Chapter 350. Not Returning to Hoeryeong
Aguda did not return to Hoeryeong at once.
He remained at Hubodagang for several days, setting up his command tents there.
Before the dust of the battlefield had even settled, celebrations began. Before those celebrations had ended, meetings large and small followed one after another.
Commanders of Goryeo, Jin Meng'an and Mouke officers, submitted Balhae leaders, and chiefs of various tribes gathered in the same place.
In earlier days, men like these would have stiffened first at the sight of spoils.
They would have argued over horses, silver, bundles of silk, prisoners, and wagons, each invoking his own contribution and the name of his tribe.
That had been the old way.
The tribes gathered their strength for war, divided what they had won after victory, and then returned to their own mountains and fields.
At the command camp of Hubodagang, however, they discussed the running of a state and the next war before dividing the spoils.
Instead of fighting over a few horses or bundles of silk, they traced the roads that would open after Liao's retreat.
How should they pressure the Supreme Capital, Western Capital, and Southern Capital?
Under what order should newly submitted cities and tribes be incorporated?
How should the horses, cattle, and armor captured today be turned into strength for the next campaign?
They also discussed how the achievements of the Goryeo and Balhae troops should be recorded and how newly submitted cities and tribes should be placed within the new order.
The gathering had begun as a celebration among victorious tribes.
Little by little, it became a council for building a state.
After praising the courage of his commanders, Aguda ordered their achievements to be recorded within military command and official ledgers.
Who had held which position.
Which unit had opened which road.
Which commander had gathered prisoners and spoils.
Individual feats of bravery became military merit of the Jin army.
That merit, in turn, determined rank, reward, and command in the next battle.
Those who had earned merit would receive their shares, but discipline had to stand first.
Prisoners were to be kept alive and put to use.
Spoils were to become supplies for the next campaign.
There, the war of tribes was beginning to become the war of an empire.
That was why Hubodagang would remain more than merely the field of a great victory.
It was the place where they had defeated the emperor of Liao.
It was also the place where they first began to discuss in earnest what kind of state Jin would become.
Hands that once divided spoils now pointed to roads on maps.
Commanders who had been raising wine cups began speaking of cities, subjects, provisions, and law.
At the center of that change sat Aguda.
The council was still underway when urgent hoofbeats approached outside.
The labored breathing of a horse that had traveled a great distance came first.
Then a messenger's voice rang from the entrance.
"Loyalty. The pursuit force that followed the enemy for five hundred li has returned."
Aguda raised a hand and stopped the council.
Hands withdrew from the map.
Commanders holding wine cups turned toward the entrance.
The air inside the tent settled.
This report would tell them how far the victory at Hubodagang had carried.
"Enter."
The messenger came inside.
Dust covered his face.
His lips were cracked.
His legs trembled slightly from long hours in the saddle, but his eyes remained clear.
He dropped to one knee and bowed deeply.
Aguda asked,
"What happened?"
The messenger caught his breath.
"They retreated all the way to Changchun Prefecture. They fled nearly five hundred li in a single night."
A low murmur spread through the tent.
Five hundred li.
Those words alone confirmed the scale of the victory.
The emperor of Liao had marched in with a great host, only to be driven five hundred li away in the space of a day.
Quiet excitement appeared on the commanders' faces.
Aguda immediately asked,
"What of the remaining forces?"
"They disbanded instead of gathering again. Each unit went its own way. The tribal forces scattered beneath their own banners. They say barely five hundred imperial guards remained with the emperor to the end."
This time the murmur grew louder.
People looked at one another.
The battle had not ended merely with a victory at Hubodagang.
The army of seven hundred thousand that the Liao emperor had brought with him had scattered along the road to Changchun Prefecture.
The tribal troops had gone after their own banners.
The Han troops withdrew under whichever commanders remained.
Only a few hundred imperial guards still stayed with the emperor.
The military commands that had once reached Supreme Capital, Southern Capital, and Western Capital had broken apart on the plains.
Each tribal contingent had gone its own way.
Aguda's gaze deepened.
He questioned the messenger in a gentler voice.
"How many remnants did you see?"
"There were many scattered groups along the road, but almost none had re-formed into proper battle formations. Even gathered together, they would have struggled to reach ten thousand. Most had abandoned armor and weapons. Those whose horses failed continued on foot. Even after reaching Changchun Prefecture, they showed more concern for finding one another and recovering their strength than preparing for another battle."
Several of the younger commanders drew in sharp breaths.
This was more than defeat.
It was collapse.
The emperor himself had escaped alive, but the army that had followed him had lost the shape of an army.
Aguda asked again,
"What do you think Tianzuo will do now?"
The messenger raised his head.
"He appears likely to head toward the Supreme Capital. Word is spreading that he intends to gather troops again and return there because of Yelü Zhangnu's rebellion. The mood suggests he is more concerned with the rebellion than with fighting us again at Hubodagang."
The command tent fell into deeper silence.
The commanders stopped with cups in their hands and looked at the messenger.
Zonghan touched Changchun Prefecture on the map with one finger.
Zongwang exhaled slowly and rested a fist on his knee.
Samyoari and Dolhapsok glanced at one another and nodded.
Several Mouke commanders quietly repeated the words that only a few hundred imperial guards remained with the emperor.
Tianzuo had withdrawn to Changchun Prefecture.
The tribal forces had scattered beneath their own banners.
The Han troops had retreated under their remaining commanders.
The fact that the victory at Hubodagang had carried all the way to Changchun Prefecture settled heavily over wine cups, maps, and the hardened faces of the commanders.
The emperor of Liao had come to fight Jin.
Now he was withdrawing to suppress rebellion within his own realm.
That meant Liao had yielded this battlefield.
Aguda slowly nodded.
A deep smile spread across his face.
"I see.
"The victory that began at Hubodagang has reached Changchun Prefecture.
"Tianzuo has retreated five hundred li.
"The tribal troops have scattered beneath their own banners.
"The Han troops have withdrawn under their remaining commanders.
"Only a few hundred imperial guards remain beside the emperor.
"The force they called seven hundred thousand has dissolved along the road to Changchun Prefecture.
"Now all that remains before us is the empty banner of the Liao emperor."
Zonghan spoke quietly.
"The great army has been disbanded."
Zongwang struck his knee with a fist.
"Tianzuo's position has changed.
"At first he came to destroy us. Now he must return to the Supreme Capital to stop Yelü Zhangnu's rebellion."
Aguda ordered wine brought for the messenger.
The man who had ridden such a long road accepted the cup with both hands and drank.
The great Liao army had retreated to Changchun Prefecture.
Its forces had been dispersed.
The emperor was heading toward the Supreme Capital to deal with rebellion.
Aguda looked around the gathering.
"Remember this report.
"Tianzuo was defeated at Hubodagang and withdrew to Changchun Prefecture.
"The force they called seven hundred thousand has scattered.
"Only a few hundred imperial guards remain beside him.
"Liao will find it difficult to gather another great army for some time.
"More importantly, the emperor must deal with the rebellion in the Supreme Capital first.
"During that time, we will reorganize our forces, accept cities that surrender, and pressure those that resist.
"We will decide here which road to open first among the Supreme Capital, Western Capital, and Southern Capital."
The younger commanders raised their cups together.
The Goryeo command nodded.
Heat rose in the faces of the Balhae leaders as well.
The emperor of Liao had withdrawn.
The army he had brought had scattered in every direction.
Aguda looked at Youngwoo and smiled.
There was pleasure in his expression at how unexpectedly well events had unfolded.
"You accomplished something great.
"I too earnestly wished for Yelü Zhangnu's rebellion. Yet I never knew he would truly move.
"One may scatter words among men, but for men's hearts to follow those words and move—such a thing happens only when Heaven lends its hand."
Aguda's gaze lingered on Youngwoo.
Youngwoo swallowed.
He stiffened as though he were being questioned rather than praised.
"It is difficult to say that I did it. I carried the words and tried to persuade him, but in truth, I failed.
"And then that man actually went and did it.
"I still do not understand how it happened myself.
"But they really did move over there. Hahaha…"
Youngwoo laughed awkwardly and let his words trail off.
The wine had reddened his face, and his eyes kept avoiding Aguda's gaze.
Before he could add another excuse, Aguda turned toward Zonghan.
"Zonghan. What do you think?"
Wanyan Zonghan set down his cup and looked around the gathering.
The excitement of battle had already left his face.
"If the army was disbanded at Changchun Prefecture, the tribal forces Tianzuo brought with him will be difficult to gather again.
"Each tribe returned beneath its own banner.
"The horses and provisions have scattered with them.
"Even if he calls the army again, it will be difficult to place another host of seven hundred thousand before us as he did before."
He placed a finger on the map toward Southern Capital.
"What remains are the Han armies around the south.
"He may still call up Han troops from Yanzhou, Yunzhou, and the Southern Capital region.
"But those are Han forces serving under Khitan nobles.
"They are different from tribal armies that gather beneath the emperor's hunting banner.
"Their mobility is poorer, and their fighting strength will be weak.
"There are no more great reserves to draw from Liaodong or Liaoxi.
"At Hubodagang, Tianzuo lost more than troops.
"He lost the authority to summon the tribal forces again."
The gathering listened in silence.
Zonghan was, in effect, the commander who saw most clearly the realities of the battlefield and the army.
Yet one more voice was needed to decide where the greater strategy should lead and in which direction this victory should be driven.
Zonghan looked toward Zongwang.
It was a gesture asking for his view.
Zongwang slowly raised a hand.
Aguda nodded.
"Speak."
Zongwang leaned forward slightly.
The heat of battle still remained in his young face, but his voice was calm.
"We can finally catch our breath.
"The army needs rest.
"We must restore the horses and armor, sort the wounded, turn the spoils into supplies, and bring newly submitted cities and tribes into order.
"After that, we should concentrate our strength on destroying Liao."
Zongwang pointed in turn to the Supreme Capital, Western Capital, and Southern Capital on the map.
"The Supreme Capital has been shaken by Yelü Zhangnu's rebellion.
"The Western Capital remains connected to Liao's western forces.
"The Southern Capital is where the Han armies meet the Song front.
"From now on, we should pressure the Supreme Capital, Southern Capital, and Western Capital in succession."
He paused and looked around the gathering.
"I will say it again.
"The objective of this war is now clear.
"We must concentrate on destroying Liao."
Aguda looked at Zongwang for a long moment.
There was some youthful haste in the vanguard commander's words.
But there was also power in them—the power to gather an army's spirit after victory and keep it from scattering.
Aguda slowly raised his cup.
"Good.
"Today, we celebrate the victory.
"Beginning tomorrow, we decide where that victory will lead.
"Tianzuo must return to deal with rebellion in the Supreme Capital.
"We will reorganize our army, accept the cities that surrender, and pressure those that resist.
"Here, one by one, we will decide the road by which Liao will be destroyed."