Historically, Li Qianshun died two years later. He died after becoming terminally ill. This serious illness lasted for one or two years. At this time, his body was very weak, and his energy and physical strength could no longer support his control of Xixia.
Li Qianshun was also very aware of the internal and external troubles Xixia was facing. Over the years, they had failed several expeditions against Xihe Road and failed to quell the rebellion, leading to a serious weakening of Xixia's national power. The royal family of Xixia was very dissatisfied with him. He even got the news that some The royal family has been secretly communicating and preparing to support the new emperor.
Under such circumstances, how could Li Qianshun dare to reach out to the emperor's relatives and ask for money and people? He had to provoke them to rebel.
Li Qianshun sighed and asked: "Besides reaching out to the powerful, is there any other way?"
Brother Richard was greatly disappointed. He didn't expect that the emperor still couldn't make up his mind at this critical moment. He had no choice but to say: "There are still a few ways to solve some problems."
Li Qianshun perked up and said quickly: "Is there any other good way?"
"The first is to abandon Shazhou and order Li Yanwu, the commander of the capital, to immediately return to Xixia with 20,000 troops. The second is to release 50,000 Khitan slaves and arm them. The third is to ask for help from the Jin Kingdom. The fourth is to use the reserve silver to support the powerful. We need to buy food and supplies, and the key among these four points is the Kingdom of Jin. If they are willing to support us, we still have hope."
The Khitan slaves mentioned in the second point are Xiao Heda's defeated troops. A total of more than 50,000 people surrendered to the court. Li Qianshun decreed that the defeated soldiers and their families would be turned into slaves, called Khitan slaves, and escorted to the mines to mine salt. In fact, they They are not Khitans, they are basically Dangxiang and Qiang people.
After liberating these 50,000 troops, plus the 20,000 troops in Shazhou and his own 35,000 people, there would be an army of 100,000. Li Qianshun felt somewhat confident.
Moreover, there is still a reserve of 1.2 million taels of silver in the small treasury, which cannot be used except as a last resort.
Since the royal relatives are unwilling to provide food and supplies, then it is okay to buy them with money!
In fact, what Brother Richard is most looking forward to is the assistance of the Jin Kingdom. He does not believe that the Jin Kingdom will watch the Xixia country be destroyed. Even the Liao Kingdom will fight to protect Xixia. What's more, the Jin Kingdom, once the Xixia Kingdom is destroyed, Chen Qing will really become powerful.
"Brother Emperor, is there any new news from the Kingdom of Jin?" Brother Richard asked.
Li Qianshun shook his head, "There is no latest news. It is still the same as last time. They have promised to support Xixia, but the method of support is still under discussion."
Brother Richard said bitterly: "They promised to give 300,000 shi of grain, but so far, they haven't seen a single grain of rice."
Li Qianshun sighed, "The Kingdom of Jin has always paid lip service to lies. We can't place our hopes on them. I agree with all the points you just mentioned and we can implement them as soon as daybreak."
Brother Richard walked out of the palace and couldn't help but look up to the sky and let out a long sigh, "Is Xixia really going to destroy the country?"
.........
At dusk, Brother Richard received a message from his son Li Hanzhong. A Song army of tens of thousands of unknown origins captured Yingli County, and almost all the six thousand defenders were destroyed.
This news was a slap in the face. Brother Richard was so stunned that he couldn't say a word while sitting in the study.
What he was most worried about finally happened. The Song army must have gone north from Xiaoguan Road and attacked Yingli County.
He has actually considered this possibility. As an experienced veteran, Brother Richard also knows that it is not wise for Chen Qing to attack Xixia from Lanzhou. It is simply unrealistic to use the Yellow River to transport baggage. The Yellow River can only start from Yingli County.
Only then is it possible to transport supplies.
Gu Dong
In just a few months, Chen Qing had stationed 200,000 troops, 500,000 shi of grain, and countless various military supplies in Lanzhou. Even the military headquarters had temporarily moved to Lanzhou, and Chen Qing himself was also in Lanzhou.
Brother Richard also believed that Chen Qing must be attacking Xixia from Lanzhou so that he could join forces with the Uighurs. If he was not taking the new military road, he would be taking the old Hexi road. But he never dreamed that Chen Qing would actually take the Xiaoguan Road.
The strange troops captured Yingli County, and all his previous arrangements were useless.
Brother Richard was actually a little scared. Chen Qing actually spent several months on strategic deception and did not hesitate to mobilize hundreds of thousands of civilians, 200,000 troops and countless supplies of food and grass. All of this turned out to be fake, just to deceive him.
Own.
Only now did he understand why the Xixia army had been defeated repeatedly at the hands of Chen Qing and why this man was so terrifying.
At this time, staff Han Feng stepped forward and said: "The Song army's sneak attack on Yingli County should only serve as an outpost for the main force, and will not go north for the time being. Your Highness must seize this time to implement the army, money and food. Your Highness actually has to integrate the army. Time
It will become even more tense. I suggest sending an army south to garrison Mingsha County to contain the Song army and buy time for His Highness."
Brother Richard nodded, "Mr. Han is right. We do need to send an army south, but what I'm most worried about now is money and food. Those princes and nobles have money, food and slaves in their hands, but they just refuse to donate a penny to the court."
, I really have a big head, sir, do you have any good ideas?"
Han Feng secretly despised him. In fact, Brother Richard was the richest nobleman in Xixia and owned the most slaves. He was talking about others but left out himself. It was really a great irony.
Of course, Han Feng also understood Brother Richard's reasons. Brother Richard was already fighting against the Song army with all his strength. He had already made a huge contribution, so he did not need to pay additional money, food and slaves. However, those powerful people did not pay anything and still
In a life of drunkenness and dreams, of course they need to spend extra money, food and slaves to protect their homeland. After all, Han Feng also receives the 30 taels of staff money that Brother Richard gives him every month. He has to understand even if he doesn't understand.
"There is a way out of this humble position!"
Han Feng stepped forward and whispered a few words, and Brother Richard asked doubtfully: "Is this useful?"
Han Feng smiled bitterly and said: "The Song army has occupied Yingli County, and the destruction of Xixia is just around the corner. Your Highness still has time to consider their feelings?"
Brother Richard took a few steps with his hands behind his back. Han Feng chose a good target. Tuoba Aqu was his biggest enemy. Using him to operate on him not only revealed his bad breath for many years, but also killed chickens and monkeys. He didn't believe those things.
The powerful are not afraid.
"Forget it, let's do it!" Brother Richard finally made up his mind.
...........
At night, a military riot suddenly broke out in Xingqing City. Hundreds of homes in the southeast corner were looted. More than a thousand rioting soldiers smashed open the palace of Chu King Tuoba Aqu, rushed in, killed and looted, and raped all the women.
, Tuoba Aqu and about 120 of his family members were all killed, and the mountains of wealth in the warehouse were also looted.
The news spread and the whole city was shocked. The dignitaries asked Brother Richard to give an explanation. Brother Richard told everyone that the Song army had invaded Xixia and was only three hundred miles away from Xingqing Mansion. The soldiers were short of food and the court was also worried.
There was no money to pay and morale was low, so the riots broke out. He was worried that more riots would happen, so everyone should be careful.
Everyone understood that this was Brother Richard who was clearly threatening everyone with military violence. If he didn't come up with money and food, he would send troops to rob and plunder, and he would be killed, and his wife and daughter would be humiliated.
These powerful men bullied the weak and feared the strong. When they saw that Brother Richard had murderous intentions, they immediately realized that saving their lives was more important. They expressed their willingness to spend money and food, and handed over the slaves to be organized into an army. Within five days, Brother Richard forcibly recruited people.
They received 500,000 dan of grain, 2 million guan of money, and 30,000 military-trained slave troops.
At the same time, 50,000 Khitan slave prisoners of war were released and reorganized into the army. In just three days, Brother Richard's strength reached 115,000. Brother Richard immediately ordered Zhuo Luo and Nanjun Sidu to take control
Shang Dongyan led 15,000 troops to garrison in Mingsha County.
He also sent a messenger quickly to Shazhou and ordered Li Yanwu, the commander of the capital, to immediately return to Xixia with 20,000 troops and temporarily abandon Shazhou.
But these hundreds of thousands of troops are not enough. Brother Richard is also ordering local governments to recruit young men to join the army. At the same time, he is also collecting all the money and food in the country. Even if the people are full of resentment, it is better than Xixia's destruction of the country.