Chapter 1382: Retribution
Goguryeo has a long history. It was first established by the Buyeo people, and then accepted the rule of the Han Dynasty, and has always existed tepidly.
After the Yongjia Disaster in the Western Jin Dynasty, the Central Plains was in chaos, and Xianbei forces such as the Murong clan in Liaodong also joined in the struggle for world hegemony. Goguryeo also ushered in a historical opportunity and began to expand its territory in the north and south. However, it did not go well in the early stage and suffered a fierce blow from the former Yan regime.
It was not until the time entered the Northern and Southern Dynasties that after the Murong clan and other Xianbei and Donghu forces were attacked and destroyed by the Northern Wei Dynasty, Goguryeo took advantage of the power vacuum in the Northeast region at that time and began to expand rapidly, occupying a large area of land east of the Liao River in one fell swoop, and actively to expand to the Korean Peninsula, and diplomatically actively seek to obtain the canonization of the southern Korean regime.
However, the development of Goguryeo was not smooth sailing. Although the northern regime was mainly fighting against the Southern Dynasties at that time and had no time to take care of the Liaodong region, Silla and Baekje on the peninsula were also fighting against Goguryeo.
During the Eastern and Western Wei Dynasties, Goguryeo's internal power struggle was fierce, and externally, the allied forces of Silla and Baekje, its old enemies, captured the Han River Basin controlled by Goguryeo in one fell swoop, and even directly captured Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo, which greatly damaged Goguryeo's vitality.
Fortunately, internal strife broke out between Silla and Baekje due to the uneven distribution of spoils, and they attacked each other. This gave Goguryeo a chance to breathe. Then it stopped its internal struggle and united between Silla and Baekje. Lian Heng finally regained the capital of Pyongyang and avoided the danger of national subjugation.
During the Six Towns Mutiny, many wandering people in western Liaoning and other places fled to Goguryeo to avoid the military disaster. During the Tianbao Period of the Northern Qi Dynasty, Qi Lord Gao Yang sent envoys to Goguryeo to recover the people who had been dispersed here.
At that time, Goguryeo had just regained Pyongyang and its power was still relatively weak. It wanted to detain these people who had fled into the country to replenish its power. Therefore, it made many excuses for Northern Qi's requests. As a result, Cui Liu, the envoy sent by Northern Qi to Goguryeo at that time, angered Cui Liu. He punched the King of Goguryeo directly in front of the palace and scolded the Goguryeo monarchs and ministers.
At that time, Goguryeo finally got some breathing space and naturally did not dare to turn against a big country. Although the monarch was beaten, he endured it and returned the five thousand households of the Qi envoy to return to the country. At the same time, he also sent an envoy to the Northern Qi court to beg for help. Canonization.
But today's situation is different. After many years of recuperation and recovery, Goguryeo's situation in the country has basically returned to stability, and its strength has also improved to a certain extent. On the contrary, the Northern Qi Dynasty failed in the competition for world hegemony and was expelled to a corner of Liaodong.
This time, because they learned that the Tang Emperor's western tour was a great success, he not only defeated the Western Turks, but was also promoted as the co-leader of the Western Regions and named Yitian Khan. The remaining disciples were afraid that they would be violently attacked by the Tang Dynasty. He was busy sending envoys to Goguryeo to seek cooperation.
The Qi envoy who was sent to Goguryeo this time was named Li Cong, and he was a surviving member of the Li family in Zhaojun. Because the situation and power relationship between the two sides were very different from those in previous years, Li Cong did not dare to be as arrogant as the previous envoy Cui Liu when he went to Pyongyang this time. He brought many gifts and was very respectful.
"Li Boshan, the lord of the Tang Dynasty, was born in troubled times. He loved to kill and fight in many places. He invaded Hebei and killed all the famous clans and massacred the people. The corpses were everywhere and the rivers were red. Since he conquered the country, he has not fought every day. , the Southern Yi and the Western Qiang are all suffering. Now all the enemies are not there, and the disaster in Liaodong is not far away, so the king should have taken care of himself!"
After arriving at the Goguryeo Palace in Pyongyang and being received by the King of Goguryeo, Li Cong first exaggerated the cruelty and tyranny of the Tang Emperor, and then gave his sincere advice: "Now the rest of the Qi State has a grudge against the Tang State to kill the emperor and seize the country. We vow to fight against each other until death! Today, our country still has tens of thousands of powerful soldiers, including King Xianyang and other famous generals in the world. They use their troops like gods and can serve as a barrier to Liaodong.
Today, your Majesty and I are really at war with each other. If our country is destroyed, Goryeo will definitely not be spared, and it will definitely be plundered by the Tang Dynasty troops. Now your Majesty, as long as you have good relations with our country and provide support, you can settle down in Liaodong and fight against the enemy. It is our business..."
The current King of Goguryeo is named Gaotang and King Pingyuan. He is in his early twenties. The King of Goguryeo who was beaten by the Qi envoy was not him, but his father, King Gao Pingcheng of Yangyuan.
When hearing the Qi envoy recounting the various cruel atrocities committed by the Tang army, Pingyuan King Gaotang also had a serious look on his face, but he did not immediately agree to Li Cong's request to unite against the Tang state. Instead, he first arranged the Qi envoy in the embassy in the city. Then he convened a group of ministers in the country to discuss countermeasures.
Regarding the request made by the Qi envoy, most of the officials in Goguryeo did not agree to have any further contact with the Qi State. The reason was also very simple. Back then, the Northern Qi Dynasty was so powerful that it was difficult to defeat the Tang State. Those who were pursued were defeated and fled to Liaodong. Now that the Tang State is more powerful, even if Goguryeo is included, I am afraid that it will not be the opponent of the Tang State.
And even if Goguryeo did not unite with Northern Qi, these surviving Qi people would definitely have to fight to the death with the Tang army. But if Goguryeo unites with them, it may anger Tang and lead to an attack.
"The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was the founder of the country. Looking at his deeds in the south and the north, we can see that he had great ambitions. The land of Liaodong that our country holds was once the hometown of other countries, the Han and Wei Dynasties. So if the Tang Dynasty wanted to become a great lord, how could he not come? Attack me?"
Just as everyone was talking about it, a young man in the palace stood up and said seriously: "Our country and Qi State were once good friends, and the king was also appointed by him. It is natural for us to have good relations with each other now. Qi State still has tens of thousands of soldiers. Hu Lu Mingyue is also a famous brave general in China, but So they can resist the Tang army. Moreover, my king and the emperor of Qi have the same surname. If we can use this connection, we can even extend the inheritance of the emperor of Qi. It is difficult for the ignorant people to know the inside story. If my king gets the imperial title of Qi, he can even recruit people. Even if the Qi Kingdom is destroyed, it can still control and intimidate all the disciples in the country!"
This young man’s name was Yuan Taizuo, and his father was the leader of Goguryeo Molizhi and Dongfang. Hearing his whimsical speech, Goguryeo King Gaotang suddenly became excited and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, Qi Guo The emperor is from the Gao family, I am also a member of the Gao family, but the people and places I rule are different. Although Qi's fortunes are declining, my fortunes should be prosperous. If I recruit the remaining members of Qi's country to be loyal to me, there will be great things to do. However, the two families were not related before, so if I become my sister now. Marry the Lord of Qi and make him my son-in-law..."
When Yuan Taizuo heard this, he shook his head again and again and said: "The death of the Lord of Qi is not because he is the Lord of the world. Even if there is a marriage, it should be linked to the Mingyue of Hulu. If Mingyue can be the son-in-law of Wang Zong, how can my Lord be different from the Lord of Qi?" !”
Although Goguryeo is slightly more accustomed to Chinese customs, it is still essentially a tribe of Eastern Hu barbarians, and they are not shy about marriages with the same surname. However, at the moment, marrying the Qi Lord is obviously not as cost-effective as marrying Hu Luguang. Master Qi is just a puppet controlled by Hu Luguang. If he can use this to take the entire Hu Lüguang clan into his own hands, it will be much more valuable than a woman.
So the Goguryeo monarchs and ministers soon reached a consensus that they could provide a certain amount of assistance in terms of men, horses, and materials to the Northern Qi Dynasty, and they could even open the border to allow Qi soldiers and civilians to enter and rest, but the prerequisite was that Hu Luguang wanted to marry the princess of Goguryeo.
After listening to the request made by the Goguryeo monarchs and ministers, Qi envoy Li Cong could not help but be a little dumbfounded for a while. He also wanted to persuade him, but the Goguryeo monarchs and ministers were very insistent on this. Only when Hu Luguang married a Goguryeo woman could they Soldiers, horses and supplies will be sent to support, otherwise all talk will be over.
In desperation, Li Cong had no choice but to return to Yanshan Garden in a hurry with the conditions offered by Goguryeo.
At this time, Yanshan Xingyuan was also actively preparing for war. Hu Luguang recruited all the remaining young men and women in the country to train and prepare for war. He collected a total of more than 60,000 soldiers, which was quite impressive in number. , but there is still huge room for improvement in combat effectiveness.
But after these soldiers gathered, it also made the people in the country feel at ease. At least they were not completely incapable of fighting at the moment. The Tang army wanted to go to Liaodong to fight, and there was a lot of pressure on supplies and troop dispatching. .
When the envoy Li Cong returned to Xingyuan to inform Goguryeo of the conditions proposed by Goguryeo, the monarchs and ministers of the Northern Qi Dynasty were all dumbfounded for a while, especially Hu Luguang, who was named and forced to marry. If you are over half a century old, how can you marry a Goguryeo woman if you are not a young man? There are many heroes in the country, so why can't you marry someone else?"
"The monarchs and ministers of Goguryeo are very determined, but they only want the king, and they will not allow any of their remaining sons."
Li Cong also lowered his head and answered helplessly.
"Since the King of Goguryeo admires the King of Xianyang so much and proposes to him regardless of his age, the King of Xianyang should no longer be constrained by customary etiquette. He should put the overall situation first and accept this matter!"
The atmosphere in the hall was a bit dull, and no one knew what to say for a while. After a while, Lord Qi Gao Jicai, who was sitting above, said with a forced smile.
Hearing what Gao Jidu said, Hu Luguang still felt awkward and embarrassed, but he could only nod and agree. When he broke out from Jinyang before, he had too many wives and concubines to carry him, but now he avoided the trouble of divorcing his wife. .
So after another discussion, they directly arranged for Hu Luguang's son Hu Lvwudu to go to Pyongyang, Goguryeo to marry the Goguryeo princess on his behalf, and urged the other party to provide assistance as soon as possible. After all, the Tang State may send troops to attack at any time, so the sooner preparations are made, the more reassuring it will be.
When the meeting was completed and he returned to his room, the stiff smile that had been on Qi's head Gao Ji's face suddenly disappeared, and he said in a sad voice with red eyes: "Has Gao Huan's son fallen to this? ?”
Although he had no intention of marrying a Goguryeo woman, the condition put forward by Goguryeo made him feel sad and ashamed.