Chapter 1200: The Seventh Year of Kaibao

Time entered the seventh year of Kaibao. A new year, the beginning of the year, and also the first time Emperor Liu spent the New Year in Luoyang. Though the place had changed, all the ceremonies remained as before.

On New Year's Day, Emperor Liu held court at the Qianyuan Hall in the Western Capital, conducting the grand New Year's audience, summarizing gains and losses, and looking to the future. At the same time, he received the homage of ministers both internal and external, chieftains of various tribes, and envoys of various states.

Many envoys and chieftains, setting foot for the first time in the towering and magnificent Qianyuan Hall, were all overawed by it, and almost all unconsciously bent their knees and bowed their heads in submission.

The envoy of Liao was Xiao Siwen, who had made a comeback in Liao's political arena. He did not prostrate himself on the ground, but his expression was exceptionally grave. The might of the Great Han was already manifest in every aspect, visible to the naked eye. And as the northern hegemon, the empire's only remaining rival, the stronger the Great Han grew, the greater the international pressure Liao had to bear.

As for Goryeo, which in recent years had begun to play both sides between Han and Liao, frantically swaying back and forth—perhaps out of guilt, its envoy behaved with extreme trepidation.

Just last autumn, the Laizhou naval forces had organized a cruise exercise, dispatching fifty large and small seagoing vessels with over three thousand officers and men, pressing directly toward the Goryeo coast, and anchoring at its Shaocheng County for rest and resupply.

As could almost be imagined, conflict between the two sides broke out unexpectedly. Though they were only naval forces, they fought fiercely enough on land as well. Under the command of Commander Guo Yang, the naval forces came ashore and stormed Shaocheng County in one stroke, then killed and plundered before returning. Later, the Goryeo navy came to reinforce, and the two sides even fought a small-scale naval battle outside Shaocheng Harbor, which likewise ended in victory for the Han army. Carrying their spoils, they swaggered back home...

This was the first intense conflict between the Great Han and Goryeo. Afterward, the two countries still exchanged envoys to negotiate over the matter. And the result of the negotiations was that both sides agreed this was an accident, a misunderstanding.

The military, after all, is all brawn and no brains, only knowing how to fight and kill, with hot tempers to boot. On this basis, the matter was smoothed over. The Great Han offered no apology, and Goryeo did not continue to press the issue. As for the court, it issued a severe warning to the rash naval commander Guo Yang who had provoked the incident as punishment, and then there was no further word.

As for the Goryeo soldiers and civilians killed or wounded, and the property lost, that was not something the Great Han government concerned itself with. In fact, both sides knew clearly that this was a deliberately provoked incident by the Great Han, a warning to Goryeo—the Great Han had the capability to attack across the sea. With a powerful navy as guarantee, that peninsula of yours wasn't so safe after all.

On the Great Han's side, delivering a warning and teaching a lesson was one aspect, and using the opportunity to probe Goryeo's strength was another. The results were ideal—just like the reports received years ago about Goryeo's military strength: their forces were numerous, but their combat capability was indeed feeble.

The Goryeo troops at Shaocheng County had fought in civil wars and possessed some battlefield experience, yet they were thoroughly battered by the Han navy. Had it been elite land forces instead, the gap would likely have been even greater.

As long as command of the sea was in hand, guaranteeing the smooth delivery of Han troops onto the peninsula, then sweeping across it might not be a difficult task for the Han army.

Goryeo and Goguryeo—one character apart, but in reality worlds apart. When Goguryeo was strong, it could clash head-on with the great Sui Empire. As for Goryeo, heh heh...

Over all these years, Emperor Liu had basically seen clearly that hoping for Goryeo to fully cooperate with the Great Han against Liao was basically not worth hoping for. In contrast, because of Goryeo's lack of tact, it had instead provoked Emperor Liu, who vaguely harbored thoughts of destroying the state. Only, with Liao still in existence, he held back.

And after the warning last year, Goryeo seemed to have had some awakening, and its attitude became respectful once more. Only after being beaten did they know pain...

The first month was always a month of festivity and excitement. After the New Year's grand audience came the Lantern Festival. And the Lantern Festival of the seventh year of Kaibao also added two new programs.

First, the presentation of captives at the imperial city of Luoyang. Wang Quanbin, the Pacification Commissioner of the Southwest, had succeeded in his southern campaign, destroying the state of Dali and capturing its ruler, ministers, and nobles to bring back to the capital, presenting them before the palace. For Wang Quanbin, having held the southwest for ten years, drilling troops and preparing horses, to present his victory in one stroke, achieving the merit of destroying a state and returning triumphant—it could be said to be a perfect completion of his achievements, with no regrets in this life.

The captive presentation ceremony was naturally a magnificent spectacle of tremendous scale, with onlookers numbering two hundred thousand. For the people of the ancient capital, there was also a kind of inexplicable excitement and thrill. They did not know how many years it had been since they had witnessed such a scene, enjoying the glory of being subjects of a mighty empire. Many scenes of golden ages that were only recorded in history books or passed down by word of mouth, they now saw with their own eyes.

This was, of course, also a political show. Emperor Liu intended to use it to unite hearts and inspire the people's spirit, and judging by the concrete results, he had succeeded in doing so.

And as the chief supporting actor, Wang Quanbin also received tremendous attention, enjoying the cheers of the multitude, with the Son of Heaven descending the steps to welcome him. Not only because of his achievement in destroying a state, but also because of his ten-year steadfast defense in the southwest, his loyalty, his dedication. For this already very aged old general, this was the highest honor.

Second was the reward for those who had rendered meritorious service since the beginning of the Kaibao era. As mentioned before, over all these years, Emperor Liu had not conferred titles of nobility on the empire's civil and military officials—excluding, of course, special cases of bought allegiance like the Cao clan of the Guiyi Army.

Therefore, many both inside and outside the court had their discussions, for those who rendered merit yet could not receive reward—anyone would have thoughts about that. And Emperor Liu had spent so much effort making the Great Han's noble titles seem so weighty, so those with ambition and merit also held great expectations.

Now, it was finally fulfilling their wishes, and moreover adopting the method of collective conferral of titles. After verification by the relevant authorities, since the Kaibao era, a large number of outstanding figures had indeed emerged in both civil governance and military achievement, and not a few were worthy of receiving titles or even being promoted in rank.

Of course, this also included some who had lacked sufficient merit and seniority during the Qianyou era, now made up for as well. However, this round of ennoblement was clearly dominated by military officials—there was nothing easier for earning a title and convincing others than military merit.

The most dazzling were naturally Wang Quanbin and Pan Mei—one who destroyed Dali, one who took Annam. The rest, such as Yang Ye, Wang Renshan, Yang Tingzhang, Liu Guangyi, and other senior generals with outstanding achievements in several campaigns, were also included.

In comparison, among civil officials, only a handful were included, such as Wang Qiwu, Zhao Pu, Lu Duoxun, Wu Tingzuo, and Lü Yin. After all, in times of peace, it was truly too difficult for civil officials to earn merit and receive titles. Even so, most of theirs were still related to military achievements.

Besides conferring titles, there were also decorations—these were purely aimed at military merit. In successive campaigns, a great number of officers and soldiers had emerged, especially those mid- and low-ranking officers and men who had survived and earned merit through arduous battles. Their merit was insufficient for a noble title, but giving them a decoration was still acceptable. Emperor Liu ordered fifty of them to be selected and rewarded at the Qianyuan Hall.

A ceremony of conferring titles and decorations likewise greatly stimulated the ambition of the Great Han's civil and military officials, both high and low, to establish achievements and build careers.