Youzhou Beijing City Government in the middle of the government

Yuan Chang swept his gaze to Diao Xiu'er and said, "Brigade Commander Diao, tell everyone about the news you have discovered, and let's discuss what to do next." ”

"Yes!"

Diao Xiu'er saluted with a dignified expression, and then said slowly: "Qiyu Prefecture Mu, according to the spies arranged in the three counties of Xuanwu County, Liaodong County and Changli County, Lu Jun and Lu Hai, the former Fanyang Lu clan's people, lobbied the leader of Karasuma to Ban Dun, the king of Goguryeo Xiguang, Gao Delu, and the eastern Xianbei leader Murong Ding to send troops to Youzhou. Now, Karasuma has begun to gather 50,000 troops, and the commander of the Three Kings Nanlou, Su Muyan, and Wuyan, who invaded Youzhou before, will march to Youbeiping County; Gao Delu, the king of Goguryeo's Xiguang Dynasty, has also agreed to send troops and sent Gao Jianchang, the general of the Goguryeo clan, to command 40,000 troops, stationed in Xinbin City, Goguryeo, and can send troops to Liaodong County at any time; as for Murong Ding of Xianbei in the east, he has not sent troops so far, because the court of Xianbei in the east is divided into two factions, one faction supports sending troops to Youzhou, and the other faction does not support sending troops to Youzhou. However, according to the detailed report of Xianbei in the east, because of the reason that Karasuma and Goguryeo jointly sent troops, Murong Ding intended to send troops, but because Murong Yu, the general who invaded Youzhou with Karasuma before, tried his best to dissuade him, Murong Ding was temporarily unable to make up his mind. That's the news from the spies at the border. ”

"Hmm!"

Yuan Chang nodded, looked at the crowd of civil and military officers present, and asked, "Everyone, what do you think about Karasuma, Goguryeo, and Eastern Xianbei?"

Yuan Chang asked, and everyone naturally looked at the chief strategist Guo Jia. However, Guo Jia did not speak, but looked at Chen Gong. Now, Guo Jia has shown his ability under Yuan Chang, and there is no need to continue to perform. And Chen Gong newly joined Yuan Chang's forces, and everyone didn't know much about Chen Gong's ability. Therefore, Guo Jia is naturally willing to give the opportunity to Chen Gong, and he can save some thoughts.

Chen Gong understood what Guo Jia meant, and knew that he wanted to establish his prestige and make a difference. Therefore, Chen Gong was not hypocritical, stood up and straightened his robe, and said: "Qiyu Prefecture Mu, according to the subordinates, the eastern Xianbei is undecided, and he must be planning to wait for Karasuma and Goguryeo to take advantage of the advantage, and then send troops to pick up the cheap, therefore, the eastern Xianbei only need to send a general to guard the border pass, and they can be safe, and Goguryeo is just a barren land, sparsely populated, and short of resources, and its dispatch of 40,000 troops may already be their limit. As long as one general is sent to defend Liaodong County, Goguryeo's soldiers and horses cannot enter the territory of Youzhou, it will not take much time, there will inevitably be a shortage of grain and grass, at that time, the state pastor does not need a single soldier, he can let Goguryeo retreat without a fight, and it is not to be afraid; therefore, the first enemy to deal with now is Karasuma. ”

Chen Gong paused, seeing that Yuan Chang did not have any reaction on his face, he didn't know what Yuan Chang was thinking, and after thinking for a moment, he continued: "Karasuma is the remnant of the former Xiongnu split, and its tribe is fierce and cruel. Now, just before it rises, it will be eliminated in one fell swoop, so as to pacify the north. ”

"Well, what else do you think?"

After listening to Chen Gong's explanation, Yuan Chang did not express his opinion immediately, but asked questions, then looked at Guo Jia and asked, "Fengxiao, what do you think?"

"My lord, the thoughts of my subordinates are the same as those of Gongtai, and the only enemy now is Karasuma, and there is nothing to fear in Eastern Xianbei and Goguryeo. ”

Guo Jia is not wrong to think that Karasuma is a great enemy, Karasuma is a branch of the former Xiongnu, inherited the warlike and murderous nature of the Xiongnu, and has been plundering the border area of Youzhou all year round, and the people on the border have suffered from its persecution. Just as in history, after Cao Cao eliminated Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, Guo Jia suggested that Cao Cao go north to eliminate Karasuma, and for this, Guo Jia also took his own life. It can be seen that Guo Jia attaches great importance to Karasuma.

Of course, from the perspective of this era, Karasuma is indeed a great enemy, and Goguryeo and Eastern Xianbei are just scabies diseases, so there is nothing to worry about.

However, as a traverser, Yuan Chang knows more about the inside story, so his views are naturally different from Guo Jia's. In Yuan Chang's eyes, Goguryeo was undoubtedly more than a hundred times more harmful than Karasuma. The development of history also proves that Goguryeo is a monstrous scourge for the Central Plains. It can be said that many disasters in China were directly or indirectly caused by Goguryeo.

Goguryeo was originally just a place name, and it was Goguryeo that Qin Shi Huang set out to conquer at that time, not Goryeo. Apparently, Goryeo and Goguryeo were confused.

Goguryeo appeared as a place name in the early Qin and Han dynasties, and it was not until the time of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty, that is, when Zhaojun sent the Xiongnu to make peace with his relatives, that Goguryeo was founded, and Goguryeo was the name of the country. Although Emperor Liu Shuang of the Han Yuan Dynasty has no ability, his father Liu Yi is also known as Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty Liu Xun, of course, it is more of a TV series and is widely known. Let's go back to Goguryeo, during the time of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty, the prince of Buyeo, Jumeng, fled from the Buyeo Kingdom to Buyeo and established Goguryeo due to discord with other princes. Therefore, it is recorded in the history books that Goguryeo existed before that, and this statement is not wrong, but Goguryeo did not exist in the form of a state at that time.

After Goguryeo established the state, it has always coveted the land of the Central Plains. During the reign of King Taejo of Goguryeo, he launched an offensive against Lelang County, Xuansu County, and Liaodong County in Youzhou, which led to an armed conflict between Goguryeo and the Han Dynasty. However, the ending is obvious, with the strength of Goguryeo at that time, vainly trying to confront the Han court was undoubtedly a fool's dream, and finally the Han court beat the capital and moved the capital to Marudu City.

Of course, Goguryeo's ambition to step on the Central Plains has not been extinguished, and it has always waged local wars against several counties on the border of Youzhou. At that time, the imperial court arranged most of its troops in the west to face the Fuqiang people, so that it had no time to take care of Goguryeo. After that, the Central Plains fell into war again, and in the era of hegemony, Goguryeo was even more unscrupulous. Later, after Cao Cao eliminated Karasuma and other alien races, Goguryeo and Cao Wei allied to attack Liaodong County and other places that were occupied by local tyrants at that time. After Cao Cao occupied Liaodong and other places, Goguryeo suddenly launched an offensive to attack Cao Wei's army, and as a result, Cao Cao hit the capital of Goguryeo, Maruduseong, forcing the king of Goguryeo Dongchuan to flee to Wofu.

Cao Wei thought that Goguryeo had perished after destroying the capital of Maru, so he quickly evacuated. However, in just seventy years, Goguryeo rebuilt the city of Marudu and began to attack Liaodong, Lelang and Xuansu. With the advance of Goguryeo on the Liaodong Peninsula, during the Jin Dynasty, King Micheon of Goguryeo annexed the last county of the original Han Dynasty, Lelang County. Goguryeo entered from the northeast and controlled most of the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. It began to be in a fierce military confrontation with the ancient Korean states of Baekje and Silla, which formed the main body of modern Korea. Koreans call this period of history the "Three Kingdoms Era" in Korean history. However, these "Three Kingdoms" were originally just a few large tribal states with no sense of national identity with each other, and they were completely different from the situation when the Three Kingdoms of China during the Three Kingdoms period were all separated from the unified Han Dynasty and the people also had the same sense of nationality.

During the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties of China, Goguryeo began to enter its heyday when King Haotai of Goguryeo succeeded to the throne. Later, King Haotae annexed the Buyeo Kingdom and the Intar tribes in the north, formed an absolute military superiority over Baekje, and forced Silla to submit in the wars between Silla and Baekje, Gayage, and Wa. After King Jangsang of Goguryeo ascended the throne, due to the confrontation between Baekje and Silla, King Jangsang moved his capital to Pyongyang to strengthen his control over Baekje and Silla. King Changshou continued the expansionist policies of his father, King Haotai, and annexed some Buyeo, Ya, and Khitan tribes, fought against the Northern Wei, and maintained control of Silla.

After the heyday, it naturally began to decline, and the decline of any dynasty is inseparable from internal struggles.

After the assassination of King Anzao of Goguryeo, his brother King Ahwon succeeded him. During the reign of King Yasuhara, disputes between the royal families intensified. The two political blocs fought over the succession to the throne. In the end, the eight-year-old King Yangyuan ascended the throne, but the struggle for power did not end. The opposition operatives began to build up their own armies and exercise de facto control over their territories. Suffering from internal and external troubles, the northern part of Goguryeo was attacked by nomads. However, the internal rivalry among Goguryeo continued, and at the same time, Baekje and Silla began a joint attack on Goguryeo in order to get rid of their enslaved status by Goguryeo.

After the Sui Dynasty destroyed Nanchen and unified the Central Plains, they began to demand neighboring countries as their vassals, and most of them were recognized. Only Goguryeo disobeyed this. During the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui, Goguryeo preemptively attacked Liaoxi, triggering the first war between Goguryeo and Sui. When Emperor Wen of Sui was about to raise the troops of the Central Plains to ask for his guilt, the king of Goguryeo was busy expressing his apologies and calling himself "Liaodong Dung Tuchen Yuan", so he was pardoned. However, Goguryeo still connected with anti-Sui forces, and when Emperor Yang of Sui discovered Goguryeo's envoys at the Turkic Khan, he began to realize that Goguryeo was a potential border hazard in the Central Plains. The war between Emperor Yang of Sui and Goguryeo broke out, and Emperor Yang of Sui conquered Goguryeo instead of Goryeo. The million-strong army of the Sui attacked Goguryeo by land and sea, breaking through more than forty or fifty cities along the way, and later due to the improper command of the front-line generals of the Sui army, the 300,000 troops who crossed the Liao River to attack were almost completely annihilated. Emperor Yang of Sui personally conquered Goguryeo for the second time, but due to Yang Xuangan's rebellion, the battle was canceled. When Emperor Yang of Sui conquered Goguryeo for the third time, because of the war in Goguryeo for many years, there were many domestic evils, and the troops were seriously insufficient. Later, Emperor Yang of Sui planned to attack Goguryeo. However, due to the intensification of civil strife in the Sui Dynasty, the plan to attack Goguryeo was canceled. The Sui war against Goguryeo sharply reduced the national power of the Sui Dynasty and triggered the civil rebellion at the end of the Sui Dynasty. When the Sui Dynasty fell, it failed to destroy Goguryeo. However, the war between Sui and Goguryeo seriously weakened Goguryeo's national strength, stopped its rise to prominence, and laid a good foundation for Li Tang to eliminate Goguryeo later.

If there is a "powder keg" in East Asia, it must be the Korean Peninsula.

In Chinese history, the fall of at least three dynasties is directly linked to Joseon. If it weren't for Emperor Yang Guang's three expeditions to Goguryeo, the rule of the Sui Dynasty would probably have lasted for dozens or even hundreds of years; if it weren't for Emperor Wanli's efforts to go bankrupt to "resist Japan and aid Korea," the Ming Dynasty might not have let the Nurhachi family pick peaches so easily; if the Qing Dynasty had not been defeated in the First Sino-Japanese War, the glamorous Westernization Movement might have been able to fool the world for decades.

However, the most puzzling thing is why Emperor Yang of Sui unswervingly went to Goguryeo, and even did not change his original intention even when the country was ruined. For later generations, Emperor Yang of Sui's move is often interpreted as irrational madness, or it is nothing more than a great success, reckless military force, anyway, even the level of "protecting the family and defending the country" is not given an explanation. Judging from the history of China, it may be unique to attribute the launching of such a large-scale war to the "madness" of a certain faint monarch. In fact, it is very easy to puncture this point of view, even if Emperor Yang of Sui is a faint monarch, then Emperor Wen of Sui Yang Jian and Tang Taizong Li Shimin are not, but these two "holy monarch" level emperors have also fought Goguryeo, and they have not won.

In fact, it is a very simple truth, Emperor Yang of Sui's three conquests of Goguryeo was a key step in the reconstruction of the "world system" of the Great Sui Dynasty, in layman's terms, Goguryeo did not obey the international order dominated by the Sui Dynasty, and tried to compete with the Sui Dynasty for the dominance of Northeast Asia. If Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty did not subdue Goguryeo, then the Great Sui would not be able to become the legitimate leader of the East Asian world, and this is the "order of the world" that no unified dynasty in China can shirk.

In other words, to understand Emperor Yang of Sui's three conquests of Goguryeo, one must examine it from the perspective of "international vision" and "international strategy".

It can be said that from the Eastern Jin Dynasty to the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the master of Liaodong and even Northeast Asia was no longer the Central Plains Dynasty, but Goguryeo.

This was the international situation that the Great Sui Dynasty had to face when it was established. What the Sui regime could not tolerate the most was that Goguryeo was also well versed in the strategy of "distant friendship and close attack", realized diplomacy between the north and the south, declared itself a vassal to the southern dynasty for a long time, used the southern dynasty to contain the northern dynasty (Sui), and even formed a strategic offensive and defensive alliance with the southern dynasty, and once participated in the "civil war" between the northern and southern dynasties. In contemporary political language, the "peripheral forces" tried in vain to obstruct the great cause of the reunification of the motherland of the Central Plains Dynasty. Regardless of the dynasty, this is obviously a big taboo.

The most glorious page of Goguryeo's great diplomacy is that it even took the lead in threading the needle and gorgeously formed a tripartite alliance of "Goguryeo, Chen, and Turkic", which was completely a "chorus of anti-Sui" at home and abroad. Goguryeo knew very well that the basic condition for its rise and domination in Northeast Asia was the division of the Central Plains Dynasty, and once the Central Plains Dynasty was unified, it was time to clean it up.

Sure enough, when Emperor Wen of Sui pacified the Turks in the north and destroyed the Chen Dynasty in the south, the troops began to aim directly at Sui's biggest enemy on the East Asian continent - Goguryeo. At this time, the "international situation" in Northeast Asia was still complicated: in Northeast China, the Khitan and the Jurchen (the predecessors of the Jurchens) had submitted to the Sui Dynasty, and Goguryeo's alliance policy had basically gone bankrupt, while in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, there were actually two other countries that Goguryeo had always wanted to annex, Baekje and Silla, in order to compete with Goguryeo, they also launched "long-distance relations and close attacks" on a small scale, and became allies of the Sui Dynasty.

In the eighteenth year of Emperor Wen of Sui, Emperor Wen of Sui mobilized an army of 300,000 to attack Goguryeo. Emperor Wen of Sui looked down on Goguryeo to some extent, and he had previously said in an edict to the king of Goguryeo: "The king is said to be as vast as the Yangtze River? Of course, if Goguryeo had been so vulnerable, there would not have been as many stories as later, and in this war, the 300,000-strong army of the Sui Dynasty was almost completely wiped out. It can be said that since the founding of the Sui Dynasty, it has been almost invincible, and this defeat was the first strategic setback of the Sui Dynasty.

The only thing that can be comforted is that Goguryeo is also seriously injured, and King Gao Yuan called himself "Liaodong Dung Tuchen Yuan" after the war, which can be regarded as giving the Sui Dynasty a step down, so as not to lose all the dignity of ****.

The unfinished historical mission of Emperor Wen of Sui was then handed over to Emperor Yang of Sui. From a long historical perspective, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was faced with the historic task of ending Goguryeo's hegemony in Northeast Asia for hundreds of years after the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty. As Mr. Han Sheng said, "Bringing Goguryeo to its knees in order to establish a new international system became an unavoidable choice for the Sui Dynasty to build a world empire," so the conquest of Goguryeo could never be regarded as a great achievement for Emperor Yang of Sui.

An interesting historical detail is that both Emperor Wen of Sui and Emperor Yang of Sui basically did not mention the territorial issue in their edicts to Goguryeo, but focused on Goguryeo's "non-ministers", as stated in the edict, "Goryeo Gaoyuan, losing the feudal courtesy, will want to blame Liaozuo and restore the victory strategy". Mr. Gao Mingshi also believed in "The Exploration of the Order and Cultural Circle of the World" that Goguryeo's rudeness and disobedience could not be tolerated when the national strength of the Sui Dynasty reached enough to make a difference, so the edict also said, "This is tolerable, which is unbearable!"

Of course, this does not mean that Emperor Yang of Sui had a political habit and was indifferent to the historical issues of the territory. The history of Goguryeo's founding for hundreds of years is basically a history of encroachment on the northeastern territory of the Central Plains Dynasty, and the recovery of territory is also an organic part of the oath of dominance of the international order, but it can at least be seen from the statement of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty that if Goguryeo is willing to cooperate with the Sui Dynasty on issues of international order such as vassalization, it can be discussed with the Sui on the issue of territory. More importantly, Emperor Yang of Sui had no intention of destroying Goguryeo. In fact, this is also an important principle for the Central Plains Dynasty in dealing with the relations with the surrounding vassal states in the future, as long as they are obediently vassals, they can make concessions on both territorial issues and economic and trade issues.

It is a slight exaggeration to say that Emperor Yang of Sui "showed maturity and superb diplomatic skill" in dealing with the Goguryeo issue. But at least it is certain that before the expedition to Goguryeo, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty had basically isolated Goguryeo in the "international", and in the form of "the Son of Heaven to attack the princes", it not only conformed to the Confucian historical concept of "subduing the four empires", but also occupied the commanding heights of international morality.

Since the dispatch of troops itself has sufficient historical legitimacy, what is the problem of the fiasco of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty's three expeditions to Goguryeo? First, when Emperor Yang of Sui sent troops for the first time in the first month of the eighth year of the Great Cause, he actually mobilized an unprecedented army of more than 1.1 million, and a dispatch of troops of this scale could not be said to have any practical significance militarily except to increase the logistical burden. Throughout Chinese history, such a large-scale dispatch of troops has often been a disastrous defeat, and the most famous example is the 970,000 army that Fu Jian claimed to have thrown in the whip and cut off the flow during his expedition to the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

Second, Emperor Yang of Sui's attack on Goguryeo was more like a "political battle", which was especially evident during the first expedition. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty set up surrender envoys in all major armies, and once Goguryeo asked for surrender, the Sui army had to stop attacking, and this was precisely used by the Goguryeo army, and when the situation was unfavorable, it repeatedly obtained respite by surrendering.

However, for these two points of military common sense, it is impossible for Emperor Yang of Sui, who once served as the commander of Ping Chen, not to know anything at all. The only explanation is that both the scale of the troops sent and the "surrendered envoys" show that Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty intended to conquer Goguryeo without a fight, and tried to subdue Goguryeo by showing off force and showing strength, and this demand even overwhelmed the military defeat of Goguryeo. In this regard, it is also reaffirmed that the above Sui Yang Emperor's intention was to re-establish the international order, rather than to gain territory's motive for sending troops.

Third, for a large country like Goguryeo, which has been established for hundreds of years, it is very difficult strategically to try a quick victory. Judging from the historical hindsight of the Tang Dynasty's elimination of Goguryeo, it is wise to gradually weaken Goguryeo's national strength through protracted warfare, and finally seize the opportunity of Goguryeo's civil strife to send troops on a large scale in one fell swoop.

Fourth, the timing of Emperor Yang of Sui's troops was even more problematic. Even if Emperor Yang of Sui is doing an extremely correct thing, he is also "doing a right thing at the wrong time", the reason is very simple, Emperor Yang of Sui used too much national strength before, and he was building the Grand Canal, repairing granaries, and parading around, and he should rest with the people for several years before going to Goguryeo. In the same way, after the setback of the first expedition, Emperor Yang of Sui sent troops again the following year, which is also a problem.

Finally, before Emperor Yang of Sui sent troops to Goguryeo for the third time, the country was already full of smoke, and the exaggerated description was, "Eighteen anti-kings, sixty-four roads of smoke and dust", in this case, Emperor Yang of Sui actually forcibly sent troops, which directly led to the short-lived death of the Great Sui Dynasty. However, from another aspect, it can also be seen that the pacification of Goguryeo was almost overriding in the imperial self-perception of Emperor Yang of Sui.

Unfortunately, Emperor Yang of Sui lost the battle that must be fought, and the greater misfortune was that he also destroyed a great empire dedicated to reorganizing the international order. However, Goguryeo was also greatly damaged in these major wars, and in this regard, the book "Fighting for Hegemony in Northeast Asia" also gave Emperor Yang of Sui a rather sad and respectful historical evaluation: China used the price of the demise of a dynasty to make Goguryeo lose the best opportunity to become the hegemon of Northeast Asia.

In this way, the historical mission of completely resolving the Goguryeo issue and reorganizing the international order can only be left to the next dynasty. The later Li Tang Dynasty did not live up to the efforts of Emperor Yang of Sui and completely wiped out Goguryeo in the long river of history. Subsequently, Baekje, Silla, and even Goryeo gradually rose to become the overlords of the Korean Peninsula.

Therefore, Yuan Chang, who was well aware of all this, naturally did not leave the scourge of Goguryeo behind, but put the elimination of Goguryeo in the most important position, and as for Karasuma, it was naturally ranked behind Goguryeo. (To be continued.) )