Chapter 391: The Filial Yelu Deguang

"Xiao Shilu!" Yelu Deguang roared, hurling the mutton leg bone in his hand straight at Xiao Shilu, who had just entered the tent, still kneeling on the ground without even wiping the blood from his face, shivering from the cold.

"How dare you come back? That was my Pishi Army — three thousand men gone just like that! If my great Khitan had a few more supervisors like you, Xiao Shilu, I fear it would perish in its second generation at my hands!"

Amid Yelu Deguang's bellowing, Xiao Shilu's forehead instantly swelled red.

But he dared not show any displeasure, for he knew that this loss had truly dealt a heavy blow to the strength of his own nephew.

The Khitan political landscape over the centuries was, in fact, somewhat like the setup in Hong Kong triad films.

The Khitan Khaganate practiced clan-based elective succession — that is, the position of Khitan Khagan had to remain within the Yelu family, rotating by election among the Yelu men of ability.

This was much like how Hong Kong triads choose their dragon head; sometimes, to safeguard the power of the various branch leaders, they would deliberately pass over a power player like Big D and instead choose a relatively mild-seeming Lok.

It had been done this way for centuries, and it was a major reason the Khitan tribes had existed for hundreds of years yet never managed to grow powerful.

Without a single strong leader at the head, the power of the various tribes was preserved, but it also kept them from binding themselves into a single force.

After Yelu Abaoji came to power, this man of great talent and bold vision gradually undermined the elective system, changed the title of Khitan Khagan to Khitan Emperor, and turned elective succession into hereditary succession.

Yet even a figure as formidable as Yelu Abaoji still faced the Rebellion of the Brothers and was forced to abdicate by the eight tribal chieftains.

It was only after the complete destruction of the Da clan's Balhae kingdom, and through the iron-fisted suppression of Yelu Abaoji and Shulu Ping as a couple, that hereditary succession slowly stabilized.

But it had only stabilized — it had not been accepted by everyone. In history, the Liao dynasty saw many rebellions by various branches of the Yelu family, and many people accepted them; the legal root of it all lay here.

Therefore, since each tribe held power of its own, every generation of Khitan Emperor could only keep strengthening the directly-controlled Pishi Army to counter the tribal chieftains.

Xiao Shilu was Shulu Ping's younger brother by the same mother, and Yelu Deguang's own maternal uncle. The Left Pishi Fengsheng Army he commanded was, strictly speaking, Yelu Deguang's private army.

In this one battle, the Fengsheng Army lost over six hundred killed in action, four to five hundred captured, more than two hundred fallen into the water, and over three hundred more who died of cold and hunger on the road, lacking clothes and food.

Adding in the wounded and scattered, only eleven or twelve hundred men ultimately made it back. Warhorses, armor, and weapons were all lost. The three-thousand-strong Fengsheng Army could basically be said to have lost its combat effectiveness.

The last defeat this severe had been Yelu Deguang's Battle of Dingzhou against the Later Tang, when several Khitan generals such as Tiela and Nieligun were captured by the Later Tang, with over four thousand troops lost.

Seeing Yelu Deguang so enraged, his close ministers and confidants all dared not remonstrate; instead it was the tribal chieftains who spoke up.

One after another, they either made a show of pleading for Xiao Shilu, or said with veiled sarcasm that they were still camped outside in heavy snow, that the promised Yunzhou could not be taken, that men should not have been sent west, and so on — until Yelu Deguang's forehead veins throbbed with fury.

But this posturing by the tribal chieftains actually calmed Yelu Deguang down. However disastrous Xiao Shilu's defeat, he was still his own maternal uncle, a man he trusted.

Moreover, Yelu Deguang knew the fighting ability of the three thousand men of the Left Pishi Fengsheng Army very well. Even if they encountered an enemy five times their number, if not victorious, they should at least have been able to withdraw at leisure. How could they have been defeated so quickly and easily? And so utterly?

"Rise and speak. Give him a robe, and a seat."

Yelu Deguang's face was stern, but the fury was gone. Instead he granted Xiao Shilu a seat and had attendants drape a warm robe over him.

Only then did Xiao Shilu's soul return to his body. He knew this imperial nephew of his would not deal with him for the time being, so he hastily kowtowed in thanks and then sat down properly.

"Since you were defeated, do you know who it was that came from the west?" Yelu Deguang asked as soon as Xiao Shilu was seated.

Xiao Shilu could only leave his seat and kneel on the ground again, replying: "I led three thousand cavalry westward, all the way to the beacon tower fort of Zhenwu Army.

By then the sleet and snow had grown heavier, and the messengers I sent out were always intercepted and killed. I discussed with my generals and thought some great tribe had come from north of the desert, so we planned to feign withdrawal and lure the enemy into the open."

Yelu Deguang, Left Pishi Commander Yelu Pode, and Right Pishi Commander Yelu Wuzhi all nodded.

Xiao Shilu's strategy was sound. The three thousand men of the Left Pishi Fengsheng Army were fully armored and well-horsed, and fully qualified to do this.

In recent years the climate had turned cold, and tribes from north of the desert often moved south. Even the Khitans could not know when some tribe unable to survive would emerge from the vast lands around the Northern Sea and Mount Langjuxu to raid southward.

But many of these tribes did not even have iron arrowheads. Though fierce and brave, their weapons were so poor and their armor only ragged oxhide, so their fighting strength was not great.

Never mind the Pishi Army — even tribal troops, meeting such enemies, could defeat a force several times their own number.

"We marched west to the north of the Hun River. Our formation was strict and we had not slackened, and the men and horses were not yet weary. Just as we were about to cross the river, the sound of hoofbeats came from the west — several thousand elite cavalry in white robes, charging at us in pursuit."

Xiao Shilu continued. Right Pishi Commander Yelu Wuzhi narrowed his eyes.

"Several thousand white-robed cavalry — these are certainly no tribe from north of the desert. They could not produce several thousand white robes."

Everyone looked at Yelu Deguang, and Yelu Deguang's heart lurched. Everyone thought of one possibility.

Only if Shi Jingtang of Jin had rebelled and come to kill his Yelu father could any other force have assembled several thousand white-robed elite cavalry.

But Yelu Deguang forcibly suppressed the unease and anger in his heart and gestured for Xiao Shilu to continue.

"When I saw several thousand white-robed cavalry, I judged that some faction from the southern court, styling itself loyal and indignant, had raised troops to invade."

Xiao Shilu's political instincts were sound. Shi Jingtang acknowledging Yelu Deguang as his father was one of the most dazzling halos above Yelu Deguang's head.

Even if he knew Shi Jingtang was the problem, he could not say so in front of everyone — and besides, it was not yet certain.

"I therefore set my back to the Hun River and formed a crescent bow-and-crossbow formation, shooting volleys of strong bows and hard crossbows at the invading enemy!"

Hearing Xiao Shilu's disposition, even the tribal chieftains nodded in approval. They were all veterans of war and naturally knew Xiao Shilu's arrangement was sound.

With snow on the ground, cavalry charges were difficult. Deploying elite Pishi troops in a great bow-and-crossbow formation with their backs to the frozen Hun River was absolutely the best arrangement. Ordinarily, the enemy would soon have suffered a crushing defeat.

Sure enough, Xiao Shilu continued: "The enemy vanguard of five hundred riders arrived. I shot them with volleys of bows and crossbows, greatly blunting their momentum, then sent out iron cavalry in a sudden sally, killing nearly a hundred and capturing several dozen warhorses. It is a pity the main body of rebel cavalry arrived, so I could not inflict more casualties.

When the main rebel cavalry force arrived, about five thousand strong, I realized my disposition had been wrong.

It turned out the rebel army was no simple light cavalry. They wore a kind of heavy armor I had never seen before, and carried a strange bow-crossbow that was neither quite bow nor crossbow. Several hundred elite troops in the center even carried modao glaive glaive glaives.

Their army advanced at the sound of drums and halted when the drums stopped; though ten thousand strong, they moved as one.

Our bows, crossbows, spears, and staves could not prevail against them. I sent armored cavalry charging in, but time and again we could not break through. The enemy sent light cavalry sweeping against our left flank, and our host collapsed utterly!"

At this, Xiao Shilu broke down weeping. "I have lost the army and disgraced the nation. I should have died in battle by the Hun River, but I feared Your Majesty would not know that a powerful army had come from the west, so I shamelessly clung to life to report to Your Majesty.

Those who came from the west number several thousand fierce riders, with excellent warhorses, armor, and weapons. They even flew the great dynasty's Three Stars Banner. They are surely a great enemy of ours."

"Uncle, please rise. In former days the Ascended-to-Heaven Emperor also suffered several defeats at the hands of the southern court, yet now he has brought the southern court to acknowledge vassalage and is about to possess all the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan-Yun. This battle was not your fault. All chieftains and generals should take warning from it."

Hearing this, Yelu Deguang hurriedly left his seat and helped Xiao Shilu to his feet.

Then, as usual, he made a few disparaging remarks about his father Yelu Abaoji, and once again brought out his achievement of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan-Yun to show off.

In this way he made the defeat seem insignificant, no injury to his own mighty name.

What a filial, good son!

"That great dynasty to which all peoples once submitted, the Heavenly Khagan in Chang'an, has long since passed away. This so-called Three Stars Banner may well be nothing more than self-aggrandizement.

But if these men are so fierce, and their armor and weapons so fine, could it be that descendants of the great dynasty's Li clan have appeared again in the southern court?"

Only after Yelu Deguang had finished his performance did Yelu Pode, the Left Pishi Chamberlain and Supervisor of the Palace Guard, speak.

The assembled men were also buzzing with discussion, all guessing what hero had emerged in the Southern Court who dared to tug at the whiskers of their great Khitan.

Quite a few clamored to send envoys to rebuke Shi Jingtang and make him investigate thoroughly who this person was.

"May I ask the Supervisor: the armor those white-robed armored soldiers wore — is it this kind of iron armor?"

A somewhat youthful voice spoke up. Everyone looked and saw that it was Zhao Kuangzan, eldest son of Zhao Yanshou, Military Governor of Youzhou and Prince of Yan, and himself General of the Golden Guard, pointing at the armored soldier behind him and asking.

Yelu Deguang had the armored soldier behind Zhao Kuangzan step forward before Xiao Shilu, so that Xiao Shilu could take a look.

Had Zhang Zhao been present, he would have recognized this man as the military officer who had stood behind Zhao Kuangzan at Mawei Slope. This set of padded armor was also one he had gifted to Zhao Kuangzan.

Xiao Shilu examined it carefully. The armor's surface was covered with a layer of cloth, fixed with studs. When he turned it over and looked inside, he gave a sudden shudder.

Good heavens! It was layer upon layer of strange cloth pressed as hard as wooden boards, combined with large plates of fine steel. No wonder its protective power was so excellent!

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it is precisely this kind of armor! May I ask where the General of the Golden Guard obtained it?"

Zhao Kuangzan did not answer Xiao Shilu's question. Instead, he had someone lead in a tall, large horse from outside the tent.

The horse was extraordinarily robust, its ears pricked upright and inclining toward each other, giving it a strange air of proud petulance.

"Were the warhorses of those cavalrymen similar to this one?"

"Exactly! The ears are especially alike." Xiao Shilu nodded repeatedly.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, your subject knows who it was." Zhao Kuangzan cupped his hands and spoke.

"Oh! Speak quickly. Who can afford to maintain such elite troops, and dares to be so bold!"

Yelu Deguang stood up and asked. Zhao Yanshou and his son Zhao Kuangzan were, after all, his suitable candidates for stabilizing the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan-Yun.

Zhao Kuangzan, in his wide robes and large sleeves, rose and raised his clasped hands above his forehead, as though saluting Yelu Deguang, but in truth he was using the moment to adjust the expression on his face.

By the time he finished his salute, his expression had become extremely grave.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this man is Zhang Zhao of the Zhang family of Shazhou, of the Guiyi Army. Two years ago he returned to the nation with the eighteen prefectures of Hexi and Longyou, and is known throughout the Southern Court for his great righteousness.

The people under his rule number in the millions, and his armored troops exceed fifty thousand. This cloth-faced iron armor, the Hexi folded-ear horse, and the Hexi divine-arm crossbow are all unique to the Guiyi Army.

Those heavily armored soldiers with modao glaive glaive glaives the Supervisor saw must certainly be Great King Zhang of Hexi's personal guard, the Mountain-Shaking Company.

When your subject was in Guanzhong, he met Great King Zhang several times. The Hexi army is fierce and brave. I beg Your Majesty to treat this with caution."

All chapters have been cached for you. Download the APP to view.