The prince is more stable

Chapter 1011: Employing people without suspicion
Border troops have always been elite.

The Northwest Army of the Great Song Dynasty was undoubtedly an elite force, but it was in a critical period of transition from cold weapons to firearms, which is why they were not used in this war to destroy the Xia Dynasty.

But opportunity comes so unexpectedly: Zhong Jianzhong asked for help, and spring has come again for the Northwest Army.

From Zhang Jie down, the Northwest Army was well aware of the importance of this war. If they could completely destroy the Western Xia in this battle, the northwestern border of the Song Dynasty would not only extend and expand by thousands of miles, but the northwestern border would also enter a period of peace for at least several decades or even hundreds of years.

With the fall of the Western Xia Kingdom, no one dared to raid the border again. It can be said that this was the last battle of the Song Dynasty's Northwest Army.

Zhang Jie and his generals cherished this opportunity for the final battle. As the border commander, Zhang Jie naturally had to stay in the rear to coordinate and deploy the troops. However, he also had other intentions in sending two veteran generals from the Zhe family to fight.

Zhang Jie wanted to prove to the officials that even an old horse in its stall can still travel a thousand miles.

Just as beauties are reluctant to mention their age, veterans are also reluctant to grow old. They have made countless contributions throughout their lives and were invincible. In the twilight of their lives, they once again launched an attack against the years.

The generals gathered in the command tent, and the appointments were thus finalized.

Zhe Kerou and Zhe Kexing, two veteran generals of the Zhe family, led 100,000 troops from the Northwest, starting from Xia Prefecture, and immediately marched towards the western front of Western Xia, clearing out the northern cities and tribes of Western Xia and completely controlling the Silk Road.

They also encircled the Western Xia's "Heishui Town Yan Army Command" and "Heishan Weifu Army Command," and, together with Zhong Jianzhong's 60,000 troops, cut off the Liao army's retreat route to the north, ready to deal with the potential break in the alliance between the Liao and Song armies at any time.

If the Liao army dares to turn against them, the two veteran generals of the Zhe family will have their 100,000 troops waiting for them on the Liao army's inevitable route of retreat to the north, ensuring that not a single member of this Liao army that destroyed Western Xia will be able to return home.

The old commander is indeed a veteran commander. His strategic and tactical deployments are not only meticulous and experienced, but also extremely ruthless and vicious, with the intention of annihilating the entire enemy force.

Moreover, Zhang Jie fully understood the Emperor's strategic intentions. Like Zhong Jianzhong, Zhang Jie maintained a high degree of vigilance against the Liao army. This so-called alliance between the two countries was actually more fragile than love. After the fall of Western Xia, it was inevitable that the two armies would break apart in order to compete for interests.

For the Song army, the conquest of Western Xia was merely a warm-up; the real battle would likely ultimately take place between the Song and Liao armies.

…………

Bian Jing, Yanfu Palace.

He rode a fast horse into the capital, heading straight for the imperial palace.

Half an hour later, Zhao Xiaoqian received a military report from the Northwest.

There were two military reports, one from Zhong Jianzhong and the other from Zhang Jie.

Inside the Funing Palace, Zhao Xiaoqian sat behind his desk, his brows furrowing as he looked at the two military reports that arrived at the same time.

"This Liao army certainly knows how to pick up bargains. After Zhong Jianzhong captured Dingzhou, the Liao army actually went south and directly attacked the capital, Xingqing Prefecture..." Zhao Xiaoqian murmured, "We painstakingly swept away the cities and territories of Western Xia, and you directly took over the richest Western Xia capital."

"Damn it, do they really think I'm some kind of innocent victim?"

Zhong Jianzhong's memorial stated that he had immediately mobilized troops to rush to Xingqing Prefecture, seize the Western Xia capital before the Liao army, and build a defensive line to guard against the Liao army breaking the alliance. He also stated that if the two armies broke apart, his 60,000 troops were fully confident of defeating the Liao army.

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded. As expected of Zhong Jianzhong, who came from the Zhong family army, a pillar of the Song Dynasty, he was indeed a born commander. Moreover, he was unconventional, knew how to adapt, and had a strong ability to make decisions on the spot.

Of course, to put it bluntly, Zhong Jianzhong was also lucky to have been fortunate enough to have a good emperor.

Otherwise, if the Song emperor were even slightly more suspicious, Zhong Jianzhong's temporary change of the established strategy would inevitably arouse the emperor's suspicion.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xiaoqian gently stroked his face, as if giving himself a silent compliment.

"As expected of me." Zhao Xiaoqian nodded approvingly, praising himself highly.

As for the urgent report from Zhang Jie, the commander of the Northwest Frontier, its contents were even simpler.

Zhong Jianzhong's forces were insufficient and unable to support both sides. In response to Zhong Jianzhong's request for assistance, the Northwest Army decided to send 100,000 troops, led by the veteran generals Zhe Kerou and Zhe Kexing, to advance westward, clear out the northern cities and tribes of the Western Xia Kingdom, and control the Silk Road.

They also stationed troops at the Yan Army Commandery in Heishui Town and the Weifu Army Commandery in Heishan to cut off the Liao army's retreat. If the alliance between the two countries broke down, the 100,000 Northwest Army could attack the Liao army at any time, so that the Song Dynasty could completely and utterly swallow up the Western Xia and not let the Liao Kingdom gain any advantage.

The two elite Song Dynasty armies cooperated with each other, one for offense and the other for defense. One was active, and the other was passive.

After reading the two memorials, Zhao Xiaoqian's first thought was, "This is a sure thing."

It has been proven that the tradition of civil officials commanding military generals in the Song Dynasty was fundamentally wrong. Those scholars who only read the classics and at most a few books on military strategy could not possibly devise such ruthless and vicious strategies and tactics on the battlefield.
Only seasoned generals with extensive combat experience can truly command a war and have a very high chance of winning.

The prerequisite was that they needed the absolute trust of the emperor and the court. If the central government had even the slightest suspicion of them, the veteran generals dared not move, fearing they would bring trouble upon themselves. Fortunately, in terms of magnanimity and composure, Zhao Xiaoqian was absolutely a qualified emperor.

Since they have appointed commanders, they will never doubt their loyalty, and they will never do the foolish thing of an amateur directing an expert from the rear.

Only the veteran commanders at the front lines truly understand the actual situation on the battlefield, and Zhao Xiaoqian believes they will make the most correct and reasonable decision.

Zhao Xiaoqian then wrote down his thoughts on the memorial, telling Zhong Jianzhong and Zhang Jie that the two men had full authority over the command and deployment of the two armies, and that the Bianjing court would not interfere with the specific strategies and tactics; he only cared about the results.

Setting down his vermilion brush, Zhao Xiaoqian instructed Zheng Chunhe to send the approved memorial to the Northwest by fast horses. He leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh of relief.

The demise of Western Xia was almost a foregone conclusion, and now the Song Dynasty had to prepare for the aftermath.

After the fall of the kingdom, there were too many things to deal with. Completely swallowing up Western Xia and eventually assimilating it into the territory of the Song Dynasty would not be something that could be accomplished in a year or two; the process would be extremely long.

The first major problem was dealing with the ethnic conflicts within the Western Xia. The ordinary people and herdsmen of Western Xia who refused to be assimilated into Han culture and to submit to the rule of the king could not all be killed at the slightest disagreement. In the end, the primary approach was to appease them, with suppression as a secondary measure.

To appease them, we must eradicate the culture, script, and language of the Western Xia Kingdom, erase their history, and make the entire population speak Chinese, use Chinese characters, and study the classics like scholars in the Central Plains.

By the way, in order to appease the people of Western Xia, the imperial court needs to implement preferential policies, so... bonus points for the college entrance examination?
In this era, during the Song Dynasty's imperial examinations, scholars from Western Xia were required to be admitted in larger numbers, regardless of their actual abilities. In any case, for the next few decades, scholars originally from Western Xia would reap the benefits of the Central Plains dynasty's imperial examinations.

With his eyes closed and leaning back in his chair, Zhao Xiaoqian's thoughts were in turmoil. The aftermath of the fall of the Western Xia Dynasty was incredibly complex. After thinking about it for a long time, Zhao Xiaoqian realized that this was probably not something he could think of all by himself. He needed to gather the wisdom of others and convene his ministers for discussion.

A pair of soft hands gently pressed onto his shoulders, kneading them with slight pressure.

Zhao Xiaoqian was startled and turned around abruptly, only to find that it was Di Ying behind him.

"My lord, you've worked hard. I see you look tired and would like to help you relax..." Di Ying said softly.

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled, pulled her over, and made her sit on his lap. The two were in a very intimate position, which was simply indecent.

After many years of marriage, Di Ying had become accustomed to Zhao Xiaoqian's intimate gestures. The couple were very familiar with each other and had a tacit understanding in terms of personality, body, and soul.

With one hand gently touching Di Ying's bulging belly, Zhao Xiaoqian, not forgetting to provide prenatal education, called out to her belly, "Your dad!"

Di Ying chuckled: "He is your own son, so you don't need to emphasize it every day. The child will definitely be closer to you in the future. He already knew your voice well in the womb."

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed, "I'm just afraid he won't have a good memory and will forget after he's born. I'll have to remind him every day, and on the day he's born, he'll call out 'Father' clearly and loudly as soon as he lands. Oh, I can't even imagine how happy I'll be then..."

Di Ying rolled her eyes at him: "He was born calling you 'father,' my lord. Don't be so happy. The child you give birth to will surely be a monster."

Zhao Xiaoqian laughed and said, "My understanding of the word 'monster' is that it should be a positive term."

After a pause, Zhao Xiaoqian continued, "You are the Empress, and I also hope that you can give birth to a child who is intelligent, resolute, and virtuous. I can entrust the country to him with peace of mind in the future. After all, he is the legitimate son of the Empress, and it is only right to make him the Crown Prince."

"I'm afraid that after he's born, he'll be spoiled too much and become unruly and cruel, and his temperament will become violent, cruel, and ungrateful. If he has this kind of personality, don't blame me for making another child the crown prince in the future. We can't let the rules of seniority and illegitimate children cause the downfall of the Song Dynasty, right?"

Di Ying nodded very understandingly: "Don't worry, my lord. If I really gave birth to such a good-for-nothing, I will not spare him even if you don't say anything. Let alone be the crown prince, he will not even be able to enjoy wealth and honor. I will throw him into the border army as a soldier and let him suffer for a few years."

The couple quickly reached a consensus on the future of their eldest son, and they smiled at each other.

Zhao Xiaoqian was extremely grateful that he had married Di Ying as his principal wife.

This woman is sensible, reasonable, and knows what's important. Otherwise, if it were any other woman, upon hearing that her own son might not even be made crown prince, she would have already started crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide. At that time, Zhao Xiaoqian would definitely be in a dilemma, wondering whether or not he should hand this woman a rope...

Now that things are better, the couple can talk things out openly without beating around the bush. If they do have a disappointing child in the future, they can reach a consensus and make the right decision.

"The imperial physician said that I should be due to give birth around May, my lord..." Di Ying bit her lower lip, "This is my first time giving birth, and I'm a little scared. I've heard that this is the biggest hurdle in a woman's life, and if I don't make it..."

Zhao Xiaoqian's heart softened, and he gently stroked her face, saying softly, "What nonsense are you talking about, my lady? I'm here with you."

"...If anything unforeseen happens, I promise to give you a grand funeral, so you can leave this world with dignity, even more so than our wedding, so that you'll have endless memories to cherish even in your coffin..."

Before she could finish speaking, Di Ying's pretty face visibly turned green, and then anger began to gather on her face.

Zhao Xiaoqian hurriedly said, "If, I mean if... Madam, please don't ruin the warm atmosphere of our conversation, it's such a mood killer."

(End of this chapter)