Yelu Deguang, the Khitan's name is Yaogu, he is the second son of Yelu Abaoji. His appearance is dignified and dignified, his temperament is generous and benevolent, and he decides most of the major military affairs.

Abaoji has great hopes for him, among Abaoji's three sons, he and his eldest son Yelubei are very popular with Abaoji, but Yelu Deguang is more like his father.

In the first year of Tianzan (922), he was appointed as the generalissimo of the world's soldiers and horses, and he was only 20 years old. He participated in a series of conquests with Taizu, especially during the southern expeditions to Pingzhou, Youzhou, Zhenzhou, and Dingzhou, and the western expeditions to Tuyuhun, Uighur, and Dangxiang, he captured Zhao Siwen and defeated Fu Cunju, and made outstanding achievements. In the first year of Tianxian (926), he accompanied Taizu to destroy the Bohai Kingdom and conquered the Bohai capital Kuhan City as a vanguard.

On July 27, 926 (September 6, 926) after the death of Liao Taizu, after the reign of Shulu, Yelu Deguang took charge of the government, and on December 11, 927, he ascended the throne with the support of Shuluhou, and respected the Empress Dowager as the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager as the Empress Dowager, and the Empress Xiao as the Empress.

In the sixth year of Tianxian (930), Yelubei, the king of Dongdan, who had seized the territory of the former Bohai Kingdom, fled south to the Tang Dynasty, and Yelude unified the Khitan.

In the tenth year of Tianxian (931), the prime minister Nerigon attempted to flee south, but the matter was revealed and detained.

In the eleventh year of Tianxian (936), Shi Jingjiao, the envoy of the Eastern Jiedu of the Later Tang Dynasty, begged Yelu Deguang to send troops to help him oppose the Later Tang Dynasty on the condition of being called the son and ceding the sixteen states of Yanyun.

Yelu Deguang led 50,000 cavalry to defeat the Later Tang army under the city of Jinyang, and established Shi Jingtang as the emperor of the Later Jin Dynasty.

Tang generals Gao Xingzhou and Fu Yanqing led troops to call for battle, and Yelu Deguang pretended to retreat. Tang generals Zhang Jingda and Yang Guangyuan lined up in the west again, but before they could form a column, Yelu Deguang approached them with troops. And Gao Xingzhou and Fu Yanqing were cut off by the ambush soldiers, and they couldn't take care of each other. Zhang Jingda and Yang Guangyuan were defeated, and the discarded soldiers were piled up, and tens of thousands of beheadings were beheaded.

Later, he led the army south to the party and helped Shi Jingtang destroy the Later Tang Dynasty. After ceding the sixteen states of Yanyun, Yelu Deguang adopted the rule method of "ruling according to customs", implemented the system of officials in the north and south, and divided the Han and Khitan. It also changed Youzhou to Nanjing and Yunzhou to Xijing, and built the 16 prefectures of Yanyun into a base for further southward expansion.

In the fourth year of the meeting (942), the emperor Shi was enthroned and refused to be a minister.

Yelu Deguang then led the army south, and Du Chongwei, Li Shouzhen, Zhang Yanze and others led 200,000 people to surrender. On December 16, 946 (January 10, 946), Yelu Deguang led his army to attack Bianliang, Tokyo (now Kaifeng, Henan), the capital of the Later Jin Dynasty, and captured the Emperor Shi of the Later Jin Dynasty and destroyed the Later Jin Dynasty.

On the first day of the first month of the tenth year of the same year (January 25, 947), Yelu Deguang entered Bianliang, Tokyo with the honor guard of the Central Plains Emperor, and received congratulations from hundreds of officials in the Chongyuan Palace. On the first day of the second month of the first year of Datong (February 24, 947), Yelu Deguang issued an edict in the Tokyo Imperial Palace to change the name of the country "Great Khitan Kingdom" to "Da Liao", changed the tenth year of the meeting to the first year of Datong, and promoted Zhenzhou to Zhongjing.

Yerod led his troops into Tokyo, and the people shouted. Jerod ascended up to the tower and said to the people, "I am also a man, do not be afraid, I will set you free from tyranny." I didn't want to come here, but your emperor brought me here. "The hundred officials of the Later Jin Dynasty surrendered to the Khitan, and most of the envoys of the towns also surrendered. Yelu Deguang thought that the emperor of the Central Plains had made a decision, and ordered the Khitan soldiers to loot in the name of herding horses, which was called "beating the grass valley".

The Khitan soldiers slaughtered and plundered, Kaifeng, Luoyang near hundreds of miles, became a white land, and in the name of the army, strictly ordered the Later Jin officials to include money, no matter who they were, they had to give money and silk, and the property obtained was not distributed to the Khitan soldiers, and was ready to be transported back to the Khitan country. Zhao Yanshou saw that Yelu Deguang had officially proclaimed himself emperor, and he was very dissatisfied and asked to be the crown prince. Yelu Deguang said, the crown prince can only do it if he is the son of the Son of Heaven, and you can't do it. At that time, Liu Zhiyuan was proclaimed emperor in Jinyang, and many of the old generals of Zhuzhen and Later Jin responded with troops. The vast number of people also rebelled, most of them as many as tens of thousands, and small ones of no less than 1,000 people, breaking through the county seat and killing the officials appointed by the Khitan.

Wang Qiong, the leader of the rebel army in Lanzhou, attacked the state city and besieged the Khitan general Yelu Langwu; The Eastern rebel army broke through the three states of Song, Bo and Mi. Yelu Deguang was very frightened and prepared to flee, so he appointed Xiao Han as the envoy of the Xuanwu Army and stayed in Tokyo. Yelu Deguang took thousands of officials from the Later Jin Dynasty, hundreds of palace maids and eunuchs, and all the property of the Jin treasury to leave Fengbeixing. Passing through Xiangzhou, slaughtering Xiangzhou City, the men in the city were killed, the women were taken captive, and the babies were thrown into the air, and they were carried over with the tip of a knife, as a pleasure, and after the fact, more than 100,000 people died. Yelu Deguang was forced to withdraw, killed people to vent his anger, saw the desolate scene along the way, and said to the ministers of the Han Dynasty, it is all Zhao Yanshou's sin to be ruined to this point, and pointed to a traitor Zhang Li and said, you also have a share.

Yelu Deguang summed up the reasons for his failure and came to the so-called three losses: the looting of people's money in various places is the first loss; Letting the Khitan soldiers threshing grass and disturbing the people is the second mistake; Failing to repatriate the Jiedu envoys early to govern the towns is the third mistake. Of course, he was very annoyed, and went to Luancheng (Luancheng County, Hebei) to fall ill and die at the age of forty-six. Buried in Fengshan, the mausoleum is called Huailing, and the temple number is Taizong. In July of the twenty-sixth year (1008) of the reign of Liao Shengzong, he was honored as Emperor Xiaowu.

In September of the twenty-first year of Chongxi (1052), he was added as Emperor Xiaowu Huiwen. Liao Taizong's greater contribution to the Liao Dynasty was the development and improvement of the political system. Liao Taizong brought a complete set of Han official system to the Liao State in the Later Jin Dynasty, and coupled with the official system established during the original Abaoji period, the official system of Liao finally formed a national official system with its own characteristics in the process of partial sinicization.

Jerod Light strengthened his control over the army. He often inspected his guards, tribes, and armies in order to gain full control of the military and prevent the infiltration of dissident forces, thus consolidating his power fundamentally.

Liao Taizong attached great importance to the development of agriculture, not only supporting the Han people to develop agriculture in the Han areas, but also allowing people to reclaim land and develop production in the grassland areas suitable for the development of agriculture. In order to protect agricultural production and prevent intentional or unintentional destruction by the Khitans, who did not have the habit of heavy farming, Liao Taizong ordered that his retinue be forbidden to trample on crops at will, and also ordered troops to bypass the farmland during the march. The development of agriculture has played a great role in promoting the development of Liao's various economies and has also strengthened Liao's national strength.

With the continuous expansion of the ruling area of the Khitan State, in order to better govern the affairs of different ethnic groups, Liao Taizong formulated the principle of "governing according to customs", forming two complete sets of official systems in the north and south, namely the northern official system and the southern official system.

The northern official system, that is, the official system of the Khitan people of the Liao Dynasty, the officials used the Khitan people to control all the military and political affairs of the Liao Dynasty, and it was also the highest authority of the Liao Dynasty. The reason why it is called the northern official is because the Khitan people have the custom of worshiping the sun, like to the east, and the left is the top. In this way, the big tent of the king of Liao faces the east, and the north is the left, which is the office of the Khitan officials, so it is called the north official. Among the northern officials, they are divided into several types: the northern court officials, the northern royal account officials, the northern royal account officials, and the northern account officials and the northern palace officials.

The northern court officials, which were the main institutions of the Liao Dynasty's official system, were divided into two different departments in the north and south, such as the North Privy Council Minister's Department, and the South Privy Council's Officials' Department. This is easily confused with the general north-south bureaucracy, and it should be distinguished. Among the officials in the north, the Privy Council of the North and South was the highest administrative body of the Liao State, which was in charge of military and civil affairs respectively, and was also commonly known as the Northern Ya and the Southern Ya. In the north, there is also a secretary in the Privy Council in the north and south, who is in charge of picketing and reporting hundreds of officials. The Prime Minister's Office of the North and South also participated in military affairs, similar to the governor's affairs in the Han official system. In addition, there is also the Great Tiyin Division, which is in charge of the political and religious affairs of the royal family. Set up a courtyard to take charge of judging cases and prisons. The enemy is in charge of ceremonies. In the end, there was also a greater than Yuefu with no actual position above the hundred officials, which was just an honorary title, similar to the title of the Han Taishi. But it is difficult for ordinary people to get the title of greater than Yue, and only three people in the entire Liao Dynasty have obtained it.

To the north, it also has many subordinate agencies. For example, the Guards are in charge of guarding the Imperial Tent. The North-South Guard House is responsible for the protection of the two Privy Councils in the North and South.

The royal family in the north, the descendants of Abaoji, the descendants of Abaoji's uncle, the descendants of Abaoji's uncle, and the descendants of Abaoji's brothers, a total of four systems of royal families, each set up a camp tent with authority, called the four tents of the royal family, and the status is very high. There were also branches of the royal family accountant in the north, and the Ouchi Tiyin Division was in charge of the political and religious affairs of the four accounts.

The Northern Accounts Officials, which were set up for other high-status tribes outside the Abaoji tribe, that is, the imperial family, such as the Yaoran clan and the Bohai royal family, were set up to show favor on the one hand, and on the other hand, to effectively control.

The palace official in the north is mainly in charge of some daily affairs of the court.

After Liao Taizong obtained the sixteen states, he further improved the official system of the Han nationality, imitated the official system of the Tang Dynasty, and set up a complete set of governance institutions such as three provinces and six ministries. In this way, he recruited the Han people and managed the affairs of the Han people. The southern officials were mainly held by the Han Chinese, and the Khitans also served in the southern officials, who were called Han officials and also wore Han clothes. Because the camp tent of the office is in the south of the big tent of the Liao king, it is called the southern official.

The branches of the southern official are: the Han Privy Council, which was called "Han'er Division" when Abaoji, and the others were Zhongshu Province, Shangshu Province, Menxia Province, Yushitai, Hanlin Academy, etc.

In the local bureaucratic system, the Liao Dynasty also coexisted with two systems, namely the tribal system and the state and county system, the Khitan and other nomadic peoples used the tribal system, and the Han and Bohai people used the state and county system used during the Tang Dynasty. After Yelubei defected to the Later Tang Dynasty, Liao Taizong took the opportunity to rectify the administrative system of Dongdan, that is, the original Bohai State. First, Yelubei's concubine was allowed to preside over the affairs of Dongdan, and then measures were taken to strengthen the control of Dongdan. The Dongdan Kingdom was not under the direct jurisdiction of the Liao Central Authority, and the Dongdan Kingdom was a prince's feudal state, and the Dongdan King had full authority to manage local affairs. He can establish his own era and country name, and he has the right to associate directly with foreign countries. Officials below the rank of prime minister can be appointed and dismissed by themselves. After Yelubei left, Liao Taizong established Zhongtai Province in Dongdan and sent officials there to participate in the administration of government affairs, thus strengthening his control over Dongdan.

Despite this, the habits of the Khitans could not be fundamentally changed, especially when the Liao army fought in the Central Plains in the south. Because the Liao ** team has no logistical supply, and the grain and grass have to be solved on the spot by themselves, the Liao soldiers will inevitably harass the people and rob the grain and grass when they go to a place, which makes the Liao army opposed by the locals. The people's hearts were lost, and it was difficult for Liao's rule in the Central Plains to continue. It wasn't until he was dying that Yelu Deguang, Taizong of Liao, came to his senses, but the time was over. In fact, even if he had known earlier and taken measures, he would not have been able to change long-term national habits in a relatively short period of time. As a nomadic people, the Khitan ruled the Central Plains, and sinicization was necessary, and Liao Taizong probably realized this before his death, but he no longer had the opportunity to implement the lessons he had learned in practice.

In addition to plundering grain and grass in the Han region, many Khitans also served as officials in the Yellow River region. After consolidating his throne, Liao Taizong began to continue the career of his father Liao Taizu Yelu Abaoji, and used troops to the south to dominate the Central Plains. Since Liao Taizu, the Khitan wanted to expand their territory to the banks of the Yellow River, and then have a large territory north of the Yellow River. However, the Han forces resisted the attack of the Khitans, so when the Khitan used troops, they always attacked under the banner of supporting one side when the forces of several factions in the Central Plains were contending. During the reign of the Later Tang Dynasty, it was relatively stable, and the army of the Later Tang Dynasty was known as the Crow Army, all of which wore black clothes and had strong combat effectiveness, while the Khitan people were soldiers and did not have a special field army, so they always suffered losses when fighting against the Central Plains soldiers.

Therefore, no matter how great the power of Liao Taizong is, he must wait until the Central Plains has an accident to take advantage of the situation and reap the benefits of the fishermen, and it is difficult to succeed in a simple declaration of war and a formal decisive battle. Therefore, Liao Taizong went south to the Central Plains and waited until after Li Siyuan's death, and Shi Jingjiao took the initiative to ask for help before he dared to send troops.

After the conflict between Shi Jingjiao and Li Congke of the Later Tang Dynasty, Shi Jingjiao had to ask Liao Taizong for help in order to keep his power and claim the emperor to ascend the throne. Liao Taizong, who had been waiting for a long time, was overjoyed, and when he saw Shi Jingjiao's attractive conditions, he hurriedly sent troops to rescue him in person. Standing stone Jingjiao was the emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty, and he himself got a large piece of fat, and effortlessly brought the sixteen states that he had longed for a long time into the Khitan rule, and there was a large amount of cloth imported every year. But Liao Taizong's unexpected fat meat was only tasted for more than ten years, and in the end he lost his life in the Central Plains.

No matter what happens in the future, after all, Liao Taizong has got the sixteen states in his hands, and the next goal is to continue southward and push the border to the banks of the Yellow River. After Shi Jingjiao's death, Shi Chonggui succeeded to the throne, and the change in the attitude of the Later Jin Dynasty provided a good opportunity and sufficient excuse for Liao Taizong to use troops. At the same time, Zhao Yanshou of Youzhou also wanted to be an emperor like Shi Jingjiao back then, and persuaded Liao Taizong to take the opportunity to attack. Yang Guangyuan, the general of the Later Jin Dynasty, also secretly communicated with the Khitan, saying that the Later Jin Dynasty violated the covenant and took the opportunity to send troops, and there was a major disaster in the Later Jin Dynasty, and more than half of the army died.

Liao Taizong couldn't help but be moved, and in order to seize this rare opportunity, he launched a crusade against the Later Jin, and fought three times in a row until the Later Jin was destroyed. In the three-year-long war of the Later Jin Dynasty, the superhuman willpower of Liao Taizong was fully reflected. This shows that he has been preparing and waiting for a long time in the Central Plains in the use of troops, and he will not give up until he encounters a favorable opportunity, and finally realize his wish for many years. Although the victory was due to the surrender of the Later Jin army, the strong willpower of Liao Taizong was indeed admirable.

In the process of using troops, Liao Taizong's extraordinary strategy was also fully used. He made the greatest use of the Han officials' ambition to become emperor and the contradictions between them, which had a lot to do with Liao Taizong's many years of understanding and mastering various political and military intelligence in the Central Plains.

He first took advantage of Zhao Yanshou's ambition to think of the Emperor of the Central Plains, and let him act as the vanguard of the war against the Later Jin. promised Zhao Yanshou to make him emperor after the destruction of the Later Jin, which convinced him that he was very hard at fighting. The first time the troops were dispatched, only Zhao Yanshou's soldiers and horses achieved some results. When the Later Jin Dynasty was finally destroyed, Liao Taizong kept silent about his original promise, Zhao Yanshou shamelessly proposed to make himself the prince, but Liao Taizong said that the prince should be his son, and he was not suitable. Even when Zhao Yanshou was appointed to the official position, the minister also proposed to cross out the "Governor of China and Foreign Military" given to him.

The cunning and fickle Liao Taizong played Zhao Yanshou a big trick. For another character, Du Chongwei Liao Taizong also promised the emperor's position, and after Du Chongwei surrendered, let him wear the ochre yellow robe worn by the emperor, just like Zhao Yanshou asked Zhao Yanshou to wear the ochre yellow robe to comfort the Hou Jin soldiers, these two scum who are bent on being the emperor are like monkeys, if the two of them talk about the feeling of wearing an ochre robe together, it will probably be similar. In the end, Liao Taizong himself sat on the throne of the emperor, but his price was also very large, he put his old life into it, and he suffered a lot of sins before he died.

The war against the Later Jin Dynasty, due to the heroic struggle of the patriotic soldiers of the Later Jin Dynasty, Liao Taizong also fought very hard, the second time he sent troops, he was defeated by the Later Jin Dynasty's Huangfu Yu, Murong Yanchao, Li Shouzhen and other generals, and the Khitan country also had a disaster at that time, a large number of people and livestock died, and the tribes also had a war-weariness, and the mother learned that the Later Jin Dynasty sent envoys to negotiate peace, and also tried to persuade Liao Taizong to strike the army and make peace. After recounting the law, he said to his son: "If the Han people become the Khitan kings, is it okay?" Liao Taizong said, "No." After the law, he said, "Then why do you have to be the king of Han?" ”

Liao Taizong said: "Shi's ingratitude cannot be tolerated. After recounting the law, he persuaded him: "Even if you get the Han land, you can't stay for a long time, in case there is any accident, it will be too late to regret it." Later facts showed that the law was still prescient, and Liao Taizong also died in the Central Plains. Liao Taizong did not listen to his mother's advice, and insisted that the Later Jin Dynasty cede Zhenzhou and Dingzhou before he was willing to stop the army, in fact, he was unwilling to lose this opportunity easily. Although he was defeated for a while, Liao Taizong still sent troops to attack again the next year, but seized the opportunity and took advantage of Du Chongwei's cowardice and weakness of wanting to be emperor, and succeeded in persuading him to surrender, and soon after the Jin was also destroyed.

In the tenth year of the same year (947 AD), Liao Taizong entered Kaifeng, the capital of the Later Jin Dynasty, with the honor guard of the Central Plains Emperor, and in the Chongyuan Palace, he put on the emperor's costume to accept the congratulations of the civil and military officials. Confusing the surrendered Shi Chonggui as a negative marquis, this official position has no other meaning except irony. The Later Jin Dynasty was established because of the Khitan, and finally perished because of the Khitan.

It is difficult for a dynasty built by someone else to survive for long. Before being called the emperor, Liao Taizong Yelu Deguang made a superficial article and let the emperor take the throne, but the ministers of the Later Jin Dynasty were pardoned and were already very grateful to him, who dared to say anything else, so they all said "Yi and Xia are willing to push the emperor", Liao Taizong also no longer let it, and happily sat on the throne of the emperor that his father Yelu Abaoji had long wanted to sit on. Liao Taizong became the emperor of the Central Plains while changing the name of the Khitan country to "Da Liao", and the year name was also changed to "Datong". In some books, for the sake of simplicity, the Khitan before this is also called Liao.

When Abaoji died, Shulu presided over the ceremony of electing a new emperor, and at the suggestion of the ruling Shuluhou, the ministers were in favor of Yelu Deguang to succeed to the throne, so Yelu Deguang held the Khitan traditional burnt wood ceremony, and officially succeeded to the throne as the new Khitan emperor. Later, he destroyed the Later Jin in the Central Plains in the south, but he himself died in Luancheng on the way back to the army. After his death, his temple name was Taizong, and his nickname was Emperor Xiaowu Huiwen Hei Sheng, and he was generally called Liao Taizong in history.

Yelu Deguang made great contributions to the Khitan, especially after he succeeded to the throne, and promoted Khitan politics and economy in many ways. On the political front, he perfected and systematized the control that began with Abaoji. He also made the territory of the Khitan continue to expand, so that the Khitan went to a period of strength. During his reign, Khitan agriculture also developed greatly. In addition, the Khitan native culture has also developed to a very high level.

Detachment: Taizong has determined many aspects, far and near. The founding number, prepare the regulations, as for the government, read the name, record prisoners, teach farming and weaving, and match widows. Ask for a straightforward person, get Langjun Haisi, that is, promote Xuanhui. Jiatang Zhang Jingda was loyal to his monarch and died with a ceremonial funeral. Drop out of Yu and accept the clear of three grams, and give an order to recuperate. Personally conquered the Jin Kingdom, and the noble face was bound. Si can be described as both virtuous and prosperous, and the British and strategic are invisible. After entering Bian, there is no slight pride, and there is a training of "three losses". "Biography" said that Zheng Bo's goodness is victorious, "Book" into "Qin Oath" can repent, Taizong covers both, and it is outstanding!

Wen Weijian: In the rich and noble family, people have deceased, break the abdomen with a blade, take their stomachs, cleanse them with incense and salt alum, sew them with colorful colors, and pierce them with sharp reeds, drain their ointment and blood, use gold and silver as masks, and copper wire around their hands and feet. The death of Yerod Light, cover with this method, when people look at the emperor, believe in it.

Wang Fuzhi: Liu Yuan, Shi Hu, Fu Jian, Yelu Deguang, Wan Yanliang, the death of heaven is imminent, I don't know what to do, and the defeat of the previous day is punishment. Sad husband!

Zhao Yi: I don't hear the sorrow of the palace, and I am willing to make the soldiers lose the emperor.

(End of chapter)