History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 420: Broken Wrist Queen Mother 3
After Yelü Abaoji's death, the crown prince Yelü Bei should have inherited the throne. However, Shulü Ping, on the pretext of her young age, temporarily took over the throne, that is, she sat on the throne as the empress dowager and issued orders in the name of the emperor.

To rule the country from behind the scenes is a step further than to rule from behind the scenes. To go half a step further is to be called the empress. So Shulü Ping's current role is between Empress Dowager Cixi and Empress Wu Zetian.

Afterwards, Shulü Ping brought Yelü Bei and hundreds of civil and military officials back to Beijing with Yelü Abaoji's coffin.

Civil and military officials, as well as meritorious nobles, all supported Crown Prince Yelü Bei, and there was a strong demand for Yelü Bei to inherit the throne. Whether Shulü Ping took power or deposed the eldest son and enthroned the youngest son, she would face great resistance.

Most people would turn back when they hit a wall, but Shulü Ping chose to push the wall down. In eradicating dissidents, Shulü Ping finally showed her chilling cruelty.

On this day, Shulü Ping summoned more than one hundred Khitan nobles who usually opposed her. These people were basically meritorious veterans who followed Yelü Abaoji. They enjoyed extremely high prestige within the Khitan and had a certain say in the internal affairs of the royal family. Obviously, their opposition brought huge resistance to Shulü Ping.

Facing more than a hundred meritorious nobles, Shulü Ping said with a pleasant face: "My dear ministers, you have followed the late emperor for many years and have made great contributions. How did the late emperor treat you?"

Everyone had a strong desire to survive, so of course they all rushed to answer: "The late emperor's kindness to us was as great as a mountain!"

"Yes, good. Now that the late emperor has passed away, do you miss him?"

Everyone had a strong desire to survive, so of course they all rushed to answer: "I miss the late emperor very much."

"That's right. The late emperor missed you too. How about this, you should accompany the late emperor."

As soon as he finished speaking, countless swordsmen and axemen flashed out from both sides, swinging their swords and chopping people without breaking up. More than a hundred Khitan nobles became ghosts under the sword in the blink of an eye.

The wives of these nobles were anxious and came to Shulü Ping to appeal, "Why did you kill our husbands? What crime did they commit?"

Shulü Ping smiled coldly and said, "The ruler and the minister are one. My husband is the ruler of your husbands, and I am your ruler. Now, I am a widow, how can you not be a widow? If you are not decent, I will help you be decent. You are welcome."

From then on, "missing the late emperor" became Shulü Ping's justification for eliminating dissidents and killing people. Whenever someone did not follow her wishes, she would ask him this fatal question, "Do you miss the late emperor?"

This trick has been tried and tested and has always worked. All the civil and military officials in the court are trembling with fear and dare not speak out.

Until one day, Shulü Ping met a tough guy, who was Zhao Siwen, a Han general who was a surrendered general.

Zhao Siwen was originally a general under Liu Rengong. When Li Cunxu conquered Youzhou, Zhao Siwen fought with him. During the fierce battle, one of Zhao Siwen's eyes was hit by a stray arrow. He tore off his battle robe, wiped the blood, and did not leave the front line, still resisting tenaciously. His bravery and tenacity deeply moved Li Cunxu.

Finally, Zhao Siwen was captured alive by Zhou Dewei. Li Cunxu personally untied him and took him under his command. From then on, Zhao Siwen turned to work for the Hedong Group. In the subsequent confrontation on the Jiahe River, Zhao Siwen fought hard against the Later Liang and made many military achievements. He was awarded the title of Pingzhou Governor and the commander-in-chief of the army of Pingzhou, Yingzhou and Jizhou. If he had gone further in this position, he would have become a high-ranking official such as the Tuanlianshi and Jiedushi.

However, in 923, the Khitan "General of the Army" Yelu Deguang (the second son of Yelu Abaoji) led an invasion to the south, conquered Pingzhou, and captured Zhao Siwen. From then on, Zhao Siwen served the Khitan.

When attacking Bohai, Zhao Siwen risked his life and was seriously injured. After the battle, Yelu Abaoji personally applied ointment to him. It was this Han surrendered general who had just surrendered to Khitan for a few years, but somehow he offended Shulü Ping. Shulü Ping also put this life-threatening question in front of Zhao Siwen, "Do you miss the late emperor?"

Zhao Siwen, who was used to seeing life and death, took the risk and suddenly retorted: "You are the closest person to the late emperor. Now that the late emperor is gone, don't you miss him? Don't you go to accompany the late emperor? If you go, I will follow you."

As soon as these words came out, the court fell silent. Everyone was surprised at Zhao Siwen's audacity to speak to Shulü Ping in this way, but at the same time, they were also happy to watch and see how Shulü Ping would respond. Zhao Siwen also helped everyone vent their anger.

Shulü Ping was also choked by Zhao Siwen on the spot and was speechless for a moment.

After a brief silence, Shulü Ping slowly said: "My dear minister, you are absolutely right. I should take the lead to accompany the late emperor. But the prince is still young, the ruler is young and the country is in doubt, I am worried..."

The ministers laughed in their hearts, and could not hide their contempt and disdain on their faces. But what Shulü Ping did next shocked everyone:

"But...if I don't say anything, it will lead to people talking about me and slandering me for being hypocritical, which is not enough to convince people. How about this——" Shulü Ping drew out the sword from her ribs, and in a flash, she chopped off one of her hands. When she cut off her wrist, Shulü Ping didn't change her expression or heart rate, and she didn't even blink, as if she was not the one being chopped off.

In the astonished eyes of the crowd, Shulü Ping picked up her severed hand and said, "Let this hand accompany the late emperor first. When the prince grows up and is able to rule the country, I will naturally accompany the late emperor."

Her severed hand was buried with Yelu Abaoji's coffin.

From then on, no one in the court dared to oppose Shulü Ping anymore. Shulü Ping also earned the nickname "The Broken Wrist Queen Mother".

A ruthless person is a ruthless person. Killing others is not a skill. What is more powerful is that he can cut his own flesh while chatting and laughing with others.

The History of Liao Dynasty, of course, glorified her, describing the story of her cutting off her wrist as "(Yelü Abaoji) wanted to die with him when he was buried, but his relatives and officials strongly advised him against it, so he cut off his right wrist and put it in the coffin."

By using the life-threatening question "Do you miss the late emperor?" and the heroic act of cutting off her own wrists, Shulü Ping eliminated dissidents, and no one in the court, including civil and military officials and Khitan nobles, dared to challenge Shulü Ping's authority anymore.

The highest power institution of Khitan was controlled by Shulü Ping, who could make things happen at will. However, she was well aware of the serious harm that "ruling the country from the bottom of her heart" brought, and she had no intention of following the example of Wu Zetian. In the end, she wanted her son to succeed to the throne.

However, she was very opposed to her eldest son Yelü Bei succeeding to the throne, and was determined to let her second son Yelü Deguang inherit the throne. Obviously, there was no force in the Liao Dynasty that could stop Empress Dowager Shulü from deposing the eldest son and enthroning the youngest son. In fact, she succeeded in deposing the eldest son and enthroning the youngest son, with her second son Yelü Deguang inheriting the throne.

Under the strong intervention of Empress Dowager Shulü, the Liao Dynasty completed the transfer of supreme power. However, the historical community is quite controversial about this practice of deposing the eldest and enthroning the youngest, with mixed reviews.

Beneath the seemingly calm surface, there was a huge political crisis hidden, with many hidden dangers, which even almost caused a civil war several years later.

Both the palm and the back of the hand are made of flesh and blood. Yelu Bei and Yelu Deguang were both biological sons of Empress Dowager Shulü. Why did the wise and scheming Empress Dowager Shulü insist on deposing the eldest son and enthroning the youngest son, and insisted on letting the second son ascend the throne?

(End of this chapter)