Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Xingqing Mansion (Yinchuan).

The Emperor of Xixia, Li Qianshun, has been in a bad mood these past few months.

The Liao Kingdom sent envoys to ask for help many times, but Xixia only sent reinforcements once. After being beaten by the Jin Kingdom, they became honest. Moreover, Xixia also took the initiative to surrender to the Kingdom of Jin, leaving its former master, the Kingdom of Liao, behind.

When he declared himself a minister, Prince Li Renai cried bitterly and remonstrated, but was severely scolded by Li Qianshun.

Last year, the Liao Kingdom fell, and Prince Li Renai died of sorrow and anger.

Queen Yelu Nanxian, who was born as the eldest daughter of the Liao Kingdom, had just experienced the destruction of her motherland and suffered the death of her beloved son due to illness, so she went on a hunger strike and died.

After losing both his son and his wife, can Li Qianshun be happy?

He is now under great political pressure. Without the Queen and the Liao Kingdom as his backers, he simply cannot suppress King Richard of Jin.

Moreover, Brother Richard led his troops and was defeated by the Jin Kingdom, and he has been eyeing the Jin people ever since. Xixia surrendered to the Jin Kingdom, and it was Brother Richard who vigorously promoted it, but the Jin people didn't care much about Li Qianshun.

The party nobles in the country also mostly took orders from King Richard of Jin, and Li Qianshun's presence as emperor became increasingly weaker.

What should we do if the King of Jin usurps power?

Li Qianshun was suspicious all day long, always feeling that the eunuchs and maids were plotting to kill him. Once he was poisoned to death, he would be left with only a two-year-old son, and the little emperor would inevitably become the puppet of King Jin.

"The King of Jin is becoming more and more domineering, what can be done?" Li Qianshun was worried.

Li Renzhong, the king of Pu, said: "The reason why the king of Jin is so domineering is because of his repeated military exploits. The Kingdom of Jin promised to cede territory last year in exchange for my sending troops to Daxia. The king of Jin vowed to win the eight palaces, and even let the scribes brag about it. Now. The Kingdom of Jin went back on its word and sent 10,000 troops to garrison the Eight Halls. It was obvious that they were unwilling to abide by the agreement to cede territory. This matter should be used to severely reprimand the King of Jin and weaken the prestige of the King of Jin!"

Li Qianshun shook his head and said: "It's useless. If we don't take away his military power, punishment will only do bad things."

Li Renzhong added: "I heard that China has changed dynasties, and the founding monarch Zhu Guoxiang was a kind man. Prince Zhu Ming was even more talented, and his poems were great, and I have read them all. Now the Jin country is strong and the Ming country is weak, and the people of Jin secretly support the king of Jin. Your Majesty can send an envoy to Kaifeng to see if we can make good relations with the Ming Dynasty."

"So what if we make friends with the Ming Dynasty?" Li Qianshun asked.

Li Renzhong said: "Daxia has experienced wars and natural disasters for a long time. In recent years, people have become increasingly poor, and people of all ethnic groups no longer want to fight. For his own selfish interests, the king of Jin forced food troops to conquer the Han Dynasty. Although he made great achievements, he did not seize them. Too much wealth. The Ancient Bone Dragon City was so poor that it had no military supplies. The King of Jin mobilized an army to occupy a piece of exhausted land. The peace terms proposed by the King of Jin were too harsh and the Ming Kingdom would not agree. If His Majesty sends an envoy, If we successfully negotiate peace with the Ming Dynasty, the war-weary soldiers will definitely turn their hearts to Your Majesty!"

Li Qianshun nodded and said, "This makes sense. Who is suitable to be sent as an envoy?"

Li Renzhong said: "My younger brother Li Renli is talented, good at singing, and proficient in Chinese. He should be an envoy."

Li Qianshun asked: "How should we negotiate peace?"

Li Renzhong said: "Restore the boundary between Daxia and China to ten years ago, and the Ancient Bone Dragon City can be returned to the Ming Dynasty. If the Ming Dynasty is still not satisfied, some unimportant forts will be given to it. Mainly the green salt business, The Ming Dynasty is not allowed to interfere. You don’t have to give annual coins. After all, the Ming Dynasty has just founded the country, and the emperor and the prince have to save face. It is best to choose a clan daughter to marry the Ming prince as his concubine. Then let the Ming Dynasty emperor choose a clan girl, Your Majesty Marry her as your concubine."

Li Qianshun frowned and said, "Is the marriage between the royal families of the two countries too entangled, making the Jin people unhappy?"

Li Renzhong said: "The King of Jin has made friends with the Jin people, so your majesty should win over the Ming Dynasty. Although the Jin Dynasty has a strong military and has a powerful enemy of the Ming Dynasty, it does not dare to start a war with our country without authorization. Moreover, the Jin people are barbarians and have a foul smell. If you don’t get rid of it, you will not be able to last long if you are wearing a monkey bath!”

A Xixia party member actually mocked the Jin people as barbarians, which was somewhat funny.

But Li Renzhong's mother is Han Chinese. He has studied Confucian classics since he was a child. His political tendency is to promote sinicization, and he himself can be regarded as a moral model.

Li Renzhong is not only honest and selfless, but also strictly disciplines his family.

His younger brother Li Renli was angrily scolded by Li Renzhong just for accepting bribes.

Under the influence of Li Renzhong, Li Renli also maintained a clean life and took care of himself. When he died, his family did not even have any money or food savings.

Li Renzhong added: "His Majesty sent an envoy to Kaifeng, which will inevitably arouse the jealousy of the King of Jin. In order to prevent the King of Jin from jumping over the wall in a hurry, Xiao Heda must be recalled to the capital and the military power of the capital be handed over to this person."

"Will the King of Jin give up the military power in the capital?" Li Qianshun asked.

Li Renzhong reminded: "Your Majesty is the emperor after all."

Li Qianshun nodded: "I know what to do."

Xiao Heda was a Liao general who led his troops to flee to Xixia. After the fall of the Liao Kingdom, he sent people to look for the Yelv Stone. Later, Xixia completely acted like a dog to the Jin Kingdom. Xiao Heda was so angry that he secretly contacted the survivors of the Liao Kingdom and raised troops to restore the Liao Dynasty the year Li Qianshun died.

Li Qianshun, the emperor of Xixia, became a puppet of his relatives as soon as he ascended the throne. He only stabilized his power by marrying the daughter of the Liao clan.

Now that the Liao Kingdom has been destroyed, and the King of Jin has a heavy army, the only Liao general that Li Qianshun can trust is Xiao Heda.

At the end of February, Li Qianshun ordered the King of Jin to personally conquer Lanzhou, and Brother Richard had to obey the order.

As soon as Brother Richard left with his troops, Xiao Heda led his troops over and successfully took over the defense of the Xixia capital.

After hearing the news, Brother Richard was furious, but he was helpless. He was really not sure that he would succeed in usurping the throne!

Because the two-year-old prince Li Renxiao's biological mother, Concubine Cao Xian, was from the Cao family in Guazhou.

The ancestor of the Cao family was Cao Xianshun, the king of Guazhou, who led the entire Guazhou to seek refuge in Xixia. Concubine Cao Xian's grandfather, Cao Mian, served as Taiwei of the Western Xia Dynasty during his lifetime. Concubine Cao Xian's uncles and brothers also have a certain appeal in the military.

Li Qianshun took charge of the operation, Xiao Heda was responsible for the defense of the capital, and the prince's uncle was responsible for the security of the palace, and he also cleaned the eunuchs and maids.

Brother Richard stopped going to attack Lanzhou and led his troops back to the capital of Xixia.

He abandoned the army outside the city and entered the city alone, asking why the Liao soldiers and generals were allowed to defend the capital? If the emperor does not trust himself, then please arrest him immediately and put him in prison.

How dare Li Qianshun?

The two sides compromised on this, with Brother Richard still in charge of the imperial army to defend the capital, and Xiao Heda moved to garrison Xiazhou, the land of Longxing.

As for the palace guards, they are still handed over to the prince's uncle, the Cao brothers.

…

But it was said that Li Renli, King Shu of Xixia, came to Han with an envoy.

He first contacted Yang Zhi and was then escorted to Kaifeng.

When passing by Chang'an, Li Renli seemed extremely excited and couldn't help blurting out: "I saw the sun but not Chang'an. Now I finally see Chang'an with my own eyes!"

The old man composed a poem on the spot and requested that it be engraved on a stone tablet next to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

At the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Jingzhao Prefecture was changed to Chang'an Prefecture, and Ling Guxu had been transferred to be the prefect of Chang'an, which happened to be responsible for receiving the Xixia envoy Li Renli.

"I heard that the prefect is an old friend of the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty," Li Renli said, cupping his hands, "I have admired the prince's talent and reputation for a long time, and I wish I could meet him in person. I wonder what gifts the prince likes?"

Ling Guxu said: "The prince doesn't like luxury, ordinary gifts are enough. Since your envoy has poetic talent, he can compose a poem as a gift, and the prince must be very happy."

Li Renli was severely disciplined by his elder brother, but as King Shu, he was a poor man and spent all his money collecting antiques, calligraphy and paintings.

When he heard Ling Guxu's suggestion, he was even more happy, thinking that he and Ju Ming were of the same mind.

Accompanied by Ling Guxu, Li Renli visited the scenic spots in Chang'an and finally continued his journey after ten days of delay.

In Guanzhong, which had been exploited by Song Huizong and had a lot of wasteland, Li Renli already felt extremely wealthy. When he arrived at the border of Luoyang Prefecture, he found that the place had not suffered any military disasters, and Li Renli was shocked by its affluence (Henan Prefecture has been renamed Luoyang Prefecture).

The deputy envoy is named Cao Changyong, who is the elder brother of the Xixia prince.

The two stood on the deck and headed towards Kaifeng along the Bianhe River. Merchant ships could be seen everywhere along the way.

"How can you imagine the wealth of China without seeing it with your own eyes?" Li Renli sighed.

Cao Changyong said: "It's a pity that it's too far away and I can't bring troops to grab it."

Li Renli almost fell down when he heard this. This was so disgraceful. It was like playing the piano to an ox.

Li Renli scolded: "Your ancestors were also Han people, so why are you contaminated with barbarian habits?"

Cao Changyong said: "Daxia is already very poor and exhausted. How can we survive without robbing? Can you create money and food?"

Li Renli said: "As long as we care for the people, recuperate and recuperate, and stop resorting to militarism, Daxia will be able to get out of its difficulties within ten years."

"Maybe." Cao Changyong was too lazy to say more.

The current food shortage situation in Xixia is actually much more serious than that in the Ming Dynasty.

The Zhu family and his son just hadn't exploited it like crazy yet, but Xixia forced the people to hand over their surplus grain and sent troops to Han Dynasty to rob grain and goods.

Especially in the direction of Dingbianjun and Xi'an Prefecture (Haiyuan), the Xixia border residents there were extremely poor. Whether they are Han people or Dangxiang people, they cannot be self-sufficient in farming and herding, and they must rely on smuggling of green salt to survive.

The green salt from Xixia was exchanged for grain and cloth from Guanzhong, and Han merchants transported the grain and cloth there.

However, during the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, grain was embargoed from Guanzhong. Countless Xixia border residents starved to death and crossed the border every three days to grab grain!

Similarly, Chinese border residents were also miserable. The imperial salt tax was too heavy and private salt transportation was also expensive. Without the cheap Xixia green salt, Chinese border residents cannot even afford salt.

The official ship was getting closer and closer to Kaifeng. Looking at the outline of the city wall in the distance, Li Renli's eyes seemed to be on a pilgrimage.

Bianliang, Tokyo, is the ideal capital of this Xixia prince!

He hoped that his mission this time would be successful, and that from then on the two countries would always have good relations, there would no longer be wars for years, and if we all work together to govern benevolently and love the people, the world would be at peace.

This is not entirely a pedantic idea, but Xixia has been fighting for nearly thirty years. The people raised some food and used it to fight the war. Agriculture declined, commerce collapsed, and internal strife continued. The whole country looked forward to a few years of peace and stability.

Therefore, in history, when Li Qianshun died and the new king Li Renxiao succeeded to the throne, he immediately started the sinicization reform and vigorously developed internal affairs.

Such ferocious reform measures did not arouse much resistance. On the contrary, there was a feeling of being welcomed by the public. Even the party nobles wanted to take a break and stop fighting.