Chapter 98: Slinking Back with Tails Between Their Legs

One knows one's own affairs best, and only the Khitan themselves knew just how great their losses in the Battle of Luancheng truly were. When he received the casualty report, Yelu Ruan's face turned green, his heart bleeding.

Too tragic!

Among the dead and wounded troops, besides the Hu soldiers of various tribes such as the Xi, Mohe, and Shiwei, there were also a great number of Khitan soldiers of their own tribe, and the upper-level Khitan nobles, generals, and tribal chieftains had also suffered heavy casualties in the chaotic fighting. Several high-ranking generals like Yelu Bali-de had been killed in action—these men were the very cornerstones maintaining Khitan rule.

And the troops able to accompany Yelu Deguang were all Khitan elites; their losses being so severe could potentially shake the very foundations of rule. This defeat could hardly be fully described even as "breaking bones and injuring sinews."

Casualties were only one part of it. What also pained Yelu Ruan was the vast wealth and supplies that had accompanied the army—they had spent over half a year plundering and looting across the Central Plains and Hebei, and now it all seemed to have been sewn into a wedding dress for the enemy. This wealth was also extremely important to the Khitan.

One must understand that ever since the Shi Jin had broken with the Khitan, in these years of struggle, Yelu Deguang had also been waging war relentlessly, and the Khitan homeland had suffered no small losses in succession, especially in the two battles of Qicheng and Yangcheng, where they had sustained severe damage. The Khitan realm had long since been exhausted in both people and soldiers.

And last year, when they marched south to destroy the Jin, Yelu Deguang had come with nearly the full strength of the nation. Originally, even if they could not occupy the Central Plains long-term, even if Yelu Deguang died, relying on these goods plundered from the Central Plains and shipped back home would have been enough to let the Khitan recover a great deal of blood, easing internal contradictions while also enabling further development.

It might even have helped Yelu Ruan compete for the imperial throne upon returning home. But now, a splendid situation had been lost in a single morning—they had lost everything down to their grandmother's house.

At the same time, Yelu Ruan's heart was filled with unwillingness and regret. The Battle of Luancheng had been lost too stiflingly. To be fair, since the founding of their state, the Khitan had never suffered such a heavy blow—even last year's destruction of the Jin had seen the Later Jin collapse on its own before the Khitan army had even exerted much effort.

Yet, just half a year later, in a foreign land, at Luancheng, over a hundred thousand infantry and cavalry had collapsed so inexplicably. Perhaps after the battle, upon careful reflection, one could identify some problems and summarize some lessons, but at this moment, Yelu Ruan, still licking his wounds in pain at Zhending, could hardly calm down enough to think seriously.

Especially after news of the battle at Luancheng and the enemy's situation reached Yelu Ruan's ears. Eight thousand Longqi Army troops—the enemy had only a mere eight thousand men, and their hundred-thousand-plus elite troops had served as nothing but a backdrop to showcase them. Yelu Ruan's mentality directly collapsed.

Before the assembled returning generals, Yelu Ruan excitedly shouted that he would lead the army back in counterattack, to avenge their shame and wash away their disgrace. Quite a few Khitan nobles and generals shared Yelu Ruan's sentiments—their Great Khitan had never suffered such a loss; they absolutely had to retaliate.

However, there were ultimately some with clear heads, or rather, more steady individuals. For example, Zhang Li among the Han ministers, and Yelu Anbo among the Khitan.

"That Liu boy has few troops; his previous victory only relied on the advantage of a surprise attack. Zhending still has tens of thousands of strong soldiers. What's wrong with marching south to strike them? Are you all afraid? Do you harbor fear of the enemy?" Facing the dissuasion of the ministers and generals led by those two, Yelu Ruan demanded harshly.

Zhang Li was not young anymore, and having weathered the great calamity of war, he appeared even more aged. But he wore an expression of one determined to be a loyal minister of the Khitan, and urged excitedly: "Great King, although there are not few soldiers in Zhending, having returned from a great defeat, military morale is scattered and fighting spirit is low. How can we contend with an enemy bearing the momentum of a great victory? Moreover, they have the Jin troops and Yan troops to assist them; we have no absolute advantage in numbers either. In such a situation, truly we cannot march south to clash with them!"

"Yan troops? Sooner or later I'll make those traitors pay!" At the mention of the Yan troops, Yelu Ruan became even more furious. Suddenly his eyes narrowed, and he stared coldly at Zhang Li: "If not for those Han troops' betrayal, how could our army have come to this? Zhang Gong, in so earnestly dissuading me from advancing, do you have some other motive!"

Yelu Ruan did not particularly care for Zhang Li—not because he was a Han minister, but because this man was too favored by Yelu Deguang.

Facing Yelu Ruan's accusation, Zhang Li's face flushed red in an instant, his expression full of shame and indignation. He raised his hand and pointed at his own heart: "His Majesty showed me the kindness of recognizing my worth, treating me with utmost courtesy, not holding my past betrayal against me. I can only repay with utmost sincerity. If the Prince of Yongkang doubts my intentions, he may cut open my heart to prove my loyalty!"

Seeing Zhang Li's emotional display, Yelu Ruan sniffed, averted his gaze, and sat down in a huff, saying nothing more. Seeing Yelu Ruan's reaction, Zhang Li's rapidly pounding heart finally slowed. He kept a low profile, silently saying to himself: This is all I can do.

Zhang Li was a man of uprightness and pride, but he was not stupid. He had long seen which way the wind was blowing, knowing that after Yelu Deguang's death, his days would likely not be easy. Seizing the opportunity of the Liao army's fresh defeat, he was already contemplating finding a chance to flee south. He even somewhat regretted not having decisively stayed behind during that chaotic night battle...

Still fuming, he inspected the troops in the city. Yelu Ruan decisively stopped his blustering—he knew very well the state of military morale; he simply hadn't expected that after resting behind strong city walls, things had not improved but rather showed a trend of continuing to deteriorate.

"Great King, what Zhang Li said does make sense. At this time, given our army's condition, it truly is not suitable to launch military operations. Stabilizing the people's hearts and restoring morale is the most important thing!" Summoning several trusted subordinates for consultation, Yelu Anbo once again offered his counsel to Yelu Ruan.

Glancing at him, Yelu Ruan was not so stubborn this time, but his heart was truly unbalanced: "To just let that Liu boy off like this—this pent-up fury in my heart is truly hard to calm!"

But Yelu Anbo said: "Which officer in the army is not burning with rage? Great King must remain calm and plan for the long term."

Sighing, Yelu Ruan asked: "In your view, what should we do next?"

"The Southern Court is already a place of trouble; we cannot stay long. The soldiers miss home and wish to return—we should quickly withdraw north!" Yelu Anbo said: "One can imagine that once news of the Battle of Luancheng spreads across the world, resistance in the various prefectures of China will become even more intense. We should, before the impact spreads further, send orders to the officials and generals of each prefecture to lead their troops north!"

Hearing this, Yelu Ruan's eyes suddenly lit up: "The prefectures of the Central Plains and Hebei still have no fewer than a hundred thousand troops. We could gather them together..."

Before Yelu Ruan could finish, Yelu Anbo shook his head: "Great King, the Southern Court of today is a muddy swamp. If we do not extract ourselves in time, given the current situation, sinking deeper will only make it harder to extricate ourselves, and the losses will be even greater then!"

"Do you all share this view?" Yelu Ruan looked at the other trusted subordinates. Some hesitated, some nodded, some remained silent—but none explicitly raised objections. It was clear that the Battle of Luancheng had dealt these men a tremendous blow of frustration.

"Are we to hand even Hebei over to Liu Zhiyuan on a silver platter?" Yelu Ruan's tone was bitter.

At this mention, Yelu Anbo sneered and said: "Great King, this Southern Court's rivers and mountains are not so easily won. Since the Great Tang, it's been forty or fifty years—how many emperors have been changed? One can be certain that as soon as our army withdraws, there will be no shortage of people stepping forward to oppose Liu Zhiyuan."

"Judging by the Han people's past behavior, they will not stop until they've fought to the death and settled the victor. Great King only needs to lead our Khitan sons to rest and recuperate at home, sitting back to watch them consume each other. The lands of Youyan remain in our hands; when we have restored our strength another day, we can march south again."

Yelu Anbo's suggestion sounded quite reasonable, but setting everything else aside, first of all, this matter of restoring strength—how easy was that...

Still, Yelu Ruan thought it over and nodded in agreement.

"At present, Great King, there is something even more important!" His eyes rolling around a couple of times, Yelu Anbo said in a low voice.

"What?"

"A state cannot be without a master for even a single day. Great King should ascend the throne swiftly and inherit the great enterprise!" Yelu Anbo abruptly rose and knelt.

Seeing this, Yelu Ruan was not particularly surprised, but his brows furrowed and he waved his hand repeatedly: "Our army has just suffered this defeat..."

"Precisely because of that, we need a measure to boost morale, inspire the troops, and stabilize the situation!"

Yelu Ruan fell silent. To say he was not tempted would be impossible—even before the Battle of Luancheng, he had already planned how to ascend the Liao throne with universal support.

But at this moment, having just suffered a great defeat, he was very hesitant: "At Shangjing there is still my imperial uncle Yelu Lihu, and Empress Dowager Shulu surely supports him. With my current situation, how could I possibly contend with him!"

"Which is precisely why we must concentrate the military strength left behind in the Southern Court!" Yelu Anbo said: "Moreover, the Imperial Younger Brother is jealous and cruel by nature, arrogant and overbearing, and unpopular. He is certainly no match for Great King!"

His thoughts somewhat disordered, the defeat at Luancheng had left Yelu Ruan lacking some confidence.

As if having seen through Yelu Ruan's concerns, Yelu Anbo continued: "The defeat at Luancheng was not Great King's fault—that was a bitter seed sown by the late emperor..."

Rising, his face grim, pacing for a long while, Yelu Ruan raised his hand: "As for the withdrawal, send out messengers immediately to notify the garrison troops everywhere. And keep watching Luancheng for me!"

"Yes!"

With the messengers dispatched, the Liao army was basically confirmed to completely withdraw from the lands of the Southern Court. Unlike the bountiful return north when they had departed from Kaifeng, this time they left full of resentment, and before leaving, they went on one last rampage. Not to mention other places—at Zhending alone, the Liao army looted it clean, which in turn provoked even fiercer resistance.

Although Yelu Ruan kept telling himself that he was returning north to seize the throne, biding his time, the Liao soldiers heading north could not hide their dejected, shamed, and bedraggled air.

PS: This chapter's grown by at least 2cm, right?