Western Xia, its country name is actually 'Great Xia', only because it is located in the west of the Great Song Dynasty, it has been called Western Xia by the Great Song people. Tracing back to the origin of the Dangxiang clan in power, it is actually a small number of tribes in Sichuan and Shu who moved to northern Shaanxi during the Tang Dynasty.

Because of his merit in moving here to guard the pass and quell the chaos, he was named the envoy of the Xiazhou Festival by the Tang Emperor, and successively submitted to the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties and the Song Dynasty. It was not until after Xiazhou was annexed by the Northern Song Dynasty that Li Jiqian was reluctant to surrender at that time, and established a puppet state after obtaining the canonization of Emperor Liao.

Moreover, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, it has always adopted the method of arriving in the Song Dynasty with Liao, and successively occupied Lanzhou and the Hexi Corridor area. It was not until the Western Xia was founded by Li Yuanhao, the lord of Zhongxing, that is, Xia Jingzong, that the Western Xia was officially founded.

Zhao Xiaoxi, who met Duan Yu and his party, sat down and rested in a small shop passing by, and immediately went out along the official road between the Great Song Dynasty and Western Xia. Although the two countries are hostile, last year's battle of Lanzhou made the border between the two countries a lot more peaceful.

On this originally barren official road, you can see the caravans of the Great Song Dynasty and Western Xia from time to time. The border people of the two countries can finally breathe a sigh of relief because of the peace that was so hard to obtain.

Looking at the desolate villages next to the official road, they now have some popularity, and Zhao Xiaoxi also feels that last year's battle was not unjust. As long as the border people can live a stable life, the situation on the border will become more and more stable.

As a result of the border agreement signed between the two countries at the time, both countries have established buffer zones on the border. Rangers on both sides can only enter the edge of the buffer zone at most, and once they enter the buffer zone without transmission, the other side has the right to wipe them out.

For this reason, when Zhao Xiaoxi signed a contract between the two countries, he also deliberately told the Lanzhou prefect not to let the people. Enter the buffer zone to operate, while the border army arranges for rangers to patrol along the buffer zone.

may understand that Western Xia is now in internal and external troubles, and it is also clear that the Great Song Dynasty is not easy to provoke. Cavalry units deployed on the border in Western Xia. He also seems to be very honest and does not dare to enter the buffer zone at will.

Even after leaving the customs, Zhao Xiaoxi and others soon saw that in the buffer zone, except for some caravan merchants and guards, they made a short stay. It is difficult to see human activity in these areas, but there is also a need to worry about bandits and horse bandits.

To say who is the smartest in these years. Undoubtedly, these bandits and horse bandits. After learning that this buffer zone, the armies of the Great Song and Western Xia were not allowed to enter at will, and these bandits and horse bandits were encamped here.

Although they did not dare to enter the area where the border armies of the two countries were active to rob, they could still make money in this buffer zone by relying on the business groups that the two countries were slowly prospering. If it's better, give it money and let it pass. If you are cruel, you will directly loot the caravan.

For this reason, every caravan that dares to do business in a foreign country will hire a large number of dart masters to pledge the goods. These dart masters. Most of them are some practitioners. If you encounter a small group of bandits and horse bandits, you don't have to worry about being robbed of the goods by the other party.

It's just that Zhao Xiaoxi knows that among these bandits and horse bandits, several horse bandits must be officials and soldiers from Western Xia pretending. Many times, when they learn that a large caravan is passing by, they will take the risk of looting.

But among these bandits, there were also Wu Wei formed by Zhao Xiaoxi's subordinates, who also robbed some caravans from Western Xia. One more point. It was to wipe out the Great Song caravan that sold prohibited materials to Western Xia.

This kind of tacit secret confrontation is very clear to the officers and troops on both sides of the border. It's just that neither side dares to make too much trouble. Generally, a normal caravan is relatively safe as long as a certain number of dart masters are hired.

Western Xia had the good horses and leather goods that the Great Song Dynasty needed, but the Great Song Dynasty had the cloth and tea that the Western Xia needed. The prosperity of this caravan has greatly increased the income of the tax collection departments on the border between the two countries.

With caravans came taxes, although there were many caravans going to the Great Song Dynasty. But Xixia looks at the tax revenue. Under normal circumstances, it will not scare away these businessmen who are not short of money. And the Great Song Dynasty also made a lot of profits from it.

Whether in later generations or now, border trade is undoubtedly rewarding. The two countries take what they need, which is why trade on the border is slowly reviving today. In particular, trade between the two countries. Let the caravans of the Western Regions also have a chance to enter the Great Song Dynasty.

In short, Zhao Xiaoxi, who walked out of the border of the Great Song Dynasty, saw the border between the two countries that began to be lively. There are also those borders that are slowly becoming popular, and they also feel that the battle with Western Xia last year is in vain.

In fact, the border is stable, and the happiest thing is the border people living on the border. With the arrival of out-of-town traders, what they have in their hands can also be exchanged for money. If you have money, you can also buy the things you need to improve your life.

Listening to Duan Yu, he sighed slightly: "Brother Yun, compared to the scene I saw here last year, the people living here at this moment. There are a lot more smiles on my faces, and it seems that last year's battle was very necessary! ”

Facing Duan Yu's exclamation, Zhao Xiaoxi said with a smile: "That's for sure, blindly forbearance will only make people gain an inch." Give some warning, tell those who are greedy that they will be cut down if they reach out, and it will be honest.

As long as the people of the two countries see the benefits, no one will think about going to war. In fact, the border people living on the border don't want much, they just want to live here in peace.

It is a pity that some of those in power have their own greed based on the suffering of others. The best way to deal with the greed of those in power is to hurt him and make him realize that the status quo is the best way. ”

Although Zhao Xiaoxi knew that Western Xia would also be the target of his conquest. However, Zhao Xiaoxi felt that if the Western Xia could be recovered in a relatively peaceful way, or in a quick way, then the trade route from the Great Song Dynasty to the Western Regions would be opened.

Nowadays, shipping is not developed, and more commercial foreign trade relies on land routes. This Silk Road, which passed through the countries of the Western Regions, has been blocked since the founding of the Western Xia. In addition, the Western Xia's targeted control of good horses into the Central Plains led to a sharp decrease in the strength of the Great Song cavalry.

Last year's battle of Lanzhou made Western Xia truly understand their own situation. understands that maintaining the status quo with Da Song is their best choice. After all, at this moment, the monarchs and ministers of Western Xia are no longer attached to the Great Liao.

On the contrary, when the Western Xia had a strong national strength, it still wrestled with Da Liao at every turn. As a country like a wall-to-wall grass, the situation of Western Xia was actually worse than that of the Great Song Dynasty. If you want to continue, you can only increase your strength by cultivating internal strength.

This time, the Western Xia wanted to form an alliance with the Great Song or the Great Liao by conscripting and selecting horses, which was also to some extent provoking disputes among various countries. Everyone knows that the strength of the Great Song Dynasty is currently recovering, but there are some bad situations in the Great Liao.

The lord of the Western Xia Kingdom, who was sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight, actually didn't pay much attention to the woman marrying the prince. He agreed to hold an on-the-spot election to recruit horses, and most of them told those neighboring countries not to mess with Western Xia.

Although Western Xia is currently in the midst of a flanking attack by the Four Kingdoms, once Western Xia completely falls to that side, this form of flanking attack may be broken. And the choice in front of the lord of the Western Xia Dynasty is actually only two sides: the Great Liao and the Great Song.

Before coming to Xixia, Duan Yu discussed with Duan Zhengming and others, and felt that this marriage was more out of shape. The purpose is to hope to choose an ally between the Great Liao and the Great Song Dynasty. Share the current predicament faced by Western Xia.

In Duan Yu's words, there is a great opportunity for Zhao Xiaoxi this time. It's just that the officials of Western Xia who are currently falling to Da Liao will not let Zhao Xiaoxi succeed easily. In this case, it is unknown which side the Western Xia will turn towards.

In the face of Duan Yu's analysis, Zhao Xiaoxi said very calmly: "Marriage is always an unreliable alliance. If you really think that a marriage can bring the two countries close, then you really become a fool.

Whether it is the Great Liao or the Great Song Dynasty, Western Xia is afraid that this time it will have to compensate people and wives and soldiers. This time I came to Xixia, and I increased as a Jianghu person. It doesn't represent the meaning of the Great Song Dynasty, so naturally there is no alliance.

If Da Liao is allowed to reap the benefits, I guarantee that their prince will not be able to return to Da Liao. In a word, if you really want to take it seriously, it would be really stupid. In the final analysis, it depends on who has the confidence.

Whether it is the Great Liao or the Great Song Dynasty, if there is the strength to annex Western Xia, do you think that a woman can make those in power give up this opportunity? Perhaps, when this alliance ended, it was when Western Xia began to be unlucky.

Have you seen how many monarchs who have come to a good end? In my opinion, if the Western Xia monarch is smart and marries the princess to you, maybe there will be some use. Marrying into the Great Liao or the Great Song will only complicate the situation. ”

After listening to Zhao Xiaoxi's analysis of the Western Xia recruiting horses, Duan Yu also felt that there was a certain amount of truth. In this way, it is really undecided who the princess of Xixia will be.

In fact, when they set off, Duan Zhengming and Duan Zhengchun also deliberately looked for Duan Yu and analyzed the pros and cons of marrying the princess of Western Xia. As a relatively neutral Dali, marrying the princess of Western Xia has a certain deterrent effect on Tubo.

It's just that for the Great Song Dynasty, I am afraid that the emperor of the Great Song Dynasty will begin to be wary of Dali. This may not be a good thing for Dali, which relies on the Great Song Dynasty. So what are the advantages and disadvantages of the beauty held by Zhao Xiaoxi?

The benefit is nothing more than one more help, even if Xixia is pretending, but if the horse really has any requirements, Xixia will also help if he wants to. This means that Zhao Xiaoxi has the help of Dali and Western Xia.

But for the current emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, he will inevitably be wary of Zhao Xiaoxi. This kind of vigilance, if there is no blood in private, Zhao Xiaoxi may still have a glimmer of life. If it is a quick knife to cut the mess, Zhao Xiaoxi is afraid that it will be very troublesome.

Now seeing Zhao Xiaoxi, he has a very deep analysis of the selection of good sons-in-law in Western Xia, Duan Yu feels that these worries, presumably Zhao Xiaoxi also knows it. Since Zhao Xiaoxi dared to participate, it means that he has the means to deal with it accordingly.

As the future prince of Dali, Duan Yu is also aware of Zhao Xiaoxi's ambitions. In fact, for Duan Yu, he also hoped that Zhao Xiaoxi could sit on that throne in his heart, and at that time Dali and Da Song would be a rock-solid alliance. (To be continued......)