In late October, the Han and Liao sides were already in a virtual truce, and all fronts fell into silence before the arrival of deep winter. This war, which lasted almost all of Kaibao's eight years, has come to an end for the time being.
The Liao army suffered a complete military defeat, losing troops and territory. The country also fell into irreversible turmoil. It almost collapsed and was unable to fight anymore. For the Liao Emperor, the most important thing was how to clean up the domestic mess and maintain the Khitan's dominance over the grasslands. If he was not careful, the once glorious Liao Empire would fall apart.
As for the pain and shame of failure, we can only endure it silently. As Han Derang said, endure the humiliation and bear the burden and forge ahead for the future. However, the future described by Handerang is becoming more and more illusory.
The Han Dynasty is also somewhat exhausted from this protracted and wasteful mobilization war. Even if it has spare strength, it will be difficult to maintain the huge war consumption unless it ignores the actual contradictions and difficulties and continues to squeeze the people in the country and force the war. .
Fortunately, Emperor Liu listened to the advice and accepted the implicit or explicit advice from the prince, generals and ministers, and then decided to temporarily cover the front and call a truce.
A large-scale withdrawal of troops to return to the people is already in full swing. One Shanyang, one Liaodong, especially Liaodong. At its maximum military strength, there were nearly 400,000 people, which was more than the population gained by taking Liaodong.
Within more than twenty days after the onset of winter, under the arrangements of Prince Liu Yang and the civil and military officials of Zhao, Gao, Cao, Han, etc., more than 200,000 soldiers and civilians had been evacuated from Liaodong, along with a large amount of military equipment and equipment. , To this end, Xingying Transshipment collected more than 400 large and small official and merchant ships for transportation.
Initially, Prince Liu Yang's suggestion was to keep 100,000 troops stationed in Liaodong. By mid-October, he would continue to reduce the number of troops stationed. Sixty thousand infantry and cavalry would be enough, and Emperor Liu agreed.
There is a huge difference between feeding 400,000 troops and 100,000 troops, and the difference in feeding costs between 100,000 troops and 60,000 troops is also huge. Cutting off 40,000 troops will naturally reduce the heavy burden on the court.
As for Emperor Liu, after staying in Shanyang for more than ten days, he also decided to drive back to Youzhou. Prior to this, under the leadership of Li Wanchao and Kang Yanze, the Han army in Shanyang also gradually retreated southward. Up to now, there are only less than 30,000 Han troops still staying north of the Great Wall. Among these 30,000 people, except for the 3,000 Su guards, they are all garrison soldiers prepared to stay in northern Xinjiang.
Of course, the truce is the overall situation, but in some areas, military operations have not been completely ended and are still ongoing. From west to east, it is divided into three places.
The first is the battlefield in the Western Regions. As a supplementary part of the Han-Liao War, the Western Regions have also undergone changes for more than half a year. Since Guo Jin led the army to march westward and occupied Yizhou and Gaochang, the Western Regions have formed A three-party struggle for hegemony began, and it has remained in a stalemate to this day.
Thousands of remnants of the Liao army, led by Yelu Dilie and Yelusha, retreated to the Luntai and Beiting areas in the northern part of the Tianshan Mountains. They were trapped in a corner. Although they were like bones in a grave, they were still struggling to support themselves.
Guo Jin mainly used Hexi infantry and cavalry, supplemented by Uighur servants, and had the logistical support of Hexi Chief Envoy Lu Duoxun. He firmly controlled the Yigao area. He once wanted to go north to deal with the remnants of the Liao army, but he was restrained by the gangsters who were advancing eastward. Khan's army is difficult to mobilize.
Although the Black Khan's army marched eastward and finally captured ancient cities such as Yanqi and Qiuci, they probably shed too much blood in the battle with the Liao Kingdom for hegemony in the Western Regions, so they were much more cautious this time.
The three parties have their own shortcomings, so they have been in a stalemate to this day. There have been small-scale tentative battles, but a large-scale decisive battle has never broken out and they have been suppressed.
Of course, there is another spectator, the Khotan Kingdom in the southern part of the Western Region. They do not dare to participate in the war between the three parties. Although Khotan was emotionally inclined to the Han due to the aggressiveness of the Black Khan dynasty, as well as its friendship and historical closeness with the Han over the past many years, the Han did not seem to be easy to mess with. So, sit back and watch.
Of course, the current situation in the Western Regions is maintained simply because it is not the focus of the Han Dynasty. All Guo Jin can rely on is the support of the broken half of the Western Regions and part of Hexi to maintain the situation.
It is conceivable that once the resources of the Han Dynasty are tilted to the west, the seemingly deadlocked and balanced situation will be easily broken. It just depends on when Emperor Liu will turn his attention to the Western Regions.
In addition to the low-intensity wars in the Western Regions, the army that attracted the most attention from Emperor Liu was of course the army that attacked Beijing from the north. The number of people who attacked was not large. Including the Xi tribe cavalry, there were only 20,000 troops. He was responsible for commanding the army. The general who attacked was Dong Zunyu.
However, if the Shangjing can be captured as Emperor Liu expected, it would be an unexpected surprise, and it would be another heavy blow to the Liao Kingdom. The result may be that the so-called Liao Dynasty is completely unworthy of its name, and it will no longer live up to its name. The imperial era returned to its original shape.
In addition, what is not worth mentioning is the invasion of the Kingdom of Koryo by the Donghai Navy. In more than a month, Guo Tingwei launched seven landing operations on the west coast of Koryo, and gained a lot, which made the officials and people of the cities along the Koryo coast Unbearable to be disturbed.
However, as winter deepens, the navy's operations will also come to an end and will be difficult to continue. Of course, Emperor Liu has approved Guo Tingwei's request to establish a naval base on Jeju Island. It is conceivable that in the future, Koryo will be under the shadow of the Han Dynasty for a long time.
...
In the Yunzhong Mansion Hall, one Wen and one Wu were sitting. They were Hedong Chief Minister Shi Xizai and Jiuyuan Marquis Li Wancao. Both of them were chatting with joyful faces. Of course, they had inevitably interacted with each other in Hedong before.
Li Wancao is a veteran minister, veteran general, and a founding marquis. He has deep experience in the military. With Shan Yang's contribution this time, his position will be more secure. Shi Xizai was a minister who walked out of the emperor's side, and was a feudal official in charge of Hedong Road. After serving in Hedong for the past two years, his temperament had also changed greatly. Compared with the original elegance and easy-going, he was vaguely aware of A little more powerful.
Under the guidance of the chamberlain, General Tian Renlang, who had distinguished himself in the battles of Yanzi City and Shanyang, walked in with a respectful demeanor. For Tian Renlang, who had been working hard in the border army for many years, it was the first time that he was specially summoned to see the emperor. Once.
This move obviously meant something. Tian Renlang was both excited and looking forward to it, and at the same time a little uneasy. Unlike more than ten years ago, when you were in your twenties, thirties, or even less than twenty years old, you could fight hard and use martial arts and become famous for your merits. As long as you made some achievements, you could be appointed as a senior general and awarded honors and titles.
In today's military and political system of the Han Dynasty, it is getting harder and harder to climb up, and Tian Renlang is already in his forties. Without the opportunity of the Northern Expedition and his achievements in establishment, he might just be a middle-level and lower-ranking member of the Han Dynasty who is as numerous as gravel. A member of the generals, his future prospects are limited.
Fortunately, he grasped it and took advantage of the opportunity in the final battle. Otherwise, like most of the generals in the Northern Expedition, he could only get some hard work, gain some qualifications, survive until the war, and receive some rewards of money and food.
When Tian Renlang entered, the two people who were talking immediately turned their attention to him. Tian Renlang also hurriedly stepped forward to see Li Wanchao as a junior.
"General Tian, no courtesy!" Although he was not familiar with him, Li Wanchao still looked at him with admiration and responded with a warm face to one of the "Second Fields" of the three armies who was famous for Kaibao's Northern Expedition.
"This is Shi Shijun, the governor of Hedong!" Probably seeing that Tian Renlang didn't know Shi Xizai, Li Wanchao took the initiative to introduce him.
Upon hearing this, Tian Renlang hurriedly saluted again and said, "I have met the envoy!"
In the current Han Dynasty, any chief envoy has already demonstrated his status in the military and political system of the Han Dynasty. He can become the head of a department or even become the prime minister. This kind of future is far greater than that of generals like them. many.
Of course, as a general, it is easier to gain titles through military merit and become a member of the military aristocracy, which is also difficult for civil servants to compare with. After so many years, it can be said that there are very few people who have been granted titles by civil servants. Many of them were promoted to the nobility because of their contribution to the founding of the country.
"General Tian, there is no need to be polite!" Shi Xizai's response was also very modest. He stood up and said: "The general's voice has shocked the northern border. I have heard about it in Jinyang. The big man has another general!"
"You have given me too much praise!" Tian Renlang was a little surprised, but he still didn't show arrogance and responded in a low-key manner: "The general is just a brave man, I don't dare to be."
"General, there is no need to be too modest! After this battle, Ertian's reputation has spread far and wide. The general is so humble, he will be bullied in the future!" Shi Xizai said.
Of course Shi Xizai could see that the emperor wanted to promote Tian Renlang, so he was not stingy with some kind words.
