Chương 318: Chapter 325. The Decision to Pursue

Yelü Zhangnu's betrayal had now gone beyond rumor. Hoofprints leading toward the Supreme Capital, testimony from fugitives speaking of Zuzhou and the Temple of the Founder, and reports of unrest spreading toward Guangpingdian arrived one after another. Prisoners, merchants, spies, and Balhae soldiers who had submitted all brought reports by different routes, yet in the end they pointed to the same place. Something was happening inside Liao. Something that threatened the emperor's very name.

Then the next report changed the atmosphere inside the command tent. Emperor Tianzuo had withdrawn his main camp by thirty li. For a great army, thirty li was not a great distance. At first, it looked like a routine military adjustment. When hundreds of thousands of troops were on the move, formations had to be reset, camps shifted in search of water and pasture, and even the emperor's tents might be moved farther back. But there was something different about this movement.

It was not an ordinary rear unit that had moved. It was the imperial guard that normally stood closest to the emperor. Their banners had been folded, the bells removed from the horses, and the hoofprints left by the force that slipped away in the night led toward the Supreme Capital. The tents of the main camp still stood, but the guards around them had thinned, and fewer messengers moved around the imperial banners. The shell had been left behind while the center had been hollowed out.

Wanyan Zonghan read the report again first. Then Youngwoo began moving the markers on the sand table one by one. The Liao main camp was still enormous. Tents, wagons, banners, horses, and men still covered the plain. But part of the imperial guard that should have protected the center had moved toward the Supreme Capital. This was not merely a retreat. It was evidence that the emperor had turned his attention toward the rebellion within. Youngwoo spoke quietly.

"The emperor has been shaken." The commanders in the tent heard him. No one cheered at once. Opportunity always came with danger. It could be a trick, a deliberate opening meant to draw the Jin army deep into the Liao formation. Seven hundred thousand troops had not vanished, and the Liao forces on both wings were still spread widely across the field. Aguda summoned his commanders. Zonghan and Zongwang entered first, followed by Samyoari, Dolhapsok, Oyeon Porohon, Jeok Janhwi, Daego, and Aribo.

Youngwoo stood to one side. On the sand table in the center were marked the Liao main camp, the road leading toward the Supreme Capital, Changchun Circuit, and the region around Hubodagang. Red flags marked the Jin army. Black flags marked the Liao. There were still far more black flags. The cautious argument came first.

"This looks almost too good an opportunity.

"Liao may be pretending to retreat in order to draw us in. If we advance too deeply, the troops on both wings will close in on us." Another commander nodded.

"We could also wait for the Goryeo army to come farther north.

"When they draw closer, Liao will have to pay more attention to the east. If we strike then, the risk will be smaller." Another spoke of Song.

"If the Song army presses Yanjing, Liao will have to divert troops to the south as well.

"If we wait until then, the pressure on the enemy will be greater." Arguments passed back and forth inside the tent. Every one of them had merit. Yet the longer they continued, the more Aguda's eyes remained fixed on one point on the sand table. The road to the Supreme Capital. The road that had captured Tianzuo's attention. Zonghan looked at Youngwoo.

"What does Commander Yi think?" Youngwoo stepped closer to the sand table. Rather than count the black flags, he studied the distances between them. He pointed in turn to the roads linking the Liao main camp with its two wings, the gap left by the departing imperial guards, and the positions held by the tribal forces.

"If it is a trap, their response will be quick.

"The moment we approach, the troops on both wings will move at once.

"If that happens, we withdraw." He pressed a finger against the Liao main camp, then moved it toward the two wings.

"But if the center keeps falling back and the wings fail to move with it, then it is a retreat. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"They have failed to fill the space left by the imperial guards, and each unit is merely holding its own position.

"If that happens, we must not hesitate.

"The vanguard opens the road, the following force closes behind it, and the Iron Pagoda Cavalry drives into the center." Aguda asked,"What will you judge it by?" Youngwoo answered at once.

"The banners and the horses' heads.

"If the central banners move forward and the horses on both wings turn toward us, it is a trap.

"If the central banners move back and the horses on the wings begin to scatter, it is a retreat.

"That is the difference we must watch." Samyoari asked,"Then should we move the entire army?" Youngwoo shook his head.

"It is dangerous to go in deeply from the start. Send out the vanguard and strike lightly first. Watch how the Liao army reacts. Keep the following units at a distance in support.

"The mounted archers should disrupt the front line, while the heavy cavalry waits.

"The moment we see a sector where Liao's orders are slow, send in the Iron Pagoda Cavalry." The tent fell quiet. The commanders now looked toward Aguda. The decision belonged to the Great Khan. It was a dingwei day. Before dawn, Aguda selected a body of cavalry. He did not take many. Only men who rode well, saw clearly, and knew how to keep their mouths shut were chosen. He intended to observe for himself how the Liao army was moving. The winter field before dawn was frozen hard.

Each hoofbeat struck the ground with a short, dull sound. White breath drifted between the horses' ears. Ahead, the broad Liao encampment spread dimly across the plain. Tents and banners seemed to continue without end, and deep wheel ruts scarred the red-earth roads where wagons had passed. Aguda watched from horseback for a long time. The Liao tents were still numerous. But the movement was different from the day before. Provision wagons were being hurried toward the rear.

Columns carrying fodder had changed direction. Supplies that should have gone into the central camp were instead flowing toward the western road. Zonghan spoke quietly.

"There is movement." Aguda nodded.

"Movement alone is not enough. We need a man." The cavalry spread out behind a low ridge. One group blocked the road. Another pursued the rear of a wagon column. Before long, the neighing of horses and a few brief shouts broke the silence. A man in Liao uniform was dragged from his horse. A leather pouch containing grain ledgers hung from his waist, and a whip was still clenched in his hand. He was an official responsible for supervising provisions. At first the prisoner refused to speak.

Dust covered his face, and his lips were cracked from the cold. But his eyes kept drifting toward the western road. Aguda noticed.

"Where were you going?" The prisoner remained silent. Zonghan stepped forward and seized the leather pouch. Inside were records of grain allocations, wagon numbers, and the routes along which fodder was being moved. Supplies intended for the central army were being diverted westward. Aguda asked again.

"Where is Tianzuo?" The prisoner's shoulders trembled. That single tremor answered before his mouth did.

"Speak. Even if you hide it, the tracks on the road have already spoken." The prisoner swallowed.

"His Majesty... went west." The cavalrymen around him looked at one another. Aguda's eyes narrowed.

"When?"

"Two days ago."

"Why?" The prisoner hesitated. The pause stretched. It seemed that even within the Liao army, Yelü Zhangnu's name had become difficult to speak aloud. Zonghan growled quietly.

"Answer the question." At last the prisoner lowered his head.

"Yelü Zhangnu rebelled. He fled toward the Supreme Capital and said he would offer rites at the Temple of the Founder.

"There were also rumors that he meant to enthrone the Prince of Wei.

"When His Majesty heard of it, he turned west." The wind across the plain seemed colder after those words. But among the Jin commanders, another feeling began to rise. The opening they had searched for over months had finally revealed itself. The Liao emperor no longer stood before the Jin army with his whole attention fixed on the battlefield. He had been drawn away by the Supreme Capital, the Temple of the Founder, and the name of Yelü Chun. Aguda looked down at the prisoner.

"You said Tianzuo turned back two days ago?"

"Yes, Great Khan."

"And the provisions followed him?"

"Some of the supplies meant for the central army were redirected west. The imperial guards moved, and some of the tents were struck as well." Aguda asked no more. He turned his horse and looked toward the Liao camp. In the distance, the banners were still numerous. The tents still covered a vast area. Yet none of it looked the same now. It was an army whose emperor had departed. An army whose supply flow had changed. An army whose center of command had begun to shake.

Zonghan asked cautiously,"Great Khan, shall we return?" Aguda gave a short laugh. There was more resolve than joy in it.

"Gather the commanders." He held in one hand the grain ledger taken from the prisoner. The leather pouch was stiff with frost, and the writing inside carried the secrets of Liao.

"While they stood before us, their emperor looked behind him.

"Now we move from the front." The cavalry turned their horses. Hoofbeats quickened once more along the red-earth road. Aguda returned to the command tent carrying what he had seen with his own eyes. This was no longer rumor, but testimony from a prisoner's mouth. No longer a guess, but intelligence in which the ledger and the tracks on the road matched. Tianzuo had already turned west because of Yelü Zhangnu's rebellion. Two days had passed. Aguda did not speak for long.

He looked at the black flags on the sand table. The Liao encampment was broad enough to cover the plain, with banners, tents, wagons, and horses stretching without end. But numbers were no longer what mattered. What mattered was whether the center and the wings still moved together. Who had filled the gap left by the imperial guards? Could the formation still hold after the emperor's withdrawal? Was the emperor still truly holding the main camp? Did the tribal forces still intend to fight to the end?

Yelü Zhangnu's betrayal had split them from within, and the movement of Tianzuo's imperial guards had exposed the fracture. Aguda reached out and took hold of one black flag marking the Liao main camp. Then he moved it slightly toward the Supreme Capital. Every eye in the tent followed that small movement.

"Tianzuo has taken troops from the battlefield and turned them toward the Supreme Capital." Aguda's voice was low but clear.

"The Liao army still remains on the field.

"But the emperor's imperial guards have moved toward the Supreme Capital, and the main camp has withdrawn thirty li.

"We must see whether the center and the two wings still move together.

"If they do, it is a trap.

"If they do not, it is a retreat." Zongwang bowed his head. Zonghan also saluted in silence. Aguda continued.

"Waiting for the Goryeo army might make us stronger. Waiting for the Song army to move might place more pressure on Liao.

"But if Tianzuo restores the main camp, gathers the tribal forces again, and returns his imperial guards to their places before then, the opening that has finally appeared today will disappear." He pushed one of the red flags straight forward across the sand table. His hand did not tremble. It was like watching a confident player place a stone on the board.

"We pursue." The commanders' faces hardened. With those two words, months of stalemate came to an end. Aguda spoke again.

"We strike before they can reform.

"Send the vanguard forward and confirm their deployment.

"If the center and wings move together, withdraw.

"If they fall out of step, go in at once.

"If their response is quick, pull back and shake them again.

"If their response is slow, drive straight through.

"The center will hold firm, while the cavalry on both wings circles wide.

"The Iron Pagoda Cavalry will charge the moment the road opens." Wanyan Zonghan answered,"It shall be done as commanded." Youngwoo looked once more at the road on the sand table. Only a few days earlier, that road had not existed. Liao had been too numerous. Its center too thick. The tribal forces were still weighing victory and defeat. Then Yelü Zhangnu split them from within, and Tianzuo moved of his own accord. At last, the moment Jin had been waiting for had arrived. Messengers rushed out of the command tent.

Saddles were thrown onto horses. Bowstrings were drawn tight again. Soldiers entrusted with the banners ran to their positions. In the freezing air, horses sent out streams of white breath. The scraping of iron plates sounded throughout the camp. Even before the army began to move, the Jin camp had already started drawing breath for battle. A strange sense of expectation and hope was beginning to rise. Perhaps we can win.

The air was different from only a few days earlier, when commanders had spoken of giving their lives merely to make victory possible. The great Liao army still covered the plain. Tents, banners, wagons, and horses seemed endless, and by numbers alone it remained overwhelming. But after the imperial guards had departed and the main camp had withdrawn, the Liao deployment no longer looked as firm as before. The Jin had only to determine whether the center and wings still moved together.

The moment they fell out of step, the pursuit had to begin. Aguda stood at the entrance of the command tent and looked toward the Liao camp in the darkness. Lights stretched endlessly across the distance. They were still immense. But they no longer inspired only fear. They were the lights of an empire beginning to shake. Aguda spoke quietly.

"Prepare." And with that, the Jin pursuit began.