Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.
Chapter 922 0917 [Xixia’s Trouble]
Chapter 922 0917 [Xixia’s Trouble]
Last year we had a bumper wheat harvest, but this year we have a persistent drought. God is really cruel and ruthless.
The entire Shaanxi Province except Hanzhong, most of Shanxi Province, and a small part of Henan Province are experiencing severe drought this year.
Fortunately, it was the early years of the dynasty and the government was more efficient.
These provinces had not yet experienced famine, and there was even stock in the local granaries, so the imperial court ordered the transportation of grain from the south.
Countless amounts of rice and corn were transported north in truckloads and boatloads.
Moreover, when transporting the sacks into the warehouse, they deliberately knocked over a few bags. The ropes that tied the sacks were not tied tightly, and the grain was scattered all over the ground. The gossip spread quickly.
Seeing this situation, grain merchants who wanted to hoard grain had no choice but to give up.
When Zhu Guoxiang moved into Wangchuan Valley, military intelligence from Shaanxi was reported to the capital at high speed by boat and vehicle.
Zhang Guangdao did not dare to delay and did not go through the Tongzhengyuan and the Cabinet. He directly asked to see the emperor with urgent military information.
"What's the matter?" Zhu Ming asked.
Zhang Guangdao handed over a military intelligence document and said, "There is a severe drought in Western Xia!"
Zhu Ming smiled and said, "Shaanxi is suffering from such a severe drought, so it is normal for Xixia to suffer from a severe drought."
When the eunuch handed over the official document, Zhang Guangdao said: "There may be a famine in Western Xia. Border commanders in Yan, Qing, Lin, Fu and other places have reported that hungry people from Western Xia have crossed the border to beg for food. Groups of people have crossed mountains and ridges to beg for food in our country. The grass roots and tree barks along the mountains have become food for those hungry people."
"Accept it and settle him!" Zhu Ming took the document and opened it.
Zhang Guangdao said: "Li Yanxian has discussed with the Shaanxi Provincial Government and ordered the border civil and military officials to properly settle the hungry people. Especially those with families, they should be given food and land immediately. The population of the border area will soon be replenished."
The generals of various places were replaced two years ago to prevent problems from arising from long-term garrison.
Now Li Yanxian is in charge of Shaanxi's defense, and Wu Jie is in charge of the large area from Yan'an to Linfu. The Linfu area was later divided between Shanxi and Shaanxi, but in order to facilitate defense against Western Xia, the Ming Dynasty assigned it all to Shaanxi.
Zhang Guangdao added: "Xiao Heda, the governor of Xiazhou in Western Xia, sent people to sneak into the hungry people and send his young son to Mizhi Village. He also attached a secret letter saying that only Your Majesty could read it, and no civil or military officials in Shaanxi dared to open it."
Zhu Ming had already seen the secret letter, which was tucked among the Shaanxi military intelligence documents.
Xiao Heda was originally a general of the Liao Kingdom, escorting Yelu Nanxian to Xixia for marriage. He was ostracized by Xixia generals, and was always protected by Li Qianshun, who used him to check and balance Richard.
Li Qianshun appointed several generals like this to check and balance Richard, but some of them had been secretly won over by Richard.
When the Ming Dynasty was just founded, Xiao Heda had already skipped half of the rebellion.
At that time, he disregarded the orders of the Xixia court and took the initiative to retreat in order to preserve his strength. The Xixia monarch and his ministers were afraid that he would directly surrender to the Ming Dynasty, so they did not dare to do anything to him. As Richard recovered his strength, Li Qianshun even deliberately indulged him.
However, one must be on guard against this. Xiao Heda's sons were all taken to the capital of Western Xia as hostages.
Zhu Ming opened the secret letter and read:
"May the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty be well. I was originally a general escorting the bride from the Liao Kingdom. Now my motherland has been incorporated into the territory of the Ming Dynasty. The princess and her children died mysteriously. I am living alone in Xixia and am being ostracized..."
"The Xixia Left Wing Divine Warrior Army has been taken over by Brother Richard's confidant. This person is right next to my base, and I feel uneasy. Last year, he found an excuse to stir up trouble and transferred one of my brave generals away..."
The content of this secret letter is roughly divided into four parts.
First, he talked about how difficult his situation was. His military power had been being eroded by Brother Richard, and if this continued for a few more years, he would soon be left alone.
Second, he expressed his willingness to surrender to the Ming Dynasty. His other sons were all held hostage in the capital. But in recent years, he had an illegitimate child, who was already five years old, and only a few close friends knew about it. Now he sent the illegitimate child to the Ming Dynasty and asked Zhu Ming to take good care of him.
Third, he disclosed in detail the military situation of Xixia west of Hengshan, saying that he had lost control of Yinzhou. His army was blocked in Xiazhou by Richard's cronies, and now it is no longer bordering the territory of Ming Dynasty. In addition, Xiazhou Iron and Steel Plant, the largest iron smelting plant in Xixia, was also taken away by Richard's cronies.
Fourth, the internal affairs of the Western Xia Kingdom are also elaborated in detail.
Li Qianshun has been promoting sinicization and "emphasizing culture over military affairs." To put it bluntly, he wants centralization of power.
Thirty years ago, Xue Yuanli, a Han official, was appointed to establish a national school (similar to the Imperial Academy) in Western Xia, and 300 children of royal relatives and nobles were selected to teach Han knowledge.
Twenty years ago, the official appointment system was reformed, and those who were good at Chinese studies were given the same appointment treatment as those from royal families.
Li Qianshun also sent out information several times to test the waters, intending to establish an imperial examination system in Xixia. However, due to too many oppositions from clan members, nobles, and aristocratic families, the imperial examination had to be abandoned.
However, the number of officials who were promoted because of their proficiency in Sinology has been increasing. Unfortunately, they were suppressed by the powerful and were stuck in low- and middle-level positions and could not move up. Only a few of them were able to be promoted to high positions.
The ruling class of Western Xia was becoming increasingly divided.
The clan members, the powerful, and the noble families were not happy with the officials from humble backgrounds, and felt threatened. They were also extremely dissatisfied with the king, Li Qianshun, especially those with military power, who all turned to Brother Richard.
No matter how outstanding their political achievements were, most officials from poor families, except for a few lucky ones, had no hope of a career in politics. They were full of resentment, some chose to give up, some engaged in rampant corruption, and some turned to the nobles.
This led to the inability of Western Xia's government orders to be implemented, and many times, middle and low-level officials deliberately pretended to obey the orders but actually disobeyed them.
In addition to drought, the famine in Xixia this time also had human factors. "Xixia is in a period of change!"
Zhu Ming increasingly understood Li Qianshun's difficulties.
The ruler of Western Xia was faced with numerous internal and external troubles and no longer dared to act rashly.
If he dared to force the imperial examination system, or promote a few more officials from humble backgrounds to participate in government affairs, I'm afraid a large number of royal families, nobles, and aristocratic families would support Richard's rebellion!
However, the promotion of Sinology has been going on for thirty years, and the promotion of Sinology officials has been going on for twenty years. A large number of officials from poor families are stuck in middle and low-level positions, and have become a new political force. It is impossible for Li Qianshun to change his old path.
If Xixia wanted to quickly complete the transformation to a centralized power system, it had to meet three prerequisites:
First, there is no external threat, such as the direct collapse of the Ming Dynasty.
Second, Brother Richard must die, and the emperor takes the opportunity to take back military power.
Third, there was a military aristocratic rebellion, which the emperor sent troops to successfully suppress.
If these prerequisites cannot be met, then we can only drag out the time slowly, waiting for those officials from humble backgrounds to continue to grow in power, control more power and resources of the country, and then overwhelm the military nobles with absolute superiority.
In the secret letter, Xiao Heda said that if the Ming Dynasty sent troops to Western Xia, many Western Xia officials would be willing to surrender to the Ming Dynasty.
Because they have no future in Western Xia!
Zhu Ming called the officials from the Cabinet, the Ministry of Public Administration, and the Privy Council and had them circulate the secret letter among them.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty. Xixia has been settled."
"In Xixia, the ruler and his subjects are at odds, and the upper and lower classes are alienated. If we win a few battles, countless people will come to join us."
"..."
Facing the flattery, Zhu Ming was still able to stay sober: "These low-level civil servants of Xixia are of no help to the war. They are too weak, how can they fight against the generals? However, after seizing the territory, they will be useful in governing the northwest. The main one is Xiao Heda. Although his military power has been eroded, he still controls most of Xiazhou. With his cooperation in Xiazhou, Hengshan can be one of the main directions of attack."
"Order the Shaanxi Provincial Administration and Military Command to properly resettle the Xixia famine victims who crossed the border to beg for food. After the famine victims are settled and given land, they will be immediately organized into baojia. In this way, within two to three years, the Shaanxi border will be fully populated, and there will be enough civilians when the troops are sent out."
"On the basis of the previous grain transfer, the Ministry of Revenue will transfer another 300,000 dan of grain to Shaanxi, and exempt this year's summer grain. No matter how severe the drought this year is, no one in Shaanxi can starve to death, and we must not let the hungry people from Western Xia who cross the border starve to death. Only when the population is sufficient can we fight a war!"
"Starting next year, gradually increase the grain reserves in the prefectures and counties of Shaanxi. Ask the local officials to fill up the granaries within three years. If there is a disaster next year or the year after, report it to the court. After the censor verifies it, the court will continue to allocate grain for relief."
"It will take three years to make Shaanxi well-stocked with food and grass. Once the war starts, there will be no need to transport food from other provinces, and we can destroy Xixia in one fell swoop!"
After saying this, the ministers were all very excited.
If the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun were the biggest pain for the rulers and ministers of the former Song Dynasty, then the damned Western Xia was the second-ranked pain.
The duration of the war between the Northern Song Dynasty and the Western Xia was several times longer than that between the Northern Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty.
The war had been going on since the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty and continued until the end of the Northern Song Dynasty. There were occasional peace talks and ceasefires, but the war would resume after a few years, consuming countless money, food, and soldiers of the Northern Song Dynasty.
And now, Western Xia is finally on the verge of destruction!
Zhu Ming asked, "How is the Yellow River being managed?"
Qin Hui replied: "The first diversion has been carried out. However, the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River are dry this year, and the water volume is not very large. The effect of the diversion cannot be seen for the time being. If there is an autumn flood and there is no danger, a second diversion can be carried out as appropriate. The subsequent investment of money and grain is not much, and the court can use troops against Xixia without worry."
"Very good." Zhu Ming nodded.
Zhu Ming was afraid that the officials appointed by Qin Hui would make mistakes, so the Yellow River project was always presided over by the son of cabinet minister Zhao Quan.
However, Qin Hui was the Minister of Works after all, and he also sent several of his trusted aides to assist Zhao Fengji in controlling the Yellow River.
After the imperial meeting ended, the ministers went to arrange their work.
There was a severe drought in Shaanxi this year, and the imperial court transported large amounts of grain there without arousing suspicion among the rulers and ministers of Western Xia.
We can continue to transport and store grain next year and the year after, and we can also use the name of food shortage as an excuse.
Once Shaanxi has sufficient reserves of grain and grass, and once the refugees from Western Xia have settled down and there is no shortage of population and food, we can find an excuse to suddenly send out troops.
The reason for starting a war is ready-made. Western Xia has secretly colluded with Western Liao and has betrayed its suzerain state!
What, you didn't betray?
Well, the Ming Dynasty is about to launch an expedition to Western Liao, and you, Western Xia, should immediately send troops and people to help. And the Ming army needs to borrow a passage through the Hexi Corridor.
Even if Li Qianshun had ten times the courage, he would not dare to let the Ming army enter the Hexi Corridor.
If you are unwilling to lend your way, you will be branded as a traitor.
After thinking it over carefully, Zhu Ming wrote another letter to Li Yanxian, asking him to send Xiao Heda's illegitimate son to study in Wangchuan Valley and use him as a hostage.
At this time, the Ming Dynasty envoy fleet returned home safely.
Also accompanying them were envoys from dozens of countries, large and small.
(End of this chapter)
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