Chapter 318. Prelude to the Great Battle— The Whereabouts of Yelü Zhangnu 2
"Ask around. Find out everything you can."
"Loyalty!"
The staff officers scattered.
They searched the deputy commander's tent, the horse lines, the places where wagons had been parked, the tents where provisions had been distributed, and even the encampments of his closest guards.
They stopped men and questioned them, examined hoofprints, and inspected empty baggage spaces and the traces left by chests that had been removed in haste.
The rumors had already spread throughout the army.
"They say he went to the Supreme Capital. He said he was going there to offer rites at the Temple of the Founder."
"All the best men are gone. The soldiers left here are nothing but an empty shell."
"It is rebellion. What else could it be? He could hardly make his move here."
"He left us no word at all. The wagons slipped out during the night, and the mounted men followed near dawn."
The deputy commander's personal force numbered fewer than twenty thousand.
Something on that scale could never have been hidden within it.
Word spread in vivid detail: who had saddled the horses, who had loaded the ritual vessels, which wagons had carried the document chests, and which officers had summoned men in the middle of the night.
Even the manner of their departure soon became a story of its own.
Lamps had burned late into the night in front of Yelü Zhangnu's tent.
Low voices passed back and forth inside, while members of his close kin were summoned in one after another.
Bits were placed in the horses' mouths.
The wagons were loaded with ritual vessels, silk, document chests, and weapons.
They said the goods were meant for the Temple of the Founder.
Yet there were far too many spears and bows for a mere procession of worship, and the faces of those accompanying him carried a grim resolve.
Before dawn, they slipped out along the northern road from the encampment.
Cavalry rode in front.
The wagons followed in the middle.
His closest guards brought up the rear.
Hooves bit deep into the frozen earth, while wagon ruts stretched far toward the north.
The gate guards opened the way because the order had come from the deputy commander himself.
No one had dared question it too closely.
At the time, they had been told it was for a ritual.
They had been told he was going to the Supreme Capital.
Now, every one of those words pointed in the same direction.
Xiao Fengxian's expression hardened as he listened.
The thing we feared has happened.
This is rebellion.
What would happen if the entire army learned of it?
If word spread that the emperor's own guards had split in two while the enemy stood before them, how would those countless tribal forces react?
Some would follow Yelü Zhangnu's name.
Some would begin to doubt the emperor's commands.
Others would gather their provisions and horses first and start looking for a way to save themselves.
Xiao Fengxian looked down at the hoofprints leading north.
The great army of Liao was gathering against the Jin.
Yet inside it, another road had already opened.
He went over the facts once more in his mind.
Yelü Zhangnu had not appeared at his command tent for several days.
His close relatives and personal guards had disappeared with him.
Horses and wagons had been taken from both his estate and the military camp.
They had carried ritual vessels and offerings for the Temple of the Founder, along with document chests.
And for a long time, Yelü Zhangnu had repeatedly spoken the name of Yelü Chun.
Every sign pointed in the same direction.
Xiao Fengxian decided he could delay no longer.
He dismissed his staff and headed directly for the emperor's quarters.
His steps were quick, but inside his mind he chose his words again and again.
Some words could never be taken back once spoken aloud.
But now he had to say them.
When he reached the emperor's quarters, the guards opened the way.
Inside, lamps burned low.
Reports on troop strength from every region lay scattered across a table.
The emperor sat before them, but his eyes were fixed on the entrance.
He already wore the face of a man waiting for an answer.
Xiao Fengxian prostrated himself deeply.
"Your Majesty."
The emperor asked at once,
"Yelü Zhangnu?"
Xiao Fengxian lowered his forehead close to the floor.
"It appears he has gone to the Supreme Capital."
The emperor's brows shot upward.
"The Supreme Capital? Why?"
There was no telling how many times he had asked the same question that day.
This time, however, Xiao Fengxian could no longer avoid the answer.
"They say he went there to offer rites at the Temple of the Founder."
The emperor's face stiffened.
On the eve of battle, the deputy commander had taken his personal troops and gone to the Supreme Capital.
That alone was a grave offense.
But worse still, his destination was the Temple of the Founder.
The founder's temple in the Supreme Capital represented the very roots of the Liao dynasty.
To go there now carried a meaning far beyond simple worship.
The emperor trembled.
"Why would he go to the Temple of the Founder?"
Xiao Fengxian swallowed.
The word caught in his throat.
Still, he lowered his head even further and said,
"It is rebellion, Your Majesty."
The air inside the tent seemed to stop.
The emperor braced one hand against the table.
His fingertips trembled.
Xiao Fengxian continued.
"He took his closest relatives and personal guards with him.
"Few men remain at either his estate or his quarters.
"Horses and wagons were taken away, along with ritual vessels, offerings, and chests of documents.
"The soldiers saw it all.
"Reports that he was headed for the Supreme Capital have come from several places."
The emperor clenched his teeth.
"Did he not say it was for a ritual?"
"It appears he borrowed the name of the ritual as a pretext. He likely intends to offer rites at the Temple of the Founder and claim that he is acting in service of the true foundations of Great Liao."
Xiao Fengxian paused.
The next words were heavier still.
"He has also spoken repeatedly of Prince Yelü Chun of Yan.
"He said Emperor Tianzuo had lost the Way, while Prince Chun was benevolent.
"He once claimed that if Prince Yan were raised to the throne, even the Jurchen would submit of their own accord."
The emperor's face turned pale.
Humiliation rose before anger.
Within his own camp, the deputy commander entrusted with his personal guard had been harboring such thoughts.
And now, on the eve of battle, that man had gone to the Supreme Capital.
Xiao Fengxian bowed his head to the floor.
"Your Majesty. It appears that Yelü Zhangnu intends to perform rites at the Temple of the Founder, depose Your Majesty, and place Yelü Chun on the throne. Every circumstance I have examined points in that direction."
The emperor remained silent for some time.
Outside the tent came the continuing sound of hooves and soldiers shouting.
Seven hundred thousand men were preparing for war.
And in the middle of them, the emperor's own guard was beginning to split.
The emperor asked in a low voice,
"How many troops did he take?"
"We are still confirming the exact number, but his closest guards and cavalry from his clan moved with him. Rumors are spreading through the camp that what remains of his force is little more than an empty shell."
"I asked how many."
"Approximately two thousand of his men turned north with him toward the Supreme Capital."
The emperor's eyes flashed.
"There are already rumors in the army?"
Xiao Fengxian prostrated himself again.
"They are already spreading, Your Majesty. If this continues, the tribal forces will hear of it as well. The officers will grow unsettled, and the soldiers will begin questioning one another.
"With the enemy before us, such rumors will do grave harm to morale."
The emperor slammed his hand onto the table.
The troop reports scattered across it trembled.
"Stop it at once. Bring Yelü Zhangnu back in chains. Cut off the road to the Supreme Capital, and find every man who has been in communication with him."
Xiao Fengxian lowered his head deeply.
"It shall be carried out according to Your Majesty's command."
The army would have to be divided.
Few things were more dangerous on a battlefield.
Even a minor change of direction could expose an army to disaster.
To divide the army itself was far worse.