Chapter 461: Planning the Peninsula

Gongsun Kang was tall, with a resolute face and a hint of murderous intent in his eyes. When he saw Yuan Xi coming out to greet him in person, he quickly saluted Yuan Xi respectfully.

Yuan Xi concealed the strange feeling in his heart, walked forward, enthusiastically pulled Gongsun Kang, and brought him to the inner hall.

After the two men and their subordinates sat down opposite each other, Yuan Xi could not hide his curiosity and looked at Gongsun Kang frequently.

Gongsun Kang didn't understand, so he could only lower his head slightly to avoid looking directly at Yuan Xi. His face was expressionless, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

It is no wonder that Yuan Xi had complicated feelings. In later history, Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang both died at the hands of Gongsun Kang.

After the fall of Ye City in later generations, Yuan Shang fled to seek refuge with Yuan Xi. The two were rebelled against by their subordinates in Youzhou and were forced to flee to Liaodong again and seek refuge with Gongsun Kang.

According to records, Yuan Shang wanted to kill Gongsun Kang and seize his territory. Gongsun Kang took the initiative and killed the Yuan brothers. He sent their heads to Cao Cao. The Yuan family's journey to dominate the world ended here.

When Yuan Xi faced this enemy from another time and space, he did not have much murderous intent in his mind. On the contrary, he felt a sense of absurdity.

He didn't know why he was like this. Maybe it was the Yuan brothers who brought their own death upon themselves in their previous lives. Maybe he and Gongsun Kang were both illegitimate sons. Maybe Gongsun Kang looked vaguely similar to him?

Now that the two families are negotiating, Yuan Xi will naturally not find an excuse to kill Gongsun Kang directly because of future generations. After all, if he really ends up in the situation of living under someone else's roof in future generations, if Gongsun Kang doesn't take action, someone else will.

This is how the struggle for world hegemony works: when you are powerful and have the potential to unify the world, heroes from all over the world will come to you to join you; when you are down and out, and as panic-stricken as a stray dog, the whole world will be your enemy, and even the beggars on the street will pounce on you and bite you.

Therefore, when Yuan Xi is negotiating with the Gongsun family now, he naturally will not do such a treacherous thing as killing people and be despised by the world. On the other hand, Gongsun Kang is a very capable person and he did a lot for China in the next ten years.

Because Gongsun Kang is really good at fighting.

In later generations, Goguryeo had been constantly harassing Liaodong since the reign of Bogu. In the 14th year of Jian'an (209 AD), Gongsun Kang led an army to attack Goguryeo, captured its capital, and forced it to surrender.

At the same time, Han Ye was powerful and the counties could not control him. Gongsun Kang divided the wasteland south of Tunyou County into Daifang County (in Gyeonggi Province and Chungcheong Province of Korea), gathered refugees, attacked Han Ye, and emboldened him.

Objectively speaking, under the leadership of Gongsun Kang, the Gongsun clan stabilized the situation on the Korean Peninsula, making it difficult for foreign tribes to rebel and even attracted them to submit.

However, if people like Gongsun Kang are not restricted, he will inevitably split Youzhou sooner or later. How to make him suppress foreign tribes while preventing his ambition from expanding too much is quite a task.

Especially the Korean Peninsula. The name Korea has existed since ancient times. Both "Records of the Grand Historian" and "Book of Han" mentioned the regime established by Jizi in Korea, and regarded it as the origin of the Korean countries.

In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, Lu Wan, one of the foreign princes, betrayed the Han Dynasty and defected to the Huns. One of his generals, Wei Man, led thousands of people across the Yalu River into the Korean Peninsula, and eventually destroyed Gojoseon and established Wiman Joseon.

Therefore, since ancient times, the Central Plains has regarded the Korean Peninsula as a vassal of China. However, the climate there is cold and harsh, and survival is difficult, so the Central Plains looks down on it, so it has been slow to incorporate it into its territory.

When Yuan Xi saw that everyone was seated, he said, "I see General Gongsun's sincerity."

"Sir, you are here on the orders of General Gongsun. Please feel free to tell me what you want."

After hearing this, Gongsun Kang bowed and then sat up and said, "The Gongsun family guards Liaodong and protects the border for the Han Dynasty. There are foreign enemies everywhere on the border."

"In the north, there are the Xianbei, in the west, there are the Goguryeo, in the south, there are the Three Han, all of which have violated the border and harassed the people."

"The Gongsun clan suffered heavy casualties in resisting foreign tribes, but the Wuhuan clan had ill intentions and hindered them at every turn. However, they were married to the Yuan clan, so the Gongsun clan had no choice but to give in."

"Kang has now met with the envoy and told him the difficult situation of the Gongsun clan. He hopes that the envoy will lend a hand and help the Gongsun clan to subdue the foreign tribes."

After hearing this, Guo Jia, Ju Shou and others could not help but look at Gongsun Kang with admiration, thinking that Gongsun was indeed not someone who could be easily dealt with, as he sent out a bastard and yet he responded so appropriately.

However, if Gongsun Kang had not been capable, he would not have been able to take on this important task.

Yuan Xi said jokingly, "What do you mean by help, young master? What are your specific requirements?"

Gongsun Kang said without hesitation: "Salt, iron, grain, weapons, armor, tools and technology, the more the better."

After hearing this, Guo Jia said, "Gongsun has quite a big appetite."

Gongsun Kang said frankly: "Gongsun is guarding the border for you and resisting foreign enemies. If we only give verbal support, it would be unreasonable, right?"

After hearing this, Yuan Xi smiled and said, "I'm afraid General Gongsun doesn't regard me as the ruler of Youzhou, right?"

"General Gongsun intends to become king. I'm afraid he has already regarded Liaodong, Liaoxi, and the Korean Peninsula as his future territory, right?"

Gongsun Kang's body trembled and he felt cold sweat oozing out of his vest. How did Yuan Xi know such a confidential matter?

"The Biography of Gongsun Du in the Book of Wei" - In the first year of Chuping, (Gongsun) Du knew that China was in turmoil, and said to his close officials Liu Yi, Yang Yi and others: "The Han Dynasty is about to end, and I should work with you to make a plan for the throne."

As Gongsun Du's son, Gongsun Kang naturally knew these secrets, but Yuan Xi also knew them. Does this mean that Gongsun Du has Yuan Xi's spies around him?

Thinking of this, Gongsun Kang's face became more solemn, and even his body, which was originally sitting upright, seemed to have shortened by half an inch.

Seeing this, Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Please don't take it too seriously, sir. I was just saying it casually."

After hearing this, Gongsun Kang felt even more unsure. The other party's words were mixed, true and false. He couldn't go back and ask his father to thoroughly investigate his surroundings just for one sentence. What if Yuan Xi was deliberately trying to sow discord?

His expression became even more solemn. Before coming here, he thought that the Yuan family's fierce tiger might be overrated, but after the two of them tested each other for a few words, he was led by the other party!

He took a deep breath and said, "Gongsun clan can certainly support independently, but if the two sides are allies, they must show some sincerity."

Yuan Xi heard the other party's tone soften and said, "Young Master is right."

"Let's not talk about the foreign tribes. I will be in charge of mediating with the Wuhuan Chanyu."

"Although the Wuhuan are called Hu people, they have been on the list of the Han people for hundreds of years. They have long been the people of the Han Dynasty and cannot be treated as foreigners."

"Therefore, the conflict between us and Wuhuan is an internal affair of Huaxia and should be kept separate from Xianbei, Goguryeo, etc."

The縻system originated from the Han Dynasty and refers to the prefectures and counties set up by the imperial court in remote areas where ethnic minorities were the majority, in order to use the barbarians to control the barbarians and to establish regulations based on their customs.

This is the case with many counties and cities in Youzhou and Xiliang. Not only are there Wuhuan and Xianbei, but also Xiongnu and Qiang people. Over the long course of history, as the local Han people gradually moved in and the population increased, a situation of mixed residence of Hu and Han people was formed.

With the intermarriage between the Hu and Han peoples and the integration of their customs, these vassal states gradually became directly affiliated prefectures and counties of the Han Dynasty, managed by officials sent by the imperial court. Strictly speaking, this was a kind of subtle expansion, and the territory of the Han Dynasty was slowly expanded.

But this will eventually encounter borders. Nowadays, there are constant conflicts with foreign ethnic groups inside and outside the Great Wall, and conflicts are often inevitable in areas where the customs of various ethnic groups in the Seychelles have not been fully integrated.

Especially since the Wuhuan people inside the Guanzhong area formed their own faction, conflict between the two sides was inevitable when they encountered the expansionist desire of the Gongsun clan who sought to establish themselves as kings.

After hearing this, Yuan Xi said, "Whoever takes the initiative to destroy the territory of the Wuhuan in Guannei and the border of the Gongsun clan will be disrespectful."

"Although my Yuan clan is married to the Wuhuan, we will not show favoritism to them."

"If they invade the borders of the Gongsun clan, I, as the lord of Youzhou, will certainly enforce justice."

Gongsun Kang pondered in silence. Although he said on the surface that he was not biased towards the Wuhuan, he actually implied that he would not favor the Gongsun clan either.

If anyone attempts to cause trouble, Yuan Xi will not sit idly by.

Gongsun Kang asked, "What about the foreigners?"

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Then I can't control it."

"How big Gongsun's appetite is and how much he can eat is a matter of skill."

"Of course, I will give as much support as possible during this process."

"Youzhou is not rich enough to send out military equipment and food at will, but within a certain limit, I can satisfy you."

"If Gongsun can conquer the entire Korean Peninsula, I will support Gongsun's claim to the throne and submit a petition to the Han court to make a general's recommendation."

Gongsun Kang was stunned. He didn't expect Yuan Xi to support Gongsun's claim to the throne!

Although this was a verbal statement, it also took a lot of risks. Gongsun Kang couldn't help but ask: "What does the envoy want?"

Yuan Xi walked to the front of the map and traced the circle of Bohai Sea with his finger, starting from Bohai County in Jizhou, along the southern coastline of Youzhou counties, all the way to the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula, and said, "I want this circle of Bohai Sea."

He added: "Of course, I didn't take it for free, I took it with my own hands."

"When the time comes, Gongsun will be in the east and I will be in the west. If we advance from both directions, we can pacify the Korean Peninsula."

Gongsun Kang saw this and hesitated, "Doesn't that mean Gongsun clan will give up the southern coast of Liaodong and Liaoxi?"

Yuan Xi said, "As far as I know, the Gongsun family is not supported by the Liaodong nobles because of their origins, which led to General Gongsun's harsh punishments. But this is not a long-term solution."

"The status of Youzhou was originally in my hands. Now that I can tolerate the Gongsun family's presence, it is contrary to the original intention of the Yuan family."

"After all, there are people within the Yuan family who want to support Chanyu Tadun, not the Gongsun family."

Gongsun Kang remained silent. This was what the Gongsun family feared the most. If the Yuan family was determined to deal with them, they would not be able to deal with the Jizhou army and Chanyu Tadun at the same time.

Yuan Xi took the opportunity to say, "My lord, you should know that with Jizhou's ability, the north will be pacified sooner or later. If I am not there to mediate, I am afraid that the Gongsun clan will not have a good life, right?"

"What's more, the Gongsun clan also occupies the Qingzhou and Donglai states, and has clashed with my brother Yuan Tan several times. Their territory is getting smaller and smaller. I'm afraid it's useless to the Gongsun clan, right?"

Originally, the Gongsun clan wanted to use the Liaodong Peninsula as a springboard to seize Qingzhou. They once occupied many places in Qingzhou and Donglai and also set up local officials.

But as Yuan Tan took control of Qingzhou, he naturally could not tolerate any sand in his eyes. Not only did he press forward step by step on land, he also used pirates on the sea to disrupt the Gongsun clan's sea route from Liaodong to Donglai.

Since Yuan Tan had Yuan Shao's support, Gongsun naturally did not want to break off relations with him, so they could only swallow their anger and have been struggling to find a way to solve the problem.

So when Yuan Xi extended an olive, Gongsun clan came to negotiate immediately. After all, Yuan Xi's reputation had been growing in the past two years. If he was determined to harm Gongsun clan and used Yuan clan's army, Gongsun clan would be in danger of destruction.

Gongsun Kang took a deep breath and said, "It is so difficult to expand the territory. What you are talking about is too far-sighted."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Quite the opposite."

"I estimate that if you and I join forces and fully conquer the Korean Peninsula, five years will be enough."