1
耶律合住劉景劉六符耶律甗履牛溫舒杜防蕭和尚 〈（特末）〉 耶律合裏只耶律頗的
Yelu Hezhu, Liu Jing, Liu Liufu, Yelu Lü, Niu Wenshu, Du Fang, and Xiao Heshang (Temuo)]〉 Yelu Helizhi and Yelu Pode
2
耶律合住，字粘袞，太祖弟叠剌之孫。 幼不好弄，臨事明敏，善談論。 初以近族入侍，每從征伐有功。 保寧初，加右龍虎衛上將軍。 以宋師屢梗南邊，拜涿州刺史，西南兵馬都監、招安、巡檢等使，賜推忠奉國功臣。 合住久任邊防，雖有克獲功，然務鎮靜，不妄生事以邀近功。 鄰壤敬畏，屬部乂安。 宋數遣人結歡，冀達和意，合住表聞其事，帝許議和。 安邊懷敵，多有力焉。 拜左金吾衛上將軍。 秩滿，遙攝鎮國軍節度使，卒。
Yelu Hezhu, whose style name was Niangun, was a grandson of Diela, a younger brother of Taizu. From childhood he shunned idle play; in office he was quick and perceptive, and an able conversationalist. He first entered court service as a near kinsman of the throne and repeatedly distinguished himself on campaign. Early in the Baoning era he received the additional post of General-in-Chief of the Right Dragon-Tiger Guards. As Song armies repeatedly harassed the southern border, he was made prefect of Zhuo, Southwest Military Commissioner, and Pacification and Patrol Commissioner, among other posts, and granted the merit title Loyal and Faithful Servant of the State. Hezhu served long on the frontier. Though he won his share of victories, he kept the border calm and would not stir up trouble merely to win quick acclaim. Neighboring territories respected him, and the tribes under his charge lived in peace. The Song court repeatedly sent envoys to open friendly contact in hope of peace; Hezhu reported this to the throne, and the emperor agreed to negotiate. He did much to pacify the frontier and win over the enemy. He was appointed General-in-Chief of the Left Golden Crow Guards. When his term expired he was given titular charge of the Zhenguo circuit as military commissioner, and soon after died.
3
合住智而有文，曉暢戎政。 鎮范陽時，嘗領數騎徑詣雄州北門，與郡將立馬陳兩國利害，及周師侵邊本末。 辭氣慷慨，左右壯之。 自是，邊境數年無事。 識者以謂合住一言，賢於數十萬兵。
Hezhu was both clever and learned, with a thorough grasp of frontier affairs. While posted at Fanyang he once rode with only a few followers straight to the north gate of Xiong Prefecture, where he and the Song prefect, both on horseback, laid out the interests of the two states and the full story of the Zhou invasion of the borderlands. His speech was bold and impassioned, and all who heard him were moved. After that the frontier remained quiet for several years. Men of judgment held that a single speech by Hezhu was worth more than an army of hundreds of thousands.
4
劉景，字可大，河間人。 四世祖怦，即朱滔之甥，唐右僕射、盧龍軍節度使。 父守敬，南京副留守。 景資端厚，好學能文。 燕王趙延壽辟為幽都府文學。 應歷初，遷右拾遺、知制誥，為翰林學士。 九年，周人侵燕，留守蕭思溫上急變，帝欲俟秋出師，景諫曰：「河北三關已陷於敵，今復侵燕，安可坐視！」 上不聽。 會父憂去。 未幾，起復舊職。 一日，召草赦，既成，留數月不出。 景奏曰：「唐制，赦書日行五百里，今稽期弗發，非也。」 上亦不報。 景宗即位，以景忠實，擢禮部侍郎，遷尚書、宣政殿學士。 上方欲倚用，乃書其笏曰：「劉景可為宰相。」 頃之，為南京副留守。 時留守韓匡嗣因扈從北上，景與其子德讓共理京事。 俄召為戶部使，歷武定、開遠二軍節度使。 統和六年致仕，加兼侍中。 卒，年六十七。 贈太子太師。 子慎行，孫一德、二玄、三嘏、四端、五常、六符，皆具六符傳。
Liu Jing, whose style name was Keda, came from Hejian. His fourth-generation ancestor Bing was Zhu Tao's nephew and had served the Tang as Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and military commissioner of Lulong. His father Shoujing had been deputy regent of the Southern Capital. Jing was sober and upright by nature, fond of study, and skilled with the pen. Zhao Yanshou, Prince of Yan, took him on as literary officer of the Youdu prefectural staff. Early in the Yingli reign he was promoted to Right Reminder and drafter of edicts, and appointed a Hanlin academician. In the ninth year the Zhou attacked Yan. Regent Xiao Siwen reported the crisis, but the emperor wanted to wait until autumn before marching. Jing urged him, saying, "The three passes of Hebei have already fallen to the enemy, and now they invade Yan again—how can we simply look on! The emperor would not listen. He then left office to observe mourning for his father. Before long he was recalled from mourning to his former post. One day he was ordered to draft an amnesty edict; when it was finished, it was kept back for months without being promulgated. Jing submitted a memorial, saying, "Under Tang practice an amnesty edict was to travel five hundred li a day; to hold it back now is wrong. Again the emperor made no response. When Emperor Jingzong came to the throne, Jing's integrity won him promotion to Vice Minister of Rites and then to Minister and academician of the Xuanzheng Hall. The emperor was preparing to rely on him heavily and wrote on his court tablet, "Liu Jing is fit to be chief minister. Soon afterward he was made deputy regent of the Southern Capital. The regent Han Kuangsi had accompanied the court north, and Jing governed the capital together with Han's son Derang. He was soon recalled to serve as commissioner of the Household Bureau and later held military commissions in the Wuding and Kaiyuan circuits. In the sixth year of Tonghe he retired from office and was given the additional rank of Palace Attendant. He died at the age of sixty-seven. He was posthumously honored as Grand Preceptor of the Heir Apparent. His son was Shenxing; his grandsons Yide, Erxuan, Sangu, Siduan, Wuchang, and Liufu are all covered in the following account of Liu Liufu.
5
劉六符，父慎行，由膳部員外郎累遷至北府宰相、監修國史。 時上多即宴飲行誅賞，慎行諫曰：「以喜怒加威福，恐未當。」 帝悟，諭政府「自今宴飲有刑賞事，翌日稟行」。 為都統，伐高麗，以失軍期下吏，議貴乃免，出為彰武軍節度使。 賜保節功臣。 子六人：一德、二玄、三嘏、四端、五常、六符。 德早世。 玄終上京留守。 常歷三司使、武定軍節度使。 嘏、端、符皆第進士。 嘏、端俱尚王，為駙馬都尉。 三嘏獻聖宗《一矢斃雙鹿賦》，上嘉其贍麗。 與公主不諧，奔宋； 歸，殺之。 四端以衛尉少卿使宋賀生辰，方宴，大張女樂，竟席不顧，人憚其嚴。 還，拜樞密直學士。
Liu Liufu was the son of Shenxing, who had risen from vice director of the Board of Foodstuffs to grand councilor of the Northern Chancellery and supervisor of the national history. At that time the emperor often pronounced punishments and rewards while drinking at court. Shenxing urged him, saying, "To grant authority and favor according to mood is hardly proper. The emperor took the point and instructed the government that from then on any punishments or rewards decided at banquets were to be reported and carried out only on the following day. As supreme commander against Goryeo he missed the campaign schedule and was handed over to the courts; because of his noble rank the penalty was waived, and he was sent out as military commissioner of Zhangwu. He was granted the merit title Preserver of Integrity. He had six sons: Yide, Erxuan, Sangu, Siduan, Wuchang, and Liufu. Yide died young. Erxuan eventually became regent of the Supreme Capital. Wuchang served in turn as commissioner of the Three Bureaus and as military commissioner of Wuding. Sangu, Siduan, and Liufu all passed the jinshi examination. Sangu and Siduan both married imperial princesses and became commandants of escort. Sangu presented to Emperor Shengzong his fu 《One Arrow Slays Two Deer》, which the emperor praised for its richness and polish. He fell out with his princess and fled to Song; when he returned he was put to death. Siduan went to Song as vice director of the Court of Imperial Stud to congratulate the emperor on his birthday. At the banquet the Song court set out a great display of female musicians, but he never once looked their way; all who saw him feared his sternness. On his return he was appointed direct academician of the Bureau of Military Affairs.
6
六符有誌操，能文。 重熙初，遷政事舍人，擢翰林學士。 十一年，與宣徽使蕭特末使宋索十縣地； 還，為漢人行宮副部署。 會宋遣使增歲幣以易十縣，復與耶律仁先使宋，定「進貢」名，宋難之。 六符曰：「本朝兵強將勇，海內共知，人人願從事於宋。 若恣其俘獲以飽所欲，與『進貢』字孰多？ 況大兵駐燕，萬一南進，何以禦之！ 顧小節，忘大患，悔將何及！」 宋乃從之，歲幣稱「貢」。 六符還，加同中書門下平章事。 及宋幣至，命六符為三司使以受之。 六符與參知政事杜防有隙，防以六符嘗受宋賂，白其事，出為長寧軍節度使，俄召為三司使。 道宗即位，將行大冊禮，北院樞密使蕭革曰：「行大禮備儀物，必擇廣地，莫若黃川。」 六符曰：「不然。 禮儀國之大體，帝王之樂不奏於野。 今中京四方之極，朝覲各得其所，宜中京行之。」 上從其議。 尋以疾卒。
Liufu was a man of principle and an able writer. Early in the Chongxi era he was made administrative drafting attendant and then promoted to Hanlin academician. In the eleventh year he went with Commissioner of the Palace Secretariat Xiao Temuo as envoy to Song to demand the return of ten counties; on his return he was made deputy commissioner of the Han palaces. When Song sent envoys offering to increase the annual payments in exchange for the ten counties, he went again with Yelu Renxian to fix the term "tribute presentation," which the Song court resisted. Liufu said, "Our dynasty's armies are strong and its generals brave—the whole world knows it, and every soldier would gladly march against Song. If they were turned loose to take captives and booty to their hearts' content, how would that weigh against the word 'tribute'? And with a great army stationed at Yan, if it should march south, how would you withstand it! To cling to a petty point and forget a grave danger—when regret comes, it will be too late! Song then yielded, and the annual payments were henceforth styled "tribute." On his return Liufu was made associate chief councilor of the Secretariat-Chancellery. When the Song payments arrived, he was appointed commissioner of the Three Bureaus to receive them. Liufu and Vice Director Du Fang were at odds; Fang reported that Liufu had once taken bribes from Song. He was sent out as military commissioner of Changning, but was soon recalled as commissioner of the Three Bureaus. When Emperor Daozong came to the throne and prepared the great investiture rite, Northern Chancellery Military Affairs Commissioner Xiao Ge said, "A great ceremony requires ample space and full ritual equipment—no place is better than Huangchuan. Liufu said, "That will not do. Ritual is the great foundation of a state; an emperor's music is not performed in the open countryside. The Central Capital is the hub of the realm, where audiences from every quarter can be properly received—it should be held there. The emperor accepted his view. He soon died of illness.
7
耶律履，字海鄰，六院夷離堇蒲古只之後。 風神爽秀，工於畫。 重熙間，累遷同知點檢司事。 駙馬都尉蕭胡睹為夏人所執，奉詔索之，三返以歸，轉永興宮使、右祗候郎君班詳穩。 履將娶秦晉長公主孫，其母與公主婢有隙，謂履曰：「能去婢，乃許爾婚。」 履以計殺之，婚成。 事覺，有司以大辟論。 履善畫，寫聖宗真以獻，得減坐，長流邊戍。 復以寫真，召拜同知南院宣徽事。 使宋賀正，寫宋主容以歸。 清寧間，復使宋。 宋主賜宴，瓶花隔面，未得其真。 陛辭，僅一視，及境，以像示餞者，駭其神妙。 聞重元亂，不即勤王。 賊平入賀，帝責讓之。 宴酣，顧履曰：「重元事成，卿必得為上客！」 履大慚。 咸雍中，加太子太師，卒。
Yelu Lü, whose style name was Hailin, was a descendant of Puguzhi, yilijin of the Six Divisions. He was handsome and spirited, and a skilled painter. During the Chongxi era he rose to associate director of the Inspection Office. When Commandant of Escort Xiao Huzhu was captured by the Tangut, Lü was ordered to secure his release and brought him back after three missions. He was then made commissioner of the Yongxing Palace and detailed commander of the Right Palace Attendant Gentlemen Company. Lü was to marry a granddaughter of the Qin-Jin Senior Princess. The girl's mother bore a grudge against one of the princess's maids and told Lü, "Remove that maid, and I will consent to the marriage. Lü contrived her death, and the marriage went ahead. When the affair came to light, the courts sought the death penalty. Because he was a skilled painter, he painted a portrait of Emperor Shengzong and presented it, winning a reduced sentence and lifelong exile to the frontier garrisons. He was later recalled through his portraiture and appointed associate commissioner of the Southern Chancellery Palace Secretariat. Sent to Song to congratulate the New Year, he painted the Song emperor's likeness and brought it home. During the Qingning era he was again sent as envoy to Song. At a banquet given by the Song emperor, flowers in vases blocked his view, and he could not capture a true likeness. At his farewell audience he had only a single glance; when he reached the border he showed the portrait to those who had come to see him off, and they marveled at its lifelike brilliance. When he heard of Chongyuan's rebellion, he did not hurry to the emperor's aid. After the rebels were crushed he came to offer congratulations, and the emperor rebuked him. As the banquet grew lively, the emperor turned to Lü and said, "If Chongyuan had succeeded, you would surely have been his honored guest! Lü was deeply ashamed. During the Xianyong era he was made Grand Preceptor of the Heir Apparent and died.
8
牛溫舒，范陽人。 剛正尚節義，有遠器。 咸雍中，擢進士第，滯小官。 大安初，累遷戶部使，轉給事中、知三司使事。 國民兼足，上以為能，加戶部侍郎，改三司使。 壽隆中，拜參知政事，兼同知樞密院事，攝中京留守。 部民詣闕請真拜，從之。 召為三司使。 乾統初，復參知政事，知南院樞密使事。 五年，夏為宋所攻，來請和解。 溫舒與蕭得裏底使宋。 方大燕，優人為道士裝，索土泥藥爐。 優曰：「土少不能和。」 溫舒遽起，以手藉土懷之。 宋主問其故，溫舒對曰：「臣奉天子威命來和，若不從，則當卷土收去。」 宋人大驚，遂許夏和。 還，加中書令，卒。
Niu Wenshu came from Fanyang. He was upright and principled, held integrity in high regard, and showed promise of great things. During the Xianyong era he passed the jinshi examination but languished in minor posts. Early in the Da'an era he rose to commissioner of the Household Bureau, then became supervising secretary and acting commissioner of the Three Bureaus. When the realm's people were well supplied, the emperor judged him capable, made him vice minister of the Household Bureau, and appointed him commissioner of the Three Bureaus. During the Shoulong era he was made vice director of the Secretariat, associate director of the Bureau of Military Affairs, and acting regent of the Central Capital. The people of his jurisdiction petitioned the court for his formal appointment, and the request was granted. He was recalled to serve as commissioner of the Three Bureaus. Early in the Qian Tong era he again became vice director of the Secretariat and director of Southern Chancellery military affairs. In the fifth year the Tangut, attacked by Song, came to seek Liao's mediation for peace. Wenshu and Xiao Delidi were sent as envoys to Song. At a grand banquet an actor dressed as a Daoist priest asked for earth to knead into a medicine furnace. The actor said, "There is too little earth to knead it properly. Wenshu rose at once, scooped up earth in his hands, and pressed it to his chest. When the Song emperor asked why, Wenshu answered, "I have come with our emperor's mandate to make peace; if you refuse, I shall roll up this earth and carry it home. The Song court was deeply alarmed and agreed to make peace with the Tangut. On his return he was made director of the Secretariat and soon died.
9
杜防，涿州歸義縣人。 開泰五年，擢進士甲科，累遷起居郎、知制誥，人以為有宰相器。 太平中，遷政事舍人，拜樞密副使。 重熙九年，夏人侵宋。 宋遣郭稹來告，請與夏和，上命防使夏解之。 如約罷兵，各歸侵地，拜參知政事。 韓紹芳、劉六符忌之，防待以誠。 十二年，紹芳等罷，愈見信任。 十三年，拜南府宰相。 十五年，防生子，帝幸其第，賜名王門奴。 以進奏有誤，出為武定軍節度使。 十七年，復召為南府宰相。 二十一年秋，祭仁德皇后，詔儒臣賦詩，防為冠，賜金帶。 道宗諒陰，為大行皇帝山陵使。 清寧二年，上諭防曰：「朕以卿年老嗜酒，不欲煩以劇務。 朝廷之事，總綱而已。」 頃之，拜右丞相，加尚父，卒。 上嘆悼不已，赗贈加等，官給葬具，贈中書令，謚曰元肅。 子公謂，終南府宰相。
Du Fang came from Guiyi County in Zhuo Prefecture. In the fifth year of Kaitai he passed the jinshi examination in the top class, rose to court diarist and drafter of edicts, and was widely regarded as chief-minister material. During the Taiping era he became administrative drafting attendant and vice commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. In the ninth year of Chongxi the Tangut attacked Song. Song sent Guo Zhen to report the crisis and ask for peace with the Tangut; the emperor ordered Fang to mediate with the Tangut. As agreed, both sides halted hostilities and returned seized territory, and he was made vice director of the Secretariat. Han Shaofang and Liu Liufu were jealous of him, yet Fang treated them with sincerity. In the twelfth year Shaofang and his faction were dismissed, and Fang won still greater trust. In the thirteenth year he was made grand councilor of the Southern Chancellery. In the fifteenth year Fang had a son; the emperor visited his home and gave the child the name Wangmennu. After an error in a memorial report he was sent out as military commissioner of Wuding. In the seventeenth year he was recalled as grand councilor of the Southern Chancellery. In the autumn of the twenty-first year, at the rites for Empress Rend, the court ordered scholar-officials to compose poems; Fang's ranked first, and he was granted a gold belt. During Emperor Daozong's mourning for his father, he served as commissioner for the late emperor's tomb. In the second year of Qingning the emperor told Fang, "You are old and fond of wine, and I do not wish to burden you with heavy duties. In court affairs you need only hold the general lines. Soon afterward he was made right chief councilor and honored as Exalted Father, then died. The emperor mourned him deeply, increased the funeral gifts, supplied state burial goods, posthumously made him director of the Secretariat, and gave him the posthumous title Yuansu. His son Gongwei eventually became grand councilor of the Southern Chancellery.
10
蕭和尚，字洪寧，國舅大父房之後。 忠直，多智略。 開泰初，補禦盞郎君，尋為內史、太醫等局都林牙。 使宋賀正，將宴，典儀者告，班節度使下。 和尚曰：「班次如此，是不以大國之使相禮。 且以錦服為貺，如待蕃部。 若果如是，吾不預宴。」 宋臣不能對，賜以紫服，位視執政，使禮始定。 八年秋，為唐古部節度使，卒。 弟特末。
Xiao Heshang, whose style name was Hongning, came from the Great-Grandfather Branch of the imperial maternal clan. He was loyal, upright, and full of stratagem. Early in Kaitai he entered service as cupbearer attendant and soon became chief secretary of the Inner History, Imperial Medical Service, and related bureaus. Sent to Song to congratulate the New Year, he was told before the banquet that he would be seated below military commissioners. Heshang said, "Such seating does not treat an envoy of a great power with proper courtesy. And to offer brocade robes as gifts is to treat us like a frontier tribe. If that is truly the case, I will not attend the banquet. The Song officials had no answer; he was granted purple robes and a seat equal to the chief ministers, and envoy protocol was settled. In the autumn of the eighth year he was made military commissioner of the Tangut tribes and died. His younger brother was Temuo.
11
特末，字何寧。 為人機辨任氣。 太平中，累遷安東軍節度使，有能稱。 十一年，召為左祗候郎君班詳穩。 未幾，遷左夷離畢。 重熙十年，累遷北院宣徽使。 明年，與劉六符使宋，索十縣故地，宋請增銀、絹十萬兩、匹以易之。 歸，稱旨，加同政事門下平章事。 詔城西南渾底甸。 還，復為北院宣徽使，卒。
Temuo, whose style name was Haning. He was quick-witted, bold, and self-willed. During the Taiping era he rose to military commissioner of Andong and won a reputation for ability. In the eleventh year he was recalled as detailed commander of the Left Palace Attendant Gentlemen Company. Before long he was made left yilibi. In the tenth year of Chongxi he rose to commissioner of the Northern Chancellery Palace Secretariat. The following year he went with Liu Liufu to Song to demand the return of ten former counties; Song offered to increase the annual payments of silver and silk by one hundred thousand taels and bolts in exchange. On his return he pleased the emperor and was made associate chief councilor of the Secretariat-Chancellery. He was ordered to build a city at Hundidian in the southwest. On his return he again served as commissioner of the Northern Chancellery Palace Secretariat and died.
12
耶律合裏只，字特滿，六院夷離堇蒲古只之後。 重熙中，累遷西南面招討都監。 充宋國生辰使，館於白溝驛。 宋宴勞，優者嘲蕭惠河西之敗。 合裏只曰：「勝負兵家常事。 我嗣聖皇帝俘石重貴，至今興中有石家寨。 惠之一敗，何足較哉！」 宋人慚服。 帝聞之曰：「優令失辭，何可傷兩國交好！」 鞭二百，免官。 清寧初，起為懷化軍節度使。 七年，入為北院大王，封豳國公。 歷遼興軍節度使、東北路詳穩，加兼侍中。 致仕，卒。
Yelu Helizhi, whose style name was Teman, was a descendant of Puguzhi, yilijin of the Six Divisions. During the Chongxi era he rose to southwest pacification and suppression commissioner-in-chief. As envoy to Song for the emperor's birthday, he lodged at the Baigou post station. At the banquet held in his honor, an actor mocked Xiao Hui's defeat on the western frontier. Helizhi said, "Victory and defeat are common in war. Our Emperor Shizong took Shi Chonggui prisoner, and to this day Xingzhong has a Shijia Stockade to prove it. What is one defeat of Hui's beside that! The Song were silenced and impressed. When the emperor heard of it he said, "The actor spoke out of turn—how could that be allowed to harm relations between our two states! The actor was given two hundred lashes and dismissed from office. Early in Qingning he was recalled as military commissioner of Huaihua. In the seventh year he entered court as great king of the Northern Chancellery and was enfeoffed as Duke of Bin. He served in turn as military commissioner of Liaoxing and detailed commander of the northeast route, and was given the additional rank of palace attendant. He retired from office and died.
13
合裏只明達勤恪，懷柔有道。 置諸賓館及西邊營田，皆自合裏只發之。
Helizhi was clear-minded, diligent, and skilled in winning people through kindness. The guesthouses and western frontier garrison farms were all established on his initiative.
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耶律頗的，字撒版，季父房奴瓜之孫。 孤介寡合。 重熙初，補牌印郎君。 清寧初，稍遷知易州。 去官，部民請留，許之。 咸雍八年，改彰國軍節度使。 上獵大牢古山，頗的謁於行宮。 帝問邊事，對曰：「自應州南境至天池，皆我耕牧之地。 清寧間，邊將不謹，為宋所侵，烽堠內移，似非所宜。」 道宗然之。 拜北面林牙。 後遣人使宋，得其侵地，命頗的往定疆界。 還，拜南院宣徽使。 大康四年，遷忠順軍節度使，尋為南院大王，改同知南京留守事，召拜南府宰相，賜貞良功臣，封吳國公，為北院樞密使。 廉謹奉公，知無不為。 大安中致仕，卒。 子霞抹，北院樞密副使。
Yelu Pode, whose style name was Saban, was a grandson of Nugua of the Shufu branch. He was aloof by nature and kept little company. Early in Chongxi he entered service as seal and tablet attendant. Early in Qingning he was promoted to prefect of Yi. When he left office the people of his jurisdiction petitioned to keep him, and the request was granted. In the eighth year of Xianyong he was transferred as military commissioner of Zhangguo. When the emperor hunted on Mount Dalaogu, Pode presented himself at the traveling palace. Asked about frontier affairs, he replied, "From the southern border of Ying Prefecture to Heaven Pool, all is our land for farming and grazing. During Qingning our frontier commanders were careless; Song encroached, and our beacon towers were pulled back inland—which seems unwise. Emperor Daozong agreed. He was appointed northern secretary. Later an envoy to Song recovered the seized territory, and Pode was ordered to go demarcate the border. On his return he was made commissioner of the Southern Chancellery Palace Secretariat. In the fourth year of Dakang he was made military commissioner of Zhongshun; soon he became great king of the Southern Chancellery, associate regent of the Southern Capital, and grand councilor of the Southern Chancellery, was granted the merit title of Integrity, enfeoffed as Duke of Wu, and appointed military affairs commissioner of the Northern Chancellery. He was incorrupt, conscientious in public service, and did whatever duty required. He retired during the Da'an era and died. His son Xiamo became vice military affairs commissioner of the Northern Chancellery.
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論曰：耶律合住安邊講好，養兵息民，其慮深遠矣。 六符啟釁邀功，豈國家之利哉？ 牛、杜、頗的、合裏只輩銜命出使，幸不辱命。 裏殺人婢以求婚，身負罪釁，畫其主容，以冀免死，亦可醜也。
The historians comment: Yelu Hezhu secured the frontier and pursued peace, kept the army in readiness while giving the people rest—his foresight ran deep. Liufu stirred up conflict to win credit—what advantage was that to the state? Niu, Du, Pode, Helizhi, and men of their stamp went abroad on imperial commission and, fortunately, did not disgrace their missions. Lü murdered a maid to secure a marriage; stained with a capital crime, he painted his sovereign's portrait in hope of escaping death—a shameful affair indeed.