唐太宗의 고구려 침공과 水軍

Abstract

In 645, The Tang China invaded Goguryeo. Only when they capture Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo, will they achieve the purpose of the war. The Tang China’s military could not go straight to Pyongyang immediately after defeating 150,000 Goguryeo troops at Mount Jupil. I found the cause in the failure of the Tang navy. The Tang emperor transported supplies to Goguryeo through rivers and seas to save people’s labor. The distance between Beijing and the Yoha River, the border with Goguryeo, was 1,200 miles. The emperor’s army 60,000 who had to march there chose a coastal route. Ships carrying food advanced along the coast and supplied to the emperor’s army. On 2 May 645, the Tang navy captured Bisha Castle. Later, that Fortress became an intermediate military logistics base for the Tang army in Goguryeo. Supplies carried from China’s Shandong Peninsula were transferred to Bisha Castle, where transportation to all parts of Goguryeo was possible. So did the transport of troops. In May, Admiral Zhang Liang, commander of the Navy, moved from Bisha Castle to Geonan Castle, where he fought. The vacancy had to be filled because Zhang Gum’s army moved from Geonan Castle to Liaotung Castle in May. The Navy also transported supplies and assisted the Army. Meanwhile, shortly after the Chinese navy took over Bisha Castle, Tang’s navy, led by Zhang Wenjian, sailed to Pyongyang. However, a large number of ships were sunk. It was prime time when the emperor defeated 150,000 Goguryeo’s main forces at the Battle of Mount Jupil on June 23. Zhang Wenjian had to land near Pyongyang and establish a base, but he failed to do so. At that time, when Goguryeo was in panic, one general urged the emperor to attack Pyongyang directly, but Taizong refused to accept it. With the Chinese navy not securing a waterway on the Daedong River, the march to Pyongyang was very dangerous. In 645, the emperor captured more than five fortresses in Goguryeo and won. However, as Chinese ships headed for Pyongyang sank, the emperor’s army missed the golden time to march to Pyongyang, and the war itself failed. This is also related to the execution of the naval commander Zhang Liang in March 646.