Chapter 874: The Great King of the Southern Division's Strategy

"With this mobilization of troops, I wonder how the Southern Court will react?" Yelu Jing sat down, gestured for Yelu Talie to sit as well, and asked.

Yelu Talie sat down calmly, and as palace attendants served wine and meat, knowing the Liao emperor was worried about the Southern Court, he thought briefly and replied: "Liao and Han are both great powers. A mere ten thousand troops would hardly provoke a massive mobilization or fierce response. I believe the Southern Court's ministers will likely be guessing at the intentions behind the Great Liao's move, for after all, our army moved suddenly and inexplicably this time."

"Following their habits, when the enemy's situation is unclear, they will not act rashly. But necessary precautions will still be arranged, especially west of the Taihang Mountains!"

"Has no other news from Hedong been transmitted north?" Yelu Jing nodded and asked.

Yelu Talie said: "After our army attacked the passes, in the Hedong region, the Han army has been on strict guard, the passes sealed shut, the roads impassable, and the exchange of information difficult. Therefore..."

Because of its proximity to the Han frontier, under the Great King of the Southern Division's command there was also a unit tasked with spying on the Han court's military, political, and civil affairs. Though not especially rigorous, over the years it had managed to glean some intelligence through various exchanges with the Great Han.

Hearing this, Yelu Jing was somewhat dissatisfied, and said to him: "When communications between the two states flow smoothly, the intelligence obtained is generally unimportant. Now that the Southern Court has sealed its passes and closed its borders, its internal situation is all the more valuable to us. When the roads are impassable, that is precisely when we should be finding ways to understand the enemy!"

Seeing Yelu Jing slightly angered, Yelu Talie mulled over his words, found them reasonable, and immediately petitioned: "Your Majesty speaks truly. This minister previously neglected this matter. I shall devise a plan!"

Yelu Jing was quite satisfied with Yelu Talie's steady and pragmatic attitude.

"However, if we wish to probe the Southern Court's situation, we should seek ways through Hebei. Though transportation there can hardly be called smooth, compared to the mountain barriers in the west, it is still more convenient!" Yelu Talie said.

To this, Yelu Jing nodded in approval. Over the years, when it came to infiltration and understanding of the Great Han, Hebei was the place — it was almost a sieve. The situation there was ultimately complex, and it was not a single impregnable city or a few defensive lines that could completely block the Liao people's eyes and ears.

Mentioning Hebei, Yelu Jing's gaze also turned toward the southeast: "There has already been a result at Yanmen. I wonder what the situation is at Youzhou — can Xiao Husi and the others succeed?"

Able to read something of Yelu Jing's psychology, Yelu Talie consoled him: "Regarding the Youzhou matter, Your Majesty has already planned to the best of your ability. The affair arose suddenly; as long as the Yan army is unprepared, the chances of success are not small!"

"Basujin was defeated too quickly!" Yelu Jing sighed.

Quickly collecting his thoughts, Yelu Jing said to Yelu Talie: "Regarding the defeat at Yanmen, I have been thinking."

"We must deeply summarize the lessons. The forces we sent were three times the enemy's, and the soldiers were no weak or feeble troops, yet they were broken in a frontal engagement. This is surely a disgrace to the Great Liao."

"We must study the Han army's tactics in depth, think about how to break their formations. At the same time, the Great Liao must continue to innovate its own tactics to adapt to the war against Han!"

"The Han army's cities and formations have always been difficult to crack. The Great Liao still needs to strengthen training and equip infantry sufficient to assault cities, take passes, and fight in the field. These should be composed mainly of Bohai and Han soldiers. Weapons and equipment must also be vigorously forged and developed. Judging from the battle at Yanmen, the Han people's weapons, in terms of quality, still surpass ours..."

This was Yelu Jing offering guiding opinions for the Liao state's next phase of military construction.

"Your Majesty's foresight!" Hearing this, Yelu Talie first expressed approval, then offered his own opinion: "However, this minister believes that on this foundation, the Great Liao must still leverage the advantage of our iron cavalry — do not engage the Han army head-on, but circle around for flanking raids, destroy their supply lines, exhaust their morale, and strike their vital points!"

"This is what Khitan warriors excel at, and it should naturally be carried forward and expanded!" Yelu Jing said.

After a slight hesitation, Yelu Talie said solemnly to the Liao emperor: "Your Majesty, after this engagement, peace between Liao and Han will not be restored. We will once again move toward war and confrontation!"

"Comparing the strength of the two states, in military power the Great Liao is not inferior to the Southern Court. However, in population and financial resources, we cannot contend with them. If the two states fall into a stalemate and the war drags on, forgive this minister for speaking bluntly — in the end, it will be the Southern Court that gains the advantage and even victory."

"Therefore, this minister suggests that in the Liao-Han war, Your Majesty need not rush southward. Instead, dispatch elite troops and light cavalry south, bypass their strong cities and rivers, and directly plunder their lands, kill their people, destroy their homes, tear down their walls, and burn their fields — thereby throwing their hearts into chaos, weakening their manpower, and draining their national strength..."

Hearing this, Yelu Jing's eyes lit up, and he said: "You mean to set the breakthrough target on the Hebei region?"

"Exactly!" Yelu Talie nodded.

Yelu Jing thought for a moment, then said: "When the late emperor was on the throne, this method was also used — great plundering of the Yan lands. But it provoked fierce resistance from the Yan and Han populace, and the Yan cavalry also fought back with full effort. Now the Han people have built fortresses extensively in Hebei and Youzhou precisely to guard against this method. Are you certain it will be effective?"

Hearing this, Yelu Talie said resolutely: "This minister believes that Shizong's plundering back then was not carried out resolutely enough. The southern faction's troops also held back, and were greedy for wealth and goods."

"My suggestion is to focus primarily on killing. If we slaughter several hundred thousand Han people, how could they not be terrified? If they wish to counter us, they must respond with cavalry to keep pace with our army's movements. In terms of cavalry numbers and the sharpness of tactics, how could the Han cavalry be our match?"

"Moreover, though their fortresses are numerous, how could the Han people all huddle inside them? For a short time, perhaps — but could it last for years? If they dispatch heavy troops to encircle and suppress us, we roam without engaging, or strike where they are weak."

"In this way, within just two or three years, the Southern Court will be run ragged, while the Great Liao, internally, intensifies war preparations and training, stockpiling weapons and grain. Once they show signs of exhaustion, Your Majesty can then send heavy forces south for a decisive battle."

"And even if we cannot achieve complete success, the Southern Court will ultimately find it difficult to march north and threaten the Great Liao!"

Hearing Yelu Talie's words, Yelu Jing took some time to digest them, staring blankly at this old minister. Yelu Jing was deeply moved — this 'Grain-Governing Great King,' known for his benevolence, could be so ruthless in statecraft and military strategy, targeting the killing of hundreds of thousands to strike at the Han dynasty...

Undeniably, Yelu Jing was somewhat tempted. Of course, Yelu Jing did not believe things would ultimately turn entirely in the Great Liao's favor. If events developed according to Yelu Talie's plan, the Khitan side's investment and casualties would not be light either, and the Han people would not passively take the beating — they would actively defend.

But as Yelu Talie said, as long as the Liao army could resolutely and fearlessly carry out its operational objectives, the price paid by the Han army and Han people would absolutely be higher than the Liao army's, and the goal of draining Han national strength could also be achieved. At the very least, it would be far more prudent than rashly marching south for a decisive battle. Moreover, it would reduce the risk of overall failure for the Liao army.

But likewise, where there are benefits, there are drawbacks. This would intensify the Han people's resistance and hatred, making it even harder to conquer the Southern Court and rule the Han populace. At the same time, according to this plan, using two or three years to exhaust Han — what if the Han court, holding the line in the north, used that time to unify Jiangnan and consolidate its foundations?

Yelu Talie's scheme was vicious and venomous enough, and its intent seemed no longer to rapidly destroy the Han dynasty and enter the Central Plains, but rather to maintain the Liao army's advantage in the Han-Liao struggle for supremacy, protect the state's mandate, and keep the Liao state in an undefeated position...

The specific choice would depend on Yelu Jing's decision. Perhaps tomorrow someone would present him with another strategy altogether?

"Your plan has great boldness, but it is premised on Liao attacking and Han defending. What if, this time, the Han army takes the opportunity to campaign north and comes with a great force? Then I would have no choice but to mobilize the entire nation to resist!" Sure enough, raising his head, Yelu Jing sighed conservatively and said: "I still need to think it over! Let us first wait for the results from Youzhou!"

The Liao emperor did not directly adopt his suggestion, but Yelu Talie was not disappointed. Matters of state and military were matters of life and death, and should not be decided hastily. That Yelu Jing could treat it with such caution, not blindly following while maintaining his own thinking, was also a good thing for the Great Liao.

"Yes!"

Yelu Jing did not have to wait long before news came from the east — the plan had failed.

Inside Yunzhong City, the Liao state's military and political heavyweights gathered, with the Northern Chancellery's chancellor Xiao Haili reporting the situation: "The Northern Military Commissioner went to Tanzhou, secretly prepared troops, and simultaneously made covert contact with that Zhao Siwan, agreeing to launch an uprising. But after the contact was established and the troops prepared, unexpectedly Zhao Siwan was reported by someone and exposed, and was seized by the Yan king Zhao Kuangzan."

"The Northern Military Commissioner, seeing the matter had failed, begged Your Majesty for punishment. The Southern Military Commissioner Xiao Siwen requested orders to lead troops south to attack Youzhou. How to decide — please instruct us, Your Majesty!"

Xiao Haili's tone was heavy. Though Yelu Jing felt disappointed, he did not lose composure, and instead said: "What is the situation with the Yan army now?"

Xiao Haili replied: "According to reports, within Yan territory, troops are being urgently mobilized, and the entire army has been placed on alert!"

"Since the Yan army is prepared, with the strength of Tanzhou and the southeast, how could we break them? Enough. Send orders to Xiao Husi and Xiao Siwen — the Youzhou plan ends here. Have Xiao Husi return!" Yelu Jing said with a melancholy air.

Pausing for a moment, Yelu Jing sighed again: "To scheme with intrigue to take a city and defeat the enemy, and have the plan come to naught — what is there to regret?"

When the Liao emperor spoke these words, the ministers present could all feel the complexity of his mood.

The Great King of the Northern Division, Yelu Wuzhi, was quick-witted and seized the moment to ask: "Your Majesty, with the defeat at Yanmen and the failure at Youzhou, how do you wish to respond next?"

Hearing this, Yelu Jing smiled bitterly: "That will depend on what moves the Southern Court makes!"

As he spoke, Yelu Jing's entire demeanor turned serious. Sweeping his gaze across the assembled Liao ministers, he said: "This southern campaign was ultimately launched in haste, and the planning could hardly be thorough, which is why it ended in failure. But from now on, the entire Great Liao must prepare. The Liao-Han war is ultimately unavoidable. I hope you will all work together to help me contend with the Southern Court!"

"Yes!"

Having said this, Yelu Jing looked again at Yelu Talie: "If possible, I am prepared to adopt the Great King of the Southern Division's suggestion! But how exactly to implement it must be carefully planned. This matter should be discussed with all of you, to produce a practical and effective strategy against Han!"

Clearly, after these two setbacks, Yelu Jing had become more cautious about going south, and wanted to make more thorough war preparations. What needed to be clarified was the military strategy and objectives.

Of course, the struggle between the two states was not a matter of one-sided wishes. It also depended on how the Great Han side, facing the sudden change in the north, would decide and respond.