Among them, there is a non-Korean peninsula regime. Just because it crossed the Yalu River and occupied the northern part of the Korean peninsula, it is regarded as an ancestor by South Korea today, and many TV dramas and movies are exaggerating and even fictional about its power. This regime is called Koguryo.
Korean TV series about the history of Koguryo era.
So how did Koguryo, the local government in northeast China, expand across the Yalu River?
Koguryo was a political power established by Northeasters, Fuyu people and some Han people in Hunjiang area in the northeast of Liaoning Province at the end of the Western Han Dynasty (37 BC).
Its ethnic composition is completely different from that of Sanhan tribe, the ancestor of the Korean nation on the Korean peninsula today.
The cartoon image of Koguryo drawn by Koreans based on archaeological data is actually a local regime in China, which has nothing to do with today's South Korea.
During the Western Han Dynasty, the Han army crossed the Yalu River and wiped out Weishi Korea, which was established by the forces of the old Yan State at that time. There are four counties in Liaodong and Korean Peninsula, namely Lelang County, Xuantu County, Fan Zhen County and Lintun County, which were later merged into Xuantu County and Lelang County. The newly established Koguryo regime is not independent, but belongs to Xuantu County.
Four counties in the western Han dynasty
As we all know today, the Yalu River is the boundary river between China and North Korea. But more than a thousand years ago, the Yalu River not only had nothing to do with the border river, but was often regarded as the object of contention by other regimes.
Koguryo soldiers on murals
The reason is that the Yalu River basin is located in the residual vein of Changbai Mountain, with humid climate and fertile land, which is suitable for living and developing agricultural production, and the location near the sea is also convenient for maritime trade.
If the new Koguryo regime can seize the Yalu River basin, it can obtain a large area of excellent cultivated land and water resources, and it can also conduct maritime trade with the residents of the Central Plains and the Korean Peninsula, which is more conducive to the development and prosperity of all ethnic groups.
Topographic map of the peninsula in Lee's Korean era
Judging from the international situation at the beginning of the founding of Koguryo, the western part of Koguryo and the northwestern part of Liaodong were occupied by the powerful Central Plains dynasty all the year round. They are powerful and Goguryeo is usually not to be taunted. They can only catch it like hooligans, but they can't catch it and leave.
The Fuyu people in the north and northeast are Koguryo, and Koguryo itself is a political power established by Fuyu nobles who fled south to Hunjiang River basin.
The enemy is in the north and protected by the Central Plains Dynasty, so it is naturally inconvenient to go north again. Only by going south into the Yalu River and the mountainous areas in the northeast of the Korean Peninsula can it be more reliable to bully Aiqi and the "weak chicken" tribe in Wozhou.
This is like Liu Bei, Cao Cao and Sun Quan in Battle of Red Cliffs's time. Only when Bashu is captured by the west can they become a tripartite confrontation.
Considering the factors of natural environment and international situation, expanding to the Yalu River is more in line with the development needs of Koguryo. Even after the war broke out in the Central Plains and Koguryo people had the opportunity to seize Liaodong, their policy of "going south" did not give up.
Under such guiding ideology, Koguryo's capital and ruling center gradually moved from today's Liaoning to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea south of Yalu River.
In the 8th year BC, Zhu Meng was named the Queen of Koguryo by the Western Han Dynasty, which was equivalent to the court's recognition of the existence of the Koguryo regime.
At the beginning of the establishment of the regime, although it was weak and had a small population, it was far from being called a "country", but it caught up with an era that was conducive to Koguryo's expansion of living space.
At this time, the political situation in the Western Han Dynasty was chaotic, and Wang Mang, a consort, usurped power and weakened his control over the frontier. The power of Xuantu County and Lelang County on the Korean Peninsula has also been weakened, and they are often invaded by neighboring tribes.
The Yi people in the mountainous area in the northeast of the Korean Peninsula are even worse, and they will collapse as soon as they are beaten. Therefore, the Koguryo people first laid the foundation of the Koguryo regime during the Han Dynasty, when the independence of the Han Dynasty was strong.
In 9 AD, Wang Mang usurped the throne to establish a "new dynasty", which aroused the domestic peasant uprising and the surrounding ethnic groups began to rebel. Unwilling to be lonely, Zhu Meng launched a rebellion, only to find that her strength was too weak, and she was soon killed by Yan You, the general of follwed, and the rest of Koguryo people immediately defected.
Wang Mang directly renamed Goguryeo as "Next Li". Wang Mang's New Deal power was overthrown, and Koguryo people took advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains, and the princes competed for hegemony, which opened a relatively smooth expansion process.
Liaodong and Korean peninsula in 1 year.
At this time, Dawu, the leader of Koguryo, was unsympathetic, and first pointed his finger at Fuyu people, his old neighbor in the northeast.
When he was a prince before, he once defeated Fuyu people in the Battle of Riverside Ridge. After inheriting the position of leader, he killed Yu Wang, the eastern mansion, and occupied a piece of territory in 22 AD.
Later, they went south into the mountains in the northern part of the Korean peninsula, cleaned up a meal of Yi people and Japanese people, and settled in the Gaima country and Jucha country they established.
In 32 AD, the Reform Movement of 1898 continued southward, crossing the Yalu River and Qingchuan River (then called "Xishui") and attacking Cui Li, the former separatist regime of Lelang County, which was overthrown in 37 years.
Obviously, the uncrowned king wanted to occupy the territory of the former Hanlelang County and cook uncooked rice into mature rice before the Eastern Han regime had stabilized the rule of Liaodong.
After Koguryo captured Lelang County in 37 AD.
But who is Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty? It's impossible to wait for you to cook. In 44 AD, Liu Xiu sent troops eastward to the Korean Peninsula, occupied most of the original Lelang County, rebuilt Lelang County, and drove Koguryo people out of the north of Qingchuan River.
In 49 AD, Koguryo people boldly invaded Liaodong area, but were surrendered by Liaodong prefect.
However, after the turmoil in the Han Dynasty, the national strength of the Eastern Han Dynasty was far from being restored, and the northern Xiongnu forces rose again, posing a great threat to the northern territory of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Therefore, Liu Xiu weighed the pros and cons, stopped his efforts to restore the land of the four counties in the Western Han Dynasty, gave up the direct jurisdiction over the land in Lingdong (that is, the northeastern part of the Korean Peninsula and the mountainous area in southern Jilin today), and let the local ethnic groups practice regional autonomy.
This gave Koguryo a chance to rule firmly in the Yalu River basin. On the Korean peninsula, the lower reaches of Yalu River to Lelang County are under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the north of Qingchuan River and the middle and upper reaches of Yalu River are occupied by Koguryo.
Koguryo people on tomb murals
Fuyu people were photographed by Goguryeo people and took the initiative to hold the thighs of the Eastern Han Dynasty, so that Goguryeo did not dare to do it on himself.
Goguryeo, on the other hand, was photographed as the regime of the Eastern Han Dynasty, so he dared not invade the land of Lingdong for the time being, invaded the counties of the Eastern Han Dynasty on a large scale (called "Kouchao" in the history books), and paid tribute to the Eastern Han Dynasty.
However, as long as there is an opportunity, it will invade Lingdong area, and it has repeatedly joined nomadic people such as Xianbei to Xuantu County and Liaodong County to experience the addiction of robbers.
By the time Koguryo Taizu arrived, Koguryo had basically conquered the tribes in Lingdong area. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Goguryeo persisted in the struggle with the Central Plains Dynasty and finally gained a firm foothold in the Yalu River basin.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when rotten wood was the official, animals ate the rich, the country turned into a mound ruin, and the people suffered greatly, Goguryeo thought that she had ushered in the second period of strategic opportunities for development.
According to China's ancient books, Koguryo people like to squat. This is a Koguryo painted by Koreans according to historical materials.
Unexpectedly, a fierce warlord family, the Gongsun Du family, appeared in Liaodong County at this time, which once again blocked Goguryeo's southward advance.
Gongsun Du was born in Xuantu County. In AD 190, Dong Zhuo, who was in charge of state affairs, was appointed as the magistrate of Liaodong County.
During their tenure in Liaodong, Gongsun Du and his son usually avoided participating in the battle of the Central Plains, but focused on managing the northeast border and dealing with the relations with neighboring tribes. Goguryeo wanted to occupy the territory of Xuantu County, Le Lang County and Liaodong County. As a result, he was defeated by the Gongsun family and had to surrender to the Gongsun family.
Gongsun Du and his son not only attacked Koguryo by force, but also locked Koguryo's expansion with both political and diplomatic hands.
Politically, Gongsun Du divided the vast Liaodong County into Liaodong County and Liaoxi County, set up a new belt county in the south of the county, vigorously built economy and military, and blocked Koguryo's road to the south and west.
In diplomacy, Gongsun Du and his son used various means to win over Fuyu tribe, the arch-rival of Koguryo people, for their own use, and also divided the alliance between Xianbei people and Koguryo people, which hindered the development of Koguryo everywhere. Finally, the Gongsun family ruled Liaodong for more than forty years, and Koguryo people didn't dig out any big waves.
The Korean peninsula during the reign of the Gongsun family in Liaodong.
However, in Gongsun Yuan's generation, the Gongsun family began to fight in the Central Plains, trying to unite Sun Quan for Cao Wei. As a result, Sima Yi's army was angered, the battle failed, and the inheritance was returned to the people.
Koguryo people also participated in this action, taking the opportunity to carve up some assets of the Gongsun family. After Cao Wei destroyed Gongsun Sheng, he was busy meeting the challenge of Wu Shu. There was an empty window of military power in Liaodong, and Goguryeo's ambition expanded. In 242 AD, he assembled troops in Liaodong to defeat Xi's Pingan County.
Facts have proved that Koguryo people have miscalculated again. Cao Wei was furious when he heard the news: I can't clean up Wu Shu, and I can't clean up your Koguryo? In 244 AD, Cao Wei sent a general Wu Qi with tens of thousands of men to push and crush Koguryo people all the way, directly destroying Marukou, the capital of Koguryo (now Ji 'an City, Tonghua City, Jilin Province).
Wu gave full play to the spirit of "chasing the poor and bandits with the brave left" and chased Koguryo Dongchuan Wang all the way to Wokuo Taibei, that is, in Heilongjiang Province today, and didn't return until sunrise in the Sea of Japan.
The Koguryo regime suffered a devastating blow this time, and all the sites including the Yalu River basin were lost.
Why was the Three Kingdoms so chaotic at the end of the Han Dynasty that the surrounding tribes could not invade the Central Plains? Gong and Wu provided a standard answer.
Shortly after the establishment of the Western Jin regime, the "Five Wild Flowers" incident broke out, and Koguryo people gathered back to rebuild Marukou City. At this time, the Central Plains was more chaotic than the end of the Han Dynasty, and Koguryo people felt that they had done it again. Surprisingly, Liaodong region has ushered in a new strongman-the Yan Qian regime established by Mu Rongchui, a Xianbei people.
At the beginning, Mu Rongchui's two attacks on Koguryo were repelled, indicating that Koguryo had recovered some strength at this time, but it was also related to the former Yan regime's focus on participating in the battle for the Central Plains.
Although Koguryo repelled the attack and tried to capture Xuantu County and Liaodong County many times, it was still at a disadvantage in the face of Yan Qian regime.
So Yokai, King of Koguryo, went south in 3 13 and 3 14, and crossed the Yalu River, Qingchuan River and Datong River successively, attacking Le Lang County and Daifang County, two "old comrades" who were 100-200 years old and suffering from long illness. This time, they really took the two counties in their hands and got in touch with Baekje and Silla, two younger brothers in the south of the Korean Peninsula.
Goguryeo's skill is just to prevent Mr. Murong's family from becoming another Gongsun's family and repress himself for decades again. This is a strategically brilliant move.
Koguryo even paid tribute to the Eastern Jin Dynasty, trying to unite the forces of the Eastern Jin Dynasty against Yan Qian. However, the problem is that Yan Qian's next head of state, Murong Mu, is a ruthless figure. He clearly realized the threat posed to himself by the development of Koguryo people's strength, and it was necessary for him to follow Wu's example and "plow the fields and sweep the holes" for Koguryo people again.
Murong Zi (297-348)
In 342 AD, Murong Mu led 40,000 elite troops from Nanshan to attack Koguryo, and sent Murong Han and Mu Rongchui, the best soldier of Murong Family, to lead 1.5 million troops from Beijia.
Two sharp knives pierced Goguryeo's heart, and Mu Rongchui showed his extraordinary military talent in the first battle. He easily defeated King Koguryo's army and chased him to the north, but King Koguryo survived. Murong Mian's pro-army also attacked Marukou like Wu Qiujian, taking away the bodies of the first king of Koguryo and his family.
Located in the ruins of Koguryo Wangcheng (Maru Capital), Ji 'an City, Jilin Province.
This was another devastating blow to Koguryo, but the former Yan army was too busy searching for the remnants of the king to recapture Le Lang and Daifang County.
Koguryo people have also been scared by Murong Mu for more than ten years, and dare not mention stealing money from the south. However, as far as the results are concerned, Murong Mu did not achieve the result of completely eliminating Goguryeo, and Goguryeo recovered its strength much faster than in the Cao Wei period.
From what we have seen, Koguryo has occupied the middle and upper reaches of the Yalu River for a long time, although it has been hit many times.
In the next historical stage, Koguryo will completely capture the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, including the Yalu River, Qingchuan River and Datong River, and even enter the Han River in the south to compete with Baekje and Silla.
Murong Miao's successor, Murong Miao, was also a very capable monarch, but during his reign, he focused on cracking down on other minority regimes and the Eastern Jin Dynasty and did not continue to weaken Goguryeo.
After his death, the regime began to fall into turmoil and was destroyed by the emerging former Jane regime.
Koguryo once again seized this strategic opportunity period, and after consolidating his rule in Le Lang and Daifang County, he continued to go south from Daifang County and launched a series of encounters with Baekje and Silla who tried to explore the north.
The former Qin Dynasty fought against the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and Koguryo fought against Baekje.
Baekje and Silla regimes were composed of three Han nationalities, and had previously tried to attack Daifang County and Lelang County northward.
Since 369 AD, Baekje people and Koguryo people have been engaged in military conflicts and confrontations over the ownership of Le Lang and the region for more than 20 years.
King Xiao Gu of Baekje was also a very successful monarch. He strengthened the army and martial arts by implementing the Shu Qi government, which made his national strength rapidly strong. He defeated the Koguryo people many times, even killed King Koguryo, pushed the front into the Jiang Licheng Valley, and once attacked Pyongyang.
Goguryeo and Baekje paid tribute to the former Qin Dynasty and the Eastern Jin Dynasty respectively, and they also wanted to restrict each other with the strength of big countries.
On the other hand, Silla is a chicken thief. When Koguryo and Baekje fought, they made a fortune and merged the surrounding Sanhan tribes.
Koguryo and Baekje both sent messengers to woo Silla. After weighing the pros and cons, Silla felt that Koguryo had a better development prospect, so she joined Koguryo against Baekje.
Baekje also wooed Japan as its ally against Koguryo and Silla Alliance.
In the previous conflict, Baekje had the upper hand over Koguryo.
In 383 AD, the Eastern Jin Dynasty won the battle with the former Qin Dynasty, which made the countries on the Korean Peninsula embrace the thighs of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Through the vigorous management of Little Beast King Lin and two monarchs, Goguryeo's strength was qualitatively improved and the balance of war was broken.
In 39 1 year, King Tai Hao reorganized tens of thousands of elite troops and launched an expedition to Baekje, capturing more than a dozen towns north of the Han River.
The Baekje people tried to find their own position and launched many counterattacks against Goguryeo, but each time they ended in failure, which caused a domestic shock and forced them to call the Japanese and the allies of Gaya tribe to help.
In 400 AD, facing the Baekje-Japan alliance, King Tai Hao and Silla Army launched the Battle of Gengzi, which made the Japanese people cry.
After the defeat, the Japanese made another effort and invaded the county in 404. As a result, they were severely hit by King Tai Hao and forced to withdraw from the Korean Peninsula. Koguryo expanded its territory to the front line of Linjin River through a series of battles against Baekje, Japan and Gaya.
Koguryo is the King of Thailand (374-412)
After the Battle of Feishui, Mu Rongchui established the Houyan regime in Liaodong, and defeated Tuoba GUI, the Daowu Emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty, in the Battle of Shenbei.
However, after Mu Rongchui's death, Hou Yan was at a disadvantage in the face of the emerging Northern Wei regime, and suffered repeated wars and defeats, which led to the emptiness of her rule over Liaodong.
King Tai Hao seized this opportunity and attacked Liaodong County in 407 AD, finally realizing the dream of Koguryo people to capture Liaodong for more than 300 years. King Tai Hao also taught a lesson to the newly born Khitan and Kumohi tribes on the northern border.
Rubbings of the Monument to the King of Tai Hao (AD 4 1 1)
Although Liaodong was captured, Koguryo people were still very afraid of the attack of the powerful Central Plains regime, and staged the tragedy that Malukou was attacked twice. So while stepping up the defense in the west, they began to do the work that the ruling center was difficult to move. The guiding ideology is as far away from the Central Plains dynasty as possible.
So in the period of Koguryo's longevity king, in view of the decisive victory in the Baekje War, the capital of Koguryo moved south across the Yalu River in 427 AD and moved to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea today.
In the late 5th century, Koguryo defeated Baekje and Silla successively, but did not destroy them. At this time, Koguryo's national strength and territory were in its heyday, and the Sanjiang area in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula and most of the Hanjiang River Basin were firmly in its own hands.
Throughout the history of Koguryo crossing the Yalu River to the south of the Korean peninsula, it can be described as twists and turns and perseverance.
In 645, the action road map of the Tang Dynasty and Koguryo War.
Many people in South Korea regard Koguryo as their ancestor, probably because it is the most powerful regime that has ever appeared on the Korean peninsula. After all, there are indeed two brushes that can destroy the power of four generations of kings in Sui and Tang Dynasties.
Sui dynasty soldiers