Chapter 768 - 37: The People Are the Foundation of the Nation—Wencheng’s Achievements Revisited

He almost instinctively wanted to nod.

But just at that moment, Prime Minister Mei Cang E Pang directly interrupted him: "Your Majesty, the generals’ eagerness for battle is deeply felt by your old minister."

Mei Cang E Pang spoke slowly, his voice overpowering the excitement in the hall, "However, the Western Army of the Song, the Zhong family, and the Zhe family are all veteran soldiers, with well-fortified defenses."

"Although the Gu Clan has not directly led an army for a long time, their influence in managing border affairs, improving military equipment, and instilling strategies is ubiquitous."

"If our army attacks alone with force, even if we manage to breach their border forts and seize some supplies, we will inevitably suffer retribution from their elite troops, and casualties may be unpredictable."

He shifted his focus, looking towards the north: "Moreover, has Your Majesty ever considered, if our Great Xia and the Song Army both suffer heavy losses, what would the Liao Kingdom to the north think?"

"Would Yelv Zongzhen sit idly by as our Great Xia grows stronger, or would he be content to be merely an onlooker?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall became noticeably quieter.

The relationship between Liao and Xia has always been delicate, needing to unite against the Song, but also wary of each other, with possibilities of backstabbing.

During Li Yuanhao’s time, he could maneuver through it because of powerful military strength and flexible diplomacy; today’s Western Xia still doesn’t have the absolute strength to handle the pressure from both countries alone.

Li Liangzuo frowned slightly, though young, he understood the stakes: "Then according to the Prime Minister’s view, what should be done?"

Mei Cang E Pang’s eyes gleamed with shrewdness: "Your Majesty, send eloquent envoys with substantial gifts and a national letter, secretly to the Central Capital of Liao Kingdom."

"Explain to Liao Monarch Yelv Zongzhen the stakes, that the Song people’s canal transport has been disrupted and their insides are hollow; this is a heaven-sent opportunity for our two families to share!"

"Propose an alliance between the two countries, setting a date to simultaneously send troops to attack the Song."

"Our Great Xia will send troops from Heng Mountain, directly targeting Fuyan and Huanqing; the Liao Kingdom’s cavalry will march south, fiercely attacking Yan Yun."

"This will make it difficult for the Song to attend to everything at once, and their defenses will surely collapse! When the matter is done, the land of Yan Yun will belong to Liao, Shaanxi and Longyou will belong to our Great Xia."

He paused, emphasizing his words: "Only by dragging the Liao Kingdom into the water, sharing the risks and the benefits, can we ensure that our Great Xia can gain tangible benefits in this war and avoid any behind-the-back calculations by Liao."

"This is the comprehensive strategy!"

——The turmoil of the Three Kingdoms is just like this.

Even if there had been grudges before, once that generation who experienced the hatred is gone, in the face of this overwhelming trend, all the hatred becomes no longer worth mentioning.

Now, both the Xia and Liao kingdoms are among the weak.

And the weak will inevitably unite to resist the strong.

Li Liangzuo pondered for a moment, then finally nodded slightly: "Good! Follow the Prime Minister’s words!"

"Immediately select capable envoys, secretly send them to the Liao Kingdom! Ensure the success of the Xia-Liao alliance!"

....

Liao Kingdom, Central Capital.

Yelv Zongzhen had also long known through his intelligence channels about the Song Kingdom’s canal transport difficulties.

He gathered trusted ministers like the Northern Court’s Privy Envoy Xiao Hui to discuss.

"The Western Xia envoy is about to arrive, intending to form an alliance to attack the Song. What do my beloved ministers think?" Yelv Zongzhen asked, fingers gently tapping the armrest of the throne.

Xiao Hui pondered: "Your Majesty, the new ruler of Western Xia is young, with state affairs controlled by Mei Cang E Pang."

"This person is no Li Yuanhao; he has more ambition than courage, and puts more emphasis on practical benefits."

"His request for an alliance is nothing more than wanting to use our Great Liao’s strength to pin down the Song Army’s main forces so they can take advantage and gain benefits on the western front."

"Their intentions are punishable, and their sincerity is questionable."

Another minister said: "Although what Xiao Hui says makes sense."

"However, the internal chaos of the Song people is indeed a heaven-sent opportunity."

"If we can seize this chance to capture Hedong, our Great Liao’s national power will surely increase."

"If we refuse Western Xia, and they succeed alone on the western front, their power will expand and may be harder to balance in the future."

"It would be better to agree temporarily, agreeing to advance and retreat together, and after dividing the Song’s land, then we can contend with Western Xia based on strength."

Yelv Zongzhen weighed the pros and cons, having long coveted the wealth of the Song Dynasty, the temptation of expanding territory was too great.

In the end, greed and the grasp of strategic opportunities prevailed.

"Reply to the Western Xia envoy," Yelv Zongzhen decided, "I agree in principle to the alliance."

"Send a capable minister to come and discuss in detail the scale of troops, specific dates, marching routes, and post-war territorial division!"

"At the same time, secretly order the armies on the Nanjing Road to intensify war preparations, ensuring sufficient supplies and equipment!"

"Once the terms of the alliance are settled, we will send troops simultaneously with Western Xia, attacking the Southern Dynasty together!"

All the ministers silently nodded.

Everyone was well aware of the matter.

In today’s world, the Song is strong, and Liao and Xia are weak; they cannot miss any opportunity to weaken the Great Song.

They have already come this far; who can’t see that they are not yet strong enough to overthrow the entire Great Song in one go?

But this matter had no room for retreat!

However, they must act!

Not to mention that for Liao, reclaiming the Sixteen States of Yan Yun has always been their dream!

....

——The world’s situation suddenly changed.

With Western Xia and Liao Kingdom successively mobilizing their forces, this long-dormant era of chaos became active again, and almost everyone immediately sensed that fierce aura of fighting rising once more.

But unlike other places.

Whether it was the people of the Song Kingdom or the people of Liao or even Western Xia.

These people did not find it strange.

The idea of a unified empire had long been ingrained in people’s hearts; they would not think about why the three kingdoms could not each be at peace, they would only curse the other two countries for still resisting stubbornly.