Let me make a statement. I am not a researcher of Korean history, and my level is limited. This article is only written out of hobby. If there is any error, please correct me.
At the beginning of the biography, the "Four-Abandoned Counties" was mentioned, and the core prop of the play, Life and Death, was discovered by Yaxin from one of the abandoned National Teachers' Halls in one of the abandoned four counties. In fact, in history, there were four prefectures and six towns established on the border of the North during the Joseon Dynasty, but the map in the play shows only one place, which is obviously just a collective term.
But this is enough, because through the comparison of the map, it is not difficult to find that the abandoned four counties in the rumor is the Cicheng county that actually existed in history.
Because the four abandoned counties bred the grass of life and death, and through the mouth of the NPC in the play, it clearly told us that the four abandoned counties were strictly forbidden to enter for a hundred years:
Therefore, I came up with an idea. Through the discussion of the abandoned four counties in history, can we correspondingly investigate the reason why the abandoned four counties had life and death grass in the play and why it was first established and then abandoned and is forbidden to enter by outsiders. ? Sure enough, I found something, which I will mention later.
Let's first take a look at the four counties established by the Joseon Dynasty on the northern border in history. they are, respectively:
Set up Luyan County in 1416;
In 1433, Cicheng County was established in the southwest of Luyan County;
In 1440, Maochang County was established in the southeast of Luyan County;
In 1443, Yurui County was established between the southwest of Luyan County and Jiangjie and Lizhou.
These four counties are also known as the four northwest counties. Together with the six northeast towns of Qingyuan, Qingxing, Wencheng, Funing, Zhongcheng, and Huining located in the northeast border, they are collectively called four counties and six towns.
Four counties and six towns were gradually established by the Joseon Dynasty in response to the harassment of northern nomads, mainly Jurchen. And it is not difficult to see that this included the ambition of the Joseon Dynasty to expand northward.
However, due to the harsh geographical environment at that time, coupled with the difficulty of setting up counties and defending the city, even the Lee dynasty initiated the "Three Ways of Immigrants" (that is, the Lower Three Ways from North Korea: Chungcheong, Gyeongsang, and Jeolla) policy in an attempt The raised people were moved to four counties and six towns to recuperate, but it was not satisfactory. Coupled with the subsequent strength of the Mongolian Wara tribe, the occurrence of the Tumu Fortress, and the further expansion of the influence of the northern nomads, this shocked the North Korean government and the opposition. Therefore, the survival of the four northern counties has also become a major issue.
From expansion to defense, the abolition of the four counties also aroused fierce debates among Korean monarchs and ministers at the time. In the end, the abandoned faction prevailed. In the first year of King Sejo Joseon, the three counties were abolished, and in the end only one place was left in Cicheng county. This county seems to be alone in guarding the border, but in fact it is a lonely city. However, due to the activeness of the virgin tribe, the Korean monarchs still tended to keep this place as a precaution against national borders.
However, when the time came to Sejo Joseon for five years, Cicheng County had to be revoked. At the request of Shen Shuzhou, both of Ping An and Huanghai Road, Sejo approved and ordered execution. The following is the original text and pictures of Shen Shuzhou's performance:
"Bing Cao, according to Ping An and Huang Hai Dao, both experienced envoy Qi Benqi: "There are few people in Cicheng County, Ping An Dao, and it is divided into Yicheng, Chi Ninggui, and Xukong Bridge. More fatalities. From Shangtu to Wadong and Manpu in Jiangjie, there are many fields and sparsely populated land. Ask Geci City to move its people to Shangtu, Manpu, and Wadong. The former residents will move to Guicheng, and they will be tax-free in accordance with the new immigration regulations. The main road (bath) border Jiashi is from March to September, divided into two and one month, staying in the camp for 15 days, every day is given to two, physical exploration for fifteen days, every day to fifteen, from ten From January to February, if you stay in the camp and find out in the body, follow the previous item. There is no disadvantage of winning food exchanges, and it is easy to defend against, but get more, but for five or six years, receive the post of five or six ranks. The inland fighters were divided into eleven times, and they went to defense for four years, but in January, although it was ten years, it was not as good as the riverside fighters in one year. Whenever I change my head, I see the soldiers on the riverside, work and rest are uneven, and there is no time to go to office. From now on, the South Dao Jiashi, count the number of days to go to defense and the number of days to go, the Xianji Dao inland Jiashi and the two inland areas to supplement the Jiashi, also follow this example. "From there."
It mentioned the main reasons why Cicheng County was forced to withdraw:
Disease
According to historical data at the time, it was found that this infectious disease was not only aggressive, but it had spread in Cicheng County for several years. However, it has not been paid attention to, so it was delayed until a few years later. It was put on the agenda again, and directly affected the issue of whether to stay in the county.
In the rumor, the young Yaxin once discovered the stone wall carvings about the life and death grass in the National Teachers Hall, so he was able to understand how to use the life and death grass. Combining history, I speculate that the four counties in the play were abandoned because of the large-scale zombie infection (called the epidemic in the play), which caused almost all military and civilians in the county to be wiped out. Therefore, the imperial court was forced to withdraw the county. , Completely withdrew from the area and completely sealed it off, and for a hundred years later, no one was allowed to enter or leave. It was precisely for fear that the epidemic would spread again.
Of course, the play didn't elaborate on whether the life and death grass was originally grown in the Four Abandoned Counties or brought in by the outside world. Because through Yaxin’s eyes, although the Jurchen characters on the stone wall can be read, the four counties in the play have been abandoned for a hundred years, so it is not ruled out that the Jurchen tribe who came here to gather ginseng accidentally discovered the remaining life and death grass. , I learned its effectiveness through research, so I engraved it on the stone with pictures and texts, but the department (or this person) was also affected by the aftermath of the life and death grass, and died in the abandoned four counties, so the secret of life and death grass is a hundred years Time only remains in this area, but no one knows.
Because throughout the play, the Phanhu tribe where Yaxin is located (also known as Wuliangha in North Korea) and the Pozhuwei across the river (should be an allusion to Jianzhou Jurchen), these Jurchen tribes scattered along the Yalu River, they are completely It's not like knowing that the Life and Death Grass has existed. Residents nearby were only told through word of mouth that "something terrible lives there."
In the historical Cicheng County, not only North Korean soldiers and civilians lived in, but also the Jurchen tribe. Therefore, regarding the true origin of the Grass and the Destroyed Four Counties a hundred years ago, it seems that we will not know until we get a new plot or even a prequel.
One point to add: The Fanhu tribe in the play, the ancestor of Yaxin, is very likely to have participated in the zombie battle in the four counties and successfully helped the court to control the spread of the epidemic, so they were allowed to live in North Korea. Live here. This can be proved from Yaxin’s father:
In addition, the beginning of the play also clearly stated that the Fanhu tribe only began to live on this North Korean land more than a hundred years ago. This coincides with the time when the four abandoned counties were withdrawn.
And this is why the discriminated and oppressed Phanhu tribe was able to receive generous rewards from the monarch from North Korea from the beginning, to thrive on this land, and even to be exempted from taxes for a period of time. . At that time, the Jurchens of the Fanhu tribe, after penetrating the secrets of life and death grass in the four abandoned counties, only quietly carved them under the stone platform, which led to the first and second seasons of the kingdom and many stories about it.
View more about Kingdom: Ashin of the North reviews
