【Line Struggle】
This was the first transfer of supreme power since the founding of the Liao Dynasty, and also the first largest political struggle within the palace. Empress Dowager Shulu supported the succession of her second son Yelu Deguang, but forcibly removed the legal successor, the Crown Prince. , the eldest son Yelvbei.
The fundamental reason is the different political lines, different concepts of governing the country, and the result of the fierce collision between the two civilizations.
This is also a choice that all nomadic peoples have to face. In short, it is the question of whether to become Chinese.
With the assistance of Han Yanhui, a Han counselor, the Khitan people pioneered the "divided rule between vassal and Han Dynasty". In the Liao Kingdom, two political systems coexisted, including the old Khitan system and the Han legal system, with dual cards and dual treatment.
Yelvbei, the eldest son of the emperor, is a typical representative of Han Dynasty. Yelvbei admired the Central Plains culture and worked on poetry, painting, medicine, etc., and was obsessed with the Central Plains culture. He can be regarded as a "walking Han sect".
When the Khitan was established, Yelu Abaoji once asked his ministers: "The king who is appointed should serve heaven and worship the gods. If I want to sacrifice those who have great merits and virtues, where should I start?" That is to say, who should the Khitan people recognize as the leader of the country? Mascots serve as spiritual symbols of the country and the nation.
All the ministers on the left and right said in unison that they should respect the Buddha.
Yelu Abaoji shook his head and vetoed the proposal on the grounds that "Buddha is not a Chinese religion." Obviously, Yelu Abaoji considered himself a "Chinese" and believed that the Khitan nation was part of the Chinese nation and an important component of Chinese civilization. He believed that he had inherited the mantle of Chinese civilization.
This is what we have repeatedly emphasized. The Chinese territory has never been invaded by force, but the natural formation of a sense of cultural identity and belonging. Even if they were rejected by the Central Plains people at that time, the Khitan people were proud to be Chinese and proudly Claiming to be the inheritor of Chinese culture.
The ministers looked at each other, not knowing who to nominate.
At this time, Yelvbei replied: "The great sage Confucius, respected by all generations, should be the first."
When Yelu Abaoji heard this, Longyan was delighted, and immediately ordered the establishment of a Confucius Temple, and ordered the crown prince to personally preside over worship services every spring and autumn.
Worshiping Confucius and respecting Confucianism are the most obvious political symbols.
After the Khitan annexed the Bohai Kingdom, a thorny issue faced Yelu Abaoji, that is, how to govern the Bohai Kingdom.
The Bohai State has a history of more than 200 years. Although the main ethnic group is not Han, it has used the Tang Dynasty as its mentor for more than 200 years and adopted the Han system in an all-round way. Its level of civilization far exceeds that of the Khitan, whose main body is nomadic civilization.
Therefore, the best way to govern the Bohai Kingdom is to have a person who is proficient in Chinese law guard it, and this person must have a high reputation in the Khitan Kingdom.
Obviously, Crown Prince Yelvbei is the best candidate. In Khitan, there is no one who understands Chinese law better than him.
Therefore, Yelu Abaoji changed the Bohai Kingdom to "Dongdan Kingdom", named Yelu Bei the King of Dongdan, and guarded this place.
Yelu Abaoji was extremely glad that he would have such an educated son. He caressed Yelu Bei's back and said happily: "I can rest assured that you will do the work! (I have nothing to worry about if you govern the Eastern Territory)"
Yelu Abaoji, who had been a soldier all his life, ignored another more critical and difficult issue. Yelvbei didn't ignore it. He felt like it was stuck in his throat, and he couldn't say anything.
When Yelu Abaoji arranged the affairs of Dongdan Kingdom and prepared for the army, Yelu fell down and cried bitterly. According to etiquette, he should cry. As mentioned before, the essence of feudal etiquette is one word - cry, but this time Yelvbei cried from the bottom of his heart. Historical records record that the 28-year-old " burst into tears."
He cried, but couldn't tell the reason for crying. He just hoped that his father could understand it on his own. His father didn't understand, he just thought that his son was being filial, so he comforted him with kind words.
He can't say it, but we can. What Yelvbei cried about was the issue of the empire's successor.
Yelu Abaoji had long appointed Yelu Bei as the crown prince, the legal successor to the empire. However, the Crown Prince should live deep in the Crown Prince's East Palace, where he should always be prepared to take over. When the current emperor leaves the capital for business, the prince will "supervise the country and act as regent" and act as the emperor. Even if the prince is away for some reason, once the emperor feels that he is about to die, he will ask his close ministers to hurry up and summon the prince to enter the palace to prepare for his succession.
But Yelu Abaoji left his prince in the distant country of Dongdan.
If you, the old man, become unwell one day, can I, the prince, return to the palace and ascend the throne smoothly?
During the battle, Yelu Abaoji named his second son Yelu Deguang the "Generalissimo of the World's Soldiers and Horses". This official position is generally an exclusive title for the crown prince.
Now, Yelu Abaoji left Yelu Bei in Dongdan Kingdom, and took Yelu Deguang back to the capital Linhuang Mansion in Beijing.
How should Yelvbe feel about all this? An ominous premonition arises spontaneously. And these words cannot be said out loud, otherwise...what, are you, the "Prince", eager to become a full-time official? The emperor has not passed away, do you want to help him die?
Therefore, in addition to lying on the ground crying and bursting into tears, Yelvbei also had something to say.
The Khitan quickly annexed the Bohai Kingdom, biting off more than it could chew and eating too quickly to digest, especially a sinicized country with a history of more than 200 years of founding and a long cultural heritage, and a highly developed economy and culture. Since the destruction of the Bohai Kingdom, rebellions have continued within the country.
The person who put down these rebellions was basically Yelu Deguang, the "Generalissimo of the World's Soldiers and Horses".
In the previous battles, Yelu Deguang followed Yelu Abaoji to defeat the tribes in Jueli, flatten Dangxiang, go down to various towns in Shanxi, take back Uighur Chanyu City, and defeat the Dalugu tribe. "He made great achievements in everything he did for thousands of miles from east to west." The annexation of Bohai State and the subsequent maintenance of stability of Bohai State were also great achievements.
Yelv Deguang's reputation gradually surpassed that of Yelv Bei and became a rising star in the Khitan political arena, constantly threatening Yelv Bei's status as crown prince.
At this critical node, Queen Mother Shulu, as the final judge, also tended to let Yelu Deguang inherit the throne.
Yelu Deguang represents the brave and capable grassland civilization, while Yelu Bei represents the Central Plains civilization of the Four Books and Five Classics. The two brothers are representatives of two completely different political lines.
The Empress Dowager Shulu did not dislike the eldest son and preferred the second son, but because Yelu Deguang coincided with her political line. They both carried forward the tradition of nomadic civilization, resisted the cultural erosion of the Han people in the Central Plains, and preserved the Khitan 's "self".
A nation not only needs a high military, political, economic and financial frontier, but also a high cultural wall to defend the cultural self-confidence of the nation. Cultural aggression is far more harmful than military aggression. Military aggression can destroy your body, but cultural aggression can destroy your soul.
