandered around Xingzhou City. Xixia believed in many religions, among which Buddhism and witchcraft were the main ones. Although there were also Taoism, Shamanism, Zoroastrianism, Jingism and other religions, they were far less powerful than Buddhism and witchcraft.

There are many temples in Xingzhou City, the second most famous of which is Wu Ting.

The Western Xia Buddhist sect practiced both exoteric and esoteric Buddhism. The exoteric teaching mostly studied the Chapter on the Universal Gate of Avalokitesvara in the Lotus Sutra. The Western Xia court stipulated that if Fan, Han, and Qiang boys could fluently recite eleven Buddhist scriptures including this sutra, they could be recommended to become monks.

In terms of Tantric Buddhism, people respect the sutras of Avalokitesvara and study the sutras of Vajrayogini, White Umbrella Gayāna, Mahakala, Avalokitesvara and other supreme Tantric scriptures on the unity of Brahman and Atman. Tantric practices such as the Samadhi of Giving Up Life and the Thirteen Buddhas are also popular.

As for the witchcraft of Western Xia, it was called Dasijiao. The Dangxiang people called witches "Si" and wizards were called "Siji". It was said that they could communicate between humans, ghosts and gods, and had the means and skills to exorcise ghosts and tell fortunes.

The Dangxiang people have always believed in ghosts and gods. During the Tang Dynasty, they worshipped the sky, and later believed in all kinds of ghosts and gods. After the establishment of the dynasty, they worshipped many gods even more, and believed in all kinds of gods, including mountain gods, water gods, dragon gods, tree gods, and land gods.

Before going to war, the Western Xia would even ask people from the witch cult to perform divination to ask about good or bad luck, and during wars they would often practice so-called witchcraft to kill ghosts and summon spirits.

Zhao Ti walked slowly in the city, stopping to take a look at every temple or witch court he passed, or even walking in to take a look.

It is easy to enter the temple, but you cannot enter the witch court without permission. The witch court of Western Xia is not open all the time, and does not interact with strangers. Many of them require introductions from familiar people before one can enter to worship gods and seek divination.

He walked around the city for a day but did not finish his tour. He came back in the evening to listen to Cai Jing and others report on the negotiation matters. Naturally, both sides were arguing with each other. The Song Dynasty wanted a cheaper price, while Western Xia said the price should be raised a bit. It would take at least a month to reach a conclusion.

Then another two days passed, and he had almost left Xingqing City. After returning to the post station that day, Cai Jing came to report that a banquet was being held in the Xuanhuiyuan of Western Xia in the evening to entertain the Song Dynasty envoys, and asked whether Zhao Ti would go.

Zhao Ti shook his head and just asked them to attend. The banquet in Xuanhuiyuan was of a higher standard, and it was hard to say who in the Xixia court would go. Even if Li Qianshun went, it would be hard to say, as he did not want to show up in front of the other party.

Watching the setting sun, dozens of envoys in the delegation packed up and went to Xuanhuiyuan accompanied by soldiers and guards. Only a few attendants to clean up the groceries and the cooks who usually cooked were left in the post house.

After eating the simple meal prepared by the cook, Zhao Ti went back to his room to think for a moment and then started practicing martial arts.

After he practiced the Sunflower Manual for a while, the moon was already high in the sky, a warm breeze was blowing outside the window, insects were chirping, and the room was filled with stuffiness.

Zhao Ti thought about it, and then started to practice the Ice Qi. He had not actively practiced this technique for some time.

The reason is that this icy true qi is based on the ice silkworm's innate cold poison and is harmonized by the Shenzu Meridian to achieve this internal skill. However, in addition to absorbing cold poison from the outside world to increase power, this skill mainly relies on the Shenzu Meridian to operate on its own.

All the true energy automatically generated by the Shenzu Sutra was used to replenish the Huanyin Gong. Even the Sunflower Manual was not allocated to it. Apart from absorbing the cold poison from the thirty-six caves and seventy-two islands and others to increase his strength, this icy true energy did not make any active progress.

He then mobilized the icy true qi, and used the Shenzu Sutra to perform various incredible movements, and the true qi began to increase little by little.

Actively practicing the Shenzu Sutra will naturally generate more true Qi than passively practicing it normally. However, some of these movements are really too strange. It is okay to practice alone, but if someone sees it, they will probably be scared.

At this moment, Zhao Ti had just finished a weird movement like a scorpion's tail, and then his body swayed and leaped into the air. One leg hung on the beam above, his body bent backwards, and his head raised forward, similar to the inverted golden hook and the pearl rolling curtain, but more difficult to use than the other two.

At this time, he urged the icy true energy to flow throughout his body. In just a moment, his body was covered with a thin layer of ice. His body was motionless, as if it was frozen on the beam.

Zhao Ti continued to practice Qigong, and after two or three quarters of an hour, he felt that this movement had reached the limit of the circulation of true Qi in his body. Just as he was about to come down, he heard a rustling sound coming from afar outside the window.

He looked carefully and saw that it was actually a small snake with a green body. It quickly crawled across the windowsill and then came to the position under the beam.

The little green snake kept spitting out its tongue, seeming a little anxious and a little at a loss. It looked like it wanted to climb towards its place on the beam, but it couldn't find the way.

Zhao Ti thought about it for a moment and realized that he had used the icy true energy to attract the snake. Snakes are poisonous, and the toxicity varies from cold to hot. He thought this was a cold poisonous snake.

He was just about to jump off the beam and catch the little snake to take a look at it when suddenly a whiff of fragrance came into the room from the window. The fragrance seemed to be from some burning spice, and the smell was extremely strange and he had never smelled it before.

The little snake in the ground sensed the fragrance and suddenly trembled. It twisted its body and tried to rush out of the window, but after climbing onto the windowsill, it struggled again and turned back into the room. It kept circling under the beam where Zhao Ti was, as if it didn't know whether to follow the fragrance or stay here and think of a way to climb up the beam.

Zhao Ti looked at the little snake for a few breaths and it was obvious that the ice condensed by his true energy was more attractive to the little snake, obviously more than the scent of the spice.

The smell of the spice gradually became stronger. The little snake became more and more anxious on the ground. In its anxiety, it actually coiled up, bit its own tail suddenly, and then kept turning in circles.

Although Zhao Ti didn't know whether the spices were poisonous or not, he didn't care much because the ice silkworm's innate cold poison was refined in its body, making it immune to all poisons. There was almost no poison that could not be suppressed and dissolved by the ice silkworm's cold poison.

He was not in a hurry to go down at this time. The smell of the spice was getting stronger and stronger. Obviously, the person who burned the incense was getting closer and closer. He wanted to see what was going on and who was using this method to lure the little snake away.

After a while, the fragrance became stronger. He squinted his eyes slightly, listening to the movement coming from far away. After a few breaths, there was a slight rustling sound outside the window. The sound was very light, and then he saw a young girl sneaking out beside the lattice fan.

The girl was dressed in purple and looked only fifteen or sixteen years old. She had a pair of dark eyes, a white, smooth and translucent complexion, a clever and neat cherry mouth, thin and smooth lips like flower petals, teeth as white as broken jade, a pointed chin, and an extremely delicate appearance, with a smart and clever look on her face.

Huh? Zhao Ti couldn't help but frowned. It was actually a little girl, but why did she look familiar?

The purple-clothed girl looked around and saw that there was no one in the room. Then she jumped in lightly, grabbed the little snake in the middle of the ground, and stuffed it into a small dark yellow wooden tripod about five or six inches high in her hand. Then she wanted to leave.

At this moment, she seemed to realize that something was wrong, as if she felt the coolness from above. She subconsciously looked up and saw an upside-down human-shaped ice sculpture, staring at her intently.

She was stunned for a moment, raised her hand and threw out a handful of red powder, then quickly ran to the window and jumped out like a frightened little fox...

(End of this chapter)