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

This was the most vulnerable period for the Western Xia!

The century-long war between the Song and Xia dynasties led to the economic collapse of the Western Xia.

With rampant corruption and constant natural and man-made disasters, many tribes were already contemplating rebellion even without foreign invasion.

The renowned general Richard was already old and could not find any capable generals to turn the tide.

Moreover, the new emperor had not yet consolidated his power.

The one who truly brought Western Xia to its peak was the current new emperor, Li Renxiao, who was only fifteen years old.

Historically, he outlived Richard and executed Ren Dejing, and despite the interference of two powerful ministers, he established new laws, implemented the imperial examination system, promoted education, consolidated power, reformed the tax system, minted coins, encouraged agriculture and sericulture, and constructed water conservancy projects, thus creating a prosperous era for the Western Xia Dynasty.

But that's all in the future. Li Renxiao has now inherited a complete mess!

Li Renxiao appeared extremely flustered and asked, "The Imperial Uncle has just returned from Luoyang. What exactly is the Liangshan Emperor thinking? Does he want to seize some territory, or is he determined to destroy our Great Xia?"

Cao Tuan spoke the truth:

"I really can't understand the thoughts of the Ming emperor and his ministers."

"But public opinion in Luoyang, especially among the scholars, was divided into two factions."

Chapter 3732 You Dare to Ask?

One faction believed that it was enough to subdue the barbarians and have all nations pay tribute, while the other faction clamored for the restoration of the glorious Tang Dynasty's territory.

"The latter dominate public opinion and are particularly numerous. They even prefer poetry to lyrics and insist on studying the style of the Tang Dynasty when composing poetry."

“Some radical scholars, who had a very good chance of passing the imperial examination, went to study at military academies instead.”

"These scholars from the common people are plotting to destroy my Great Xia!"

Prime Minister Li Renzhong said, "We should send another envoy to Luoyang to question the Liangshan emperor about why he went back on his word and attacked a vassal state!"

Richard sneered: "Even if the envoy scolds the Liangshan emperor, can he drive away those enemy troops in the north? Now we should think about how to repel the enemy."

Li Renxiao said, "The Prince of Jin is a famous general of our Great Xia. I urge the Prince of Jin to lead the army to defend against the enemy."

Richard stopped talking.

He has indeed gotten old; he hasn't ridden horses much in the last two years, and excess fat has appeared on his waist, abdomen, and thighs.

He built more and more mansions and had dozens of concubines. As long as you gave him enough money, he could help arrange his promotion.

Li Renxiao then asked Ren Dejing, "Ren Qing, who commands the firearms battalion, do you have a plan to repel the enemy?"

Ren Dejing served in a border prefecture during the Northern Song Dynasty for several years, and he was indeed knowledgeable in military affairs.

He's good at quelling rebellions, but commanding troops to resist the Ming army is pure nonsense.

Ren Dejing politely declined, saying, "The fighting at the Weifu Military Command mainly involves cavalry, so my firearms battalion is of little use."

The atmosphere turned cold.

Li Renzhong angrily questioned, "What will it take for the Prince of Jin to lead his troops into battle?"

Richard said, "I'm taking Iron Falcon with me. I can draw upon the troops of Qiangzhen Military Command and Chaoshun Military Command at will, and Zhenyan Military Command shall immediately send troops to rescue Wulahai City."

Li Renxiao quickly replied, "Yes, yes, as long as we can repel the enemy, I will do whatever the Prince of Jin says."

Richard added, "The other military commanders must not act rashly. They must prepare early and assemble at the border, for Emperor Zhu will surely launch a major invasion next year!"

Li Renzhong asked, "Did the Prince of Jin order the Zhenyan Military Command to rescue Wulahai City?"

“That’s right, we can only save Wulahai City now,” Richard said. “Tiande City is definitely beyond our ability to save. By the time I gather my troops and attack, Tiande City will be long gone.”

……

Emperor Li Renxiao of Western Xia issued an edict ordering the Qiangzhen Military Command and the Chaoshun Military Command to immediately assemble their troops.

The Baima Strong Town Military Command was located in the northern part of Alashan Left Banner, where there were many salt ponds where salt could be mined.

The Right Wing of the Chaoshun Army was located at Keyi Gate in the northwest of Yinchuan City.

Richard led three thousand Iron Falcons to Xingzhou to garrison and urge the two military commanders to quickly gather troops.

The recruitment of soldiers is secondary; the real challenge is where will the army get its food and supplies?

The Western Xia implemented a system of universal conscription, and military granaries were set up in every prefecture.

Normally, grain could be obtained from the military granary, but the problem is that things are not normal in the Western Xia now.

Two years ago, there was a famine, and we had to transfer grain from the military granaries to provide relief.

As a result of bureaucratic corruption, the disaster victims did not receive much relief food; most of it ended up in the pockets of corrupt officials.

Now that war is about to break out, there is a huge shortage of military rations, so we can only procure rations from Xingqing Prefecture and its surrounding areas.

After finally gathering enough food, Richard led tens of thousands of troops north. Before he even reached Wulahai City, the Western Xia began to suffer internal strife.

The first to rebel were neither Xiao Heda nor the Mu brothers.

Chapter 3733 Tianzhou

Instead... it's two Tangut tribes northwest of the Western Xia capital!

Dingzhou was called Tianzhou in the Tang Dynasty. As the name suggests, the land there was fertile and very suitable for farming.

In addition, there are mountain grasslands and forests where one can gather firewood and graze livestock.

The farmland and grasslands there were mostly occupied by the Tangut tribe.

Some Tangut tribes no longer graze their livestock and rely mainly on growing grain for a living.

Unfortunately, that area is very close to the capital and is a grain-producing region, so it gets a share of the tax increases every time.

Moreover, it is very close to the Chaoshun Military Command, so this time they will also levy a large amount of grain tax so that it can be transported to Richard's army nearby.

In addition, Richard and his cronies have been frantically seizing land in recent years, with land annexation being particularly severe in Dingzhou and Jingzhou.

In order to defend against the Ming Dynasty's Shaanxi army next year, Li Renxiao also ordered all prefectures to conscript men and send them to the front line after the spring.

With a combination of factors, the powder keg was finally detonated.

Dingzhou was home to four major Dangxiang tribes that existed even before the establishment of the Western Xia dynasty: the Mianmen tribe, the Zilang tribe, the Fuer tribe, and the Xiao Afuer tribe.

Now, two of the four tribes in Dingzhou have rebelled.

The Zilang and Fuer tribes rose up in rebellion right here in Dingzhou!

The Mianmen tribe was the strongest, and many officials in Dingzhou came from this tribe.

They were beneficiaries of the existing system, so naturally they wouldn't join the rebellion. Instead, they took the initiative to send troops to help the court suppress it.

However, neither of the two rebel groups could survive, and they unleashed astonishing fighting power, forcing the Mianmen tribe to hide in the state city and dare not come out.

After looting the countryside of Dingzhou, the two forces turned their attention southward and headed towards Xingqing Prefecture, the capital of the Western Xia Kingdom.

Fifteen-year-old Li Renxiao panicked completely and anxiously asked, "With the Prince of Jin away, who in the court can quell the rebellion?"

Ren Dejing, who was in charge of the firearms battalion, dared not fight against the Ming army, but was confident in quelling the domestic rebellion. He immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to share your worries!"

Li Renxiao, as if a drowning man grasping at a straw, said: "Alright, then Renqing will lead the troops into battle!"

Ren Dejing felt that the number of soldiers in the firearms unit was too small, so he conscripted men from Xingqing Prefecture, Jingzhou, and Huaizhou to form a force of 10,000 before heading north to quell the rebellion.

Firearms are firearms after all, and Ren Dejing won the battle in one fell swoop.

The two tribes of Zilang and Fu'er were defeated and fled, taking their people into the mountains to defend their strongholds.

Just as Ren Dejing was about to continue his advance and wipe out the remaining two tribes, another tribe in Jingzhou rebelled!

The reasons for the rebellions were similar, but the direct cause was related to Ren Dejing.

Ren Dejing's previous positions were firstly the Defense Commissioner of Jingzhou, and secondly the Military Commander of Jingzhou.

The defense commissioner was only in charge of military affairs, but the commander-in-chief could also manage some civil affairs. Ren Dejing was exploiting Jingzhou to the bone.

During this campaign to quell the rebellion, Ren Dejing again conscripted men and grain in Jingzhou, which the local people could no longer endure.

This uprising became even larger, spreading to the more distant Weizhou, with the Dangxiang tribes such as Dabin and Maiqing rebelling one after another.

Unfortunately, the various rebel armies were disorganized and fought independently, unable to form a united force.

Ren Dejing abandoned the plan to annihilate the remnants of the Nie Lang and Fu Er armies and hurriedly returned south to quell the rebellion. If he did not return soon, the rebel army would reach the capital.

Within a month, Ren Dejing defeated three rebel armies, and Li Renxiao frantically promoted him to higher ranks and titles.

However, after Ren Dejing led his troops away, the remaining forces of the Zilang and Fu'er tribes in Dingzhou immediately revived.

Chapter 3734 A Dead End

And during the battle, a rebel leader emerged.

This man, named Duo'e, was a chieftain of a small tribe of the Tangut people. He was young, strong, brave, and extremely wise, which won him the hearts of the people.

Doe said to the two noble tribes hiding in the mountains, "Winter is coming soon. If we stay in the mountains, we will only freeze and starve to death."

"If we go down the mountain and return home, we'll be killed by the soldiers. Either way, we're doomed!"

A nobleman asked, "Then how can one survive?"

Duo'e said, "I went to Xiazhou and Shizhou two years ago. The disaster victims there who fled to the Ming Dynasty were able to get land and food."

"I've also heard people say that Liangshan is the reincarnation of a Bodhisattva, who came down to earth specifically to save people from suffering."

"The Tanguts and Han Chinese are different ethnic groups. If Liangshan is not a bodhisattva reincarnated, why would they provide relief to us Tangut famine victims?"

"I also heard that Liangshan couldn't bear to see the poor suffer, and any official who dared to embezzle even a single bushel of rice would be beheaded."

"Over the years, Liangshan has killed hundreds of corrupt officials and exiled thousands more. Now, all the officials left in the Ming Dynasty are good officials."

"Do you want to stay here and be killed by corrupt officials, or come with me to join the Liangshan bandits?"

Some people didn't believe it.

They were exploited year after year by corrupt officials in the Western Xia Dynasty, and they no longer believed that there were any good officials in the world.

Moreover, the Western Xia emperor was of the Tangut ethnicity, and so were they. If their own people were being oppressed so much, how could they expect to be treated well by a foreign emperor?

Seeing that no one believed him, Duo'e said again, "Go to Liangshan and you might have a chance to survive."

"Staying here means certain death, hiding in the mountains means certain death, going down the mountain means certain death. The choice is yours!"

The crowd began to argue and quarrel, and eventually realized that their only option was to surrender to the Ming Dynasty.

However, the Shaanxi border of the Ming Dynasty was too far from Dingzhou of the Western Xia Dynasty, and there were large areas of desert and mountainous terrain in between.

Duo'e said, "Let's fight our way through! Of the four tribes in Dingzhou, Xiao Afu'er's tribe is the weakest; they dare not rebel with us."

"This time they also suffered, as Ren Dejing led his troops to plunder the area."

"After we go down the mountain, we will immediately go to Xiao Afu'er's tribe. Whether we force them or persuade them, we will get them to set off together to strengthen their forces."

"Then we'll bypass Shengwei City. If they send troops out of the city, we'll attack; if they don't, we'll leave. We'll plunder and abduct along the way, crossing the desert!"

One nobleman said, "The desert is not easy to traverse."

“We can go. I know of two routes that can cross the desert!” said Doe.

In dire straits, the group was persuaded by Duo'e.

They led the elderly, women, and children down the mountain and went straight to the territory of the Xiao Afu'er tribe.

The chief of the Xiao Afu'er tribe was unwilling to join the rebellion, but he shared the same hatred as the two tribes, so he used his remaining food to treat them.

During the meal, Duo'e suddenly attacked with a knife, seized control of the chieftain of the Xiao'afu'er tribe, and forced his entire tribe to rebel and surrender to the Ming Dynasty.

Because Ren Dejing's army was in the south, they swaggered around Shengwei City, taking the opportunity to plunder the people of the Mianmen tribe in the villages outside the city, and also freed all the slaves of the Mianmen tribe.

Some of the slaves were Han Chinese who had been captured, while others were simply taken from within the Western Xia territory.

Duo'e had already freed the slaves of his tribe. He said to the newly rescued slaves, "You can either escape on your own or come with me to surrender to the Ming Dynasty."

"Those who are willing to come with me, stand on the riverbank."

Chapter 3735 Persuading the Other Party to Surrender

Everyone walked towards the river.