Chapter 1478: The Khitan's Distant Flight

Emperor Liu and Liu Fang were engaged in a relaxed and pleasant conversation when Liu Min came galloping over after circling a few times on horseback. He dismounted at speed, landed steadily, and ran toward the two, his feet rustling through the grass with each step.

"Father, Fourth Brother!" He came to a halt before them, clasped his hands in salute, a hint of excitement showing between his brows.

"Catch!" Emperor Liu raised his hand and, seeing Liu Min drenched in sweat, tossed him a pouch of fruit wine, saying with a smile: "Did you enjoy the ride?"

Liu Min caught it, opened the pouch, tilted his head back for a hearty drink, then wiped his mouth and said with barely concealed excitement: "Thoroughly! It's been a long time since I've ridden like that, and with so many fine horses to choose from!"

"So, what do you think of this batch of horses?" Emperor Liu gestured for Liu Min to sit down and asked.

At the question, Liu Min spoke with confidence: "Border horses presented as tribute are naturally fine steeds, top-quality warhorses. Though they haven't been fattened up yet, their constitution is strong. However, even among fine horses, there are grades of quality. In my view, the Hexi horses are the best, the Liaodong horses slightly inferior, and the Shanyang horses the worst. As for the Ferghana blood-sweating horses from the Western Regions, they are true thousand-li steeds, but far too few!"

"In another two years, you'll become a master horse appraiser!" Emperor Liu said.

Liu Min shook his head in modesty: "I only distinguish by feel; I'm not truly skilled in the art of horse appraisal!"

"Distribute these tribute horses and grant them to the officers of the imperial army! Next month, at the Western Park military review and written examination, these horses will serve as prizes for the victors!" Emperor Liu instructed, then looked at Liu Fang and Liu Min: "You two brothers, each pick one for yourselves!"

"Thank you, Father!" Liu Min was instantly overjoyed, his gaze settling on one of the blood-sweating horses like he was admiring a peerless beauty.

"Father, these are imperial horses presented by the various frontiers. Are you really going to give them all away like this?" Liu Fang asked curiously.

"What! Afraid I'd be reluctant to part with them?" Emperor Liu said with a light laugh.

Liu Fang immediately shook his head: "Father possesses all within the four seas; though these tribute horses are precious, you would not begrudge granting them!"

Emperor Liu said with an easy expression: "If these tribute horses were left to sit in the palace for long, they'd inevitably become mere playthings—what a pity that would be! A thousand-li horse should go where it belongs and fulfill its purpose!"

"Father speaks truly!"

"It's just a pity there are no tribute horses from Mobei!" Emperor Liu's gaze turned deep as he looked toward the north and said slowly.

Catching the implication beneath the words, Liu Fang perked up and asked: "Father still harbors concerns about the Khitan in Mobei?"

"Concern isn't quite the word, but the Khitan have fled far away, their court tents moved north. The Great Han can see them but cannot touch them—like a stone lodged in the chest, lingering in the heart, never to be released. That feeling is somewhat unpleasant!" Emperor Liu said calmly.

"In my view, the Khitan's national strength has greatly diminished, their manpower sharply reduced. Nearly a century of Khitan accumulation has been basically squandered. They are no longer capable of being a threat to the Great Han—otherwise, the Khitan sovereign would not have abandoned the Supreme Capital of decades and lowered his nation's standing!

The distant migration to Mobei was itself to avoid the Great Han's edge. Moreover, with Mobei in constant turmoil, it can be said that within the next twenty years, the Khitan cannot bring harm to the Great Han. The court only needs to maintain attention on Mobei, support the tribes, and stir internal strife—that will suffice to secure the northern border!" Liu Fang thought for a moment, then analyzed.

"One who does not plan for the distant future will surely have worries in the near—and vice versa. In the current situation, the Khitan may not easily become a great threat to us, but as you said, what about twenty years from now?" Emperor Liu said: "What you've said and judged is all correct. The court's established military and political policy toward Mobei is being carried out, but judging from the current situation, the results are not as perfect as we imagined!"

"Those tribes of Mobei, whether due to historical ties or ethnic interests, can turn against the Khitan, yet they can never truly be used by the Great Han with sincerity. It is merely a matter of interest, and they cannot be commanded like one's own arms!

Since the Kaibao northern expedition, the various tribes have rebelled repeatedly. Though this has greatly weakened and restrained the Khitan's strength, their own power has also declined rapidly under the Khitan's strikes.

And these grassland tribes follow different moral codes than ours—no amount of bloody slaughter or deep-seated hatred can compare to survival.

Tian Renlang has already reported that since the Khitan royal court moved north to the Han'nan River, they have conquered and destroyed quite a few tribes. In this half year and more, nearly a hundred thousand people have once again submitted to the Khitan, returned to their rule, and await the Khitan sovereign's orders!

And what has the Great Han gained? Besides occupying a ruined Supreme Capital, we have not further weakened the Khitan's core tribal strength! Relying solely on stirring up those Mobei tribes to weaken the Khitan will ultimately fail—worse, it may even give them the chance to re-subjugate the tribes and reunify Mobei.

Though Mobei is now divided with tribes standing everywhere, the Khitan has the deepest foundations and the strongest power. If the Khitan is allowed to rely on Mobei to accumulate strength, given time, they may yet become a scourge again!

The lessons of history cannot be taken lightly. Since ancient times, the grasslands and the Central Plains have cycled thus: when the Central Plains is strong, the grasslands submit. Now the Great Han holds the advantage and the Hu barbarians have fled far away, but this can never be fully eradicated.

I had originally wanted to break this cycle of repetition, but looking at it now, I was being too presumptuous..."

Starting from the autumn of the ninth year of Kaibao, the situation in Liao underwent tremendous change, marked by the Liao sovereign Yelu Xian abandoning the Supreme Capital and migrating north with his people—which also represented a fundamental shift in the situation of the Mobei grasslands.

For the Khitan, it was walking an old path again, but it was a strategic transformation—biding their time to seek development. Moreover, they withdrew very deep, all the way to the banks of the Han'nan River, where they rebuilt their royal court. Though remote and bitterly cold, it basically completely escaped the threat of the Han army's border forces and the shackles the Great Han had constructed for them, while also contracting and consolidating their strength.

In the span of over half a year, after enduring the pains of the northern migration, under Yelu Xian's leadership, the Khitan had already firmly re-established themselves in Mobei and basically completed the pacification and conquest of the eastern Mobei region.

Regarding this, neither the Great Han court nor the Han armies at Shanyang and the Yan Mountains were without response, but facts proved that under the Great Han's grand environment of strategic contraction and halting warfare, truly influencing the Mobei situation was still somewhat difficult—in a word, the whip cannot reach.

And relying on those tribes of western Mobei with their own hidden agendas was ultimately just a petty scheme, difficult to produce substantive results and unreliable to boot. This also allowed the Khitan to truly and successfully step onto the track of recovery and development.

Of course, in terms of recuperation and recovery, compared to the Great Han, the Khitan's capacity was far weaker, requiring more time and greater cost—but at least they were moving in the right direction.

In light of this, whenever he thought of it, Emperor Liu's heart was never at ease, wishing he could utterly destroy the Khitan and completely eliminate this scourge that bore a mortal enmity with the Great Han.

Yet, despite the Great Han's prosperity, there was a feeling of strength falling short of desire.

"Father is indeed far-sighted. I was thinking too simply, too optimistically!" Liu Fang's brow also furrowed: "It seems we still cannot relax our vigilance against the Khitan!"

Seeing this mood in his father and elder brother, Liu Min, who had been listening silently all along, could not help but say: "Father, since you worry about the Khitan threat, why not dispatch troops to punish them, completely wipe out their tribe and nation, and eradicate this harm at its root?"

Liu Fang said with a wry smile: "A distant expedition to Mobei carries too much difficulty and too high a cost, and it runs contrary to national policy. Sending troops is simple enough, but successfully striking and destroying them is no easy matter!"

"Your Fourth Brother's grasp of the bigger picture has indeed improved!" Hearing this, Emperor Liu said to Liu Min.

Liu Min, however, wore a look of bold heroism and said: "I don't understand grand strategy. Now everything south of the Yin Mountains is Han territory, and even the Khitan's old capital has been trampled by the Great Han. With such backing, with the Great Han's mighty military and national strength, would launching another expedition really be more difficult than when we first rode into Mobei?

The ancients could seal the Wolf's Den and inscribe stones at Mount Yanran; the Tang dynasty could march beyond the frontier and crush the Turks. Why can't the Great Han do the same? Moreover, though Mobei is distant, it is not beyond the reach of the Great Han's military might. As long as plans are properly laid, there is a chance of success. In military operations, without fighting, how can one know victory or defeat, success or failure?

If Father believes the Khitan remains a great threat to the Great Han, then what price is too high to pay?"

Hearing Liu Min's words, Emperor Liu couldn't help but be amused. He laughed heartily and pointed at him: "You little rascal, now you're questioning me! Still, a newborn calf fears no tiger—full of youthful vigor, there's a certain sharpness to you!"

Liu Min immediately clasped his hands and said: "If Father intends to send troops to Mobei, I volunteer to join the expedition!"

"If that day truly comes, I'll give you that chance!" Emperor Liu said with a light smile.

Liu Min smiled. Though such a promise was still not quite substantial, it was enough to please him. Emperor Liu thought for a moment, looked at Liu Fang, and instructed: "Liu Min's words are not without reason. When matters develop to their final stage, perhaps we will still have to rely on the Great Han's sword to resolve this.

Once you're at the Bureau of Military Affairs, I'll assign you a task: keep watch on Mobei, keep watch on the Khitan, and formulate a viable expedition plan for Mobei! It may not be needed now, but in the future, it might!"

"Yes!" Liu Fang accepted the order with solemn resolve.