Zhenzhu Khan

His birthdate is unknown, but it is known that he was the grandson of the Yiedie Khan, who was the first ruler of the Xueyantuo, then a constituent tribe of the Tiele confederation, which was then submitting to the rule of Eastern Turkic khans. He had a brother named Tong Tegin. At the time Inan was initially Xueyantuo's ruler under Illig Qaghan, Inan had 70,000 tents of households.

By 627, several of the stronger members of the Tiele, including Xueyantuo, Uyghurs, and Bayegu (拔野谷) rebelled.^[3] Illig Qaghan sent his son Yukuk Shad to attack the rebels with some 400000 horsemen, but were defeated by an army of only 5000 horsemen commanded by the Uyghur chieftain Pusar.^[1][4] At the same time, Xueyantuo also defeated four Turkic generals, and Qaghan could not respond adequately. Qaghan then sent the subordinate Ashina Shibobi, against the Tiele, but the Uyghurs and the Xueyantuo both defeated Ashina Shibobi, causing him to flee. Illig Qaghan's subsequent anger at and brief detention of Ashina Shibobi eventually led to Shibobi also rebelling and entering into an alliance with Tang.^[5]

By late 628, the northern vassals of Turks had all rebelled, and submitted to Inan, offering him the title of khan. Inan initially declined the title, not daring to use it. As Emperor Taizong of Tang wanted to enter into an alliance with Xueyantuo against Eastern Turks, he sent the general Qiao Shiwang (喬師望) as an envoy to Inan^[6], recognizing him as the Zhenzhupiqie Khan (or Zhenzhu Khan in short), and awarding him with drums and banners. Inan was very pleased, and he offered tribute to Emperor Taizong. According to Chinese annals, by this point, his territory stretched from the Mohe to the east, Western Turks to the west, and Gobi Desert to the south, and that many tribes, including Huige (回纥), Bayegu (拔也古), Adie (阿跌), Tongluo (同羅), Pugu (僕骨), and Baixi (白霫), all submitted to him. He established his power base in Ötüken, traditional capital of Turks.^[7]

In August 629, he sent his brother Tong Tegin to offer tribute to Emperor Taizong, and Emperor Taizong, in return, awarded him with a sword and a whip, stating, "Lord, if your subordinates commit crimes, you can use the sword to execute those with major crimes, and whip those with minor crimes." Inan was pleased, and this brought fear in Illig Qaghan, who requested a marriage with the Tang imperial clan, to no avail.^[8]

In 630, a Tang army commanded by the general Li Jing defeated the Eastern Turks, capturing Illig. Some of the Eastern Turks surrendered to Tang; some surrendered to Xueyantuo; and some fled to the west to Western Turks or the nearby city states. Xueyantuo was now the predominant power to the north of the Tang empire.^[9]

As the supreme ruler over former Eastern Turk territory, Inan - now Zhenzhu Khan - tried to maintain peaceful relationship with Tang by formally submitting to Tang, while at the same time strengthening his state. In 632, Western Turks' Sy Yabghu Khagan attacked Xueyantuo, and Xueyantuo forces defeated him, contributing to his' subsequent downfall.

Another challenge that Zhenzhu had to face was an attack from the Eastern Turk prince Ashina She'er, who had, during the collapse of the Eastern Turks, fled to Western Turks and taken over a part of its territory, claiming the title of Dubu Khagan. As Ashina She'er viewed Xueyantuo as the source of Eastern Turks downfall, he vowed vengeance against Xueyantuo, and he c.���634, with indecisive results. However, at that time a new Western Turk khan, Ishbara Tolis, had just taken the throne, and a large portion of Ashina She'er's people, not willing to continue fighting, fled to him allowing Xueyantuo to counterattack and defeat Ashina She'er.

Meanwhile, Inan was strengthening, and by 638, he was said to have more than 200,000 soldiers under him. It was also said that he had divided the army to be separately commanded by his sons Bazhuo and Jialibi (頡利苾), with Bazhuo in charge of the south and Jialibi in charge of the north.^[2] Emperor Taizong, believing that Xueyantuo was becoming strong and difficult to subjugate, created both Bazhuo and Jialibi as subordinate khans under their father, awarding them both drums and banners, ostensibly to honor them, but hoping to instead cause dissent between them.^[10]

Meanwhile, Qu Wentai (麴文泰), the king of Gaochang, was rumored to have allied himself with Western Turks against Tang, and also tried to engage Xueyantuo in their alliance, sending an emissary to Zhenzhu to incite him to invade China.^[11] Zhenzhu, in response, informed Emperor Taizong of Qu's instigation and, when Emperor Taizong sent the general Hou Junji to attack Gaochang in 638, offered to send an army to guide Hou. Emperor Taizong sent the official Tang Jian and the general Zhishi Sili (執失思力) to Xueyantuo, to award Zhenzhun with silk for his loyalty and to discuss coordination. (However, when Hou actually attacked and conquered Gaochang in 639, it appeared to be without actual participation from Xueyantuo.)

In 639, there was a failed plot led by the Eastern Turk prince Ashina Jiesheshuai to assassinate Emperor Taizong. Taizong thereafter rethought his policy of settling the Eastern Turk people inside Tang borders, instituted initially in 630. He created the Eastern Turk prince Ashina Simo as Qilibi Khan, ordering him to take the Eastern Turk people to settle between the Yellow River and the Gobi. He sent Guo Siben^[12], Chief Minister of Granaries^[13] to Zhenzhu, explaining the reasons and ordering Xueyantuo to keep peace with the rebuilt Eastern Turkic Khaganate. Zhenzhu, who was reminded that he was the senior khagan, while displeased with the action, agreed to buy time^[14], and by 641, Qilibi Khan had settled in near Dingxiang (定襄, in modern Hohhot, Inner Mongolia).

Later that year, believing that Emperor Taizong was about to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth at Mount Tai and would take his soldiers with them, Zhenzhu Khan wanted to use this chance to destroy Turks. He commissioned his son Dadu shad (大度設),^[3] with an army made of soldiers from the Tongluo, Pugu, Uyghurs, Mohe, and Xi, to attack Eastern Turks with 200,000 men. Qilibi could not resist, and withdrew within the Great Wall, took up position at Shuo Prefecture (roughly modern Shuozhou, Shanxi), and sought emergency aid from Emperor Taizong.

In winter 641, Emperor Taizong sent the generals Zhang Jian, Li Shiji, Li Daliang, Zhang Shigui (張士貴), and Li Xiyu (李襲譽), to attack Xueyantuo to try to defend Turks. He appointed Minister of War Li Shiji as the chief commander of Shuozhou campaign, leading 60,000 soldiers and 1,200 cavalry to camp at Yufang. Li Daliang was appointed commander of the Lingzhou campaign, leading 40,000 soldiers and 5,000 cavalry to camp at Lingwu. Zhang Shigui led 17,000 soldiers as commander of the Qingzhou campaign, departing from Yunzhong. Governor of Liangzhou, Li Xiyu, was appointed commander of the Liangzhou campaign, advancing from the west. Taizong also instructed Qilibi Khan to pursue scorched earth tactics. Xueyantuo on the other hand, trained their troops in infantry combat, forming units of five where one person held the horse while the other four fought on foot. If victorious, they would mount their horses to pursue the fleeing enemy.

In December 641, Li Shiji engaged Dadu's army on Nuozhen river (modern Aibag river, Inner Mongolia).^[15] Dadu's army was initially able to kill Li Shiji's Turkic army's horses with arrows, but Li Shiji's lieutenant Xue Wanche (薛萬徹) was able to, in turn, concentrate on attacking Xueyantuo army's horse handlers. Li Shiji was able to thereafter defeat Dadu killing over 3000 and capturing more than 50000. Dadu shad, however was able to escape. Although Taizong was planning about full campaign, Wei Zheng advised against it, leading to the decision to refrain from further military action against Xueyantuo. Instead, Emperor Taizong sent the emissary back to Zhenzhu with harsh words, but did not make further attacks on Xueyantuo or rebuke Zhenzhu any further.

Later Zhenzhu had sent an emissary to Emperor Taizong, offering peace with Eastern Turks and Tang. He sent his uncle Ishbara Nishu Irkin^[16] (Chinese: 沙缽羅泥孰俟斤; pinyin: Shābōluó Níshú Qíjīn) in 642 to Emperor Taizong, offering a tribute of 3,000 horses, 38,000 mink coats, and a mirror made of amber. Meanwhile, with the Tang general Qibi Heli -- the chief of the Qibi tribe, a constituent tribe of the Tiele as well—being detained in Xueyantuo after he, on a visit back to his tribe, was seized by his own subordinates and taken to Xueyantuo (as his subordinates wanted to submit to Xueyantuo rather than Tang), Emperor Taizong, concerned about Qibi Heli's safety (as Qibi Heli had refused to submit to Xueyantuo, cutting off an ear to show his resolve, causing Zhenzhu to nearly execute him), under advise of Fang Xuanling, agreed to the marriage proposal, sending the official Cui Dunli to negotiate with Zhenzhu the terms, under which Emperor Taizong's daughter Princess Xinxing (新興公主) would marry Zhenzhu, in exchange for Qibi Heli's release.

In 643, Zhenzhu accepted to these terms and this time sent his nephew Tuli shad (Chinese: 突利設; pinyin: Tūlì Shè) to offer tributes of 50,000 horses, 10,000 cattle or camels, and 100,000 goats, to serve as bride price.^[14] Emperor Taizong welcomed Tuli in a grand ceremony, and Tuli held a great banquet in Emperor Taizong's honor, which Emperor Taizong and his officials personally attended. However, at Qibi's urging, Emperor Taizong was considering renouncing the marriage—initially ordering Zhenzhu to personally meet him and Princess Xinxing at Ling Prefecture (靈州, roughly modern Yinchuan, Ningxia) to marry her, believing that Zhenzhu would refuse and that he would then have a good excuse to break off the marriage. When Zhenzhu agreed to go to Ling Prefecture, Emperor Taizong found another excuse—that the bride price offered had not been all collected (as, in order to gather the livestock making up the bride price, Zhenzhu had to collect them from subordinate tribes, and it was taking longer than thought, and the livestock were also dying from having to go through the Gobi) -- to cancel the marriage treaty, despite strong opposition from his official Chu Suiliang, who pointed out that, effectively, he was devaluing his own words. Emperor Taizong rationalized his decision by arguing that if Zhenzhu had married a Tang princess, he would have greater legitimacy over the Tiele tribes and would be more difficult to control.

Meanwhile, Zhenzhu was continuing to attack Eastern Turks periodically. When Emperor Taizong sent emissaries to try to stop him from doing so, Zhenzhu reportedly responded:

With the Supreme One's command, how dare I disobey! However, the Turks are unpredictable and have repeatedly invaded China, killing tens of thousands each year. When Your Majesty conquered them, they should have been enslaved and gifted to the Chinese people. Instead, you have treated them with great kindness, as if they were your own children, yet they still rebelled. These people have the hearts of beasts and cannot be treated with human principles. I, having received deep grace, request permission to exterminate them for Your Majesty.

— Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 197

By the end of 644, the Eastern Turks people, who were not whole-heartedly supportive of Qilibi Khan in the first place, collapsed in light of Xueyantuo threat, fleeing back to Tang territory, and were again settled there. They crossed the Yellow River to south, seeking to be settled among Sheng (勝州, in modern Hohhot, but south of the Yellow River) and Xia (夏州, roughly modern Yulin, Shaanxi) Prefectures. Despite officials' opposition, Emperor Taizong agreed to settle them. Qilibi, with his reconstituted state in shambles, also returned to China, and was again made a Tang general, ending Tang's attempt to recreate Eastern Turks as a vassal.

When Zhenzhu subsequently sent an emissary to offer tribute to Emperor Taizong, who was at that time deeply into preparation to attack Goguryeo, Emperor Taizong responded, "Go back and tell your khan: My son and I are now about to attack Goguryeo. If he thinks that he can take advantage of this, he is welcome to come!" Zhenzhu, fearful of Emperor Taizong's anger, sent another emissary to apologize and offering to assist in the military campaign against Goguryeo, an offer that Emperor Taizong declined. In 645, after Emperor Taizong had defeated the main Goguryeo forces at Mount Zhubi (駐驆山), near the fortress of Anshi (安市, in modern Anshan, Liaoning), Goguryeo's mangniji (regent) Yeon Gaesomun requested that Zhenzhu to attack Tang, offering great tributes to him if he did. Zhenzhu, fearful of Tang response, did not do so.

Zhenzhu died on October 21, 645. Despite the friction that had developed in the latter years, Emperor Taizong held a grand mourning ceremony for Zhenzhu. It was said that khan, with Tang permission, had previously created his oldest son by a concubine - Yemang a Tolis Shad - a title traditionally given to subrulers of eastern wing, to govern over various tribes, and his wife's son Bazhuo Si Yabgu Khan, giving him the western parts, to govern over the Xueyantuo people, and that Emperor Taizong had carried out the creation in grand ceremonies. Yemang was said to be violent and disturbed, and also having a poor relationship with Bazhuo. After Yi'nan's death, both attended the funeral, and after the funeral, Yemang, fearful that Bazhuo would harm him, departed suddenly first, which led to Bazhuo chasing him down and killing him. Bazhuo thereafter took the throne with the title of Jialijulixueshaduomi Khan (or Duomi Khan, in short).

1. ^ Chinese: 藥羅葛菩薩; pinyin: Yàoluógé Púsà was a Chinese rendering of the Turkic name Old Turkic: 𐰖𐰍𐰞𐰴𐰺 𐰯𐰆𐰽𐰺, romanized: Yaγlaqar Pusar, itself a version of Bodhisattva.^[17]
2. ^ It is not clear whether Jialibi was the same person as Yemang. However, when describing the dispute between Bazhuo and Yemang in 645, the Tang Huiyao mentioned that at one point, at Zhenzhu's request, Emperor Taizong had created both Bazhuo and Yemang subordinate khan titles, which may suggest that Yemang and Jialibi were the same person. The division described here (by south and north) was different than the west/east and ethnic division described for the division between Bazhuo and Yemang.
3. ^ Dadu was described to be his oldest son, but Yemang was also later described to be his oldest son. Moreover, Dadu's soldiers, described to be from the various tribes, also appeared to coincide with the ethnic composition of the people under Yemang in 645, and so it was possible, but not confirmed, that Dadu and Yemang were the same person.

• Yuan, Hong (2022). From the Khitans to the Jurchens & Mongols: A History of Barbarians in Triangle Wars & Quartet Conflicts. iUniverse. ISBN 9781663242587.
• Hung, Hing Ming (2013). Li Shi Min, Founding the Tang Dynasty: The Strategies that Made China the Greatest Empire in Asia. Algora Publishing. ISBN 978-0-87586-980-3.

• Tang Huiyao, vol. 96.[4]
• Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198.