Page:History of Corea, ancient and modern; with description of manners and customs, language and geography (1879).djvu/94

 70 YEN WANG. Whang had sometime before sent a messenger, in the guise of a merchant, to Yuwun, to invite his brother Han to return. The invitation was accepted, and Han was welcomed with demonstrations of the greatest joy. As the Yen kingdom had then its hands free, Han, now a general, advised Whang to take the offensive against one or other of his northern neighbours. He said that Yuwun was again very powerful, and might march in at any moment ; while Gaogowli was constantly prying into the eastern borders, and would be certain to take advantage of an inroad from the Yiiwun side on the north, to push in and cut off Liaotung on the east. This was well on in the spring of 341 ; but there is no reference to any threatened danger from the unwieldy host of Jao Wang. Whang believed the advice a good one ; and determined to anticipate danger, by at once inarching in upon Gaogowli, into which there were two routes, — tte northern being the easier ; the southern, by Moodichung,* difficult and very hilly. Thus we learn that war was then waged by those belligerents, without any apparent casus bdli, oth^r thaui the opportunity and the ability by one power to damage another power, which might possibly at some future period attack it So that, as in the case of some more recent wars, or war-cries, might was all, and right nothing. The Gaogowli men were expected to mass their troops on the north route, as that by which the Yen men would be sure to attack them. Whang, therefore, marched 40,000 of his best troops by the hilly south route, where the Coreans or Gaogowli were certain to be weakest; sending only 15,000 men by the north route. The Gaogowli had 50,000 men on the north rout^ ; Gaogowli city, the southern route must have been that via Siwyen, which certainly is the most mountainous, among the sources of the Yang river. The northern must therefore have been that from Liaoyang by Saimaji and Kwandien, which is all but level, though winding out and in among mountain ranges passing east and south along the Taidsu ; for the route through Moukden, by the Hwun river, is too far north and more difficult, and was indeed unknown then. Loongchung, besides, was right west of Liaoyang, and the Saimaji route was the most direct as weU as the mostleveL
 * A8 Moodi was in the neighbourhood of Kaichow, and then a Ck)rean or