Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 943 0938 [The Farsighted Traitor]

Luoyang Imperial City, Dongkuo City.

A carriage stopped by the roadside and seven or eight officials walked out of the waiting room.

"Duke Lu, please go first!"

All the officials stopped in front of the carriage, waiting for Shi Yuangong to get on first.

Lord Shi Yuan was not polite either. He just bowed politely and stepped into the carriage.

The rest of the officials, however, did not get in the cars they had, but stood there waiting for the next one.

Lord Shi Yuan got off the car in the imperial city and headed straight for the Chuigong Palace. None of the guards along the way tried to stop him.

It was not until he arrived outside the Chuigong Hall that a eunuch came up and asked Shi Yuangong to wait for a moment so that he could go in and report.

Soon, the eunuch came back and said, "Duke Lu, please come in."

Shi Yuangong is now the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, in charge of the intelligence system of the Ministry of War. However, he can no longer interfere in the operation of intelligence, and can only obtain intelligence from the Ministry of War and summarize and analyze it.

Arriving in the palace, Shi Yuangong bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am Shi Yuangong, and I pay my respects to you!"

Zhu Ming put down his brush and said, "Please sit down. You came here in person, so you obviously have important news."

Shi Yuangong sat upright and said, "Li Qianshun, the ruler of Xixia, died, and the fifteen-year-old Li Renxiao succeeded to the throne. The Queen of Xixia, Ren, and Li Renxiao's mother, Cao, were both made Empress Dowagers."

"Which Ren?" Zhu Ming subconsciously felt something was wrong, "Didn't Li Qianshun have a queen?"

Shi Yuangong said: "More than two months before his death, Li Qianshun appointed Ren, who had been in the palace for only eight months and was only 17 years old, as the Queen of Xixia without any warning."

Zhu Ming asked, "What is Ren's father's name?"

Shi Yuangong said: "Ren Dejing."

Zhu Ming didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He thought he had flapped the butterfly's wings and had killed Ren Dejing long ago, but he didn't expect that this guy was still jumping around.

At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, Ren Dejing was just a small prefecture judge on the border of Shaanxi. But he thrived in Western Xia, and finally even forced the Western Xia emperor to publicly promise: half of the Western Xia territory would be given to Ren Dejing to establish a country!

Zhu Ming asked, "Why haven't you reported Ren Dejing's news?"

Shi Yuangong was startled, then explained: "Before his daughter became the Queen of Western Xia, Ren Dejing had always been inconspicuous. He was originally the Tongpan of Xi'an Prefecture in the former Song Dynasty. When the Jin army marched south, Western Xia cooperated to invade Shaanxi. Ren Dejing lured and killed the civil and military officials of Xi'an Prefecture, and surrendered the city to Western Xia with his two brothers. After that, he served as a minor official in Western Xia. There were more than one or two such former Song traitors."

"Then how come his daughter suddenly became the queen?" Zhu Ming asked.

Shi Yuangong said: "Bribery."

"Just relying on bribery?" Zhu Ming was surprised.

Shi Yuangong nodded: "It depends on bribery."

Zhu Ming asked, "How can he have so much money?"

Shi Yuangong said: "When he surrendered to Xixia, he confiscated the homes of all the former Song Dynasty officials in Xi'an Prefecture and embezzled the entire treasury and military funds of Xi'an Prefecture. At that time, he bribed Richard's subordinates and got in touch with Richard. He also let his two younger brothers live in the Xixia capital for a long time to bribe. After he became an official in Xixia, he also embezzled a lot of money, and most of the embezzled money was used for bribery."

Zhu Ming sighed: "What a talent!"

Shi Yuangong said: "The spies have already found out everything. When Ren Dejing defected to Xixia, his daughter was only five years old. She was very clever and well-behaved. He personally taught his daughter music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry and songs. He also hired musicians and dancers to teach her singing and dancing, and made her recite Buddhist scriptures since she was young. I'm afraid he had long been thinking about sending his daughter to the Xixia royal palace."

"He is very deliberate and cunning," Zhu Ming commented.

Shi Yuangong said: "Li Qianshun, the ruler of Western Xia, was in poor health before he became critically ill. Ren Dejing bribed the imperial censor and eunuchs to persuade Li Qianshun to marry a concubine. After Ren entered the palace, she quickly won Li Qianshun's favor. She recited scriptures, sang, danced, and read poems to him in front of his sickbed. Li Qianshun liked everything! He also asked the imperial censor to recommend that Ren be crowned as the queen. Li Qianshun was seriously ill and deaf at the time, and no matter how the Western Xia prime minister advised him, it was useless."

She had been in the palace for less than a year, had no children, and was only seventeen years old, but she was directly appointed as the queen!

You know, since the death of Yelu Nanxian, Li Qianshun has not appointed a queen for more than ten years.

Zhu Ming asked, "What position does Ren Dejing hold now?"

Shi Yuangong said: "When his daughter became a concubine, Ren Dejing was promoted to the defense commander of Jingzhou. When his daughter was crowned as the queen, Ren Dejing was promoted to the commander of the Jingzhou army. Jingzhou is the southern gateway of the Xixia capital. This position is very important and can lead troops to attack the Xixia capital at any time."

"After Li Qianshun died, Li Renzhong opposed Richard taking charge of the Firearms Battalion, so the two compromised and handed the Firearms Battalion over to Ren Dejing. The firearms and artillery soldiers that Li Qianshun created are now in the hands of Ren Dejing, who is now the deputy commander of the Sima Infantry Army in front of the Xixia Palace!"

Zhu Ming asked again: "Any other news?"

Shi Yuangong reported: "There is another spring drought in the northern part of Yanqing Prefecture this year. The grain stored there last year is enough for disaster relief this year. But if you want to invade Xixia, you must transfer more grain to Yanqing Prefecture."

"There is a spring drought in Yanqing Prefecture. What's going on in Western Xia?" Zhu Ming asked.

Shi Yuangong said: "According to the investigation of the spies, Yinzhou and Xiazhou in Western Xia both suffered spring drought."

Zhu Ming smiled and nodded: "It's good to be drought-free together."

If the above-mentioned places are explained using the geographical concepts of later generations, it would be... northern Shaanxi!
There are nine droughts in ten years in northern Shaanxi. There is a saying to prove it: There are droughts every year, moderate droughts in two years, severe droughts in three years, and great disasters in ten years.

The vegetation environment in northern Shaanxi was slightly better than a few hundred years later, but droughts still occurred frequently. Before the establishment of the Western Xia Dynasty, although the two sides were unhappy, the Tanguts requested relief, and the Northern Song Dynasty was willing to provide food.

Until Western Xia officially became an independent country, the Northern Song Dynasty court strictly prevented the outflow of grain, especially to Western Xia prefectures where drought had occurred.

Of course it can’t be defended!
Border generals of the Northern Song Dynasty often withheld soldiers' food and wages and secretly sold grain to the territory of Western Xia.

Droughts frequently hit Western Xia, and the country often shamelessly asked the Northern Song Dynasty for relief, and also requested grain relief from the Liao and Jin dynasties.

Zhu Ming asked again: "After Li Qianshun's death, what was the domestic situation in Xixia like?"

Shi Yuangong said: "The court is relatively stable, and there is no fighting. However, due to the rampant corruption of Xixia officials and the successive spring droughts in the border areas, the border tribes are all complaining. If it were the former Song Dynasty, they could cross the border to plunder, but now it is the Ming Dynasty. Occasionally, Xixia tribes cross the border, but they are killed and wounded by our Ming border troops. With all these factors combined, those Xixia border tribes can no longer survive."

Zhu Ming smiled even more happily.

Shi Yuangong continued, "Not only in the border areas, but also in Jingzhou and Dingzhou, the northern and southern gates of the Xixia capital, the lives of the tribes have become increasingly difficult. Jingzhou and Dingzhou are both grain-producing areas, officials are corrupt, the court levies heavy taxes, and the taxes of the tribes are getting heavier and heavier."

Historically, there were tribes in Weizhou, Dingzhou, Jingzhou... that were so poor that they rebelled, but they were all suppressed by Ren Dejing's troops.

Zhu Ming said: "The Cabinet, the Privy Council, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Revenue should discuss the issue of sending troops to Xixia."

……

The capital of Western Xia, Xingqing Prefecture (Yinchuan).

Ren Dejing was already very proud of himself at this time, as he was a genuine Jinshi in the Northern Song Dynasty.

At that time, the competition was so fierce that it was very difficult for Jinshi to be appointed to an official post. Ren Dejing had always relied on bribery to be appointed and promoted, but he emptied his family's money and only got a position as a magistrate in Xi'an Prefecture.

Where is Xi'an Prefecture?

That is the Xi'an Town of Haiyuan County in later generations, the front line of the Shaanxi border. You can meet Xixia people as soon as you go out!

As expected, the Jin soldiers and Zhu bandits besieged Kaifeng, and the Western Xia took the opportunity to launch a large-scale attack.

When Ren Dejing saw the Xixia army outside the city, he immediately thought about surrendering the city. Because most of the troops had gone to defend the king, there were only a few soldiers left in the city. If he didn't surrender, he would have to stay in the city and wait for death.

He was afraid that the civil and military officials in the city would disagree, so he lured and killed all his colleagues and took the opportunity to swallow up their property.

During these twelve years, Ren Dejing had a very hard life in Western Xia.

Most of the money he accumulated in the Northern Song Dynasty and the gold and silver he embezzled in the Western Xia were used for bribery, and his life was extremely poor.

Otherwise, how could he, a surrendered official from the State of Song, make his daughter, who had just entered the palace, the queen?
Now, not only has my daughter become the queen, she has also become one of the two empress dowagers.

Taking advantage of the conflict between Li Renzhong and Richard, and lobbying both sides, Ren Dejing successfully took control of the Western Xia firearms unit.

In Ren Dejing's eyes, the firearms unit was not used for fighting, but was a hen that laid golden eggs. Military expenses were high, and he could just reach out and take a few and get the money back quickly.

Moreover, Brother Richard is getting old. In the past two years, he has not led troops to fight in person. He just stayed in Xingqing Prefecture to build a luxurious mansion and indulge in pleasure.

Ren Dejing didn't take the old and decadent Brother Richard seriously.

He could bribe and curry favor with Ma while slowly eroding Brother Richard's military power.

At the same time, Ren Dejing was a Jinshi of the Song Dynasty, and he got along well with Prime Minister Li Renzhong. He supported Li Renzhong in carrying out internal reforms, so Li Renzhong supported him in taking charge of the Firearms Camp. Ren Dejing could even gain more power in the court through reforms.

One is the head of civil officials, the other is the head of military generals, both are tools for Ren Dejing to seize power!

I was a Jinshi in the Song Dynasty. What are these barbarians from Xixia? They are easy to control.

This guy does crazy things.

Historically, he forced the Xixia Emperor to give him half of his territory to establish the Chu Kingdom. This matter must be notified to the Jin Kingdom. Since the Jin Kingdom disagreed, Ren Dejing actually contacted the Southern Song Dynasty and attacked the Jin Kingdom together with the Southern Song Dynasty!
He can do anything for his own benefit.

Ren Dejing called his brother Ren Demin and said, "The new emperor has to go to the Ming Dynasty to ask for a title. I have recommended you to be the deputy envoy. Go to Luoyang and find out the details of the Ming Dynasty."

Ren Demin asked, "What are you trying to find out?"

Ren Dejing said: "Find out whether the Ming Dynasty has any signs of sending troops. Emperor Zhu is a man of great talent and strategy, and he is very likely to take the opportunity to send troops to Xixia. If the Ming Dynasty sends troops, Xixia will not be able to win, so we should make preparations early."

"Secretly surrender to the Ming Dynasty?" Ren Demin asked.

Ren Dejing shook his head: "We have finally climbed up and haven't enjoyed a few days of happiness yet. How can we easily surrender to the Ming Dynasty? If the Ming Dynasty sends troops, of course we must resist with all our strength. The best result is to cede territory in exchange for the withdrawal of Ming troops. The territory of Western Xia will be ceded, and the destruction of the country can be delayed for a day, maybe until you and I die of old age. After we die, why would we care about the flood?"

Ren Demin nodded: "Brother, what you said is absolutely right."

"But we must make preparations early," Ren Dejing said, "If the Ming Dynasty is determined to conquer Xixia, you and I should leave a way out in advance. When you go to Luoyang this time, make friends with a few more ministers and ask them how to send messages to the spies. Say more good things about your homeland in private. When the Ming army approaches Xingqing Prefecture, it will be natural for us to surrender."

Ren Demin sighed: "Brother is still far-sighted."

Ren Dejing stroked his beard and smiled proudly. He certainly had a long-term vision and began to cultivate his daughter when she was a few years old. Her seductive abilities made Li Qianshun dizzy.

(End of this chapter)