Chapter 1304: Envoys and Geography
Chapter 1304: Envoys and Geography
On the high steps, a young man wearing a Jinxian crown and a robe held high a arrow and gradually came to the stage, step by step.
"Greetings to the Emperor of Daliang." After the arrow was taken away, the young man fell to the ground and said in a deep voice.
Shao Xun sat in the middle, reached out to take the arrow and examined it carefully.
Judging from the material, the arrow shaft should be made of Changbai Mountain birch. The arrowhead is pointed and long, triangular in shape, and the craftsmanship is good.
Moreover, judging from the act of presenting wooden arrows, the envoy was no ordinary person. It was obvious that he had been educated and had a certain level of cultural literacy. The Sushen people once presented wooden arrows to King Wu of Zhou as a sign of their submission.
"Give the envoy a seat." Shao Xun handed the arrow to Crown Prince Shao Jin who was sitting behind him and gave the order.
The Goguryeo people cannot be regarded as ignorant savages; their level of civilization was clearly second to none in the Northeast region.
After the envoy sat down, he looked at Shao Xun with a calm gaze.
"Since the envoy's name is Gao Wu, is he a member of the royal family? What is his official position?" Shao Xun asked.
"Gao Wu" is definitely not the envoy's real name. The Goguryeo people have their own language, so he must have a Goguryeo name. For example, the current king of Goguryeo is called "Siyou", but the scholars and officials under the rule of Murong Xianbei call him "Gao Zhao".
"He holds the position of 'Guchujia'." Gao Wu said.
"The messenger can try to write it down." Shao Xun clapped his hands and asked someone to bring a desk, writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone.
Gao Wu did not refuse and directly wrote down these three words.
Huan Wen, the attendant, came forward to take it and handed it to Shao Xun to read.
Pei Zhan, the Minister of Civil Affairs, had been in Pingzhou for many years. He explained in a low voice: "Your Majesty, Goguryeo started with military power. First, its territory was divided into five parts, called 'war zones', which were ruled by the leaders of the five tribes. They appointed their own officials and respected the leader of a certain tribe as the king. The tribal leader was called 'Dajia', and the king of the tribe was called 'Guchujia'."
"I see." Shao Xun nodded slightly.
"Guchujia" is a rare title, and "Dajia" is a common title, so you can understand it.
Pei Zhan added: "Goguryeo had five tribes: the front, back, left, right, and inner. The one who is now called the king is the inner tribe, also known as the 'Guilou tribe'."
Shao Xun was startled and asked, "Could it be that there was another tribe that claimed to be king before?"
"Your Majesty is wise." Pei Zhan said, "Goguryeo inherited the customs of the ancient Buyeo. When there were floods and droughts, or when crops failed to ripen, they would always blame the king. Some said he should be replaced, while others said he should be killed."
Holy shit! Shao Xun was a little surprised. Isn't this Wei Bo's soldier? Elect a tribal leader as king. Once there is a flood or drought, or a large-scale crop failure, the king will be replaced if it is gentle, or killed if it is radical.
"What about now?" Shao Xun asked again: "If I were the King of Goguryeo, I would definitely find a way."
"Before the Guilou tribe, the Junnu tribe was king. It was replaced by the Guilou tribe during the Cao Wei period and remains so until today. Therefore, although the chief of the Junnu tribe is not the king, he is also known as 'Guchujia'." Pei Zhan said, "The successive kings of Goguryeo were also trying to expand the central power. The newly conquered territories were often not given to the five tribes, but directly controlled by the court. Over time, although the land owned by the five tribes did not decrease, the land owned by the court increased, and the offensive and defensive situation became easier. Gao Zhao's father Yifu began to build cities during his time to rule the surrounding people. It can be roughly divided into three levels: city, valley, and village, and each level has officials."
Shao Xun nodded slightly, which matched the part he got from reading the classics.
That's right. From this point of view, the ruler of Goguryeo has been strengthening centralization. After several generations of efforts, it has gradually paid off. It is no longer the previous five military district system. It sounds the same as the Eastern Roman Empire. What is going on?
However, it seems that the big moves only started during Gao Yifu's era. Overall, Goguryeo is still in a period of transition and the internal conflicts must be considerable.
In addition, Shao Xun, an old political rogue, has figured out something else.
The king of Goguryeo was from the Gyelou tribe, but the newly acquired territory was not given to the Gyelou tribe. What does this mean? It means that even the tribe from which the king came was a competitor to the royal family, and the power of the Gao family in the Gyelou tribe must have been greatly restricted.
Everyone wants to rule the country, it's normal. If there is no interference, Goguryeo will continue to transform into a gradually centralized country, at most retaining some of its old traditions. After all, "our great Goguryeo has its own national conditions", and tradition still has a great influence on a country's system.
Gao Wu is the younger brother of the current king Gao Zhao and serves as the chief of the Guilou tribe, which shows that the status of the Gao family is being strengthened.
Shao Xun's mind raced, and he quickly looked at Gao Wu again, saying, "I have read the letter presented by the envoy. The Murong clan is just a clown. I am very happy that your lord is willing to send troops, but I wonder how many troops your country can send?"
Upon hearing this, Gao Wu immediately replied, "Fifty thousand elite soldiers."
The military supervisor Jin Zheng was standing behind Shao Xun. He glanced at Gao Wu when he heard what happened. If it wasn't for the wrong occasion, he would have retorted.
Do you know what “elite soldiers” mean?
Shao Xun didn't quite believe it either. At this moment, Tong Qianjin came up to the Lichun Terrace from the other side of the stairs, walked to Shao Xun's ear, and whispered in his ear: "There are dozens of followers of the Goguryeo envoys below the stage, most of them are equipped with good horses and fine armor. The horse armor is slightly different from that of the Central Plains, but it can be used."
Shao Xun hummed lightly.
Lao Tong means that Goguryeo's armored cavalry is different in style from that of the Central Plains, but the functions are the same.
This is normal. Historically, the Tibetans invaded Central Asia and India and looted a lot of armor and craftsmen. Tibetan soldiers even wore iron helmets with ox horns. God knows which country's craftsmen made them.
"If there are really 50,000 elite soldiers, we can defeat the Xianbei overnight if we attack them from behind." Shao Xun did not expose his intention and said directly, "But your country has been defeated by Murong many times, do you still dare to send troops?" Gao Wu immediately replied, "If a great country sends troops, my country is willing to follow suit."
Shao Xun nodded and said, "The messenger, please go down and rest first. I will make plans for myself."
Gao Wu had no choice but to bow and take his leave, and under the guidance of the officials of the Honglu Temple, he left the Lichun Terrace.
Shao Xun glanced at everyone and first his eyes fell on the Minister of War Hou Feihu, and asked, "Do you have any opinion?"
Hou Feihu groaned for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, Goguryeo should not have many soldiers and horses. 50,000 people must be their limit."
"In this case, are you sure we can destroy Murong and Gao family together?" Shao Xun asked.
Hou Feihu replied: "It is easy to defeat Goguryeo, but difficult to destroy it. Even if we destroy it for a while, we cannot occupy its land. Therefore, since the Han Dynasty, many people have been enfeoffed. Even if Goguryeo disobeyed the superior country, we still continue to enfeoff it after teaching it a lesson."
Shao Xun looked at Crown Prince Shao Jin again and asked, "What do you think, my son?"
Shao Jin had just listened for a long time and had a plan in mind, so he said: "Your Majesty, it is unknown how long it will take to attack Murong Xianbei. If it is delayed until August, we will have to withdraw our troops, otherwise we may encounter unexpected disasters. Now Pingzhou has been captured for a long time, the people are not loyal, and there is a shortage of money and food. It is almost impossible to send troops to garrison for a long time. Even if we can break through the Goguryeo royal city, we can only plunder it. We still have to recruit and confer titles later."
Shao Jin: This is from the perspective of the basis of rule.
Do you have a basis for long-term occupation of Goguryeo? At least not yet.
It is easy to defeat them, but after you withdraw your troops, if they rebel at will, will you have to fight them again? The cost will be high.
What's more, it would be useless even if we defeated them twice in a row. At most, they would be honest for a few years, but they would still rebel later.
After a long period of military operations, there will be many people opposing it in the country. At that time, it is better to adopt the policy of "natives governing natives" and confer titles on them.
In this matter, my father's method of controlling Tuoba Xianbei was ingenious, but it was not replicable. Moreover, Tuoba Xianbei was very close to Bingzhou and Jizhou, but too far away from Goguryeo. There was a vast Liaoze blocking the way, and there was only a winding mountain road (Lulong Road) for passage.
In fact, it is not just Goguryeo, Pingzhou also has a sense of being isolated. Once Murong Xianbei revives, Pingzhou is likely to fall again.
In his opinion, these are all chicken ribs, tasteless to eat and a pity to throw away.
Thinking of this, he glanced at Yan Wang Shao Yu out of the corner of his eye, wondering if his fourth brother would be able to withstand the forces of Xianbei and Goguryeo when he went to Liaodong in the future.
Shao Xun was also looking at Shao Yu and said, "Hutou, you have lived in Youzhou for a long time and you know the situation of the enemy well. Try to explain it to me."
Shao Yu was silent for a moment, then said, "Grandpa, even without Goguryeo, there is still Low Guryeo. The Liao land is full of Buyeo and Yemok people, while the Chinese people are a minority, and they have lived together with the Hu people for many years, and have been deeply influenced by the Hu people. Now it's good enough to stabilize Liucheng and communicate with Youzhou, otherwise it's too far to reach."
Shao Xun was amused by his son's words and said, "We all know it's difficult, but we can't just do nothing, right? You can see that Goguryeo is not a barbarian without rules. Gao Wu wears a three-beam Jinxian crown and a scholar's robe. His calligraphy is not worse than yours. He also grows grains and is not a nomadic people. If we let them hold their ground and continue to encroach, they may become a threat to the border."
"Grandpa is right." Hu Tou said, "Perhaps we can weaken Goguryeo and then pacify them. This will give us some peace for a few years. The court will also have time to clean up the mess in Pingzhou. Since Sima Yi slaughtered Liao, Pingzhou is no longer the Pingzhou of the Han Dynasty."
"In your opinion, what will happen to Liao in the end?" Shao Xun asked.
"I checked the classics and found that since the Spring and Autumn Period, most of the people in China have lived in the coastal area on the south side of Liao. The cities are distributed in a long snake shape. If you are not careful, they will be cut apart and the head and tail cannot be seen." Hu Tou said, "North of this line, there are Donghu, Sushen, and Wimo. It has not changed for a thousand years. There must be a reason. In my opinion, the first priority should be to stabilize the counties in Pingzhou. After gaining a firm foothold in Pingzhou, we can plan other things."
"I still want to abolish the feudal system and establish a county in Goguryeo." Shao Xun hesitated for a while, and finally sighed, "Please discuss it again."
"Yes." Everyone responded in unison.
After Shao Xun stood up, he paused and finally said nothing.
In fact, throughout history, the dividing line between Goguryeo and the Central Plains dynasties has always been clear, that is, the mountains.
The plains west of the Changbai Mountains, including Shenyang and Liaoyang, were mostly occupied by the Central Plains dynasties.
The hilly and mountainous areas to the east were controlled by Goguryeo, and could even be said to be their core territory.
There are many mountains in the Liaodong Peninsula, and historically most of them were controlled by Goguryeo. Now they are repeatedly fighting with Murong Xianbei, and there are countless cross-border raids between the two sides.
If Hutou wants to stabilize his fiefdom in Liaodong Peninsula, his primary enemy is actually Goguryeo, not Xianbei. The latter is the most troublesome force in Changli and Xuantu counties controlled by the court. Even if Murong Xianbei is destroyed next year, there will always be some tribes that will revive in the future, and there will be no shortage of border raids.
This land has never been peaceful.
(The goal of 6 votes has been reached, thank you for your support. I checked and it probably won't exceed 2, but I will still add 4 chapters. I have already added chapters, and I still owe chapters. I have to go to work today and can't add more chapters. I will make up for it later.)
(End of this chapter)