Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Li Yangzhen also discovered a very exciting piece of news in the genealogy of the Li family in Quanzhou.

His ancestor was Li Ming, the fourteenth son of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, and the Prince of Cao!

Who knows if this kind of genealogy is reliable or not, but Li Yangzhen took it seriously.

He had a copy of the family genealogy made, wrote down his observations of Quanzhou, and then hurriedly returned to Annam.

After that, banquets were held every few days.

Halfway through each banquet, he would have his servants bring out the family genealogy, point to it, and say, "I am a descendant of the Tang Dynasty imperial family. My ancestor was the fourteenth son of Emperor Taizong."

"Who dares to say that my great-grandfather was a merchant who usurped the throne? Is it considered a usurpation for a descendant of the Tang Dynasty royal family to be king in Jiaozhi?"

"Jiaozhi was originally part of the Tang Dynasty's territory, but it was carved up and occupied by those petty warlords. My great-grandfather simply took back the power!"

This guy was showing off his status as a descendant of the Tang Dynasty royal family everywhere. Zhao Kang laughed it off when he heard the news, and was happy to see him continue to spread the news.

You know what, this kind of thing spreads extremely quickly in Annam.

Those scholars who were frustrated in their careers, in particular, were more willing to believe that they were descendants of Han Chinese and hoped that Annam could return to China.

Because after their return, they will have more room for development, and they might even be able to take the exams and become officials!

Annam's civil service examinations were dominated by powerful clans, only slightly better than those of Goryeo and Western Xia, making it very difficult for scholars from humble backgrounds to advance.

……

Just as Zhao Kang was promoting the "Jiaozhi Zhilue" (A Brief Account of Jiaozhi), the Western Xia royal palace was under heavy security.

Li Qianshun was bedridden for more than half a year. His condition improved for a while, and he was even able to attend court in person. But now he can no longer hold on.

Li Renxiao ascended the throne at the age of fifteen, and his birth mother, Lady Cao, became Empress Dowager.

The power dynamics in the imperial court remained largely unchanged; Li Renzhong remained the head of the civil officials, and Richard remained the head of the military generals.

But a rebellion is brewing in the region!

Not only was Xiao Heda, a remnant of the Liao dynasty, plotting a rebellion, but the Mu brothers of Tuyuhun were also involved.

Their ancestors had some connection with Fan Zhongyan.

Fan Zhongyan tried to win over Mu En and the chieftains of various tribes by rewarding them with clothing and money, attempting to get the Mu family to help the Northern Song Dynasty fight the war.

The Mu clan is a simplified form of the Murong clan, originating from the royal family of Tuyuhun.

They had their own territory in Western Xia and had been supplying warhorses to Western Xia.

The brothers Mu Wei and Mu Rong were promoted by Li Qianshun because they refused to side with Brother Richard.

Now that Li Qianshun is dead, Richard is naturally going to take action.

Historically, Mu Wei and Mu Rong were forced to surrender to the Jin Dynasty, but they were captured and executed by Richard.

"Brother, the king is dead!" Mu Rong arrived on horseback.

Mu Wei was startled: "Is the news true?"

Mu Rong said, "The messages I sent were delivered day and night by my spies in the capital."

Mu Wei frowned and said, "Brother Richard, I'm afraid you won't tolerate us. Unfortunately, both our sons are serving as guards in the capital (essentially hostages)!"

Mu Rong said, "We should inform our clansmen to be on high alert for an attack by the main army."

Chapter 3717 The Establishment of an Empress in Western Xia

Mu Wei turned to look eastward: "If Brother Richard truly cannot tolerate us, then we will have no choice but to surrender our entire clan to the Ming Dynasty."

"Immediately send someone to contact Xiao Heda. He also has a grudge against Richard. We can arrange to defect to the Ming together!"

Mu Rong hesitated and said, "But the Ming Dynasty lured and recruited slaves from our tribe. We crossed the border to capture slaves and even fought a battle with the Ming army."

"If we surrender, will the Ming Dynasty not hold a grudge?"

"Foolish," Mu Wei said, "If we can help the Ming Dynasty destroy the Western Xia, what do those past issues matter?"

"Besides, you've seen the Ming border army before. A few dozen cavalrymen routed several hundred of us."

"With such a powerful army, can the Western Xia withstand it?"

"Our tribe is located on the border. If the two countries go to war, our tribe will be the first to be attacked!"

The two brothers sent someone to contact Xiao Heda, but Xiao Heda's messenger arrived first.

Historically, the three men died within a year of each other.

Xiao Heda was executed for his rebellion, and the Mu brothers were captured and killed before they could rebel.

Immediately afterwards, uprisings broke out on the borders of Western Xia, and multiple tribes in Weizhou, Jingzhou, and Dingzhou rebelled.

The reason for the rebellion was simple: years of natural disasters had left the border tribes struggling to survive without relief.

……

Luoyang Imperial City, East Outer City.

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

"Duke of Lu, please go first!"

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

Shi Qian didn't stand on ceremony, only offering a perfunctory bow before stepping onto the carriage.

The other officials, however, did not take the cars they had, but stood still and waited for the next one.

Shi Qian got off the carriage inside the imperial city and went straight to the Chuigong Hall, without being stopped by any of the guards along the way.

Only when they arrived outside the Chuigong Hall did a eunuch come forward to greet Shi Qian and ask him to wait a moment while he went in to announce his arrival.

Soon, the eunuch returned and said, "Duke of Lu, please come inside."

Shi Qian's current position is Deputy Privy Councilor, in charge of the intelligence system incorporated into the Ministry of War.

However, he could no longer interfere with intelligence operations, and could only obtain intelligence from the Ministry of War and summarize and analyze it.

Upon entering the hall, Shi Qian bowed and said, "Your subject Shi Qian greets Your Majesty!"

Zhao Yuan put down his brush: "Sit down. Your personal visit clearly indicates that you have important news."

Shi Qian sat down properly: "The ruler of Western Xia, Li Qianshun, has passed away, and the fifteen-year-old Li Renxiao has succeeded him."

"Empress Ren of Western Xia and Cao, the birth mother of Li Renxiao, were both established as Empress Dowagers."

"Which Ren family?"

Zhao Yuan instinctively sensed that something was wrong.

"Didn't Li Qianshun not establish an empress?"

Shi Qian said, "Two months before his death, Li Qianshun appointed Ren, who had only been in the palace for eight months and was only seventeen years old, as the Empress of Western Xia without any warning."

Zhao Yuan asked, "What is the name of Ren's father?"

Shi Qian said, "Ren Dejing."

Zhao Yuan was both amused and exasperated.

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

At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, Ren Dejing was just a minor prefectural judge on the border of Shaanxi.

But he thrived in Western Xia, eventually even forcing the Western Xia emperor to publicly promise to give half of Western Xia's territory to Ren Dejing to establish a new state!

Zhao Yuan asked, "Why hasn't any news about Ren Dejing been reported?"

Chapter 3718 The Scheming Man

Shi Qian was taken aback, then explained: "Before his daughter became the Empress of Western Xia, Ren Dejing was completely inconspicuous."

"He was originally the Tongpan of Xi'an Prefecture in the former Song Dynasty. When the Jin army marched south, the Western Xia cooperated in invading Shaanxi."

"Ren Dejing lured and killed the civil and military officials of Xi'an Prefecture, and together with his two brothers, surrendered the city to Western Xia."

"They continued to serve as minor officials in Western Xia afterward; there were more than just one or two such former Song traitors."

"Then how did his daughter suddenly become empress?" Zhao Yuan asked.

Shi Qian said, "Bribery."

"Just through bribery?" Zhao Yuan asked in surprise.

Shi Qian nodded: "It's all about bribery."

Zhao Yuan asked, "Where did he get so much money?"

Shi Qian said, "When he surrendered to the Western Xia, he confiscated the homes of all the civil and military officials of the former Song Dynasty in Xi'an Prefecture and seized the entire treasury and military supplies of Xi'an Prefecture."

"At that time, he bribed Richard's subordinates and got in touch with Richard."

"He even arranged for his two younger brothers to live in the capital of Western Xia for extended periods to bribe officials."

"After he became an official in Western Xia, he also embezzled countless sums of money, most of which was used for bribery."

Zhao Yuan exclaimed, "What a talent!"

Shi Qian said, "The spies have already found out. When Ren Dejing defected to the Western Xia, his daughter was only five years old and was very clever and adorable from a young age."

"He personally taught his daughter music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and songs. He also hired musicians and dancers to teach her to sing and dance, and had her memorize Buddhist scriptures from a young age."

"I'm afraid he's been planning to send his daughter to the Western Xia palace for a long time."

"He is scheming and extremely cunning," Zhao Yuan commented.

Shi Qian said, "Li Qianshun, the ruler of Western Xia, was already in poor health before he fell critically ill."

"Ren Dejing bribed the censor and the eunuch to encourage Li Qianshun to take a concubine to bring good luck."

"After entering the palace, Lady Ren quickly won Li Qianshun's favor, and recited scriptures, sang, danced and recited poems for him at his sickbed."

“Everything Li Qianshun liked! He also asked the Imperial Censor to recommend that Lady Ren be made Empress.”

"Li Qianshun was seriously ill and delirious at the time, and no matter how the prime minister of Western Xia tried to persuade him, it was to no avail."

She entered the palace less than a year ago, had not given birth to any children, and was only seventeen years old when she was directly made empress!

It should be noted that Li Qianshun had not established an empress for more than ten years since Yelü Nanxian's death.

Zhao Yuan asked, "What official position does Ren Dejing hold now?"

Shi Qian said, "When his daughter became a concubine, Ren Dejing was promoted to the position of Defense Commissioner of Jingzhou."

"When his daughter was made empress, Ren Dejing was promoted to commander of Jingzhou."

“Jingzhou is the southern gateway to the capital of Western Xia. This position is of great importance and can be used to lead troops into the capital of Western Xia at any time.”

"After Li Qianshun died, because Li Renzhong opposed Richard taking command of the firearms battalion, the two compromised and handed the firearms battalion over to Ren Dejing."

"The musketeers and artillerymen that Li Qianshun personally trained are currently in the hands of Ren Dejing, who is now the Deputy Commander of the Western Xia Palace Guard Infantry!"

Zhao Yuan then asked, "Any other news?"

Shi Qian reported: "There is another spring drought in the northern part of Yanqing Prefecture this year."

"The grain stored there last year should be enough for this year's disaster relief."

"But if we want to invade Western Xia, we need to transfer more grain from Yanqing Prefecture."

"Yanqing Prefecture is experiencing a spring drought. How is the situation in Western Xia?" Zhao Yuan asked.

Chapter 3719 Drought

Shi Qian said, "According to our spies, both Yinzhou and Xiazhou in Western Xia are experiencing spring droughts."

Zhao Yuan smiled and nodded: "It would be good if we could work together during the drought."

If we were to describe these places using modern geographical concepts, we would say... the Shaanbei region!

Northern Shaanxi suffers from drought nine out of ten years, as evidenced by a local saying: "Droughts happen every year, moderate droughts every two years, severe droughts every three years, and great disasters every ten years."

At this time, the vegetation environment in northern Shaanxi was slightly better than it would be several hundred years later, but droughts still occurred frequently.

Before the formal establishment of the Western Xia state, although the two sides had a very unpleasant relationship, the Northern Song court was still willing to provide grain when the Tanguts requested relief.