Moma Liangshan

Chapter 201: Night in Beijing, Part 2 of Khitan

The 5,000-strong army from Liaodong, having marched a thousand miles, was already exhausted. Without rest, they feared they would be too weak to fight even upon reaching Shangjing. As the army entered the city, the Shu princess, worried about the war, couldn't sleep. Although Wang Hao had proposed a peace treaty with Jin and Liao, the difficulties involved were daunting, so the room remained brightly lit. On this midsummer night in the northern grasslands, the weather was still hot. The Shu princess stepped out of her tent, saw the lights in Wang Hao's room, and went to investigate. Wang Hao was slightly surprised by the late-night visit from the Shu princess and asked, "Isn't the princess asleep so late?" The Shu princess replied, "Aren't you also sleepless at night?" Seeing that the Shu princess had no intention of leaving, Wang Hao simply said, "Please come in, Princess!" The Shu princess didn't stand on ceremony and went straight inside, asking, "I'm curious, what were you doing just now?" Wang Hao replied, "Thinking!" The Shu princess was somewhat surprised by this answer and asked, "Thinking about what?" Wang Hao replied, "How to make the Khitan and Jurchen stop fighting!" The Shu princess was somewhat pleased and asked, "Have you thought of the answer?" Wang Hao shook his head and said, "No!"

The princess of Shu frowned and said, "Some time ago, you proposed to me that the Jin and Liao negotiate peace. Isn't that the answer you had in mind?" Wang Hao explained, "How easy is it to negotiate peace?" The princess of Shu was puzzled and asked, "Are you afraid you won't satisfy the Jurchens?" Wang Hao shook his head and said, "Negotiating peace has already made your father lose face. If I can't save him the substance, do you think I'll have a good outcome?" Wang Hao's frankness made the princess of Shu feel a surge of joy and tears. Forcing herself to calm down, she asked, "What can I do for you?" Wang Hao said, "You..." "Your soldiers must be very familiar with the terrain around Shangjing, right?" Princess Shu replied, "Shangjing is our hometown, of course we're familiar with it!" Wang Hao said, "Do you remember the strategy we used when we evacuated Dongjing?" Princess Shu was somewhat surprised and replied, "We had the enemy drive the people to safety." Wang Hao nodded and said, "Shangjing is the imperial city of the Liao Dynasty, and also the foundation your father built over decades. Therefore, the city can be abandoned, but the people of Shangjing cannot be ignored." Princess Shu nodded and said, "Not only that, most of the families of the palace guards are in Shangjing!"

After reaching a consensus, Wang Hao said, "Even if we negotiate peace, it must be through war. Otherwise, the Jurchens will make exorbitant demands, and we will have no room for negotiation." The Shu princess was somewhat worried and said, "Today I learned from Yelü Dongdan that there are already 250,000 reinforcements outside Shangjing City. However, apart from Yelü Dashi's 30,000 Youdu troops and Xiao Yu's 20,000 Yunzhong troops, the rest are not very useful!" Wang Hao said, "The 30,000 Youdu troops, the 20,000 Yunzhong troops, plus your 10,000 Liaodong troops, are much better than I expected!" The Shu princess reminded him, "You'd better not do anything reckless. Yelü Dashi and Xiao Yu are both cautious people and may not follow you into risky situations!" Wang Hao understood that the Shu princess's reminder was well-intentioned, but some risks could be avoided while others had to be faced. He asked, "I want to know, why is it that your father has difficulty mobilizing the 200,000 troops outside Shangjing City?"

The princess of Shu explained, "The Liao dynasty's system differs from the Song dynasty's in many ways, but the 'North and South Courts' and the 'Five Capitals Circuit' are the most prominent." Wang Hao remained silent, listening attentively. The princess continued, "The Han people live by farming, while the Khitan and other tribes live by nomadic pastoralism. These two lifestyles are vastly different, necessitating the establishment of the North and South Courts for separate administration. As for the establishment of the 'Five Capitals Circuit,' it was to consolidate imperial power. During the 'Nine Clans of Yaolian,' the various Khitan tribes always governed independently, and the Yelü clan was merely one of the nine major Khitan tribes. After Emperor Taizu established the Liao dynasty, the original nine tribes were reorganized into twenty Khitan tribes, but this still couldn't curb the arrogance of the tribal chiefs. Therefore, the Five Capitals were established, and imperial guards directly under the emperor were stationed there, ensuring that the tribal chiefs no longer dared to disregard imperial authority. However, the Liao dynasty is vast, and the various tribes beyond the Great Wall live nomadically, so..." Furthermore, tribal armies were established within the twenty tribes to defend the territory, and the commanders of these tribal armies were the tribal chiefs. Before the Jurchen rebellion, the imperial army numbered 600,000 and the tribal army 400,000, but after the defeat of the 700,000-strong army, the imperial army dwindled to less than 100,000 and the tribal army 200,000. Having grasped the general idea, Wang Hao continued, "The loss of cities and territories, along with the continuous defeats, exacerbated the conflict between the royal family and the other tribes. The reversal of the troop strength further led the tribal chiefs to despise imperial authority. However, your father has reigned for twenty years, his prestige remains, and he still possesses 100,000 elite troops. Therefore, they are only outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, daring not to openly provoke us." The Shu princess, unwilling to accept this fact, nodded helplessly and said, "You can understand it that way too!"

Wang Hao pondered for a long time before saying, "The Jurchens would never dare to ignore two hundred thousand tribal troops. How many enemy troops do you think they can tie down?" The Shu princess replied, "At least fifty thousand!" Wang Hao asked, "Why?" The Shu princess answered, "Everyone knows that the Jurchens' swords will never show them mercy. It's just that with Father Emperor in charge, they want to preserve their strength. But the tribal army's fighting power is by no means weak. The Jurchens need at least fifty thousand elite troops to monitor them day and night!" The Shu princess pondered for a moment and then said, "If the tribal army makes the slightest move, the Jurchens will need eighty to one hundred thousand troops to deal with it." Wang Hao asked, "Why didn't your thirty thousand troops have such willpower in Liaodong?" "?" Princess Shu replied, "Whether it's the palace guards or the tribal troops, they are all Khitans. Moreover, Shangjing is the ancestral homeland of the Khitans, and the Jurchens will not be allowed to run rampant. In Liaodong, although there were 10,000 palace guards, they were fighting in a foreign land, and no one wanted to die far from home. As for the other 20,000 troops, they are not Khitans. The Jurchens may enslave them, but they will not exterminate them!" Wang Hao admired Princess Shu's insight and said, "You see things very clearly?" Princess Shu sighed unconsciously and said, "After many lessons, one naturally learns a lesson!" Although the Jurchens were advancing triumphantly, the 200,000 troops outside Shangjing were also the strength of the entire nation, so both Yelü Yanxi and Wanyan Aguda were very cautious. Princess Shu rested in Zhongjing for three days and began to march towards Shangjing. Their marching speed was not fast, only 30 li per day, but the other 5,000 troops in Liaodong were rapidly approaching at a speed of 120 li per day.