History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 421 Line Struggle
[Line Struggle]

This was the first transfer of supreme power since the founding of the Liao Dynasty, and also the first and largest political struggle within the palace. Empress Dowager Shulü supported the second son, Yelü Deguang, to succeed to the throne, and forcibly removed the legal successor - the crown prince and eldest son, Yelü Bei.

The fundamental reason is the different political lines, different concepts of governing the country, and the fierce collision of two civilizations.

This is also a choice that all nomadic peoples have to face. In short, it is the question of whether to assimilate into the Sinicization system.

With the assistance of Han strategist Han Yanhui, the Khitans pioneered the "Han-Fan division". Within the territory of the Liao Dynasty, two political systems coexisted, including the old Khitan system and the Han legal and ritual system, with dual cards and dual standby.

The eldest son of the emperor, Yelü Bei, is a typical representative of Han-French culture. Yelü Bei admired the culture of the Central Plains, was skilled in poetry, calligraphy, painting, medicine, etc., and was obsessed with the culture of the Central Plains. He can be regarded as a "Han school".

When the Khitan was founded, Yelu Abaoji once asked his close ministers, "As a king who is entrusted with the mission, he should serve the gods and respect them. I want to worship those who have made great contributions, but who should I worship first?" In other words, he was asking the Khitan people who they should recognize as the national mascot, as the spiritual symbol of their country and nation.

The ministers around him all said in unison that the Buddha should be respected.

Yelu Abaoji shook his head and vetoed the proposal, saying that "Buddhism is not a Chinese religion." Obviously, Yelu Abaoji considered himself a "Chinese," believed that the Khitan people were part of the Huaxia people, and were an important part of Chinese civilization, and that he was the inheritor of Chinese civilization.

This is what we have repeatedly emphasized: China's territory was never formed by armed invasion, but was the natural result of cultural identity and sense of belonging. Even though they were rejected by the people of the Central Plains at that time, the Khitans were proud to be Chinese and proudly declared themselves to be the inheritors of Chinese culture.

The ministers looked at each other, not knowing who to nominate.

At this time, Yelu Bei replied: "Confucius is a great sage, respected by all generations, so he should be put first."

When Yelu Abaoji heard this, he was delighted and immediately ordered the construction of a Confucius Temple. He also ordered the crown prince to personally preside over the worship every spring and autumn.

Worshiping Confucius and respecting Confucianism are the most obvious political symbols.

After the Khitan annexed the Bohai Kingdom, a thorny problem was placed before Yelu Abaoji, which was how to govern the Bohai Kingdom.

The Bohai Kingdom had a history of more than 200 years. Although the main ethnic group was not Han, it had always taken the Tang Dynasty as its mentor and completely adopted the Han system for more than 200 years. Its level of civilization far exceeded that of the Khitan, whose main ethnic group was nomadic civilization.

Therefore, the best way to govern the Bohai Kingdom is to have someone who is proficient in Chinese law to guard it, and this person must have a high reputation in the Khitan Kingdom.

Obviously, Crown Prince Yelü Bei was the best candidate. No one in Khitan understood Chinese law better than him.

Therefore, Yelu Abaoji changed the name of Bohai Kingdom to "Dongdan Kingdom" and appointed Yelu Bei as the King of Dongdan to guard the place.

Yelu Abaoji was extremely happy that he had such an educated son. He caressed Yelu Bei's back and said happily: "I am relieved when you do the work! (With you ruling the East, I have nothing to worry about)"

Yelu Abaoji, who had spent his whole life in the military, ignored another more critical and thorny problem. Yelu Bei did not ignore it. He had something stuck in his throat that he could not express. When Yelu Abaoji arranged the affairs of the Dongdan Kingdom and prepared to return, Yelu Bei fell to the ground and cried bitterly. According to etiquette, he should cry. As mentioned earlier, the essence of feudal etiquette is one word - crying, but Yelu Bei cried bitterly from the bottom of his heart this time. According to historical records, this 28-year-old young man "wailed out in tears."

He cried, but could not tell the reason for his crying, he just hoped that his father could understand it himself. His father could not understand it, he just thought that his son was being filial, so he comforted him with kind words.

He can't say it, but we can. What Yelu Bei was crying about was the issue of the successor to the empire.

Yelü Abaoji had long ago designated Yelü Bei as the crown prince, the legal successor to the empire. However, the crown prince should live in the crown prince's eastern palace, and be ready to take over at any time in the palace. When the current emperor has to leave the capital for something, the crown prince will "regent the country" and act as the emperor. Even if the crown prince is away for some reason, once the emperor feels that he is about to die, he will ask his trusted ministers to hurry up and summon the crown prince to the palace to prepare for succession.

However, Yelu Abaoji abandoned his prince in the distant Kingdom of Dongdan.

If you are not feeling well one day, will I, the crown prince, be able to return to the palace and ascend the throne smoothly?

During the war, Yelu Abaoji appointed his second son Yelu Deguang as the "Grand Marshal of the Army of the World". Generally speaking, this official position is an exclusive title for the crown prince.

Now, Yelu Abaoji left Yelu Bei in Dongdan Kingdom and took Yelu Deguang back to the capital Shangjing Linhuang Prefecture.

How should Yelu Bei feel about all this? An ominous premonition arises spontaneously. But these words cannot be said, otherwise... What, are you, the "crown prince", eager to become the official? If the emperor doesn't die, do you want to help him die?

Therefore, apart from falling to the ground and crying, Yelu Bei was unable to speak.

The Khitan quickly annexed the Bohai Kingdom. They bit off more than they could chew, and eating too fast was difficult to digest, especially for a Han-style country with a history of more than 200 years and a long cultural heritage, and a highly developed economy and culture. Since the demise of the Bohai Kingdom, there have been constant rebellions within the country.

The person who suppressed these rebellions was basically "Grand Marshal of the Army of the World" Yelu Deguang.

In the previous campaigns, Yelu Deguang followed Yelu Abaoji to defeat the Yujueli tribes, pacify the Dangxiang, conquer the towns in Shanxi, capture the Uighur Chanyu city, and defeat the Dalugu tribe. "He traveled thousands of miles from east to west and made great contributions wherever he went." He also made great contributions to the annexation of the Bohai Kingdom and the subsequent maintenance of the Bohai Kingdom.

Yelu Deguang's reputation gradually surpassed Yelu Bei, and he became a rising star in Khitan politics, constantly threatening Yelu Bei's position as crown prince.

At this critical juncture, Empress Dowager Shulü, as the final judge, also tended to let Yelu Deguang inherit the throne.

Yelu Deguang represented the brave and warlike grassland civilization, while Yelu Bei represented the Central Plains civilization of the Four Books and Five Classics. The two brothers represented two completely different political lines.

Empress Dowager Shulü was not targeting people but the matter. It was not that she hated her eldest son and favored her second son, but because Yelü Deguang's political line coincided with hers. Both of them promoted the tradition of nomadic civilization, resisted the cultural erosion of the Han people in the Central Plains, and preserved the Khitan's "self".

A nation not only needs a high frontier in terms of military, politics, economy and finance, but also a high cultural wall to defend its cultural confidence. The harm of cultural aggression is far greater than that of military aggression. Military aggression can destroy your body, while cultural aggression can destroy your soul.

(End of this chapter)