Chapter 46: Guo Rong's Radical Suggestion

"At dawn yesterday, I crossed beyond Shangdang city and rode straight south at a light pace, all the way to Yangtou Mountain at the border of Luzhou and Zezhou, where I finally stopped. After resting a full half-day, just as I was about to continue south, I discovered that Khitan scouts had already entered the Yangtou Mountain boundary!"

In the prefectural hall, Zhang Yanwei and Guo Rong sat as attendants, while Liu Chengyou sat upright in the main seat, listening to Han Tong's report. At the mention of the Khitan, everyone's spirits immediately perked up.

"That squad of Khitan scouts only came north for a brief reconnaissance, stopping at Yangtou Mountain. To avoid being detected, I chose to evade them, and afterward led a small squad of capable brothers carefully southward. In the evening, when I stealthily reached Gaoping County in Zezhou, I discovered the Khitan army!" Han Tong continued.

"Gaoping..." Liu Chengyou rose and stopped before a map hanging in the hall, quickly locating that county seat in northern Zezhou, and asked: "Is it Geng Chongmei's army?"

"It should be!" Han Tong nodded: "I chose a high vantage point to observe. Though far away, I could still make out the 'Geng' and 'Liao' banners!"

"How many men?"

"From my observation, there are at least four thousand, but as for the enemy's exact strength, I dare not speak rashly." Han Tong's answer was conservative, yet equally practical.

Seeing Liu Chengyou's brows furrow, Han Tong immediately added: "However, in my observation of the Liao army, there are very few Khitan—most are Han!"

"Han?" Liu Chengyou's eyes lit up: "Are they surrendered soldiers from the Jin army?"

"I'm afraid not! In my judgment, they should be Yan troops!" Han Tong shook his head.

"Yan troops!" Liu Chengyou muttered expressionlessly, then quickly understood.

The Yan troops referred to here were the Khitan's Han Chinese army from Youzhou. The Khitan had ruled the Youyan region for ten years, and under the national policy of "ruling Han with Han," with Han ministers like Zhang Li and Zhao Yanshou assisting, they had indeed organized some armies composed mainly of "Yan people."

During Yelu Deguang's southern campaign to destroy the Jin last year, these Yan troops, commanded by Han generals and ministers such as Zhao Yanshou and Geng Chongmei, had contributed considerably.

When Han Tong mentioned that Geng Chongmei's army was mostly Han, Liu Chengyou's first reaction was "surrendered Jin soldiers," and he immediately conceived a plan to "subvert" them. However, upon learning they were "Yan troops" from Youzhou, he quickly abandoned that notion.

Setting aside the difficulty of subversion, for the "Yan troops" alone, the cost of betrayal was simply too high!

"However, this Liao army is mainly infantry, without much cavalry!" While Liu Chengyou was pondering, Han Tong spoke again.

This news made those present heave a sigh of relief—no matter what, the most feared aspect of the Khitan army was still its cavalry.

"So then, Geng Chongmei's army is merely a force of Yan troops!" The gravity on Liu Chengyou's face eased considerably.

"Yes!"

At Liu Chengyou's signal, Han Tong continued: "After discovering the Liao army, I dared not delay and immediately withdrew. After leaving a small squad to continue surveillance, I hurried north to report to you!"

Han Tong finished his report and waited respectfully below. The hall fell quiet for a moment as Liu Chengyou sorted through the Liao army's situation, then raised his head and asked: "I have a general understanding of the situation now—what do you all think?"

Zhang Yanwei spoke first, appearing somewhat agitated, the flesh on his face trembling a few times: "Your Highness, Gaoping is not far from Shangdang. Based on what Han Tong said, the Khitan army may well have already broken camp and marched north today. Between Zezhou and Luzhou lies only Yangtou Mountain—we absolutely cannot let the enemy easily enter Luzhou. Send troops immediately! Occupy Yangtou Mountain and block the enemy outside Luzhou!"

After Zhang Yanwei finished, Liu Chengyou's reaction was quite flat. He neither approved nor rejected the suggestion, and after a moment's thought, asked Guo Rong: "What are your thoughts?"

Guo Rong's face was full of solemnity, his head slightly lowered. After pondering a while longer, he finally said: "General Zhang's idea is far too conservative! Yangtou Mountain is only forty li from Gaoping. If the Liao army has truly already broken camp and marched north, by the time Your Highness sends troops south to intercept, they will likely have already entered Luzhou territory!"

After briefly refuting Zhang Yanwei, Guo Rong continued: "If Han Tong's reconnaissance is accurate, the Liao army is not large. After our forces are reinforced by the Luzhou army, they would even be at a numerical disadvantage. Moreover, since they are mainly infantry, without the threat of barbarian cavalry..."

As Guo Rong spoke, a hint of confidence bloomed on his face. Liu Chengyou had been observing him all along, and noticing the "glowing" look in his eyes, felt a stir in his heart—he believed he had guessed Guo Rong's thoughts.

Sure enough, Guo Rong clenched his fist forcefully and said with excitement: "Your Highness, why not gather the entire army and march south to engage the enemy? Our army marched south overnight and seized Shangdang with great speed. Since yesterday morning we have strictly sealed off all information—the Liao army probably has no clear picture of Luzhou's situation. If we march south and give battle now, we are certain to catch them off guard."

"Engage the enemy head-on and break them head-on—this will surely greatly boost the prestige of our Hedong army, and will also inspire the soldiers and civilians of the Central Plains and Hebei who are resisting Khitan tyranny!"

Compared to Zhang Yanwei's conservatism, Guo Rong's suggestion was truly far more aggressive—one could even call it reckless. If Geng Chongmei's army was indeed unaware of Luzhou's situation, an active strike could achieve the effect of catching them unprepared.

But by the same token, Liu Chengyou was also unclear about the enemy's specific situation. Enemy intelligence could not be fully understood through Han Tong's naked eyes alone. War, after all, was no child's play—it concerned the very path of survival, and Liu Chengyou could not afford to be incautious.

At present, Liu Chengyou had already secured Shangdang, gained the support of Luzhou's soldiers and civilians, and still had Hedong at his back—he could be said to hold the initiative and advantage. As long as he held Shangdang steadily, even if Geng Chongmei's army were twice as strong, he had confidence in repelling them.

However, actively marching south to give battle carried great risk. Without an absolute numerical advantage, and with the Yan troops' fighting ability unknown, choosing to fight them head-on—if anything unexpected happened, if he failed to win, or even lost—then his excellent situation of seizing all of Luzhou would be gone forever, and it could even affect Liu Zhiyuan's future plans to advance into the Central Plains and seize the realm...

Of course, if he won in a single battle, as Guo Rong said, the gains would certainly be enormous. Setting everything else aside, for Liu Chengyou himself, leading troops into battle for the first time and achieving victory would surely make his reputation soar.

The problem was, this was his first time commanding troops—when it came to fighting, he truly didn't know how!

A single suggestion from Guo Rong had made Liu Chengyou hesitate, his tightly furrowed brows conveying his conflicted state of mind.

Seeing Liu Chengyou's hesitation, and perhaps feeling that his own face had been brushed aside by the younger Guo Rong, Zhang Yanwei couldn't help muttering: "Your Highness, if you follow Guo Rong's words, is it not too risky?"

Even Zhang Yanwei could see the risk in it.

Zhang Yanwei's words seemed to deepen Liu Chengyou's hesitation. Drawing a breath, he asked Xiang Xun, who stood guard nearby: "Xingmin, you have strategies in your belly—what do you think?"

At this, Xiang Xun also acted with great deliberation. After thinking it over carefully for a while, he said: "Given the current situation, as long as Your Highness leads the troops to defend Shangdang and Huguan, the situation in Luzhou will be entirely in our grasp, and the strategy of advancing south into Luzhou will be achieved. This would not be an unsteady choice!"

Hearing Xiang Xun's meaning, it seemed he too favored stability. Liu Chengyou was about to speak in response when he heard a "but." Xiang Xun then said softly: "Fighting a war is inherently a risky affair. If we are afraid even of Geng Chongmei's few thousand troops, then how do we face the Khitan's hundreds of thousands of soldiers..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Chengyou sank into deep thought. Seeing him in this hesitant state, Guo Rong, sitting nearby, could not help but reveal a trace of disappointment in his eyes.

Liu Chengyou was indeed hesitating. When there was clearly a more stable choice, why must he take risks?

But at this moment, the place name "Gaoping" flashed through his mind. He suddenly raised his eyes to look at Guo Rong, whose face had already turned expressionless, and muttered to himself: "Gaoping!"