History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 215: White Horse and Green Ox Konoha Mountain

Although Zhu Wen's Later Liang did not inherit all the territories of the Tang Dynasty, the establishment of Later Liang was still a victory. The refusal of Hedong, Fengxiang, Xichuan, and Huainan to recognize it was also completely in line with expectations, and it could only be counted as "accounts receivable" on the balance sheet rather than as a loss.

In addition, the centrist forces at both ends of the stalemate all recognized the legal status of Later Liang without exception and paid tribute to it. It can be said that Later Liang achieved a more substantial unification than the Tang Dynasty.

At this point, the Later Liang Dynasty's replacement of the Tang Dynasty can already be given full marks. The recognition from Youzhou and the Khitan outside the Great Wall became a plus point for the Later Liang Dynasty and a windfall. Below we will briefly describe the origins and reasons of these two emerging "pro-Zhu factions".

[Blue Ox and White Horse Muye Mountain, the Eight Tribes unified the Khitan]

In the picturesque Muye Mountain at the confluence of the Xilamulun River (Huangshui River) and the Laoha River (Tuhe River), a celestial being riding a green ox and a young man riding a white horse met each other, fell in love and gave birth to eight sons. The eight sons multiplied and became the "Eight Khitan Tribes".

This is a beautiful legend that the Khitan people told about their ancestors.

The earliest record of "Khitan" can be found in "Book of Wei". They intersected with the Central Plains civilization during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. There were records of the Khitan people in the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties thereafter, but they were mostly seen in "Biographies of Foreigners" and "Biographies of the Four Barbarians: Northern Di". It was not until the Yuan Dynasty that the famous minister Tuotuo compiled the national history and established Liao, Jin and Song as the orthodox guiding ideologies. Thus, "History of Liao" was born, which is one of the "Twenty-Four Histories". It also shows that the Khitan people were accepted by the Central Plains civilization from then on, and the Khitans were also regarded as "Chinese". The history of the Khitans also became an important part of Chinese civilization.

Like many ethnic minorities, the study and verification of the early history of the Khitan has always been one of the difficult problems in the historical community. There are many reasons. For example, the early Khitans had no written language, and the so-called "history" was only passed down orally and lacked documentation. Most of the things recorded in history were people and events that had close interactions with the Central Plains, which lacked coherence. Their names and official titles were all transliterations, which brought certain troubles to historical research.

Therefore, it is more difficult than climbing to the sky to completely sort out the history of ethnic minorities such as the Khitan.

Since this book is titled "The Past of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms", it focuses on the game and historical development process of various ethnic groups and political forces in the Five Dynasties period, and tries to comprehensively and meticulously sort out the internal connections and logic. It mainly uses linear narrative to facilitate reading and understanding. The purpose is to focus on the big and let go of the small, seek common ground while reserving differences. In principle, it does not go into depth on Nanzhao, Khitan, etc., and only selects the intersection with the Central Plains civilization. While maintaining the integrity, it tries to take into account the individual integrity.

According to the records of the Central Plains history, the Eight Khitan Tribes were eight independent tribes that sometimes attacked each other and sometimes joined forces to invade the south. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, they invaded the newly established Northern Qi regime, but suffered a disastrous defeat and had to pay tribute to the Northern Qi regime. From then on, the suzerain-vassal relationship between the Khitan and the Central Plains dynasties was established.

After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, the Khitan continued to pay tribute to the Sui Dynasty.

At the end of the Sui Dynasty, the Central Plains was in chaos, and a powerful nomadic people, the Turks, emerged outside the Great Wall. The Turks swept across today's northern Asia, and the Khitans were forced to pay tribute to the Turks.

After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, the northern nomadic peoples attached themselves to the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, was also called "Heavenly Khan". The Khitans were no exception and paid tribute to the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty appointed the Khitan leader as "the governor of Songmo Governor's Office" and married him to a royal daughter, thus permanently establishing a nephew-uncle relationship. The Tang Dynasty used marriage as a means to win over the Khitans and gave them the surname of the country. Therefore, many Khitan nobles had the surname "Li". For example, Li Guangbi, a core general who later participated in quelling the "Anshi Rebellion", was a Khitan who was given the surname of the country.

When Wu Zetian changed the Tang Dynasty to Zhou Dynasty, the Khitan Li Jinzhong (apparently a name given by the Tang Dynasty) launched a rebellion. Wu Zetian was furious and ordered Li Jinzhong to be renamed Li Jinmie and sent troops to suppress the rebellion.

This war had a profound impact on both the Khitan and the Central Plains dynasties:
First, the Khitan. In this war, the Khitan leader was called Khan for the first time, which marked the establishment of the embryonic form of the Khitan state. It was a milestone in the history of the Khitan people, as it gradually transitioned from the primitive and backward tribal alliance system to the concept of "state".
Secondly, for the Central Plains dynasty, it is hard to imagine that the Khitan uprising directly saved the Li Tang Dynasty. Wu Zetian abolished the Li Tang Dynasty and wanted to pass the throne to the Wu family, so she made her nephews kings and generals and asked them to lead troops to suppress the rebellion in order to establish her prestige. However, she did not expect that the Wu family's children were useless and failed miserably. In the end, they had to rely on the old generals of the Li Tang Dynasty to suppress the rebellion. This made Wu Zetian clearly realize that the Wu family's children were useless and could not be entrusted with the country.

Moreover, Li Jinzhong and others also demanded that Wu Zetian restore the throne to Prince Luling (Tang Zhongzong Li Xian) and return the government to the Li family. This was a hidden pain in Wu Zetian's heart, like a thorn in her throat, but she had to face it seriously. Finally, before Wu Zetian passed away, she finally left a will that Prince Luling would inherit the throne, and the throne returned to the hands of Li Shimin's descendants.

During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji, An Lushan, out of selfish interests, actively undermined the good neighborly relations between the Tang Dynasty and the Khitans, forcing the Khitans to turn to the newly rising Uighur Khanate. The Uighur Khanate was relatively short-lived, and the Khitans soon returned to the embrace of the Tang Dynasty, which lasted until the end of the Tang Dynasty.

In the early days of the Khitan, the political system was a typical military democracy. Under the "tribe" there were clans, and each clan elected its own leader, called "adult". The eight "adults" then elected a tribal alliance leader to lead the eight Khitan tribes. This leader was the "Khan" in the future.

Political power comes from the barrel of a gun, and the title of Khan can only be held by the strongest clan. The first Khan was the Dahe clan of the "Hedahe tribe". The Khan's term of office is three years, and he can be re-elected. With the successive years of war, tribal leaders who are good at fighting gradually have more say. The Grand Marshal (Yili Jin) who holds military power abolished the long-standing practice of the Dahe clan serving as Khan, and let the Yaoyan clan serve as Khan.

Although the Khan was from the Yaonian clan, he was just a puppet. The real power of the Khitan was in the hands of the Grand Marshal.

During the reign of the ninth Khan of the Yaonian clan, Yaonian Qinde (also known as Hendejin Khan), the Central Plains was in turmoil at the end of the Tang Dynasty. The Khitans took advantage of this opportunity to conquer the Xi and Shiwei and invaded the Central Plains from the south. During the invasion, the You and Ji areas were the first to see the moon near the water towers, and the first to smell the stench near the manure pits.

At that time, Liu Rengong was already in charge of Youzhou.

Although on the battlefield in the Central Plains, Liu Rengong left us with the impression of a clown who was warlike and repeatedly defeated, and was not wise and brave, and even seemed a little mentally retarded in the game of geopolitics, he was dazzling on the battlefield outside the Great Wall. There is even a view in the historical community that Liu Rengong made great contributions to the Central Plains dynasty in resisting the invasion of the Khitan.

The Youzhou region borders the Khitan people's sphere of activity. During the long-term integration of the Central Plains civilization and the nomadic civilization, there was mutual population migration and in-depth cultural exchanges. Of course, there was also military and political intelligence exchanges.

Liu Rengong had a certain understanding of the Khitans. According to records, Liu Rengong led elite troops many times, crossed the Zhaixing Ridge, and launched surprise attacks on the Khitans' hinterland, achieving great results, which made the Khitans fearful of this "Youzhou Jiedushi".

The most fatal blow to the Khitan was Liu Rengong's act of setting fire to pasture. According to records, every autumn, Liu Rengong sent people to set fire along the border. The weather was dry and the vast grassland outside the border turned into a sea of ​​fire in an instant. We can imagine how terrible it was for nomadic people to have no pasture. Therefore, the Khitan people had to bribe Liu Rengong with a large sum of money, asking him to play with mud in the Northeast instead of playing with fire.

Historians have long been arguing that the so-called surprise attack on Zhaixing Ridge was not enough to cause too much damage to the Khitans, let alone make them fearful. The real deterrent effect should be the act of setting fire to the pasture.

After that, Khitan Khan Yaoyan Qinde sent the Grand Marshal with 10,000 cavalrymen to invade the south. Liu Rengong's son Liu Shouguang set up a Hongmen Banquet outside Pingzhou (now Lulong County, Hebei Province) to trick Khitan generals into attending the banquet, and then took them hostage. The Khitans were panic-stricken and cried loudly, so they had to pay a high ransom to redeem the hostages. This event is known in history as the "Bull and Wine Banquet."

The Khitan general in charge of this operation was the famous Yelu Abaoji (also known as "Anbajian"), the future founder of the Liao Dynasty. The captured general was Abaoji's brother-in-law, Xiao Dilu, who was recorded as the "Khitan Relic Prince" in the "Old History of the Five Dynasties".

"Shari" is a transliteration of the Khitan language, also known as "Shari", which means a Khitan noble son without an official position, which can be understood as "Beile Ye".

According to historical records, Liu Rengong captured Xiao Dilu with his wisdom, which made the Khitan dare not invade the south for more than ten years. This statement is not quite accurate. Because the Khitan did not invade the south for more than ten years, not because they were afraid of Liu Rengong of Youzhou, but because of a series of "internal troubles" caused by the transfer of the highest power within the Khitan.

(End of this chapter)