Chapter 1888: Holding the Vermilion Brush

In Chuigong Hall, still that same complete map of the realm. Emperor Liu, leaning on his staff, back hunched, head raised, silently gazed upon this vast and boundless Great China world. On this map, a territory spanning ten thousand li had become reality.

From south to north, from west to east, merely skimming through the towns and cities scattered across it would take an hour or two. In these past months, Emperor Liu, whether busy or idle, loved to look at this map, and once he looked, he would linger for at least half an hour. It was less looking than appreciating — appreciating this beautiful land and rivers.

Winter had come again, Emperor Liu's most hated season. He had no choice but to wrap himself in thick padded furs.

"Has the battle report from Anxi still not arrived?" After gazing for a long while, Emperor Liu suddenly spoke, his voice echoing and reverberating through the cold and empty Chuigong Hall.

"Reporting to His Majesty, not yet! The Bureau of Military Affairs has already stationed palace eunuchs — the moment any news comes, they will report immediately. His Majesty need not worry!" Yan Tuo's voice came from afar.

Lately, Emperor Liu paid particular attention to the war situation in Anxi, asking about nothing else concerning state affairs, but bringing it up from time to time. As the chief of the attendants before the throne, Yan Tuo could more or less perceive the reason Emperor Liu was so focused on the Anxi war situation — it was likely related to the enfeoffment of the princes, and Emperor Liu very possibly already had ideas about the division of the Anxi region, merely waiting for a result.

Though he had glimpsed some things, when Emperor Liu asked, Yan Tuo still could not help but feel nervous. Counting it up, this was already the seventh time Emperor Liu had asked about this matter. Every answer had been negative, and Emperor Liu's responses had been quite calm, but Yan Tuo truly could not guarantee how much patience Emperor Liu had left. Perhaps the next time would bring a furious outburst?

Yan Tuo felt very uncertain, and could only silently pray in his heart that the battle report would arrive quickly in Luoyang — and that it would be a report of victory. If it were a report of defeat, imagining Emperor Liu's reaction at that time was truly chilling...

His mind racing with thoughts, but seeing Emperor Liu fall silent again, once more concentrating intently on observing that map, his expression calm and serious, like a tiger that had sheathed all its fangs, Yan Tuo subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. Good — Emperor Liu still had patience, his behavior was still normal...

"Why has Liu Shu still not come to take his leave of me?" When his gaze shifted once more to the Indochinese Peninsula, Emperor Liu knitted his brows and suddenly asked, his expression not looking good, his tone even somewhat stern: "What is he still dawdling over?"

At the question, Yan Tuo could not help but be taken aback. Liu Shu had only recently come to the palace to report to Emperor Liu on the situation regarding his march to his fief, still in the preparation stage, and Emperor Liu had approved it. Why was he now being questioned about it again?

His thoughts turning, Yan Tuo dared not show the slightest negligence on his face, and reported with obvious caution: "Reporting to His Majesty, according to the King of Linyi, his subordinates still have some properties that need to be dealt with and sold off, converted into money and grain. Additionally, winter has now set in — the seasonal conditions and waterways are all unfavorable for putting out to sea. Thus the King of Linyi plans to wait until next spring, then lead his fleet out to sea..."

As Yan Tuo answered, he hesitated slightly, then still probed: "These details, the King of Linyi seems to have already reported to His Majesty before..."

Sensing Yan Tuo's probing, Emperor Liu was silent for a good while before speaking in a calm tone: "It seems there was such a thing! But I have heard that in these years, quite a few merchants and commoners have gone out to sea, all riding the winter monsoon southward. Tell me, this boy Liu Shu — he wouldn't be thinking that Linyi is too remote a place, too crude in conditions, and so be unwilling to go, would he!"

Hearing Emperor Liu speak thus, Yan Tuo thought for a moment, then said: "His Highness has already dispatched trusted capable men from his household, who have gone south ahead of the court officials and clerks, heading for Cam Ranh Port. Moreover, in these past months, over five hundred households of tenant farmers and hired laborers from the former Duke of Chu's estate have already migrated to Linyi.

These actions and developments are enough to prove that the King of Linyi is genuinely advancing the matter of taking up his fief. It is only that the administrative structure is just being established, and all sorts of affairs are mixed together — all requiring time to handle..."

Yan Tuo had exhausted his eloquence to explain on Liu Shu's behalf, not because he had any particularly good relationship with Liu Shu. Among all the princes, Liu Shu was the only one who did not put Yan Tuo in his eyes at all.

Yan Tuo did this only because he did not want Emperor Liu to start imagining things and harboring groundless suspicions. He still hoped Emperor Liu could maintain his normalcy as much as possible, because that was most advantageous to Yan Tuo himself. After all, these days, the one who accompanied Emperor Liu the most was none other than himself, this Senior Eunuch Yan.

For Emperor Liu's sake, Yan Tuo had racked his brains. And after this round of comfort from Yan Tuo, Emperor Liu finally calmed down. He looked back at the map, gazed at it for a long time, sighed, and ordered: "Go, bring me the detailed maps of the Anxi, Andong, Yunnan, Annam, and South Seas regions!"

"Yes!" Hearing Emperor Liu's order, Yan Tuo felt as if pardoned from a great sentence, and hurried off at once.

It was not until mid-October that the Anxi battle report Emperor Liu had been longing for finally arrived. Of course, in the time that had passed, every half month a battle report from Anxi had been sent to Luoyang by six-hundred-li express. But what Emperor Liu was waiting for was clearly not this kind of routine war bulletin, but a report of results.

There was no surprise — the new Battle of Talas, jointly staged by the armies of the Great Han and the Arabs, ended in a complete victory for the Great Han army. This was not worth being surprised about. Before this battle, the comparison of strength and military conditions between the two sides was clear at a glance — the Han army had a great advantage, leading in every aspect over the hastily assembled, contradiction-ridden, and repeatedly frustrated Arab allied army.

Moreover, the Han army had a host of outstanding military talents — those with strategy had strategy, those with valor had valor. Their weapons were excellent, and the quality of their soldiers was high. Under such circumstances, losing would have been the real surprise.

In the Battle of Talas that occurred in the autumn of the twenty-fifth year of Kaibao, the Han army's real trouble lay in the thousand-li advance and the security of the logistics and supply lines. As for the strong city of Talas, under the fierce assault of the Han army, it held out a few more days than Yang City, but extremely limitedly so. And though they had become somewhat wary of the Han army's cannons, it could not change the outcome.

By late September, under Li Jilong's command, at the cost of a certain number of soldiers' lives, the city of Talas was breached, and the Han army rolled up their armor and entered the city.

After more than two hundred years, the banner belonging to China once again flew high over the Talas region. China's power once again expanded into the heartland of Central Asia, which also meant the Great Han had retrodden the extreme limit of westward expansion from its glorious era.

Moreover, though Talas was the greatest military achievement of the Han army in Anxi, it was not the end of their gains. After taking Talas, Li Jilong did not pause for a moment, but continued leading his army westward. Besides pursuing the defeated remnants of the enemy, he also took the opportunity to attack into the eastern territories of the Samanid Dynasty, sweeping across several hundred li, not stopping until he reached its central important town of Samarkand.

With the conclusion of the Battle of Talas, with the Han army's continuous westward incursions, how the situation in Central Asia and even the entire Arab region would develop and change remained unknown. But Emperor Liu, situated ten thousand li away, could not help but lift that imperial brush of his, capable of writing history, and sketch out his grand design of mountains and rivers.