Xianxia version of Water Margin

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On the battlefield where the Yuan army and the Xia army were in a state of war, Richard's name almost became a synonym for failure.

In this regard, Li Renxiao had the idea of ​​replacing generals in his mind, but the cruel reality made him helpless.

In the territory of Western Xia, except for Richard, there was no other general who could lead the army alone.

This scene can't help but remind people of Zhao Ji's complex feelings towards Tong Guan in the late Northern Song Dynasty - he hated him for not fighting, but had to rely on him, and even made him a king to comfort him.

Behind this, it reflects the long-term neglect of the training of military commanders in Western Xia. Once the pillars collapsed, it fell into a dilemma of no one available.

In contrast, in the Great Yuan Empire, Jiang Hongfei's balanced promotion strategy made the empire have no shortage of capable generals, even the highest military commanders, even if there were not 20, there were at least a dozen who could take on the task.

However, even if Western Xia could find a replacement for Richard, it would be difficult to change the fact that the military strength of the two countries was very different.

The contest between the Yuan Empire and the Western Xia Empire was like the British and French coalition forces after the Industrial Revolution against the Qing army, which still relied on bows, spears, and swords. The technological gap was insurmountable.

The Western Xia army, especially its proud cavalry, seemed so powerless when facing the Yuan army.

They followed the traditional charge tactics, but they didn't know that the fear of artillery fire by spirit horses was enough to make the bravest warriors timid.

Once the spirit horses were frightened, the cavalry's offensive collapsed like dominoes. They wanted to disrupt the enemy's formation, but they disrupted their own formation first.

The Yuan army was different. They made full use of the advantages of spiritual weapons such as the red cannon and the thunder chariot. These powerful advanced weapons were like the sickle of the god of death on the battlefield, and they could easily tear the defense line of the Western Xia army.

Under the roar of artillery fire, the Western Xia war horses fled in all directions, and the army formation instantly disintegrated, and even collapsed directly.

Afterwards, the Thunder Chariot, heavy cavalry and light cavalry of the Yuan army cooperated tacitly, swept in like a tide, and completely defeated the Xixia army.

And those Xixia soldiers who were once known for their bravery, under the threat of spiritual power shells and Thunder Chariots, their psychological defenses collapsed, and they chose to flee the battlefield one after another, and saving their lives became their only thought.

It is worth noting that Xixia was not completely without spiritual power weapons. From self-developed to the remains of the Song and Jin armies, there was no shortage of such equipment in their arsenal.

However, most of these spiritual power weapons of Xixia were of poor quality, either unable to fire or bursting and injuring people, and the threat to the Yuan army was minimal.

More importantly, the soldiers of Xixia had long been accustomed to using cold weapons and had a deep resistance to spiritual power weapons. There were very few soldiers who could really operate these weapons skillfully.

Taking the Battle of Zhenwu City as an example, although the artillery of Xixia continued to fire during the battle, none of the shells hit the target, but instead exposed their position and suffered a devastating blow from the cavalry of the Yuan army.

The low selection standard of the artillery of the Xia army is shocking.

They only care about whether the spiritual weapons can be fired, but ignore the accuracy and effect of the artillery.

This short-sighted behavior is due to the lack of talents in Xixia who master the technology of spiritual weapons, and also reflects the distrust and rejection of new technologies by Xixia soldiers.

At the moment of life and death, they would rather rely on the familiar bows and horses than take the risk of trying those seemingly powerful but unreliable spiritual weapons.

In fact, behind the advanced spiritual weapons is a strong industrial foundation and technical support.

And Xixia, a country located in the border and with declining national strength, how can it expect to have such strength?

In this contest of technology and will, Xixia's failure seems to have been doomed.

In fact, Li Renxiao and his courtiers still had a trace of pride earlier, secretly thinking: the former Yuan Empire treated Xixia with contempt, and in the future it may be Xixia that makes it difficult for the Yuan to reach.

However, when the war really started, they realized that even the once powerful Jin Kingdom could not survive for two years under the iron hoof of the Yuan Dynasty. The truth behind this was that the Yuan Empire was not afraid of the Western Xia, which had fought with the Zhao Song Dynasty for hundreds of years. It was just that they had more important things in the past, so they did not go all out, otherwise the Western Xia might have been destroyed long ago.

Faced with an irreversible war situation, Li Renxiao and his ministers could only pin their hopes on illusory pity, especially the emperor of the Yuan Empire, Jiang Hongfei.

But the nine envoys were like a drop in the ocean, without any response. This was undoubtedly a clear signal that Jiang Hongfei was determined to annex the Western Xia.

On the battlefield, the offensive of the Yuan army was like a tide, not only attacking from all sides of Hengshan, but also generals such as Zhu Wu and Zhe Keqiu, who took advantage of the grassland defense and turned into a sharp blade to attack the Xia. They led Wang De and Zhe Yanzhi as the vanguard and conquered Yinzhou in one battle. Wang De even defeated Li Haiganbu, the deputy marshal of Xixia, and shocked the world.

Afterwards, the Yuan army had a flexible strategy. Zhu Wu and Zhe Keqiu divided their troops into two routes, one to take Shazhou and the other to occupy Heishui City. The territory of Xixia was shrinking day by day.

Zhe Yanzhi defeated Li Haiganbu again in Helan Mountain, and Zhu Wu led his army to Hunchui Mountain, completely blocking the last retreat of Xixia.

At the same time, under the leadership of Zhe Keqiu, the Zhe family army successively conquered strategic locations such as Gan, Sha, and Su, and Xixia was in danger.

Facing the relentless pressure of the Yuan army, Li Renxiao ascended the throne at a young age, only seventeen years old, and faced such a desperate situation, his heart was full of fear and helplessness.

There were many different opinions in the court. Some advocated fleeing to Lingzhou to plan for the future, some suggested clearing the countryside and fighting to the end, and some advised to send envoys to seek peace again.

In this dilemma, Li Renxiao felt powerless and could only barely maintain the status quo.

However, bad news came one after another, and the surrender of Xiazhou commander Xiao Heda was like a bolt from the blue.

Wu Jie led his army to quickly occupy Yingli and Xiazhou, and marched straight to Lingzhou.

Although Richard led the reinforcements to fight hard, he was defeated and was captured.

The Yuan army was unstoppable, and Jishizhou, Xining and other places fell one after another. Only the capital Zhongxingfu was left hanging on the Xixia territory.

At this moment of life and death, Li Renxiao knew that resistance was hopeless, so he decided to open the city and surrender.

It marked the official end of the Xixia dynasty, which was once glorious.

With the demise of Xixia, the Silk Road, which ran across the east and west, was finally unimpeded again after a hundred years of interruption.

The moment Jiang Hongfei received the victory news, his heart was filled with endless pride and foresight.

After discussing with Wang Lun, Wu Yong, Sun Jing and others, Jiang Hongfei divided Xixia into two parts, named Ningxia and Gansu, of which Ganzhou was Zhangye in history, and Suzhou corresponded to Jiuquan.

After successfully seizing the Xixia capital Zhongxingfu, Jiang Hongfei quickly made arrangements, showing his military wisdom and political skills.

He sent General Liu Qi to lead 100,000 troops to garrison Ganzhou and build a solid defense line to resist the threats from Tubo, Uighurs and the Western Regions.

At the same time, he ordered Wu Lin to lead 100,000 troops to garrison Helan, forming a horn with Liu Qi to jointly protect this newly returned land.

Wang Yan led 100,000 troops in Lingzhou, while Wu Jie led 200,000 elite troops to guard Xingzhou Xingqingfu. All soldiers needed to act quickly to completely quell the remaining resistance forces in the two places.

While the military operations were in full swing, Jiang Hongfei did not forget the fundamentals of governance.

He appointed Chen Ke as the prefect of Xingqing and the Northwest Envoy, giving him full authority to take charge of the governance of Ningxia and Gansu.

Zhan Du and Tang Chong served as the prefect of Zhangye and the Northwest Envoy and the prefect of Jiuquan and the Northwest Envoy, respectively, becoming Chen Ke's right-hand man and jointly promoting the governance and development of the two places.

In addition, the Yuan Dynasty also opened up a wide range of talents and selected a group of smart and capable officials, as well as those Xixia Han officials and Han elites who were willing to submit to the Yuan Dynasty and had governance talents, to participate in the governance of the newly recovered areas.

Xixia, this land has been closely connected with the Han area since the Qin and Han Dynasties. Its profound history and cultural integration are far beyond the Liao, Jin and even Goryeo.

During the Han Dynasty, the then Han Dynasty court had immigrated a large number of poor people from Henan, Shandong and other places east of Luoyang to this place, injecting vitality into this land.

During the An-Shi Rebellion, Shuofang County and the Hexi Corridor became a solid backing for the Tang Dynasty. The accession of Emperor Suzong of Tang here further proved its important position as a Han Chinese region.

It can be said that the land of Western Xia has never been occupied by the Hu people, and the pride and tenacity of the Han people have always flowed in its culture and blood.

Although the migration of the Dangxiang people brought new changes and challenges to this land, their power is ultimately limited.

It took only more than 30 years for Li Jiqian to lead his troops to migrate here from Xiazhou in northern Shaanxi to Li Yuanhao's enthronement.

During this period, the Dangxiang people failed to completely change the dominant position of the Han people on this land.

Zhao Kuangyin tried to move the Dangxiang people away, but with little success; and when Li Jiqian rebelled against the Song Dynasty, the power of their tribe was even more insignificant.

Even after the Dangxiang people established Western Xia, their population size has never been able to occupy an absolute advantage.

The wisdom and diligence of the Han people continue to thrive on this land.

Li Qianshun's accession to the throne brought a new atmosphere to Western Xia. He felt deeply that Xixia was backward and was determined to change this situation by promoting Han culture. He drew on the advice of Xue Yuanli, the Imperial Censor, and vigorously promoted Confucianism. He also added "Guo Xue" on the basis of the original "Fan Xue" to cultivate talents in Han studies. He personally selected the children of royal relatives and nobles to enter "Yangxianwu" to study Han studies, hoping to improve the cultural level and civilization of the entire country through education. Under his promotion, the degree of Hanization of Xixia became increasingly deepened, and more and more Dangxiang people began to accept and identify with Han culture.

After Li Renxiao succeeded to the throne, he pushed the Hanization of Xixia to a new height. He made Wang, who was intelligent, knowledgeable, and loved to practice Han etiquette, the queen, and with her assistance, he made remarkable achievements in Confucianism. He ordered the establishment of schools in various states and counties to popularize Han cultural education; established elementary schools in the palace for the descendants of the royal family to study; and imitated the Central Plains system to establish the Imperial College and personally explained the ceremony to show his importance.

Thanks to his efforts, the Confucius Temple of Xixia was built as magnificent and tall as the imperial palace; Chinese scholars emerged in large numbers, including outstanding scholars such as Wudao Chong and Wang Renzhong, as well as cultural elites such as Luo Shichang who compiled the "Xia Guo Pu".

After the unremitting efforts of two generations of monarchs, Li Qianshun and Li Renxiao, the degree of sinicization of Xixia reached an unprecedented height, almost comparable to Yanyun, which was governed by the Yuan Empire for many years.

Xixia also bred many talents who were well versed in Han culture, more than half of whom were Han elites.

Based on this, it was much easier for the Yuan Empire to govern Ningxia and Gansu than the Northeast, Japan, and Goryeo.

And to a certain extent, this must be thanked to Li Qianshun and Li Renxiao, father and son.

In view of the fact that Li Renxiao had never done a great evil in history or in this era, and took the initiative to open the city and surrender, the Yuan Empire successfully obtained the accumulation of Xixia in the past 100 years.

Jiang Hongfei issued an order to be polite to the royal family and clan of Xixia.

Of course, no matter how well Li Qianshun and Li Renxiao do, it is for their own rule. Jiang Hongfei has never forgotten that they are his enemies.

Jiang Hongfei had his own thoughts on dealing with the enemy.

He knew that in the torrent of history, heroes and tyrants were often only a thought away, and the real wisdom was how to control this force and use it for my own benefit.

Therefore, he did not relax his vigilance because of Li Renxiao's surrender and the achievements of Xixia's sinicization. Instead, he quietly laid a more far-reaching chess game in his heart.

He ordered people to rebuild the Xixia Palace, retaining its original Xixia charm, and cleverly integrating the culture of the Yuan Empire, turning it into a scenic spot and making it a symbol of multicultural integration.

This move not only demonstrated the Yuan Empire's respect and tolerance for Xixia culture, but also invisibly showed the world that the ambition of the Yuan Empire was not only to conquer, but also to integrate and coexist.

At the same time, Jiang Hongfei opened up a wide range of talents and was not restricted to one style. He knew that Xixia was full of talents, especially those Han elites who were well versed in Han culture, who were rare talents in governing the country.

Therefore, he issued a series of decrees to recruit talents, not only reusing the Han officials of the former Xixia, but also encouraging them to participate in the construction of the Yuan Empire, and to promote the prosperity and development of the country with their wisdom and experience.

However, Jiang Hongfei did not trust him completely.

He secretly set up a supervisory agency to closely monitor the old officials of Xixia and the new officials to prevent them from harboring different intentions and plotting against the law.

He knew that power and trust were often like a double-edged sword, and they needed to be carefully controlled to ensure the stability of the country and the peace of the country.

On this basis, Jiang Hongfei also actively promoted cultural exchanges and integration. He encouraged ethnic minorities such as the Dangxiang to learn Han culture and further sinicize them.

Of course, Jiang Hongfei did not destroy the culture and heritage of Xixia like the Mongols did when they destroyed Xixia.

On the contrary, Jiang Hongfei also asked Li Qingzhao to lead a large number of literati from the Yuan Empire to Xixia to protect the culture and heritage of Xixia, compile it into the "Hongwu Encyclopedia", and make it completely integrated into the Yuan Empire.

In other words, although Xixia was destroyed, its history still exists.

Not only Xixia, but every country that Jiang Hongfei destroyed, Jiang Hongfei preserved their history, their culture, and their heritage.

To be honest, this is somewhat detrimental to the rule of the Yuan Empire.

But this is the progress of human civilization, and Jiang Hongfei does not want to reverse history.

Therefore, Jiang Hongfei chose to protect all human civilizations without hesitation.

This is also one of the reasons why Jiang Hongfei later had such a good reputation in history...

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