However, when it comes to the Three Kingdoms, most people think that there are only three regimes of Wei Shu and Wu, but they do not know that in today's northeast region, there is also a Liaodong Gongsun regime that has been divided for half a century, and this regime once conquered Korea when it was at its strongest. So, what is going on with this Liaodong Gongsun regime?
Gongsun Du, the founder of the Liaodong regime, was born in the local area, and at a very young age, he fled with his father who violated the law to Xuanju Commandery (玄菟郡, in present-day Korea), and because he was favored by Gongsun Du of the county, he was promoted to county official, and was later recommended and recruited as Shang Shulang, thus entering the dynasty as an official.
The founder of the Liaodong regime was Gongsun Du
Gongsun Du's career was very smooth at first, and he reached the high position of Jizhou Assassin Before the age of 40, but he was soon deposed due to slander. After the state thief Dong Zhuo came to power, Gongsun Du, in order to protect himself, took advantage of the relationship between his fellow villager Xu Rong (Dong Zhuo's general) to obtain the position of Taishou of Liaodong. It was in the first year of Chuping (190), and Gongsun Du at this time was just the year of confusion.
In the Eastern Han Dynasty, where the door valve was born, Gongsun Du, who was born as a small official, had just become the "parent official" in his hometown, and found that all around him was contemptuous and contemptuous, and it was difficult to implement the government decree. Gongsun Du knew that there was no other way to establish a power in the chaotic world except to use high-pressure and violent means. As a result, Gongsun Du used the excuse to execute Gongsun Zhao, the county commander of Xiangping County, the first county of Liaodong County, and then destroyed more than 100 families such as the local Hao clan Tian Shao, and for a time the people of Liaodong were shocked.
Map of the Situation of the Division of the Eastern Han Dynasty at the End of the Eastern Han Dynasty (Partial)
At the same time as killing Liwei, Gongsun Du also instructed his henchmen to offer Xiangrui to beautify himself, and declared that the Gongsun family would have Liaodong forever. At this time, during the period of great chaos in the Central Plains, warlords in various places were fighting each other, and there was no time to look east at this group that lived in a remote corner, thus providing a good opportunity for Gongsun Du to divide Liaodong for a long time.
Soon, Gongsun Du proclaimed himself Marquis of Liaodong and Mu of Pingzhou, but still called himself Liaodong Taishou. After Gongsun Du established himself, he invaded Goguryeo in the east, Attacked Wuhuan in the west, took the Liaodong Peninsula in the south, and crossed the sea to attack the Donglai counties in the northern part of the Jiaodong Peninsula, vigorously expanding the territory; recruiting talents and recruiting talents internally, setting up museums and opening schools, recruiting displaced people, and resuming production, thus greatly increasing its strength. After Cao Cao came to power, he made Gongsun Du the Marquis of Yongning Township and recruited him as a general of Wuwei, but the latter refused. In 204, Gongsun Du died of illness after 14 years of partitioning Liaodong, and was succeeded by his son Gongsun Kang.
Yuan Shao's two sons defected to Liaodong and were both beheaded by Gongsun Kang
After Gongsun Kang succeeded to the throne, he began to be disobedient to the imperial court, and even thought of invading the Central Plains from the west. However, soon after, Cao Cao sent Zhang Liao to retake the eastern Lai counties, and then successively broke through Yuan Tan, Yuan Shang, Wu Huan and other forces, and the army approached Liaodong, which greatly frightened Gongsun Kang. In order to show his submission, Gongsun Kang ordered the people to kill the brothers Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi, who had fled to Liaodong, and give their heads to Cao Cao, so that his position could be turned into a safe place. In order to enlist Gongsun Kang, Cao Cao made him the Marquis of Xiangping and entered the general Zuo.
Gongsun Kang, knowing that he was powerless to be an enemy of Cao Cao, devoted himself to using troops against Dongyi and Korea, and in the fourteenth year of Jian'an (209), he personally led a large army to severely damage Goguryeo, not only capturing its capital, but also forcing its king to claim subjection. Subsequently, Gongsun Kang conquered another powerful group on the Korean Peninsula, Han Mao, and set up the Belt Fang Commandery to rule, at which time the three Koreas in the south of the peninsula also began to submit to Gongsun Kang.
Map of the situation in the heyday of the Liaodong regime (within the red line)
At this point, Gongsun Kang established a sphere of influence that stretched east to the Sea of Japan, north to the Heilongjiang River Basin, south to the Korean Peninsula, and west to the Liaodong vassal state of Wuhuan. The year of Gongsun Kang's death is unknown, but we only know that after his death, because both sons were young and weak, the subordinates elected his brother Gongsun Gong to succeed him.
The historical records of Gongsun Gong's deeds after his succession are unknown, and we only know that Cao Pi was called empress dowager, and he sent envoys to worship him as a general on horseback, a false festival, and the marquis of Guo. However, Gongsun Gong was weak and sickly, cowardly, and did not resemble a human monarch, so he was replaced by his nephew Gongsun Yuan a few years later, when Wei Taihe was in the second year (228). And Gongsun Yuan was the one who brought the Liaodong regime to extinction.
After Gongsun Yuan succeeded him, he was awarded the title of General of Yang Lie and Taishou of Liaodong, but he was not satisfied with this title, and he really wanted to be the King of Yan. In order to obtain a foreign response against the Wei Dynasty, Gongsun Yuan declared himself a vassal to Sun Quan in 233 and requested that he be canonized. Sun Quan was overjoyed, so he ignored the persuasion of the important minister Zhang Zhao and others, and sent the ministers Zhang Mi and Xu Yan to cross the sea to Liaodong with gold and jade treasures, and crowned Gongsun Yuan as the King of Yan.
During the reign of Emperor Cao Rui of Wei, Gongsun Yuan rebelled
However, Gongsun Yuan's original intention was only to test whether Sun Quan attached importance to himself, and he did not expect that the other party was so "honest", coupled with the fear of the Attack of the Wei Dynasty, so he changed his face to Sun Quan, openly seduced Wu Envoy, and dedicated his head to Emperor Wei Ming to show his loyalty. Emperor Ming of Wei did not know it, and thought that Gongsun Yuan was loyal and commendable, and while he was happy, he also made him the Duke of Lelang and worshiped Sima Da.
However, the secret of Gongsun Yuan's interaction with Eastern Wu was after all "paper wrapped around the fire", which gradually made Emperor Wei Ming hear about it, and in order to solve this hidden danger, he ordered Youzhou to assassinate Shi Yiqiu Jian in 237 to use force as a backing to recruit Gongsun Yuan into the dynasty with the seal of letters. Gongsun Yuan knew that there was no way back, so he led his army to attack Yuqiu Jian, and he was lucky to win. Gongsun Yuan, who repelled the Wei army, immediately inflated himself, and his fear of the Wei Dynasty disappeared, so he established himself as the King of Yan in the same year, and lured Xianbei to invade the Wei borders, while once again claiming to Eastern Wu as a vassal to ask for foreign assistance.
Sima Yi sought to pacify Liaodong and destroyed the Gongsun Yuan family
The following year, Sima Yi, a Wei dynasty lieutenant, led an army of 40,000 to Liaodong, and successively defeated the enemy forces at Shouyang Mountain and Liao Tunnel, and then besieged Xiangping City. Xiangping City was trapped for a long time, the city's food was exhausted, and a large-scale phenomenon of cannibalism appeared, forcing the defender Yang Zuo and others to surrender. Soon, Gongsun Yuan's entire army was defeated, and when he broke through with his son Gongsun Xiu and hundreds of his cronies, he was hunted down and killed by Sima Yi's army. At this point, the Gongsun clan regime in Liaodong, which had been divided into Liaodong for fifty years and had been "family members" for three generations and four generations, collapsed.