Chapter 351. Youngwoo's Proposal
Youngwoo tilted his head slightly.
Zongwang was right.
It was also right that they should concentrate on destroying Liao.
But there was one thing missing from his words.
Timing.
Did he mean they should advance immediately?
Or did he mean they should let the army rest and strike again sometime later?
That part was unclear.
Youngwoo slowly rose to his feet.
His face was red from the wine, but his eyes were clear.
He looked around the gathering and began to speak.
"I understand what the generals mean. It is also right that we should press Liao to the end. What concerns me is the timing. If this turns into a plan for some later day, the momentum we gained today will cool."
The command tent fell quiet.
Youngwoo placed a finger on the Liaodong region of the map.
"We have broken the enemy's great army. Tianzuo has retreated as far as Changchun Prefecture, and the tribal forces have scattered beneath their own banners. It will take time for them to gather another large army.
"So we must move now.
"We should secure the Eastern Capital, Liaoyang Prefecture, and put pressure on the Supreme Capital, Linhuang Prefecture, and the Central Capital, Dading Prefecture."
He pointed east first.
"We must secure the Eastern Capital, Liaoyang Prefecture, before anything else. The submitted Balhae troops need a place to stand.
"Liaoyang is the center from which Liaodong is governed. Balhae people, Han people, and Jurchen groups are all mixed there.
"Once we take it, the submitted Balhae troops will have a place to gather, and the other cities of Liaodong will understand that Jin is now the new power."
Youngwoo then pointed northwest.
"After that, we must pressure the Supreme Capital, Linhuang Prefecture, and the Central Capital, Dading Prefecture.
"The Supreme Capital is the root of the Khitan imperial house. The Central Capital is the great center that binds the middle of the Liao realm together.
"If we stop here, Liao will gather troops again around the Supreme and Central Capitals.
"We must secure the Eastern Capital and then shake the Supreme and Central Capitals in succession. Only then will they lose the courage to set foot in Liaodong again."
Youngwoo paused to catch his breath.
The wine had dried his throat, but his voice was becoming clearer with every sentence.
"We cannot let ourselves stop because we are drunk on today's victory. This is a time for celebration, yes, but it is also the time to issue the next orders.
"Accept the cities that surrender.
"Pressure the cities that resist.
"Turn the spoils into military supplies.
"Question the prisoners about the roads and the condition of the cities.
"And place those who have submitted where they can be most useful."
He looked toward Go Youngchang and Go Hoewon.
"The Balhae army should go to the Eastern Capital, Liaoyang Prefecture.
"If they stand at the front, the Balhae people of Liaoyang will find it easier to decide where they belong.
"It is better to place names and faces familiar to the people of Liaoyang in front than to have the Jin army enter by force alone.
"That gives the Balhae army a road forward.
"And it gives Jin one as well."
Finally, Youngwoo bowed toward Aguda.
"Great Khan, we must now show this victory to the cities and people of Liaodong.
"Secure the Eastern Capital, Liaoyang Prefecture, first.
"Then press the Supreme Capital, Linhuang Prefecture, and the Central Capital, Dading Prefecture.
"We must move before the momentum of today cools."
Eastern Capital, Liaoyang Prefecture: The center of Liao rule in Liaodong, corresponding to present-day Liaoyang in Liaoning Province, China. It was a key eastern administrative center where Balhae, Han, and Jurchen populations overlapped.
Supreme Capital, Linhuang Prefecture: Located around present-day Bairin Left Banner in Inner Mongolia, north of Chifeng.
Central Capital, Dading Prefecture: A major political and military center of central Liao, located around present-day Ningcheng in Inner Mongolia, south of Chifeng.
They had fought a great battle.
Anyone would have wanted rest.
The victory at Hubodagang had been enormous, but it had been won through a desperate struggle.
The horses were exhausted.
Men's hands still trembled.
Blood and sweat had dried inside their armor.
Youngwoo, however, tried to look beyond that exhaustion.
After their defeat, the Liao tribal forces had scattered beneath their own banners.
The Jin army was organized under the Meng'an and Mouke system, but at its roots it was still an army of tribes.
If the celebrations continued too long, if the spoils were divided, and if men began thinking of returning to their own lands and tribes, the strength gathered with such difficulty could begin to loosen.
Youngwoo continued.
"I ask that we let the soldiers rest, restore the horses and armor, and then advance on Liaoyang.
"Liaoyang is the center of Liaodong.
"We must secure it so that the submitted Balhae army has a place to stand and the cities of Liaodong can judge whom they should follow."
Youngwoo stopped speaking.
Only then did he notice the exhaustion on the faces of the commanders.
The excitement of victory was there, but beneath it lay deeper fatigue.
This had not been an easy victory.
Every one of them had feared defeat.
Every one of them had seen death close at hand.
They had endured by the narrowest margin.
Broken through by the narrowest margin.
Won by the narrowest margin.
It was as though a cord pulled tight to its limit had finally been released.
Youngwoo wet his lips.
He had no desire to win favor with the other commanders by saying these things.
Yet seeing their exhaustion made him more careful with his words.
It was burdensome to become the man who had to speak of another war.
The wine of victory had barely begun to cool, and already he was talking about the next march and the next city.
Even so, it had to be said.
They needed rest now.
But while they rested, the next road had to be chosen.
Otherwise, the victory at Hubodagang might lose its full meaning.
Youngwoo raised his head again.
"What I am asking is not that we begin another reckless march immediately.
"First, we rest.
"We sort out the wounded.
"We replenish fodder.
"We repair the armor.
"Then we move.
"But the direction must be decided now.
"Our next objective should be the Eastern Capital, Liaoyang Prefecture."
Under other circumstances, someone would have spoken in agreement or opposition.
This time, no one said anything.
Everyone was exhausted.
Twenty thousand Jin troops had faced a Liao army said to number seven hundred thousand.
They had won.
But the victory had only been taken after squeezing the bodies and spirits of men to their very limit.
Horses hung their heads.
The exhaustion of a sleepless night lay heavily around the commanders' eyes.
The banquet continued and cups still passed from hand to hand, but beneath it all was the same quiet desire.
To rest.