Chapter 1823: Difficult

After a heavy snowfall, Luoyang had grown noticeably colder. The north wind howled, waves of cold surged, nearly freezing people's very thoughts. Pan Mei walked along the palace paths, striding steadily toward Chuigong Hall. His drifting white beard contrasted with the snow piled all around, and his bearing remained erect and dignified, though his expression was somewhat grave. An audience with Emperor Liu allowed no room for frivolity or carelessness—by the time he reached the hall, he had already composed himself.

Outside it was a frozen wasteland, but inside the hall it was still warm as spring. Since deep winter had set in, Emperor Liu had basically holed up in this warm chamber, rarely venturing out unless necessary, unwilling even to step beyond the hall doors. He had grown increasingly wary of that bitter cold weather.

He arrived before the hall, requested an audience, and after the announcement was relayed, quickly received a response summoning him in. Inside the hall, Emperor Liu was studying a map—the complete imperial atlas. It covered not only the Great Han but also the surrounding states and tribes, including overseas powers such as the South Seas, India, and the Arabs, all marked upon it.

The mission of the Prince of Yong and his party had been very meaningful, comprehensively and systematically improving the Great Han's knowledge and understanding of foreign lands. Now, after compilation and organization, with the skilled cartographers of the Imperial Treasury applying their craft, it had finally been rendered upon this atlas.

No matter the time, what hung beside Emperor Liu was always the most authoritative, most comprehensive, most detailed map of the Great Han. At this moment, Emperor Liu's attention was focused on two regions—one was the South Seas, the other Central Asia. One was a meal on the plate, the other a target of direct conflict.

In Emperor Liu's view, this map was still quite crude—the delineation of those large islands in the South Seas, for instance, was somewhat abstract. But given the current cartographic techniques and conditions, this was already the pinnacle of mapmaking for this era.

There might be many errors and omissions in the details, but at least it had charted out all the major states and powers of the present day. And on this map, one could intuitively see just what a behemoth the Great Han had become, and how broad and far-reaching its influence was. It was an achievement enough to make the people proud and stir the heart—Emperor Liu was no exception.

Yet every time he viewed this map, after the brief surge of excitement, all that remained was bewilderment and doubt. The former came from drawing his sword and looking around to find no worthy opponent—though war had broken out in Anxi, Emperor Liu truly hadn't taken the enemy there seriously.

The latter stemmed from a question that had troubled Emperor Liu for many years: was a bigger country always better? He had already begun to realize the answer to this question back after the Kaibao Northern Expedition. Considering the current court's organizational capacity and executive power, the difficult transportation, the backward communications, and his insistence on centralized rule, maintaining this vast empire had grown increasingly difficult with the passage of time.

It was a feeling of hitting the ceiling, of approaching the limit. To force the issue would mean either bashing one's head bloody or collapsing into chaos. Back when he had called off expansion after the Kaibao Northern Expedition, suspending his ambitions of opening new frontiers in order to rest and recuperate, adopting a strategy of contraction—that had been a move born of necessity.

It had achieved a certain effect. The Great Han had gained roughly ten years of peaceful development—no major wars abroad, few disturbances at home. That was also the calmest period of the so-called "Kaibao Golden Age."

In recent years, however, the situation had clearly changed again. Whether actively or passively, turmoil had been unceasing, endless commotion. The Yulin rebellion, overseas expansion, the war with the Kara-Khanids, disturbances on all frontiers—the fruits of ten years of rest and recuperation had been, if not completely exhausted, then nearly so.

Had it not been for the blood restored through endless plunder from overseas, the problems facing the court would have been even more severe. And the overseas expansion was not without cost—the construction of the navy, shipbuilding, weapons development, personnel salaries, training and long-distance voyages, small-scale skirmishes and wars—all of these were major expenditures.

By now, the empire was like a high-speed carriage traveling down a road both familiar and strange. The footprints of predecessors had long been covered over, and what lay ahead, what scenery awaited at the road's end—no one knew.

Sometimes, thinking of all this, Emperor Liu was even filled with dread. Policy adjustments—he had been making them all along, but they were often never carried through thoroughly. A big ship is hard to turn around, and at the slightest sign of trouble, things would slip back onto the original track, as if some will were steering it.

This past year, the purge of officialdom had stirred up such a storm, with such firm resolve, looking like he meant to slaughter every corrupt official in the realm—but the moment the momentum turned unfavorable, he had decisively changed course. That was Emperor Liu's damned sense of crisis.

If he didn't act, he could only watch the maladies worsen and contradictions multiply; but he couldn't act too harshly either, for what is too rigid easily snaps. The Great Han might be powerful, but it truly couldn't withstand reckless upheaval. Of course, this was a distress only a capable sovereign could feel.

"Your Majesty!" Entering the hall and seeing Emperor Liu with a slightly hunched back, gazing up at the atlas, Pan Mei bowed respectfully.

Hearing the voice, Emperor Liu once again snapped out of his contemplation. He had probably been too absorbed—his expression hadn't quite recovered. He cast a cool glance at Pan Mei, waved a hand at him, and said with a stiff face: "Well timed. Come, take a look at this complete imperial atlas!"

"Yes!" Pan Mei, hearing this, stepped forward cautiously and studied it carefully for quite a while before sighing with admiration: "Magnificent! Such a vast territory, such splendid rivers and mountains—from ancient times to the present, only our Great Han could achieve this!"

Emperor Liu showed little delight at Pan Mei's admiration. After a moment's thought, he said: "Vast territory and abundant resources, a thriving population—these are indeed cause for joy. But how does one hold on to them?"

Glancing sidelong at Emperor Liu, Pan Mei couldn't fathom his thoughts and grew even more cautious. After thinking it over, he answered conventionally: "To answer Your Majesty, one must rely on worthy ministers and able generals to guard it."

"Is that enough? Can that bring lasting peace and order?" Emperor Liu murmured softly, his expression stern, brows furrowed with worry, his gaze deep as a philosopher's...

Had it been any other civil official, hearing Emperor Liu speak thus, they would likely have begun quoting the classics, expounding on the way of the sages, and discoursing at length on strategies for stabilizing the state. But Pan Mei did not rashly speak. He would not talk nonsense about matters he himself could not understand.

Emperor Liu did not remain immersed in his own emotions. He quickly composed himself, his expression returning to normal, and said to Pan Mei with a smile: "What matter requires you, the Chancellor of the Bureau of Military Affairs, to come report in person?"

At the question, Pan Mei immediately presented a memorial and explained: "Your Majesty, a report has arrived from Anxi. The main force of the enemy army has already withdrawn westward. Suyab is safe and sound, and for now the fighting has subsided! The Anxi Protectorate is currently clearing out the small bands of enemy remnants that had infiltrated deep into the heartland, resting and regrouping to prepare for the next campaign!"

"The Battle of the Suyab River—that finally taught those bandit troops a lesson, didn't it!" Emperor Liu said with a light laugh upon hearing this.

Pan Mei was silent for a moment, then said: "Our army's losses were not light either. The Battle of the Suyab River was still too risky. One slight misstep and it would have been total defeat. He had to repel the enemy while also protecting the territory—His Highness the Prince of Wei sought to have both..."

Pan Mei only spoke halfway, but Emperor Liu already understood his meaning. Clearly, regarding the Battle of the Suyab River that had taken place over two months ago, Pan Mei, this old general, held a different view.

Of course, he was only expressing his opinion lightly after the fact. Still, Emperor Liu could somewhat understand Liu Min's considerations. Had it been him, he might have chosen to take the risk as well—after all, behind Liu Min's actions, he was clearly treating Anxi as his own territory to manage.

Otherwise, holding just the city of Suyab—given Anxi's strength, how much difficulty could that pose? They only needed to wait for the court's reinforcements to arrive, seize the opportunity, and push back, even achieving greater gains.

"Where are the reinforcements now?" Emperor Liu asked.

Pan Mei replied: "The Gaochang Circuit has already sent three thousand troops into Anxi. The Bureau of Military Affairs has drawn twelve thousand soldiers from the Hexi and Qinlong regions, and they have already entered Gaochang territory. If they are to support operations in Anxi, they will need to wait until next spring, after the weather warms!"

Emperor Liu nodded, then couldn't help but sigh: "Still too far! Mobilizing troops takes months just in time, and a round trip can take years. Wars like this cost too much—the gain hardly justifies the loss..."

Pan Mei was silent on this as well. Going to war had been Emperor Liu's decision, and now he was fretting over the cost—that made things difficult for the ministers who had to carry it out.

"Based on your experience, with Anxi's current strength, can it hold Suyab?" Emperor Liu suddenly asked.

Pan Mei was briefly startled by the question, then quickly calculated, and said with a cupped-fist salute: "If the enemy's strength is only what they have shown so far, then with Anxi's current military power, even if it's hard to cover everything at once, holding the line and repelling the enemy should be no problem!"

Sensing the certainty in Pan Mei's tone, Emperor Liu pondered for a moment, then said: "Temporarily halt large-scale mobilization in the northwestern circuits. As for Anxi, tell Liu Min—I don't care how he fights his battles, but strategically he is to focus on defense first. The Bureau of Military Affairs' subsequent deployments and arrangements shall be based on this as well!"

"Yes!" Pan Mei was somewhat surprised, but he quickly acknowledged. He could tell that Emperor Liu did not intend to go all-out in Anxi. That was fine too—if they were to levy a hundred thousand troops for a western expedition, that would truly be hard to bear...

After Pan Mei withdrew, Emperor Liu once again stared at the atlas, lost in thought. Every time this happened, the notion of dividing the realm and enfeoffing his kin kept rising unbidden in his mind—unshakable, unquenchable.

The pros and cons of enfeoffment needed no further elaboration. Even with heavy historical lessons staring him in the face, when it came to Emperor Liu's turn, he still found the thought irresistibly taking hold.

Naturally, it wasn't to give his sons a legacy—that idea was too ridiculous. The real consideration was how to ensure the empire's foundation could be passed down for longer. Having imperial princes of the clan stationed to guard the four directions, building a solid and reliable defensive line for the court—that had become a viable approach.

As for the potential troubles it might cause, that was a matter for the future. There was no need to be coy about it: as an autocratic emperor of several decades, he had long ceased to regard the realm as the realm of all under heaven. A family empire was a family empire—this was not governed by the cognition of the soul, but by human nature alone.

To Emperor Liu, his own sons and brothers would always be more reliable than those bureaucrats. However, considering the disasters that enfeoffment would most likely bring, Emperor Liu remained hesitant. Something like the indiscriminate enfeoffment of the Western Jin was out of the question. Thinking it over again and again, his gaze once more fell upon those marginal corners surrounding the Great Han...

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