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奸臣上○耶律乙辛張孝傑耶律燕哥蕭十三
Treacherous Ministers, Part 1 ○ Yelü Yixin, Zhang Xiaojie, Yelü Yangge, and Xiao Shisan
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《春秋》褒貶，善惡並書，示勸懲也。 故遷、固傳佞幸、酷吏，歐陽修則並奸臣錄之，將俾為君者知所鑒，為臣者知所戒。 此天地聖賢之心，國家安危之機，治亂之原也。 遼自耶律乙辛而下，奸臣十人，其敗國皆足以為戒，故列於《傳》。
In the Spring and Autumn Annals, praise and blame appear side by side, and good and evil are recorded together, so that readers may be encouraged or warned. That is why Sima Qian and Ban Gu devoted biographies to flatterers and harsh officials, and why Ouyang Xiu added treacherous ministers as well—so that rulers would know what to heed and ministers what to fear. Such writing reflects the intent of Heaven, earth, and the sages; it touches the hinge on which a state's safety turns and the root from which order and chaos spring. Under the Liao, from Yelü Yixin onward there were ten such ministers, each of whose ruinous careers is warning enough to be recorded in the Biographies.
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耶律乙辛，字胡睹袞，五院部人。 父叠剌，家貧，服用不給，部人號「窮叠剌」。 初，乙辛母方娠，夜夢手搏羖羊，拔其角尾。 既寤占之，術者曰：「此吉兆也。 羊去角尾為王字，汝後有子當王。」 及乙辛生，適在路，無水以浴，回車破轍，忽見湧泉。 叠剌自以得子，欲酒以慶，聞酒香，於草棘間得二榼，因祭東焉。 乙辛幼慧黠。 嘗牧羊至日昃，叠剌視之，乙辛熟寢。 叠剌觸之覺，乙辛怒曰：「何遽驚我！ 適夢人手執日月以食我，我已食月，啖日方半而覺，惜不盡食之。」 叠剌自是不令牧羊。
Yelü Yixin, whose courtesy name was Hudugun, came from the Five-Yuan Division. His father Yela was so poor that the family could scarcely keep clothed and fed, and their clansmen nicknamed him "Poor Yela." Before he was born, his mother dreamed that she grappled with a ram and tore off its horns and tail. On waking she had the dream interpreted, and the diviner said, "This is a fortunate sign. A ram stripped of horn and tail leaves the character for 'king'; you will bear a son who is destined for kingship." When Yixin was born they were still on the road and had no water for the birth-bath; they turned the cart back, the wheel broke through the track, and a spring suddenly welled up. Yela, overjoyed at having a son, wanted wine for a celebration; catching the scent of wine, he found two jars among the brush and offered sacrifice to the east. As a boy Yixin was clever and quick-witted. Once, while herding sheep until late in the day, he was found by Yela fast asleep. Yela roused him with a touch, and Yixin snapped, "Why wake me so abruptly! I was dreaming that someone was feeding me the sun and moon—I had already swallowed the moon and was halfway through the sun when you woke me. I regret not finishing the meal. After that Yela never sent him out to herd sheep again.
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大康元年，皇太子始預朝政，法度修明。 乙辛不得逞，謀以事誣皇后。 后既死，乙辛不自安，又欲害太子。 乘間入奏曰：「帝與后如天地並位，中宮豈可曠？」 盛稱其黨駙馬都尉蕭霞抹之妹美而賢。 上信之，納於宮，尋冊為皇后。 時護衛蕭忽古知乙辛奸狀，伏橋下，欲殺之。 俄暴雨壞橋，謀不遂。 林牙蕭巖壽密奏曰：「乙辛自皇太子預政，內懷疑懼，又與宰相張孝傑相附會。 恐有異圖，不可使居要地。」 出為中京留守。 乙辛泣謂人曰：「乙辛無過，因讒見出。」 其黨蕭霞抹輩以其言聞於上。 上悔之。 無何，出蕭巖壽為順義軍節度使，詔近臣議召乙辛事。 北面官屬無敢言者，耶律撒剌曰：「初以蕭巖壽奏出乙辛，若所言不當，宜坐以罪，若當，則不可復召。」 累諫不從。 乃復召為北院樞密使。
In the first year of the Dakang era, the crown prince began to take part in government, and regulations were enforced with new rigor. Unable to have his way, Yixin plotted to frame the empress on a false charge. Once the empress was dead, Yixin grew uneasy and turned his mind again to destroying the crown prince. Seizing a moment to address the throne, he said, "Emperor and empress stand together like Heaven and earth—how can the inner palace be left vacant? He then spoke at length of the beauty and virtue of the sister of his ally, Imperial Son-in-Law Commandant Xiao Xiamo. The emperor believed him, brought the woman into the palace, and soon installed her as empress. The guardsman Xiao Hugu, who knew Yixin's treachery, lay in ambush beneath a bridge intending to kill him. A sudden downpour wrecked the bridge, and the plot came to nothing. Palace Secretary Xiao Yanshou submitted a secret memorial: "Ever since the crown prince entered government, Yixin has been inwardly fearful, and he has been in league with Chief Minister Zhang Xiaojie. I fear he harbors ulterior designs; he must not be left in a position of power. Yixin was transferred out to serve as Military Governor of the Central Capital. Yixin wept and told others, "I have done nothing wrong; it is slander that has driven me out. His partisans, including Xiao Xiamo, repeated these words to the emperor. The emperor came to regret the decision. Before long Xiao Yanshou was posted away as Military Commissioner of the Shunyi Army, and the emperor ordered his close advisers to deliberate on recalling Yixin. None of the Northern Court officials dared speak up until Yelü Sala said, "Yixin was removed on Xiao Yanshou's memorial. If that memorial was wrong, Yanshou should be punished; if it was right, Yixin must not be brought back. He remonstrated again and again, but the emperor would not listen. Yixin was nevertheless recalled and reappointed Commissioner of the Northern Commissioner's Office.
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時皇太子以母後之故，憂見顏色。 乙辛黨欣躍相慶，讒謗沸騰，忠良之士，斥逐殆盡。 乙辛因蕭十三之言，夜召蕭得裏特謀構太子，令護衛太保耶律查剌誣告耶律撒剌等同謀立皇太子。 詔按無跡而罷。 又令牌印郎君蕭訛都斡詣上誣首：「耶律查剌前告耶律撒剌等事皆實，臣亦與其謀。 本欲殺乙辛等而立太子。 臣等若不言，恐事白連坐。」 詔使鞫劾，乙辛迫令具伏。 上怒，命誅撒剌及速撒等。 乙辛恐帝疑，引數人庭詰，各令荷重校，繩系其頸，不能出氣，人人不堪其酷，惟求速死。 反奏曰：「別無異辭。」 時方暑，屍不得瘞，以至地臭。 乃囚皇太子於上京，監衛者皆其黨。 尋遣蕭達魯古、撒把害太子。 乙辛黨大喜，聚飲數日。 上京留守蕭撻得以卒聞。 上哀悼，欲召其妻，乙辛陰遣人殺之，以滅其口。
The crown prince, grieving his mother's death, wore sorrow plain on his face. Yixin's faction rejoiced openly while slander swirled through the court and loyal officials were driven out almost to a man. Acting on Xiao Shisan's counsel, Yixin summoned Xiao Delite by night to plot against the crown prince and had Guards Commissioner Yelü Chala accuse Yelü Sala and others of conspiring to put the prince on the throne. An investigation ordered by edict found no evidence, and the case was dropped. He then had Seal-and-Token Gentleman Xiao Eduo appear before the throne with a fabricated confession: "Yelü Chala's earlier charge against Yelü Sala and the others was true, and I was party to the plot as well. Our plan was to kill Yixin and his faction and set up the crown prince. If we kept silent, we feared we would be punished together once the plot was exposed. The emperor ordered an inquiry, and Yixin tortured the accused until they confessed. Enraged, the emperor ordered Sala, Susa, and the others put to death. Fearing the emperor's doubts, Yixin had several men questioned in the courtyard, loaded with heavy cangues and ropes drawn tight about their necks until they could scarcely breathe; broken by the torment, each man begged only for a swift death. He then reported back, "They have nothing further to say. It was high summer, and the bodies could not be buried in time; the stench filled the ground. The crown prince was imprisoned at the Supreme Capital under guards who were all Yixin's men. Soon afterward Xiao Dalugu and Saba were dispatched to murder the crown prince. Yixin's faction celebrated with feasting that lasted for days. Xiao Tade, Military Governor of the Supreme Capital, was able to report the prince's death in detail. The emperor mourned and wished to summon the prince's wife, but Yixin secretly had her killed to silence anyone who might speak.
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五年正月，上將出獵，乙辛奏留皇孫，上欲從之。 同知點檢蕭兀納諫曰：「陛下若從乙辛留皇孫，皇孫尚幼，左右無人，願留臣保護，以防不測。」 遂與皇孫俱行。 由是上始疑乙辛，頗知其奸。 會北幸，將次黑山之平澱，上適見扈從官屬多隨乙辛後，惡之，出乙辛知南院大王事。 及例削一字王爵，改王混同，意稍自安。 及赴闕入謝，帝即日遣還，改知興中府事。 七年冬，坐以禁物鬻入外國，下有司議，法當死。 乙辛黨耶律燕哥獨奏當入八議，得減死論，擊以鐵骨朵，幽於來州。 後謀奔宋及私藏兵甲事覺，縊殺之。 乾統二年，發冢，戮其屍。
In the first month of the fifth year, as the emperor prepared to go hunting, Yixin asked that the imperial grandson be left behind, and the emperor was inclined to agree. Associate Commissioner of the Palace Inspection Office Xiao Wuna remonstrated: "If Your Majesty leaves the grandson behind as Yixin wishes, he is still a child with no one trustworthy at his side. Allow me to stay and guard him against mishap. The emperor took the grandson with him on the hunt. From this the emperor first began to suspect Yixin and to see something of his treachery. On a tour of the north, as the court was about to encamp at the Pingdian ford on Black Mountain, the emperor noticed how many attendants trailed behind Yixin and took offense; Yixin was transferred to the post of Grand Prince of the Southern Commission. When, by the usual rule, one character was stripped from his princely title and he was redesignated Prince of Huntong, he felt somewhat reassured. When he came to court to offer thanks, the emperor sent him back the same day and reassigned him as Administrator of Xingzhong Prefecture. In the winter of the seventh year he was convicted of selling contraband abroad; the case was referred to the judicial offices, and the statute called for death. Yixin's ally Yelü Yangge alone argued that the Eight Deliberations should apply; the sentence was reduced from death, Yixin was beaten with the iron mace, and imprisoned at Laizhou. Later, when his plot to flee to Song and his secret store of arms were discovered, he was strangled. In the second year of Qiantong his tomb was opened and his corpse was publicly shamed.
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是年夏，乙辛譖皇太子，孝傑同力相濟。 及乙辛受詔按皇太子黨人，誣害忠良，孝傑之謀居多。 乙辛薦孝傑忠於社稷，帝謂孝傑可比狄仁傑，賜名仁傑，乃許放海東青鶻。 六年，既出乙辛，上亦悟孝傑奸佞，尋出為武定軍節度使。 坐私販廣濟湖鹽及擅改詔旨，削爵，貶安肅州，數年乃歸。 大安中，死於鄉。 乾統初，剖棺戮屍，以族產分賜臣下。
That summer, when Yixin slandered the crown prince, Xiaojie worked hand in hand with him. When Yixin was ordered to investigate the crown prince's supposed faction and framed loyal men, most of the plotting came from Xiaojie. Yixin praised Xiaojie as loyal to the realm; the emperor compared him to Di Renjie, granted him the name Renjie, and allowed the eastern-sea green falcon to be sent forth. In the sixth year, once Yixin had been removed, the emperor also saw through Xiaojie's treachery and soon posted him away as Military Commissioner of the Wuding Army. Convicted of smuggling salt from Guangji Lake and altering an imperial edict on his own authority, he was stripped of rank, banished to Ansu Prefecture, and allowed to return only years later. He died at home during the Da'an era. Early in Qiantong his coffin was opened and his corpse shamed, and his family's property was divided among officials as gifts.
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孝傑久在相位，貪貨無厭，時與親戚會飲，嘗曰：「無百萬兩黃金，不足為宰相家。」 初，孝傑及第，詣佛寺，忽迅風吹孝傑襆頭，與浮圖齊，墜地而碎。 有老僧曰：「此人必驟貴，然亦不得其死。」 竟如其言。
Xiaojie had long held the chancellorship and was insatiably greedy for wealth; drinking with his kinsmen he once remarked, "A million taels of gold is the least a chancellor's household deserves. When he first passed the examinations he visited a Buddhist temple; a sudden gust lifted his cap level with the pagoda, then dashed it to the ground where it shattered. An old monk said, "This man will rise swiftly to power, but he will not die a natural death. In the end it happened just as he had said.
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耶律燕哥，字善寧，季父房之後。 四世祖鐸穩，太祖異母弟。 父曰豁裏斯，官至太師。 燕哥狡佞而敏。 清寧間，為左護衛太保。 大康初，轉北面林牙。 初，耶律乙辛自中京留守復為樞密使，以燕哥為耳目，凡聞見必以告。 乙辛愛而薦之，帝亦以為賢，拜左夷離畢。 及皇太子被誣，帝遣燕哥往訊之，太子謂燕哥曰：「帝惟我一子，今為儲嗣，復何求，敢為此事！ 公與我為昆弟行，當念無辜，達意於帝。」 禱之甚懇。 蕭十三聞之，謂燕哥曰：「宜以太子言易為伏狀。」 燕哥頷之，盡如所教以奏。 及太子被逐，乙辛殺害忠良，多燕哥之謀，為契丹行宮都部署。 五年夏，拜南府宰相，遷惕隱。 大安三年，為西京留守，致仕。 壽隆初，以疾卒。
Yelü Yangge, whose courtesy name was Shaning, was descended from the Lesser Father House. His fourth-generation ancestor Duowen was a younger half-brother of Emperor Taizu. His father Huolisi rose to the rank of Grand Preceptor. Yangge was cunning, fawning, and quick-witted. During the Qingning era he served as Left Guards Commissioner. At the start of the Dakang era he was made Northern Palace Secretary. When Yelü Yixin returned from the Central Capital to the Commissioner's Office, he used Yangge as his eyes and ears, reporting everything he heard or saw. Yixin favored and recommended him; the emperor too judged him worthy and appointed him Left Yilibi. When the crown prince was framed, the emperor sent Yangge to question him. The prince said, "The emperor has only one son, and I am his heir—what could I possibly gain by such a plot! We stand as brothers in rank—think of my innocence and plead my case to the emperor. He begged him with desperate earnestness. When Xiao Shisan heard of this he told Yangge, "Twist the prince's words into a confession. Yangge agreed and reported to the throne exactly as he had been taught. After the crown prince was banished, Yixin's slaughter of loyal officials owed much to Yangge's counsel; Yangge was made Overall Deployer of the Khitan Traveling Palace. In the summer of the fifth year he was made Chancellor of the Southern Commission and then promoted to Tiyin. In the third year of Da'an he became Military Governor of the Western Capital, then retired from office. Early in the Shoulong era he died of illness.
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蕭十三，蔑古乃部人。 父鐸魯斡，歷官節度使。 十三辨黠，善揣摩人意。 清寧間，以年勞遷護衛太保。 大康初，耶律乙辛復入樞府，益橫恣。 時十三出入乙辛家，以朝臣不附者輒使出之，十三由宿衛遷殿前副點檢。 三年夏，護衛蕭忽古等謀殺乙辛，事覺下獄。 十三謂乙辛曰：「今太子猶在，臣民屬心。 大王素無根柢之助，復有誣皇后之怨。 若太子立，王置身何地？ 宜熟計之。」 乙辛曰：「吾憂此久矣！」 是夜，召蕭得裏特謀所以構太子事。 十三計既行，尋遷殿前都點檢，兼同知樞密院事。 復令蕭訛都斡等誣首耶律查剌前告耶律撒剌等事皆實，詔究其事。 太子不服，別遣夷離畢耶律燕哥問太子，太子具陳所以見誣之狀。 十三聞之，謂燕哥曰：「如此奏，則大事去矣，當易其辭為伏款。」 燕哥入，如十三言奏之。 上大怒，廢太子。 太子將出，曰：「我何罪至是！」 十三叱令登車，遣衛卒闔車門。 是年，遷北院樞密副使，復陳陰害太子計，乙辛從之。 及乙辛出知南院大王事，亦出十三為保州統軍使，卒。 乾統間，剖棺戮屍。 二子：的裏得、念經，皆伏誅。
Xiao Shisan came from the Miegunai Division. His father Duolugun had served as Military Commissioner. Shisan was clever and shrewd, adept at reading what others wished to hear. During Qingning he was promoted to Guards Commissioner on the strength of long service. At the start of Dakang, Yelü Yixin returned to the Commissioner's Office and grew more domineering than ever. Shisan was constantly at Yixin's house; any courtier who would not join their faction was promptly posted away, and Shisan rose from palace guard to Associate Commissioner of the Palace Front Office. In the summer of the third year the guardsman Xiao Hugu and others plotted to assassinate Yixin; when the plot was discovered they were thrown into prison. Shisan told Yixin, "The crown prince is still alive, and officials and commoners alike look to him. Your Highness has never had a firm base of support, and you still bear the grudge of having framed the empress. If the crown prince succeeds to the throne, where will that leave Your Highness? You must think this through carefully. Yixin replied, "I have worried about that for a long time! That very night he summoned Xiao Delite to plot how to frame the crown prince. Once Shisan's scheme succeeded, he was soon promoted to Commissioner of the Palace Front Office and made Associate Administrator of the Commissioner's Office as well. He again had Xiao Eduo and others confess falsely that Yelü Chala's earlier charge against Yelü Sala and his associates had been true, and the emperor ordered a full inquiry. The crown prince protested his innocence, so Yilibi Yelü Yangge was sent to question him; the prince laid out in detail how he had been framed. When Shisan heard of this he told Yangge, "Report it that way and the whole scheme collapses—you must turn his words into a confession. Yangge went in and reported exactly as Shisan had instructed. The emperor flew into a rage and deposed the crown prince. As the crown prince was led away he cried, "What crime have I committed to deserve this! Shisan shouted at him to get into the carriage and had guardsmen slam the door shut. That year he was made Associate Commissioner of the Northern Commissioner's Office; he again proposed a secret plot against the crown prince, and Yixin agreed. When Yixin was transferred to Grand Prince of the Southern Commission, Shisan was posted away as Military Commander of Baozhou, where he died. During the Qiantong era his coffin was opened and his corpse was publicly shamed. His two sons, Dilede and Nianjing, were both executed.