History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 780: The "Sejong Party" (Part )
2. Xiao Han

According to historical records, Xiao Han was the first person among the Khitans to be given the surname "Xiao". By the time Emperor Taizong conquered the Jin Dynasty, there were no Khitans with the surname Xiao. Emperor Taizong, Yelü Deguang, left his uncle in Bianzhou. In order to ease the resistance of the people in the Central Plains, he instructed the civil officials in the Central Plains to help this "uncle" take a Chinese name so that he could blend in with the people in the Central Plains. The surrendered minister Li Song named him "Xiao Han", comparing Yelü Deguang to Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Han Dynasty, and Xiao Han to Xiao He.

Yelu Deguang was very pleased, so "Xiao" became the exclusive surname of the Khitan descendants. The original descendants - Bali, Yishi and Shulu - all changed their surnames to Xiao. This led to a historical spectacle: from Emperor Suzu (Abaoji's grandfather's grandfather) to Emperor Tianzuo (the last emperor of the Liao Dynasty), all the empresses of the Liao Dynasty had the surname Xiao, with the exception of Emperor Shizong, Yelu Ruan, who had a Han empress named Zhen.

Xiao Han's father is Xiao Dilu.

Xiao Dilu's mother was Abaoji's aunt, so he and Abaoji were cousins. At the same time, his sister married Abaoji, so he became Abaoji's brother-in-law, and thus the uncle of Emperor Taizong. His sister was Empress Dowager Shulü.

In other words, Xiao Han was the nephew of Empress Dowager Shulü, and Empress Dowager Shulü was his aunt.

From the perspective of ethical relations alone, Xiao Han, who holds real power and is at the peak of his career in the royal family, should have been a member of the "Queen Dowager's Party". However, in the "Crossing Agreement", he also stood firmly on the opposite side of the "Queen Dowager's Party".

When signing the treaty, Empress Dowager Shulü also questioned her nephew, who was a traitor to her family, "Did I provoke you?"

——The Queen Mother asked Han, "Why did you rebel?" He replied, "My mother was innocent, but the Queen Mother killed her. I cannot help but feel regretful about this."

It seems that the relationship between the aunt and the grandmother was not harmonious. The aunt killed my mother. Xiao Han and Empress Dowager Shulü had a grudge for killing his mother.

As to why and when he was killed, there is no record in history books. It is very likely that he was a victim of the "Prince Party" VS the "Queen Mother Party".

It was precisely because Xiao Han and Empress Dowager Shulü had a grudge for killing his mother that Xiao Han was highly valued by Emperor Taizong Yelü Deguang. After conquering the Central Plains, Xiao Han was essentially entrusted with the important task of being the second-in-command in the Central Plains. When Yelü Deguang withdrew, he was promoted to the top leader in the Central Plains. Because the Central Plains was the revolutionary base for Yelü Deguang to fight back against the "Empress Dowager Party", it had to be controlled by a figure like Xiao Han.

3. Yelu Liuge
Yelu Liuge's father was Yelu Abaoji's half-brother, Yelu Yindish. Like Yelu Anduan, he had a rebellious gene in his body and participated in the "Brothers' Rebellion" with Yelu Anduan. Abaoji thought that they were young and must have been instigated by their other brothers, so he did not hold them accountable.

In the war to annex Bohai, Yelu Yindishi made great contributions and was arranged by Yelu Abaoji to assist his eldest son Yelu Bei. Yelu Yindishi thus became a member of the "Prince Party" and was later executed by Empress Dowager Shulü as expected.

Therefore, Yelu Liuge and the "Queen Mother's Party" also had an irreconcilable hatred for the murder of their father.

When signing the "Crossing Agreement", Empress Dowager Shulü also questioned Yelü Liuge,

——The Queen Mother asked Liu Ge, "Why did you rebel?" He replied, "My father was innocent, but the Queen Mother killed him because of this resentment."

Political opportunists:

In fact, in a broad sense, the "Sejong Party" can be regarded as political speculators. In order to facilitate distinction and explanation, we have subdivided them and put those who have a blood feud with Empress Dowager Shulü into the "Avengers Alliance". The rest are political speculators in a narrow sense. Among these speculators, they can be further divided according to their purity, the less pure self-protection faction and the pure speculator faction.

Self-protection group:
1. Yeluhou

Historical records say that he is a descendant of Puguzhi. Puguzhi was an important figure in the early Khitan period and was once the Yilijin of the Six Courts. In the early Khitan power struggle, Yelu Langde (also known as "Hende") of the Diela tribe assassinated Abaoji's grandfather and usurped power. Subsequently, Puguzhi led his tribe to kill Yelu Langde.

The Puguzhi family was very optimistic about Yelu Abaoji, and most of their descendants were loyal supporters of Abaoji. These descendants were brave and resourceful, and made great contributions to Abaoji's founding of the country and his enthronement.

Pu Guzhi's grandson Yelu Duozhen was one of Abaoji's advisers and the originator of the grand strategy of "swallowing Bohai first and then conquering the Central Plains". When Abaoji died, he clearly opposed Empress Dowager Shulü's ruling the country and was imprisoned by her. She gritted her teeth and said harshly that she would release him only when the iron chain that locked him rusted. Not long after, unable to withstand the pressure, Empress Dowager Shulü ordered Yelu Duozhen to be released. Yelu Duozhen pointed to the shackles on his neck and asked the jailer, "Is it rusted? I won't leave!" Empress Dowager Shulü smiled bitterly. She admired his iron will, but she was helpless with him. In the end, she could only come forward in person to apologize to him.

Another grandson of Pu Guzhi, Gu, was also Abaoji's right-hand man. He died early and did not catch up with the power struggle between the "Queen Mother Party" and the "Prince Party". When Gu died, Abaoji said with great regret: "Gu's death is like a long pine tree falling down."

Pu Guzhi had only one grandson, who was the most famous among all the grandsons. His name was Tulubu. He was the Khitan version of Cangjie, and his main contribution was to create the Khitan script. When Empress Dowager Shulü was in power, Tulubu was suspected of being an opponent of the Empress Dowager. Tulubu did not know the cruel methods of Empress Dowager Shulü, and did not dare to defend himself or surrender himself. He was frightened and fled to the ends of the earth. He was later recalled by Emperor Taizong, Yelü Deguang. Historical records say that "Emperor Taizong knew he was innocent and recalled him." Again, whether he really opposed the Empress Dowager or pretended to oppose her, in short, if he offended Empress Dowager Shulü, he would become the focus of Emperor Taizong's training.

It can be seen that the lineage of Puguzhi had always been a staunch supporter of Abaoji. His two grandsons, Yelu Duozhen and Tulubu, were also targets of the "Queen Mother Party". So the political stance of Yelu Hou, the "descendant of Puguzhi", can be imagined. Therefore, during the reign of Emperor Taizong, Yelu Hou was also reused and served as the King of the Southern Courtyard, holding military power.

2. Yeluwa

Yelu Wa's father was Yelu Wansi and his grandfather was Yelu Shilu. Yelu Shilu was Yelu Abaoji's third uncle, so in terms of seniority, Yelu Wa was Abaoji's nephew.

He was the King of the North Court at that time.

Yelu Hou and Yelu Wa had no direct deep hatred for Empress Dowager Shulü, but they were both loyal fans of Yelu Abaoji, defenders of the Yelu clan of the Dila tribe, maintainers of the old order and vested interests. In simple terms, they did not hate Empress Dowager Shulü, but Empress Dowager Shulü hated them.

If the "Empress Dowager Party" wins this power struggle, then Yelu Hou and Yelu Wa may not "accompany the late emperor", but they will definitely be gradually deprived of real power and marginalized.

Therefore, in order to preserve their vested interests, the two were forced to stand on the opposite side of the "Queen Mother Party". The two hit it off and immediately agreed to support Emperor Shizong Yelu Ruan.

Initially, after Abaoji came to power, in order to divide and disintegrate internal opposition forces, he divided the Diela tribe into two, the Five-Courtyard Tribe and the Six-Courtyard Tribe, and appointed Yilijin in each. In other words, Abaoji divided the position of "Yilijin of the Diela Tribe" into two, thus preventing the power of "Yilijin of the Diela Tribe" from being too concentrated and threatening his rule.

During the reign of Emperor Taizong, the Five Courtyards and Six Courtyards were changed to the South Courtyard and the North Courtyard, and Yilijin was renamed "the Great King". The Great Kings of the Two Courtyards were the Yilijin of the Two Tribes.

Yili Jin is the supreme commander of the army and holds military power.

Yelu Hou and Yelu Wa happened to be the King of the Southern Court and the King of the Northern Court, which means that the supreme commanders of the main Khitan forces that followed Taizong in retreating were these two. For Empress Dowager Shulü, their perfect agreement meant an organized rebellion of this army.

Speculative faction:
1. Yelu Anduan
Yelu Anduan was the youngest brother of Yelu Abaoji, with the same father and mother. In his genes, the four characters of "rebellion" were deeply engraved. He took rebellion as his mission and persisted for decades.

In the early days of Abaoji, the biggest challenge was the "rebellion of the brothers", which occurred three times in total. Comrade Yelu Anduan played the leading role in all three rebellions of the royal family.

Abaoji was kindhearted and believed that Anduan was still young and must have been led astray by his bad brothers. Therefore, although he participated in the rebellion three times, he was only punished with verbal criticism and education. Later, Abaoji promoted him to Tiyin and participated in a series of foreign wars including the annexation of Bohai.

During the reign of Emperor Taizong, Yelu Anduan took command of the western front and marched out of Yanmen Pass as a feint attack force.

Although he had experienced the baptism of war, Comrade Yelu Anduan did not forget his original intention. When he heard that there was an opportunity for rebellion, the old comrade Yelu Anduan immediately showed his youthful enthusiasm and rushed to the forefront of the rebellion without hesitation.

Who did Yelu Anduan hear about the good opportunity for rebellion? His beloved son, Yelu Chage, and his nephew, Yelu Liuge.

2. Yelu Chage
According to historical records, Yelu Chage "appears respectful but is cunning in heart, and people think he is a coward." This is very consistent with the character setting of a high-IQ perverted villain in film and television dramas. He appears to be harmless, cowardly and useless, but in fact he is insidious, cunning and extremely dangerous.

When people all thought that Yelu Chage was a fat nerd (people thought he was a coward), only Abaoji saw through him at a glance and gave him a six-word comment - "He is vicious and stubborn, not a coward."

Once, Yelu Chage was entrusted by his father Yelu Anduan to report to Abaoji. After he left, Abaoji said to his attendants in fear: "This boy has hunched eyes and a twisted face. If I live alone, don't let him in!"

Look how scared Abaoji was. He didn't even dare to meet Yelu Chage alone without bodyguards, because this guy didn't look like a good guy.

Abaoji was not wrong about him, and Yelu Chage spent his entire life proving that Abaoji had a good eye for people.

So far, we have briefly sorted out the core backbone of the "Empress Dowager Party". They either had a blood feud with the "Empress Dowager Party", or were out of self-protection, or simply political speculation. In short, they firmly supported Emperor Shizong Yelu Ruan in the "Crossing Agreement", and finally overthrew the deep-rooted "Empress Dowager Party" and turned the history of the Liao Dynasty to the Emperor Shizong.

(End of this chapter)