Chapter 294 Chapter 293: Holy Emperor Yelulong Xu

Shengzong of the Liao Dynasty, surnamed Yelu, given name Longxu, and had a small character of Manjusri slave.He is the eldest son of Jingzong, and his mother is the wise queen Xiao.He was born in the third year of Baoning in Liao Dynasty (AD 971) and died in the eleventh year of Taiping (AD 1031).He reigned from 982 to 1031 AD. Before Liao Jingzong Yeluxian, the new emperors of the Liao Dynasty were all elected by civil and military ministers from the royal family. Therefore, the birth of each new emperor was accompanied by a bloody battle for the throne.With the progress of feudalization in Khitan society, Yeluxian was determined to change this method of electing the emperor and establish the primogeniture system.When he was dying, he called Yelu Xiezhen and Han Derang, the privy envoys of the North and South Courts, Yelu Xiezhen and Han Derang, who were the most loyal and powerful to him, to his sickbed, and made a dying edict: the eldest son, Liang Wang Yelu Longxu, will be the successor of the military and state affairs. Follow the queen's order.In this way, the 12-year-old Yelu Longxu ascended the throne of the Liao Dynasty emperor.In fact, all major military and state affairs were in charge of the empress dowager Xiao Yanyan, with Yelu Xiezhen and Han Derang as assistant ministers.

Empress Dowager Xiao asked Yelu Xiezhen and Handerang to assist her in managing the government affairs, and sent Prime Minister Yeluxiu to the military affairs in the south, that is, military operations against the Song Dynasty.In order to make Yelu Xiezhen and Yelu Xiuge devoted their allegiance to the young emperor Yelu Longxu, she first married her niece to Yelu Xiezhen, and soon, she let Yelu Longxu and Yelu Xiezhen in front of her, exchanging Bow and arrow pommel horse, swear to the sky, about a close friend.Afterwards, Yelu Longxu's mount was exchanged for Brother Yeluxiu to make him very grateful, but only one death effect.As for the Han Derang, the Empress Dowager Xiao has a special affection, and she is always extremely honored and favored, which no one can compare.Han Derang's family was in the military affairs of the Liao Dynasty, and the five brothers were all powerful generals. Most of the military power in the Liao Dynasty was in the hands of the Han family.Empress Dowager Xiao said to Han Derang in private: "I promised to marry you when I was young. Now that the emperor is dead, I would like to reconcile the old. In this way, the young master is your son when he is in charge of the country. You should help him like a son." He governs the country." From then on, Han Derang's entry and exit from the queen mother's curtain were indistinguishable from each other.Then, the queen mother gave medicine wine and killed Han Derang's wife Li Shi.Later, Empress Dowager Xiao simply gave Han Derang the surname Yelu, changed his name to Longyun, and belonged to Hengzhang Ji's father's house, and arranged a hundred guards for him.According to the rules of the Liao Dynasty, only the emperor could do this, and Han Derang had his own palace guard, which meant that he had fully enjoyed the treatment of the emperor. In this way, no one in the court and the opposition could talk about his relationship with the queen mother.

Because of these measures taken by the Empress Dowager Xiao, the Khitan nobles and the upper class of the Han people were stabilized, so that the civil and military ministers could do their best to protect the Liao Dynasty and the young emperor Yelu Longxu, and his internal dominance was consolidated day by day.Despite this, the Empress Dowager was still worried about handing over the power to Yelu Longxu, but she had to do everything by herself. Whether it was internal affairs or going out to fight, the Empress Dowager Xiao was in full control. Even if she sometimes brought Yelu Longxu with her, she just let him practice Take a moment and never let go.However, the queen mother had very strict requirements on him, telling him to study literature and martial arts all day long, and never allow him to indulge his selfish desires.Fortunately, Yelu Longxu knew that it was for his mother's good, so he never complained.

Under the strict control of Empress Dowager Xiao, Yelu Longxu has achieved healthy development in all aspects.It is said in history that he is "sexy, resourceful and resourceful, and he is the best in martial arts".He is good at reading, especially the "Zhenguan Shiyao" and "Minghuang Shilu" of the Tang Dynasty. He often said to his subordinates: "The emperor of China in the past five hundred years is far away from Tang Taizong, followed by Tang Minghuang. The closest ones are today’s Song Taizu and Song Taizong.” He personally translated Bai Juyi’s "Satire and Remonstrance Collection" in Khitan, and had all the Khitan ministers pass it on for reading.

In the fourth year of Liao Tonghe (986 AD), the Northern Song Dynasty launched a large-scale offensive again.Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi personally commanded the soldiers of the Song Dynasty, and the soldiers were divided into three groups, and they came to the Liao Dynasty in a mighty way. At the beginning, the three-way army of the Song Dynasty progressed smoothly.Especially the West Route Army led by Pan Mei and Yang Jiye had a brilliant record.At this time, Yelu Longxu, Emperor Shengzong of Liao Dynasty, and his mother Empress Dowager Xiao personally led the main force of the Liao army, and rushed to the east of Zhuozhou to rest and wait for the enemy.Caught off guard, the Song army was hit head-on by the main force of the Liao army, and had no power to parry, so it had to retreat across the board. In early May, it retreated to Qigou Pass (now southwest of Zhuo County, Hebei), where it was overtaken by the main force of the Liao army. defeat.The Liao army won another battle at Wutai and Feihu. In the face of this decisive defeat, Song Taizong had to order the troops to retreat, ordering Tian Zhongjin to return to Dingzhou, and Pan Mei and Yang Jiye's army to return to Daizhou.In the end, Yang Jiye died in battle.So far, the war launched by Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi to recover the lost land of Yanyun ended in a disastrous retreat again.

Since then, the military situation of both Song and Liao has undergone fundamental changes. The Liao Dynasty has changed from defensive to offensive, while the Song Dynasty has changed from offensive to defensive. Moreover, the Liao Dynasty always has the upper hand, while the Song Dynasty can only be passive. Beaten.From the fourth year of Tonghe (AD 986) to the twenty-first year of Tonghe, the Liao Dynasty sent troops to the south almost every year. Song Taizong suffered from powerlessness to fight against it, and finally had to leave to spend money. Buy Peaceful Path.After his death, Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng, the third son who inherited the throne, faithfully implemented his strategy and started peace talks with the Liao Dynasty.

In September of the 22nd year of Liao Tonghe, Yelu Longxu and Empress Dowager Xiao personally led an army of 200,000 to invade the Song Dynasty in the south.The Liao army broke through the passes all the way, like a broken bamboo, and even went down to the two important towns of Tianxiong and Deqing of the Song army, and went straight to Chanzhou (now Puyang, Henan) in the Song Dynasty, forming a three-sided encirclement.Li Jilong, the defender of the Song Army, led his army to resist and used the bed crossbow to meet the Liao army. Xiao Talan, king of Shun, the commander of the Liao army, was also injured by the crossbow and died from the forehead.The commander-in-chief was killed and the offensive was thwarted, so the Liao army had to stop the offensive temporarily.

At this time, the situation in Chanzhou was very favorable to the Song army, but Yelu Longxu, who was deeply alone and lacked backup, fell into a very passive situation.But at this time, Song Zhenzong, who wanted to spend money to buy peace, suddenly decided to send Cao Lili to negotiate a peace in front of the Liao army again, regardless of the opposition of the main combat faction.Yelu Longxu and Empress Dowager Xiao knew that the Southern Expedition was not sure of victory, and hoped to negotiate a peace and withdraw troops as soon as possible, so they invited Cao Li to drink and eat. After several negotiations, Cao Li refused the request of the Liao Dynasty to return the land and agreed to Song Zhenzong. Taking Empress Dowager Xiao as aunt and Yelu Longxu as brother, the Song Dynasty gave the Liao Dynasty 300,000 pieces of silk and 100,000 taels of silver every year.This is the famous "Chanyuan Alliance" in history.So far, Yelu Longxu and the Queen Mother led the army back to the Liao Dynasty, ending this large-scale southern invasion.

The signing of the Chanyuan Alliance was a huge victory for the Liao Dynasty. The political, economic and cultural exchanges between the Liao Dynasty and the Song Dynasty increased, and many advanced things from the Central Plains were passed on to Khitan, which promoted the prosperity and development of the Liao Dynasty society. . In the twenty-seventh year of Liao Tonghe (AD 1009), the Empress Dowager Xiao Yanyan, who had been in power for 27 years, ended her life as an all-powerful female politician, and Yelu Longxu began to independently manage the state affairs of the Liao Dynasty.He changed the name of the country to "Khitan" and began to realize the long-awaited grand plan.One of the fundamental guiding ideologies of Yelu Longxu in governing the country is to learn from Tang and Song.

Before the Chanyuan Alliance, the Liao Dynasty's rule over the Han people in the territory and the official costumes all followed the system and laws of the Tang Dynasty.After forming an alliance with the Song Dynasty, Yelu Longxu asked everyone from the court to the courtiers to learn from Li Tang.He specially promulgated the "Five Classics Biography", requiring officials to study.He had only one purpose for Khitan people to learn from Tang Dynasty: to surpass the Song Dynasty. Shengzong first built a new capital - Zhongjing.In order to accept the gifts and yearly coins sent by the Song court every year, and no longer accept envoys from various countries on the grassland, in the 29th year of Tonghe, Yelu Longxu recruited Han craftsmen from the Yanyun area to build the accompanying capital Dadingfu City.The design scale and shape of this new city are basically based on Chang'an and Kaifeng as blueprints.In the past, the Khitan emperors performed activities such as spring water, autumn mountains, winter and summer bowls, handling government affairs, receiving envoys and holding meetings, etc., all of which were carried out on the grassland.

The Liao Dynasty implemented the imperial examination system, which started from the time of Emperor Jingzong, but the scale was small, and the number of places for obtaining scholars was also very small.After Yelu Longxu came to power, with the growth of the power of Han officials, the development of Khitan's cultural level and the expansion of foreign exchanges, he felt more and more that there were too few talents, so he decided to formally open a course to obtain scholars.The imperial examination is only a policy for the Han people, and Khitan people are not allowed to participate.During the Yelu Longxu period, ceremonies such as receiving Jinshi and awarding gifts were stipulated, making Jinshi appear superior to others.In this way, Yelu Longxu absorbed a large number of outstanding members of the Han nationality into the ruling body through the imperial examination. After Yelu Longxu came to power, reforms were also carried out under the tribal organization, and the slaves who originally belonged to the prison households in the palace account were reorganized into tribesmen.Yelu Longxu decided to increase the number from the original 20 to 34, and put the Shaowa and Heshu departments side by side with the other ministries, so that the slaves who captured animals and smelted iron gained the status of common people.At the same time, Yelu Longxu decided that the captive slaves and newly conquered households of various ethnic groups would no longer be classified as palace slaves, but would be ruled by separate departments. Since the founding of the country by Taizu Abaoji, the Liao Dynasty has formulated its own laws.However, the laws of the Liao Dynasty stipulated that "the same crime is different", which means that different ethnic groups committed the same crime, but the legal punishment was different.During the reign of Emperor Muzong of the Liao Dynasty, legal discrimination was even more serious. The Khitan people could kill Khitan slaves and Han people at will, resulting in deepening class conflicts and increasing ethnic resistance.In order to reconcile class conflicts and adjust ethnic relations, Yelu Longxu issued an edict in the twelfth year of Tonghe to amend the decree, stipulating that Khitan people who committed ten heinous crimes should also be punished according to Han law.In the twenty-fourth year of Tonghe, another edict was issued: "If a slave or maidservant commits a crime to death, there will be a secretary to listen to and deliver, and the master will not be able to kill without authorization." Yelu Longxu has a gentle personality, natural kindness and filial piety, lenient and strict, and sure of punishment and reward.During his administration, he paid great attention to handling internal and external relations.In the country, he manages grievances, promotes talents, investigates corruption, and advocates a political style of diligence and refraining from extravagance.Yelu Longxu sometimes played ball with his officials, and advised the doctor Ma Dechen to remonstrate, and he immediately stopped this game.Because Yelu Longxu set an example, the politics of the Liao Dynasty during this period was clear, the subjects were harmonious, and the society was relatively stable. Yelu Longxu also paid great attention to dealing with the relationship with the outside world.For a small country belonging to a clan, he forbids his subordinates to bully the weak by the strong and harass and search.The Liao Dynasty married the princess twice to Li Jiqian, the king of Xixia. No matter how erratic Li Jiqian's attitude was, he always focused on appeasement and reconciliation, ensuring that there was no war between Liao and Xixia. In dealing with foreign relations, especially with the Song Dynasty, Yelu Longxu can be said to have set a model for a generation.After the Chanyuan Alliance, he strictly followed the provisions stipulated in the oath.In order to maintain peace with the Song Dynasty, he had to personally summon the envoys sent to the Song Dynasty before leaving, and he had to look at the gifts one by one before he could rest assured.The envoys from the Song Dynasty, Yelu Longxu must meet in person, and they all return happily to carry out voluntary publicity for him.Once, the Yellow River surged and destroyed the Huitong post house built by the Liao Dynasty to receive envoys from the Song Dynasty.Yelu Longxu personally conducted a survey, marked out a flat land, and rebuilt a new post house. In the second year of Liao Taiping (AD 1022), Song Zhenzong died.Song sent envoy Xue Yikuo to the Liao Dynasty to report his condolences.After entering Youzhou, the guards of Youzhou sent a fast horse to report to Yelu Longxu.Yelu Longxu didn't wait for Xue Yikuo to arrive in Beijing, so he summoned Khitan and Han ministers to mourn, and all the empresses and concubines were filial and wept bitterly.After Xue Yikuo arrived, he expressed Song Renzong's intention to inherit his father's will and wish to have eternal peace with the Liao Dynasty. Yelu Longxu was overjoyed.Yelu Longxu issued an order to Minzhong Temple in Yanjing to set up Song Zhenzong's imperial spirit and build Zifu Daochang, and stop within a hundred days.It was also ordered that the army along the border states should not have fun, and that all military officials, monks, soldiers, and common people in the whole country who violated the taboo of Zhenzong should change their names. When Song Zhenzong died, Yelu Longxu suffered a serious illness, and he felt very sad about the death of a rabbit and a fox. He was very taboo to say the names of the dead, which were his own parents' honorary titles, and he would not let people mention them.In June of the eleventh year of Taiping, Yelu Longxu came to the north bank of the Dafu River and fell ill.The longest reigning and most accomplished emperor in the history of the Liao Dynasty died in the palace at the age of 61 and reigned for 49 years.When he was about to die, he called his son Zongzhen and his assistant ministers Xiao Xiaomu and Xiao Xiaoxian to the front, and confessed two things, one was to establish the heir of Liang Wang Zongzhen, and the other was to not lose the vow made by the Chanyuan Alliance with the Song Dynasty.After his death, he was posthumously titled "Civil and Military Daxiao Emperor" and the temple name was "Shengzong".Bury Qingling.