Now that Yelv Deguang's squad leader suddenly died of illness on the way, generals at all levels were panicked. The first thing everyone thought of was to send Yelu Deguang's body back to Khitan.
It was already summer, and the weather was getting hotter. In order to preserve the body, the Khitans mummified Yelu Deguang. According to historical records, they cut his belly open, took out his internal organs, and stuffed several buckets of salt into it to make bacon. Do it and transport it back to the north. At that time, the Central Plains people called it "Diyi", which means the emperor of dried meat and the emperor of bacon.
Yelu Deguang's mummy was transported to Linhuang Mansion in Shangjing. Faced with the tragic situation of her own son, Queen Mother Shulu did not cry a word, let alone shed a tear, which was in line with the strong woman temperament of the "Empress Dowager with Broken Arms".
She glanced at Yelu Deguang's coffin expressionlessly and said coldly, "I will bury you when the dust settles."
She had no time to be sad. Politicians only had politics in their eyes, and no relatives or tears.
Although Empress Dowager Shulu was not sentimental, the generals who followed Yelv Deguang southward all felt as if they were mourning for their heirs. They were not deeply attached to Yelu Deguang, but were afraid of the cold-blooded Queen Mother Shulu.
The thoughts of Queen Mother Shulu were well known to everyone in Khitan, because when Taizu Yelu Abaoji died, she had already shown her cards to the Khitan nobles. She wanted to take power, and to do so, she did not hesitate to raise a butcher's knife against her opponents. Hundreds of Khitan nobles were massacred, and she even chopped off her own wrists without blinking an eye.
Now that Taizong Yelv Deguang has passed away, a similar tragedy will happen again.
It stands to reason that these ministers and nobles, who have understood Queen Mother Shulu's methods, will not oppose any proposal of Queen Mother Shulu, because those who dared to oppose had died in the last great purge. All these fish that slipped through the net became frightened and kept silent, so there was no need for Queen Mother Shulu to bloodbath the Khitan political arena again.
But the actual situation was quite special. Yelu Deguang did not die of illness peacefully in Linhuang Mansion in Shangjing, but died suddenly during the southern march. This army is the direct descendant of Yelu Deguang. It is the political and military capital that he has cultivated for a long time to fight against the Queen Mother Shulu. It is the wings that he has temporarily strengthened. These people are the "imperialists" in the eyes of the Queen Mother Shulu. Dissenters.
Let alone the Queen Mother Shulu, no matter who is in power, the first thing to be cleaned up is the group of "meritorious veterans" who went south.
The reason why they did not take action immediately was because their armed forces were all the elite of the Khitan. Queen Mother Shulu did not dare to rebel rashly, so she could only hold back and wait for them to return to the Khitan mainland according to the original plan, and then disarm them according to the original plan. , hand over power, and then... is the proposition given by the Queen Mother Shulu - Do you think of the late emperor?
The Khitan noble generals who went south have been meeting frequently in private in recent days to discuss this issue and how to avoid being purged by Queen Mother Shulu.
Soon, everyone reached a consensus: if they want to avoid being purged by Queen Mother Shulu, they must not let Queen Mother Shulu take power; if they want to prevent Queen Mother Shulu from taking power, they must support someone other than the "Queen Mother Party" Be the new emperor.
The new emperor must meet the following conditions at the same time:
1. There must be reasonable conditions for inheriting the throne, such as royal family ties, and the closer the blood relationship to the royal family, the better. Uncle Liu Huang can tolerate it, but there is no need for Li Huangsan's uncle and great-grandfather;
2. This person must be in the team going south, so that he can focus on taking charge.
Who are you dragging into the water? Everyone quickly identified the best candidate in the army, and this person's conditions were simply the standard answer! This person is Yelu Ruan.
As mentioned above, Yelu Ruan is the eldest son and grandson of Yelu Abaoji, the Taizu of the Liao Dynasty. He has been taken by his second uncle Yelu Deguang to accompany the army. This time he went south with the army, and he happened to be in the army!
Therefore, Yeluhou, the king of the South Court, secretly met with Yeluwa, the king of the North Court, and said that the country could not live without a king for a day. If the Empress Dowager Shulu followed her wishes, she would definitely establish Yelu Lihu. Yelu Lihu was cruel and tyrannical. If he ascended the throne, you would My people will die without a burial place. We should immediately support Yelu Ruan and make the rice cooked.
The King of the South and North Courts is an official position set up by Yelu Abaoji. Initially, Yelu Abaoji divided his Diela Department into two parts, namely the Fifth Courtyard Department and the Sixth Courtyard Department, each with a Yili Jin (equivalent to the Chinese system in the Han Dynasty). Prime Minister), and later changed the Fifth Academy and Sixth Academy to the King of the South Academy and the King of the North Academy. In charge of military, administrative and other work.
There are also some views that the kings of the South and North Courts are equivalent to the "Privy Envoys" in the Han system. In short, they are senior officials with real power whose status and power are second only to the Khan (Emperor).
Pu Guzhi, the father of King Yeluhou of the South Academy, once served as Yili Jin, the minister of the Sixth Academy.
The origin of King Yeluwa of the North Court was even more prominent. His great-grandfather was Yelu Abaoji’s grandfather, Yelu Jun Deshi. His grandfather was Yelu Abaoji’s third eldest brother, Yelu Shilu. His father, Yelu Wansi, also served as a barbarian of the South Court. Violet. In terms of seniority, he and Yelu Deguang are uncles and brothers.
Yeluhou and Yeluwa were from prominent families in Khitan. They held high positions and held real power. The attitudes of these two people will largely determine the candidate for the new king.
Their opinions quickly reached a consensus and they unanimously opposed Yelu Lihu's accession to the throne under the control of Queen Mother Shulu. Why is Yelu Lihu such a human being, and why is he unanimously opposed by the ministers?
Yelu Lihu was the third son of Yelu Abaoji. He was the most favored by Empress Dowager Shulu and the most useless of the three brothers. The eldest brother Yelu Bei is famous for his "literary" name, the second brother Yelu Deguang is famous for his "wu" name, and Yelu Lihu is famous for his cruelty and cruelty.
According to historical records, Yelu Lihu was "brave and powerful, but cruel in nature". How cruel is it? Answer: "A little angry often tattoos people's faces, or throws himself into water and fire." They treated the attendants and maids very cruelly. If anything went against their liking, they would have their faces tattooed, or they would have them hot pot or barbecue, or even worse, gouge out their eyes and execute them at a languid time. In short, according to today's terms, he is an out-and-out psychopath who enjoys killing people.
When the three brothers were children, Yelu Abaoji secretly observed the sleeping posture of the three brothers and found that the eldest and second children were sleeping outside to protect the third brother from the wind, while Yelu Lihu shrunk and hid behind the two brothers. . Yelu Abaoji said to the Empress Dowager Shulu at that time: "He must be among the disciples!" This child is useless.
Another time, it was snowing heavily outside and the cold was unbearable. Yelu Abao ordered his three sons to go out to collect firewood and take the opportunity to test them.
The result of the test was: Yelu Deguang, the second oldest, was the first to return, but he was not picky and the firewood he carried back was a mixed bag;
The eldest brother, Yelvbei, came back the second time. He carefully selected the firewood. Only the dry and usable ones were discarded, and the wet and rotten ones were discarded. He also broke the firewood into similar lengths and thicknesses, then piled them up and bundled them. They looked very good. It’s simply a seller’s show;
The third youngest, Yelu Lihu, was the last one to come back, and he returned almost empty-handed. Apparently he was afraid of the severe cold and did not collect firewood at all. When he came back, he put his hands in his sleeves and "stand with hands on his sleeves."
Yelu Abaoji's evaluation of the third son is: the eldest son is clever, the second son is successful, and the younger son is not as good as him. The general meaning is that the eldest brother and the second child each have their own merits and merits, but the third child fails!
