Across the Water Margin: Officials of Ximen

Page 371

I also don't know what Zhao Liangsi's intention was in the first place when he abandoned his high-ranking officials and rich salary, and went south to help the Song Dynasty and destroy the Liao Dynasty so enthusiastically.

Chapter 6 and Six: The Traitors of the Four Great Families

Zhao Liangsi has been in the officialdom of the Song Dynasty for many years, and it has been ten years since he first offered his time to Tong Guan.The Jurchens have also developed from a tribal alliance to a powerful country in Liaodong, and are aggressively attacking Liao alone.

After several twists and turns, ten years later, Zhao Liangsi finally ushered in the opportunity to be an envoy to the Kingdom of Jin, unite with the Jin to destroy the Liao Dynasty, help the Song Dynasty regain Yanyun, and realize his personal ambition.

At this time, Zhao Liangsi's official position was promoted to Zhongfeng Dafu, the seventh rank of Wensan official, and he was the fourth rank.Compared with the Cong Sanpin of Guangluqing of the Liao Kingdom, it is still a little worse.

Ximen Qing looked at Zhao Liangsi, who was seven feet long, about 40 years old, handsome in appearance, well-mannered and well-spoken. He was indeed a son of a wealthy family. Between Song and Jin, and was favored by the emperor Song Huizong who valued appearance, he left his mark in history.

However, in Ximen Qing's eyes, Zhao Liangsi was a traitor after all, and he ended up with a tragic ending that was somewhat unwelcome.

You must know that Zhao Liangsi went south to defect to the Song Dynasty and offered his plan to destroy the Liao Dynasty. He not only betrayed the Liao court, but also betrayed and betrayed his own family and the Han family in the Yanyun area.

In the Liao Kingdom, in addition to the Khitan nobles, the upper-level rulers also included bureaucratic and landlord families including the Han, Bohai, and Xi.Not only did they share power with the Khitan nobles and maintain the normal operation of the Khitan and Liao state regime, but they also shared various political privileges unique to the upper-level bureaucratic families for generations.

Among them, Han, Liu, Ma, and Zhao, the four famous surnames of Han, Liu, Ma, and Zhao, are the most representative of the Han bureaucratic family.

These four surnamed Han families have been prominent families in Yanyun area since the end of Tang Dynasty.After the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun entered Liao, they turned to the Khitan rulers one after another and became one of the actual power holders representing the Khitan rulers in this area. Most of the time, they were in power together with the Khitan nobles stationed there.

The Han family among the four major families refers to the Han Yanhui family in Anci County, Youzhou.

Han Yanhui's father's name was Meng Yin. During the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, he was the governor of Ji, Ru and Shun.Han Yanhui himself had also served as the Youzhou Observation Envoy.Later, he was sent to the Liao Kingdom by Lulong Jiedu envoy and Yan Wang Liu Shouguang at the beginning of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He was detained by Yelu Abaoji for observing festivals and unyielding.

Later, after Liu Shouguang's death, Han Yanhui surrendered to the Liao Kingdom, and was highly valued by Yelu Abaoji.

After Han Yanhui's death, the emperor of Liao Kingdom "presented a minister's decree and buried Lu Guo in Youzhou, and he was called Chongwen Linggong for generations." Therefore, the descendants of Han Yanhui's family settled in Yanjing. upper layer.

Among the four major families, the Liu family refers to the Liu Shenxing family in Changping, Yanjing, and was also one of the rich Han families in the Yanyun area of ​​the Liao Dynasty.

Liu Shenxing's ancestors, Liu Tong, Liu Ji and his sons, all served as envoys of Lulong Jiedu in the Tang Dynasty.Liu Jing, the fourth grandson of Liu Bang, once served as the deputy governor of Nanjing in the Liao Kingdom. Liu Shenxing, the son of Liu Jing, was the prime minister of Beifu in the Liao Dynasty.

Liu Shenxing had six sons: Liu Yide, Liu Erxuan, Liu Sangu, Liu Siduan, Liu Wuchang, and Liu Liufu.

At this time, the social status of the Liu family had been further improved. Because Yelu Longxu, the emperor of the Liao Dynasty, who was proficient in Han culture and reused Han ministers, had two daughters marry the Liu family, and two sons-in-law appeared in the Liu family at once.Among them, Liu Sangu married Yelu Bage, the ninth daughter of Shengzong, Princess of Tongchang, and Liu Siduan married the No.11 daughter of Shengzong, Princess Renshou, Yelu Bosi.Moreover, their elder brother Liu Erxuan also married Xiao Shi, the widowed concubine of Yelu Longqing, the late brother of Emperor Shengzong and King Yelu Longqing of Qin and Jin Dynasties.

Therefore, the Liu family was very prosperous for a while, and it is no longer comparable to other surnames of the Han people in Yanyun area.

Of course, to say that the Liu family was already extremely distinguished at this time, one has to mention Liu Liufu, the youngest son of Liu Shenxing.

Liu Liufu, who was fifteen years old, studied classics and history, and also synthesized the opinions of a hundred schools of thought.Long and fond of fame, generous and ambitious, he lived in the dynasties of Shengzong, served as the author of Lang, Zhongyun, and sacrificed wine for Zhan Shi and Guozi.During the Xingzong period, he was a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, a doctor of Youjianyi, Zhi Zhigao, and a fellow student of national history.

During the Chongxi period of Xingzong of Liao Dynasty, there was a border dispute between Liao and Song. Liu Liufu was ordered to send Song to ask for the land of ten counties in Guannan. In the end, although he did not win the land, he also got the 20-year-old coins that the Song court paid tribute every year.Because of this, Liufu was promoted to the prime minister, and the Liao court also made a monument for him because of this incident.

The Ma family in the four major families refers to the Yanjing Ma Zhiwen family.

In Ma Zhiwen's characters, he is a Fufeng man with a prosperous family, and he looks at Yan Ji.In the Liao Kingdom, Ma Zhiwen Zeng Dian Shunzhou, worshiped You Sanqi as a regular servant during the Tianqing period.Ma Zhiwen's fourth son, Ma Mei, was born as a Jinshi.

In addition, from the in-laws of the Ma family, it can also be seen that the family's status is extraordinary.

Ma Zhiwen's wife, Zhang Wan, is the granddaughter of Zhang Jian, the famous prime minister of the Liao Shengzong Dynasty.

Ma Zhiwen's five daughters, the eldest named Brother Shu, married Yeluyun, a Khitan nobleman who had served as the Jiedu envoy of the Wuding Army and the Duke of Fengkai.After Brother Shu's death, Ma Zhiwen remarried the fifth daughter, Brother Sheng, to Yeluyun as his successor.

Ma Zhiwen's second daughter, Chongzheng, married the grandson of Jingjiang Army Liu Hu's grandson Xingchun; the third daughter, Tongzhang, married Li Shi, son of Li Yixun, the governor of various palaces; and the fourth daughter, Yinger, married Zhang Rengui of the Zhang family.

It can be seen from this that the Ma family not only intermarried with the Zhang family and the Liu family of the Yanyun family, but also attached to the Khitan royal family Yelu family.

Through intermarriage, the Ma family formed an intricate network of relationships with other wealthy families in the Yanyun area, and jointly built the framework of the Han noble class in the Liao Dynasty.

The Zhao family among the four major families refers to the Zhao Dejun family.

Zhao Dejun was originally a warlord in Youzhou during the Five Dynasties. Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty attacked Taiyuan, and Zhao Dejun and his son Zhao Yanshou were defeated and captured.

Soon thereafter, Zhao's father and son were reused by the Liao court, and Liao promoted Youzhou to Nanjing, so Zhao Yanshou was sent to Nanjing to stay behind.

In the process of Liao Taizong Yelu Deguang's attack on the Central Plains and the later Jin Dynasty, Zhao Yanshou made great achievements in battle.After Liao Shizong came to the throne, he worried that Zhao Yanshou's power would be too powerful and his ambition would grow, so he deprived him of his military power.But Zhao's family property was not confiscated.

Zhao Dejun had three sons, except the eldest son Yanshou, the second son was named Yanmi, and the third son was named Yanxi.

Zhao Yanmi served as the Jiedu Envoy of Heyang in the Liao Kingdom, General Yunhui, and worshiped Taiwei.

Zhao Yanxi used to be the general of the Zuojianmen of the Liao Kingdom, Situ.

Zhao Dejun's daughter married Liu Min, the prime minister, and was granted the title of Lord of Tianshui County.

The four grandchildren of Zhao Dejun were all officials in the Liao Dynasty, holding important positions such as Jiedushi, Taiwei, and Situ.

Therefore, the Zhao family is also a noble Han family in Yanjing for generations.

In addition to the four great families of Han, Liu, Ma, and Zhao, there were many Han aristocratic families in the Yanyun area of ​​the Liao Dynasty, such as the Zhao Siwen family, Zhang Jian family, Wang Shiru family, Ding Wenyu family, Li Chuwen family, etc. wait.These families were prominent for a while, or flourished for several generations, and their activities had a great impact on the Liao Kingdom.

At this time, Zhao Liangsi, who was exchanging cups with Dengzhou Wang Shizhong in front of Ximenqing, was named Ma Zhi, and he came from the Ma Zhiwen family, one of the four major Han families that ruled Yanjing.

This guy wants to rebel against his own family, he is a naked family traitor!

Chapter 6 and Seven

In the words of later generations, the Han family, represented by the Han, Liu, Ma, and Zhao families in the Yanjing area of ​​Liao, is the proper ruling class of Liao. Through marriages from generation to generation, the Han family in Liao It has long been integrated with the upper nobles of the Khitan and Xi people.The Liao regime is not only the regime of the Khitan and Xi people, but also the regime of the Han people in the north.

In addition to the Yanyun area in the south, in the hinterland of the Liao Dynasty, there were also many wealthy Han nobles in the Huanghe, Tuhe, Zhongjing, and even Tokyo areas in the south of Shangjing Road. They were also an important part of the upper class of the Han people in the Liao Dynasty.Such as the Han Zhigu family, the Geng Yanyi family, the Yao Jingxing family, the Liang Yuan family, the Wang Yu family, the Liu Riyong family, the Li Zhishun family, the Chen Wan family, and so on.The most representative of them is the Han Zhigu family.

Han Zhigu was plundered into the Liao Dynasty, and was reused by the Liao Taizu and Shulu.Especially in the Shengzong period in the middle of the Liao Dynasty, Han Zhigu’s grandson Han Derang became the prime minister of the Liao Kingdom to assist the Liao Shengzong and the Empress Dowager Chengtian’s mother and son in power. The Han family was extremely prosperous and its social status was no longer inferior For the Khitan Emperor and Hou families, the Song people called "the three surnames of Yelu, Xiao, and Han are arbitrary", and the "Han" in it refers to Han Zhigu - the Han Derang family.

The Empress Dowager Xiao Chuo of the Liao Kingdom Chengtian is the famous Empress Xiao in the later Han drama storytelling.In the widely circulated storytelling "General of the Yang Family", there are two hostile camps where the villain bosses are the Empress Dowager Xiao of the Liao Kingdom and Han Derang of the Han family.It can be seen that the Han clan, a wealthy Han family in the Liao Kingdom, had a profound influence on history.

Therefore, the Liao Kingdom is not a country governed by the Khitan ethnic group alone, but a multi-ethnic, nomadic and agricultural civilization co-governed by the Khitan, Xi, Han, Bohai and other aristocratic giants.

When Zhao Liangsi was young, he was able to occupy the third-rank position of Guangluqing in the Liao Kingdom. He was definitely not promoted from a small official based on his personal ability, but relied on the family power of his Ma family.

Just such a person who was lying down and enjoying the blessings of his ancestors suddenly had a whim one day, and wanted to take refuge in the Song State in the south, and unite with the barbaric Jurchens to overthrow his own country, and at the same time overthrow his Ma family's dominance in Yanjing.Frankly speaking, Zhao Liangsi must have an unknown past to break with his backer.

If it is believed that he is the great Song Taiwei Tong Guan who has a heart for the Han regime in the Central Plains and has taken refuge in it because of some great patriotic enthusiasm, then it is even more whimsical and nonsense.

It should be noted that people in the Song and Liao dynasties were not people with modern national consciousness in the nation-states of later generations. They did not have the concept of the Han nationality, and they naturally believed that the Han people should be unified in one country.The Han people at this time, like the previous dynasties, used the names of dynasties to distinguish each other.

During the Warring States period and the troubled times of the later generations, people were divided by region. People who belonged to the state of Qin were called people of Qin, people who belonged to the state of Chu were called people of Chu, and people who belonged to the state of Qi were called people of Qi.During the great unified dynasty, the Han Dynasty was the Han people, and the Tang Dynasty was the Tang people.In the era when the Liao and Song Dynasties were established side by side, the Han people in the Liao Kingdom called themselves Han people or Han'er, but they called the Han people in the Great Song Dynasty Song people or Nan people.

Therefore, for the mainstream Han people in the Liao Kingdom, the Song Dynasty in the south is just a separatist regime established after the Liao Kingdom, and they don't think that they should accept the jurisdiction of the Southern Song Dynasty court.

From the perspective of practical interests, the wealthy Han nobles in the Liao Kingdom would not be willing to merge with the Song Kingdom in the south and be brought under the rule of the Song Kingdom.

Because in the powerful Khitan Liao Kingdom, these aristocratic families have already flourished and entered the ruling center of the Liao Kingdom regime. What is there to be dissatisfied with?

However, if the Yanyun area is annexed by the Song State in the south, the political status of these Han families in the Yanyun area will immediately drop a lot.For Song Ting, who is far away in the Central Plains, the Yanyun area is just the northern frontier. In the eyes of the scholars and bureaucrats in the Central Plains and Jiangnan, the Han people in the Yanyun area are vulgar people with little cultural heritage and tainted with Hu people's customs. .May I ask, how could they allow these aristocratic families of the Han people in the north to enter the political center of the Song Dynasty?

In the Liao state, he could marry the Khitan Yelu family and become the prime minister of a country, but in the Song state, his prospects were bleak, and at most he could be an official in Bianbei County.Comparing the two, how could the wealthy families of the Han people in the Yanyun area have their hearts towards the Song State?For them, Liao is their own country.