The prince is more stable

Chapter 1019 Resistance
On the orders of Li Qianshun, Li Zongchen went to the Song camp to beg for peace, but received a hopeless result.

Without negotiation or acceptance of peace talks, the Song Dynasty had to destroy the Western Xia state by force, thus ending the Li family regime and erasing it from history forever.

As for the Li imperial family of Western Xia, there were only two possible fates for them.

They could either become loyal subjects of the Song Dynasty and enjoy wealth and honor for generations, or fight to the death and sacrifice themselves for righteousness.

There was no third outcome. With the Song army at the city gates, ready to breach the city at any moment, the Western Xia rulers and their officials had little choice.

Zhong Jianzhong's words were very clear, and Li Zongchen was completely desperate.

He knew that from this day forward, the Western Xia dynasty would forever be history.

Regardless of which outcome King Li Qianshun chose, the Western Xia Kingdom would be destroyed by the Song army; this was beyond doubt. The choices that the Western Xia rulers and their ministers could make only concerned the survival of themselves and their families; the inevitable course of the kingdom's demise could not be changed.

Before entering the Song army camp, Li Qianshun and Li Zongchen were still making wishful thinking. They harbored a gamble: what if the Song army's campaign was only for profit? Perhaps, at most, they could cede a few more cities, and thousands of miles of territory could be negotiated.

If the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty is only angered by the fact that the ruler of the country has not responded to the return of the annual tribute, it would be worthwhile to use money, cities, and territory to appease the Emperor's anger.

But cruel reality ultimately slapped the Western Xia rulers and their ministers hard in the face.

The Song emperor was not so easily fooled; what he wanted was far more than just money, cities, and territory.

He has a huge appetite; this time, he wants to swallow the entire Western Xia Kingdom whole without any room for negotiation.

Looking at Li Zongchen, who stood blankly in the tent with a look of despair, Zhong Jianzhong said calmly, "It's getting late. The King of Xixia still has a whole night to consider things. I advise you to return to the city as soon as possible and discuss it with Li Qianshun."

With a cold smile playing on his lips, Zhong Jianzhong slowly said, "Regardless of Li Qianshun's choice, our army will begin the siege at dawn tomorrow."

"Surrender and the fall of the city are two different outcomes, and the treatment of the Western Xia rulers and their subjects is also completely different. I hope you will report this truthfully to Li Qianshun when you return, and do not say that I did not warn you."

Li Zongchen clenched his fists tightly in his sleeves, his sharp nails digging into his palms. The excruciating pain was still nothing compared to the agony of losing his country.

“I will certainly report to the King the truth of what General Zhong said.” Li Zongchen paused, and finally couldn’t help but say, “If the King is unwilling to surrender, I have nothing to say about how your army treats the King and the royal family. I only ask that after General Zhong’s army enters the city, he treats the people of Western Xia well.”

"They will also be subjects of the Song Emperor. Please, esteemed army, refrain from indiscriminately killing innocent people."

Zhong Jianzhong looked at him with deep eyes and said slowly, "If the people in the city submit to the new master in time and give up resisting my Great Song army, my royal army will not kill indiscriminately."

"After the city falls, if the people in the city still do not give up resistance, then don't blame our soldiers for ruthlessly slaughtering them. In war between two countries, the lives of ordinary people are as worthless as grass. Grass should be aware of its worth. If you want to be a hero, you must bear the price of being a hero. You should understand this principle, right?"

Li Zongchen sighed deeply, bowed silently to Zhong Jianzhong, and left the command tent in a daze, rushing towards the gates of Xingqing City under the starry night.

Inside the command tent, Zhong Jianzhong and his generals remained silent for a long time.

The sorrow of losing his country that Li Zongchen displayed also moved the generals in the tent.

Zhong Jianzhong regained his senses, looked around at the generals in the tent, and said in a deep voice: "Gentlemen, there is no need to be sad. Do not forget that our Great Song Dynasty is the victor."

"How much better was the Song Dynasty back then than the Western Xia of today? If it weren't for the Emperor's invention of firearms and his personal leadership of the royal army in recent years, which has created an invincible elite force, if the Song Dynasty were still the same as it was ten years ago, perhaps we would be the ones facing the threat of national subjugation today."

"Our Song emperor is sure to be a wise and capable ruler. Under his rule, it is not a pipe dream for our Song Dynasty to restore the strength of the Han and Tang dynasties. This goal is actually within reach."

"As Song officials, what an honor it is to witness the Song Dynasty enter a golden age and to serve Your Majesty in conquering the world! Gentlemen, let us gather our spirits. Tomorrow, we can personally present the Western Xia Kingdom as a gift to Your Majesty. Wouldn't that be wonderful!"

Upon hearing this, the generals perked up and rose in unison, shouting excitedly, "Destroy the country! Expand the territory! Victory for the Great Song!"

Zhong Jianzhong laughed heartily, then his face darkened, and he shouted, "All generals, listen to my command!"

The generals inside the tent immediately clasped their fists in response.

Zhong Jianzhong looked around at everyone and said slowly, "No matter what choice Li Qianshun makes tonight, our army will attack the city according to the original plan at dawn tomorrow."

"Before dawn, the dozens of red-coated cannons brought by our army must be advanced to one mile outside Xingqing City. At the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), the cannons will blast open the city gates on time, and the soldiers surrounding the city will tighten their encirclement and line up to kill the Western Xia defenders."

"Within two hours, we must break through the city, storm into it, seize control of the Western Xia granary, and capture the King Li Qianshun, the royal family, and the powerful officials and nobles of Western Xia alive."

"This battle must be fought well. We must escort the Western Xia king, royal family, and powerful officials to Bianjing to please the Emperor. When the Emperor presents the captives at the Imperial Ancestral Temple to worship our ancestors, we will all be honored, and you will certainly be rewarded handsomely."

Inside the command tent, the generals grew increasingly excited. In the dead of night, the camp echoed with waves of excited howls and wailing. Hearing their commanders' excited roars, the Song soldiers also became excited.

The morale of the troops suddenly soared and rose like a rainbow piercing the sun in the dead of night, as the great battle was about to begin.

…………

The next day, before dawn, after the Song soldiers had eaten their fill, they set off for Xingqing Prefecture at the urging of their generals.

The journey of ten miles was short and could be completed in a short time. In less than half an hour, 60,000 Song soldiers tightened their encirclement and arrived at the gates of Xingqing City.

The journey was quiet, the surrounding plains and fertile fields were deathly still. Long before the army set up camp, all the villages, tribes, and townspeople within the vicinity of Xingqing Prefecture had fled. Some fled into Xingqing City, while others fled south with their families. Along the way, all they could see were desolate loess plains, hills, and Gobi deserts, as well as the green eyes of wolves and wild beasts in the wilderness, staring at the passing Song army.

By the time they arrived at the city of Xingqing, it was already daylight.

The soldiers of the three armies lined up outside the city, quietly watching the city walls of Xingqing Prefecture and the Western Xia royal flags that were about to fall on the watchtowers.

Zhong Jianzhong calmed himself down, looked up at the sky, and said coldly, "Order the entire army to form ranks and await orders until dawn."

The city walls of Xingqing were quiet, with only the panicked Western Xia soldiers vaguely visible, gripping their swords and halberds absentmindedly. The soldiers were listless and, under the reprimands and whips of their generals, had no choice but to carry logs, rolling stones, oil, and other supplies for the defense of the city.

The Song soldiers outside the city all wore mocking expressions, laughing at the naivety of the Western Xia defenders.

Times have changed!
Did they really think they could defend the city with these things?
In the age of firearms, a single cannonball fired by a red-coated cannon could cause half of the city wall to collapse. How could we defend it with just wood and stone?
Compared to the chaos and confusion of the Western Xia garrison, the Song soldiers outside the city were not nervous at all.

They were the elite of the Song Dynasty and the first soldiers to personally experience the power of firearms. They were well aware of how the times had changed.

The traditional methods of defending a city, which have been in place for thousands of years, are no longer effective. It is laughable that people think they can defend a city with just wood, stone, and oil.

We will not climb the city walls, nor will we stand on the ladders to fight the enemy on the walls to the death, paying the price of thousands of lives to reach the top of the city.

We will simply blast open the city gates and then walk openly into the city.

Taking down a city is that simple.

Everything the Western Xia garrison is doing now is in vain. They will soon find that the city will be breached much faster than they imagined.

It was already broad daylight when Zhong Jianzhong stood on horseback in the center of the army, with a commander's flag fluttering behind him.

Squinting at the east gate of Xingqing Prefecture, the banner representing the Li Qianshun Dynasty was still waving on the gate tower, and below the banner were squads of Western Xia soldiers standing ready for battle.

Zhong Jianzhong sighed and muttered, "It seems that Li Qianshun has not given up yet; he still wants to try again."

Guo Cheng, the deputy commander beside him, sneered a few times and said, "It's almost dawn, and there's still no movement in Xingqing City. It seems that Li Qianshun has no intention of surrendering. The wealth and status of the Li family royal family can't be saved either. They made their own choice, so they can't blame anyone else."

A scout hurriedly rode up, and without dismounting, sat on the horse and clasped his hands in greeting, saying, "Reporting to Commander Zhong, scouts from the southwest have discovered that a Western Xia army is heading towards Xingqing City from fifty miles away."

"This Western Xia army has about 40,000 men. They should have been temporarily conscripted from various places such as Xiliang Prefecture and Xuanhua Prefecture to come to Xingqing Prefecture to defend the emperor. They should arrive at the city of Xingqing in two hours."

Zhong Jianzhong and Guo Cheng quickly exchanged a glance. Their expressions were not flustered at all; instead, they laughed even more heartily.

“Li Qianshun is really planning a last-ditch effort. This time, he’s mobilized the entire nation’s army to defend the king. He’s truly reluctant to give up this throne,” Zhong Jianzhong said with a smile.

Guo Cheng also laughed and said, "Perfect! I was just thinking that we hadn't killed enough enemy soldiers in this war of annihilation, which would have delayed my reward and future. Now that's good, my future is saved."

Zhong Jianzhong nodded and said, "If we break through Xingqing City within two hours, capture Li Qianshun alive, and then send the army out of the city to fight the reinforcements, we have enough time."

Guo Cheng said, "General Zhong, we don't need to wait until dawn, do we? I think we can order the attack now."

Zhong Jianzhong nodded: "That's right, let's take Xingqing City first."

Then Zhong Jianzhong shouted: "Order the entire army to prepare to attack the city! Red-coated cannons, aim at the city gates and fire!"

Within the central army formation, a black command flag was swung down fiercely, and the booming war drums sounded urgently.

Amidst the sounds of war drums and horns, a sudden, earth-shattering roar erupted as dozens of red-coated cannons fired at the east gate of Xingqing Prefecture.

Even after the smoke cleared, the deafening roar still echoed across the vast天地 (heaven and earth).

The city gates of Xingqing Prefecture, including the arrow towers above them and the city walls, were all reduced to piles of ruins.

The red-coated cannons continued to bombard the city walls of Xingqing.

Amidst a series of deafening explosions, the Western Xia defenders on the city walls were visibly torn apart, their flesh and blood flying as they fled in panic, clutching their heads.

From the moment the cannons opened until now, less than an incense stick's time has passed, and the capital of Western Xia is already teetering on the brink of collapse under the onslaught of artillery fire.

At this moment, the Western Xia garrison, fleeing in panic, finally realized that they were a joke.

Inside the central formation of the Song army, Zhong Jianzhong coldly watched as the walls of Xingqing Prefecture crumbled and collapsed after rounds of artillery bombardment, his expression showing no surprise whatsoever.

"Order the entire army to advance in formation and kill the remaining enemy."

"Enter the city!"

(End of this chapter)