Chapter 740 - 26: The Movements of Three Kingdoms, Winds and Clouds Suddenly Rise

At this moment, the Crown Prince Li Yuanhao, who had been silently reading the letter, raised his head.

His youthful face already showed the sharpness and depth of an emerging hero, his gaze sweeping over the ministers like an eagle, his voice not loud, yet it instantly overshadowed all debates: "Father, esteemed ministers."

"Whether to fully assist the Song or to remain idle, neither is the best strategy."

He walked over to the large map hanging in the hall, pointing heavily at the Yan Yun region, then swept his hand across the Western Capital Road of Liao.

"If we fully assist the Song, and the Song Army wins quickly, with the collapse of Liao, what can our Xia Country gain?"

"Some minor trade benefits?"

"Gu Jin is cunning, and it’s unclear whether the promised lands can be secured!"

"At that time, with the might of a great victory, who will the Song Army target next?"

— Compared to Li Deming.

This Li Yuanhao clearly has a worse attitude towards the Gu Clan.

That’s understandable.

Since his upbringing, the Gu Clan has never provided them any direct assistance, so why would he call Gu Jin as ’Duke’?

"But if we turn a blind eye and allow Liao to stabilize, or even push back the Song Army,"

"Then once Liao Monarch Yelv Xian and Chancellor Wang Yingchen regain their strength, won’t they come after us?"

"By then, my Great Xia will face hostility from two powerful neighbors simultaneously!"

He paused, with a calculating gleam flashing in his eyes, revealing his true intent: "In my opinion, what our Great Xia should do is neither assist anyone nor sit on the sidelines."

"Instead, we must make them — both suffer heavy losses!"

Li Yuanhao’s eyes grew brighter and his voice became stronger: "We should agree to Gu Jin’s request and immediately deploy troops to the border, feigning a large-scale attack on Liao’s Western Capital Road, even capturing a few insignificant border towns to demonstrate our sincerity to the Song Kingdom."

"This move will definitely draw some of Liao’s forces westward, reducing the direct pressure on the Song Army, prolonging and intensifying the battle!"

"But at the same time, we must never commit our main forces to a head-on clash with the Liao Army, and we must be vigilant of Gu Jin’s stratagem of attacking a neighboring ally."

"We need to act like wolves on the prairie, closely following behind the ferocious tiger."

"When the tiger and the great bear are exhausted from tearing each other apart, bleeding profusely—"

Li Yuanhao’s palm struck the map’s region of Liao’s Western Capital Road!

"—that is the moment for our Great Xia to launch a real attack and seize the greatest results!"

"What we want are not empty promises from the Song Kingdom, but tangible territories, population, and livestock!"

"We need to severely weaken Liao so they are no longer able to look west;"

"And also to ensure the Song, though victorious, can’t pose a threat to our Great Xia in the short term!"

"Thus, this will lay the foundation for a century of peace for our Great Xia!"

His words were resounding, turning a possible passive involvement into a strategic game of active control.

The court fell into silence.

Almost everyone wore a look of contemplation on their faces.

Now, in Western Xia, Li Yuanhao’s position is extremely prestigious.

It’s not because of his so-called title of Crown Prince.

In fact, in such a dynasty that retains some steppe heritage, the title of Crown Prince is actually the least respected!

Li Yuanhao’s status today has been achieved entirely through his own abilities.

He has repeatedly engaged in battles against Liao.

This has allowed Li Yuanhao to grow rapidly, becoming the most prominent among Li Deming’s sons.

In short —

The noble one is not the position of Crown Prince, but Li Yuanhao himself.

The entire hall was silent.

Everyone was fixated on the Western Capital Road on the map.

No, it can also be called by a different name.

These are the Hetao and West River regions.

Just these two places are enough to demonstrate the importance of this area!

Li Deming also fell silent at this time, but after a moment, he had thought everything through and burst into loud laughter:

"The Crown Prince’s strategy deeply aligns with my desires!"

"Send the order, follow the Crown Prince’s plan!"

"Command the Left Wing Army to move toward Liao territory, assuming an offensive posture, but without my command, don’t engage the main Liao forces in a decisive battle."

"Also, send emissaries to reply to Gu’s invitation, tell them... our Great Xia will certainly not fail our alliance, we shall jointly strike the northern foe!"

With the decree issued, a calculation concerning national destiny was thus settled.

The ministers at this time had fully reacted, had no resistance to this, and after acknowledging it, they departed one by one.

In the palace of Xingqing Prefecture, the father and son of the Li family exchanged a smile, both of their gazes falling on the Western Capital Road on the map.

....

Liao, Kaijing.

The Chancellor’s Residence.

Though it was already night, the grand hall of the Chancellor’s Residence was brightly lit, as bright as day.

Unlike the boisterous atmosphere filled with prairie wildness in the Western Xia court, the atmosphere here was painfully heavy, with only the rustling of maps and the occasional suppressed coughing breaking the silence.

Wang Yingchen sat at the head seat, his figure not particularly tall or strong, even somewhat lean, yet his deeply sunken eyes, as they scanned the ministers below, carried a piercing sharpness that seemed to see through everything.

Spread out on the long table before him were not only war reports from the Song-Xia border but also a thick stack of secret documents on the grain and fodder movements within the Great Song and the inspection records of the Imperial Censorate.

"Gentlemen, how should we handle the matters at hand?"

Wang Yingchen’s voice was calm and undisturbed, yet it went straight to the point, making everyone present tense up.

Standing on both sides were the pillars of Liao at that time.

There was Yu Yue Yelv Xiuge, renowned for his battle achievements, although advanced in age, his eyes remained as sharp as an eagle’s; the steady and prudent Southern Court Privy Chancellor Yelv Xiezhen; and Han Derang, deeply trusted and overseeing Han military affairs.

Including many civil officials.

These people represented the union of the Khitan and Han elites of Liao and served as the core strength supporting the Liao Dynasty’s political scene.