The prince is more stable

Chapter 1018 Humble Begging for Peace
War has its rules, and these rules are subject to political constraints.

The commander-in-chief must be subject to the control of the central government; he can only fight if ordered to fight, and he can only kill if ordered to kill.

The process of "accepting surrender" is very complicated and involves many prerequisites.

If a large number of one's own soldiers have already been killed on the battlefield before the enemy surrenders, then the commander-in-chief may refuse to accept the enemy's eventual surrender when they are at their wits' end, and continue to fight and kill until the commander-in-chief feels that he has avenged them.

If the enemy's resistance does not cause too many casualties to our side, and the enemy, fearing the might of Heaven, takes the initiative to surrender, then our commander-in-chief must accept them; there is no way to refuse.

After accepting surrender, one must not kill indiscriminately, massacre entire cities, or mistreat surrendered soldiers.

This is also the rule of war.

Many people imagine wielding swords and spears, killing indiscriminately and without regard for surrender. They believe that they won't stop until they've had their fill of killing. Such people may have a moment of pleasure, but they will definitely be subject to military law after the war.

Therefore, many generals in the command tent are now clamoring for military merit, saying they will not accept the surrender of the Western Xia king and must be forced to take up arms and fight against our Great Song Dynasty...

Well, theoretically, they have already violated military law.

As the commander-in-chief of the army, Zhong Jianzhong wouldn't be so irrational.

The Emperor trusted him completely. Since appointing him as commander-in-chief, he only set strategic goals for him and never interfered in any specific tactical matters. Zhong Jianzhong had earned such trust from the Emperor, so he naturally could not let the Emperor down.

"Please invite the Western Xia envoy into the camp," Zhong Jianzhong ordered in a deep voice. Then, he looked around at the generals in the tent who were filled with resentment and said coldly, "Put away your dog tempers and don't be disrespectful to the Western Xia envoy, lest you tarnish the prestige of our glorious Song Dynasty army!"

"Li Qianshun, the ruler of Western Xia, is someone the Emperor has specifically ordered to be captured alive. If he can surrender voluntarily, that would be the best outcome. If you provoke trouble for your own military merits, forget about military merits; you'll probably only be able to keep company with monkeys in the trees of Lingnan for the rest of your lives."

"Once you each marry a female monkey from Lingnan, I will definitely give you a big gift."

The generals inside the tent burst into laughter, but were all inwardly terrified.

They knew that Commander Zhong's words were a warning; if they dared to provoke the Western Xia envoy, Commander Zhong would likely punish them severely under military law.

Not long after, the Western Xia envoy entered the tent, standing inside the commander's tent trembling with fear.

Zhong Jianzhong sized him up, then curled his lip in disgust.

An envoy from a nation entering an enemy camp displayed such fear; it seems the Western Xia court truly lacked heroes, no wonder it was destroyed.

"Who goes there? State your name." Zhong Jianzhong said calmly from the head of the command tent.

As soon as the words were spoken, the Song generals inside the tent suddenly stood up, making a clanging sound as their armor clashed. The generals moved in unison, gripping the swords at their waists and glaring menacingly at the Western Xia envoy.

The Western Xia envoy appeared to be a scholar, but he had never experienced such a scene before. His knees buckled, his crotch became wet, and he almost wet himself in fear.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty... Li Zongchen, Minister of Rites of Western Xia," the envoy said, kneeling and trembling.

Zhong Jianzhong raised an eyebrow: "Your surname is Li? What is your relationship with King Li Qianshun?"

"This foreign subject is a cousin of my sovereign. Tonight, I have come on the sovereign's orders to negotiate peace with the commander-in-chief of the Heavenly Army of the Great Song Dynasty..." Li Zongchen said, his face pale.

Zhong Jianzhong smirked: "Peace talks? What bargaining chips does Li Qianshun have?"

Li Zongchen hurriedly said, "Since the second year of Shaosheng of the Great Song Dynasty, our sovereign has regarded the Great Song as his suzerain and has been willing to regard himself as a vassal state. In the past few years, our Western Xia has been very respectful to the Great Song and has never been disrespectful in the slightest. Today, the Great Song army has descended from the heavens. Our sovereign really does not know what has offended His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Song. Please enlighten us, Commander Zhong."

Zhong Jianzhong sneered: "So respectful? Never the slightest disrespect? Is that your own opinion, or Li Qianshun's?"

Li Zongchen's expression stiffened, and he hesitated to speak, assuming that it must have been Li Qianshun who said it himself.

Zhong Jianzhong said leisurely, "As your uncle, you must know the inside story about how Li Qianshun became the ruler, right?"

Li Zongchen's expression grew increasingly grim; he, of course, knew how Li Qianshun had become the ruler.

Back in Xiazhou City, Empress Dowager Xiao Liang was poisoned to death. The Song army stormed into the Western Xia army camp, forcibly dragged Li Qianshun out, and forced him to ascend the throne.

Li Zongchen was among the entourage at the time. He personally witnessed Li Qianshun's ascension to the throne and knew this long-forgotten secret better than anyone else.

It can be said that Li Qianshun was supported by the Song army to take the throne. More accurately, the idea of ​​supporting Li Qianshun to take the throne came from Zhao Xiaoqian, who was then the deputy military commissioner of Huanqing Road.

The poisoning of Empress Dowager Xiao Liang of Western Xia was a joint act by Zhao Xiaoqian and Xiao Guangjing, the Liao envoy. Zhong Jianzhong's recounting of this is simply a reminder that his ruler only ascended the throne with the support of the Song Dynasty. And what was Li Qianshun's attitude towards the Song Dynasty after his ascension? Doesn't he have a clear understanding of this?

"Are vassal states allowed to pay tribute to their suzerain state on time every year? Are they allowed to send envoys to the Song Dynasty every year? When the Emperor of our Great Song Dynasty ascended the throne, he demanded that your country return the annual tributes that had been bestowed upon you. How did your ruler respond?"

"In recent years, your Western Xia has nominally acknowledged the Song Dynasty as its suzerain, yet you have been flirting with the Liao Dynasty, secretly colluding with them, and even dared to send envoys to the Liao Dynasty to request a marriage alliance..."

"Now you're telling me that your Western Xia is 'extremely respectful' to the Song Dynasty? Haha, envoy, you must be joking. You'll be held responsible if you make me laugh to death."

As Zhong Jianzhong burst into laughter, the Song generals inside the command tent also joined in the laughter.

Although it's not funny, we have to laugh. This is a negotiation between two countries, and momentum is important.

The arrogant laughter of the generals inside the command tent made Li Zongchen's face grow increasingly ugly. He felt deeply humiliated, each laugh feeling like a heavy slap across his face.

But Li Zongchen had no choice but to endure it.

With enemy troops at the gates and the Western Xia dynasty on the verge of destruction, all its glory and wealth will vanish like smoke. The king and the royal family will become subjects of a fallen kingdom, forced to fawn and flatter in order to survive. Even the wives and daughters of the royal family will become playthings of the powerful and wealthy of the Song dynasty.

With such serious consequences, what does this little bit of humiliation matter?
Of course, you have to endure it.

After the ear-piercing laughter from everyone inside the tent subsided, Li Zongchen forced a smile and said humbly, "General Zhong, everything was the fault of the Western Xia rulers and ministers before. This foreign subject apologizes to the Great Song Dynasty, the supreme suzerain state, and only asks His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty to temporarily quell his wrath. Western Xia will certainly offer its sincere apology."

Zhong Jianzhong said calmly, "No need. I will take the sincerity that the Emperor of the Great Song needs. If Li Qianshun wants to resist, I will not stop him. Tomorrow morning, the army will attack the city. When the city falls, it will be the day the Western Xia Kingdom is destroyed."

Li Zongchen said in alarm, "Even if the Western Xia Kingdom has made mistakes, why should it be destroyed? Commander Zhong, I have heard that the Great Song Dynasty succeeded the Central Plains Dynasty as the legitimate successor and has always governed the country with benevolence and morality. Why be so harsh and cruel to its vassal states? If this were to spread throughout the world, wouldn't it make the vassal states of the Great Song feel disheartened and terrified?"

Zhong Jianzhong smiled and said, "You don't need to worry about this matter. We can't come up with anything now. I, the commander of the Western Xia Kingdom, am determined to take it. There's no point in saying more. Why don't you go back?"

Li Zongchen's face grew paler and paler, and he shuddered.

The Song Dynasty was indeed determined to destroy the Western Xia; this was not something that could be resolved simply by apologizing and admitting fault.

The Western Xia dynasty was not long-established; from its founding monarch Li Yuanhao, it has only existed for a few decades.

During these decades, at the height of its power, the Western Xia dared to launch a war against the northwestern border of the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty suffered repeated defeats and was only able to retain its territory thanks to the defense of the fortified villages under the border general Zhang Jie.

Their glory lasted only a few years; unexpectedly, they have now reached the brink of national demise.

Li Zongchen knew that the Song army now had the strength to destroy Western Xia, and they were certain they could do it.

As the emperor's uncle, Li Zongchen could only try his best to salvage the situation. His expression became pleading, and he knelt down before Zhong Jianzhong, saying in a low voice, "This subject is willing to apologize to the Great Song. If Commander Zhong is not satisfied, this subject can also ask the King of Western Xia to personally come out of the city to apologize to the Great Song."

"I only beg the Great Song Dynasty to spare Western Xia this time, considering that Western Xia is a vassal state. I guarantee that from now on, Western Xia will pay tribute to the Great Song Dynasty on time every year and send envoys to pay homage to the Great Song Emperor every year. Whatever the Great Song Dynasty needs from Western Xia, Western Xia will do its utmost to provide it..."

Zhong Jianzhong sighed, "If only you had known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place? If you had been a little more respectful to our Great Song Dynasty all these years, you wouldn't have suffered this disaster. It's too late to say anything now. Our Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty has said that Western Xia must be incorporated into our Great Song Dynasty's territory."

“Li Zongchen, go back and tell Li Qianshun that he will definitely not be able to become the ruler of the country. If he wants to live, he must tie his own hands and lead the royal family and court officials of Western Xia out of the city to surrender before dawn tomorrow.”

"If he surrenders voluntarily, I, on behalf of the Emperor of my Great Song Dynasty, can promise that not only will his life and that of the royal family be spared, but the Emperor can also bestow upon him an official title and ensure his family's wealth and honor for generations to come."

"Otherwise, after dawn tomorrow, my royal army will begin the siege. In the chaos of battle, swords and spears will have no eyes. My generals will be bloodthirsty after entering the city and will not care about your identities."

Hearing Zhong Jianzhong's firm and uncompromising tone, Li Zongchen finally gave up in despair.

He now knew that the Song emperor had long ago decided to destroy Western Xia.

Several years ago, Zhao Xiaoqian led his army to capture Xingqing Prefecture. Later, the Song Dynasty took the initiative to wage war against the Liao Dynasty, annihilating tens of thousands of Liao soldiers. When he heard the reports of the war between the Song and Liao, the emperor Li Ganshun was filled with despair.

At that time, Li Qianshun and many officials of Western Xia had a premonition that once the Song and Liao dynasties calmed down, they would definitely take action against Western Xia, and once they did, it would be a war of annihilation.

After all, the Song Dynasty already had this strength, so why should it allow a so-called vassal state that was only superficially loyal to the Song to enjoy peace?

This is also the reason why Li Qianshun closed the country off in recent years. The glory of Western Xia is long gone. How difficult it was to survive between the Song and Liao dynasties is something that only the people of Western Xia themselves probably know.

Incorporating them into one's own territory is the most correct approach; a wise and decisive emperor cannot tolerate any dissent.

(End of this chapter)