History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 1023 Yelu Aspires to Become the King
[Yelü Wendeng]

Since the beginning of the Later Zhou Dynasty, Emperor Shizong Chai Rong, the Central Plains dynasty has been in full swing in the cause of unification. The southern vassal states have been pacified one after another, and the division of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms has come to an end. During this period, the northern neighbor was like a sudden shutdown. Not only did it sit back and watch the Central Plains unify the south, but it was also completely passive on the issue of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun. Especially during the "Yongxi Northern Expedition", the "History of Liao" once exclaimed that "our great Liao is going to die (Liao is also in danger)!"

The world is full of retribution, and no one can escape from the fate. In the process of the Khitan's growth, the chaos and disputes in the Central Plains were an important factor. Similarly, in the process of the Central Plains' national fortune turning from decline to prosperity, the internal division of the Khitan was also one of the objective reasons.

The Khitan power reached its peak during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Liao, Yelü Deguang. The landmark event was the destruction of the disobedient Later Jin Dynasty and the brief rule over the Central Plains. However, everything has its limits and the accumulated contradictions within the Khitan erupted with the death of Yelü Deguang, thus ushering in a period of decline that lasted for more than twenty years.

First, there was the "power struggle between grandfather and grandson" that almost caused a civil war, and then there was a smooth transition with the "crossing agreement". Under the surface peace, there were hidden waves, and internal conflicts continued to ferment. Liao Shizong Yelu Ruan encountered the "Huoshendian Incident" less than three years after he took office and was assassinated.

As detailed in the previous article, we have every reason to believe that it was not only Yelu Chage who had the idea of ​​regicide at that time. Before the various factions could reach a compromise on the issue of interest distribution, Yelu Chage forced them to split up and eventually chose the most cost-effective person to be the new emperor. This person was Yelu Deguang's eldest son, Yelu Jing, known in history as "Emperor Muzong of Liao".

The situation that Muzong faced at the beginning of his reign was no different from that of his predecessor, Shizong Yelu Ruan. Various forces were ready to seize the throne, rebellions were everywhere, and those who loved him often hurt him the most.

In September 951, Yelu Jing ascended the throne during the "Huoshendian Incident" and changed the reign title to "Yingli". Less than four months later, in the first month of the second year of Yingli, Taiwei Huguzhi took the lead in rebellion, which opened the curtain of rebellion in the reign of Emperor Muzong.

In the following two years, heroes from all walks of life joined in the event, including the "supporters and heroes" who had supported Yelu Jing in the past, as well as Yelu Jing's brothers.

For example, in July of the second year of the Yingli reign (952), Yelu Louguo, Yelu Dilie, Yelu Haili and others plotted a rebellion, but the plot was exposed and they were arrested. Among them, Yelu Louguo and Yelu Dilie played a role in supporting the enthronement of the emperor in the "Huoshendian Incident".

During the "Huoshendian Incident", the traitor Yelu Chage kidnapped the families of the generals and threatened to kill them, wanting to fight to the death with Yelu Jing. At the critical moment, Yelu Dilie volunteered to act as Yelu Chage's "lobbyist", but betrayed Yelu Chage instead, making him fall into the trap; and Yelu Louguo was the executioner who killed Yelu Chage with his own hands.

After Emperor Muzong ascended the throne, he appointed Yelu Louguo as the governor of Nanjing, sitting in Youzhou, a high-ranking position in Liao. Perhaps because he hated Yelu Dilie's cunning and treachery, Yelu Dilie did not receive the rewards that satisfied him, so he was resentful and colluded with Yelu Louguo, plotting to support Yelu Louguo on the grounds that Emperor Muzong was lazy in government.

Many sources mistakenly confuse "Yelü Dilie" and "Yelü Dilie", thinking that they are the same person, but in fact they are two different people.

Yelü Dilie was the son of Yelü Shubulu, the sixth court official; Yelü Dilie was the fourth son of Emperor Taizong and the half brother of Emperor Muzong. Their names have the same pronunciation and they lived in the same period. What's more interesting is that they were both involved in rebellion, and they both rebelled against Emperor Muzong. Dilie's deeds will be presented later.

Yelu Haili, his father is Yelu Balide, his grandfather is Yelu Lage, the younger brother of Yelu Abaoji. Since "Abaoji's younger brother" appeared, the rebellious gene was deeply imprinted in his bones. He inherited his father's business and passed it down from generation to generation. He never forgot his original intention on the road of rebellion and forged ahead.

Haili's grandfather, Yelu Lage, was the core backbone of the "Brothers' Rebellion". He rebelled three times and was pardoned three times, but he did not repent. Seeing that Taizu's throne was unshakable, he betrayed his country and defected to the enemy in despair. He defected to Li Keyong of Hedong, and then betrayed Hedong and defected to Later Liang. Li Cunxu destroyed Later Liang and captured him, but was killed because of his fickleness. His father, Yelu Balide, made countless contributions in the war to destroy Jin, but died before he had time to rebel. His wife, Yelu Haili's mother, lived up to the family tradition of rebellion and sided with Yelu Chage in the "Huoshendian Incident". She also sent people to contact Haili and asked him to cooperate.

Yelu Haili did not listen to his mother, and his choice saved the lives of mother and son. When the matter was settled later, his mother was spared punishment because he stood on Muzong's side. However, less than a year later, Haili colluded with Louguo and Dilie and really rebelled against Muzong.

During the reign of Emperor Muzong, there were numerous rebellions, and those who participated in the rebellions were basically members of the Yelu clan. There were many things that were inconvenient to disclose, and the historians were very secretive about them, so the work of sorting them out was extremely complicated. It is also worth mentioning that the records in the History of Liao are somewhat misleading:
For example, in the Chronicle of Emperor Muzong,

——"(July of the second year of Yingli) the political affairs officer Lou Guo, Lin Ya Di Lie, the attendant Shen Du, and Lang Jun Hai Li were arrested for plotting rebellion."

——"(October of the third year of the Yingli calendar) Li Huziwan, Langjun Ji Gan, Di Lie and others plotted rebellion..."

Obviously, "Di Lie" who conspired with Yelu Louguo to rebel should be a typo of "Di Lie", because Yelu Di Lie was the "Qunmu Du Linya" at that time.

In the Biography of Traitors - Yelu Dilie, it is also said that Yelu Dilie "conspired with his party to establish the State of Lou in the third year of Yingli", which contradicts the time in the previous text.

The Chronicle of Emperor Muzong also records:
"(In December of the ninth year of the Yingli calendar) Prince Dilie, former Xuanhui envoy Hai Si and Xiao Dagan conspired to rebel..."

"Biography of Rebellious Ministers - Yelu Haisi": "(Haisi) conspired with Ji Wang Dilie to rebel and died in prison."

"History of Liao: Table of Princes": "(Di Lie) conspired with Xuanhui Envoy Yelu Haisi and others to rebel."

Yelu Dilie also rebelled, apparently more than once. Although he was arrested for treason, he was treated leniently. Not only was he released, he was also given an important position. He eventually died for his country in the war against the Song Dynasty, successfully atonement with his precious life.

This "Xuanhui Envoy Yelu Haisi" was also from a prominent family. He was the illegitimate son of Yelu Shilu, who was the third uncle of Yelu Abaoji. In terms of seniority, Emperor Muzong Yelu Jing had to properly call Yelu Haisi "Grandpa".

Yelu Haisi was highly regarded by Emperor Taizong Yelu Deguang, who promoted him to be the Xuanhui Envoy. In the "power struggle between grandfather and grandson", Yelu Haisi, as the envoy of Emperor Shizong Yelu Ruan, was responsible for negotiating and communicating with the Queen Mother's camp, and his counterpart was Yelu Wuzhi, so after Emperor Shizong ascended the throne, Yelu Haisi got a good job - "in charge of the Queen Mother's various affairs". Obviously, after Emperor Muzong ascended the throne, he touched Yelu Haisi's cheese, which became the inducement for his rebellion.

The Liao monarchs really inherited the broad-mindedness of Taizu Abaoji. Rebellion was not necessarily punishable by death. The rebellions of the Yelus were often criticized and educated, and allowed to continue next time.

This is not a joke. In addition to Yelu Dilie, there are many others who meet the requirement of "continue next time", such as the protagonists in the conspiracy case in the third year of Yingli: Yelu Wan (son of Yelu Lihu), Yelu Yansage (second son of Emperor Taizong), Yelu Huageli (son of Yelu Yindish), and Yelu Xijian (son of Yelu Yindish).

The case itself is simple, but the people involved are not simple:
Needless to say, Yelu Lihu was the third son of Taizu; Yelu Yindishi was Taizu's younger brother. In terms of seniority, Huageli and Xijian were Muzong's uncles.

It is also worth mentioning that Yelu Yindish was also the leading actor in the "Brothers' Rebellion" and rebelled against Abaoji many times. He had four sons, namely Liuge, Pendu, Huageli, and Xijian. Do they look familiar? Yes, these four sons did not disgrace the family tradition and were indomitable in their rebellion:
Liuge and Pendu participated in the rebellion of Yelu Tiande (the third son of Emperor Taizong) and Xiao Han during Emperor Shizong's reign. They refused to admit their crimes after being arrested and were then released. Liuge then planned to assassinate Emperor Shizong alone. He still refused to admit his crimes after being arrested and swore a poisonous oath. As a result, he died of a carbuncle on his back after being released. Pendu continued to work hard and colluded with Yelu Chage in the "Huoshendian Incident". He was eventually executed by lingchi.

Now, Hua Geli and Xi Jian were involved in Yelu Wan's rebellion again. The two brothers continued to carry forward the glorious tradition of refusing to admit their crime, and were indeed acquitted (exonerated after pretending to resign). However, in less than half a year, they rebelled again and were finally sentenced to death.

There were five people, father and son, and each of them rebelled three times, but none of them ended well.

Yelu Yindishi's family was not alone, they were also accompanied by Yelu Lihu's family.

After Yelu Lihu failed in the "power struggle between grandfather and grandson", he was placed under house arrest along with his mother, the "broken-wrist empress dowager" Shulü Ping. He was also accused of "rebellion" at the time, but his "rebellion" was quite controversial. It was generally believed that Emperor Shizong could find a pretext to accuse him, and the possibility of Li Hu's rebellion at the time was very small.

Li Hu had two sons: the eldest son Yelu Xiyin and the second son Yelu Wan. This time (October of the third year of the Yingli calendar), it was the second son Yelu Wan who was involved in the rebellion case. However, more than two months later, in the first month of the fourth year of the Yingli calendar, Yelu Wan and Yelu Yansa Ge were released. Yelu Wan turned over a new leaf and became a new man. From then on, he reformed himself and never rebelled again.

Unlike Yelu Wan, who changed his mind, the eldest brother Yelu Xiyin did not forget his original intention and continued to hone his skills on the road of rebellion. In October of the tenth year of the Yingli calendar (960), Xiyin plotted a rebellion, but the plot was exposed and he was arrested. His confession implicated his father Yelu Lihu, and eventually led to Yelu Lihu's death in prison. However, Muzong actually released Xiyin without guilt, and even personally untied him and let the tiger go back to the mountains. As in the previous script, Xiyin carefully summed up the lessons of failure, and then rebelled again - failed - and was imprisoned.

This time, Muzong did not release him, but did not kill him either. Xiyin was kept in prison until a few years later when Muzong was assassinated and Jingzong ascended the throne.

When the new emperor ascended the throne, he issued a general amnesty as usual. When Xiyin heard that the emperor had changed, he was overjoyed and asked the jailer to take off his handcuffs and shackles. Then he went straight to the Jinluan Palace to chat with his nephew. Jingzong was the son of Shizong Yelu Ruan and the grandson of Yelu Bei. Yelu Xiyin was the son of Yelu Lihu and was a generation older than Jingzong.

Unexpectedly, Jingzong was furious and scolded his uncle: "You are a criminal, how dare you escape from prison?" He then issued an edict to execute the jailer, and then put Yelu Xiyin in prison again. After a period of time, Jingzong pardoned Xiyin, not only that, but also married the queen's sister to him, and the uncle and nephew became brothers-in-law again.

But even so, it did not improve the rebellious gene deeply rooted in Yelu Xiyin's bones. No matter you are Muzong or Jingzong, if you don't rebel, I will recognize you as my ancestor! Three years later, Yelu Xiyin rebelled - failed - and was imprisoned. Then, it was the same recipe, the same familiar taste, and Jingzong released him again.

Three years later, Jingzong promoted him to be the Southwest Recruiting Envoy. Yelu Xiyin did an excellent job and gradually gained Jingzong's favor. So... three years later, Yelu Xiyin rebelled again...

Jingzong was annoyed. It was three years, and then another three years. After three years, another three years. It had already been ten years. It was not over yet, right? He ordered his uncle and brother-in-law to be handcuffed and shackled and imprisoned in Zuzhou (the birthplace of the Yelu clan and the location of their ancestral tomb).

Some people's rebellion is a BUFF, some people's rebellion is a BUG, ​​Yelu Xiyin is a combination of both. Logically speaking, with the development of things to this day, Xiyin should be imprisoned in Zuzhou until death like his father Yelu Lihu, and he will not have the opportunity to rebel again. However, the tree wants to be still but the wind does not stop. The old lady does not want to cross the road, but the child insists on helping her cross the road. Someone wants to help him rebel - more than 200 Han soldiers who surrendered suddenly revolted.

The uprising was not a big deal, the key was that these 200 people were very politically savvy, and they were planning to support Yelu Xiyin. Yelu Xiyin was the eldest son of Yelu Lihu, who was the crown prince and the legal heir to the throne of the Liao Dynasty. So, rounding it off, Yelu Xiyin was the true emperor of the Liao Dynasty!
Unfortunately, the prison walls of Zuzhou were too high, and the surrendered soldiers of the Song army failed to break into the prison. The surrendered soldiers of the Song army changed their mind flexibly, gave up the prison break, and decided to support Xiyin's son, Yelu Liulishou, as the emperor. Liulishou was Xiyin's son, and if rounded off, he could also be the true emperor of the Liao Kingdom.

After all, there were only more than 200 people, and the uprising was quickly suppressed. Liu Lishou was captured alive and executed; Xiyin was also finally sentenced to death by Jingzong.

Xiyin rebelled many times himself and was spared the death penalty. This time, someone else helped him rebel, and he was sentenced to death. I guess Xiyin might have been struggling with a question before he died: "Am I wronged?" By the way, the laws of the Liao Dynasty are really... touching.

Finally, let’s talk about Yelu Yanxiage. Among the “rebellious group”, he has the closest blood relationship with Emperor Muzong. He is Muzong’s younger brother with the same father and mother.

Yelu Yansa Ge was also pardoned, but he also had the same tenacious rebellious temperament as the Yelu clan. After lying dormant for more than ten years, he rebelled again in the 968th year of the Yingli calendar (). In order to be absolutely sure, he planned to divine which day would be a good day for rebellion. At that time, the Si Tianjian Wei Lin was good at astronomy and divination, so Yelu Yansa Ge asked him to help him divine, and then... the plan was leaked.

Muzong was very angry, so he exiled him to the northwest. In fact, Yelu Yansa Ge only needed to wait a few more days, because a few months later, Muzong was assassinated.

In addition to the members of the Yelu clan, the imperial relatives also had ulterior motives, such as the emperor's uncle Xiao Meigude (also known as "Xiao Haizhen"). Xiao Meigude was the emperor's brother-in-law, who was stationed in Youzhou at the time and was a good friend of Li Han, a scholar of the Qinzheng Palace of the Liao Dynasty. The story of Xiao Meigude, the emperor's uncle, starts with this bosom friend Li Han.

Li Han served as a secretary of the Central Secretariat of the Later Jin Dynasty. When the Liao Dynasty destroyed the Later Jin Dynasty, he was captured and taken north. During this period, he stayed in Youzhou. During this period, he met a group of civil and military officers of the Liao Dynasty, including Gao Xun, which laid the groundwork for many things in the future. Li Han was knowledgeable and was appointed as a Hanlin scholar by the Liao Dynasty. After Emperor Muzong ascended the throne, he was promoted to the Minister of Works.

Li Han's elder brother was Li Tao. Both brothers were famous for their literature. Li Tao was also a Hanlin scholar in the court of the Later Han Dynasty. Li Tao has appeared many times in the previous article, so I will not repeat him here. Li Tao wrote a secret letter to Li Han, asking him to find a way to return to China to develop and contribute to the construction of the motherland.

You can't go home empty-handed, you have to bring some Liao specialties, such as the emperor's uncle. Li Han encouraged the emperor's uncle Xiao Meigu to go to the Central Plains with him.

Xiao Meigude was the brother-in-law of Emperor Shizong. His father was the famous general of the Liao Dynasty, Xiao Aguzhi (Aguzhi), who was also a founding hero of the Liao Dynasty. He had an older brother named Xiao Dilu, and his sister was even more famous - the "Broken-Wrist Empress Dowager" Shulü Ping.

It sounds like he has a prominent family background, but if it were during the reign of Emperor Muzong... the "Empress Dowager Party" is now dead, and the "Emperor Shizong Party" has long since fallen apart, while the Empress Dowager's nephew and Emperor Shizong's brother-in-law Xiao Meigude still controls a large number of resources. "History of Liao" records that he was the "Minister of Political Affairs" at that time, and "Zizhi Tongjian" says that he was the Jiedushi of Youzhou at that time.

What crime did he commit? He was guilty of possessing a treasure. His background of being a double debuff of "Queen Dowager's Party" and "Emperor Sejong's Party" determined that he must be the target of special attack and special care during Emperor Muzong's reign, and his cake needed to be divided. So he and Li Han hit it off and decided to betray the country and surrender to the enemy and defect to the Central Plains.

Li Han arrived in Youzhou from Shangjing on the pretext of going to Youzhou for medical treatment. He then contacted a Dingzhou agent named Tian Chongba and sent a secret letter to the Central Plains, revealing the true situation of the Liao Kingdom. The general idea was that Emperor Muzong was incompetent and the court would succeed if it sent troops to the north, or it would also benefit from peace talks with him. Then he reported that he had already instigated Xiao Meigu to rebel and asked the court to be prepared.

However, that year (952) the Central Plains (Later Zhou) was also having a hard time as it was busy suppressing the rebellion of Murong Yanchao in Yanzhou, so "as China was in turmoil, it was not able to follow suit."

Li Han could not wait for the reply from the Central Plains, and the Liao Kingdom also got wind of the situation. Seeing that the truth was about to be revealed, Li Han changed his clothes and fled at night. He fled to Zhuozhou, but was captured by a Liao patrol team, taken back to Youzhou, and imprisoned, preparing to be sent to Shangjing for trial.

When the jailer fell asleep, Li Han took off his belt and tried to hang himself, but he failed. So the jailers strengthened their supervision of him, put a full set of handcuffs and shackles on him, and "sent him to Shangjing". When he reached the Huanghe River (Xilamulun River), Li Han suddenly jumped into the river to commit suicide, thinking that these piles of iron chains on his body would eventually get him away. As a result, the iron chains got hooked and he failed to die. In the end, he was escorted to Shangjing for trial.

The emperor's uncle, Xiao Meigude, was originally a target of attack, so he was directly sentenced to death and executed immediately; Muzong also planned to execute Li Han, but his old acquaintance, Gao Xun, who had been appointed as the Privy Councilor at that time, pleaded for Li Han, saying that Li Han was not ungrateful, that he had an 80-year-old mother in the Central Plains, and he just wanted to go home to see her, nothing else. Moreover, Li Han's literary writing was unparalleled in the world, and letting him draft imperial edicts and diplomatic documents would bring glory to the country, so that the Central Plains would not laugh at us for being uncultured.

In his words, he compared Li Han to Han Yanhui, a founding hero, and praised Emperor Muzong as Emperor Taizu of Liao. So Emperor Muzong changed the death penalty to caning, whipped him a few times, and then imprisoned him in Fengguo Temple for six years.

Six years later, Emperor Muzong wanted to build a "Taizong Merit Monument" to praise his father, so he sought a talented writer to write it. Gao Xun stepped forward again and said that it had to be Li Han. When Emperor Muzong read Li Han's inscription, he was very pleased and immediately released Li Han and appointed him as the Minister of Rites and the Academician of Xuanzheng Hall. Later, Li Han died in the Liao Kingdom and never returned to the Central Plains. This is a later story.

This is the incident of the defection of Xiao Meigude and Li Han, the uncles of the emperor, in June of the second year of the Yingli calendar (952). By the way, Gao Xun's story is just the beginning, and he will be mentioned later.

In addition, there were political affairs that led Yelu Shouyuan and Taibao Chu'abu to rebel...

In short, the royal family, the Yelu, the foreign relatives, the meritorious officials who supported him... either plotted to overthrow him or conspired to betray the country and surrender to the enemy. This was the embarrassing situation when Muzong first ascended the throne. It can be said that it was even worse than that of Sejong.

Faced with this situation, Sejong chose to actively fight and push southward, hoping to ease internal conflicts through foreign wars, while Mujong chose to lie down.

(End of this chapter)