Chapter 295 Chapter 294 Xingzong Yeluzongzhen

Liao Xingzong, surnamed Yelu, named Zongzhen, had the character Yibujin and the small character Mubugu.He is the eldest son of Shengzong, and his mother is Xiao Shi, Empress Qinai.He was born in the fifth year of Kaitai of Liao Dynasty (AD 1016) and died in the 24th year of Chongxi (AD 1055). Mu Bugu was proclaimed King of Liang when he was 3 years old, and crown prince when he was 6 years old. At the age of 15, he was appointed as the privy envoy of the Northern and Southern Courts. At this time, he had grown into a burly boy. .He is talented, good at riding and archery, good at Confucianism, good at rhythm, very popular with his father and Queen Qi Tian.But Mubu's biological mother, Jijin, is often depressed.

Jijin, also surnamed Xiao, is the fifth grandson of Aguzhi, the younger brother of empress Yelu Abaoji Shulu.Seeing that Empress Qi is both talented and beautiful, and has won the favor of Yelu Longxu, she always wants to find trouble to bring Empress Qi down so that she can replace her. On the third day of June in the eleventh year of Taiping (AD 1031), Yelu Longxu died of illness in the palace of Dayaxe River (also known as Dafu River, now Huhuer River). No, he is Liao Xingzong. When Yelu Longxu was seriously ill, Yelu Longxu called Zongzhen to the sick bed and said: "The queen has served me for 40 years, and she appointed you as my heir only because she has no son. After I die, your mother and son Don't kill her, both of you." He also left a will, making Empress Qi Tian the Empress Dowager and Ji Jin the Empress Dowager.He Jin deducted the will and made himself the empress dowager, known as "Queen Fatian", and took over all the military and political power.

Mother took the opportunity to gain power, and Zongzhen, who had just become emperor, also changed his appearance at this time.After the Song Dynasty heard the news of Yelu Longxu's death, they ordered a seven-day ban on music in the capital and the areas along Hebei and Hedong.However, Zongzhen ignored his father's funeral and called Jin Wang Xiao Pugu and others to drink and gamble at night.At the beginning of his accession to the throne, he never intervened in any political affairs, which just provided convenience for Lu Jin's monopoly. Lu Jin's desire for power expanded without limit, and even put Zongzhen's every move under his own control, and the conflict between mother and son became acute.Zongzhen gave the pipa musician Meng Wuge the wine bottle and silver belt he used.Zongzhen suspected that Gao Qinglang, the internal grade official, had told him the secret, so he sent someone to kill Gao Qinglang.He was even more annoyed. He arrested the people from Zongzhen faction and handed them over to the magistrate for interrogation. Unhappy, but did not attack.

In the third year of Chongxi (1034 A.D.), Nijin, Xiao Xiaoxian and other brothers conspired to abolish Zongzhen and establish his youngest son, Yelu Chongyuan.She didn't expect Yelu Zhongyuan to go and inform her brother.Now Zongzhen can't care about the relationship between mother and child, he tries to win over Yelu Xisun, a close friend of Jijin, and adopts the strategy of eunuch Zhao Anren, leads the guards out of the palace, first finds an excuse to detain Xiao Xiaoxian, and forces him to confess the conspiracy of abolishing Li, Xiao Xiao was so frightened that he trembled into a ball.Then, Zongzhen took back the talisman seal and sent 500 soldiers to surround the palace. He rode his horse and stood on the hill two miles east of the palace to supervise the battle.Yeluxisun led people directly into Lujin's sleeping tent, got her into a yellow cloth car, and took her to Qikuo Palace in Qingzhou (northwest of today's Balin Zuo Banner, Inner Mongolia) and put her under house arrest.He also killed dozens of servants around Lujin, and divided his troops to capture Lujin's brothers and relatives, who were either executed or exiled, and the Nujin group was wiped out.

After the elimination of the Nujin Group, Zongzhen took charge of the government.But the "politics" he loved was nothing more than eating, drinking and having fun.The famous mountains and great rivers in the Liao territory left the footprints of Zongzhen chasing rabbits and deer everywhere, and in order to seek more excitement, he often hunted some tigers and bears and other ferocious beasts, even if it cost the lives of many people, he would not hesitate.There was Guo San, the Taibao of Shihanzhai, who was dismissed by Zongzhen just because he saw a tiger tremblingly and couldn't draw his bow while hunting.

Zongzhen's character is frivolous, unrestrained and unrestrained.He once worshiped his brothers and parents with dozens of people including Wang Shuiqing, the envoy of Jiaofang.He has a wide range of interests. Although he once issued an edict stating that officials at all levels must not drink too much to delay their work except during marriage sacrifices, otherwise they will be severely punished, but he himself takes drinking as a great pleasure.Although there are many drunkards under his command, no one has ever been convicted of alcoholism.Zongzhen often visits restaurants in the market in a low-clothes, and even talks about dirty things while molesting village girls and women.

Zongzhen was good at monks and Taoism, and asked everyone he met, "Do you worship Buddha?" He often invited monks to explain Buddhist scriptures, performed Buddhist affairs, and promoted monks to be officials. people.Driven by him, many aristocratic relatives also believed in Buddhism one after another, giving up their children as monks and nuns.He went to Buddhist temples and Taoist temples many times in low clothes to worship Buddha and seek immortality. Taoist priests Wang Gang, Yao Jingxi, Feng Li and others were appreciated by him when he walked in low clothes, and they were later promoted to prominent officials.

The politics of the Liao Dynasty began to be seriously corrupted from the later period of Yelulongxu, the emperor of the Liao Dynasty, and became especially dark after the successor Ji Jin monopolized power.After Zongzhen took office, he indulged in eating, drinking and having fun, and did not care about the country's major affairs, so the country did not see any improvement. After the Chanyuan Alliance, the Liao and Song Dynasties sent envoys to each other and exchanged gifts, maintaining a peaceful situation for nearly 30 years.As far as the Song Dynasty is concerned, it only wants to be safe and sound, and try its best to avoid restarting the war. The Liao Dynasty is happy to collect a huge amount of "year-old coins" every year, and no longer plans to work hard to conquer the south.However, they did not give up the opportunity to blackmail.

From the first year of Song Renzong Kangding (AD 1040) and the ninth year of Liao Chongxi, the Song Dynasty fought fierce wars with Xixia, losing consecutive battles, and the northern frontier defense was empty.When Zongzhen heard about this, he was very happy and thought it was a good opportunity to take advantage of the fire to rob.In December of the tenth year of Chongxi, he issued an edict to conquer the Song Dynasty throughout the country, transferred the troops of various Taoists to Nanjing, appointed Xiao Hui and the emperor's brother Yelu Chongyuan as generals, and began to prepare for the southern crimes, and sent people to the Song Dynasty to blackmail.

After several contests, Zong Zhen effortlessly extorted 200,000 silver silks and was overjoyed.At the beginning of his ascension to the throne, he originally got the honorary title of "Emperor of Wenwurensheng Zhaoxiao". This time, the officials gave him the title of "Emperor Congwenwushengyinglue, Shengong, Wisdom, Wisdom and Filial Piety", and the queen was named "Zhenyi Xuanci" Empress Chongsheng", ordered to engrave stones to record achievements, and amnesty the world.A group of ministers who advocated the Southern Expedition were also promoted. When Xixia was in Liao Shengzong, he was a minister of Liao Fengbiao.In the first year of Jingfu (AD 1031), Zongzhen married his sister, Princess Xingping, to Li Yuanhao, the son of King Li Deming of Xia.The following year, Deming died and Li Yuanhao succeeded him.Li Yuanhao hated the Khitan woman beside him very much, and the relationship between husband and wife has always been at odds.In the seventh year of Chongxi, Princess Xingping died, and Zongzhen sent Yelu Shucheng to question her, and the relationship between Liao and Xia deteriorated day by day.

In September of the thirteenth year of Chongxi (AD 1044), Zong Zhen led an army of 100,000 to march westward. In addition, Yelu Chongyuan, the emperor's younger brother, was the marshal of the horse infantry. He led 7,000 riders to the south road, and Xiao Hui led 60,000 troops to the north road. Go straight to the territory of Xixia in a mighty way.The result was a big defeat. In the seventeenth year of Chongxi, Li Yuanhao died, and Zi Liangzuo succeeded to the throne.Zongzhen thought that the time for revenge had come. In July of the following year, he raised his troops again and divided them into three routes: Xiao Hui was the commander of the South Route, crossed the Yellow River and pointed directly at the eastern border of Xixia; area, went south to attack Liangzhou; Zongzhen himself led the Chinese army, and then advanced.As a result, both the South Army and the Central Army were defeated. Thanks to the North Army's capture of Li Yuanhao's wife and a large number of family members of Xixia bureaucrats in Helan Mountain, and the annihilation of the 3,000 Xia soldiers facing the battle, the battle was not completely defeated. The failure of the two expeditions to Xixia showed that the era of the Liao Dynasty's mighty world has become a passing cloud.However, Zongzhen's two defeats did not have a very serious negative impact on the society of the Liao Dynasty on the whole due to the short time.The 25 years of Zongzhen's reign basically belonged to the peaceful years. The interior of the Liao Dynasty was more prosperous than the years, and the border farms continued to expand. The agricultural and animal husbandry economy of the Liao Dynasty reached the peak of prosperity at this time.The huge amount of old coins obtained from the Song Dynasty also accumulated gold and silk in the treasury, effectively improving the country's financial situation. In the 23rd year of Chongxi, the ministers gave Zongzhen the honorary title of "Emperor Renxiao, Emperor of Heaven, Blessing the Tao, Blessing the World, Prospering the Li, Wu Dingcheng, the Holy God of Literature".In July of the following year, Zongzhen fell ill while going hunting in the autumn mountains.In August, when he was seriously ill, he summoned Yelu Hongji, the Crown Prince of Yanzhao State, to his bedside and told him some essentials for governing the country.A few days later, Zongzhen died of illness in the palace at the age of 40.His posthumous title is "Emperor of Sacred Filial Piety", and his temple title is "Xingzong".Buried in Qingling.