Chapter 80 Zheng Xixia

We still clearly remember that Genghis Khan borrowed troops from Xixia on the eve of his westward expedition. Asha, the minister of Xixia at that time, dared not reply to Genghis Khan's very disrespectful words. Because Genghis Khan wanted to go west, he had no energy to deal with him.However, Genghis Khan, who never forgave others' mistakes, never forgot Xixia. In March 1223, Mu Huali, who had been encroaching on the Kingdom of Jin in the Central Plains, died of illness.Genghis Khan sent Mu Huali's son Bolu back to the Central Plains to inherit his father's position in Khwarazmo and continued to encroach on the Jin Kingdom.Before leaving, Genghis Khan ordered him to crusade against Xixia.

In the autumn and July of 1224, Bolu launched an attack on Xixia, captured Yinzhou (now east of Hengshan County, Shaanxi Province) in Xixia, and massacred tens of thousands of people.At this time, the emperor of Xixia was Li Dewang, the son of Li Zunxu, with extremely limited abilities. He lived day by day under the "assistance" of the proud minister Asha.For the Mongols' attack, Li Dewang racked his brains and came up with a way, which was to re-alliance with Jin Guo.The two sides talked for a year, and in September 1225, an alliance agreement was finally reached. The Jin government actually announced to the world with drums and gongs that the Mongols knew that Xixia had completely betrayed them.

In the spring of 1225, Genghis Khan was determined to conquer Xixia and destroy it completely.In the autumn of that year, Genghis Khan led an army from the Mongolian grasslands, and at the beginning of winter, the army crossed Helan Mountain. Facing the oasis and pasture in front of him, Genghis Khan suddenly had the urge to hunt.The accompanying Wo Kuotai and Tuo Lei advised him not to engage in such strenuous activities, but he refused to listen.The driver also persuaded him, but he still didn't listen.In fact, Genghis Khan knew his physical condition well, and a hunting activity was a piece of cake for him.

But the accident happened like a miracle.During the hunting activities, a group of wild donkeys suddenly rushed to Genghis Khan's horses under the chase of the Mongolian soldiers.The wild donkeys in Helan Mountain are ferocious by nature, and even bears are silent in front of them. A wild donkey goes crazy and rampages, and its impact is not inferior to tanks, so a group of wild donkeys is a group of tanks.The tanks rushed towards Genghis Khan like mountains and seas. Genghis Khan was not afraid, but his mount was frightened. The horse's head suddenly raised, and the horse's hooves fluttered.Genghis Khan couldn't control it for a while, and was overturned heavily to the ground.

The task of the tank group seemed to be to scare him to the ground. When he fell to the ground solidly, the tank group turned around and roared away.All the soldiers hurriedly helped Genghis Khan up. Genghis Khan moaned and felt that his bones were split.The army stopped hunting and camped on the spot. That night, Genghis Khan had a strange dream.He dreamed that he was a blue cloud on the ground, soaring into the sky, and after flying exhausted, he arrived at a place that was neither heaven nor hell, but was white.He turned around inside, but still couldn't get out. Finally, he cried, crying so sadly that when Ye Sui woke him up, he was still crying sadly, and burrowed into Ye Sui's arms.She hugged him like a baby.He wanted to tell Ye Sui the dream, but he forgot all about it.He only remembered that he had had a dream.

In the early hours of the morning, Genghis Khan suddenly had a high fever and put a raw egg on his forehead, which would cook quickly.So he found Wo Kuotai, Tuo Lei, and Genghis Khan's comrades-in-arms, and reported this ominous fact to them. Some generals immediately proposed to postpone the expedition: "Xixia is a settled country. Whether we come or not, it will be there and will not move. It is the same whether we fight it today or a hundred years later." Genghis Khan was trembling from a high fever and his teeth were chattering. Everyone persuaded him to postpone the expedition and take care of his health.Genghis Khan thought for a while and said, "The Xixia people have already known about our mobilization of troops. If we withdraw our troops, the Xixia people will think that we are timid. They will send envoys to question us and see how they answer before making plans."

The envoy of Genghis Khan came to the capital of Xixia, and said straight to the point: "You said before that you would be our right hand, so we asked you to send troops to assist us in the Western Expedition, but you not only did not send troops, but also ridiculed me that Genghis Khan is not worthy of being called Great Khan. It is your good fortune to live a few more years. Now that I have triumphed in the west, I have come to settle accounts with you, say! Why are you mocking me?" Li Dewang immediately replied out of his wits: "I didn't say the ridicule of you."

That Asha, who has more than revealed and is also Genghis Khan's life chaser, dared to stand up shyly, and said loudly: "I said that. Go back and tell that shit Genghis Khan, if you want to beat him, go to Helan Mountain, where I am There is a camp; if you want gold and silver, you can come to Zhongxing Mansion, but whether you can take it or not depends on your luck!" After Genghis Khan received Asha's dare not answer, he was furious: "Even if I die, I will destroy Xixia!" Regardless of the high fever and falls, he immediately ordered the troops to enter.This campaign for Xixia is purely a copy of the previous campaigns for Xixia. What is different from the previous ones is that after this campaign for Xixia, there will be no more Xixia in the world, and it will become out of print.

In February 1226, Genghis Khan's army first attacked Heishui City, and the defenders of Heishui City resisted tenaciously and vowed not to surrender.Three days later, they were frightened by Genghis Khan's returning artillery and opened the door to surrender.But it was too late, Genghis Khan did not accept their surrender, and killed the defenders who put down their weapons at the gate of the city on the spot, and all living things in the city were spared. Summer had just arrived, and Genghis Khan's corps launched a fierce attack on the two cities at the same time after sweeping the outer defenses of Ganzhou (now Zhangye, Gansu) and Suzhou (now Jiuquan, Gansu).Genghis Khan received good news from all over the country while escaping the summer heat in Hunchui Mountain.The only thing that makes him unsatisfied is that his physical condition is not optimistic.After the fall from the horse that time, the whole body seemed to be under a curse, and it could never recover.

In July 1226, under the frantic sweep and attack of the Mongols, the Xixia Emperor Li Dewang died of fear, and his nephew Li Sui was helped to a crumbling dragon chair.Li Wei is a tragic figure, and his duty to sit on the dragon chair is to be the king of subjugation. Just as Li Sui's scribbled enthronement ceremony was closing, the soldiers of Genghis Khan's corps descended from heaven to the front of Xiliangfu (now Wuwei, Gansu), the second largest city in Xixia.The defenders of Xiliang Mansion found that the Mongolian army was like a mountain like a sea, and their compatriots were walking in the front, and Mongolian soldiers were mixed with them. Faced with this embarrassing scene, they had no choice but to surrender. Genghis Khan pardoned the civilians of Xiliang Mansion, and the defenders But they were all slaughtered.Since then, all the territory in the northwest of Xixia has been lost.

At the end of July, Genghis Khan's regiment crossed the muddy Yellow River and approached Zhongxing Mansion, the capital of Xixia, from the southeast.The tenacious resistance of the cities along the way made the progress of the Genghis Khan Corps slow. In November, the Genghis Khan Corps advanced to Lingzhou (now Wuzhong, Ningxia), only 30 kilometers south of Zhongxingfu.The siege began quickly, Lingzhou was in danger, Zhongxing Mansion was in danger, and Xixia was in danger. For the first time since Genghis Khan's conquest, the Zhongxing government became proactive.The reason for saying this is that since Genghis Khan launched the attack, the Zhongxing Mansion has been standing still. All the cities captured by Genghis Khan asked for help from the Zhongxing Mansion before they fell, but the Zhongxing Mansion seemed to be dead, and there was no response. Lingzhou was besieged, and Li Wei, the emperor of Xixia, raised the case: "If Lingzhou falls, Zhongxing Mansion will not have much time. We must stop the Mongols in Lingzhou!" In mid-November 1226, Li Wei led Xixia The main force of 50,000 men marched south.When Genghis Khan learned that the main force of Xixia was coming, he was overjoyed and ordered to stop the siege and concentrate on dealing with the Xixia reinforcements. The two sides started a fierce battle on the frozen Yellow River. The battle was extremely fierce. Genghis Khan himself came to the battlefield and stood on the frozen Yellow River to personally command the battle.The Mongolian Corps first shot with bows and arrows, and the Xixia Corps fought back fiercely. After the bows and arrows were shot, the two sides fought hand-to-hand. , and was finally annihilated by the Mongols.But the Mongols also paid the worst price ever: a tenth of their death. At the last moment before the failure, Emperor Li Wei fled back to Zhongxing Mansion. He knew that the general situation was over and Xixia was finished. After eliminating Xixia's vital forces, Genghis Khan turned around and attacked Lingzhou. Lingzhou had no will to resist, and the city soon fell.The Mongolian army entered Lingzhou, and after three days of massacre, the Mongolian army marched towards the lonely Zhongxing Mansion, and three days later, they completed the siege.Genghis Khan did not go to Zhongxing Mansion, but in today's Yanchi County, while resting his body, he formulated the next battle plan.He knew that the demise of Xixia was only a matter of time, and there was no suspense at all. Genghis Khan's next plan is to deal with the Kingdom of Jin. It has been Genghis Khan's long-cherished wish for many years to attack the Kingdom of Jin in a detour from Xixia. Now, he is beginning to realize this long-cherished wish. In the first month of 1227, Genghis Khan left a corps to continue besieging Zhongxing Mansion, and divided the main corps into three groups to attack the Kingdom of Jin.The first route, led by Wo Kuotai, went down the Jing River, and its mission was to attack Fengxiang, Shaanxi, and take Jingzhao.Although the Kingdom of Jin was weak at the time, Shaanxi was very powerful.Wo Kuotai met Yang Woyan, a famous general of the Kingdom of Jin, and his capable general Liu Xingge at the foot of Fengxiang City, so it took Wo Kuotai at least four months to capture Fengxiang, and then moved his troops eastward, planning to capture Jingzhao. Not finished, because soon, he received the news that Genghis Khan wanted him to return to the teacher. Subotai, Commander of the Second Route Corps, was in the Benhehuang area (now the Yellow River and Huangshui River Basin in Qinghai Province and Gansu Province). In May 1227, Subotai captured Lintao. The Butai Corps captured important towns such as Hezhou and Xining like a child's play, and the Jin Kingdom's power in the Hehuang area was completely wiped out. Genghis Khan and Tuo Lei commanded the Third Route Corps, went south from Yanchi, and attacked Deshun Mansion (now east of Jingning County, Gansu Province). In April, Deshun Mansion was captured.In intercalary May, the weather was extremely hot. Genghis Khan arrived at Liupan Mountain (in today's Guyuan, Ningxia), preparing to escape the summer heat here, and then continue to encroach on the Kingdom of Jin. Little did he know, this was his last two months on earth.Two months later, he will leave the world, leave the vast prairie, and go to see Changshengtian. When the first gust of hot wind blew into Liupan Mountain, Genghis Khan was already unable to move, and he coughed and had a fever for no reason.In the scorching summer, he actually had to wear two sheepskin jackets. Even so, he was still shivering from the cold.At this time, he hadn't foreseen that the deadline had come, and when he received the envoy from the Kingdom of Jin who came to seek peace, he sneered endlessly.He said: "You Jin people insulted and killed my ancestors. This is a sworn enmity. I will send you to hell." The Kingdom of Jin was ashamed and determined to send envoys to Liupan Mountain to ask Genghis Khan for forgiveness. At the beginning of the second May of 1227, the Kingdom of Jin sent a eloquent envoy to see Genghis Khan.The envoy finally succeeded, and Genghis Khan agreed to plan to cancel the military action against Jin.He said: "I hope you can spread the word of my cessation of fighting everywhere, and let the world know my compassion." There is probably another thing that moved Genghis Khan: the dazzling large number of pearls contributed by the Kingdom of Jin.Genghis Khan scattered these pearls on the grass and told his officers that anyone with an earring hole can take it.The officers rushed forward, those without earring holes improvised, and used various sharp instruments to demonstrate on the spot how to pierce earring holes. When the group of Mongols were chasing pearls, the envoy of the Kingdom of Jin ran back to Kaifeng as if suffering from epilepsy, and told the Jin government the great news that Genghis Khan had agreed to reconcile.The Kingdom of Jin is grateful for Genghis Khan's mercy, but he doesn't know that Genghis Khan treats his enemies, and he doesn't know what mercy is at all.The reason why he planned to stop the attack on the Kingdom of Jin was that his health was deteriorating, and he tried to fight for his health in this peaceful way. In June 1227, Genghis Khan ordered people to go to the Xixia Zhongxing Mansion to listen to the Xixia people.The Zhongxing Mansion was besieged for several months, and it had been replaced by children. It was almost ruined by a major earthquake in May.Li Wei agreed to surrender, and Genghis Khan asked him to come to see him, but Li Wei said that he needed a month to prepare a rich gift to meet the Great Khan. Genghis Khan reluctantly agreed to Li Sui's request.That night, he had a weird dream.He saw snowflakes falling from the boundless sky, dyeing the earth a piece of silver.Suddenly it rained again, the rain was red, and the mountains, rivers and land turned scarlet again.He told Ye Sui about the dream, and the middle-aged lady didn't understand what it meant, but she was sure it was not a good omen. Genghis Khan calmly summoned Yelu Chucai and recounted the dream to the half-immortal.After hearing this, Yelu Chucai remained calm.He said: "It's normal. You are sick and stressed. It's only natural to have such strange dreams." For the first time, Genghis Khan expressed his distrust to Yelu Chucai. He secretly ordered someone to call Tuolei and Wo Kuotai to his side, and said in a state of exhaustion: "When Li Sui comes, whether I am there or not, he will be taken to the ground. Execution. After the capture of the Zhongxing Mansion, all men, women, and children were killed in the Zhongxing Mansion. If I had no chance to see all this, you would tell me loudly before each meal that the Xixia people had been exterminated and Genghis Khan had died. Exterminate their species!" Looking at his father's vicissitudes and weak spirit, Wo Kuotai immediately choked up, and Tuolei was already crying.Genghis Khan stopped them and said, "This is not the time to cry. In a few days, show me Li Su's head." Li Mo is here. At the end of June 1227, Li Sui arrived with a large number of gifts.A golden Buddha, nine golden bowls, nine silver bowls, nine couples of boys and girls, nine geldings, nine camels, and more, and of course a map of Zhongxing Mansion, because one of the conditions of surrender is that Contribute to Zhongxing Mansion. Genghis Khan received Li Sui in an alternative way.A thick curtain hangs in front of the tent.Li Sui knelt in front of the hood and said hello to Genghis Khan.There was no echo behind the curtain, but behind him, there was a sudden commotion.Several unarmed guards and dozens of ministers who came with him were all pushed to the ground by the Mongols, and the Mongol executioners raised their knives and fell, and the heads of those people rolled far away, with their mouths open in horror. Li Wei was so frightened that he didn't even have the energy to jump up, so he knelt there, trembling all over.Suddenly, his consciousness was blurred, and an idea shot into his mind like lightning: there is no Genghis Khan behind the curtain, and there has never been a person named Genghis Khan in this world, and he is kneeling here, just a A dream. Someone awakened his dream, lifted him up, and said, "Let's go!" Even Li Wei himself was surprised by his unusual composure. He smiled gently and asked the Mongolian officer, "Are you going to cut off my head?" The Mongolian officer replied: "Don't behead your head. You are an emperor after all. If we kill a big man like you, you won't see blood. Come with me." Li Wei obediently followed the Mongolian officer to a tent, just as he obediently followed the Minister of Etiquette to sit on the dragon chair a few years ago.He walked to the door of the tent, stopped, looked back at the tent where he knelt just now, and said to himself: "There is no Genghis Khan at all." If he said this sentence two weeks later, it would be the truth, but if he said it now, it would not be the truth.There is no record of how Li Sui died. Most likely, he received the same punishment as Jamuka: he was strangled to death. A month later, Zhongxing Mansion was captured, and as Genghis Khan ordered, none of the Xixia people were spared and all were massacred.Xixia perished, and the Xixia people became extinct.