Chapter 975: Affairs of the North

Regarding affairs in the north, the Great Han did not adopt a wholly conservative stance. Although military offensives had ceased, political and economic offensives were vigorously pursued. Targeting the many minority peoples, Liu Chengyou specially established a government office, the Court of Border Affairs, with Prince Chen Zhao Kuangzan responsible for the recruitment and management of the various tribes.

In the northeast, due to blocked roads, controlled transportation, and Liao's precautions, although there was some contact with the Shiwei, Jurchen, Xi, and Bohai peoples, the scale ultimately remained small.

The court's main focus was placed on relations with Goryeo. Over these three years, exchanges between the two sides were frequent, and political ties grew increasingly close. King Wang So of Goryeo was very submissive to the court, sending envoys to the capital on several occasions to present tribute and learn, and inviting the court to send personnel to guide its institutional construction. In response, Liu Chengyou dispatched a number of erudite scholars, monks, and Daoists eastward across the sea, along with some officials as well.

This was almost a form of political poverty alleviation. Since the suppression of the rebellion, the authority of the Goryeo king had risen greatly, and the resistance to reform had dissolved without difficulty. Moreover, wrapped in the tiger-skin banner of the Great Han, its reforms had already shown great results. By the fifteenth year of Qianyou, internal contradictions in Goryeo had been brought under control, the ills of meritorious officials and aristocrats had been ameliorated, royal authority had been strengthened, and national power was gradually approaching its peak since the founding of the state.

Liu Chengyou also paid some attention to the situation in Goryeo. In his heart of hearts, perhaps he did not wish to see Wang So's reforms succeed. However, personal feelings could not ultimately influence grand national strategy. Against Liao, Goryeo was a capable ally that Liu Chengyou had chosen. Moreover, at this time, Goryeo was sufficiently submissive to the Great Han, and on matters concerning Liao, a consensus had long been reached.

On the other hand, there was economic benefit. Between the two countries, over two hundred seagoing vessels sailed each year, and bilateral trade reached an all-time high. From this, the Great Han derived considerable revenue, especially the large quantities of copper imported from Goryeo.

And through the traffic with Goryeo, Japan, further to the east, also received word and began organizing envoys to pay court to the Central Plains.

Compared with the calm in the northeast, the situation in the northwest was more complicated. First was the Dingnan Army. Since Li Yiyin had been detained in the Eastern Capital, internal division had indeed emerged within it.

Anyone with discerning eyes knew that Li Yiyin had been forcibly detained by the court, yet this did not create a situation of the entire Dingnan Army uniting in shared indignation and weathering the difficulties together. On the one hand, this stemmed from the court's political offensive; on the other, because of internal contradictions within the Dingnan Army, many people were inclined to believe that Li Yiyin had abandoned Xia and Sui out of attachment to the splendor of Kaifeng, unwilling to return west and instead enjoying his comforts in Kaifeng.

At first, before entering the capital, Li Yiyin had made some arrangements and instructions, placing heavy responsibility on his son Li Guangrui. In fact, this had some effect. In the early period of Li Yiyin's absence, Li Guangrui did indeed grasp control of the military and political power of the Dingnan Army.

However, as time passed, problems emerged, arising from within the Tuoba Li clan. A mere pretext of "lacking proper title and justification" could be used for attack, and selectively using Li Yiyin's situation to undermine his prestige added fuel. Thus, contradictions grew increasingly prominent. By the fourteenth year of Qianyou, Li Guangrui could no longer fully control the situation, and the Dingnan Army had in fact split.

First, Li Yiquan, Military Governor of Suizhou, refused to obey his orders and submitted a memorial to the court impeaching Li Guangrui for usurping the command position and harboring treacherous designs. Hot on his heels was Li Guangyan, Prefect of Yinzhou, who, though not as direct as Li Yiquan, nevertheless adopted an attitude of estrangement.

At this point, of the four prefectures under the Dingnan Army, only Xia and You truly obeyed the command headquarters, and only Xiazhou was completely under Li Guangrui's control. What made things even harder for the Dingnan Army was that its Military Governor was still far away in Kaifeng.

The division of the Dingnan Army certainly had Lu Duoxun stirring the pot behind the scenes, but the root cause lay in its internal contradictions. And the source of those contradictions lay in the hereditary succession of the military governorship.

The rise of the Tuoba Li clan hinged on Li Sigong, the founder of the Tangut Dingnan Army. Even though Li Sigong had been dead for more than half a century, his prestige remained in the hearts of many Tangut people.

However, after Li Sigong's death, because his son was young and inexperienced, the military governorship passed to his younger brother Li Sijian. After Li Sijian's death, Li Yichang, son of Li Sigong, succeeded, but was killed in a mutiny, and the command fell to Li Renfu, of the line of Li Sijing, Li Sigong's younger brother, continuing down to the present day.

After Li Renfu came his son Li Yichao, and then Li Yiyin. From this lineage, one could see that the Dingnan Army's succession carried great hidden dangers. If Li Yiyin were present, with his more than twenty years of control in office, he would be sufficient to suppress any trouble.

But with Li Yiyin absent, Li Guangrui, on the one hand lacking sufficient prestige and on the other lacking an imperial decree of appointment, found that old grievances and historical leftover problems could all be brought up against him.

It was only because the foundation Li Yiyin had laid in Xiazhou was deep enough that Li Guangrui could hold onto the Xiazhou inheritance at all; otherwise, he might well have been driven out by the forces of his opponents.

In fact, Lu Duoxun had reported that Li Yiquan of Suizhou had contacted him, hoping to obtain the court's support to expel Li Guangrui and make Xiazhou truly submit to the court. However, such petty schemes could hardly be hidden from the court. The response given was neither support nor opposition—which, of course, was itself a statement of attitude.

As for the current situation of the Dingnan Army, the court was already satisfied. Internal division and strife, yet not to the point of brothers turning on each other—this state of affairs was simply perfect.

In fact, if the Dingnan Army truly descended into civil war, it would not be a good thing for the Great Han at present, as it could very likely affect the entire northwestern situation. However, they also temporarily lacked the basis for civil war—externally, the court held the reins; internally, Xia, Sui, and Yin mutually checked one another.

And if anyone made the first move, they would likely incur public outrage. The division of the Dingnan Army remained confined to its own internal affairs, with other Tangut tribes rarely participating, silently watching from the sidelines while actively trading with the prefectures and counties under court control.

Last summer, suffering from internal turmoil, endless disputes, and mental exhaustion, Li Guangrui, in his capacity as Acting Military Governor of Xiazhou, submitted a memorial to Liu Chengyou, roughly meaning that he hoped Li Yiyin could be released and returned, bringing peace to the people of Xia and Sui, and that he himself was willing to come to the capital as a hostage.

In response, Li Yiyin "voluntarily" sent back a letter, saying that he was doing very well in the Eastern Capital, that he was advanced in years and lacking in energy, and that it was fitting for him to enjoy his old age in comfort, and urging him to manage the military and political affairs of Xiazhou well. Thereafter, the court issued an imperial edict formally confirming Li Guangrui as Military Governor of the Dingnan Army.

This appointment gave Li Guangrui proper title, but the already divided Tuoba Li clan could hardly return to its former state. And because of the court's machinations, Li Guangrui harbored resentment in his heart, growing increasingly dissatisfied with the court.

While internal strife within the Dingnan Army continued unabated, to its south there was a spectator eating melon seeds—Gao Shaoji. By the fifteenth year of Qianyou, Gao Shaoji's rule over Yanzhou existed in name only. Although Gao Shaoji still retained the title of Military Governor, the real military and political power had already been seized by the court. The Bureau of Military Affairs had sent a general named Cao Han to take charge of military affairs in Yanzhou.

The Gao clan had also gradually relocated to Luoyang, and Gao Shaoji had twice petitioned Liu Chengyou, hoping to return to court for an official post.

Beyond Tangut affairs, the court's expansion into Longyou and Hexi also continued to make progress, with increasingly dense traffic and exchanges with the Uyghurs, Wenmo, and Tibetans. Wang Jing, Duke of Bao, building on his earlier western expansion, continued advancing westward and brought Lanzhou back under administration.

West of Lanzhou, he continued sending people to pacify and recruit. For his achievements in expanding territory and pacifying the barbarians, Wang Jing was formally elevated from Commandery Duke of Bohai to Duke of Bao in the fourteenth year of Qianyou. By then Wang Jing was already seventy-three years old—one could say that his later years were entirely devoted to the Great Han's cause in the west.

As for Liangzhou, which had long been deeply connected with the Great Han, after years of groundwork, the central government also dispatched several officials there to carry out administration. The Zhefou clan had grown strong with court support, surpassing all the Wenmo tribes. There had been some concern about them, but fortunately they remained fairly obedient, not creating obstacles and walking the path to self-destruction.

By the fifteenth year of Qianyou, the Great Han's power had thoroughly advanced into the Hexi region, with influence reaching across the Hexi Corridor. The adverse effect of this was that in this process of restorative expansion, not everyone welcomed it. Among the many tribes of the northwest, there were more hostile gazes and voices of opposition.

The Ganzhou Uyghurs, who controlled the Gan and Su regions, also displayed deep apprehension under the Great Han's expansionist momentum. It was only because the Great Han's pace was steady, employing the method of boiling a frog in warm water—economic interests first, political measures following, backed by military deterrence—that no major upheaval occurred.

Of course, with the reports from Lu Duoxun and various generals and officials on northwestern affairs, Liu Chengyou had also sketched out a blueprint in his mind. The northwestern region would still need restructuring in the future. In the process of returning to Helong and even the Western Regions, a policy of conciliation was necessary, but it could not be the only means.