Chapter 238 — Espionage Operation: Wanyan Xiyin
Wanyan Xiyin was one of the khan's closest aides.
He was an adviser, but he could not be called merely an adviser.
He handled documents, met important people, appeased those who surrendered, established new institutions, and sometimes opened channels of communication between generals.
There was almost nothing he did not do.
The fact that he had taken charge of the matter meant that the khan's will was directly behind the espionage operation.
For other operations, sending men was enough.
This matter was different.
They had to send rumors into Liao, and they had to use the paths of the tribes of the grasslands, the Balhae networks, and the surrendered men.
Words and documents had to go ahead of the sword.
For such a task, Wanyan Xiyin was the most suitable man.
Yelü Yanxi was not a Chinese-style emperor who remained in one place.
He was a Khitan-style emperor who moved his traveling court according to the seasons.
Every year he went to the Yazi River, Chunzhou, and the region around the Huntong River to hold the spring nabo, and in summer he moved to places of retreat from the heat, such as Sanshuiyuan, Nan'ai, and Yuqiu.
In autumn, he combined hunting and military training at hunting grounds such as Nanshan, using those occasions to control the tribes, and in winter he stayed at the winter traveling camp.
The Liao court did not exist only inside a palace.
Wherever the emperor's tent stood, that place became the traveling court.
At that time, Yelü Yanxi was staying in the direction of the Yazi River.
When news that Huanglongfu had fallen reached the traveling court, the Tianzuo Emperor showed surprise before anger.
Huanglongfu was the eastern gate.
The collapse of that gate meant that the Jurchens were no longer merely forest rebels, but had pushed deep into Liao territory.
The emperor ordered troops to gather toward Changchun Road.
Forces from Shangjing Linhuangfu, Zhongjing Dadingfu, and Dongjing Liaoyangfu, along with men from the dependent tribes, Han infantry, and Khitan cavalry, were called up in sequence.
Shangjing was the northern base close to the roots of the Khitan imperial house, Dongjing was the seat that governed the old Balhae lands and Liaodong, and Zhongjing was the central stronghold connecting the two.
Liao centered itself on Shangjing, but it also maintained Dongjing, Nanjing, Xijing, and Zhongjing as regional centers for administration and military affairs.
The order to muster had been issued, but the army did not gather easily.
Yelü Yanxi ordered the assembling of seventy myriads of fan-Han troops, meaning both Khitan and Han forces.
He placed twenty thousand elite troops in the vanguard, appointing Xiao Fengxian as Commander of the Imperial Camp and giving Yelü Zhangnu the post of deputy commander.
The rest were organized into five divisions of regular troops, a hard army made up of noble sons, and the guard troops of the hundred offices.
Outwardly, it was an enormous army.
Inside, however, many different interests and anxieties moved together.
Wanyan Xiyin laid out all these circumstances in the council chamber in clear order.
He pointed out, one by one, the roads where men would gather, the directions in which the army would move, the traveling court where the emperor stayed, the lines connecting the troops of Zhongjing, Dongjing, and Shangjing, and the gaps that could appear along each line.
The first matter he brought up was the exchange of envoys before the attack on Huanglongfu.
Liao had sent Sengjianu to propose peace.
Yet in the state letter, Aguda's name had been lowered, and Jin was still treated as a former dependency.
The peace talks had already failed at that point.
After that, in the third and sixth months, Yelü Zhangnu came bearing state letters.
The Liao letters still addressed Aguda by his personal name.
Aguda responded in kind, addressing the Liao emperor Yelü Yanxi by his personal name.
The letter in the sixth month was the same.
Jin, on the contrary, advised Liao to surrender.
In words, it was peace.
In writing, the sword was already there.
There were several points of conflict.
First, Liao did not recognize Aguda as emperor.
Jin had already proclaimed an emperor and established a state name, but Liao refused to accept it.
Second, Liao did not see Jin as a country, but tried to treat it as a former subordinate tribe.
Third, the etiquette of state letters had collapsed.
Liao insulted Aguda by calling him directly by name, and Jin answered by calling Yelü Yanxi directly by name.
Yet what Wanyan Xiyin regarded as most important was the military issue.
Liao wanted to buy time.
He paid attention to the fact that they were dragging things out.
Jin, on the other hand, wanted to press forward while Liao was wavering.
By examining the wording of the letters, the attitude of the envoys, and the slow movements while awaiting replies, Xiyin became convinced that Liao was buying time.
Two men drew his attention.
Sengjianu and Yelü Zhangnu.
Sengjianu was a figure whose name remained in the History of Jin, in the basic annals of Taizu, merely in the form that "the Liao envoy Sengjianu came to discuss peace," so information about him was limited.
Yelü Zhangnu was different.
He was a Khitan imperial clansman and general of late Liao, an official who had handled documents and envoys, and a man who had held military authority at the front.
Most importantly, he had seen Yelü Yanxi's incompetence up close.
Wanyan Xiyin focused on Yelü Zhangnu.
He bore the imperial surname Yelü.
He had come twice to the Jin camp carrying Liao state letters.
As an envoy, he had seen Aguda's face, and he had seen the attitude with which the Jin generals stood against Liao.
He also knew better than anyone that the Liao court still regarded the Jurchens as a subordinate people, ignored reality, and used empty legitimacy to buy time.
When Yelü Zhangnu came in the fourth month with a state letter, the writing showed arrogance, calling Aguda by name with insolence.
Aguda detained five of the envoys and sent only Yelü Zhangnu back.
When Yelü Zhangnu came again in the sixth month, the attitude of the state letter had not changed.
Aguda answered by calling the Liao emperor by name and advised surrender.
Those two exchanges must have left a deep impression on Yelü Zhangnu as well.
After organizing his thoughts, Wanyan Xiyin summoned a council at dawn.
It was phrased as a request, but the matter was so grave that the leaders gathered at once.
The khan sat down and spoke briefly.
"Begin."
Wanyan Xiyin gave the proper salute and opened his mouth.
"The man I have focused on is Yelü Zhangnu. He came twice as an envoy. He bears the emperor's surname, and he personally carried Liao's state letters. I have recalled his demeanor from that time. He already appeared to be a man filled with doubt."
The khan asked,
"Doubt?"
"Yes. The language of the state letter was arrogant, but the man's eyes were different. They were the eyes of someone who knew that the dignity claimed by the Liao court and the actual state of the battlefield did not align. I believe we should make Yelü Zhangnu the target of our operation."
The khan asked again,
"How?"
"First, I propose that we release the men we detained at that time."
The khan smacked his lips.
The five men had effectively been treated as prisoners.
He could not even immediately recall where they were being held.
Wanyan Xiyin continued.
"We will find them and have them carry words to Yelü Zhangnu. If those who were detained are released and return, Zhangnu will find it difficult to ignore what they say. They know his sense of face. They also know the fear clinging to him."
The khan tilted his head slightly.
"Can subordinates persuade a superior?"
"They will not persuade him all at once. But they can grow his doubts. I will find those five men and devise a method."
The khan said shortly,
"Do so."
Wanyan Xiyin brought out the next plan as if making a report.
"What if we attach Balhae men to him? The Balhae people, in any case, harbor much resentment toward the Liao court."
"You mean to make them his backing?"
"That is correct."
"Good. What else?"
"There are also many local powerful families and discontented elements around Zhongjing Dadingfu. If they can be attached to him, Zhangnu's name will grow larger."
The khan laughed quietly.
"That region has long been full of resentment."
"Yes. The forces of Zhongjing may be usable. The remaining troops commanded by local officers, lower Khitan nobles who resent the Tianzuo Emperor, and Han and Balhae local soldiers worn down by taxes and corvée can each raise their banners and join him. They will not see themselves as rebels. We must make them believe that they are not defying the Tianzuo Emperor, but setting the Liao state back in order."
The air in the council chamber settled.
Those words were not simple alienation.
They were the shaking of a country from within.