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

Deng Chun and Li Yanxian's armies have already surrounded Xingqing Prefecture. If the civilian laborers and surrendered soldiers are included, the total number of troops exceeds 400,000.

The logistical pressure was too great, so the surrendered soldiers from various Western Xia tribes had to go home on their own.

Only the tribal chiefs and nobles were left behind to prevent them from rebelling after returning home.

The surrounding countryside of Xingqing Prefecture was densely packed with Ming army camps.

There was no need for Yue Fei there; he rushed south and launched a coordinated attack from the center.

Although it seemed like they didn't fight any major battles, they still managed to throw the Western Xia defenses into chaos, shortening the war by at least half.

He has already amassed enough merits in battle.

The great achievement of capturing the capital of Western Xia must be left to our allies; otherwise, Yue Fei would offend countless people.

On the contrary, as long as Yue Fei leaves Xingqing Prefecture, he will gain countless favors, and everyone will have to give General Yue face in the future.

Yue Fei didn't even attack Jingzhou City, handing over the city, where the morale of the defending troops had plummeted, to Xu Ning's troops who had arrived with their army.

A basket was hung on the city wall, and Wang Shu's nephew, Wang Qingxiang, came before Yue Fei and bowed in greeting.

"Xingqing Prefecture is already an isolated city, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of troops. How long are you going to wait here?" Yue Fei questioned.

Wang Qingxiang said, "My uncle sent me to inquire about the punishment for the Wang family if they surrender to the Ming army."

Yue Fei said with a stern face, "This is not something I can decide, nor is it something you should ask."

"Either surrender the city immediately, or wait for the army to press in and attack from both sides to take down Keyimen City."

"If we breach the city by force, the commander of Keyimen will surely die!"

Wang Qingxiang hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

He was sent by his uncle to negotiate surrender terms, but he didn't seem to have the qualifications to do so.

After a moment of silence, Wang Qingxiang bowed and took his leave, being carried back to the city wall in a basket.

Wang Shu quickly asked, "What did they say?"

Wang Qingxiang replied, "He said it's either surrender or fight. If we fight and the city falls, the commander-in-chief will surely die."

"As for surrendering, he has no authority to deal with surrendered generals; it probably depends on the Ming court's decision."

Wang Shu stood there, stunned.

Chapter 3821 Who deserves the most credit?

The Western Xia generals surrounded Wang Shu. They were confident that they could hold Keyimen, so no one had considered surrendering.

But the arrival of Richard's head immediately extinguished their fighting spirit, and they already guessed how badly their allies in the south had been defeated.

Wang Shu looked at his generals: "Should we surrender?"

"Let's surrender." Royal member Li Yijie said dejectedly.

The other generals remained silent, which was considered an admission of surrender.

A moment later, the city gates opened.

Yue Fei, however, sent someone to warn them: "Open the north gate and go north to surrender."

Therefore, Wang Shu ordered the North Gate to be opened.

He then ordered all the garrison troops in the northern fortresses to lay down their weapons and go into the valley.

Wang Shu led a group of generals, who had removed their armor, and walked towards Han Shizhong's camp with mournful faces.

"Protector, the enemy has surrendered!"

"Why did it suddenly drop?"

"I don't know. Many Western Xia soldiers also came, but none of them had any weapons or armor."

"Haha, it must be Protector Yue who has turned the south upside down!"

Han Shizhong laughed heartily and led his generals to accept the surrender.

"Your humble servant Wang Shu, along with the generals of Keyimen, pays his respects to General Han in person."

Wang Shu knelt a few steps in front of Han Shizhong's warhorse, followed by a group of Western Xia generals kneeling on the ground behind him.

Han Shizhong cursed and said, "You bastard, you've kept me trapped in the north for over a month!"

Wang Shu responded, "We were simply fulfilling our duties and serving our respective masters."

Han Shizhong asked, "Do you know where General Yue is? He's the one who went south after bypassing Keyi Gate."

Wang Shu said, "General Yue is right outside the South Gate. He ordered me to open the North Gate and surrender."

"A true hero, a true brother!"

Han Shizhong was deeply moved and stopped arguing with Wang Shu. He then sent troops to occupy Keyimen City and several fortified villages.

Then he rode his horse south to personally welcome Yue Fei.

Yue Fei stood by the moat, leading his horse, and smiled slightly when he saw Han Shizhong arrive.

Han Shizhong jumped off his horse and punched Yue Fei in the chest: "You led your troops back to Keyimen, so the overall situation around Xingqing Prefecture must be settled by now, right?"

Yue Fei said, "Except for General Wu Jie's force which is fighting in the Hexi Corridor, the other forces have joined forces to besiege Xingqing Prefecture."

"They broke through it all so quickly?" Han Shizhong was astonished.

Yue Fei said, "All of you generals are capable men. How long can the mere Western Xia hold out?"

Han Shizhong shook his head with a smile: "No matter how good they are at fighting, they could never be this fast. It must be because you made a mess of the area around Xingqing Prefecture, causing the various armies on the Western Xia front to be unable to attend to all the issues."

Yue Fei smiled, which was taken as tacit agreement.

Han Shizhong said, "I appreciate your kind offer."

“Your second daughter is about the same age as my eldest son. How about we arrange a marriage between them? Then we’ll be family.”

Yue Fei said, "After consulting His Majesty, we can exchange the marriage certificates."

"Hahahaha!"

Han Shizhong laughed loudly, and after a while said, "We must deal with the affairs here quickly and head south as fast as possible. Who knows, we might even be able to participate in the siege of Xingqing Prefecture."

"It's better not to go," Yue Fei said in a low voice, recounting what he had done.

After hearing this, Han Shizhong curled his lips and said, "We can't go any further. Let's stay here and share some of our merits with our allies."

……

Xingqing Prefecture, the Western Xia Imperial Palace.

Li Renxiao sat on the emperor's throne, while a group of civil and military officials knelt in the main hall.

Chapter 3822 Thickness of the City Wall

Although they are surrounded by hundreds of thousands of people, they can hold out for one or two months if they want to.

Given the thickness of Xingqing Prefecture's city walls, it would be difficult for artillery to directly breach them; siege equipment had to be used to scale the walls for combat.

The moat is tens of meters wide. Building a pontoon bridge would take time, and filling it in directly would take even more time.

Siege ladders, siege towers, parapets, siege engines... are all still under urgent construction.

"Prime Minister,"

Li Renxiao asked Li Renzhong, looking utterly dejected.

"Is my Great Xia Dynasty really going to perish?"

"I haven't done anything wrong. I've only been emperor for a little over six months."

Li Renzhong cried out in grief, "Your Majesty is without fault; it is all the fault of us, your subjects."

Li Renxiao asked, "Should I surrender the entire city, or die for my country as an emperor?"

Li Renzhong could not answer this question.

Li Renxiao then asked, "Was the Prince of Jin really defeated and killed in battle?"

Li Renzhong said, "He's really dead."

Li Renxiao sat on the throne, no longer speaking. He was now fearful and bewildered, and physically and mentally exhausted. He had been so frightened that he hadn't slept a wink all night.

Li Renli suddenly said, "Your Majesty, open the gates and surrender. Perhaps we can save the lives of the people in the city."

"The Ming emperor was very benevolent. The Jin king Wuqimai was captured but did not die. He was granted a title by the Ming Dynasty and died peacefully in Luoyang."

Cao Tuan, the emperor's brother-in-law, also said: "Wu Qimai indeed died of old age, and countless people in Luoyang know this."

"This man would buy alcohol whenever he had money, and he would often get drunk and sleep on the street. In the end, he died from drinking, not from being murdered by the Ming dynasty."

Upon hearing that he could continue living, the young emperor suddenly regained his spirits.

Li Renzhong shouted sternly, "Your Majesty, even if we are to surrender the country, we should first execute those treacherous officials!"

Li Renxiao asked in confusion, "Which ones are treacherous officials?"

Li Renzhong pointed at the hot and spicy Gongji and angrily denounced: "This man, as the Censor-in-Chief, colluded with Brother Richard, accepted bribes from Ren Dejing, spread rumors and deceived the late emperor, and actually made a girl who had been in the palace for half a year into the empress."

"He also colluded with the Prince of Jin to cultivate his own faction and engaged in large-scale buying and selling of official positions."

"The officials they promoted were all corrupt and lawless, resulting in an empty treasury, impoverished people, and an unfit army!"

Hot-tempered Gongji immediately retorted: "And what about you? In this defeat, Wang Cunli bears the greatest responsibility."

"This man commanded a large army, but suffered defeat after defeat, and was forced to retreat in disarray to Huaizhou."

"Tens of thousands of troops were stationed in the fortified city, but the city fell overnight."

"Whose side is Wang Cunli on? Who proposed making Wang Cunli's daughter empress?"

Li Renzhong quickly distanced himself from the matter: "Your Majesty, I did not receive a single coin from Wang Cunli. The reason I promoted him is that the Wang family has a long history of intermarrying with the royal family, and has produced many empresses and imperial concubines over the past hundred years."

“The fate of the Wang family is intertwined with that of the nation. At this critical moment, Wang Cunli will not surrender to the enemy with his troops.”

"He did not defect to the enemy, but he abandoned his army and fled multiple times!" Hot-tempered Gongji sneered.

Li Renzhong didn't know how to refute it, because Wang Cunli was indeed too damn abstract.

Western Xia officials did not strictly distinguish between civil and military officials. Wang Cunli came from a noble family and had fought in battles when he was young. He had also served as the commander of the Six Guards of the Imperial Garden.

When discussing military matters, he speaks eloquently and is even well-versed in "The Art of War." Even in middle age, he remains skilled in archery and horsemanship.

Chapter 3823: The minister is guilty

Who knows what it will be like when war breaks out!

Li Renzhong was filled with deep regret; he shouldn't have recommended Wang Cunli to lead the army.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty!"

Li Renzhong knelt down and kowtowed.

Li Renxiao said helplessly, "At this point, Prime Minister, stop admitting any more crimes and organize the army and civilians to surrender the city."

Li Renzhong removed his official hat and said, "After my death, I beg Your Majesty to execute those treacherous officials!"

After saying that, before anyone could react, Li Renzhong stood up and rushed towards the pillar of the main hall.

"Oh!"

A muffled thud; you could tell from the sound that it was a good head.

Li Renxiao was shocked: "Quickly, save them!"

Li Renzhong had already fainted, and blood was streaming down his forehead.

The vast majority of civil and military officials turned a blind eye to this.

Compared to the hundreds of thousands of enemy troops outside the city, what does the prime minister's suicide matter?

……

Among the ruled classes of Western Xia, artisans undoubtedly held the highest status.

Simply put, things are valued for their rarity, and the same applies to people.