And the very next year, in 1048 AD, she was assassinated by her eldest son Ning Lingge who entered the palace.

From then on, Mo Zang Epang was in power and controlled the government of Western Xia.

But now, because he was defeated repeatedly, the Song Dynasty did not use counter-espionage tactics to get rid of the Yeli brothers through Li Yuanhao, resulting in them still being around. Mo Zang Epang naturally did not appear on the stage of history, and naturally would not instigate Ning Lingge to assassinate them.

So Li Yuanhao is now in his prime. If nothing unexpected happens, he is likely to establish a huge Western Xia Empire.

Now he is making plans for this empire.

After everyone arrived, Li Yuanhao sat on a chair and looked around at them, saying, "If Great Xia wants to be strong, it must not be content with just one corner. The Western Regions are too far away and desolate. The north belongs to the Liao people, and the southeast is the territory of the Song people. Only Qingtang in the southwest is the place we must capture."

Yang Su understood that after several years of recuperation, Li Yuanhao had begun to plot against Qingtang again. If Zhang Yuan were still alive, he would definitely be delighted by Li Yuanhao's move.

Because once Qingtang and the Song Dynasty have formed an offensive and defensive alliance, if the two sides go to war, the Song Dynasty will be defeated. And Xixia and the Liao Kingdom are in close contact. If Xixia goes to war with the Song Dynasty, the Liao Kingdom will immediately launch an offensive. This is the prosperous era that Zhang Yuan most wants to see.

It’s a pity that the grass on Zhang Yuan’s grave is probably three feet high now.

Although Yang Su was not a Han Chinese who defected from the Song Dynasty, but a native Han Chinese in Gansu, as a fellow Han Chinese he still felt sorry for Zhang Yuan.

Thinking of this, Yang Su said, "Qingtang is indeed the only place we can attack now, but if we attack Qingtang, Song will definitely send troops. I'm afraid it won't be easy to take it down."

Li Yuanhao smiled and said, "I naturally do not want to engage in direct war with the Song State, so I decided to send troops to the West Pass."

Xiguan?

Everyone was quite surprised.

The Yeli brothers already knew what he was thinking, so they didn't say anything.

Wei Ge Ning Ling was Li Yuanhao's younger brother, so he said, "Brother, isn't it too dangerous to go through Xiguan?"

"There's nothing we can do about it. Besides, those Western Region merchants can cross the Hehuang Valley, so why can't I?"

Li Yuanhao asked back.

"Forehead"

Wei Ge Ning Ling thought for a moment and said, "I'm just worried that the food and supplies won't keep up."

This is a more euphemistic way of putting it.

Merchants from the Western Regions were different from them. When they traveled through the Hehuang Corridor, they did not go through Gansu, but through Longle and Haixi areas in northern Subei.

That is to say, go through the Dang River basin in the later generations, follow the river to the vicinity of Hala Lake, and then arrive at the Tuyuhun Fuqi City in the West Sea.

This is the area of ​​Tianjun County in Qinghai in later generations, which is now under the jurisdiction of the Zuosilo regime.

Therefore, merchants from the Western Regions did not actually have to cross mountains and rivers like the Xixia people. Although the journey was longer, there were rivers for water supplies along the way, and they could also exchange food with local grass-headed Tatars and yellow-headed Uighurs.

And what about them?

The Qilian Mountains are high, cold, and have few tribes around them. Sometimes they climbed four or five hundred feet to get to the bottom of a mountain, only to find it was seven or eight hundred feet, a torturous climb.

The supply of food and fodder was entirely dependent on horses and men, resulting in significant losses. Crucially, artillery was also difficult to transport, which was a major concern.

But it was obvious that Li Yuanhao did not listen.

Or maybe he understood these principles, but he had no other choice now.

There are enemies on all sides, but the Western Regions are too far away, and the national strength of Western Xia cannot expand its influence there.

Neither the Liao Kingdom nor the Song Dynasty could afford to offend anyone.

Not only was Qingtang close at hand, it was also a fertile land, which naturally made him salivate.

"Don't worry about food and fodder. Find a way to plunder where you can. If that doesn't work, have the soldiers carry the dry food on their backs. There will be carriages and horses following behind."

Li Yuanhao said in a deep voice: "Daxia has been accumulating food and grass for several years. We have sufficient food and grass. I don't believe we can't cross the Tianshan Mountains."

"yes."

Wei Ge Ning Ling was at a loss as to what to say.

"That's it, I'll make some arrangements, and you take charge of Yeli Yuqi first."

Li Yuanhao was planning to make some arrangements.

First, he sent Yeli Yuqi to Suzhou to station troops and investigate the local situation. He would then prepare food and supplies, and he could implement the plan when the weather warmed up in March or April this year.

But at this moment, a trusted attendant of Li Yuanhao suddenly rushed in from outside and reported to him: "Your Majesty, the messenger has sent a letter."

"Emissary? Is it the envoy sent to the Song Dynasty?"

Li Yuanhao frowned.

If there was nothing important, why would the messenger send a letter by carrier pigeon?

"Yes."

"Show me."

"yes."

The attendant quickly handed over the letter.

Li Yuanhao opened the rolled-up piece of paper. There were not many words on it, but they were all key information.

Everyone watched as Li Yuanhao's expression changed from solemn to deeply furrowed brows.

They looked at each other, not knowing what had happened.

After a while, Yeli Wangrong finally mustered up the courage to ask, "Your Majesty, what happened?"

"The Song people invented a powerful tool called the steam locomotive, which could carry people a thousand miles a day. From Bianliang to Shaanxi, it only took a day."

Li Yuanhao tore the paper ball in his hand into pieces, sat on the chair, and let out a long breath.

Everyone opened their eyes wide.

Because the meaning of this sentence is very clear. Once Song and Xia go to war again, the reinforcements from the Song Dynasty will arrive within a day.

This is terrible.

Yang Su quickly asked, "I wonder how many people this thing can carry?"

"It's not known yet."

Li Yuanhao shook his head: "But since Song dared to take it out, it would not be less than 10,000 people."

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