Chapter 144 Shi Chonggui

Yelu Deguang did not ignore the traditional nomadic life of the Khitan, nor did he have any idea of ​​replacing it.

In the second year of Tianxian, Yelu Deguang personally inspected the situation of Khitan herds in various places. In addition to the Khitan's traditional system of mobile courts, wherever Yelu Deguang went, he would naturally understand the political and economic conditions of each place, including the herds of local tribes.

In addition, as an emperor who perfected the Khitan system, the animal husbandry system was also among his improvements. Yelu Deguang established a group herd official who was specifically responsible for managing state-owned herds and was responsible for the development of each herd.

The Khitans still attached great importance to animal husbandry, and from this came the emphasis on horseback riding and hunting skills. "The old Khitan custom was to make themselves rich with horses and strong with soldiers. They would let their horses roam free in the fields and relax their soldiers among the people." Even though the importance attached to agriculture increased and a large number of Han people joined, the Khitans did not change their attitude towards horseback riding and hunting skills. Even their concubines "were good at archery and chariot driving, and would never fail to follow them in military campaigns and hunting."

In fact, many Han nobles who joined the Khitan also began to attach importance to horse riding and archery, and regarded them as basic skills.

This situation continued until the demise of the Liao Dynasty.

This situation is different from some later non-Han dynasties.

Of course, the benefits that gaining Yanyun brought to Yelu Deguang and the Khitan were not limited to this.

Take salt for example. Khitan did not have many sources of salt before, which was enough but not abundant. After obtaining the Yanyun area, "they began to benefit from the boiling sea in Hejian", so they first established a salt-monopoly office in Xianghe County, which later developed into the main salt-producing area of ​​the Liao Dynasty, and "the five capitals were responsible for it according to their own areas." 】

Ming Dynasty, during the Hongwu period.

Zhu Di said: "The Liao Dynasty did play a great role in the recovery and development of the Yanyun area, but the Khitans did not treat the Han people equally." It is undeniable that in the war-torn environment at the time, Yelu Deguang and the Khitans protected the Yanyun area and adopted the policy of "governing according to local customs" in the Yanyun area. They did not force the Han people and did not set up several levels of ethnic groups.

However, although the political system did not force changes or discriminate against the Han people, from the perspective of punishment, politics and other aspects, the Han people were ultimately the discriminated party.

"No way, it was a Khitan dynasty after all," Zhu Chong sighed. Although, apart from the Yuan Dynasty, the Liao and Jin dynasties basically did not directly formulate any policies that discriminated against the Han people, they could not make the Han people the political core after all - and sinicization was not an option. The Liao Dynasty was fine, as the northern and southern official system ensured stability and eased conflicts. However, the Jin Dynasty was too radical in sinicization...

The princes whispered to each other for a while, and then found that their father didn't seem to pay much attention to this side, which made them feel a little strange.

Ever since Zhu Yuanzhang learned that the Ming Dynasty he founded was destroyed and that it was succeeded by a foreign dynasty, he has always felt a heavy weight on his heart.

At this moment, seeing the phrase "some non-Han dynasties that followed", he could not help but think of this matter again - after Liao, what other non-Han dynasties were there? Jin and Yuan did indeed quickly "abandon the bow and horse, and become unfamiliar with riding and shooting"... Was it the same with the Qing?
This is even more infuriating, isn't it?!

A man who was able to quickly abandon bows, horseback riding and archery after entering the Central Plains... Although according to Zhu Yuanzhang's speculation, firearms must have been involved in the battles at that time, but, but, after all, they were non-Han people from outside the Great Wall, and they actually threw away their original traditions so quickly... Doesn't this further illustrate what his Ming Dynasty finally became!
Qing Dynasty, the 28th year of Kangxi's reign.

Kangxi felt a little uncomfortable. Didn’t this “different from some later non-Han dynasties” refer to his Qing Dynasty?
He was aware of the current situation in the Qing Dynasty. Although several generations of emperors had never stopped promoting the importance and cultural value of archery, the Eight Banners quickly discarded these after entering the Pass. Even if they were not thrown away, many of them were left as mere decorations and could not be used in combat.

Among them, the middle and lower level bannermen were particularly corrupted rapidly.

However, the current situation of the Eight Banners cannot be easily reversed. It involves the basic national policy and fundamental system of the Qing Dynasty, the money of the Qing Dynasty treasury, and the promotion of bannermen...

The Eight Banners are the foundation, but the problems he faces now are not limited to the Eight Banners.

The princes secretly watched the emperor's expression. They also knew that the Liao Dynasty's horseback archery could easily be linked to the Qing Dynasty. After thinking about the emperor, the older princes who had entered the court secretly decided to include horseback archery in their daily routine and strengthen their training. After all, judging from the emperor's current performance, he might suddenly ask them to do a horseback archery match one day. If they were not skilled enough and thus offended him, it would be bad.

[Of course, although Yelu Deguang inherited Yelu Abaoji's emphasis on the Han people, and Shulü Ping, who often stabilized the rear, also attached importance to the Han people, their core was still the Khitan.

There were actually many inequalities between the Han and Khitan people. "When a Khitan and a Han fight to death, the punishment is not equal." From the most basic legal point of view, the punishment for the Khitans is lighter than that for the Han. Although this situation has improved over time, such as during the reign of Emperor Shengzong of Liao, the Khitans and the Han were "treated the same", and the Khitans who committed the ten evils were also punished by the Han laws, that is, the "Lvling".

But in the final analysis, there are still differences between Khitan, Han people and Bohai people. 】

Song Dynasty, Kaibao period.

Zhao Kuangyin agreed with this very much: "That's right, so the Great Song is better! The Han people in the Yanyun area should come to the Great Song for this reason. No matter how powerful the Liao Kingdom is, it is impossible for them to truly treat the Han people equally. Even those who pass the imperial examination may not be able to realize their ambitions in the Liao Kingdom with their achievements."

Although the Song Dynasty had many problems, in this respect, wasn't it much better than the Liao Dynasty? We were all Han Chinese, so there was no discrimination. As for the difference between the nobles and the common people, Zhao Kuangyin admitted that it did exist, but wasn't it the same for the Liao Dynasty?

Liao Dynasty, the first year of Huihe.

Yelu Deguang was not surprised, nor did he think there was anything wrong with the evaluation of miracles, which did exist, but he was also very clear about it - after all, this was the Khitan dynasty, and it was still necessary to safeguard the interests of its own nation. Moreover, although the Han people were different from the Khitan people, would those important Han aristocratic families who entered the ruling class really suffer in this regard?
At the very least, no one would want to use these Han ministers he trusted, such as Han Yanhui, to control him.

Governing according to local customs allows ordinary Han people to meet their daily needs, but political attitude is what can truly guarantee the rule over the Han people - the political attitude towards the Han ethnic group.

[Zhao Yanshou, who was highly valued by Yelu Deguang, played a huge role in another important Khitan military operation in the Central Plains.

In the fifth year of Huihe, Shi Jingtang died, and his nephew and adopted son, Shi Chonggui, succeeded him. 】Seeing this, everyone understood the situation.

Someone said coldly: "It's a change of person. The young man doesn't want to be a vassal anymore. He wants to be independent and become a real emperor... I just don't know what kind of brain this Shi Chonggui has."

Whether it was a failure in the end after much planning, or a decision made in the heat of the moment, those are two different matters.

[Shi Chonggui's biological father was Shi Jingtang's elder brother Shi Jingru, who was a cavalry general of Li Cunxu, the Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang.

After his death, Shi Jingtang adopted Shi Chonggui as his son, and loved and respected him very much. After he became emperor, he entrusted him with many tasks. However, Shi Chonggui was a man of cautious words and deeds, simple and honest character, and he also liked riding horses and hunting.

The most crucial appointment during the time he followed Shi Jingtang was when Shi Jingtang went south to Luoyang to destroy the Later Tang Dynasty. He was appointed as the Beijing Governor, and was granted the title of Jinzi Guanglu Dafu, Jianxiu Situ, Acting Taiyuan Yin, and the governor of Hedong, and was in charge of Taiyuan affairs.

This was a very important assignment, as it was both the rear base and the foundation of the Shi family, but Shi Chonggui was "unpopular".

In the fifth year of Huitong, which was also the seventh year of Tianfu in the Later Jin Dynasty, Shi Jingtang passed away, and the 28-year-old Shi Chonggui succeeded to the throne in front of his coffin - there are still some theories about Shi Chonggui's succession. 】

Han Dynasty, during the first year before Emperor Wen.

Liu Heng suddenly felt that the situation of the Later Jin Dynasty was not good.

He was surrounded by his own generals, and was personally appointed by Shi Jingtang to stay in Taiyuan, which was Shi Jingtang's territory for many years. The result of Shi Jingtang's trip to Luoyang was a sure victory...

Under such conditions, is it difficult to improve your reputation?
As a result, Shi Chonggui did not have much reputation, but he had not accumulated any reputation at all.

With such abilities, can we expect that he will make a 180-degree turn when he ascends the throne one day, receive blessing from heaven, suddenly become enlightened, be proficient in all kinds of conspiracies and schemes, and have a clear understanding of the strategies for governing the country?
They had previously speculated that after Shi Chonggui came to power, he wanted to do what his adoptive father had never done: to break away from the Khitan. It was not about whether the strength of the Later Jin Dynasty at that time could achieve such a result, but if the monarch did not have a complete and feasible overall strategy in mind, it would be fatal.

Liu Qi looked at his father's expression and knew what he was thinking. He quickly added, "There is another story about Shi Chonggui's accession to the throne." Regardless of the truth, the fact that there is a story means that the legitimacy of Shi Chonggui's succession is questioned. Once the legitimacy of succession can be questioned, it will take a lot of effort to deal with it, unless he simply gives up.

With this premise, it is hard not to wonder whether Shi Chonggui's desire to break away from the Khitan and at least gain independence in name was partly to enhance his own reputation and offset those who questioned his legitimacy?

After all, for an emperor of a country to serve an emperor of a foreign race as his father and be his subject is not something that can make the people of the country obedient.

[Shi Jingtang had six sons, five of whom died early, leaving only one youngest son, Shi Chongrui. During the time when Shi Jingtang was seriously ill, he began to make plans for his youngest son.

At that time, Feng Dao was the prime minister of the Later Jin Dynasty. Shi Jingtang trusted and relied on him, "regardless of the matter, no matter how big or small, all matters were entrusted to him." So, during a private meeting between the emperor and his ministers, Shi Jingtang entrusted his youngest son Shi Chongrui to Feng Dao, and wanted Feng Dao to assist him in succeeding to the throne.

Shi Chongrui was very young, and Shi Jingtang even asked the eunuch to hold him in Feng Dao's arms.

However, after Shi Jingtang passed away, Feng Dao discussed with Shi Jingtang's trusted general Jing Yanguang, who served as the commander-in-chief of the imperial guards, and supported Shi Chonggui on the grounds that "the country is in many troubles and it is appropriate to establish an older ruler."

After Shi Chonggui succeeded to the throne, in addition to holding a funeral for Shi Jingtang and handling various matters related to the succession, he also reported the death to the Khitan. Upon hearing the news, Yelu Deguang stopped attending court for seven days and sent envoys to offer condolences. This was in June.

In July, the envoys sent by the Later Jin Dynasty to express their gratitude, General Liang Yan of the Jinwu Guard and Zhu Chongjie, the judge of the Sifangguan, arrived in Khitan and handed over Shi Chonggui's letter to Yelu Deguang - in the letter, he only called him grandson, not subject.

(Shi Chonggui has average ability, but he is very courageous and dares to fight against the Khitan.)
(Yeah, but unfortunately there is no one around to help.)
(He was unable to continue to do good to the people and was ungrateful and treacherous.)
Tang Dynasty, Zhenguan period.

The emperors and ministers of the Zhenguan period were not very surprised to see Feng Dao and Jing Yanguang support Shi Chonggui as emperor because of his age.

After all, it seemed that Shi Chongrui was too young - he could be picked up by the eunuch and held in Feng Dao's arms, which meant he was a real young boy!

According to the political situation of the Later Jin Dynasty and the external environment of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, a young ruler is obviously not a good choice, especially when there are other candidates. Even if a young ruler is assisted by a prime minister who holds the power of the country, can he really sit on the throne and stabilize the country?
Obviously not.

Moreover, Shi Jingtang did not do this openly, but entrusted it to Feng Dao alone. Although it is understandable that he trusted Feng Dao, it was not an easy thing to support the young ruler. In most cases, the ministers who did this were either killed by other ministers and the young ruler was also deposed; or they became powerful ministers and turned around to fight with the supported young ruler.

If the above events happened, regardless of who would win or lose, or who would be more capable of governing the world, the storms in the central government alone would bring great turmoil to the country, and it would be an unknown whether the Later Jin Dynasty could continue to exist.

However, this stone is precious...

Although they all thought that Shi Chonggui had begun to express his independence to Yelu Deguang, no one expected that he would express it so early! He had just ascended the throne, but he began to call himself a grandson instead of a subject?
Li Shimin didn't understand: "Shouldn't we lower our posture temporarily, wait until we have sorted out the domestic political situation, gained control of the military power, understood our own military situation and combat level, and formulated a plan, and then start preparing to tear each other apart?" Even he, who was not afraid of war, would not do something that would very likely become an excuse for starting a war without even having a good grasp of the information.

Even if they did not understand the situation in the Later Jin Dynasty, they knew that there was at least the problem of generals and governors of local military governors.

(End of this chapter)