History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 623 Liu Zhiyuan Goes South

The only exception was Emperor Shizong of Liao, Yelü Ruan, who had a Han Chinese empress, Zhen, but also had an "Empress Xiao". By the way, Empress Xiao of Emperor Shizong was Xiao Han's cousin.

So when reading Khitan history, if you find a Khitan general named Xiao, then he is either the emperor's uncle or the emperor's brother-in-law.

As for Xiao Han, he had a very close relationship with Empress Dowager Shulü. His grandmother was Yelü Abaoji's aunt. She first married Bali and gave birth to Xiao Han's father Xiao Dilu. Later, she married Empress Dowager Shulü's father and gave birth to Empress Dowager Shulü. In other words, Xiao Dilu and Empress Dowager Shulü were half-siblings.

Empress Dowager Shulü was both Xiao Han's aunt and his biological aunt. They were close relatives, even closer.

So Empress Dowager Shulü was very puzzled. You are my nephew, why are you against me too?

Xiao Han replied: "My mother is innocent, the Queen Mother killed her." You killed my mother, the hatred of killing my mother is irreconcilable.

Empress Dowager Shulü was silent. She had killed too many people. Killing people not only established her power, but also made enemies.

Therefore, Yelu Lihu was only responsible for a small part of the passive situation that led to the "Crossing Agreement" and the desertion of relatives and friends, and Empress Dowager Shulü herself could not escape the blame.

By the way, Yelu Ruan was not only the grandson of Empress Dowager Shulü, but also the niece-in-law of Empress Dowager Shulü. Yelu Ruan's wife Xiao Sa Ge Zhi was the daughter of A Gu Zhi. After Xiao Han's grandmother remarried, she gave birth to A Gu Zhi and Empress Dowager Shulü. Xiao Sa Ge Zhi was the niece of Empress Dowager Shulü.

Yelu Antuan and Xiao Han are two typical representatives. On the surface, it is obvious that their stance shows that Empress Dowager Shulü killed too many people, causing her to be deserted by her friends and relatives. The deeper meaning is terrifying when you think about it carefully - even the core members of the "Shizong Party" did not truly support Yelu Ruan.

The Yelu Ruan group can be said to be sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams. Although everyone supported Yelu Ruan and opposed Empress Dowager Shulü, in fact they were only opposing Empress Dowager Shulü.

The vast majority of the Yelu Ruan group were afraid of Empress Dowager Shulü and Yelu Lihu, and were afraid of facing the life-threatening question of "Do you miss the late emperor?" again. We can call them the "life-saving faction"; another part was represented by Yelu Antuan and Xiao Han, whom we call the "revenge faction"; and another part were political speculators who were afraid of chaos in the world, such as Yelu Liuge, who can be called the "speculative faction."

These people are a mixed bunch, each with their own agenda, but they are the core members and backbone of the Yelu Ruan Group. This is very scary, indicating that the foundation of Yelu Ruan's power is not solid, and his lineage is not legitimate.

It is conceivable that Yelu Ruan would not be able to sit on the throne securely. Liao Shizong was bound to face huge challenges from within. The Khitan was busy with internal strife, which gave the Central Plains Han people a chance to breathe, and this was the external factor for Liu Zhiyuan to establish the Later Han Dynasty.

On the vast land of China, the Taihang Mountains running from north to south are like a guardrail in the middle of the road. The Khitan army retreated northward from the east of the Taihang Mountains, while Liu Zhiyuan advanced southward from the west of the Taihang Mountains. Both sides went their own way and cooperated tacitly, and neither side was willing to climb over the guardrail.

Political games cannot be impulsive. Compared with the previous rulers of the Central Plains, Liu Zhiyuan was a weak claim among weak claims. He was not justified and his legal basis was the weakest. Since Emperor Mingzong Li Siyuan, Li Siyuan was the adopted son of Li Keyong; Li Congke was the adopted son of Li Siyuan; Shi Jingtang was the son-in-law of Li Siyuan; Shi Chonggui was the nephew and adopted son of Shi Jingtang.

But this comrade Liu Zhiyuan had nothing to do with the royal family and was just a military governor.

Liu Zhiyuan attached great importance to political propaganda, public opinion guidance, image public relations and other work. He dressed himself up as the gravekeeper of the Later Jin Dynasty, held high the banners of patriotism and nationalism, elevated ethnic conflicts to the main contradiction at this stage, and cleverly and covertly instilled in people the view that those who submitted to Liu Zhiyuan were patriotic heroes and national heroes, while those who opposed Liu Zhiyuan were running dogs and traitors of the Khitans.

Under the subtle influence of Liu Zhiyuan's group, the Han people in the Central Plains reached a consensus: loving Liu Zhiyuan is loving the country.

In terms of military affairs, Liu Zhiyuan was clear-headed and was not overwhelmed by national sentiment. Although the main force of the Khitan returned to the north in a panic, Liu Zhiyuan at best asked the Sixth Princess to play "A Dog's Way Home" and did not intercept them.

The rebels and military governors from all over the country submitted letters of surrender to Liu Zhiyuan, expressing their allegiance and submission. We will call them the "hero faction" for the time being. Although the situation in the Central Plains was very good, Liu Zhiyuan was still not in a hurry to leave.

Years of military career made Liu Zhiyuan always vigilant. Although these people revolted and surrendered one after another, their loyalty was questionable. The patriotism they talked about was just a slogan. For the sake of immediate interests, they would change their allegiance at any time.

When the Khitans marched southward in force, they were defeated and surrendered; when the Khitans left, they restored order and turned against Liao and joined Liu; if the Khitans came again tomorrow, who can guarantee that they will not change their ways again?
In terms of economy, Liu Zhiyuan was even more embarrassed, because no matter whether the "Junjie faction" truly repented or was fickle, since they had pledged allegiance to Liu Zhiyuan, they had to receive salaries and military pay from Liu Zhiyuan's regime, which was a huge expense.

Liu Zhiyuan's entire family was just a town in Hedong, and faced with huge expenses, it was really stretched. For this reason, Liu Zhiyuan implemented "policy funding" for towns all over the country, allowing them to massacre and rob the Khitans' property. When Liu Zhiyuan was about to plunder the people, he was stopped by his virtuous wife, and instead sold the property of the harem, smashed everything, and subsidized the military.

Only after learning of Yelu Deguang's sudden death did Liu Zhiyuan dare to truly plan to go south to Bianzhou.

But before Liu Zhiyuan could go south, war signals were heard from the north. The Khitans actually launched an offensive in the northwest of Shanxi. The war signals were transmitted more than a hundred times in one day, and Xiang Taiyuan was in urgent need of help.

Liu Zhiyuan smiled and said that the Khitans were playing hard to get. The barbarian leader had died suddenly, and they were eager to return home to seize power. They were worried that we would follow and harass them, so they deliberately took the initiative to attack, bluffing, and using attack instead of defense. So he sent General Ye Renlu to lead 3,000 troops to support them. As expected, the Khitan army collapsed at the first blow and fled.

The rebels in Jizhou (now Jizhou City, Hebei Province) killed the governor appointed by the Khitans and nominated Zhang Yanhan as governor. Zhang Yanhan was the nephew of Fu Xi, a famous general during the reign of Li Cunxu of the Later Tang Dynasty.

At the same time, Zhao Yanshou attempted to seize power in Zhenzhou and proclaim himself emperor, but was eliminated in time by Yelu Ruan. Yelu Ruan then led his army northward and made a "crossing agreement" with his grandmother, Empress Dowager Shulü.

(End of this chapter)