Chapter 94: Aftermath

As time passed, the officers and men of the various battalions, companies, and squads under the Longqi Army returned one after another, most having lost more than half their numbers, and some squads had even been wiped out entirely.

When he saw Guo Rong return, Liu Chengyou breathed a sigh of relief. But he was leading fewer than two hundred soldiers from a battalion of the First Army, the battalion commander having perished in the chaos of battle, and Guo Rong had taken over command, preserving them through the final confusion.

Coming together with Guo Rong were over a thousand Jin soldiers, along with a portion of able-bodied men. It seemed Guo Rong had deeply understood Liu Chengyou's intent—without even receiving orders, he had already taken the lead in pacifying and recruiting the Jin troops.

"Your Highness!" Guo Rong, covered in dishevelment, saluted Liu Chengyou, his voice somewhat hoarse—apparently he had shouted himself hoarse during the night.

"Were you injured?" Liu Chengyou looked Guo Rong over from head to toe and asked.

Liu Chengyou had largely reined in the emotions he had let loose since last night, his expression as calm and unruffled as usual, though the concern in his tone was plain to see.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness!" Guo Rong replied, then pointed at the Jin soldiers who had come with him and said in a low voice: "These soldiers are all elite troops of the Shi Jin imperial army, with no mean fighting ability. After last night's battle, they already regard you as their benefactor, and their intention to pledge themselves to you is strong. With proper appeasement, they can be turned to our use. Those among them who have family and relatives following the army are mostly scattered across the battlefield—if we can find them, we can win their hearts. There should still be many scattered Jin soldiers on the battlefield..."

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou likewise replied in a low voice: "Luo Yangui has already gathered a portion, and I have also sent men to pacify and recruit them."

"Your Highness is wise!" Rarely, Guo Rong actually offered a word of flattery: "When I returned, I saw many Yan troops also clearing the battlefield. Your Highness must be careful!"

"No need for concern. I have already reached an understanding with the Yan army commanders—they have all expressed their submission!" Liu Chengyou said.

Guo Rong thought for a moment and said: "The roots of the Yan troops are mostly in Youyan and Liaodong. Easy to take in, hard to subdue. However, now they are duckweed without roots, with nothing to rely on, so they should still be easy to control. But Your Highness must not fail to make early plans!"

"I have this matter in hand; I will make arrangements later!" After a moment's consideration, Liu Chengyou nodded, then said.

With that, Liu Chengyou summoned Ma Quanyi and Murong Yanzhao, having the two of them take charge of settling those Jin soldiers.

Then, Liu Chengyou looked at a middle-aged man standing beside Guo Rong: "And this is?"

The man was imposing in appearance, tall and long-limbed, with a long forked beard and considerable bearing—though at the moment he looked very weak, simply draped in a long robe, with many wounds that could not be concealed. They did not look like battlefield injuries, but rather like those of a man just released from prison.

"Your Highness, this is Li Gu, courtesy name Li Weizhen, the former Prefect of Cizhou." Upon the question, Guo Rong immediately introduced him: "Previously he aided the haughty strongman of Cizhou, Liang Hui, in marching south to resist the Khitan. When the Liao emperor passed through Fuyang, he was denounced by a petty man and thrown into prison. Interrogated and tortured several times, covered in wounds, yet he remained steadfast and unyielding. In the chaos of this night, he was rescued by righteous men and encountered me. The recruitment of the Jin army has also owed much to his assistance."

Somewhat surprised, Liu Chengyou looked at Li Gu. Whatever he thought in his heart, he maintained his composure on the surface, cupping his hands toward him: "So it is Governor Li himself. I offer my respects. Your renowned name has long reached my ears, and I have yearned to meet you!"

"Your Highness's fearsome reputation has also thundered in my ears. Having seen you today, you are indeed a young hero, with the bearing of a dragon and the mien of a phoenix—a celestial visage!" Li Gu appeared very composed, and his words seemed to come from the heart. Though they were clearly flattery, they did not make Liu Chengyou feel the slightest bit of sycophancy.

After a round of mutual flattery, Liu Chengyou immediately had Li Chongju arrange for the two men to go rest. He could see that both Guo Rong and Li Gu were in poor condition—Li Gu especially had serious injuries and was barely holding himself up. What they needed most now was a good rest.

As for Liu Chengyou, though drowsiness and fatigue kept assailing him, with good news coming in from all sides, he maintained a faint state of excitement.

Before long, Xiang Xun, whom Liu Chengyou had been silently worrying about, also returned. Together with the remnants of the Second and Third Armies, Liu Chengyou immediately led men to greet him. He had been constantly concerned about the situation of these two armies—in that final charge, they had completely disregarded casualties, trading life for life, to break into the Liao camp and become the last straw that broke the back of the Khitan central army...

Without even needing a close look, one could tell the condition of these two armies was dire—wounded soldiers everywhere, nearly every man bearing injuries. He called for people to settle them, asked a few brief questions, and the results sent Liu Chengyou's mood plummeting.

Of the soldiers who had charged the camp with the two commanders last night, casualties amounted to fully sixty to seventy percent. Of the remainder, even adding the scattered soldiers of the two armies gathered on Liu Chengyou's side, the total was probably just over a thousand.

One had to know that since marching south, the Longqi Army had been expanded several times, and the strength of the Second and Third Armies had already exceeded three thousand. This single battle had directly wiped out three-fifths of them.

"After the Liao army retreated in defeat, caught up in the chaos of battle, the soldiers were scattered as well. Your subordinate, together with Commander Sun, did our utmost to gather a portion of our brothers and cut a bloody path southward." Xiang Xun's eyes were somewhat red as he recounted to Liu Chengyou: "Commander Wang of the Third Army, leading from the front when attacking the stockade, was pierced through the heart by a stray arrow and died. It was only after dawn that his body was found among the pile of corpses."

"Commander Sun, blade in hand at the front, slew over twenty Khitan barbarians. His saber was hacked until the edge curled, and he suffered multiple wounds until he fell unconscious. Before losing consciousness, he still shouted 'Kill the barbarians!' His nephew Sun Han led his men to hold off several times their number of enemies. His lower abdomen was stabbed, his guts spilling out—yet he fought on with his entrails wound around him and slew a Khitan camp-defending general before finally being shot down by a hail of arrows..."

After hearing Xiang Xun's report, Liu Chengyou fell silent—the kind of silence that shut everything out.

All along, the only army Liu Chengyou had treated as his trusted inner force was the First Army, formed by Ma Quanyi. And the First Army, since marching south, had undertaken all sorts of missions and had never once disappointed him.

But in this battle, the performance of the Second and Third Armies truly exceeded his expectations. And the two commanders—whom he had never thought much of, and whose occasional complaints and even defiance and questioning had earned them his disgust—had for the first time refreshed Liu Chengyou's impression of them.

In fact, ever since last night when Sun Li had led his men to execute his orders without hesitation, Liu Chengyou had already been quite surprised. As for his nephew Sun Han, who had previously been punished for contending over merit with Yang Ye and had landed on Liu Chengyou's blacklist—on the battlefield, in the most difficult moment, he had proven himself so fierce and brave.

Thinking of this uncle and nephew, one dead and one gravely wounded, a trace of complex emotion welled up in his heart. Liu Chengyou could not help but recall that when he had first reorganized the Longqi Army, Liu Zhiyuan had advised him: on the battlefield, there were old soldiers who would entrust their very lives to him...

Suppressing the ripples in his heart, Liu Chengyou slowly walked to the side of Sun Li, who still lay unconscious on a stretcher. Staring at that pale face stained with blood and grime for a long while, he took a deep breath, then raised his hand and sternly ordered: "You must—you must save Commander Sun's life!"

"Pass the order: find every single fallen soldier's body for me!" Turning to look south once more with his hands behind his back, gazing for a good while, Liu Chengyou raised his hand and solemnly ordered again.

With all the commotion and bustle, it took a long time before the chaotic scene was sorted out. The camp to the north also kept expanding, even reaching the great dense forest in the northwest of Luancheng. In the vast camp, there were many scenes of people who had found their relatives embracing and weeping, but there were far more scenes of parting in life and death...

During the process of clearing the battlefield, disturbances arose anew—whether Yan troops, Jin troops, or the laborers, all broke into fights over plunder. After all, the Khitan had left behind too much wealth; one only needed to stand on the riverbank and run a few steps from south to north to always find something good.

Fortunately, Liu Chengyou had foreseen this and had informed the commanders in advance. While sending his own troops to suppress the unrest, he also continuously issued proclamations and promises to defuse the disturbances.

Of course, even while busy to the point of exhaustion, Liu Chengyou did not forget to send the somewhat rested Han Tong north with his men to scout the situation of the Liao army. Though the possibility was small, he had to guard against a counterattack—after all, the Khitan forces retreating north were not few in number.

Liu Chengyou kept reminding himself: do not let success go to your head.