Volume 72: Appendix on the Four Barbarians 1 - Khitan 1

嗚呼，夷狄居處飲食，隨水草寒暑徙遷，有君長部號而無世族、文字記別，至於弦弓毒矢，強弱相並，國地大小，興滅不常，是皆烏足以考述哉！惟其服叛去來，能為中國利害者，此不可以不知也。自古夷狄之於中國，有道未必服，無道未必不來，蓋自因其衰盛。雖嘗置之治外，而羈縻制馭恩威之際，不可失也。其得之未必為利，失之有足為患，可不慎哉！作《四夷附錄》。

Alas—the barbarian peoples shift their camps with the seasons, grazing and drinking wherever grass and water lead them. They have chieftains and tribal names, but no hereditary clans or written records by which to distinguish lineages. Bent bows and poisoned arrows decide who annexes whom; realms wax and wane without pattern. None of this is fit matter for full historical treatment. What we cannot afford to ignore is when they submit or rebel, come or go, and thereby help or harm the Central States. From antiquity, barbarian peoples have not submitted simply because the Central States upheld the Way, nor stayed away simply because they did not. Their conduct has always tracked our strength or weakness. Even when they are treated as beyond ordinary administration, the moments of loose control—when favor and awe are applied—must never be neglected. Winning their allegiance is not always an advantage; losing it can become a grave danger. How could one be careless? Hence this "Appendix on the Four Barbarian Peoples."

新五代史·附錄夷狄，種號多矣。其大者自以名通中國，其次小遠者附見，又其次微不足錄者，不可勝數。其地環列九州之外，而西北常強，為中國患。三代獫狁，見於《詩》、《書》。秦、漢以來，匈奴著矣。隋、唐之間，突厥為大。其後有吐蕃、回鶻之強。五代之際，以名見中國者十七八，而契丹最盛。

In this appendix on barbarian peoples in the New History of the Five Dynasties, the tribal names are legion. The major peoples deal with China under their own names; smaller and more distant groups appear only in passing; still lesser tribes too trivial to record are beyond number. Their territories encircle the Nine Provinces from without, and the northwest has perennially been strong—a chronic threat to the Central States. The Xianyun of the Three Dynasties appear in the Odes and Documents. From the Qin and Han onward, the Xiongnu dominated the record. Between Sui and Tang, the Turks rose to primacy. Later came the power of Tibet and the Uyghurs. In the Five Dynasties period, a dozen or so peoples were known to China by name, and among them the Khitan were the most formidable.

契丹自後魏以來，名見中國。或曰與庫莫奚同類而異種。其居曰梟羅個沒裏。沒裏者，河也。是謂黃水之南，黃龍之北，得鮮卑之故地，故又以為鮮卑之遺種。當唐之世，其地北接室韋，東鄰高麗，西界奚國，而南至營州。其部族之大者曰大賀氏，後分為八部，其一曰伹皆利部，二曰乙室活部，三曰實活部，四曰納尾部，五曰頻沒部，六曰內會雞部，七曰集解部，八曰奚枿部。部之長號大人，而常推一大人建旗鼓以統八部。至其歲久，或其國有災疾而畜牧衰，則八部聚議，以旗鼓立其次而代之。被代者以為約本如此，不敢爭。某部大人遙輦次立，時劉仁恭據有幽州，數出兵摘星嶺攻之，每歲秋霜落，則燒其野草，契丹馬多饑死，即以良馬賂仁恭求市牧地，請聽盟約甚謹。八部之人以為遙輦不任事，選於其眾，以阿保機代之。

The Khitan have been known to China by name since the Later Wei. Some hold that they are kin to the Kumo Xi but a distinct people. Their homeland was called Xianluoge Molí. Molí means "river." It lay south of the Yellow Waters and north of the Yellow Dragon, in the old Xianbei heartland—hence some regarded them as descendants of the Xianbei. Under the Tang, their lands bordered the Shiwei to the north, Goguryeo to the east, the Xi realm to the west, and Yingzhou to the south. Their leading clan was the Dahe, later split into eight tribes: Dijieli, Yishihuo, Shihuo, Nawei, Pinmo, Neihuiji, Jijie, and Ximo. Each tribe's leader was called a Great Man; the eight tribes regularly elected one Great Man to raise the banner and drum and rule them all. After many years, or if disaster and disease struck and herds failed, the eight tribes would convene and, by the rite of banner and drum, elevate the next candidate and replace the incumbent. The man replaced accepted this as the original covenant and did not dare dispute it. When it came time for a Great Man of one tribe named Yaolian to take office, Liu Rengong held Youzhou and repeatedly raided them at Zhaxing Ridge. Each autumn, after the frost, he burned the pasture grass; many Khitan horses starved. They bribed Rengong with fine horses for grazing rights and pleaded for a strict treaty. The eight tribes judged Yaolian incompetent and chose Abaoji from their number to replace him.

阿保機，亦不知其何部人也，為人多智勇而善騎射。是時，劉守光暴虐，幽、涿之人多亡入契丹。阿保機乘間入塞，攻陷城邑，俘其人民，依唐州縣置城以居之。漢人教阿保機曰：「中國之王無代立者。」由是阿保機益以威制諸部而不肯代。其立九年，諸部以其久不代，共責誚之。阿保機不得已，傳其旗鼓，而謂諸部曰：「吾立九年，所得漢人多矣，吾欲自為一部以治漢城，可乎？」諸部許之。漢城在炭山東南灤河上，有鹽鐵之利，乃後魏滑鹽縣也。其地可植五穀，阿保機率漢人耕種，為治城郭邑屋廛市，如幽州制度，漢人安之，不復思歸。阿保機知眾可用，用其妻述律策，使人告諸部大人曰：「我有鹽池，諸部所食。然諸部知食鹽之利，而不知鹽有主人，可乎？當來犒我。」諸部以為然，共以牛酒會鹽池。阿保機伏兵其旁，酒酣伏發，盡殺諸部大人，遂立，不復代。

Abaoji—of which tribe he came, none could say—was intelligent, brave, and an expert horseman and archer. Liu Shouguang was then ruling with cruelty, and many refugees from You and Zhuo fled into Khitan territory. Abaoji seized the moment to raid across the border, storm towns, take captives, and settle them in new cities laid out on Tang administrative lines. Han advisers told Abaoji, "Kings of China are not chosen by rotation. From this Abaoji tightened his grip on the tribes with authority and refused to step down when his term ended. After nine years in office, the tribes united in rebuking him for breaking the rotation. Abaoji, pressed to comply, handed over the banner and drum and said to the tribes, "In nine years I have taken many Han subjects. May I form my own tribe to govern a Han city? The tribes agreed. The Han city lay southeast of Tanshan on the Luan River, rich in salt and iron—it had been Huayan County under the Later Wei. Grain could be grown there. Abaoji put the Han to farming and built walls, towns, houses, and markets on the Youzhou model. The settlers grew content and ceased to think of home. Seeing that he could turn this to his advantage, Abaoji followed his wife Shulü's counsel and sent word to the tribal Great Men: "I hold a salt pond on which all your tribes depend. You know the value of salt, but not that salt has an owner—is that acceptable? You should come and pay me tribute. The tribes agreed and gathered at the salt pond with cattle and wine. Abaoji had troops hidden nearby. When the drinking was well underway, they sprang up and slaughtered every tribal Great Man. He then ruled permanently, with no further rotation.

梁將篡唐，晉王李克用使人聘於契丹，阿保機以兵三十萬會克用於雲州東城。置酒。酒酣，握手約為兄弟。克用贈以金帛甚厚，期共舉兵擊梁。阿保機遺晉馬千匹。既歸而背約，遣使者袍笏梅老聘梁。梁遣太府卿高頃、軍將郎公遠等報聘。逾年，頃還，阿保機遣使者解裏隨頃，以良馬、貂裘、朝霞錦聘梁，奉表稱臣，以求封冊。梁復遣公遠及司農卿渾特以詔書報勞，別以記事賜之，約共舉兵滅晉，然後封冊為甥舅之國，又使以子弟三百騎入衛京師。克用聞之，大恨。是歲克用病，臨卒，以一箭屬莊宗，期必滅契丹。渾特等至契丹，阿保機不能如約，梁亦未嘗封冊。而終梁之世，契丹使者四至。

As the Liang prepared to seize the Tang throne, Prince of Jin Li Keyong sent envoys to the Khitan. Abaoji came with three hundred thousand men and met Keyong at the eastern quarter of Yunzhou. A banquet was held. When the wine had warmed them, they clasped hands and swore brotherhood. Keyong gave lavish gifts of gold and silk and they agreed to join forces against the Liang. Abaoji sent Jin a thousand horses in return. Once home, he broke his word and dispatched the envoy Paojia Meilao to court the Liang. The Liang sent Grand Steward Gao Qing, military officer Lang Gongyuan, and others in reply. A year later, when Qing returned, Abaoji sent the envoy Jieli with him, bearing fine horses, sable robes, and dawn-glow brocade. He submitted a memorial as a vassal seeking formal investiture. The Liang sent Gongyuan and Director of Agriculture Hun Te back with an imperial letter of acknowledgment and a separate gift of court records. They promised joint action to destroy Jin, after which he would be enfeoffed in a nephew-and-uncle relationship—and three hundred Khitan youths were to serve as guards in the capital. When Keyong heard this, he was filled with bitter hatred. That year Keyong fell ill. On his deathbed he gave Zhuangzong a single arrow and charged him to destroy the Khitan without fail. When Hun Te reached the Khitan, Abaoji could not keep his side of the bargain, and the Liang never carried out the investiture either. Nevertheless, throughout the Liang dynasty Khitan envoys came four times.

莊宗天祐十三年，阿保機攻晉蔚州，執其振武節度使李嗣本。是時，莊宗已得魏博，方南向與梁爭天下，遣李存矩發山北兵。存矩至祁溝關，兵叛，擁偏將盧文進擊殺存矩，亡入契丹。契丹攻破新州，以文進部將劉殷守之。莊宗遣周德威擊殷，而文進引契丹數十萬大至，德威懼，引軍去，為契丹追及，大敗之。德威走幽州，契丹圍之。幽、薊之間，虜騎遍滿山谷，所得漢人，以長繩連頭系之於木，漢人夜多自解逃去。文進又教契丹為火車、地道、起土山以攻城。城中熔銅鐵汁揮之，中者輒爛墮。德威拒守百餘日，莊宗遣李嗣源、閻寶、李存審等救之。契丹數為嗣源等所敗，乃解去。

In Zhuangzong's thirteenth Tianyou year, Abaoji attacked Jin's Youzhou and captured Zhenwu military governor Li Siben. Zhuangzong had already taken Weibo and was campaigning south against the Liang. He sent Li Cunju to mobilize the northern armies. At Qigou Pass the troops mutinied, rallied behind deputy commander Lu Wenjin, killed Cunju, and fled into Khitan territory. The Khitan took Xinzhou and left Wenjin's officer Liu Yin to hold it. Zhuangzong sent Zhou Dewei against Yin, but Wenjin brought several hundred thousand Khitan down in force. Dewei retreated in alarm, was overtaken, and suffered a crushing defeat. Dewei fled to Youzhou, which the Khitan then besieged. Between You and Ji, enemy horsemen filled every valley. Captured Han were roped head to head to posts; many slipped their bonds and escaped by night. Wenjin also taught them fire-carts, mining tunnels, and siege mounds. The defenders melted copper and iron and poured it down; anyone struck would be scalded to death. Dewei held out for more than a hundred days until Zhuangzong sent Li Siyuan, Yan Bao, Li Cunshen, and others to relieve the siege. The Khitan were repeatedly beaten by Siyuan's force and finally withdrew.

契丹比他夷狄尤頑傲，父母死，以不哭為勇，載其屍深山，置大木上，後三歲往取其骨焚之，酹而咒曰：「夏時向陽食，冬時向陰食，使我射獵，豬鹿多得。」其風俗與奚、靺鞨頗同。至阿保機，稍並服旁諸小國，而多用漢人，漢人教之以隸書之半增損之，作文字數千，以代刻木之約。又制婚嫁，置官號。乃僭稱皇帝，自號天皇王。以其所居橫帳地名為姓，曰世裏。世裏，譯者謂之耶律。名年曰天贊。以其所居為上京，起樓其間，號西樓，又於其東千里起東樓，北三百里起北樓，南木葉山起南樓，往來射獵四樓之間。契丹好鬼而貴日，每月朔旦，東向而拜日，其大會聚、視國事，皆以東向為尊，四樓門屋皆東向。

Among barbarian peoples the Khitan were especially proud and defiant. When parents died, not to weep was counted bravery. The body was borne deep into the mountains and laid on a great tree; after three years the bones were retrieved and burned. Libations were poured and this charm spoken: "In summer eat toward the sun, in winter toward the shade—grant us hunting, and many pigs and deer. Their customs resembled those of the Xi and Mohe. Under Abaoji he gradually absorbed neighboring petty states and relied heavily on Han advisers, who adapted half-forms of clerical script into a script of several thousand characters to replace notched-wood records. He regulated marriage and established official titles. He then styled himself emperor, taking the title Heavenly August King. He took as his clan name the place of his horizontal tent—Shili. Shili, in the translators' rendering, is Yelü. He named his reign era Tianzan. His residence became the Upper Capital, with a tower called the Western Tower. A thousand li east he built the Eastern Tower, three hundred li north the Northern Tower, and on Mount Muye to the south the Southern Tower, moving between them on hunting expeditions. The Khitan revered spirits and honored the sun. On the first morning of each month they bowed toward the east. Great assemblies and state business were conducted facing east, and all gates and halls of the four towers opened eastward.

莊宗討張文禮，圍鎮州。定州王處直懼鎮且亡，晉兵必並擊己，遣其子郁說契丹，使入塞以牽晉兵。郁謂阿保機曰：「臣父處直使布愚款曰：故趙王王镕，王趙六世，鎮州金城湯池，金帛山積，燕姬趙女，羅綺盈廷。張文禮得之而為晉所攻，懼死不暇，故皆留以待皇帝。」阿保機大喜。其妻述律不肯，曰：「我有羊馬之富，西樓足以娛樂，今舍此而遠赴人之急，我聞晉兵強天下，且戰有勝敗，後悔何追？」阿保機躍然曰：「張文禮有金玉百萬，留待皇后，可共取之。」於是空國入寇。郁之召契丹也，定人皆以為後患不可召，而處直不聽。郁已去，處直為其子都所廢。阿保機攻幽州不克，又攻涿州，陷之。聞處直廢而都立，遂攻中山，渡沙河。都告急於莊宗。莊宗自將鐵騎五千，遇契丹前鋒於新城，晉兵自桑林馳出，人馬精甲，光明燭日。虜騎愕然，稍卻，晉軍乘之，虜遂散走，而沙河冰薄，虜皆陷沒。阿保機退保望都。會天大雪，契丹人馬饑寒，多死，阿保機顧盧文進以手指天曰：「天未使我至此。」乃引兵去。莊宗躡其後，見其宿處，環稭在地，方隅整然，雖去而不亂，嘆曰：「虜法令嚴，蓋如此也！」

Zhuangzong campaigned against Zhang Wenli and besieged Zhenzhou. Wang Chuzhi of Dingzhou feared that once Zhen fell, Jin armies would turn on him. He sent his son Yu to urge the Khitan to raid the border and draw Jin forces away. Yu told Abaoji, "My father Chuzhi sends his humble pledge: the late King of Zhao, Wang Rong, held Zhao for six generations. Zhenzhou is a fortress of gold and boiling moats, with treasure heaped like mountains, Yan and Zhao beauties, and silks filling the halls. Zhang Wenli seized it all but is now besieged by Jin and too terrified for his life to keep it—everything waits for Your Majesty. Abaoji was delighted. His wife Shulü objected: "We have flocks and herds in plenty, and the Western Tower is amusement enough. Why leave this and rush to another's crisis? I hear Jin armies are the strongest under heaven—and battles have winners and losers. What use is regret afterward? Abaoji sprang up and said, "Zhang Wenli has millions in gold and jade set aside for the Queen—you and I can take it together." He then led the whole nation on an invasion. When Yu summoned the Khitan, everyone in Dingzhou warned that this would bring future disaster, but Chuzhi would not listen. After Yu departed, Chuzhi was overthrown by his son Du. Abaoji failed to take Youzhou, then attacked Zhuozhou and captured it. Learning that Chuzhi had been deposed and Du installed, he marched on Zhongshan and crossed the Sha River. Du sent an urgent appeal to Zhuangzong. Zhuangzong led five thousand armored horsemen in person and met the Khitan vanguard at Xincheng. Jin troops burst from Sanglin—men and horses in gleaming armor, light blazing like the sun. The enemy cavalry recoiled in shock. Jin forces pressed the attack and the Khitan broke and fled—but the ice on the Sha was thin, and many drowned. Abaoji fell back to Wangdu. Heavy snow fell; Khitan men and horses starved and froze, and many died. Abaoji turned to Lu Wenjin, pointed at the sky, and said, "Heaven has not yet willed that I come here. He then withdrew his army. Zhuangzong followed and inspected their camp: straw laid in a ring, corners neat and square—orderly even after they had gone. He sighed, "Their discipline is strict indeed!"

契丹雖無所得而歸，然自此頗有窺中國之志，患女真、渤海等在其後，欲擊渤海，懼中國乘其虛，乃遣使聘唐以通好。同光之間，使者再至。莊宗崩，明宗遣供奉官姚坤告哀於契丹。坤至西樓而阿保機方東攻渤海，坤追至慎州見之。阿保機錦袍大帶垂後，與其妻對坐穹廬中，延坤入謁。阿保機問曰：「聞爾河南、北有兩天子，信乎？」坤曰：「天子以魏州軍亂，命總管令公將兵討之，而變起洛陽，兇問今至矣。總管返兵河北，赴難京師，為眾所推，已副人望。」阿保機仰天大哭曰：「晉王與我約為兄弟，河南天子，即吾兒也。昨聞中國亂，欲以甲馬五萬往助我兒，而渤海未除，誌願不遂。」又曰：「我兒既沒，理當取我商量，新天子安得自立？」坤曰：「新天子將兵二十年，位至大總管，所領精兵三十萬，天時人事，其可得違？」其子突欲在側曰：「使者無多言，蹊田奪牛，豈不為過！」坤曰：「應天順人，豈比匹夫之事。至如天皇王得國而不代，豈強取之邪？」阿保機即慰勞坤曰：「理正當如是爾！」又曰：「吾聞此兒有宮婢二千人，樂官千人，放鷹走狗，嗜酒好色，任用不肖，不惜人民，此其所以敗也。我自聞其禍，即舉家斷酒，解放鷹犬，罷散樂官。我亦有諸部樂官千人，非公宴不用。我若所為類吾兒，則亦安能長久？」又謂坤曰：「吾能漢語，然絕口不道於部人，懼其效漢而怯弱也。」因戒坤曰：「爾當先歸，吾以甲馬三萬會新天子幽、鎮之間，共為盟約，與我幽州，則不復侵汝矣。」阿保機攻渤海，取其扶餘一城，以為東丹國，以其長子人皇王突欲為東丹王。已而阿保機病死，述律護其喪歸西樓，立其次子元帥太子耀屈之。坤從至西樓而還。

Though the Khitan gained nothing from the campaign, from then on they clearly eyed the Central States. Worried about Jurchen and Bohai in their rear, they wished to attack Bohai but feared China would strike while they were away—so they sent envoys to Tang to open friendly relations. During the Tongguang reign, envoys came twice. After Zhuangzong's death, Mingzong sent palace attendant Yao Kun to announce the mourning to the Khitan. Kun reached the Western Tower while Abaoji was campaigning east against Bohai; Kun followed him to Shenzhou and obtained an audience. Abaoji wore a brocade robe with a long belt trailing behind, sat with his wife in their yurt, and received Kun for audience. Abaoji asked, "I hear there are two Sons of Heaven north and south of your Yellow River—is that true? Kun replied, "When the Weizhou garrison rebelled, the late emperor ordered the Commander-in-Chief to march against them. Then turmoil broke out in Luoyang—and word of his violent death has just reached us. That commander turned his army back from Hebei to rescue the capital. The troops and officials pressed him forward, and he already fulfills what the people expect of a ruler." Abaoji lifted his face to heaven and wept aloud. "The Prince of Jin and I swore brotherhood," he said. "The Son of Heaven south of the Yellow River was my son. Only yesterday I heard the realm was in chaos and meant to bring fifty thousand armored horsemen to my son's aid. But Bohai was not yet subdued, and so my wish went unfulfilled." He added, "Now that my son is dead, you ought to have discussed this with me. How dare a new Son of Heaven simply declare himself?" Kun answered, "The new emperor has commanded armies for twenty years, rose to Grand Commander-in-Chief, and now leads three hundred thousand picked troops. When Heaven and men alike have turned to him, who could stand against it?" His son Tuyu, standing beside him, snapped, "Enough from the envoy! To trample a man's field and then steal his ox—is that not going too far?" Kun replied, "To answer Heaven and follow the will of the people is not the same as some petty private quarrel. When the Heavenly Emperor-King first took power, did he seize the realm by force? Surely not." Abaoji at once comforted Kun. "That is exactly how the matter stands," he said. He went on, "I am told that boy kept two thousand palace women and a thousand musicians, spent his days hawking and hunting, and drowned himself in wine and women. He put the wrong men in office and cared nothing for his people. That is why he fell. The moment I heard of his ruin, I forbade wine in my household, set free every hawk and hound, and disbanded my musicians. I still keep a thousand musicians from the tribes, but I use them only at state feasts. If I acted as my son did, how could I hope to last?" He also told Kun, "I speak Chinese, but I never use it before my people. I fear that if they copy the Han, they will grow soft and timid." Then he cautioned Kun, "Go back ahead of me. I shall bring thirty thousand armored horsemen to meet the new emperor between Youzhou and Zhenzhou, and we shall swear an alliance. Give me Youzhou, and I will raid you no more." Abaoji attacked Bohai, seized a city of Fuyu, and made it the state of Eastern Dan, installing his eldest son, the Human Emperor King Tuyu, as King of Eastern Dan. Before long Abaoji fell ill and died. Shulü escorted his body back to the Western Tower and set up his second son, Marshal Crown Prince Yaozuzhi, as ruler. Kun accompanied the funeral procession to the Western Tower, then returned home.

當阿保機時，有韓延徽者，幽州人也，為劉守光參軍，守光遣延徽聘於契丹。延徽見阿保機不拜，阿保機怒，留之不遣，使牧羊馬。久之，知其材，召與語，奇之，遂用以為謀主。阿保機攻党項、室韋，服諸小國，皆延徽謀也。延徽後逃歸，事莊宗，莊宗客將王緘譖之，延徽懼，求歸幽州省其母。行過常山，匿王德明家。居數月，德明問其所向，延徽曰：「吾欲復走契丹。」德明以為不可，延徽曰：「阿保機失我，如喪兩目而折手足，今復得我，必喜。」乃復走契丹。阿保機見之，果大喜，以謂自天而下。阿保機僭號，以延徽為相，號「政事令」，契丹謂之「崇文令公」，後卒於虜。

In Abaoji's day there was Han Yanhui of Youzhou, a staff officer under Liu Shouguang. Shouguang sent him as envoy to the Khitan. When Yanhui met Abaoji he refused to bow. Abaoji flew into a rage, kept him captive, and set him to tending sheep and horses. In time Abaoji came to recognize his ability, called him in to talk, was deeply impressed, and made him his chief adviser. Abaoji's campaigns against the Tangut and Shiwei, and his subjugation of the lesser states, were all Yanhui's doing. Yanhui later fled back to Tang service under Zhuangzong. The guest general Wang Jian denounced him, and Yanhui, afraid, asked leave to go to Youzhou and see his mother. On the road through Changshan he took refuge in the home of Wang Deming. He stayed several months. When Deming asked where he meant to go, Yanhui said, "I intend to flee to the Khitan once more. Deming said it was folly. Yanhui replied, "When Abaoji lost me it was as if he had lost his eyes and broken his hands and feet. If he gets me back now, he will surely rejoice." So he fled to the Khitan again. When Abaoji saw him he was overjoyed, as though a gift had fallen from heaven. When Abaoji declared himself emperor, he made Yanhui chancellor with the title Director of Governance Affairs—the Khitan called him Lord Chongwen. He died later in Khitan lands.

耀屈之後更名德光。葬阿保機木葉山，謚曰大聖皇帝，後更其名曰億。德光立三年，改元曰天顯，遣使者以名馬聘唐，並求碑石為阿保機刻銘。明宗厚禮之，遣飛勝指揮使安念德報聘。定州王都反，唐遣王晏球討之。都以蠟丸書走契丹求援，德光遣禿餒、荝剌等以騎五千救都，都及禿餒擊晏球於曲陽，為晏球所敗。德光又遣惕隱赫邈益禿餒以騎七千，晏球又敗之於唐河。赫邈與數騎返走，至幽州，為趙德鈞所執，而晏球攻破定州，擒禿餒、荝剌，皆送京師。明宗斬禿餒等六百餘人，而赦赫邈，選其壯健者五十餘人為「契丹直」。

Yaozuzhi later took the name Deguang. Abaoji was buried on Mount Muye with the posthumous title Great Sage Emperor; his name was later changed to Yi. In the third year of his reign Deguang adopted the era name Tianxian, sent envoys bearing fine horses to Tang, and asked for stone tablets on which to inscribe Abaoji's memorial. Mingzong received them with great courtesy and sent Flying Victory commander An Niande on a return embassy. Wang Du of Dingzhou rose in rebellion, and Tang dispatched Wang Yanqiu to put him down. Du smuggled out a wax-sealed plea for Khitan aid. Deguang sent Tuni, Cila, and others with five thousand horsemen to rescue him. Du and Tuni met Wang Yanqiu at Quyang and were beaten. Deguang sent the tiyin Hemai with seven thousand more horsemen to reinforce Tuni. Yanqiu routed them again at Tang River. Hemai fled with a few riders to Youzhou, where Zhao Dejun seized him. Yanqiu stormed Dingzhou, captured Tuni and Cila, and sent them all to the capital. Mingzong executed Tuni and more than six hundred Khitan captives, but spared Hemai and picked out fifty-odd of the strongest to form a unit called the Khitan Direct Corps.

初，阿保機死，長子東丹王突欲當立，其母述律遣其幼子安端少君之扶餘代之，將立以為嗣。然述律尤愛德光。德光有智勇，素已服其諸部，安端已去，而諸部希述律意，共立德光。突欲不得立，長興元年，自扶余泛海奔於唐。明宗因賜其姓為東丹，而更其名曰慕華。以其來自遼東，乃以瑞州為懷化軍，拜慕華懷化軍節度、瑞慎等州觀察處置等使。其部曲五人皆賜姓名，罕只曰罕友通，穆葛曰穆順義，撒羅曰羅賓德，易密曰易師仁，蓋禮曰蓋來賓，以為歸化、歸德將軍郎將。又賜前所獲赫邈姓名曰狄懷惠，抯列曰列知恩，荝剌曰原知感，福郎曰服懷造，竭失訖曰訖懷宥。其餘為「契丹直」者，皆賜姓名。二年，更賜突欲姓李，更其名曰贊華。三年，以贊華為義成軍節度使。

When Abaoji died, succession should have passed to his eldest son, Eastern Dan King Tuyu. But his mother Shulü sent her youngest son, the Young Lord Anduan, to Fuyu to replace him, planning to make Anduan heir. Shulü, however, favored Deguang above all. Deguang was clever and bold, and the tribes had long accepted his leadership. With Anduan gone, the chiefs read Shulü's wishes and together raised Deguang to power. Denied the throne, Tuyu in the first year of Changxing sailed from Fuyu across the sea and sought refuge with Tang. Mingzong gave him the surname Dongdan and renamed him Muhua. Since he had come from Liaodong, the court made Ruizhou into the Huaihua Army and appointed Muhua its military governor and overseer of Ruizhou, Shen, and neighboring prefectures. Five men of his retinue were also given Chinese names: Han Zhi became Han Youtong, Mugge Mu Shunyi, Saluo Luo Binde, Yimi Yi Shiren, and Gai Li Gai Laibin, with ranks as generals of appeasement and returning virtue. Earlier captives received names as well: Hemai became Di Huaihui, Zhilie Lie Zhien, Cila Yuan Zhigan, Fulang Fu Huaizao, and Jieshiqi Qi Huaiyou. The remaining Khitan Direct Corps men were likewise given Chinese names. The following year Tuyu received the imperial surname Li and was renamed Zanhua. In the third year Zanhua was appointed military governor of the Yicheng Army.

契丹自阿保機時侵滅諸國，稱雄北方。及救王都，為王晏球所敗，喪其萬騎，又失赫邈等，皆名將，而述律尤思念突欲，由是卑辭厚幣數遣使聘中國，因求歸赫邈、荝剌等，唐輒斬其使而不報。當此之時，中國之威幾振。

From Abaoji's reign onward the Khitan had conquered state after state and ruled the north unchallenged. Yet when they marched to Wang Du's rescue, Wang Yanqiu destroyed ten thousand of their horsemen and captured famed commanders such as Hemai. Shulü, grieving above all for Tuyu, sent embassy after embassy to Tang with humble words and lavish gifts, asking for Hemai, Cila, and the others back. Tang simply executed each envoy and made no answer. For a time the prestige of the Central States nearly recovered.

距幽州北七百里有榆關，東臨海，北有兔耳、覆舟山。山皆鬥絕，並海東北，僅通車，其旁地可耕植。唐時置東西狹石、淥疇、米磚、長揚、黃花、紫蒙、白狼等戍，以扼契丹於此。戍兵常自耕食，惟衣絮歲給幽州，久之皆有田宅，養子孫，以堅守為己利。自唐末幽、薊割據，戍兵廢散，契丹因得出陷平、營，而幽、薊之人歲苦寇鈔。自涿州至幽州百里，人跡斷絕，轉餉常以兵護送，契丹多伏兵鹽溝以擊奪之。莊宗之末，趙德鈞鎮幽州，於鹽溝置良鄉縣，又於幽州東五十里築城，皆戍以兵。及破赫邈等，又於其東置三河縣。由是幽、薊之人，始得耕牧，而輸餉可通。德光乃西徙橫帳居揆剌泊，出寇雲、朔之間。明宗患之，以石敬瑭鎮河東，總大同、彰國、振武、威塞等軍禦之。應順、清泰之間，調發饋餉，遠近勞敝。

Seven hundred li north of Youzhou stood Yuguan Pass, facing the sea on the east with Tu'er and Fuzhou mountains to the north. The peaks rise sheer and close together. Along the northeastern coast only a narrow track could take a cart, with arable ground on either side. Tang had planted garrisons at East and West Xiashi, Lüchou, Mizhuan, Changyang, Huanghua, Zimeng, Bailang, and other posts to block the Khitan at this choke point. The garrison troops mostly fed themselves from their own fields. Youzhou sent only cloth and cotton each year. In time they acquired farms and houses, raised families, and came to treat holding the line as their livelihood. After the warlords split You and Ji in late Tang, the border garrisons collapsed. The Khitan broke through, took Ping and Ying, and the people of You and Ji endured raids year after year. For a hundred li between Zhuozhou and Youzhou the roads lay empty. Supply convoys had to travel under armed guard, while Khitan ambushes at Yiangou waited to cut them off. Near the end of Zhuangzong's reign Zhao Dejun held Youzhou. He set up Liangxiang County at Yiangou and built another fortified town fifty li east of Youzhou, manning both with troops. After the defeat of Hemai and his fellows, Sanhe County was established farther east. Only then could the people of You and Ji return to farming and grazing, and supply lines run again. Deguang shifted the royal encampment west to Kuailipo and turned to raiding between Yun and Shuo. Alarmed, Mingzong put Shi Jingtang in charge of Hedong and gave him command of the Datong, Zhangguo, Zhenwu, Weisai, and other armies to hold the Khitan at bay. Through the Yingshun and Qingtai reigns the constant levies and supply trains wore the realm out.

德光事其母甚謹，常侍立其側，國事必告而後行。石敬瑭反，唐遣張敬達等討之。敬瑭遣使求救於德光。德光白其母曰：「吾嘗夢石郎召我，而使者果至，豈非天邪！」母召胡巫問吉兇，巫言吉，乃許。是歲九月，契丹出雁門，車騎連亙數十里，將至太原，遣人謂敬瑭曰：「吾為爾今日破敵可乎？」敬瑭報曰：「皇帝赴難，要在成功，不在速，大兵遠來，而唐軍甚盛，願少待之。」使者未至，而兵已交。敬達大敗。敬瑭夜出北門見德光，約為父子，問曰：「大兵遠來，戰速而勝者，何也？」德光曰：「吾謂唐兵能守雁門而扼諸險要，則事未可知。今兵長驅深入而無阻，吾知大事必濟。且吾兵多難久，宜以神速破之。此其所以勝也。」敬達敗，退保晉安寨，德光圍之。唐遣趙德鈞、延壽救敬達，而德鈞父子按兵團柏谷不救。德光謂敬瑭曰：「吾三千里赴義，義當徹頭。」乃築壇晉城南，立敬瑭為皇帝，自解衣冠被之，冊曰：「咨爾子晉王，予視爾猶子，爾視予猶父。」已而楊光遠殺張敬達降晉。晉高祖自太原入洛陽，德光送至潞州，趙德鈞、延壽出降。德光謂晉高祖曰：「大事已成。吾命大相溫從爾渡河，吾亦留此，俟爾入洛而後北。」臨訣，執手噓嚱，脫白貂裘以衣高祖，遺以良馬二十匹，戰馬千二百匹，戒曰：「子子孫孫無相忘！」時天顯九年也。

Deguang was deeply filial toward his mother, always standing at her side. No state matter was decided until he had told her and received her word. When Shi Jingtang rebelled, Tang dispatched Zhang Jingda and others against him. Jingtang sent envoys begging Deguang for aid. Deguang told his mother, "I once dreamed that Young Master Shi was calling me. Now his messenger has truly come—is this not Heaven's doing? His mother called in a Khitan shaman to read the omen. When the shaman declared it favorable, she gave her consent. In the ninth month of that year the Khitan army poured through Yanmen Pass, wagons and horsemen trailing for miles. As they neared Taiyuan, Deguang sent word to Jingtang: "Shall I smash your enemies for you today? Jingtang answered, "Your Majesty came to save me in my extremity. What matters is victory, not haste. Your force has marched far, and Tang's army is strong. Please wait a little longer." Before the messenger even returned, the armies were already fighting. Zhang Jingda suffered a crushing defeat. That night Jingtang slipped out the north gate to meet Deguang and pledged himself as a son. He asked, "Your army came from afar, yet you won at once in battle. How was that? Deguang said, "I had feared that if Tang held Yanmen and blocked every defile, the outcome might still be in doubt. But they let us drive deep without resistance. Then I knew the great enterprise would succeed. Besides, my horde is too large to keep in the field long. We had to strike swiftly. That is why we won." Jingda fell back to Jin'an Fortress, and Deguang laid siege to it. Tang sent Zhao Dejun and Yanshou to relieve Jingda, but father and son kept their army idle at Tuanbaigu and never moved to help. Deguang told Jingtang, "I rode three thousand li in a righteous cause. Righteousness demands that I see it through. He built an altar south of Jinyang, enthroned Jingtang as emperor, took off his own robes and put them on him, and in the patent of investiture declared, "To you, child Jin King: I look on you as my son, and you shall look on me as your father." Soon afterward Yang Guangyuan killed Zhang Jingda and surrendered to Jin. Jin Gaozu marched from Taiyuan into Luoyang. Deguang escorted him as far as Luzhou. Zhao Dejun and Yanshou came forward and submitted. Deguang told Jin Gaozu, "The great work is done. I will send Great Chancellor Wen to cross the river with you. I shall stay here until you enter Luoyang, then return north. At their farewell they clasped hands and wept. Deguang took off his white sable coat and put it on Gaozu, gave him twenty riding horses and twelve hundred war horses, and said, "Let our sons and grandsons never forget each other!" It was the ninth year of the Tianxian era.

高祖已入洛，德光乃北，執趙德鈞、延壽以歸。德鈞，幽州人也，事劉守光、守文為軍校，莊宗伐燕得之，賜姓名曰李紹斌。其子延壽，本姓劉氏，常山人也，其父邧為蓚縣令，劉守文攻破蓚縣，德鈞得延壽並其母種氏而納之，因以延壽為子。延壽為人，姿質妍柔，稍涉書史，明宗以女妻之，號興平公主。莊、明之世，德鈞鎮幽州十餘年，以延壽故，尤見信任。延壽明宗時為樞密使，罷，至廢帝立，復以為樞密使。晉高祖起太原，廢帝遣延壽將兵討之。而德鈞亦請以鎮兵討賊，廢帝察其有異志，使自飛狐出擊其後，而德鈞南出吳，會延壽於西唐，延壽因以兵屬之。廢帝以德鈞為諸道行營都統，延壽為太原南面招討使。德鈞為延壽求鎮州節度使。廢帝怒曰：「德鈞父子握強兵，求大鎮，茍能敗契丹而破太原，雖代予亦可。若玩寇要君，但恐犬兔俱斃。」因遣使者趣德鈞等進軍。德鈞陰遣人聘德光，求立己為帝。德光指穹廬前巨石謂德鈞使者曰：「吾已許石郎矣。石爛，可改也。」德光至潞州，鎖德鈞父子而去。德光母述律見之，問曰：「汝父子自求為天子何邪？」德鈞慚不能對，悉以田宅之籍獻之。述律問何在，曰：「幽州。」述律曰：「幽州屬我矣，何獻之為？」明年，德鈞死，德光以延壽為幽州節度使，封燕王。

After Gaozu had entered Luoyang, Deguang turned north, taking Zhao Dejun and Yanshou away with him. Dejun was a Youzhou man who had served Liu Shouguang and Shouwen as a military officer. When Zhuangzong conquered Yan he took him into service and gave him the name Li Shaobin. His son Yanshou, originally surnamed Liu, came from Changshan. His birth father Kuo had been magistrate of Gaoyi. When Liu Shouwen stormed the county, Dejun seized Yanshou and his mother Lady Zhong and adopted the boy as his own. Yanshou was handsome and mild of manner and had some learning in books and history. Mingzong gave him his daughter in marriage, the Princess of Xingping. Through the reigns of Zhuangzong and Mingzong, Dejun held Youzhou for more than a decade and, thanks to Yanshou, enjoyed exceptional trust at court. Under Mingzong, Yanshou served as Bureau Director, was removed from office, and when the Deposed Emperor took the throne was appointed Bureau Director once more. When Jin Gaozu raised his rebellion at Taiyuan, the Deposed Emperor sent Yanshou at the head of an army to crush him. Dejun also asked to lead the frontier garrison against the rebels. The Deposed Emperor, sensing treachery, ordered him out through Feihu to hit the enemy's rear. Dejun marched south by Wu'er Valley, met Yanshou at Xitang, and Yanshou placed his army under his command. The Deposed Emperor named Dejun overall commander of the combined field armies and Yanshou commissioner for the southern pacification of Taiyuan. Dejun then asked that Yanshou be made military governor of Zhenzhou. The Deposed Emperor flared in anger. "Dejun and his son command a powerful army and now demand a great province. If they can drive off the Khitan and destroy Taiyuan, they may have my throne for all I care. If you trifle with the enemy while holding the throne hostage, you will only bring ruin upon yourselves as well. He then dispatched envoys to press Dejun and his allies to march. Dejun secretly sent envoys to Deguang, offering submission in exchange for the imperial throne. Deguang pointed to a boulder before his yurt and told Dejun's envoy, "I have already given my word to Lord Shi. When that stone crumbles to dust, then perhaps we may speak again. When Deguang reached Luzhou, he put Dejun and his son in chains and marched them away. Deguang's mother, Empress Shulü, received them and demanded, "What possessed you, father and son, to seek the throne for yourselves? Dejun, shamed into silence, surrendered the full register of his lands and estates. When Shulü asked where these holdings lay, he answered, "In Youzhou. Shulü replied, "Youzhou is already mine. Of what use is your gift?" The next year Dejun died. Deguang made Yanshou military governor of Youzhou and enfeoffed him as Prince of Yan.

高祖崩，出帝即位，德光怒其不先以告，而又不奉表，不稱臣而稱孫，數遣使者責晉。晉大臣皆恐，而景延廣對契丹使者語，獨不遜。德光益怒。楊光遠反青州，招之。開運元年春，德光傾國南寇，分其眾為三：西出雁門，攻並、代，劉知遠擊敗之於秀容；東至於河，陷博州，以應光遠；德光與延壽南，攻陷貝州。德光屯元城，兵及黎陽。晉出帝親征，遣李守貞等東馳馬家渡，擊敗契丹。而德光與晉相距於河，月余，聞馬家渡兵敗，乃引眾擊晉，戰於戚城。德光臨陣，望見晉軍旗幟光明，而士馬嚴整，有懼色，謂其左右曰：「楊光遠言晉家兵馬半已餓死，何其盛也！」兵既交，殺傷相半，陣間斷箭遺鏃，布厚寸余。日暮，德光引去，分其兵為二，一出滄州，一出深州以歸。二年正月，德光復傾國入寇，圍鎮州，分兵攻下鼓城等九縣。杜重威守鎮州，閉壁不敢出。契丹南掠邢、洺、磁，至於安陽河，千里之內，焚剽殆盡。契丹見大桑木，罵曰：「吾知紫披襖出自汝身，吾豈容汝活邪！」束薪於木而焚之。是時，出帝病，不能出征，遣張從恩、安審琦、皇甫遇等禦之。遇前渡漳水，遇契丹，戰於榆林，幾為所虜。審琦從後救之，契丹望見塵起，謂救兵至，引去。而從恩畏怯，不敢追，亦引兵南走黎陽。契丹已北，而出帝疾少間，乃下詔親征，軍於澶州，遣杜重威等北伐。契丹歸至古北，聞晉軍且至，即復引而南，及重威戰於陽城、衛村。晉軍饑渴，鑿井輒壞，絞泥汁而飲。德光坐奚車中，呼其眾曰：「晉軍盡在此矣，可生擒之，然後平定天下。」會天大風，晉軍奮死擊之，契丹大敗。德光喪車，騎一白橐駝而走。至幽州，其首領大將各笞數百，獨趙延壽免焉。是時，天下旱蝗，晉人苦兵，乃遣開封府軍將張暉假供奉官聘於契丹，奉表稱臣，以修和好。德光語不遜。然契丹亦自厭兵。德光母述律嘗謂晉人曰：「南朝漢兒爭得一向臥邪？自古聞漢來和蕃，不聞蕃去和漢，若漢兒實有回心，則我亦何惜通好！」晉亦不復遣使，然數以書招趙延壽。

When Gaozu died and Emperor Chu took the throne, Deguang flew into a rage: he had not been notified beforehand, no tribute memorial had arrived, and the new emperor called himself "grandson" rather than "subject." Envoys were sent again and again to rebuke the Jin court. The Jin ministers quailed with fear, but Jing Yanguang alone answered the Khitan envoys without deference. Deguang's fury only deepened. Yang Guangyuan rose in rebellion at Qingzhou and called upon him to join. In the spring of the first year of Kaiyun, Deguang threw the full strength of his realm into a southern campaign, splitting his army three ways: the western wing marched out through Yanmen to strike Bing and Dai, where Liu Zhiyuan routed them at Xiurong; the eastern wing pushed to the Yellow River, seized Bozhou, and linked up with Guangyuan; Deguang and Yanshou drove south together and stormed Beizhou. Deguang made camp at Yuancheng, and his vanguard reached Liyang. Emperor Chu of Jin led the campaign in person, sending Li Shouzhen and others racing east to Majiadu, where they shattered the Khitan force. Deguang and the Jin armies remained locked in stalemate across the river for over a month. When word of the disaster at Majiadu reached him, he turned his host against Jin and gave battle at Qicheng. Deguang rode to the front ranks and, beholding the Jin banners gleaming and their men and horses drawn up in perfect order, paled. He said to his attendants, "Guangyuan told me half the Jin army had already starved. Why do they look so mighty? Once the lines met, the slaughter was mutual. Broken shafts and spent arrowheads carpeted the ground between the formations, piled finger-deep. At dusk Deguang pulled back, splitting his force in two—one column retreating through Cangzhou, the other through Shenzhou. In the first month of the second year, Deguang once more mobilized the entire kingdom for invasion, laid siege to Zhenzhou, and dispatched raiders who overran nine counties, among them Gucheng. Du Chongwei held Zhenzhou behind closed gates and would not venture out. The Khitans swept south through Xing, Ming, and Ci all the way to the Anyang River. For a thousand li, fire and pillage left scarcely a standing village. When they came upon a towering mulberry tree, they cursed it: "I know the purple robes of Jin are spun from your flesh. How can I leave you alive? They piled kindling against its trunk and set it ablaze. Emperor Chu lay ill and could not march himself. He sent Zhang Cong'en, An Shenqi, Huangfu Yu, and others to meet the invasion. Huangfu Yu crossed the Zhang River ahead of the main force, ran into the Khitans at Yulin, and was nearly taken prisoner. An Shenqi came up from the rear to relieve him. The Khitans, seeing dust clouds on the horizon, took them for reinforcements and withdrew. Zhang Cong'en, timorous and unwilling to pursue, also turned south and fled with his men to Liyang. The Khitans had already retired northward, but when the emperor's illness lifted slightly, he issued an edict to lead the army in person. He encamped at Chouzhou and dispatched Du Chongwei and others on a northern offensive. The Khitans had reached Gubei when word came that Jin columns were closing in. They wheeled south at once and clashed with Chongwei at Yangcheng and Weicun. The Jin soldiers were parched and famished. Every well they dug caved in; they wrung muddy water from the earth and drank it. Deguang sat in his wheeled cart and shouted to his warriors, "The whole Jin army is trapped here. Take them alive, and the realm is ours. At that moment a gale erupted. The Jin troops fought as men with nothing left to lose and broke the Khitan line utterly. Deguang abandoned his carriage and fled on a white camel. When he reached Youzhou, every Khitan chieftain and senior commander was flogged hundreds of strokes. Zhao Yanshou alone was exempted. Drought and locusts ravaged the land, and the Jin people were ground down by endless war. The court sent Zhang Hui, a Kaifeng garrison officer serving as acting palace attendant, on an embassy to the Khitans with a memorial of submission, seeking peace. Deguang answered with open contempt. But the Khitans, too, had had their fill of campaigning. Empress Shulü once told the Jin envoys, "Do you southern Han ever expect a single night of untroubled sleep? Since ancient times we have heard of the Han suing for peace with the frontier peoples, never the reverse. If you Han truly wish to mend your ways, why should I refuse an alliance? Jin sent no further embassies, but repeatedly dispatched secret letters to win over Zhao Yanshou.

延壽見晉衰而天下亂，嘗有意窺中國，而德光亦嘗許延壽滅晉而立之。延壽得晉書，偽為好辭報晉，言身陷虜思歸，約晉發兵為應。而德光將高牟翰亦詐以瀛州降晉，晉君臣皆喜。三年七月，遣杜重威、李守貞、張彥澤等出兵，為延壽應。兵趨瀛州，牟翰空城而去。晉軍至城下，見城門皆啟，疑有伏兵，不敢入。遣梁漢璋追牟翰及之，漢璋戰死。重威等軍屯武強。德光聞晉出兵，乃入寇鎮州。重威西屯中渡，與德光夾水而軍。德光分兵，並西山出晉軍後，攻破欒城縣，縣有騎軍千人，皆降於虜。德光每獲晉人，刺其面，文曰「奉敕不殺」，縱以南歸。重威等被圍糧絕，遂舉軍降。德光喜，謂趙延壽曰：「所得漢兒皆與爾。」因以龍鳳赭袍賜之，使衣以撫晉軍，亦以赭袍賜重威。遣傅住兒監張彥澤將騎二千，先入京師。晉出帝與太后為降表，自陳過咎。德光遣解裏以手詔賜帝曰：「孫兒但勿憂，管取一吃飲處。」德光將至京師，有司請以法駕奉迎，德光曰：「吾躬擐甲胃，以定中原，太常之儀，不暇顧也。」止而不用。出帝與太后出郊奉迎，德光辭不見，曰：「豈有兩天子相見於道路邪！」四年正月丁亥朔旦，晉文武百官班於都城北，望帝拜辭，素服紗帽以待。德光被甲衣貂帽，立馬於高岡，百官俯伏待罪。德光入自封丘門，登城樓，遣通事宣言諭眾曰：「我亦人也，可無懼。我本無心至此，漢兵引我來爾。」遂入晉宮，宮中嬪妓迎謁，皆不顧，夕出宿於赤岡。封出帝負義侯，遷於黃龍府。癸巳，入居晉宮，以契丹守諸門，門廡殿廷皆磔犬掛皮，以為厭勝。甲午，德光胡服視朝於廣政殿。乙未，被中國冠服，百官常參，起居如晉儀，而氈裘左衽，胡馬奚車，羅列階陛，晉人俯首，不敢仰視。二月丁巳朔，金吾六軍、殿中省仗、太常樂舞陳於廷，德光冠通天冠，服絳紗袍，執大珪以視朝，大赦，改晉國為大遼國，開運四年為會同十年。

Yanshou, watching Jin weaken amid universal turmoil, had long coveted the Central Plains. Deguang, for his part, had once promised to set Yanshou on the throne if he helped bring Jin to ruin. When Yanshou received the Jin overtures, he replied with honeyed falsehoods—he was a captive who yearned for home, he said, and begged Jin to march north in concert with him. Deguang's general Gao Mouhan likewise feigned surrender of Yingzhou. The Jin court rejoiced. In the seventh month of the third year, Du Chongwei, Li Shouzhen, Zhang Yanze, and others were sent forth with an army to answer Yanshou's call. The column raced toward Yingzhou, but Mouhan had already stripped the city bare and withdrawn. When the Jin force arrived, every gate stood open. Fearing a trap, they would not enter. They sent Liang Hanzhang in pursuit of Mouhan. Hanzhang caught up with him and was killed. Chongwei and his command encamped at Wuqiang. Learning that Jin had taken the field, Deguang launched his own invasion against Zhenzhou. Chongwei drew up at Zhongdu on the west bank and faced Deguang's army across the river. Deguang divided his force, swung along the western hills to fall on the Jin rear, and overran Luancheng County. A thousand cavalry stationed there surrendered en masse to the Khitans. Whenever Deguang took Jin prisoners, he had their faces branded with the words "Spared by imperial decree" and sent them southward unharmed. Chongwei and his men, encircled and starving, surrendered the whole army. Deguang was exultant. He told Zhao Yanshou, "Every Han captive we have taken is yours. He presented Yanshou with an imperial crimson robe brocaded with dragons and phoenixes, bidding him wear it as he took command of the surrendered Jin troops. Chongwei received a crimson robe as well. He dispatched Fu Zhu'er to oversee Zhang Yanze, who led two thousand horsemen as the vanguard into the capital. Emperor Chu and the Empress Dowager composed a memorial of surrender, confessing their transgressions. Deguang sent Xieli with a personal decree for the emperor: "Grandson, set your mind at ease. I shall see that you have a roof and a meal. As Deguang approached the capital, the court officials proposed greeting him with the full imperial retinue. Deguang refused: "I came in armor to conquer the Central Plains. I have no leisure for court ritual." The proposal was set aside. Emperor Chu and the Empress Dowager went out to the suburbs to welcome him. Deguang would not receive them, declaring, "Shall two Sons of Heaven greet each other in the open road? On the first day of the first month, dinghai, in the fourth year, the civil and military officials of Jin assembled north of the capital. They watched their emperor perform his final obeisance, then stood waiting in plain white robes and gauze caps. Deguang, armored and wearing a sable cap, sat his horse on a rise above them. The officials prostrated themselves, awaiting judgment. Deguang entered through the Fengqiu Gate, climbed the city tower, and had an interpreter address the crowd: "I am a man like any of you. You have nothing to fear. I never meant to come here. It was the Han armies that drew me in. He entered the Jin palace. Court ladies and entertainers came forward to greet him, but he ignored them all and withdrew at dusk to lodge at Chigang. He stripped Emperor Chu of his title, enfeoffed him as Marquis of Betrayed Faith, and exiled him to Huanglong Prefecture. On guisi he took up residence in the Jin palace. Khitan guards held every gate. In the corridors and courtyards, dogs were impaled and pelts hung up as charms against evil. On jiawu, Deguang held audience at the Guangzheng Hall in Khitan dress. On yiyi he donned Chinese court dress. The officials attended in the Jin manner, bowing and rising by established rite—but felt coats worn left-over-right, steppe horses, and wheeled carts lined the stairways, and the Jin courtiers kept their eyes fixed on the ground. On the first day of the second month, dingsi, the imperial guard and the ceremonial musicians were drawn up in the hall. Deguang ascended in the Tongtian crown and crimson gauze robe, jade scepter in hand. He proclaimed a general amnesty, renamed the state of Jin the Great Liao, and declared the fourth year of Kaiyun to be the tenth year of Huitong.

德光嘗許趙延壽滅晉而立以為帝，故契丹擊晉，延壽常為先鋒，虜掠所得，悉以奉德光及其母述律。德光已滅晉而無立延壽意，延壽不敢自言，因李崧以求為皇太子。德光曰：「吾於燕王無所愛惜，雖我皮肉，可為燕王用者，吾可割也。吾聞皇太子是天子之子，燕王豈得為之？」乃命與之遷秩。翰林學士張礪進擬延壽中京留守、大丞相、錄尚書事、都督中外諸軍事。德光索筆，塗其錄尚書事、都督中外諸軍事，止以為中京留守、大丞相，而延壽前為樞密使、封燕王皆如故。又以礪為右僕射兼門下侍郎、同中書門下平章事，與故晉相和凝並為宰相。礪，明宗時翰林學士，晉高祖起太原，唐廢帝遣礪督趙延壽進軍於團柏谷，已而延壽為德光所鎖，並礪遷於契丹。德光重其文學，仍以為翰林學士。礪常思歸，逃至境上，為追者所得，德光責之，礪曰：「臣本漢人，衣服飲食言語不同，今思歸而不得，生不如死。」德光顧其通事高唐英曰：「吾戒爾輩善待引人，致其逃去，過在爾也。」因笞唐英一百而待礪如故，其愛之如此。德光將視朝，有司給延壽貂蟬冠，礪三品冠服，延壽與礪皆不肯服。而延壽別為王者冠以自異。礪曰：「吾在上國時，晉遣馮道奉冊北朝，道賫二貂冠，其一宰相韓延徽冠之，其一命我冠之。今其可降服邪！」卒冠貂蟬以朝。三月丙戌朔，德光服靴、袍，禦崇元殿，百官入閣，德光大悅，顧其左右曰：「漢家儀物，其盛如此。我得於此殿坐，豈非真天子邪！」其母述律遣人賫書及阿保機明殿書賜德光。明殿，若中國陵寢下宮之制，其國君死，葬，則於其墓側起屋，謂之明殿，置官屬職司，歲時奉表起居如事生，置明殿學士一人掌答書詔，每國有大慶吊，學士以先君之命為書以賜國君，其書常曰報兒皇帝云。

Deguang had promised to make Yanshou emperor if he helped destroy Jin. Throughout the campaign Yanshou led the van, and every prize of plunder he sent in full tribute to Deguang and Empress Shulü. Once Jin was destroyed, Deguang showed no inclination to honor his promise. Yanshou dared not raise the matter openly and instead, through Li Song, petitioned to be named crown prince. Deguang replied, "Toward the Prince of Yan I withhold nothing. Even my own flesh—whatever the Prince can use, I would carve away. But the crown prince is the Son of Heaven's own heir. How could the Prince of Yan hold that title? He ordered Yanshou promoted in rank instead. The Hanlin Academician Zhang Li drafted a commission for Yanshou as Defender of the Central Capital, Grand Chancellor, Director of the Imperial Secretariat, and Commander of All Armies. Deguang took the brush and struck through Director of the Imperial Secretariat and Commander of All Armies, confirming Yanshou only as Defender of the Central Capital and Grand Chancellor. Yanshou retained his earlier titles of Palace Commissioner and Prince of Yan. Zhang Li was appointed Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, Deputy Director of the Chancellery, and Grand Councilor, sharing power with the former Jin chancellor He Ning. Zhang Li had served as Hanlin Academician under Emperor Mingzong of Tang. When Jin Gaozu raised his banner at Taiyuan, the deposed Tang emperor sent Li to supervise Yanshou's advance at Tuanbai Valley. Yanshou was soon seized by Deguang, and Li was carried off to the Khitan lands with him. Deguang admired his learning and retained him as Hanlin Academician. Zhang Li burned to return home. He fled to the border but was recaptured. When Deguang rebuked him, Li said, "I am a Han man. Our dress, our food, our speech—all of it is alien here. I long for home and cannot reach it. Life has become worse than death. Deguang turned to his interpreter Gao Tangying and said, "I ordered you to treat our Han captives with kindness. You drove this man to flee. The fault is yours." He had Tangying flogged a hundred strokes and continued to honor Li as before—such was the regard in which he held him. When Deguang prepared to hold court, the officials offered Yanshou a dianchen crown and Zhang Li robes of the third rank. Both men refused. Yanshou had a crown of his own design fashioned to mark his royal standing. Zhang Li declared, "When I was at the Khitan court, Jin sent Feng Dao north with credentials of investiture. Dao carried two sable-fur caps—one for Chancellor Han Yanhui, and one which I was commanded to wear. How can I now accept a lesser rank? In the end he attended court wearing the dianchen crown. On the first day of the third month, bingxu, Deguang, booted and robed, took the throne at the Chongyuan Hall as the officials entered the inner court. He was transported with delight and said to his attendants, "Behold the splendor of Han ceremonial regalia! To sit enthroned in this hall—is this not what it truly means to be Son of Heaven? His mother Empress Shulü sent a messenger bearing letters, among them a communication from the Ming Hall of Abaoji, addressed to Deguang. The Ming Hall followed the Chinese custom of the subterranean palace beneath an imperial tomb: when a Khitan emperor died and was buried, a hall was erected beside the grave and staffed with officials who, year after year, sent memorials of greeting as though the deceased still lived. A Ming Hall Academician was appointed to draft responses to imperial edicts. On occasions of state celebration or mourning, the Academician, writing in the voice of the departed ruler, would address letters to the reigning emperor, typically opening with the formula "In reply to the Son-of-Heaven Emperor."

德光已滅晉，遣其部族酋豪及其通事為諸州鎮刺史、節度使，括借天下錢帛以賞軍。胡兵人馬不給糧草，遣數千騎分出四野，劫掠人民，號為「打草谷」，東西二三千里之間，民被其毒，遠近怨嗟。漢高祖起太原，所在州鎮多殺契丹守將歸漢，德光大懼。又時已熱，乃以蕭翰為宣武軍節度使。翰，契丹之大族，其號阿缽，翰之妹亦嫁德光，而阿缽本無姓氏，契丹呼翰為國舅，及將以為節度使，李崧為制姓名曰蕭翰，於是始姓蕭。德光已留翰守汴，乃北歸，以晉內諸司伎術、宮女、諸軍將卒數千人從。自黎陽渡河，行至湯陰，登愁死岡，謂其宣徽使高勛曰：「我在上國，以打圍食肉為樂，自入中國，心常不快，若得復吾本土，死亦無恨。」勛退而謂人曰：「虜將死矣。」相州梁暉殺契丹守將，閉城距守。德光引兵破之，城中男子無少長皆屠之，婦女悉驅以北。後漢以王繼弘鎮相州，得髑髏十數萬枚，為大冢葬之。德光至臨洺，見其井邑荒殘，笑謂晉人曰：「致中國至此，皆燕王為罪首。」又顧張礪曰：「爾亦有力焉。」德光行至欒城，得疾，卒於殺胡林。契丹破其腹，去其腸胃，實之以鹽，載而北，晉人謂之「帝羓」焉。永康王兀欲立，謚德光為嗣聖皇帝，號阿保機為太祖，德光為太宗。

After the fall of Jin, Deguang installed tribal chieftains and his own interpreters as prefects and military commissioners across the provinces, and levied money and silk from every corner of the realm to pay his army. Khitan horses and men received no rations. Thousands of riders fanned out across the countryside on raids they called "beating the grass for grain." For two or three thousand li east and west, the people were ravaged and cursed them from every quarter. When Liu Zhiyuan raised the banner of Han at Taiyuan, prefectures and garrisons across the north killed their Khitan governors and submitted to Han. Deguang was seized with fear. The heat of summer was upon him. He appointed Xiao Han military governor of the Xuanwu Army. Han belonged to a great Khitan clan known as A'bo. His sister had married Deguang, and A'bo had borne no surname—the Khitan addressed Han as the emperor's uncle-by-marriage. When Han was to be made military governor, Li Song devised the Chinese name Xiao Han, and for the first time he took the surname Xiao. Deguang left Han to hold Bianliang and turned north, taking with him thousands of Jin artisans, palace women, and officers and men. He crossed the Yellow River at Liyang and came to Tangyin, where he climbed the Knoll of Griefful Death. He told his palace commissioner Gao Xun, "At home I lived for the hunt and the feast. Since I entered China my heart has never been easy. If I could see my own land again, I would die content. Xun withdrew and told others, "The Khitan ruler is dying." At Xiangzhou, Liang Hui killed the Khitan governor, barred the gates, and defended the city. Deguang stormed the city. Every male inside, young or old, was put to the sword; the women were driven north in droves. Later, when Wang Jihong held Xiangzhou under Later Han, he gathered several hundred thousand skulls and buried them in a great mound. At Linming he saw the towns in ruins and laughed at the Jin people beside him: "To bring China to this pass—the Prince of Yan is chiefly to blame. He turned to Zhang Li and added, "You had your share in it as well." Deguang fell ill at Luancheng and died in the Forest of Slaughtering the Hu. The Khitans opened his belly, removed the entrails, stuffed the body with salt, and carried it north. The Chinese called it "the emperor's cured meat." Prince Yongkang Wuyu took the throne. Deguang received the posthumous title Emperor of Continued Sagacity; Abaoji was styled Taizu, and Deguang Taizong.

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