Chapter 208: Accompanying Tong Guan

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Upon learning that the Western Xia had ceased resistance and chosen to surrender outright, Lu Huiqing first ordered the Song troops to disarm all Western Xia people, especially those within the imperial palace, seizing their weapons, armor, and horses and transporting them outside the city.

Only after everything had settled and Wang Hou, Zhe Keshi, and others had fully secured Xingqing Prefecture did Lu Huiqing enter the city with his Pacification Commission officials to take possession of Xingqing.

Before this, officials from the Pacification Commission had already entered the city to proclaim Lu Huiqing's orders: no Song soldier, without explicit command, was permitted to enter private homes or harass civilians; violators would be executed on the spot.

Simultaneously, Pacification Commission officials posted notices throughout streets and alleys declaring: Western Xia was originally part of Song Jing; it was the wolfish ambition of the Li clan that led them to rebel, seize power, and carve out an independent state. Our mission is solely to punish the masterminds, liberate the slaves, and leave the common people utterly unharmed.

To prevent unnecessary incidents and conflicts, Pacification Commission officials also shouted in Han, Western Xia, and Uyghur: "All residents, do not panic. Whether soldier or civilian, whether Fan or Han, if you surrender, our army will harm not a single hair; if you resist to the end, you will be killed without mercy."

Seeing that the Zhao Song dynasty targeted only the Western Xia imperial family, aristocrats, high officials, scholar-gentry, wealthy clans, and merchant magnates—and spared the innocent—the hidden civilians and slaves breathed a slight sigh of relief and continued observing the Zhao Song forces in secret.

Soon, Lu Huiqing's party marched grandly through the outer and inner cities directly into the imperial palace.

Before the palace gates, Lu Huiqing immediately saw Li Qianshun, his hair now mostly white, leading all Western Xia civil and military officials and aristocrats in prostrate surrender.

At that moment, Li Qianshun knelt on the ground, holding the jade seal above his head; behind him stood a coffin and a small white lamb.

Lu Huiqing said to those around him: "Strip off your garments, bind your body and limbs—only then will this spectacle be complete."

Everyone burst into loud laughter, showing not a trace of sympathy!

The Western Xia's secession had inflicted immense harm upon the Zhao Song dynasty.

Politically, Western Xia declared itself a sovereign state, openly challenging Zhao Song's authority by installing its own emperor and establishing its own bureaucratic hierarchy—a direct assault on Zhao Song's legitimate supremacy.

Militarily, Zhao Song launched multiple campaigns to reclaim lost territory, yet repeatedly suffered defeats, losing troops and generals, exposing deep military decay, and damaging its prestige.

Diplomatically, Western Xia allied with Liao, Qingtang Tubo, and other powers, forming a pincer threat that left Zhao Song surrounded on two fronts, constantly on the defensive in diplomacy, forced to buy fleeting peace with annual tribute payments—undermining national dignity and worsening fiscal strain.

Economically, the Hexi Corridor trade route was severed—a vital artery of Sino-Western commerce—blocking the Silk Road and severely damaging Zhao Song's trade with the Western Regions and Central Asia. Customs revenue plummeted; maritime trade profits vanished. Moreover, Western Xia imposed heavy tolls on passing caravans, deterring merchants; Chinese silk and porcelain could no longer reach the West, while Western treasures and spices could no longer enter Song Jing. Border trade withered, and northwest economic development stagnated. Furthermore, to guard against Western Xia raids, Zhao Song stationed massive garrisons along the frontier, spending tens of millions annually on military pay, equipment, and rewards—draining the treasury, increasing civilian taxes, and plunging livelihoods into hardship.

Additionally, border civilians, due to frequent warfare, either fled their homes, suffered brutal wartime atrocities, or were captured by Western Xia and enslaved for generations.

Some Fan people, incited by Western Xia, grew disloyal to Zhao Song; ethnic tensions along the frontier intensified, severely threatening border stability and social peace.

Historically, the Jingkang Humiliation of the Northern Song dynasty occurred largely because its national strength had been bled dry by Western Xia.

All these calamities stemmed from Western Xia's secession. Western Xia was unquestionably Zhao Song's greatest internal threat, a long-standing agony. On this point, even Liao ranked behind.

Now that Western Xia had finally been eradicated by Zhao Song, it was no wonder Lu Huiqing's party wore faces radiant with unrestrained excitement and pride.

This day had been won through the blood and sacrifice of countless ancestors, the corpses of countless soldiers wrapped in horsehide, the culmination of decades of humiliating appeasement and endured shame.

Li Qianshun trembled as he held the jade seal, his once-commanding eyes now filled with dimness and helplessness. The coffin behind him contained the last dignity and glory of Western Xia; the white lamb, according to ancient custom, symbolized surrender and submission. Western Xia—the persistent border nuisance that had tormented Zhao Song—had finally drawn its final chapter in the river of history.

Lu Huiqing stepped forward slowly, took the jade seal from Li Qianshun's hands; its heavy weight seemed to bear the entire rise and fall, glory and disgrace of Western Xia. He surveyed the surroundings: Western Xia's civil and military officials bowed their heads in silence, their faces etched with resentment and despair.

Lu Huiqing silently sighed within: "Had our Great Song not produced Your Majesty, a sage ruler, wise and resolute, overriding all opposition to pursue great unification, how could we stand here today, witnessing the rise of Song and the fall of Xia?!"

Lu Huiqing unrolled a decree and began reading:

By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:

The Ministry of State Affairs hears: Under heaven, all land belongs to the Son of Heaven; along all shores, all people are his subjects. Western Xia was once ancestral Han territory, usurped by the Li clan—whose wolfish ambition betrayed grace, usurped the imperial title, carved up our borders, and obstructed our teachings. This has been the greatest plague of a hundred years!

They erected a false court, falsely claimed imperial status, secretly colluded with Liao and Tubo, repeatedly raided our borders, forcing our dynasty to pay annual Jin Bo, draining our treasury; in court, debates raged, loyal ministers groaned in grief. This not only damaged the state's dignity but plunged the people into fire and water!

Since their secession, the fertile Hexi lands have become battlefields; the Silk Road has been blocked; border civilians have suffered; markets lie desolate. They enslaved their own subjects, branded their faces and skin, treated them like dogs and pigs, tearing apart families, leaving wives and children wailing.

I, inheriting the will of Taizu and Taizong, bearing the solemn trust of Liezulie Sect, grieve day and night over unrecovered ancestral lands and suffering subjects, sleep with weapons at my side. Now, our armies march west—not to slaughter, but to reclaim Han and Tang territories, to liberate the oppressed, to revive Great Song! All slaves under Western Xia rule are my children; their chains shall be broken, their lives restored. All conscripted soldiers and civilians who lay down arms shall be pardoned.

Yet those who stubbornly resist our imperial forces shall be slaughtered when their cities fall—none shall escape. Those who render meritorious service may be subjected to public trial, where the people shall judge their crimes. Let heavenly might resound far and wide, let all rebels be purged, so that Western Xia's former lands return to our map, restoring robes, rites, and music, forever as a vassal of Huaxia!

Let this decree be proclaimed far and wide, known to all.

So decreed!

The term "public trial" was entirely new to Li Qianshun and his court; yet to them, it seemed a chance at survival.

This eased the hearts of Li Qianshun and his ministers, who had believed death was certain—they now saw at least one path to life.

After reading the decree, Lu Huiqing said: "You have condoned, incited, and aided the Li clan in burning, killing, and looting our territory, and enslaving our people—crimes that outrage heaven and earth. You deserve total extermination; those who resisted until the end shall not be spared. Yet since you ultimately did not fight to the death, by His Majesty's decree, you shall face public trial, where the people shall decide your fate."

He paused, then declared loudly: "By my order, all former Western Xia officials, gentry, aristocrats, and magnates shall have their estates seized; all slaves shall be restored as free citizens; innocent commoners shall be left utterly unharmed. Erect thirty public trial platforms in prominent locations to judge Western Xia officials, gentry, aristocrats, and magnates. Households possessing skilled scholars, literati, officials, physicians, medical artisans, craftsmen, or technicians are exempt. Any who resist shall be killed on the spot. Execute immediately."

As soon as Lu Huiqing finished speaking, the faces of Western Xia's officials, gentry, aristocrats, and magnates turned grim.

Yet none dared show it.

With hundreds of thousands of Song troops surrounding Xingqing completely, who would dare seek death?

Besides, given their past crimes, even having a chance at life was more than they deserved—how could they dare ask for more?

As for Li Qianshun and the Li clan, Lu Huiqing had no authority to punish them; he ordered Accompanying Tong Guan to escort them all back to Dongjing Bianliang to present them as captives.

Soon, a sweeping campaign of confiscations began.

Notably, this confiscation was not carried out by the Western Army, but by officials from the Ministry of Revenue who had been stationed there for several months.

Ministry of Revenue officials were far more professional: they seized not only gold, silver, and jewels, but, following Zhao Yu's instructions, also collected precious books, ritual vessels, antiques, and stone inscription rubbings, carefully transporting them back to Dongjing Bianliang.

As a modern man, Zhao Yu understood clearly: these ancient texts, inscriptions, ritual vessels, and antiques were not merely symbols of wealth—they carried the cultural lineage and historical memory of Western Xia and the entire northwest region. Their preservation and transmission held immeasurable value for studying the ancient Silk Road, ethnic integration, and Western Xia's unique cultural arts.

Moreover, Zhao Yu knew well: a nation's strength lies not merely in military conquest and territorial expansion, but in cultural tolerance and inheritance. Though Western Xia had perished—and even in the eyes of Zhao Song people, this dynasty should never have existed, perhaps even denied as a true dynasty—Zhao Yu would never engage in such willful ignorance. He would not let its culture vanish. Instead, he intended to integrate this culture into Zhao Song's cultural treasury, allowing future generations to glimpse the glory of this once-mighty dynasty.

When Western Xia's aristocrats, gentry, wealthy clans, and merchant magnates confidently ascended the public trial platforms, they finally understood: good deeds bring good rewards, evil deeds bring evil retribution—not because it doesn't come, but because the hour has not yet arrived; when the hour comes, all is repaid. The slaves and commoners they had once treated like beasts now, eyes red with rage, sentenced them all to death. Without exaggeration, of a hundred who stepped forward, perhaps not one would survive.

Heads rolled; rivers ran red.

Western Xia's commoners and slaves, in a flood of long-suppressed fury and hatred, finally found release. They waved their arms, shouting "Kill! Kill! Kill!"—each cry a scream of their years of suffering and injustice.

On this land once plundered by Western Xia nobles, commoners and slaves found unprecedented dignity and power. They gathered around the trial platforms, watching wicked nobles punished, their hearts swelling with unprecedented relief and hope. Rights long stripped away seemed restored; dignity long trampled now affirmed.

Those once lofty nobles, facing death, finally understood true fear and despair. They trembled, begged for mercy—but all was irretrievable.

Nearby, Zhao Song officials and soldiers, witnessing this frenzy, instinctively tightened their composure, their gazes complex.

Some felt pity, gazing at the once-proud nobles now trembling like dying candles, lamenting the fickleness of fate and the inescapable law of retribution;

Others wore expressions of satisfaction, believing these nobles' deaths were justly deserved, a righteous vengeance and catharsis for years of Western Xia oppression;

Others fell silent in thought, calculating how this public trial would help Zhao Song eliminate Western Xia's entrenched power and secure the acceptance of its commoners and slaves;

Others remained cold and steady, planning how to better govern this newly reclaimed land, truly integrating it into Zhao Song's territory and culture;

Still others, alarmed by the mob's frenzy, noted with caution that even some officials and benevolent men with good reputations had walked down alive from the mad trial platforms.

Just as the great confiscation and public trials were in full swing, Accompanying Tong Guan had already arrested all of Western Xia's imperial clan and royal family, and had the men and women separated.

As for Western Xia's imperial clan and royal family, Accompanying Tong Guan ordered them all locked into prisoner carts. As long as they didn't die, he didn't care whether they suffered or had a hard time of it.

But as for the daughters of Western Xia's imperial clan and royal family—especially the young and pretty ones—Accompanying Tong Guan specifically instructed the Western Xia palace maids to take good care of them, and not to slight or mistreat them.

As for Western Xia's Empress Yelu Nanxian, Accompanying Tong Guan treated her all the more with the courtesy due a minister, treating her entirely as Zhao Yu's imperial consort.

By rights, the day after Xingqing Prefecture fell, Accompanying Tong Guan could have escorted these captives back to the capital to present them as war trophies.

But Accompanying Tong Guan deliberately used the excuse that the weather had not yet warmed and that setting out at this time might cause mass deaths among the captives, and stalled for another half month or more.

During that half month or more, Accompanying Tong Guan picked several hundred more beauties for Zhao Yu from the households of Western Xia's high officials and nobles, gentry and prominent families, great houses, and wealthy merchants.

At the same time, a group of Western Army generals, as was customary, prepared another hundred carts of gold, silver, jewels, and treasures for Accompanying Tong Guan to bring back to the capital to present to Zhao Yu.

It is worth mentioning that on the third day after Xingqing Prefecture fell, Zhe Keqiu led the Zhe clan in opening up all of Western Xia's imperial tombs, and one by one whipped the corpses of Li Jiqian, Li Yuanhao, Li Liangzuo, Li Bingchang, Grand Empress Dowager Liang, Lesser Empress Dowager Liang, Liang Yimai, Liang Yibu, and others, avenging the Song people—especially the Zhe clan sons—who had perished in the wars between Song and Xia over the years.

As for the burial goods in these tombs, they were all collected by officials of the Ministry of Revenue, packed into crates, sealed, and prepared to be transported back to Dongjing Bianliang.

In mid-May of the third year of Hongwu, Accompanying Tong Guan—finally satisfied—together with some officials of the Ministry of Revenue, escorted Li Qianshun, Western Xia's imperial clan and royal family, and over ten thousand carts in a triumphant return to the capital…

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(End of chapter)