Chapter 1319: Stance

A military meeting lasted a full hour and a half, consisting mainly of questions and answers between Liu Yang and Zhao Kuangyin. The other generals, except when matters concerning their respective military duties came up, were basically just listening in.

As Liu Yang rose and smilingly announced the adjournment, the originally solemn atmosphere in the hall immediately relaxed. Especially when the prepared banquet was mentioned, it drew cheers of delight from the assembled generals. After all, they had drunk plenty of tea, tasteless as it was—nothing wins hearts like meat and wine.

The senior commanders attending were all from the nobility of the Great Han. Over the years they had begun to evolve and transform into high society, but at the end of the day they were still military men—quite a few had risen from humble origins, carrying the rough-and-ready boldness of warriors in their bones.

Liu Yang, however, did not go straight to the banquet. Instead, he ordered Murong Defeng to lead Zhao Kuangyin, Gao Huaide, Cao Bin, and Guo Tingwei to the study—clearly there was other important business to discuss.

The room was very quiet. The several men took their seats, seemingly all aware of what the Crown Prince wanted to discuss. Without wasting words, Liu Yang looked directly at them and said in a deep voice: "The imperial edict from the temporary headquarters ordering preparations for war against Goryeo—you gentlemen must already know of it. It was not mentioned at the meeting just now. I want to hear your views."

Judging from Liu Yang's somewhat grave expression, he held a conservative attitude toward the matter. Hearing this, the four senior generals and ministers all wore similar expressions, hesitating somewhat—though it was unclear whether their hesitation was directed at Goryeo's revealed ambition or at the Emperor's uncompromising stance.

Facing the Crown Prince's heavy gaze, they did not remain silent for long. Guo Tingwei spoke first: "That little Goryeo, with its wolf's ambition, dares to covet our Celestial Dynasty's territory, seeking to profit from our troubles! They must be taught a lesson! Your servant suggests we strike first to gain the upper hand—while they vacillate and hesitate, send troops south, break their army, seize their lands, and crush their delusions!"

Guo Tingwei's stance was clear indeed. That he held such views was hardly surprising—after all, since the naval battle at Suzhou Harbor, the role of the Eastern Sea Navy under his command had plummeted. Over the past few months, it had been reduced almost entirely to escorting logistics supplies for the great army in Liaodong.

So many naval warships, either sitting idle in port or serving only as escorts—and worse, previously Han Hui had come to negotiate, hoping to have some warships allocated as transport vessels. How could that be tolerated?

From now on, no matter which direction the Liaodong war situation developed, the Eastern Sea Navy's role would be negligible. Warships cannot be sailed onto land to fight.

But if war could be opened against Goryeo, the navy's status would suddenly be thrust into prominence. After all, to fight Goryeo, an overland advance would face obvious obstacles, while by sea one could strike directly at Goryeo's western coastal regions—their most vital areas.

Therefore, in Guo Tingwei's mind, he had already skipped past defensive preparations and gone straight to considering an active offensive. One could say he was aggressive.

Of course, a matter of such magnitude was not decided by Guo Tingwei alone. First there was the Emperor to consider, second the Crown Prince, and third these assembled generals and ministers.

"General Guo, do not be hasty!" Sure enough, it was Zhao Kuangyin who first spoke to soothe his aggressive proposal: "The matter has not yet reached that point. His Majesty has not issued a clear order to attack, only instructed us to prepare. We bear the weight of the Liaodong war situation and the crucial matter of victory or defeat in the northern campaign—we must not act rashly. Goryeo, after all, has yet to make a move, and they have taken the initiative to send envoys to seek an audience. It would not be proper for us to recklessly provoke a conflict!"

"That may be so, but since the Goryeo people have already revealed their ambition, will they be willing to stop without achieving their goal?" Guo Tingwei said. "Word has already come from the south—Goryeo's navy has assembled and stands ready. On the southern bank of the Yalu River, over seventy thousand Goryeo troops are stirring restlessly, ready at any moment to cross the river northward and attack southern Liaodong! The Goryeo people are eyeing us like tigers. Must the Great Han's royal army still act according to their whims?

Since His Majesty has ordered preparations in Liaodong, that proves he is willing to fight if necessary, to strike back at Goryeo. Your servant believes that rather than sitting and waiting for Goryeo to act, we should take the initiative. Otherwise, if we hold back for fear of damaging the vase, even with contingency plans in place, we will inevitably fall into a difficult position having lost the first move!"

"General Guo overstates the matter!" Cao Bin pointed out calmly: "Judging from Goryeo's previous behavior of sitting on the sidelines, they may not truly dare to make an enemy of the Great Han. At present, the situation along the southeastern front grows increasingly delicate day by day. Goryeo has held back for so long and still cannot make up its mind—this shows they still harbor fear of the Great Han and dare not lightly intervene in the Han-Liao war.

Under such circumstances, if we overreact and provoke the Goryeo people, and Goryeo truly does send troops north, triggering a Han-Goryeo war, then the ultimate beneficiary would be the Khitan.

Goryeo may be small, but it is after all a nation capable of raising two hundred thousand troops. Recklessly provoking a hostile war would inevitably alter the Liaodong war situation. If there were reversals, it could even affect the entire northeastern situation and the whole northern campaign—this must not be taken lightly!"

Saying this, he glanced at the Crown Prince, whose brows had knitted even tighter, and continued in his usual even tone: "The current situation in Liaodong was hard-won. If we can avoid any missteps, we should try our best to do so."

"If we follow Vice Commissioner Cao's words, then we might as well abandon southern Liaodong, retreat on our own initiative, and satisfy Goryeo's gluttonous ambition!" Seeing Cao Bin's conservative attitude, Guo Tingwei immediately sneered twice and retorted: "If we did that, would Goryeo be satisfied? Let Goryeo smoothly take Kaiyuan, Laiyuan, and the other cities, handing over the strategic mountain passes and strongholds of Liaodong? And then let the Goryeo army, unopposed, directly threaten the Liao River plain?"

Although Cao Bin had already risen to the position of Deputy Commissioner of Military Affairs and had deep backing, Guo Tingwei was not shy about slapping his face when needed. Of course, he also knew that Cao Bin had a mild temperament and lacked sharp edges.

Even so, hearing Guo Tingwei speak thus, Cao Bin's expression could not help but show some anger. His face flushed as he looked at Guo Tingwei: "Marquis of Haian, you know that is not what I meant. Why do you press me so?"

"General Guo, you go too far!" Seeing that even the "good old man" Cao Bin was nearly provoked to anger, Liu Yang hurriedly spoke to soothe things over, pulling a stern face at Guo Tingwei.

Seeing this, Guo Tingwei immediately dropped his aggressive posture and clasped his hands: "Your Highness, your servant's emotions got the better of me, and I spoke out of turn. However, this old servant still believes that in the face of Goryeo's provocation, our army should take active measures, seize the initiative, and strike first! I have also carefully studied His Majesty's edict—there is absolutely no room for compromise or retreat regarding Goryeo!

Previously, Goryeo remained hidden and unmoving, and that was tolerable. But now they have seized the opportunity to act, coveting the cities and lands of Liaodong—they have become a scourge. We must not allow this scourge to grow!"

"I understand the old general's meaning!" Liu Yang sighed upon hearing this: "His Majesty is strong-willed and not to be deceived. I know that Goryeo's actions have already angered the imperial person, or this edict would not have been issued. But at present, Liaodong is not yet stabilized, remnants of the Liao army still remain, and conflicts in the northeast continue unabated. To open a war with Goryeo at this time—I fear that pulling one hair may move the whole body!"

"Your Highness, your servant believes that if the Goryeo army had marched north while our forces were locked in fierce battle with the Liao army, deadlocked and evenly matched—even without their sending envoys to request anything, if they took Goryeo's lands and cities, well, taken is taken. Even if we were dissatisfied, we could do nothing about it. But choosing this particular moment is truly not very clever of them!" Gao Huaide, who had remained silent until now, spoke up:

"At present, the overall situation in Liaodong and even the entire northeast is firmly in our army's grasp. The threat that Goryeo's hundred thousand troops could pose, and the role they could play under the current circumstances, has been greatly reduced.

Since His Majesty's edict has already arrived, we might as well make thorough preparations, operating on the assumption that war between the two nations will break out. As long as our preparations are sufficient and our responses timely, the Great Han will still stand in an undefeated position."

"The war between the Great Han and Liao is not something that mere Goryeo can meddle in or influence!" Gao Huaide said, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Zhao Kuangyin glanced at Gao Huaide with slight surprise. After all, he himself was not very much in favor of directly breaking with Goryeo, considering the matter from a different angle. As the de facto commander of the eastern route army, Zhao Kuangyin naturally hoped to smoothly assist Liu Yang in taking Liaodong, pacifying the northeastern region, and smoothly reaping the merits and achievements.

What he least wanted to see was, naturally, the unexpected. And although Goryeo was not taken seriously, it was after all something of a "tough little opponent"—able to field a hundred thousand troops. That kind of variable was not small. Moreover, in the past, the two nations had mostly been friendly neighbors. To suddenly change all that, and directly become warring enemies—if the Great Han took the initiative to break relations and launch an attack, it would also seem rash.

Gao Huaide, for his part, did not have as many schemes and calculations as Zhao Kuangyin. Compared to Zhao Kuangyin, he also understood the Emperor, his brother-in-law, better. With the Emperor's stance laid out plainly, combined with his analysis of the situation, even if relations with Goryeo soured or even led to war, the problem would not be great—the Liaodong situation could not be overturned. So he decisively agreed.

Moreover, as an imperial relative and the right commander of the eastern route army, he had been firmly suppressed by Zhao Kuangyin ever since the northern campaign began. How could there not be some thoughts in his heart about that?