In 1067, at the age of 19, Zhao Huan succeeded to the throne and became the sixth emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Song Shenzong. Don't look at Song Shenzong's youth, he has had great ambitions since he was a child, "knowing that the ancestors are willing to swallow the shadows, thistles, spirits, and the number of defeated soldiers", and he is determined to "the shame of the snow for several generations". After Emperor Shenzong of Song ascended the throne, he appointed Wang Anshi as the prime minister and actively changed the law, hoping to achieve the goal of enriching the country and strengthening the army, and then the reality was cruel!
Song Shenzong's strategic plan was to "first go west and then north", first solve the Western Xia, and then send troops to the Northern Expedition to retake Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures. Therefore, Emperor Shenzong of Song appointed Wang Shao to launch the "Battle of Xihe" and cut off Western Xia's right arm, and this goal was quickly achieved. After that, Song Shenzong turned his attention to Western Xia. In 1081, civil unrest broke out in Western Xia, and the Western Xia emperor Li Bingchang was imprisoned by Empress Liang, and the governor of Yan Yan wrote a letter, believing that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Song Shenzong was also very happy, and he thought that he could use this opportunity to destroy Western Xia in one fell swoop. To this end, Song Shenzong mobilized heavy troops, divided into five roads, Li Xianbu out of Xihe Road, Zongchen department out of Yan road, Gao Zunyu out of Huanqing Road, Liu Changzuo out of Jingyuan Road, Wang Zhongzheng out of Hedong Road, the strength of the five-way army was more than 400,000, in addition to hundreds of thousands of servants. With the support of the battle, the Song army once won a victory, and several cities and pools were successively built in the construction area.
Then Empress Liang of Western Xia listened to the advice of the veteran general, "Firm walls clear the wilderness, let it go deeper, gather strong troops in Ling, Xia and send light horses to cut off their feeding, the soldiers have no food, but they can be trapped without fighting." As a result, the Song army was forced to fortify the city, the grain route was cut off, and the winter came, resulting in heavy losses, and finally the Five Roads army was forced to retreat. In this battle, the Song army lost more than 200,000 soldiers, in addition to losing an equal number of servants.
Although the losses were heavy, Song Shenzong was not discouraged. In April 1082, Li Xian again wrote a letter demanding a crusade against Western Xia, which Emperor Shenzong of Song was very supportive of, while Shen Kuo proposed to build a city at Hengshan as a forward position in the attack on Western Xia. After some investigation and examination, the Song army began to build a city at the border of Xia, Yin, and Yu, and named It Yongle City. After hearing the news, the Western Xia side regarded Yongle City as a thorn in the back, so it sent troops to besiege it.
Empress Dowager Liang of Western Xia personally went out on a campaign and poured out the strength of the whole country, claiming 300,000 people, to attack Yongle City. The Song army did not show weakness, and a major battle broke out between the two sides in Yongle City. However, there was a fatal problem in the construction of Yongle City, lack of water, "the city has been starved of water for several days, the well can not be drilled, and most of the dead are thirsty." The fighting lasted until September 20, when Yongle City was breached, and "hundreds of generals were killed, and more than 200,000 soldiers and servants were soldiers."
When the news of the fall of Yongle City reached Kaifeng, it was already midnight, and Song Shenzong lost sleep, "getting up and walking around the bed, and never sleeping", and even crying bitterly. During the Song Dynasty's war with Emperor Shenzong in Western Xia, about 600,000 northern Song officials, soldiers, and righteous protectors died, and "money, millet, silver, and silk were invincible in tens of thousands." Wang Anshi's efforts to change the Fa were almost in vain, and Song Shenzong's body and mind were also hit hard, and Song Shenzong knew that he could no longer shame his ancestors.
According to historical records, Song Shenzong was "also tired of military affairs and had no intention of going west" after that. However, Western Xia was also exhausted by the war and unable to attack, so peace was restored between the two sides. In 1085, the depressed Song Shenzong fell ill and died at the age of 37, he was a noble son of heaven and had great ambitions, but in the end he could not achieve it.
References: 1. "History of Song"; 2. "Continuation of Zizhi TongjianChang"