Hu Weiquan, Associate Professor, School of History and Culture, Shandong University
Naval battles affecting Northeast Asia
In September 663 (the third year of Emperor Gaozong's reign, the Old Book of Tang and the History of the Three Kingdoms, Baekje Honji, the second year of Long Shuo), the Tang Dynasty sailors, led by the general Sun Renshi, fought against the Baekje king Buyeo Feng ("Fengzhang" in Japanese historical records) at the mouth of the Jinjiang River in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula (Shucheon-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea) in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula, against the Baekje king Buyeo Feng ("Fengzhang" in Japanese historical records) and the reinforcements he had invited from the Uighur state (then the Japanese national name). As a result, the Tang army's marine division won a complete victory, and baekje and the Uighur army were defeated and scattered. The Uighur army and some of the remnants of Baekje and the common people fled back to Japan. As for the Baekje king Buyeo Feng who fled to Goguryeo, the New Book of Tang says that he did not know where he went; Sima Guang's Zizhi Tongjian says that Buyeo Feng later surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, but was exiled to Lingnan. This naval battle was later known as the "Battle of the White Village River".
Jin Jiang
Regarding this great war that occurred in the early Tang Dynasty, I believe that readers know it in detail in many books, and there is nothing particularly controversial about the general experience. Judging from the results, the Battle of Baekchongang symbolized the complete victory of the Tang Dynasty and the complete demise of Baekje, which is an ironclad fact. A few years later, in 668 A.D., the Tang Dynasty joined forces with Silla to eliminate Goguryeo, which had been disobedient, overcoming the threat of the eastern frontier since the Sui Dynasty, and the Three Kingdoms Era on the Korean Peninsula finally came to an end; the Uighur Kingdom (Japan) chose to communicate closely with the Tang Dynasty shortly after, opening a honeymoon period in the history of cultural exchanges between China and Japan.
Since the general course of the war and the results and effects of the war are clear, what else needs to be discussed? In fact, although the history of the war seems to be clear, there are still some issues worth exploring. In particular, the importance and attention of this war is far less than we think in modern times. In particular, the Uighurs, who were defeated with Baekje, largely forgot about the war. What the hell is going on here?
Unexpected battles
Before that, it is necessary to briefly explain the background of the war. After the founding of the Tang Dynasty, it has always had to deal with border troubles. In addition to the number one enemy in the north, the Turks, and the Tubo in the west, Goguryeo in the northeast was also a threat from the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Sui Dynasty. The Sui Dynasty Emperor Yang Guangsan marched against Goguryeo and could not do so, and after the fall of the Sui Dynasty and Tang Xing, this problem naturally became a problem to be solved by the Tang Authorities. In order to completely defeat Goguryeo, the Tang Dynasty, in addition to sending troops to attack, also thought of another way to launch a pinch attack on Goguryeo, and Baekje, which bordered southwest of Goguryeo, became the target of this plan.
Baekje was paying tribute to the Chinese dynasty, but at the same time it was engaged in a fierce war with Silla to the east, and even joined forces with its northern neighbor Goguryeo to attack Silla. Therefore, Silla, who was in a desperate situation, asked the Tang Dynasty for help, which was naturally a rare opportunity for the Tang Dynasty, which had just temporarily lifted the Threat of turks. After mediation was ineffective, for the sake of the prestige of the dynasty, the time was ripe for the Tang Dynasty to attack Baekje.
"The Lord (Emperor Gaozong of Tang) wanted to devour Gao (Sentence) Li, first curse Baekje, and leave the soldiers to guard the town and control his henchmen." (Old Book of Tang, Biography of Liu Ren)
From this point of view, the Tang Dynasty's goal from the beginning was still Goguryeo, baekje was at best a foreshadowing, and coupled with the Silla rescue factor, the nature of the troops sent to Baekje became more complicated. However, we can at least conclude from the historical data that the Tang Dynasty, in the initial stage, did not seem to have thought of the Involvement of the Uighurs behind Baekje, let alone the pointing of the troops at the Uighurs, which were insignificant in their eyes at that time.
In addition to the Tang Dynasty perspective, it is also necessary to take into account the interaction between the Korean Peninsula and even the Japanese archipelago on the other side. The Korean Peninsula was at a time of war and chaos known in history as the "Three Kingdoms Era", and the three kingdoms also maintained exchanges with the Uighurs on the other side of the strait, especially the relationship between Baekje, the protagonist of the "Battle of Baekcheongang", was closer to the Uighurs than the other two countries, and knowledge such as Buddhism and Chinese characters was mainly introduced to the Uighurs through Baekje. Therefore, in the history of exchanges between the Korean Peninsula and the Uighurs, it is also a very reasonable result that the Uighurs were involved.
As for the Uighur state itself, it seems that it did not fully understand and prepare for the rebellion of Baekje to block the Tang Dynasty. Judging from the contents of the Nihon Shoki, the only relevant historical material on the Japanese side that has been handed down to later generations, the Uighur authorities initially understood the action as supporting Baekje against Silla, and the Tang Dynasty, like its own support for Baekje, was also to support Silla and then a third party.
From the above collation, we can once again infer that the Tang Dynasty and the Uighurs had different understandings of the war surrounding the rise and fall of Baekje, and neither side fully anticipated the actions and positions of the other. Therefore, the Battle of Baicunjiang was inevitable for tang and Wu countries, but at the same time it was also an unexpected war.
When Baekje later faced the Tang Dynasty's crusade, it took the initiative to ask Goguryeo and the Uighurs for help. Among them, based on years of exchanges and cooperation, and taking into account the principle of cold lips and teeth, the Uighur state twice borrowed troops to support Baekje in resisting the Tang Dynasty and the Silla alliance. However, the first rescue in 660 ended in failure, and baekje was defeated by the Tang and Silla armies led by the general Su Dingfang, and the king Yici and Shizi Buyeolong surrendered, and Baekje perished.
However, the war over Baekje did not end there, and Buyeo Feng, the son of King Yici, and the nobles of Baekje once again asked the Uighurs to send troops to support their "restoration" campaign. However, as we have already mentioned, the "Restoration" campaign, which began at the Battle of Baekchongang, resulted in a major defeat and proclaimed the complete demise of Baekje.
Historical records of the problem
When it comes to this war, in fact, we don't know much. At present, the reliable historical materials that record the before and aftermath of this war are mainly the official histories of the Tang Dynasty, the Old Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang, the Japanese Book of Japan, and the Korean History of the Three Kingdoms, Baekje Honki (edited by the Goryeo courtier Kim Fu-shi). The historical materials of the three parties were compiled after a period of time after the war, the Nihon Shoki was written relatively early, in the eighth century AD, more than a hundred years after the war, the other two were written later, the Old Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang were written in the 10th and 11th centuries AD, and the last "History of the Three Kingdoms" was compiled later, in the middle of the 12th century AD.
Therefore, from the perspective of historical materials, the historical materials of the three parties are not the first-hand original historical materials, and the detailed history of the war has been remembered by no one for a long time, so the war experience we see from the historical materials of the three parties is very simple. In addition to the pre- and post-war confessions, the most detailed written account of the war itself is the Nihon Shoki, which is only more than 100 words. The Records of the Old Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang are only about a few crosses. As for the History of the Three Kingdoms, Baekje Benji, because of the gap of nearly five hundred years and the fact that it was a war that had nothing to do with the interests of the Goryeo Kingdom, the content was naturally lackluster, and the account was mainly based on the text of the transcription of the Old Book of Tang and Baekje, and then inserted several sentences in the middle, basically there were no new highlights.
Even so, as the only historical data, we have to use them to understand and restore the situation at that time. It is worth noting that the Old Book of Tang (as well as the New Book of Tang and the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, which are similar in content) and the Nihon Shoki, both record the two keys to the victory and defeat of The White Village River, the first of which is that Buyeo Feng, who asked the Uighurs to restore the country, immediately had infighting with his subordinate Fukushin after inviting troops, and Buyeo Feng killed Fukshin, resulting in a great reduction in the strength of Baekje's "exile regime" army. Second, and more importantly, the battle between the combined forces of the Uighurs and Baekje and the Tang army's water division was an encounter.
"Liu Renlu and his marshal Du Shuang and Buyeo Long led the water army and grain ships from the Xiongjin River to the Bai River to meet the army, and the same approached Zhou Liucheng. Ren Rail met the crowd of Buyeo Feng at the mouth of the BaiJiang River, won four battles, and burned four hundred of his boats. The thieves collapsed, and Buyeo Feng escaped and left. (Old Book of Tang, Baekje Biography)
"(Liu) Ren Rail encountered the Wu soldiers at the mouth of the BaiJiang River, and won four battles." (Old Book of Tang, Biography of Liu Ren)
From the above two historical records, we can see that the Tang Dynasty commander Liu Renlu led the water division south to meet the army, and at the mouth of the Bai (village) River, he encountered Buyeo Long, who brought reinforcements from the Uighur state but had just killed the heavy minister, and the troops he led. As a result, he won all four battles, and after the defeat of Buyeo Takashi, he did not know where to go.
Stimulated by the Battle of Shiramura River, Emperor Tenchi of Japan decided to strengthen Japan's homeland defenses. Water castles were built in the north of Tsushima and Kyushu to defend against the Tang army.
So, what does the Japanese historical data on the other side say?
"I (the combined forces of Wo and Baekje) want to feed the village of Baek (Gang) from the past, and the thieves will go to The State Ofu (Zhouliu) and circumnavigate its royal city. The Tang army will lead one hundred and seventy warships, and the fierce (column) will be at the Baicun River. Peng Shen, the first division of Japanese ships, fought together with the Tang Ship Division. Japan retreated unfavorably, and Datang held firm. The Japanese generals and the King of Baekje (Buyeo Feng) did not look at the weather, but said: "I am waiting for the first, he should retreat", and even led the pawns of the Japanese chaotic Army to fight the Tang Army. The Tang army then went around the battle from left to right, and when it was about to die, the officers and soldiers were defeated and drowned in the water. (Nihon Shoki, vol. 27)
Although we can no longer know the historical basis of this text, we can clearly see that the Nihon Shoki is more detailed than the Old Book of Tang. Moreover, in the section that writes about the allied forces fighting with the Tang army's water division, it is also said that "the initial division arrived", implying that the Wei army supporting Buyeo Feng had just arrived and fought with Liu Ren's Tang army. As a result, the coalition forces that could not break through the Tang army's defense line still adhered to the tactic of frontal attack, and as a result, they were surrounded and annihilated by the Tang army, and in addition to the great defeat, there were countless casualties.
Synthesizing the historical materials of the Tang and Wu sides, in addition to the victory of the Tang Dynasty and the rout of the coalition army, it reminds us of two important points. First, in the memory of the compilers of the Old Book of Tang and the Nihon Shoki, this was undoubtedly an unexpected encounter, not a script-based conference battle that we imagined. Second, the reason for the tang army's victory was that, in addition to the superiority in combat strength and technical level, the coalition forces' rash moves and lack of tactical coordination were greatly defeated. According to the Nihon Shoki, the number of troops sent by the Uighurs at that time reached 27,000, and the 400 ships that were burned down were estimated to account for most of their troops. On the other side, the number of Tang army sailors is unknown, and the Nihon Shoki says that the Tang water division had only one hundred and seventy ships, although it cannot be confirmed that this record is credible, but it is referred to in the "Biography of Liu Ren" that "seven thousand soldiers of Ziqing Laihai were sent, and the general Sun Renshi of Zuo Wei was sent to Xiongjin to lead the people to Xiongjin to benefit the people of Ren's wishes", which reflected that Liu Renwan's water division strength at that time was part of its own strength plus the reinforcements of Sun Ren's water division, and the estimated strength was roughly similar to the strength of the coalition army, or slightly inferior. However, the results proved that even if the coalition army had a slight advantage in troop strength, it was still full of losses when it was not in the present.
The Battle of Shiramura River was the second recorded foreign war in Japanese history, and interestingly, both were fought by troops involved in the korean peninsula, and both battles ended in defeat (the first was sent to Korea in the fifth century AD against the Goguryeo army). From then until 930 years later, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who had unified Japan, launched the Nongchen War, invaded Korea, and pointed his sword at China, except for the Wokou that raged in the Yuan and Ming dynasties, Japan had no foreign military use. Therefore, the Battle of Baicunjiang is a very important battle from the perspective of regional historical development and trend.
However, through the analysis of the next section, we can say that Japan did not have any foreign troops for the next nine hundred and thirty years, and the lessons of the Battle of Shiramura River did not have any effect.
Why is it so forgotten?
The result of the Battle of Baekcheongang was the fall of the Baekje state, and although the Tang Dynasty had supported the long-surrendered Baekje son Buyeo Long to return to Baekje to restore the country, he shook hands with Silla and made peace, and together assisted the Tang Dynasty in governing the Korean Peninsula. However, fearing Silla's retaliation, Buyeo-long refused the Tang Dynasty's arrangement and remained in the Tang Dynasty without returning, resulting in his death ("Tomb of Buyeolong"). As a result, baekje's homeland was gradually annexed by Silla, indirectly contributing to Silla's unification of the Korean Peninsula.
Buyeo Feng, who launched a war against the Tang Dynasty to restore the country, did not know where to go after the war, while another Baekje prince, Buyeo Zengwang, fled to the Uighur kingdom with some remnants and civilians. They knew that there was no hope of recovery, so they stayed in the Uighur state as officials. Some royal families received favors from the Uighur court and gave them the surname of "Baekje King" as a sign of their attention. With the development of the times, these Baekje immigrants gradually integrated into the Uighur kingdom, married with the tribal nobles and royal families of the Uighur kingdom, and after a few generations were no different from the Uighurs. They relied on their expertise to serve the court of the Uighur empire, which soon changed its name to "Japan", and one of their important contributions was to assist in the compilation of the aforementioned Nihon Shoki.
Then again, after the defeat, the ruler of the Uighur kingdom, King Tenchi (who was still not called "Emperor" at the time), sent troops to invade the Uighur Kingdom to avoid the Tang Dynasty and Silla from taking advantage of the victory, so he built a fortress in northern Kyushu and western Honshu, just in case. In addition, a series of policies were adopted to strengthen the support of the Uighur nobles in case the Tang Dynasty and Silla attacked, which could drive them to the outside world. In terms of these urgent measures, King Tianzhi and his courtiers did respond seriously to the national crisis.
Editor-in-Charge: Shanshan Peng
Proofreader: Yan Zhang