Tang Kingdom

"Song Kingdom? Why are you asking that?" Jing Yan frowned.

"It's nothing, I've never left the Great Deer Kingdom, so I wanted to ask about the customs and culture of the Song Kingdom," Li Qi said with a smile.

"Sure, but we're still on patrol. Let's chat after we've set up camp tonight," Jing Yan replied.

Li Qi nodded; this was the result he had expected.

After spending the last two days together, he has come to understand Jing Yan's personality.

It looks exactly like a sword.

Upright and stubborn, but not difficult to get along with; just too serious and not suitable for working together.

When dealing with someone who doesn't lie, acts rigidly, and has no flexibility, it's easy to have conflicts with others, and when conflicts arise, she's also quite capable of fighting.

No wonder everyone calls her "Tiger Woman".

She seemed to take everyone and everything seriously, pouring all her effort into everything she encountered. She devoted all her energy, love, and something else entirely to practicing swordsmanship. In short, she trained herself to be just like the sword.

The two continued their patrol, and the day passed peacefully; this time, they didn't even encounter any wild animals.

We did encounter several mining teams.

At first, these mining teams watched from a distance, sizing up the caravan.

But after Li Qi appeared, they all dispersed.

Becoming a thief in the mountains is easy, but one still needs to consider their own strength.

It would be unwise to fight a master who has reached a certain level; the two are simply not on the same level.

This is the benefit of hiring Li Qi. It seems like nothing is happening, but in reality, there are dangers everywhere. Without anyone protecting him, these dozens of truckloads of goods would have been in trouble long ago.

The day passed peacefully. After finishing his meal, Li Qi spoke briefly to the rabbit and then went to the vicinity of Jing Yan's carriage.

Jing Yan is practicing her swordplay.

He was meticulous and earnest, completely absorbed in his work, with only his sword in his heart and hand.

Such focus, such dedication.

No wonder Shen Shuibi said she would definitely be successful in the future. With a bit of talent, it would be hard for someone like her not to be successful.

This time, having Shen Shuibi personally point out her weaknesses is equivalent to having a fifth-rank expert guide her to improve. This is an incredible fortuitous opportunity for her, and it may even be possible for her to advance to the eighth rank.

This is a good thing; it's a way to build positive relationships and make an investment in advance.

Li Qi suspected that he couldn't avoid the conflict between the Great Deer Kingdom and Song Kingdom. He wanted to understand the situation now and also make some connections in the Song Kingdom, which would definitely come in handy in the future.

Li Qi waited for her to finish practicing this section, then watched as she slowly sheathed her sword and walked towards Li Qi.

"What do you want to ask? The situation in the Song Kingdom?" Jing Yan walked towards Li Qi and got straight to the point.

There was no small talk, which gave Li Qi a bit of a headache.

After spending so much time being evasive and insincere with all sorts of people, it's a bit... uncomfortable to meet someone so honest.

However, this can be considered a good thing.

"It's not that mysterious. I just want to learn about the customs and culture of the Song Kingdom. I heard you just finished a war with the Tang Kingdom. What's the situation now?" Li Qi asked.

With that, the two sat down next to the oxcart and began to talk.

"War? That was three or four years ago. Actually, it wasn't a big deal. It had almost no impact on ordinary people. It was just that those high-ranking officials and great shamans were crushed. There was hardly any commotion." Jing Yan recalled for a moment and then explained to Li Qi.

"... The war didn't affect civilians?" Li Qi was somewhat taken aback.

"Tang Kingdom conquered the entire Song Kingdom in three days, and broke through three prefectures in one day. What impact could that have?" Jing Yan smiled bitterly, "People like you and me, who are ninth-rank, are considered experts in the martial arts world, but in the Tang army, we are just captains. There are hundreds of people in an army, and Tang Kingdom has more than one army. So back then, the battlefield didn't even reach the ground."

She looked up, as if in fear or in remembrance, and said with emotion, "On that day, there were Ten Suns in the sky, a lunar eclipse, five planets, stars flying and falling, and the military aura rising, gradually forming the shape of mountains in the clouds, dragons and tigers moving across the sky, and countless strange phenomena."

"A day later, everything returned to normal. Except that the high-ranking officials were replaced by the Tang Kingdom generals, the great shamans were replaced by Daoist priests, and the original Shaman were replaced by Daoist priests, everything else was the same. There was no chaos within the Jing family, and everything remained as usual."

Jing Yan's words gave Li Qi a headache.

This doesn't look like a fight of this level at all...

However, in the eyes of the Tang Kingdom, that's probably all there is to the Song Kingdom.

In my own world, it seems to be similar: a special forces unit of a major power can easily overthrow the regime of a small country.

"After that, did the governance of the Song Kingdom remain unchanged?" Li Qi asked again.

"There have been changes... For example, we have cracked down on corruption and integrated all the scattered sects into the Song Dao Alliance, which is now under the unified jurisdiction of the government. Laws have been established that must be strictly followed by all levels, and violators will be dealt with according to the law. In order to establish the authority of the law, we even killed a sixth-rank mountain god."

"The West Yue God, one of the Five Sacred Mountains of the Song Kingdom, had attained the Dao Accomplishment Sixth Rank five thousand miles. He did not obey the laws of the Tang Kingdom and did not regulate the earth's energy according to regulations to benefit the local farmers. Instead, he demanded that the people below sacrifice human offerings to him, just like before. As a result, he was killed on the spot by a Daoist priest. His mountain roots were shattered and his body was refined into a 'Five Peaks Seal'."

"Then, the Daoist priest, on the spot, bestowed upon a fallen Tang Kingdom hero the title of mountain god, granted him the Five Peaks Seal, and made him receive local incense offerings, thus making him the new Western Sacred Mountain of the Song Kingdom."

"After that, the administration of the Song Kingdom was clean and efficient, and the people lived in peace and prosperity. In addition, the government began to establish official schools. All children aged six to fifteen were required to attend school. Instead of tuition fees, they were given rations. They had to study for three years. The first year was for learning to read and write, the second year for learning the law, and the third year for learning etiquette and music. Only then could they leave the official school."

"In the event of natural disasters or landslides, cultivators will step forward to deal with them and regulate the climate to ensure abundant earth energy and favorable weather. In the event of man-made disasters, armed forces will be deployed immediately to apprehend the evildoers and punish them according to the law."

"In addition, many other objects have been introduced, seemingly made by people who Reason Way. They search day and night for the principles of how objects work and have created many strange objects, such as 'Mirror Flower Water Moon in Water.' It looks like just a round mirror, but it can project scenery from thousands of mountains and rivers, allowing people to watch distant songs and dances or talk to the person who holds the other half of the mirror. It has become popular in the Song Kingdom, but it is too expensive for me to afford."

"So, it's been three years now. Song Kingdom ... is probably much better than before," Jing Yan replied thoughtfully.

Li Qi listened in stunned silence.

Wow!

This Tang Kingdom is far too advanced!

You were supposed to be the villain!

How civilized!