[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-shao-song":3,"chapter-shao-song-shao-song-chapter-310":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Shao Song",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1558476,2024,"Chapter 310: The Scorched Divination","shao-song-chapter-310",310,"\u003Cp>After the New Year, the dragon banner of the Zhao Song emperor suddenly turned westward and entered the pass, immediately shaking the entire realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It must be understood that before this, the Great Song already had two complete army groups in Guanzhong—Han Shizhong's Left Army of the Imperial Guard and Wu Jie's Rear Army of the Imperial Guard, totaling as many as sixty thousand men... Of course, even if there were still some lingering numerical discrepancies in Han Shizhong's forces, after Zhao Jiu directly intervened down to the level of Commanders, it gradually became impossible for the gap to be too large.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fifty to sixty thousand men were sufficient to properly handle the defensive situation in Guanzhong, and with the elite Vanguard, Central, and Cavalry Armies of the Imperial Guard that Zhao Jiu had brought this time, the Zhao Song forces in the Guanzhong region actually numbered eighty to ninety thousand, ostensibly exceeding one hundred thousand. If Li Yanxian's forces, positioned between Guanzhong and Luoyang, were also considered, then the figure of one hundred thousand was definitely more than met the eye, even in practical terms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A solid one hundred thousand troops, plus the transport laborers and auxiliary soldiers conscripted once war broke out, was the classic formula for a \"several-hundred-thousand-strong army\" in the feudal age... In other words, in this era of limited transportation, communication, and simultaneous troop commitment, the field army the Great Song had amassed in Guanzhong was absolutely capable of launching a decisive campaign.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the actual situation of the Zhao Song Son of Heaven's dragon banner, along with many of the Great Song's famous generals of the time—including Han Shizhong, Yue Fei, Li Yanxian, Wu Jie, and Qu Duan—all pouring into Guanzhong, this further increased that possibility, making it impossible for anyone to take it lightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Consequently, the Jin army began large-scale mobilization. Troops from Great Ming Prefecture shifted toward the banks of the Yellow River, forces from Hedong immediately pressed south to Hezhong Prefecture, only the Jurchen troops in Longde Prefecture remained silent—this was because that position was already quite delicate and could serve as a reserve force depending on the situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, in haste, to facilitate command, the Fourth Prince of the Jin State, Prince of Wei Wanyan Wushu, and his third brother, Prince of Jin Wanyan Eliduo, had to temporarily swap command of their respective forces... The Fourth Prince Wanyan Wushu, who had come to do ideological and political work, formally took over the Hedong and Hexi battlefields, i.e., command of the Western Route Army; meanwhile, the Third Prince Wanyan Eliduo rode light from Yanjing straight to Great Ming Prefecture to take charge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That wasn't all. The Vice Chancellor of the Jin State's Central Secretariat, Wanyan Xiyin, also immediately left the key North China town of Zhending Prefecture to oversee logistics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a time, only the Grand Prince, Prince of Liao Wanyan Woben, and a certain Qin Huizhi, who at this time could not actually have any say, remained in Yanjing to hold the fort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, the Jin army's fast horse messengers began to shuttle constantly between key towns such as Yanjing, Zhending, Taiyuan, Great Ming Prefecture, Longde Prefecture, Xijing (Datong), Yan'an Prefecture, Great Ming County, Hezhong Prefecture, and the Jin high command was actually exchanging opinions and discussing the situation through this method.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And at this point, the Jurchens had to face an absolute, core difficult problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be fair, the Jurchens were not afraid of war; they could not lose their fighting spirit because of a few previous defeats, and at this time their numbers and combat effectiveness were still unquestionably superior. But a serious question was: should they cross the river to fight?! Especially since the Zhao Song emperor had clearly set his sights on Yan'an and the mountainous Hengshan region behind Yan'an, which bordered the Western Xia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It must be understood that in the seven or eight years of Song-Jin warfare, setting aside routine combat and non-combat attrition, the two greatest pains for the Jurchens came from the Yanling Counterattack and the Yaoshan Battle. The former caused the Eastern Route Army to lose the organizational structure of over a dozen Meng'an, and the latter caused both the eastern and western routes of the Jin army to collapse simultaneously, with four Wanhu units lost, resulting in an actual reduction of nearly twenty thousand troops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the Jurchens, who controlled all of North China and all of Liaodi, troop numbers could be easily made up and organizational structures easily rebuilt, but what was the cost of this? Naturally, it was a significant decline in the upper limit of combat effectiveness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be honest, the Jurchens were a bit flustered. Although they responded very neatly and appropriately, in reality, the high command had no preparation for battle, and the mid-level and grassroots officers and soldiers were unwilling to cross the river to fight on unfavorable terrain and repeat possible failures... At the same time, with the arrival of spring, the Yellow River began its ice run. It could be imagined that after the ice run ended, the initiative on the lower half of the Yellow River would again be controlled by the Song navy, which quickly dashed the obvious idea of opening a new battlefield on the lower Yellow River, where Song forces were thin, to prevent the Song army from coordinating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, the Song army had carefully chosen the timing and was clearly prepared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While the Jin army was flustered, the Western Xia were even worse off... Due to communication delays, information was piling up on their end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two months ago, the Western Xia ruler Li Qianshun had received a personal taunt from the Zhao Song emperor. After thinking it over, he figured it might be a probe aimed at his blockade of Hengshan and control of the Fan cavalry... So Li Qianshun first spent three to five days calming down (he was, after all, one of the top ten men on the East Asian power list), then briefly discussed countermeasures with his civil and military officials at home. After some hesitation, he ultimately decided to grit his teeth and play the coward, sending a submissive reply to the Great Song half a month after receiving the letter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, he couldn't give up the Fan cavalry, nor could he smash the stele, nor erase the \"Song of the Lingzhi\"... The former was aiding the enemy, not to mention, even the latter was a hallmark of Li Qianshun's civil governance, an important testament to his establishment of Han learning as the guiding principle. Moreover, as a ruler who had been on the throne for nearly fifty years and was nearly fifty years old, he couldn't afford to lose face domestically... He just told the Zhao emperor and the Song people that he had already buried it. After all, the Song people couldn't come to Xingqing Prefecture to see for themselves, right?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And what followed need not be said. No sooner had that letter been sent than the Jurchens came to him, vaguely offering to cede territory... Originally, Li Qianshun had been dancing on two eggs. His earlier move away from the Great Jin toward the Great Song was just a gesture. Now that the Jurchens were saying they would honor Nianhan's promise to cede land, Li Qianshun was naturally happy to return to the warm embrace of the Great Jin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, Li Qianshun was no fool.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He desperately wanted Yan'an, and the Western Xia desperately wanted it too... It must be known that back when Li Qianshun's own mother mobilized all the men in the country and led him, then only thirteen, on a personal expedition, it was aimed at the Hengshan region. Controlling Bao'an Army, Suide Army, Jinning Army, and Yan'an Prefecture, and mastering all the areas inside the inner bend of the Yellow River, had always been the ultimate dream of the Western Xia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what was the price?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing in the world comes for free! Loushi was dead! What was the title of the Great Song's number one general, the commander stationed in Guanzhong, Han Shizhong? Where was his hometown? And what about Wanyan Huonü?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Qianshun knew it all too well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, over the past month or two, this Western Xia ruler, while forcibly suppressing internal restlessness, engaged in intensive diplomatic contact with the Jurchens, lavishly bribing the Jin garrison commander of Xijing (Datong), Wanyan Eluguan (Aguda's sixth son, Wushu's sixth brother)... According to this Western Xia ruler's thinking, it would be best not to take Yan'an, but rather to take the former Liao territory inside the Yellow River bend, around Heqing and Ningbian. And if the Jurchens were willing to give him the Zhe family of Linzhou, he would be willing to enfeoff Zhe Keqiu as a prince.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a word: don't do anything too exciting; making a profit behind the scenes is what matters most.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, the Jurchens were no fools either. Seeing that Huonü's side was heading for a peaceful resolution, they also became perfunctory with the Western Xia. Over two months, not only was there no talk of Yan'an Prefecture or the Zhe family of Linzhou, but even Heqing Army—that godforsaken land inside the Yellow River bend next to the desert—they were unwilling to give to the Western Xia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a time, Li Qianshun was so angry he could barely contain himself... to the point that every time he held court, he would keep saying to his confidants, \"The Jurchens won't even give me a single Heqing Army!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The depth of his resentment was palpable, forming a stark contrast with the delighted surprise he had felt when he first learned the Jurchens were going to cede territory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it was precisely this surprise and resentment that caused this eldest and most politically experienced ruler among the East Asian states to overlook the movements on the Great Song's side... Li Qianshun was unimpressed by the government gazettes that Gao Shouyi had sent, because the discussions and problems concerning Yan'an Prefecture were real, and it was normal for the Song people to complain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, as Li Qianshun understood it, now that the Song people had made the gazettes widely public, turning them into something clearly meant for outside eyes, then whatever was published in them should be symbolic and tentative, not to be taken as real information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was not even as valuable as the \"Records of the Grand Historian\" that the young Song emperor had sent him, because that book represented the personal attitude of the most powerful man in the world... even if that man was only in his twenties, roughly half of Li Qianshun's age.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then, the Great Song emperor led his army west to reinforce, and said he was going to fight for Yan'an and Hengshan! Then the Jurchens came again, saying they wanted the Western Xia to send troops to help defend Yan'an, and if they held it, they would give Yan'an away!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before that had even settled down, a Goryeo man actually showed up, speaking the standard Dongjing dialect, demanding that Li Qianshun go to Chang'an to apologize with a birch rod on his back?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One thing after another, thoroughly disgusting this emperor of the Great White High State.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, no matter how disgusting, with the matter right before them, the Great White High State had to respond and react.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A court assembly was being held in the imperial palace at the eastern end of Xingqing Prefecture (later Yinchuan). The nearly fifty-year-old emperor of the Great White High State, Li Qianshun, sat upright at the top, with civil and military officials clearly arrayed on both sides.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike the envoys who wore golden crowns and golden belts (diexie), the civil and military officials in the hall mostly wore round-collared, narrow-sleeved, form-fitting garments. The civil officials wore futou headdresses, while the military officers mostly wore small golden or silver crowns... As for Li Qianshun himself, he wore a tall crown, a dragon-embroidered robe, and a sash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This appearance was far removed from the attire of the Western Xia at its founding, but upon closer inspection, traces of Khitan, Han, Western Regions, and steppe characteristics could all be discerned, a true cultural fusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, looking even more closely, one would still find an important Western Xia-specific feature: short hair styled into a bird-like shape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no help for it; this was a continuation of Li Yuanhao's policy at the state's founding: \"Keep your head, keep your hair; lose your hair, lose your head.\" Even Li Qianshun, who had completely overturned the \"Fan Rites\" and implemented \"Han Rites,\" could not shake it. He merely kept his sideburns thick and tried not to go bald on top.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as this hairstyle hinted, the Western Xia dynasty seemed unable to escape its own narrow-minded style.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Returning to the present, although the civil and military officials in the hall were orderly, everyone knew this was not due to any \"Han Rites,\" but because the difficulty of the matter exceeded their imagination. Those surnamed Li or Weiming had no idea how to respond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Conversely, although the matter was difficult, it was not complicated, so in a sense, there was no need for excessive discussion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, everyone knew that going to Chang'an was absolutely out of the question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, the Prince of Jin, Weiming Chage, tentatively proposed agreeing to the Jurchens' request and sending troops to Hengshan to help them defend Yan'an... But this was immediately met with a counter-question from the Han chief minister, Xue Yuanli: In the past few months, the Jurchens' contempt for the Great White High State had been very obvious. If they went to Yan'an, and the Jurchens withdrew while the Song people came, what would that mean?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was he, Weiming Chage, supposed to fight a decisive battle with the main Song force in Yan'an, a place full of Han people? Was he even more capable of fighting than Wanyan Loushi?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, this suggestion was quickly rejected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By this point, no one was speaking, but the plan was also becoming clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then let's do it this way!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that no one else was speaking, Li Qianshun thought for a long time before finally setting the tone with difficulty. \"After all, the Western Xia is just a small state between the Song and the Jin. A small state must have the self-awareness of a small state... We use every means possible, all for the sake of survival! Minister Xue!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your servant is here.\" Xue Yuanli immediately stepped forward, bowing his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You will go with that Goryeo man and personally make a trip to Chang'an,\" Li Qianshun said with a sigh. \"Bring fifty camels, a hundred good horses, and select some gold vessels and such. Oh, and also that white parrot from the Western Regions that can recite Buddhist sutras. I've heard that young Zhao Song emperor is also a devout Buddhist, so take it along for him to see... When you get there, be humble in your speech. If necessary, you can promise to open up the Fan cavalry of Hengshan and open the horse market... And if the Song people demand the several stockades of Dingbian Army that I personally took after the Jingkang Incident, you can give them to him!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Imperial Brother!\" Hearing this, the forty-something Chage couldn't help but step forward again. \"This is aiding the enemy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's just an expedient measure!\" Li Qianshun said, somewhat irritated. \"Of course I know that the Great White High State and the Great Song can never coexist peacefully, but when faced with over a hundred thousand elite troops, one must bow one's head when necessary.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Yuanli bowed his head even lower, and Chage fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As for the Jurchens, Yan'an cannot be taken, but we must make it clear that we have no intention of opposing the Great Jin. Not only that, when the time comes for the Great Jin and the Great Song to clash, the Great White High State will only assist the Jin, with absolutely no second thoughts...\" Li Qianshun suppressed his furrowed brow and called out another person. \"Bali Zuren... You are my Censor-in-Chief. Go and speak with the Jurchens.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Tangut civil official immediately stepped forward and responded carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's it for now. Dismissed! Prince of Jin, follow me to the rear palace to talk!\" Having given these instructions, Li Qianshun felt impatient, flicked his sleeve, and rose to leave for the rear, with only the Prince of Jin, Chage, following closely behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And everyone understood that the next step would inevitably be to reinforce Hengshan, and since they were reinforcing Hengshan, it would certainly be the Prince of Jin leading the troops. The monarch taking the Prince of Jin to the rear palace for a private discussion left the civil and military officials with nothing to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, when Li Qianshun and his younger brother Chage went to the rear palace, they did not directly discuss the matter of sending reinforcements. Instead, they summoned several witch doctors, both male and female, right there in the rear palace courtyard, and had these people burn mugwort and smoke-roast sheep shoulder blades in front of the two brothers. Naturally, this involved dancing and channeling energy into the sheep shoulder blades... The process was long and tedious, but the two brothers remained silent, their eyes fixed solely on the sheep shoulder blade among the witch doctors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long while, with a shout from the nearest witch doctor, like a thunderclap on a clear day, the dry sheep shoulder blade finally cracked open a fissure. The two most honored men of the Great White High Kingdom rose together, hurried over, and prepared to examine the shape of the crack closely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It turned out that, according to the shamanistic tradition the Western Xia people devoutly believed in, this act was called \"Zhi Bo Jiao\" — it involved judging good or ill fortune by the cracks opened in the smoked sheep shoulder blade. And it had to produce two cracks to be usable... Among them, the first crack was the main crack, and the second crack that sprouted from the main crack was called the guest crack, both being extremely important.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to experience, once the main crack appeared, the guest crack would follow immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure enough, just as Li Qianshun and Chage arrived nearby, a finer guest crack visibly sprouted from the main crack. At that point, all the witch doctors stopped. The leading witch doctor, the one with the loudest voice, wrapped the charred sheep shoulder blade in dry mugwort, preparing to present it to the Prince of Jin, Chage, so that Chage could hold it for the monarch to see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the Western Xia monarch Li Qianshun, who had always revered Han rituals, could not wait at all. He snatched the sheep bone directly, and examined the cracks in the afternoon sunlight coming from the direction of the Helan Mountains to the west... But Li Qianshun, who was usually highly skilled at reading \"Zhi Bo Jiao,\" was instantly stunned on the spot the moment he looked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No other reason — although the witch doctors had stopped the moment the guest crack appeared, whether it was the residual heat of the roasting taking effect or Li Qianshun snatching it too quickly and forcefully... on this single main crack, three guest cracks — two long and one short — had continuously sprouted, and every single crack was longer and larger than the main crack. The three cracks crisscrossed horizontally, truly causing astonishment and doubt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This 'Zhi Bo Jiao' is ruined,\" Chage said, seeing his elder brother's poor expression, and quickly interjected to console him. \"Tomorrow we can do 'Sheng Bo Jiao' instead...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sheng Bo Jiao was the second most popular divination method in the Western Xia kingdom. It mainly involved killing a sheep through a series of steps, then taking the intestines from the sheep's belly and inferring outcomes based on the distribution of food and feces inside the intestines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How could it be ruined? This kind of thing is supposed to rely on the first reading...\" Li Qianshun helplessly threw the sheep shoulder blade to the ground and shook his head in response. \"It's just that Heaven's will has made this divination beyond my understanding, which shows how difficult this situation will be.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just hold Hengshan firmly,\" Chage quickly advised again. \"We've been fighting the Song people for a hundred years — it's always the attacker who suffers. If we hold Hengshan, no matter how arrogant the Song people are, they'll have to withdraw after a long time. Besides, I've felt from the start that the Song people are mostly bluffing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You don't understand!\" Li Qianshun looked down at the sheep shoulder blade on the ground, ignoring his blackened hands, and sat down directly on his knees. \"Our Great White High Kingdom has been established for a hundred years, but in the end, it's a small state... For instance, when Li Liangfu lost over ten thousand men at Yinshan before, the kingdom still hasn't recovered its strength. But what about the Song people? They lost millions in those years, didn't they? And yet they can still fight back? The Great Song lost all of Hebei and Hedong, hundreds of prefectures and armies, and can still be this sharp. If we lose Hengshan, it will be a crisis of national extinction. So, even if the Song people are bluffing, can we truly ignore it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chage also looked somewhat embarrassed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Now I'm only afraid that the Song emperor is too young, that he will forcefully pressure us and fight us. Then, with the three great powers warring around Hengshan, to protect ourselves, we'll be forced to commit our entire army. And when the Jin see us deploying troops, they'll deliberately stay still across the river, intending to wear us down... That would be difficult.\" Li Qianshun gave up staring at the sheep shoulder blade, stood up again, and looked up at the faintly visible Helan Mountains to the west, shaking his head more and more. \"At today's court session, Xue Yuanli saved face for you and for me... He didn't bring up the disasters of Tianyou and Yong'an.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Weiming Chage had not been too concerned at first, but upon hearing those last few words, his expression suddenly changed, and his eyelid even twitched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The so-called disasters of Tianyou and Yong'an referred to the crisis of Western Xia's national extinction caused by Li Qianshun's biological mother, Empress Dowager Xiao Liang, who, to stabilize her own power, disregarded reality and forcefully mobilized the entire kingdom's strength to campaign against the Great Song.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first time was in the seventh year of Tianyou Min'an. Empress Dowager Xiao Liang, taking her son with her, mobilized five hundred thousand able-bodied men and launched a full-scale invasion of Song, advancing into the Yanfu Circuit — the area around Yan'an Prefecture, Suide Army, and Bao'an Army. The result was a disastrous defeat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second time was two years later, in the first year of Yong'an. By then, Li Qianshun had barely come of age and had some influence, but he still could not stop his own mother. So Empress Dowager Xiao Liang again mobilized four hundred thousand able-bodied men from the entire kingdom for a full-scale invasion of Song. They ultimately collapsed and retreated at Pingxia City, forced to seek aid from the Liao to ensure the survival of the Great White High Kingdom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, the core area of Western Xia was nothing more than the first two bends of the Yellow River's three bends. At the founding of the kingdom, the population was just over a million. Later, with vigorous development of the Hetao region and expansion into Hexi, even at its peak, the population was only three million. And with three million people, how many able-bodied men could be conscripted?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From fifteen years old to under sixty, five hundred thousand was the absolute limit for Western Xia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And once such a full-scale war encountered a setback — or even without a setback, just by being sustained for a short while — it would cause a regression in the entire kingdom's national strength. This was already evident from the fact that Empress Dowager Xiao Liang's second campaign abandoned the more distant Hengshan and chose Pingxia City, closer to the capital, as the target, and reduced the conscription from five hundred thousand to four hundred thousand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for after the second rout, they couldn't even organize a defense of their own territory and had to seek Liao intervention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, those two suicidal campaigns by Empress Dowager Xiao Liang were the closest Western Xia ever came to national extinction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this was the tragedy of a small state with a small population. Even if it was a nation founded on military strength, a people abundant in martial virtue, the ceiling of national power was set here... Once the army moved, it consumed the entire kingdom's strength. If it suffered a setback or returned without achievement, it would take many years of recuperation to recover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, Western Xia's true mobile forces were also insufficient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In those two campaigns, most of the five hundred thousand and four hundred thousand were merely logistics and transport personnel. The so-called twelve army commands and two hundred thousand troops were nonsense — those were just Tangut and various tribal units that combined military and civilian functions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Western Xia's true full-strength army was at most seventy to eighty thousand. And with garrisons everywhere, the field army could at most reach forty to fifty thousand. The core Iron Vanguard numbered only a few thousand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one understood this better than Li Qianshun and Chage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the battle that made Weiming Chage famous throughout the land — the one where he killed Liu Fa — all records from both sides were clear and unambiguous. Liu Fa had indeed been forced to lead his troops out lightly, but because he suddenly attacked deep into Western Xia territory and reached Lingzhou city, Chage was also forced into a desperate fight... After a day of fierce battle, Liu Fa still attempted to break out, only to be trapped in a dead end and killed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And how many troops did Liu Fa have at that time? Twenty thousand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chage likely had only twenty thousand infantry and a few thousand Iron Vanguard. He won through a classic engagement of infantry holding the line and cavalry circling around for a surprise attack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Understanding Western Xia's straitened circumstances also explains Li Qianshun's military and diplomatic philosophy of \"everything for survival, survival is everything,\" and also explains why Zhao Jiu was willing to gamble this round. And naturally, it also explains why Li Liangfu's defeat at Yinshan made Li Qianshun so terrified that he directly killed his wife and the eldest son he had raised with his own hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because that battle was not just a defeat — more importantly, the Jurchens demonstrated a powerful ability to pursue and annihilate during the fighting... A rout that cost the Western Xia several thousand men was something the Song could also achieve. But unlike the Song, the Jurchen cavalry's tenacity played a huge role after the battle. The sustained pursuit by Wanyan Loushi and Wanyan Yinshu caused the retreating Western Xia troops to suffer a fatal blow at a suddenly swollen wild river. Countless Western Xia cavalry drowned in that nameless river, resulting in heavy casualties among the Western Xia elite forces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Outside of Hengshan, for the troops that can be mobilized — fifty thousand infantry, I'll give you thirty thousand, and all six thousand Iron Vanguard as well,\" Li Qianshun said, seeing that Chage had finally become serious and cautious, and then sighed. \"Take them to Hengshan and combine forces with Yunge and Heda. Together, you'll have a full fifty thousand troops. You can also recruit and use the local population around Hengshan... I think you can still hold Hengshan for me! But you must never leave Hengshan and pull chestnuts out of the fire for the Jin! This is the key point I called you here specifically to emphasize! Do you understand?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I understand! Your younger brother swears by the Buddha — I will not leave Hengshan by half a step!\" Chage gritted his teeth and swore, but still had some concerns. \"But, elder brother, if I take away most of the troops, you'll have at most twenty thousand here. Will that be all right? What if the Song launch a surprise attack via the Hulu River or the Hanhai?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If they come through the Hanhai, they'll be seeking death. If it's a place like the Hulu River, they can bring at most twenty to thirty thousand troops. I'll place these twenty thousand troops at Lingzhou, watch the Hanhai, and hold the mouth of the Hulu River. Isn't that enough?\" The wrinkles on Li Qianshun's face finally relaxed slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chage nodded slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And after a brief pause, Li Qianshun, ignoring the blackness on his hands, reached out to touch the \"bird wings\" beside his younger brother's golden crown, then said earnestly: \"Go on, Chage. I dreamed of the Buddha last night, and He told me that once we get through this ordeal, He will surely let the Great White High Kingdom endure for another hundred years!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chage looked up in astonishment. He saw his talented and ambitious elder brother standing in the royal courtyard, wearing a coiled-dragon robe and a tall golden crown, one hand reaching forward to touch his own topknot, the other hand behind his back. Around them, the smoke of mugwort still swirled, while the early spring sunlight streamed from the Helan Mountains in the west, casting a golden glow on the face of this Western Xia emperor... The scene took on a certain sacred quality, and even his wrinkles revealed a hint of Buddhist principle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And upon hearing such words and seeing such a sight, Chage's heart was filled with shock, fear, joy, and sincerity. He immediately knelt down, right there beside the sheep shoulder blade, and kowtowed in response: \"Your younger brother is willing to fight another hundred years for you, elder brother, and for the Great White High Kingdom! I also pray that you, elder brother, live another hundred years!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surrounding witch doctors, seeing this, quickly knelt down as well. Such a commotion filled the air once more with the distinctive smell of mugwort. After taking a few deep breaths, Li Qianshun, like the Buddha holding a flower, smiled with his hands behind his back... Think about it — not to mention the blessings of the Buddha and mountain spirits, but with such harmony between ruler and subject, between brothers, how could it compare to that Zhao Song Emperor who imprisoned his own father and brother?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: Thanks to classmate Shui Changdong~ for becoming a patron again!\u003C\u002Fp>",5150,"2026-06-06T07:46:04.529Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","123db320f61c50eb17569691117820e762c49fbc75b4466fdfdba13e2ff5d0eb","shao-song-chapter-311","shao-song-chapter-309",489,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fshao-song-cover.jpg"]