Chapter 328. Pursuit 2-4 — A Complicated Situation in the Liao Camp
The emperor, who had intended to withdraw troops at once and head for the Supreme Capital, was forced to stop before he had gone far.
After the news that Goryeo had entered the war and was advancing north, an urgent report arrived that the Song army had begun moving toward Yanjing.
Yanjing was Liao's Southern Capital.
If it was threatened, the southern gateway would be exposed, and the Han forces there could be prevented from joining the main army.
The emperor ordered a new camp to be established after withdrawing the main force by roughly thirty li.
Xiao Fengxian argued strongly before him.
"Your Majesty, if you pull away any more troops now, the consequences may be disastrous. Enemies are moving on every side. To the east, the Goryeo army has crossed the Noksu River. To the south, the Song army is advancing toward Yanjing. In the Supreme Capital, Yelü Zhangnu has raised rebellion while invoking the Temple of the Founder. These events do not appear to have simply happened at the same time by chance. They look like parts of a larger design intended to divide our army."
The emperor raised his eyes sharply.
"A trap? What sort of trap do you mean?"
Xiao Fengxian lowered himself and moved a little closer.
"Events that should rarely occur together have all happened at once. A rebellion among the senior command, Goryeo's entry into the war and northward advance, and Song's attack toward Yanjing. All three point in the same direction. They are forcing Your Majesty to divide the army. If someone set all three in motion at the same time, then we must ask who gains the most the moment our forces are split apart."
The emperor's eyes flashed.
"You mean the Jin barbarians planned all this? Those penniless wretches possess that much cunning? They worry about what they will eat today and tomorrow."
At the time, the Jurchens were sometimes disparaged as impoverished barbarians.
Xiao Fengxian bowed gravely.
"I find it difficult to believe Jin arranged all of this alone. Someone inside the Jin camp appears to be helping them. Goryeo's advance this far is what first made me think so. This goes beyond sending envoys and exchanging a few words. There seems to be someone established within the Jin command who is moving Goryeo and Song while also stirring discontent inside Liao."
The emperor's expression hardened.
"Then what do they want?"
"Even they would struggle to face seven hundred thousand troops as one army. They would therefore seek to reduce our strength, divide it, and separate one part from another. First, make the generals suspicious. Then force the army to divide. Finally, shake the emperor's main camp. If we divide our army now, we are helping carry out their design."
Xiao Fengxian paused, then continued.
"There was also the incident in which Yelü Zhangnu suffered humiliation at the Li family compound. I saw the man there as well. He was the Goryeo commander who spoke to Yelü Zhangnu. His martial ability was formidable. He was not merely a man who could fight. He knew how to persuade others and how to disturb the entire board. There may be a brilliant strategist behind him, or he himself may possess such talent."
The emperor sighed quietly.
"Everything you say sounds plausible. But most of it is still inference. How can I decide matters when our information is this poor? An army cannot be moved on guesses alone."
Xiao Fengxian immediately raised his head.
"Your Majesty, the Jin have realized that we withdrew. Their army has begun moving.
"They number only twenty thousand, but they are pursuing Your Majesty's imperial guard directly. If all these events are the product of one man's careful calculation, then his calculations have worked thus far. In that case, we must assume that he has already prepared his next move as well."
The emperor asked,
"His next move? What?"
"Yes. Twenty thousand Jin troops cannot easily defeat Your Majesty's imperial guard by themselves. But right now our forces are divided. The main camp and the imperial guard, the Supreme Capital and Yanjing, Goryeo and Song, and even Yelü Zhangnu's rebellion are all pulling in different directions.
"They may have been waiting for precisely this moment. The instant our attention is split among several places, they will strike at the one place that matters most."
The emperor, who had been listening lightly at first, grew rigid.
Until moments ago, his thoughts had been fixed entirely on Yelü Zhangnu.
The Supreme Capital.
The Temple of the Founder.
The name of Yelü Chun.
But Xiao Fengxian's words tied all of those matters together into a single picture.
Goryeo was moving.
Song was moving.
Jin was pursuing.
Yelü Zhangnu had rebelled.
Events that had seemed separate now spread before the emperor like a single net.
The emperor slowly drew in a breath.
Only then did he understand how heavy those thirty li of withdrawal truly were.
Because of those thirty li, a gap had opened between the main camp and the imperial guard.
And the Jin had seen it.
If he continued toward the Supreme Capital, Jin would stay on his heels.
If he turned back, Yelü Zhangnu might seize the Temple of the Founder.
If he looked toward Yanjing, there was Song.
If he looked east, Goryeo was advancing.
Xiao Fengxian spoke again.
"Your Majesty, you must not leave the main camp now.
"The emperor's banner must remain here if this great army is to move as one.
"Punishing Yelü Zhangnu is important, but if Your Majesty departs with the imperial guard, the troops left behind will begin watching one another.
"The tribal forces will first calculate how to save themselves, while the commanders will lose time waiting for orders.
"For now, this battlefield must come before the Supreme Capital."
The emperor gave no answer.
Outside the tent, horses stamped the ground and breathed clouds of white vapor.
Messengers moved back and forth in low voices.
Cold air seeped through the seams of the tent.
In that cold, Tianzuo saw for the first time something more frightening than the Jin pursuit.
Whenever he moved, the enemy moved with him.
"Pursuit? Are you certain?"
"Twenty thousand Jin troops are following us, Your Majesty."
"And the Goryeo army?"
"We have not yet fixed their exact position.
"A report came several days ago that they had crossed the Noksu River and passed near Laiyuan Fortress.*
"They may already have advanced close to this region.
"The Goryeo army is unfamiliar with these roads, and because they are moving as a large force, they should be slower than the Jin.
"Even so, they may reach the vicinity of the battlefield within a day or two."
Laiyuan Fortress: The Khitans built a fortress on the eastern bank of the Yalu River and called the area Bozhou. It was later known as Baozhou. In 1117, Liao transferred Laiyuan Fortress and Baozhou to Goryeo. In the final years of Liao, the region became an important point in border affairs and diplomatic contact among Goryeo, Liao, and Jin along the Yalu River.
The emperor's face twisted.
"What is happening?
"You have not given me a single certainty.
"Is everything merely conjecture?"
Xiao Fengxian prostrated himself deeply.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty. But unclear intelligence does not permit us to remain idle. In war, we must look beyond what has already been revealed and prepare in advance for the formations that may arise. I have sent the Far-Ranging Lanzi Cavalry in every direction, but we have not yet confirmed the present location of the Goryeo army."
Far-Ranging Lanzi Cavalry: Liao's forward reconnaissance cavalry. They ranged dozens of li ahead of and behind the vanguard to watch for enemy movement and terrain. At night, they sometimes dismounted and listened for the sounds of men and horses.
"If they may arrive, then you had already considered that possibility."
"That is what concerns me most.
"Because Your Majesty moved toward the Supreme Capital, the immediate chance of colliding directly with the Goryeo army has temporarily decreased. But if we continue farther north, the Jin will follow from behind, the Goryeo army will rise from the east, and Song will press Yanjing.
"At that point, our forces may be pulled apart in every direction."
The emperor clenched his teeth.
"What must be done?"
Xiao Fengxian answered at once.
"Turn the army around.
"Facing the Jin before us is more urgent than going to the Supreme Capital to strike Yelü Zhangnu.
"Since the Jin are already pursuing, Your Majesty's main army must face the Jurchens again.
"Only when the emperor's banner points toward them once more will the army recover its place."
That day, Emperor Tianzuo—Yelü Yanxi—turned his army around.
On December 12, the emperor's imperial guards began advancing once more toward the Jurchens.
Their destination was Hubodagang.*
Hubodagang: The battlefield where, in 1115—the first year of Jin's Shouguo era and the fifth year of Liao's Tianqing era—Jin Taizu Wanyan Aguda pursued and decisively defeated the army of Emperor Tianzuo of Liao. It is generally identified with an area west of modern Wuchang City, Heilongjiang Province, China