Then Richard led an army of 300,000 southwards, penetrating deep into Huanqing Road.

Soon after, King Li Ganshun of Xia led an army of 500,000 to personally lead an expedition against Hengshan, intending to annihilate the Song army in the Hengshan region and regain the initiative between Song and Xia.

The Song emperor responded with thunderous force. All five generals received the emperor's decree, and the emperor personally led the five armies to attack Xia, aiming to achieve victory in one battle!

Moreover, the Privy Council continued to mobilize more troops throughout the winter.

By the time the decisive battle arrived, including the regular reserve army that was on its way north, the total number of troops the emperor intended to deploy had reached 800,000!

In this battle, the emperor invested all the revenue of the Song Dynasty over the years.

Whether it was money Zhao Gou earned from maritime trade, money the court made from selling land, or money plundered from Jiaozhi.

While launching the war, in order to curb soaring prices, Zhao Ding of the Imperial Bank of the Song Dynasty argued and quarreled with Li Gang, Xu Churen and others every day, and he suppressed the printing of paper money.

In short: No more paper money shall be issued than permitted!

With Zhao Ding, who was completely unyielding, overseeing the Royal Bank, Zhao Huan at the front lines was spared a lot of worry.

With a stable rear, the entire northwest of the Great Song Dynasty, like a giant, drew its sharp blade under the absolute will of the emperor.

It was as if a chilling light swept across the Northwest, and even centuries later, people who came to the Northwest could still feel the emperor's anger towards the Tanguts.

Following the Battle of Huanqing Road, an unprecedented battle is about to begin.

King Li Ganshun of Xia, who was on his way to Hengshan, also displayed unprecedented ambition. In addition to the 400,000 troops in the Hengshan region, the Dangxiang people were continuing to mobilize. It was a country where the whole nation was a soldier.

Sitting on the royal carriage, Li Ganshun turned his head to look south.

His sharp gaze seemed to pierce through the vast snowfield and reach Shentang Fortress, where he saw Zhao Huan's straight, spear-like figure.

Zhao Huan frowned, his gaze as cold as the stars in the sky, fixed on the vast war south of Hengshan in the northeast.

No one could stop the emperor's ambition. The Dangxiang should have been wiped out long ago. Allowing them to linger on until now is the biggest failure of the Song Dynasty since the Yongxi Northern Expedition.

Countless spies raced across the desolate snowfield. To ensure the intelligence reached its destination, each group of spies had to consist of at least twenty people.

To prevent people from freezing to death on the road, which would disrupt intelligence gathering.