Chapter 1123: The Affairs of the Khitan and Goryeo

The situation in the northwest was complex and volatile, fraught with hidden dangers, perhaps not optimistic, and a headache to deal with—but fortunately, it was only one corner of the realm. For the Great Han Empire, which was in its nascent rising phase with its national strength far from its peak, it was impossible for problems and hidden dangers to exist everywhere.

Counting up the four borders of the Great Han, only the Khitan in the north posed the greatest threat—or rather, was the only power capable of threatening the Great Han. This was not merely due to the traditional agricultural civilization's wariness and rejection of nomadic civilization, but also because of Liao's institutional system—those Han-style institutions, Han rites, and Han ministers were what the Great Han's nobles and scholar-official class most dreaded, for they signified the Khitan's ambition to enter the Central Plains and their cultural foundation for doing so, which earned them the deep resentment of all discerning people.

And the truth was that the ruling class of the Great Han would rather the north be an ignorant, savage nomadic tribe than see a semi-nomadic, semi-feudal dynasty that had absorbed Han cultural institutions exist for long.

The Great Han Empire of today could not be compared to the Song Dynasty of the original history at the same period, so its attitude and response toward its powerful northern neighbor naturally differed as well. The Great Song had no choice—it simply could not win, no matter how hard it tried. The Great Han, by contrast, would seize any opportunity to march north and seek to destroy "Liao."

After unifying the realm, as the only massive power with threatening potential around the empire's periphery, the Great Han's attention on the Khitan and Liao continued to rise. Exchanges between the two countries grew increasingly frequent.

As the number one and number two powers in East Asia, sharing a border with a long frontier line, the Han and Liao could not avoid contact. Whether friendly or hostile, their interactions were remarkably close.

Especially among the common people—in the two circuits of Shanyang and the Yan Mountains, border market trade had already become very prosperous by the fourth year of Kaibao. Do not think of the Khitan as pure barbarians; occupying the northeast and the vast, boundless grasslands, their products were by no means meager. Cattle, horses, sheep, and camels from the grasslands, along with medicinal herbs and furs from the northeast, were all very popular in the Central Plains markets.

The bloody scenes of the great Han-Liao war were still vivid in memory, with the bones of soldiers from both sides still exposed in the wilderness—yet the two countries maintained "friendly" exchanges under a complex and contradictory political backdrop.

It was easy to imagine that while they called it friendship, true friendship was impossible. There were harmonious and peaceful aspects, but naturally also times of conflict. Border markets had seen Khitan plundering, and when the Han army marched north beyond the frontier passes to "hunt down bandits," they had also "taken care of" Khitan tribes on occasion.

Still, an overall stability was maintained, with both sides exercising restraint. Moreover, in the third year of Kaibao, Liao sent a clan princess to the Eastern Capital, named Yelu Ling, eighteen years old in the bloom of youth. In return, Emperor Liu presented a "princess" as a reciprocal gift.

More than seven years had passed since the great Han-Liao war. Over such a long time, Liao's national strength and military power had both recovered—rest and recuperation were hardly the Central Plains' exclusive prerogative.

And in these seven years, aside from eliminating rebellions, pacifying subjects, and consolidating rule, Liao had accomplished two major external undertakings.

The first was the western campaign against Gaochang, destroying the Western Uyghur Kingdom. The results of that campaign have been recounted previously, so they need not be repeated here. The effect was obvious—Liao had recovered a great deal of its vitality.

However, because over the past year or more they had come into conflict with the Kara-Khanid Khanate, the prolonged fighting meant the dividends of war were no longer what they had been. Instead, they were wasting troops, and internal divisions had emerged within Liao over the Western Regions affair.

One faction felt they had gained enough, hoping to abandon the Western Regions, reduce needless losses, and withdraw eastward. Another faction was reluctant to give up the pleasures of the Western Regions, insisting on holding them and continuing to generate wealth—some even proposed sending more troops to destroy the Kara-Khanid Khanate that dared oppose the Great Liao, seizing the entire Western Regions and taking all their wealth and livestock.

On this matter, the Liao sovereign Yelu Jing was still hesitating—and he had to hesitate. If the Kara-Khanids had been as easy to defeat as the Gaochang Uyghurs, it would have been one thing, but they were a hard bone to chew. And with the Great Han to the south demanding constant vigilance, the Khitan could never commit overly formidable strength to the Western Regions.

Yet he truly could not bear to give up that precious land of the Western Regions. The wealth flowing from there had made Yelu Jing quite generous in recent years—even his rewards to ministers had become considerably more lavish.

Compared to the western campaign, the other matter seemed far less spectacular. In the winter of the second year of Kaibao, while the court was busy pacifying the Wuyue rebellion in the southeast, the Liao sovereign Yelu Jing dispatched the Eastern Capital's garrison commander Gao Xun as commander-in-chief to destroy the Ding'an Kingdom, which had been entrenched in Liao's own backyard.

This tiny state, formed by remnants of the Bohai people, had little capacity to resist once Liao was truly determined to annihilate it. The outcome was unsurprising—the city fell, and the state was extinguished.

The year before, the nobles of Ding'an had hoped to submit to the Great Han, but due to geographical distance and travel constraints, the court had refused. However, to placate them, the Great Han took the lead in inviting Goryeo and Ding'an to discuss the matter together.

After all, Ding'an bordered Goryeo's territory. Thus, though the state was destroyed, many nobles and commoners fled south into Goryeo's borders and received Goryeo's protection. Only a small number crossed the sea to seek refuge with the Great Han and were settled in the Deng-Lai region.

Those few were relatively fortunate. Though the journey had been difficult, once they arrived in the Great Han, their property and lives were guaranteed, they had a place to shelter, and if they performed well, there was even the opportunity to gain citizenship.

But those taken in by Goryeo fared miserably. According to reports, many were extorted and blackmailed, forced into servitude, living under others' roofs and suffering oppression. Eventually, many chose to flee back to Liao, preferring to be obedient subjects of the Khitan. After all, even if enslaved, at least the Khitan were more powerful.

Goryeo's treatment of the Ding'an people actually displeased the court greatly. This matter had been spearheaded by the Great Han, yet Goryeo had behaved so greedily and unjustly—it was practically slapping the court in the face.

Though no action was taken, cracks began to appear in the relationship between the Great Han and Goryeo. Especially since the situation in the northeast had not developed as the Great Han's sovereign and ministers had hoped.

After Goryeo took in the Ding'an people, it indeed provoked the Liao army. Gao Xun personally led troops to the border, putting on a show of attacking Goryeo—after all, destroying Ding'an had hardly cost any military strength.

Goryeo's response, however, was remarkably composed. On one hand, they reinforced border garrisons with additional troops; on the other, they prepared large quantities of wine, meat, and provisions to reward the Liao army, putting on a full display of deference.

In the end, the two countries did not go to war. Goryeo beheaded a portion of the Ding'an nobles and sent the heads to Gao Xun as a show of sincerity. Thereupon, after making a great show of military might, the Liao army decisively withdrew—they had no plans to attack Goryeo.

When the detailed intelligence of the northeastern situation reached the Great Han, everyone from Emperor Liu on down was indignant. Goryeo's conduct had gone too far, acting entirely without regard for the Great Han court's feelings.

Regarding the Ding'an affair, envoys were sent to demand an explanation from Wang Zhao. Wang Zhao responded that border affairs were all decisions made arbitrarily by local generals, that he had no knowledge of them, and that he would immediately investigate. Then, when the Han envoy returned, he brought back a severed head, saying that punishment had already been carried out for the Ding'an affair, and this head was the court's due explanation.

Such methods, such tricks—how could they fool the sovereign and ministers of the Great Han? What truly angered Emperor Liu was news from the northeast that Liao and Goryeo had also begun exchanging contacts. This greatly crossed Emperor Liu's bottom line.

Why had he sought good relations with Goryeo and supported Wang Zhao? Was it not to make use of Goryeo's strength during the northern campaign? And yet, before the matter had even come to fruition, they had already revealed their turncoat nature.

Goryeo's behavior was not hard to understand. It could only be said that the Great Han's rise had placed too much pressure on its neighboring states. Now that the situation of a strong Han and weak Liao was evident, King Wang Zhao of Goryeo was no fool—of course he would prefer to see Liao hold firm against the Great Han's pressure, allowing him to sit comfortably as East Asia's third power, or even fish in troubled waters when the opportunity arose.

Of course, befriending Liao did not mean completely offending the Great Han or turning against the empire. Goryeo continued to serve respectfully, sending envoys and tribute without cease every year. But for the Great Han to interfere in Goryeo's military and political affairs was clearly no longer possible. What Wang Zhao hoped for was to play both sides between Han and Liao.

Yet this truly infuriated Emperor Liu. At one point, he threw Goryeo's tribute to the ground, cursing Wang Zhao and saying his wings had grown strong. But despite his fury, there was truly little he could do against Goryeo at this time.

Perhaps there were punitive measures available, but employing them would hold little real significance and would only push Goryeo completely into Liao's arms. Emperor Liu, after all, was not a man ruled by emotion, nor would he let anger cloud his judgment. But in his heart, he had already quietly marked Goryeo for reckoning.