Late Han Zhao Tang

April, 206 AD, the eighth year of Shenwu's reign.

Emperor Emeritus Zhang Ji contracted a cold last year, and his condition has worsened in April.

On his deathbed, Zhang Ji did not want to delay state affairs because of his own death, so he issued his first edict, which was also his last edict.

The imperial edict stated: "After the funeral, the emperor should oversee important military and state affairs from another location. The weight of his clothing should follow the Han dynasty system, with days replacing months. The mausoleum system should be as frugal as possible."

On that day, Zhang Ji died in the Anle Hall of Da'an Palace at the age of sixty.

Zhang Yu issued an edict ordering the prefectures and counties to observe three days of mourning and to suspend weddings and other celebrations after five days. His ministers bestowed upon him the posthumous title of Emperor Wuzhao. On the day of Gengyin in the sixth month, he was buried in Anling.

In order to implement the policy of strengthening the central government and weakening local power, Zhang Yu ordered the restoration of the mausoleum system and relocated 100,000 powerful and influential families from Guandong to populate Anling.

In July, Zhang Yu deposed Zhang Luo from his position as crown prince on the grounds of filial impiety, and instead enfeoffed him as the Prince of Lingwu. On the 20th of the same month, with the tacit approval of Li Suyi, the third prince Zhang Zhang was "adopted" by Empress Wang Ji, thus gaining the status of a legitimate son.

On August 11th, Zhang Yu appointed Zhang Zhang, the Prince of Beidi, as Crown Prince, based on his intelligence and ability.

When selecting officials for the Crown Prince's court for Zhang Zhang, Zhang Yu originally intended to choose Li Song as the Crown Prince's tutor to solidify Zhang Zhang's position. Xin Pi submitted a memorial opposing this, saying, "Is Your Majesty establishing a Crown Prince for the sake of the Li family? Or for the sake of the world? If it is for the sake of the Li family, then the Duke of Li can be used; if it is for the sake of the world, then the most outstanding talents in the world should be used."

Zhang Yu agreed, and thus appointed Zhong Yao as the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor, Shi Xie as the Crown Prince's Grand Preceptor, Xin Pi as the Crown Prince's Junior Tutor, and Yan Rou as the Crown Prince's Junior Preceptor. He also ordered Zhang Zhang to study government affairs with Zhong Yao and Xin Pi, and to study borderland studies with Shi Xie and Yan Rou.

In September, Gao Faqi set up a camp in Xuantu County to recruit and accept defectors, which caused unrest among the people of Goguryeo. King Go Yeon-woo of Goguryeo recruited Han Ye-pu ​​to join the army. With 30,000 troops, they marched south. They first defeated Gao Faqi at Gaima and then surrounded him in the mountains.

When the military intelligence reached Liaodong Commandery, Guo Huai led 10,000 elite infantry and cavalry, with Pang De as the vanguard and Xianyu Yin as the rear guard, to meet Gao Yanyou.

Gao Yanyou had anticipated that the Tang army might launch an attack, so he left several thousand soldiers to monitor Gao Faqi and led 20,000 elite troops to intercept the Tang army. Guo Huai led his troops to Feiliu River, learned of Gao Yanyou's whereabouts, and then cut off the upstream river, confronting Gao Yanyou on the east bank.

Seeing the Tang army fighting on the water, Gao Yanyou led his infantry and cavalry to attack them. Guanqiu Xing led his troops in a fierce battle, but was defeated and fled to the west bank. The Goguryeo army pursued them across the water, but at that moment, the upstream released water, drowning thousands of Goguryeo soldiers and cutting the enemy army between the two banks.

Guanqiu Xing and Guo Huai attacked together, completely defeating the Goguryeo troops on the west bank and killing or capturing more than 8,000. Meanwhile, Pang De led his infantry and cavalry to attack the enemy on the east bank, defeating 10,000 men with 3,000. Gao Yanyou led the remaining 1,000 infantry and cavalry in a retreat.

In the Battle of Boiling Water, Guo Huai led 10,000 infantry and cavalry to a great victory over 20,000 Goguryeo troops, killing and capturing over 10,000. The rebel leader, Gao Yanyou, fled to the capital. Guo Huai then led his troops forward to relieve the siege of Gao Faqi, and captured several thousand more, thus establishing his formidable reputation in Liaodong.

Guo Huai rested at Gaima Mountain and conscripted soldiers from Yingzhou and other counties to join the campaign. With Gao Faqi as their guide, Guo Huai decided to take advantage of the situation and pursue the enemy, so he divided his troops into two groups.

One force, led by Pang De and Xianyu Yin, marched south to sweep across the Korean Peninsula and eliminate Goguryeo's allies and vassals. Meanwhile, Guo Huai led 10,000 men deep into Goguryeo's capital, Wandu, preparing to annihilate Gao Yanyou in one fell swoop.

At that time, all of Goguryeo's troops had been defeated, and only the old and weak were available in the country. Gao Yanyou knew that with Gao Faqi as a guide, the Tang army would likely not be able to hold the capital for long, so he led his people to Dongwoju to seek refuge.

Therefore, when Guo Huai arrived at Wandu City, under Gao Faqi's influence, the city's garrison commander, realizing he was no match for them, surrendered with his troops. Learning of Gao Yanyou's whereabouts from the surrendered soldiers, Guo Huai initially intended to continue the pursuit, but due to the severe cold of November in Liaodong, he halted the military operation. Instead, he remained in the capital, subjugating Goguryeo cities and reporting military intelligence to Zhang Yu, while also investigating Gao Yanyou's movements.

Meanwhile, another Tang army, led by Pang De and Xianyu Yin, decisively defeated the Yemaek forces, killing and capturing thousands. The Yemaek leader surrendered his entire city. Xianyu Yin died in battle from an arrow wound, and his troops were then placed under the command of Pang De. Pang De led his troops in a swift and decisive campaign, reclaiming the former territory of Lintun County on the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, which now belongs to Joseon County.

In December, news of the great victory in Liaodong reached Chang'an, and Zhang Yu was overjoyed.

"Guo Huai and Pang De have lived up to expectations, achieving a great victory over Goguryeo this year, conquering the capital, and sweeping across Korea," General Zhang Yu said with a smile as he reviewed the documents with Chancellor Du Ji. In October, Zhong Yao caught a cold and took the opportunity to submit a memorial requesting to resign. Zhang Yu initially wanted to persuade him to stay, but seeing that Zhong Yao's energy was indeed declining, he granted his request. However, he stipulated that Zhong Yao remain in Chang'an to tutor the Crown Prince.

Zhong Yao readily agreed to Zhang Yu's request. However, his illness miraculously disappeared a few days after Zhang Yu agreed to his resignation, leaving Zhang Yu both amused and exasperated, realizing he had fallen for Zhong Yao's scheme.

Zhong Yao stepped down as Chancellor, and under Zhang Yu's edict, Du Ji, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, succeeded him. The vacancy for Minister of the Imperial Secretariat was filled by Cui Yan, the Minister of Revenue, while Sun Zi, the Minister of Revenue, and Yang Jun, the Minister of Personnel, concurrently served as Left and Right Vice Ministers.

Du Ji glanced at the military report and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Governor Guo has defeated Goguryeo, his military might has shaken the Liaodong region, and the troubles on the Liaodong border have been quelled. At present, the bandits in Yingzhou are only the Han and Ye barbarians. In the next two years, we will launch a campaign to pacify and annex the three Han city-states. Your Majesty will have nothing to worry about."

Du Ji's governing philosophy leaned towards recuperation and development, but because Zhang Yu was fixated on the Korean Peninsula, Du Ji had no choice but to cooperate. Now, he planned to annex the Three Han states, at which point not only the central plains prefectures but also the border prefectures would be able to recuperate for several years.

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Guo Huai said in his memorial that Goguryeo has been operating in Bohai and Liaobei for over a hundred years, and many tribes have submitted to it. Now he has stationed troops in Wandu and intends to launch a distant expedition next year to see if he can completely eliminate the rebel king Gao Yanyou."

Du Ji hesitated and said, "I think it is feasible to exterminate all the bandits. However, the Northeast is a vast territory, and our country only governs Liaodong. If our troops travel thousands of miles, we may run out of food and supplies."

Xun You said, "Your Majesty, Gao Faqi is the King of Goguryeo. If our troops were to launch a distant expedition against Gao Yanyou, he would surely offer his full support. Moreover, Goguryeo is a powerful force among the barbarians, and Buyeo has suffered much plunder. If we were to ask Buyeo for provisions, how could we worry about our army lacking food?"

"Gongda is right!"

Zhang Yu nodded slightly and smiled, "Since Guo Huai wants to go on an expedition to the coast, then let him go deep into the far north, carve inscriptions on stone, spread the power of the nation, and make the northeastern barbarians surrender."

Zhang Yu made no attempt to conceal his pursuit of merit. Once the Central Plains had recovered somewhat, he even planned to send troops north to sweep away the nomadic tribes in the north and order them to pay tribute to Chang'an, thus establishing unparalleled achievements. After all, the title of "Heavenly Khan" was quite tempting.

"promise!"

Du Ji responded and said, "Your Majesty, there are many prisoners of war from Goguryeo. Now Gao Faqi has requested the court to pardon the prisoners and allow them to return to their country. I wonder what Your Majesty's opinion is?"

Zhang Yu shook his head and said, "The people of Goguryeo are fierce and warlike. Sending them to Gao Faqi will surely cause harm. We should relocate all those who surrender to China and disperse them to various places, such as the Hehuang, Lingwu, and Yunzhong prefectures. When Guo Huai returns with his troops, we must make a three-point agreement with Gao Faqi and weaken the power of Goguryeo."

Zhang Yu had considered destroying Goguryeo and annexing Gao Faqi and his 30,000 men and women, but considering that the disappearance of Goguryeo would lead to an imbalance in the situation in Liaodong, he decided to support Gao Faqi as king, but this weakened Goguryeo's political policies.

The two most crucial policies for weakening Goguryeo were: first, all Goguryeo people who could be relocated to the Central Plains were relocated and given the surname "Go"; second, the various barbarian tribes of Liaodong could no longer submit to Goguryeo, but had to submit to the Tang Dynasty.

As he spoke, Zhang Yu looked at Du Ji and said, "The military campaigns against Korea and Goguryeo in Liaodong may exhaust Yingzhou. Therefore, we may waive taxes for several years and wait for the establishment of the two prefectures of Korea and Canghai before collecting taxes again. You should do your utmost to help our Great Tang annex the Three Hans."

"Yes!" Du Ji replied with a bow.

Zhang Yu looked around and smiled, "The portrait in the Zixun Pavilion is complete. We might as well hold the New Year's banquet in the pavilion so that all officials can admire the portrait of the meritorious official."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The flourishing development of the Tang Dynasty filled Zhang Yu with considerable pride. He was not yet forty years old, and given his physical condition, he could rule for at least another twenty years, enough time for him to establish even greater achievements. (End of Chapter)