Because they were not in a hurry to rush, the European Union also stopped and stopped. Almost every time they arrived, Zhao Yan would take his family to enjoy the local scenery. Now the Song Dynasty's rule over the Nanyang area was very stable. The local natives had resisted, but under the butcher knife of the Song army, these natives quickly became honest. In addition, the number of immigrants in Nanyang was increasing, so Nanyang almost became the back garden of the Song Dynasty. There were almost no security problems, which also allowed Zhao Yan and the others to visit with confidence.

However, even so, Zhao Yan and his ships arrived at the Strait of Malacca very quickly. When Zhao Jia had not graduated from the Naval Academy, the Song Dynasty had not yet completely occupied the Strait of Malacca, but had a port at the southeast exit of the Strait. However, the entire Strait has now completely fallen into the hands of the Song Dynasty. As for the original native kingdoms on both sides of the Strait, they have long disappeared from the dust of history.

The Europeans stayed in the Strait of Malacca for two days, got off the boat and enjoyed the beautiful local scenery, tasted the local specialty food, and finally boarded the road again and crossed the Strait of Malacca. After a period of sailing, the fleet finally arrived at the Lion Kingdom. Some people also called it Shilan, which is actually Sri Lanka in later generations.

There are two most famous things in the Lion Kingdom. The first is the gems produced on the island, which are rich in various colors, and have always been the favorite of the gem merchants of the Song Dynasty. The second is the Buddha tooth relic in the Lion Kingdom. The Lion Kingdom believes in Buddhism and collects a Buddha tooth relic in China. Coincidentally, there is also a Buddha tooth relic in the Song Dynasty. This was also welcomed by the monks from the former Tang Dynasty. In this way, the two Buddha tooth echo each other. Many monks from the Song Dynasty traveled thousands of miles to the Lion Kingdom to recite scriptures and rest in front of the Buddha tooth. In addition, many Buddhist believers ran to the Lion Kingdom to pay homage to the Buddha tooth after paying homage to the Song Dynasty. This is to express their desire to Buddha, and to buy some gems here.

It is precisely because of the above reasons that although the Lion Kingdom does not belong to the land of the Song Dynasty, there are many Song people here. When Zhao Yan and the others got off the ship, they saw many Song people traveling continuously on the pier. Almost all of these Song people come to do business. From time to time, you can see these Song people directing people to move some heavy goods to the ship. These goods need not be asked, you know that they must be gems from the Lion Kingdom.

Gems are women's favorites, and many of Zhao Yan's family believe in Buddhism, such as Yan Yuru and Xue Ning'er. In addition, Cao Ying believes in Buddhism and Taoism, so after coming to the Lion Kingdom, Zhao Yan and others would have to stop for a few more days. One can buy some gems, and the other can also ask Cao Ying and others to go to the Buddha Tooth Ceremony to worship. It is precisely because of this that after Zhao Yan and his ships were moored at the port, Zhao Yan took his family to the shore and then went directly to the capital of the Lion Kingdom.

The capital of the Lion Kingdom is very long. The Song Dynasty usually calls it Lion City or Shilan City. There is a king's palace in the city, and the Buddha's tooth relics are enshrined in the Buddha's tooth temple next to the palace. Every March, Buddha's tooth will be welcomed to hold a grand ceremony, which is also the most important festival in the Lion Kingdom.

Zhao Yan didn't want to reveal his identity, but he was protected by more than a dozen warships to come to the Lion Kingdom. Moreover, he couldn't hide it at other people's ports, so the king of the Lion Kingdom had long paid attention to them and even went out of the city to greet them.

The reason why the king of the Lion Kingdom was so polite was mainly because the Lion Kingdom was inseparable from the Song Dynasty. It was not only because the Song people came here to do business, but because the Lion Kingdom had been fighting against the Tamils ​​in the north. The war lasted for hundreds of years. The two sides could be said to be a feud, and because the Tamils ​​were numerous and fierce. Therefore, the Lion Kingdom had never had an advantage. However, since the arrival of the Song Dynasty, it not only sold weapons to the Lion Kingdom, but also sent an army to help them resist the Tamil attack. It is no exaggeration to say that the Lion Kingdom was able to maintain its current peace with the support of the Song Dynasty. If the Song Dynasty retreated now or cut off the supply of weapons, they would probably be destroyed by the Tamils ​​in a short time.

Because of the above reasons, the Lion Kingdom was very close to the Song Dynasty. Two years ago and last year, I sent people to the Song Dynasty to pay tribute twice. I heard that the Lion Kingdom still intends to become a vassal state of the Song Dynasty, but this matter is still under discussion, because the vassal state of the Song Dynasty is different from the past. After becoming a vassal state of the Song Dynasty, the Song Dynasty will provide them with some protection and have some preferential policies in commerce, which also makes the Song Dynasty very strict in its control over the vassal state.

Since he hid his identity, Zhao Yan simply revealed his identity directly, which shocked the Lion King. In recent years, he has also learned a little about the situation in the Song Dynasty. Of course, he has heard of Zhao Yan's name. Now he heard that this legendary prince actually came to his own territory, which made the Lion King feel light on his face. He now enthusiastically welcomed Zhao Yan into the Lion City and personally set up a welcome banquet for them.

Although Zhao Yan had no interest in the palace of the Lion Kingdom, he was not willing to refuse the invitation from the emperor, so he took his family into the palace for a banquet. He also rested in a palace in the palace in the evening. The next morning, the Lion King personally led them to the Buddha's Tooth Celestial to visit and worship Buddha. Zhao Yan did not believe in gods and Buddhas, but respected any religion very much, not to mention that the Buddha's relics were worshipped here, so he showed a solemn expression after coming to the Buddha's Tooth Celestial, and listened to the Lion King personally introducing the history of the Buddha's Tooth Celestial to him.

Speaking of which, this Buddha Tooth Monastery has a history of hundreds of years. Since Buddha Tooth was welcomed to the Lion Kingdom, it has been worshipped here. Its history is longer than the royal palace of the Lion Kingdom. Moreover, all those who can come here to worship Buddha Tooth are famous monks from the Lion Kingdom. It can be said that this is simply the highest Buddhist institution in the Lion Kingdom. All monks are proud to be here.

After Cao Ying and Yan Yuru came to the Buddha Tooth Monastery, they also showed great piety and made a request to see the Buddha Tooth in person. The Lion King also happily agreed and personally took them to the tall building in the monastery. The exterior of this tall building is inlaid with countless gems, which looks extremely luxurious. Moreover, the door of each floor has mechanisms, and every floor opens will cause a loud noise. As a result, the whole city knows that ordinary people cannot see the true face of the Buddha Tooth Monastery without permission.
Chapter completed!