Ancient China was a patriarchal society, and women were rarely able to stand at the pinnacle of power. However, there were still a number of outstanding female politicians in history, such as Empress Xiao of the Liao State, during her reign, in the face of the military threat of the Northern Song Dynasty, the national strength of the Liao State did not decline, but reached its strongest! The Liao state not only won, but also reversed the situation of the war, changing from passive defense to active attack. So how did Empress Xiao do this?
After Han Gaozu's ancestor Liu Bang seized the world, he discussed the reasons for success with the heroes, and finally he concluded that Xiao He, Han Xin, and Zhang Liang were all masters, "I can use it, so I take the world." Xiang Yu has a fan increase and cannot be used, so he thinks I can also catch it." It can be seen that talent is very important, and being able to make good use of talents is the key to victory. Empress Xiao herself had great political ability, and at the same time she had three "trump cards" in her hand that caused the Northern Song Dynasty a headache!
The first trump card is Han Dejang! Although Han Derang was a Han Chinese, he had been serving the Khitan since his grandfather. In 979, when Han De let zhen defend Youzhou, Song Taizong led the Northern Expedition, he first held the city, and then went out of the city to pursue the Song army with reinforcements, and won the battle of Gaoliang River. Before Emperor Jingzong of Liao's death, Han Derang became a minister of gu orders, and during Empress Xiao's reign, Han Derang was "the chief guard" and "added the three divisions of the kaifu Yi and the three divisions, and concurrently with the government order".
In 986, Emperor Taizong of Song sent a large army of more than 100,000 people on the Northern Expedition, and Han Derang accompanied Empress Xiao on a campaign to break the Song army in one fell swoop and achieve a great victory. It can be said that Han Derang was a figure who was a general in and out of the liao state, who led the liao state in charge of the government, carried out various reforms, and promoted the process of sinicization and feudalization of the Liao state, so that the Liao state appeared to flourish. Later, Han Derang followed Empress Xiao south and forced the Song Dynasty to sign the "Alliance of Yuanyuan". In 1011, Han Derang, who was the grand chancellor of the Liao state and the king of Jin, fell ill and died at the age of 71.
The second trump card is Jericho. The situation of Jericho has been introduced before, and here we will briefly describe it. Born in the Liao Dynasty, Yelü Hugo began to fight on the battlefield as a teenager, and it was the Battle of Gaoliang River that made him famous in the war. At that time, Jeroboam was ordered to lead the Five Houses army to the rescue. The Liao army was not numerically superior, but Yelü Hugo launched a surprise attack on the exhausted Song army, resulting in a crushing defeat of the Song army, and Song Taizong was hit by an arrow and almost captured.
After Empress Xiao came to power, she had great trust in Brother Yelü, and "ordered Brother Hugh to take charge of the military affairs in the south to engage in cheap work", that is, to entrust all the military affairs in the south of the Liao state to him, and he was completely responsible. Brother Yelü Xiu did not live up to Empress Xiao's expectations, "all the soldiers, establish a more hugh law, persuade nongsang, repair weapons, and rule the border." In the war with the Song Dynasty, Yelü Hugo won many major victories, and later, the people in the Northern Song Border area used the title of Yelü Hugo "Yu Yue" to scare children.
The third card is the Jeremiah. Like Yelü Hugo, Yelü Washim was born into the Liao Dynasty, but his career did not go well at first. However, there was a person who admired Yelü Xieyi, and she was Empress Xiao's father, Xiao Siwen. On Xiao Siwen's recommendation, Yelü Xieyi was valued by Emperor Jingzong of Liao, and he also married Empress Xiao's niece. In the Battle of the Gaoliang River, Yelü "attacked with Yelü Hugo on the left and right flanks, and defeated the Song army".
During Emperor Taizong's Second Northern Expedition, Yelü Xieyi served as the commander of the Shanxi Road Terracotta Army and Horse Army, and rushed to the aid of the Western Front. He first engaged the Song general He Lingtu, "breaking it, chasing it to wutai, beheading tens of thousands of levels", and then "chasing to the flying fox and beheading more than 20,000 levels". In the end, he engaged Pan Mei's Western Route Army and captured Yang Ye in the Battle of Chenjiagukou. Han Derang, Yelü Hugo, and Yelü Xiexuan can be said to be the most outstanding talents in the Liao State, and they have been reused, in contrast, the Song Dynasty is eclipsed.
References: 1. History of Liao; 2. "Continuation of Zizhi Tongjianchang"