Chapter 553: Yuanfeng Mountain! Wu of Hans Edict to Open Dian! (2/2)
Wang Chong rode his horse over, and as he looked at that stele, a complicated expression appeared in his eyes.
”What is this?”
A curious voice came from beside him. Old Eagle, Chen Shusun, Xu Shiping, Xu Andun, and a few other officers had ridden their horses up from the rear. It was extremely strange for a horse-hitching stone to be set up in a place like this, and for a stone stele to be placed next to it was even stranger.
More importantly, the words on the stele were very strange, twisted. None of them could understand these words.
”This is a horse-hitching stone from the second year of the Great Han's Yuanfeng Era!”
Wang Chong sighed at this stone and stele.
”Almost a thousand years1 have passed!”
Wang Chong's words instantly elicited a change in expression from the crowd, all of them showing shock in their eyes. It wasn't that Wang Chong could judge that this was a horse-hitching post from the Great Han.
But for him to be able to pinpoint it to the second year of the Yuanfeng Era was truly astonishing.
”This is the Han Dynasty's Stele Seal Script, specifically used for carving on steles. Given all the time that's passed, it's very normal for you to not recognize it.”
With a complicated expression, Wang Chong extended a finger onto the stele and began to read it out.
”The Hu-Seizing General Guo Chang received the edict of the Great Han's Son of Heaven, Emperor Wu, to open up Dian while returning to the north! I tied my horse here and established this stele as a record!”
The writing on the stele was bold and full of energy, naturally exuding a high-spirited aura, an attitude that disdained the common crowd.
Wang Chong paused for a moment, sweeping his gaze over the crowd, and finally said the most important words.
”This stele has another name: The Edict to Open Dian!”
Buzz!
Everysone seemed visibly affected by Wang Chong's words, even Xianyu Zhongtong and Wang Yan.
They finally understood why Wang Chong had looked upon this stele with such a grave expression.
Hu-Seizing General Guo Chang was a 'titled general', a general with incredible achievements and extraordinary status.
Perhaps this person's name was no longer as conspicuous, with few people knowing of it, but in the south, especially the empire's southwest, almost no one didn't know of it. The reason was very simple: the Hu-Seizing General Guo Chang was the first general in the history of the Central Plains to break through the Erhai and subdue the Six Zhao.
In the Yuanfeng Era of the Great Han, Hu-Seizing General Guo Chang2 was returning with Great General Wei Qing from the Mobei expedition to pacify the Xiongnu and leading their army south to pacify the rebellion of the Nanyue. While on the way back to the north, Guo Chang received an edict from the Emperor Wu of the Great Han to pacify Dian. On his journey back, Guo Chang turned his head to look back at the south and established this stele. This was how the stele came to be called 'The Stele of Wu of Han Opening Dian' and also 'Wu of Han's Edict to Open Dian'.
When Guo Chang was opening Dian, Mengshe Zhao was not called Mengshe Zhao, and the Erhai was not called the Erhai. This place was called the Kingdom of Dian.
It was only through the hands of the Hu-Seizing General Guo Chang that the dynasties of the Central Plains were able to expand their power out of the interior and to the Six Zhao of Erhai.
It was for this reason that in future dynasties, all the powers of the Erhai acknowledged their allegiance to the Central Plains.
One could say that this Hu-Seizing General from the Great Han was the first pioneer of Dian!
Without this Hu-Seizing General, the Great Tang would have never been able to expand its influence to the Erhai.
The Annan Protectorate army, as the long-term garrison of the southwest, was extremely familiar with the deeds of Guo Chang. When they thought about how the ancient general from the time of Emperor Wu of Han led his army in and out of Dian, full of spirit and sweeping away everything before it, and then thought about their own army fleeing to the north with all haste, all their hearts sank in shame.
”Our Annan Protectorate army carries the duty of protecting the southwest. Not only are we betraying the imperial decree, we're also giving it up and fleeing. If General Guo were still here, he would probably feel a deep shame!”
Xianyu Zhongtong raised his head up to the sky and gave a long sigh, many emotions in his heart.
As the Annan Protector-General, he carried inescapable blame for the current state of the southwest. Now that they were standing before the stele set up by their predecessor, how could he not feel the greatest shame?
The Central Plains had commanded the Erhai for almost one thousand years, but now the Erhai was about to be lost along with the rest of the southwest, with the 180,000 elites of Annan being completely wiped out as the price. As the Annan Protector-General, Xianyu Zhongtong could not bear this price.
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1. The second year of the Yuanfeng Era was 109 BCE. Emperor Xuanzong's reign lasted from 713-756 BCE, so around eight hundred years have passed, though it must be noted that the Tang Dynasty has existed for a good century longer in this universe.↩
2. There is actually very little of Guo Chang's deeds recorded in the primary source of Chinese history from this period, the Book of Han, though it does report that he defeated Qie-lan, who was starting a rebellion that was blocking the route between Han and Dian. It also states that in the fourth year of Yuanfeng, 107 BCE, Guo Chang was given the title of Hu-Seizing General. Afterward, he was apparently ordered to take the city of Kunming, but failed, after which he returned and was demoted. However, in 109 BCE, the Han Dynasty did in fact annex Dian, converting it into the commandery of Yizhou.