Chapter 1427: The Recent Situation in Liao

"With all this wine and meat, won't it defile the purity of this Buddhist sanctuary?" In the evening, Emperor Liu stood in the meditation courtyard, looking at a table of mixed meat and vegetable dishes, and joked.

Yan Tuo attended at his side, bowing as he replied: "For His Majesty to dine here is itself a blessing—why worry about the trivial precepts of a mere temple?"

"Such words from you are rather overbearing!" Emperor Liu smiled like a spring breeze, teasing: "Have you not heard of doing as the locals do? That vegetarian meal at noon was quite palatable!"

Yan Tuo could readily discern whether the emperor's words carried pleasure or displeasure; seeing the emperor in a talkative mood, he echoed: "If His Majesty condescends to follow local custom, that is granting them an immense honor! However, I have also heard that even within Buddhist temples, there are those who eat meat!"

"Oh?" Emperor Liu smiled slightly and said: "True enough! They have warrior monks—to strengthen their bodies and train their physiques, a diet of plain vegetarian fare simply won't do!"

Emperor Liu's movement with his chopsticks was quite natural as he picked up a piece of meat and tasted it, praising: "The venison is excellent—tender and refreshing, full of flavor!"

"This deer was hunted in the mountains by the guards and carefully prepared by the imperial chefs!" Yan Tuo replied.

"You see, this violates the precept against taking life! I come to this precious temple with weapons in tow, radiating killing intent—I wonder how much of it the Buddha's light and merit here can dissipate?" Emperor Liu teased, yet his chopsticks never stopped, picking up another piece of meat and taking a satisfied sip of wine.

The setting sun cast its slanting rays, the evening breeze blew gently, the courtyard's trees stood dense and verdant, and Emperor Liu leisurely savored the fine food and wine, feeling quite content.

"Your Majesty!" Zhang Yong came to present himself, holding a memorial in his hand.

"Ziyong, come, sit!" Emperor Liu pointed to the seat across from him: "I was drinking alone facing the wind, feeling rather lonely—you've arrived just in time. Join me for a few cups of wine!"

Seeing Emperor Liu in good spirits, Zhang Yong did not stand on ceremony or refuse, respectfully giving thanks and taking his seat, placing the memorial on the stone table. Yan Tuo then had someone add a set of cup and plate.

Though Emperor Liu was not fond of wine, over all these years he had inevitably developed a habit of drinking, but he usually only took a sip or two, purely for pleasure—after all, he still needed to take care of his health.

Zhang Yong, as a close minister attending at the emperor's side, had accompanied Emperor Liu in drinking more than once or twice and was quite accustomed to it. Of course, he always maintained his decorum to avoid any lapse of propriety before the sovereign, so both ruler and minister remained very restrained.

"What is it?" After a few cups of light wine, Emperor Liu's gaze fell upon the memorial Zhang Yong had brought, and he asked.

"A report from Luoyang states that Xiao Siwen, the Liao Commissioner of Military Affairs for the South, has come south and submitted a memorial to the capital. Chancellor Zhao requests instructions on how to receive him," Zhang Yong replied crisply.

Hearing this, Emperor Liu immediately grew interested. If there was any matter he cared about most at present, affairs concerning Liao absolutely ranked at the top—anything involving Liao received his attention. This was also why, even while Emperor Liu was touring Mount Song, Zhao Pu still sent someone to report this matter to him.

"After more than half a year, it's rare for the Khitan to take the initiative in sending an envoy. Have they finally buckled under and come to beg for peace?" Emperor Liu said with amusement.

In this greater part of the ninth year of Kaibao, no matter how peacefully the realm was governed at home, how border conflicts were quelled on all fronts, or how the court sought to nurture recovery, in matters concerning Liao, the offensive posture was maintained without respite.

Along the Shanyang front, under Tian Renlang's deployment, Han cavalry repeatedly rode north on raids and plunder. Though no great gains were achieved, the pressure on Liao was significant.

Liao was equally suffering the backlash of the northern expedition war, and far more severely than the Great Han. Tribal defections and rebellions were too numerous to count. Having endured the bitter winter, the situation in Mobei had not improved but instead showed a trend of continuous deterioration.

Toward those resistant Mobei tribes, the Liao sovereign Yelu Xian's attitude was also very hardline—suppressing them all. But given the vastness of Mobei and the multitude of tribes, the Khitan, badly battered in the Han-Liao war, could hardly pacify them as easily as before.

Thus, in these six months, on the great steppe, slaughter never ceased and chaos knew no end. Though compared to the disaffected tribes, the strength held by the Liao court still held the advantage, it had already lost its capacity for absolute suppression.

With the assistance of civil and military officials such as Yelu Xian, Liao achieved some results in quelling the unrest, but the overall situation remained worrying. Even worse, the Khitan army, constrained by supply issues of grain and weaponry, found it difficult to sustain continuous military operations.

And the many tribes under Liao's rule, including the various Khitan tribes themselves, were in equally dire straits, facing basic problems of survival and livelihood. Had there been a relatively stable environment for them to recuperate, perhaps recovery could have been achieved through time—but that was exceedingly difficult.

The Great Han would not give them that chance, nor would Liao's own tribes give them that chance. The Han army, without even needing to advance deep, could tie up considerable Khitan energy merely by maintaining a posture of deployed forces.

And those rebellious tribes in Mobei, even if they failed against the Khitan army's strikes, still had the option of migrating south with their entire clans to submit to the Great Han. With this escape route available, they rebelled all the more freely.

For Liao, the greatest danger was always the Great Han, not the rebellious tribes. To this day, the once-glorious Great Liao dynasty was already tottering, completely adrift in the wind and rain, seemingly not far from disintegration.

Even the Khitan's own people harbored considerable resentment. The Liao sovereign Yelu Xian sat as if on a furnace, baked by raging flames every day, bearing immense pressure.

The Han army was like a spectator watching the show from the sidelines, adding firewood and oil whenever the flames weren't hot enough. At Dading Prefecture, Dong Zunhui oversaw military affairs, leading the combined Han-Xi forces north several times, advancing to the banks of the Huang River.

Even without achieving any decisive victories, they still managed to startle the Khitan, keeping the Liao capital Linhuang Prefecture perpetually under threat from the Han army. When even the capital was unsafe, national instability and popular unrest were only to be expected. In fact, among the tribes that had come south to submit to the Great Han, there was no shortage of Khitan.

In comparison, the Xi tribesmen, who had submitted to the Great Han early on under the leadership of Xi King Chouning, were far more fortunate. The past winter had been equally hard, but backed by the Great Han's support, they had weathered the white disaster smoothly without suffering major losses.

Even though they still had to levy tribesmen to coordinate with Han army operations, amid the chaotic turmoil of Liao, they managed to maintain a position of keeping themselves out of harm's way.

Speaking of the Xi people, one must mention that Xi King Chouning, ever since accompanying the imperial entourage south, had remained in Luoyang. Emperor Liu never brought it up, and he never proactively requested to return—the old Xi king knew his place after all. As for the other Xi nobles, most lingered in the Western Capital, where the court treated them quite well.

At the same time, the court's absorption and annexation of Xi territory, along with institutional reforms, were underway, and the establishment of the Yan Mountains North Circuit had been placed on the agenda. Under Liao's governance, the Xi lands already had some foundation, and with the Great Han taking over and deepening the reforms, within a few years that vast region north of the Yan Mountains would formally become prefectures and counties of the Great Han Empire.

Compared to the Han army's posture of restraint and pressure along the Shanyang and Yan Mountains fronts, Liaodong was the one place where actual combat operations were undertaken.

After the beginning of summer, Ma Renyu led his troops north to attack Huanglong Prefecture. After nearly a year of turmoil, the situation in the entire northeastern region had long since become clear—within Liaodong, peace was gradually restored; beyond Liaodong, chaos persisted.

The vast northeastern territories formerly under Liao's rule had essentially been lost, leaving only Huanglong Prefecture, held by Yelu Xiezhen's stubborn defense—but it was merely a desperate struggle.

After the spring thaw, Ma Renyu had held back for several months, waiting until Liaodong's administration had somewhat recovered its strength and the Liao army's position had grown increasingly isolated and precarious before requesting permission to dispatch troops.

In response to Ma Renyu's request, the court decisively issued an edict granting it. As for this last remaining Liao force at Huanglong Prefecture, even if it wasn't a fishbone stuck in the throat, it was an eyesore that had to be removed.

Facing the Han army's powerful advance north, the Liao forces at Huanglong Prefecture had few options—they had long since become an isolated force, and the Liao court, unable to even look after itself, could send no reinforcements. No matter how skilled Yelu Xiezhen was at commanding troops, under these circumstances he was powerless to turn the tide, quickly falling into a tight encirclement. Ma Renyu, advancing steadily and unhurriedly, had besieged the city for nearly two months without impatience—the fall of Huanglong Prefecture was merely a matter of time.