Chapter 822: Driving the Tiger to Swallow the Wolf, or Crossing the Sea Under Cover of Darkness

Zhang Zhao once said that this era was an excellent era, and there was actually good reason for it.

Because in this timeline, it was not that one family or one state had declined, but that the entire world had declined together. So much so that even a military power like the Khitan had to be counted as a great power.

At such a point in time, whoever rose first could easily achieve hegemony.

Likewise, the Korean Peninsula had not escaped this strange cycle. They had now declined to the point that on the entire peninsula, tens of thousands of armored soldiers could no longer be found, and even Pyongyang, the former capital of Goguryeo, had lost its defenses.

That Pyongyang had lost its defenses did not mean Pyongyang no longer had city walls, but rather that Pyongyang's own defensive conditions were very weak. In this respect it somewhat resembled Kaifeng in the Central Plains.

Both cities were situated at hubs where traffic extended in all directions, surrounded by great plains. Even where there was a little mountainous terrain, it was only a few dozen meters high at most, and could only be called hills.

However, Pyongyang was to some degree still a bit better than Kaifeng.

Kaifeng had absolutely no mountains or fortresses that could shield it, but because the plain where Pyongyang lay was not particularly large, and the peninsula had many mountains, it still had two and a half defensive barriers it could rely on.

One was Xuanzhou, which blocked enemies coming from the coastline — the later Xuanchuan of North Korea. The other was Anbei Prefecture to the north, where two mountains pinched together.

The remaining half was Anshu Garrison south of Anbei Prefecture. The reason it was only half was that Anshu Garrison — the later Anju of North Korea — had a terrain advantage only slightly better than Pyongyang's.

At this time, Wang-ruled Goryeo was still very weak, with a population of only around one million, and the great clans and the king had not yet finished adjusting to one another.

Therefore, although Pyongyang bore the title of Western Capital, its important defensive barriers of Xuanzhou and Anbei Prefecture were both very inadequately garrisoned.

And historically, fifty years later in the war between Liao and Goryeo, Goryeo's defensive line north of Pyongyang was comparatively solid.

Although Liao, in the second Liao-Goryeo war, captured Pyongyang and sacked Gaegyeong,

it was soon subjected to attacks from all sides by the Koreans because its army had advanced deep in isolation. When it fought hard to take those two places, its losses were also quite severe, and in the end, even though it had won the battles, it had no choice but to swallow its resentment.

But at this moment, Wang-ruled Goryeo's strength had not recovered. Xuanzhou and Anbei Prefecture were almost taken in a single push, and all of Pyongyang immediately lost its protection. If Anshu Garrison were breached as well, there would basically be no defensible terrain left.

Xin Kang, the Western Capital Defender deeply trusted by Wang Zhao, was extremely terrified after receiving the news, and immediately dispatched a subordinate officer with three thousand troops to reinforce Anshu Garrison.

But the officer had barely marched twenty-some li out of the city when battle reports came from the front: the Liao army had already captured Anshu Garrison.

Xin Kang was greatly alarmed. On one hand he urgently appealed to the court at Gaegyeong for help; on the other, he evacuated all the common people on the north bank of the Daedong River, burned the grain and cloth that could not be taken away, slaughtered all the livestock such as cattle and horses, and scuttled every boat in the river by holing them and sinking them into the water.

But even at this moment, all of Goryeo, high and low, still could not figure out whether those attacking them were the Khitan Liao, the legendary Tuyuhun Liao, or the Great Zhou of the Central Plains.

On the eleventh day of the fourth month, Murong Xinzhang personally led the main army to a point thirty-some li north of Pyongyang, and began sending troops across the Pei River (the Daedong River).

At this time, Pyongyang was still very different from the later Pyongyang of North Korea.

North Korea's Pyongyang covers a vast area, with the Daedong River running through the city.

But the Pyongyang of this time was still a dozen or so li from the south bank of the Daedong River, and its area was not large either.

Between the Daedong River and Pyongyang city there was also an earthen wall stretching across several dozen li. The wall was not high, but it could still block cavalry from rapidly passing through.

This was the Pei River Long Wall, built during the Silla period to block the rapid advance of Great Tang cavalry.

When it was first built, its defensive strength was actually quite good. The wall of the Pei River Long Wall was very close to the south bank of the Daedong River, and it was made by deliberately digging down the riverbank and hauling the earth there to build the wall.

This meant that even if the enemy crossed the Daedong River, they would immediately encounter a wall five or six meters high counting its foundation.

In addition, the riverbank was narrow, so armies could not deploy, and cavalry could not get up to speed. At such a point, only a few dozen archers were needed to hold a long stretch of wall and block the enemy.

But no matter how effective a defensive installation, the key still lay in people.

Murong Xinzhang's fifty thousand troops came on like a blanket covering the earth. Whether heavy-armored infantry or cavalry, their fighting strength was far higher than the old Andong Tang army, which had few Han soldiers and many tribal auxiliaries such as Mohe.

Moreover, long before setting out, Murong Xinzhang had anticipated that the Goryeo people would scuttle the boats on the Daedong River, so he had long since carried enough timber to simply build boats right on the banks of the Daedong River.

On the twentieth day of the fourth month, the boats for crossing and the materials for building pontoon bridges were all ready. Murong Xinzhang ordered Xiang Xun to supervise the army and make a show of forcing a crossing.

He himself personally led two thousand elite troops of the Xiaoguo Guard and more than a thousand Qihuo Braves under Zhao Siwan, went ten-some li upstream to build a pontoon bridge and cross, then followed the current straight downstream.

Although the Goryeo defenders had taken precautions, the soldiers of the Xiaoguo Guard under Murong Xinzhang moved far too quickly. By the time the Western Capital Defender Xin Kang mustered the Western Capital garrison to come block them, Murong Xinzhang had already crossed the Daedong River with fourteen or fifteen hundred elite troops.

Xin Kang arrived with five thousand cavalry and infantry. Seeing that Murong Xinzhang had few men, and that most had not yet put on armor, he was overjoyed, and immediately ordered his infantry forward to occupy the high ground on the slope and shoot down with concentrated arrow fire.

Murong Xinzhang glanced at Zhao Siwan. Zhao Siwan immediately stopped putting on armor, donned only an iron helmet, seized a rattan shield, and with a wild roar charged headlong toward the high ground.

These Qihuo Braves were mostly made up of veteran bandits. If they had been in the Central Plains, they would have been beheaded long ago. Now their only path to survival was to earn merit and rewards, have their Qihuo Brave status removed, and then be settled in Goryeo or Japan.

More importantly, they had a madman like Zhao Siwan as their commander. This man did not love money, did not love power, and did not even cherish his own life. What he pursued was to become the bravest man under heaven.

Among the Qihuo Braves, Zhao Siwan did not even enforce Great Zhou military law, but instead played the old Cai bandit style of Qin Zongquan and Sun Ru.

In other armies, if you violated military discipline, you generally got beaten with army rods, or at worst beheaded. But among the Qihuo Braves, who imitated the Cai bandits, you would most likely be pickled in salt and used as army rations.

Today they were good brothers, drinking human-gall wine together and eating meat to their hearts' content. But if on the battlefield you dared hesitate and not advance, then your good brothers could only "keep you in their hearts."

Therefore, the moment they saw Zhao Siwan charge out, these Qihuo Braves — made up of soldier-bandits, mountain outlaws, water bandits, and wandering swordsmen — shrieked and howled, and like randy male dogs, without the slightest hesitation, charged straight out after Zhao Siwan. They even feared falling behind and being invited to the dinner table by their good brothers after the battle.

The Goryeo archers were still shooting. They had completely failed to anticipate that these men, bare-chested, would cross a slope of a hundred paces and leap up in a few bounds.

Quite a few Qihuo Braves were shot down to the ground, but the rest seemed utterly insensible, and still charged forward.

Zhao Siwan wore only a calf-nose loincloth. After charging into the Goryeo archers, he and his close attendants let out a great shout, and the two of them simultaneously drew from each other's waists long hengdao sabers nearly four chi in length. Then, gripping the sabers in both hands, they swung them in full circles and began hacking and slashing.

Pitifully, these archers had no armor at all. A single slash sent blood flying. Zhao Siwan fought ever more ferociously, like a demon from hell.

Xin Kang was just about to order the fully formed infantry behind him to move up in support, when he heard footsteps rumble like thunder. It turned out that part of the Xiaoguo Guard under Murong Xinzhang had already finished donning armor.

Xin Kang saw that the opposing formation was like wall after solid wall. Without the coordination of gongs and drums, they could still press forward with extreme precision, and he knew at once that he absolutely could not win.

He had once been a fierce general under Wang Geon, with extremely rich battlefield experience. He immediately made a decisive call and ordered his five hundred light cavalry forward.

Not to charge, but to delay the advance of the enemy armored soldiers, while he himself turned around with most of the infantry and began running back toward Pyongyang city.

As for the several hundred vanguard troops entangled by the Qihuo Braves, he simply abandoned them.

Murong Xinzhang, for his part, looked at Xin Kang with a bit of newfound respect. In such a situation, to be able to flee so smoothly could be considered both highly decisive and far-sighted.

"Pass the order: breach the Pei River earthen wall. Order the three generals Xiang Xun, Murong Yanchao, and Yuan Yanchao to raid and plunder everywhere, gather provisions, and conscript laborers. Surround this Pyongyang city for me."

Murong Xinzhang gave the order in a loud voice. He did not intend to continue south, but rather to consolidate the occupied territory north of Pyongyang.

Because in these mountains and forests there were many Jurchen and Balhae people who could be used, while Goryeo people were comparatively few.

Most importantly, he turned his head and looked toward the distance, at the disciples of the eminent monk Cixian — Fayan, Walo, and the others — who were crossing the river with the army. Now was the time for them to act.

The capital region, Gaegyeong.

That is, the later Kaesong near the north-south dividing line of the peninsula. At this time, Seoul — later the cosmic-loyal city of the cosmic nation — was still a small village. The core city of the Ganghwa Bay area in this era was the present Gaegyeong.

In the royal palace at Gaegyeong, the Goryeo king Wang Zhao received Xin Kang's urgent report from the Western Capital, and his whole mind went blank. He urgently summoned the Hanlin Academician Wang Rong to inquire about the situation.

Because this Wang Rong was originally a man of Wuyue. In the past he had been sent by Qian Yuanguan to Goryeo to mediate the struggle between Wang Geon and Gyeon Hwon, king of Later Baekje.

But when he arrived on the peninsula he discovered that Wang Geon had already defeated Gyeon Hwon and annexed the kingdom of Later Baekje.

Though he could no longer complete his mission, Wang Geon saw that Wang Rong had talent and kept him on the peninsula.

However, Wang Geon did not think much of these Han men stranded on the peninsula, because the path he wanted to take was rebuilding Goguryeo.

Only when it came to Wang Zhao did things change. This man had little interest in whether to rebuild Goguryeo; how to break up the powerful clans at home was Wang Zhao's most pressing concern at the moment.

So these Han newcomers, who had few ties to the local powerful clans, began to grow in importance.

The state of Wang Goryeo was actually somewhat similar to the Eastern Han. From the day of its founding, Wang Goryeo had walked a crooked path.

Because Wang Geon himself had been raised up by powerful clans from every region, and with a nearly bloodless coup had overthrown Gung Ye and become Great King.

A state founded with so little bloodshed generally suffers from congenital weakness.

The royal house of Goryeo was the same. Although Wang Geon had basically unified the peninsula, the domestic power structure was such that the royal family held the moral high ground and controlled a fair share of central authority, yet it could not have its word treated as law.

For in the regions, through the merit of raising Wang Geon to the throne and later conquering Later Baekje, great clans had gradually formed: the Yu of Jeongju, the Yu of Chungju, the Hwangbo of Hwangju, the Pyeong of Gyeongju, the Yu of Pyeongju, the Im of Gyeongju, the Yi of Hyeopju — more than thirty such houses in all.

One can imagine: Wang Goryeo held only a little more than half the Korean peninsula, yet there were over thirty great clans.

The best among them held office at the center, while their sons and nephews controlled the localities, possessing lawful private retainers and great numbers of servants, and controlling every office and clerk post, great or small, apart from the chief officials such as prefects and county magistrates.

Take the most illustrious of them, the Yu of Jeongju. In Jeongju, the court's household registers listed only a thousand-odd households and some seven thousand people, and the land converted to mu came to a mere forty thousand-odd mu — not even a fifth of the actual population, and a twentieth of the actual farmland.

The rest, naturally, was all in the hands of the Yu. One could say that if the Great King of Goryeo in Gaegyeong wanted to issue any order to Jeongju, unless he first consulted the leading figures of the Jeongju Yu at court, he could hardly mobilize any manpower or resources from so large a place as Jeongju.

In history, Wang Zhao exhausted every method to break up the powerful clans' separatist hold on the country before he managed to bring the situation barely under control.

And his two main cards were these: using the incoming Han men to establish the civil examinations and destroy the clans' monopoly on office, and using Buddhism to stir the common people to rise against the clans' exploitation.

So naturally he valued men like Wang Rong, and incoming Han men like Wang Rong treasured the opportunity as well.

But unfortunately, although Wang Rong was a Han man of Wuyue, it had already been ten years since he left the Han lands.

Back then Zhang Zhao and Yelu Deguang were still contending for the Central Plains. A few years after that, Zhang Zhao began deliberately sealing off news to Goryeo, so Wang Rong knew little more than Wang Zhao did.

But there was one thing Wang Rong was quite certain of. "Great King, the Tuyuhun have long since split apart. When I was in Wuyue I heard that the family of the Shao Ming Son of Heaven was in Dunhuang, living long among one branch of the Tuyuhun, almost as one family.

Moreover, it has only been a few years since the Zhang Zhou defeated the Khitan. They could not have fallen out completely so quickly.

Even at the very worst, if the Tuyuhun had completely broken with the Zhou Son of Heaven, then they could not possibly be holding the Khitan lands securely and founding a Liao state.

I judge that the northern invaders now upon us can only be one of two things.

Either the Tuyuhun have indeed broken with the court but still keep up appearances, and they have been driven here — not some great Liao army.

Or this is the Zhou court's own great army, come to chastise us."

Wang Zhao listened with growing agitation. If the Tuyuhun had been driven south, that would be tolerable; at worst he would simply set aside for a time his plan to weaken the nobles' power.

After all, these Tuyuhun bandits were only one tribe. Even dragging along some Jurchen, they numbered at most two or three hundred thousand, and those fit for battle were only a few tens of thousands — not too great a threat.

But if they were a great army sent by the Central Plains court to chastise him, then there would be trouble. Wang Zhao could not help saying:

"My Goryeo, from the time of the Great King Taejo, has always served the Central Plains humbly. Under the Tang and Jin dynasties we sent envoys with tribute, and since the Great Zhou was founded we have dispatched several groups of envoys as well.

I truly cannot fathom what reason the Great Dynasty could have to come chastise this wild and barren land east of the sea."

Wang Rong swallowed, and said with some caution: "In the days of the Great King Taejo, I once offered counsel that the name Goryeo was truly ill-chosen.

The land east of the sea originally belonged to the line of Jizi, and in ancient times it was called the Three Han. Whether going to the Central Plains as descendants of Jizi to request a state name, or calling ourselves Great Han, either would have been better than using Goryeo.

If now the Great Dynasty has truly sent troops to chastise us, the only possibility is that our state name has offended a taboo."

Wang Zhao paced back and forth twice in agitation, then said to Wang Rong: "Now that war has begun, there is no use saying anything else. The truth will surely be known soon.

If it is truly the name Goryeo that has offended the Great Dynasty's taboo, I shall make you, the scholar, my envoy, and send you to Luoyang to explain matters on my behalf."

Wang Zhao had no other choice. Whether or not he could repel the Great Dynasty's punitive force, being beaten over a mere state name was simply unnecessary.

Wang Rong quickly nodded in assent, but then he suddenly remembered something. "Great King, the Dharma flourishes in the Liao lands. Although Murong Xinzhang blocks our people from going through Liaodong to the Central Plains, he cannot control the coming and going of monks between the two lands. Therefore the eminent monk Shili Fuluo of the Great Enlightenment Temple may know the inside story."

Wang Zhao slowly nodded. At this time he had not yet begun to rely on the Buddhist clergy, because using religion against the powerful clans was a very risky business. If it went badly, not only would the clans not be weakened, but the religion might grow too great.

But in the present situation, he could not worry about so much. Wang Zhao immediately ordered someone to summon Shili Fuluo.

A hooked nose, fair skin, and curly purple-red hair — this was a monk who very clearly bore the features of an Indian Aryan.

It must be said that the Indian monks of this time still had something of the spirit of men straining to turn back the tide on the eve of a great collapse.

In India, Buddhism was being beaten by Brahmanism so badly it could not fight back. Even at a great temple like Nalanda, one could hardly find high officials and dignitaries coming to pay homage to the Buddha.

Yet to save Buddhism from its impending doom, the Indian monks of this period burst forth with tremendous fighting strength — though, of course, this fighting strength was not at home, but abroad.

Though no one has ever counted, there must have been hundreds of thousands of Indian monks who, over the past hundred-odd years, went out from India to various places — chiefly the Central Plains, Qingtang, and Southeast Asia — to spread the faith.

For example, the Dharma Master Cixian and his disciples such as Waluo, and again, this very hooked-nosed Shili Fuluo before them. Facing Wang Zhao's questioning, he smiled faintly and said:

"Last month this poor monk already warned Yu Jeong-gwang that the Tuyuhun in the Liao lands intended to move south. Jeong-gwang thought this poor monk was speaking nonsense and paid no heed.

After that, this poor monk had no wish to speak of the matter again. But on second thought, once war breaks out, living beings are sure to suffer. To know and not report would violate the Buddha's teaching."

Shili Fuluo stopped there and said no more. Wang Zhao of course understood what he meant.

These monks, naturally, also wanted to compete with the government and the powerful clans for population and farmland. Therefore, although they had many believers among the lower classes of Goryeo, they had always been pushed aside by the powerful clans when preaching in the regions.

Shili Fuluo had come seeking audience with Wang Zhao several times before, hoping he would support the sangha's missionary work. But Wang Zhao had never decided whether to use religion against the powerful clans, so he had always given rewards as usual, but never actually done anything.

Now, hearing Shili Fuluo fall silent, he at once laughed heartily. "The Master should know that I, Wang Zhao, am the most devout believer in the Buddha. If the Buddha wishes to display his compassionate heart in this land of mine east of the sea, how could I not support it? Only wait until we have repelled the northern bandits and passed through this calamity, and I will surely repay you."

Having obtained Wang Zhao's pledge, Shili Fuluo joyfully chanted a Buddha's name, pressed his palms together, and said:

"The Khitan Dharma Master Cixian is my senior fellow disciple. Although he has now been imprisoned by Murong Xinzhang, his disciples have still managed to send word out."

As he spoke, Shili Fuluo deliberately paused a short while, and only after he had thoroughly whetted Wang Zhao's appetite did he continue:

"This Murong Xinzhang is indeed the adopted son of the Great Zhou Son of Heaven, and a founding general of the dynasty, high in rank and weighty in authority. But precisely because of that, he has gathered a host of civil officials and military officers under his command.

Originally the Zhou Son of Heaven had agreed to enfeoff Murong Xinzhang with the old Khitan lands, but he was dissuaded by wise ministers at court citing the precedent of Goguryeo.

After that, although father and son did not turn against each other, a rift grew between them.

Murong Xinzhang's present move south is in truth the Zhou Son of Heaven's stratagem of driving the tiger to devour the wolf — using the twenty thousand armored troops under this Great King Murong to swallow Your Majesty's land east of the sea.

If he can swallow our Great Goryeo, then he will be enfeoffed here. If he cannot, then this poor monk must congratulate Your Majesty, for I imagine the Great Dynasty Son of Heaven's investiture and rewards will arrive before long."

Wang Zhao slowly rose to his feet, his mind already racing ahead.

The situation was clear enough: if this Murong Xinzhang could swallow him up, then he would be the King of Goryeo.

If he could not swallow him, then with luck Murong Xinzhang might return to the Central Plains and live out his days as a wealthy man — but far more likely, the Son of Heaven wanted him dead here in Haedong. If Wang Zhao could help bring that about, then, just as this foreign monk had said, the investiture and rewards would surely arrive at once.

Moreover, Wang Zhao knew in his heart that he had little choice at all: he had to march north to relieve the Western Capital.

Because the Western Capital, Pyongyang, had been rebuilt under his father Wang Geon, and secured under his uncle Wang Sik-ryeom.

The common people now living around Pyongyang had all been drawn from various regions by Wang Geon's own hand. They did not belong to the great clans; they were the true subjects of him, the Great King of Goryeo.

One could say that the forces Wang Zhao could now mobilize with a single command amounted to nearly half of all Goryeo — but of that, fully half was distributed around Pyongyang.

If he did not send troops north to the rescue and Pyongyang fell, the other great clans would hardly care, but for him, the Great King, the loss would be devastating.

Since the situation was thus, it seemed the original plans to hold the civil examinations and free the slaves could not be carried out. At this moment he should unite the great clans and raise troops with the whole nation's strength to march north and break the siege.

No sooner had Shili Fuluo stepped out of the palace than his disciples crowded around him. When they saw Shili Fuluo nod with a smile, every one of them was wild with joy.

Only his personal disciple Luohena pressed close and asked, "Revered Master, since the King of Goryeo has agreed to our demands, then...?"

The smile on Shili Fuluo's face did not change, but his tone turned ice-cold. "This land of Haedong is ten thousand li from home, and the country is small and its people poor — hardly enough to bear the compassion of our Buddha.

Only the Supreme Heaven is a true disciple of the Buddha. We would do better to follow and serve him, spreading the Buddha's decree throughout Tokharistan and Khorasan. Would that not be far better?"

Luohena nodded in agreement. It was indeed as Shili Fuluo said: Goryeo was too far away. Even if they put down roots here, it would not solve the decline of the Buddhist order in India.

Then truly it was better to follow the Supreme Heaven, and turn Tokharistan and Khorasan, which lay right at India's doorstep, into a Buddhist realm.

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