Chapter 97: Expansion and Reorganization

"Draw up a list of the soldiers who were killed or went missing, to prepare for post-battle compensation. Continue gathering physicians and medicines—wounded soldiers, regardless of severity, must be treated with full effort!"

"For all officers below battalion commander and the rank and file, record every achievement and capture from this battle in detail, and reward them according to merit."

Liu Chengyou looked at Zhang Yanwei and Guo Rong as he gave them their orders. After a moment's thought, he asked, "In the camp, what's the situation with the Yan troops and the Jin troops?"

It was Xiang Xun who reported to Liu Chengyou: "To guard against any trouble, the Yan troops of each army have been split into three groups, temporarily stationed to rest in the north, east, and southeast directions, with Yan generals from each army keeping order—they're fairly stable. The Jin troops are on the west side, quartered together with their surviving relatives, so there's basically no concern. As for the remaining able-bodied civilians, they've set up camp near Luancheng, with our army coordinating from the center."

Liu Chengyou nodded: "The great battle has just ended; now we still need to be careful—stability above all."

At this point, Guo Rong spoke up on his own initiative, a hint of gravity in his brow: "Your Highness, with tens of thousands of people gathered together right now and all sorts of affairs in turmoil, there's no danger in the short term, but over a long period, trouble is certain to arise."

"The Yan troops and Jin troops may have professed submission, but in a short time, it's utterly impossible to win their hearts completely. Especially the Yan troops—when cleaning up the battlefield, disputes and conflicts keep breaking out, not just with our army, but among their own various units as well, with plenty of friction between them. The current situation remains calm only because our army's overwhelming victory is keeping them in check. Our army's combat losses are simply too severe; if we have to keep suppressing all sides for much longer, I fear we won't have the strength to do so."

"Especially when we still have to be wary of the Khitan at Zhending. And perhaps there are still Khitan troops in other prefectures and counties of Hebei that haven't withdrawn north—those we likewise cannot afford to ignore..."

As Guo Rong finished speaking, Liu Chengyou slowly nodded twice. In truth, he had already been considering what Guo Rong said. Yan troops, Jin troops, Jin officials, civilian conscripts... tens of thousands of people of such mixed composition suddenly gathered together—how could that be so easily sorted out? The fact that all sorts of contradictions hadn't erupted directly was, as Guo Rong said, precisely because the Longqi Army's overwhelming victory was keeping every party restrained.

Of course, the root of the problem still lay in the vast quantities of supplies and wealth abandoned by the Khitan—after all, riches move men's hearts. Had they not made preparations in advance, mediated in time, and promised rewards, the slaughter by the banks of the Xiao River would probably still be going on.

At present, the ones most worthy of vigilance were still the Yan troops. According to the tally, the various Yan armies still had around eighteen thousand men here—too many. The Yan troops' defection naturally had its positive effects, temporarily greatly alleviating Liu Chengyou's desperate shortage of manpower, but given the Longqi Army's current condition, having too many Yan troops was actually not a good thing.

Once they've rested and recovered, and the momentum of the great victory gradually fades, suppressing them as easily as now won't be so simple—there might even be a reversal where the guest overpowers the host. And if nothing is done, that situation isn't far off.

Liu Chengyou pondered it himself: the key to solving the problem probably still lay with the Longqi Army itself. As long as its own strength was sufficient and it maintained its deterrent power, that would be enough to suppress all destabilizing factors.

Given Guo Rong's style, since he'd raised the problem, he would naturally have thought about how to solve it. Liu Chengyou turned his head to look at him: "What suggestions do you have?"

Guo Rong answered very directly: "The only way is to expand the army!"

Of one mind without prior consultation, Liu Chengyou swept his gaze around the circle and said in a deep voice, "Then we'll expand the army. Weed out the old and weak from among the Jin troops, and fold the rest entirely into the Longqi Army's infantry and cavalry units. In addition, from among those laborers, pick out the brave and strong—these are all ready-made prime sources of soldiers! For officer vacancies at every level, promote by merit; from among the surrendered troops, we can also select some!"

"Yes!" As the words fell, the assembled generals answered in unison, some of them almost impatiently.

Liu Chengyou intended to swallow up all those Jin troops whole—or rather, to thoroughly win them over and integrate them—and the other side wouldn't resist much. They were originally surrendered soldiers, the imperial army of the Later Jin. Now that the Shi Jin had fallen, they'd suffered enough of being without a state or a home under the Khitan's thumb; being accepted by a new dynasty—why wouldn't they be happy about that?

As for those able-bodied men, they had little room to refuse.

"For the army expansion, General Zhang will oversee it overall, with Guo Rong as Chief Inspector of the Longqi Army to assist him. Sun Li is severely wounded, so the Second Army will be temporarily commanded concurrently by Ma Quanyi of the First Army, and the Third Army will have Xiang Xun as acting Commander. Additionally, establish a Fifth Army of the Longqi, with Luo Yangui as its Commander. For the cavalry, select skilled riders and archers from the entire army, with Han Tong as Cavalry Commander!"

"Hmm..." At this point, Liu Chengyou paused. By this method of expansion, the Longqi Army could leap in one bound to become a great army. Some ideas stirred in his mind, and he said directly: "Establish wing-level command: the First Army, Second Army, and Cavalry form the Left Wing, with Ma Quanyi as Left Wing Chief Commander; the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Armies form the Right Wing, with Murong Yanzhao as Wing Chief Commander!"

"Yes!" This time, the generals' voices were considerably louder—after all, this was a promotion.

"The weak soldiers weeded out will be organized into auxiliary troops. As for the other non-military people, aside from the Jin troops' relatives, once the situation stabilizes, issue them all rations and travel money and send them home!" Liu Chengyou continued his orders. He felt his mind growing clearer and clearer. He paused, then added one more line: "Strengthen surveillance on the Yan troops!"

Toward the Yan troops, Liu Chengyou had no choice but to be cautious. Even if on the surface he showed complete trust, wariness and guard in his heart were unavoidable. If their numbers were small, he could have simply swallowed them up as he had at Luzhou, but with so many, he needed to think it over more carefully—swallow them all in one gulp, and he feared his belly would burst.

These men were not like the Jin troops. Most of their roots lay in the lands of Youyan, and the Yan region was still under Khitan rule—the Liu court had no strength to retake it in the short term. That was the biggest problem.

"Your Highness, the Fourth Army has captured Zhao Yanshou." Before the meeting broke up, Zhang Yanwei reported to Liu Chengyou.

"Oh?" Liu Chengyou was somewhat surprised: "Where is he now?"

Murong Yanzhao rose and answered: "He's temporarily detained in the camp. He suffered some injuries, and I've arranged for people to treat him. Would you like to receive him?"

His gaze drifted for a moment, a vague idea forming in his mind. Coming back to himself, he waved a hand: "Keep him under guard for now. Carry out the army expansion as soon as possible tomorrow. Meeting dismissed."

"Yes!"

"Guo Rong!"

"Here."

"Write up a military report of the entire Battle of Luancheng and send it to the Son of Heaven to report the victory!"

After the meeting dispersed, that wave of exhaustion swept over him again, and this time it came even more fiercely, almost too much to bear. After sending orders to strengthen the guard, he fell into bed and slept. This time, Liu Chengyou slept fairly peacefully, the corner of his mouth unconsciously curving up into a faint arc.

The next day, at first light, the entire vast camp stirred into motion. The army expansion and reorganization proceeded in an orderly fashion under the generals' leadership. In the midst of this, Liu Chengyou didn't stop either—he began personally receiving the Yan generals in batches and touring among the Yan troops to reassure them and set their minds at ease.

While Liu Chengyou was digesting the fruits of victory, up north at Zhending, as the defeated soldiers gradually regrouped, the Liao army finally recovered somewhat, relying on the city walls to temporarily stabilize. Still, morale remained low—how could the impact of such a great defeat fade so easily? Yelu Ruan had a terrible headache.

PS: Seeing a whole stream of complaints about short chapters... fine, I admit it.

As an author who's been a salted fish for years, not going on hiatus is already pretty good. Everyone, just lower your expectations, and then there won't be any urging for more updates...