[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-overthrowing-han":3,"chapter-overthrowing-han-overthrowing-han-chapter-170":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Overthrowing Han",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1222929,1620,"Chapter 170: The State is Broken","overthrowing-han-chapter-170",170,"\u003Cp>As the year’s end approached, Gongsun Xun had already made up his mind to conclude this twist-filled “Winter Hunt” within the first year of the Guanghe era.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, as the sky grew ever more overcast and even the rare sound of winter thunder began to roll, everyone knew this final battle could not be delayed any longer. Otherwise, who knew what foul weather might strike, and a careless misstep leading to massive non-combat losses would be no laughing matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, everyone remained optimistic about ending the war in time... because just as the great army encircled the four city gates and began constructing siege equipment, the situation inside the Goguryeo capital had been laid utterly bare with the flight of a few deserters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As it turned out, Gongsun Xun’s “vanguard” stratagem had worked wonders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mi Ru had returned three days earlier. Seeing his elder brother die a brutal death before his very eyes had nearly robbed him of all reason. Moreover, with Minglin Physician already executed by Gongsun Xun, the moment he re-entered the city, he unhesitatingly mobilized his own Gwanna tribe and launched an attack, utterly free of any psychological burden, against the now leaderless Chonna tribe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, with the righteous cause of post-war accountability on his side, and with many people ordinarily resentful of Minglin Physician’s oppression, a great number of those outside the Gwanna tribe also joined the assault on the Chonna.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In just two or three short days, the Chonna tribe was virtually exterminated, heads rolling by the score, in a slaughter that did not even spare the infants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that was not the end. Mi Ru, having seized control of the situation first, had long since seen red. When he saw Eo Bilyu return, his gaze shifted to the latter... after all, this man also bore some responsibility for Gari’s death. Although Eo Bilyu initially showed some magnanimity, hoping to unite with Mi Ru against the Han army, an unsuccessful assassination attempt on the very night he entered the city quickly shattered his illusions, and he turned to rallying his old followers for a counterattack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It must be understood that although Eo Bilyu had returned a bit later, he had, after all, served as the Left Minister. He was the natural successor to state power after the deaths of Gari and Physician, with a deep-rooted foundation that Mi Ru simply could not match. However, Mi Ru had arrived three days earlier, and his purge of the Chonna tribe had a tremendous shock effect. Coupled with the Gwanna tribe’s united hatred for a common enemy, he was not afraid of Eo Bilyu either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, the two men fought and killed without pause for days, yet remained evenly matched. In the end, the city was practically split in two: Eo Bilyu held the eastern half, Mi Ru held the western half, each controlling their portion. Even the last thousand or so palace guards were divided in two, and the royal palace itself was similarly split.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the King of Goguryeo, stripped of his clan’s power, though he was hiding in his own palace, he shivered like a stray dog.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, the fact that the two factions could still remember to send a few city laborers and slaves up to the walls to keep up appearances was already a sign of their concern for state affairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s snowing!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At noon that day, as he watched the white flurries drifting from the sky land on the tip of his nose and turn cold, the unshaven and red-eyed Eo Bilyu finally sobered up a little... He had just lost the royal palace and was on his way to retake it. “The Han army won’t wait any longer. They’ll attack the city any moment now!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then what should we do?” his half-brother beside him asked blankly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tell Mi Ru that I can no longer bear this sight of the enemy at our gates while our own people slaughter each other,” Eo Bilyu said, suddenly feeling weak all over. Then, in front of hundreds of warriors, he stripped off his iron armor, stained with dark red grime, and sat down heavily on the ground. “And I have no strength left. Doesn’t he just want to kill me to avenge Gari? Tell him I’ll give him my life. In return, let him lead everyone to the city walls, alright?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What nonsense is my elder brother speaking?” At these words, Eo Bilyu’s brother immediately knelt and rebuked him. “After days of continuous fighting, our two clans have become mortal enemies. If you die in vain, what if Mi Ru still refuses to let us go? Even if he does, knowing that Mi Ru avenged his own elder brother, would I be willing to serve under him? Besides, Mi Ru was captured so early and released so early, and upon his return he acted so crazed—who knows if he pledged allegiance to the Han general in their camp? Brother, do not forget that Mi Ru’s brother Gari had dealings with the Han general’s family outside the city. Who knows if the Gwanna tribe are truly Han spies?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This barrage of questions left Eo Bilyu dejected, and the current situation—helpless on all sides and powerless to act—made him feel more and more hopeless the more he thought about it, until finally he could only weep bitterly in the street.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lord Ju!” Just at that moment, outside the city, beneath a newly erected temporary platform, Gongsun Xun stepped back with a smile and gestured to Ju Teng beside him. “The siege is imminent, and it is time to boost morale. Would you care to go first with a speech?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, may I?” Ju Teng was both surprised and overjoyed at the suggestion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be honest, although Governor Ju had been bouncing around restlessly before, it was because he knew in his heart that he could never seize Gongsun Xun’s military authority, so he had hoped to use this to assert his presence and gain as much visibility as possible in Luoyang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, not only had Gongsun Xun repeatedly rebuffed him, but he was indeed full of well-thought-out plans. The previous battle was worthy of the history books, and for this campaign against the Goguryeo capital, he had a brilliant strategy from the start: sending two surrendered generals back had, almost effortlessly, obliterated the last of the Goguryeo defensive forces without a trace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this juncture, our Governor Ju was already quite convinced of his superior’s ability, and he had never imagined that the other man would be so willing to give him face at the very end! To be allowed to offer encouragement before the entire army at this moment—when he later wrote his memorial to the throne and recounted the facts, the Imperial Secretariat might very well credit him with the final conquest of the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had he known this would happen, why had he made such a scene before?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Please, Lord Ju, as you wish,” Gongsun Xun said, truly unconcerned. “It’s about to snow. Let’s not delay. We must take the city today.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then I am much obliged.” In excellent spirits, Ju Teng immediately donned his pheasant-tailed helmet and strapped on his armor, then ascended the platform with his head held high. The soldiers of the entire army, some recognizing him and some not, all watched curiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Soldiers, all of you!” Ju Teng stood erect on the platform, chest out and head up, hand on his sword, and raised his voice. “The siege is at hand. I hope you will all strive forward and fight the enemy bravely. I shall record your deeds in detail and report them one by one to the Son of Heaven in Luoyang...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd below reacted with mixed feelings, but most maintained respect for Ju Teng. After he spoke a few sentences, they even applauded warmly under Gongsun Xun’s lead, then broke into animated discussion... To be honest, this strange mode of expression made Governor Ju rather uncomfortable, and the lack of cheers disappointed him greatly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But regardless, he had gotten his moment in the spotlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next, Ju Teng descended the platform, and Gongsun Xun, hand on his sword, climbed the steps to stand beneath the White Horse banner on the same high platform. The moment he stood firm, the previously noisy military formation instantly fell into absolute silence, making Ju Teng’s eyelid twitch uncontrollably as he watched from the side—how could a single general’s authority reach such a level?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Since we set out at the beginning of the month, nearly a month has passed,” Gongsun Xun began, not deliberately loud, but speaking casually. “I thank you all for your arduous and valiant efforts. However, all these hardships will come to an end today, for before us lies the Goguryeo capital, a state founded nearly two hundred years ago. Take it, and everything is over. Moreover, the treasures and wealth the Goguryeo people have amassed over more than a century within this city are more than enough to make this journey worthwhile for all of you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At these words, the army formation erupted, from the highest officers to the lowest soldiers, none immune to such worldly concerns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The snowflakes falling overhead grew more distinct, but Gongsun Xun waited quietly for the entire army to settle down before continuing, and this time, his voice was considerably louder: “My lords, back at Jwawon, you should have heard from your officers that I made a blood oath with the army’s generals. For this campaign, I, Gongsun Xun, will take not a single coin; all spoils shall go to you. Today, those words still ring in my ears, and I will never go back on them!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The soldiers below were about to cheer, but Gongsun Xun raised his hand to stop them: “Let me speak plainly today. The able-bodied men of Goguryeo were all lost in a single battle. The fate of their nation rests entirely on this one city, and yet this city is so lax. Is this not Heaven’s mandate upon us? Is Heaven not telling us to annihilate this kingdom?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At this point, I will not mince words. When we win this battle, we shall destroy their state, exterminate their line, capture their king, demolish their ancestral temples, raze their city walls, and sever their legacy!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When that time comes, the Goguryeo population shall all be distributed as slaves to the soldiers and people of the frontier commanderies. Therefore, wanton slaughter is forbidden!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When that time comes, not just in this city, but all the wealth and goods of the Goguryeo state shall be divided into three parts: one for the Son of Heaven, one for the officers, and one for the soldiers. I and Governor Ju shall take not a single coin! Therefore, upon entering the city, all major spoils must be collected and shared; private hoarding is forbidden! And if Governor Ju and I violate this oath, may heaven’s thunder strike us down!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, the Han soldiers and Hu cavalry below could no longer contain themselves and all cheered and leaped with joy. Yet the officers and clerks who truly understood the implications had been stunned speechless ever since the phrase “destroy their state and exterminate their line.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ju Teng, in particular, had not even heard the absurd oath about himself that followed, for his face had turned ashen the moment the words “destroy their state and exterminate their line” were spoken. He dared not utter another half-sentence, dared not move half a step, like Lord Ye who professed to love dragons but was terrified upon seeing a real one!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If heaven’s thunder does not strike me, then let it serve as our war drums to display our might!” Amid the clamor of cheers, Gongsun Xun gently drew his broken blade and then gave a soft command. “Commence the battle!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immediately, officers at all levels, as if waking from a daze, each urged their troops to attack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Chieftain Tadun, we must go!” Mo Hugou took a long moment to react, then hurriedly suppressed his pounding heart to urge his men forward. But as he turned his head, he noticed one man beside him still hadn’t moved, and so he casually added a half-hearted prompt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is how a great man should be!” Tadun turned his head back in a daze and spoke to Mo Hugou with a loss of composure. “He should destroy a state with a single word, and abolish a clan with a single command!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mo Hugou looked Tadun, the nephew of the Wuhuan Chanyu, up and down, and could not help but shake his head... Although they belonged to different tribes, both were from Liaoxi. How could he not know that Qiuliju, the Wuhuan Chanyu of Liaoxi, was a man of prestige and ability? But the man had sons of his own. Unless Qiuliju died early, what capital did Tadun have to speak such words?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And even if Tadun truly became the Wuhuan Chanyu one day, given the strength of the Liaoxi Wuhuan and the reality of their being penned in by the Han people, such words from him would only invite ridicule.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The war drums rumbled, and thunder rumbled. Over ten thousand Han soldiers surrounded the eight gates on all four sides and began their fierce assault on the Goguryeo capital. On many long stretches of the city wall, the Goguryeo laborers and slaves, already sparse to begin with, practically turned and fled. And what was even more astonishing was that, as if by prior arrangement, green smoke began to rise from the royal palace within the city at that very moment, making the desertion on the Goguryeo walls even more uncontrollable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The so-called siege battle plunged into the rhythm of storming the city and breaching the walls from the very start!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A quarter of an hour earlier...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uncle!” A pale-faced young Goguryeo noble, drenched in sweat, rushed to the front of the royal palace, threw his bow and crossbow aside, and immediately knelt beside Mi Ru on the steps. “I have made a grave mistake!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is it?” Mi Ru, collapsed on the ground, was utterly exhausted, his voice hoarse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just now, when I led our men to drive the Hwanna tribe out of the palace, that brat from Eo Bilyu’s family took the King hostage...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And then?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I shot an arrow. The brat ran away, but he pushed the King forward to block the arrow...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though Mi Ru was already somewhat neurotic, he could not help but turn his head and look his own nephew up and down: “Gadan, are you telling me the King was shot dead by you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’s not dead yet,” Gari’s own son, Gadan, immediately shook his head. “But the bleeding won’t stop, and the palace shamans have long since fled!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about our own shaman?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Two days ago, when he said attacking the royal palace was inauspicious, you, Uncle, cut him down!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then let him die,” Mi Ru suddenly relaxed, then lowered his head and laughed bitterly. “A puppet king. All the men of his clan were killed by Minglin Physician, and both his sisters were taken by Physician as concubines. He’s been a puppet for decades, and all seven or eight sons born to him were killed by Physician. His dozen or so daughters were given away by Physician to this man or that, like temple prostitutes from the Eastern Shrine... What meaning is there in such a king’s life? He might even want to thank you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But Eo Bilyu will be back with his troops any moment now. If he seizes on this matter to pull those palace guards back to his side, what then?” Gadan asked anxiously. “Those men still hold the King in high regard.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s no time,” Mi Ru said, tilting his head to look at the sky, then forcing himself to stand and catching a snowflake. “It’s snowing. The Han army is about to attack. Whether Eo Bilyu comes or not no longer matters.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then…\" Ke Tan, who had risen as well, suddenly showed a trace of inexplicable anticipation on his youthful face. \"Then shouldn't we go open the city gates?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mi Ru was momentarily stunned, his hand even unconsciously gripping the hilt of the blade at his waist, but he immediately let go of his own accord. \"Ke Tan, do you take me for a Han spy? Or do you think both your father and I are Han spies?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ke Tan stammered, not daring to speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Speak!\" Mi Ru pressed sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Uncle.\" Ke Tan clenched his teeth and replied. \"I heard my father say it — he truly did have ties with the elders of the general's family outside the city.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ties are one thing.\" Mi Ru answered at once, annoyed. \"Affairs of state are another.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And it's not just me — so many people were willing to follow us and fight Yu Bi Liu precisely because they were counting on being able to turn to the Han after the war.\" Ke Tan continued anxiously. \"Besides, Uncle, after you came back and led us to strike the Chuan Na tribe, that was one thing, but after Yu Bi Liu returned, you kept on fighting the Huan Na tribe, and then right after that the Han arrived… Many people are saying you were acting on orders from the Han army outside the city.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mi Ru felt a wave of dizziness and involuntarily slumped back down onto the steps in front of the royal palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And just at that moment, the rumbling of drums outside the city merged with the winter thunder overhead into a single sound — clearly the Han army was about to enter the city… This sent Mi Ru into a daze at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zuo Yuan had been sent away by his own hand, his elder brother was dead, forty to fifty thousand troops were gone, Ming Lin Physician was dead, Gulseungol Fortress was gone, more than half the nobles of the Six Tribes were gone, and now their own king was gone too, and then the capital was about to fall… What in the world had he done?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or rather, what in the world had this group of Goguryeo nobles of his done?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this thought, Mi Ru, who had become clear-headed almost as if in a final flash of lucidity before death, rose once more. \"Ke Tan!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Take the clansmen and go surrender. When you see the Han, say directly that your family and the Gongsun clan are close friends, and that Lady Gongsun of the Anli Trading Company once sent a letter accepting you as her adopted son… Say this in public, and neither the Han army nor the Gongsun general opposite you will be able to do anything to you. Once you reach Liaodong and meet Lady Gongsun of the Anli Trading Company, then tell her you are Ke Lu's son, that your kingdom is destroyed and your family lost, and beg her to take you in. That way, the clan might just be able to carry on!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes!\" The young Ke Tan could not help but be overjoyed — to survive was of course a good thing. \"But Uncle, what about you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I will go tidy up the royal palace. The seals and the king's head are the capital we will need to establish ourselves in the future.\" Mi Ru gave a light laugh, then turned and walked into the palace. \"Hurry back and gather the clansmen — every extra person you can gather is one more who can live… Go quickly!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Overjoyed, Ke Tan at once led his followers and dashed away, heading all the way home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, before he could even reach home, he — just like the Han army — saw in astonishment a plume of green smoke rising from the royal palace. The green smoke climbed straight into the clouds amid the scattered snowflakes, nearly linking into a single line with the overcast clouds overhead — a truly striking sight!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the eastern city street, Yu Bi Liu stared at the green smoke for a long while, and as he listened to the shouts of the Han army behind him drawing nearer and nearer, he too let out a long sigh. Then, without the slightest hesitation, he drew his blade and plunged it straight into his own throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the sight of this, the several hundred warriors around him instantly scattered like birds and beasts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And by that evening, the fighting had ceased. Taking advantage of the ground being covered in a blanket of spotless white, Gongsun Xun and the pale-faced Ju Teng rode into the city side by side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As of this day, counting from when Wang Mang killed Zhu Meng and drove Goguryeo to revolt, this Northeast Asian political entity — half fishing-hunting, half Sinicized, half tribal confederation, half feudal — formally perished after one hundred and sixty-six years of statehood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Faced with the fierce contradictions between the kingdom's nobles and its people, a group of noble heroes, men of evident outstanding insight and shining virtue, had racked their brains and exhausted every effort — yet in the end, they could not make their kingdom's dynastic lifespan endure past the new year and eke out one more year on the calendar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>————————————————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In the final month of the first year of the Guanghe era of the Later Han, the Grand Ancestor, serving as Prefect of Xiangping, led the troops of Liaodong and Xuantu and annihilated Goguryeo at the foot of Mount Jian. He destroyed their kingdom, exterminated their seed, killed their king, razed their altars of soil and grain, burned their palaces, demolished their city walls, and severed their ancestral line. Afterwards, he sent forth all the sons and daughters of that kingdom, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, to the commanderies of Liaodong, Liaoxi, Xuantu, Changli, and Lelang — one household, one person, distributed as slaves. The commanderies were vast in land and sparse in people; the common folk largely rejoiced at this, while the gentry largely felt shame.\" — New Book of Yan, Biographies of the Eastern Barbarians\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: Thanks to Taiwanese sister for the reward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Historically, Goguryeo gradually declined and perished due to internal strife after the end of the Han; by the time Cao Wei formally destroyed them, their registered households had already dwindled by more than half. It was only because of the chaos in the Central Plains that this decline was gradual. The Goguryeo of the later Sui and Tang eras was actually a restoration of the tribes… In other words, the irreconcilable internal contradictions of Goguryeo in this period were the main reason for their destruction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Historically, after Cao Wei captured the Goguryeo capital, they simply massacred the city…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, new book group 684558115 — everyone can join.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",3807,"2026-06-04T19:42:03.441Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","1300d21242d7cf9681789903ef92e6887c87497a6a2cef3293fee01a9c7651c9","overthrowing-han-chapter-171","overthrowing-han-chapter-169",548,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Foverthrowing-han-cover.jpg"]