However, after 13 century, the powerful Khitan nationality quietly withdrew from the historical stage. This powerful country seems to have disappeared from the air without any trace of its existence.
For many years, people have been discussing why the kingdom of Qidan Liao declined in its heyday.
In fact, the reason why the Khitan people went from prosperity to extinction was actually related to a bird. The name of this bird is "Haidong Qing".
There is a god bird named Haidongqing in the north. According to "Three Dynasties North Alliance", those who are green in the sea leave the five countries, and those who come from the sea to the east of the five countries are called green in the sea. Children are handsome and healthy, and people with white claws think differently, so they must ask for jurchen. Every year, they send their younger brother from Waiyingfang to Nuzhen, and more than 1000 people are sent to the five realms.
Haidongqing is an eagle good at catching swans, which is produced in Jurchen area. Haidongqing is the best eagle because of its small size and quick action, especially the white-clawed sea holly is the most valuable.
At that time, the Khitan people were particularly fond of Haidong Qing, and they were also eager for Haidong Qing. In order to find the trace of Hai Dongqing, they did not hesitate to spend a lot of manpower and material resources, even through war.
According to Zi Jian, during the Liao Daozong period, the Qidan people were crazy about seeking rare treasures, which were among the treasures, and were a kind of pearl ball formed by mussels in the process of eating. To find Zhu Bei, we must first find mussels, and swans like to eat mussels, and Haidong Qing is good at catching swans, thus forming a unique Zhu Bei-mussel-swan-Haidong Qing-royal family.
Therefore, Haidong Qing became a royal treasure, so that officials from top to bottom in Liao country should be careful.
According to "Liao History Daozong Ji" records:
"In summer and April, officials, people and livestock are forbidden in Xin Wei."
According to this historical data, Liao Daozong explicitly prohibited the people and civil and military ministers from raising Hai Dongqing privately. The central government of Liao Dynasty monopolized the resources of Haidong Qing by severe and compulsory means, and realized the supremacy of the emperor. At the same time, it also cast a mysterious veil on Haidong Qing.
In addition, Liao History also records:
"Ding Hai, Jia made Yeleshi the minister of industry in order to capture the goose alive."
For a bird, an "Eagle Square" was specially set up for him, which is still rare in history. Because a large number of swans were caught in a spring hunting activity, officials in Fang Ying were promoted to Minister of Industry. This shows that the emperor of Liao Dynasty loved Hai Dongqing.
"Fishing in Liao Country" records that Song Zhenzong sent messengers to congratulate Liao Daozong on his birth. He personally participated in the spring hunting activities in Liao country, drummed, and Hai Dongqing flew away angrily. In this activity, Ambassador Song witnessed Hai Dongqing's hunting ability with his own eyes. After the ministers caught the swan, they began to hold a goose feast. At this time, the ministers did not have trivial etiquette between the monarch and the minister, and they got as drunk as a fiddler, which also reflected the heroic nature of the Qidan people and the rough national character of informality.
The importance and fascination of the Qidan people for this falcon tool was unimaginable in the Song Dynasty. The minister of the DPRK presented the sea to the emperor and received a generous reward. On the contrary, if they fail to catch it, they will be severely punished.
As the saying goes, there are good things in the world, and the next one will be very bad.
The slaves seized the emperor's enthusiasm for Haidong Qing, which made many slaves compete to dedicate Haidong Qing to the emperor in order to gain the emperor's favor. According to Liao History, an official was named as "Imperial Lamp Lang Jun" by the emperor because he was as agile as a falcon when hunting, and served as the deputy history of Fang Ying and Sifang officials successively. He was also directly rewarded by the emperor for his meritorious service to the imperial court, making him eligible to raise Hai Dongqing like a member of the royal family, just as the Qing emperor rewarded the meritorious yellow jacket, which is a unique honor.
Liao even took Haidong Qing as the code name of the army and formed a unique Haidong Qing army.
Playing falcon in Liao country is just like playing with things in southern Han people, and it will eventually pay a huge price for it. But the Khitans didn't think that it was because of their deep love for Haidong Qing that the whole nation was destroyed.
Haidongqing is a migratory bird, which migrates in spring and autumn. In autumn, they migrated south or west from the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia, arrived in Ningguta region around 10 of the lunar calendar, and flew west to Ningxia and Central Asia for the winter before 12.
So Haidongqing has only one birthplace in China, that is Liaodong, and Liaodong has always been the place where Jurchen lived. When the Khitans rose, Jurchen was only a small tribe attached to Liao.
The weak Jurchen tribe did not dare to resist the endless oppression and exploitation of Liao, so they had to pay tribute to Haidong Qing and Qidan every year. With powerful military forces, the Khitans did whatever they wanted in the Jurchen tribe. Jurchen can only choose to submit to humiliation, if a little resistance, it will lead to the attack of Liao army.
As the saying goes, where there is oppression, there is resistance.
After being oppressed by Liao for a hundred years, Jurchen finally embarked on the road of resistance. However, jurchen is very smart. Instead of confronting the powerful Liao country, they formulated the "Eagle Road Plan" to deceive the world.
The so-called "Eagle Road" refers to a road from today's Balinzuoqi in Inner Mongolia to the Songhua River Basin, and it is also the only way for Qidan nobles to hunt every spring.
At that time, there were many different ethnic tribes on this road. Some of these tribes surrendered and some resisted, so Eagle Road was often invaded by all ethnic groups. In order to make the Khitan nobles pass smoothly every year, a leader of the Jurchen tribe named Wan Yan Ugunai offered to send troops to pacify the natives on this road and open up Eagle Road for the Khitan nobles.
For this kind of good thing that neither pays nor contributes, but also makes the eagle road unobstructed, why not qidan nobles?
In this way, with the support of the emperor of Liao, Nai openly attacked the surrounding tribes and unconsciously unified the Liaodong area. In order to confuse the rule of Liao, the Jurchen tribe still pays tribute to Haidongqing every year, so that their annual spring hunting can be carried out as scheduled.
For such a loyal slave, Liao Daozong liked him very much and called him a teacher.
As a result, the Jurchen tribe quietly encroached on the surrounding tribes, and soon became a tyrant in Liaodong, eventually pacifying the tribes in Liaodong and realizing the unification of Jurchen to Liaodong.
At this time, the Khitans were still immersed in the fascination with Haidong Qing and the cheers of spring hunting. They don't know, not far from the East, a powerful nation is rising rapidly, eyeing up and ready like Haidong Qing.
10 years later, akuta led nuzhen troops to quickly drive the Khitans to the northwest desert. In just over a hundred years, the Khitan dynasty was completely destroyed under the iron hoof of the Mongols, and has since retired from the historical stage forever.
During the Song, Liao and Jin Dynasties, the Liao people began to pursue and expand Haidong Qing, and at the same time influenced neighboring countries and tribes. At that time, the social atmosphere and the pursuit of interests eventually led to the demise of the Liao Dynasty, which had to make us think deeply.