Protectorate General to Pacify the East

History

After the Tang dynasty conquered Goguryeo in 668, the Protectorate General to Pacify the East, otherwise known as the Andong Protectorate, was created in Pyongyang and supposedly stationed with 200,000 soldiers. The protectorate was divided into 9 commanderies, 42 prefectures, and 100 counties with an estimated 697,000 Goguryeo households.

In 669 the people of Goguryeo revolted in response to Tang governance. In response the Tang forcibly deported tens of thousands of households and resettled them in empty areas south of the Changjiang (Yangtze) and Huai River, each in contemporary China. The weak and poor were left behind and assigned to guard duty in service of the protectorate. Different numbers of households are given by various sources. According to the Samguk Sagi citing Chinese sources, the Zizhi Tongjian says 38,200 households, the Old Book of Tang and Tongdian say 28,200, and the New Book of Tang says 30,000. The Samguk Sagi says 38,300. Mark Cartwright gives a number of 200,000 people forcefully resettled including the king. Wang Zhenping gives a figure of 78,000 households.

From 670 to 675, Goguryeo loyalists aligned with Silla launched offensives against the Tang Chinese on all fronts within and outside the Protectorate. Aided by Silla, Goguryeo generals such as Go Yeonmu and Geom Mojam reclaimed parts of former Goguryeo territories after winning several decisive battles in Ogol, Gaedonyang, and Paeseo. For instance, Go Yeonmu, led a counter-offensive against the Tang armies in Liaodong alongside the Sillan general Seol Oyu in 670, defeating the Tang armies stationed in the area and occupying it briefly until 674. Originally Emperor Taizong of Tang promised to exchange Baekje and the lands south of Pyongyang in return for Silla's military cooperation. However Taizong died before the conquest of Goguryeo was completed, and his successor Gaozong reneged on the promise.

In 671, Sillan forces drove out the Tang. In 675 the Tang attacked Silla and defeated them in Gyeonggi. In response Munmu of Silla dispatched a tributary mission to Tang with apologies. Gaozong accepted Munmu's apologies and withdrew Tang troops to deal with the Tibetan threat in the west. Seeing the Tang's strategic weakness, Silla renewed the advance on Tang territory. Silla took all the territory south of the Taedong River in a series of battles in 676.

By 676 the Tang were forced to relocate the protectorate seat to the more easily defendable city of Liaoyang.

In 677 the seat was moved to Xincheng, in modern Fushun, Liaoning.

The deposed Bojang of Goguryeo was designated "Liaodong Commander King of Joseon" (Korean: 요동주도독 조선왕; Hanja: 遼東州都督朝鮮王) in 667. Upon arriving in Liaodong, he plotted with the Mohe people to revive Goguryeo. News of his intentions reached the Tang, and Bojang was banished to southwestern China in 681.

In 697 a rebellion by the Khitan Li Jinzhong in Hebei led to the court's recommendation for Andong to be abandoned and for the members of the former Goguryeo royal house to rule on behalf of the Tang.

In 698, Andong Protectorate was demoted to Andong Area Command.

In 699, Tang troops were withdrawn from Liaodong and Ko Tŏngmu was appointed to the Andong Area Command. However, the "Granted Vassal King of Goryeo-Joseon" is recorded to have attended a state ritual held by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang in 725. This person was likely Ko Tŏngmu and was an inner official, which Kim Jong-bok argues means that Ko Tŏngmu was actually stationed in Tang territory and not Liaodong. According to the Old Book of Tang, after 699, the dispersed Goguryeo people defected to the Turks and the Mohe people, putting an end to the Goguryeo royal line. The New Book of Tang and other sources state that Goguryeo flourished and provided musicians to the Tang court in 818.

In 705 the protectorate seat was moved to Youzhou west of present day Beijing and Andong's status as Protectorate was restored.

In 714, the seat was moved to Pingzhou, in modern Lulong County, Qinhuangdao, Hebei.

In 717, the Tang restored Ying Prefecture (modern Chaoyang, Liaoning).

In 720, the Andong Protector General Xue Tai led 500 troops to attack the Tang but was captured.

In 736, the Tang formally recognized Silla's control of Korea south of the Taedong River. In 743, the seat was moved to the Old City of Liaoxi, possibly Ying Prefecture in modern Chaoyang, Liaoning.

The Protectorate General to Pacify the East, otherwise known as the Andong Protectorate, was abandoned in 756 or ended in 761. Another source dates the abolishment of the Andong Protectorate to 758. According to the Old Book of Tang, by the end of the Andong Protectorate during the Tianbao period (742-756), none of the 14 prefectures had moats and the area contained only 5,718 households and a population of 18,156 people.