The Holy Sect conquered Goryeo and lost the land
At the end of the 10th century, Wang's Goryeo, claiming to be the heirs of Goguryeo, continued to expand and push northward, encroaching on the Jurchen settlements of the Yalu River, which originally belonged to the Khitan Liao state.
Faced with this situation, the newly appointed Empress Dowager Chengtian, Xiao Xuan, decided to take action and punish Goryeo in order to solve the problem of the growing erosion of eastern Xinjiang.
01, the changes in the Three Kingdoms of Liao, Song and Li 983 (the first year of Liao Tonghe, the eighth year of Song Taiping's rejuvenation of the country, and the second year of Goryeo Chengzong) October 15, the young Liao Shengzong Yelu Longxu accepted the order of his mother and personally inspected the soldiers and horses left behind in Tokyo to prepare for the conquest of Goryeo.
The following year, the Goryeo criminal officer Imperial Envoy Li Qianyi led an army to invade the Yalu River Jurchen settlement, only to be defeated and captured by the heroic Yalu River Jurchens, and only one-third of the Goryeo army survived.
In the same year, Goryeo sent an envoy to the Song Dynasty to present gifts to show the friendship between the two countries. In July 985 (the third year of Liao Tonghe, the second year of Song Yongxi, and the fourth year of Goryeo Chengzong), Empress Dowager Xiao issued an edict to repair the armor and prepare for the eastern expedition to Goryeo.
Song Taizong in the south decided to take advantage of the opportunity of the orphans and widows of Goryeo to regain the revenge of the Gaoliang River in the north. In May, he sent an envoy to Goryeo to be canonized, first, to inform the Goryeo Song Dynasty that the era name had been changed, and second, to invite Goryeo to send troops to assist in the joint attack on the Khitan, and that the captured raw mouths, cattle and sheep, goods and equipment would be rewarded to Goryeo.
Goryeo Sungjong knew that he did not have the strength to fight against the Khitan, so he chose delaying tactics in response to the instructions of the Song Dynasty. The Song envoy Han Hua threatened Goryeo with this matter, but Sungjong still insisted on not sending troops.
When the Khitan Liao State received the news that the Song Dynasty was about to send troops and the news that the Song envoy Goryeo was about to fight, in order to avoid fighting on both sides, they canceled the conquest of Goryeo on the grounds that the Liao River was wet and muddy, and sent envoys to Goryeo to ask for peace and repair.
The Khitan envoy Tulie came to Goryeo in the first month of 986, and although he threatened and lured, Goryeo did not send troops to cheer for the Song army. In the same year, there was a large-scale battle of Qigou Pass between the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and Empress Dowager Xiao led her son Shengzong to sacrifice to the mausoleum and the mountains and rivers, and went south to face the Song army, and finally defeated the Song army.
Song Taizong once again tasted defeat, this war known as the Yongxi Northern Expedition, not only achieved the name of Yelu Xiuge and Yelu Xian as the god of war, but also made the mother and son of the Empress Dowager Chengtian Xiao stand up in a war, and completely consolidated the rule of orphans and widows over the Khitan.
Faced with the defeat in this battle, the Song Dynasty was forced to change its strategy towards Liao, from active offensive to passive defense, and the hope of recovering the sixteen states of Yanyun was dashed. The Khitan Liao State also launched a counterattack against the Song Dynasty, and the soldiers and civilians of the Song Dynasty began to fight bloodily for the country.
At the same time, Goryeo took the opportunity to offer gifts to Song Jin, and at the same time accelerated its invasion of the Jurchen settlement on the Yalu River. In October 991 (the ninth year of Liaotonghe, the second year of Song Chunhua, and the tenth year of Goryeo Chengzong), Goryeo drove part of the Yalu River Jurchens to the area north of Changbai Mountain.
In the face of Goryeo's gradual northward advance, the Khitan temporarily stopped the Liao-Song war and began to deal with the affairs of eastern Xinjiang. The Song Dynasty also strengthened its ties with Goryeo, and in June 992 (the 10th year of Liaotonghe, the 3rd year of Song Chunhua, and the 11th year of Goryeo's Seongjong), the Song sent envoys to canonize Goryeo.
Seeing that the relationship between Song and Li was getting closer and closer, the Khitan could not tolerate it, and in December of that year, he ordered Xiao Hengde to stay in Tokyo and lead an army of 800,000 to conquer Goryeo, and the first war of Danli broke out.
The Khitan made their first eastward expedition to Goryeo in December 992 to protect the rights and interests of the Jurchen settlement on the Yalu River. The Yalu River Jurchen is one of the Jurchen tribes, migrated from the Heishui Jin people, and merged with the local original Bohai people to form a new ethnic community, living on both sides of the Yalu River, the north bank of the Xun River, the west bank of the sea and the east of the Wolf Forest Mountains.
This area originally belonged to Goguryeo, and was later controlled by the Tang'an Northern Protectorate, and then belonged to the Bohai Sea, until the Khitan Liao State destroyed the Bohai Sea, and the eastern border naturally inherited the Bohai Sea, and had nominal sovereignty over the Yalu River Jurchen settlement, but did not actually control it.
Therefore, the Yalu River Jurchen began to pay tribute when he was Taizong of Liao, and was under the jurisdiction of the Liao Yalu River Jurchen Palace, but he frequently crossed the sea to pay tribute to the Song Dynasty, which caused the dissatisfaction of the Khitan.
In the early days of Liao Shengzong, he sent troops to crusade many times, and even set up three cities at the mouth of the Yalu River to cut off the tributary route of the Yalu River Jurchens to the Song Dynasty. Goryeo has always wanted to invade the Yalu River basin, but was bravely resisted by the Yalu River Nuzhen.
Now that Goryeo and the Song Dynasty are in frequent contacts, it seems that the Song-Li alliance will be established, which makes the Khitan Liao State unable to sit idly by, and Goryeo has always coveted the Yalu River Jurchen settlement, how can the Khitan people easily give up this piece of fat.
Therefore, in December 992, the Khitan decided to go east to Goryeo to protect the rights and interests of the Yalu River Jurchens.
Xiao Hengde, a nobleman from a famous family, was named the husband of the princess of the Yue Kingdom, and was also one of the fierce generals of the Liao Kingdom. This time, he was ordered to march eastward, marching slowly, and only engaged the Goryeo army from December 992 to October of the following year.
The leakage of the news was inevitable, but after receiving the news in May, the Goryeo people did not trust the Yalu River Jurchens and did not take the news seriously. It was not until news was received again in August that troops and horses were hastily deployed to defend the Khitan.
In October 993, Seongjong of Goryeo appointed Pak Yangrou as the upper military envoy, Xu Xi as the central military envoy, and Choi Liang as the lower military envoy, stationed in the northern border to prepare for the battle against the Khitan. However, as soon as King Chengzong arrived in Anbei Mansion, he received news that Xiao Hengde had broken through Pengshan County and captured the vanguard military envoys.
The king was so frightened that he did not dare to go north and hurried back to Jingshi. Xiao Hengde declared that the Liao State already owned the old land of Goguryeo, and now that Goryeo had invaded the border of the Liao State, he led an army of 800,000 to crusade, hoping that Goryeo would surrender as soon as possible.
Xu Xi saw from the declaration of Xiao Hengde, the envoy of the Chinese army, that the Khitan had no intention of destroying Goryeo, so he suggested to Chengzong that we still have room for peace. After Chengzong heard this, he immediately sent Li Mengjian, the superintendent of the superintendent, to the Khitan camp to ask for peace.
Li Mengjian asked Xiao Hengde why he came to crusade against Goryeo, and Xiao Hengde said: "You Goryeo don't care about civil affairs, and I Daliao came to do the right thing for heaven." If you want to sue for peace, surrender quickly. ”
Li Mengjian returned to Chengzong and reported Xiao Hengde's remarks to him. Seongjong convened his ministers to discuss what to do. Some ministers advocated sending important ministers to lead troops to surrender, while others suggested ceding all the land north of Xijing, including the territory north of Huangzhou to the north of Qiling, to the Khitan.
However, just as the Goryeo side was hesitating to surrender, Xiao Hengde led the Liao army across the Qingchuan River and launched an attack on the town of Anrong on the south bank. The Zhonglang general Daoxiu, who guarded the town of Anrong, was of Bohai descent and had a hatred for the death of the Khitans, and he fought bravely against the Liao army and successfully repelled them.
Xiao Hengde, who had an army of 800,000, was forced to retreat to Jiangbei, and he sent people to urge Goryeo to surrender quickly.
03, the winner of the war was defeated at the negotiating table. Xu Xi came to see Xiao Hengde, and Xiao Hengde made two requests to him. First of all, he believed that the land of Goryeo was only the successor of Silla, and the land of Goguryeo belonged to the Great Liao, and your invasion of the north of the Hungang River was an invasion.
Secondly, he pointed out that your Goryeo borders on the Great Liao, but crosses the Maritime Song, which is an unfriendly manifestation of our Great Liao, which is why there is today's war. If Goryeo is willing to cede land and pay tribute to us, you will be safe.
In the face of Xiao Hengde's threat, Xu Xi did not back down, but tried to persuade Xiao Hengde on the grounds that Goryeo was the successor of Goguryeo, the country name was Goryeo, and the capital was in Pyongyang.
He also argued that the existence of the Jurchens blocked the road to the Great Liao, and if the Great Liao could drive the Jurchens away and return our old land, and the road was unblocked, how dare we not pay tribute to the Great Liao?
Ask General Xiao Hengde to convey his views to Tiancong and administer justice to Goryeo.
Xu Xi's language art is amazing, he is able to turn black and white upside down, and speak of other people's territory as his own, he is simply an ingenious lobbyist. However, does he dare to claim the Liao Kingdom Tokyo?
Obviously didn't dare, none of his words were true, none of them were right, he was just deceiving Xiao Hengde, an inexperienced young man. However, Xiao Hengde naively accepted his "Goguryeo-Goryeo inheritance theory" and believed it to be true.
Therefore, he reported to the Holy Sect and proposed that as long as the land east of the Yalu River was handed over to Goryeo, Goryeo would pay tribute to the Great Liao Shangguo. Due to the tense relations between the Liao and Song dynasties at that time, Empress Dowager Xiao's mother and son were eager to solve the problem of eastern Xinjiang, and the Khitan national policy focused on the southern Central Plains and did not pay enough attention to eastern Xinjiang, so they referred to Xiao Hengde's opinion, agreed to Xu Xi's conditions, and finally reached a peace agreement.
In 994, Emperor Shengzong of Liao issued an edict granting Goryeo a total of 280 li of territory from Anbei Province to the east of the Yalu River, so that it could open the way to pay tribute and serve the imperial court forever.
This not only allowed Goryeo's northward invasion to gain the approval of the Khitans, but also allowed them to gain the territory of the Liao State without bloodshed and sacrifice. This was an unexpected joy, and it also realized the national policy of King Taizu's northward expansion.
It can be said that this edict of Liao Shengzong was of great significance to the later development of the Korean Peninsula. Goryeo Sungjong was very pleased with this result, and sent Park Yangrou to apologize for his sins in the Khitan, and began to use the Khitan name of Tonghe era.
At the same time, they brazenly begged the Khitan to return the captured population of their Goryeo state.
Is Goryeo really convinced of the Khitan? That doesn't seem to be the case. In April of that year, Goryeo sent Pu Yangrou to the Khitan, but in June sent Yuan Yu's envoy to the Song Dynasty, claiming that the Khitan had invaded his territory and asking the Song Dynasty to send troops to uphold justice and jointly fight against the Khitan in retaliation.
At that time, Song Taizong was already old and frail, exhausted by the years of war between the north and the south, and had no spare energy to stand up for Goryeo. He told his ministers: "Wars between Yidi have been a regular occurrence, but now that the situation in the north is turbulent, we cannot start a war lightly. ”
Zhao Sanjiong's words reminded me that more than a hundred years later, a certain emperor also said that the war between Yidi and Di was a blessing for us. The words of these two emperors are really a little embarrassing when put together.
In any case, the Song dynasty thanked the Goryeo envoy for his generous gift and allowed him to return to China. The king of Goryeo was very angry at the Song Dynasty's inaction, and announced that he would unilaterally sever relations with the Song Dynasty and "never return to tribute." ”
04, the first battle between the Khitan and Goryeo affected Goryeo After receiving the land from the Khitan, he quickly immigrated north, appointed Li Chengqian as the envoy of the Yajiang River crossing, set up a Guancheng at the mouth of the Yalu River, and expanded the sphere of influence to the mouth of the Yalu River.
Subsequently, He Gongchen was sent to replace Li Chengqian. In the land-giving area, the Goryeo expelled a large number of Yalu River Jurchens, established towns and military forts, and successively established Heunghwa (southwest of present-day Uiju, North Korea), Cheolju (present-day Tiesan, North Korea), Tongju (present-day northwestern Seoncheon, North Korea), Yongju (present-day Yongcheon, North Korea), Gwaju (present-day Gwasan, North Korea), and Guju (present-day Guseong, North Korea).
These six states are located north of the Cheongcheon River and south of the lower reaches of the Yalu River, in the northwestern part of Goryeo. From then on, the Yalu River Jurchens located in the region began to gradually incorporate into the Goryeo bondage system.
After severing diplomatic relations with the Song Dynasty, in 995 (the thirteenth year of Liaotonghe, the first year of Song Zhidao, and the fourteenth year of Goryeo Chengzong), Goryeo frequently sent envoys to the Khitan, offering fangwu, eagles, and children to learn the Khitan language, and offering prostitutes and courtship.
In November of the same year, the Liao Shengzong sent an envoy to canonize King Sungjong as the king of Goryeo, and in March of the following year, the Liao envoy arrived in Goryeo, and Sungjong accepted the canonization, formally establishing the relationship between the clans and vassals of Liaoli.
So, what are the gains and losses of the two countries after the first war of Liaoli? The Khitan's purpose was to intimidate Goryeo into submission and break the Song-Li alliance. On the surface, the Khitan achieved its goal and established a tributary relationship with Goryeo, and Goryeo accepted the canonization, used the Khitan era name, called the Khitan a tribute, and served Liao Zhengshuo.
At the same time, Goryeo did sever its relationship with the Song dynasty. However, Goryeo seemed to be a defeated country in this war, but in fact, it received a windfall - the land given by the six states of Gangdong became the biggest beneficiary of Danli's first battle.
This was all due to the superficial submission of Goryeo, which enabled Liao Shengzong to grant land according to the provisions of the covenant and send envoys to canonize Goryeo, hoping to break the Song-Li alliance. However, this also caused the mistake of the Holy Sect to grant land, which not only trampled on the Kaiyuan Yihai boundary treaty, which had been in use for more than 200 years, but also encouraged Goryeo to destroy the border stability that had been divided and ruled since the Tang Dynasty and Xin, and create the arrogance of war.
The first eastern crusade of the Khitan Great Liao did not gain actual benefits, but lost 280 li of territory. Although this operation successfully dismantled the Songli alliance and relieved the worries of the Khitan southward, this was not the result of the Danli War, but after Goryeo obtained the land, he turned around and sent an envoy to the Song beggar to the Song Dynasty to betray the Liao Song again.
Considering his own military strength, Song was unwilling to provoke the Khitan to fight for Goryeo again, so Goryeo broke off relations with Song. The Khitan Great Liao did not realize his mistake, and it was the mistake of realizing the land grant that led to the second crusade of the Liao Holy Sect.
The author, Aze, believes that he seeks historical truth through appearances, uses history as a theory, tells personal opinions, and rejects excessive interpretation and conspiracy theories that are divorced from the human environment. Friends who like Liaoxia Jinyuan and Zongmiao Qianyu and harem gossip can pay attention to Monkey Ge.