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

Of the 200,000 inhabitants of Xingqing Prefecture, at least 10,000 were Han Chinese artisans and their descendants.

They lived very comfortably in Western Xia, at least more comfortably than in the Song Dynasty.

The Tangut herdsmen might consider rebellion, but the Han Chinese artisans of Xingqing Prefecture would absolutely not.

They were far more loyal to the Western Xia than the common people of the Tangut people.

These Han Chinese artisans had all heard from their fathers that life in Western Xia was better than in Song!

Because most of their ancestors and fathers came from the Shaanxi Imperial Guard.

The Western Army was the most formidable force in the Northern Song Dynasty, and the Shaanxi Imperial Guards were its core elite troops.

What exactly were the Shaanxi Imperial Guards like?

One-third of them are artisans!

Carpenters, stonemasons, and blacksmiths are not enough; there are those who can dye cloth, those who can embroider, and those who can sing opera...

In the Northern Song Dynasty, officials in charge of military affairs specifically recruited these craftsmen when replenishing the imperial guards.

Furthermore, "each commander takes one-third of the profits" to engage in various production activities for personal gain.

If you see a soldier from the Imperial Guard in the Western Army,

There's a high chance he doesn't know how to use knives or guns.

My main job is to do embroidery with a needle.

Of course, the money earned must be handed over.

After a major defeat for the Song army, the Western Xia were able to capture countless artisans and bring the best among them back to Xingqing Prefecture.

As the poem testifies: Hesitantly, he ordered all the artists to perform, and they vied to show off their small skills by singing and playing music.

The rest of the heads were cut off and sent away, their excrement dripping as they walked eastward.

These four sentences describe how the Western Xia treated Song prisoners of war. Because they captured so many Song soldiers, they were too lazy to take them all back to Western Xia as slaves.

Those with talents could be spared torture, so Song prisoners of war competed to perform, showing off their skills in playing various instruments and singing.

Those who had no talent had their noses cut off and were banished. When they were released, they were all so frightened that they soiled themselves.

This scene did not occur at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, but before Wang Anshi's reforms!

When Li Renxiao was escorted out of the palace by his ministers and went to surrender with his concubines and guards, the descendants of Han craftsmen in the city burst into tears.

Many of them were born in Western Xia and had no idea what the Song and Ming dynasties looked like.

All I know is that being a craftsman in Shaanxi is miserable; you have to work yourself to the bone and still have to endure exploitation by military officers.

Life was much better in Xingqing Prefecture, where artisans held a far higher status than farmers and herdsmen.

Hearing the cries coming from both sides of the street, Li Renxiao was moved to tears and said, "There are still loyal people in the country, how can they be destroyed in an instant?"

Chapter 3824 Destruction of a Nation!

Upon hearing this, Li Renli blushed deeply.

Despite his fiery personality, Gong Ji was thinking about his future prospects.

He has amassed a fortune over the years and has countless riches to bribe officials in the Ming Dynasty.

The Grand Censor of Western Xia was a Han Chinese, and Rela Gongji, as the second-in-command of the Censorate, always enjoyed the actual power of the top official.

"Gah..."

The city gates opened, and the emperor and his ministers stopped.

The Western Xia envoy, Balixinren, carrying the letter of surrender, hurried out of the city and knelt before the horses of Deng Chun and Li Yanxian.

Deng Chun smiled at the civil official beside him: "Please have Mr. Zhao receive this."

Zhao Ding was already over fifty years old, and a few years ago he had already risen to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

He was sent to Shaanxi to oversee the logistics of all the armies and was to remain in Xingqing Prefecture as governor.

The governorship of the entire Western Xia region was a transitional position, as Western Xia would be reorganized into Ningxia Province five years later.

Ningxia means "pacifying the Western Xia".

These military generals had just conquered a country, and Zhao Ding dared not step forward to steal the limelight. He immediately smiled and said, "The credit for conquering a country belongs entirely to you generals. How can I, a civil official, step forward? Please, General."

So the guard took the small box and presented it to Deng Chun.

After Deng Chun finished reading it, he handed it to Li Yanxian.

After a while, Deng Chun said, "On behalf of His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming and all the soldiers of the Great Ming army, I accept the surrender of the Western Xia king."

Bari Shinjin, who had been kneeling on the ground, immediately kowtowed upon hearing this, then bowed and took his leave to return to the city.

A moment later, Li Renxiao led his civil and military officials out of the city.

The young emperor knelt facing southeast, seemingly oblivious to the approaching Ming emperor.

The Ming generals dared not accept this kneeling and stood in neat rows to the side.

After the Western Xia emperor and his officials had finished kneeling before the emperor, they turned around and knelt before Deng Chun and the others.

Li Renxiao respectfully handed the Western Xia State Seal to Deng Chun; this seal was a gift from Zhu Guoxiang.

Several other seals, each with a different function, were temporarily held by eunuchs, and Li Renxiao brought them over one by one to hand them over.

Prime Minister Li Renzhong has lost too much blood and is still lying in a hospital bed.

Li Renli, representing the prime minister, handed over the household register of Western Xia.

The detailed household registers were too complicated, so only the general list was handed over on-site as a formality.

Privy Councilor Wang Shu is currently at Keyi Gate, while Grand Commandant Erotai, representing the military, has handed over the Western Xia military register.

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Gongfu, the prefect of Xingqing, also handed over the relevant documents.

These items were merely passed through the hands of the Ming generals and were quickly handed over to Zhao Ding.

"Long live the Ming Dynasty!" Deng Chun shouted.

Long live the Ming Dynasty!

Long live the Ming Dynasty!

One army after another shouted in unison, the roar of hundreds of thousands of troops sounding like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing down, terrifying the Western Xia emperor and his ministers until their faces turned pale.

Li Renxiao removed his crown and took off his dragon robe.

Western Xia officials, both civil and military, also removed their hats and clothes.

He handed everything over to the Ming soldiers, and from then on, he lost his former noble status.

Generals such as Deng Chun and Li Yanxian led their troops into the city through different gates.

The Western Xia emperor and his officials, stripped of their hats and coats, were led into the city with their hands tied behind their backs, looking dejected.

Although it looks pathetic, for a deposed monarch and his subjects, this situation is actually quite dignified.

If they dare to defend Xingqing Prefecture to the death, they will be treated differently after the city falls!

Of the hundreds of thousands of troops, only 50,000 entered the city.

Of these, 30,000 troops were well-organized, while the remaining 20,000 were extremely disorganized.

Chapter 3825 Chaos

Since everyone who saw it got a share, all the generals and commanders had to go into the city to experience it. These 20,000 troops were temporarily put together by the generals.

You bring a few hundred, I bring a few hundred, all of them are elite troops under our command, and there are a lot of officers.

The people of Xingqing Prefecture were initially terrified, but they soon calmed down.

Because those who entered the city were all elite soldiers, they were strictly disciplined and committed no offenses.

There were no robberies, killings, arson, or other incidents.

This is also one of the advantages of surrendering to the state; if it had been a direct assault on a city, the scene would not have been so harmonious.

Each unit knew its mission before entering the city, and now it was carrying it out in an orderly manner.

Some were responsible for confiscating the guards' weapons and armor, while others went to occupy the palace.

Some ran off to occupy the warehouses, others ran off to occupy the city walls...

"Pick it!"

Deng Chun pointed to the lintel of the Western Xia Imperial Palace.

Not only must the lintels be removed, but all prohibited items inside the palace must also be dismantled.

They were then escorted to Luoyang and handed over to the imperial court.

For example, the dragon throne.

After bringing the Western Xia emperor and his ministers back to the main hall, Deng Chun and Li Yanxian smiled and said, "Mr. Zhao, please."

The dragon throne was being dismantled, and a group of soldiers brought over a chair.

Zhao Ding moved a chair and sat down below the dragon throne. Several key generals and commanders also sat down, while the Western Xia emperor and his ministers knelt on the ground.

Zhao Ding introduced himself: "My surname is Zhao, my given name is Ding, and my courtesy name is Yuanzhen."

"Previously, he served as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and was appointed as the General Logistics Officer for the campaign against Xia in Shaanxi."

"His Majesty the Emperor has decreed that after the Xia dynasty is destroyed, the area will be converted into the Ningxia Governor-General's Office, and I will serve as the Ningxia Governor-General until the establishment of Ningxia Province..."

"Greetings, Governor!" The Western Xia emperor and his ministers hurriedly kowtowed.

Zhao Ding continued, "Before I left the capital, His Majesty recited a poem: 'Xia Song was never towering, Han Qi was not remarkable.'"

"The imperial carriages, like dragons and tigers, fill the river, still discussing military strategy. Does the author of this poem have any descendants in the palace?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Gongfu, the prefect of Xingqing, was so frightened that he collapsed.

Zhao Ding asked again, "Does Zhang Yuan have any descendants in this hall?"

Zhang Gongfu forced himself to kneel and step forward, saying, "Zhang Gongfu, a sinner, pays his respects to Your Excellency the Governor."

Zhao Ding said, "The Emperor has issued an edict that all male descendants of Zhang Yuan and Wu Hao who are over twelve years old shall be executed, and female descendants who are over fifteen years old shall be married off to unmarried soldiers."

Those over fifty years of age may be exempted from punishment.

“Boys and girls must change their surnames and be separated and sent to the Jici Hospitals in various provinces for upbringing.”

"All property belonging to both tribes shall be confiscated!"

Zhang Gongfu was completely paralyzed, unable to even kneel upright on the ground.

Zhang Yuan and Wu Hao were both impoverished scholars in the Northern Song Dynasty. They deliberately changed their names to these two unfortunate ones and went to try and win over Li Yuanhao.

They wrote poems and left their names all over the territory of Western Xia, which quickly attracted the attention of Li Yuanhao, and then assisted Li Yuanhao in fighting against the Northern Song Dynasty.

If that's all there is to it, it's actually understandable.

Zhang Yuanjing considered destroying the Song Dynasty his lifelong ambition. He even wrote a poem mocking the Northern Song ministers at Haoshuichuan, a place littered with the corpses of Song soldiers. The poem was full of resentment and smugness.

He used the countless corpses of Song soldiers as stepping stones to finally become the prime minister of the Western Xia Kingdom.

Even when Li Yuanhao wanted to negotiate peace with the Song army, Zhang Yuan stood up and firmly opposed it.

After Zhang Gongfu was dragged out, Zhao Ding continued, "Seize Brother Richard's property."

"His family members will be treated the same way as the descendants of Zhang Yuan and Wu Hao!"

"Ren Dejing's property was confiscated, and his family members were dealt with according to regulations."

"Ren Dejing's daughter, due to her special status, will be temporarily escorted to Luoyang to await further judgment."

Chapter 3826 Don't be afraid, kill!

“All powerful families in Western Xia must truthfully report their assets, especially the amount of cultivated land and pasture.”

"If it is found that someone has concealed information, they will be punished in the same way as the examples above."

"The Ningxia Governor's Office was under military control for the first three and a half years, and then under civil administration for the last two years."