Xianxia version of Water Margin

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Jiang Hongfei was unwilling to marry his daughter to Li Qianshun, even if it was just in name. Jiang Hongfei was unwilling to do so, and only accepted the princess of Xixia to marry him, and only the princess of Li Qianshun's father's generation.

Li Qianshun was not a stubborn person, and he was not unwilling to compromise on the matter of marriage to ease the tension with the Yuan Empire. He knew very well that if he could reach a marriage with Jiang Hongfei and send his relatives to the Yuan Dynasty to marry Jiang Hongfei, he might be able to temporarily calm the friction with the Yuan Empire, and also show that he did not take Jiang Hongfei's seizure of his queen Yelu Nanxian to heart, and buy him some precious time to train troops and prepare for defense against the invasion of the Yuan Empire.

However, the history and reality of the Xixia royal family were like heavy shackles that bound Li Qianshun's hands and feet.

Xixia, a country that stood firm in the wind and sand, had a royal family with many unfortunate fates, and short-lived monarchs were common. In addition, the long-term monopoly of Empress Dowager Liang made the royal bloodline almost dry.

Looking back, since Li Yuanhao, the founder of Western Xia, there have been many descendants of the Western Xia royal family, but they could not escape the cruel tricks of fate.

Li Yuanhao, the heroic ruler of Western Xia, was known for his iron-blooded tactics, but because of his inner tyranny, he personally buried many of his descendants. His six sons died in accidents or died young, and only one lineage remained, that is, Li Qianshun's grandfather Li Liangzuo.

Li Liangzuo inherited his father Li Yuanhao's romantic nature, but he could not escape the fate of early death. He passed away at the age of 21, leaving behind a pair of children. Among them, his son Li Bingchang was Li Qianshun's father, and his daughter married to the Uighurs decades ago.

Although Li Bingchang struggled to survive on the throne, he could not escape the fate of being controlled by his mother and queen. He had only two sons. The eldest son Li Qianshun became the emperor of Western Xia, and the youngest son Richard was the generalissimo of Western Xia.

The Xixia royal family was already small in number, and the position of princess had been vacant for a long time, not to mention the princess of Li Qianshun's father's generation that Jiang Hongfei requested.

Faced with this embarrassing situation, Li Qianshun had to find another way.

He knew very well that if he could not show enough sincerity, Jiang Hongfei would never give up easily.

So, he first prepared to give the Liang family mentioned by Wang Lun to Jiang Hongfei.

However, problems followed one after another. The Liang family was not only quite distant from Li Qianshun and Richard, but also had a deep hatred with the Xixia royal family. If they were allowed to represent Xixia in the marriage, it might backfire.

In order to avoid this, Li Renzhong, a member of the royal family, made a bold suggestion - to include Richard's only daughter in the marriage team, and let Richard's daughter be the main one, and Liang family as the auxiliary one.

This decision was undoubtedly a painful sacrifice, because Richard's only daughter was the treasure of the entire Xixia royal family.

But for the future of Xixia, Li Qianshun and Richard had to make this difficult choice.

Li Qianshun and Richard had a deep friendship and friendship with each other. They shouldered the rise and fall of Xixia together.

As the emperor, Li Qianshun had to deal with state affairs.

Richard was responsible for commanding the three armies and defending the country.

In this context, sending Richard's only daughter to marry was undoubtedly the greatest sincerity that Xixia could show.

Although the two were full of reluctance and pain, they understood that this was a sacrifice that had to be made for the future of Xixia.

In the end, Xixia decided to send Richard's only daughter to the Yuan Empire together with the twin daughters of the Queen Mother of Daliang and Liang Yimai's younger brother, and attached 300 carefully selected Xixia beauties to show sincerity.

This marriage was a difficult choice and a helpless sacrifice for Xixia.

But Li Qianshun believed that as long as the Yuan Empire could be temporarily stabilized and Xixia could win a breathing space, everything in the future would be possible.

He looked at the Yuan Empire in the distance, feeling both worried and expectant.

He knew that this marriage was just the beginning, and there was still a long way to go in the future. He and Jiang Hongfei still had a fight to make...

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Like the "28 Generals of Yuntai" in the Eastern Han Dynasty and the "24 Heroes of Lingyan Pavilion" in the Tang Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty in history also placed the portraits of its founding heroes in the Shengwu Hall of Yanqing Palace in the Taimiao of the Jin Dynasty Zhongdu, known as the "Yanqing Heroes".

There were only 21 Yanqing heroes at first, and later Jin Shizong Wanyan Yong added some more, bringing the number of Yanqing heroes to more than 40.

Among the Yanqing heroes, the one with the greatest contribution, that is, the first one on his left, is Wanyan Xieye.

Wanyan Xieye is the younger brother of Jin Taizu Wanyan Aguda and Jin Taizong Wanyan Wuqimai.

When Wanyan Aguda started his rebellion against Liao, Wanyan Wuqimai served as Anbanbojilie, responsible for assisting Wanyan Aguda in handling government affairs and providing logistical support, while Wanyan Xieye served as Hulubojilie, responsible for commanding troops to fight.

Wanyan Xieye led almost all the famous generals of the Jin Dynasty to attack and destroy Liao, including: Wanyan Zonghan, the first famous general of the Jin royal family, the four princes of the Jurchens: Wanyan Zonggan, Wanyan Zongwang, Wanyan Zongfu, Wanyan Zongbi, the first famous general of the Jurchens, Wanyan Loushi, and Wanyan Wulu, Wanyan Jiemu, Wanyan Xiyin, Wanyan Chang, Wanyan Yinshuke and other famous generals of the Jin Dynasty.

These people were the backbone of the Jin Dynasty and made great contributions to the establishment of the Jin Dynasty. Any of them was a big figure who later dominated the Jin Dynasty.

Not long after the destruction of Liao, Wanyan Aguda died, Wanyan Wuqimai ascended the throne, and Wanyan Xieye retreated behind the scenes and served as Anbanbojilie.

At that time, the military command of the southern region of the Jin Dynasty was actually handed over to Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Zongwang, and Wanyan Xie was still the nominal supreme military commander of the Jin Dynasty.

Later, Wanyan Zongwang was captured alive by the Yuan army, and the commander of the right army was replaced by Wanyan Zongfu, and Wanyan Xie was still the nominal supreme military commander of the Jin Dynasty.

Historically, Wanyan Xie was still the nominal supreme military commander, and Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Zongwang served as the actual commanders of the two routes to attack the Zhao Song Dynasty in the south. During the second siege of the Zhao Song Dynasty's capital Dongjing, they broke through the city of Bianliang and almost wiped out the royal family and clan of the Northern Song Dynasty. Zhao Ji and Zhao Ji were captured, and the Northern Song Dynasty perished.

The Southern Song Dynasty was established, and Zhao Gou tried to revive, but the iron hoof of the Jin Dynasty did not stop. Wanyan Xie was in charge again, personally led the Jin army southward, and forced the Southern Song Dynasty into a desperate situation several times. Zhao Gou even had to go into exile at sea to avoid the edge of the Jin army. However, the army and people of the Southern Song Dynasty worked together and finally repelled Jin Wushu's pursuit and saved half of the country.

Subsequently, Wanyan Xieye planned a full-scale offensive against the Southern Song Dynasty, and ordered Wanyan Zonghan, Wanyan Zongfu, Wanyan Chang and others to attack in a split-force manner, intending to annex the Southern Song Dynasty in one fell swoop.

However, at the most critical moment of the Jin Dynasty's destruction of the Song Dynasty, Wanyan Xieye died.

Historically, the death of Wanyan Xieye profoundly shook the foundation of the Jin Dynasty, triggered the dispute over the crown prince, and intensified internal divisions.

Generals such as Wanyan Zonghan, Wanyan Zongfu, Jin Wushu, Wanyan Xiyin, and Wanyan Chang temporarily suspended the conquest of the Southern Song Dynasty for the battle for the throne.

The Southern Song Dynasty thus gained a precious rest period.

Later, the Jin Dynasty suddenly started a peace talk and even returned Henan to show its sincerity.

However, in the end, the pro-war faction overwhelmed the peace talk and reignited the war.

All this turmoil stemmed from the deep internal disputes of the Jin Dynasty after Wanyan Xieye's death.

In this world, Jiang Hongfei's sudden appearance not only destroyed the Liao Dynasty first, but also firmly grasped the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, becoming a solid barrier to block the Jin army's southward march.

This made Wanyan Xie not as glorious as in history, and his contributions were not as great as in history. In short, his merits and prestige could not be compared with those in history.

However, even so, when Wanyan Zongwang was captured by Jiang Hongfei and his ministers, and Wanyan Zonghan and other generals were all defeated by Jiang Hongfei, Wanyan Xieye, who had never confronted the Yuan army head-on, miraculously maintained an undefeated myth. His name was sung throughout the Jin Kingdom and became a hero in the hearts of countless people.

This also made the Jin Kingdom always have a voice, that is, if Wanyan Xieye led the army to fight against the Yuan Empire, perhaps the Jin army would not have been repeatedly defeated in the confrontation with the Yuan army.

Therefore, Wanyan Xieye, whose reputation was not damaged, was still the most ideal candidate for the crown prince of the Jin Kingdom, and his existence was undoubtedly the cornerstone of the stability of the Jin regime.

However, since the beginning of winter, Wanyan Xieye's physical condition has taken a sharp turn for the worse, and his weight loss rate is shocking.

Soon after, Wanyan Xieye fell ill and his condition became increasingly serious.

This undoubtedly brought an unprecedented political crisis to the Jin Dynasty.

Wanyan Wuqimai fell into deep worry.

Wanyan Wuqimai saw clearly that once Wanyan Xieye passed away, not only would the dispute over the crown prince intensify, but it would also likely cause unrest within the Jin Dynasty.

Looking back at the short history of the Jin Dynasty.

The chieftain inheritance system of the Jurchen tribe was complex and subtle, and the tradition of brother-to-brother succession made the descendants of each chieftain have strong political power.

In addition to the direct line of Wanyan Aguda, the Wanyan clan also had many branch forces intertwined.

Among them, the lineage of Wanyan Zonghan's father Wanyan Sagai was the most prominent.

These families were powerful and independent, making the ruling structure of the Jin Dynasty full of uncertainty and complexity.

When Wanyan Aguda was alive, he successfully brought these family forces together to resist foreign enemies with his extraordinary wisdom and outstanding military talents.

However, the death of Wanyan Aguda was like the collapse of a mountain, which plunged the Jin Dynasty into the vortex of power struggle again.

Although Wanyan Wuqimai had a good performance in domestic affairs, he lacked military merits and always found it difficult to establish absolute authority in the minds of the Jurchens who advocated military force.

Especially generals such as Wanyan Zonghan, who held heavy troops, sometimes obeyed Wanyan Wuqimai's orders, sometimes ignored them, and even openly challenged his authority at certain times.

This situation made Wanyan Wuqimai deeply uneasy. He knew that if the influence of these Jurchen nobles could not be weakened as soon as possible, the future of the Jin Dynasty would be in jeopardy.

So a profound reform quietly kicked off in the Jin Dynasty.

Wanyan Wuqimai borrowed from the ruling system of the Central Plains and began to implement a series of sinicization policies.

He established schools, set up imperial examinations, and selected talents; he formulated the official system, awarded titles, and clarified the hierarchy; he revised the calendar, formulated penalties, and established a ritual system.

This series of measures not only strengthened the centralization of power, but also weakened the influence of the Jurchen nobles.

However, just as Wanyan Wuqimai was preparing to take back the power of foreign war from the hands of the Jurchen nobles, a heavy blow suddenly came - Wanyan Xieye's condition deteriorated sharply, and the fire of life was about to go out.

This news was like a bolt from the blue, which plunged Wanyan Wuqimai into deep despair.

He knew that without the support of Wanyan Xieye, the only military general who could suppress Wanyan Zonghan and other military generals, he would find it difficult to control those arrogant soldiers and generals, and the road to reform would be full of thorns.

What is more serious is that the battle for the crown prince has quietly begun.

Wanyan Aguda and Wanyan Wuqimai's many descendants have begun to compete secretly for the supreme throne of power.

At this critical moment, news came that the Yuan Empire had completed its unification.

In other words, at this critical moment, the Yuan Empire had freed up its hands and could launch external wars.

Under internal and external troubles, Wanyan Wuqimai had to make a difficult choice - to seek peace with the Yuan Empire.

In order to show his sincerity, Wanyan Wuqimai ordered people to carefully select 300 beautiful women, ten boxes of precious wild ginseng, ten boxes of high-quality deer antlers and many special products of the Jin Dynasty as gifts for peace to the Yuan Empire.

Wanyan Wuqimai hoped that this way could temporarily ease the external pressure on the Jin Dynasty and buy precious time for internal reform and stability.

…

The situation in the Jin Dynasty was changing, especially Wanyan Xieye's increasingly serious illness. How could Jiang Hongfei not know this news?

After all, the spies of the Yuan Empire had already quietly infiltrated the core of the Jin Kingdom, and any movement of the Jin Kingdom could not escape the eyes of several major intelligence agencies of the Yuan Empire.

It is no exaggeration to say that every move of the Jin Kingdom was transparent to Jiang Hongfei.

This is normal.

Because Jiang Hongfei's two biggest enemies have always been the Jin Kingdom and Mongolia, which is still in its infancy. How could he not pay attention to them?

However, although this news was enough to attract Jiang Hongfei's attention, it failed to shake the Yuan Empire's established strategy against the Jin Kingdom.

Wanyan Xieye's serious illness and even possible death were not the best time for the Yuan Dynasty to march north.

The Jin Kingdom was in the midst of internal and external troubles. The dispute over the crown prince was in full swing, and the major forces in the court were fighting openly and secretly, and the situation was complicated and changeable.

Jiang Hongfei knew better than anyone what kind of bloody changes were accompanied by the change of power within the Jin Kingdom.

Historically, a few years later, Wanyan Wuqimai was bedridden due to a stroke. At that time, Wanyan Xieye had been dead for more than two years. The dispute over the crown prince intensified.

As the eldest son of Wanyan Wuqimai, Wanyan Zongpan relied on his noble status and intended to inherit the throne.

However, Wanyan Zonghan took a different approach and supported the young Wanyan Tan, who was easy to manipulate because of his young age.

After some twists and turns, Wanyan Wuqimai finally made Wanyan Tan the Anban Bogile, paving the way for his future ascension to the throne.

When Wanyan Wuqimai died, Wanyan Tan successfully ascended the throne and became Jin Xizong, opening a new chapter in the Jin Dynasty.

With the assistance of Wanyan Zonggan and others, Wanyan Tan would carry out drastic reforms, abolish the Bogile system, implement the three-province system, and successfully weaken the military power of powerful officials such as Wanyan Zonghan.

As time went on, Wanyan Zonghan and his confidants gradually lost power and were completely sidelined.

After that, Wanyan Tan began to settle old accounts, and a large number of founding heroes of the Jin Dynasty, including Wanyan Zonghan, would fall in that political struggle.

Then, Wanyan Tanhui resolutely abolished the old system of the younger brother succeeding the elder brother, which angered the powerful official Wanyan Zongpan and made him arrogant. He colluded with the prime minister Wanyan Zongjun and Wanyan Chang, who held military power, with ill intentions.

In order to consolidate the imperial power, Wanyan Tanhui joined forces with important officials such as Wanyan Zongbi and Wanyan Zonggan to kill Wanyan Zongpan and Wanyan Zongjun in the name of treason, and removed Wanyan Chang's military power and forced Wanyan Chang to rebel.

All of this would cause the Jin people to bleed in internal strife.

And that was the best time for Jiang Hongfei to take action.

Of course, Jiang Hongfei's sudden appearance changed a lot. Whether the power struggle between the powerful people of the Jin Kingdom can repeat history remains to be seen.

But then again, the Jin Dynasty was in internal and external troubles, and history might repeat itself. Once Wanyan Xie fell, it would surely cause an uproar.

As for the depth of the turmoil, Jiang Hongfei could not predict it, but he could wait and see, hoping to strike with one strike.

The key point is that the Yuan Empire has been fighting for years, and its national strength is exhausted. It urgently needs to recuperate and plan for the future. If it is eager to fight again, it may be criticized for its excessive military spending, which is not conducive to Jiang Hongfei's ruling plan.

Therefore, the Yuan Empire should conserve its strength and wait for the right time to make great plans.

And Jiang Hongfei also needs to act prudently to ensure that every step is steady and powerful to stabilize his country.

Compared with the Jin Dynasty, Xixia is much easier to deal with.

Yes.

When the Yuan Empire had no time to look west, Xixia quietly seized Hengshan and the old land of Zhao Song, which seemed to be a tricky situation.

However, Jiang Hongfei was confident that Xixia would be defeated by him.

However, Jiang Hongfei, who wanted to recuperate for a few years, was unwilling to start a war lightly, so as not to disturb the covetous eyes of the Jin people, causing them to turn to help Xixia.

In the early spring of the eleventh year of Hongwu.

Xixia sent the Liang sisters, Richard's beloved daughter Li, and hundreds of beauties to the Yuan Dynasty with the strategy of marriage.

Jiang Hongfei accepted it generously, and canonized Liang as the second concubine of Daxia and Xiaoxia, and Li as the imperial concubine, and favored her, so that the blood of Xixia gradually thickened in the harem, and the bond between the two countries was quietly strengthened.

At the same time, Yuan and Xia signed an alliance to seek peace together, and for a while, the border was peaceful.

Soon, the envoys of the Jin Kingdom brought heavy gifts and hundreds of beauties to Yuan Dadu, intending to repair the old friendship.

Jiang Hongfei saw that the Jin Kingdom was well-mannered and sincere, and the two countries then signed a treaty to jointly maintain the tranquility of this land.

In this way, after going through storms, the three countries of Yuan, Jin, and Xia rarely ushered in a short period of peace...

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