1
契丹者，古匈奴之種也。 代居遼澤之中，潢水南岸，南距榆關一千一百里，榆關南距幽州七百里，本鮮卑之舊地也。 其風土人物，世代君長，前史載之詳矣。
The Khitan were descended from the ancient Xiongnu. For generations they lived in the Liao marshes on the south bank of the Huang River. Yumen Pass lay eleven hundred li to their south, and Youzhou another seven hundred li beyond the pass — lands that had once belonged to the Xianbei. Earlier histories already describe their land and customs, their people, and the succession of their chieftains at length.
2
唐咸通末，其王曰習爾之，疆土稍大，累來朝貢。 光啟中，其王欽德者，乘中原多故，北邊無備，遂蠶食諸郡，達靼、奚、室韋之屬，咸被驅役，族帳浸盛，有時入寇。 劉仁恭鎮幽州，素知契丹軍情偽，選將練兵，乘秋深入，逾摘星嶺討之，霜降秋暮，即燔塞下野草以困之，馬多饑死，即以良馬賂仁恭，以市牧地。 仁恭季年荒恣，出居大安山，契丹背盟，數來寇鈔。 時劉守光戍平州，契丹實裏王子率萬騎攻之，守光偽與之和，張幄幕於城外以享之，部族就席，伏甲起，擒實裏王子入城。 部族聚哭，請納馬五千以贖之，不許，欽德乞盟納賂以求之，自是十餘年不能犯塞。
Late in Tang's Xiantong reign, their king was Xierzhi. His domain expanded modestly, and he sent tribute to the Tang court on several occasions. During Guangqi, King Qinde exploited turmoil in the Central Plains and the undefended northern border to swallow neighboring prefectures one by one. He subjugated the Tatars, Xi, Shiwei, and kindred peoples, his tribal encampments grew ever stronger, and his horsemen raided the frontier from time to time. Liu Rengong, military governor of Youzhou, knew the Khitan forces well. He picked able commanders, drilled his troops, and each autumn drove deep beyond Zhaxing Ridge to strike them. When the first frost came, he burned the grass along the border to deny their herds forage, and many Khitan horses starved. The Khitan then sent fine horses as gifts to buy grazing rights from him. In his later years Rengong grew reckless and extravagant and withdrew to Great Peace Mountain. The Khitan broke their treaty and raided the frontier again and again. Liu Shouguang was then defending Pingzhou when the Khitan Prince Shili attacked with ten thousand horsemen. Shouguang pretended to sue for peace and set up feast tents outside the walls. When the Khitan clansmen had taken their seats, his hidden troops sprang up, seized Prince Shili, and hauled him into the city. The clans assembled in mourning and offered five thousand horses as ransom, but Shouguang refused. Qinde sued for peace and paid a heavy price to win the prince back. For more than ten years afterward the Khitan did not breach the border.
3
及欽德政衰，有別部長耶律阿保機，最推雄勁，族帳漸盛，遂代欽德為主。 先是，契丹之先大賀氏有勝兵四萬，分為八部，每部皆號大人，內推一人為主，建旗鼓以尊之，每三年第其名以代之。 及安巴堅為主，乃怙強恃勇，不受諸族之代，遂自稱國主。 天祐四年，大寇雲中，後唐武皇遣使連和，因與之面會於雲中東城，大具享禮，延入帳中，約為兄弟，謂之曰：「唐室為賊所篡，吾欲今冬大舉，弟可以精騎二萬，同收汴、洛。」 安巴堅許之，賜與甚厚，留馬三千匹以答貺。 左右咸勸武皇可乘間擄之，武皇曰：「逆賊未殄，不可失信於部落，自亡之道也。」 乃盡禮遣之。 及梁祖建號，安巴堅亦遣使送名馬、女樂、貂皮等求封冊。 梁祖與之書曰：「朕今天下皆平，唯有太原未服，卿能長驅精甲，徑至新莊，為我翦彼寇讎，與爾便行封冊。」 莊宗初嗣世，亦遣使告哀，賂以金繒，求騎軍以救潞州，答其使曰：「我與先王為兄弟，兒即吾兒也，寧有父不助子耶！」 許出師，會潞平而止。 劉守光末年苛慘，軍士亡叛皆入契丹。 洎周德威攻圍幽州。 燕之軍民多為所寇掠，既盡得燕中人士，教之文法，由是漸盛。 十三年八月，阿保機率諸部號稱百萬，自麟、勝陷振武，長驅雲、朔，北邊大擾。 莊宗赴援於代，敵眾方退。 十四年，新州大將盧文進為眾所迫，殺新州團練使李存矩於祁溝關，返攻新、武。 周德威以眾擊之，文進不利，乃奔於契丹，引其眾陷新州。 周德威率兵三萬以討之，北騎援新州，德威為敵所敗，殺傷殆盡，契丹乘勝攻幽州。 是時，或言契丹三十萬，或言五十萬，幽薊之北，所在北騎皆滿。 莊宗遣明宗與李存審、閻寶將兵救幽州，遂解其圍，語在《莊宗紀》中。
As Qinde's power waned, a leader of another branch, Yelü Abaoji, rose as the strongest man among them. His following grew until he supplanted Qinde as chief. Long before, the Khitan Dahe clan had mustered forty thousand fighting men in eight divisions. Each division had its own Great Man, and the tribes would choose one leader among them, raise his banner and drums, and rotate the office every three years by ranked succession. Once Abaoji took power, he trusted in his own strength and refused the customary rotation. He proclaimed himself lord of a state in his own right. In Tianyou 4 Abaoji invaded Yunzhong in force. The Martial Emperor of Later Tang sent envoys to treat with him and met him at the eastern quarter of Yunzhong city. He laid on a grand feast, brought Abaoji into his tent, and swore brotherhood. "The Tang throne has been seized by traitors," he said. "I mean to strike in force this winter. Brother, bring twenty thousand elite horsemen and we will retake Bian and Luoyang together. Abaoji agreed. The Martial Emperor lavished gifts upon him, and Abaoji left three thousand horses in return. His attendants all urged him to seize Abaoji while he could. The Martial Emperor replied, "The rebels are not yet destroyed. I cannot break faith with our tribal allies — that would be the path to ruin. He therefore sent Abaoji away with full honors. When the Liang founder took the throne, Abaoji too sent envoys with fine horses, female musicians, and sable furs, seeking formal recognition from the new dynasty. The Liang founder wrote to him: "I have pacified the realm except for Taiyuan. If you will ride at speed with your best troops straight to Xinzhuang and destroy that foe for me, I will invest you immediately. When Emperor Zhuangzong first succeeded to the throne, he too sent envoys to announce his father's death, offered gold and silks, and asked for cavalry to relieve Luzhou. Abaoji told the envoy, "Your late sovereign and I were brothers. His son is my son. Would a father refuse to help his own child?" He promised to send troops, but Luzhou fell before his army moved and the expedition was called off. In his last years Liu Shouguang ruled with cruelty, and deserters from his ranks flocked to the Khitan. When Zhou Dewei laid siege to Youzhou, the Khitan raided Yan's soldiers and civilians on a wide scale. Having captured the educated men of the Yan region, they taught them administration and law, and from that time their power steadily grew. In the eighth month of year thirteen Abaoji led the tribes in a host said to number a million. He struck from Lin and Sheng, took Zhenwu, and swept through Yun and Shuo, throwing the entire northern frontier into turmoil. Emperor Zhuangzong marched to relieve them from Dai, and only then did the enemy withdraw. In year fourteen the Xinzhou general Lu Wenjin, driven by his men, killed the regimental commissioner Li Cunju at Qigou Pass and turned back to attack Xin and Wu prefectures. Zhou Dewei marched against him, but Wenjin was beaten and fled to the Khitan, leading his forces to seize Xinzhou. Zhou Dewei led thirty thousand men to punish him, but Khitan horsemen relieved Xinzhou. Dewei was routed and his army nearly annihilated. The Khitan pressed their advantage and attacked Youzhou. Reports at the time put the Khitan at three hundred thousand or even five hundred thousand. North of You and Ji, northern horsemen seemed to fill every road. Emperor Zhuangzong sent Emperor Mingzong, Li Cunshen, and Yan Bao to relieve Youzhou and break the siege. The full account appears in the Basic Annals of Emperor Zhuangzong.
4
十八年十月，鎮州大將張文禮弒其帥王镕，莊宗討之，時定州王處直與文禮合謀，遣威塞軍使王郁復引契丹為援。 十二月，安巴堅傾塞入寇，攻圍幽州，李紹宏以兵城守。 契丹長驅陷涿郡，執刺史李嗣弼，進攻易、定，至新樂，渡沙河，王都遣使告急。 時莊宗在鎮州行營，聞前鋒報日「敵渡沙河」，軍中鹹恐，議者請權釋鎮州之圍以避之。 莊宗曰：「霸王舉事，自有天道，契丹其如我何！ 國初，突厥入寇，至於渭北，高祖欲棄長安，遷都樊、鄧，太守曰：「獫狁孔熾，自古有之，未聞遷移都邑。 霍去病，漢廷將帥，猶且誌滅匈奴，況帝王應運，而欲移都避寇哉！」 文皇雄武，不數年俘二突厥為衛士。 今吾以數萬之眾安集山東，王德明廝養小人，阿保機生長邊地，豈有退避之理，吾何面視蒼生哉！ 爾曹但駕馬同行，看吾破敵。」 莊宗親禦鐵騎五千，至新城北，遇契丹前鋒萬騎，莊宗精甲自桑林突出，光明照日，諸部愕然緩退，莊宗分二廣以乘之，敵騎散退。 時沙河微冰，其馬多陷，安巴堅退保望都。 是夜，莊宗次定州，翌日出戰，遇奚長托諾五千騎，莊宗親軍千騎與之鬥，為其所圍，外救不及，莊宗挺馬奮躍，出入數四，酣戰不解。 李嗣昭聞其急也，灑泣而往，攻破敵陣，掖莊宗而歸。 時契丹值大雪，野無所掠，馬無芻草，凍死者相望於路。 安巴堅召盧文進，以手指天謂之曰：「天未令我到此。」 乃引眾北去。 莊宗率精兵騎躡其後，每經安巴堅野宿之所，布稭在地，方而環之，雖去，無一莖亂者，莊宗謂左右曰：「蕃人法令如是，豈中國所及！」 莊宗至幽州，發二百騎偵之，皆為契丹所獲，莊宗乃還。
In the tenth month of year eighteen the Zhenzhou general Zhang Wenli murdered his lord Wang Rong, and Emperor Zhuangzong marched to punish him. Wang Chuzhi of Dingzhou joined the plot and sent the Weisai commissioner Wang Yu to bring the Khitan in as allies again. In the twelfth month Abaoji invaded in force, besieged Youzhou, and Li Shaohong held the city with the garrison. The Khitan swept south, took Zhuo, captured Prefect Li Sibi, and pressed Yi and Ding. They reached Xinle, crossed the Sha River, and Wang Du sent desperate appeals for help. Emperor Zhuangzong was then at his field camp before Zhenzhou. When the vanguard reported that the enemy had crossed the Sha River, panic spread through the army, and some urged him to raise the siege of Zhenzhou and withdraw. Emperor Zhuangzong said, "When a true conqueror takes the field, Heaven itself is on his side. What can the Khitan do to me? At the founding of Tang, when the Turks raided as far as the north bank of the Wei, Gaozu wanted to abandon Chang'an for Fan and Deng. Taizong said, "The northern tribes have always been fierce. That is no reason to move the capital. Huo Qubing was only a Han general, yet he burned to destroy the Xiongnu. How could an emperor who holds Heaven's mandate think of fleeing the capital before mere raiders?" Emperor Taizong was bold in war. Within a few years he had captured both Turk khans and made them his palace guards. I hold Shandong secure with tens of thousands of men. Wang Deming is a groom's lackey, and Abaoji is a frontier barbarian. Why should I retreat? How could I face the people of this land? Mount up and ride with me. Watch me break the enemy. He personally led five thousand armored horsemen to the north of Xincheng and met ten thousand Khitan vanguard troops. His elite cavalry burst from Mulberry Grove, armor flashing in the sun. The Khitan clans faltered and fell back. Zhuangzong split his force in two wings, routed them, and the enemy scattered. The Sha River had only thin ice, and many Khitan horses foundered. Abaoji fell back to Wangdu. That night he camped at Dingzhou. The next day he gave battle and met the Xi chief Tuonuo with five thousand horsemen. A thousand of Zhuangzong's personal guard engaged them, were surrounded, and no relief could reach them in time. Zhuangzong spurred his horse and charged in and out of the ring four times, fighting on without pause. Li Sizhao, hearing that he was in peril, rode forward in tears, broke the enemy line, and brought Emperor Zhuangzong back to safety. Heavy snow fell on the Khitan. Nothing remained to plunder in the fields, fodder ran out, and frozen corpses lined the road as far as the eye could see. Abaoji summoned Lu Wenjin, pointed to the sky, and said, "Heaven did not will me to come this far. He then led his army north. Emperor Zhuangzong pursued with elite cavalry. At every camp Abaoji had used, the straw was laid in neat squares and rings; even after the Khitan had gone, not a stalk was out of place. Zhuangzong told his attendants, "Their discipline is like this. China cannot match it. He reached Youzhou and sent two hundred horsemen to scout. The Khitan captured them all, and he turned back.
5
天祐末，安巴堅乃自稱皇帝，署中國官號。 其俗舊隨畜牧，素無邑屋，得燕人所教，乃為城郭宮室之制於漠北，距幽州三千里，名其邑曰西樓邑，屋門皆東向，如車帳之法。 城南別作一城，以實漢人，名曰漢城，城中有佛寺三，僧尼千人。 其國人號安巴堅為天皇王。 同光中，安巴堅深著辟地之志，欲收兵大舉，慮渤海踵其後。 三年，舉其眾討渤海之遼東，令禿餒、盧文進據營、平等州，擾我燕薊。
Late in the Tianyou era Abaoji proclaimed himself emperor and created offices on the Chinese model. They had always lived as nomads and built no permanent towns until men from Yan taught them. Abaoji then raised walled cities and palaces in the northern steppe three thousand li from Youzhou. He called his capital Western Tower. Every doorway faced east, as with their wagon tents. South of the capital he built a separate city for Han subjects called Han City. It held three Buddhist temples and a thousand monks and nuns. His people called Abaoji the Heavenly Emperor King. During Tongguang, Abaoji was bent on expansion and meant to gather his armies for a major campaign, but he feared that Bohai would strike at his rear. In year three he marched in force against Bohai's Liaodong. He left Tunei and Lu Wenjin to hold Ying, Ping, and neighboring prefectures and raid Yan and Ji.
6
明宗初纂嗣，遣供奉官姚坤奉書告哀，至西樓邑，屬阿保機在渤海，又徑至慎州，崎嶇萬里。 既至，謁見阿保機，延入穹廬，阿保機身長九尺，被錦袍，大帶垂後，與妻對榻引見坤。 坤未致命，阿保機先問曰：「聞爾漢土河南、河北各有一天子，信乎？」 坤曰：「河南天子，今年四月一日洛陽軍變，今兇問至矣。 河北總管令公，比為魏州軍亂，先帝詔令除討，既聞內難，軍眾離心，及京城無主，上下堅冊令公，請主社稷，今已順人望登帝位矣。」 阿保機號咷，聲淚俱發，曰：「我與河東先世約為兄弟，河南天子吾兒也。 近聞漢地兵亂，點得甲馬五萬騎，比欲自往洛陽救助我兒，又緣渤海未下，我兒果致如此，冤哉！」 泣下不能已。 又謂坤曰：「今漢土天子，初聞洛陽有難，不急救，致令及此。」 坤曰：「非不急切，地遠阻隔不及也。」 又曰：「我兒既殂，當合取我商量，安得自便！」 坤曰：「吾皇將兵二十年，位至大總管，所部精兵三十萬，眾口一心，聖堅推戴，違之則立見禍生，非不知稟天皇王意旨，無奈人心何。」 其子托雲在側，謂坤曰：「漢使勿多談。」 因引左氏牽牛蹊田之說以折坤，坤曰：「應天順人，不同匹夫之義，只如天皇王初領國事，豈是強取之耶！」 阿保機因曰：「理當如此，我漢國兒子致有此難，我知之矣。 聞此兒有宮婢二千，樂官千人，終日放鷹走狗，耽酒嗜色，不惜人民，任使不肖，致得天下皆怒。 我自聞如斯，常憂傾覆，一月前已有人來報，知我兒有事，我便舉家斷酒，解放鷹犬，休罷樂官。 我亦有諸部家樂千人，非公宴未嘗妄舉。 我若所為似我兒，亦應不能持久矣，從此願以為戒。」 又曰：「漢國兒與我雖父子，亦曾彼此讎敵，俱有惡心，與爾今天子無惡，足得歡好。 爾先復命，我續將馬萬騎至幽、鎮以南，與爾家天子面為盟約，我要幽州，令漢兒把捉，更不復侵入漢界。」 又問：「漢收得西川，信不？」 坤曰：「去年九月出兵，十一月十六日收下東、西川，得兵馬二十萬，金帛無算。 皇帝初即位，未辦送來，續當遣使至矣。」 阿保機忻然曰：「聞西有劍閣，兵馬從何過得？」 坤曰：「川路雖險，然先朝收復河南，有精兵四十萬，良馬十萬騎，但通人行處，便能去得，視劍閣如平地耳。」 阿保機善漢語，謂坤曰：「吾解漢語，歷口不敢言，懼部人效我，令兵士怯弱故也。」 坤至止三日，阿保機病傷寒。 一夕，大星殞於其帳前，俄而卒於扶餘城，時天成元年七月二十七日也。 其妻舒嚕氏自率眾護其喪歸西樓，坤亦從行，得報而還。 既而舒嚕氏立其次子德光為渠帥，以總國事，尋遣使告哀，明宗為之輟朝。 明年正月，葬阿保機於木葉山，偽謚曰「大聖皇帝」。
When Emperor Mingzong first took the throne, he sent the palace attendant Yao Kun with a letter of condolence. Kun reached Western Tower, learned that Abaoji was campaigning in Bohai, and pressed on to Shenzhou across ten thousand li of hard country. When he arrived he was received by Abaoji in the royal tent. Abaoji stood nine chi tall, wore a brocade robe with a great belt hanging behind him, and with his wife on a facing couch received Kun. Before Kun could deliver his message, Abaoji asked, "I hear that your Han lands now have one Son of Heaven south of the Yellow River and another north of it. Is that true? Kun said, "The Son of Heaven south of the river died in a military mutiny at Luoyang on the first day of the fourth month this year. The grievous news has only now reached us. The chief commander north of the river, Lord Ling, had lately been ordered by the late emperor to suppress the Weizhou mutiny. When he heard of the turmoil in the capital, his troops lost heart. With the throne empty, his officers and men pressed him to take the throne, and he has now ascended in accord with their will." Abaoji broke into loud wailing, voice and tears together, and said, "Your late sovereign of Hedong and I were sworn brothers. The Son of Heaven south of the river was my son. When I heard of the turmoil in your lands I gathered fifty thousand horsemen and was about to ride to Luoyang myself to save my son, but Bohai was not yet conquered. And now my son has come to this. How unjust!" He wept without cease. He told Kun again, "Your new emperor heard of the disaster at Luoyang and did not hurry to help. That is how things came to this pass. Kun said, "It was not for lack of urgency. The distance was too great and we could not arrive in time." He said again, "Now that my son is dead, you should have consulted me. How could you decide on your own?" Kun said, "Our emperor has led armies for twenty years and commands three hundred thousand elite troops. Every man under him spoke as one. They pressed him to the throne, and to refuse would have brought immediate ruin. We do not ignore the Heavenly Emperor King's wishes, but we could not defy the will of the army." His son Tuoyun, standing beside him, said to Kun, "Han envoy, say no more." He cited the Zuo Commentary tale of the oxherd who trampled another's fields to rebuke Kun. Kun replied, "To follow Heaven and win the people's assent is not the same as a private quarrel. When you first took power, Heavenly Emperor King, was that by force alone?" Abaoji said, "That is only right. I know now why my Han son came to this end. I hear he kept two thousand palace women and a thousand musicians, spent his days hawking and hunting, drowned himself in wine and women, wasted the people, and put worthless men in office until the whole realm turned against him. When I heard such things I feared ruin for my own house. A month ago a messenger told me my son was in danger. I forbade wine in my household, released my hawks and dogs, and dismissed my musicians. I too have a thousand household musicians among the tribes, and I never call for music except at state feasts. If I acted as my son did, I could not have endured either. From this day I take his fate as my warning. He said again, "That Han son and I were father and son in name, yet we were enemies at heart. With your present emperor there is no such ill will. We can be good friends. Return first with your report. I will follow with ten thousand horsemen south of You and Zhen to swear alliance with your emperor in person. I want Youzhou held by Han men, and I will not cross the Han frontier again." He asked again, "Is it true that you have taken western Shu?" Kun said, "Our armies marched last year in the ninth month and on the sixteenth day of the eleventh month took both eastern and western Shu. We gained two hundred thousand troops and horses and untold gold and silks. The emperor has only just taken the throne and has not yet been able to send tribute, but envoys will follow soon." Abaoji said with delight, "I have heard of Sword Pass in the west. How could an army pass it?" Kun said, "The Shu roads are steep, but when the former dynasty recovered Henan it had four hundred thousand elite troops and one hundred thousand fine horses. Wherever a man can walk, an army can go. Sword Pass is level ground to us." Abaoji was fluent in Chinese. He told Kun, "I understand your language, but I have never dared speak it openly, lest my tribes imitate me and my warriors grow soft." Kun had been there only three days when Abaoji fell ill with a fever. One night a great star fell before his tent. Soon afterward he died at Fuyu city, on the twenty-seventh day of the seventh month of Tiancheng 1. His wife Lady Shulü led the funeral train back to Western Tower. Kun accompanied them, received word of the death, and returned. Lady Shulü then installed her second son Deguang as chief to govern the state. She soon sent envoys to announce the death, and Emperor Mingzong suspended court in mourning. In the first month of the following year they buried Abaoji on Mount Muye and gave him the posthumous title Great Sage Emperor.
7
阿保機凡三子，皆雄偉。 長曰人皇王突然，即東丹王也； 次曰元帥太子，即德光也； 幼曰阿安端君。 德光本名耀屈之，後慕中華文字，遂改焉。 唐天成初，阿保機死，其母令德光權主牙帳，令少子安端少君往渤海國代突欲。 突欲將立，而德光素為部族所服，又其母亦常鐘愛，故因而立之。 明宗時，德光遣使摩琳等三十餘人來修好，又遣使為父求碑石，明宗許之，賜與甚厚，並賜其母瓔珞錦彩。 自是山北安靜，蕃漢不相侵擾。
Abaoji had three sons, all imposing men. The eldest was called Human Emperor King Turan, the King of Eastern Dan; the second was Marshal Crown Prince Deguang; the youngest was Lord Aanduan. Deguang had originally been named Yaokuizhi, but later he admired Chinese writing and took a new name. Early in Tiancheng, when Abaoji died, his mother had Deguang govern the tribal camp in his stead and sent the youngest son, Young Lord Anduan, to Bohai to replace Tuyu. Tuyu had been expected to succeed, but the tribes had long respected Deguang, and his mother favored him, so Deguang was enthroned instead. During Mingzong's reign Deguang sent more than thirty envoys led by Molin to renew relations and asked for a memorial stele for his father. Mingzong agreed, lavished gifts upon them, and sent brocades and jeweled necklaces to Deguang's mother. From that time the country north of the mountains was at peace, and Khitan and Han did not raid one another.
8
三年，德光偽改為天顯元年。 是歲，定州王都作亂，求援於契丹，德光陷平州，遣禿餒以騎五千援都於中山，招討使王晏球破之於曲陽，托諾走保賊城。 其年七月，又遣惕隱率七千騎救定州，王晏球逆戰於唐河北，大破之。 幽州趙德鈞以生兵接於要路，生擒惕隱等首領五十餘人獻闕下。 明年，王都平，擒托諾及餘眾，斬之。 自是契丹大挫，數年不敢窺邊。 嘗遣使挎括梅裏來求禿餒骸骨，明宗怒其詐，斬之。 長興二年，東丹王突欲在闕下，其母繼發使申報，朝廷亦優容之。
In year three Deguang proclaimed the Tianxian era. That year Wang Du of Dingzhou rebelled and called on the Khitan for help. Deguang took Pingzhou and sent Tunei with five thousand horsemen to relieve Du at Zhongshan. The pacification commissioner Wang Yanqiu defeated them at Quyang, and Tuonuo fled into the rebel city. In the seventh month he sent the Tiyiin with seven thousand horsemen to relieve Dingzhou again. Wang Yanqiu met them on the north bank of the Tang River and crushed them. Zhao Dejun of Youzhou blocked the vital road with fresh troops, captured more than fifty Khitan leaders including the Tiyiin, and sent them to the imperial court. The following year Wang Du's rebellion was crushed. Tuonuo and his remaining followers were captured and executed. From that defeat the Khitan did not dare probe the border again for years. They once sent an envoy named Kuakuomeili to demand Tunei's remains. Mingzong, furious at the imposture, had him executed. In Changxing 2 the King of Eastern Dan, Tuyu, was at the Tang court. His mother kept sending envoys with reports, and the court treated him leniently.
9
長興末，契丹迫雲州，明宗命晉高祖為河東節度使兼北面蕃漢總管。 清泰三年，晉高祖為張敬達等攻圍甚急，遣指揮使何福賫表乞師，願為臣子。 德光白其母曰：「兒昨夢太原石郎發使到國，今果至矣，事符天意，必須赴之。」 德光乃自率五萬騎由雁門至晉陽，即日大破敬達之眾於城下，尋冊晉高祖為大晉皇帝，約為父子之國，割幽州管內及新、武、雲、應、朔州之地以賂之，仍每歲許輸帛三十萬。 時幽州趙德鈞屯兵於團柏谷，遣使至幕帳，求立己為帝，以石氏世襲太原，德光對使指帳前一石曰：「我已許石郎為父子之盟，石爛可改矣。」 楊光遠等殺張敬達降於契丹，德光戲謂光遠等曰：「爾輩大是惡漢兒，不用鹽酪，食卻一萬匹戰馬。」 光遠等大慚。 晉高祖南行，德光自送至潞州。 時趙德鈞、趙延壽自潞州出降於契丹，德光鎖之，令隨牙帳。 晉高祖入洛，尋遣宰相趙瑩致謝於契丹。 天福三年，又遣宰臣馮道、左僕射劉句等持節冊德光及其母氏徽號，賫鹵簿、儀伏、法服、車輅於本國行禮。 德光大悅，尋遣使奉晉高祖為英武明義皇帝。 是歲，契丹改天顯十一年為會同元年，以趙延壽為樞密使，升幽州為南京，以趙思溫為南京留守，既而德光請晉高祖不稱臣，不上表，來往緘題止用家人禮，但云「兒皇帝」，晉祖厚賫金帛以謝之。 晉祖奉契丹甚至，歲時問遺，慶吊之禮，必令優厚。 每北使至，即於別殿致敬。 德光每有邀請，小不如意，則來譴責，晉祖每屈己以奉之，終晉祖世，略無釁隙。
Late in Changxing the Khitan pressed Yunzhou. Mingzong appointed the future Jin founder military governor of Hedong and commander of all northern barbarian and Han forces. In Qingtai 3 the Jin founder was besieged by Zhang Jingda and others. He sent Commander He Fuben with a petition begging for Khitan aid and offering to become their vassal. Deguang told his mother, "I dreamed last night that Lord Stone of Taiyuan was sending envoys to us. They have come. Heaven wills this. I must go. Deguang led fifty thousand horsemen through Yanmen to Jinyang and the same day routed Zhang Jingda beneath the walls. He then enthroned the Jin founder as emperor of Great Jin, pledged a father-and-son alliance, ceded the Sixteen Prefectures including Youzhou, Xin, Wu, Yun, Ying, and Shuo, and promised three hundred thousand bolts of silk each year. Zhao Dejun of Youzhou was encamped at Tuanbai Valley and sent envoys offering to make him emperor if the Shi family kept Taiyuan in perpetuity. Deguang pointed at a stone before his tent and said, "I have sworn a bond with Lord Stone. Only when stone rots may that bond change. Yang Guangyuan and others killed Zhang Jingda and surrendered. Deguang joked to them, "You wicked Han — you won't touch salt or dairy, yet you've devoured ten thousand of our war horses." They were deeply ashamed. The Jin founder marched south, and Deguang escorted him as far as Luzhou. Zhao Dejun and Zhao Yanshou surrendered at Luzhou. Deguang put them in chains and kept them with his camp. The Jin founder entered Luoyang and soon sent Chancellor Zhao Ying to thank the Khitan court. In Tianfu 3 he sent Chancellor Feng Dao and Left Vice Director Liu Gou with credentials to invest Deguang and his mother with honorific titles, bearing full imperial regalia to conduct the ceremony in the Khitan homeland. Deguang was delighted and in return honored the Jin founder as Heroic Martial Enlightened Righteous Emperor. That year the Khitan proclaimed the Huitong era, made Zhao Yanshou Grand Councilor, elevated Youzhou to Southern Capital with Zhao Siwen as regent, and persuaded the Jin court to drop the language of vassalage. Their letters used family terms only, calling the Jin ruler "Son Emperor." The Jin founder paid lavish gifts in gratitude. The Jin founder courted the Khitan with extreme deference. Seasonal gifts and rites of congratulation and mourning were always sent in lavish measure. Whenever Khitan envoys arrived, he received them with ceremony in a separate hall. If the slightest request went unmet, Deguang sent rebukes. The Jin founder always humbled himself to comply. Through his reign there was almost no open rupture.
10
及少帝嗣位，遣使入契丹，德光以少帝不先承稟，擅即尊位，所賫文字，略去臣禮，大怒，形於責讓，朝廷使去，即加譴辱。 會契丹回圖使喬榮北歸，侍衛親軍都指揮使景延廣謂榮曰：「先朝是契丹所立，嗣君乃中國自冊，稱孫可矣，稱臣未可。 中國自有十萬口橫磨劍，要戰即來！」 榮至本國，具言其事，德光大怒，會青州楊光遠叛，遣使構之。 明年冬，德光率諸部南下，開運元年春，陷祁州，直抵大河，少帝幸澶州以禦之。 其年三月，德光敗於陽城，棄其車帳，乘一橐駝奔至幽州。 因怒其失律，自大首領已下各杖數百，唯趙延壽免焉。 是時，契丹連歲入寇，晉氏疲於奔命，邊民被苦，幾無寧日，晉相桑維翰勸少帝求和於契丹，以紓國難，少帝許之，乃遣使奉表稱臣，卑辭首過。 使回，德光報曰：「但使桑維翰、景延廣自來，並割鎮、定與我，則可通和也。」 朝廷知其不可，乃止。 時契丹諸部頻年出征，蕃國君臣稍厭兵革，德光母嘗謂蕃漢臣僚曰：「南朝漢兒爭得一向臥耶！ 自古及今，惟聞漢來和蕃，不聞蕃去和漢，待伊漢兒的當回心，則我亦不惜通好也。」
When the Young Emperor succeeded, he sent envoys to the Khitan. Deguang was furious that the new ruler had taken the throne without his leave and that the letters omitted the language of vassalage. He rebuked them openly and insulted every envoy who departed. When the Khitan envoy Qiao Rong was returning north, Palace Guard Commander Jing Yanguang told him, "Your court made our former emperor. This successor was enthroned by China itself. He may call himself your grandson, but not your subject. China has a hundred thousand blades ready to grind you down. If you want war, come and get it! Rong reported every word at home. Deguang was enraged. When Yang Guangyuan rebelled in Qingzhou, Deguang sent envoys to encourage him. The next winter Deguang marched south with all his tribes. In the spring of Kaiyun 1 he took Qizhou and reached the Yellow River. The Young Emperor went to Chanzhou to meet him. In the third month he was defeated at Yangcheng, abandoned his wagons and tents, and fled on a single camel to Youzhou. Furious at the disorder, he had every chief from the highest down flogged hundreds of times. Only Zhao Yanshou was spared. The Khitan had raided year after year. The Jin court was exhausted, the border people knew no peace. Chancellor Sang Weihan urged the Young Emperor to sue for peace. He agreed and sent envoys with a humble memorial calling himself subject and confessing fault. Deguang replied that peace was possible only if Sang Weihan and Jing Yanguang came in person and Zhen and Ding were ceded to him. The court knew that was impossible and abandoned the effort. Years of campaigning had wearied the Khitan court. Deguang's mother once told her officials, "Do those southern Han think they can just lie on their sides forever? From antiquity to now it has always been the Han who sue for peace with us, not the other way around. When those Han come to their senses, I too will not refuse friendship."
11
三年，樂壽監軍王巒繼有密奏，苦言瀛、鄚可取之狀。 十月，少帝遣杜重威、李守貞等率兵經略。 十一月，蕃將高牟翰敗晉師於瀛州之北，梁漢璋死之。 契丹主聞晉既出師，自率諸部由易、定抵鎮州，杜重威等自瀛州西趨常山，至中渡橋，敵已至矣，兩軍隔滹水而寨焉。 十二月十日，杜重威率諸軍降於契丹，語在《晉少帝紀》中。 十二日，德光入鎮州，大犒將士。 十四日，自鎮州南行，中渡降軍所釋甲仗百萬計，並令於鎮州收貯，戰馬數萬匹，長驅而北。 命張彥澤領二千騎先趨東京，遣重威部轄降兵取邢、相路前進。 晉少帝遣子延煦、延寶奉降表於契丹，並傳國寶一紐至牙帳。 明年春正月朔日，德光至汴北，文武百官迎於路。 是日入宮，至昏復出，次於赤崗。 五日，宣制降晉少帝為負義侯，於黃龍府安置。 七日，德光復自赤崗入居於大內，分命使臣於京城及往諸道括借錢帛。 偽命以李崧為西廳樞密使，以馮道為太傅，以左僕射和凝及北來翰林學士承旨張礪為宰相。 二月朔日，德光服漢法服，坐崇元殿受蕃漢朝賀，宣制大赦天下，改晉國為大遼國。 以趙延壽為大丞相，兼政事令，充樞密使兼中京留守。 降東京為防禦州，尋復為宣武軍。
In year three the Leshou supervisor Wang Luan sent repeated secret memorials insisting that Ying and Mo could be seized. In the tenth month the Young Emperor sent Du Chongwei, Li Shouzhen, and others on campaign. In the eleventh month the Khitan general Gao Mouhan routed the Jin army north of Yingzhou. Liang Hanzhang was killed. Hearing that the Jin had marched, the Khitan ruler led his tribes from Yi and Ding to Zhenzhou while Du Chongwei advanced west from Yingzhou toward Changshan. At Zhongdu Bridge the enemy was already there. The two armies camped on opposite banks of the Hutuo River. On the tenth day of the twelfth month Du Chongwei surrendered his entire army to the Khitan. The full account appears in the Basic Annals of the Jin Young Emperor. On the twelfth day Deguang entered Zhenzhou and feasted his troops. On the fourteenth he marched south from Zhenzhou. The surrendered Jin army had abandoned arms in the millions, which he ordered stored at Zhenzhou, along with tens of thousands of horses. Then he drove north at speed. He sent Zhang Yanze ahead with two thousand horsemen toward the Eastern Capital and ordered Chongwei to lead the surrendered troops along the Xing and Xiang route. The Young Emperor sent his sons Yanshu and Yanbao with the surrender memorial and the imperial seal cord to the Khitan camp. On New Year's Day of the following spring Deguang reached the north bank of Bian. Civil and military officials met him on the road. That day he entered the palace but withdrew at dusk and camped at Chigang. On the fifth day he demoted the Young Emperor to Marquis Who Betrayed Righteousness and sent him to Huanglong Prefecture. On the seventh day he moved from Chigang into the inner palace and sent agents through the capital and every circuit to seize money and silk. He appointed Li Song Grand Councilor of the Western Hall, Feng Dao Grand Tutor, and He Ning and the northern Hanlin academician Zhang Li as chancellors. On the first day of the second month Deguang wore Chinese court dress, took his seat in Chongyuan Hall to receive congratulations from Khitan and Han officials, proclaimed a general amnesty, and renamed the Jin realm Great Liao. He made Zhao Yanshou Grand Chancellor, Director of Affairs, Grand Councilor, and regent of the Central Capital. He reduced the Eastern Capital to a defense prefecture, then soon restored it as the Xuanwu command.
12
十五日，漢高祖建號於晉陽，德光聞之，削奪漢祖官爵。 是月，晉州、潞州並歸河東。 時盜賊所在群起，攻劫州郡，斷澶州浮梁。 契丹大恐，沿河諸藩鎮並以腹心鎮之。 三月朔日，德光坐崇元殿，行入閣之禮，睹漢家儀法之盛，大悅。 以其大將蕭翰為汴州節度使。 十七日，德光北還。 發離東京，宿於赤岡，有大聲如雷，起於牙帳之下，契丹自黎陽濟河，次湯陰縣界，有一岡，土人謂之愁死岡，德光憩於其上，謂宣徽使高勛曰：「我在上國，以打圍食肉為樂，自及漢地，每每不快，我若得歸本土，死亦無恨。」 勛退而謂人曰：「其語偷，殆將死矣。」 時賊帥梁暉據相州，德光親率諸部以攻之。 四月四日，屠其城而去。 德光聞河陽軍亂，謂蕃漢臣僚曰：「我有三失：殺上國兵士，打草谷，一失也； 天下括錢，二失也； 不尋遣節度使歸藩，三失也。」 十六日，次於欒城縣殺虎林之側，時德光已得寒熱疾數日矣，命部人賫酒脯，禱於得疾之地。 十八日晡時，有大星落於穹廬之前，若迸火而散，德光見之，西望而唾，連呼曰：「劉知遠滅，劉知遠滅！」 是月二十一日卒，時年四十六，主契丹凡二十二年。 契丹人破其屍，摘去腸胃，以鹽沃之，載而北去，漢人目之為「帝羓」焉。 〈（案「以下原本闕佚。 據《五代會要》云：四月十八日，德光卒於欒城。 五月，宣遣制，以永康王襲位。 永康王者，東丹王之長子，以其月二十一日領部族歸國，改會同十年為天祿元年，自稱天授皇帝。 漢乾祐三年十一月，率騎數萬，陷邢州之內丘縣、深州之饒陽縣。 周廣順元年正月，太祖命左千牛衛將軍朱憲往修和好，永康王亦遣使報命，獻良馬四匹，太祖復遣尚書左丞田敏、供奉官蔣光遂銜命往聘。 其年四月，田敏等回，永康王遣使獻碧玉金鍍銀裹鞍轡，並馬四十匹。 其月，太祖又命左金吾將軍姚漢英、左神武將軍華光裔往使。 其年九月，永康王為部下太寧王所弒，德光之子勒所部兵誅太寧王自立，稱應歷元年，號天順皇帝。 顯德元年春，太原劉崇將圖南寇，契丹將楊兗率騎萬餘以助之。 三月，世宗親征，與崇戰於潞州高平縣之南原，崇軍大敗，契丹眾棄甲而遁。 二年三月，命許州節度使王彥超等築壘於李晏口，與契丹數千騎戰於安平縣，敗之。）〉
On the fifteenth day the Han founder proclaimed his reign at Jinyang. Deguang heard of it and stripped him of all titles. That month Jin and Lu prefectures both went over to Hedong. Bandits rose everywhere, raided the prefectures, and destroyed the pontoon bridge at Chanzhou. The Khitan were terrified and posted trusted commanders along the river. On the first day of the third month he sat in Chongyuan Hall for the entering-the-pavilion ceremony. Delighted by the grandeur of Chinese court ritual, he was in high spirits. He appointed his general Xiao Han military governor of Bianzhou. On the seventeenth day Deguang marched north. Leaving the Eastern Capital he camped at Chigang. Thunder sounded beneath his tent. The Khitan crossed the river at Liyang and halted in Tangyin county at a hill the locals called Sorrow-Death Mound. Resting there, Deguang told Palace Secretariat commissioner Gao Xun, "At home I took joy in the hunt and fresh meat. Since I came to Han lands I have known little pleasure. If I can reach my own country again, I will die content. When Xun withdrew he told others, "His words were evasive. He is near death." The bandit Liang Hui held Xiangzhou, and Deguang led his tribes against him in person. On the fourth day of the fourth month he massacred the city and marched on. Hearing of the mutiny at Heyang, Deguang told his Khitan and Han officials, "I have committed three errors. I killed my own soldiers and let them plunder the countryside. That is the first. I seized money from the whole realm. That is the second. I did not send the military governors back to their posts at once. That is the third. On the sixteenth day he halted beside Tiger-Slaying Grove in Luancheng county. He had been feverish for days and ordered his men to offer wine and meat at the spot where he had fallen ill. Late on the eighteenth day a great star fell before his tent like a burst of fire. Deguang looked west, spat, and cried again and again, "Liu Zhiyuan is finished! Liu Zhiyuan is finished! He died on the twenty-first day of that month at the age of forty-six, having ruled the Khitan for twenty-two years. The Khitan opened his body, removed the entrails, packed it in salt, and carried it north. The Han called it the emperor's cured meat. (Note: The text below was originally missing from the received edition. According to the Essentials of the Five Dynasties, Deguang died at Luancheng on the eighteenth day of the fourth month. In the fifth month an edict proclaimed Prince Yongkang as successor. Prince Yongkang was the eldest son of the King of Eastern Dan. On the twenty-first day of that month he led the tribes home, proclaimed the Tianlu era in place of Huitong 10, and styled himself Emperor Heaven-Granted. In the eleventh month of Han Ganyou 3 he led tens of thousands of horsemen and took Neiqiu in Xingzhou and Raoyang in Shenzhou. In the first month of Zhou Guangshun 1 the Zhou founder sent Left Thousand-Ox Guard general Zhu Xian to restore relations. Prince Yongkang replied with envoys and four fine horses. The founder then sent Secretariat Director Tian Min and palace attendant Jiang Guangsui on a formal mission. When Tian Min returned that fourth month, Prince Yongkang sent envoys with jade saddlery plated in gold and silver and forty horses. That same month the founder sent Left Golden Crow Guard general Yao Hanying and Left Divine Martial Guard general Hua Guangyi as envoys. In the ninth month Prince Yongkang was murdered by his subordinate Prince Taining. Deguang's son Le killed Taining, seized the throne, proclaimed the Yingli era, and styled himself Emperor Heaven-Compliant. In the spring of Xiande 1 Liu Chong of Taiyuan prepared to invade the south, and the Khitan general Yang Yan led more than ten thousand horsemen to help him. In the third month Emperor Shizong marched in person and met Chong on the southern plain of Gaoping in Luzhou. Chong's army was routed and the Khitan threw down their armor and fled. In the third month of year two he ordered Xuzhou military governor Wang Yanchao and others to build fortifications at Li Yankou. They fought several thousand Khitan horsemen at Anping county and defeated them.) 〉