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

Chapter 247 Utilizing Power in All Directions (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

The third day of the fifth month in the third year of the Shaosheng era of the Song Dynasty.

The imperial court in Tokyo received a battle report that the Song army had captured Xingzhou, the capital of Western Xia, and that Li Qianshun had fled south and his whereabouts were unknown.

Zhao Xu divided his troops into several groups, one of which headed west to recapture Xiping Military Command and Yan Military Command in Heishui Town.

They traveled south to Longyou, Xihai, and Tubo, searching for traces of Li Qianshun.

They traveled all the way to the northeast, heading straight for the Mi'echuan Military Command and the Heishan Weifu Military Command in the Hetao Plain.

On May 28, Zhe Keshi and Yao Gu led their troops to capture Guazhou and Yijinaicheng in the west, and occupied the two military commanderies of Xiping and Heishui. Yangguan and Yumenguan were returned to the Central Plains.

The search for Li Qianshun to the south yielded no results. Yang Jian, who was stationed in Qingtang, received Zhao Xu's order to send additional troops south to continue the search.

In the Hetao Plain, Zhao Xu personally led 200,000 men to attack, taking down the Weifu Military Command of Heishan. When they were about to head to the Miechuan Military Command, the Liao army had already arrived there ahead of them. The Miechuan Military Command surrendered, and Zhao Xu led his troops to garrison Wulahai City, confronting the Liao army of the Miechuan Military Command.

From this point on, all twelve military commands of Western Xia were defeated and destroyed, the Western Xia dynasty was over and its rule was over.

There are still two things to be resolved. One is to find Li Qianshun, the last emperor of Western Xia. We must see him alive or dead, or at least know his details.

There is also the matter of the Mi'echuan Military Command in the Hetao Plain. The Mi'echuan Military Command occupies one-third of the Hetao Plain and is located in the north. At this moment, the Liao army is continuously reinforcing its troops, and it seems that they do not want to give up the fat meat that has been in their mouths.

Zhao Xu stood atop the city wall of Wulahai, gazing thoughtfully towards the Mi'e River to the north.

In fact, the most fertile part of the Hetao Plain was already at our feet. The reason why the Liao Kingdom did not seize this area at that time was because the Heishan Weifu Military Command had a defensible position to the east against the Liao Kingdom's Tiande Army on the Xijing Road.

This danger naturally refers to the Yellow River, which has a double channel here, making it extremely difficult to wage war. Moreover, the commander of the Black Mountain Army Command was a member of the Dangxiang Weiming royal family, who had no intention of surrendering to Liao. Therefore, Liao bypassed the north and captured the Mi'echuan Army Command.

At this moment, there were dozens of generals standing by his side, all of whom were outstanding generals of the Western Army. Their faces were respectful, but in their hearts they were all guessing Zhao Xu's plans.

Whether or not the Miechuan military command is captured is no longer important. After all, most of the fertile land in the Hetao region has already been occupied. The Liao army now has a large force occupying Miechuan. Unless they fight hard, there is no room for negotiation.

Zhao Xu's face shifted with a myriad of emotions, then he suddenly smiled, a blush rising on his thin, pale cheeks: "What do you all think?"

Upon hearing this, the generals looked at each other. Liu Zhongwu said, "Your Majesty, I believe that if we want to acquire the complete territory of Western Xia, we must attack it head-on. Liao has made it clear that they will not give up the land of Mi'e River. We will only see the truth on the battlefield."

Zhong Shizhong said, "I believe that even if we were to wage war against Liao again, now is not the best time. The Liao army is deployed in Hebei, and we have a total of 400,000 troops here. Our army has been fighting for several months and is already exhausted. If we do not make some preparations, we will not be able to be completely confident of victory."

"400,000 Liao troops..." Zhao Xu nodded. Although the Western Xia Kingdom had been destroyed this time, the Song army had suffered extremely heavy losses. The number of regular troops had long since decreased to less than 500,000, with losses exceeding 30%.

Yao Xiong said, "I humbly believe that we should consolidate the land we have already acquired. At present, our troops are exhausted, and our military preparations have also been greatly reduced. If Your Majesty really wants to fight with Liao again, it would be best to postpone it for a while."

"Actually, the number of people is not a problem, nor is whether the army is tired or not..." Zhao Xu looked up at the sky, looking rather dejected.

"This area is all plains and grasslands, which is not suitable for flanking maneuvers. Infantry will find it difficult to achieve success, while light cavalry is a specialty of the Khitan. Our Song army's ability to defeat the Liao light cavalry is far less than that of fighting the Western Xia in mountainous terrain."

Upon hearing this, the generals all replied in unison, "Your Majesty is absolutely right."

Zhao Xu was silent for a moment: "Now that we have Hequ in our hands, our first priority is to consolidate the land, breed warhorses, and train cavalry. But I fear that if we do not continue to wage war, the Khitan will become more aggressive and press us harder, trying to seize more territory."

Zhang Jie said, "But this cannot be ruled out. Given the Khitan's habit of taking an inch and wanting a mile, they may not want the entire Hetao region, and may even want to graze further south. What does Your Majesty mean..."

Zhao Xu looked dejected and sighed, "The state of war in Hequ cannot be lifted. Someone must be sent to suppress it and connect the various Tibetan tribes from Hetao to Longyou, to the Western Sea, and to the south to build a stable territory."

The generals looked at each other, unsure of what to say. This involved various assignments and the positions of pacification officials. After all, if such a large area were to remain in a state of war, there would inevitably be someone who could make direct decisions and give orders, and who was responsible to the court.

Zhao Xu continued, "We also need to investigate Li Qianshun's whereabouts; he has probably gone to join the various Tibetan tribes."

It was expected that Li Qianshun would not surrender to Liao. After all, if Liao also wanted to occupy Xia territory, then surrendering would be a dead end. Liao might even use his name to recruit Dangxiang people to serve Liao and completely annex the Dangxiang people.

Furthermore, if Li Qianshun surrenders to Liao, and the Song Dynasty truly wants to kill him, they can propose a replacement. If the conditions are high enough, Liao might be tempted.

The relationship between the Uyghurs to the west and the Western Xia has never been good. Although they don't fight, they don't interact much either. In the past, they might have just captured the Western Xia and offered it to the Song Dynasty for benefits.

The only option is to seek refuge with the various Tibetan tribes to the south. The Tibetan royal court is weak, but some tribes are extremely powerful. Among them are states that are at odds with the Song Dynasty and those that never deal with the Song Dynasty. By settling down there and waiting for the situation to stabilize, they can secretly recruit their old followers, unite with Tibet, promise benefits, and launch a counterattack to restore their country.

Zhe Kedao said, "Your Majesty, among the various Tibetan tribes, the Mujian King's tribe is currently the strongest. Could Li Qianshun have defected to them?"

“It could also be the Guanghu Wang tribe, which is also at odds with our Great Song,” said Lü Huiqing.

“If we’re talking about safety, then the Gesar Ridge Kingdom in the far southwest of Tibet is the safest place. This tribe has never exchanged letters with our Great Song, and perhaps no one from our Great Song has ever been there. We only know its name, but not its details,” said Lu Shimin.

"The Gesar Kingdom of Ling?" Zhao Xu looked thoughtful. This Tibetan kingdom had indeed never had any dealings with the Song Dynasty. It was said that its king, Gesar, did not have Tibetan royal blood. He suffered hardships from a young age, but through extraordinary experiences, he carved out a kingdom on the plateau and was known as the Eagle of the Plateau by the Tibetan people.

“It is this tribe.” Lu Shimin said, “It is possible that the bandit leader Li Qianshun fled here. This place is located in the southwest of Tibet. It is said that there is a mountain pass that leads directly to India, without having to go through the Western Regions to travel to the west and then turn back to the south, which would have taken a lot of effort.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xu thought for a moment, shook his head, and smiled slightly: "I won't worry about such matters; someone else will take care of them in due time..."

The 18th day of the fifth month in the third year of the Shaosheng era of the Great Song Dynasty.

Tokyo, Zichen Palace.

Zhao Ti looked at the imperial edict sent by Zhao Xu from Wulahai City in the northwest and couldn't help but have a strange expression.

He had thought that Zhao Xu wouldn't trouble him to travel outside this time, but this sixth brother still didn't want to let him go.

Zhao Xu planned to return to the capital. He did not want to personally handle the military and political affairs of Western Xia, especially the investigation of Li Qianshun and the confrontation with Liao in the north. He wanted to hand them over to him.

This was another tiring task, but the official title bestowed this time was quite special. Zhao Ti wondered what his sixth brother was thinking.

At this moment, all the officials in the court were astonished, because the official appointments in the imperial edict were too surprising. It should be known that such appointments were only made during times of war and chaos, and their being made now inevitably aroused suspicion.

Zhao Xu is just starting out in his youth. Although he does not have a son at the moment, there is no need to be too anxious at this age. After all, none of the imperial family members of Emperor Shenzong have any children.

Zhao Ti has not taken a wife, and it is said that he has no concubines either. Prince Shen, Zhao Bi, has no sons. Although Prince Duan, Zhao Ji, has married a wife and has many concubines in his household, he is also childless at this time.

But what was Zhao Xu's intention in bestowing this official title in the imperial edict? Wasn't he afraid that the Prince of Yan might harbor ulterior motives? This official position was not comparable to the Prefect of Kaifeng or the Governor of Dongjing; it truly granted him military power, allowing him to mobilize troops and manage state affairs. If there were no changes, it would be similar to being a de facto prince.

The titles of princes in the Song Dynasty were all nominal and held remotely; they never actually took up their fiefs. There was no such thing as taking up a fief. But even if they did, there had never been such a large fiefdom throughout history!
Besides, what will happen when Zhao Xu has a son if he grants such a title now? Wouldn't that force him to rebel? Or perhaps he could be granted additional territory? But how could that be possible!

The imperial edict, handwritten by Zhao Xu himself, bestows upon Zhao Ti, the Prince of Yan, the Pacification and Military Governor of the Northwest Regions, and the Grand Commander of the Military Forces of the Northwest Regions!

The "various routes" refer to the five routes in the northwest, plus Longyou, Qinghai, and the eleven military commands of Western Xia. This vast area not only controls the political and military power, but the General Commander of the Army has also directly controlled the military power of the various routes.

And this is not yet an official appointment, nor is it a temporary position of authority!
Furthermore, Prince Zhao Ti of Yan did not resign as the Prefect of Kaifeng; he remained the Governor of Dongjing.

The imperial edict was followed by the establishment of the Longyou Protectorate in Qinghai and Longyou, and the appointment of the Prince of Yan as the Grand Protector of the Protectorate.

That's not important. After all, with the Pacification and Control Commissioner of the Northwest Circuits and the General Commander of the Northwest Circuits, he already controlled the Northwest. To put it bluntly, he was already the de facto King of the Northwest.

All the officials looked at Zhao Ti, who was also somewhat reluctant to accept the position. He shook his head and said, "Although the Northwest has been conquered, the Dangqiang have been entrenched for hundreds of years, and the Western Xia has been established for a hundred years. How can we pacify them in a short time? In the north, the Khitan are eyeing the Hetao region with covetous intent, and in the south, the various Tibetan tribes and the remnants of the Qinghai-Tibetan Qusiluo are causing trouble. At this moment, with the previous issues still unresolved, we should devote all our efforts to building a peaceful and harmonious world, connecting the Central Plains, and achieving a unified world."

The ministers exchanged glances, each thinking to themselves, "Even so, is it really necessary to bestow the title of King of the Northwest?" But none of them dared to speak at this moment, and instead bowed and said, "Your Majesty, as you travel to Jingping, we respectfully wish you a swift and successful journey, repelling the Liao from the outside and capturing the enemy from within."

Zhao Ti nodded, and following the usual etiquette, dismissed the court session and left the Zichen Palace. Just as he was walking towards the side gate, the eunuch who had just returned from the northwest with an imperial decree caught up with him and whispered, "Your Majesty, please wait."

Zhao Ti turned around and saw the eunuch say, "Your Majesty, His Majesty has another letter for you."

Zhao Ti nodded. It was expected that Zhao Xu would send a secret letter, which was outside the bounds of propriety. It would be really unreasonable to bestow such an official position without explaining why.

He took the letter and continued back to his residence. After a while, he entered the study of the Prince's residence, opened the letter, and read it.

This letter is quite long, written in Zhao Xu's own hand. The ink strokes vary in depth between the lines, indicating that it was not written in one go but rather as he pondered and wrote, taking quite some time.

Zhao Ti read through the words one by one, his expression gradually changing, becoming somewhat solemn and serious, until finally his eyebrows furrowed.

“Kunlun…” he muttered to himself. The word “Kunlun” appeared no less than ten times throughout the letter. Each time he wrote the word, Zhao Xu used thick ink to emphasize its importance.

"So that's how it is. There's such a grudge..." Zhao Ti murmured. "Judging from this, the Thirty-Three Forms of Taizu's Fist Method must be the so-called Creation Fist Method. I never thought that this fist method had such an origin and was actually related to Kunlun."

Zhao Xu did not mention Taizu Changquan in the letter, but he did mention another name, Thirty-Three Creation Divine Fist. However, based on the origin of this fist and the thirty-three postures, it should be Taizu Changquan.

This fist technique was not created by the founding emperor himself, but rather stolen. The founding emperor created the Eighteen Dragon Staff Technique, while his internal energy cultivation method was the Yi Long Tu from the patriarch Chen Tuan.

The patriarch Chen Tuan had three diagrams: the Innate Diagram, the Limitless Diagram, and the Yi Dragon Diagram.

There are also three other chapters: "Pointing to the Profound," "Penetrating the Void," and "Mirror of the Tortoise."

There are also three other theories: the Taiji Yin-Yang Theory, the Fetal Breathing Theory, and the Qigong Internal Nourishment Theory.

In his letter, Zhao Xu said that these were all martial arts techniques, but he did not specify whether they were written by Ancestor Chen Tuan himself. He only said that the Ancestor possessed them, and that the Taizu used the internal energy of the Yilongtu technique.

When Emperor Taizu was young, he roamed the martial world, enjoying traveling to famous mountains and rivers, making friends, and seeking out people to spar and discuss martial arts.

On one occasion, I met a few people in the capital city. They seemed strange, all carrying swords and knives. I couldn't help but strike up a conversation with them.

At first, the group ignored him, but they couldn't stand his lingering and started fighting him. Taizu saw that the opponent's martial arts were strange and unusual, not something that was common in the world, so he held back and fought each of them to a standstill.

Afterwards, the group said they were returning to their sect and were about to leave. Taizu was puzzled as to what kind of secluded sect it was, so he asked them to introduce him. However, they refused outright, speaking sternly and even glaring at him angrily.

Seeing this, Emperor Taizu became even more curious and followed them all the way westward, eventually entering the Kunlun Mountains.

Zhao Xu did not describe in detail what happened when Taizu entered the mountains in the letter. He only said that there were many ancient sects in the remote mountain range. By chance, Taizu obtained a Creation Fist Manual and took it out. From then on, he became enemies with the Kunlun sects and was hunted down by them. Later, he left the martial world and returned to the army until he finally ruled the world.

However, the letter also implied that the ancient sects of Kunlun Mountain acted and thought differently from ordinary people, some of them were crazy, mysterious and bizarre, and this feud had lasted for more than a hundred years, yet Kunlun still refused to give up.

He has gone to the capital several times in the past century to cause trouble, and this time he even attempted an assassination during the western expedition. He is to be in charge of the affairs in the northwest. We must be careful and it is best not to show off our martial arts too much, as Kunlun is hostile to people with high martial arts skills in the secular world.

Zhao Ti put down the letter and fell into deep thought. It was obvious that Zhao Xu's letter was somewhat evasive and some things were not fully said.

The other party did not mention Taizu Changquan, although I knew it was most likely the Thirty-Three Creation Fist, but the other party did not write it in the letter.

Another issue is that the feud with Kunlun is not clearly explained. What exactly is the Thirty-Three Creation Fist manual that Kunlun has been unable to let go of this grudge for over a hundred years?

If it were just ordinary martial arts, it would be one thing if it were passed down through one or two generations. But what secrets did this fist technique contain that made Kunlun dare to risk their lives to seek trouble in Tokyo? Zhao Xu did not say.

Furthermore, Zhao Xu's letter stated that all the sects in the Kunlun Mountains were insane and talking nonsense, but he did not specify what they were talking nonsense about.

Zhao Ti recalled Zhao Xu's dejected and lonely expression when he left, saying that if the western expedition went poorly or something went wrong, he should ask Tan Zhen to retrieve the imperial edict stored in the Funing Palace, which contained important items related to the Song Dynasty's imperial family.

He then said that not looking was a good thing, while looking was a bad thing. How fortunate it is to be free and unrestrained. When he learned the truth from the late emperor, he was filled with regret. He was afraid that he would be entangled in the matter for the rest of his life and wished he could escape the palace and run far away.

"Could it be something related to Kunlun and the Creation Fist?" Zhao Ti muttered to himself. Clearly, in Zhao Xu's heart, these were all evil things that he did not want Zhao Ti to know, fearing that knowing them would bind him for life and would not benefit him. However, he could not keep quiet about some things at this moment, but he still concealed a lot of information and told Zhao Ti some of what he could tell him.

The varying shades of ink and the disjointed, fragmented wording on the letter suggest that Zhao Xu must have carefully considered the wording before writing it.

The main message is that one should be cautious and careful when traveling in the Northwest, be wary of Kunlun, and not reveal one's martial arts skills.

Zhao Ti glanced at the last four words of the letter, "Act as you see fit," and then placed the letter on the table.

He closed his eyes and pondered for a moment. Kunlun's matter was nothing. Zhao Xu's letter stated that although Kunlun was targeting the Zhao family, it was targeting the imperial lineage and had nothing to do with the imperial clan. This was also the reason why the imperial clan had been completely unaware of this matter for years.

As for martial arts, judging from his killing of the white-clad swordsman, Kunlun was probably targeting people whose martial arts had reached the twelfth level.

At that time, he used the Illusionary Yin Outer Finger, which allowed him to instantly enter this realm and reveal his temperament. The other party mistakenly thought that he had reached this realm, which is why he said those words.

In reality, the Twelve-Story Tower can conceal one's aura and prevent outsiders from discovering it. Kunlun's words are nothing but self-promotion. The world is so vast, how could they possibly find all the Twelve-Story Tower masters? And how could they possibly investigate them? It's all just boasting.

Thinking of this, Zhao Ti shook his head. In any case, it was obvious that he shouldn't know these things; these were things that only the imperial lineage should know.

Zhao Xu told himself these things because he was in a state of extreme contradiction, struggle, and even inexplicable worry.

What exactly is the other side worried about? Are they worried about those things that weren't written in the letter, those things that were concealed, those things left in the imperial edict before the expedition?

Zhao Ti read the letter again. Since it was a matter of expediency, that was fine. He had a lot of freedom, and being the so-called King of the Northwest for the time being was quite comfortable.

Zhao Xu should be on his way back at this time. He should also set off as soon as possible. It is impossible to hand over the duties between the two sides. It is impossible to wait for the other party to return before leaving. Otherwise, the commander-in-chief in the northwest will be left empty, and the Liao Kingdom may take some action.

Thinking of this, Zhao Ti immediately ordered preparations to leave the capital. There was nothing to report to the military command, and he did not resign from his post. However, with the deputy commander and the military commander in place, things were running smoothly.

With Zhang Dun and others in charge of Tokyo's political affairs, things won't get chaotic, and Zhao Xu is expected to return soon, so nothing will change.

This departure from the capital is uncertain, and it's unclear when they will be able to return. They've taken all the people from the mansion with them for the time being, with the only one they're worried about being Murong Longcheng.

Murong Longcheng still hadn't woken up, and it was unknown how long he would remain in this state of feigned death. However, the iron coffin was tightly bound by chains, making it difficult for him to escape even if he awoke. He sent Zhou Tong over to give the jailer and guards some more instructions, figuring that nothing unexpected should happen.

At this point, the household began to get to work. Because of the hasty departure, it took until midnight to pack up and finish.

The next morning, only the steward Zheng Fu and Yu Er remained in the mansion, one in charge of internal affairs and the other in charge of external affairs. The guards and servants stayed behind, while everyone else followed them westward.

The army consisted of 5,000 cavalry from the Dragon Guard Army and 5,000 infantry from the Divine Guard Army. These 10,000 men were Zhao Xu's personal guards, as ordered by the imperial edict, and were to be taken to the West together.

At 1:15 AM, we set off from the west gate of Tokyo, traveling day and night, heading straight for Xingzhou in Xingqing Prefecture.

The Pacification Commissioner's Office was located in Xingzhou, radiating outwards and overseeing all military and political affairs in the Northwest. Therefore, he needed to go to Xingzhou first to settle A'Zhu and the others, so as not to delay his journey north.

They met Zhao Xu's returning army in Hezhong Prefecture, Yongxing Army Road. The two did not exchange many words. Zhao Xu looked somewhat unwell and said that everything was mentioned in the letter. He would act according to circumstances and then they parted ways and went their separate ways.

After Zhao Ti arrived in Xingzhou, there was not much political work to attend to, as the entire city was still under military control. He conducted a brief inspection, issued dozens of orders, settled the people around him, and then led his troops north.

Two days later, the army arrived at Wulahai City, the military headquarters of Heishan Weifu. At that time, Zhang Jie was temporarily in charge of affairs. Upon seeing his arrival, he hurriedly led his generals out of the city to welcome him.

Upon entering the city, during a meeting at the commander's residence, Zhang Jie presented a thick letter: "Your Majesty, this morning, the Liao army of the Mi'echuan Military Command sent a letter over."

(End of this chapter)