Chapter 1746: This Road Is Blocked

In the summer night, the Guesthouse was extremely tranquil. A gentle breeze brushed through the treetops, insects chirped from hidden corners, and the music that occasionally drifted from the guest lodgings all sounded especially clear.

Having stayed at the Guesthouse for some time now, Han Derang had grown fairly familiar with the surrounding environment. Without needing a guide, he quietly made his way toward the Khitan temporary embassy.

Along the way, seeing the exquisite pavilion decorations that could not be concealed even under the shroud of night, his feelings of admiration involuntarily rose even higher. Even the former imperial city of Shangjing was not as grand and imposing as this small Guesthouse of the Great Han. A China that had settled into peace was truly incomparable in construction and creation.

In the corridor, as he turned a corner, two short figures came into view. Upon seeing Han Derang, they immediately bowed at the waist, offering greetings with a strange accent. Their attitude was amiable and very polite.

One does not strike a smiling face. Although Han Derang maintained a bit of reserve, he still returned a smile and nodded. The two bowed once more before slowly walking away. Watching their retreating figures tiptoe off, as if they did not even dare take large steps, Han Derang could not help but feel a flicker of interest.

Han Derang knew that these two must be Japanese envoys to Han who had come across the sea from the west. As China had recovered its unity and its national power grew daily stronger—especially after beginning to expand overseas, with Han merchants and commoners treading across all of Northeast Asia—Japan naturally could no longer sit still. Imitating their ancestors, they sent envoys to court, intending to bask in the imperial grace and continue drawing upon Central Plains culture as nourishment.

At present, Japan was in the Heian period. The manorial economy was expanding, while politically the powerful Fujiwara clan was embroiled in endless internal strife—not exactly peaceful. However, in the matter of dispatching envoys to Han, they were quite enthusiastic, sending many elite sons of the nobility to reside long-term in the Eastern Capital for study.

Of course, pressured by the Great Han's might and the Han army fleets that from time to time patrolled the seas of Northeast Asia, Japan had no choice but to open up to the Great Han. Besides political deference and obedience, economic exchanges between the two peoples were also growing increasingly frequent. At the very least, precious metals like Japanese gold, silver, and copper were very welcome.

Like a few other countries, Japan had also established an embassy in the Eastern Capital, used to coordinate Han–Japan relations, manage the students sent to Han, and stand ready at all times to receive the decrees of the Celestial Dynasty. Moreover, they had spent a considerable sum to reserve an entire building at the Guesthouse. The Japanese envoys to Han who could come and go at the Guesthouse at this time were clearly of no low status—at least not ordinary sons of the nobility.

Though he had little contact with them, Han Derang still felt considerable emotion at the humble deference of these short Japanese men—that psychology of admiring the strong that emanated from their very bones. At the very least, among all the foreign envoys in the capital, only Goryeo, which practically treated the Great Han as its own father, could perform that posture of complete submission most thoroughly.

Returning to his room, he sat down, drank tea, and had a few pieces of pastry. Han Derang then sat behind the writing desk. The smooth tabletop, the comfortable chair, the complete set of four treasures of the study—these were things hard to enjoy in Mobei.

Closing his eyes, he briefly recalled what he had seen and heard in the Eastern Capital today. After mulling for a moment, Han Derang picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and continued recording his impressions of this journey.

Just as he was writing swiftly, an attendant reported that Commander Xiao sought an audience. Upon hearing this, Han Derang immediately ordered him shown in and personally rose to prepare tea—clearly, he held Commander Xiao in high regard.

Soon, a burly man with thick whiskers and heavy brows, his face showing honesty, walked in. Seeing Han Derang, he cupped his hands in salute: "Chancellor Han!"

This man was named Xiao Talin, currently serving as Commander of the Pishi Army. He was a man of real power among the Khitan of Mobei and one of the pillars of the military aristocracy. Back during the great Han–Liao war, he had followed Yelu Xiezhen in resisting Han forces in the northeast. After the fall of southern Liao, he had held fast at Tongzhou with him, all the way until the Han army marched north and completely wiped out that remnant Khitan force under Yelu Xiezhen. In the end, Xiao Talin had no choice but to gather up some defeated soldiers, withdraw entirely from the northeast, and set out on the road back west.

Because of his unyielding resistance in the war against Han, and because he possessed considerable military acumen, the then-young Xiao Talin had won the regard of the Khitan ruler Yelu Xian, who promoted him to be a Pishi general.

In the subsequent great chaos of Mobei, Xiao Talin led his troops into battle. Fighting with great bravery and repeatedly earning military merit, he successively pacified more than a dozen Mobei tribes that had risen against the Khitan.

After Yelu Xian died of illness and internal turmoil erupted among the Khitan, Xiao Talin was at the time stationed in the northwest, guarding against the Naiman people. When he heard of the unrest, Xiao Talin behaved very calmly, taking no part in it whatsoever. He merely restrained his subordinates and heightened vigilance, preventing the Naiman from taking advantage of the chaos to loot.

After Han Derang, Yelu Xiuge, and others came to power, they fully recognized Xiao Talin's conduct and praised him greatly. Of course, in the fierce confrontation with the Great Han, the Khitan had lost a great many elites. With only these few cats and dogs left, they naturally valued them especially highly.

Later, Xiao Talin was recalled to the royal court. Amid the harassment of the eastern Shiwei people, he joined forces with Yelu Xiuge on campaign and decisively defeated the Shiwei. In the following years, Xiao Talin was stationed long-term in the northeast, suppressing the Shiwei.

Only last year was Xiao Talin once again recalled to the royal court and appointed Commander of the Pishi Army. After several rounds of reform, Khitan military affairs had undergone enormous changes compared to before. The Pishi Army remained an elite force directly under the royal court, but it was no longer divided into left and right divisions. Together with the Imperial Guard, it was now one of the most elite armies under the Khitan regime.

However, their strength and numbers had been greatly reduced—the two elite armies combined did not even reach twenty thousand men. There was no helping it: the state was impoverished, the people destitute, with troubles both within and without, making it truly difficult to support too many troops. And yet, completely returning to the nomadic era carried its own reluctance. Of course, under the pressure of reality, they had no choice but to bow their heads. The Pishi Army under Xiao Talin's command had also begun to take on the task of livestock production.

This time, Han Derang had come south as an envoy to Han, with Xiao Talin accompanying him—both a show of how seriously they took this mission and a consideration of leveraging the relationship between Xiao Talin and Xiao Siwen. After all, Xiao Talin was also Xiao Siwen's nephew by a collateral line; that kinship was real.

"How did it go?" In the room, Han Derang looked at Xiao Talin, who was thirstily drinking the clear tea, and asked with some concern: "Did you manage to see your honored uncle?"

At the question, Xiao Talin took another gulp of tea, even chewing and swallowing a few tea leaves, then sighed and said: "Today was my third visit to his residence, and I finally saw this clansman uncle of mine! Unfortunately, this clansman uncle of mine seems to have completely forgotten his own identity, conducting himself everywhere as a Han official."

"Xiao Siwen is unwilling to lend a hand?" Han Derang's brows knitted slightly.

Xiao Talin shook his head and said with a bitter smile: "He was full of excuses, plainly saying he was of low position and little influence, willing but unable. He only soothed me, telling us to wait a while longer. That when the day comes that the Great Han's old emperor remembers us, he will naturally grant an audience. Is that not just empty talk?"

"Xiao Siwen holds the honored position of the Great Han's Commissioner for Frontier Peoples. Our coming south this time to build friendly relations, to liaise and coordinate—that is originally his proper duty. For him to avoid it like this actually lowers his own standing!" Han Derang sighed. No matter how deep his scheming or how ample his self-restraint, he could not help but show a troubled expression now, with a hint of complaint in his tone.

The two fell silent for a while. It was Xiao Talin who could not hold back. Seeing Han Derang buried in thought, he said: "Chancellor Han, we came down in good faith, yet the Han court refuses to see us. Such contempt and neglect is truly disgraceful. Must we keep waiting and endure this humiliation?"

"For the sake of the state and our people, what is a little grievance like this? How to not fail our mission—that is what we should be thinking about now!" Han Derang said sternly.

Hearing this, Xiao Talin put away his dissatisfied expression and said in a low voice: "What do we do next?"

"Since the path through Xiao Siwen is blocked, then we can only wait!" Han Derang thought for a moment, then quickly revealed a slightly relaxed smile: "We will persist in requesting an audience every day. In the meantime, let us also take the opportunity to properly experience the sights of this Eastern Capital. Such scenes and popular spirit are not something one could witness in Mobei."

Unfortunately, I've been struck down by illness, my body can't hold out, and I truly can't type anymore.