I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 136 New Era Name: Hongwu!!!

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After Zheng Xiansu gave birth to Zhao Yu's eldest daughter, Zhao Wanxuan, Wang Yisu and Guo Ting each gave birth to a son for Zhao Yu, who became Zhao Yu's fifth and sixth sons.

A few days later, Lady Yang, the former lady-in-waiting, gave birth to Zhao Yu's second daughter.

— Yang was born shortly after Zheng Xiansu became pregnant. She served him in the palace along with the Palace Attendant Qian and the Palace Attendant Sun. However, only Yang successfully conceived.

By this time, in the first year of Jianzhong, Zhao Yu had a total of eight children: six sons and two daughters.

In addition to the eight children already born, there are Zhang Nan, Ye Shiyun, Ma Xiaojiao, Li Qingzhao, Chao Min, Han Yu, Zhao Mai, Cai Xuan, Wei Zhi, Xu Qing, as well as Cao and Xu from Zhang Chun's palace, and Zhou from Cai Xuan's palace, who are pregnant with Zhao Yu's child.

It is worth mentioning that, perhaps it was because Li Lin's reduction of body fat percentage was effective, or perhaps it was because Zhang Chunzhen's efforts overcame probability, or perhaps it was because their sincerity moved even the most difficult things. In any case, Li Lin and Zhang Chun, despite their best efforts, finally managed to conceive Zhao Yu's child before Zheng Xiansu recovered.

Shortly after, at the end of the first year of Jianzhong, Zheng Xiansu, who was the focus of Zhao Yu's pursuit, became pregnant for the second time.

In terms of expanding the family line, Zhao Yu's achievements are remarkable, and at this stage, he is no less successful than Zhao Ji in history.

……

After capturing Huangzhou, Wang Hou and others transported all the supplies from Xihe Road to Huangzhou. At the same time, Wang Hou, Wang Shan, Gao Yongnian, Zhong Pu, Tong Guan and others divided their troops into more than a dozen routes to pacify the tribes from Zongge City to Qingtang City and to exterminate those powerful chieftains who were unwilling to submit to the Zhao Song Dynasty.

The Song generals strictly followed the imperial edict issued to them, which stipulated that all powerful chieftains who did not voluntarily surrender to the Song Dynasty and accept its policies of emancipating slaves and land reform would be exterminated.

The policy of emancipating slaves goes without saying; it meant that the nobles and powerful chieftains in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were no longer allowed to keep slaves, and all slaves were to be unconditionally liberated and freed.

What were the land reform policies of the Zhao Song Dynasty in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region?
simple.

In the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region, all land was handed over to the Song Dynasty and redistributed by the court to the commoners and slaves in the region, as well as one million Han Chinese who had been relocated from disaster-stricken areas in Hebei.

That's right.

In order to completely bring the Qinghai-Tibet region, which was destined to become the main battlefield of the Song-Xia War, under the control of the Zhao Song Dynasty once and for all, and to eliminate any worries about the future, Emperor Zhao Yu and his ministers decided to completely eliminate all the nobles and powerful chieftains in the Qinghai-Tibet region.

Therefore, Zhao Yu and his ministers even went so far as to push all these opportunists to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

What the Zhao Song Dynasty wanted was only the common people and slaves who made up the largest number of people in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and to encourage them to rise up against the Qinghai-Tibet nobles and powerful chieftains who had oppressed them for generations.

It is worth mentioning that, in order to completely occupy the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region, Emperor Zhao Yu and his ministers dispatched a thousand local officials to the region, establishing a tight organizational structure to ensure that it was absolutely under the rule of the Zhao Song Dynasty.

Furthermore, at Zhang Chun's suggestion, Zhao Yu officially named this war the "Liberation of Qinghai-Tibet War".

In this way, the nature of the war changed. It was no longer the Zhao Song Dynasty invading Qinghai and Tibet, but the Zhao Song Dynasty liberating the slaves and commoners in Qinghai and Tibet, freeing them from the oppression and exploitation of the Qinghai nobles and chieftains.

This spurred a widespread response from the common people and slaves of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the Song Dynasty, igniting their long-suppressed anger and yearning for freedom. The shackles and enslavement of the past transformed into a rallying cry of resistance, resounding throughout every inch of Qinghai-Tibet.

As a result, wherever Wang Hou and his men went, commoners and slaves from Qinghai Province killed Qinghai nobles and powerful chieftains to join them, expressing their willingness to submit to the Zhao Song Dynasty and accept its favors.

The Song army showed no mercy to the stubborn Qinghai nobles and chieftains who refused to surrender and give up their slaves and land. Under their iron hooves, one disobedient force after another was uprooted, their slaves were freed, their land, wealth, and women were confiscated, and all the men in their families were executed. Heads rolled and blood flowed like rivers.

After six months of clearing and digestion, except for the areas near Shanzhou City and Kuozhou City, the rest of the Qingtang region had been completely occupied by the Zhao Song Dynasty.

In October of the first year of Jianzhong, Wang Hou and others felt that they were no longer troubled by sending troops, and finally began to make arrangements for a full-scale military expedition.

Even so, Wang Hou and his men spent another two months deploying troops in Huangzhou, Lanzhou and other places to prevent the Xia army from taking advantage of the chaos to raid their homes.

It wasn't until December that Wang Hou, as steady as an old demon, finally felt that everything was in place and dispatched generals Tong Guan, Gao Yongnian, Wang Shan, Zhong Pu, Zhang Jie, Wang Heng, and Zhao Long from Huangzhou to attack Shanzhou.

To proceed with caution, Wang Hou again divided his army into three routes, advancing alternately along the main roads north and south of the Zong River. This was to remain vigilant against any potential attack from the Tibetan army.

On the ninth day of the twelfth month, the Song army joined forces near Zonggao City.

Xisheluosa also led the last of the Tibetan army to put up as much resistance as possible.

The Tibetan army was said to number 600,000.

But everyone knows that this number is a huge exaggeration.

In reality, the Tibetan army numbered around fifty to sixty thousand. They were all Tibetan nobles and powerful chieftains who were unwilling to be wiped out by the Song Dynasty.

This was a resistance force that was absolutely opposed to the Zhao Song Dynasty.

Xisheluosa, the last Zanpu of Qinghai-Tibet, was enthroned amidst a crisis, but his courage surpassed that of many other Zanpus, such as Xiazheng and Longza. Even at the very last moment, he was still willing to step forward and fight against the Song army.

On the Song army's side.

At the beginning of the war, Wang Hou, following the instructions of the imperial court, issued a kill order, which stipulated that all nobles and chieftains of the Tibetan army who refused to surrender immediately, along with their families, should be killed without exception.

Wang Hou also specifically told the barbarians in the Song army that if the Song army was defeated in this battle, the land that the court had bestowed upon them and their families might be seized by the nobles and powerful chieftains of Qinghai.

The non-Han people in the Song army were mostly slaves, with a small number being commoners. Without exception, they were all people who had benefited from the Song Dynasty's conquest of Qinghai and Tibet. How could they be willing to let this cooked duck fly away?
Therefore, the barbarian soldiers in the Song army were filled with strong fighting spirit and vowed to kill all the nobles and chieftains of Qinghai.

While Wang Hou was indeed cautious and steady, always planning carefully before acting, he never hesitated to face any tough battles head-on, showing no fear whatsoever.

The phrase "aggression is like fire, immovable as a mountain, unknowable as darkness, and swift as thunder" from Sun Tzu's Art of War perfectly describes a commander like Wang Hou.

As is customary, the vanguard of this battle will be the elite of the elite, namely the Right Wing Army of the Divine Machine Army.

After a long standoff between the Song and Tubo armies, it was the Tubo army that launched the first general offensive.

Then, the young Xisheluosa personally led several dozen cavalry guards up the northern slope. After determining Wang Hou's location, which was the center of the Song army, he immediately mobilized the Tibetan army to launch a fierce attack on the Song army's center.

Unexpectedly, the central army of the Song army was the Divine Strategist Right Army, which was far superior to that of this era.

The Shenji Right Army repelled wave after wave of attacks from the Tibetan army with tiger-squatting cannons and divine crossbows, whose range exceeded that of bows and arrows.

A small number of Tibetan soldiers, relying on their bravery, charged to the front of the Song army's lines, but were killed, scattered, and fell to the ground by the Shenji Army's thunderbolts.

At the same time, Wang Hou had already dispatched more than a thousand cavalrymen, under the command of Song general Zhao Long, to circle around to the hillside and attack the Tibetan army from the rear.

Under a pincer attack, the Tibetan army's first offensive was thus defeated.

Upon hearing the war drums of the central army, Gao Yongnian and Wang Shan launched their attack according to the pre-arranged battle plan.

The Tibetan army was no match for the combined forces of Gao Yongnian and Wang Shan, and retreated slightly.

Not long after, Song general Zhang Jie, under Wang Hou's command, led his cavalry across the river and, taking advantage of Xi Sheluo Sa's absence, launched a surprise attack on the Tibetan army's central tent, capturing the yellow canopy and banner that Xi Sheluo Sa had left in the army. The Tibetan army was greatly discouraged.

Just as the Song army was enjoying a great advantage, a storm arose from the southeast.

The sandstorm was sweeping in the direction of the Tibetan army.

Thus, the Tibetan army lost all its advantages in timing, location, and popular support, and suffered a complete defeat.

The two armies fought from dawn until noon.

In this battle, the Song army pursued and killed more than 30 li, beheading over 10,000 and capturing over 10,000, ultimately achieving a great victory. Xi Sheluo Sa originally intended to escape to Zongge City to rest, but was unexpectedly caught up by the Song general Zhong Pu.

Zhong Pu seized the opportunity and shot Xi Sheluo Sa off his horse with an arrow. Then, the Song soldiers rushed forward and captured him alive.

After the Song army achieved a great victory over the Tibetan army, they entered Zongge City on the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, marched to An'er City on the eleventh day, and officially recaptured Qingtang City on the twelfth day.

Princess Kucha, mother of Xisheluosa, his wife, Princess Xixia, and many tribal chiefs in Shanzhou City all left the city and surrendered to the Zhao Song Dynasty.

The Zhao Song Dynasty finally recaptured Qing Tang City.

Unlike the simple surrender of all Qing Tang nobles and chieftains during Zhao Xu's recapture of Qing Tang City, this time Zhao Yu issued a clear imperial edict: all Qing Tang nobles and chieftains, regardless of whether they surrendered or not, would have their slaves freed, their land confiscated and redistributed. The only difference between surrendering and not surrendering was that those who surrendered would be relocated to the interior of the Zhao Song Dynasty, while those who did not surrender or had participated in the resistance would be exterminated, their homes confiscated, and all women sent to prostitution camps.

After capturing Qingtang City, Wang Hou and his men immediately sent the prisoners, including Xi Sheluo Sa, the Princess of Kucha, and the Princess of Western Xia, to the capital to present their victory. They did not rush into the next offensive, but instead steadily eliminated all the forces near Shanzhou that did not submit to the Song Dynasty.

After completely recapturing Shanzhou and eliminating all potential threats, the Song army marched south to Baodun Valley and began its campaign against Kuozhou.

On December 19th, Wang Hou personally led the Song army into Kuozhou.

Thus, after a period of steady advance, the Song army captured Kuozhou City at the end of December.

With this, the Zhao Song Dynasty completely destroyed the Qinghai-Tibetan Empire, which had been established for nearly a century.

In this battle, the Zhao Song Dynasty expanded its borders by more than 3,000 li, executed and relocated nearly 3,000 households of nobles and powerful chieftains from Qinghai, liberated nearly one million households, and relocated nearly one million Han people.

When key figures from Qinghai-Tibet, including Xi Sheluo Sa, the Princess of Kucha, and the Princess of Western Xia, arrived in the capital, Zhao Yu ordered Xi Sheluo Sa to be beheaded at a crossroads. The 34-year-old Princess of Kucha and the 19-year-old Princess of Western Xia were taken into Zhao Yu's harem.

These two women became the first spoils of war taken by Zhao Yu.

This set a precedent, teaching Song generals how to curry favor with Zhao Yu...

After the war, those who had contributed to the victory were rewarded.

Zhao Yu gave the credit to Zhang Dun, promoted him to Grand Tutor and Duke of Lu, and bestowed upon him a jade belt with a square pattern.

According to court etiquette regulations, only the emperor could wear the square jade belt; his subjects were not allowed to wear it.

However, there is one exception to this.

The exception was during the Xining era, when the Zhao Song dynasty recovered Xihe, and all the officials offered their congratulations. Emperor Shenzong of Song specially removed the jade belt he was wearing and bestowed it upon Wang Anshi, who was then instructed to wear it when he entered the palace to offer his congratulations.

Wang Anshi declined the offer.

However, he did not refuse in the end, so Wang Anshi wore the jade belt for a day and returned it to Emperor Shenzong of Song the next day.

Emperor Zhao Yu bestowed a jade belt upon Zhang Dun, imitating Emperor Shenzong of Song's bestowal of a jade belt upon Wang Anshi, to commend Zhang Dun for his great contributions in the recovery of Qinghai and Tibet.

Zhang Dun dared not accept the imperial jade belt and repeatedly declined.

Later, Zhao Yu made a special round jade belt for Zhang Dun, and only then did Zhang Dun dare to accept the imperial edict, which he kept at home.

After discussions among himself and his ministers, Emperor Zhao Yu established the Longyou Protectorate, which was under the jurisdiction of the Xihe Road Pacification Commissioner's Office and was responsible for managing the Qingtang region. Shanzhou was renamed Xining Prefecture, and Qingtang City was renamed Xining City.

The Longyou Protectorate extends north and southeast to the border of the Western Xia Kingdom, south to the border of Qinghai and Kucha, west to the border of Lugan, and southeast to Xi, He, Lan, and Minzhou, connecting with the borders of Jie and Chengzhou.

The reason why Zhao Yu took the 34-year-old princess of Kucha was that from then on, the Zhao Song Dynasty and the Kingdom of Kucha became neighbors, and the two countries would inevitably have dealings and trade. With this relationship, it would be easier to carry out diplomacy.

The Xihe Road Pacification and Protection Office is currently the most important border region, even more important than the Jingyuan Road and Fuyan Road. Moreover, it will be the main battlefield for the future Song-Xia war. Furthermore, it is home to many ethnic groups and has a diverse range of cultures, making it difficult for ordinary people to govern it well.

Therefore, Zhao Yu and Zhang Dun discussed it and felt that it would be safer to let Lü Huiqing, who was both literate and martial, ruthless and vicious, and had the talent of a prime minister, take charge.

Zhang Dun summoned Lü Huiqing and told him that he and Zhao Yu planned to destroy the Western Xia within the next three to five years. He hoped that Lü Huiqing could go to Xihe Road to take charge of the overall situation and obtain this great achievement that was destined to be recorded in history. He also promised that after the Western Xia was destroyed, he would transfer him back to continue serving as prime minister.

Lü Huiqing is sixty-eight this year, which is quite old. Fortunately, Zhao Yu and Zhang Chun know that he has a long lifespan and that living another ten years will not be a problem.

To be honest, if there were a more suitable candidate, Zhao Yu certainly wouldn't have let Lü Huiqing go to the frontier to suffer again.

To put it simply, although Lü Huiqing had risen to the position of Vice Chancellor by relying on Wang Anshi's trust, he later vehemently attacked Wang Anshi after his departure, even using private letters to slander him. After retiring to Jinling, Wang Anshi deeply regretted his misplaced trust in Lü Huiqing. Therefore, later, regardless of whether Zhang Dun, Zeng Bu, or Cai Jing were in power, they would all be reluctant to bring Lü Huiqing into court due to their dislike and fear of his character. However, in the eyes of Zhao Yu, who valued ability over character, Lü Huiqing was truly remarkable, far superior to the vast majority of ministers in the Song Dynasty.

This is why Zhao Yu first transferred Lü Huiqing to serve as prime minister, and then agreed to let Lü Huiqing take charge of the most important Xihe Road.

At least in Zhao Yu's view, Lü Huiqing was definitely more reliable than Tong Guan, who historically controlled Xihe Road. Given Tong Guan's historical performance, he wasn't unusable, but Zhao Yu absolutely couldn't put all his eggs in one basket.

Lü Huiqing could sense Zhao Yu's high regard for him, and he was willing to reclaim Western Xia.

Therefore, Lü Huiqing accepted the order without any argument.

Subsequently, Zhao Yu appointed Lü Huiqing as Junior Tutor, granted him the title of Grand Master of the Three Excellencies, and appointed him as the Pacification Commissioner of Xihe Road. Wang Hou was promoted to the rank of Acting Military Governor and Military Governor of Longyou. Tong Guan, Wang Shan, Zhong Pu, Gao Yongnian, and other generals were all promoted and rewarded, and they all served under Lü Huiqing.

……

On the thirteenth day of the first month of the second year of Jianzhong, Empress Dowager Xiang passed away at the age of fifty-six.

Before his death, Empress Dowager Xiang hoped that Zhao Yu could transfer Fan Chunli, the third son of Fan Zhongyan, the younger brother of Chancellor Fan Chunren, and a conservative minister, to serve as Chancellor. She also hoped that Zhao Yu would treat the pitiful Chancellor Meng kindly.

Zhao Yu agreed to all of them.

After Empress Dowager Xiang's death, Zhao Yu bestowed titles upon her brothers Xiang Zongliang and Xiang Zonghui, granting them both the rank of Grand Master of the Palace and the title of Prince. Furthermore, the three generations preceding Xiang Minzhong were also posthumously granted the title of Prince, which was an extraordinary honor.

Zhao Yu also fulfilled his promise from years ago and incorporated all the people in Empress Dowager Xiang's palace into his own ranks.

At the same time, Zhao Yu also took two women from the Xiang family into his harem to ensure the Xiang family's continued wealth and prosperity.

Having done all this, Zhao Yu could be considered to have repaid Empress Dowager Xiang for helping him obtain the throne.

A month later, Emperor Daozong of Liao, Yelü Hongji, passed away.

An era has come to an end.

Soon, Emperor Tianzuo, Yelü Yanxi, ascended the throne.

With this, the Song, Liao, and Western Xia dynasties all completed the change of monarchs.

At this time, Emperor Zhao Yu and his ministers formally established a strategy to recover Western Xia.

Therefore, Zhao Yu decided to change the era name.

Ultimately, on Zhang Chun's advice, Zhao Yu changed the reign title to "Hongwu," meaning "great military achievements," which reflected his ambition to expand his territory and unify the world.

A new era has begun...

……

(End of this chapter)