The Goguryeo-Sui Wars
By Joshua Gilbert

Published Sunday, November 04, 2007  | 0 comments  | Print  | E-mail

Even as his empire burned all around him Emperor Yang of Sui was still determined to bring Goguryeo to heel. On April 4th, 614, Emperor Yang declared a third expedition against Goguryeo. By now both the officials and the generals were amazed by the Emperor’s obsession with the distant Korean kingdom. Nevertheless they knew they had to obey. The years had increased Emperor Yang’s cruelty, and those forms of execution normally reserved for the most heinous of criminals was now used on a near daily basis for even the smallest infractions by a court official. Despite this most of the soldiers called up to come serve at Zhuo Commandery did not show up, either by deserting or by not being able to arrive due to natural disaster or rampant banditry. As a result the expedition did not leave Zhuo Commandery until August, too late in the year to wage a war in Manchuria. However Lai Hu’er had much more success. Using his naval forces and marines he was able to bypass the Manchurian fortresses and the defenses at the Yalu.

Before the walls of Pyongyang a Goguryeo army was defeated. King Yeongyang knew that Pyongyang would not be able to withstand a siege now. To bide for time the king decided to offer surrender, and to sweeten the deal he offered to give up Husi Zheng, who by now was revealed to be co-conspirator with Yang Xuangan. Lai Hu’er didn’t trust the offer, but Emperor Yang decided to take it to save face. After executing the defectors the Emperor called on King Yeongyang to appear at the Celestial Court and give account for his actions. But even as weak as Goguryeo had became it would not submit. Enraged, Emperor Yang planned for a fourth invasion in 615, but by now the situation had deteriorated to the extent that such a move was out of the question. The great wars between Goguryeo and Sui had ended.

In conclusion the wars between Goguryeo and Sui were among the greatest of the era. The Goguryeo-Sui Wars left behind a mixed legacy in China and Korea. In Korea the wars have become a memory of pride, and the great general Eulji Mundeok is enshrined in the Korean national memory as a hero even greater then Yi Sun-shin. In China the wars are remembered as the primary reason for the fall of the Sui Dynasty, though it did pave the way for the rise of the greatest dynasty of all: Tang, which ‘avenged’ Sui by conquering Goguryeo.

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