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Yelu Hezhu, Liu Jing, Liu Liufu, Yelu Lü, Niu Wenshu, Du Fang, and Xiao Heshang (Temuo) Yelu Helizhi and Yelu Pode
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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, "From then on, any punishments or rewards decided at banquets are 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 Rende, 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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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.