The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 241 The Northern Barbarians March South, Shocking the Western Xia Court and Public

April of 1203 AD, the tenth year of the Western Xia Tianqing era.

The triennial imperial examinations concluded today, and the results will be announced today.

A powerful shout rang out from within the Western Xia imperial palace: "Summon Li Zunxu from Xingqing Prefecture, Quan Dingxiong from Liangzhou Prefecture, and Liao Yunchang from Hongzhou Prefecture to enter the palace for an audience!"

As the official from the Ministry of Rites finished speaking, the three people who had been waiting for a long time straightened their clothes and walked into the main hall with serious yet excited expressions.

Compared to the imperial palaces of the Central Plains dynasties, the imperial palaces of the small Western Xia kingdom lacked some of the grandeur and nobility, and instead possessed a more wild and untamed air.

It was just an ordinary ten-zhang-long hall, with some court officials standing on both sides, looking at the three of them with expressions of either curiosity or indifference.

At the very front three steps, Li Chunyou, the ruler of Western Xia, sat solemnly on the dragon throne, dressed in court robes.

"Li Zunxu of Xingqing Prefecture, Quan Dingxiong of Liangzhou Prefecture, and Liao Yunchang of Hongzhou Prefecture pay their respects to Your Majesty!" The three men prostrated themselves in salute.

Compared to the excitement of the latter two, Li Zunxu appeared much calmer.

The other two came from families of local officials, while Li Zunxu was a true member of the royal family, his father being the late Prince Zhongwu of Qi.

Therefore, he was not intimidated at all when faced with such a grand occasion.

"Flat body."

Li Chunyou's calm voice rang out as his black fox fur cloak swept across the armrest of the dragon throne.

"I ask you, if the Liao army were to press on our borders, how would we defend ourselves?"

The imperial examination was for selecting talent for the country, and the criteria for evaluation were not only literary talent, but also military strategy.

Last time, the Liao army launched a surprise attack on the Hexi Corridor. Li Chunyou dispatched a large army to defend against the enemy, but the Liao army was too cunning.

After capturing Dunhuang and Guazhou, they directly abducted 100,000 people and left.

This greatly angered Li Chunyou, so he used this question to test the three of them.

The first name mentioned was Quan Dingxiong.

Then he stepped forward and said with a serious expression, "The Liao army is mainly composed of cavalry, skilled in field battles, and has come from afar, so their military rations will not last long."

"I believe we should hold the city walls, clear the fields, lure the enemy deep into our territory, and then seize the opportunity to launch a cavalry attack to cut off their retreat."

His words elicited slight nods from the court officials; even seasoned veterans of the battlefield could only come up with these methods.

This person is a promising talent.

Then, Liao Yunchang also kowtowed and said, "Your subject advises us to establish friendly relations with the Kingdom of Gaochang."

His strategy was to befriend distant states while attacking nearby ones, ideally winning over the Gaochang Kingdom.

However, there was a barely perceptible disappointment in Li Chunyou's eyes.

It's not that this method is ineffective, but rather that it's out of touch with the current situation.

Since the last attack on Dunhuang from the northern frontier, he had sent people to investigate the affairs of the Liao Kingdom.

They had a general understanding of the Liao Kingdom's situation.

Internal strife!

The royal court and the northern frontier have started fighting.

The attack on the Hexi Corridor was carried out by the Jinzhou forces under the Northern Frontier, but the Gaochang Kingdom, which originally belonged to the royal court, was defeated and subdued by the Northern Frontier.

Therefore, this method simply won't work.

Finally, there were the words of Li Zunxu.

He took a deep breath, looked up and met the emperor's scrutinizing gaze, and said in a deep voice, "In my opinion, only cavalry can defeat cavalry."

"It's better to take the initiative than to be passively attacked."

The Western Xia was founded on cavalry, but in the following two hundred years, internal conflicts in the Western Xia became increasingly acute, and the military household system collapsed.

The national treasury could no longer support a large cavalry force.

Li Zunxu's view was to develop the economy first, so that the country could have money to build a large-scale cavalry army.

Although the statements were somewhat vague and unrealistic, for example, they didn't go into detail about how to develop the economy.

But this viewpoint did elicit a smile from Li Chunyou: "Okay."

He also wanted to be an emperor with military achievements, but the country's strength did not allow it.

If a large-scale cavalry corps could be formed, it would not only be possible to avenge the Liao Kingdom for the Hexi War, but also to re-evaluate the relationship with the Jin Kingdom.

Li Chunyou had long harbored resentment towards the Jin people.

My biggest dream is to defeat the Jin people and make them call me "Dad".

"Okay, okay~"

Li Chunyou smiled and said "good" three times in a row, praising, "The lineage of the Prince of Qi has a worthy successor!"

"Li Zunxu, I have read your essay 'On the Governance of the Xia and Han Dynasties' repeatedly for three days."

His voice suddenly rose, arousing the curiosity of the crowd below.

"Governing a country is like cooking fish; the laws of Xia are like the cauldron and the system of Han are like the firewood. Neither can be missing. Such insights are more profound than those of all the old ministers in the court."

Li Chunyou said in a leisurely voice that this was Li Zunxu's answer to the palace examination, which he thought was very well written.

Although the Western Xia had been established for two hundred years, ethnic relations remained a major issue.

In particular, Han Chinese make up more than 70% of the population in China.

How to properly handle the conflicts between the Han people and the Tangut and Uyghur people was a matter that every emperor had to ponder.

Although Li Zunxu's insights were not novel, they were quite profound.

The purpose of adopting Han system to govern Han people was ultimately to maintain the rule of the Tanguts over the Han people.

Li Zunxu's expression remained calm, but a glint appeared deep in his eyes. He bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I have presumptuously presume to serve you with utmost loyalty."

"What a loyal and devoted servant!"

Li Chunyou gently patted the jade paperweight: "Today, I will make you the Red Hare among horses!"

Before he finished speaking, the eunuch in charge of ceremonies stepped forward quickly with a bright yellow scroll in his hand, and Li Chunyou personally wrote Li Zunxu's name on it.

"Li Zunxu of Xingqing Prefecture was granted the title of Jinshi and was selected as the top scholar by imperial decree. He was also granted the title of Xuandelang and inherited the title of Prince of Qi."

"Quan Dingxiong of Liangzhou, though his policy essays were slightly inferior, possessed calligraphy with powerful strokes and elegant lines, which could be called the best of his time. He was awarded the second-highest rank in the imperial examination and entered the Hanlin Academy as an editor."

"Liao Yunchang of Hongzhou is a man of beautiful writing style, and his years of hard study have not been in vain. He was awarded the title of Tan Hua (third-ranked scholar) and appointed as a judge in Lingzhou."

As soon as he finished speaking, the three men kowtowed and said, "Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty."

Compared to the latter two, Li Zunxu was the real winner in life, not only becoming the top scholar in the imperial examination but also inheriting the title of Prince of Qi.

It should be noted that Li Chunyou was extremely stingy when it came to the inheritance of titles.

Li Zunxu's father has been dead for almost a year, and Li Chunyou has yet to propose inheriting the title.

Now, he has finally won over Li Chunyou with his knowledge and ability and has truly become the Prince of Qi.

Congratulations poured in, and Quan Dingxiong and Liao Yunchang rushed over to fawn over him.

There's nothing we can do; after all, their surname is Li.

Moreover, their knowledge was quite good, leaving the other two feeling inferior.

Only one person, looking at Li Zunxu's beaming face, revealed resentment and anger deep in his eyes.

"A nonsensical article and a boastful court audience, and he became the top scholar and even inherited the title of King of Qi?"

"This is utterly absurd," Li Anquan thought angrily, his lowered face filled with resentment.

He and Li Chunyou were cousins. His father was enfeoffed as the Prince of Yue by the late emperor, but he was unable to inherit the title of Prince of Yue.

Instead, he was granted the title of Prince Zhenyi.

It is clear that Li Chunyou also wanted to try a system of decreasing peerage, but this would certainly infringe on the interests of many people.

Li Anquan has always held a grudge about this.

Seeing that even the boastful Li Zunxu had become the Prince of Qi, while he himself was still just a prince, the sense of disparity was overwhelming.

A fire was burning within him. He looked at Li Zunxu, then glanced at Li Chunyou on the dragon throne. He clenched his fists and made a silent vow.

"One day, I will take back everything I have lost."

(Historically, Li Anquan launched a coup that killed Li Chunyou, and Li Zunxu then launched a coup that killed Li Anquan.)
After the first batch of officials were determined, a brief court assembly was held. Just as Li Chunyou was about to leave the court,

Suddenly, the imperial guards outside the palace entered and reported, "Your Majesty, Liu Fanglin, the chief secretary of the Privy Council, requests an audience, saying that he has urgent military information to report."

Upon hearing this, Li Chunyou was slightly taken aback: "All under imperial decree?"

This is a mid-level official position in the Privy Council, responsible for internal affairs such as document exchange and meeting arrangements. It is an important assistant to the Privy Councilor, equivalent to an office director.

However, they were not qualified to participate in important matters such as the morning assembly.

"Privy Councilor, go and see what's going on!" Li Chunyou shouted.

It is currently court assembly time, and the chief and deputy chief officials of the Privy Council are all in the main hall.

For a minor official like the Chief Censor to bypass his rank and report to the palace, something significant must have happened.

A moment later, Privy Councilor Nailing Si Cong, with an anxious and angry expression, loudly proclaimed, "Your Majesty, the Zhenyan Military Command and the Xiping Military Command have both sent urgent reports."

"The northern barbarians have invaded the south, and both Heishui City and Dunhuang City are in imminent danger."

These words caused an uproar in the imperial court.

Khara-Khoto and Dunhuang?
One is the northwestern border of the Xia Kingdom, and the other is a strategic pass in the west.

The latter was breached by the Jinzhou army two years ago, and 100,000 civilians were abducted.

Later, Li Chunyou ordered the reconstruction of city walls and other defensive works, relocated some people to Dunhuang, and rebuilt the Xiping Military Command.

This finally allowed Dunhuang City to recover some of its vitality.

Unexpectedly, the barbarian tribes from the northern frontier have returned.

"Bang~"

Li Chunyou slammed his hand on the table, stood up angrily, and shouted, "What?"

"The barbarians of the northern frontier are utterly arrogant."

"I have just pardoned their crimes, but these barbarians show no remorse and dare to invade the territory of my Great Xia?"

Li Chunyou's expression was quite unpleasant.

Two years ago, when the Jinzhou army plundered Dunhuang and Guazhou, Li Chunyou only ordered his men to recover the lost territory and reorganize defenses, without pursuing them.

I thought I was being magnanimous, but I never expected those barbarian tribes in the northern frontier to be so greedy and take advantage of me.

Not only did they harass Dunhuang City once again, but they also set their sights on Heishui City.

"Strike!" "We must strike hard!"

"We will annihilate all invading enemies in Blackwater City and Dunhuang City, so that those barbarians will never dare to covet our Great Xia again."

Li Chunyou's furious roar echoed throughout the court.

The court officials all looked indignant.

"How dare these mere barbarians invade our Great Xia? They are simply courting death."

"Do they still think they're the great Liao Dynasty of yesteryear?"

"It's just a small border state established by a fallen member of the Liao dynasty's royal family."

"They dare to offend my Great Xia, we will not let them off this time."

Although the Western Xia was at the bottom of the Central Plains, it was somewhat arrogant towards the Western Regions.

They regarded the Western Regions as barbarian and small states, and even the most powerful Western Liao was considered a junior among junior states within the Central Plains.

In addition, the Jinzhou army had previously plundered 100,000 civilians before retreating on its own.

Many people viewed them as barbarians from the northern frontier who, fearing the might of the Great Summer, fled without a fight.

This further fueled the arrogance of the Western Xia people.

Therefore, the Western Xia rulers and their ministers were all in agreement: they had to be severely punished.

"How many barbarians from the northern frontier have come?" Li Chunyou asked.

"According to Wei Mingzhongshi's report, the Northern Frontier Barbarian army outside Blackwater City numbers around 30,000."

“There are also more than 10,000 people outside Dunhuang City,” Nai Ling Sicong said in a deep voice.

"Forty thousand?" Li Chunyou's face turned extremely ugly.

Based on his impression of the barbarians of the northern frontier, their armies were mostly composed of cavalry.

In other words, the 40,000-strong northern frontier army surrounding Heishui City and Dunhuang City was very likely all cavalry.

This is terrible.

But then I thought about how this concerned the fate of the Great Xia Dynasty, so even if it were 400,000, we would still have to fight.

"My mind is made up. I will gather the strength of the Great Xia and be determined to annihilate the barbarians of the Northern Frontier."

"A mere 40,000 men? My Great Xia has 500,000 brave and skilled warriors."

"Ten times that of the barbarians."

"The advantage is in our hands in this battle."

Li Chunyou stood up and shouted loudly at the assembled officials, displaying great domineering power.

"Your Majesty is wise," the senior official said, bowing.

Immediately, the Western Xia rulers and their ministers began to discuss and formulate a battle plan on how to eliminate the enemy forces in the northern border region.

That very afternoon, the order to launch the campaign was relayed to all units.

The next morning, just as the sun was rising, a troop crossed the streets of Xingqing Prefecture and headed ahead of schedule to provide emergency reinforcements to the Hexi Corridor.

This scene filled the city's residents with both fear and curiosity.

"what happened?"

"I heard that troops were leaving the city before dawn, and now there are so many soldiers. Are we going to have a war?"

"War is definitely going to break out, but we don't know if it will be against the Jin Dynasty or against the steppe people."

The people in the city were asking each other for news, revealing their love of excitement.

As long as the enemy doesn't invade Xingqing Prefecture, they continue their business and live their lives as usual.

At this time, some well-informed people said mysteriously, "I heard that the barbarians of the Northern Frontier are attacking Blackwater City."

"What? The barbarians of the Northern Frontier?"

"It's the Liao Kingdom to the west, the ones who launched a surprise attack on Dunhuang a couple of years ago."

"I don't know what's gotten into them. We've been living peacefully for decades, so why have they become so restless these past two years?"

"First they attacked Dunhuang, and this year they're attacking Khara-Khoto. They're absolutely insane."

"Hmph, how dare these mere barbarians covet our Great Xia? They're practically courting death."

"Heh, that's indeed courting death. I heard His Majesty is furious and has dispatched a large army to conquer those barbarians in the northern frontier."

“My son is in the Qinsheng Army. He just came home the day before yesterday to rest for a few days, but last night he was called back. They said his whole team was going to war. Oh, Buddha, please bless my son and make sure he comes back safely.”

The war inevitably became a topic of conversation among the common people.

However, this information fell into the hands of spies in the northern frontier even earlier.

On the main street of Xingqing Prefecture's West City, there is a two-story shop facing the street on the north side of the street, with the words "Dingxianglou" written on the signboard.

This is a restaurant that has become very popular in Xingqing Prefecture in the last two years.

At this moment, on the second floor, near the window, a man was observing the movements of the Western Xia army through the half-open window.

“Since early morning, at least three thousand soldiers have left Xingqing Prefecture,” the man said softly.

The three thousand men were merely the imperial guards of Xingqing Prefecture, a mobile force responsible for protecting the capital.

They could be dispatched to fight at any time, but the Western Xia would inevitably mobilize more troops from other places to reinforce the Hexi Corridor.

The preliminary preparations for these troops will take a considerable amount of time, and the timing of their departure is uncertain.

Soon, rhythmic knocking sounded at the door.

After the door was opened, a young man walked in and said in a low voice, "The Hawk has sent word that they have obtained intelligence about the Xia Kingdom's troop deployment."

After saying that, she handed a note to the man in the room.

The information above is written in traditional Chinese characters.

"Xingqing Prefecture mobilized 20,000 troops, including 3,000 Imperial Guards, 1,000 Iron Falcon Soldiers, and 16,000 Capture Soldiers."

"Xiping Prefecture has mobilized 10,000 troops to capture prisoners."

"The Weizhou Prefecture has mobilized 10,000 troops to supervise the military operations."

"The Baotai Military Command has mobilized 10,000 troops to supervise the army."

"Wei Ming Shi'an, the Vice Privy Councilor, was appointed as the commander-in-chief, and Li Anquan, the Prince of Zhenyi, was appointed as the deputy commander-in-chief, leading an army of 50,000 to reinforce the Hexi Corridor."

"An order was also issued to the troops of Ganzhou and Liangzhou to urgently reinforce Heishui City and Dunhuang City."

The Western Xia nominally had an army of 500,000, but this was a reckless mobilization of the entire nation's strength.

Under normal circumstances, the Western Xia's standing army numbered only a few hundred thousand.

It will take time before we can mass produce troops.

Therefore, aside from the other troops guarding the border, the deployment of 50,000 troops to reinforce the Hexi Corridor was almost the limit for Western Xia.

With the addition of local military commanders in the Hexi Corridor, as well as the garrisons of Heishui City and Dunhuang City, the Western Xia army had twice the strength of the Northern Frontier Army, giving them a clear advantage.

"With Wei Ming Shi'an as the commander-in-chief, this old geezer is not easy to deal with," the man said with a heavy expression.

His code name is Azure Eagle, and he is a member of the Northern Frontier Embroidered Uniform Guard. This Dingxiang Tower is also a stronghold of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Having been in Xingqing Prefecture for almost two years, Cangying had gained some understanding of the personal circumstances of the Western Xia officials.

Wei Ming Shi'an was a member of the Western Xia royal family. He once served as Wu Jie Dafu and later rose to the position of Yu Shi Dafu. He was an honest and upright official who never took bribes and was as strict as a poor scholar.

Moreover, he was skilled in both civil and military affairs, making him a very capable general.

Although he was already quite old, he remained active in the court because Li Chunyou trusted him greatly.

Despite being nearing retirement age, he still holds the position of Deputy Privy Councilor, and this time he has been appointed as the commander-in-chief of the army.

In short, this guy is not easy to deal with.

However, upon seeing the name of the deputy commander, Cangying frowned: "Prince Zhenyi, Li Anquan?"

"Why would the Xia ruler appoint him as deputy commander? Hasn't he been weakening the royal family all along?"

Upon hearing this, the subordinate shook his head slightly: "Even the hawk doesn't know the inside story."

But in reality, it was because Li Anquan went to the inner palace that Empress Dowager Luo summoned the emperor and gave him a heartfelt plea.

Ultimately, Li Chunyou decided to give Li Anquan a chance.

If he can achieve enough military merits, there may still be a chance to return the title of King of Yue to him.

“We don’t know much about Li Anquan yet. We need to gather more information about him in the future,” Cangying instructed.

"As ordered."

Then, Cangying quickly copied the letter again and handed it to the messenger, instructing him to leave the city through certain channels and deliver it to the Imperial Guards responsible for receiving the messenger outside the city.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the speed of the Imperial Guard light cavalry will definitely be much faster than that of the Western Xia army.

"Commander, here's the reward for Hawk's side," the subordinate said again.

After the expansion of the six northern border garrisons, the Embroidered Uniform Guard also experienced a significant increase in strength, becoming a thousand-household army.

Li Xiao's underling, Zhang Shitou, was still appointed as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Cangying was one of the five centurions under Zhang Shitou, mainly responsible for intelligence on the Western Xia.

“Give him everything, plus two more gold ingots as an extra reward for his mission.”

"Tell him that the Grand Protector is very satisfied with his completion of the mission and will surely personally award him a medal in the future," Cangying said in a deep voice.

The hawk was his biggest trump card.

He held a minor position in the Ministry of War of Western Xia, essentially a errand boy who had to bow to officials whenever he saw them.

But even such an insignificant person had ample reason to spy on the military secrets of the Western Xia during working hours.

Moreover, because his official rank was low and he had few avenues for making money, he was susceptible to being bribed.

The hawk has already provided the Embroidered Uniform Guard with a lot of intelligence, including the troop deployment in Blackwater City, the number of troops in Xingqing Prefecture, and the city defenses of Ganzhou City.

This intelligence is very important to northern Xinjiang.

"The Hawk's official rank is still too low, and he has access to too little intelligence. If there's an opportunity, I could help him get promoted," the eagle muttered to himself.

With so much leverage over Yao Zi, there's no need to worry about him betraying him.

Otherwise, he could simply tell his political enemies that they had provided top-secret intelligence to the northern frontier.

Those political enemies will surely bring him down and persuade Li Chunyou to play a game of "Eliminating Nine Clans" (a form of online gambling).

Therefore, once the hawk stepped onto the ship in the northern frontier, it could never get off again.

(End of this chapter)