Author: Chen Erhu
1. The changing situation is helpless
In " Liao History ", there is a legend about Hanchen Gao Xun, saying that his father is Later Jin Dynasty King of Peking, Gao Xintao. Therefore, the author checked the old and new " History of the Five Dynasties ", but could not find any trace of Gao Xintao.
However, in the Five Dynasties there were many high-ranking people, but only one person named Gao was named the King of Peking. This man was Gao Wanxing. He and his younger brother Gao Wanjin were both generals under the powerful Li Maozhen at the beginning, and they surrendered. After the Houliang Dynasty, Gao Wanxing was appointed as the military commander of the Zhongyi Army, and Gao Wanjin was appointed as the military commander of the Baoda Army. Both brothers were "princes" in one party. Later, Gao Wanxing was named the King of Peking. He has a son named Gao Yuntao who succeeds . From this point of view, Gao Xintao and Gao Yuntao should be brothers, both sons of Gao Wanxing.
In the winter of the third year of the Kaiyun of the Later Jin Dynasty and the ninth year of the Liao Huitong year (946 AD), the Later Jin Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty were at odds. The Jin army, led by Du Chongwei, went north to fight against the Liao army. In Yingzhou (now Hejian, Hebei) City) fought a battle with the Liao army, Jin general Liang Hanzhang died in the battle, Du Chongwei withdrew his troops, and faced off with the Liao army across the river at Zhongdu Bridge (now southeast of Zhengding, Hebei) on the Hutuo River . Du Chongwei was afraid of the enemy and feared fighting. Khitan soldiers and horses divided their forces and surrounded them, cutting off their food routes. The Jin army was cut off from food and support and fell into a desperate situation.
In November, Du Chongwei, who had long been harboring misgivings, sent his confidant Gao Xun, the envoy of Zhongmen, to the Khitan camp to ask Taizong of the Liao Yelv Deguang for reward and surrender. Taizong of the Liao could not help but be overjoyed and promised Du Chongwei: " Zhao Yanshou has little prestige and may not be able to become the emperor of China. If you can surrender, I will do it for you."
After hearing this, Du Chongwei "lay down his armor and summoned all the generals to tell him that he would surrender to the enemy." "The generals were astonished. Since the above generals had changed, they bowed their heads and obeyed the order. They jointly signed a surrender order and ordered Gao Xunfu, the envoy of the central gate, to deliver it to the enemy's tent." So they opened the camp gate and led the 200,000 Jin troops to lay down their weapons and surrender. .
It can be said that Yelu Deguang, Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty, took full advantage of the psychology of these Central Plains heroes. They all wanted to fish in troubled waters and become emperor, so he used the puppet emperor as bait to induce Du Chongwei, who was in charge of the army, to lead his army to surrender, which was doomed to the demise of the Later Jin Dynasty.
After Taizong of the Liao Dynasty entered Bianliang, the capital of Jin Dynasty, because Gao Xun was the envoy of Du Chongwei's surrender, he saw that Gao Xun was very good at getting things done, so he appointed Gao Xun as the Sifangguan envoy.
Later promoted general Zhang Yanze was the first person to volunteer to enter the capital of Later Jin Dynasty. He thought that he had done a great job in destroying Later Jin Dynasty, so he became domineering and did whatever he wanted. This Zhang Yanze had a personal grudge with the Gao family, so he led his people after drinking one day. He broke into Gao's family and "murdered his father-in-law and brother-in-law, leaving their bodies exposed outside the door."
Gao Xun could not bear this tone, so he complained to Taizong of Liao Dynasty and complained about his grievances.
Yelu Deguang asked the surrendered Han officials of the later Jin Dynasty how to deal with the matter. These people deeply hated Zhang Yanze's behavior and suggested that Zhang Yanze's crimes were unpardonable. They argued that Zhang Yanze bullied men and dominated women, killed people illegally, and took away people's property. All kinds of crimes.
Yelv Deguang ordered the evil man Zhang Yanze to be arrested and beheaded, and Gao Xun supervised the execution.
Gao Xun was very grateful to Taizong of the Liao Dynasty for upholding justice and serving him wholeheartedly. Taizong of the Liao Dynasty saw that Gao Xun had some abilities and was dedicated to serving the Liao Dynasty, so he relied on him as a confidant and promoted Gao Xun to the position of Xuanhui envoy. He followed the Khitans wholeheartedly.
Taizong of the Liao Dynasty took control of the Central Plains and entered Bianjing (Kaifeng). The officials of the former and post-Jin Dynasties had their own agendas when facing the new master. Running to the west of Shu, Liu Zhiyuan, a powerful vassal in the east of Hedong, even sat on the mountain to watch the fight between tigers and wait for the situation to change.
When Yelu Deguang, Taizong of the Liao Dynasty, saw many local officials and people spontaneously resisting the Khitans, he felt deeply that the Central Plains was not a place to stay for a long time.He sent Geng Chongmei as the envoy of Zhaoyi Festival to guard Luzhou, Gao Tangying as the envoy of Zhangde Festival to Xiangzhou, etc., and left Xiao Han to stay in Bianjing. Then he led his troops to leave Bianjing and return to the north, accompanied by several civil and military officials of the Jin Dynasty. Thousands of people, Gao Xun was also among those heading north.
Walking to Tangyin, Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty climbed a hill. When he asked about the name of this hill, Yelv Deguang said with emotion to Gao Xun who was accompanying him: "I was in the country above and enjoyed hunting. Until now. It's so depressing. I will return home today without regrets!" After hearing this, Gao Xun said to the Han ministers privately: "This is unlucky. It seems that he will die soon!" After hearing this, everyone looked at him in surprise. With Gao Xun.
Sure enough, when Taizong of the Liao Dynasty arrived in Lincheng (now Hebei), he fell ill. After reaching Luancheng (now Luancheng, Hebei), his condition worsened and his fever persisted. Sha Hulin died in the north of Luancheng. , everyone secretly admired Gao Xun for his mastery of things.
2. Saving Li Huan with wit
The death of Taizong Yelv Deguang of Liao Dynasty changed the situation suddenly. At that time, Zhao Yanshou, King of Yan among the Han officials, thought that his chance to become emperor had come, because Taizong Yelu Deguang of Liao Dynasty had promised him As the "Lord of the Central Plains", Taizong of Liao Dynasty did not fulfill his promise, which made him feel very unbalanced.
This time he led his troops to enter Zhenzhou City first, and said to his subordinates: "I will never enter Longsha again!" What he meant was that he would not go to the Khitan mainland, but would proclaim himself emperor in the Central Plains, and claimed that he was in accordance with the imperial edict of Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty. Quan was informed of the military and state affairs of the Southern Dynasty, and issued edicts to all states and counties.
King Yongkang Yelu Ruan, the son of King Dongdan Yelvbei who followed Taizong of Liao Dynasty to destroy Jin, seized the opportunity and contacted King Yeluhou of the South Courtyard and King Yeluwa of the North Courtyard who held military power, and gained the unanimous support of King Yongkang. For the emperor.
Zhao Yanshou was ambitious to be the emperor, but he had many worries. Someone came up with a plan to let him become the emperor first, but he was hesitant. He reported the conspiracy to proclaim himself emperor to Yelu Ruan.
Yelu Ruan invited Zhao Yanshou, Zhang Li, Li Song, Feng Dao and other Han officials to the big tent for the banquet. The banquet had just begun, and Yelu Ruan calmly said to Zhao Yanshou: "My sister has come to Beijing, do you want to meet her?" Yelu Ruan's wife served Zhao Yanshou as a brother. Zhao Yanshou did not expect that there was a fraud in this, so he happily followed Yelu Ruan. Ruan moved into the back tent, and after a while, Yelu Ruan came out alone and said to Zhang Li and others: "The King of Yan has been arrested for treason. Don't be alarmed, let's drink!" Everyone looked at each other and did not dare to say anything.
So, Yelu Ruan ascended the throne as Liao Shizong. Because Gao Xun informed Zhao Yanshou of Zhao Yanshou's movements, he won the trust of Emperor Shizong of the Liao Dynasty and replaced Zhao Yanshou's position. Gao Xun was appointed Privy Envoy of the South Academy, in charge of the Han military, and became the leader of the Han army. However, Emperor Shizong of the Liao Dynasty still regarded Zhao Yanshou as a close friend and named him King of Wei. He stayed in Nanjing (Zhao Yanshou died of illness a year later, feeling unhappy).
In the fifth year of Tianlu, Emperor Shizong of Liao Dynasty (AD 951), Later Han Emperor Liu Zhiyuan's younger brother Liu Chong sent envoys to ask for help, because the Later Han Dynasty established by his brother Liu Zhiyuan was usurped by Guo Wei, and his son was killed as well. Played with him a lot. Liu Chong proclaimed himself emperor in Taiyuan, and the country's name was still in Han Dynasty. It was called Northern Han in history. He also asked for help from the Khitan people, calling him nephew and asking for canonization. Liao Shizong was naturally happy, so he sent the royal family Yan Wang Lingwa and Gao Xun as envoys to Taiyuan to canonize Liu Chong as Emperor Shenwu of the Han Dynasty.
Emperor Shizong of the Liao Dynasty felt that the opportunity to compete in the Central Plains had come, so he ignored the objections of his relatives and relatives and wanted to march to the south of the country. He marched to the Huoshen Lake of Xianggu Mountain in the west of Guihua Prefecture (Xuanhua, Hebei Province) and worshiped his father Yelvbei in the palace. Then there was a banquet for all the ministers, who were killed by the royal family Taining King Chacha. The son of Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty, Yelu Jing, quelled the rebellion of Chaka with the support of Yelv Jingzhi in Youpishi. This was Mu Zong of the Liao Dynasty.
Gao Xun was still reused by Muzong of Liao Dynasty, and was named King of Zhao, and he was appointed to stay in Beijing.At that time, there was a man named Li Huan who was an official in the Later Jin Dynasty with Gao Xun and also came to Khitan together. During the reign of Muzong of Liao Dynasty, he was the minister of the Ministry of Industry. A letter came, inviting him to return south. Li Huan was not accustomed to the nomadic life in the north, so he pretended to go to Nanjing to see a doctor, changed his clothes, and prepared to escape across the border at night. Unexpectedly, he was caught by patrolling Liao soldiers in Zhuozhou and sent to prison. Li Huan knew full well that he was treason. The crime of surrendering to the enemy was very serious, so he took advantage of the jailer's relaxation and used his clothes belt to commit suicide. On the way to Beijing, he committed suicide by throwing himself into the Huanghe River (today's Xilamulun River), but he did not die.
When Gao Xun heard about Li Huan, he personally excused Li Huan to Emperor Muzong of the Liao Dynasty and said: "Li Huan is not an ungrateful person who betrays his country and surrenders to the enemy, just because he has an eighty-year-old mother in the south whom he has not seen for several years. Li Huan wanted to go back to visit his old mother, so he violated the law. He was willing to ask the Holy Spirit to show mercy. He is a rare talent with high literary attainments. There are few people who can compare with him today. He is good at writing. It will bring glory to the country." So, Emperor Muzong of Liao Dynasty took Li Huan into custody and restricted some of his freedom.
Later, Muzong of the Liao Dynasty built a merit monument for his father, Taizong of the Liao Dynasty, Yelu Deguang. Gao Xun lost no time and said: "No one can write the inscription on the monument of Taizong's merits and virtues except Li Huan."
So, Emperor Muzong of the Liao Dynasty let Li Huan go. When Li Huan finished writing the inscription, Emperor Muzong of the Liao Dynasty was very happy and immediately appointed Li Huan. He was the minister of the Ministry of Rites and was soon promoted to bachelor of Xuanzheng Palace.
3. Involved in the power struggle
Later, Gao Xun was transferred to stay in Nanjing (which is today's Beijing).
At this time, the Central Plains Dynasty was already in the Northern Song Dynasty Taizu Zhao Kuangyin period. Liao Nanjing (today's Beijing) can be said to be a military center. In the border area under its jurisdiction, there were three passes belonging to the Northern Song Dynasty: Xiongzhou Waqiao Pass and Xin'an There were frequent frictions between the Liao and Song dynasties around Yukou Pass and Bazhou Yijin Pass. Due to repeated wars, Yilu Pass was very dilapidated. The Northern Song Dynasty border general wanted to repair Yijin Pass. Gao Xun found out the news and wrote to the court to "ask for leave to patrol to disturb it." With the approval of Muzong of the Liao Dynasty, Gao Xun led the army Soldiers and horses robbed and killed men and horses transporting construction materials in the Northern Song Dynasty. The border generals of the Northern Song Dynasty heard about it and dispatched their troops. They exchanged fire with the Liao army led by Gao Xun. They were defeated by Gao Xun. The Northern Song Dynasty's plan to repair Yijin Pass fell through.
Gao Xun was victorious at Yijin Pass. Emperor Muzong of the Liao Dynasty was very happy and transferred him back to the capital to serve as the privy envoy of the South Academy.
Mu Zong of Liao Dynasty was a foolish king who drank and killed people all day long. He was eventually killed by several servants in the Black Mountain of Huaizhou.
Gao Xun led a thousand armored troops and five hundred cavalry led by Feilongshi (the leader of the Royal Horse Court) Nu Gu, guarding the son of Liao Shizong Yelv Ruan Yelv Xian rushed to the Black Mountain Palace as soon as possible, and in the waiter Xiao Siwen With the unanimous approval of and others, they supported Yelvxian as emperor, that is, Liao Jingzong.
Gao Xun was awarded the title of King of Qin for his merits in making decisions. But Gao Xun is not the biggest beneficiary, the biggest beneficiary is Xiao Siwen. It can be said that this Xiao Siwen is not a simple person. He comes from a descendant clan and is the nephew of the founding father Xiao Dilu. He married the daughter of Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty, the eldest princess of the Yan Kingdom. The eldest princess of the Yan Kingdom gave him three daughters. .
The eldest daughter Yilan married Taizu of Liao The youngest son Li Hu's son Xiyin; the second daughter Hu Nian married Liao Muzong's younger brother Guisa brother, and the third daughter Yanyan married Liao Jingzong.
Xiao Siwen became the most powerful person in the Khitan Dynasty. He was the abbot of the dynasty, the king of Wei, the privy envoy of the Beiyuan and the prime minister of the Beiyuan. He was responsible for military and state affairs, which naturally aroused the dissatisfaction and hatred of some people.
In the second year of Baoning (AD 970) of Liao Jingzong, a very strange thing happened. When Xiao Siwen accompanied Liao Jingzong to Tokyo and returned, he was attacked by unknown "robbers" in a place called Pandaoling. It seems that This group of robbers acted daringly. In broad daylight, their target was not Yelvxian of Liao Jingzong, but Xiao Siwen. They rushed up and hacked Xiao Siwen to death with a flurry of knives.
This is the "Pandaoling Assassination Case". Although after investigation, it was confirmed that it was the three brothers Xiao Haizhi, Xiao Haili and Xiao Shidu. Therefore, Xiao Haizhi and Xiao Haili were executed, and Xiao Shendu was sentenced to death. When he arrived at Huanglong Mansion, he was also beheaded a year later. However, there are many doubts about this matter, and there are many mysteries and unclear explanations. The brothers Xiao Haizhi and Xiao Siwen are both descendants of the Xiao family. Is there any deep hatred between them? Rebellions and murders occurred frequently during the Liao Dynasty's struggle for the throne, and there was no assassination of a minister. When Yelvxian, Emperor Jingzong of the Liao Dynasty, was traveling, he was escorted by the elite Pishi Army of the Palace Guards. He was heavily guarded along the way. How could a group of bandits succeed so easily?
Yelvxian went to Tokyo, surrounded by the emperor's relatives, civil and military ministers, and so on. Why was it not the emperor who was assassinated but Xiao Siwen? Whether this robber or Xiao Hai's brother, what is his purpose? How could the robber succeed in one blow if he hadn't made a careful arrangement and cooperated inside and outside? A few years later, by a very "accidental" opportunity, Nüli, who supported Liao Jingzong at that time, was arrested for "hiding armor", and a letter was found in his sleeve. The content of the letter was Nüli. He was the mastermind involved in the assassination of Xiao Siwen, and the other mastermind was Gao Xun, the protagonist of this article. I really don’t understand that there is something wrong with this girl Gu’s nerves. For several years, she has been carrying “evidence” in her sleeve that she was the mastermind behind Xiao Siwen’s assassination? Are you looking for death?
At this time, Gao Xun had also lost his glory and had just been assigned to Tongzhou.
Why was Gao Xun assigned? What happened was also a bit strange.
Gao Xun once suggested in court: There are many wastelands and puddles around Nanjing, which can make full use of water resources and allow people to grow rice. After hearing this, Emperor Jingzong of the Liao Dynasty thought the idea was good, so he agreed. Xu Zhi, when he went to court the next day, Lin Yayelukun stood up and played Gao Xun's book: "Gao Xun's performance must have different aspirations. Guo Lingzhong If we want to divert water to form a border for rice, how can the government and troops come in if we rebel against the capital?" Then, Liao Jingzong began to have doubts about Gao Xun and rejected Gao Xun's suggestion of diverting water to grow rice.
Actually, how could Gao Xun have evil intentions? He is also out of consideration for the country and the common people. The common people have fields and are rich, so they naturally live and work in peace and contentment. However, people with ulterior motives come online. There must be a pusher behind this, which implies a struggle between power and party, and someone deliberately wants to do it. Framing Gao Xun.
What happened next was even more unexpected: Liao Jingzong had a younger brother, Yelu, who was not named Prince Ning. His wife An only had nothing to do. She "made poison" and gave it to Gao Gao. Xun, Gao Xun was so "short-minded" that he gave the poisoned wine to the prince-in-law Xiao Chuili. Xiao Chuili's wife was the sister of Liao Jingzong and Gu Gu. Naturally, He Gu was also the sister of Yelu Jimo. , it turned out that their purpose was to use this poisonous wine to poison Queen Xiao Empress Xiao Yanyan to death. As a result, the matter was exposed. Yelu was not exiled to the Wugu tribe. His wife was unlucky and was beheaded, and Gao Xun was exiled to Tongzhou.
Nowadays, Gao Xun is the main culprit in "murdering" the father-in-law of the country. Regardless of whether Liao Jingzong wants it or not, he has to send people to Tongzhou to kill Gao Xun.
Writing this, it seems that this article should be over, but the author feels that Gao Xun's death was unjust. There are many shady stories that we don't know, and they are sealed in time. Politics and power struggles, conspiracies are everywhere.
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