Comrade | Guevara
Throughout the history books, the fate of the emperor of the fallen country is mostly very unbearable, even if he can escape death, the rest of his life will often be spent in the nest and humiliation. Of course, the worst outcome of the fallen monarch is that after surrendering on his knees, he still cannot get rid of the tragic death, and the last emperor of the Liao Dynasty, the Tianzuo Emperor Yelü Yanxi, is a typical representative. So, how did emperor Tianzuo lose Jiangshan Sheji? How tragic was his final ending?
01 The Lord is in charge
Yelü Yanxi was the 9th Emperor of the Liao Dynasty, the grandson of Emperor Yaolu Hongji of Liao, the son of Prince Yelü Hongji of Zhaohuai (the only son of Emperor Daozong of Liao), and his mother was Empress Xiao of Zhenshun. Emperor Daozong of Liao, a famous emperor in history, favored the traitorous minister Yelü Yixin during his reign, and listened to his framing, using the "Ten Fragrant Words Case" to kill Empress Xiao Guanyin. After Xiao Guanyin's death, Yelü Yixin often complained about Yelü Yixin, and as a result, he was raped and murdered with his wife not long after, in November of the third year of Dakang (1077).
Liao Daozong stills
When his parents were killed, Yelü Yanxi, an orphan, was only 3 years old, and Yelü Yixin, with the mentality of "cutting the grass and removing the roots", repeatedly wanted to harm him, but thanks to the protection of the Liao Daozong, he was unable to succeed. As the only direct descendant of Emperor Daozong of Liao, yelü Yanxi, who was only 17 years old, was awarded the title of Grand Marshal of terracotta warriors and horses, privy councillor of the Northern and Southern Yuan, and Shangshu Ling in the seventh year of Da'an (1091), thus establishing the status of crown prince. Ten years later (1101), in the first month of the year, the 70-year-old Liao Daozong gasped on his sickbed, and Yelü Yanxi officially took over his grandfather's throne, known as the Tianzuo Emperor.
After Emperor Tianzuo came to power, he immediately issued an edict to rehabilitate his grandmother and parents, and then opened the coffin of Yelü Yixin and killed and deposed his henchmen, making the court almost empty (Note: 8 years before Yelü Yanxi ascended the throne, Yelü Yixin was killed by Emperor Daozong of Liao for plotting to kill his grandson, but the henchmen still filled the court). Previously, under the 46-year rule of Emperor Daozong of Liao, the empire's politics were becoming darker and more decaying, and the country's power was deteriorating, and the subjects did not want the new emperor to change course and revive the empire's glory, but the performance of the Tianzuo Emperor disappointed them greatly.
The Tianzuo Emperor slacked off and fainted, leading to the demise of the Liao Dynasty
Compared with his grandfather, Emperor Tianzuo was even more incompetent in terms of fainting, and during his reign, he entrusted all the major affairs of the military state to the chancellor Xiao Fengxian to deal with, and the advance and retreat of officials, rewards and punishments were all determined by his likes and dislikes, while the emperor himself put all his energy into hunting and was not in charge of the capital for many years. Emperor Tianzuo's slackness and fainting caused extremely bad influences, including strife between clans and nobles and uprisings one after another, and rebellions of vassal states and subordinate tribes outside, making the rule of the Liao Dynasty precarious.
02 The twilight is poor
The Jurchens scattered between the white mountains and black waters endured the oppression of the Liao Dynasty for a long time, and the Liao Emperor would hold a grand banquet every spring after hunting the first fish, summoning the leaders of the Jurchen tribes to come to worship and forcing them to sing and dance to show their authority, known as the "Head Fish Feast". In the second year of Tianqing (1112), Emperor Tianzuo held a head fish feast in Chaotong River according to the custom, and ordered the chief of the Yan tribe to finish Yan Aku to sing and dance to help him, but the latter refused. Afterwards, the angry Tianzuo Emperor originally wanted to kill Ah Kuanta, but thanks to Xiao Fengxian's persuasion, he gave up.
Images of Kintaso
Although he temporarily recovered a life, Guanyan Akuta knew that Emperor Tianzuo would still pick him up sooner or later, so with the principle of "first strike is strong", he rebelled against the Liao in the fourth year of Tianqing (1114), and led 4,000 warriors to defeat 100,000 Liao troops in the Battle of Chuhedian, creating a miracle in the history of Chinese warfare. After this battle, the Liao army was as afraid of the Jurchens as a tiger, and Guanyan Agu also took the opportunity to capture the Liao state in the northeast, and established himself as emperor in the fifth year of Tianqing (1115), with the founding name of Jin.
After Yan Aku became emperor, he continued to sweep through the enemy territory with the power of destruction and decay, and by the time of the Tenth Year of Tianqing (1120), the Jin soldiers had already captured the capital of the Liao Dynasty, Shangjing (the site is in the south of Lindong Town, Lindong, in present-day Balin, Inner Mongolia). In the face of the unusually ferocious attack of the Jin soldiers, the Tianzuo Emperor did not organize effective resistance, but took refuge in Jiashan (大青山, northwest of the town of Saraqi in present-day Baotou, Inner Mongolia). During this period, emperor Tianzuo listened to Xiao Fengxian's rumors and killed the second son of the emperor, Yelü Aolu, who was deeply respected, which made the country chill and disintegrate.
Schematic diagram of the Jinliao War
Due to the closed environment and lack of information, after the Tianzuo Emperor fled into Jiashan Mountain, his whereabouts were not known to the outside world for a long time. In order to stabilize the hearts and minds of the army and the people, Yelü Chun, who remained in Nanjing, officially ascended the throne as emperor with the support of the generals Xiao Han and Yelü Dashi, known in history as northern Liao. However, the Northern Liao only lasted more than a year before it was destroyed by the combined forces of Jin and Song, and most of the land of the Liao Dynasty fell into the hands of the enemy. By the time of the fourth year of Bao Da (1124), emperor Tianzuo was still trapped in Jiashan Mountain, and most of his family and subordinates were killed or captured.
03 Captured and tragically killed
However, while the world was waiting for emperor Tianzuo to concede defeat, the emperor who had been faint all his life suddenly aroused his ambitions and planned to lead the remnants of the army to retake Yanzhou, Yunzhou and other places, and then Xu Tu would restore the great cause. Unsurprisingly, Emperor Tianzuo's plans were ruthlessly crushed by fate, and the remnants of the Liao Dynasty were devastated in Wuzhou, and Emperor Tianzuo was captured by the Jin general Yan Lou on his way to the new city of Yingzhou, in August of the fifth year of Baoda (1125). At this point, the Liao Dynasty, which was founded in 218 years, collapsed (Note: Wuzhou was in present-day Shenchi County, Shanxi Province, and Yingzhou New Town was in the west of present-day Huairen County, Shanxi Province).
Statue of Kim Taejong
The end of the Tianzuo Emperor can be described as extremely tragic. According to the "History of Liao", after Emperor Tianzuo was escorted to the Jin capital Shangjing, he received the favor of Emperor Taizong of Jin and was crowned as the King of the Seashore, but soon died of inexplicable illness (Note: Two years before, Emperor Tianzuo died of illness and was succeeded by his younger brother Yan Sheng). However, according to the historical book "Great Song Xuan and Testament", the Tianzuo Emperor lived for a long time after being captured, until he was brutally killed by the Jin Emperor.
According to the book, in June of the first year of the Jin Dynasty (1156), Yan Liang ordered the captured Song Qinzong and The Tianzuo Emperor to participate in a polo match, and as a result, Song Qinzong, who was suffering from severe wind disease and was not good at equestrianism, soon fell off his horse and was trampled to death by Jin soldiers. Emperor Tianzuo, who was skilled in horsemanship, saw that the situation was not good and tried to rush out of the siege on horseback to escape. Unfortunately, just when the Tianzuo Emperor was about to break out of the encirclement, he was shot by the random arrows of the Jin soldiers, and he was 81 years old.
Finish the statue of Yan Liang
After Emperor Tianzuo was captured, Yelü Dashi led the remnants of the Liao army to move westward, and many years later created an empire in present-day Xinjiang and Central Asia, and followed the name of the Liao state, known as Western Liao (1132-1218). However, although the Western Liao is regarded by some historians as a continuation of the Liao Dynasty, its deeds are also recorded in the "History of Liao", but due to its remote location in the Western Province, coupled with the great difference in culture from the Central Plains, it is not regarded as an orthodox dynasty by most historians. In this way, with the capture of Emperor Tianzuo, the Liao Dynasty has actually perished, and his final tragic end is really regrettable.
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