The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 318 Ceasefire Agreement, Princess Lingyang's Marriage

Xingqing Prefecture, Imperial Prison.

The damp air was thick with the smells of mildew and blood, and the dim torches cast distorted and flickering shadows on the walls.

"Ahhhhh~"

The piercing screams continued throughout the night, sounding particularly eerie in the gloomy prison.

This place, originally used to imprison serious criminals, is now crammed full of former pampered princes, nobles, and high-ranking officials of the Western Xia Dynasty.

"Say it or not? Say it or not?"

The stern shouts of the Imperial Guards mingled with the muffled thuds of instruments of torture striking flesh.

The middle-aged man bound to the cross had been tortured to the point of being a bloody mess, barely clinging to life. He was a Mo Ning Ling of the Western Xia, equivalent to a prince.

However, he was not a member of the Weiming clan, but a descendant of the leader of another Dangxiang tribe, named Xifeng Chiduo.

He had always been a tyrant in Xingqing Prefecture, never imagining that one day he would be imprisoned in the imperial jail.

His son, bound to the side, was also covered in wounds and sobbing incessantly.

"Father, please tell them, I can't take it anymore... Please, Father..."

The young man's cries were filled with despair. Having grown up in luxury, he had never suffered such severe torture. He would rather be dead.

The other two sons also cried out in anguish, "Father, say it!"

"We're about to lose our lives, what's the point of keeping that little bit of money?"

"You can't spend it even if you take it to the underworld."

“Grandpa from the Northern Frontier has said that as long as you confess, he can save the lives of our whole family.”

Amidst torture and the screams of her three sons, Xi Feng Chi Duo finally broke down.

"I say~I say~"

"In a village called Sanheliu outside the city, there is a cellar in the backyard of the largest house, where all the money of our Xifeng family is hidden."

"Damn it!"

"You beast! That money was accumulated by our Xi Feng family for generations!"

"I didn't spend a single penny."

After revealing the hiding place, Xi Feng Chi Duo broke down in tears.

As a powerful clan in the early days of the Tangut people, Xifeng had been suppressed by the Weiming clan for many years and had long lost its real power, leaving only its hidden wealth.

Now, even this money is being robbed by the people of northern Xinjiang; they're practically leaving them no way to survive.

"Heavens above... what kind of world is this?!"

“We, the magistrates of Moning, are born into nobility and should enjoy a life of luxury and wealth... Why are you treating us like this?”

At this moment, his heart was filled with endless regret.

They originally thought that even if the Northern Frontier forces breached Xingqing Prefecture, they wouldn't dare to be too harsh on these long-serving officials with deep roots.

After all, the people of the Northern Frontier had no roots in the Western Xia. In order to govern this land, they would ultimately need the cooperation and submission of these old officials who were familiar with the situation.

They figured that at most they would have to pay off a portion of the money to avoid further trouble, and they would always have a chance to recoup their losses in the future.

However, he never expected that the people of the Northern Frontier were a group of complete barbarians who acted without any rules or consideration for long-term consequences.

In order to extort money, they resorted to such severe torture against them, completely disregarding their former status and position.

"If only I had known this would happen~ If only I had known this would happen~"

Xi Feng Chi Duo murmured to herself, tears mixed with blood sliding down her cheeks.

"When the Northern Frontier Army besieged Xingqing Prefecture, I was willing to give up all my wealth to recruit local militia and fight them to the very end..."

"Even if we fail, it's better than this, suffering humiliation, losing all our wealth, and even our lives..."

In other cells of the prison, similar cries of agony and regret were constantly being heard.

Those powerful figures who once held high positions in the court and acted arrogantly in their mansions are now lambs to the slaughter.

Amidst the excruciating pain and despair, I reflected on whether the outcome would have been different had I chosen to resist.
While the prisoners in the dungeon were suffering torture and one by one revealed their most treasured possessions, Li Anquan remained unharmed in his cell.

There was no sign of torture on his body, but because he hadn't washed for many days, he smelled terrible and had attracted a lot of lice.

Hearing the screams coming from the next cell, Li Anquan was filled with doubt and fear—why did the people of the Northern Frontier spare him alone?
Early that morning, the prison door was suddenly opened, and a soldier from the northern frontier coldly shouted, "Li Anquan, come out."

Li Anquan was startled, thinking that the people of the Northern Frontier were finally going to take action against him, either by torture or by execution.

He took a deep breath and walked out of the prison gate with a determined and calm expression.

To his surprise, the soldiers did not take him to the interrogation room, but instead took him to a room first.

Several soldiers brought over buckets of water, roughly splashed water on him, gave him a quick wash, and then threw him a set of coarse cloth clothes to change into.

He was then escorted toward the palace.

The palace was still tall and majestic, its glazed tiles gleaming in the morning sun, but it felt completely unfamiliar to Li Anquan.

The Great Xia Imperial Guards that once protected the palace have long since disappeared, replaced by squads of Northern Frontier soldiers clad in yellow armor with red trim.

Armed with long spears and sharp eyes, they guarded the palace with impeccable security.

Overwhelmed with grief and indignation, Li Anquan couldn't help but cry out in his heart, "The Weiming clan's empire has finally fallen!"

Although he and Li Chunyou were at odds, he even hoped for Li Chunyou's downfall.

But he was, after all, a descendant of the Weiming clan. How could he not feel heartbroken to watch his ancestral legacy fall into the hands of outsiders?
But he was powerless to change anything, after all, he himself had become a prisoner.

Soon after, he was taken to the familiar main hall.

But when he looked up, he saw that the person sitting on the dragon throne had changed.

Li Xiao, the Grand Protector of the Northern Frontier.

This was the second time he had seen Li Xiao.

Two years ago, during the Battle of Hexi, he was captured by the Northern Frontier Army, and it was Li Xiao who personally ordered his release.

Unexpectedly, just two years later, the two met again, and their status and position remained unchanged.

Li Xiao became the ruler of Xingqing Prefecture, while he remained a prisoner.

Compared to two years ago, Li Xiao's appearance has not changed much.

He sat on the dragon throne wearing a single black robe, his posture casual and composed.

He remained as resolute and upright as ever, but the aura of authority between his brows was even stronger, and his eyes were deeper and sharper, exuding an air of domineering dominance that seemed to look down upon the world.

Li Anquan, however, had long lost his former vigor. His hair was mostly white, and his face was full of vicissitudes and fatigue, making him look disheveled.

But he still tried his best to straighten his body, looked up at Li Xiao on the dragon throne, and prepared himself to be ridiculed and humiliated.

To his utter surprise, Li Xiao asked a question completely unrelated to the current situation: "I've heard that Li Chunyou has a stunningly beautiful concubine in his harem named Wang."

"How does her appearance compare to that of Lady Lü and Lady Hetun?"

Upon hearing this, Li Anquan was slightly taken aback, and for a moment he did not realize Li Xiao's intention.

Consort? Imperial Noble Consort Wang?

Before Li Anquan could answer, Li Xiao shook his shoulders, which had been working hard all night, and sighed to himself, looking regretful.

"It's a pity. I heard that before my northern army besieged Xingqing Prefecture, Wang was sent to Xiping Prefecture by Li Chunyou."

"It's a real pity that I didn't get to see her looks."

According to legend, Lady Wang was so beautiful that she was deeply favored by Li Chunyou.

As for the appearance of Lady Lü and Lady Hetun, Li Xiao had already seen them and even had in-depth conversations with them; they were truly extraordinary.

But I also heard that Wang was far superior to the two girls, and that she was incredibly beautiful.
"If the Grand Protector is truly curious, once we conquer Xiping Prefecture and capture him to serve in the emperor's bedchamber, he will naturally find out."

Li Anquan snorted coldly, turned his head away, and refused to answer the question.

In fact, he himself had coveted Consort Wang, but due to his status and position, he dared not have any improper thoughts.

Li Xiao's bluntness in mentioning it now struck him as incredibly ironic.

The concubine whom Li Chunyou cherished was someone others also wanted.

Seeing Li Anquan's reaction, Li Xiao wasn't angry. Instead, he smiled and said, "Li Anquan, your temper is still as stubborn and foul as it was two years ago."

"It's only because I admire you. If it were any other narrow-minded monarch, you wouldn't have enough lives to kill you."

“Although you are a fool, you are also a smart man. Now that the Xia Kingdom has fallen, if you are willing to submit to the Northern Frontier, I can give you a chance to live.”

Li Anquan suddenly turned to look at Li Xiao, a hint of struggle flashing in his eyes.

submission?

He is a descendant of the Weiming clan, how could he stoop to serve the enemy?

"Hmph, kill me or torture me, it's all up to you."

"You want me to surrender? No way."

At that moment, he felt immense regret.

If I had known things would turn out this way, why did I send my entire family to Xiping Prefecture in the first place?

If he surrendered to the people of the northern frontier, Li Chunyou would certainly not spare his family.

But if they don't submit~
Although he appeared tough on the surface, he was actually quite afraid inside.

News has just come from the Embroidered Uniform Guard that Li Chunyou has arrived in Xiping Prefecture and raised the banner of the Xia Kingdom once again.

He summoned former officials, appointed officials from various departments of the court, and re-conscripted troops, as if he wanted to block the northern frontier army on the west bank of the Yellow River.

In reality, after the consecutive battles of Mobei and Xingqingfu, the northern frontier army was exhausted, and Li Xiao had decided not to further expand the scale of the war.

They temporarily stopped west of the Yellow River.

However, keeping Li Chunyou around would always be a problem; it would be easier for that fool Li Anquan to lead Western Xia to its demise.

“Although you are unwilling to surrender, I am still willing to let you go one more time,” Li Xiao chuckled.

"Hand over one million strings of cash to redeem yourself, and then return to Xiping Prefecture."

“However, I’ve already let you go twice. You won’t be so lucky next time we meet.” Upon hearing this, Li Anquan was instantly stunned.

Let me go?
He had seen the fate of those princes and nobles in the imperial prison; the Northern Frontier Army didn't take them seriously at all.

Instead, he might as well go back to the Xia Kingdom and continue being a high and mighty prince.

Even though the Xia Kingdom only has that little territory in Hedong left, and it looks like its days are numbered, so what?

Countless people still support these members of the royal family.

However, a ransom of one million guan was really too much.

His grandfather was an emperor and his father was a prince. With the accumulation of wealth over two generations, the royal palace had a considerable amount of assets.

However, most of these were large tracts of fertile land, pastures, and other real estate, which had already been seized by the Northern Frontier Army.

As for money, less than 800,000 strings of cash remained hidden in the manor outside the city.

Li Xiao eventually agreed to pay him 800,000 yuan to redeem himself.

The northern frontier urgently needs money to purchase grain from Jin Dynasty merchants in Datong Prefecture and Guanzhong.

Even though smuggling them in would be very costly, they had to grit their teeth and get them.

At worst, we can go to the Jin Kingdom later and take it back.

"This is a personal letter to Li Chunyou; take it back with you."

"I would much rather discuss matters of state between our two countries with you next time we meet," Li Xiao said calmly.

He had the official letter handed to Li Anquan, then rose and left the main hall.

Several beauties in the harem awaited his favor; they were all Li Chunyou's concubines.

A few of the best ones were kept, and the rest were distributed among the generals.

As for meeting with Li Anquan, it was just an extra step in the game.

Hopefully, Li Quan'an can rise to prominence like he did in history, after all, Li Chunyou is much more troublesome than him.

Li Anquan stared blankly at the official letter in his hand.

Has he really let himself go again?

But then she remembered Li Xiao's words, and her heart began to stir with excitement.

The throne of the Great Xia Dynasty.

He had wanted it for a long time, but he was just missing an opportunity.

Subsequently, under the arrangement of the Northern Frontier Army, Li Anquan crossed the Yellow River in a small boat and arrived at Xiping Prefecture.

At this time, a hurried and tense atmosphere permeated Xiping Prefecture.

Throughout the city, laborers were being mobilized on a large scale in an attempt to form a "new army".

However, this so-called new army was more like a rabble than the original Western Xia regular army.

Apart from a small number of elite soldiers guarding Xiping Prefecture, the other laborers who were brought in were only carrying hoes and sharp wooden sticks; they couldn't even muster a decent set of weapons.

Let alone confronting the Northern Frontier Army head-on, the Northern Frontier Iron Cavalry could probably crush them completely with a single charge.

Fortunately, the turbulent Yellow River, a natural barrier, lies between Xiping Prefecture and Xingqing Prefecture, temporarily halting the advance of the Northern Frontier Army and giving Li Chunyou a brief respite.

"Hmph, utterly arrogant!"

At this moment, Li Chunyou sat in the makeshift court, looking at the letter from the Northern Frontier that Li Anquan had brought back. He was so angry that he trembled all over and suddenly threw the letter to the ground.

In the official letter, Li Xiao's proposed peace treaty was harsh in every clause, practically an insult to the entire Xia Kingdom.

First, the Xia Kingdom must compensate the Northern Frontier Army with one million strings of silver and one million shi of grain as war reparations.

Secondly, the Xia Kingdom must submit to the Northern Frontier, and the two countries will become father and son states, with the Northern Frontier as the father and the Xia Kingdom as the son.

Third, in order to maintain lasting good relations between the two countries, the Xia Kingdom needs to marry Princess Lingyang to the northern border as part of a peace treaty.

Fourth, considering that the princess has just come of age and is still quite naive, the Imperial Concubine Wang is specially invited to go to the northern frontier to take care of the princess.

Fifth, the Northern Frontier valued its close relationship with the Xia Kingdom and invited the Xia Crown Prince to study in the Northern Frontier.

Sixth, the Xia Kingdom will be required to pay tribute to the northern frontier with 100,000 strings of cash and 100,000 bushels of grain annually thereafter.

Seventh~
There are eleven articles in total, and every single one of them is treasonous.

Finally, he made a threatening statement: if Li Chunyou did not agree, the Northern Frontier Army would cross the river and advance eastward to completely destroy the Xia Kingdom.

"Li Xiao, you scoundrel, you barbarian from the northern frontier, you've gone too far!"

Li Chunyou cursed incessantly, his chest heaving violently: "Even if my Great Xia has only one soldier left, it will never submit to such humiliating conditions."

After cursing for a long time, he finally calmed down a bit and looked at the newly appointed Minister of Rites: "Has there been any reply from the Jin Kingdom?"

The Minister of Rites bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, the Jin Kingdom has replied that we must hold Xiping Prefecture and block the northern border army, as their reinforcements are on their way."

"However, according to our scouts, the Song Dynasty is preparing for a northern expedition, and the Jin Dynasty has already amassed a large number of troops on the border between the two countries."

"In my opinion, even if the Jin Kingdom does send reinforcements to support our Great Xia, the number of troops will not be too large."

"Unreliable! He's a complete ingrate who can never be trusted."

After hearing this, Li Chunyou couldn't help but curse the Jin Kingdom again, "They usually treat us like brothers, but now that our Great Xia is in trouble, they are so perfunctory."

Why did the Jin Kingdom collect so much protection money from the Xia Kingdom in the past?

Despite his complaints, Li Chunyou could only sigh helplessly in the face of reality.

He felt a heavy weight on his shoulders, an endless pressure that almost crushed him.

With the Great Xia Kingdom fallen to this state, he would ultimately have to bear all the hardships and difficulties himself.

He paused for a moment, then ordered the Minister of Rites: "You shall immediately depart for the northern frontier to continue negotiations with them."

"Their demands are too high; we absolutely cannot agree to them. Try your best to negotiate with them and see if you can lower their demands."

"At the very least, we must buy time."

With the current national strength of the Xia Kingdom, it simply cannot afford one million strings of cash and one million bushels of grain, let alone one hundred thousand every year thereafter.

As for the matter of the father-son kingdom and the matter of the royal concubine, it was an even greater humiliation to the entire Xia Kingdom and to Li Chunyou himself.

The crown prince is the foundation of the country; how can he be used as a hostage by the people of the northern frontier?
Only marriage alliances~
……

In the days that followed, the Northern Frontier Army deployed its troops on the west bank of the Yellow River and also collected a large number of boats along the river, putting on a posture of being ready to cross the river and advance eastward at any time, which put enormous pressure on Xiping Prefecture.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Rites of Xia frequently traveled between Xiping Prefecture and Xingqing Prefecture to discuss peace terms with the northern frontier.

The two sides remained deadlocked on many issues, including the amount of reparations and the terms of submission, and ultimately failed to reach a final peace treaty.

However, after several rounds of negotiations, a temporary ceasefire was agreed upon, giving the Xia Kingdom a chance to catch its breath.

A few days later, outside Xiping Prefecture, a wedding procession was preparing to depart.

Princess Lingyang, dressed in a magnificent wedding gown, could not hide the sorrow on her face. She embraced the Empress and wept bitterly.

"My daughter, you've suffered so much!"

"Mother Empress~ Waaaaah~"

Li Chunyou stood to the side, his expression solemn, his gaze towards his daughter filled with guilt.

He knew that sending his daughter to the northern frontier for a political marriage would be a huge sacrifice for her, but with the northern army stationed on the west bank of the Yellow River and the destruction of the Great Xia Kingdom imminent, he really had no other choice.

"Lingyang~"

Li Chunyou's throat seemed to be blocked by something, and he had so much to say but didn't know how to express it.

Her eyes were slightly red, and she could only say a few simple words: "With Father and Mother not by my side, I must take good care of myself from now on."

"Don't blame Father..."

Looking at Li Chunyou, whose hair was now gray, Li Lingyang felt a pang of heartache.

In such a short time, Father has aged so much. This is not his fault, but simply bad luck.

She wiped away her tears and said, choking back sobs, "Your daughter doesn't blame you; this is the responsibility of us Weiming daughters."

"Once we return to Xingqing Prefecture, my daughter will definitely persuade the people of the Northern Frontier to cease hostilities with the Great Xia. If possible, it would be best to get them to return Xingqing Prefecture."

Upon hearing this, Li Chunyou felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.

He knew his daughter's idea was too naive. The people of the northern frontier were not just those grassland people who only knew how to plunder. They truly treated the land they seized as their own and managed it accordingly.

Take the Hexi Corridor for example; they have managed it very well.

This is what makes the Han people so formidable; they possess a powerful ability to assimilate and govern.

In two more years, Xingqing Prefecture will probably become just like the Hexi Corridor today, completely becoming part of the northern frontier.

"Never mind, it's good that you have the intention."

Li Chunyou sighed and said nothing more.

As the wedding procession receded into the distance, the young prince's cries echoed from behind: "Sister! Sister!"

In the young prince's eyes, his sister's marriage to the barbarians of the northern frontier had ruined her life's happiness; she had sacrificed herself to save the Great Xia.

Although he vaguely understood the reason, he still couldn't accept the fact and cried as he chased after his sister's carriage.

"Sister, wait for me! When I grow up, I will definitely defeat the Northern Frontier people and bring you back!"

The young prince's voice, though childish, carried a firm tone and echoed in the air.

On the other side, Li Anquan stood not far away, watching all of this indifferently.

In his eyes, if the Great Xia Kingdom continued to be ruled by Li Chunyou, it would eventually be completely destroyed.

Only Li Anquan can save the Great Xia from its perilous situation.

A few days later, under the guise of celebrating his birthday, Li Anquan invited some military generals from Xiping Prefecture as well as officials in the court who were on good terms with him to a banquet.

After several rounds of drinks, the group began to whisper among themselves, expressing their dissatisfaction with Li Chunyou's rule.

Everything is quietly changing, and a new storm is brewing in Xiping Prefecture.

(End of this chapter)