History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 911: Peace between Song and Liao

[Song and Liao make peace]

Since Zhao Kuangyin's Northern Expedition, the relationship between Song and Liao continued to decline. In addition to the fighting on the front battlefield, there were numerous small-scale frictions and conflicts in the border areas. However, in the eighth year of Kaibao (975), the two countries announced a major event that shocked China and the world: the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Song and Liao reconciled!
It may seem incredible at first, but it makes sense after careful analysis:
Let’s first look at the situation in the Song Dynasty.

This is relatively simple. After the "Second Expedition to the Northern Han", Zhao Kuangyin shifted his strategic focus southward and destroyed the Southern Han, which required time and energy to digest. In addition, the elimination of the Southern Tang was also officially put on the agenda, so a relatively stable external environment was urgently needed.

The situation in Liao was slightly more complicated:

1. The rabbit is mighty

Since its establishment, the Song Dynasty has swept across the world with a devastating force, especially the two recent consecutive military strikes on the Northern Han Dynasty. Although they did not achieve the strategic goal, they greatly shocked various countries, not to mention the southern vassal states. Even the Liao Dynasty was deeply shocked, and the surrender of its border generals to the Song Dynasty became more and more frequent.

For example, in September of the second year of Kaibao (969), Xu Zhouqiong, the governor of Zhuozhou, surrendered the state to the Song Dynasty; in October, Wang Jia, the general of the Liao imperial guards stationed in Fengzhou, surrendered the state to the Song Dynasty.

In 970, the Song Dynasty shifted its strategic focus to the south and launched wars of annihilation against Southern Han and Southern Tang. Seeing the opportunity, the Liao Kingdom launched repeated probing attacks, and a conflict broke out between the Song and Liao sides in the border area that was even more intense than the one under the city of Taiyuan.

In rounds of conflicts, Song general Tian Qinzuo created the miracle of "3,000 against 60,000". Tian Qinzuo reported the victory to the court during the war to pacify Shu, and made contributions in suppressing the rebellion of "Xing Shu King"; later, he followed Luo Yangui to resist the invasion of Northern Han, and followed He Jiyun to repel the Khitan reinforcements at Shiling Pass.

In this year (970), Tian Qinzuo was promoted to the commander of Dingzhou Column (the commander of the Dingzhou Road Army) for his meritorious service. He was greeted by cavalrymen of the Liao Kingdom.

When the Liao Kingdom's 60,000 cavalrymen came to attack, Zhao Kuangyin gave Tian Qinzuo combat instructions: "The enemy is numerous and we are few, so you must line up your battle line with your back to the city. When the enemy arrives, you must fight immediately. When the enemy retreats, do not pursue them. Remember this!"

Tian Qinzuo only had 1 soldiers under his command. Faced with a 20: disparity, Tian Qinzuo and his men showed no fear, and stood ready outside the city. Following the strategy personally taught by Zhao Kuangyin, they struck the enemy head-on before they had completed their assembly, "fighting as soon as the enemy arrives."

The Liao army retreated. During the fierce battle, Tian Qinzuo's horse was shot and killed. Cavalryman Wang Chao dismounted and gave his horse to Tian Qinzuo. Tian Qinzuo rode the horse to fight again. His morale was greatly boosted and he won a lot. When night fell, Tian Qinzuo led his troops to retreat to Suicheng for rest, following the principle of "do not pursue the enemy when they retreat." The Liao army, which had a numerical advantage, quickly re-formed and surrounded Suicheng. The exasperated Liao army surrounded Suicheng tightly to avenge the arrow shot.

After being besieged for several days, the food and grass of Suicheng gradually ran out. If they continued to hold out, it would be disadvantageous to the Song army. Tian Qinzuo then reorganized his troops, opened the south gate, led his troops to break through the encirclement of the Liao army, and returned safely. As a result, the myth of "3,000 against 60,000" spread on the border.

When the victory report was sent back to Bianzhou, Zhao Kuangyin was extremely excited and said immediately: "The Khitan have repeatedly invaded our borders. I have offered a reward of 20 pieces of silk for one Khitan head. The Khitan's elite soldiers are no more than 100,000. I only need 2 million pieces of silk to destroy the Khitan!" He then urged the border guards to speed up the construction of fortifications.

After the defeat in Dingzhou, the Liao army turned to invade Yizhou, but also encountered stubborn resistance from the Song army and was defeated and had to retreat.

Thanks to the "Water Great Wall" defense line, the Liao cavalry found it difficult to penetrate deep into the Song Dynasty. In all the exploratory military operations, large and small, the Liao Dynasty did not gain any advantage and realized that the Central Plains was no longer the weak and sick man that could be slaughtered at will.

2. Savages are fierce

The Jurchens had gradually formed a nationality in the Tang Dynasty. They were called "Heishui Mohe" in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and Jurchens after the Tang Dynasty. Now they are called Manchus. They established the Great Jin Dynasty in the Northern Song Dynasty, and then quickly reached the peak, conquered the Liao Dynasty and destroyed the Song Dynasty, but were eventually destroyed by Mongolian cavalry. Their descendants rebuilt the "Great Jin Dynasty" in the Ming Dynasty, known as the Later Jin Dynasty. Later, the Jurchens were changed to Manchus and the Great Jin Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty.

During the Five Dynasties, the rulers of the northern nomadic peoples were the Khitans. The Jurchens could only submit to the Liao Dynasty and maintained not very close ties with the Central Plains.

In the early Song Dynasty, the Jurchens gradually had more contact with the Central Plains and sent tribute horses to the Song Dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin specially issued an edict to exempt the rent and tax of Shamen Island in Dengzhou and use it to build cargo ships to transport the famous Jurchen horses. This shows the importance the Central Plains dynasty attached to the Jurchens.

Later, the Jurchens attacked Baisha Village and seized three official horses and 128 civilians. Soon after, they sent envoys to offer horses as tribute. The court ordered that they should not accept them.

The Jurchen leader realized the seriousness of the problem and sent envoys to apologize to the Celestial Empire, saying that it was a misunderstanding, that the person responsible had been severely punished, that the looted horses and people had been returned, and that he had repeatedly issued orders to the leaders of all tribes to ensure that such a mistake would not be made again. His attitude of admitting his mistake was very sincere.

Zhao Kuangyin issued an edict severely criticizing the Jurchen leader, but at the same time, considering his sincere loyalty, he gave him another chance.

Like all nomadic peoples, when they are integrated to a certain extent, they are bound to engage in external plunder. This is determined by the survival status of nomadic civilization. On the one hand, it is constrained by its productivity and it has to do so in order to survive. On the other hand, its leaders have to expand by force in order to consolidate their ruling position.

The Jurchens do not border the Central Plains, and their current range of activities is in the area controlled by the Liao Kingdom. Therefore, when the Jurchens have integrated to a certain extent, it is natural for them to begin to harass the Liao Kingdom, just as the Khitans harassed the Central Plains before.

The scale of the Jurchens' harassment of the Liao Kingdom gradually increased. In the sixth year of Kaibao (973), the Jurchens launched a large-scale attack on the Liao border, killed two Liao imperial envoys (dujian), and robbed a large number of cattle, horses, livestock and people. Subsequently, the Jurchens sent senior officials (prime ministers and marshals) to the Liao Kingdom to apologize and admit their mistakes.

This is also the common practice of nomadic peoples, first they burn, kill and loot, and then they apologize. In order to show their broad-mindedness and appease their borders, big countries generally let bygones be bygones.

In addition to the Jurchens, a large-scale conflict broke out between the Liao Kingdom and the Dangxiang during this period. The Liao Kingdom's famous general Yelu Xiu'ge led a group to a great victory.

If the Liao Kingdom insisted on fighting to the death with the prosperous Song Dynasty at this time, it would inevitably "be more loyal to its neighbors than to its own ruler", reduce its control over the surrounding tribes, and weaken the Liao Kingdom's strength.

3. Concerns of civil unrest

After Emperor Jingzong of Liao, Yelü Xian, ascended the throne, Xiao Siwen, the father-in-law of the Liao Dynasty and a great general, was assassinated; and the famous minister Yelü Wuji died of illness.

Since Emperor Muzong of Liao, there have been too many contradictions and hidden dangers in the Liao Dynasty. Emperor Jingzong of Liao started to repair the situation from all aspects and achieved certain results. He was praised by later generations as the ruler of the revival. I will not elaborate on this in detail. In short, Emperor Jingzong of Liao focused his main energy on internal affairs and production and construction, so he objectively needed a relatively stable external environment.

4. My son is not well behaved

Liu Jiyuan of the Northern Han first demoted and exiled the "pro-Liao" returnees Liu Jiwen and Li Kuangbi, and then formed his own leadership team.

Liu Jiyuan's brutality and cruelty were demonstrated at the beginning of his reign. He had long since pointed his butcher knife at his brothers and sisters in the royal family.

The first person Liu Jiyuan killed was his mother (adoptive mother). Liu Jiyuan was born to the daughter of Liu Chong. When he was very young, both his biological parents died. His maternal grandfather Liu Chong asked his uncle Liu Chengjun to adopt him as his son and raise him in the palace. Liu Chengjun's wife, Guo, treated Liu Jien and Liu Jiyuan as her own sons and raised them as her own sons. Liu Jiyuan also treated Guo as his own mother.

As the saying goes, a big-tailed wolf forgets his mother after marrying a wife. Liu Jiyuan married Duan. Once, Duan made a small mistake and was criticized by her mother-in-law Guo. Not long after, Duan died of a sudden illness. Liu Jiyuan suspected that Guo had poisoned Duan to death, and he kept this hatred in his heart ever since.

After Liu Jiyuan ascended the throne, he immediately sent his trusted henchman Fan Chaotu to assassinate Guo. According to records, Guo was still wearing mourning clothes and crying in front of Liu Chengjun's coffin, so Fan Chaotu strangled Guo to death in front of Liu Chengjun's coffin.

He even dared to kill his adoptive mother who raised him. Who else would he not dare to kill?
After Liu Jie'en was assassinated, the ministers discussed the candidate for the new emperor under the leadership of Guo Wuwei. Guo Wuwei advocated supporting Liu Jiyuan, while Prime Minister Zhang Zhaomin bluntly stated that Liu Jie'en was not a descendant of the Liu family, so he had a short life and it was difficult for him to enjoy the country's prosperity. Liu Jiyuan was not a legitimate son of the Liu family, so a descendant of the Liu family with pure bloodline should be supported, such as Comrade Liu Jiwen.

Although Liu Jiyuan was able to succeed to the throne with the support of Guo Wuwei, and Zhang Zhaomin was also executed, Zhang Zhaomin's words were deeply imprinted in Liu Jiyuan's mind. So after he killed his adoptive mother, he immediately set out to eradicate Liu's descendants.

At that time, Liu Chongshang had ten sons alive, including Liu Chenghao, Liu Chengkai, and Liu Chengxian. Liu Jiyuan first placed them all under house arrest and then executed them all. Only Liu Chengxian pretended to be crazy and stupid beforehand and escaped.

Liu Jiwen was sent back by the Liao Kingdom to serve as prime minister, but he was demoted from the court by Liu Jiyuan as soon as he returned. Liu Jiwen knew that Liu Jiyuan was cruel and ruthless, so he did not dare to stay in the Northern Han Dynasty, so he fled to the Liao Kingdom, was named the Prince of Pengcheng by the Liao Kingdom, and eventually died of illness in the Liao Kingdom.

Liu Jiqin, grandson of Liu Chong and nephew of Liu Chengjun, was older than Liu Jiyuan. He rose to the position of Imperial Palace Inspector. During the reign of Liu Chengjun, as his sons (Liu Jie'en and Liu Jiyuan) were still young, he appointed Liu Jiqin to be in charge of the imperial palace guards, which was similar to "judge the affairs of the six armies and guards", and was generally a designated position for the crown prince.

After witnessing Liu Jiyuan's brutality, Liu Jiqin could not feel at ease, so he voluntarily surrendered his military power, claiming that he was ill and could not hold any position, in order to save himself.

Liu Jiyuan said to the people around him: "What does it mean? He can serve the late emperor but is unwilling to serve me. Should he be kept for the New Year?" So he sent people to kill Liu Jiqin.

At this point, the historian recorded an extremely sad sentence: "So there are no descendants of the Liu family left."

After slaughtering all of Liu's descendants, Liu Jiyuan announced a change of reign title, abolishing the "Tianhui" (Liu Chengjun) that had been used for 17 years and establishing his own reign title "Guangyun".

Liu Jiyuan sent an envoy to Liao to inform them that he was changing the reign title. I am not discussing this with you, I am just notifying you.

After this round of purge, Liu Jiyuan consolidated his throne, eliminated the influence of the Liao Kingdom on the Northern Han, and caused the Liao Kingdom to lose control of the Northern Han.

The Liao Kingdom became a big victim. As the saying goes, they lose money to gain publicity, but now they can't even make publicity. Liu Jiyuan completely understood what geopolitics is. He used the Liao Kingdom to intimidate the Song Dynasty and used the Song Dynasty to threaten the Liao Kingdom. The Northern Han Dynasty blackmailed the Liao Kingdom.

Under the influence of the above four main factors, the Liao Kingdom re-examined the international situation and intended to make peace with the Song Dynasty.

In March of the seventh year of Kaibao (974), the Song Dynasty sent envoys to the Liao Kingdom, calling for an end to hostility, elimination of misunderstandings, and win-win cooperation. The Liao Kingdom attached great importance to this and immediately sent envoys for a friendly return visit, expressing its full recognition of the Song Dynasty's proposal and suggesting that the two sides conduct further communication and restore bilateral relations as soon as possible.

Soon, the diplomatic relations between Liao and Song were normalized. At that time, this news was no less than Kissinger's secret visit to China during the Cold War and the subsequent establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States.

Who extended the olive branch first?
The History of Liao records that the Song Dynasty proposed peace talks to Yelü Cong, the governor of Zhuozhou, many times, and Yelü Cong reported the proposal to the court (Liao), which then agreed.

The "Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms: Northern Han" records that the governor of Zhuozhou sent a letter to Xiongzhou of the Song Dynasty, requesting reconciliation, and the Song Dynasty agreed.

Looking at the historical data and logical analysis, the statement that the Song Dynasty took the initiative to seek peace should be more credible. If we nitpick the records in the "Ten Kingdoms Spring and Autumn Annals", it does not say that the Liao Dynasty took the initiative to seek peace. It only excerpted the second half of the story, in which the Song Dynasty proposed to seek peace, the Liao Dynasty agreed, and asked the governor of Zhuozhou, Yelu Cong, to reply to the Song Dynasty, and then Yelu Cong communicated with the Song Dynasty. The "Ten Kingdoms Spring and Autumn Annals: Northern Han" quoted out of context, which is really disgusting to the Khitan father.

Why did he sincerely want to disgust the Liao Kingdom? Because after the Liao and Song reconciliation, the Liao Kingdom sent envoys to the Northern Han Dynasty, strongly ordering the Northern Han Dynasty to put aside their past grievances with the Song Dynasty, shake hands and make peace, and not to cause trouble to the Song Dynasty in the future (ordering me to make peace with the Song Dynasty, and not to raise an army in vain). In particular, the phrase "not to raise an army in vain" really made Liu Jiyuan cry. Aren't you deliberately pretending to be confused when you know the truth? Don't persuade the person who is going to get beaten.

A weak country has no diplomacy. Liu Jiyuan was extremely angry about the Liao's brutal interference, because the Liao saw through his intention to use geopolitics to blackmail the Liao, and used the Northern Han as a bargaining chip to sell out the interests of the Northern Han.

According to records, when Liu Jiyuan received this order, he burst into tears. Then, he did something that shocked everyone - declaring war on the Liao Kingdom!

Liu Jiyuan has part of the Liu bloodline and the bloodline of an honest man, Mr. He, and it must also be mixed with the bloodline of a Husky and a Teddy.

Fortunately, Xuanhui Envoy Ma Feng tried his best to dissuade Liu Jiyuan, and he regained some of his rationality and gave up the idea of ​​declaring war on Liao.

In order to appease the Northern Han, the Liao Kingdom subsequently conferred on him the title of "Great and Martial Emperor of Han" and bestowed upon him a jade belt, a saddle horse and other items, saying, "Be good and be obedient, my baby."

Thanks to my old friend "江湖留白" for the monthly ticket support! Happy New Year!
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(End of this chapter)