Chapter 946: Military and Administrative Arrangements

In Yunzhong, to give the soldiers who had been fighting for days a chance to rest, Liu Chengyou ordered that the entire army be supplied with ample wine and meat, allowing all troops to relax fully and release the aggression in their hearts. To ensure proper nutrition, Liu Chengyou even ordered the newly appointed Administration Commissioner of Hedong, Wang Zuo, to transport a large quantity of fresh vegetables from the rear to the front lines.

Since the northern expedition began, alcohol had been banned in the army most of the time, but meat was never in short supply, and the soldiers didn't think much of it—they had captured large numbers of livestock from the Liao army.

However, after the three days of grand celebration, everything returned to normal order, and discipline was restored throughout. During those three days, apart from joining the soldiers in merriment on the first day, Liu Chengyou spent the rest of his time contemplating the next steps.

Perhaps because they had drunk too much, some generals began to lose their heads and suggested to Liu Chengyou that, taking advantage of Liao's internal turmoil, they should simply send troops beyond the frontier and wipe out Liao in one stroke—a permanent solution to eliminate the northern threat once and for all.

Of course, this was only the thinking of a minority of generals who craved military glory. After all, with several hundred thousand troops on the northern expedition and no fewer than a thousand commanders, despite over a hundred battles large and small, not everyone had achieved outstanding merit.

As for such suggestions, setting aside the fact that Liu Chengyou had no such intention, even if he did, he would not choose this moment. To supply the northern expedition, the court had already exhausted its manpower and resources, and was already strained. Especially since the fighting began in early spring, nearly every single day had been draining the nation's vitality. If the war dragged on any longer, it could not be sustained—unless he continued to drain the pond to catch the fish, but Liu Chengyou was not that foolish.

Although he sometimes displayed a tendency toward impatience for quick success, in matters of the overall situation he was sufficiently prudent, maintaining a clear understanding of the circumstances and not easily making rash mistakes.

Moreover, after encircling Yunzhou, in order to boost morale and inspire the troops, Liu Chengyou had already announced to the entire army that once Yunzhong was taken, they would return in triumph to the capital and receive rewards according to their merits.

How could Liu Chengyou, who frequently inspected the camps and comforted the soldiers, not know the state of military morale? Besides, he had the reminders of Fu Yanqing, Guo Rong, Zhao Kuangyin, and other commanders. Among the Han army at Yunzhou, apart from a portion of laborers conscripted after early spring, the rest had essentially been fighting since last year. After such prolonged combat, they were mentally exhausted.

No matter what, Liu Chengyou would not act against the will of several hundred thousand people—especially a military organization of several hundred thousand. Of course, if he insisted on going his own way, the soldiers might still obey orders, and the court would basically continue to support him, but what kind of chaos that would trigger was anyone's guess. In any case, it would not end well. Just look at Yang Guang!

As for administrative matters, they didn't require much of Liu Chengyou's brainpower. Everything was focused on stability and recovery. In terms of administrative structure, Liu Chengyou decided to divide the recovered Yanyun prefectures into two parts and establish two new circuits.

One circuit, based on the former Yun, Shuo, Huan, Ying, Wei, and Xin prefectures, was established as the Shanyang Circuit, with Yunzhou as its seat of government, elevated to Datong Prefecture. At the same time, the newly recovered prefectures and counties had been under Liao rule for many years, and their administrative structures had changed greatly compared to twenty years ago. Liu Chengyou made adjustments accordingly. Taking Huai'an County in the east as an example, the areas to its west that originally belonged to Xin Prefecture were all placed under Datong Prefecture's jurisdiction; Huan Prefecture was abolished and merged into Shuo Prefecture; Ying Prefecture remained, but only with the western town of Mayi merged into it.

Thus, the newly established Shanyang Circuit temporarily consisted only of Datong, Shuo, Wu, and Wei—one prefecture and three commanderies—covering an area of no more than fifty thousand square kilometers, not particularly large. But from its name alone, one could see Liu Chengyou's ambition. What does "Shanyang" mean? The entire region south of the Yin Mountains is encompassed within it.

As for the Youzhou side, that was also easy to arrange. Using the Juma River and Baigou as boundary rivers, the south belonged to the Hebei Circuit, while the north was newly established as the Yannan Circuit, comprising twelve prefectures: You, Zhuo, Yi, Ji, Tan, Shun, Ru, Gui, Wu, Luan, Ping, and Ying. While Liu Chengyou was personally at Yunzhou overseeing the campaign, Ma Quanyi, along with Li Hanqiong, Ma Renyu, and other generals, had already defeated Yelu Wansi's army, fully taken Ying Prefecture, seized Yu Pass, and closed the last major passage into Yan.

Among them, Shun Prefecture was abolished, with Huairou County placed under Youzhou Prefecture, and the area north of Huairou belonging to Tan Prefecture; east of Ji Prefecture, the former Luan-Ping-Ying region was merged into one administration, all under Ping Prefecture; outside Juyong Pass, the former Ru, Gui, and Wu prefectures were combined into Xuanhua Prefecture, with its seat at Wende, guarding Youyan.

Thus, the Yannan Circuit governed Youzhou Prefecture, Xuanhua Prefecture, and Tan, Ji, Ping, Zhuo, and Yi—two prefectures and five commanderies in total. Likewise, in Liu Chengyou's conception, the entire Yan Mountains region fell within its jurisdiction.

As for the chief administrators of the two circuits, for the Shanyang Circuit Administration Commissioner, Liu Chengyou chose Song Qi. This man was a jinshi graduate of Liao, had served as an official for many years, and had followed the Zhao father and son for a long time, familiar with the political systems and popular conditions of both countries. He had both talent and, in previous interactions, had shown sufficient closeness to the court, earning Liu Chengyou's approval. At the same time, appointing Song Qi as a high official of a circuit was also a way to further win over and pacify the hearts of the officials and people of the former Yan king's domain.

As for the Yannan Circuit, Gao Fang was the obvious choice. Acting on Liu Chengyou's orders, he had remained in Youzhou for ten years, devoting himself wholeheartedly to maintaining the relationship between Youyan and the court and fulfilling its role as the northern bulwark—truly exhausting his every effort and pouring out his heart and soul.

His appointment was both fitting and a reward for his meritorious service. Of course, using Gao Fang was also only a transitional choice. The reason was precisely that Gao Fang had spent ten years in Youzhou, with deep roots and tangled relationships.

Once the court's rule over the Yannan region was stabilized, it would be time to transfer him away. In fact, several candidates to replace him had already flashed through Liu Chengyou's mind. Of course, Liu Chengyou would absolutely treat Gao Fang generously.

Compared to sorting out administrative affairs, the military arrangements and adjustments gave Liu Chengyou more of a headache and involved a much larger scope. Around the entire Yanyun region, a new military defense system needed to be constructed, and many of the original deployments needed to be shifted northward as a whole. From the Baoning Army in the far west to the Xin'an Army in the far east, numerous frontier armies all needed to be dealt with.

In the new frontier defense system, how to deploy troops, how to arrange the passes, how to allocate soldiers, and how to appoint generals—all these matters in every aspect needed to be resolved. One had to consider talent while also taking into account the soldiers' feelings. Take a general like Yang Ye as an example—he had already been at Yanmen Pass for ten years. No matter how majestic the mountain pass, he was probably tired of looking at it. Even Liu Chengyou himself felt reluctant on his behalf.

However, Liu Chengyou was not the only one racking his brains over the redesign of military defense. Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin served as his advisors, and in fact, most of the opinions came from the two of them.

On the Hebei side, the Baoding Army, Shun'an Army, Xiong'an Army, Xin'an Army, and Yongqing Army were all abolished and reverted to circuit command. At Juyong Pass, the Lulong Army was established; at Tan Prefecture, the Gubei Army; at Zunhua, the Shimen Army; and at Yu Pass, the Pinglu Army. As for personnel, they were selected from imperial army commanders, while the original Hebei frontier army commanders were reassigned elsewhere—basically either placed in regional military commissions or transferred into the imperial army.

On the other hand, the Shanyang Circuit, despite having the Great Wall as a barrier and strong fortifications as support, was actually harder to arrange than the Yannan side. Its border with Liao was simply too long—no matter how one deployed defenses, it was impossible to cover every point.

From now on, if faced with Liao army raids, the Shanyang Circuit would bear far greater pressure. After careful deliberation between sovereign and ministers, it was decided that the Baoning Army under Zhe Deyi would move north, the former Ninghua Army would be relocated to Shuo Prefecture, and at Datong, two armies—the Ningyuan Army and the Fengyi Army—would be newly established. The Dingxiang Army would be retained, but its strength would be drastically reduced to one thousand men, with five hundred stationed at each of the two passes to the east and west.

With this, the framework for northern defense was essentially in place. What remained was to fill it with troops and move personnel. And in terms of personnel arrangements, that was where Liu Chengyou's headache began again. Guo Rong and the others could offer suggestions, but the final decision was the Emperor's prerogative.

In fact, with this adjustment, the situation along the Great Han's northern border had changed dramatically, giving a sense of solidity and peace of mind—this was the effect of fully recovering Youyun.

At the same time, through the military arrangements on the northern frontier, the Great Han's armed forces would undergo another reorganization. The frontier defense deployment was merely an appetizer; the real major overhaul would be the imperial army.

Since the founding of the Great Han, the imperial army had undergone three major reorganizations. The first was during Liu Zhiyuan's time, when the main purpose was to absorb and expand. The latter two were when Liu Chengyou, capitalizing on victories in suppressing rebellions and foreign wars, carried out major rectifications aimed at strengthening imperial power and tightening control over the military.

The results were very good—a tremendous improvement compared to any dynasty of the past three generations. But at the same time, it was not thorough. To a large extent, it relied on Liu Chengyou's political maneuvering and personal prestige to hold things together. Institutionally, there were still shortcomings, and the structure of the imperial army remained complex and bloated. Additionally, the various frontier armies also needed some rectification to strengthen central control.

In this northern expedition, both internal and external forces that participated—whether imperial army or frontier army—had suffered considerable losses. Liu Chengyou also planned to take this opportunity to carry out a unified upgrade and reform of the entire national military system.