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

"He also sent people to seize the people's land and accepted bribes from officials both inside and outside the government."

"Under the repeated natural disasters, even the Tangut people could not survive, and the lives of other ethnic groups were even more difficult."

“My military expedition against Western Xia was not only to recover lost territory, but also to relieve the people from their suffering.”

Li Qinglu automatically ignored the phrase "recover lost territory" and said, "Brother Richard is a treacherous official. Your Majesty can eliminate him, and the people of Western Xia will be able to live a good life."

Chapter 3764 The Harem Should Not Interfere in Politics

Zhao Yuan chuckled and said, "Brother Richard's cronies are spread throughout the military headquarters of Western Xia."

"Do you think I can just say I'll eradicate it?"

"The current state of Western Xia is not something that Richard alone could have caused."

With that, Zhao Yuan put away his smile and said seriously, "The harem must not interfere in politics. You must not mention this matter again."

"Otherwise, you might become the first concubine of the Ming Dynasty to be deposed!"

Li Qinglu trembled with fright and lowered her head, not daring to say another word.

“I can only guarantee that your biological father’s family will be safe,” Zhao Yuan said, “but they must give up their family property and move to Luoyang to settle down. I will then grant them a new residence.”

Upon hearing this, Li Qinglu felt a little better and said gratefully, "Thank you for your care, Your Majesty."

Although Li Qinglu was called a princess, she was actually Li Qianshun's cousin and grand-niece. Her biological father was Li Renli, the Prince of Shu of Western Xia.

Zhao Yuan had a fairly good impression of Li Renli; he was well-versed in literature, upright, and even a bit pedantic.

When Li Renli was young, he embezzled and accepted bribes. His elder brother, Li Renzhong, reprimanded him, and Li Renli, feeling ashamed, returned the embezzled money and goods. From then on, he never accepted any gifts again.

Historical records describe him as having no stored grain until his death.

This was extremely rare and precious in the corrupt Li Qianshun regime, like a firefly in the dark.

By sparing his life and bringing him to settle in Luoyang, Zhao Yuan had already shown Li Qinglu considerable kindness.

……

Winter has passed and spring has arrived; a great battle is about to break out.

Zhang Guangdao, Zhang Tang, Li Bao, Yang Zhi, and others all remained in the imperial court and were not sent to the front lines.

One of them was a prince, one a duke, and one a county duke. They also held positions in the cabinet, the Ministry of War, and the Privy Council. It was not a good thing for them to continue to make military achievements.

It's bad for both himself and the imperial court!

Moreover, they were in charge of strategizing in the central government, and their role in destroying the Western Xia was also a contribution.

Veteran generals like Hua Rong and Guan Sheng obediently remained in the Privy Council.

Although they are senior officials, they have already made the necessary contributions and do not have the ability to be commanders-in-chief. It would be more appropriate for them to stay in Luoyang to serve as officials and enjoy their lives.

The commander-in-chief of the entire Shaanxi Army was Deng Chun, and the deputy commander-in-chief was Li Yanxian.

Deng Chun is an elderly man from Daming Village. He is taciturn and introverted.

Although his abilities were average at first, he showed great potential for growth and persisted in reading and learning, so Zhao Yuan was quite confident in him.

Li Yanxian was more capable, but less experienced. Zhao Yuan was afraid that he would not be able to control the veteran generals, so he made Li Yanxian Deng Chun's deputy.

Shaanxi now has four major production and construction corps assembled.

The First Army Corps, commanded by Wu Jie, set out from the Hehuang region and was responsible for conquering the Hexi Corridor.

The Second Army Corps, commanded by Chen Ziyi, was responsible for attacking the Baotai Military Command and Jingse Military Command of Western Xia along the Huizhou, Xi'an, and Huaide Army lines.

The Third Army Corps, commanded by Zhang Xian, was responsible for attacking the Xiangyou Army Commandery and Shenyong Army Commandery of Western Xia along the Huanqing, Dingbian, and Yansui line, and cooperating with the Second Army Corps to attack the Jingsai Army Commandery.

The Fourth Army Corps, commanded by Yao Pingzhong, was responsible for eliminating the northern strongholds of the Shenyong Army in the Fugu area, which was the area that would later become known as Shenmu.

Then they marched south to join forces with the Northern Route Army of the Third Army Corps to attack Shenyong Army Commandery.

A total of 80,000 Imperial Guards, 100,000 Field Army, 100,000 Garrison Army, 60,000 Transport Army, 300,000 civilian laborers, and 400,000 head of livestock were mobilized.

If civilian laborers are also included, the Ming Dynasty deployed 640,000 troops.

Chapter 3765 A Shocking Move

A solid 640,000 (excluding the troops of Yue Fei and Han Shizhong)!

Head coach Deng Chun is currently located in Zhenrong Military City (Guyuan County).

Deputy Commander Li Yanxian is currently stationed in Suide Military City.

The two of them were responsible for the overall command and control of the army.

They are also responsible for the coordination and cooperation between the Second, Third, and Fourth Army Corps.

As for the First Army Corps, it's not up to the two commanders to manage.

From Lanzhou, they could march westwards and fight their way as far as they wanted.

In addition, there was no military supervisor.

Or rather, since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there has never been a position of military supervisor.

Every year, civil officials would propose rebuilding the military supervision system, and Zhao Yuan was very conflicted about this.

Looking at the historical context, Zhao Yuan understood very well that things that were dispensable now would inevitably be restored in the future.

The emperors who would maintain the status quo in the future would not have the same control as the founding monarchs.

For example, the major protectorates are too far from the center of power.

Without a system of military supervision, who knows what kind of trouble military generals might cause.

Throughout history, at any time, military generals who are not supervised are always more destructive than civil officials!

In the early Tang Dynasty, the practice of appointing imperial censors as military supervisors, though not on a permanent basis, was considered a relatively feasible solution.

Zhao Yuan planned to establish a military supervisory office after destroying the Western Xia.

The specific operations are as follows:

First, following the example of the early Tang Dynasty, military supervisors were appointed by censors of mid- to low-ranking positions.

Second, emulating the early Eastern Han Dynasty, the system of military supervision was institutionalized and normalized.

Third, following the example of the Qin and Western Han dynasties, military supervisors were not allowed to have command authority and had to strictly abide by military law.

Fourth, it is necessary to summarize the harms caused by military supervisors throughout history and to prohibit the temporary appointment of high-ranking officials or eunuchs as military supervisors.

As for what might happen a century later, if the established emperor were to undermine this system, that was not something Zhao Yuan could concern himself with.

We can only trust the wisdom of future generations.

……

Xingqing Prefecture was in a state of panic.

The Western Xia also had spies on the Ming border. After the snow melted in spring, the Ming army frequently moved troops, and large numbers of laborers were mobilized.

The terrifying number terrified the Western Xia rulers and their officials.

Richard also rushed back, and he pointed to the map and analyzed:

"The enemy to the north (Han Shizhong and Yue Fei) was the route by which Emperor Xingzong of Liao invaded our Great Xia."

"At that time, Emperor Wulie (Li Yuanhao) adopted a scorched-earth policy, luring the enemy deep into his territory, and finally repelled the Liao army."

"The enemy to the east (the Ming army in Shaanxi) was the route of Emperor Shenzong of Song's five-pronged attack."

"At that time, our army also adopted a scorched-earth policy, luring the Song army all the way to Xiping Prefecture (Lingzhou), before breaching the river dikes,"

"The Song army was defeated because the Yellow River flooded their supply lines."

Although Richard was trying to glorify the Western Xia dynasty, his account was largely accurate.

But the Ming army was neither the Liao army nor the Song army.

The Liao army was winning battle after battle, and Li Yuanhao was so defeated that he dared not engage in battle. He could only adopt a scorched-earth policy and lure the enemy deep into his territory.

Then they sent envoys to apologize, trying to delay the Liao army's offensive as much as possible.

Ultimately, the Western Xia were able to win because the Liao army itself lacked sufficient supplies.

Unable to seize grain from Western Xia, their men and horses grew hungry and weak, leading to a counterattack by Western Xia.

The Song army also routed the Western Xia army, advancing all the way to the vicinity of Lingzhou City.

That was the former capital of the Western Xia Dynasty, only a hundred miles away from the capital.

Then, the Song army pulled off some questionable maneuvers.

Empress Dowager Gao's uncle was one of the main generals, and he feared that the great merit of conquering Lingzhou would be stolen from him.

He ordered the frontline troops not to attack the city immediately, but to wait until he had joined forces before taking action.

Chapter 3766 Nonsensical Grain Transport

This gave the Western Xia garrison ample time to set up defenses, and they also breached the Yellow River dike to cut off the Song army's supply lines—they were doomed!

At that time, Zhong E's side suffered an even more absurd defeat.

Because transporting grain in mountainous areas was too difficult, the laborers were poorly treated, and they were pressured to meet deadlines, many of them ran away.

Fearing problems with the grain transport operation, the transport commissioner petitioned the court and was granted the power to execute civil officials below the rank of prefect, and ordered local officials to complete the grain transport task.

The local officials were terrified and became even harsher on the grain transport laborers, often killing those who disobeyed or ran away, yet they did not improve the laborers' treatment.

This led to a mass exodus of laborers, making it impossible to transport military supplies, and Zhong E suffered a major defeat due to insufficient provisions.

All of these are lessons learned through blood and tears.

The Ming Dynasty's cabinet, Ministry of War, and Privy Council unearthed documents related to the century-long war between the Song and Xia dynasties.

Zhao Yuan personally led the analysis of the reasons for the Song army's repeated defeats.

First, laborers must not be mistreated, and their treatment must be guaranteed.

Second, we must be vigilant against the Western Xia breaching the dikes and using the Yellow River for a water attack.

Third, anyone who tries to steal credit and affects the overall situation will be stripped of their title, demoted, executed, or have their property confiscated!

Li Renzhong said, "The two times that the Prince of Jin mentioned were the most dangerous times for our Great Xia, and both times we were in danger of being destroyed."

"It seems that this time we should also adopt a scorched earth policy and lure the enemy deep into our territory in order to have a chance to turn defeat into victory."

Richard said, "North of Keyimen, I have already fortified the area and cleared the fields, taking away all the livestock and grain along the way, and even burning down all the people's houses."

"Although Yue Fei and Han Shizhong obtained some of our army's provisions,"

"But since last autumn, countless grain supplies have been consumed, and it will be impossible to transport grain in winter."

"Their military rations were mainly transported from Shanxi, and the supply route was a thousand or two miles long."

"If this drags on until summer, Yue and Han's supplies will run out."

Li Renzhong asked, "How should the troops on the left flank (eastern side) retreat?"

Richard had already thought it through. Pointing to the map, he said, "The Southern Army Command will retreat to Xiliang Prefecture (Wuwei), and the Baotai and Jingsai Army Commands will retreat to Xiping Prefecture (Wuzhong)."

"The Xiangyou Military Command, the Shenyong Military Command, and the Jianing Military Command shall retreat to Yanzhou. If Yanzhou is also difficult to defend, then continue to retreat to Baichi City."

"All troops must fortify their defenses and scorched earth, leaving not a single grain of food for the enemy!"

"Once we extend the Ming army's supply lines, we will look for an opportunity to cut off their food supplies."

"Furthermore, if we can breach the Yellow River, we should breach it and flood everything that can be flooded!"

Li Renzhong was speechless with astonishment.

This means abandoning the eastern and southern defense lines of Western Xia, regardless of how they would survive after the war.

The entire area that could be flooded was flooded, meaning the land where the Western Xia people farmed and grazed their livestock was also flooded!

Even if the Western Xia were able to repel the Ming army, Richard's actions would have caused widespread famine.

……

Xiazhou.