Chapter 1284: Hard to Be Optimistic

At the current stage of the northern expedition, no matter how the war situation changed, no matter what achievements were made on each front, the Great Han court remained true to its original intention, advancing toward the initial strategic objective according to the established plan.

Therefore, regardless of how the other Han army fronts progressed, it was not what the Great Han central government focused on—success was cause for joy, but failure was also of no great consequence. During wartime, the Great Han court's administrative focus was largely placed on the war, with most government departments and offices revolving around the northern expedition.

Among all of this, the most worthy of attention was naturally the war in Liaodong. There was no choice in the matter—in order to realize the preliminary plan to conquer Liaodong, the court had invested too much in the Liaodong battlefield. The massive Eastern Route Army, along with its supporting personnel, matériel, and finances, was voraciously consuming the Great Han's national strength.

Due to the relatively shorter distance and more convenient transportation conditions, the Great Han court received more reports from the Liaodong battlefield, and they arrived more promptly.

However, after the East Sea Navy landed on the peninsula to achieve success, annihilating nearly twenty thousand Liao troops on land and sea, and successively recovering Suzhou, Fuzhou, and Ningzhou, the entire Liaodong war situation gradually fell into a stalemate.

On the western front at Jinzhou, due to Yelu Xiuge's tenacious defense and the continuous support from Liaoyang in the rear, Zhao Kuangyin's main army remained thwarted beneath the strong city walls, unable to make progress.

This point stirred some discussion at court—after all, possessing the main forces both inside and outside, with ample supplies of personnel and matériel, and priority transfer of weapons and equipment, yet being unable to do anything about a small city like Jinzhou.

Previously, from the field headquarters to Youzhou, Zhao Kuangyin had rested for more than half a month, using training and preparation as an excuse to delay the advance. Now, with the army at the city gates, he had fought for a month without gaining an inch.

How could the Great Han bureaucrats in the central rear not have their own opinions? The Great Han's past victories had not only boosted the confidence of the soldiers but had also made the civil officials proud.

In their view, with the Great Han's such formidable strength and its ability to take fortified positions, how could it be blocked by mere Jinzhou? If a single Jinzhou city was this hard to take, then how much greater an effort would be needed to capture Liaoyang, recover all of Liaodong, and even the Haidong region?

Thus, the memorials received by the Hall of State Affairs concerning the Liaodong war increased, many even being presented directly to the imperial desk at Chuigong Hall. Among these were not only civil officials but also some generals.

Criticism of Zhao Kuangyin thus began to multiply—though of course, it was only directed at Zhao Kuangyin; no one dared to point their finger at His Highness the Crown Prince, who served as commander-in-chief.

No one dared to suggest replacing the commander in the midst of battle, but memorials urging Emperor Liu to issue edicts to hasten and spur Zhao Kuangyin on, to put pressure on the field headquarters—those were quite numerous.

As for the discussions at court, Emperor Liu saw them with his eyes and heard them with his ears, but naturally paid them little heed. To disrupt the army's operations—with Emperor Liu's vision and magnanimity, he would naturally not do such a thing.

Emperor Liu himself also had some understanding—many people only saw the situation of the Great Han, but overlooked Liao, overlooked the actual conditions in Liaodong. Liao had developed for so many years, and its exchanges with the Great Han had never been few; they too were making progress.

Therefore, a few setbacks were not worth mentioning. Emperor Liu still had this much patience—in past campaigns, half a year was the starting point, and fighting from autumn through spring was not unheard of.

And according to the simulations at the Bureau of Military Affairs, as long as one side achieved a breakthrough on either the eastern or western front, then the Eastern Route Army's advance on Liaoyang would basically encounter no major obstacles. And without the geographical advantage of being easy to defend and hard to attack, Liaoyang—though it was Liao's Eastern Capital—was not necessarily harder to take than Jinzhou.

However, although Emperor Liu could relax his mind and maintain his composure, the real problem of being blocked before the walls of Jinzhou existed in reality and needed to be resolved.

It was only midsummer now, and there was still enough time—but what if it dragged on longer? If it were delayed until autumn, plus the consumption of the advance, how much time would remain to attack Liaoyang and recover Liaodong? If it were delayed until winter, then they could directly cease hostilities and declare the northern expedition a failure...

Therefore, no matter how calm Emperor Liu appeared on the surface, how could he not have some thoughts in his heart? It was just that he was unwilling to place excessive pressure on the frontline commanders, to interfere with the field headquarters' operational decisions from two thousand li away.

As for the matter of commanders—Emperor Liu did not doubt Zhao Kuangyin's ability, and concerns about loyalty did not yet affect his employment. However, a vague memory seemed to surface from the depths of Emperor Liu's mind: Zhao Kuangyin had a tradition of being thwarted before strong city walls...

The sea route, also under the Eastern Route Army and under the command of the northern expedition field headquarters, gave the court a pleasant surprise—especially sweeping across the peninsula like autumn wind blowing fallen leaves, advancing into the Liaodong Bay, and sealing off the mouth of the Liao River.

The arrival of this report of victory was enough to excite the court, and it was precisely the smooth progress on the eastern front that provoked such a great reaction at court. Although the sea route was a strategic decision to strike out, it was after all only a secondary force, under the field headquarters' command. When the two were compared, the western front's "incompetence" naturally stood out.

After the eastern front's initial victory, the field headquarters advanced its troop dispositions according to the previous plan—from Wuqing Harbor on the Yan Mountains route and Laizhou Harbor on the Henan route, reserve forces were calmly transported by sea to Liaodong. The court also continued to raise and allocate military supplies, increasing provisions.

By the end of the fourth month, the Great Han had assembled over ninety thousand troops on the Liaodong Peninsula, both naval and land forces. Although there was a gap in refinement compared to the main forces on the western front, this strength was already considerable.

The army marched north, attacking Chen and Yao, and within five days breached Chenzhou, pressing directly toward Yanyuan City in Yaozhou—only one final pass away from fighting their way into Liaoyang.

The breakthrough on the eastern front made even Emperor Liu unable to help feeling optimistic, muttering to himself—could it be that the one to break the stalemate and be the first to enter Liaodong would be the Eastern Route Army? If so, it would not disappoint the high hopes he had placed in them.

However, this wave of optimism did not last long. At Yaozhou, the Han army once again encountered stubborn resistance from the Liao army. After more than half a month of bloody fighting, Yanyuan remained as firm as a rock.

In terms of the Eastern Route Army's composition, it was ultimately inferior to the main forces on the western front. Although it had some elite troops, overall, the soldiers' will to fight and siege capabilities were not on the same level.

Moreover, the East Sea Navy was after all a navy—it needed to be used for naval combat and for controlling maritime supremacy over the Liao Sea. As at Suzhou, transferring naval troops to land combat, and siege warfare at that, could be done once but not twice—it was inappropriate and too extravagant.

Therefore, of the ninety thousand troops on the eastern front, excluding the naval forces and deducting a portion tasked with garrisoning and suppressing the southern prefectures and counties, the forces that could truly be committed to the attack on Yanyuan numbered only a little over fifty thousand.

And Yanyuan City, though not as formidable as Jinzhou, was after all the gateway to the Liao River plain—the geographical advantage was right there, favoring defense over attack. More importantly, the Liao general responsible for defending the city, Yelu Hai, seeking to avenge past humiliation, harbored a determination to die, which inspired the Liao defenders to resist desperately, causing great trouble for the attacking Han army. In half a month of assault and defense, Han army casualties approached six thousand.

And this was even with an estimate of Liao's forces in Liaodong, having concluded that their strength was insufficient. At Jinzhou, although the Han army found it hard to take, the heavy pressure they brought upon the Liao army was almost tangible—the Liao continuously sent more troops, more men, more grain and equipment, while also having to ensure the garrisoning of Liaoyang and other Liaodong prefectures and counties, and simultaneously suppress the restless tribes in Liaodong. Thus, the defensive forces committed to Yanyuan were also limited.

Under this premise, the eastern front dared to attack with full abandon—after all, they did not have the confidence of the western front.

Thus, with both the eastern and western fronts blocked, the mood at the Western Capital court became as restless and uneasy as the increasingly hot weather, and this atmosphere had already begun to affect Emperor Liu.