The situation in the northwest is complex, changeable, and full of hidden dangers. It may not be optimistic and is a headache, but fortunately, it is just a corner. For the Han Empire, which is in its infancy and its national power is far from its peak, it is impossible.
There are problems and hidden dangers everywhere.
Among the four borders of the Han Dynasty, the Khitan in the north is the most threatening, or can pose a threat to the Han Dynasty. Not only has the farming civilization always been wary of and rejected the nomadic civilization, but also because of the system of the Liao Kingdom, those Han systems
, Han Li, Han Chen, are the most feared by the nobles and scholar-bureaucrats of the Han Dynasty, because it means the Khitan's ambition and cultural foundation to enter the Central Plains, which is very jealous of knowledgeable people.
The fact is that the ruling class of the Han Dynasty would rather have an ignorant, wild nomadic tribe in the north than see a semi-nomadic, semi-feudal dynasty that combines the Han cultural system to exist for a long time.
Today's Han Empire is completely different from the Song Dynasty in the same period of original history, and its attitude and response to its powerful neighbor in the north are naturally different. The Song Dynasty has no choice, it can't be defeated, it just can't be defeated, while the Han Dynasty is looking for opportunities
, we must go north to seek to destroy "Liao".
After unifying the world, as the only large threatening force around the empire, the Han Dynasty continued to pay more attention to the Khitan Liao Kingdom. Exchanges between the two countries also became more frequent.
As the eldest and second eldest countries in East Asia, they share a long border with each other. It is impossible for Han and Liao to have no exchanges. Whether it is friendly or malicious, the exchanges between the two sides are very close.
Especially among the people, Shanyang, Yanshan, and border markets, trade developed in the fourth year of Kaibao and was already very prosperous. Don't think of the Khitans as pure barbarians, occupying the northeast and the vast grasslands, but their products are not poor at all.
Cattle, horses, alpacas from the grasslands and medicinal materials and furs from the Northeast are very popular in the Central Plains market.
The bloody scenes of the Han-Liao War are still vivid in our minds, and the bones of soldiers on both sides are still exposed. However, the two countries maintained "friendly" exchanges against the complex and contradictory political background.
It is also conceivable that it is said to be friendly, but it is impossible to be truly friendly. There is harmony and tranquility, but naturally there are also conflicts. Khitan plundering did not happen in the border market. The Han army went north out of Guancheng to "search for bandits."
There was also a time to "take care of" the Khitan tribe.
However, it has always maintained an overall stability and restraint. Moreover, in the third year of Kaibao, the Liao Kingdom sent a clan girl named Yelu Ling to Tokyo, who was eighteen years old. For this reason, Liu
The emperor also gifted a "princess" in return.
It has been more than seven years since the Han-Liao War. After such a long time, the Liao Kingdom's national and military strength has recovered, and recuperation is not just a patent for the Central Plains.
In these seven years, in addition to eliminating rebellions, calming the subjects, and consolidating its rule, the Liao Kingdom mainly accomplished two major external affairs.
One of them was the western expedition to Gaochang and the destruction of the Xizhou Uighurs. The results of the battle have been described above and will not be shown here. The effect was also obvious. The Liao Kingdom gained a lot of blood.
However, due to the confrontation with the Black Khan Dynasty for more than a year, the fierce fighting continued for a long time, so that the dividends of the war were no longer what they were before, but instead the troops were wasted. There were also internal differences in the Liao Kingdom regarding matters in the Western Regions.
Some people feel that they have made enough, and hope to abandon the Western Regions, reduce unnecessary losses, and withdraw their troops eastward; some people are reluctant to part with the happiness of the Western Regions, insisting on holding on to the Western Regions, continuing to create wealth, and even propose to continue to increase troops and compare their daring with the Liao
The opposing Black Khan dynasty was destroyed, and all the Western Regions were taken over, taking all their money and livestock.
In this regard, the Lord of Liao Yelujing was still hesitating. He had to hesitate. It would be fine if the Black Khan was as easy to fight as the Gaochang Uighurs. The key was that he was not easy to chew, and the big men in the south had to be prepared.
Therefore, the Khitan could never devote too much strength to matters in the Western Regions.
And he really couldn't bear to part with this precious land in the Western Regions. The wealth from the Western Regions had made Yelujing very generous in recent years, and he even rewarded his ministers generously.
Compared with the Western Expedition, another thing seemed less vigorous. In the winter of the second year of Kaibao of the Han Dynasty, when the court was busy quelling the Wuyue rebellion in the southeast, the Lord of the Liao Dynasty, Yelujing, took Gao Xun, who was left in Tokyo, as the commander-in-chief and sent troops to annihilate them.
Found the Ding'an Kingdom entrenched in its back garden.
This small country formed by the survivors of the Bohai Sea had little ability to resist when the Liao Dynasty really made up its mind to annihilate it. The result was no surprise: the city was destroyed and the country was destroyed.
The previous year, the nobles of Ding'an had hoped to annex the Han Dynasty, but due to geographical limitations, the court refused. However, in order to appease them, the Han Dynasty came forward to invite Goryeo and Ding'an to discuss the matter.
After all, the Ding'an Kingdom was backed by the Goryeo Kingdom. Therefore, although the country was destroyed, many nobles and common people fled south to the Goryeo Kingdom and accepted the asylum of the Goryeo Kingdom. Only a few people came from the sea and sought refuge with the Han Dynasty, and were placed in the
Denglai area.
These few people are considered lucky. Although the journey is difficult, after arriving in Dahan, their property and life are guaranteed, they have a place to live, they behave well, and they have the opportunity to become naturalized.
As for those who were taken in by Goryeo, life was miserable. It was said that many of them were extorted and had no choice but to be slaves, living under other people's roofs, and suffered from oppression. As they progressed, many people chose to flee back to the Liao Kingdom, preferring to become Khitan people.
Submissive people were also enslaved, but at least the Khitans were stronger.
In fact, the court was very dissatisfied with the way Goryeo treated the people of Ding'an. This matter was originally led by the Han Dynasty, but Goryeo behaved so greedily and unjustly that he even tried to slap the face of the court.
Although there was no outbreak, cracks began to appear in the relationship between the Han and Goryeo. In particular, the situation in the Northeast did not develop as the Han monarchs and ministers expected.
After Goryeo took in the Ding'an people, it really angered the Liao army. Gao Xun personally led the army and knelt down, as if he wanted to fight Goryeo. After all, it didn't take much military power to destroy the Ding'an state.
In response to this, Koryo responded calmly. On the one hand, it increased troops to strengthen border defense, and on the other hand, it prepared a large amount of wine, meat and food to reward the Liao army. It was a very satisfactory gesture.
In the end, the two countries did not fight. Goryeo cut off some of the heads of Ding'an nobles and gave them to Gao Xun to show their sincerity. So, after the Liao army showed off its power, they decisively withdrew their troops and attacked Goryeo. They had no plan yet.
After the details of the situation in the Northeast were reported to the Han Dynasty, everyone from Emperor Liu on down was indignant that the Goryeo Kingdom had gone too far and acted without considering the feelings of the Han Dynasty court.
Regarding the Ding'an incident, Wang Zhao was sent to question Wang Zhao. As a result, Wang Zhao said that the border issues were all made by local generals without his knowledge, so he immediately investigated thoroughly. Then, when the Han envoy returned, he brought back a human head.
, saying that punishment had been imposed for the Ding'an incident, and this head was an explanation to the court.
How could such an approach and such a trick be hidden from the eyes of the Han Dynasty monarchs and ministers. What really made Emperor Liu feel angry was the news coming from the northeast that the Liao Kingdom and Goryeo had also begun to communicate with each other. This greatly touched Emperor Liu's heart.
bottom line.
Why did he make good friends with Goryeo and support Wang Zhao because he wanted to use the power of Goryeo during the Northern Expedition? As a result, before the matter was accomplished, his rebellious nature was revealed.
The performance of Goryeo is not difficult to understand. It can only be said that after the Han Dynasty became stronger, it brought too much pressure to the surrounding countries. Now, it is obvious that the Han Dynasty is strong and the Liao Dynasty is weak. King Wang Zhao of Goryeo is not a fool. Of course he is willing to see the Liao Dynasty.
If Tenaga can withstand the pressure from the big guys, it can safely remain the third player in East Asia, and even take advantage of opportunities to profit from them.
Of course, being on good terms with the Liao Kingdom does not mean that he has completely offended the Han Dynasty and fell out with the empire. He still served him respectfully and sent tributes from envoys every year. However, it was obviously impossible for the Han Dynasty to interfere with its military affairs. What Wang Zhao hoped,
It was still possible to have both sides of the conflict between Han and Liao.
However, Emperor Liu was really angry about this. He once threw Goryeo's tribute to the ground and cursed Wang Zhao, saying that his wings were stiff. However, despite being angry, there was really nothing he could do to the Goryeo Kingdom at this time.
.
There may be some punishment methods, but there is really no big meaning in using them. Instead, it will completely push Goryeo into the Liao Kingdom. After all, Emperor Liu is not an emotional person, and he will not let anger affect his thinking. However, he has secretly thought about it in his heart.