occupying Tanghang-s ŏ ng in the Namyang Bay, Silla’s gateway to China. Exposed to the menace of both Paekche and Kogury ŏ , Silla asked Tang for military assistance. Y ŏ n Kae-somun rejected a Tang demand that Kogury ŏ halt its military operations against Silla, and the enraged Tang Taizong responded by launching a huge invasion of Kogury ŏ in 645, marshaling more than 300,000 men.
Taizong and his Chinese forces crushed almost all of Kogury ŏ ’s network of defenses in the Liaodong region, and Tang forces took the Liaodong fortress, turning it into an advanced base. But they suffered a massive defeat at the Anshi fortress, the last link in the defense chain. The Anshi fortress withstood a siege of almost three months, during which Tang forces threw all their strength into as many as six or seven assaults in a single day. But the stubborn Kogury ŏ defenders, under the command of the legendary Kogury ŏ general Yang Man-ch’un, drove back each new attack and, in the end, won a striking victory. Taizong finally withdrew his troops with heavy losses, but he observed military courtesy by leaving behind 100 bolts of silk cloth for the Kogury ŏ commander. In 647 and 648 Taizong again dispatched expeditionary forces to invade Kogury ŏ , but these attacks, too, were repulsed by Kogury ŏ . Taizong never accomplished his ambition to conquer Kogury ŏ in his lifetime.
Koreans ever since have seen these victories against the Sui and Tang empires as sterling examples of resistance against foreign aggression. Kogury ŏ ’s victories did not end in triumphs for the state alone, since the conquest of the Korean kingdom was just one stage in the grand imperial design of both Sui and Tang to dominate all of East Asia, including Paekche and Silla. Kogury ŏ served as a strong bulwark against repeated Chinese invasions, and, as a result, all theKorean people were saved from the grave peril of Chinese conquest. Successive wars between Kogury ŏ and the Sui and Tang, however, exhausted Kogury ŏ ’s national strength and increased animosity between the kingdom and China. Combined with an internal schism among the three sons of Y ŏ n Kae-somun, these wars against China led to Kogury ŏ ’s final collapse in 668.
The Downfall of Paekche
While Kogury ŏ was preoccupied with its life-and-death struggle against Sui and Tang, Paekche conducted a ruthless offensive against Silla. In 642 King Ŭ ija captured Taeya-s ŏ ng (present-day Hapch’ ŏ n, South Ky ŏ ngsang province) and some 40 other strongholds in the fortified zone on the contested border between the two kingdoms. When Paekche forces took Taeya-s ŏ ng, they killed the daughter and son-in-law of Kim Ch’un-ch’u, who later became King Muy ŏ l of Silla, incurring his grudge. Silla was forced to retreat east of the Naktong River, and in 643 Paekche occupied Tanghang-s ŏ ng, Silla’s important outlet leading to China. The desperate Silla sent Kim Ch’un-ch’u to Kogury ŏ , asking for military aid. But Y ŏ n Kae-somun, who held power as
mangriji,
or prime minister, demanded the return of the Han River basin as the price for Kogury ŏ ’s help. Silla then sought an alliance with Chinese Tang, offering Tang the opportunity to accomplish its failed ambition to conquer Kogury ŏ . The Chinese empire acceded to Silla’s request for a military alliance and settled on the strategy of first destroying the weaker Paekche and then striking out against the stronger Kogury ŏ .
Silla and Tang planned a joint military invasion of Paekche. In 660 the Tang emperor Gaozong sent 130,000 troops under the command of Su Dingfang over the Yellow Sea, while 50,000 Silla forces led by General Kim Yu-sin marched to attack Paekche. The Tang forces landed on the south bank at the estuary of the Paek River (present-day K ŭ m River), by which time the Silla army had already crossed the T’anhy ŏ n pass, east of present-day Taej ŏ n. King Ŭ ija, who had fought many wars against Silla and
Taizong and his Chinese forces crushed almost all of Kogury ŏ ’s network of defenses in the Liaodong region, and Tang forces took the Liaodong fortress, turning it into an advanced base. But they suffered a massive defeat at the Anshi fortress, the last link in the defense chain. The Anshi fortress withstood a siege of almost three months, during which Tang forces threw all their strength into as many as six or seven assaults in a single day. But the stubborn Kogury ŏ defenders, under the command of the legendary Kogury ŏ general Yang Man-ch’un, drove back each new attack and, in the end, won a striking victory. Taizong finally withdrew his troops with heavy losses, but he observed military courtesy by leaving behind 100 bolts of silk cloth for the Kogury ŏ commander. In 647 and 648 Taizong again dispatched expeditionary forces to invade Kogury ŏ , but these attacks, too, were repulsed by Kogury ŏ . Taizong never accomplished his ambition to conquer Kogury ŏ in his lifetime.
Koreans ever since have seen these victories against the Sui and Tang empires as sterling examples of resistance against foreign aggression. Kogury ŏ ’s victories did not end in triumphs for the state alone, since the conquest of the Korean kingdom was just one stage in the grand imperial design of both Sui and Tang to dominate all of East Asia, including Paekche and Silla. Kogury ŏ served as a strong bulwark against repeated Chinese invasions, and, as a result, all theKorean people were saved from the grave peril of Chinese conquest. Successive wars between Kogury ŏ and the Sui and Tang, however, exhausted Kogury ŏ ’s national strength and increased animosity between the kingdom and China. Combined with an internal schism among the three sons of Y ŏ n Kae-somun, these wars against China led to Kogury ŏ ’s final collapse in 668.
The Downfall of Paekche
While Kogury ŏ was preoccupied with its life-and-death struggle against Sui and Tang, Paekche conducted a ruthless offensive against Silla. In 642 King Ŭ ija captured Taeya-s ŏ ng (present-day Hapch’ ŏ n, South Ky ŏ ngsang province) and some 40 other strongholds in the fortified zone on the contested border between the two kingdoms. When Paekche forces took Taeya-s ŏ ng, they killed the daughter and son-in-law of Kim Ch’un-ch’u, who later became King Muy ŏ l of Silla, incurring his grudge. Silla was forced to retreat east of the Naktong River, and in 643 Paekche occupied Tanghang-s ŏ ng, Silla’s important outlet leading to China. The desperate Silla sent Kim Ch’un-ch’u to Kogury ŏ , asking for military aid. But Y ŏ n Kae-somun, who held power as
mangriji,
or prime minister, demanded the return of the Han River basin as the price for Kogury ŏ ’s help. Silla then sought an alliance with Chinese Tang, offering Tang the opportunity to accomplish its failed ambition to conquer Kogury ŏ . The Chinese empire acceded to Silla’s request for a military alliance and settled on the strategy of first destroying the weaker Paekche and then striking out against the stronger Kogury ŏ .
Silla and Tang planned a joint military invasion of Paekche. In 660 the Tang emperor Gaozong sent 130,000 troops under the command of Su Dingfang over the Yellow Sea, while 50,000 Silla forces led by General Kim Yu-sin marched to attack Paekche. The Tang forces landed on the south bank at the estuary of the Paek River (present-day K ŭ m River), by which time the Silla army had already crossed the T’anhy ŏ n pass, east of present-day Taej ŏ n. King Ŭ ija, who had fought many wars against Silla and
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