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

Chapter 5 Qiao Feng in the North and Murong in the South

"Your Majesty, I am your humble servant, your humble servant..." Li Yan racked his brains but still had no idea how to respond.

Zhao Ti's eyes were sharp as torches, and he sneered, "In front of everyone, you are so brave that you dare to play such a trick on me. Do you think I am easy to fool?"

Li Yan lay on the ground. Just now, he used some tricks to channel the energy from his Dantian to the top of his forehead to protect his forehead. He thought that if he didn't raise his head, the other party wouldn't be able to see him and he could avoid some physical pain. However, he didn't expect to be exposed directly.

He gritted his teeth, immediately released his internal energy, and began to kowtow vigorously, saying as he kowtowed, "It was my habit that I forgot to release my internal energy. Please don't blame me, Your Majesty. Please don't blame me, Your Majesty."

In just a moment, his forehead was bruised and swollen, his hat fell off, blood oozed out, and his face was covered with dirt.

Zhao Ti looked at his embarrassed appearance with a calm expression: "People always say that trouble comes from the mouth. Today you spoke disrespectfully, so slap yourself in the face!"

Li Yan was complaining in his heart, he was the chief steward of Prince Duan's Mansion, he was a part-time job, he was in charge of the palace guard, he was a sixth-rank assignment, to put it bluntly, he was a well-known figure in the outside world, even the magistrate of a superior county was not as high as him. It was ok for him to kowtow in a busy city, but if he slapped himself in the face, it would definitely become a laughing stock in the streets.

But he did not dare to disobey the order. In order to feel good for a moment, he said a taboo word. If he had said it to others, it might have been easy to cover up, but it was a big taboo for the royal family. Even court officials and literati did not dare to be so presumptuous. His crime was even worse as he was in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

"Hurry up and fight!" Su Da shouted.

Li Yan smiled and slapped his own opponent with both hands. Yu Er said yin-yangly, "Don't you need to use internal force at this time?"

Li Yan gritted his teeth and used all his strength. After a few more "slaps", both sides of his face swelled up visibly. Then he opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood. His eyelids fluttered, and he fell to the ground with a "clang". He actually knocked himself unconscious.

Bai Zhan stepped forward and kicked him twice, whispering, "Master, he fainted!"

Zhao Ti glanced at the other ruffians and then looked towards the military officers from Kaifeng Prefecture. All the military officers bowed their heads and dared not speak. The ruffian who reported the news had been punished by Su Da and fell to the ground wailing.

He raised the corner of his mouth, looked at the people around him, and smiled slightly: "My name is Zhao Ti, Zhao means the national surname, and Ti means dashing. Now I am the King of Yan. I usually like to walk around the market. If I see people who harm their neighbors or bully others, I will punish them as a warning to others. If you see this again, you can go to Kaifeng Prefecture to file a complaint and mention my name to the Kaifeng Prefecture magistrate."

The people around were surprised to hear this and bowed. A brave man said, "It turns out to be the King of Yan."

"That's exactly what I guessed in my mind just now."

"I have seen the wise king in my early years, but now my eyes are dim and I dared not recognize him just now."

"Well, I understand. Who else but a wise king can punish these scoundrels and unjust officials?"

Zhao Ti nodded to the crowd of people. Since he was six years old, he had taken the guards out of the palace to wander around the streets, fighting for justice. After ten years of building up his reputation, he was awarded the title of wise king by the people.

Originally, this kind of thing of cultivating reputation was taboo for the emperor, but since Zhezong had no descendants, cultivating a reputation now could be a weight for his bid for the throne in the future.

At this time, the old and young who had been beaten had already asked Su Dayu and Er to help them up. The two wanted to come over to thank them, but Zhao Ti waved his hand, asked Bai Zhan to send some silver and money, and told them to go home to recuperate.

Then the people made way for them, and Zhao Ti and a few others continued to walk towards Xiangguo Temple.

He has the habit of drinking vegetarian tea, which is tea leaves that have not been smoked, accompanied by vegetarian cakes and snacks.

The vegetarian tea of Daxiangguo Temple is famous, not only inside the temple, but also outside the Ding Family Vegetarian Teahouse, which is a time-honored brand in Tokyo City. It also sells various fruit drinks and is well-known far and wide.

Several people walked onto the East Gate Street, where they saw a bustling crowd, flowers everywhere, brocade and silk, and a great deal of fragrance. Zhao Ti, with his hands behind his back, sighed as he watched, "It has only been about thirty years, the Jurchens have moved south, they are tyrannical and brutal, the sacred artifacts have been lost, and the city is devastated. This splendid and prosperous city will no longer exist."

He walked forward slowly. He had been familiar with this road since he was a child and had walked back and forth countless times. Soon he arrived at the main gate of Xiangguo Temple.

This temple is a royal temple, covering a huge area of 500 to 600 mu. There are 64 Zen and Vinaya monasteries inside. It is magnificent and resplendent, with a majestic appearance like clouds and mist. It is worthy of being praised and built into a magnificent building.

Xiangguo Temple is not open every day, but only five times a month. Not only can outsiders set up stalls inside, but monks and nuns also do business. There are even restaurants and food stores opened inside. Business is extremely good and lively. It has always been said that people from all over the world come here to gather here, and all nations are connected. It gathers treasures from all seas and exotic flavors from the world.

Zhao Ti often came here to drink tea. There was little entertainment in that era. Apart from the romantic activities such as listening to music in brothels, there were not many things to do for entertainment. In the vegetarian teahouse, people could not only drink tea, but also listen to books. There were storytellers telling some legends. It was a good place to relieve boredom.

Zhao Ti turned around and walked to the door of Dingjiasu Teahouse opposite Xiangguo Temple. A servant immediately came to greet him and said, "The young master is here. Please come in quickly."

He has been patronizing this place for many years. The shopkeeper, the waiter, the storyteller, and even the chef in the kitchen all know him, and some old customers are also familiar with him.

When he went in, the place was almost full, but there was only one table in the front that was vacant. This was the tea table he had booked, and anyone could sit down as they pleased.

The servant went in to report, and the shopkeeper came out to ask about his well-being. Some tea drinkers also stood up to greet him.

Zhao Ti responded one by one, then sat down at the table and asked the servant: "Is Mr. Qu here? What book are you talking about today?"

The servant wiped the table again and again and said, "Sir, Mr. Qu is here, but he brought a junior fellow student with him. He said that his junior fellow student will give a lecture today."

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "This is to praise one's own family. I wonder what this junior brother's name is and whether his speech is interesting?"

The servant said, "The master's junior brother is called Huo Sijiu. As for whether he is good or not, I don't know. But I heard from Mr. Qu that his junior brother did not make a living in the capital before. He was a gentleman who went to various places to play. Today is the first time he has stayed in the inn."

"Huo Sijiu..." Zhao Ti pondered for a moment. He knew this name. According to the notes of Song Dynasty people, Huo Sijiu was the best storyteller at that time. Looking at the history, it was difficult for anyone to surpass him in storytelling skills.

Soon, vegetarian tea and snacks were served, and two people walked out from the back. The white-bearded old man in the lead looked familiar to Zhao Ti. He was Mr. Qu, who had been telling stories at Ding's Vegetarian Teahouse for more than 20 years.

The other one was about thirty years old, thin, with a short beard and a pair of bright eyes. He looked like the Huo Sijiu mentioned by the servant.

Mr. Qu bowed to everyone, exchanged some polite greetings and then introduced Huo Sijiu, saying that today this junior fellow would be telling the story and asked all of you to support him and bear with us.

The old tea drinkers already knew about this, and the new tea drinkers were just watching for fun. After a while, Huo Sijiu began to lecture, his voice was mellow and he controlled it freely, and he was no less impressive than Mr. Qu.

He was talking about a Five Dynasties period, which talked about Li Cunxiao, the greatest hero in the world at that time. As the saying goes, no king is better than Xiang, and no general is better than Li.

After a half-hour break, Mr. Qu came forward to warm up the audience and praised his junior fellow apprentice again, saying that he had been traveling around the world since he was a teenager and had much more experience than himself. He then asked his junior fellow apprentice to tell a story about the world for everyone to appreciate.

Tea drinkers in Tokyo were used to hearing stories about battles on the battlefield and famous ministers and generals. They had never heard of this and applauded when they heard it.

Huo Sijiu moistened his throat and reappeared on the stage. This time, he first recited Li Bai's "Xia Ke Xing" as a setting poem, then introduced the customs of the Jianghu and the outlaws, and then talked about the characters, saying: "As the saying goes, heroes have always emerged from youth. Nowadays, the most popular people in the Jianghu are two young heroes. There is a famous saying to describe these two people, they are Qiao Feng in the north and Murong in the south..."

Zhao Ti was stunned when he heard this, then his expression changed and he slowly stood up: "What did Mr. Huo say? Say it again!"

(End of this chapter)