Go Sagye

Infobox Korean name
hangul=고사계
hanja=高舍鷄
rr=Go Sa-gye
mr=Ko Sa-kye|

Go Sagye (Hanyu Pinyin: Gāo Shèjī) (?) was a general of the Goguryeo in its last days. He was taken captive into Tang China after Goguryeo's fall, and served as a general for the Tang dynasty before giving his position to his son Go Seonji, who became a great general.

Background

General Go Sagye was from the Go family, therefore a distant relative of the Go Royal Family. Go became a general of Goguryeo from an unknown age and served under Emperors Yeongryu of Goguryeo and Bojang of Goguryeo.

General of Goguryeo

Go Sagye began his military service some time between the Goguryeo-Sui wars and the Goguryeo-Tang wars. He rose through the ranks and eventually became the Protector of Yodong Fortress. When the Tang invaded into Goguryeo in the second Goguryeo-Tang conflict in 645, General Go Sagye fought valiantly with his soldiers to protect Yodong fortress, which was among the major frontier fortresses, but eventually fell to a massive Tang army. He retreated with his surviving generals and inhabitants of the city to Ansi Fortress to assist General Yang Manchun in the famous Battle of Ansi Fortress. The combined forces of Yodong and Ansi were able to repel the Tang invaders at the fort of Ansi, and further stopping a military advance on the capital of Pyeongyang. General Go Sagye also played a major role in the Goguryeo-Tang conflicts that took place during 661 and 667.

The Fall of Goguryeo

The Tang launched a major invasion, one that was bent on destroying the Goguryeo Empire for good, in 668. The Silla Kingdom, an ancient Korean kingdom, allied with the Tang to destroy Goguryeo. The Tang-Silla Alliance destroyed all major frontier fortress of Goguryeo. This time, the Tang invaders swept past Ansi fortress and headed straight for Pyeongyang. At the same time, General Go left Yodong in the hands of one of his lieutenants and led a majority of Yodong's soldiers to assist Pyeongyang. General Go protected his nation's capital with all of his might, despite the overwhelming foe, but was undermined by an unexpected movement by Tang spies within Pyeongyang. These spies, assisted by some of Goguryeo's own generals, opened the south gate of the city and allowed the invaders to destroy the city and burn it to the ground. General Go managed to escape, leading many of Pyeongyang's citizens and surviving generals to Liaodong. Goguryeo fell, but revival movements sprang up almost immediately after.

Capture into Tang

General Go was captured by Tang soldiers and taken captive into Tang China. There, he served briefly as a general in the Tang army but gave his position and rights to his son, Go Seonji, who would carry on his legacy and become a great general.

See also

*Goguryeo
*Go Seonji
*Dae Jung-sang

External links

*ko icon [http://www.encyber.com/search_w/ctdetail.php?masterno=13612&contentno=13612 Brief information about 고사계 (高舍鷄)] at Encyber Dusan encyclopedia
*ko icon [http://www.idaegu.co.kr/seo/04/43.html Information about Go Sagye and Go Seonji] ]