White-robed Minister

Chapter 214 0212 [Secret Collusion Between Civil and Military Officials on the Border]

After inspecting Hezhou, Wang Zhongzheng made a detour to Taozhou because he had heard that Taozhou was a specialty.

Li Xian returned to Xizhou and privately sought an audience with Xu Lai.

"Xu Jinglue, I encountered something on my way back from my investigation of the border, but I'm not sure if I should tell you," Li Xian said.

Xu Lai warmly pulled Li Xian to sit down: "Please speak freely."

Li Xian looked around and said in a low voice, "Ba Zhanjiao, who was given the name Zhao Chunzhong by the Emperor, killed Western Xia border people who had returned to the rightful side in order to claim military merit."

Xu Lai's composure had deepened considerably; though he was furious inside, his expression remained calm: "Is that really true?"

Li Xian said, "It's possible that it's not just Bazhanjiao; other Qiang generals are doing the same thing."

Since the beginning of spring, the Qiang generals on the border have indeed been reporting their victories and continuously sending over severed heads. The Qiang generals claim that they took the initiative to invade the Western Xia border and that the heads were all taken from the Western Xia border people.

After careful consideration, Xu Lai instructed, "This matter is of great importance and must not be disclosed to outsiders for the time being. Please keep this a secret."

Li Xian nodded and said, "That makes sense."

Xu Lai's relocation of a large number of Han archers and civilians, and his occupation of the most fertile river valley in Xihe, had already displeased many Qiang leaders. At this time, it was not appropriate to punish the Qiang generals.

Even if those Qiang generals have committed serious crimes, they cannot be dealt with rashly, otherwise it will surely cause all the Qiang generals to become disloyal.

The next day, Xu Lai sent Yang Shu to inspect the border. He also asked Zhiyuan to go to the various tribes along the border to treat the Qiang leaders, preach Buddhism, and take the opportunity to secretly investigate the situation.

More than half a month later, Yang Shu and Zhiyuan sent someone back with news: not only were Qiang generals killing innocent people and claiming credit, but Han generals were doing the same thing.

Xu Lai did not punish anyone, nor did he even mention the matter.

Several days later, Yang Shu returned in person to report back.

Xu Lai asked, "Why have so many people from the Western Xia border regions suddenly submitted to the Song Dynasty?"

Yang Shu had already learned the reason: "Empress Dowager Liang of Western Xia and Chancellor Liang Yimai restored the old customs in order to win over the Dangxiang nobles. As a result, the powerful local Dangxiang clans gained great power, destroyed Han laws, and exploited the people of various ethnic groups even more. Especially on the border between Song and Xia, many households were actually Qiang people, who were forced to the brink of survival by the Dangxiang nobles. In addition, the spring was a lean season, so many people from the Western Xia border flocked to the Song Dynasty."

This phenomenon is not limited to Xihe; it also occurs in other border areas such as Jingyuan and Huanqing.

A large number of Western Xia border people were forced by the Tangut nobles to actively seek refuge with the Song Dynasty.

However, most of the people living on the border of the Song Dynasty were from non-Han tribes. In order to gain merit, the Song generals were unwilling to accept the Western Xia border people and often killed them to report their achievements.

The prefects of the border regions had already noticed this and quickly reported it to the imperial court.

The court officials were preoccupied with internal strife over the Green Sprouts Act and had no energy to properly handle the matter. They could only order the regional military commands to conduct thorough investigations and prevent border generals from falsely reporting their military achievements.

The Western Xia is in chaos!

Empress Dowager Liang was still fighting with Weiming Langyu, and the restoration of the old Dangxiang system severely damaged the legal system, making it extremely difficult for ordinary people to survive.

After understanding the details, Xu Lai ordered the border generals of Xizhou, Hezhou, and Gongzhou not to voluntarily enter Western Xia territory, warning them that even if they were beheaded, they would not be credited with any merit. However, if they could pacify the Western Xia border people, the border generals would be rewarded according to their merits.

To dispel the doubts of the Qiang generals, Xu Lai also announced that the Western Xia border people who had been recruited would not be settled in the territories of the various Qiang tribes, but would be allowed to cultivate the land elsewhere.

Xu Lai also wrote a letter to Cai Ting, the military commissioner of Qin Feng Road.

Cai Ting knew exactly what to do and quickly issued similar military orders to actively recruit Western Xia border residents in Qin Prefecture.

Moreover, Xu Lai and Cai Ting also sent spies to persuade the Qiang leaders on the Western Xia border, as well as the leaders of small Dangxiang tribes.

The effect was remarkable; within a month, more than 3,000 Western Xia border people came to surrender.

Upon learning of this situation, the Zhuoluo and Nanjunsi of Western Xia immediately dispatched cavalry to patrol the border. Anyone found approaching the Song border was killed without question, resulting in the accidental deaths of many salt merchants from both Song and Western Xia who were smuggling salt.

Many of the civil and military officials and Dangxiang leaders on the borders of the Western Xia Dynasty made a living by smuggling salt. This practice of indiscriminately intercepting and killing border residents quickly caused widespread resentment in the Lanhui area, while Xihe well salt seized the opportunity to open up a market.

Xu Lai was promoted twelve ranks last year, which made many civil and military officials on the border extremely envious.

The entire Song-Xia border is now permeated with an atmosphere of seeking war, and even civil officials want to replicate Xu Lai's deeds.

Huanqing Road.

Li Fugui had been serving as the military commissioner and prefect for a year. He weeded out the old and weak from the "Tingzi Ma" (tribal cavalry) and selected those skilled in riding and archery to replace them. At the same time, he also trained Han soldiers, preparing for a major campaign.

Fearing that the border generals would cause trouble, the Privy Council ordered Shen Kuo last year to stop manufacturing firearms.

However, the civil and military officials in the border areas reported that the Western Xia was constantly sending troops to invade, hoping to obtain the Three-Eyed Cannon and artillery to defend the city.

Left with no other option, the Privy Council ordered the production of more cannons and strictly stipulated that they could only be used to defend cities and important fortresses. As for the three-eyed cannon, the Privy Council had not yet realized its power, so it did not restrict the production of the Imperial Works Department.

In order to quickly obtain firearms, Li Fugui even sent people to bribe officials in the Imperial Household Department.

He now possesses four cannons and five hundred three-eyed rifles, and is secretly building and training a firearms force.

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Li Fugui's idea was simple: Xu Lai had advanced twelve ranks in a row, but I didn't expect that much; just let me advance three or four ranks.

Historically, this guy was envious of Wang Shao's achievements in opening up the borders, so this year he took the initiative to attack the newly built fortress of the Western Xia, but was defeated by the Western Xia army.

To shirk responsibility, he executed the defeated general. He then mobilized even more troops and, taking advantage of the Western Xia's relaxed vigilance after their great victory, breached three fortified villages and beheaded thousands.

This led to a major attack by the Western Xia on the Song Dynasty, and Li Fugui was demoted as a result.

But now things are different. Li Fugui has four more cannons and five hundred three-eyed guns. I wonder how he will turn the war into a battle.

"Bang bang bang!"

In the valley of Qingzhou, five hundred soldiers were practicing with three-eyed halberds.

Before the smoke of battle had cleared, the straw figures in front were scattered and broken. After the five hundred soldiers were released, they immediately charged forward with three-barreled muskets, using them like maces.

Standing halfway up the mountain, Li Fugui observed the situation through binoculars and said to his staff, "Xu Xingzhi was able to decisively defeat Mu Zheng thanks to the advantage of firearms. Now, I have only one less cannon than he did last year, but three hundred more three-barreled muskets. The Dangxiang bandits can be easily defeated!"

The advisor exclaimed, "With such a powerful weapon, how can we not pacify the Western Xia?"

Li Fugui said, "Once this year's millet harvest is complete and the grain supplies are plentiful, I will seek an opportunity to expand our territory and not let Xu Xingzhi monopolize the limelight."

Jingyuan Road.

Guo Kui, the military commissioner and prefect, had more firearms than Li Fugui!

Because Shen Kuo's office in Weizhou was within Guo Kui's jurisdiction, he had the advantage of being close to the source and now possessed a thousand cannons and a thousand three-eyed guns.

With a sharp weapon in the body, the murderous heart starts from the beginning.

But Guo Kui, a veteran general on par with Di Qing, considered things more deeply than Li Fugui. His fear wasn't of losing, but of winning and being punished by the court.

Guo Kui was very clear-headed; he knew that Western Xia was different from Mu Zheng.

Mu Zheng's strength was relatively weak, so there was no need to worry about a fierce counterattack. Therefore, the court allowed Xu Lai to open up the border. The situation was different on the Western Xia side. As long as the war reached a stalemate, or if Western Xia launched a large-scale invasion, the court would definitely punish those who dared to provoke conflict on the border.

Therefore, Guo Kui is still hesitant about whether he should use firearms to attack Western Xia.

While he was trying to win over the border people who came to him, he also sent people to Qinzhou to test Cai Ting.

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Qin Prefecture.

Cai Ting looked at the scholar before him: "Is it true that the Western Xia army has repeatedly invaded Jingyuan Road?"

The scribe replied, "Absolutely true."

Cai Ting couldn't help but scoff.

The elite troops of Jingyuan Road today were all personally trained by Cai Ting. The fortified villages at the forefront of Jingyuan Road were also built on Cai Ting's orders.

He had been away from Jingyuan Road for less than half a year, and he knew the situation there all too well. The Western Xia army had been thoroughly defeated by him, and even Li Liangzuo's personal army had been defeated. It was impossible for them to launch an invasion in the short term.

As a civil official, Cai Ting understood the situation in the imperial court better than Guo Kui, a military general.

Last year, the Yellow River breached its banks, resulting in a large amount of grain and fodder being diverted from the southeast for disaster relief and reconstruction. This year, internal strife has arisen due to the Green Sprouts Act, and the emperor is considering diverting funds from the Ever-Normal Granary to fund the Green Sprouts Act.

In this situation, if the northwestern border wants to fight, it must achieve a swift and decisive victory across the entire front. Once the situation becomes stalemate, the imperial court simply doesn't have enough food and supplies.

However, if Xu Lai wants to continue expanding the border, it would be best to eliminate the Western Xia fortresses in the northwest of Qin Prefecture and the north of Gong Prefecture.

Moreover, Cai Ting also wanted to make a name for himself.

Although he killed Li Liangzuo, the ruler of Western Xia, Li Liangzuo died a long time later from a relapse of his old wounds. The details of this matter are unclear, so the court's reward was limited, a fact that Cai Ting deeply regretted.

Cai Ting took out the map and examined it carefully. He then said to the scholar in a vague tone, "The borders of Qin Prefecture and Gong Prefecture are also frequently raided by Western Xia bandits."

The scholar wanted exactly that, and immediately went back to report to Guo Kui.

Cai Ting wrote a brief and vague letter to Xu Lai: "Guo Kui sent someone to inquire about border affairs, and I said that there are also bandits in Qin Gong."

Xu Lai received Cai Ting's letter and stared at that sentence for a long time.

These border officials and civilians were all spurred on by their own promotions. Even Cai Ting was no longer content with just handling logistics; they were all thinking about taking the initiative to fight.

Xu Lai was unaware that a war was also brewing on Huanqing Road.

Of the four routes along the Song-Xia border, three wanted to go to war. One was spurred on by Xu Lai's promotion, and the other was that everyone had acquired firearms—

But no one dared to explain this to the imperial court, because the court would certainly oppose a war between Song and Xia.

Even when border officials and civilians secretly collude, their words are vague and ambiguous, making it easier to shirk responsibility after an incident.

Xu Lai certainly wanted to fight, and it would be best if allied forces cooperated.

Even if all friendly forces are defeated, they can still tie down the Western Xia forces, allowing him to seize the Lanzhou territory.

Xu Lai's current firearms have reached ten cannons and a thousand three-eyed cannons!

Xu Lai immediately replied to Cai Ting with just three words: "Understood."

At the same time, Li Fugui also sent someone to ask Guo Kui, saying that he was a civil official and not familiar with border military affairs. He added that there were many Dangxiang bandits plundering the Huanqing Road area and asked Guo Kui how he should deal with it.

Guo Kui replied, "They built many stockades and fortified villages, using firearms for defense." He then added, "The Jingyuan Road is also rife with bandits."

Li Fugui immediately understood and sent someone to Langyan Road to sound out their intentions.

At this time, Zhao Li, the military commissioner of Langyan Road, had previously served as Guo Kui's scribe. When the court wanted to punish Zhong E, Zhao Li appeared to support the punishment of Zhong E, but in reality, he was determined to protect Suizhou and submit to the barbarian tribes.

Zhao Li also wanted to fight.

Xu Lai, Guo Kui, Cai Ting, Zhao Li, and Li Fugui, the five military commissioners on the Song-Xia border, are all hardliners advocating war.

Judging from this situation, it seems that the civil and military officials on the border of the Song Dynasty could secretly organize a "beggar's version of the Five-Route Invasion of Xia".

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