 While Emperor Daozong 's reign started off strong , it too was eventually plagued by factional infighting , aggravated by the emperor 's own general weakness . The emperor 's first major error was in ordering the execution of Xiao A La , a loyal minister and close friend of the emperor , whom the emperor was nonetheless convinced to execute by a rival minister . The 14th @-@ century History of Liao speculates that had Xiao A La not been killed , two major incidents that came to dominate Emperor Daozong 's reign would have been avoided . The first of these incidents was a rebellion in 1063 , when several high @-@ ranking members of the Yelü clan , led by a grandson of Emperor Shengzong , attempted to assassinate Emperor Daozong while he was on a hunting trip . He was saved with the assistance of troops led by his mother , Empress Dowager Ren Yi , and he retaliated by executing all of the people involved in the plot , as well as their immediate families . 
