Chapter 100: Tang State

"Song Kingdom? Why do you ask about that?" Jing Yan frowned.

"Nothing much, it's just that I've never left Great Deer Kingdom, so I wanted to ask about the local customs of Song Kingdom," Li Qi said with a smile.

"Alright, but we're still patrolling. Let's chat after we set up camp tonight," Jing Yan replied.

Li Qi nodded. This was the result he had expected.

After two days of interaction, he had already understood Jing Yan's personality.

Exactly like a sword.

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

When facing someone who doesn't lie, acts meticulously, and doesn't know how to adapt at all, it's indeed easy for her to clash with others, and when conflicts arise, she's also very good at fighting.

No wonder everyone else calls her "Tiger Woman."

She seems to treat everyone and everything seriously, pouring all her earnestness into every matter she encounters, and even more so, she has devoted all her energy, love, and who knows what else, to sword practice. In short, she has even trained herself to be like a sword.

The two continued patrolling, and the day passed peacefully. This time, there were no wild beasts.

They did encounter a few mountain-gathering teams.

These mountain-gathering teams initially watched from afar, assessing the merchant caravan's situation.

But after Li Qi showed himself, they all dispersed.

Becoming a bandit in the mountains is easy, but one still has to gauge their strength.

Facing a high-Rank Cultivator is very unwise; the two sides are simply not on the same level.

This was the benefit of hiring Li Qi; it seemed peaceful, but in fact, the journey was full of dangers everywhere. Without someone covering them, these dozens of carts of goods would have met with trouble long ago.

The day was peaceful. After dinner, Li Qi said a few words to the rabbit and came near Jing Yan's carriage.

Jing Yan was practicing her sword.

Methodically, earnestly, completely lost in the moment, with only the sword in her heart and hand.

Such focus, such dedication.

No wonder Shen Shuibi said she would definitely achieve something in the future. With such a person, plus a bit of talent, it would be hard for her not to succeed.

This time, having Shen Shuibi personally point out her weaknesses was equivalent to having a fifth-Rank master guide her progress. This was definitely a huge Opportunity for her; it might even be possible for her to advance to eighth-Rank through this.

Good deed, considered building good karma, an early investment.

In Li Qi's own estimation, he would certainly not be able to avoid the conflict between Great Deer Kingdom and Song Kingdom. Understanding the situation now and building some connections in Song Kingdom would definitely be useful later.

Li Qi waited beside her until she finished this segment of practice, then watched her slowly sheathe her sword and walk towards him.

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

Not a single pleasantry, her directness gave Li Qi a headache.

Having been accustomed to feigning civility with various people for so long, meeting someone so straightforward was truly a bit... unaccustomed.

However, this could also be considered a good thing.

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

As he spoke, the two sat down by the ox cart and began to talk.

"War? That was three or four years ago, wasn't it? Actually, it was nothing much. It hardly affected the common people. It was just that the high officials and great Shaman were utterly defeated. There was hardly any commotion," Jing Yan recalled, then explained to Li Qi.

"...The war didn't affect the common people?" Li Qi was somewhat astonished.

"Tang Nation took over the entire Song Kingdom in three days, breaking through three prefectures in one day. What kind of impact could it have caused?" Jing Yan smiled bitterly: "Cultivators like you and I, at ninth-Rank, are considered masters in the Jianghu, but in the Tang army, we're just squad leaders. There are hundreds in one army, and Tang Nation has more than one army? So back then, the battlefield never even touched the ground."

She looked up, as if in fear, and also as if recalling, saying with emotion: "That day, there were ten suns in the sky, the moon eclipsed five stars, stars flew and fell, military Qi erupted, gradually forming cloud-like mountain shapes, Dragons and tigers moved in the sky, countless anomalies."

"After one day, everything returned to normal. Except that the high officials were replaced by Tang Nation generals, the great Shaman were replaced by Daoist priests, and the original Shaman all became Daoist priests. Everything else was no different. There was no chaos within the Jing Family; it was still as it always had been."

Jing Yan's description made Li Qi's head ache.

This doesn't look like a battle of the same Rank at all...

However, to Tang Nation, Song Kingdom was probably just like this.

In his own world, it was actually quite similar. A special forces unit from a large country could easily overthrow the regime of a small country.

"After that, were there no other changes in how Song Kingdom was governed?" Li Qi asked again.

"There were changes, though... For example, they severely cracked down on corruption, integrated all scattered Schools into the Song Kingdom Dao of Reason, and placed them under unified official jurisdiction. Laws were enacted that must be strictly observed by everyone, and violators were punished according to the law. To establish the authority of the law, they even killed a sixth-Rank Mountain God."

"The God of West Mountain, one of the Five Mountains of Song Kingdom, had achieved sixth-Rank in Dao. His body stretched for five thousand li. He refused to obey Tang Nation's laws and did not regulate the earth's Qi as required to benefit local farmers. Instead, he continued as before, demanding human sacrifices from the local populace. So, a Daoist priest immediately suppressed and killed him on the spot. His mountain roots were shattered, and his body was refined into a 'Five Mountains Seal.'"

"Then, at that very spot, that Daoist priest enfeoffed a fallen Tang Nation hero as the Mountain God, bestowed that Five Mountains Seal, received local incense, and became the new West Mountain of Song Kingdom."

"Since then, Song Kingdom's governance has been clear, and its people live in peace and contentment. Also, the government began to establish official Schools. All children aged six to fifteen must attend School, with no tuition fees; instead, they receive rations. They need to study for three years: the first year learning writing, the second year learning law, and the third year learning etiquette and music. Only then can they leave the official School."

"In case of natural or geological disasters, Cultivators would come forward to deal with them. They would also regulate the climate to ensure abundant earth Qi and favorable weather. If there were human-caused disasters, military forces would immediately be dispatched to apprehend the wicked and punish them according to the law."

"Furthermore, many artifacts flowed in, seemingly manufactured by people of the Dao of Reason. They tirelessly sought the principles of artifact operation and created many strange objects, such as 'Mirror Flower Water Moon.' It looks like just a round mirror, but it can project scenes from thousands of miles away, allowing one to watch distant singing and dancing, or converse with someone holding the other half of the mirror. It has already become popular in Song Kingdom, but it's too expensive, I can't afford it."

"Thus, it has been three years, and Song Kingdom... is probably much better than before," Jing Yan thought and answered truthfully.

Li Qi listened, completely stunned.

Holy cow!

This Tang Nation is too advanced!

You were supposed to be the villain!

How can you be so civilized?!