Chapter 10 Three, there are envoys from Japan

In 238 A.D., Sima Yi led the Wei army to once again set foot on the coastal road that Cao Cao had walked through during his northern expedition to Wuhuan.Sima Yi adopted a strategy of advancing by sea and land.On the sea route, Sima Yi sent Liu Xin and Xian Yusi to lead a partial division across the sea to attack, with the goal of leading Fangjun.The reason why another army was sent to capture Daifang County was to prevent Gongsun Yuan from fleeing to the Korean Peninsula after his defeat and continue to cause disasters on the border, and at the same time take back the control of the Haidong countries from the Gongsun family.Liu Xin and Xian Yusi crossed the sea to attack. After they landed on the Korean peninsula, they quickly captured the two counties of Daifang and Lelang, successfully cutting off Gongsun Yuan's retreat.

The main force on land is the 40,000 elites led by him personally.Sima Yi's luck was much better than Cao Cao's. God was very helpful when the Wei army entered Liaoxi without end. It didn't rain a single time, and the traffic conditions on Binhai Road were very good.With great fanfare, the Wei army rushed to Liaodong in a mighty way. When Gongsun Yuan heard that the Wei army was pressing down on the country, he quickly ordered generals Bei Yan, Yang Zuo and others to set up defenses on the west bank of the Liao River with tens of thousands of paces, and built fortifications more than 20 miles long to stop the Wei army.Although Gongsun Yuan thought he was awesome, he was no match for Sima Yi when it came to fighting.Sima Yi adopted the strategy of attacking the west and pretending to attack the Liaoshui fortifications. At the same time, he ordered the main force of the Wei army to smuggle across the Liaoshui River and directly captured Xiangping, the county seat of Liaodong.As soon as the Yan army on the front line heard that Xiangping was besieged, they hurriedly abandoned the Liaoshui defense line and returned to aid Xiangping in the starry night.After seizing the initiative in the war, Sima Yi besieged the city to fight for aid, and beat back the Yan army on Huishou Mountain in the southwest of Xiangping City. He won all three battles and wiped out the main force of the Yan army.

At this time, God, who had been holding back for a long time, finally began to rain. It rained for more than a month at once, and the water level of the Liao River rose sharply, trapping the Yan army firmly in Xiangping City.After more than a month, the rainy season is over.Replenishing their energy, the Wei army set up earth hills, dug tunnels, built buildings and vehicles, and launched fierce attacks on Xiangping City again and again.Among the troops besieging Xiangping City, there were Goguryeo people.At that time, the king of the mountain had passed away, and the ascended king of Dongchuan hated the Gongsun family, so he was very keen on attacking Liaodong.Soon, the food in the city was exhausted, and Gongsun Yuan's general Yang Zuo led his troops to surrender.In August, Xiangping City was broken, Gongsun Yuan led hundreds of cavalry to break through, and was chased and killed by the Wei Army on the Bank of Taizi River.

The Gongsun family was defeated, and Liaodong returned to the territory of Wei State; the Gongsun family was defeated, and the mountain that was pressing on the top of Goguryeo was overturned. It is not an exaggeration to describe Sima Yi's battle against Liao with the autumn wind sweeping the fallen leaves, and there is not much to write about during the battle.However, there is still a small episode that caught my attention, which can explain some problems in Northeast Asia at that time. Just when Sima Yi led the army to defeat the main force of the Yan army and besieged Xiangping, the capital of Liaodong, a mission from the Japanese kingdom, led by the doctor Nan Shengmi, also crossed the sea at the same time and landed on the coast of Daifang.At that time, the two counties of Daifang and Lelang had just been occupied by the Wei army.In order to prevent the rest of the Gongsun clan from fleeing to the Korean peninsula, and to prevent the pro-Gongsun clan's Sanhan forces from supporting Xiangping (the strength of the Sanhan was very weak at the time, this possibility was almost non-existent), the prefect Liu Xin ordered to block all The way from the Korean Peninsula to Liaodong.Therefore, Nan Shengmi's mission failed to continue going north, but was politely detained by Liu Xin in Daifang City.

Daifang is the first stop for Gongsun to receive envoys from Haidong countries, and it has a history of decades as a "diplomatic envoy city".During this period, the Gongsun family took strict confidentiality measures to prevent the envoys of the Haidong countries from crossing the Liaohai region to directly contact the Wei and Wu countries, making the Haidong countries think that the Gongsun family was the only boss in Northeast Asia.It can be said that before Sima Yi's crusade against Liaodong, this blockade had been implemented very well, until Liu Xin led the Wei army to capture the belt.

However, the strange thing is that it is difficult for us to find records of Gongsun's contacts with the Haidong countries in the history books.This part of the archives with great historical value was very likely to be destroyed by Gongsun officials when the Wei army approached Daifang City, or it might be destroyed in the flames of war.Even so, the recovery of Daifang City meant that the State of Wei had withdrawn from the Gongsun family the power to communicate with the Haidong countries, and the exchanges between the Central Plains and the Haidong countries had only returned to normal since then.

In August, Sima Yi led the army to break through Xiangping, and Gongsun Yuan was defeated and died. Liu Xin then sent someone to escort the Japanese mission to Luoyang.The kingdom of Liaodong was pacified, and the distant countries came to the dynasty, and Wei Guo double happiness came to the door.Emperor Wei Ming not only entertained these guests from the other side of the sea, but also bestowed a large amount of property for Nan Shengmi and others to bring back to the country of Wa. In the first month of 239 A.D., Wei Mingdi died of illness, and Qi Wang Cao Fang came to the throne.In the following year, Gong Zuncai, who replaced Liu Xin as the prefect of the belt, sent Jianzhong Colonel Wei Tijun and others to cross the sea with edicts, seals and ribbons and other things to the country of Wa, and canonize the Queen of Wa.Japanese Queen Himiko accepted Wei Guo's canonization, and then expressed her gratitude.

This exchange of visits spanning three years finally established a good diplomatic relationship between Wei and Wa.However, when we look back and look at the whole process of the envoy, we will have a question: Nan Shengmi and his party crossed the sea, from the very beginning, they planned to establish diplomatic relations with the state of Wei, or did it happen by mistake? This visit? During the Three Kingdoms period, the communication between the Haidong states and the Central Plains (mainly the Gongsun family in Liaodong) was greatly influenced by the environment and geography.From the geographical point of view, Daifang County is roughly in the vicinity of Shariwon in present-day Korea. Yamatai Kingdom, where Queen Wa was located, is in the area of ​​Shanmen County in Kitakyushu, Japan today, and Daifanghai, where the Nanshengmi Mission landed, is in Haizhou Bay in present-day Korea. .Starting from Sanmon County in Kitakyushu to Haizhou Bay, based on the actual speed of sea ships at that time, it would take at least 40 days for the voyage, so Nan Shengmi and his party should set off in early May of 238 AD.However, Wei Guo sent troops to Liaodong in the spring of that year. Judging from the communication conditions at that time, it was impossible for the Wa country, which was far away across the ocean, to get the news that Wei Guo sent troops to Liaodong so quickly. They will rashly send missions to sea when the war is about to start and the situation is still unclear.

Therefore, Nan Shengmi and his entourage were not going to Wei Guo at first, but Gongsun Yuan, who was dominant in Liaodong at that time. After the mission landed in Haizhou Bay, Nan Shengmi learned that the two counties of Daifang and Lelang had changed hands, and the former "suzerain" Gongsun family was in danger. As a mature diplomat, Nan Shengmi acted according to circumstances, and immediately changed the purpose of his visit. By mistake, Wa found a more powerful friendly country.This was a bold diplomatic "bet" that had a profound impact on the situation in Northeast Asia during the Three Kingdoms period: the reason why Sun Quan and Gongsun Yuan allied with Gongsun Yuan was not only to flank Wei and contain the states of Xu, Qing, and You from the sea, but also to use The hegemony established by the three generations of the Gongsun family in Northeast Asia over the past half a century has exerted influence on the Haidong countries that have surrendered to the Gongsun family through their powerful sea power, and then they are looking for opportunities to replace the Gongsun family as the suzerain of the Haidong countries. .Another important reason why Gongsun Yuan suddenly turned his face before was that he was worried that Soochow's sea power would threaten Gongsun's suzerainty in Northeast Asia.

As a result, Liaodong became the focus of the struggle in Northeast Asia among Wei, Wu, Gongsun, and Haidong. If Wei lost Liaodong, he would not only suffer from enemies, but also completely lose the possibility of expanding its influence on Northeast Asia; Soochow Controlling Liaodong can gain a strong fulcrum for dominating the sea; for the Haidong countries, whoever is the master of Liaodong is their suzerain. In the spring of 239 A.D., shortly after the Gongsun family perished, Sun Quan once again sent troops to attack Liaodong from the sea, trying to cut off the connection between Wei State and Haidong countries.Soochow's actions made Wei Guo more aware of the importance of Liaodong.Therefore, Liu Xin, the prefect of the party, sent someone to escort the Japanese mission, which was difficult to rise to Mi, to Luoyang, and took the initiative to show favor to Samhan in the southern part of the Korean peninsula.As the first Haidong country to show favor to Wei Guo, Wa State also received extra courtesy from Wei State.

So, why didn't Soochow become the first choice for the Haidong countries to establish diplomatic relations? First, the state of Wu is located in the southeast and is far away from the Haidong countries. Coupled with the limitations of navigation technology and monsoon currents, it is technically difficult for the fleets of the Haidong countries to go to Soochow. Second, Wu Jun’s notoriety for plundering people in Yizhou and other places spread far and wide. The Haidong countries worried that Soochow would repeat the old tricks after gaining maritime hegemony, which would be detrimental to their own countries.Therefore, Wei State, which has a friendly attitude and is easier to reach, has become the preferred backer of the Haidong countries. In 238 A.D., Gongsun Yuan, who was entrenched on the Liaohai Sea, proclaimed himself king, rebelled against the Wei State, and was finally eliminated; in Liaodong after 1390, another person who was entrenched on the Liaohai Sea was regarded as a thorn in the side and a thorn in the flesh by someone. Beheaded for no reason. When one force disappears, another force is bound to take its place. This is the law of history.The collapse of the Gongsun clan, on the surface, maintained the sovereignty and unity of the Wei state, but it broke the balance of power in Northeast Asia during the Three Kingdoms period, and planted the root of a century of turmoil. After the death of the person who was regarded as a thorn in the side and a thorn in the flesh by someone, the balance in the Liaohai region was broken again—the enemy of the enemy died, the enemy laughed, and the murderer did not end well, and finally ruined the entire country ...