The Kingdom of Wunaho is located on the west side of the Wuxu River, which was formerly part of the Anxi Kingdom. The king bears the surname Zhaowu and is also a descendant of the royal family of the Kang Kingdom, with the courtesy name Foshi. The city wall of the capital stretches two li. The kingdom boasts only a few hundred elite soldiers. The king sits upon a throne shaped like a golden sheep. Heading northeast for four hundred li leads to Anguo, heading northwest for over two hundred li leads to Muguo, and heading east for seven thousand five hundred li leads to Guazhou. During the Sui Dynasty, they dispatched envoys to present local specialties as tribute.
Muguo, its capital is also located on the west side of the Wuxu River and is also part of the former territory of the Anxi Kingdom, neighboring the Kingdom of Wunaho. Their king's surname is Zhaowu and is also a descendant of the royal family of the Kang Kingdom, with the courtesy name Alanmi. The city wall of the capital measures three li, with two thousand elite soldiers. Heading northeast for five hundred li leads to Anguo, heading east for over two hundred li leads to the Kingdom of Wunaho, heading west for over four thousand li leads to Persia, and heading east for seven thousand seven hundred li leads to Guazhou. During the Sui Dynasty, they also sent envoys to offer local specialties as tribute.
Speaking of Persia, it is located in the city of Suline on the west side of the Duda River, also known as ancient Tiaozhi. Their king is named Kusahe. The capital is roughly ten li in diameter. There are over twenty thousand elite soldiers, some even riding elephants into battle! There is no death penalty in this country; the harshest punishments for crimes involve amputating hands and feet, confiscating property, shaving off beards, or wearing a sign around the neck to distinguish treatment. All individuals aged three and older are required to pay a tax of four coins. They also have a custom of marrying their own sisters. When the deceased pass away, they are placed on a mountain, and the family is required to observe a month of mourning. The king dons a golden floral crown, sits upon a throne crafted from golden lions, adorns his beard with gold powder, dresses in brocade robes, and adorns himself with jade pendants.
This country of Persia is rich in good horses, large donkeys, lions, white elephants, as well as enormous bird eggs, pearls, porphyry (a type of gemstone), beast spirit (a type of gemstone), coral, glazed pottery, agate, crystal, sese stone (a type of gemstone), hulujie (a type of gemstone), luteng (a type of gemstone), firestone (a type of gemstone), diamonds, gold, silver, jinyu stone (a type of ore), copper, bintie (a type of steel), tin, brocade, fine cloth, felt, tufted cloth, huna (a type of fabric), yuenobu (a type of fabric), sandalwood, fabric woven with gold thread, red deer skin, cinnabar, mercury, as well as various spices such as aloeswood, saffron, benzoin, and agarwood, pepper, bibo (a type of spice), honey, semi-honey (a type of sugar), thousand-year dates, aconite (a type of medicinal herb), helile (a type of fruit), wushizi (a type of fruit), salt green (a type of pigment), and orpiment (a type of pigment). The Turks were unable to overcome them, so they had to resort to a policy of subjugation. The Persian country often sent envoys to offer tribute offerings to the Central Kingdom.
Heading west from the Persian country, after a few hundred miles is the sea; heading east for over four thousand miles is the Mu country; heading northwest for four thousand five hundred miles is Fuling (Byzantine Empire); and heading east for eleven thousand seven hundred miles is Guazhou. Emperor Yang of Sui sent Li Yu, the captain of the Cloud Riders, to visit Persia, and later sent others with Li Yu to offer various items as tribute offerings.
Cao country, north of the Congling Mountains, was called Jibin country during the Han Dynasty. This place sounds quite mysterious now.
Its king's surname is Zhaowu, whose courtesy name is Shunda, and he is a relative of the King of Kang country. The capital city is relatively small, measuring only about four square miles. The military consists of just over ten thousand troops. However, the laws here are quite strict, with death penalties for murder, arson, theft, and other crimes. The common people have a rather unfortunate habit of being especially superstitious about various chaotic rituals.
On the mountain of Congling, there is a place where spirits are worshipped. The scene is truly opulent, adorned with gold, silver, and bronze. The structures are crafted from gold, silver, and bronze, and the ground is laid with silver. At least a thousand worshippers visit daily. In front of this place of worship, there is even a fish spine with a hole in the center large enough for a horse to pass through, which is quite miraculous. The king dons a hat fashioned from gold fish heads and sits upon a throne crafted from gold horses.
This place is rich in resources, with rice, corn, beans, wheat, elephants, horses, yaks, gold, silver, bintie, a type of high-quality steel, carpets, cinnabar, indigo, incense, sandalwood, honey, and semi-honey, which may refer to a type of honey product, as well as black salt, asafoetida, myrrh, and white aconite. From Caoguo to the north to Fanyan is a trek of seven hundred li; to the east to Jieguo is a trek of six hundred li; and to the northeast to Guazhou is a trek of six thousand six hundred li. During the Sui Dynasty, Caoguo even sent envoys to present local specialties as tribute.
Fu Guo, more than two thousand miles northwest of Shu County, was the territory of the southwestern tribes during the Han Dynasty. To the east of Fu Guo was a tribe called Jialiang Yi, each led by their own chieftains. Their customs were similar to those of Fu Guo, but their language varied slightly and lacked a standard form. They did not use surnames. The king of Fu Guo was named Yi Zeng. Their country was eight hundred miles long from north to south and fifteen hundred miles wide from southeast to northwest, lacking city walls, situated near river valleys, and flanked by mountains and cliffs. They liked revenge, so they constructed "stone nests" from piled stones for protection against enemies. These "stone nests" stood over ten zhang tall, with the shortest measuring five or six zhang, each floor exceeding one zhang in height, separated by wooden beams. A small door was located on the ground floor, and the door had to be closed at night to deter thieves. There were more than twenty thousand households in the country, all obeying the king's orders. The laws of Jialiang Yi were issued by the chiefs, where severe crimes were punishable by death, while minor offenses resulted in a fine of a cow. They were nimble and proficient in swordsmanship. They used lacquered leather for armor, bows six feet long, and bowstrings made of bamboo. They married multiple wives and sisters-in-law, and if a brother died, the surviving brother would marry the widow. They took pleasure in singing and dancing, accompanied by drums, reed pipes, and flutes. Upon a person's death, there was no requirement for mourning attire. The body was laid on a high platform, washed, dressed, covered with lacquered armor, and then draped in animal skins. Descendants refrained from crying; instead, they danced in armor with swords, shouting, "My father was killed by a ghost, I will avenge him and kill the ghost!" Other relatives would cry three times before falling silent. Women were required to cover their faces with both hands while weeping. The family of the deceased was expected to slaughter a cow, and relatives comforted one another with pork and wine, drinking and eating together before burying the deceased. A lavish funeral was conducted ten years later, gathering relatives and friends, sacrificing horses, sometimes dozens of them. They erected ancestral shrines for veneration. They donned leather hats shaped like bowls, some adorned with veils. Their clothes were mostly made of fur and leather, and they wore 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, with a gold flower three inches in diameter hanging from their chests. The terrain was elevated, featuring a cool, windy climate with little rainfall. The soil was well-suited for cultivating wheat and barley. Gold and silver could be found in the mountains, and numerous white pheasants inhabited the area. The river teemed with a type of desirable fish, measuring four feet long with very fine scales.
Next is the second paragraph, continue the translation.
In the year 608 AD, which was the fourth year of Emperor Yang of Sui's Daye era, their king sent eight people to meet the emperor.
The following year, he sent his student Yilin with sixty people from the Jialiang Yi tribe to offer tribute. They wanted to provide good horses, but due to the treacherous and impassable roads, they requested the opening of a mountain road to facilitate their tribute. Emperor Yang of Sui felt this would burden the common people too much, so he did not agree.
The Jialiang Yi people lived by a river, approximately sixty to seventy zhang wide; on the other side of the country, there was another river, more than a hundred zhang wide, both flowing southward, and they used animal hides to make boats to cross the river.
To the south of the country, there was a tribe called the Baoyuan Yi, whose customs were similar to those of the Jialiang Yi. To the west of the country, there was a matriarchal kingdom. In the northeast, continuous and undulating mountain ranges stretched for thousands of miles, extending all the way to the Dangxiang region. The mountains were dotted with Qiang tribe settlements: Daxiaozuofeng, Xiwei, Geyan, Baigou, Xiangren, Wangzu, Lintai, Chunsang, Lidou, Misang, Biyao, Daha, Bailan, Chilimotu, Nao, Dangmi, Qubu, Sangwu, Qiandiao. These tribes all lived in deep mountain valleys, lacking a single chief to unify them. Their customs were similar to those of the Dangxiang people, some under Tuyuhun's jurisdiction, while others were affiliated with the country. During the Daye reign of Emperor Yang of Sui, these Qiang tribes all came to the court to offer tribute. The court established several administrative offices along the southwestern border to manage these remote tribes.
The historical records say: throughout history, to open up remote areas and establish connections with border regions requires enlightened and open-minded emperors, as well as ministers who are enthusiastic about this. Zhang Qian opened up the Western Regions, and Ban Chao followed by taking up arms. They either used precious treasures to make friends or sharp swords to intimidate, risking their lives for fleeting glory. All of this is because the emperor values the reputation of expanding the borders, and the ministers are willing to sacrifice themselves. Therefore, those in power prefer certain pursuits, and the people below will be even more enthusiastic about them.
Emperor Yang of Sui imitated the opulence of the Qin and Han dynasties, even surpassing them. Pei Ju submitted the "Record of the Western Regions" to appease his ambitions, so Emperor Yang of Sui personally led a campaign to Yumen Pass, establishing territories in Yiwu, Qiemo, and other places. As a result, complaints were rampant, and the populace struggled to survive from west of Guanzhong to the desert. If the northern nomadic tribes were not a threat and positive news came from the Eastern Yi, Emperor Yang of Sui would definitely station troops at Luntai and construct cities at Wulei to seek the bright pearls of Daqin and obtain the eggs of exotic birds from Tiaozhi. In this way, how could they possibly bear such a massive logistical burden?
The rule of wise emperors in ancient times was limited to a radius of five thousand li, focusing on stabilizing the Central Plains and neglecting the distant and uncivilized regions. Does this mean their influence couldn't reach those areas, or their benevolence extend there? No, they simply did not want the remote areas to deplete the strength of the Central Plains, nor did they want useless matters to harm useful ones. Therefore, the Qin Dynasty stationed troops at the Five Ridges, and the Han Dynasty used troops on the three borders, resulting in either corpses littering the fields or a sharp decrease in population. The Sui Dynasty, relying on its strong power, also ended up in a sorry state in Qinghai. Ultimately, this was due to the rulers losing their way, which resulted in the people's suffering.
If Emperor Yang of Sui could give serious thought to the concept of "pacifying the border areas," stubbornly refuse the general's request, return the thousand-mile steed, and not ask for tribute from the White Wolf, then even without a victory in Liaodong, how could Jiangdu have met such a tragic end?
