Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 682 Zhang Yi Advocates Alliances for Qin

August of the first year of the Longxing era.

As the autumn wind blows from north to south, both the north and south enter the harvest season.

In an agrarian society, the importance of the autumn harvest is unquestionable. Logically, all political forces should focus their energy on reaping the harvest and relax military confrontation.

In fact, later annalistic histories would use the phrase "the world suffered" as a footnote to the years that followed this month.

This is the worst year in the past few years, but also the best year in the coming years.

For many places, this year may be the last bumper harvest in the coming years.

Chaos is truly on its way.

However, the first to tip the dominoes was not a famous minister or general of the Song Dynasty, nor the two emperors of the Jin Dynasty, nor the Mongol Khan who was gradually rising in power, nor the heroes of Shandong who had decided to recuperate and rebuild.

It was an unexpected place.

Xixia, Xingqing Mansion.

Yila Dao drank his tea, looked at the Buddha statue in the post station, and frowned.

As a traditional Confucian scholar-official, Yila Dao was not particularly averse to Buddhism and Taoism, but he felt that the Western Xia was overly devoted to Buddhism, to the point that there were such huge golden Buddha statues in the post stations, which was really a waste of resources and manpower.

What Yila Dao didn't know was that although the Western Xia's worship of Buddhism had a long history, it only suddenly flourished after the current Western Xia emperor, Li Renxiao, ascended the throne.

As the fifth emperor of Western Xia, Li Renxiao, although of Tangut ethnicity, had been largely assimilated into Han culture, and Confucianism flourished within Western Xia.

Eighteen years ago, Li Renxiao established the Imperial Academy, modeled after the Song Dynasty, and subsequently built the Temple of Confucius to worship Confucius and established the imperial examination system.

Besides selecting talent, the most important thing was to suppress the faction of Prince Li Chage of Jin.

However, various situations arose during actual implementation.

Richard was a confidant of Li Renxiao's father, Li Qianshun, and a general of the imperial clan. He forced Liu Fa, the "born general" of the Northern Song Western Army, to commit suicide. He saved the small Western Xia court more than once and was highly meritorious.

However, Richard was the kind of member of the royal family who was greedy for money, lustful, and power-hungry, yet loyal to the small Western Xia court. In addition, he was getting old, so he actually had no intention of seizing power.

But the rest of Richard's faction might not be so sure.

Among Richard's confidants was a man named Ren Dejing, who was originally a minor official in the Song Dynasty but defected to the Western Xia after the Jingkang Incident.

Ren Dejing himself was quite capable, and he made many military achievements in suppressing the internal rebellion of Western Xia. In addition, he married his daughter to Li Qianshun, which gave him the status of a maternal relative. More than ten years ago, he was granted the title of Duke of Xiping.

Richard also wanted to increase his influence in the court and wanted to recommend Ren Dejing to enter the court.

However, there were still some discerning people in the Western Xia court, and the reasons were obvious.

Non-my family, its heart must be different.

A Han Chinese should not even think about seeking a high position in the Tangut court, not even as a relative of the empress!
The most vehement opponent was Prince Pu, Li Renzhong.

However, Li Renzhong died of illness the following year. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Cha recommended Ren Dejing to the court, and Li Renxiao had no choice but to agree and appoint Ren Dejing as Minister of the Imperial Secretariat.

A few years later, Richard also died of illness, and Ren Dejing was completely uncontrollable. He was promoted to prime minister and became extremely powerful.

Only now did Li Renxiao want to do everything he could to suppress Ren Dejing, but he suddenly found himself in an awkward situation.

After the death of Prince Richard of Jin, the entire Western Xia Dynasty had no reliable generals besides Ren Dejing.

If Ren Dejing is executed, wouldn't the Western Xia be left defenseless?
During this brief moment of hesitation, Ren Dejing's ambition grew stronger. He appointed his younger brother Ren Decong as Grand Commandant of the Palace Guard, Ren Degong as Prefect of Xingqing Prefecture, and his cousin Deren as Envoy of the Southern Court, and his nephew Ren Chunzhong as Deputy Chief of the Privy Council.

From then on, the Ren family controlled key military and political positions in the Western Xia Dynasty.

With his power fully consolidated, Ren Dejing then coerced Li Renxiao into granting him the title of Prince of Chu. From then on, his entourage was almost equal to Li Renxiao's.

Left with no other choice, Li Renxiao not only vigorously promoted Confucianism and promoted scholar-officials, but also worshipped Buddhism, hoping to suppress Ren Dejing through religion.

It can only be described as grasping at straws in desperation.

The result was naturally minimal.

If history had unfolded as it should, a few years later, Ren Dejing would have attempted to split Western Xia into two kingdoms, North and South, sending Li Renxiao to the north to suffer.

This historical event is known as 'Ren Dejing's Division of the State'.

As for why Yiladao, this diplomatic talent, is now in Western Xia, that's a long story.

After the Tudan tribe's army was wiped out, Yila Dao did not follow the two unfortunate men, Tudan Zhen and Tudan Yongnian. Instead, he quickly cut off his braid, disguised himself as a monk, and traveled through wind and rain, sleeping under the stars and moon, until he arrived at Hejian Prefecture.

Upon returning to Youzhou, Wanyan Yong learned of the battle's outcome from the military report, but he did not blame Yila Dao too much.

To be fair, Yiladao had perfectly accomplished his task, splitting the Taiping army, which could be considered the greatest achievement of this great battle. Later, the Jin army made a crucial mistake, failing to quell the Shandong bandits, which could be attributed to fate, not to any fault of the war.

Therefore, after the merits were rewarded, Yiladao was promoted to the position of Tongzhi Zhongdu Road Transport Commissioner, a position similar to that of the Minister of Finance.

However, before he had even been in office for half a year, as the situation in the world changed, Wanyan Yong once again remembered this diplomatic genius who had split the Taiping Army with just his words, and sent him to Western Xia under the guise of presenting the Western Xia emperor Li Renxiao with scriptures in order to win over Western Xia.

This time, Wanyan Yong once again gave Yila Dao a high degree of autonomy, allowing him to decide on countermeasures based on the specific situation.

The Song and Western Jin are currently locked in a standoff in Guanzhong. Both of these countries are ones that Wanyan Yong wants to destroy. However, he is in Youyan and cannot grasp the situation in Guanzhong. He still needs to send Yila Dao to investigate before deciding which side to attack.

"The angels have been waiting."

After resting for a day at the post station, Yiladao was greeted by an old minister with white hair and beard, and a strange bird-shaped hairstyle.

Yiladao merely nodded reservedly, maintaining the demeanor of an envoy from the Heavenly Kingdom.

The old minister of Western Xia was not annoyed. Instead, he bowed respectfully again and said, "My name is Rela Gongji, and I am the Imperial Censor of the Great Bai Gao Kingdom."

Although the Western Xia still retained some tribal characteristics, it had been established for a longer period than the Jin Dynasty and still possessed central power.

As the highest-ranking official after the prime minister, the Imperial Censor held a position of great power and influence.

In other words, this Tangut man known as "Hot-Spicy Gongji" could make some decisions for Li Renxiao.

"Now that the person in charge is here, let's get straight to the point." Yila Dao sat cross-legged on the bed with great rudeness and cut to the chase: "Do you know that your Western Xia emperor is about to die?"

Upon hearing this, the fiery Gongji was taken aback, then abandoned his feigned respect and sneered with his hands behind his back, "Heh, I don't understand what you're saying, Your Majesty. Do you intend to send troops from Youyan across the vast sea to attack Xingqing Prefecture?"

Yila Dao said with a half-smile, "Why not?"

Hot-tempered Gongji was so angry he laughed and spread his hands: "Then come on then."

After exchanging barbs, Yila Dao, seeing he hadn't gained the upper hand, said, "I've heard that your country has a King of Chu, I think his name is Ren Dejing, who controls both internal and external military power, and whose authority surpasses that of the emperor. What should we do if this fellow were to actually become emperor one day?"

Hot-Spicy Gongji sneered a few more times: "Back then, our Great White High Kingdom should learn from the Great Jin's experience in governance and how the Great Jin dealt with rebellions."

Your Jin Dynasty has already split into two, what right do you have to accuse our Western Xia ministers of being powerful?
"Tsk tsk tsk..." Yila Dao naturally understood Rela Gongji's sarcasm, but he was not angry. He just clicked his tongue in amazement: "According to Rela Gongji, is your emperor also a tyrannical ruler like Wanyan Liang?"

Hot-tempered Gongji knew he had fallen into Yila Dao's verbal trap, but since they were in a private room and only the two of them were speaking in private, he was not afraid: "If the angel only wants to say these things to His Majesty, then I will not accompany him."

Having said that, the fiery Gongji turned to leave.

If the Jin Dynasty hadn't split up, then Rela Gongji certainly wouldn't have dared to do this. But now that the Jin Dynasty has split into two, it's hard to say who's begging whom!

"Hot-blooded man, wait a minute."

Sure enough, as the hot and spicy Gongji reached the door, Yila Dao finally got off the bed, straightened his clothes, and bowed: "I was very offensive in my words just now, please forgive me."

Seeing that Yila Dao was still all smiles, the fiery Gongji instantly lost his temper.

Both were important officials of the state, and even if they disliked each other, they had to prioritize national affairs.

"Angel, let bygones be bygones. You have come all this way, is it really just to deliver some scriptures to His Majesty?"

In response to the question from the fiery Gongji, Yila Dao slowly replied, "Naturally, we have come to rescue His Majesty of your Great White High Kingdom."

The hot-tempered Gongji was about to act out.

Yila Dao ignored the warnings and said directly, "Was I wrong just now? Your Chu King's influence has already reached this level. You have trusted confidants in the palace and government, and your sons, nephews and brothers are generals who command troops. You also have a royal title, and your ceremony of drums and gongs is just like that of an emperor. What's so strange about wanting to go further?"

"Furthermore, Ren Dejing is a Han Chinese. He is not only not a member of the Li imperial family, but he is not even a Tangut. Are you old ministers really going to just stand by and watch him usurp the throne?"

At first, the hot-tempered Gongji was very angry, but he fell silent when he heard the end, and a trace of fear flashed in his eyes.

How can I not be afraid?

"Does the angel have any ideas?" As Ren Dejing's mortal enemy, Hot-Hot Gongji naturally wanted to get rid of him, but it wasn't that simple.
Yila Dao laughed: "Lord Rela is blinded by a leaf and can't see Mount Tai. What Lord Rela fears now is nothing more than the military power in Ren Dejing's hands. But how did this fellow obtain military power? Wasn't it obtained by fighting everywhere and suppressing rebellions?"

"If the emperor of the Great White Kingdom wants to consolidate military power, he will inevitably face a major war."

Upon hearing this, the fiery Gongji waved his hand and said, "The angel is joking. The Great White Kingdom is currently in a period of recuperation and development. How can it possibly go to war?"

"Heh, does your Emperor really think he has a choice? This is the last chance." Yila Dao said with a mysterious expression: "Now you are afraid and want to kill Ren Dejing, but doesn't Ren Dejing also want to kill you? Maybe he is already prepared."

At this point, Yila Dao clicked his tongue twice and looked out the window: "Do you think His Highness the Prince of Chu, who has connections everywhere in Xingqing Prefecture, knows about our secret meeting? And he..."

Yila Dao looked at the hot Gongji, whose forehead was already covered in cold sweat: "Who are you plotting with this time?"

(End of this chapter)