On the fifth day of the fifth month of the fifth month of the sixth year of Xianping (1003) of Song Zhenzong (June 7 of the Gregorian calendar), Li Yuanhao was born in Lingzhou (now Lingwu, Ningxia), a family of party nobles. [4] The year after he was born, his grandfather Li Jiqian was wounded and died in a battle against Pan Luozhi, the leader of the Six Valleys of Tibet. Subsequently, Li Deming pursued the policy of "uniting Liao and Harmony with the Song Dynasty", so that the Li regime in Xiazhou of the party was rapidly developed in a peaceful environment.

Li Yuanhao, who was still in his prime, could not understand his father's policy of harmony with the Song Dynasty, especially the economic and trade with the Song Dynasty. Once, Li Deming sent an envoy to the Song Dynasty to exchange horses for goods, but because the things he got were not to his liking, he beheaded the envoy in a fit of rage. Li Yuanhao was very dissatisfied with his father's behavior, and said to his father: "Our people in the army used to be able to engage in saddle horses, and now it is not the best policy to exchange them for goods that are not urgently needed, and now we have killed the envoys, who is willing to be used by us?" Li Deming saw that his only son, who was only more than 10 years old, had this kind of insight, and he was very important.

Li Yuanhao, who was a teenager, had a round face, and under his blazing eyes, his eagle hooked nose was raised, and he had a somewhat awe-inspiring and inviolable demeanor in his fortitude. Medium in stature, but it looks burly and majestic, and heroic. He wears a white long-sleeved shirt, a black crowned hat, and a bow. Often with more than 100 cavalry travel, since riding horses, there are two standard-bearers in front of the road, and there are guards foot guards Zhang blue umbrella cover to accompany them, from the riding miscellaneous, showing off their might. Yuan Haoyu read military books, and he couldn't put down the books of war such as "Field Song" and "Taiyi Jin Jianjue", which were popular at that time, and concentrated on studying them, and was proficient in their implications. He was quite literate and proficient in Chinese and Tibetan languages. He also understands Buddhism. He is especially fond of legal works on the governance of the country and the country, and is good at thinking and planning, and often has unique views on things. These have made Li Yuanhao a talented man with a strategy and a brave martial arts.

Among the border generals of the Song Dynasty, there are various legends about Li Yuanhao's appearance, instrumentality, and knowledge. Border marshal Cao Wei was stationed along the border of Shaanxi, and he wanted to see Li Yuanhao's demeanor for a long time, so he sent people out to find out his whereabouts. I heard that Li Yuanhao often walked along the border city and waited several times in the hope of meeting, but he could not see him. Later, he sent someone to secretly draw a picture of Li Yuanhao, and Cao Wei couldn't help but exclaim when he saw his appearance: "What a hero!" And foresaw that he would be a border trouble for the Song Dynasty in the future.

In September of the third year (1010) of Song Zhenzong's Dazhong Xiangfu, after Li Deming was named the king of Xia by Liao, he used tens of thousands of people to build a palace on Aozi Mountain in the northwest of Yanzhou (now Yan'an, Shaanxi), which stretched for more than 20 miles, which was extremely luxurious and magnificent. Once, when he went out from Xiazhou to the palace of Aozi Mountain, the "Great Guard" (that is, the guard of honor) was similar to the emperor of the Song Dynasty. In the ninth year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1016), Li Deming "usurped the imperial system" and posthumously called his father Li Jiqian as "the god of the law of the heavens, wisdom, benevolence and filial piety to the emperor of Guangde Guangxiao", and "the temple number Wuzong".

In the summer of the tenth year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1017), someone reported to Deming that he had seen a dragon on the hot spring mountain in the north of Huaiyuan Town (now Yinchuan, Ningxia). He proposed to him the reason for moving the capital through the mouth of others: "Xiping is rich in customs, and the land lives in four places, I can go, and he can come." If Huaiyuan is not far away, there is Helan in the northwest, the Yellow River surrounds its southeast, and Xiping is its obstacle, the situation is convenient, and Xun is the cause of eternity. The situation has been suspended repeatedly, and the gods and men have agreed to cooperate, and it is urgent to build a new capital to inherit the mandate of heaven. "The reason for moving the capital is very sufficient and reasonable, and with the return of the destiny of heaven, no one dares to oppose it. So Li Deming sent his minister He Chengzhen to Huaiyuan to take charge of the construction of the capital. Huaiyuan Town was changed to Xingzhou (now Yinchuan City, Ningxia), and the capital was officially established.

In May of the sixth year of Song Renzong's Tiansheng (1028), Li Deming sent Li Yuanhao to attack Ganzhou and Zhangye, present-day Gansu. The Uighur Khan of Ganzhou fled at night, and the first battle of Ganzhou was successful. After Li Yuanhao captured Ganzhou, he adopted the tactics of attacking the east and attacking the west, and made a surprise attack on Xiliang (now Wuwei, Gansu). Cao Xianshun, the king of Guazhou, a branch of the Shazhou Uighurs (present-day Dunhuang, Gansu), who was subordinate to the Uighurs of Ganzhou, joined Li Deming and returned to Guazhou (present-day Anxi, Gansu). At this time, Li Yuanhao was made the crown prince, and Li Yuanhao's biological mother Wei Mushi was established as the queen. In the seventh year of Tiansheng (1029), Li Deming asked the Liao Dynasty for Yuan Hao to marry, and Liao Xingzong named the daughter of the clan as Princess Xingping and married Yuan Hao.

In the first year of Song Renzong's Ming Dao (1032), Li Deming died, and Yuan Hao succeeded to the throne, actively preparing to establish the country and become the emperor. In order to consolidate the rear and punish the Tubo for annexing to the Song Dynasty, he launched an attack on Hehuang Tubo in July of the same year and captured Maoniucheng (now Datong County, Qinghai). In the second year of Song Renzong Jingyou (the first year of Yuanhao Guangyun, 1035), Li Yuanhao took advantage of the civil strife and sent troops to attack the walled cities of Brother Zong's belt and Xingling, entered the siege of Qingtang City, and fought with An Ziluo, the general of the Gang Clan, and fought for more than 200 days. When Li Yuanhao withdrew his troops to cross the Zongge River, he was defeated and fled by An Ziluo's army.

In December of the same year, Li Yuanhao personally led a large army to Hehuang, but was defeated again. In December of the following year, when Li Yuanhao defeated the Hexi Uighurs, completely occupied the Hexi Corridor, and wanted to peek into Longshu, he was afraid that the Song Dynasty would use the Tubo tribes to map his way back, so he led a large army to follow the Agan River, break through the Lanzhou Zhuqiang, march to Mabitshan (now Lintaobei, Gansu), and build a town at Wachuan to cut off the passage between Tubo and the Song Dynasty. At this time, there was a civil strife, and Li Yuanhao took the opportunity to bribe the line with a heavy bribe, and induced Yingcheng Yulong, the mastermind and leader of the felt horn, to join him. Yingcheng Yulong led more than 10,000 people to surrender to Yuanhao, and later married his daughter to Li Yuanhao's son Ning Lingge (King Liang) as his wife. After Li Yuanhao escaped from the protracted battle of An Ziluo, he led his army west to attack the Uighurs in Guazhou, reached Shazhou, and then returned to occupy Suzhou (now Jiuquan, Gansu). At this point, Li Yuanhao took full control of the Hexi Corridor and ended the rule of the Ganzhou Uighurs over Hexi.

After Li Deming's death, Liao Xingzong Yelu Zongzhen sent Xuanhui Southern Yuan envoy, Shuofang Jiedu envoy Xiao Congshun, and Panzhou Observation Envoy Zheng Wenyu to Xingzhou, and named Li Yuanhao as the king of Xia. The Song Dynasty sent Yang Cheng of the Ministry of Works, and Zhu Yunzhong, the deputy envoy of protocol, as the official envoy of the main and deputy Jingjie officials, and conferred the title of Li Yuanhao as the envoy of the special inspection school and the envoy of the Dingzhong Difficult Army, Xia Yinsui Youjing and other states to observe and deal with the envoy of the fall of Tibet, and the king of Xiping. But Li Yuanhao was not interested in the knighthood of Song and Liao, and when he received the envoys of the Song Dynasty, he did not serve Song with courtesy, and did not bow down to the edict given by Song Renzong. Reluctantly accepted the edict, he was indignant in his heart, looked around at the ministers left and right, and said: "The first king was very wrong, there is such a country, and the ministers worship people!" And took advantage of the opportunity to set up a banquet to entertain the Song envoys, and the sonorous sound of forging weapons came out behind the banquet hall to create a spiritual deterrent for the Song envoys; In terms of etiquette, he deliberately made things difficult for the Song envoys, intending to provoke the Song Dynasty and provoke trouble.

Before officially proclaiming the emperor and founding the country, Li Yuanhao adopted a series of new cultural measures. First of all, the surnames of Li and Zhao "given" by the Tang and Song dynasties to the Tuoba clan of the party and the royal family were abolished, and the surnames were changed to "Wei Ming", and his name was changed to Xiaoxiao, and he was called "Wu Zu". In the second year of Song Renzong's Ming Dao (1033), Song Jianyuan Ming Dao was changed to "Xiandao" to avoid his father's suspicion, and the following year, since Jianyuan was lucky, and changed to Guangyun. In March of the year of the change of Yuan Xiandao (1032), Li Yuanhao issued a "bald order" to the party tribes in the territory.

He was the first to bald, that is, to shave the crown of his head, and wear heavy rings on his ears. The tribal people were ordered to carry out all the orders for a period of three days, and those who did not comply were to be put to death. For a while, the party and the people vied for baldness. In terms of clothing, Li Yuanhao "wears a white narrow shirt, a felt crown in red, and a red ribbon hanging after the crown". Officials are dressed according to their ranks. The common people are only allowed to wear turquoise clothes, so as not to be expensive or cheap.

The second is that after he succeeded to the throne, he began to create a script that recorded the language of the Dangxiang people, that is, the Tangut script. During his reign, he also personally planned and presided over the creation of the text, and ordered the minister Nori Hitoei and others to organize and interpret it and compile it into 12 volumes. Some historical records call it "Fan Shu". Li Yuanhao ordered the promulgation of the "national character", and all chronicles should be used in the Fan book. It also set up the "Fan Zi Academy" to teach learning and promote use. In the documents exchanged with the Liao and Song dynasties, they were written in two languages. In addition, Li Yuanhao was deeply influenced by the Tang and Song dynasties of the original ritual and music system of the Dangxiang clan, and did not think so.

He said to the minister Yeli Renrong: "The king makes ceremonies and makes fun, and the way is in the people." Fan customs to loyalty first, fighting for business, if the Tang and Song dynasties of the rhyme, I have nothing to take. He was determined to reform, advocating the spirit of "loyalty first, fighting for business" to guide the reform of ritual music, in the "auspicious evil, guests, rituals, swallow enjoyment" occasions, "the nine bows of the ceremony are three bows, and the five tones of the music are one tone". The system of etiquette was simplified, and it was ordered to be obeyed accordingly, and those who did not comply with it were punished with death.

Before Li Yuanhao was proclaimed emperor after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he had already begun a series of constructions in terms of political and military systems. The establishment of political institutions is basically modeled after the system of the Central Plains. In May of the second year of Li Yuanhao's Xiandao (1033), Xingzhou was promoted to Xingqing Mansion and the capital city. Li Yuanhao imitated the official system of the Song Dynasty and established a set of central and local bureaucratic systems that were similar to those of the Song Dynasty. Li Yuanhao attached great importance to the building of the army, and after obtaining the Hexi Corridor, he began to reorganize the army and build a regular military system on the basis of the original tribal military organization. For example, stipulating the age of the Chengding, the organization of "copying", the tasks and conditions of the "regular army" and "responsible support"; equipment and facilities of the armed forces; It is mainly infantry and cavalry, supplemented by artillery, "capturing army", and guarding the pro-army.

In order to meet the needs of war and military and political construction, and to facilitate the deployment of troops, the "military supervision department" in the nature of a local military region has been set up to integrate military command organs with regional defense measures. Imitating the Song Dynasty military unit "box" and "army" system, the whole territory is divided into left and right compartments, and there are a total of 12 military supervision divisions, each with a military name, a specified station, and set up military leaders to command the army, deputy commander of the army, and supervise the army envoys. Troops were widely deployed throughout the territory, focusing on the defense of the capital Xingqing Mansion and the defense of the Song and Liao Dynasty. In the areas inhabited by the Tibetans and Uighurs in Suzhou and Ganzhou in the Hexi Corridor, the prefectures were promoted to set up prefectures, and heavy troops were placed to suppress and pacify them at the same time, so as to strengthen their rule. After Li Yuanhao succeeded to the throne, after a short period of six years, he completed all the preparations for the founding of the country, and a party regime that "ends at the Yellow River in the east, Yumen in the west, Xiaoguan in the south, and controls the desert in the north, and the local area is more than 10,000 miles" has taken shape.

On October 11, the first year of the Heavenly Rite Law Yanzuo (the fifth year of Song Jingyou, 1038), Li Yuanhao was supported by Yeli Renrong, Yang Shousu and other close ministers, built an altar in the southern suburbs of Xingqing Mansion, and officially ascended the throne of the emperor. And the vassals, chasing the grandfather and parents, the temple number, and the tomb number. He also named Ye Li as the queen of Xiancheng, and established his son Ning Ming as the crown prince. Harmonious Xiliang Mansion worships the gods. In the first month of the following year, Li Yuanhao, as a courtier, sent an envoy to the Song Dynasty to give Song Renzong a table, recounting and commending his ancestors' relationship with the Central Plains Dynasty and their merits, explaining the legitimacy of his founding as emperor, and demanding that the Song Dynasty officially recognize his title of emperor.

The response is conceivable, the Song Dynasty was unwilling to recognize Li Yuanhao's throne, and issued an edict to "cut off the official with the surname" and stop the mutual market. The Song Dynasty posted posters on the Song-Xia border, offering a large reward for high-ranking officials to capture Li Yuanhao or offer his head. After Li Yuanhao found out the attitude of the Song Dynasty, he frequently sent Xizuo to the border to spy on the military situation, inciting the party and Han people in the Song Dynasty to join Xia. Publicly cut off the envoy exchanges between Xia and the Song Dynasty, sent the "Book of Yan" to the Song Dynasty, and accused the Song Dynasty of treachery and ridiculed the Song Dynasty for its incompetence. He also used the power of the Liao Dynasty to threaten the Song Dynasty, and finally showed that the Xia State was still willing to make peace with the Song Dynasty. Yuan Hao's delivery of the "Book of Grace" to the Song Dynasty was intended to provoke the Song Dynasty and attribute the responsibility for the war he attempted to start against the Song Dynasty to the Song Dynasty. The war between Xia and Song was finally inevitable.

From the third year of the Heavenly Rite Law Yanzuo (the first year of Song Kangding, 1040) to the fifth year (the second year of Song Qingli, 1042), Li Yuanhao launched many attacks against the Song Dynasty, and there were three large-scale wars: namely, the Battle of Sanchuankou near Yanzhou (now Yan'an, Shaanxi) in the first month of the third year of the Heavenly Rite Law Yanzuo; In February of the fourth year, the battle of Haoshuichuan in the Liupan Mountain area southeast of Zhenrong Army (now Guyuan, Ningxia); In the autumn of the fifth year of Yanzuo (the second year of Song Qingli, 1042), the battle of Dingchuan Village in the northwest of the Zhenrong Army. The three major battles all ended with Li Yuanhao's complete victory. Therefore, after the victory in Dingchuan Village, Li Yuanhao was full of ambition and claimed that "I want to come to Weishui in person and go directly to Chang'an!" Words.

And when the news of the Song army's defeat on the battlefield reached Tokyo, Prime Minister Lu Yijian exclaimed again and again, "A battle is not as good as a battle, but it is horrible!" [9] Although Li Yuanhao's war against the Song Dynasty was victorious, it also brought serious consequences to the Xia State: for example, due to the outbreak of the war, the Song Dynasty stopped the "annual gifts" of silver, silk, and money to the Xia State; The border was closed and the green and white salt produced in the Xia Kingdom was forbidden to enter the country, so that the Xia Kingdom not only lost its direct economic benefits, but also had a shortage of grain, silk, cloth, tea and other daily necessities in the territory, and the prices were expensive.

The successive wars made the Xia people exhausted, the people's grievances boiled, the class contradictions and ethnic contradictions intensified, and the tribal people in the territory rebelled one after another, or fled to the Song Dynasty. After the war, the Xia army was already in a situation where "half of the dead and wounded, and the people were trapped in the dots", and it was very difficult for Li Yuanhao to start another war. At the same time, Yuan Hao also realized that it would not be easy to defeat the Song Dynasty, which had a large number of people. The strategic advantage of the Song Dynasty was beyond the reach of the Xia State.

Based on the above reasons, Li Yuanhao tried to seek peace with the Song Dynasty. In the end, an important reason for the peace between the Xia and Song dynasties was the new changes in the relationship between the Song, Liao, and Xia during this period. Yuan Hao and Liao were "relatives of nephews and uncles", and pursued the policy of relying on Liao to resist the Song Dynasty; Liao took advantage of the Xia and Song antagonisms, bargained with the Song, profited from them, and even benefited from the Song Dynasty at the expense of the interests of the Xia State, which caused Li Yuanhao's dissatisfaction. At that time, there was a dispute between Xia and Liao over the subordinate tribes, which led to a deterioration in relations and the alliance began to break down. Li Yuanhao felt isolated, and in order to avoid being attacked on both sides, he also had to make peace with the Song Dynasty.

From the first month of the sixth year of the Xia Rite Law Yanzuo (the third year of the Song Qingli Dynasty, 1043) to June of the following year, the envoys of the Xia and Song dynasties went through frequent exchanges that lasted for more than a year, and finally reached an agreement on issues such as "giving the year, cutting the land, not being called a minister, relaxing the salt ban, going to the Beijing City, the name of the self-established year, and calling the vultures my ancestors, and the eleven things in every detail". The Song Dynasty gave the Xia Kingdom 2.55 million silver, silk, and tea every year, allowed the restoration of the Rongchang, and agreed that the Western Xia envoys would engage in trading in the Song Jingcheng Guanyi. Li Yuanhao called the Song Dynasty a vassal in the name of "the lord of the Xia State", but whenever the Song Dynasty sent envoys to the Xia State, they were only allowed to live in Youzhou (now Jingbian, Shaanxi), and were not allowed to enter the capital of the Xia State, so as to avoid the Xia State receiving the Song envoys with courtesy and maintaining Yuan Hao's image of "the emperor is also at ease in the country".

Yuan Hao married Liao when his grandfather Li Jiqian was married. In December of the ninth year of Song Tiansheng (the first year of Liao Jingfu, 1031), Liao Xingzong's sister Princess Xingping married Li Yuanhao, and Liao named Li Yuanhao as the commander of the horse, the Duke of Xia Guo, and the king of Xia. Li Yuanhao has always had a disagreement with Princess Xingping, and the relationship between Xia and Liao often caused disputes due to the defection of the party and tribe in Liaojing, and the relationship became increasingly tense. In the Song-Xia War, Liao Xingzong wanted to blackmail the Song Dynasty because of the defeat of the Song Dynasty, which also contributed to the realization of the Xia-Song peace talks. At that time, Liao wanted to destroy the Song-Xia peace treaty, but the Song Dynasty refused, and Liao Xingzong decided to send troops to attack the Xia State.

In October of the seventh year of Yanzuo (the thirteenth year of Liao Chongxi, 1044), the Liao Xing clan led 100,000 cavalry, crossed the Yellow River in three ways, went deep into the summer realm, and drove straight into 400 miles. Li Yuanhao led the left army to meet the north of Helan Mountain, and retreated to Helan Mountain in defeat. Li Yuanhao knew that he was invincible, so he apologized to Liao Xingzong and asked for peace. When Li Yuanhao did not agree to sue for peace, he retreated three times in a row, more than 100 miles. "Every retreat must be ochre", cut off its grain and grass, and Liao is allowed to make peace. However, Yuan Hao deliberately delayed time, trapping the Liao army in danger and hunger, and raided the Liao camp and was covered by the Liao army.

When it was difficult to solve, suddenly a strong wind rose, flying sand and dust, and it was dark, and the Liao army was blinded by the sand, and the battle was in chaos. Li Yuanhao took the opportunity to storm the south wall of Desheng Temple, where the Liao army was stationed, and the Liao army was defeated. Li Yuanhao's army captured dozens of Liao Ma Du Lieutenant Xiao Huxuan and dozens of close ministers, and Liao Xingzong only escaped with a few horses. After Li Yuanhao won the victory in the battle with Liao, he immediately sent an envoy to make peace with Liao, and at the same time offered prisoners to the Song Dynasty. It shows that Li Yuanhao is good at grasping the opportunity in handling the relationship between Song and Liao, and advances and retreats in a measured manner.

(End of chapter)