Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1313 Departure
At that time, there was a heated debate in the Goguryeo court about this issue. Some people said that since Goguryeo had already established a country, how could it be possible to be inferior to others? Now that the Xianbei had entered the pass, if they joined forces with them, the division of Youzhou was just around the corner. But if they now bowed to the Jin Dynasty, wouldn't it be a shame to their ancestors?

Someone immediately jumped out to retort, saying that it was shameful to bow to the Jin Dynasty. But if the Xianbei occupied Youzhou in the future, would it not be shameful to bow to the Xianbei?

After all, the Jin Dynasty was the orthodox Chinese dynasty, and Goguryeo was also the surviving clan of the Chinese nation. It was not shameful to bow down. But if they bowed down to foreign barbarians like the Xianbei, they would be truly sorry for their ancestors!
The man in front of him heard this and retorted, "What's the orthodoxy? If we join hands with the Xianbei to destroy the Jin Dynasty, we will be the orthodoxy of China!"

His statement was agreed by several ministers, and someone echoed: "That's right, the Xianbei people have their own ancestors. If we can share the world with the Xianbei,

"Stop dreaming!" The latter shouted, "Restore the orthodoxy of China. If the Xianbei take over the Central Plains, they will abandon the orthodoxy. Will it be our turn to take it?"

"If they gain the claim by then, we will still be barbarians, and they will turn around and destroy us sooner or later!"

"We are the weaker party, and the weak have their own consciousness. Why do we think that others will just watch us take advantage of us?"

The man in front also got annoyed and said, "What do you mean weak? The strong and the weak are always interchangeable. The Han people and the Xiongnu have been fighting for hundreds of years, and the strength and weakness have been interchangeable several times during this period. Who can guarantee that they will always be weak?"

The latter sneered: "Where are the Huns now?"

"Such a huge empire was destroyed after a few wars with the Han Dynasty!"

"The Southern Xiongnu were annexed by the Han people, and the Northern Xiongnu were annexed by the Xianbei. Do you also want us to be exterminated?"

The former argued: "What's wrong with the Southern Xiongnu? Didn't they also rob the Han people a few years ago, and they lived well?"

Someone immediately stood up and said, "You are talking nonsense. Don't you know that the Southern Xiongnu tribes that participated in the looting of Luoyang more than a decade ago were almost completely wiped out by the Jin State, leaving only those grazing in the Hetao Plain?"

"Don't think it won't happen to you. Even their Chanyu can't escape it. Are you trying to harm the king?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone echoed them. The latter was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Yi Yimo repeatedly, saying, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I did not mean that."

"These people are harboring evil intentions. They want us to surrender to Jin State and destroy Goguryeo."

"Moreover, Jin has not gained the whole world, it is just a self-proclaimed rebel. If Your Majesty yields to it, it will be detrimental to Goguryeo."

Yi Yimo said coldly: "You have just seen the edict of the Jin emperor."

"He was personally recognized by the Emperor of the Han Dynasty and received the Imperial Seal. He has succeeded the Han Dynasty and inherited the orthodoxy. How can he be called a traitor?"

After hearing this, the officials realized that Yi Yimo had already made up his mind. The opposing faction immediately fell silent, but the minister who knelt down was not giving up. He kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Emperor Xionghu of Jin has always been treacherous. He may trick Your Majesty into surrendering and then secretly kill You, just like he did to the King of Baekje!"

Yi Yimo sneered, "The King of Baekje betrayed his loyalty after surrendering, but you are the one who confuses right and wrong."

"Last year, under your instigation, Goguryeo sent troops to help the Xianbei. What was the result?"

"If Jin hadn't acted so quickly and wiped out the Xianbei-Wuhuan coalition in Bailang Mountain in just a few days, which prevented our Goguryeo army from arriving in time, I'm afraid Jin would have had an excuse to attack Goguryeo, right?"

"At first, I believed you, saying that the Xianbei and Wuhuan coalition would win. What happened?"

"A coalition army of 100,000 is vulnerable. How many people does Goguryeo have? Can it be stronger than the Xianbei and Wuhuan coalition army?"

The man in front kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, victory and defeat are common in the military. The Xianbei have a million soldiers, and we have 200,000."

"Shut up!" Yi Yimo shouted, "Do you want us to send our women and children to their deaths like the Xianbei did last year?"

"Someone, bring out the evidence!"

Immediately someone came forward, took out a few bamboo slips, and began to read them.

After hearing a few words, the official kneeling on the ground began to tremble like a sieve. He found that his name was at the top of the list, and there was also evidence that he had secretly communicated with the Xianbei!

He kowtowed repeatedly and cried, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this is all a false accusation, it is not true!"

Yi Yimo sneered and said, "I won't wrongly accuse you. Come, send someone to search his house!"

"You are truly innocent, so you must not have any extra property. But if you find anything, don't blame me for being rude!"

After hearing this, the man collapsed to the ground and begged for mercy. Yi Yimo saw this and sneered, "I know that Kobe has bribed a lot of people. I don't blame you. After all, the Xianbei are powerful, and relying on the strong is also the way for Goguryeo to survive." "But if you ignore who is the strongest and sell out Goguryeo purely for your own benefit, I will punish you severely!"

"Now I'm giving you a chance. You can have an affair with Kobe. As long as you admit your guilt, I'll let you live!"

Immediately, more than a dozen officials knelt down one after another. They were all officials whose names had not been read out on the bamboo slips. When Yi Yimo saw this, he was secretly shocked. He thought that the spies of Jin State were really powerful. They could even collect evidence on officials that he himself did not have. They were really powerful.

He ordered his men to drag a group of officials away, and then ordered people to take out a few letters and read them out. The officials in the hall became more and more surprised, and finally opened their eyes wide. These were letters of alliance sent by Wuhuan, Gongsun family, and even Suli of the Eastern Xianbei under the mediation of Jin State.

It is clearly stated in it that if Goguryeo can stand on the side of Jin, these parties will never invade Goguryeo!
The officials then understood that Yi Yimo had only had the Jin edict read out but had not produced these letters, which was a deliberate attempt to trick those officials who had had secret dealings with Ke Bineng!

The king already had an idea in mind, entering the court was just an opportunity to eliminate dissidents!

Yi Yimo said coldly: "I know what some people are thinking. They are wondering if I am selling out Goguryeo to you in exchange for the wealth and glory of my descendants."

"I can tell you that it is not the case. Although Jin promised to make me king, in order to convince you, I decided to only give you the title, not the land."

One of the officials couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, why did you make such a concession?"

Yi Yimo sighed and said, "The most fundamental reason is, of course, that Jin is too powerful to be resisted by us."

"The Wuhuan, Eastern Xianbei, and Gongsun clan are all being used by Jin. In addition, Tian Yu has deployed tens of thousands of troops to the rear of Goguryeo. What do you think Goguryeo can do?"

"Tian Yu is a great general of Jin. He advanced by land and sea. He conquered and divided the three kingdoms of Baekje and Han within two years. Who among you can stand up to him?"

"Even if we can repel the siege from all sides, how much will it cost? What if Jin comes back later?"

"More importantly, the envoy from Jin State made a private promise this time."

"If Goguryeo joins as a Han county instead of a vassal state, the Emperor of Jin will have something else to offer."

The officials were stunned, and then they heard Yi Yimo say: "If the names of officials and people in Goguryeo are changed to Han Chinese system, scholars, farmers, merchants and workers can all participate, and their descendants can also participate in the selection of officials, and they will be treated equally with the people of Jin State!"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the officials were shocked. Previously, the Han Dynasty had quite a few restrictions on the descendants of the vassal states, but now the State of Jin wanted to unify the country according to the Han system after the common writing system was adopted, and these foreigners who were originally barbarians would be incorporated into the Han nationality. This meant that in one or two hundred years, there would be no distinction between the peoples of the State of Jin!
Many people in Goguryeo believed that their ancestors came from China. The Japanese drama was nothing short of a return to one's roots. Many elderly officials burst into tears and cried out, "My king, is this true?"

“Instead of being a dog of the Han people, can we become Han people?”

Yi Yimo said: "It depends on whether you believe in the Emperor of Jin."

"I am willing to believe it. Although the Emperor of Jin is cunning and scheming on the battlefield, he has never broken his promises to the enemy."

It only took a short time for the court to reach a consensus. Yi Yimo sent his son Tingyou to attend the emperor's coronation ceremony in Yecheng. It was too late to travel by land at that time, so Tingyou rushed to the border with a letter and met Tian Yu.

When Tian Yu learned of Goguryeo's decision, he was naturally very happy. He said to Ting You: "It's too late to go by land now, but there should be enough time to go by water."

He immediately mobilized steamships and had people take Ting You to Qingzhou by sea, and then rush to Yecheng via the Yellow River. At the same time, the Gongsun family also received the letter and sent their crown prince Gongsun Huang to watch the ceremony. Although they also had ships, their speed was not fast, so Gongsun Huang also arrived at Tian Yu's side, and happened to be on the same ship as Crown Prince Yiyimo.

The Gongsun family and Goguryeo had been fighting for many years, and the two men could be considered old acquaintances. Now they met unexpectedly on the boat, and both looked embarrassed.

Finally, it was Gongsun Huang who spoke up: "Forget it, we will serve in the same court from now on. But I am also very curious, what conditions did Your Majesty use to make the whole country of Goguryeo surrender?"

Ting You had nothing to hide, so after he told Gongsun Huang the truth, he exclaimed, "Huaxia is one?"

"This is something that no previous emperor has ever done. Your Majesty's ambition is very ambitious."

"In comparison, the Gongsun family is confined to a corner, and its scale is much smaller."

"This time I asked my father to rush to Yecheng because I wanted to take a good look at whether His Majesty is really a great talent. If he is indeed a great leader, then being able to stay by his side and serve as an official would be much better than returning to the Gongsun clan."

After listening to this, Ting You also started to think. What Gongsun Huang said made a lot of sense. If he stayed in a cold place like Goguryeo, his achievements would indeed be limited. But if he stayed by the side of the Emperor of Jin, who knows, he might become a figure like Jin Midi in the future!

The fact that the princes of the separatist forces all had this idea showed that the trend of Jin State was already set. From the military and economy to the reputation and righteousness, there was a trend of the whole country coming together. The world had been at war for a long time, and everyone was looking forward to the establishment of a new dynasty and the arrival of peace.

(End of this chapter)