How did Liao Taizu easily take over Liaodong?

The Khitan was originally a branch of Murong Xianbei of the East Hu species. It was nomadic in the grassland area of ??the upper reaches of the Liao River in the west. It first appeared in Chinese historical records during the Northern Wei Dynasty. The Khitan formed a tribal alliance during the Sui Dynasty, and then gradually moved southward and occupied the vast area north of Yingzhou. In the early Tang Dynasty, the governor's offices of Guicheng Prefecture and Songmo were set up there. However, the Khitan rebelled against the Tang Dynasty and surrendered at times. However, the close exchanges with the Central Plains also promoted the economic development and social changes of Khitan. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, after Yelu Abaoji obtained the military and political power of the Eight Khitan tribes, he sent troops to Hebei many times. In the battle with Liu Rengong, Liu Shouguang and his son, the governor of Youzhou, he captured a large number of Han people; at the same time, he took in a large number of Han people who escaped from the Liu family and his son. The people of Youji and other places were brutally exploited and flowed into Khitan. Yelu Abaoji made great use of Han intellectuals. They "taught the Khitans to build palaces, build cities, and establish cities to deal with the Han people." , no longer thinking about returning." As a result, Yelu Abaoji's power became stronger and stronger. After that, he gradually unified the Khitan tribes, conquered Xi and Lin in the west, and occupied the Turkic homeland. He also took advantage of the chaos in the vassal towns in the Central Plains to gain advantage by making connections with distant and close enemies.

In 907 AD, Yelu Abaoji became the new leader of Khitan after tribal election. Ten years later, in 916 AD, Yelu Abaoji officially proclaimed himself emperor Jianyuan, and the country was named Khitan. This year was the first year of Shence, and the capital was Linhuang Mansion (now the ancient city of Lindong Town, Balinzuo Banner, Inner Mongolia), which was the first year of Liao Dynasty. Taizu.

After the rise of the Khitan, the Liaodong region has always been regarded as a must-win area. As early as the first year of Wu Zetian's Long Live Tongtian Year (AD 696), the Khitan invaded Liaodong, went deep into the Shenfu area, besieged Xincheng (the Andong Protectorate was moved to Xincheng at that time), and killed Tang general Xu Qinji. After Yelu Abaoji came to power, he took the occupation of Liaodong as the first step to conquer the Bohai Sea. As early as before and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, they came to Liaodong, built cities and immigrated here, and officially incorporated southern Liaoning into their own territory. How did the Khitan acquire Liaodong? Documentary records all state that it was obtained from the Bohai Sea, and that it was obtained through vigorous fighting. For example: "The Chronicles of the Khitan" written by Ye Longli of the Southern Song Dynasty: "Tokyo is the old land of the Bohai Sea. It was acquired after more than 20 years of Abaoji's forceful battles and was built as Tokyo." "The Chronicles of Liaodong Travel" written by Jin Wangji: "Li of the Tang Dynasty could not be diligent and far-sighted. , the land of Liaodong was owned by the Bohai family and had been passed down to the country for more than ten generations. During the Five Dynasties, the Khitan fought with Bohai for decades and finally destroyed their country, so the land of Liaodong was completely included in the Liao Dynasty. "However, this statement is not true. Quite suspicious. First, according to historians' research, the southern boundary of the Bohai Sea is no more than the mouth of the Yalu River (now the mouth of the Dapushi River in Dandong) and Kaiyuan. Shenyang and Liaoyang south of Kaiyuan are not owned by the Bohai Sea; secondly, Taizu Taizu of the Liao Dynasty did not have any land in Liaodong. Records of the war with Bohai. Let's take a look at the record of Taizu's first arrival in Liaodong in "History of the Liao: The Benji of Taizu":

In the second year of Taizu of the Liao Dynasty (908 AD), in the winter of October, "The Great Wall was built at Haikou, Zhendong" ". This "Zhendong Haikou" is in Liaodong, and its specific location is still difficult to determine.

The first month of spring in the third year (909 AD), "lucky Liaodong".

"Fishing in the Yalu River" in the winter of October of the ninth year (915 AD).

In the winter of December of the third year of Shence (918 AD), "Liaoyang's ancient city was blessed". In the first month of the second year, "shoot the tiger to the east mountain (the east mountain should be in Liaoyang)". In February, "The old city of Liaoyang was built, and it was built with Han people and Bohai. It was changed to Dongping County and a defense envoy was appointed." In May of summer, "arrived at Dongping County". This time Taizu of the Liao Dynasty stayed in Liaodong for half a year.

In the winter of the twelfth month of the sixth year of Shence (AD 921), "the imperial edict was issued to move Tan and obey the people to Dongping and Shenzhou."

In the third year of Tianzan (AD 924), in May of the summer, "the people of Jizhou moved to Liaozhou".

It can be seen from the above records that it was very easy for Taizu Taizu of the Liao Dynasty to come to Liaodong. It was like entering an uninhabited land without being blocked by anyone. Of course, there was no record of fighting anyone; and It can be seen from this that as late as 924 AD, that is, before the destruction of the Bohai Sea, the Khitan had occupied a vast area starting from the Liao River in the west, to the Yalu River in the east, to Xinmin Liaobin Pagoda in the north, and to the southern end of the Liaodong Peninsula in the south, and implemented an effective management. The records in "Khitan Chronicles" and "Liaodong Xingbu Chronicles" are obviously inaccurate.

So, what was the situation in Liaodong before Taizu of the Liao Dynasty came to Liaodong? Who occupied Liaodong?

After the Tang Dynasty destroyed Goryeo, the Andong Protectorate was set up to manage it. However, soon after the Goryeo survivors were disturbed and moved inward, from Pyongyang to Liaodong, and from Liaodong to Liaoxi. The Tang Dynasty controlled the Liaodong region. The ability is getting weaker and weaker. Therefore, the area south of the Yalu River was divided between Silla and the Bohai Sea; while the northern part of the area north of the Yalu River was gradually invaded by the Bohai Sea, and Yalu, Changling, Buyeo and other prefectures were established; although the southern part was still owned by the Tang Dynasty, But later it seemed that there were no officials to guard it. The famous historian Jin Yufu once made the following discussion in "General History of the Northeast": "At that time, the southeastern part of Liao Dynasty was almost the same as Outuo. The Tang people had it but could not defend it. The Bohai Sea wanted to take it but did not dare. Although Silla The Korean peninsula was gradually unified, and it was only a small part of Pyongyang. It did not dare to cross the Yalu River to the west to re-engage with the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty called Silla and Bohai the two tribes, and sent envoys to take charge of them. Although the Tang Dynasty fell, it was not until Zhu. After the Liang Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty, if this system was not changed, the two Tibetans were more cautious, which can be seen here. However, the Khitan merged with the two Xi, and rebellions were not common. By the end of the Tang Dynasty, there were many conflicts between China and the Dynasty, so they took the southeastern part of Liaoning. The plan to invade the Bohai Sea. The reason why the Bohai Sea was destroyed was because Heishui Shiwei rebelled in the north, and the southern border was not shielded. However, the Khitan's acquisition of the southern part of Liaoning was due to the abandonment of the Tang Dynasty, not the acquisition of the Bohai Sea. "The so-called Outuo refers to the buffer zone between adjacent or warring parties in ancient times. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the southeastern part of Liaoning Province was indeed similar to Outuo, and was still nominally the territory of the Tang Dynasty. However, after the Anshi Rebellion, it was beyond its reach and unable to govern. Although Bohai and Xinluo hoped to obtain this land, they did not dare. From an archaeological point of view, no relics and relics from the Tang Dynasty have ever been found in the Liaodong area. It is speculated that this area was already sparsely populated at that time, which may provide evidence for Ou Tuo's theory. Therefore, when Taizu of Liao Dynasty entered Liaodong, Liaodong was an empty land without any political power under control. It can be said that he took advantage of the opportunity and occupied it peacefully without any bloodshed. The Khitan occupied Liaodong and immediately immigrated from the present-day Hebei area to make strategic preparations for the eventual capture of the Bohai Sea.