Why does the Emperor want war?
Is it for the achievent of expanding territory?
On the one hand, only through occupying more and larger lands can one have enough arable land, rivers, and grassland resources to ensure the supply of food, and thereby support a huge governnt organization and army. With an adequate food supply, the empire’s long-term stability and peace can be maintained. As the territory expands, the richer the grain and population resources beco, the more robust the economic foundation, and the stronger the national strength, ensuring more room to maneuver when facing foreign invasions.
In the southward conquests and northern battles, storming cities and capturing camps not only allowed for expansion of territory but also were a crucial ans for a monarch to display their prestige. Every historically notable sage monarch established their prestige by conquering vast territories for their subjects.
At the sa ti, soldiers also need to gain honor and recognition through territorial expansion; war is undoubtedly a new avenue for advancent.
On the other hand, only through expanding one’s territory can one beco a monarch with a lasting historical legacy.
If a king expands his territory, then his achievents will be recorded with great emphasis in history, and the legends about him will grow even more nurous.
Otherwise, even if he does well, he will be no more than a ’king of revival’, like saying ’under his leadership, the dynasty flourished even more’, but for a king who expanded territory, there is much to be said, even with honorifics.
For example, Emperor Qin, Emperor Han Wudi...
Of course, there are also those who do it just for the sake of grandiose achievent.
It could be said that these two are pursuing the sa goal; the difference is whether they succeeded or failed.
If successful, it is the achievent of expanding territory; if not, it is the mark of a king with a grandiose desire for success.
Ancient kings pursued martial achievents in order to make a na for themselves in history; they disregarded the national strength, exhausted their troops through endless warfare, and campaigned in all directions. Although so achieved impressive territorial expansions, it depleted the nation’s wealth and drained the people’s strength. If the aggression continued, the inevitable outco would be widespread dissatisfaction among the populace and the eruption of chaos!
Emperor Han Wudi’s martial achievents could rival those of the forr Emperor Qin who swept through the six states, conquering the southwestern barbarians, pacifying Nanyue, Dong’ou, conquering Weisuo Korea, employing Wei and Huo to reclaim the Ordos Loop, opening up the Hexi Corridor, sealing the Wolf Ju Xu, causing the Xiongnu to flee far north, unable to confront the Central Plains directly; these were his great accomplishnts!
However, in his later years, because Dawan Country had not presented fine horses, Marshal Li Guangli embarked on two distant expeditions to Dawan, spending an enormous amount of national resources just for a few blood-sweating horses. For the sake of attacking a Xiongnu detachnt, Emperor Wudi did not hesitate to lead a large army to campaign in the north. Hearing the wind of his approach, the Xiongnu people fled, and Emperor Wudi actually took the army on a detour to Mount Tai for a sacrificial ceremony, where a hundred thousand-strong army squandered money and grain without achieving anything, but still celebrated their accomplishnts; oh, the irony! Overall, this could indeed be called relentless militarism!
Fortunately, in his later years, after the Crown Prince’s witchcraft scandal, Emperor Wudi awoke to his senses and issued an edict from the Round Terrace admitting his faults, thereafter giving more attention to agriculture, developing the economy, and allowing the nation’s strength to recover. Passing over his young successor to Huo Guang on his deathbed, he paved the way for the arrival of the Zhaoxuan Era, which brought about the revitalization of the Han Dynasty!
Another person was not so fortunate. Emperor Yang of Sui, Yang Guang, loved grandiose achievents and waged many wars throughout his life.
The conquest of Tuyuhun:
In the fourth year of the Daye era, Sui official Pei Ju incited the Gokturks to attack Tuyuhun, which then requested aid from the Sui Dynasty. Yang Guang seized the opportunity to send troops and, in the following year, conquered Tuyuhun, with the Khan Busabo fleeing. Afterward, Tuyuhun returned to its holand and attacked Sui territory on the right side of the river, which the Sui Dynasty could not defend. With this campaign, Chang’an and other counties of the northwest had to transfer supplies outside the Great Wall, spending billions every year; the journey was treacherous and subject to bandit plundering, and those n and livestock who did not arrive had their hos conscripted by the counties. As a result, the people lost their livelihoods.
The campaign against Champa saw Yang Guang, in the first year of the Daye era (605 AD), ordering Liu Fang to attack Champa. Following the army’s return, the king of Champa, Shambhuvarman, reestablished his kingdom in the forr territories of Bi Xing, Hai Yin, and Linyi. During this battle, one-fifth to one-fourth of the Sui army perished, and the commanding general Liu Fang also died of illness on the way back.
The three campaigns against the Goguryeo saw Yang Guang, after ascending to the throne, launching three massive attacks on Goguryeo. In the eighth year of the Daye era (612 AD), Emperor Yang launched his first attack on Goguryeo. The Emperor mobilized over 1.13 million soldiers, with the land forces gathering in Zhuo Commandery and the navy in Donglai. Additionally, two million civilians were conscripted to transport armor, food, and other supplies. Although the Sui forces reached near Pyongyang, they ultimately suffered a crushing defeat. In the ninth year, the second attack on Goguryeo took place. As the two sides were at a stalemate, Chief of Staff Yang Xuangan led a rebellion against the Sui, causing Emperor Yang to retreat in panic. In the tenth year, the third attack on Goguryeo occurred. Because dostic peasant uprisings had already reached a critical point, Emperor Yang did not dare to engage in prolonged combat, and Goguryeo, weary of war, sent emissaries to surrender. Yang Guang thus withdrew his forces.
The war against Goguryeo mobilized several million human resources, conscripted countless wealth and supplies, and saw a vast number of soldiers and civilian workers die in battle and from labor. Due to an extre shortage of labor and draft animals in rural areas, large tracts of land lay fallow, severely damaging the social economy and making life untenable for the people, which incited a massive peasant uprising at the end of the Sui Dynasty. In the end, Yang Guang was killed by his general Yuwen Huaji in Jiangdu, marking the actual fall of the Sui Dynasty.
Any use of the military will deplete national strength, and if relentless militarism is pursued, the nation’s resources will inevitably be exhausted, and the state will weaken.
It is for this reason that, although expanding territory and engaging in foreign campaigns seem like positive actions, many people still do not wish to do so.
For instance, those families at the top of the pyramid in the ’Great Qian Empire’, they are at the pinnacle of the power structure, enjoying prosperity without having to do anything as long as peace prevails in the realm.
Naturally, they do not wish for war.
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