Then we continued on the road and walked for five or six days to Haibei Prefecture, where Yelu Bei's mausoleum is located. The Khitan people asked Shi Yanxu to go and worship.
After walking for another twenty days, we finally arrived at the final stop, Huanglong Mansion.
After less than half a year of stability, in June, the Khitan Queen Mother Shulu ordered Shi Chonggui and others to move to Huaimi Prefecture, which is more than a thousand miles northwest of Huanglong Prefecture.
When Shi Chonggui and others were ordered to go to Liaoyang, major changes occurred within the Khitan. Yelu Deguang died of illness, Yelu Ruan ascended the throne, and imprisoned the Queen Mother Shulu. This story will be detailed later.
After Yelu Ruan ascended the throne, he ordered Shi Chonggui and others to station themselves in Liaoyang. Shi Chonggui sent an envoy to congratulate Yelu Ruan on his accession to the throne. Yelu Ruan was very happy and showed great mercy and provided daily supplies to Shi Chonggui's family.
In April of the following year (948), Yelu Ruan came to Liaoyang, and Shi Chonggui paid homage to the Queen Mother. Shi Chonggui was still wearing plain clothes, but Yelu Ruan couldn't bear it and asked him to change into normal clothes.
Shi Chonggui fell to the ground and cried bitterly, repenting for his past. Yelu Ruan ordered people to help him up and comfort him for a long time. Then he held a banquet and watched singing and dancing with him. All the Han generals, eunuchs, and actors present couldn't help but shed tears after seeing Shi Chonggui, and they all presented clothes, medicines and other items to Shi Chonggui.
I wonder if the songs and dances prepared by Yelu Ruan for Shi Chonggui were Han Chinese songs and dances, and whether he would ask him if he "thinks about Jin", and whether Shi Chonggui would answer "I am happy here, but I don't think about Jin."
When Yelu Ruan left, he took away Shi Chonggui's fifteen eunuchs and fifteen actors, as well as the prince Shi Yanxu. Yelu Ruan's uncle Chuono Xili (also known as "Zen Slave") took a fancy to Shi Chonggui's little daughter, so he asked Shi Chonggui for her. Shi Chonggui refused because she was still young and not old enough for marriage.
Chuonoxili asked Shi Chonggui for a few showgirls around him, but Shi Chonggui had no choice but to reluctantly part with them.
But Chuonoxili still couldn't let go of Shi Chonggui's little daughter, so he complained to Yelu Ruan. Yelu Ruan was furious when he heard this, saying that Shi Chonggui was just a prisoner, and you are the uncle of our Daliao Kingdom. This kid really doesn't know how to praise! Then he brought people to Shi Chonggui's home, took his youngest daughter away by force, and gave her to Chuonosili.
In August, when Yelu Ruan returned from summer vacation, Empress Dowager Li personally paid a visit and asked for a few acres of land outside Han'er City so that mother and son could farm and support themselves. Yelu Ruan agreed and allowed Shi Chonggui and his son to move to Jianzhou (today's Chaoyang County, Liaoning Province) and gave them several acres of land to support themselves and work hard.
On the way to Jianzhou, Princess An (Shi Jingru’s wife and Shi Chonggui’s biological mother) had already lost her sight before coming to the North. She was frail and sick and could not withstand such hardships. She finally fell ill. When she was dying, she told Shi Chonggui He said: "Cremate me on the spot and scatter my ashes to the south. In this way, my soul will follow this momentum and return to the Central Plains."
However, the surrounding area was completely deserted, and there was no vegetation or other things to ignite the fire. Shi Chonggui dismantled the car and took her ashes to Jianzhou.
From Liaoyang to Jianzhou, it is another 1,200 miles away. After arriving in Jianzhou, Jiedushi Zhao Yanhui (the son of Zhao Siwen and the younger brother of Zhao Yanzhao, who is also not the same breed as Zhao Yanshou) treated the emperor in trouble very respectfully. He vacated his master's bedroom to entertain Shi Chonggui, welcomed him with all courtesy, and then gave him a big hand. With a wave, more than 5,000 hectares of land were designated.
With these more than 5,000 hectares of land, Shi Chonggui could finally support his entire family.
As soon as they settled down, the Khitan nobles, led by Chuonoxili, came to Shi Chonggui's house one after another to snatch women, including Shi Chonggui's most beloved concubines Zhao and Nie. Shi Chonggui was "very angry" but had no choice but to do anything.
At the same time, Queen Mother Li fell ill. The Khitans did not even provide food, let alone medicine. The Queen Mother's illness could only be treated for half a year, and she finally became terminally ill. The daughter of Li Siyuan, the wife of Shi Jingtang, and the Queen Mother of Jin Dynasty could only lie in bed and wait for death.
She burst into tears and looked up to the sky and cried bitterly. Before she died, she used her last strength to look southward and cursed Du Chongwei and Li Shouzhen, "If there is no underworld after death, then just leave it alone; if there really is an underworld, I will definitely go to the Lord of Hell." I will file a lawsuit against you!" Then he said to Shi Chonggui: "After I die, no matter what, I must send my ashes to Fanyang Buddhist Temple (located in Youzhou), which is the Central Plains after all. Don't let me live in a barbarian land. Lonely ghost!"
After saying this, he died.
Shi Chonggui, Empress Feng, palace maids, eunuchs and other people, with their hair and bare feet, carried the coffin to the given field, cremated the Empress Dowager's body, and buried it together with Concubine An's ashes.
Empress Feng, while moving back and forth, planned to commit suicide with Shi Chonggui by taking poison. She sent people to help find the poison, but they never found the poison, so she did not die. Her final ending became a mystery, and history books only said that she ended up unknown.
In the next anniversary year, according to the Han people who came to the Central Plains from Khitan, Shi Chonggui, Empress Feng, and the princes were all still alive and well.
How long did Shi Chonggui live in Khitan?
According to the "Jin Dynasty's Entrapment of Fan" written by Fan Zhi, Shi Chonggui lived in Jianzhou for eighteen years and lived until the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty. When the Later Jin Dynasty fell, Fan Zhi was a Hanlin scholar, and he was the one who drafted the surrender letter of Shi Chonggui and Empress Dowager Li. As an important witness to the fall of the Later Jin Dynasty, he knew some inside stories that others did not know.
"Old History of the Five Dynasties" has a more fair evaluation of Shi Chonggui, saying that he is a "middle-class talent", which means that he is neither extremely smart nor mentally retarded, but just an ordinary person. His ability is not outstanding, and he may be able to make do as an emperor of peace, but he is unlucky. "The heir is about to fall, and it is God's unblessed fate." When a powerful country turns its back and goes to war, it becomes more friendly to villains and virtuous ministers far away, and does not listen to good advice and good advice.
"Indulging yourself in extravagance and lewdness means you are safe on Mount Tai; if you entrust someone to someone else, you will sit back and suffer the humiliation of the sun." In the end, "the family has traveled thousands of miles, but is old and poor."
Finally, the "Old History of the Five Dynasties" said sourly, "The ugly people who have subjugated their countries since ancient times are nothing like the emperor (Shi Chonggui)." It is said that Shi Chonggui was the most miserable king among the subjugated kings since ancient times. He also added, "After a thousand years, it will be so shameful and so sad." This is more or less like making sarcastic remarks and making fun of others.
It is worth noting that the "Old History of the Five Dynasties" was written in the early Northern Song Dynasty, so it said "there is nothing like the emperor". If it was written later, it would not be said like this. Because the two emperors of Huiqin in the late Northern Song Dynasty were even worse than Shi Chonggui.
There is an old saying among the people, don't laugh at being lame or blind before you live eighty-eight. You also said that "a thousand years later", not even a thousand years, but more than a hundred years later, people will see your Song Dynasty jokes.
