The civil strife in the Liao state has a long history, and it can be said that the seeds of civil strife were sown from the day yelü Abaoji became the Khitan Khan. Today I would like to talk about the three civil strife during the yelü apaochi period, and the initiator of the rebellion was closely related to the jeroboam, and his name was Jeroboam. His deeds are scattered in the History of Liao, the Chronicle of the Khitan State, the Zizhi Tongjian, and the Old and New Five Dynasties History. This article will make a brief introduction to this character based on these historical materials.
There were five brothers of the Liao Taizu Yelü Abaoji, of whom he himself was the eldest brother, and the other brothers were in the order of the eldest and youngest, namely Yelü Thorn, Yelü Dila, Yelü Yin Bottom Stone, and Yelü Andanduan. Among them, Jeroboam was most closely related to his brother. According to the "History of Liao", in the war to unify the Khitan tribes, Yelü Zhige has been following his brother in the southern conquest of the northern war, and has successively attacked Karasuma, Black Car Room Wei and Nerebu, and has made outstanding achievements in battle, and has been entrusted with heavy responsibilities by Yelü Abaoji.
After Yerushalayim was elected Khan, Jeroboam was appointed to the post of Tyre. Ti Yin was the highest official in charge of imperial affairs in the Liao State, and his high status and real power showed that his brother attached great importance to his younger brother. However, what Yelü Abaoji did not expect was that within a few years, his younger brother used his position to accumulate strength and actually overthrow himself.
Looking for the Khitan tradition, the chief is elected every three years. But Yelü Apaoji, deeply influenced by Han Chinese culture, decided to break this tradition. Therefore, after three years, the lifelong system of status is realized. This idea was strongly opposed within the Yerushalayim family, represented by his younger brother Jeroboam.
In the fifth year after Yelü Apaochi became Khan (i.e., in May 911 AD), Yelü Tingge and four other brothers plotted a rebellion with other Khitan nobles who were dissatisfied with Yelü Apaoji. Unexpectedly, this matter was discovered by the eldest sister-in-law Shu Luping, and Yerushalayim planned to use force to seize the banner and divine tent symbolizing the king's power. Fortunately, the fifth wife, Sticky Mugu, informed him, and Yelü Abaoji immediately captured the four younger brothers. After some interrogation, the truth of the matter was revealed. But Jeroboam cared about his affection and did not punish him.
According to the History of Liao, he simply asked his four younger brothers to sacrifice with him on the mountain, and the brothers swore an oath to heaven. Subsequently, Jeroboam reprimanded Jeroboam and said, "Ru plotted this, but he wanted to be rich." However, for Yerushalayim, he thought that the matter was over here, but what he did not expect was that a year later, his younger brother Jeroboam once again launched a rebellion.
In July 912, Yelü Abaoji set out on a campaign against Shubugu, and ordered Yelü Toge to lead an attack on Pingzhou together with Yelü Dizhi. In October of the same year, after Yelü's assassins captured Pingzhou, they rebelled with their uncle Yelü and other brothers. After hearing the news, Yelü Abaoji immediately led his troops back to the seventeen rivers and marched to the line of the Seven Crossing River. Under the intimidation of the mighty army of Jeroboam, Jeroboam sent an emissary to apologize. Once again, Jeroboam chose to forgive his brother but only to reform himself without any punishment.
However, in the spring of the following year, Jeroboam was unwilling and led his troops to launch a sneak attack on his brother. After some fighting, the rebels were all annihilated, and Jeroboam and his brothers were taken prisoner. The younger brother's three consecutive rebellions finally enraged Jeroboam and changed the name of Jeroboam to Jeroboam (meaning wicked), but only punished his brother with a staff and punished him with captivity. Six years later, Jeroboam forgave his brother again and ordered him to be released.
In 916 AD, Yelü Abaoji declared himself emperor and established the Khitan regime, and in March of the following year, he led his troops to attack Houliang, ordering Yelü to assassinate Ge to follow the army, but he did not expect his brother to rebel again, led his troops to defect to Houliang, became a traitor to the Khitans, and eventually fell into the hands of the Later Tang Emperor Li Cunxun.
Reference books: "History of Liao", "Chronicle of the Khitan State", "Zizhi Tongjian", "History of the New Five Dynasties", "History of the Old Five Dynasties"