Dynasties of ChinaLiao dynastyLiao dynasty lineage
Tianxian and others · Reign 927—947
Aided by Shi Jingtang, he acquired the sixteen states of Yanyun and established the N&S official system. He defeated the Later Jin Dynasty but was unable to rule the Central Plains.
Yelü Deguang, whose courtesy name is Dejin and whose nickname is Yaogu, is the second son of Taizu and his mother is Shu Lüping. He fought with his father since he was a child. In 922, he was appointed as the general marshal of the world's soldiers and horses, and participated in the western expedition to Mobei and the east to destroy the Bohai Sea. When Taizu died in 926, he declared the system after reciting the laws and it belonged to him; the Emperor Crown Prince Yelü Bei was forced to abdicate, and Deguang became emperor in 927. After that, he moved the people of Dongdan south to Liaodong and monitored his elder brother. In 930, Yelü Bei fled to the Later Tang Dynasty.
In 936, Shi Jingtang, the governor of Hedong in the Later Tang Dynasty, asked for help on the condition that he would become a minister, son and cede the sixteen states of Yanyun. Deguang personally led 50,000 cavalry south, defeated the Tang army in Jinyang, and appointed Shi Jingtang as the emperor of the Jin Dynasty. After Yanyun merged into the Liao territory, he set up N & S officials to divide the Khitan and Han people, and used Youzhou as Nanjing. Emperor Chushi Zhonggui of the later Jin Dynasty declared himself a grandson but not a minister. Deguang made three southern expeditions. In 947, he invaded Kaifeng and destroyed the Jin Dynasty. He changed the name of the country to Daliao. However, due to the rebellion caused by the plundering of troops, he was forced to return north. He died of illness in Luancheng and killed Hu Lin.
Yelü Deguang acquired the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, making Liao dynasty span the Great Wall N & S, and used N & S front officials to divide the nomadic and farming populations, establishing the scale of Liao dynasty's two hundred years of founding. However, Yan Yun's cession caused the Central Plains Dynasty to lose its northern barrier, which became the crux of the long-term confrontation between Song and Liao. He conquered the Later Jin Dynasty and launched troops and looting, which aroused widespread resistance among the Central Plains soldiers and civilians, and finally returned northward in a hurry, which also showed that Liao Dynasty was still unable to rule the hinterland of the Central Plains at that time.
MilitaryBecome the Marshal of the World's Armed Forces
Taizu appointed his second son, Tokumitsu, as the Grand Marshal of the Nation's Armed Forces, in charge of the nation's armies. After that, he followed his father in the western expedition to the Mobei tribes, and participated in the capture of Fuyu City during the eastern expedition to the Bohai Sea, establishing a high prestige in the army.
PoliticsThe throne of emperor
In November, he ascended the throne with the support of his mother, Shu Lüping. According to "Zizhi Tongjian", after reciting the law, he ordered his two sons to stand together in front of the tent, and ordered the chief to hold the bridle of the one he wanted to set up. Everyone argued about the bridle of Deguang, and the emperor Crown Prince Yelü Bei had to give up his throne.
PoliticsDongdan's migration to the south and Bei's exodus
Moved the capital of Dongdan and the Bohai survivors south to Dongping (today's Liaoyang, Liaoning), and sent people to monitor the human emperor Yelü Bei. In 930, he felt uneasy about his position and fled to the Later Tang Dynasty with his books. Before leaving, he wrote a poem: "The small mountains suppress the big mountains, and the big mountains are powerless."
PoliticsEstablished the emperor's younger brother
The third brother Yelü Lihu was canonized as the emperor's younger brother and the marshal of the world's troops. Li Hu had a cruel temperament, but he was deeply favored by Empress Shulu. This arrangement laid hidden dangers for the struggle for the throne after Taizong's death.
MilitarySupport Shi Jingtang
In the later Tang Dynasty, Shi Jingtang, the governor of Hedong Festival, was besieged in Jinyang. He sent the envoy to call him a minister and treated him as a father, and promised to cut off the sixteen states of Yanyun. Deguang personally led 50,000 cavalry south to defeat the Tang army. In November, he appointed Shi Jingtang as emperor of the Jin Dynasty. Soon after, the Tang Dynasty fell.
PeopleYelü Bei was killed
The Last Emperor Li Congke of the Later Tang Dynasty set himself on fire when the Jin and Liao allied forces approached Luoyang. Before his death, he sent people to kill Yelü Bei, who defected to the Later Tang Dynasty and changed his name to Li Zanhua. His remains were later brought back to Liao Dynasty and buried in Yiwulu Mountain.
PoliticsGain the sixteen states of Yanyun
The Later Jin Dynasty officially dedicated sixteen states including You, Ji, Ying, Mo, Yun, and Ying to Liao Dynasty. The Liao Dynasty promoted Youzhou to Nanjing, changed the imperial capital to Shangjing Linhuangfu, and changed the Yuan Dynasty to Huitong. The large farming area south of the Great Wall was merged into the Liao territory.
Lasting legacyYouzhou has since become Liao Dynasty's Nanjing, and Beijing has begun to assume the status of a capital city. Since then, the Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties have successively established their capitals here.
PoliticsSet up N & S interviews
According to the principle of "governing according to customs", the officials were divided into N & S: the officials in the north managed the palace accounts, tribes and vassal states, and the officials in the south imitated the Tang system and set up provinces, ministries, Taiwan, and courtyards to manage Han prefectures, counties and taxes, forming a unique dual political system of Liao Dynasty.
DiplomacyIn the later Jin Dynasty, he was called a grandson but not a minister.
After Shi Jingtang's death, his nephew Shi Zhonggui came to the throne. At the suggestion of Minister Jing Yanguang, he declared himself a grandson of Liao but not a minister. He also arrested Liao Dynasty's merchants in Jin. Deguang was furious, and from 944 he personally led an army to the south to conquer the Later Jin Dynasty.
MilitaryThe defeat of Yangcheng
During the second southern expedition, the Liao army was defeated and routed by the Jin army in a strong wind counterattack at Bai Tuanwei Village in Yangcheng (now central Hebei Province). Deguang first escaped in a Xi chariot, and then he was able to escape by riding a camel.
MilitaryZhongdu Bridge surrendered
During the third southern expedition, Du Zhongwei, the commander-in-chief of the Later Jin Dynasty, led an army of 200,000 to surrender at a bridge in the middle of the Hutuo River. The main force of the Jin army was lost. Deguang promised to establish Du Zhongwei as the emperor of the Central Plains, but in fact it was just a win-win strategy.
PoliticsEntering Bian and changing the country name
Entering Kaifeng in the first month, Emperor ChuShi Zhonggui of the Later Jin Dynasty surrendered, and the Later Jin Dynasty perished. In February, Deguang received congratulations from hundreds of officials as the emperor of the Central Plains. He changed the country's name to Daliao (some say it was in 938) and changed it to Datong in Yuan Dynasty.
SocietyAttack the grassy valley with troops
The Liao army did not provide food and wages, so they rode out to plunder the grass-grazing valleys. They also borrowed money and silk from the people, and all their property and livestock were wiped out for hundreds of miles around Kaifeng. Soldiers and civilians across the country revolted one after another, and Liu Zhiyuan also proclaimed himself emperor in Taiyuan.
PeopleReturned to the north and died of illness
In April, he led his army back to the north and transported the palace people, books, ritual vessels, and musical instruments from the Later Jin Dynasty to the north. He blamed himself for the "three mistakes" of plundering with troops, expropriating the people's private property, and not sending Jiedu envoys back to the town. He went to Luancheng to kill Hu Lin and died of illness at the age of forty-six.
Taizong's biological mother single-handedly promoted Deguang's accession to the throne and continued to participate in military and state affairs for a long time. After Taizong died, she sent Li Hu to attack Shizong. After the defeat, she recognized Shizong as the throne and was soon imprisoned in Zuzhou.
Taizong's eldest brother, who was originally the Crown Prince, became jealous after he abdicated the throne. In 930, Fuhai defected to the Later Tang Dynasty and was named Li Zanhua. He was later killed. His eldest son Yelü Ruan later became Liao Shizong.
The third son of Taizu was cruel in character and was favored by Empress Shulu. In 930, he was named the crown prince. After Taizong died, he failed to compete with Shizong and was imprisoned. In 960, his son Xiyin rebelled and was imprisoned to death.
Zhao Dejun, the adopted son of Lulong Jiedu of the Later Tang Dynasty, followed his adoptive father to the Liao Dynasty in 936. He was trusted by Taizong, guarded Youzhou, and was granted the title of King Yan. He coveted the throne of the Central Plains and urged Taizong to conquer the south. He was later imprisoned by Shizong and died.
He was originally a Hanlin scholar of the Later Tang Dynasty. He was highly regarded by Taizong after he surrendered to Liao Dynasty in 936. After the Liao army entered Bian, he opposed the appointment of Khitans as military envoys to the Central Plains. After Taizong died, he was arrested by Xiao Han and died of anger that night.