Chapter 912: Summary

"Whose head is this?" Liu Chengyou asked, looking at the head dangling from the hand of Liu Tinghan—one of the generals behind An Shenqi who had distinguished himself in the great battle at Nankou.

"Your Majesty, this is Yelu Cong, the Liao Commandery Duke of Qishui and Southern Expedition Commissioner!" Liu Tinghan reported hurriedly. "I was just about to present this chieftain's head to Your Majesty!"

"I have heard of this man—it was he who advised the Khitan ruler to launch this large-scale offensive!" Liu Chengyou nodded, then nudged the severed head of Yelu Cong lying on the ground with his foot. It was a bloody, grisly sight, yet one could almost discern the stubbornness of an old Khitan chieftain in death.

An Shenqi said: "This brute commanded the Liao army in their attack on Nankou and indeed caused our forces no small trouble. In the end, it was he who led his men on a desperate charge, disrupting our formation to buy time and cover the retreat of the remaining Liao troops. In the chaos of battle, he was slain by Liu Tinghan!"

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou could not help but take a closer look at Liu Tinghan. Unlike many fierce generals of the Han army, Liu Tinghan lacked that heavy bloodlust; his facial features were softer, giving one a sense of approachability.

Liu Chengyou said: "It seems this head-taking merit has found its rightful home!"

Liu Tinghan clasped his hands and replied in a calm tone: "This humble officer was merely fortunate. Without the bloody struggle of all the soldiers, there would have been no merit in pursuing the enemy!"

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou's impression of him improved further. An Shenqi also spoke well of Liu Tinghan: "Tinghan commands his troops with skill, is generous and tolerant, and the officers and men alike respect him. During this great battle at Nankou, our forces faced mortal crises several times, with the line on the verge of collapse and defenses crumbling—it was he and the soldiers who remained calm in the face of danger, rallied to slay the enemy, and turned the tide!"

"I know—this battle was hard-fought for you all!" Liu Chengyou said with feeling.

His gaze fell upon the Han generals gathered here—Shi Shouxin, Han Chongyun, Luo Yangui, Dang Jin, and others—and he went up to them personally, shaking hands, straightening collars, patting shoulders, saying only one thing: "You have worked hard!"

"The merits of this battle, I will not forget, and the court will not be stingy with rewards!" Liu Chengyou said no more empty pleasantries, only making his stance clear with the most direct and sincere words.

In truth, after this battle, the Great Han would gain another batch of military merit nobles—and a large one at that. At this, all the generals revealed satisfied smiles. After enduring such brutal trials of life and death, what they wanted was nothing more than the recognition and rewards of the Son of Heaven and the court.

"Go tend to your wounds now—do not neglect your injuries!" Liu Chengyou released his concern for the generals.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Liu Chengyou then looked toward Murong Yanzhao: "The soldiers at Nankou have fought long and hard and urgently need rest and reorganization. I must trouble you to make careful arrangements for the aftermath of the battlefield!"

"Yes!" Murong Yanzhao clasped his hands in acknowledgment.

The fighting before Nankou had completely ended, but things were not yet quiet. The task of clearing the battlefield was entirely entrusted to Murong Yanzhao's arrangements. At the same time, Liu Chengyou specifically designated Generals Han Hui and An Shouzhong to assist him—Han Hui was in charge of logistics, while An Shouzhong represented the Emperor. Grain, medicine, clothing, and all other urgently needed supplies were continuously sent up from Changping.

Although An Shenqi had not participated in the front-line fighting, his expenditure of energy was no less than those who had fought—especially bearing the weight of tens of thousands of troops. Now that the battle had temporarily concluded, An Shenqi's body and mind both relaxed, and he felt as if he were on the verge of collapse.

For such an aged veteran commander, it was truly no easy feat. Liu Chengyou pitied him inwardly and wished to let him rest properly. However, An Shenqi forced himself to stay alert, insisting on first reporting the course of the battle to Liu Chengyou.

Having no choice, Liu Chengyou could only accompany him into the commander's tent at the central stockade of Nankou to continue listening to his report. It was only through An Shenqi's personal account that Liu Chengyou came to understand what the Han army at Nankou had truly endured, and why such a tragic scene lay both inside and outside the stockade. Liu Chengyou could better understand An Shenqi's nearly mournful "endless chatter."

"How is Han Lingkun's injury?" Liu Chengyou asked.

An Shenqi sighed: "Han Deshun may have had some lapses in defense, but he knew shame and found courage—while pursuing the Liao troops, he was severely wounded. Medical officers have already been arranged to treat him!"

"Wang Yin fell in battle?" Liu Chengyou asked again.

At the question, An Shenqi nodded slightly, his face adding a few more shades of sorrow. As a fellow veteran general of the same generation, An Shenqi felt Wang Yin's death more deeply.

"Old General Wang, at the most critical moment, led the death-defying soldiers and used his own life to buy time for the army to secure its defensive line!" An Shenqi said.

At this, Liu Chengyou fell silent. After a long while, he sighed softly: "Where is his body?"

"Liu Tinghan recovered it and placed it to the left of the tent!" An Shenqi said.

"Take me to see it!"

Toward Wang Yin, Liu Chengyou's feelings were somewhat complicated. This was a man he had once branded a "rotten general"—though his seniority was deep and he had some battle merits, he bore all the habits of the arrogant and unruly military men of the past three generations.

Because of this impression, after Wang Yin had committed his offense back then, Liu Chengyou had kept him shelved and unused. But after this battle at Nankou, Liu Chengyou felt a few more sighs of lament—what had driven such an old man to risk his life so desperately on the battlefield...

Liu Chengyou thought of Sun Li from back then—it was also through his disregard for death in the Battle of Luancheng, fighting on despite his wounds, that Liu Chengyou had finally reversed his impression of him.

Outside the tent, Wang Yin's corpse lay before them. His graying beard was stained red with blood, now congealed. The body was incomplete—one arm missing, four arrows embedded in it, and countless sword wounds beyond counting.

Clasping his hands before his chest, Liu Chengyou bowed solemnly toward Wang Yin's corpse, then straightened up and ordered: "Issue the command—all soldiers and civilians who fell in this battle shall have their bodies properly collected and enshrined, all recorded in the merit register without omitting a single one. Tomorrow, I will personally pay my respects to them!"

"Yes!"

Shortly after, An Shenqi collapsed, throwing those around him into a flurry of activity. When the military physicians examined him, they found it was exhaustion—his heart and strength could no longer hold out. For a man in his sixties, this was quite dangerous. At this, Liu Chengyou directly had Zhang Dejun personally attend to An Shenqi—a deep display of favor, handled most properly.

In the following time, Liu Chengyou began personally going down to the ranks, inspecting the various armies, encouraging the officers and men, affirming their merits—especially those who were wounded. In this great battle, the Han army had lost no small number of soldiers, and even more were wounded. Due to the shortage of doctors and medicine, Liu Chengyou directly ordered physicians to be drawn from surrounding towns, while medicinal herbs were transferred and replenished from Youzhou.

By the time dusk approached, Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin finally led their troops back in succession. Upon learning that the Son of Heaven had come to Nankou, they hurried over to pay their respects. Liu Chengyou, who was inspecting the military camp, personally went out to receive them, showing them full respect, and again exchanged words of "hard work."

When asked about the situation of the Liao army, Zhao Kuangyin reported: "The Liao army's command was capable, and they were not lacking in elite warriors. They remained defeated but not routed, retreating without disorder, covering their rear in segments and blocking us in turn, so we could not achieve complete victory—this is the fault of your servants!"

Zhao Kuangyin first requested punishment for himself. How could Liu Chengyou take that seriously? He immediately said: "To be able to defeat the Liao army and inflict heavy casualties is already a great victory. How could we be greedy for complete success? Yuanlang need not dwell on it."

"Along the way, I saw corpses strewn across the fields, nearly filling the roads. Our own casualties are certainly not small, but the Liao army's dead and wounded are even more severe. With this blow, we have successfully crushed their intentions—the overall situation of the northern expedition will now tilt completely in our favor. The great enterprise is within reach!" Liu Chengyou said.

"Your Majesty speaks truly!" Guo Rong appeared very calm as he responded: "After this defeat, the Liao army's momentum has been greatly damaged. Even if they still have their pass cities to rely on, they will find them hard to hold. I suggest we rest the troops, then take advantage of the momentum to advance beyond the frontier!"

"No rush!" Seeing Guo Rong's eagerness to pursue and attack the Liao army relentlessly, Liu Chengyou appeared quite composed, saying: "The casualties in this battle were very heavy, especially among the troops at Nankou—over half dead or wounded—and they cannot recover their combat strength in a short time. Since the northern expedition began, the officers and men have also been fighting continuously and are inevitably weary. The overall war situation is already firmly in our hands—there is no need to press forward hastily!"

Liu Chengyou's words essentially set the tone for the Han army's subsequent operations—focusing on rest and reorganization. It was still the same principle: Liao could not afford a war of attrition to begin with, and after this defeat, if things dragged on, it would definitely be them who could not endure. Moreover, organizing another counterattack like the one at Nankou would be extremely difficult for them.

Next, the Liao army would have to defend whether they wanted to or not—and defending would also be difficult. After nightfall, Li Chongjin sent word of victory: Deshengkou had been taken with ease, and moreover, pushing north through the mountain pass, they had smoothly captured the undefended Ruzhou. At this point, the war situation north of Youzhou had completely fallen under the Han army's control—the kind that could not be reversed.

It was not until the twenty-sixth, the third day after the great battle at Nankou concluded, that the results of this battle were tallied. On the Han army's side, setting aside the loss of military supplies, military and civilian casualties exceeded eighty thousand, with over forty thousand killed in action directly.

The loss of military strength at Nankou was especially severe—many battalion-level units were simply wiped out. Cavalry losses were also considerable. Before the battle, the various cavalry units under the Han army totaled nearly fifty thousand riders; after this battle, combined with previous losses, the entire army had only a little over twenty thousand remaining.

If the Han army's losses were this heavy, the Liao army could only be described as miserable. Of their two hundred thousand troops, half had been wiped out. According to the cleanup and tally after the battle, over seventy thousand Liao corpses were found around Nankou alone. Counting prisoners, wounded, and missing, their losses absolutely exceeded half.

At the same time, the Han army captured over thirty thousand intact war horses—a considerable gain.