Han officials

Chapter 62 The Butterfly Effect
The third year of Zhongping, the second month of spring.

Zhao Ci, a soldier from Jiangxia, rebelled, destroyed six counties, and killed Qin Jie, the prefect of Nanyang.

In the prefect's mansion, Wei Zhe couldn't help but sigh when he heard the news.

You should know that Qin Jie, the prefect of Nanyang, can be considered a capable official.

When the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, after the Yellow Turban leader Zhang Mancheng attacked and killed the prefect Zhu Gong of Nanyang County, it was Qin Jie, the commander of Jiangxia, who was appointed to succeed the position of prefect of Nanyang County and to suppress the Yellow Turban Army.

Later, it was Qin Jie and Jingzhou Governor Xu Qiu who joined forces to defeat the Yellow Turban Army and kill Zhang Mancheng.

Later, the coalition forces of Qin Jie, Xu Qiu and Zhu Jun recaptured Wancheng and pacified the Yellow Turbans in Nanyang.

But Qin Jie, the commander of Jiangxia, ended up dying at the hands of Zhao Ci, a Jiangxia soldier.

It was such a coincidence that even Wei Zhe didn't know what to say.

Maybe... it's really because the Han Dynasty is about to end!
However, before Wei Zhe put down the report in his hand, he saw Gongsun Zhao hurried over with a serious expression.

"My Lord, urgent news from Peishui County: Goguryeo invaders number over 20,000!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Wei Zhe suddenly stood up and took the military newspaper.

After reading it, Wei Zhe said coldly with a gloomy face:

"Pass on my command: Gather the troops—and attack the enemy!"

"Here!"

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Zhao immediately turned around and left without hesitation.

At the same time, after Wei Zhe carefully analyzed the military report, his mind raced and he immediately gave another order:

"Order all military garrisons east of Korean City to be on alert immediately, and the six battalions west of Korean City to assemble in Zengdi County."

"Send the order, commanding Taishi Ci to lead the Huibei Yi army of 4,000 cavalry out of Fuzu and into Goguryeo to harass the enemy."

After issuing a series of orders, Wei Zhe, who was dressed, mounted his warhorse without hesitation and led a thousand personal cavalrymen towards Zengdi County.

One thousand elite cavalry, three thousand county soldiers, and six thousand garrison troops.

Wei Zhe can be said to have given the Goguryeo people a lot of face this time!
"Now that you're here, let's all stay!"

On the galloping warhorse, Wei Zhe was seen humming coldly with a murderous look on his face.

To be honest, the invasion of Goguryeo people was indeed beyond Wei Zhe's expectations.

After all, Liaodong County was the one that bordered Goguryeo the most, and that was the focus of their harassment.

But it turns out that the enemy will never follow your pace.

The Goguryeo people were obviously not fools and realized that Wei Zhe, the Lelang prefect, was not a good person.

Therefore, this time they invaded on a large scale, I am afraid they also wanted to strike first and eliminate the threat in advance.

After all, as early as the first year of the Benchu era [AD 146], Goguryeo had killed Dai Fangling and abducted the wife of the governor of Lelang, indicating that they had long lost their respect for the Han Dynasty.

If not for this, the Goguryeo people would not have launched a large-scale invasion of Lelang this time.

Wei Zhe naturally did not dare to take lightly this invasion which was not recorded in historical documents.

Although he often made fun of the Goguryeo people, he knew in his heart that they were a big threat to Liaodong.

If we blindly belittle Goguryeo, it would be tantamount to despising the Han people in Liaodong.

You should know that the Han people's Xuanchu County was annexed by Goguryeo.

If the Goguryeo people are useless, then aren't the Han people in Liaodong even more useless?
……

The next day, Zengdi County.

As Wei Zhe issued the order, troops stationed in various counties quickly arrived one after another.

At the same time, scouts also brought more detailed news.

"Peishui County is under siege, but the city has not yet been broken!"

"After the Goguryeo army failed to attack the city, they circled the city and headed south, attacking along the Peregrine River."

At this point, the scout hesitated slightly, but still reported:

"The leader of this invading bandit army, judging by his banner, is Goguryeo King Ko Nam-mu."

"However, I did not see this person when I investigated."

Hearing this, Wei Zhe did not blame him. After a few words of encouragement, he let him go.

Wei Zhe did not make a decision immediately, but looked at Gongsun Zhao beside him.

"Yangming, what do you think?"

After all, Gongsun Zhao had served as the magistrate of Goguryeo County in Xuanchu County and the magistrate of Xiangping in Liaodong County. He had a deep understanding of the Goguryeo people.

In response to Wei Zhe's question, Gongsun Zhao thought for a moment before answering frankly, "The Goguryeo people mostly live in the mountains and deep valleys. The land is barren and the climate is cold. Therefore, although they cultivate the land, the harvest is always small. It is for this reason that they have the custom of dieting."

At this point, Gongsun Zhao's face showed a look of fear. He said, "Unlike our dynasty, this generation's country is full of martial spirits. Because there are no sages to teach us, the people are cruel and reckless, and they love to plunder and steal, just like bandits."

Wei Zhe was not surprised to hear this.

Since Goguryeo was not rich in resources, looting during war was obviously a better way to obtain supplies.

From this point of view, the Goguryeo people are similar to the Jurchens who also rose in the Baishan and Heishui regions in later generations.

However, Gongsun Zhao's subsequent narration gave Wei Zhe a new understanding of Goguryeo.

……

Although Wei Zhe was born in Xuanchu County, he did not remember much information about Goguryeo.

After all, ordinary powerful people don’t need to care about these things, they just need to focus on the county in front of them.

After listening to Gongsun Zhao's explanation, Wei Zhe realized that Goguryeo originally came from the Buyeo Kingdom.

It turned out that in the late Western Han Dynasty, there was a civil war in the Buyeo royal family. After the old king died, the new king persecuted his other brothers, so Jumong, the illegitimate son of the Buyeo king, was forced to flee.

However, Jumong's mother was originally a maidservant of the King of Buyeo, so he had no supporters. Only a small tribe of his mother's clan, the Gyelu tribe, followed him south and eventually settled in the Jubon River in the Boilyu River (Hunjiang River) basin.

Therefore, they were also called "Zu Ben Fuyu" at that time.

However, Jumong was quite talented. After settling in Zubonchuan, he successively conquered or annexed the four tribes of "Jeonnu, Juenu, Sunnu, and Guannu", which together with the "Guilou tribe" formed the five tribes of early Goguryeo.

After gaining a foothold, this man conquered the indigenous "Fei Liu Kingdom" and "Xing People Kingdom" in the Fei Liu River Basin, took their land as cities, and later recovered many tribes in the northern Wokou area.

From this perspective, he is indeed a hero among the barbarians.

However, the reason why Jumong was able to become so powerful was because the Han Dynasty was already unable to take care of itself at that time.

At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the government was in chaos. The court in Chang'an could not even control the Guanzhong area, let alone the border counties like Xuanchu.

Therefore, although Zubenchuan was under the jurisdiction of Xuantu County in the Western Han Dynasty, the prefect of Xuantu County at that time turned a blind eye.

Inside the big tent, Gongsun Zhao said helplessly:
"I once came across a secret in the old archives of Goguryeo County. It is said that at that time, Xuanchu County Governor Lu Kuang intended to support the "Zhuben Buyeo" to suppress Buyeo State. This is why he watched Jumong's annexation and even provided him with convenience!"

This is not something Gongsun Zhao said nonsense, because he had checked some old materials, which said that after Jumong established the "Zhuben Buyeo", he was under the control of Xuantu County and accepted the clothing and hat of the Han Dynasty.

However, later signs showed that the prefect of Xuanqiao County had obviously gone too far.

The chaotic political situation at that time did not allow him to perform such a difficult operation.

Not long after, Lu Kuang, the prefect of Xuanzhao County, was imprisoned and died.

When the news reached Liaodong, Jumong immediately summoned the five tribes to gather at Heseunggu Castle and established the Goguryeo Kingdom.

By the way, at that time, Heshenggu City was still under the jurisdiction of Goguryeo County, Xuantu County of the Western Han Dynasty.

So "Goguryeo County" came first, and then "Goguryeo Kingdom".

The "Gao" in Goguryeo refers to the direction, and "Guli" means "winding mountains and rivers".

The reason why it was named in this way in the Former Han Dynasty was that it referred to the high peaks and winding valleys in the "Two Rivers" basin in Liaodong.

The Goguryeo Kingdom established by Jumong did not even have its own writing system, so naturally it could only use the Chinese county name as the country's name.

"My Lord, the Goguryeo people are different from the Emei and the Three Han. They are particularly hostile to the Han people."

Gongsun Zhao was worried that Wei Zhe was still clinging to a lucky mentality, so he immediately told him a scandal:
"At the end of the Former Han Dynasty, after Wang Mang usurped the throne, he intended to send troops from Goguryeo to attack the Xiongnu. However, the Goguryeo people refused to comply and fled across the border to become bandits. Tian Tan, the Grand Magistrate of Liaoxi, pursued them but was killed in battle. Wang Mang then ordered General Yan You to attack them, and finally lured Jumong into the border, beheaded him, and sent his head to Chang'an. He then renamed the King of Goguryeo the Lower Marquis of Goguryeo."

Hearing this, Wei Zhe immediately laughed.

No wonder so many people say that Wang Mang looks like a time traveler. This guy really does look like a person from later generations.

However, Jumong, the founding emperor of Goguryeo, was lured and killed by the Han people, and the hatred between the two sides was indeed huge.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe shook his head helplessly.

"The Emperor is still too lenient!"

Out of courtesy, Wei Zhe didn't say anything more extreme.

But Gongsun Zhao nodded in agreement when he heard this.

You should know that after Jumong's son, King Ryurimyeong, ascended the throne, he captured Goguryeo County and annexed the former Xuanchu County of the Former Han Dynasty. Even after the establishment of this dynasty, he invaded the four counties of Youbeiping, Yuyang, Shanggu and Taiyuan.

As a result, Emperor Guangwu still did not send troops to attack, but chose to recruit them with kindness and trust, and they all surrendered.

Tsk tsk~ I have to say, Emperor Guangwu and Wang Mang are two extremes...

(End of this chapter)