Chapter 21 Chapter 5 World Empire

In 607 A.D., a Japanese ambassador named Ono Meizi led a delegation to China and presented her credentials to the Chinese emperor.The letter of credence may have been drafted by the ruling Prince Shotoku, but it clearly expressed their diplomatic wishes-Empress Tuigu and Japan hoped to have equal relations with the Chinese Empire.Therefore, the greeting at the beginning of the Guoshu is: the emperor sends a letter from the place where the sun rises, and the emperor is safe at the place where the sun is not. The Chinese emperor was very unhappy after reading it. Unhappiness is simply unquestionable.In the eyes of the Chinese emperor, there is only one center in the world, and that is Greater China; there is only one emperor in the world, and that is himself.There are no two suns in the sky, and there are no two kings in people. When will another one appear, and openly claim that the sun is rising in the east, and regard my China as the sun is fading away?Fortunately, the Chinese emperor did not know that the Japanese emperor at that time was a woman, otherwise he would really faint.

Even so, the credential still became an event. Of course, the Chinese emperor also knew very well that he was beyond the reach of the barbarians on Naminer Island far away in the sky, and it was inconvenient to return the credentials he had read, so he had to instruct the officials of Honglu Temple (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) : In the future, if you encounter such a barbarian who doesn't know good or bad and doesn't know how to be polite, don't let me know. The Chinese emperor was Yang Guang. However, on March 18th of the following year, His Majesty the Emperor still received Ono Meizi and her party generously, but asked them to stand with envoys from Chitu and other countries in Southeast Asia.In April, Emperor Sui Yang sent another thirteen-member mission to Japan via the southern part of the Korean peninsula, bringing with him the cordial greetings of the Chinese emperor.

Sister Ono was overjoyed. It is not sure what Sui Yangdi thought at the time.Perhaps, he didn't take Japan too seriously.But it is more likely that he wants to turn Japan, Baekje, Silla and other countries on the Korean Peninsula into the target of the United Front, and deal with Goguryeo with the strategy of long-distance and short-term attack (the sentence is read like a hook, and Goguryeo is also written as Goguryeo). Goguryeo was the thorn in the flesh of the Sui Empire.As early as ten years ago, that is, in June of the eighteenth year of Emperor Kaihuang (598), Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty appointed Emperor Yang Qiong, the fifth son of the emperor, as the commander-in-chief, and led 300,000 troops from land and water to Liaodong. The first crusade against Goguryeo.As a result, the Sui army who worked hard on the expedition suffered heavy losses, and at most one out of ten people came back alive.

Only Yang Guang got a blessing in disguise.The failure of the Goguryeo campaign was blamed on Gao Jiong, the prime minister who accompanied the army, even though Gao Jiong had originally opposed the military campaign.However, as mentioned in the first chapter of this book, the resignation of Gao Jiong means that the major policy of the empire has undergone a major change, and the crown prince has naturally changed from Yang Yong to Yang Guang. That being the case, after Yang Guang ascended the throne, he would of course adjust the Guanzhong-based policy to a new route of external expansion and conquest of the world.As a result, they failed miserably one after another, and the struggle against the Sui Dynasty broke out amidst the singing of anti-war.

Emperor Sui Yang was actually planted on Goguryeo. The strange thing is that Tang Taizong, who always used the Sui Dynasty as a lesson after he came to the throne, was highly consistent with Sui Yangdi on the Goguryeo issue: the same imperial conquest, the same refusal to listen to dissuasion, and the same failures one after another.The only difference is that Tang Taizong once expressed regret.He said, if Wei Zheng was still there, he would definitely stop me. But so what?After saying this, he continued to march eastward.The same is true after Gaozong Li Zhi succeeded to the throne.It wasn't until the first year of Zongzhang (668) that Pyongyang was conquered and Goguryeo was completely destroyed.That is to say, the Chinese emperors of the two dynasties and four dynasties all regarded Goguryeo as a confidant's trouble, and they wanted to destroy it quickly. Isn't it strange?

This must first figure out what is Goguryeo. Goguryeo in the Sui and Tang Dynasties is not the same as Goryeo established by Wang Jian in 918 AD during the Five Dynasties period. Although the former is also called Goryeo in history and official history, it is mostly a habitual abbreviation.In fact, it was not until after the fall of the Tang Dynasty that the Goryeo Dynasty was established, and that was really Goryeo. Therefore, it is better for us to call the former Goguryeo. The Goguryeo people first lived in the Northeast of my country. When the country was founded in the late Western Han Dynasty, the capital was established in Ji’an City, Jilin Province today.During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the self-improving Goguryeo people continued to grow and develop, and moved their capital to Pyongyang in the era of Tuoba Tao of the Northern Wei Dynasty and Liu Yilong of the Southern Dynasty, becoming one of the three kingdoms on the Korean Peninsula.

The other two countries are Baekje and Silla. Baekje and Silla are countries established by Koreans in the southern part of the Korean peninsula.The earliest Koreans were divided into three branches: Mahan, Chenhan, and Bianhan, known as the Three Hans.After that, Mahan established Baekje, Jinhan established Silla, and Byeonhan established Jinguan.These are the earliest three countries in the southern part of the Korean peninsula.After Goguryeo went south, Silla also annexed Jinguan, and the three kingdoms on the Korean peninsula became Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. Baekje is in the southwest, Silla is in the southeast, and Goguryeo is in the north.

Among the three countries, Goguryeo is the most influenced by China, has the highest level of civilization, the strongest comprehensive national strength, and the most delicate situation.The Southern Dynasties and Northern Dynasties in the east, Silla and Baekje in the south, Japan in the west, and Mohe (read Rumohe), Shiwei, Khitan, and Turks in the north are not easy neighbors to get along with.Of course, Goguryeo itself is not fuel-efficient, and they have long coveted hegemony in East Asia. Therefore, when China's north and south confront each other, the Korean peninsula is equally lively.Generally speaking, Goguryeo united with Silla, Baekje colluded with Japan, and competed in the peninsula for a long time, just like China in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods.

This is not only a military war, but also a diplomatic war. As a result, Goguryeo, Silla, Baekje, and Japan all scrambled to establish various relations with China, and even showed their goodwill to the Northern and Southern Dynasties at the same time.Both the south and the north of China not only refused all visitors, but also tried their best to prevent each other from interacting with others.Goguryeo and Silla, Baekje, and Japan, too, all hoped that this alliance would be exclusive.The two dynasties, the three kingdoms and the one Japanese have constituted a turbulent scene in East Asia.

To be fair, there are no moral issues and justice or injustice involved.Whether it is the Southern Dynasties, the Northern Dynasties, or the Three Kingdoms of the Peninsula, they are all driven by interests, and they all have wishful thinking, that is, they all hope that the other party will split for a long time and they will rule the country by themselves. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty destroyed Chen, but broke the balance. The first to feel uneasy was Goguryeo.As a developing country that has finally become independent, they are soberly aware that bordering on a unified and powerful empire will never be something to be thankful for.If the opponent still joins forces with Silla or Baekje in the south, he will face a catastrophe.

The era of taking advantage of the turmoil and division of the Chinese Empire to vote for him has passed.Goguryeo, which is under attack from both sides, must find allies to save the country. They thought of East Turks. In June of the third year of Daye (607), Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty visited Saibei, and envoys from Goguryeo also arrived there.Qimin Khan did not dare to hide anything, and reported the truth to the emperor.Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty immediately became alert: if Goguryeo really allyed with the Eastern Turks and threatened the Khitan and Mohe, it would surely become the sword of Damocles on the head of the empire. This ticking time bomb must be eliminated. Knowing this, it is not difficult to understand why Emperor Sui Yang suddenly changed his attitude towards the "unpolite" Japanese mission.In fact, it was the year that Ono's letter of credence was submitted, and Emperor Sui Yang's envoy returned to visit in April of the following year.Moreover, after learning of Goguryeo's movements, Emperor Sui Yang killed Gao Jiong. Goguryeo, which has not had time to do anything, has definitely become a thorn in the side of the Chinese Empire.In 668 AD, eight years after Silla relied on Datang to annex Baekje, Goguryeo was also destroyed by Datang and Silla.At this time, Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty had already been on leave due to illness and did not care about political affairs, and Empress Wu Zetian was in charge of the government. Wu Zetian is even more unambiguous, when has she ever been merciful? On the day when Baekje and Goguryeo perished, I wonder if anyone thought about their historical achievements.You know, Buddhism was first introduced to Goguryeo from the former Qin Dynasty, and then from Goguryeo to Silla.Baekje is also a channel for cultural exchanges between China and Japan.The Japanese learned to use Chinese characters, and later created hiragana and katakana, because Dr. Wang Ren of Baekje and "Thousand Characters" were brought to Japan. There is no doubt that the contribution of the two countries goes far beyond this.It can be said that without Baekje and Goguryeo, there would be no East Asian civilization circle with Chinese characters as the carrier.We cannot judge heroes by success or failure, nor should we forget them. Goguryeo and Baekje live forever!

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Notes: Volume one hundred and eighty-one. Volume one hundred and ninety-eight. Volume one hundred and eighty.However, there is no record that Qimin Khan reported to Sui Yang Emperor about Goguryeo's envoy.According to the itinerary of Emperor Sui Yang's northern tour of Turks, Gao Jiong's death should have occurred after this time. It was introduced from Baekje to Japan in the sixth year of Taikang in the Western Jin Dynasty (285). It was the scholar monk Kukai who created hiragana based on the cursive radicals of Chinese characters, and the foreign student Jibei Mabi who created katakana based on the radicals of regular script.See Wang Zhongluo's "History of the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties".