Story 79. The Three Kingdoms of Northeast Asia Episode 2. Wars between the Khitan (Liao), Song, and Jin Empires

 Story 79. The Three Kingdoms of Northeast Asia

 Episode 2. Wars between the Khitan (Liao), Song, and Jin Empires

 The Song Dynasty was intent on recapturing the 16 prefectures(州) of Yanyun (䔳雲), which had been lost to the Liao Dynasty. The 16 prefectures(州)  of Yanyun correspond to present-day Beijing, Tianjin, northern Hebei Province, and northern Shanxi Province. Since ancient times, the Han Chinese of the Central Plains believed that the loss of the 16 prefectures of Yanyun would bring disaster to the Central Plains, and so they considered them the most important strategic point in the northeast.

 In the fourth year of Tianbao (1120), after numerous negotiations, the two countries concluded a "maritime alliance(海上之盟)." Because Song envoys were blocked by the Liao overland route, and had to cross the Bohai Bay from present-day Shandong Province to enter the Jin court, the term "alliance at sea" emerged.

Google, TV Tropes. Song ,Liao,Jurchen Jin, and Western Xia Dynasies

 After the Liao would be destroyed, the Jin agreed to take possession of the Chongqing Grand Government (中京大政府) and the Song to take possession of the Nanjing Shijin Prefecture (南京析津府).

 Furthermore, the Jin agreed to return the 16 prefectures of Yanyun (䔳雲) to the Song, and the Song agreed to return the annual tribute(歲幣) it had been paying to the Liao to the Jin.

 Emperor Tianzu of Liao, aware of the Song-Jin alliance, repeatedly sent envoys to the Jin to request peace. Until this time, the Liao dynasty was a vast and populous power, surpassing the Jin dynasty. Therefore, Emperor Tianzu hoped to avoid war by honoring Agudao(阿骨打), who had emerged as a powerful figure in the Liaodong region, as emperor.

 In the third year of Tianbao (1119), Emperor Tianzu sent the Liao Grand Master, Nine Mu Lie, to the Jin dynasty to crown Agudao as the Emperor of Donghui. Agudao firmly rejected Emperor Tianzu's offer and told his officials:

 "The Liao people have repeatedly lost battles and have sent envoys begging for peace, offering lies. This is nothing more than a ploy to delay our attack. Devise a plan to subdue them immediately."

 Aguda was convinced that with just a little more pressure, he could destroy the Liao dynasty.

In the fourth year of Tianbao (1120), an army led by Agudao surged like a storm into the Liao capital, Shangjingcheng (上京成 present-day Chifeng赤峰 in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region). The governor of Shangjing, Dalbulye(撻不野), surrendered, and Emperor Tianzu fled to the Western Capital(西京).

 In December of the sixth year of Tianbao (1122), when Agudao attacked Yanjing (燕京 present-day Beijing), the Song army, allied with the Jin, launched a pinpoint attack south of Yanjing.

 The Liao, on the brink of collapse, faced a complex internal situation. Having lost major cities like Shangjing (上京), Zhongjing (中京), and several prefectures, Emperor Tianzu fled to Xiashan (夾山; present-day Tumok Special Left Banner 土默特左旗 in Inner Mongolia).

 Meanwhile, Emperor Tianzu's paternal uncle, Yelu Shun (耶律淳 1063–1122), proclaimed himself emperor in Yanjing and established the Northern Liao regime(北遙). He sent an envoy to the Jin Taizu, offering submission to the Jin, but was rejected. He died just a few months after ascending the throne, and Empress Xiao Defei (蕭德妃) assumed regency. By the time the Jin-Song allied forces launched a joint attack on Yanjing, Xiao Defei had already fled, and the court officials had lost their will to fight. Han Chinese officials, including Zuo Qigong(左企弓) and Wu Zhongwen, opened the city gates and surrendered.

 In the seventh year of Tianbao (1123), Agudao plundered all of Yanjing's wealth, captured its artisans, and withdrew his troops to the capital. Furthermore, in accordance with a treaty with the Song, he ceded 16 prefectures of Yanjing to the Song. In August of the same year, Agudao, the Jurchen hero who founded the Jin Dynasty and brought the Liao Dynasty to the brink of collapse, died at the age of 56 during the retreat.

 The Jurchen originally lacked a native script. Inter-tribal communication was dependent on the Khitan script. A people without a written language, no matter how powerful its military, will eventually disappear like autumn leaves. This is especially true for nomadic peoples who frequently moved. Writing is the medium that connects the soul of a people.

 Aguda was not a ruler solely skilled in war. He believed that a written language was essential for the Jin Dynasty to enjoy eternal prosperity. He commissioned his prime minister, Wanyan Xiyin(完顔希尹), to create a written language. In the third year of Tianbao (1119), Wanyan Xiyin created the Jurchen script, referencing Khitan and Chinese characters.

 While it was not an original writing system, it marked the beginning of the Jin Dynasty's codification of its legal system and the establishment of a dynastic state.

Aguda was a hero who united the Jurchen people, who were once considered barbarians on the periphery of the Central Plains, establishing an empire and establishing an equal relationship with the Song Dynasty.

 The Jin Dynasty collapsed 110 years after Aguda's death, and the Jurchen people were once again subject to foreign rule for over 400 years, reduced to slavery. However, their reverence and fantasy for Aguda, the founder of the Jin Dynasty, remained ingrained in their hearts. He believed that one day, a national hero like him would emerge again to save the Jurchen people.

 After Agudao's death, his younger brother, Wanyan Wu Jiemei (完顔吳乞買 1071–1135), who played a crucial role in securing his ascension to the throne, became the second emperor.

He was Emperor Taizong of Jin (金太宗). He established the era name Tianhui (天會).

Jin Taizu is the only emperor in history to have been beaten with a stick by his subjects. The story goes like this: Immediately after Agudao founded the Jin dynasty, he emphasized extreme frugality. He himself lived in a wooden fortress no different from the common people's residence, wore shabby clothes, and staunchly rejected all kinds of delicacies from the mountains and seas and fine wines served in gilded jars. If the emperor himself practiced this, what more could be said about his subjects and commoners? Aguda established the principle that national funds should only be used for war, issuing a strict order that anyone who violated this rule, regardless of rank, would be punished with twenty lashes.

 Even Emperor Taizong of Jin had no choice but to follow Aguda's will. While he could tolerate living in a shabby fortress and wearing simple yellow robes(黃布), he could not resist the temptation of alcohol. One night, he secretly withdrew funds from the treasury for a brief revelry. When his misappropriation was discovered, Wanyan Zonghan(完顔宗翰), a founding father, and other government officials took a torture device to Emperor Taizong and demanded that he follow the principles established by the late emperor.

 Emperor Taizong of Jin was forced to endure the humiliation of being beaten by his subjects. His subjects all knelt and begged for forgiveness, but he had no choice but to drink a cup of comforting wine and forgive them. The Jin Dynasty, whose laws were so strict that the emperor, wielding absolute power, could even beat his subjects for minor offenses, was established in its early days.

 This strict discipline and emphasis on practicality allowed it to advance along the path of national wealth and military power.

In the third year of the reign of Emperor Qianhui (1125), Emperor Tianzu was finally captured and the Liao Dynasty fell. At the time, the Western Xia (西夏1038–1227), which had formed a triangular balance with the Jin and Liao in the north, felt threatened by the Liao Dynasty's fall. To survive, it sent an envoy to the Jin and offered itself as a vassal state. From this point on, the Jin emerged as a true northern power.

 Now, the Jin's brunt began to turn against the Song Dynasty. The two countries signed a pact to subdue their common enemy, the Liao Dynasty. However, after the Liao Dynasty's fall, to Emperor Taizong of Jin, who harbored ambitions of unifying the country, the treaty document was nothing more than a scrap of paper.

 Treaties are maintained when there is a balance of power between the two sides, and unilaterally establishing a treaty is useless. Therefore, it is impossible for a small state to conclude a treaty with a large one on equal terms. However, when a power struggle erupts between the great powers, a small state can secure its survival through equidistant diplomacy with the larger power. A small state's meticulous equidistance diplomacy can lead to the so-called "tail wagging the dog" strategy.

 In October of the third year of the reign of Emperor Tianxi (1125), the Jin Dynasty raised a large army, attacking Yanshan Prefecture (燕山府) from the east and Taiyuan (太原) from the west. The following year, they crossed the Yellow River and advanced on the Song capital, Bianjing (present-day Kaifeng, Henan Province). Taken aback by the ferocious Jin army's crossing, Emperor Huizong of Song (宋徽宗) Zhao Ji (趙佶, 1082–1135) abruptly abdicated the throne to his son, Emperor Qinzong of Song (宋欽宗) Zhao Huan (趙桓, 1100–1156) and fled south. Emperor Huizong was gifted with artistic talent, but was a deeply frail emperor.

Emperor Qinzong ceded the lands of the three Jin garrisons—Taiyuan, Zhongshan, and Hegan—to the Jin and promised increased annual tribute, hoping for the Jin army's withdrawal. He voluntarily proposed these humiliating conditions to overcome the crisis of a precarious situation. In November of the same year, the Jin's Left Vice Marshal Wanyan Zonghan(完顔宗翰) and Right Vice Marshal Wanyan Zongwang(完顔宗望) attacked the border city.

 Emperor Qinzong was captured. He paid a staggering tribute of 10 million jeong (pieces of gold), 20 million jeong (pieces of silver), 20 million rolls of silk, and 7,000 horses. He also suffered the humiliation of having to cede land north of the Yellow River. In the fifth year of the reign of Emperor Qinhui (1127), the Jin army withdrew north, taking with them Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong, along with approximately 3,000 members of the imperial family, whom they had captured. They intended to exploit them as a means of pilfering rare goods and people, a practice known as "qihuageo" (奇貨可居, meaning "unique goods or people can yield great profits in the future, so they should be carefully preserved and waited for the right opportunity").

 In Chinese history, this crisis is known as the "Jingkang Incident (靖康變)”, and even today, it is considered the greatest humiliation for the Han Chinese. This uprising led to the downfall of the Northern Song Dynasty. It taught the lesson that a nation that focuses solely on civil administration(文治) and neglects national defense, resulting in a weak military, will ultimately fall, no matter how advanced its civilization may be.

 The Jin treated the captured Han Chinese brutally. They enslaved all able-bodied men and forced them into slavery, while the elderly and infirm were all killed. After conquering the border fortress, the captured noble children were turned into slaves. Kitchen work and horse-raising were unfamiliar tasks for them, so not a single day went by without their masters whipping them. Within five years, fewer than one in ten survived. Nine out of ten women were sold into prostitution. An ironworker paid eight gold pieces for a prostitute. She turned out to be the granddaughter of a Song imperial prince. In the eighth year of the reign of Emperor Qianhui (1130), the Jin general Wanyan Zonghan sent ten Song plunderers to the Western Xia(西夏) for one horse each, and sold each one into slavery to Goryeo and Mongolia for two gold pieces each.

 However, the Jin was not a barbaric dynasty devoted solely to conquest and plunder. The Five Emperors King Sejong (世宗) Wan Yan Yong (完顔雍, 1123–1189) eradicated the deep-rooted evils of the reign of King Wan Yan Liang (完顔亮, 1122–1161), the Prince of Hailing (海陵煬王), and ended the war of aggression against the Song Dynasty. He eschewed formality and extravagance, even refusing to wear gold-embroidered robes. He was a wise ruler who promoted talented individuals and accepted the advice of loyal subjects. His primary concern was not territorial expansion through war, but rather improving the livelihoods of the people. During his 29-year reign, the national treasury overflowed with wealth and the people enjoyed a life of abundance. This period of prosperity is known as the "Great Ding Sheng Shi" (大定盛世). He is also praised as the "Little Yao and Shun(堯舜)."

 King Sejong's successor, Emperor Jangjong (章宗) Wan Yanqing (完顔璟, 1168–1208), also inherited Sejong's legacy and enjoyed prosperity during his early reign. However, as time passed, he became increasingly consumed by drinking with literati, enjoying himself and the moon(吟風弄月), and ultimately neglected state affairs.