Chapter 267: Yelu Bei and Yelu Ruan

In the fourth month of 936, the Guiyi Army resolved to send a tribute-horse mission of more than seventy men from Dunhuang to the imperial court, with Jia Yanchang, Grand Commissioner of Internal Revenue before the Governor's Office and Escort Officer before the Military Governor's Office, as chief envoy, and Long Bian, Chief Buddhist Controller of Hexi, as deputy envoy.

Though called a tribute-horse mission, its greatest tasks were to seek for Cao Yuanzhong the posts of Honorary Minister of Education, Surveillance and Disposition Commissioner of Gua and Sha Prefectures, Commissioner of Tribal Affairs, and concurrently Prefect of Shazhou, and to seek for Zhang Zhao appointment as Commissioner of the Guiyi Army.

To keep the court from growing suspicious, Zhang Zhao had specially selected five horses of excellent appearance from his three-generation Ferghana blood-sweat steeds to present as tribute to the Emperor.

Zhang Zhao reckoned, however, that Li Congke, the last emperor of the Later Tang, would most likely never get to enjoy these fine horses.

For at the very time Zhang Zhao dispatched the tribute-horse mission, Li Congke formally issued an edict transferring Shi Jingtang from Military Governor of Hedong to Military Governor of Tianping, seeking thereby to weaken Shi Jingtang's military power.

Shi Jingtang of course refused the transfer, and went further by directly submitting a memorial denouncing Li Congke's accession as illegitimate, declaring that the throne should immediately be yielded to Prince Xu, Li Congyi — formally opening the prelude to rebellion.

Eight months later, in the twelfth month, Li Congke burned himself to death on Xuanwu Tower together with his mother Empress Dowager Cao, his wife Empress Liu, and the Crown Prince Li Chongmei.

That was why Zhang Zhao was willing to part with famous horses and treasures in pursuit of investiture — if he went too slowly, those two posts would be conferred by Shi Jingtang instead.

The post of Commissioner of the Guiyi Army in particular could only be conferred by the Later Tang — the Later Tang was, after all, still a Tang — but if it were conferred by a child-emperor like Shi Jingtang, what "return to allegiance" could one even speak of?

At the same time, there was another advantage: it could help Zhang Zhao, once he held the post of Commissioner of the Guiyi Army, obtain the office of Military Governor of Hexi.

Had there been no upheaval in the Central Plains, it would have been utterly impossible for Zhang Zhao to hold both Military Governor of Hexi and Commissioner of the Guiyi Army concurrently — everyone knew how fearsome a Guiyi Army Military Governor who controlled Hexi would be.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang had once said, "That the west produces generals — is that an empty saying!" The land of Hexi had always been a place that bred famous generals and fierce folkways; it not only produced generals, it damn well produced ferocious soldiers too.

In this place, various Qiang peoples, Tibetans, Tuyuhun, and Han lived intermingled, learning from one another — yes, learning, both culturally and physically.

This made the fighting strength of the troops of the Hexi region extremely formidable. That they were not formidable now was only because no one had been able to weld them together — especially to weld them together with a great cause.

So although the Central Plains court seemed to pay no attention to Hexi, and was in no position to pay attention to Hexi, that was only under the condition that Hexi was in complete chaos.

If there truly appeared a Guiyi Army Military Governor whose territory was a size larger than that of the Military Governor of Hexi, ruling the eleven prefectures of Gua, Sha, Gan, Su, Liang, Min, Shan, Kuo, Lan, He, and Tao, the Central Plains court would be jumping out of its skin.

Therefore Zhang Zhao had to go now to seek investiture as Commissioner of the Guiyi Army, and the Later Tang court was certain to grant it. Once he had obtained the post of Commissioner of the Guiyi Army, Zhang Zhao would enter Liangzhou and then request investiture as Military Governor of Hexi.

By that time the Later Tang would probably already be on the verge of collapse. As long as Zhang Zhao dispatched his envoy before the twelfth month, he could describe it as "requested in the Tang, conferred in the Jin."

And that fellow Shi Jingtang — he could even sell off the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan-Yun, and could call Yelu Deguang, who was more than ten years his junior, his father. Conferring Military Governor of Hexi on a Commissioner of the Guiyi Army was probably something he would hardly care about.

Even if he did care and refused, Zhang Zhao could immediately leap up and, standing on the high ground of righteousness, blast him at the top of his lungs. And that shamefaced Shi Jingtang would hardly dare say anything — you've just ascended the throne and Liangzhou comes to submit to you; what more could you want?

Before leaving, Zhang Zhao made a point of summoning Long Bian, Chief Buddhist Controller of Hexi — yes, summoning.

Originally, monastic officials such as the Chief Buddhist Controller of Hexi and the Chief Buddhist Controller of Gua and Sha held a special status throughout Hexi.

The appointment of a Chief Buddhist Controller was recommended from within the Buddhist order itself, and merely reported to the Military Governor of the Guiyi Army; it was not appointed by the Military Governor.

When Cao Yijin was in power, he could not interfere in the appointment of the Chief Buddhist Controller — even Zhang Yichao in his day could not.

But Zhang Zhao could. Chief Buddhist Controller, what rank of monastic official are you? Can you be greater than a Dharma King?

Moreover, Zhang Zhao's Dharma King was not only a Dharma King recognized by India, Anxi, and Qiangtang, but one actually recognized by the Hexi Buddhist order as well.

When he was crowned at the Samoji Temple, the Buddhist orders of Gua, Sha, and Su Prefectures had also sent their senior head monks to take part.

This was what Zhang Zhao deserved after defeating the followers of the Arabian faith, recovering Shule, the Buddhist center of Anxi, rebuilding the Great Cloud Temple of Shule, and going to India to protect the Dharma.

Even if he had only a few thousand men, the title of Dharma King and Protector of the Buddhist Faith was fully deserved, and no one dared refuse to submit.

Therefore Long Bian, Chief Buddhist Controller of Hexi, was extremely respectful toward Zhang Zhao. He had to be — if he dared make trouble, then his faith was surely insincere, and Zhang Zhao could even declare the Dharma Long Bian practiced to be false and expel him from the monkhood.

The name Long Bian sounded like a Han Chinese, but in fact he was a man of Yanqi.

In former days, the Long clan, kings of Yanqi, had even been one of the Five Clans and Three Royal Houses of the Anxi Army.

After Yanqi fell to the Tibetans, however, the Long clan chose to submit, and was subsequently moved by the Tibetans to Suzhou to settle.

So when Long Bian came in, Zhang Zhao was not at all surprised that he had a somewhat Scythian appearance.

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while, mainly Zhang Zhao reminiscing about the loyalty of the Five Clans and Three Royal Houses to the Great Tang in former days, and having Bai Congxin, Xue Shouli, Pei Tongyuan, and the others exchange courtesies with him.

The Bai of Kucha, the Xue of Ningyuan, the Pei of Shule, the Long of Yanqi, plus Zhang Zhao's close relations with the Li clan of Khotan — the five great native royal houses of Anxi from the Great Tang's heyday were now all accounted for.

"Since we are all one family with the Chief Buddhist Controller, then I shall not speak as an outsider. We are all descendants of loyal subjects of the Great Tang, and should support one another.

When the great dynasty grows strong once more and sends its heavenly troops westward again, we may also restore the glory of our ancestors.

Chief Buddhist Controller, the Long clan has multiplied greatly in Suzhou. Are your supplies of grain, meat, and oil sufficient?"

Hmm — in barely half a shichen, Zhang Zhao and Long Bian had become family.

Long Bian gave a bitter smile. The Long clan of Suzhou was now split into two parts: Upper Suzhou was attached to the Guiyi Army, while Lower Suzhou was controlled by the Ganzhou Uyghurs.

The Guiyi Army was not so bad — it only demanded nominal submission and an annual tribute of cattle and sheep. The Ganzhou Uyghurs were different; they had been steadily encroaching on the lands of Lower Suzhou.

Suzhou was the Jiuquan of later ages, and its land was originally rather barren. With fifty or sixty thousand Long clan members and thirty or forty thousand Ganzhou Uyghurs crammed in here, life could not be called greatly prosperous — at the very least, the people were nearly destitute.

"In answer to the Dharma King: the people of Suzhou live in hardship. Ordinary folk, to say nothing of meat and oil, count it a good year if they can eat seventy percent full all year round. And with the Ganzhou Uyghurs pressing harder by the day, it is truly like living in a sea of bitterness!"

"This is all because the great dynasty has grown weak! In former times, the Ganzhou Uyghurs should have stayed on the grasslands — how would they dare occupy prefectures and commanderies here? But I am already prepared to crush the Yageluo clan."

To unite people, one must find a common enemy — and the Ganzhou Uyghurs happened to be loathed by pigs and shunned by dogs.

They not only bullied the Long clan of Suzhou, but did not even spare the Dada people of the grasslands or the Wenmo of Liangzhou.

Moreover, with nearly all of Hexi being Buddhist believers, the upper ranks of the Ganzhou Uyghurs still stubbornly adhered to Manichaeism — they were simply born scapegoats.

When it came to dealing with the Ganzhou Uyghurs, Long Bian nodded in the most emphatic agreement, but before he could speak, Bai Congxin beside him stroked his chin and suddenly said,

"If life in Suzhou is so bitter, why do you people of Yanqi not return to Yanqi? I hear the Great Sage King of Khotan intends to campaign against the Gaochang Uyghurs. If..."

Halfway through, Bai Congxin pretended to glance at Zhang Zhao and immediately shut his mouth. Long Bian's heart stirred, and his whole body felt as unbearably restless as ants crawling all over him.

The general extent of Yanqi at this time was the Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture of later ages — in Anxi, this was absolutely a fine place of lush pastures and fertile land!

The Korla fragrant pear and Bosten Lake were both here — how could the Jiuquan where Suzhou lay compare?

But Bai Congxin had stopped halfway and said no more, and Long Bian could hardly press further. Yet he secretly noted it in his heart: if he could return to Yanqi and restore the royal Long clan, how fine that would be.

"The Dharma King has summoned this humble monk, so there must be instructions. If there is any command, I will devote all my strength and serve with utter loyalty!"

This was exactly the effect Zhang Zhao wanted, because the matter he needed Long Bian to handle was extremely important, and only with his utmost effort could it possibly be accomplished.

"A few days ago, I went to Kaiyuan Temple to pay homage to the Buddha, and that night I suddenly had a dream. In the dream, the Bodhisattva Weituo spoke to me, saying that in the eastern capital Luoyang there is Yelu Bei, the Eastern Dan King of the Khitan.

His daughter is quite endowed with Buddha-nature, a rare jewel-maiden. The eastern capital Luoyang will soon see upheaval, and he bade me do my utmost to protect her!

Chief Buddhist Controller, when you go to the eastern capital, you may stay for some time. If upheaval truly comes, you should protect her on my behalf — and if you can bring her back to Dunhuang, so much the better."

This matter is of considerable importance. If gold and silver are needed, spend freely! I have prepared a full thirty thousand strings of cash!"

Long Bian had braced himself for Zhang Zhao to assign him a major task, but what Zhang Zhao said still made him freeze, and his face took on a constipated expression.

This Jade Woman Treasure is one of the Seven Treasures of the Wheel-Turning Sage King — a woman of peerless beauty endowed with Buddha-nature.

If anyone else had asked him, the Chief Monk-Registrar, to help procure a woman, Long Bian would have leapt up and knocked his head askew.

But since the Wheel-Turning Sage King had spoken, it had to be carried out. Bai Congxin, standing to the side, nearly burst out laughing — sending a venerable Chief Monk-Registrar to find a woman for himself was something only Great Dharma King Zhang could pull off.

Zhang Zhao smirked smugly. What the hell do you know? Can you grasp my foresight? Who is this Eastern Dan King Yelu Bei? He's the eldest son of Yelu Abaoji!

Because he leaned toward sinicization, he was squeezed off the throne by his younger brother Yelu Deguang, and in the end could only flee across the sea to the Central Plains.

But his status is special! He was the one who should have become Emperor of the Liao, and Yelu Bei's son, Yelu Ruan, later returned to the Liao and became Emperor — he was Liao Shizong.

If I seize this chance to get my hands on Yelu Abaoji's granddaughter — the future Liao Shizong's younger sister — wouldn't I gain the pretext to meddle in Liao's internal affairs?

Of course, when the Central Plains is weak it's not much use, but what about when the Central Plains grows strong?

Moreover, decades later, Liao Shizong Yelu Ruan was murdered by the imperial clansman Yelu Chage, his entire family died out, and the throne, lacking an heir, fell to Liao Muzong Yelu Jing.

So if at that time, the Emperor of the Central Plains sent in Yelu Ruan's own nephew to make a move? Nothing is impossible!

When Zhang Zhao's fist was big enough by then, this would be the best opportunity to control the Khitan.

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