Chapter 12 5. Khitan is coming

When Li Cunxu was enjoying himself, his troubles came.The alliance of several nomadic peoples in the north grew into a powerful political power, and his name was Khitan.The Khitan originally operated in the border areas north of the Central Plains, but its southward movement greatly changed the political structure of the Central Plains, and has since greatly affected the progress of Chinese civilization for more than a hundred years. The truth of the world is to change. Everything is changing. What is eternal is change. The result of the change is that one will ebb and flow. Zhu Youzhen didn't understand this simple and profound truth.

When Zhu Youzhen seized the Zhuliang regime, the young Zhuliang empire had already lost a lot of vitality. Zhu Youzhen is a gnawing old man, he is eating what his father left behind. Zhu Youzhen does not have the ability to govern the country, not to mention the ability to fight for hegemony in troubled times, even the ability to follow the rules.The sad thing about people is that stupid people often don't think they are stupid.The first thing that the clumsy Zhu Youzhen should do is to stabilize the regime, straighten out politics, correct Zhu Quanzhong's militaristic policy, and calm the uneasy nerves of civil and military officials.Slow down the pace of fighting for hegemony externally, adopt a comprehensive defensive strategy, and create a favorable environment for governing internal affairs to recuperate.When attacked by a formidable enemy like Li Cunxu, he is fully capable of stalemate resistance and should not take the initiative to attack rashly.In terms of national defense, Zhu Youzhen can also adopt the method of combining vertical and horizontal to disperse Li Cunxu's offensive.

It should be said that when Zhu Youzhen ascended the throne, the Zhuliang Empire faced a better external environment than when Zhu Quanzhong was emperor.The former Xuanwu Fanzhen was in the place of the Four World Wars. There were wars all the time in the southeast, northwest, and powerful enemies everywhere.Now that Li Maozhen was old, she was beaten by Wang Jian and retreated steadily. She only had the ability to parry and no longer wanted to fight for hegemony.Yang Xingmi is dead, and his successor son, Yang Wo, is a fool. The internal politics are a mess, and it is lucky that Huainan did not fall apart.Liu Shouguang has long since lost the vigor of the past, and spent his life in Youzhou with arrogance and luxury, basically no threat.Only Li Cunxu, who has just risen, is aggressive and domineering, which is worrying.

The Zhuliang Empire's conquest force is slightly insufficient, but its defense is more than sufficient.If the Zhuliang Empire had spent more energy in internally cultivating politics and recuperating, the trend of the world might have been very different.This is not impossible.For example, the Wuyue Kingdom in the south of the Yangtze River, under the governance of Qian Liu, did not seek external expansion, but instead pursued policies of peaceful coexistence and friendship, and developed its economy internally. Instead, it became the most affluent place in the world, with high living standards for cadres and the masses, and a happiness index It's not low, and from time to time, it engages in trade outside, exporting some needles, threads, brains and other commodities.Under the leadership of Wang Jian, the Kingdom of Shu in Sichuan also lived a happy life for more than ten years.

The Zhuliang Empire is at the center of the world. If it is managed properly, it is entirely possible that after the collapse of the Li and Tang Empires, it will replace it and become a new unified dynasty in Chinese history, and it may even become a dynasty that does a good job. But history has gone astray because of a few people. Zhu Youzhen has all the conditions and should be able to keep the foundation of the world's largest country, but this kid didn't do the same thing right, and all he did was the opposite.In terms of internal politics, he abandoned Jingxiang and Li Zhen and other talented old ministers, and favored Zhao Yan and his group of Zhang's brothers-in-law. Hoard money.In terms of foreign relations, he took a skeptical attitude towards Qian Liu, who took the initiative to show favor and promote the flow of commerce, restrained the good relations, and cut off his own sources of income.In terms of military affairs, they overestimated their abilities and made great achievements. If they had nothing to do, they would attack Huainan, and if they had something to do, they would attack Hebei.As a result, he played with fire and set himself on fire. Not only did he fail to settle Li Cunxu, but Li Cunxu almost wiped out the main force of the Zhuliang Empire.

If Zhu Youzhen understands the truth of change, keeps a low profile, and keeps a low profile, he has every chance to wait until the day when he can show his ambitions.Li Keyong didn't wait, but Li Cunxu did. He waited until Zhu Quanzhong died, waited until the civil strife in Zhu Liang, and waited for an opponent who was not as good as himself to come to power.Even if Zhu Youzhen is no match for Li Cunxu, if he is willing to wait, he will wait for the opportunity to counterattack. An emperor like Zhu Youzhen is not the worst in Chinese history, but his living environment is different.Some emperors who were worse than Zhu Youzhen worked leisurely for many years in a huge empire.The last batch of people boiled him to death and replaced him with a capable successor, and the empire still turned very well.However, Zhu Youzhen was born in an era full of wars and the empire was not long after its founding. His personal ability determined the fate of a young empire to a great extent.He has no ability to directly decide that a group of people are idiots.

The one who should wait and suffer the most is him. It's ridiculous that our Fourth Master Zhu couldn't wait. Until the army was wiped out and lost the power to fight back. But when Zhu Youzhen was in decline, the opportunity happened to come. The helpless thing is that Zhu Youzhen has "strength to spare", and she can't regain her spring even after taking medicine. what chance? Khitan is here. Khitan has become a headache for Li Cunxu. It didn't exist before, it was completely new. What exists is reasonable. You can't hide from it, so let's fight.

We have introduced about Khitan in the previous section "General Model Workers", and mentioned the development and growth of Khitan in other chapters. However, in order to facilitate readers to connect to relevant background information, we will give a brief introduction here. According to the "Book of Wei", in the early years of the Northern Wei Dynasty, that is, around 390 AD, some tribes were differentiated from some tribes in the north, and evolved into the later Khitan.At this time, there were about eight tribes in Khitan, namely the Wandan tribe, the Hedahe tribe (also known as the Dahe tribe), the Fufuyu tribe, the Yuling tribe, the Rilian tribe, the Piqi tribe, the Li tribe, and the Tuliuyu tribe. department.These tribes are still very weak. They once proclaimed their vassals in the Northern Wei Dynasty, paid tribute every year, and went to court every year. They were very honest, obedient and well-behaved.In the hundreds of years from the Northern Dynasties to the early Tang Dynasty, Khitan faced the pincer attacks of Goguryeo and Rouran. Khitan was almost destroyed in the flames of war. Khitan was once a doormat.

Later, the invincible Rouran died, and then the Turks rose.The Khitan was bullied by the Turks for many years.Among them, the Khitan branch did not want to be bullied by the Turks, so they escaped and joined the Sui Dynasty.The Sui Dynasty had just been established, and its national power was not strong enough, so it was unwilling to provoke the powerful and fierce Turks.Therefore, the Sui Dynasty sent these Khitans back to Turkic rule.No one expected that this part of the Khitan people was very brave and stubborn, and their anti-oppression and anti-exploitation revolutionary sentiment was so high that they migrated again in a rage.

After twists and turns, the Khitan people lived in a tributary of the Xilamulun River, which is now called Laoha River.The Laoha River originates in the northwest mountainous area of ​​Pingquan County, Hebei Province, flows through the southeast of Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia, at the junction of Ongniud Banner and Naiman Banner, and after joining the Xilamulun River, the downstream is called the Xiliao River.In the midst of hardships and tribulations, the Dahe clan in this branch of Khitan gradually became stronger, and they decided to be on an equal footing with the Turks, at least in form.

Desire is motivation. The Turkic system is that the big leader is called the Great Khan, and the tribal leader is called Qijin.Khitan also has the desire to be the boss. They compared the Turkic system, the chief is called Khan, and the chiefs of the subordinate tribes are called Yi Li Jin. In the second year of Emperor Taizong's Zhenguan (628 A.D.), all Khitans once again got rid of the oppression of the Turks and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.At this time, the Tang Dynasty was already very powerful, and Li Shimin was thinking about destroying the Turks.Therefore, unlike the Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty stretched out its powerful and warm arms to take in and protect the Khitan. The Khitan under the rule of the Tang Dynasty later evolved into eight tribes, namely the Daji tribe, the Hebian tribe, the Duhuo tribe, the Fenwen tribe, the Tubian tribe, the Ruixi tribe, the Chujin tribe, and the Fu tribe.In the period of Wu Zetian, because the Tang Dynasty appointed the officials who ruled the Khitan to behave indiscriminately, they forced the Khitan to rebel.Because it was very difficult to survive independently, in the period of Li Longji, the Khitan once again belonged to the Tang Dynasty.At the end of the Kaiyuan period, Khitan struggled for power and profit within the Khitan, and the coup d'etat continued. After three tosses and five tosses, the Dahe clan tossed itself apart, and the Dahe clan weakened.After that, the Yaozhan family took control of the Khitan and led the Khitan for 1780 years, with nine Khans successively. In the period of the Five Dynasties, which is the current era of our story, Khitan has evolved into a new eight.This Khitan will not come up with nine or ten or something, the maximum number can only be eight.According to the "Five Dynasties Meeting Yao", the new eight departments are Danliju (both Dadielie or Dicibu) department, Yishihuo department, Shihuo department, Nawei department, Pinmi department, Neihuiji department, and Jihuo department. Jiebu and Xiwobu. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, there was a big man in Khitan, and this man was the famous Yelu Abaoji. Yelu Abaoji was born in the thirteenth year of Tang Xiantong (872 A.D.).At the same time as Yelu Abaoji, there were two strong men from the Central Plains. Li Keyong was born in the tenth year of Tang Dazhong (856 AD), and Zhu Wen was born in the sixth year of Tang Dazhong (852 AD).Yelu Abaoji is 16 years younger than Li Keyong and 20 years younger than Zhu Wen.In 907 AD, Zhu Wen proclaimed himself emperor in Kaifeng, ending the Tang Empire.Yelu Abaoji was called the Khitan Emperor in the same year. The birth of Yelu Abaoji has the same mysterious legend as the founding emperor of the Han people.This story is not only mysterious, but also violates the laws of human growth and evolution, and is almost purely fictional.One night, Yelu Abaoji's mother dreamed that the sun was coming into her stomach, so she became pregnant and gave birth to Yelu Abaoji.Abaoji is Apollo, the son of the sun, and the name is quite similar.When A Baoji was born, the room was filled with light and fragrance.The newly born Abaoji is already as big as a three-year-old child, and will crawl all over the ground after leaving his mother's belly.Yelu Abaoji is no different from a super baby.Seeing A Baoji's strangeness, A Baoji's grandmother thought she was a god, so she took the child as her own and raised a separate room in secret.This story is indeed outrageously absurd. It is probably a good show written and directed by his parents to deceive and scare the uneducated chiefs of various tribes, paving the way for the plot to seize the leadership of the tribe.Or it may be that Abaoji made it up by himself when the power seized the throne later, releasing smoke bombs to create an advantage in public opinion. Classmate A Baoji was like a three-year-old child when he was born, so what will he look like when he is three months old?The three-month-old Abaoji can already walk and speak well, especially good at predicting the future.When teething, what A Baoji cares about and talks about is no longer the issue of whether the nipple is soft or not, or whether the clothes are flowery or not, but the major issues involving the military, civil affairs, customs and customs of the current world.This is simply a precocious child catalyzed by super hormones! Abaoji belonged to the Dici tribe, the most powerful tribe among the Khitan tribes.In the Khitan Kingdom, Abaoji's uncle, Shilu, belonged to the tribe of Yuyue.Yu Yue is the highest official position under the Khitan Khan, equivalent to the Sangong of the Central Plains Dynasty. He has a high status but has no actual duties.Shi Lu likes and values ​​A Baoji very much, and has long believed that A Baoji will definitely be able to shine in the Yelu clan's family in the future. After Abaoji became an adult, he was tall and tall, and should have reached the standard of a basketball player in the contemporary era.Judging from his face, he has a plump forehead, a long pointed chin, and piercing eyes.A Baoji is good at riding and shooting, and has great strength. He can draw a hard bow of three hundred catties.It can be said that under the care, support and training of his grandmother, uncle and other members of the tribe, Abaoji thrived, and soon became an outstanding young talent in the tribe.A Baoji was brave and resourceful, representing the Khitan Khan, he successively recruited the Xiaohuang Shiwei tribe, conquered the Yuewu, Liuxi and Bisha tribes, and won the recognition and praise of the Khitan at a young age. In the blink of an eye, it was the first year of Tang Dynasty (AD 901), and the Yaozhan family had ruled the Khitan for more than 160 years. In this year, the Yaozhan family changed their heirs, and the new Khitan Khan was called the Khitan Khan (in some historical books Chind Khan).After Khan Hende came to power, he appointed Abaoji to be Yili Jin of the Dieti Department, that is, the great chief.Since then, Abaoji has assumed the main responsibility of Khitan's military expedition.Under Abaoji's conquests, the scope of Khitan's rule gradually expanded, and many weak and weak tribes in the surrounding area were eliminated and consolidated. In July 902 AD, A Baoji led 400,000 Khitan troops into the Daibei area of ​​​​Hedong Fanzhen.He captured nine counties in one go, and in September, built Longhua Prefecture and Kaijiao Temple in the south of Huanghe (Xila Mulun River, or Xiliao River).This is an earlier record of Khitan's reverence for Buddhism, which shows that Khitan at that time had already begun to be influenced by Buddhism introduced from the Central Plains. In the spring of 903 A.D., Abaoji was ordered to conquer the Jurchens and captured more than 300 herdsmen.In September, troops again attacked Huaiyuan Army in Hedong, Jibei and other places, and began to invade the border of the Central Plains from time to time.At this time, due to his outstanding military exploits and influence, A Baoji was further promoted to Yuyue, and took full charge of the Khitan military force.A Baoji became the number two figure in the Khitan Kingdom. In September 904 AD, during the crusade against the Shiwei tribe in Heichezi, he fought fiercely with Zhao Ba, a general of Liu Rengong's tribe who came to rescue, and defeated the Youzhou army. In July 905 AD, Li Keyong, who was declining day by day, was beaten by Zhu Quanzhong to the point where he could only parry but had no power to fight back.But at this time, the Khitan invaded again and again from the north, which made Li Ke suffer from the enemy with his back and body, and suffered terribly.In desperation, Li Keyong decided to make peace with Khitan in order to concentrate his efforts on dealing with Zhu Quanzhong and Liu Rengong. A Baoji agreed to Li Keyong's peace request.The reason why Abao agreed to make peace with Li Keyong was that Khitan also had Khitan's considerations.Khitan is far from Hedong, but very close to Lulong.During the Khitan's conquest of the surrounding tribes, Lu Long and Liu Rengong often took advantage of the fire to loot, either directly fighting the Khitan or joining forces with other small tribes. Liu Rengong was very familiar with Khitan's life and military habits, and sent people to burn Khitan's pastures every autumn when tall grass grew.Every spring and summer, when Khitan used troops, Liu Rengong would fortify the walls and clear the country, making Khitan return empty-handed.Liu Rengong's Youzhou Army fought fiercely and bravely, and was a strong enemy of the Khitan. It had repeatedly defeated the Khitan army through tactics such as ambushes and encounters.In several battles, A Baoji suffered from Liu Rengong.As we said before, Liu Rengong is second to none in dealing with Khitan in Chinese history, and no one among the latecomers is better than him. It is the common enemy and needs that make Li Keyong and A Baoji hit it off.The two met in Yunzhou, Li Ke used a lot of money and food benefits to A Baoji, and A Baoji lent some troops to Li Ke to conquer Liu Rengong.On that day, the two of them got drunk and had a good time.Li Keyong sworn brothers with A Baoji in a whim of excitement and rhetoric.At this time, A Baoji not only commanded the army of the Khitan country, but also dominated the diplomacy. It can be said that he was the core leader of the Khitan country.At this time, Yao Nian's family has already gone downhill. In December 906 A.D., Khan Hende died. "The ministers requested the establishment of the Taizu according to the last order. He Lu and others persuaded him to come in. The Taizu gave up three times and followed him." Yelu Abaoji was thirty-four years old this year.In the history books, there are only 20 words about Yelu Abaoji's position as the Khan of the Khitan Kingdom, but the historical mystery is intriguing. The Yaolan clan ruled Khitan for 170 years, and the position of Khan was hereditary from generation to generation, and other clans had no right to get involved.Although in terms of blood relationship, Khitan mainly has the two surnames of Yelu and Xiao, and Dieti and Yaonian both belong to the surname of Yelu, but they are not the same tribe after all.Although Khan Hende did not do very well, after his death, no matter which finger he counted on, it would not be the turn of the people from the Dieci Department to succeed him.So in this, it is very likely that A Baoji took the opportunity to change the dynasty and take advantage of it. The success of Abaoji's political campaign to seize power and enthronement was mainly due to several factors.The first is the decline of the Yaoyan clan, which lost its actual control over Khitan. The Yaoyan clan was greatly disappointed, especially the other tribes within the Yelu clan had long ignored the Yaoyan clan.The second is the rise of Abaoji's power, which has enabled Abaoji to seize and condense huge interests and interest groups. Besides, Abaoji is young and energetic, and everyone is full of trust and expectations for him to grab greater benefits in the future. This has attracted powerful people for him. The power is all around.The third is that Abaoji received great trust from the Khan of Khende, and his position rose steadily under the Khan of Khende's promotion, which is somewhat confusing to the outside world.Under the pretense of Khende Khan's death, Abaoji seduced the close forces headed by his cousin to support him, but after he hypocritically declined repeatedly, he seemed to be reluctant to become Khitan Khan. In the spring of 907 A.D., A Baoji officially ascended the throne after some sacrifices and obeisance to heaven and earth.However, Abaoji did not continue to use Khitan's title of Khan, but followed the example of the Central Plains Dynasty and used the title of emperor.He calls himself the Emperor of Heaven, his wife the Empress of the Earth, and the prince the Emperor of the People.Abaoji's proclaiming emperor was not a simple imitation of the Han people in form, but marked the beginning of Khitan's Sinicization of laws and regulations, cultural artifacts and other aspects.The grassland nomadic tribal clan civilization of Khitan began to absorb the feudal civilization of the Central Plains. Three months later, Zhu Quanzhong abolished Emperor Li Tang, established the Liang Empire, and proclaimed himself emperor. Although the Central Plains area was in chaos and strife, various warlords were busy fighting together, creating space for the rise of the northern nomads.However, the separatist forces in the Central Plains did not ignore the Khitan, which was moving toward unity.Li Keyong formed an alliance with Khitan to avoid direct conflict.Zhu Quanzhong also extended an olive branch to Yelu Abaoji, but Abaoji didn't pay much attention to Zhu Quanzhong.Perhaps it was due to the insufficient development of communication news and information at that time, and the absence of mobile TV and the Internet. A Baoji didn't know enough about Zhu Quanzhong, and he didn't know Zhu Quanzhong's influence in the Central Plains.In short, A Baoji did not accept the friendly intentions of the Zhu Liang Empire, and did not treat Zhu Quanzhong as a dish. He still insisted on signing an alliance with Li Keyong. After A Baoji became the emperor, did he always feel that something was missing?After pondering and pondering, I realized that I lacked the recognition of the emperor of the Central Plains.In the past, the Khan of Khitan was canonized by the Emperor of Tang Dynasty. The tribes of Khitan recognized this canonization very much, and the canonization had extremely high political influence.Although the Tang Empire disappeared, although the Central Plains was in chaos, and although Khitan had not been friendly with the Central Plains Dynasty for decades, it was still very important for the Khan to be recognized by the Central Plains Emperor.Even though the Khitan and the Central Plains Dynasty no longer have a subordinate relationship, the official recognition of the Central Plains Dynasty is still very important to the Khitan people. This is the traditional consciousness that has penetrated into the Khitan blood.Therefore, in order to obtain the recognition of the Zhuliang Empire representing the Central Plains dynasty, after careful consideration, Yelu Abaoji decided to abandon the alliance with Li Keyong and cooperate with the Zhuliang Empire instead. Li Keyong heard that Yelu Abaoji, a "close brother", had gone to cooperate with Zhu Quanzhong, and was so angry that he vomited blood.Li Keyong is a straightforward and aloof person, and he always attaches great importance to alliances.In the past, Li Keyong was tricked by Zhu Quanzhong when he was young, which made him an enemy of Zhu Quanzhong for life.Li Keyong, who is now in his old age, was raped by his little brother A Baoji again.Li Keyong was deeply concerned about this, thinking that it was a lifelong shame and humiliation, and he would die if this shame was not cleared.When Li Keyong was dying, he also asked his son Li Cunxu to avenge his father, crusade against Khitan, and bear the hatred of the alliance with snow. However, judging from the transformation of Yelu Abaoji's attitude towards Li Keyong and Zhu Quanzhong, Yelu Abaoji appears to be more mature, which is what a politician who takes care of the overall situation should behave.After all, national interests are above all else, and judging the situation, seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages is the only way to do so.Li Ke used one muscle and couldn't turn his head. This is also an important reason for his gradual decline in the marathon competition of the Battle of Hegemony. In the first few years when Yelu Abaoji was the Khitan emperor, he mainly focused on conquering the surrounding tribes and quelling internal rebellions. Therefore, the Khitan did not pose much harm to the border of the Central Plains. "Autumn Valley" is mainly based on guerrilla plunder from time to time, and has no attempt to occupy land. At the end of the Tang Dynasty and the beginning of the Five Dynasties, Khitan was in a period of transition from a primitive tribal and clan system to a feudal centralized society.Its productivity is low, especially the unique living habits of nomads, living by water and grass, it is impossible to evolve a high level of industrialized social division of labor, and the material accumulation is not abundant.Constant wars between tribes with different surnames and even the same surname, and the invasion of large ethnic groups in the east and west, such as Turkic, Rouran, Goryeo, Tatar, Uyghur, etc., also caused great troubles for Khitan, which directly led to Khitan being forced to migrate, and also led to small tribes with different surnames. split and combine.At that time, it was still difficult for Khitan to form a stable territory and social structure, and in most cases it was in the process of turbulent tribal wars and integration. The exchanges and interactions between Khitan and the Central Plains were not limited to pure military warfare, and plunder and anti-plunder were not the only things.As two social clusters, whether it is social needs or life needs, business, diplomacy, and cultural exchanges have never stopped, but the manifestations are not so grand and attention-grabbing.It can be said that after the Central Plains society entered the Five Dynasties, while the Khitan exported wars to the Central Plains society, it was introducing Central Plains commodities, culture, legal system, social management models, production technology and even talents.This also promoted the evolution of productivity and production relations in Khitan society to a certain extent. Yelu Abaoji is an open-minded person with a strong attitude and ability to accept external things. As long as he thinks useful things, he will be inclusive. One thing is typical.The earliest foreign religion introduced by the Khitan during the Abaoji era was Buddhism. Under the leadership of Abaoji, temples were built and built, and some monasteries were well regulated and had a high status, basically reaching the level of one of the best in Khitan.Shortly after introducing Buddhism, Abaoji introduced Confucianism and Taoism.In the second year after A Baoji became emperor, he respected Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism as equally important, and decreed to use royal resources to build the Confucius Temple, the Great Buddha Temple, and Taoist temples.Abaoji's policy of the coexistence of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism adapted to the reality of the coexistence of multi-ethnic and multi-belief within its vast territory, which is a manifestation of the diversity of thought and culture.Conducive to ease the contradictions between different ethnic groups. Regarding Khitan's employment of high-level talents from the Central Plains, we will talk about a case here. After Yelu Abaoji ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, a person from the Central Plains helped him a lot and greatly influenced Yelu Abaoji's transformation from a chieftain-like leader to a feudal monarch.This person is Han Yanhui. In the political history of the Khitan for more than a hundred years, apart from the well-known Yelu and Xiao, the prominent clan surnames also include the Han family.The surname Han is an out-and-out Han nationality.The first of the heavyweights surnamed Han is Han Yanhui.We will list the other surnames Han later. Han Yanhui, courtesy name Zangming, was born in Anci, Youzhou.His father, Han Mengyin, was a senior cadre in the Li and Tang Dynasties. He was the governor of Ji, Confucianism, and Shun.According to historical records, "Yanhui Shaoying" was described.The history books are amazing, cherish ink like gold, and describe the main characteristics of Han Yanhui in one word "English".What does English mean?It can be inferred that he is energetic, able to speak and do things, has brains, and has pursuit.Such an outstanding young man was discovered by Liu Rengong, the envoy of Lulong Jiedu, and entrusted him with reuse.Han Yanhui was mainly responsible for the drafting of written materials and assisting in the processing of military and government documents in the Youzhou Military Mansion. He was a colleague of Feng Dao, who was also very famous later. After Liu Shouguang seized the Lulong regime, Han Yanhui continued to join the army. When Li Cunxu attacked Yan on a large scale, he beat Liu Shouguang so hard that he couldn't stand it anymore.In desperation, Liu Shouguang asked his old enemy and old neighbor Khitan for help.The person in charge of this mission is Han Yanhui.Unexpectedly, this errand changed Han Yanhui's life, and also changed Yelu Abaoji's ruling trajectory. After Han Yanhui arrived in Khitan, he met the Khitan emperor Yelu Abaoji. Although he asked for help from others, Han Yanhui didn't mean to be humble at all.Not only did he treat Khitan as a brother and neighboring country, he did not regard Yelu Abaoji as the emperor, and refused to bow down. A Baoji was annoyed by Han Yanhui's attitude.A Baoji thought to himself: Good boy, Niucha, please ask me to do something, and don't say anything nice.Not only did A Baoji not lend Han Yanhui the soldiers and horses, but instead he detained Han Yanhui in Khitan and asked him to graze the horses. What is the profession of horse herding?Han Yanhui's work of releasing horses is not the same as that of Khitan civilians.Han Yanhui's work of herding horses was the work of slaves, which was very punitive and insulting.It is one thing to herd horses, cattle and sheep, especially Han Chinese envoys have hated this kind of treatment for nearly a thousand years, and even think it is more shameful than losing their lives. Han Yanhui fell into the abyss all of a sudden. Not only could he not return to the Central Plains, but he might end up with the same fate as Su Wu hundreds of years ago.This horse herding is as difficult as Su Wu's sheep herding.Living with animals every day, eating, drinking, and sleeping together is basically a type of survival in the wilderness. Han Yanhui's herding career was much shorter than Su Wu's.Before long, a miracle happened. It was a woman who rescued Han Yanhui from his misery. This woman is the queen of Yelu Abaoji, Shulushi. Shulu's name is "Ping", and the full name together is Shuluping.The encounter between Shu Luping and A Baoji can be described as love at first sight.In a battle of Yelu Abaoji, Abaoji won and led his army into the city.During the ceremony of entering the city, the crowd cheering for the soldiers was black and dense, people were crowded by each other, cars rubbed against cars, people's voices were loud, and mules and horses were noisy.A Baoji was riding a tall horse, looking left and right, with a high spirit.Suddenly, A Baoji saw a young woman driving a black bullock cart, flashing past on the left front.In an instant, the eyes of the two met, and the hearts of both parties trembled violently, and there was a flash of lightning. After entering the city, Abaoji fell into lovesickness.I don't think about tea or food, and my mind is full of that beautiful image.The heart is not as good as the action.A Baoji began to look for the woman.After several twists and turns, Abaoji finally found the girl who made his heart beat and the iconic black cow. This girl is Shuluping. According to the records of the Liao Dynasty, Shuluping was "simple, decisive and bold".It can be seen that this woman is not ordinary.Briefly summarize her basic characteristics, simple, prudent, decisive, and strategic.This is not a woman's character, it is obviously a characteristic of a general.There is no mention of Lu Ping's appearance in the history books, and he should be as beautiful as a flower, delicate and dignified, otherwise how could A Baoji be tempted by just looking at it?As for how Ms. Shuluping has a strategy, we will talk about it later. When Queen Shulu heard about Han Yanhui, she said to Yelu Abaoji: "Han Yanhui can stick to his integrity and fulfill his mission. He is a sage with high moral character today. Why torture him with hard labor like herding horses?" Yelu Abaoji has always respected this lady and valued her opinion.A Baoji turned his head to look at the Queen, and said, "Oh, what the Queen said, this Han man seems really unusual, he is not a man who is greedy for profit and fears death. Why don't we let him go back." Queen Shulu shook her head. A Baoji didn't understand what she meant all of a sudden, and asked, "You can't kill him, you can't imprison him, you can't let him go, why should you keep him?" The Empress Shulu nodded and said with a smile: "That's exactly what you mean, Emperor, you are carrying out your grand plan and great cause, and you need the assistance of a virtuous person. Now that the heavens have sent Han Yanhui to your door, you should be a corporal, respect him, and reuse him." .” A Baoji suddenly realized, clapped his hands, and said happily: "What the queen said is very true, what the queen said is very true! Someone, please bring Han Yanhui back from the pasture, I want to meet him." If the emperor wants to find someone, the efficiency is absolutely top-notch. The Khitan guards rode fast horses to the ranch, found Han Yanhui without any difficulty, and asked Han Yanhui to get on the horse immediately and accompany them to the imperial capital Linhuang Mansion to meet the emperor. Han Yanhui was thinking about a way to escape in depression, when suddenly the Khitan Emperor wanted to see him again.For a while, Han Yanhui couldn't figure out what medicine was sold in Abaoji's gourd.Is it a blessing or a curse? It is a disaster that cannot be avoided. The matter has come to this point. No matter what kind of gourd he is, it will naturally be revealed by shaking it in the past. In less than half a day, the Khitan guards had brought Han Yanhui to the Khitan Palace.When A Baoji received the report that Han Yanhui had brought him, he hurriedly stepped down from the tiger-skin throne, rushed out of the hall, and greeted Han Yanhui at the door.At this time, Han Yanhui had already arrived at the steps of the palace under the half-press and half-support of the Khitan guards.A Baoji was full of excitement, and he shouted as he walked: "Mr. Han, you are back. Please forgive me for offending A Baoji!" On the contrary, Han Yanhui was not excited at all, and walked up the stairs expressionlessly.When the two met, A Baoji took the initiative to stretch out his arms, took Han Yanhui's hand, and walked into the hall. After entering the main hall, Han Yanhui saw that Empress Shu Lv was also present, and there was no one else.When Han Yanhui was full of doubts, A Baoji stood tall and said: "Mr. Han, you are a famous scholar in the Central Plains, and your cultivation is famous far and wide. I neglected you for a while, please don't mind." Han Yanhui heard A Baoji apologize again, and he apologized in person, without making any high-sounding excuses, and apologized frankly and sincerely, which surprised and moved Han Yanhui a little.Han Yanhui realized that Abaoji was not an ordinary monarch, and his grandeur was not comparable to that of Liu Shouguang.Han Yanhui was not rude, and gave a deep salute to A Baoji, expressing his acceptance of A Baoji's apology. A Baoji invited Han Yanhui to sit next to him, and ordered someone to serve kumiss, hot milk tea, milk lumps, etc.After the guests and hosts sat down, A Baoji leaned forward and said to Han Yanhui: "Sir, to tell the truth, all industries in our Great Liao Kingdom are waiting to be flourished. How do you judge the situation in this world?" At this time, Han Yanhui was still unhurried, brushed off the horse dung and grass residues on his body with his hands, and replied in a measured manner: "Khitan has been established for more than three hundred years, and its habit is to live by fishing, hunting and grazing. In the north, there is no fixed place to live, and the Turks, Goryeo, and Uyghurs have been hostile for generations, but it is often difficult to win, why is this?" "Why?" A Baoji was asked this question for the first time, and felt fresh. Han Yanhui continued: "The Khitan army is also good at riding and shooting, which is similar to other tribes, but Khitan is smaller than other powerful tribes, so it has no advantage in strength. More importantly, the eight Khitan tribes live without a fixed place and depend on the sky for food. There is no guarantee of production, the manufacturing industry is underdeveloped, and both weapons and daily necessities are too rough. The so-called sufficient soldiers and food is the top priority of the military, but the Khitan has not been able to do it." A Baoji fell into deep thought, and nodded slightly involuntarily. Han Yanhui continued: "Although you are also called the emperor, the emperor needs to be recognized, and he lacks credibility when he talks about himself. More importantly, if there is no governance order for military affairs, military politics will fall into chaos, and a group of lords will be messed up. Deliberating without a clue is neither efficient nor effective." A Baoji couldn't help but secretly startled. This was a big question that had troubled him for a long time, but he couldn't find the answer. These lords were pretentious and conceited.A Baoji couldn't help asking: "In my opinion, what should I do?" When Han Yanhui was in Liu Rengong's shogunate, he did his best and was reused by Liu Rengong.But after Liu Shouguang came to power, he was headstrong and didn't take Han Yanhui's suggestion seriously.Han Yanhui often felt very lost and worried about the future of the military government.Now, A Baoji is so sincere, which moved Han Yanhui in his heart, and he couldn't help but say a few more words of his own knowledge and experience.Han Yanhui replied: "Governing a country requires a set of political institutions. This set of political institutions must have a certain level and division of responsibilities, as well as the role of mutual checks and balances. When these large and small institutions exercise their powers, they must be responsible to the monarch. , cannot go their own way.” A Baoji brought the bowl of milk tea to his mouth, but stopped again, waiting for Han Yanhui to continue. Han Yanhui bowed, glanced at A Baoji, and continued: "Below the monarch, you should set up a prime minister to handle daily administrative affairs, set up institutions and officials specialized in criminal and prison proceedings, set up institutions and officials specialized in marching and fighting, and set up special Institutions and officials responsible for etiquette, so that everything can be handled by someone, there are rules in everything, and everything is under control.” Hearing this, A Baoji patted his thigh, stood up with a "huh", turned to Queen Shulu next to him and said, "Queen, look at what Mr. Han said! It should have been done a long time ago!" Empress Shulu said: "Mr. Han is really a talented person in the world. He will stay in Khitan and assist the emperor, right?" Han Yanhui's mood at this time is very complicated. On the one hand, his talent is appreciated by others, but on the other hand, the one who appreciates his talent is actually an enemy, and the possibility of returning home is even smaller once Shulu Hou said this. .Therefore, Han Yanhui remained silent and bowed his head in silence. 阿保机看出了韩延徽的心思，哈哈大笑着走到韩延徽跟前，拍了拍韩延徽的肩膀，说道：“韩先生，今天你也累了，改日我再向你请教。暂且休息。” 阿保机吩咐人将一个大帐篷收拾好，一切物品摆设按照汉人习俗，配置标准基本上属于五星级帐篷。又赐给韩延徽大量金银财宝和新衣服，还有一大群服侍起居生活的男女奴仆。 韩延徽住进了五星级帐篷，可一点困意都没有，他辗转反侧陷入了纠结的思考。如何才能返回中原？如何才能减少契丹对中原的侵扰？如何减轻契丹人对杂居汉人的奴役？ 第二天，阿保机去打猎，邀请韩延徽一同前往。在草原和丛林中驰骋了一天，阿保机射猎功夫上乘，捕获了一只鹿，一头熊，两只山鸡。阿保机十分高兴，晚上在野外燃起篝火，摆上酒肉，和一大群部族酋长庆祝狩猎成功。 夜色渐浓，漫天星斗璀璨。 人声鼎沸，各路雄豪喧嚣。 草原陷入沉静，微风吹动跳跃的篝火。 男人女人载歌载舞，偶尔传来狗吠与马嘶。 阿保机也已酒兴三分，他拉着韩延徽的手说：“韩先生，你看我契丹儿女，矫捷勇武，他日我当统一各部，南下中原，荡平天下。” 韩延徽没有多少心思喝酒，兴致不太高，他听着阿保机的话，问道：“大王，你以什么去统一诸部，统一天下呢？难道只靠这些徒手骑马的契丹儿女吗？” 阿保机听出韩延徽话里有话，没有追问，而是递给韩延徽一只烤羊腿，自己手持一只，大口地撕咬下一块肉，用力地咀嚼起来。 韩延徽说道：“大王，这块土地上的人都是你的子民，包括契丹人、室韦人、鞑靼人和汉人。他们都可以为契丹的未来兴旺做出贡献。但是因风俗习惯不同，契丹将这些人分成了三六九等，奴役其他的部族和汉人，使他们只能做些简单的苦役，这极大地限制了他们的作用。这样的话，契丹很难吸收更多的力量发展壮大。” 说完这些话，韩延徽看着阿保机，他知道这番话是有冒犯契丹的风险的。在契丹人统治的地盘上，契丹人一直认为自己是最优秀的，其他人都是卑贱的奴隶。阿保机沉默了一会儿，问道：“不让汉人放羊割草，他们又能做什么呢？” 韩延徽意识到了阿保机听进了他的话。韩延徽禁不住有些兴奋，他也咬了一块肉，说道：“契丹人擅长渔猎游牧，汉人习惯于耕种定居，大王你可以顺应他们的习惯，分别治理啊。扬长避短，各自发挥作用。为汉人筑城建屋，开荒种田，让他们兴办作坊，设立集市，鼓励他们种植粮食、酿酒、打铁、买卖商品、结婚成家、繁衍后代，汉人有事做也就不会逃亡作乱了，这对契丹国力大有好处啊！” 阿保机望着一闪一闪的篝火，看了看眼前兴高采烈的契丹男女，又看了看韩延徽，严肃认真地说道：“韩先生言之有理，这块土地上都是我的子民，都应该安居乐业，都应该为契丹兴盛做出贡献。” 韩延徽见阿保机采纳了他的建议，激动的热泪盈眶，噗通一声跪拜在地，口中诵到：“皇帝圣明！” 阿保机愣了一下，继而开怀大笑，伸手搀起了韩延徽，爽朗地说道：“先生你认我这个皇帝啦？” 韩延徽也面带欣喜地说道：“皇帝是做出来的，不是叫出来的，您是圣明的君主，契丹各族人民之福。” 阿保机命人取来两大碗酒，和韩延徽两人痛快地一饮而尽。 韩延徽的这个建议不仅改变了汉人在契丹的命运，客观上也促进了民族融合与契丹生产力的进步。 从此之后，耶律阿保机对韩延徽十分器重，大事小事都要和韩延徽商量，而且在政治建设、社会治理、发展生产等方面，基本都采纳了韩延徽的建议。韩延徽对于契丹社会的发展发挥了重要影响，他和阿保机搭配，推动契丹尽快实现了与“国际水平接轨”。 阿保机这个人不是匹夫之勇，也不是一般的军阀格局，他是在有意识地统治契丹这块土地。他不仅重视和擅长武力，还重视文化的力量，重视不同族姓的诉求与生存状况，重视对国家机器的建设，重视对生产力的发展。他的政治智慧、执政自觉性、胸襟气度都在同时代的中原军阀之上。多数军阀是过了今天不想明天的主儿，有的即便做了一方君主，大多也缺乏长久治国的意识与韬略。统一之后的契丹，在耶律阿保机的领导下，迅速发展壮大，在逐步完成对本地各部族力量的征伐收服战争之后，契丹将目光投向了南方。 契丹来了。 契丹的南下，影响了中原王朝几百年的历史进程，对于中原历史的走向产生了深刻的影响。此后中原与契丹之间一百多年的恩怨情仇，对双方的政治、经济、文化都烙下了抹不去的印记。 契丹大举南下，首先受到威胁的是晋王李存勖。因为此时刘守光已经死了，卢龙纳入了河东的版图。河东地盘与契丹在上千里地的漫长边界上接壤。 早不来晚不来，偏偏在李存勖忙着与朱梁打仗的时候，契丹来了，而且是杀气腾腾锐不可当的来了。 李存勖很烦很无奈。