Chapter 8 3. Khan battle

A great hero who swallows mountains and rivers can destroy a country and conquer a tribe, but he cannot control his own life.The death of the Khitan emperor Yelu Abaoji sparked a bloodbath within the Khitan. Yelu Abaoji took off his airs and was ambitious to march south. But he caught typhoid cold. Typhoid fever is an extremely common and lethal disease in the history of Chinese medicine. Many skilled doctors can't do anything about it. This disease is also contagious, so it is most afraid of mass outbreaks. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the etiology of typhoid fever has external causes of "wind, cold, heat, dampness, dryness, and fire" and the evil of the six evils; Don't wait.There is no evidence that Yelu Abaoji had typhoid fever of any kind.But this time A Baoji's illness was so violent that he knocked down the nine-foot-tall Khitan Emperor who had weathered the storm.A Baoji fell ill and stayed in bed for more than a month. His condition became more and more serious, and he tried all the medicines, but nothing improved.

On the night of July 26th, the vast night sky in the northeast was suddenly as bright as day, and an orange-red fireball flew from the depths of space, and fell to the ground like lightning and thunder, and hit the Khitan Emperor Yelu directly. In front of Abaoji's felt tent.A hole the size of a pot lid was smashed into the ground, and a dark meteorite was still emitting white smoke inside.The Khitan people panicked and rushed to escort them one after another. The next morning, people were still talking about the meteorite incident last night.Suddenly, there was a sound of bitter crying from the emperor's tent, and then several attendants rushed out of the tent, and ran to the tents of the tribal chiefs and civil and military ministers respectively.After a while, the princes and ministers from all walks of Khitan hurried to the emperor's felt tent, all of them looked dignified and at a loss.The crowd rushed into the yurt and saw Empress Shulu kneeling in front of the bed, holding the emperor Yelu Abaoji with both hands on the bed, buried her head on Yelu Abaoji's chest, and was crying bitterly.A Baoji's arms were hanging weakly under the edge of the bed, his pale head was tilted to one side.The Khitan Emperor had stopped breathing.

Everyone was shocked when they saw this scene. No one could believe that the all-powerful and invincible Emperor Tian was knocked down by typhoid fever and died in Huangquan.Abaoji's death was much more shocking than the impact of the meteorite falling last night, and it shocked all Khitan civil and military minds.Everyone was at a loss, or fell down and cried, or stared and couldn't speak, or hugged each other and cried, or questioned the sky and took the emperor's life.There was mourning in the yurt, and it was a mess. When everyone was crying and crying, Empress Shulu stood up slowly, turned her face, stood in front of A Baoji's bed, straightened her clothes, scanned the people in the tent with red and swollen eyes, and then He spoke in a calm and firm tone: "The Emperor of Heaven suddenly let go of us. This is the most painful thing for our country. I am as sad as all the ministers. However, this is a foreign country, and the rebellion in various places has not yet subsided. The emperor Catalpa coffins should not be kept for a long time, the most urgent thing is to return to Beijing as soon as possible."

After Shulu finished speaking, the chaotic noise in the yurt fell silent.The empress looked at the crowd, and saw that all these important civil and military ministers were listening to her speech, and she calmed down a little.She went on to say: "Before the emperor died, he asked the Ai family to say that the heir is still young, and entrust the Ai family to take charge of the military and state affairs temporarily. After the emperor's funeral and arrangements are completed, he will assist the new king to ascend the throne." As soon as Shuluping said this, the yurt that had been quiet suddenly became restless again.Everyone understood the meaning of Shuluping's words, that is to say, from today onwards, this woman will have the final say on the big and small affairs of the Khitan Kingdom.

Shu Luping felt a chill in her heart. She knew that although she was a queen, she could participate in military and state affairs, and she could sit side by side with A Baoji, but she was far from actual power if she really had the final say.Are these powerful kings and ministers in front of you convinced?I'm afraid there are many people who are dissatisfied. Before everyone could react, Shuluping then announced: "The emperor of heaven left in a hurry, we are far away from our homeland, this is an extraordinary period, and besides, the bones of the emperor of heaven are not cold, I think all the ministers will understand the righteousness, and we will tide over the difficulties with Aijia Right. Anyone who ignores the overall situation at this time is the emperor of Muwutian and Muwuai's family!"

For this sake, Shu Luping's words have a gentle and charming side, but also a deterrent and intimidating side.Empress Shulu is strong, capable, and has far-reaching strategies, and has won the trust and love of Emperor Abaoji. This has been well known for decades.Everyone looked at each other and fell silent. No one dared to stand alone and stand up against this woman alone. The corners of Shuluping's thin mouth twitched imperceptibly, and continued: "Now the crown prince is in charge of the affairs of Dongdan Kingdom in Huhan City. The Generalissimo is out to fight against the rebellion. The Ai family has sent people to inform them to come to the palace as soon as possible. Now, The Ai family will be responsible for escorting the coffin of the Emperor of Heaven back to Linhuang Mansion, all ministers are welcome to accompany you."

Everyone came out of Yelu Abaoji's yurt, and went back to their own yurt with complicated and chaotic thoughts.Although in front of the emperor's yurt and Abaoji's body, everyone temporarily obeyed Shuluping's will, but after leaving the emperor's yurt, several senior chiefs and nobles with outstanding military exploits who had always been at odds with Abaoji began to join forces. Indignant and disobedient to Shu Luping's leadership.These few people secretly discussed how to take the next step to grab more power in the empire. Shuluping's secret sentry reported the activities of these people to her.Shuluping ordered people to find the wives of these chief ministers.After these women came to the emperor's felt tent, they were anxious and uneasy, not knowing what orders the empress Shulu would have.Empress Shulu sat on the bed, drooping eyelids, crossed her hands, and said in a soft voice: "The Emperor of Heaven has let go, and Aijia is now a widow. Are you planning to follow my example?" The wives of these ministers heard When the queen said that, everyone turned pale with fright, and hurriedly waved her hands and said, "I dare not compare with the queen, and I will definitely persuade my husband to support the queen's work when I go back."

After frightening the wives of the ministers, Shuluping picked out a few rebellious chiefs with prickly heads, called them, and asked coldly, "Do you miss the late emperor?" Ghost fetus, can't help being a thief with a guilty conscience, hastily perfunctory and said: "The late emperor treated us with great kindness, why don't we miss the late emperor?" Shuluping raised his eyebrows and said: "In this case, you go underground to accompany the late emperor." When these people heard what Shu Luping said, they felt "shua" from head to toe, knowing that this woman was going to attack first.Before these ministers could react, the knife-axe "Hula" rushed up, tied them up, pulled them out of the felt tent, found an open space, and chopped off their valuable heads.

Facing the hostile faction who did not take the Queen as a cadre, Shu Luping temporarily suppressed the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs with his iron-blooded methods that were swift and swift. At the beginning of September, Yelu Abaoji's coffin was transported back to Linhuang Mansion, the imperial capital of the Khitan Empire.Due to the sudden death of A Baoji, his mausoleum was not yet completed, so A Baoji's body had to be temporarily placed in the northwest of the imperial capital.At this time, Generalissimo Yelu Deguang and Crown Prince Yelubei also rushed to the imperial capital.Empress Shulu sent her youngest son, Li Hu, to go to Huhan City to replace Yelubei to preside over the state affairs of Dongdan.

The next priority is the new emperor's accession to the throne. According to the general system, after the death of the emperor, the prince succeeded to the throne, which is a matter of course. But it happened by accident. Yelubei, who has been the prince for many years, has been questioned on the issue of the identity of the emperor's heir. Judging from past facts, it should be logical for Yelubei to inherit the throne of Abaoji, and it also conforms to a series of arrangements made by Yelu Abaoji during his lifetime.Yelv Abaoji had identified Yelubei as the crown prince during his lifetime, and carried out various civil and military training and training. In terms of major military and state affairs, he actively involved Yelubei and listened to Yelvbei's opinions many times.Yelubei's status and performance can be said to be relatively stable, and there is much to be said for it.

Yelubei once led his army to Hebei.Yelubei also acted as the vanguard commander in this expedition to the Bohai Kingdom.The prince's military career is not small.When Yelu Abaoji went west to conquer the Dangxiang, Shiwei and other tribes, Yelubei stayed in the capital and undertook the important task of supervising the country. He had practical experience in managing the country.In terms of national cultural and political construction, Yelu Abaoji tried his best to listen to Yelubei's opinions. Among the three religions of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, Confucianism was respected first.After attacking Fuyu City, Abaoji listened to Yelubei's advice and gave up the plan to stay and check the household registration. He fought quickly and went straight to Huhan City, destroying the Bohai Sea in one battle.Yelubei also participated in the talks as an important figure when meeting Yao Kun, the envoy of the Later Tang Dynasty. The Khitan annexed the Bohai Kingdom, renamed it the Dongdan Kingdom, and dispatched Yelvbei to guard it, which was directly included in the territory directly under the Khitan royal family.According to the Khitan tradition and the caste militarism system established by Yelu Abaoji, each tribe has its own territory and its own army.When the emperor sent troops to fight, each tribe had to send troops to assist in the battle, but the number of people sent could be thousands or hundreds, and there was no rigid requirement.When each tribe sent troops to fight, they brought their own soldiers and horses, as well as food and grass.After the war is won, compensation is distributed from the plundered property.It can be said that most of the Khitan's national strength and military strength are scattered in tribes and local states and counties, and the resources that the emperor can directly mobilize are limited.Now that Bohai State has been conquered, with a vast territory and rich products, Abaoji wants to use it as a supply base for the royal family.Therefore, a direct jurisdiction system was implemented in management, and strict collection measures were implemented in the tax system, all for the purpose of going south to the Central Plains to accumulate strength.It can be seen that Yelu Abaoji attaches great importance to Dongdan Kingdom and trusts Yelubei. During the several months in the Bohai Kingdom, Yelu Abaoji discussed military and political affairs with Yelubei several times, and they had close contacts and deep feelings with each other.It can be seen from these things that have happened that Yelu Abaoji has no sign of abolishing Prince Yelubei's heir qualifications. Regarding the attitude towards his second son, Generalissimo Yelu Deguang, Yelu Abaoji was reused, but only in the military field, and there was no sign of expanding Yelu Deguang's influence to other fields.In terms of the use of the two sons, Yelu Abaoji considered the strategic deployment as a whole, and asked the prince Yelubei to guard Dongdan to eliminate future worries.Let the second son Yelu Deguang lead the army as the commander-in-chief of the next large-scale invasion of the Central Plains.Therefore, Yelu Abaoji's use of the two sons was not only arranged and ordered, but also divided and differentiated. Since Yelu Abaoji did not abolish the establishment of an heir during his lifetime, and he did not change the heir's will when he died, so who challenged Yelubei's heir qualifications? Who is qualified to challenge Yelvbe? After all, Yelubei is the number three figure in the Khitan Kingdom. The number one emperor, Yelu Abaoji, is dead. The second person, Queen Shuluping, is not qualified as an heir. Only Yelu Deguang can compete with Yelube. So is Yelude just fighting or not? This is a historical mystery.Confusing and confusing. According to the records in many historical books such as "Old History of the Five Dynasties", "New History of the Five Dynasties", "History of the Liao Dynasty", "The Chronicle of the History of the Liao Dynasty", there are similarities with minor differences. His son, Yelu Deguang, deliberately broke the rule of father's death and son's succession.She asked Yelubei and Yelu Deguang to conduct a campaign, but Yelubei lost and Yelu Deguang was elected the new Khitan emperor. Such a few simple words are obviously not enough, and it is difficult to reveal the whole picture of this Khitan-style palace coup. Why should the Queen of the Law break the established inheritance rules?This is a risk, can she afford it? Yelu Abaoji had four sons, He Shuluping had three sons, and one son was born to a palace man.Yelubei, Yelu Deguang and Yelu Lihu are all Shuluping's own sons.Why does Shuluping love his second son, Yelu Deguang?Later history books said that Shuluping preferred his younger son Li Hu, and decided to let Li Hu succeed the emperor left by Yelu Deguang after his death.So why didn't the empress Shulu be in place at once, and let the youngest son Li Hu take the throne directly and inherit the throne left by A Baoji? What did Yelu Deguang think about himself?Does he want to be emperor?Or have you ever thought about this before? Yelubei's succession procedure was blocked, what did he think?How do you do it?Resignation or active resistance? Since Yelubei's status and achievements are already so high, is there any point in this kind of election?How much room is there for manipulation?Who is in control?How to control it?What is the price of manipulation? These issues complement each other and are inseparable, but there are too few clues left by history.The interesting thing about studying history is that we know what happened, but we don't know the details of what was going to happen under the circumstances.We can only speculate based on the limited clues, and reproduce this thrilling scene of the struggle for the throne. When analyzing this palace coup d'etat Khan struggle, we can extend the time and space, and look back at this struggle for more than ten years.When Yelu Abaoji was alive, he swaggered and actively prepared for the war. It was his established strategy to go south to seize Hebei lands such as Zhenzhou and Youzhou.However, after Yelu Deguang came to the throne, Khitan not only did not immediately implement Yelu Abaoji's southward plan, but also did not have a large-scale war with the Later Tang Dynasty in the next ten years.Until Shi Jingtang exchanged the cession of Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures in exchange for the Khitan Empire sending troops into the customs and destroying the Later Tang Dynasty. What force changed Yelu Abaoji's southward strategy? There is a saying in the history books that the Khitan gave up their plan to invade the Central Plains mainly because Yelvbei and others were in Luoyang.Khitan was worried that Yelubei and others would be endangered after the war with Later Tang.In fact, this statement is not reasonable.Five years after Yelu Deguang succeeded to the throne, Yelubei felt that it was difficult to gain a foothold in Khitan, so he crossed the sea and ran to Luoyang in the later Tang Dynasty.In the past five years, Khitan has not had a large-scale invasion of the south.Besides, if Khitan implements the strategy of going south, which is the country's major plan, will they still worry about the safety of an escaped prince?In small-scale wars, the Khitan generals who were captured by the Later Tang Dynasty stayed in Luoyang, and it was not enough to become a bargaining chip to restrict the Khitan going south. There is only one possible reason for changing the Khitan's southward strategy, and that is Empress Shulu. Empress Shulu seems to have little interest in raising troops southward.In the past few years, she had repeatedly discouraged Yelu Abao from attacking Youzhou.Yelu Abaoji didn't listen to her advice, and returned in frustration.It's not that Empress Shulu doesn't covet the land south of the Great Wall, but she knows that the Central Plains Dynasty, especially the northern border vassals and towns, have strong troops and strong combat effectiveness, so they are not easy to deal with.She was worried that the Khitan's military and military attacks would outweigh the gains, and it might drag the fledgling empire to pieces.She is more inclined to adopt the strategy of harassing and exhausting, exhausting the Hebei area, and then enjoying the benefits.For example, it is recorded that in 917 A.D., "The Empress Shulu said: 'Youzhou City is still the same. But I used three thousand horses to lay down beside it, plundered its four fields, and made the city without food. After a few years, the city was trapped. , why be so restless and rash! In case of victory, laugh for China, and my tribe will also disintegrate'".In 921 A.D., "The Empress Shulu remonstrated: 'I have the wealth of sheep and horses in Xilou, and I am too happy to be poor. Why bother to study far away to take advantage of the danger? There is danger and failure in escape, so much regret!'". There is a fundamental difference between the old-fashioned and steady attitude of Queen Shu and A Baoji's eagerness for success.If Empress Shulu wants to change Yelu Abaoji's established strategic plan, the best way is naturally to change Yelu Abaoji's successor.If this heir obeys the Queen of the Law, then the opinion of the Queen of the Law will become the military strategy of the Khitan Empire from top to bottom, and there is no need to take the risk of changing the course from the bottom to the top. In this way, it is necessary to compare the political attitudes of the two princes who are likely to become heirs to the throne. Yelubei and Yelu Abaoji have always had the same opinion, so they got Abaoji's favor.What's more, this military expedition to Bohai State was largely due to Yelube's suggestion.Yelubei's character is "forgiving outside and tolerant inside, impatient and fond of killing people". Although he has read Han poetry and books and believes in Confucianism, he has a generous personality on the outside and a mean heart on the inside, making him somewhat treacherous.These may be the biggest scruples of queens.If Yelubei becomes the emperor, he is likely to continue Yelu Abaoji's military expansion policy, and under his low-key appearance, he hides an unruly heart.Moreover, Yelubei was old, at the age of twenty-eight, his wings were already full, and his views on things had already taken shape.Combining these factors together, Empress Shulu felt that the eldest son might not be willing to be restricted by her empress dowager in the future. As the generalissimo, Yelu Deguang almost participated in several important campaigns of going south and conquering the west and conquering the east launched by Emperor Yelu Abaoji, and he has a great status in the military circle.Judging from Yelu Deguang's resume, he has been in battle for a long time, but he has not been alone much. Most of the time he fought with Yelu Abaoji or carried out Yelu Abaoji's orders.From this point of view, Yelu Deguang's independent role is not as prominent as Yelube.Yelu Deguang is "serious in appearance but lenient in nature". He has a serious appearance, but in fact he has a generous personality, and he is even a bit careless and does not pursue details.Yelu Deguang was very filial to Empress Shulu. He not only took care of Empress Shulu meticulously in her daily life, but also was very afraid of Empress Shulu. Only after summoning him did he dare to show his face. In terms of personality, Yelu Deguang seems to be more loved by Shuluping, a strong woman.Yelu Deguang was twenty-four years old at the time. Although he had a high status in the military, his other political capital was not enough to command the wind and rain in the Khitan government.Yelu Deguang's calm personality and Shulu queen's strong personality can coexist, and Yelu Deguang's authority in the military circle and Shulu queen's authority in the political world can complement each other.From these two points, Yelu Deguang is more favored by Shulu Empress than Yelubei. As for the youngest son Li Hu, he was not only young at this time, but also very immature, with a cruel and violent personality, so he was not welcomed by the government and the public.There is a short story that may be able to compare the characters and ways of doing things of these three brothers. One day in the early years, when the weather was cold, Yelu Abaoji asked his three sons to find firewood and light a fire to keep warm.The second son, Yelu Deguang, came back first, holding a large pile of firewood in his arms, some dry and some wet.The eldest son, Yelubei, came back second. He gathered a pile of dry firewood, tied it up, and brought it back.The last one to come back was the youngest Li Hu. This boy didn't pick up much firewood, but lost it all the way, and when he returned to the camp, there was not much left.From this incident, Yelu Abaoji saw the difference in the ability of the three sons to handle affairs.The boss is meticulous and purposeful.The second child is not careful, lacks awareness of discrimination, pays attention to speed but not quality.The third child has the worst ability to handle affairs. Even after the death of Yelu Deguang a few years later, Li Hu still did not win the throne despite the support of Queen Shulu.The reason is that the ministers of the government and the opposition did not buy his account, and everyone was dissatisfied. History books describe the queen's character as "simple, decisive, and bold", a typical strong woman.Now that the boss, Yelu Abaoji, is dead, it is impossible for this kind of woman to allow a second strongman to stand beside her and stand on equal footing with her. From the perspective of Queen Shulu, Yelu Deguang is a better candidate than Yelubei and Li Hu.So can the Queen of the Law change the rules of the game?Can she play this big chess game alone? Maybe, maybe not. It depends on whether the elements of heaven, earth, and people are coincidental. After Yelu Abaoji died in July, a new emperor was not produced until November of the following year.The so-called "a country cannot be without a king for a day", the reason why it took so long to produce a new emperor shows how complicated and intense this game struggle is. For more than a year, the busiest person was the queen. For more than a year, the biggest trader was the Queen of Law. Although Yelu Abaoji unified the eight Khitan tribes and established the imperial power empire following the Han system.But traditions cannot be changed overnight.The Khitan is a tribe that advocates bravery and even violence, and it is completely a set of survival rules for the strong.Although Yelu Abaoji established some imperial orders in which seniors and juniors were respected, this traditional law of competition still flows in the blood of these tribal leaders. As soon as the strongman Yelu Abaoji died, some powerful tribal leaders stood up and wanted to show their abilities, especially for the woman who was in charge of the government after Shulu was very dissatisfied.The first crisis facing Queen Shulu is these rebellious princes and ministers.If they are not dealt with, Shuluping will not be able to firmly control the Khitan state affairs, and may even die worse than a bug.Therefore, Shuluping must eradicate these prickly and powerful figures as soon as possible. Not long after, Yelusu, the prime minister of the Southern Court, passed away. Yelusu was the younger brother of Yelu Abaoji. His death removed a major threat to Shuluping.But there are still many powerful opponents around the corner. The mixed blood of Khitan and Uyghur flowing in Shuluping's body is equally bloody and violent. She took unhesitating bloody measures against dissidents.Anyone who was not convinced by the late emperor, she sent them to see the late emperor, and took them directly to the mausoleum tunnel that A Baoji was building to behead and bury them.The Khitan court was shrouded in blood and rain, and Shuluping hacked and killed hundreds of powerful figures, including the father and son of Nanyuan Yili Jinyeludieli, and carried out iron and blood cleansing and ruthless suppression of the opposition. While Shuluping bloodbathed the opposition, she herself also paid a heavy price.When beheading the general Zhao Siwen, Zhao Siwen hesitated to go to the tunnel of Abaoji's mausoleum to be tortured.Shu Luping asked him why he didn't go to bury the late emperor?Zhao Siwen once made great contributions in assisting Yelu Abaoji to capture Fuyu City in Bohai State.Zhao Siwen was quick-witted, and answered sharply and forcefully: "The person closest to the late emperor is you, and the person who should be buried with the late emperor should also be you. Why don't you go to the funeral?" This sentence is extremely lethal, and it fundamentally draws the fire from the bottom of the pot, questioning Shu Luping's excuse for killing people. Shuluping said helplessly, "My sons are still young and need my assistance." For all she said, those words were unlikely to quell public outrage, and might spark new resistance.Shuluping gritted her teeth, stomped her feet, and said in a voice of hatred to herself: "It's all out." She stared at her red eyes and ordered sharply: "Come on! I can't follow the late emperor in Jiuquan for the time being, but to express my sincerity to the late emperor I am willing to cut off one hand to accompany the late emperor. After the worldly affairs are finished, I am willing to go underground to accompany the late emperor." As he said that, Shuluping rolled up his sleeves and put his left hand on the table. Shuluping's move scared everyone present, and no one knew what to do.Seeing that no one made a move, Shuluping turned around and took off the sword from the wall, pulled out the gleaming sword with a "clang", raised the sword in his hand and dropped it, blood burst out, and Shuluping's left hand was cut off at the wrist. Shuluping passed out with a muffled snort.The attendants rushed to rescue her in a hurry, called the imperial physician to apply golden sore medicine, and carried the Empress Shulu to the harem to rest. The ruthless self-mutilation of Empress Shulu completely shocked the Khitan government and the public.This woman is so cruel to herself, can she be soft to others?Can you let it go?The opposition parties of the Khitan court died and retreated, and the few remaining ones died down one after another. Shuluping's self-cut wrist was really forced and helpless, which reflected that the conflict between her and the Khitan noble ministers had intensified to the extreme, and it also reflected that her personal authority was on the verge of collapse.Zhao Siwen is just a Han Chinese who surrendered to Khitan, and his official position is not high, at most he can be regarded as a second-class military officer.Even Zhao Siwen could resist Shuluping's will not to die, but instead forced Shuluping to commit suicide.It can be seen that Shuluping has fallen into a desperate situation of isolation in the court, forcing her to make huge sacrifices in order to survive from desperation. In the dead of night, Empress Shulu came to the place where Yelu Abaoji's coffin was parked alone.She lay on the coffin and wept bitterly, muttering to herself while crying: "My late emperor, you left so suddenly that you didn't even say a word, and you left such a huge country behind, and let me take care of it all by myself. I am just an ordinary weak woman, how can I take on such a heavy burden? The tribal countries have just been conquered, and the hearts of the people are not yet stable. The princes and ministers have their own ghosts, and they all want to change the dynasty and seize power. The sons are still young, and it is difficult to cope with this Dangerous environment. If you are not careful, the Khitan Empire will fall apart in an instant. The late emperor, when you were alive, I relied on you to tide over crisis after crisis. If you leave now, who will my orphans and widows rely on?!" Shulu cried and told, and when he was tired from crying, he sat on the ground next to Abaoji's coffin, stroking the coffin with his remaining hand.After a while, emotions came to my heart again, and tears fell like rain after telling the law, and I said again: "Tu Yu and Yao Gu are both good children, both are Khitan leaders trained and trained by you, the late emperor, but they still don't know how to do it. The principle of Zhang Yichi, profit and loss. Zhu Quanzhong, the hero of the world, ended Li Tang's three hundred years of society, sweeping half of the world, but passed down to the second generation, and the country died in less than 20 years. Li Cunxu's young hero, through the wind and rain After ten years of war, the world was conquered, and after three years of enjoying the country, the people betrayed their relatives, and their reputations were ruined. You, the late emperor, fought all over the world and went through all kinds of hardships to have such a foundation. Our Khitan Empire must be passed down forever, and we must not take it lightly. The so-called prosperity and prosperity It's just a life of danger. The so-called "governing a big country is like cooking a small fish" must be done with trepidation. The humble concubine has always been loyal to the late emperor, you, and has no two hearts. For the Khitan Empire's country and society to last forever, the humble concubine is willing to risk the eternal infamy Establish a new emperor to protect this hard-won foundation. The late emperor, can you forgive the suffering of the concubine?" Shuluping's mournful, grievance, painful and lonely crying and intermittent soliloquies echoed in the empty mourning hall.There was no one in the hall, only Yelu Abaoji lying in the coffin and Shuluping outside the coffin.The white paper lanterns hanging at the entrance of the main hall swayed in the cold wind, the black curtains were indistinct, and the window panes of the main hall cast mottled light and shadows.There was silence all around, only a few grass insects chirping from time to time. After purging her political opponents, Shuluping established her own independent authority. For a while, no one from the ruling and opposition parties dared to challenge her. In August 927, the tomb of Yelu Abaoji was completed.The body of Yelu Abaoji was placed in the ancestral mausoleum and buried in Muye Mountain. In November 927 AD, Empress Shulu held a new emperor selection meeting. In order to carry out her will, Empress Shulu manipulated Yelu Deguang to inherit the throne, and it took a lot of trouble.Whether Yelubei or Yelv Deguang, after all, they are both biological sons, and the palms and backs of their hands are all flesh.Moreover, as the crown prince, Yelubei is the legal heir.If Empress Shulu himself changed course directly, abolished Yelubei's qualifications as heir, and supported Yelv Deguang to take over the position, there would be the problem of disobeying Abaoji, and there was also the risk of direct conflict with Yelubei.Therefore, Empress Shulu used a strategy of "killing people with a borrowed knife". Shuluping convened a meeting of tribal leaders with the purpose of electing a new emperor. Everyone can't help but ask, is there still a problem of electing a new emperor?Do you still need a differential referral?Doesn't this also contradict the rules set by A Baoji during his lifetime?Can the empress make such a proposal rashly?The tradition of the Khitan for hundreds of years is that the candidates for the Great Khan must be elected by the electoral assembly of the chiefs of each tribe. Although there is a hereditary element in the family, it is not a precise hereditary appointment by a designated person, but is actually confirmed by the assembly.Although Yelu Abaoji established the emperor's hereditary system, it has not been long after all, and it has not yet been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.We have not discarded or forgotten the system of electoral congresses.Moreover, the Khitan at this time was not greatly influenced by Han culture, and it was not very deep, and there were not so many corrupt Confucians.Conservative thinking is not common enough, no one will make a fuss in order to insist on supporting the eldest son, and no one is willing to lose his head in order to maintain the so-called orthodoxy.Therefore, although Yelubei has been designated as the prince and has the legal heir qualifications, many people do not object or are surprised when Shulu empress proposes to hold an electoral assembly to confirm the candidate for the new emperor through the assembly.The big deal is that while the new system is implemented, the old method is superimposed in parallel, a dual-track system! Empress Shulu asked her two sons, Yelubei and Yelu Deguang, to ride horses and stand in front of the royal yurt.Please ask the tribal leaders to vote for the two according to their own wishes.The way to express consent is to walk up to the chosen person and take his horse's rein with your hand, that is, hold the bridle.This voting method is very direct, very efficient, and seems to be very transparent. Before the start, the Empress Shulu called her two sons to her and said, "Son, you are all the flesh and blood of the late Emperor and me, you are all handsome young men from Khitan, and you have high prestige in everyone's mind. As for who To be able to inherit the great power depends on public opinion." With one command, the election begins.Some of the leaders went to Yelubei, and some went to Yeludeguang.But after a while, the scene became divided, and the number of people walking towards Yelu Deguang was twice that of walking towards Yelubei.What is the reason?Could it be that Yelubei, as the prince and heir to the throne, has not gathered some supporters for many years?Is the princeling's network advantage no match for a generalissimo? No. This election is not a fair contest, it is completely the result of behind-the-scenes manipulation. After Shulu established her prestige through iron and blood methods, she released news through many channels, saying that she preferred Yelu Deguang among her three sons.Before the Electoral Conference, the tribal leaders were already anxious to choose a new emperor.They understand Shuluping's style of doing things. This election is not only related to the honor and disgrace of the two candidates, but also the life and death of each elector.If you accidentally cast the wrong vote, your head will most likely move.Therefore, in order to keep their own heads, these leaders inquired about the news before the meeting, asking which prince Shulu secretly supported.Most people had found out before voting that Yelu Deguang was the favorite candidate for Empress Shulu, so everyone went over to grab the reins of Yelu Deguang's horse.Only a few of Yelvbe's best friends and wrong-headed people voted for Yelvbe. The result is self-evident, Yelu Deguang wins. Prince Yelubei, who was sitting on horseback, had a panoramic view of this scene, and he knew it well.For more than a year, the queen has been slow to let the new emperor take the throne, obviously because she doesn't approve of Yelubei.Participating in this election, Yelubei still has a little fluke mentality, and wants to compete with Yelude in strength.But in fact, he is not competing with Yelu Deguang, but with the combination of Shulu Empress and Yelu Deguang. Yelubei will definitely lose. Yelubei was quite smart, and he saw through the situation at a glance.Before the voting was over, he dismounted from his horse, walked up to Shulu Queen, gave a deep salute, and said, "My queen, my second brother Deguang has made outstanding military exploits, has a grand status, and has won the popularity of the people. He should inherit the throne." Empress Shu Lv was secretly happy, this strategy was really clever, and easily passed on the conflict between mother and child.However, the empress still asked: "Then do you think Deguang is capable?" This is clearly adding salt to the wound in Yelubei's heart. Yelubei bit his lip and said: "Second brother, who is all-rounder in civil and military affairs, has already taken on the big responsibility, I can't compare to him." In front of everyone, Yelubei uttered words of support for Yelu Deguang, showing that he had surrendered and would not do anything wrong again.The so-called dispute over fixed points means that since the status of superiority and inferiority has been determined, there should be no further competition. The Queen of Laws smiled reassuringly, everyone was happy, at least from her point of view.There was no tragic incident of fratricide, no disturbance of the imperial power overthrow, and no strange incident of the prodigal son of the Han Dynasty in the Central Plains succeeding to the throne.Everything was resolved in a legal and reasonable manner. Empress Shulu closely combined her powerful political resources with Yelu Deguang's solid military resources, and firmly controlled the government of the Khitan Empire. In fact, it is difficult to distinguish the strength of Yelubei and Yelu Deguang, and it is also difficult to judge the quality of knowledge.If there is no eccentric Shulu queen, maybe Yelvbe will ascend the throne logically.However, if Yelvbe ascends the throne, it is also very likely to cause a vicious struggle for power redistribution, and the outcome is extremely unpredictable.In addition to Empress Shulu's partiality to Yelu Deguang, Yelu Deguang also has a strong group of relatives and friends. His wife is the niece of Empress Shulu. Powerful people.Compared with the beginning of Yelu Abaoji's reign as emperor and the succession of the thrones of the kingdoms in the Central Plains, the combination of Empress Shulu and Yelu Deguang may have the best effect. This combination guaranteed the unity and integrity of the Khitan Kingdom and the stability of the regime. and continuation. In November, on a snowy day, Yelu Deguang ascended the throne and became Emperor Taizong of Khitan. Empress Shulu and Yelu Deguang ruled Khitan, which brought ten years of relaxation to the Central Plains, but did the Central Plains court make good use of this relatively peaceful ten years?