All realms have enabled me to achieve the Great Dao.

Chapter 334 Meeting of the Two Emperors

During the Song Dynasty, martial arts flourished, and every martial artist hoped to cultivate themselves into an immortal, becoming the legendary martial immortal.

Once one cultivates to become a Martial Immortal, one can live as long as heaven and earth, and be immortal.

Even Emperor Zhao Kuangyin was no exception; however, achieving immortality through cultivation proved too difficult.

Zhao Kuangyin also practiced martial arts, and as an emperor, he had never heard of a martial artist becoming an immortal in the last few hundred years.

He learned from the Imperial Preceptor that from the Han Dynasty to the present, he had only heard of the legend of three half-immortals at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. From the Eastern Han Dynasty to the present, it has been very difficult for martial artists to even reach the Transformation Realm.

From the time of the First Emperor's burning of books and burying of scholars to the early Han Dynasty, the martial arts lineage was severed. Only the secret manuals below the Transformation Realm were passed down, and even the Transformation Realm manuals were incomplete, let alone those above the Transformation Realm. There was no martial arts lineage at all above the Transformation Realm.

The mysterious Taoist priest who led him here is suspected to be a legendary immortal, which greatly excited Zhao Kuangyin.

Looking at the tea that the mysterious Taoist priest conjured up, Zhao Kuangyin really wanted to drink it, but he resisted the urge.

Although this mysterious Taoist priest was suspected to be an immortal, it was only a suspicion. He was not sure if this mysterious Taoist priest was a real immortal, nor was he sure if this mysterious Taoist priest would harm him.

Zhao Kuangyin ignored the tea on the table and said to Zhou Yongcheng, "I wonder what you'd like to talk about?"

"I just want to know if you were forced to become emperor, or if you had been plotting all along how to bring down the young master of the Later Zhou dynasty," Zhou Yongcheng asked with a smile.

There are various controversies online regarding Zhao Kuangyin's Chenqiao Mutiny.

Some say that Zhao Kuangyin launched the Chenqiao Mutiny and was forced to take the imperial robes by his subordinates.

Some say that Zhao Kuangyin had been plotting a rebellion all along, and that the Chenqiao Mutiny and the subsequent ascension to the throne were merely a step in the process.

Although this world is based on an archaeological film or television series, it is also based on real-world history.

The main historical timeline has remained largely unchanged; what has changed is the existence of martial artists in this world, and some changes occurred in ancient times.

Zhao Kuangyin's expression changed drastically upon hearing this. The question posed by the mysterious Taoist priest was a taboo subject for him, and no one else dared to mention it in front of him.

Besides, he was the emperor; who would dare bring up this issue in front of him?

But now, he has come to this unknown place through that mysterious portal and seen this Taoist priest who seems to be an immortal.

What did the Taoist priest mean by asking this question? What are his interpretations?

This is not a good question. How should I answer it? Should I give the truth or just give a perfunctory answer?

Countless thoughts flashed through Zhao Kuangyin's mind.

"Does the Taoist priest know what it was like before I ascended the throne?" Zhao Kuangyin did not answer Zhou Yongcheng's question, but instead asked Zhou Yongcheng if he knew about the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

"know a little."

"Would it be good for the world if I ascended the throne?"

"There are advantages and disadvantages," Zhou Yongcheng said.

The advantage was that Zhao Kuangyin ended the chaos of the Five Dynasties, but the disadvantage was that the Song Dynasty he established emphasized civil affairs over military affairs, which led to the Song Dynasty being frequently invaded by foreign tribes.

Zhao Kuangyin did not expect the Taoist priest to give this answer. He did not quite understand what it meant to have both advantages and disadvantages.

"Please enlighten me, Daoist Master?" Zhao Kuangyin said.

“You haven’t answered my question yet.” Zhou Yongcheng did not point out the good or bad aspects of Zhao Kuangyin’s reign as emperor.

Why is the Taoist priest so fixated on this issue?

Zhao Kuangyin thought for a moment and said, "May I ask, Master, what will you do when you reach the highest position of the court and hold great military power?"

Zhou Yongcheng was speechless. Zhao Kuangyin had posed the question to him, which was also Zhao Kuangyin's answer.

If a modern person travels back to ancient times and rises to the highest official rank while wielding significant military power, they would be doing justice to their time-traveling identity if they didn't bring down the emperor.

Modern people have such thoughts, but didn't the ancients have the same?

During the Qin Dynasty, some people exclaimed, "Are kings, nobles, generals, and ministers born with a special destiny?"

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, someone shouted that the Azure Heaven was dead and the Yellow Heaven should rise.

At the end of the Tang Dynasty, someone called for Heaven to mend and equalize the people.

Why couldn't Zhao Kuangyin have ascended the throne?

"Then let me ask you another question. Do you think it's good for a country to prioritize civil affairs over military affairs?"

Just then, Old Zhu's voice came from outside the pavilion.

“My lord, it is definitely not good to emphasize civil affairs over military affairs. The Song Dynasty emphasized civil affairs over military affairs, which led to the Song Dynasty being frequently invaded by foreign tribes.”

Zhu Yuanzhang walked into the pavilion and saw Zhao Kuangyin sitting next to him.

He saw Zhao Kuangyin wearing a dragon robe, and just now in the courtyard he saw a new portal to another dimension.

Zhu Yuanzhang guessed that this person might be an emperor of a certain dynasty, just like himself, but he didn't know which dynasty it was.

Zhao Kuangyin also looked at Zhu Yuanzhang. Just now, this person called the Taoist priest an immortal. Could the Taoist priest really be an immortal?

Moreover, he just mentioned the Song Dynasty and said that the Song Dynasty was frequently invaded by foreign tribes, so he seems to know a lot about the Song Dynasty.

Most importantly, this person was wearing a red dragon robe.

The red dragon robe was the first time Zhao Kuangyin had seen it.

Both of them had doubts, but neither dared to ask the other, since they were with the immortal.

"Then tell me, who caused the Song Dynasty to prioritize civil affairs over military affairs?" Zhou Yongcheng asked Zhu Yuanzhang.

"It must have been caused by Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin. He was afraid that his subordinates would follow his example and seize the throne, so he orchestrated the so-called 'releasing military power over a cup of wine,' which made those military generals hand over all their military power. Later, he also suppressed the military generals. I'm not well-educated, so I don't know much about it."

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little embarrassed; he felt somewhat ashamed in front of the immortal. Well, he would have to go back and study his books more and learn more about history.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin was shocked. How could this person know so much about his affairs?

Zhou Yongcheng looked at Zhao Kuangyin and said to Zhu Yuanzhang, "This is Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty."

Zhu Yuanzhang was so shocked by what he heard that his jaw almost dropped.

"An immortal? Is he Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin?"

“That’s good, you two can have a chat.”

Zhou Yongcheng ignored them and started drinking his tea.

Zhao Kuangyin bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "Brother, you seem to know a lot about my affairs. May I ask if you could tell me?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at this historical figure closely; there were still some differences between the real person and the portrait.

"My name is Zhu Yuanzhang. I founded the Ming Dynasty, about four hundred years after the Song Dynasty you founded."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin's expression was similar to Zhu Yuanzhang's earlier.

The emperor of the Ming Dynasty? No wonder he's wearing a dragon robe.

The Ming Dynasty and the Song Dynasty were separated by about four hundred years, so it was definitely not a dynasty before the Song Dynasty. Therefore, it must have been a dynasty after the Song Dynasty.

In other words, Zhu Yuanzhang came from a later era.

Now Zhao Kuangyin was 100% convinced that the Taoist priest was an immortal, and that only an immortal could bring the emperor of the future to meet him.

"Brother Zhu, does this mean that my Great Song Dynasty only existed for four hundred years?"

There was one more question he didn't ask: Did Zhu Yuanzhang overthrow the Song emperor and ascend the throne himself?

"Four hundred years? Brother Zhao, what are you thinking? Which dynasty lasted more than four hundred years? Even your Great Song Dynasty was divided into the Northern Song and the Southern Song..."