Chapter 1283: The Good Warrior Wins Without Glorious Deeds

Due to the great distance, with communications almost completely severed, the deeds of the two Han army routes in Hexi and Yulin in Mobei would not reach the capital for some time yet; the glorious achievements of pressing upon Yanran and galloping beyond the frontier still needed time to settle and ferment.

The Han cavalry that had ridden north were in fact like kites with their strings cut, essentially beyond control; if anything happened, it was difficult to provide timely and effective feedback. The imperial court at the Western Capital did not even need to worry about logistics and supply—all it could do was silently pray and offer blessings.

In fact, just as with the fighting in the Western Regions, the court held no excessive expectations or demands for these two detached forces. Light cavalry venturing in force beyond the far frontier to display might beyond the Great Wall—this was the first time since the founding of the Great Han. A first time also represented an experiment, with room for error.

By comparison, Liu Tinghan's army on the Shanyang line deserved greater attention. First, it fielded more troops—over thirty thousand, all elite cavalry of the Great Han. Second, since the Liao army had withdrawn north and the Han army had pushed forward, Liu Tinghan's force was closest to Liao's capital, Shangjing. If any army could threaten Liao's Shangjing, it was only Liu Tinghan's army coming out of Shanyang.

In the Great Han's military dispositions for this northern expedition, Liaodong was the head, Hexi and Yulin the tail, and Shanyang the waist. With the head already heavy and the feet light, the waist needed to be all the more sturdy.

However, while Guo Jin's army advanced triumphantly and Yang Ye's and Wang Yansheng's armies drove straight in, the Han cavalry under Liu Tinghan remained lukewarm, without much accomplishment.

After receiving further loosening of the reins and delegation of authority from the court, Liu Tinghan led his army out beyond the frontier a second time and penetrated deep into Liao territory, but the results were still unsatisfactory.

The Khitan tribes of Monan had withdrawn too cleanly—within a depth of three hundred li, the Han army could not even catch a trace of them. The only one who gave them an opportunity was Han Kuangmei, the Liao Southwest Recruitment Commissioner, who led troops to resist.

The two armies clashed once at Yuanyang Lake, about two hundred li northeast of the White Water Marsh. In the end, because the Han army was overwhelmingly powerful, the Liao army voluntarily withdrew and, with the support of Liao reserve forces, calmly shook off the Han army's entanglement.

In the Battle of Yuanyang Lake, neither side had committed small numbers of troops, but the result was somewhat anticlimactic. The Han army's kills numbered fewer than two thousand, and while their own casualties were not great, Liu Tinghan was clearly dissatisfied with such an outcome.

One had to know that what Han Kuangmei led was not Liao elite troops—no heavy armor, no imperial guards or Pishi troops. What was Liu Tinghan's purpose in going beyond the frontier? To pin down Liao forces and inflict effective casualties on their armies and tribes. Yet with Liao's strategy of contraction, this intention had not been realized.

And after suffering a loss, Han Kuangmei had learned his lesson. He no longer rashly engaged the Han army, becoming timid and conservative once more, avoiding battle entirely and waging guerrilla warfare against the Han army in the northern part of the Monan grasslands.

After all, this was Liao territory. The Han army struck out with a heavy fist but hit nothing but air—extremely uncomfortable. The two sides did have contact, but it was only skirmishes between small scouting and reconnaissance units; however fierce, they could hardly affect the overall situation.

By the fifth month, Liu Tinghan again advanced another hundred li to the northwest, but apart from discovering Liao scouts observing and testing his army, he gained nothing more.

At this time, starting from Yunzhou, the Han army had already advanced more than five hundred li. Naturally, it could not match the wild rush of the Hexi and Yulin routes, but in this eastern grassland, Liao's strength was clearly greater, and its tribal forces were more concentrated.

Under such circumstances, Liu Tinghan's army had few options left. To break the deadlock, one choice was to be bold like Yang Ye and Wang Yansheng—completely abandon the rear, charge ahead without regard, push into Mobei, and carry the flames of war to Liao's deep rear. The tribes of Liao's Monan had mostly migrated north; they could flee five hundred li, but they could not flee a thousand.

However, this resolve was hard to make. Unlike the situation in the northwest of the great desert, rashly heading north would more likely not yield the miraculous effect of sweeping Mobei and opening up the situation, but rather getting bogged down and unable to extricate oneself. The risk involved was too great!

The other choice was clear in objective and struck directly at the vital point: march on Liao's Shangjing. At this time, Liu Tinghan's army was positioned in the central region of the great desert, only about six hundred li in a straight line from Liao's Shangjing. With the high mobility provided by the abundant mules and horses in his army, at fastest ten days, at slowest half a month, they could always reach Shangjing.

However, this was equally a dangerous choice—even riskier than striking into Mobei. Since the war began, through repeated probing, both the Han and Liao sides had gradually gained a clearer understanding of each other. The previously murky situation and circumstances, obscured by information blockades and poor communications, were also gradually becoming clear.

Moreover, through his engagements with Han Kuangmei in Monan and the central desert, Liu Tinghan harbored persistent doubts. In his view, the strength Liao possessed was absolutely not what it appeared to be on the surface.

Of course, some circumstances could be explained—for instance, the defensive pressure on Liaodong was too great, and Liao had poured heavy support there, resulting in insufficient strength in Mobei and Shangjing, which was why they adopted such a passive, contracting defensive approach.

But if one simply made such a conjecture and treated it as reality, that would be somewhat self-deceiving. Liu Tinghan had guarded the frontier for quite a few years; his understanding of Liao and the Liao army, while not amounting to knowing their secrets thoroughly, still included basic knowledge.

As a commander of talent valued by Emperor Liu, he possessed courage and decisiveness while also carrying a measure of prudence. Beneath the "understandable" appearances the Liao army displayed in responding to the Han cavalry, Liu Tinghan always felt uneasy at heart.

Therefore, after advancing into the central desert, every move he made became cautious. He dared not be greedy for merit and advance rashly; his vigilance was raised to the highest level, and the range of his scout deployments was extended to fifty li around.

The scouts of both sides also engaged in brutal slaughter within this ample space. Scouts were generally the most elite, sharpest, and most battle-experienced soldiers in an army, but in this grinding, tangled combat, the Han army lost fully seven hundred men, forcing Liu Tinghan to allocate replacements. After all, on the vast grasslands beyond the frontier, on someone else's turf, one had to keep eyes and ears sharp—no sacrifice was too great.

The central desert seemed to have become a forbidden pool. For more than a month, Liu Tinghan maintained a cautious posture, not daring to cross, as if one step forward would be an abyss of ten thousand zhang.

In the army, many officers found this dull and tedious hard to bear. They had ridden out beyond the frontier to fight the Khitan and build merit and careers—especially the imperial cavalry assigned to Liu Tinghan.

Moreover, the strategy of taking the initiative to strike out and penetrate deep into the grasslands had been proposed by Liu Tinghan himself. Yet now that the army had come north, the commander-in-chief was hesitating, fearing battle and dreading the enemy, delaying and not advancing, squandering the opportunity.

Externally the war situation was bleak; internally the officers pressed him. Liu Tinghan bore enormous pressure, but it was precisely this heavy pressure that made him even more afraid to be careless.

The officers under his command only needed to follow orders and fight; they did not need to consider too much. But as the commander-in-chief—especially one trained at Emperor Liu's side—Liu Tinghan could not think so simply.

He was a commander with a view of the overall situation. He had to be responsible for the thirty thousand soldiers on this campaign and responsible to the court. His thirty thousand cavalry, half of them imperial cavalry, plus frontier cavalry and conscripted tribal horsemen, constituted a powerful force. The Great Han had not raised so many cavalry easily.

Moreover, for this expedition beyond the frontier, too many border troops had been drawn from the Shanyang and Yulin lines. If this strategic force of theirs ran into trouble and Liao sent troops south to attack the passes, that would be new pressure on the Great Han.

Even if such a situation could be withstood by relying on the comprehensive defense system, what impact it would have on the entire war situation was impossible to predict.

After all, Shanyang was not like the west, where the vast desert and Gobi served as the Great Han's natural barrier. This was the true source of Liu Tinghan's concern.

And so, after hesitating for a long time, Liu Tinghan finally made up his mind: not to advance another step. Instead, citing severe consumption of military supplies as his reason, he withdrew south two hundred li to receive rear-area grain and provisions.

What it meant to submit to the overall situation and disregard personal interest and merit—this was it!

In fact, Liu Tinghan's prudent approach was correct. His neither-advancing-nor-retreating, cautious and meticulous performance also made things difficult for the Liao side.

Under Han Derang's scheming, Liao had long since set a trap for Liu Tinghan's army. No more was needed—just for him to advance another hundred li. Because of Liu Tinghan's hesitation, the Liao army had even planned to release another piece of bait. In the end, Liu Tinghan withdrew.

To scheme against this army of Liu Tinghan's, Liao had deployed all its elites—Yelu Xian had even sent out his imperial guard troops. Yet the final outcome was: visible, but untouchable—the duck that was almost cooked had flown away...