The Hexi Corridor!
Since Wang Yue wanted to stir up trouble, he needed allies. And who could be easier to control than the Beggars' Sect?
After all, these people owned no land. Wang Yue only had to arrange for Bai Yutang to lead them in a campaign to "beat the landlords and divide the land," and all of Liangzhou City would belong to him.
If he held Liangzhou City, a key pass along the Hexi Corridor, he could block Western Xia from expanding westward.
To gain more room to maneuver strategically, Western Xia would have to either fall out with the Liao Kingdom to the north or go to war with the Song Kingdom. Given that the future queen of Western Xia would be a Liao princess, it was far more likely to fight the Song Kingdom.
To ease the pressure on its western flank, the Song Kingdom would probably buy Wang Yue's support if he occupied the Hexi Corridor and became a power to Western Xia's southwest.
That would give Wang Yue a legitimate sphere of influence and an opportunity to build it up gradually, allowing him to complete his mission.
As for what might happen in the future—whether he would establish something or do something else—that was beyond the scope of Wang Yue's current concerns.
All Wang Yue wanted now was to secure the Song Kingdom's western border so that it could turn its attention to reclaiming the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.
Otherwise, if the Song Kingdom had to commit so much of its strength to the northwest, it wouldn't have the confidence to contest the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun until the threat from the west had been dealt with.
Mingdao, Year One, Sixth Month
Li Deming, military governor of the Dingnan Army,