History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 423 Abandoning the Country and Joining the Tang Dynasty
[Abandoning the country and joining the Tang Dynasty]

Yelu Bei went from being the crown prince, second only to the emperor, to being a "prisoner of Dongdan". He was completely hopeless and lived in fear every day. Li Siyuan's invitation letter gave him hope again.

Yelu Bei left his Khitan princess and son in the Dongdan Kingdom, and only took his most beloved Han concubine, Gao Meiren, and some of his treasured books, and embarked on the journey of sneaking into the Later Tang Dynasty.

Before leaving, he explained his decision to defect to the Later Tang Dynasty, saying, "I have already handed over the country to the current emperor, but he still suspects me. So I have no choice but to leave my hometown and the Liao Kingdom so that he can be emperor with peace of mind. I will follow Wu Taibo's example."

Wu Taibo was the eldest son of King Tai of Zhou. His second brother was Zhongyong and his third brother was Jili. Jili's son was King Wen of Zhou, Jichang. According to etiquette, the eldest son Wu Taibo should have inherited the throne, but Jili and his son Jichang were both very virtuous, so King Tai of Zhou had the idea of ​​deposing the eldest and enthroning the youngest.

After seeing this information, Wu Taibo took his second brother Zhongyong away from home and exiled himself to a wild and smoky place to help his father and third brother. In order to show that they had no desire for the throne, the two brothers cut their hair and tattooed themselves, turning themselves into "barbarians".

Eventually, the two brothers settled in Meicun, Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province today. The local people were moved by his righteousness and supported him as the leader and established the Wu Kingdom. He was honored as "Wu Taibo". Later generations regarded him as the ancestor of the Wu family.

After Wu Taibo passed away, the local people were extremely sad. To express their remembrance of him, they tied a hemp rope around their waists, because Wu Taibo liked to grow hemp when he was alive. Over time, this custom evolved into "wearing hemp and mourning", which became a part of Chinese traditional culture and has been passed down to this day.

His third brother Jili inherited the throne and eventually passed it to his son Jichang. Jichang needs no introduction. He was the King Wen of Zhou who developed the Book of Changes, visited Jiang Ziya, and laid the foundation for the Zhou Dynasty.

Yelu Bei compared himself to Wu Taibo, implying that Yelu Deguang was Ji Li and King Wen of Zhou. He described treason and surrender to the enemy in a refreshing and refined way.

When he arrived at the seaside and was about to board the ship, Yelu Bei was inspired and wrote a poem called "Sea Poem":
"When a small mountain presses down on a big mountain, the big mountain will be powerless.

I was ashamed to see my fellow countrymen, so I went to a foreign country.”

The level of this poem... mainly depends on the temperament. Don't forget that this is a poem written by a Khitan. It is not easy to align the number of words and express the meaning clearly. The CET-4 and CET-6 are really too difficult.

Yelu Bei sneaked across the Bohai Bay by boat from today's Liaoning Province, successfully landed in Dengzhou (now Yantai City, Shandong Province), and then traveled to Bianzhou.

Li Siyuan was overjoyed at Yelu Bei's arrival and welcomed him with the highest imperial ceremony.

Li Siyuan changed Yelü Bei's surname to "Dongdan" and gave him the name "Muhua". Later, he gave him the national surname Li and changed his name to "Zanhua". Yelü Bei had many names. For example, his Khitan name was transliterated as Tuyu (also written as Tuyu) or Tuoyun. After sinicization, his Khitan name was Yelü Bei. After surrendering to the Tang Dynasty, he was called Dongdan Muhua and Li Zanhua.

Li Siyuan was addicted to giving names, and he gave the previously captured Khitan generals meaningful Chinese names, such as Di Huaihui, Di Huaizhong, Lie Zhien, Yuan Zhigan, Fu Huaizao, and Yi Huaiyou.

First, Ruizhou and other states were assigned to Huaihua Army, and Yelu Bei was appointed as the governor of Huaihua Army, and then moved to Huazhou; he was also given the titles of Inspector General of the Imperial Guards and Protector of Andong. In addition to giving a name and an official position, Li Siyuan also gave Yelu Bei a wife, Xia.

This Xia was originally a concubine of Li Cunxu, and was named Lady of Guoguo as Zhaorong. During the "Xingjiao Gate Incident", Zhu Shouyin entered the palace to rob the palace maids. Knowing that Xia was a concubine of Li Cunxu, he did not dare to do anything, so he handed her over to Li Siyuan. After Li Siyuan entered Luoyang, he ordered the release of the palace maids and concubines of the previous dynasty, and let them go back to their own homes and find their own mothers.

However, Xia was lonely and helpless, and had no place to turn to. Li Siyuan gave her to the general Xia Luqi because of her surname. Xia Luqi did not dare to act rashly and just treated Xia as his daughter, not daring to have any improper thoughts.

Now that Yelü Bei had surrendered, Li Siyuan gave Xia to Yelü Bei as his wife.

Therefore, some historical books say that Xia was the daughter of General Xia Luqi. This is not accurate, she was a goddaughter.

The History of Liao flatters Yelü Bei, saying that the Empress Xia of Zhuangzong Li Cunxu was given to Yelü Bei. Nonsense! First of all, the Empress of Zhuangzong was Xiao Liu, and he was plotting against Liu by taking advantage of his father; secondly, the etiquette of the Central Plains! The emperor had precedents of giving concubines and favorite concubines to ministers, but he had never heard of giving red envelopes to the Empress.

Li Siyuan took the initiative to summon Yelu Bei and provide him with political asylum, not out of sympathy or pity, but it was a long-term political investment based on the "long-standing friendly relations between the two countries" and a long-term strategic layout.

It was of course public information that Yelu Bei was the eldest son of Emperor Taizu of Liao and the former heir to the throne of the Liao Dynasty. However, Li Siyuan, the ruler of the Later Tang Dynasty, keenly sensed the hidden business opportunities in it. That is, once there was turmoil within the Liao Dynasty, this "former crown prince" would demonstrate amazing political appeal.

Emperor Taizong of Liao ascended the throne by force by deposing the eldest son and enthroning the youngest son under the circumstances of "the queen's family interfering in politics". The process was full of blood and violence, and this was the hidden danger. Beneath the seemingly calm surface, there was dissatisfaction and resentment towards the Queen Mother and Emperor Taizong. In three to five years at the shortest, and ten to eight years at the longest, this seed will surely bear fruit.

At that time, if Yelu Beigong was sent back to his country, the Liao Dynasty would be in great trouble.

By then, if the Later Tang was strong, it could openly support Yelu Bei, use its powerful military strength to forcibly intervene in the internal affairs of the Liao Dynasty, put the puppet Yelu Bei on the throne, and then use its powerful economic strength to firmly control the Liao Dynasty and make it the back garden of the Later Tang.
If one is not strong enough to intervene directly, then at the very least one can be an "extraordinary human trafficker" and act as an international courier, throwing Yelu Bei back to the Liao Dynasty and leaving him to fend for himself.

In short, the Later Tang Dynasty would always use Yelu Bei to disgust the Liao Dynasty.

The same is true of the Jin Dynasty's destruction of the Northern Song Dynasty and the capture of Emperors Huizong and Qinzong. The two emperors were in the north and became the weak spot of Emperor Gaozong of Song. They were firmly controlled by the Jin people, who took the absolute initiative at the negotiation table and severely blackmailed Emperor Gaozong of Song.

People are not as good as the sky.

Li Siyuan's strategic layout was very advanced, but it was still one step away from success. Because he had made all kinds of calculations, he did not expect that his Later Tang would be the first to be in turmoil. And his political trump card, Yelu Bei, not only failed to bring initiative to his kingdom, but also put the Central Plains into a very passive position due to the actions of "his own people".

(End of this chapter)