Editing Western Xia (section)

===Jingzong (1038–1048)===
[[File:Xixia Painting from Hongfo Pagoda (28069106568).jpg|thumb|Western Xia painting on silk depicting the Daoist deity [[Xuanwu (god)|Emperor Xuanwu]], discovered in the [[Hongfo Pagoda]] in 1990]]
[[Li Deming|Deming]] sent tribute missions to both the [[Liao dynasty]] and the Song dynasty. At the same time he expanded Tangut territory to the west. In 1028, he sent his son [[Li Yuanhao|Yuanhao]] to conquer the [[Ganzhou Uyghur Kingdom]]. Two years later the [[Guiyi Circuit]] surrendered to the Tanguts. Yuanhao invaded the Qinghai region as well but was repelled by the newly risen Tibetan kingdom of [[Tsongkha]]. In 1032, Yuanhao annexed the Tibetan confederation of [[Xiliangfu]], and soon after his father died, leaving him ruler of the Tangut state.{{sfn|McGrath|2008|p=154}}

Upon his father's death, Yuanhao adopted the [[Tangut script|Tangut]] surname of Weiming (Tangut: Nweimi) for his clan. He levied all able bodied men between 15 and 60 years of age, providing him with a 150,000 strong army. By 1036, he had annexed both the Ganzhou Uyghur Kingdom and the Guiyi Circuit to his west. In the same year, the [[Tangut script]] was disseminated for use in the Tangut government and translations of Chinese and Tibetan works began at once. The script's creation is attributed to [[Yeli Renrong]] and work on it likely began during the reign of Deming.{{sfn|Twitchett|1994|p=182}}

In 1038, Yuanhao declared himself emperor (''wu zu'' or Blue Son of Heaven), posthumously [[Emperor Jingzong of Western Xia]], of the Great Xia with his capital at Xingqing in modern Yinchuan. Jingzong expanded the bureaucratic apparatus mirroring Chinese institutional practices. A Secretariat (Zhongshu sheng), Bureau of Military Affairs (Shumi yuan), Finance Office (San si), Censorate (Yushi tai), and 16 bureaus (shiliu si) under the supervision of a chancellor (shangshu ling) were created. Jingzong enacted a head shaving decree that ordered all his countrymen to shave the top of their heads so that if within three days, someone had not followed his order, they were allowed to be killed.{{sfn|Twitchett|1994|p=186}}

In response, the Song dynasty offered to bestow ranks on the Tanguts, which Jingzong rejected. The Song then cut off border trade and put a bounty on his head.{{sfn|Smith|2015|p=73}}{{sfn|Twitchett|1994|p=181}} The Xia's chief military leader, Weiming Shanyu, also fled to seek asylum with the Song, however he was executed at [[Otog Banner|Youzhou]].{{sfn|Twitchett|1994|p=186}} What ensued was a [[Song-Xia War (1040–1044)|prolonged war]] with the Song dynasty which resulted in several victories at great cost to the Xia economy.

{{blockquote|Beyond establishing a Chinese-style central government for the militarized kingdom (which included sixteen bureaus), he also designated eighteen military control commissions spread among five military zones: (1) 70,000 soldiers to deal with the Liao, (2) 50,000 assigned to deal with Huan, Qing, Zhenrong, and Yuan prefectures, (3) 50,000 opposite Fuyan circuit and Lin and Fu[1] prefectures, (4) 30,000 to deal with the Xifan and Huige to the west, and (5) 50,000 in the eastern skirtlands of Helan Mountains, 50,000 at Ling, and 70,000 spread between Xing prefecture and Xingqing fu, or superior prefecture. Altogether Yuanhao had as many as 370,000 men under arms. These were mounted forces, which had been stretched thin by hard warfare and probably excessive use of non-warrior horsemen impressed to fill the army. He maintained a six-unit bodyguard of 5,000 and his elite cavalry force, Iron Cavalry (''tieqi'') of 3,000. It was a fearful concentration of military might overlaying a relatively shallow economic base.{{sfn|McGrath|2008|p=156}}|Michael C. McGrath}}

[[File:Painting on wood of a warrior from a late Western Xia tomb in Wuwei Gansu.jpg|thumb|Painting of a warrior from a late Western Xia tomb in Gansu]]
In the winter of 1039–1040, Jingzong laid siege to Yanzhou (now [[Yan'an]]) with over 100,000 troops. The prefect of Yanzhou, Fan Yong, gave contradictory orders to his military deputy, Liu Ping, making him move his forces (9,000) in random directions until they were defeated by Xia forces (50,000) at Sanchuan Pass. Liu Ping was taken captive.{{sfn|Smith|2015|p=76}} Despite the defenders' mediocre performance, Jingzong was forced to lift the siege and retreat to a ring of forts overlooking Yanzhou, when heavy winter snows set in.{{sfn|Smith|2015|p=77}} A Song army of 30,000 returned later that winter under the command of Ren Fu. They were ambushed at Haoshuichuan and annihilated.{{sfn|Smith|2015|p=78}} Despite such victories, Jingzong failed to make any headway against Song fortifications, garrisoned by 200,000 troops on rotation from the capital,{{sfn|Smith|2015|p=86}} and remained unable to seize any territory.{{sfn|Smith|2015|p=79}} In 1042, Jingzong advanced south and surrounded the fort of Dingchuan.{{sfn|Twitchett|2009|p=314}} The defending commander Ge Huaimin lost his nerve and decided to run, abandoning his troops to be slaughtered.{{sfn|Smith|2015|p=80}} Again, Jingzong failed to gain significant territory. Half his soldiers had died from attrition and after two years, Xia could no longer support his military endeavors. Tangut forces began suffering small defeats, being turned back by Song forces at [[Pingliang|Weizhou]] and [[Shenmu|Linzhou]].{{sfn|Smith|2015|p=91}}

{{blockquote|By 1043, there were several hundred thousand trained local archer and crossbow militiamen in Shaanxi, and their archery skills were now generally effective. Crucial to defense (or offense) was the use of local non-Chinese allies to screen Song from the monetary costs and social costs of full-scale war. By mid-1042, the accumulated efforts of men like Fan Zhongyan and others to entice the ''fan'' to settle in the in-between areas were paying off. The fan generally and the Qiang specifically were siding with the Song much more than with the Xia at this point. By now, also, there were enough forts and walled cities to limit Yuanhao’s maneuverability and to improve mutual support against him.{{sfn|McGrath|2008|p=168}}|Michael C. McGrath}}

The [[Liao dynasty]] took advantage of the Song's dire predicaments by increasing annual tribute payments by 100,000 units of silk and silver (each).{{sfn|Smith|2015|p=91}} The Song appealed to the Liao for help, and as a result, [[Emperor Xingzong of Liao]] invaded Western Xia with a force of 100,000 in 1044.{{sfn|Twitchett|1994|p=122}} Liao forces enjoyed an initial victory but failed to take the Xia capital and were brutally mauled by Jingzong's defenders.{{sfn|Mote|2003|p=185}} According to Song spies, there was a succession of carts bearing Liao dead across the desert.{{sfn|Smith|2015|p=126}} Having exhausted his resources, Jingzong made peace with the Song, who recognized him as the ruler of Xia lands and agreed to pay an annual tribute of 250,000 units of silk, silver, and tea.{{sfn|Smith|2015|p=126}}

Toward the end of the war, Jingzong took the intended bride of his son, Lady Moyi, as his concubine. Jingzong's designated heir, Ninglingge, was the son of the Yeli empress, whose uncle Yeli Wangrong was concerned about the development. Ninglingge was thus arranged to marry the daughter of Wangrong, who planned to kill the emperor on the eve of the wedding. The plot leaked and Wangrong as well as four other Yeli conspirators were executed. The Yeli empress was demoted and Lady Moyi was installed in her place. Another concubine, Lady Mocang, bore the emperor a male child in 1047, named Liangzuo, who was raised by his uncle, Mocang Epang. The disinherited heir apparent stabbed Jingzong in the nose and fled to Mocang Epang's residence where he was arrested and executed. Jingzong died the next day on 19 January 1048 at the age of 44.{{sfn|Twitchett|1994|p=190}}