Chapter 289 Chapter 288 Taizu Yelu Abaoji

Yelu Abaoji was the founder of the Liao Dynasty.His surname is Yelu, his first name is Yi, his style name is Abaoji, and his small style is Chulizhi.He is the eldest son of Emperor Dezu Sasha, and his mother is Empress Xiao of Xuanjian.Born in the thirteenth year of Tang Xiantong (872 AD), and died in the first year of Liao Tianxian (926 AD).He reigned from 916 to 926 AD. When Yelu Abaoji was born, it was the time when his grandfather Yunde served as Yilijin (the leader of the tribe) in the tribal alliance.Yun Deshi is a very capable person. He holds the military power of the alliance and has won many battles in the external expansion.He also advocated vigorously developing agriculture and animal husbandry, persuading the people to harvest crops, advocating livestock breeding, and enriching the people and strengthening the clan, enjoying a high reputation in the tribe.The aristocrat Yelu Langde killed Yun Deshi in a despicable way and took Yi Li Jin's position.Yun Deshi's wife Xiao Yueliduo, in order to escape the continued persecution of Lang Deshi, took her 4 sons and several grandsons and fled to the home of Tajak, a nobleman from the Tulubu tribe who sympathized with Yun Deshi's experience.Especially the young Abaoji, who is loved by his grandmother.Fearing that something might happen to him, Xiao Yueliduo specially hid him in a secluded small tent.

After Yelu Langde murdered Yun Deshi, he rampantly tyrannized and did whatever he wanted in the alliance, which quickly aroused the dissatisfaction of the nobles of all ministries.Yun Deshi's predecessor, Yi Li Jin Pu Gu, was a powerful and respected elder even though he had left office for a long time. He contacted other nobles in the ministry to lure and kill Lang De and his accomplices, and reintroduce Junma regained power and elected Yun Deshi's second son Yan Mu to succeed Yi Li Jin.Iwaki's elder brother and Abaoji's father Sasha succeeded Iwaki as Yili Jin. Before and after, Khitan continued to launch foreign wars, mainly to capture livestock and slaves.The status of the Yelu family is becoming more and more important.Salat had become the de facto supreme ruler of Khitan at that time.After Sasha's death, Yili Jin was succeeded by his brother Ousi.After thinking about it, it was Shilu, the third brother of Sala and uncle of Abaoji, who succeeded him.

At this time, A Baoji was already a handsome young man with a height of nine feet and an extraordinary bearing.The superior environment of the aristocratic family and the influence of his father and grandparents made Abaoji show the extraordinary temperament of "exploitation, wisdom and uniqueness" from an early age.A Baoji participated in the war activities against neighboring tribes early on, which created his extraordinary courage and courage. With the development of Khitan society, the old system of clan and tribal organization of the Khitan people has been destroyed and reformed day by day.Shilu created a bodyguard troop named "Tatma" to protect his power.He also ordered Abao to lead his army to conquer the north and south, and expand the plundering war against the surrounding neighbors.With its excellent military command ability, Abaoji can either attack by force or outsmart him, and he wins everywhere he goes.As a result, Abaoji's reputation doubled, and he was called "Azhu Shali" ("Shali", which means "Lang Jun" in Khitan language).

Shi Lu created a new position "Yu Yue" to take his place.The position of Yili Jin was succeeded by his younger brother Yan Guzhi.According to Shilu's regulations, Yu Yue's authority is to "generalize the military and state affairs" and hold the real military and administrative power of the alliance.In this way, the status of the Khan was further emptied, and in fact only the title of the leader of the alliance was retained.Yi Li Jin's power was also reduced, becoming a subordinate position under the command of Yue, and because of Yue Shilu's decision, he was promoted and abolished.The strengthening of Shilu's power aroused strong opposition from some nobles in Khitan, and they united to seek Shilu.

These people, headed by the descendants of the three clans of Pu Guzhi who had avenged Yun Deshi, colluded with Yelvhadi, the nobleman Xiao Taiyan, and even Shilu's son Huage, who were fighting for power and profit with Shilu, launched a rebellion and arrested Shilu. kill.The rebellion of the Puguzhi clan aroused uneasiness among the Khitan nobles, and the Khitan Hendejin Khan ordered the young Abaoji to quell the rebellion.Relying on the Tama army he commanded and his excellent commanding skills, A Baoji quickly defeated the three Puguzhi tribes. After the rebellion of the Puguzhi clan was suppressed, the nobleman Hedili was elected as Yuyue.Abaoji was elected and appointed as Yili Jin of Dielabu.A year later, Yu Yue and Yi Lijin were promoted to general manager of military and state affairs, and took control of the military and political power of the Khitan Alliance.At this time he was only 31 years old.

After A Baoji was elected as Yi Li Jin, he was "ordered to specialize in conquest" and took on the heavy responsibility of foreign wars.In the first year of Tang Tianfu (AD 901), Abaoji led his army to attack the tribes of Shiwei, Yujue, and Xiyu, and captured many slaves and wealth.In July of the following year, he led an army of more than 100,000, known as 400,000, to attack Daibei (now north of Dai County, Shanxi). He captured 9 cities and captured nearly 100,000 people.In the spring of the third year of Tianfu, the Jurchens were attacked eastward, and 300 tents of their tribes were captured.In September, he attacked the Huaiyuan Army in Hedong (now Yinchuan City, Ningxia) in the south, and led troops as far as Jibei, where they were captured and returned.In many battles, Yelu Abaoji showed his strategy and was good at using troops, making him invincible.

In September of the first year of Tang Tianyou (904 A.D.), Abao led his troops to defeat Shiwei.Abaoji's reputation also shocked the Central Plains. At this time, in the territory of the Tang Dynasty, feudal towns were separated, and civil wars continued frequently.Li Keyong, the governor of Tanghe River who took Taiyuan as the center of the separatist regime, was ambitious and wanted to compete in the Central Plains.In the second year of Tianyou, Li Keyong sent his envoy Tang Lingde to Khitan to ask for an alliance to be repaired.A Baoji was looking for external contacts and support from outside the clan, so he immediately agreed to Li Keyong's request.Concurrently, the Jin army invaded Youzhou to attack Lulong Jiedu envoy Liu Rengong, and returned with a complete victory. This even aroused the attention of the various towns and towns in the Central Plains to the Khitan's strength.Zhu Quanzhong sent someone to bring a valuable dowry gift and asked for an alliance with A Baoji.A Baoji agreed, sent someone to thank him, and presented Zhu Quanzhong with a good horse and a sable fur.

After forming friendly relations with the powerful separatist forces of the Han nationality in the Central Plains, Abaoji focused on developing Khitan's agriculture, animal husbandry, iron smelting, textiles, salt making and other handicraft industries. Khitan's social economy developed rapidly during this period.A Baoji also successively sent troops to attack the various tribes of Xiyu Jurchen, and conquered these areas by force.As a result, Abaoji's military prestige and political prestige increased day by day among the Khitan nobles, and he won the worship and admiration of everyone.

In December of the third year of Tang Tianyou, Khitan Hendejin Khan passed away.Before his death, Chen Dejin, with Abaoji's outstanding military exploits and good command of the army, elected Abaoji to succeed Khan in his will.Although A Baoji himself had integrated the Khitan military, political, financial, and legal powers at this time, he refused to accept his resignation due to two considerations.First, traditional systems such as tribal alliance discussion and elections still exist and still exert influence. If he succeeds to the throne of Khan, he must formally obtain the unanimous approval of the nobles of all tribes.Second, just because the old system still exists, the nobles with certain influence in the Khitan can use the legal banner to compete for the Khan position.A Baoji was unwilling to be the target of public criticism without being fully prepared and without the support of the majority of nobles.So A Baoji tentatively recommended his uncle Yelvhadi as the new leader of Khitan.Judi said: "A sage is ordained by heaven, I dare not be a saint." He expressed his support for Abaoji.Abaoji's confidants and active supporters, Yelu Helu and others, also propagated many myths about Abaoji, and created public opinion for Abaoji's appointment as the supreme leader of Khitan.

When A Baoji was convinced that most of the nobles in the clan supported him, he no longer refused.In the first month of the fourth year of Tang Tianyou, A Baoji passed the election ceremony of the tribal alliance, and ordered to set up an altar, burn firewood to the sky, and then he became the new leader of the Khitan tribe. After Yelu Abaoji took office as Khan, he first paid attention to taking measures to adjust and maintain the balance of power among the various nobles of Khitan, so as to stabilize his rule. He first clearly announced that the Yaozhan family and the Yelu family, who were no longer the Khan family, had the same status, gave them honor and favor, and eliminated their grievances.Appointed his younger brother Die Lidi as Yili Jin, and assisted in taking charge of the military power under his own hands.He also appointed Yeluhadi to serve as Yuyue, so that he was satisfied and did not oppose himself.In the following year, Abaoji set up a new official position "Tiyin", which was held by his brother Sala, who was in charge of the internal affairs of the nobles of the Diel tribe to ensure that they obeyed his leadership.The most important thing is to establish his own guard and pro-army "inner heart" (also called Suwei Army) to defend his rule.A small tribe in the Khitan alliance, the Nelie tribe, launched a rebellion after Abaoji became Khan. Abaoji immediately ordered Tiyin Sara to lead an army to quell it, which served as a warning to other tribes.

Abaoji adopts the strategy of long distance and close attack, and actively expands outward.In April of the year when he took the throne of Khan (AD 907), Zhu Quanzhong, a feudal town in Henan, abolished Emperor Ai of the Tang Dynasty.A Baoji responded positively immediately, and sent people to bring famous horses, female mouths, and ermines to envoy Liang, and inherited the practice of his predecessors, asking Liang Dynasty to grant a seal (but Liang Dynasty did not approve the seal).In the second year, Li Cunxu became the king of Jin and sent an envoy to tell him.In this way, A Baoji did not send troops to assist Liang in attacking Jin, nor did he send troops to assist Jin in attacking Liang. He maintained messenger exchanges and friendly relations with both sides. After marrying Liang and Jin, Abaoji began to attack Liu Rengong, a feudal town of Youzhou adjacent to Khitan.Since Liu Rengong separatized Youzhou in the second year of Tang Qianning (895 A.D.), he sent troops to the north many times to attack the Khitan tribunals, which aroused great resentment among the Khitan people.In the same year when A Baoji became Khan, Liu Rengong was imprisoned by his son Liu Shouguang. Later, Liu Shouguang proclaimed himself emperor and founded the Yan State.Li Cunxu broke Youzhou, destroyed Yan, and removed a powerful neighbor for Khitan.Abaoji then concentrated his energy on conquering the tribes in the "rear" of Khitan. In February 907, when Abaoji took the Khan throne, he led an army to attack Shiwei, a black car, and forced eight of his troops to surrender.In May of the following year, he ordered Tiyin to retreat and lead his army to conquer Karasuma and other tribes.After that, he personally led the army on a large-scale expedition and conquered all ethnic groups in the east and west, making Dongjihai (Bohai Sea), Nanji Baitan (northeast of Miyun in Beijing today), Songmo in the west (southeast of Xilin Gol League in Inner Mongolia), The vast area reaching Huangshui (now Xilamulun River) in the north was under the rule of Khitan. Abaoji was the fifth year of Khan's reign (AD 911). Abaoji's younger brothers Rage, Diel, Yindishi, Anduan, Abaoji's adopted son Neris, his uncle Yuyuejiadi, and the nobleman Xiao Shilu , Hedili, Tiyin Huage, etc., with Judi as the mastermind, jointly launched a rebellion against Abaoji. Before the war broke out, An Duan's wife, Nian Mugu, accidentally learned of the conspiracy of La Ge and others, and reported it to A Baoji overnight.Lage and others were in a hurry because of the incident, so they were arrested without a fight.Afterwards, A Baoji didn't go into details, he hoped to use a compromise in exchange for the support of the opposition nobles representing the old forces. In 912, Abaoji personally led an army to conquer the Southwest Shubugu and other tribes, and ordered Yili Jinlage to divide his troops to attack Pingzhou (now Lulong, Hebei).In October, Lage broke through Pingzhou and returned to the Khitan headquarters. Taking advantage of the opportunity of Abaoji's expedition, he once again joined forces with Yu Yuejiadi, Tiyin Huage, and his younger brothers Diela, Anduan, Yindishi, etc., and launched a campaign Second rebellion.Abaoji avoided Lage and led his troops to move south. He immediately summoned the chiefs of the nobles and held a traditional chai book ceremony to consolidate his Khan position and win the support and support of most nobles.For the rebels this time, A Baoji tolerated again, and did not investigate further with a tolerant attitude. Lage and others did not repent because of Abaoji's tolerance, but instead launched a bigger rebellion.Lage contacted the nobles of the Khitan Yishi tribe, and went north to the Yishi Jindian, preparing to separate and stand on their own.A Baoji immediately sent troops to conquer and suppress them in person.As the rebel army was coming very fiercely at the moment, Abaoji had to resort to the troops of Shiwei and Tuyuhun, who had surrendered to the Khitan, and ordered the chiefs of Shiwei and Tuyuhun to lead troops to stop Lage, while he himself led a large army to fight against Lage. Carry out relentless pursuit. In May of this year, Lage, Judi and others were captured in Zhadu River (Yu River), and the rebellion was put down.In winter, Abaoji once again summoned the elders of the nobles from all ministries to hold a Chai Ceremony to consolidate the position of Khan.Appoint Yeluhelu as Yilijin of the Diela tribe, and Xiao Hulie as Tiyin.This time he punished the rebels decisively.As the main planner and instigator of several rebellions, Yu Yue was ordered to throw himself off a cliff and die.Abaoji's adopted son Neris participated in the rebellion one after another, and ordered him to be shot to death with "ghost arrows" (that is, random arrows).Nobles such as Yali and Mili were buried alive, and Jieli and others were strangled.The rebel nobles Diligu and others attached to the Yishi Department were killed.Due to the traditional system and other reasons for the rebellious leaders Lage and Diela, A Baoji was only released after being punished with a stick.Yin Dishi and An Duan were coerced by Rage and expressed their repentance.Brother Tiyinhua was put to death after passing the tribal chief meeting, and his family property was not distributed to the sergeants.The war increased the price of goods in the Khitan territory by 10 times, and the lives were devastated. At the beginning of the 10th year (AD 916) when Abaoji succeeded Khan, Abaoji accepted the honorary titles of Yelu Helu and others, and was called "Emperor of Great Sage and Daming", and Shuluping was called "Queen of Yingtian and Damingdi". Named "Shenshu" and the country named "Khitan", the eldest son Yelubei was established as the crown prince, thus announcing the birth of the Khitan country.In the next few years, Abaoji concentrated on establishing various political systems of the Khitan state.He appointed Holu as Aluduoli Yuyue, as the highest minister under the emperor, to assist in governing the country.Han Yanhui, a scholar of the Han nationality, was appointed as the political order to participate in the planning of all major military and political affairs.Appoint Han Zhigu General Zhi Han'er Sishi (that is, the court official who manages the affairs of the Han people), and formulate a new etiquette system for Khitan.Also "Zhengban Jue", which stipulated the rank and order of officials at all levels, gradually formed a relatively complete governing organization. In the third year of Shenchu ​​(AD 918), A Baoji adopted Han Yanhui's suggestion and built the imperial capital in the old Khitan along the Huanghe River (located in the south of Lindong Town, Bahrain Left Banner, Inner Mongolia today). He presided over the construction and specially ordered the construction of Confucian temples, Buddhist temples and Taoist temples.In August of the fourth year of Shenshu, A Baoji paid a visit to the Confucian Temple in person, and asked the empress and crown prince to worship the temple and observe it separately, expressing his special emphasis on Confucianism. Khitan used to have no written language, and had been engraving wood to record things.Abaoji's third younger brother, Diela, was very good at learning the languages ​​of other ethnic groups. He learned the Uyghur language and the Uyghur script.He used this to make Khitan characters (called Khitan small characters), but the number is small.So in the fifth year of Shenchu, Abaoji ordered Yelu Tulubu and Yelulu Bugu to create thousands of new Khitan characters (called Khitan characters) with the participation of Han scholars, imitating the radicals of Chinese characters. For a long time, Khitan has no written law.In the early years of Shenshu, Abaoji re-appointed the prison judge "Yi Libi", and the left servant She Han Zhigu, who had helped execute the Lage rebels, was the first to take up this post.In the sixth year of Shenshu, Abaoji ordered the minister to formulate the earliest law in Khitan, the "Prison Judgment Law", and also ordered the formulation of laws of various tribes, and the Han people followed the Tang law. The two major tribal groups "Beifu" and "Nanfu" formed with Diela and Yishibu as the core implemented new administrative management. The prime ministers of Beifu and Nanfu were appointed as their chiefs. In three years, Agu was appointed only to succeed his father, Lu, in this position.The prime ministers of the southern mansion were appointed by the nobles of the royal family. In the sixth year of Shenchu, the emperor's younger brother Yelusu was appointed to serve.In addition, local officials such as Jiedu envoys, recruitment envoys, and defense envoys were successively set up in various important areas. In order to meet the needs of internal rule and foreign wars, Abaoji vigorously strengthened the army building, expanded the bodyguard with the core as the core, and established the "Palace Guard Cavalry".Each region is defended by state and county tribal armies led by noble generals. In this way, Abaoji established a large-scale Khitan regime. After the Khitan regime was established, it began larger-scale foreign expansion and military conquest.A Baoji himself claims to be "inheriting the destiny above and governing all life below".He is not satisfied with ruling the barren northern grasslands. The wealth and culture of the Central Plains are very attractive to him.He wants to be the emperor of all China.It is A Baoji's dream to seize Hebei, advance to the Central Plains, and establish immortal achievements. In August of the first year of the Book of Gods (AD 916), A Baoji personally led 300,000 tribal soldiers, known as one million, to invade the south, captured Shuozhou (now Shuo County, Shanxi), captured Jin Zhenwu Jiedu envoy Li Siben, and sent him to Datong. The defense made Li Cunzhang ask for goods, but was refused.So he took troops to attack Yunzhou (now Datong City, Shanxi), and met Li Cunzhang's stubborn resistance.He also heard that Li Cunxu led an army to rescue Yunzhou, so he withdrew to the north.In November, the returning troops captured the four prefectures of Wu, Wei, Wei, and Ru (now Xuanhua, Weixian, Huailai, Hebei, and Yanqing County, Beijing), from Daibei to Hequ, and Yueyin Mountain.And changed Wuzhou to Guihua Prefecture, and Pseudo-state to Khan Prefecture.He is still friendly with Houliang in Henan and Wuyue in Jiangnan to contain Li Cunxu. In February of the second year of Shenchu, Li Cunju (Li Cunxu's younger brother), the defense envoy of the Jinwei Serbian Army, was guarding Xinzhou (now Zhuolu, Hebei). Due to arrogance and laziness, the people complained. The local residents went north to Khitan and took refuge in Abaoji.In March, Abaoji sent troops and Lu Wen to attack Xinzhou. An Jinquan, the defender of Xinzhou, abandoned the city and fled. Lu Wenjin sent generals to Xinzhou to attack Youzhou.Zhou Dewei saw the Khitan military vehicles covering the mountains and plains, so he closed the city and stood firm.Abaoji's several attacks were repelled.In August, the reinforcements sent by Li Cunxu were led by Li Siyuan and others to Youzhou, and Helu withdrew from the encirclement and retreated northward with the enemy.This time when the southward advance was blocked, A Baoji ordered his younger brother, Da Nei Tiyin Anduan, to lead an army to attack Yunzhou and its south, carry out a diversionary attack on Jin, and concentrate his forces to conquer Wugu and Dangxiang tribes north of Khitan. After the tribes in the north were surrendered, Abaoji turned back to the south and used troops against Jin.In October of the fifth year of Shenchu, A Baoji personally led an army to attack Tiande army, destroyed its city, captured Jin Tiande Jiedu envoy Song Yao, and moved the local residents to the south of Yinshan Mountain.A Baoji sent troops to the south from Juyongguan and Gubeikou respectively, attacking the south of Tan and Shun (south of Miyun and Shunyi in today's Beijing), until Suicheng, Wangdu and other places.Li Cunxu personally supervised the army to fight.A Baoji returned to the north after being captured.In December of the sixth year of Shenchu, Abaoji sent two more troops to invade the south from Juyongguan and Gubeikou respectively.In February of the seventh year of Shenchu, Abaoji changed Yuan Tianzan, continued to implement the plan to seize Hebei, and personally led the army to attack Jin for the third time. In the early years of Shenshu, Abaoji led an army to conquer the Turkic, Tuhun, Dangxiang, and Shatuo ethnic groups, and captured more than 10,000 chiefs and residents of various tribes, making the Dangxiang, Uighur, and Zub (Tatar) ethnic groups in the In the next few years, he continued to send envoys to pay tribute to express his submission.However, there are still some tribes, such as the Wugu tribe, who continue to raise troops against the Khitan rule.The Party Headquarters rebelled against Khitan for five years in Shenshu.In the second year of Tianzan, the Xi clan also rebelled.A Baoji decided to completely conquer the Dangxiang, Tuhun, and Zub departments in the west and the Bohai Sea in the east. In June of the third year of Tianzan (924 A.D.), Abaoji decided to make a large-scale western expedition.He ordered the crown prince to supervise the country twice and stay in the capital. His second son Deguang followed him and swore to send troops.In July, Abaoji’s general Hela led the vanguard army to attack the Sukunna Mountain tribe (the tribe that is active in the east of the Greater Khingan Mountains in eastern Inner Mongolia today).In August, the soldiers went to Wugu Mountain (now Mount Kent of the Mongolian People's Republic), and informed the ministries, and then advanced to the ancient Shanyu State (west of Mount Kent, near Ulaanbaatar today).In September, he arrived at the ancient Uyghur city (east of today's Hang'ai Mountains, on the northwest bank of the upper reaches of the Orkhon River), where Abaoji accepted gifts from Uyghurs and Dashi.In October, troops were sent across Liusha (now the Junggar Basin), conquered Futu City (approximately in the northwest of Qitai, Xinjiang today), and conquered all the tribes west of Futu City.Then go back east.In February of the following year, he ordered Deguang to lead his army to attack Dangxiang, and then attacked Xiaofan tribes in the south.In April, he returned triumphantly and returned to the imperial capital. The Western Expedition, which lasted nearly 10 months, came to an end.After this military conquest, all tribes sent envoys to pay tribute to express their submission and belong to Khitan rule. The Western Expedition ended, and after a short rest, A Baoji was ready to discuss the Bohai Sea again.In December of the fourth year of Tianzan (925 A.D.), Abaoji issued an edict to conquer Bohai Sea, and ordered Queen Shulu, Crown Prince Bei, and second son Deguang to follow him. The servant shot Han Yanhui also ordered the army to join the expedition.At the end of this year, A Bao led his army to surround Fuyu City (now Siping City, Jilin Province). On the third day of the first month of the following year, he captured the city and killed Fuyu's defender.The king of Bohai sent an army to attack the attack of the Khitan army, but was defeated by the army led by Tiyin Anduan and Aguzhi. On the 14th day of the first lunar month, he was forced to surrender the city with more than 300 members of his staff. In February, A Baoji used Bo Haiping, and then sacrificed green cattle and white horses to heaven and earth, amnesty, and changed his name to Tianxian.The Bohai Sea was changed to Dongdan Kingdom (that is, the meaning of East Khitan), and the Huhan City was changed to Tianfu City.The crown prince was canonized as the king of Dongdan, known as the king of the emperor, and he was called the decision-maker, the nectar of Jianyuan, and the emperor's banner was specially bestowed.He also appointed the left, right, Tai, and second prime ministers and hundreds of officials headed by Die as the assistant ministers of King Bei of Dongdan.The old ministers of Bohai were also hired separately.Afterwards, Goryeo, Mohe, Tieli, and Ju Suiqian also surrendered one after another and belonged to Khitan. So far, the two major events of the Western Expedition and the Eastern Expedition have been successfully realized, and A Baoji is brewing in his heart to realize the greater desire to seize Hebei and advance to the Central Plains. In March, A Baoji led his army back to the imperial capital from Tianfu.On July 20th, he was on his way to the garrison in Fuyu City. In the evening, he suddenly contracted a sudden illness and had to order to suspend the march for treatment. He died of illness 7 days later at the age of 55.In September of the second year of Tianxian (AD 927), Abaoji was buried in the ancestral mausoleum (located in the northwest valley of Youfang Village, Balin Zuoqi, Inner Mongolia), with the posthumous title of "Emperor Ascension to Heaven" and the temple name of "Taizu".Later, the Tiancheng Army of Zuzhou was set up to protect the mausoleum, and the Ascension to Heaven Hall was built on the site of his death, and Fuyu City was renamed Huanglong Mansion.