What country is this? Its capital is located just a few miles south of the Mi River, which was formerly the territory of Kangju. The king's surname is Zhaowu, and he is also a descendant of the Kang royal family, known by the style name Dun. The capital city spans two miles and is defended by a thousand elite soldiers. The king's seat is the Golden Ram Seat. To the east, one hundred and fifty miles away, lies Cao country; to the west, three hundred miles away, is Xia'an country; and to the east, six thousand seven hundred and fifty miles away, is Guazhou. During the Sui Dynasty, they even dispatched envoys to present local products.
Wunahuo country, its capital is situated on the west bank of the Wuhu River, which used to be the territory of Anxi. The king too bears the surname Zhaowu and is a descendant of the Kang royal family, known by the style name Foshi. The capital city spans two miles and is manned by several hundred elite soldiers. Going northeast from Wunahuo country for four hundred miles is An country; going northwest for over two hundred miles is Mu country; and going east for seven thousand five hundred miles is Guazhou. During the Great Enterprise period, they too sent envoys to present local products.
Mu country, its capital is located on the west side of the Wuhu River, also formerly part of Anxi, and it borders Wunahuo country. The king's surname is Zhaowu, also a descendant of the Kang royal family, known by the style name Alanmi. The capital city spans three miles and is defended by two thousand elite soldiers. Going northeast from Mu country for five hundred miles is An country; going east for over two hundred miles is Wunahuo country; going west for over four thousand miles is Persia; and going east for seven thousand seven hundred miles is Guazhou. During the Great Enterprise period, they too sent envoys to present local products.
Persia, located to the west of the Duhu River, in the region around Sulin City, historically known as Tiaozhi. Their king is called Kusa. The capital is about ten miles across. They have a strong army of over 20,000 troops who ride elephants into battle. In this country, there is no death penalty. For minor offenses, they might have their hands or feet amputated and have their property confiscated. For more serious offenses, they might have their beard shaved or wear a sign around their necks as a form of public shaming. Everyone aged three and older must pay an annual tax of four coins. They also have a custom of marrying their sisters. When someone dies, the body is left on a mountain, and then the family observes a month of mourning. The king wears a golden crown and sits on a throne adorned with golden lions, applies gold powder to his beard, wears brocade robes, and adorns himself with jewels.
This region is known for its excellent horses, large donkeys, lions, white elephants, large bird eggs, pearls, corals, lapis lazuli, agate, crystals, sapphires, rubies, diamonds, gold, silver, iron ore, copper, steel, tin, silk, fine cloth, woolen blankets, furs, fabrics, sandalwood, cloth woven with gold thread, deer skins, cinnabar, mercury, and a variety of spices, including incense, saffron, and musk. The Turks are unable to defeat them and can only exert symbolic rule. Persia frequently sends envoys to offer tribute.
From Persia, heading west for several hundred miles is the sea, heading east for over four thousand miles is the Kingdom of Mu, heading northwest for four thousand five hundred miles is Fulin (the Byzantine Empire), and heading east for eleven thousand seven hundred miles is Guazhou. Emperor Yang of Sui sent Li Yu, the Yunqiwei, to establish friendly relations with Persia, and later sent envoys to accompany Li Yu to offer tribute to Persia.
The Cao Kingdom, located north of Congling, was called Jibin during the Han Dynasty. The king of this kingdom is named Zhaowu, whose style name is Shunda, and he is a relative of the Kangju king.
The capital city measures four li around. They have over ten thousand well-trained soldiers. The country's laws are very strict, with death as punishment for murder or theft. However, their customs are quite superstitious, and they enjoy participating in various elaborate sacrificial rituals.
On Congling Mountain, there is a temple dedicated to the Shuntian God, which is grandly adorned with a roof of gold, silver, and copper, and the floor is paved with silver. Each day, thousands come to worship at the temple. In front of the temple, there is a fish spine with a hole in the middle, through which you can even ride a horse! The king wears a golden fish-shaped crown and sits on a throne made of gold, shaped like a horse.
This place produces rice, corn, beans, wheat, elephants, horses, a type of cattle called Fengniu, as well as gold, silver, bintie (a type of steel), carpets, cinnabar, indigo, frankincense, sandalwood, and various other spices, including rock honey, semi-honey, black salt, asafoetida, myrrh, and white aconite.
Heading north to Fanyan City is seven hundred miles, heading east to Jieguo is six hundred miles, and heading northeast to Guazhou is six thousand six hundred miles. During the Daye era of the Sui Dynasty, the Cao Kingdom also sent envoys to present various local specialties as tribute.
Fu Guo, located over two thousand li northwest of Shu County, was home to the southwestern tribes during the Han Dynasty. To the east of Fu Guo, there was a tribe known as Jialiang Yi; they governed their own tribe, with customs similar to those of Fu Guo, though their languages were not unified. None of the people had surnames. The king of Fu Guo was called Yi Zeng. Their territory was eight hundred li long from north to south and fifteen hundred li wide from the southeast, without city walls, situated near river valleys, and backed by mountains and cliffs. They had a strong sense of revenge, which led them to build "stone nests" for hiding from their enemies. These "stone nests" were more than ten zhang high (Chinese units of measure), with the lowest being five or six zhang, each layer about one zhang high, separated by wood. The base was about three or four steps wide, and the top of the "stone nest" was two or three steps wide, shaped like a pagoda. A small door was located on the bottom floor, which had to be closed at night to prevent theft. There were more than twenty thousand households in the country, and the king's word was absolute. The Jialiang Yi listened to their chiefs, where severe crimes were punishable by death and minor offenses resulted in a fine of a cow. They were all quite agile and skilled in sword fighting. They used lacquered leather for armor, bows that were six feet long, and bowstrings made of bamboo. They married multiple wives and sisters-in-law; if a brother died, the brother would also marry the brother's widow. They enjoyed singing and dancing, accompanied by drums, reed instruments, and flutes. When someone died, they did not wear mourning clothes; the body was placed on a high bed, cleaned, dressed in lacquered leather armor, and covered with animal skins. Descendants did not cry; instead, they danced and shouted with swords, proclaiming, "My father was taken by ghosts; I will avenge him and slay the ghost!" Other relatives would cry three times before stopping. Women had to cover their faces when crying. The deceased's family would slaughter cattle, while relatives would bring pigs and wine; everyone would eat and drink together, and then bury the deceased. Ten years after death, a grand burial ceremony would be held, inviting relatives and friends, during which horses—sometimes dozens—would be sacrificed. They would erect ancestral shrines for worship. They typically made leather hats, round like bowls; some even wore face masks. Most of their clothing was made from fur and leather, with boots crafted from whole cowhide. They wore iron chains around their necks and iron bracelets on their hands. The king and chiefs adorned themselves with gold jewelry, featuring a gold flower pendant on their chests, measuring three inches in diameter. The terrain was elevated, featuring a cool and windy climate ideal for cultivating wheat and barley. The mountains yielded gold and silver, and were home to many white pheasants. The rivers teemed with a type of desirable fish, measuring four feet long and possessing very fine scales.
In the year 608 AD, the king dispatched eight individuals, led by Su Fu, to the court to present tribute. The following year, he sent his student Yi Lin, accompanied by sixty individuals from Jialiangyi, to present tribute. They intended to present fine horses, but due to the road's perilous and steep nature, they couldn't pass through, so they requested the establishment of a mountain route for future tributes. Emperor Yang of Sui considered it too cumbersome and declined their request. Jialiangyi features a river approximately sixty to seventy zhang wide; the neighboring country possesses a river exceeding one hundred zhang in width. Both rivers flow south, and the locals use animal skins as boats to cross the river. South of the neighboring country lies a region known as Baoyuanyi, whose customs closely resemble those of the neighboring country. To the west of the neighboring country is a matriarchal society. To the northeast of the neighboring country is a range of rolling mountains stretching thousands of miles, all the way to the Dangxiang region. Numerous Qiang tribes inhabit the mountains: Daxiaozuofeng, Xiwei, Geyan, Baigou, Xiangren, Wangzu, Lintai, Chunsang, Lidou, Misang, Biyao, Dahua, Bailan, Chilimotu, Nae, Dangmi, Qubu, Sangwu, Qiandiao. These tribes all live deep in the mountains and forests, lacking a powerful leader to govern them. Their customs are similar to those of the Dangxiang people; some fall under the jurisdiction of Tu Yuhun, and some are attached to the neighboring country. Throughout Emperor Yang of Sui's reign, these tribes regularly visited the court to present tribute. Several officials were appointed in the southwest to oversee these tribes from a distance.
The history books say: from ancient times to the present, in order to open up remote areas and establish connections with frontier regions, there must be ambitious emperors and dedicated officials. Zhang Qian had previously opened up the Silk Road to the Western Regions, and Ban Chao later joined the army and continued the development of the Western Regions. They either used treasures to make friends or used swords to intimidate, risking their lives for fleeting glory, all because the emperor valued the reputation of opening up the border regions, and the officials were willing to sacrifice for it. Thus, when those in power favor something, those below are sure to pursue it even more vigorously.
Emperor Yang of Sui imitated the grandeur of the Qin and Han dynasties, indulging in excess and opulence. Pei Ju presented the "Record of the Western Regions" to cater to his thoughts, so Emperor Yang of Sui personally went to Yumen Pass and established Yiwu, Qiemu, and other places. Consequently, from Guanzhong to the Lop Nur region, the populace was rife with complaints and barely scraping by. Had the nomadic tribes in the north posed no threat and there were good news from the eastern barbarians, Emperor Yang of Sui would definitely have to build guard posts in Luntai, construct fortresses in Wulei, and seek ways to transport pearls from Rome and exotic bird eggs from Tiaozhi, which would have exhausted the country!
Ancient wise emperors kept their territories within a radius of five thousand li, focusing on stabilizing the Central Plains and simply wanting to avoid burdening the Central Plains with remote areas. Is it because they lacked prestige and virtue? No, they just didn’t want useless things to harm useful things. Therefore, the Qin Dynasty guarded the Five Ridges, the Han Dynasty used troops on the Three Borders, leading to either fields strewn with corpses or a drastic population decline. The Sui Dynasty, overestimating its strength, ultimately found itself in dire straits in the Qinghai region. All of these were because the rulers themselves lost their direction, resulting in the common people enduring great suffering.
If Emperor Yang of Sui could seriously consider the idea of "pacifying the border," firmly reject the suggestions to set up military garrisons, send those prized horses back, and not ask for tribute from those white wolves, then the western minority groups, even without a victory like the one at Liaodong, would not have faced tragedies like the Jiangdu Incident.
