"Empress Xiao" is a peculiar group in the history of the Liao State, she does not refer to any one person, but it has a strong spokesperson Xiao Yanyan.
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Three
Xiao Yanyan can be called the history of the Liao State
The most outstanding political strong woman
Xiao Yanyan, as the spokesperson of Empress Xiao, should have no objection, in her body, it can be said that the advantages of successive Empress Xiao are vividly displayed, and the magnificent Liao Empire she led is also the coveted liao country in history.
1. As the regent of the empress, promote the prosperity and development of the Liao state
After Emperor Jingzong of Liao ascended the throne, his illness gradually became serious, and he was unable to handle state affairs, so he had to preside over the imperial government by Empress Xiao Yanyan. The history books say, "Punishment and reward for political affairs, the use of soldiers to pursue, all Empress Xiao decided, Liao Jingzong just surrendered to the bed" (Khitan Chronicles). After Xiao Yanyan came to power, he implemented a series of reforms, "no doubt to others, credit must be rewarded", khitan social economy and culture continued to develop, "the valley of the year is repeatedly abundant".
The surviving Xiao Tai Hou River is proof of this, which is the earliest artificial canal in Beijing, located in the southeast of the capital, named after the excavation presided over by Empress Xiao of Liao, which began in the sixth year of reunification (988), is the earliest Cao Canal since Beijing became the capital of the country, originally used to transport military food, and later became an important waterway for royal shipping. It predates the Bahe River in the Yuan Dynasty and more than 300 years before the Tonghui River, which was transported by caoyun in the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, and is still one of the main rivers in eastern Beijing. The Ming and Qing dynasties record that "the boats on the river surface pass through, and the pedestrians on the riverbank are weaving, just like the water town of Jiangnan".
2. Empress Xiao made a shining appearance, and the Liao Kingdom entered an unprecedented prosperity
In 982, Liaojingzong was overworked and died of illness on his way out hunting, at the age of 35. In grief, Xiao Yanyan put his 11-year-old eldest son Yelü Longxu (i.e., Emperor Shengzong of Liao) to the throne, thus beginning a 27-year career of listening to the government.
This woman, who was less than 30 years old, reused Yelü Xieyun and Han Derang to take charge of military and political power, joined forces to fight against the clan that intended to rebel, protected the safety of the empress dowager's mother and son, and created a strong military and politically clear Liao Dynasty atmosphere.
Empress Xiao and Han Derang had a perfect love affair, and there are historical records that "lying together as husband and wife, eating in the same case"; there is more archaeological evidence, and on the excavated Liao Dynasty cultural relics, the inscription reads "In front of the Empress Dowager Hall of the Wenzhong King's Palace". "Wen Zhong" was Han Derang's posthumous title, and the setting up of the "Empress Dowager Hall" of Empress Xiao in the Palace of Wen Zhong's palace almost unabashedly showed the close relationship between the two.
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How much did Empress Xiao love Han Derang? According to historical records, someone accidentally injured Han Derang while playing polo, and Empress Xiao, who was in love with her brain, immediately executed the innocent polo player on the spot, and she also feasted on Han Derang's tent, indicating that they were the male and female hosts of the banquet, as if it was a belated wedding.
What is even more surprising to the world is that Han Derang actually got the permission of the Liao Shengzong to give the name Yelü Longyun and was buried on the side of Empress Xiao's mausoleum after his death.
Yelü Xieyun was a descendant of the founding heroes of the Liao Dynasty, and Empress Xiao entrusted him with a heavy responsibility, she had two amber cups, each of which could hold half a liter of wine, and each time she rewarded the meritorious ministers, others only drank one cup, and Xie Yi wanted to drink a few cups, "the people of the country are honored.".
There was also a famous general, Jericho, who was also reused. He was responsible for guarding Nanjing (present-day Beijing) in Liaoning, guarding against the Song army, and was known for his prestige. At that time, the people on the border of Song and Liao wanted to coax children to prevent them from crying, and they would say, "Don't cry, Brother Yelü Is coming." "It shows his bravery in fighting."
He was also known for his good character, who could fight wars, but did not compete for merit, "every victory, let the meritorious generals, so the soldiers and soldiers are happy to use it", these people, together constitute Empress Xiao's political team, assist Empress Xiao's mother and son to create brilliant.
3. Govern the country and the army well, and the people of Han and Liao return to their hearts
Although Empress Xiao was fierce enough to attack the Song army, her benevolent side can also be seen from her change of ethnic policies and exploitative tyranny in the early Liao Dynasty.
The first was to abolish slavery for Han prisoners. At the beginning of the Liao Dynasty, the Khitan nobles organized the prefectures and counties and populations they plundered into "TouxiaJun Prefectures", which were owned by the princes and nobles, who could build forts and settle slaves, have a certain degree of independence, and pay taxes to the state and partly to the lords under the head.
In order to strengthen the centralization of power and constantly weaken the power of these noble ministers, Empress Xiao ordered that the officials of the prefecture and county must obey the orders of the imperial court. At the same time, when she was regent, she stipulated that the Han Chinese captured in the war could no longer be organized as slaves, but became liao civilians and maintained their original lives.
The second is to promote the equality of the Liao and Han peoples. Even for the original slaves, Empress Xiao was also benevolent. She had decreed that slaves should break the law, and their masters should not be killed without permission, and all of them should be handed over to the government; she also reformed the phenomenon of legal inequality, and the Khitans in the early Liaoning Dynasty beat the Han people to death, and only needed to compensate the cattle and horses, but Empress Xiao stipulated that in the future, regardless of the Khitans and Han people, "one Han law theory" was adopted.
Once, a Khitan nobleman named Yelü Boguzhe knew that the law had broken the law and harmed the people, and when Empress Xiao learned of it, she strictly enforced the law and ordered someone to investigate. Yelü Boguzhe had participated in the campaign against the Song general Cao Bin, and was also a hero, but Empress Xiao still beat this Khitan nobleman to pieces with a "big staff" according to law.
The third is to improve the law to promote justice. Empress Xiao also carried out some creative reforms in the judicial system, formulated and improved relevant laws and regulations in a targeted manner, and took the lead in setting an example and sparing no effort to implement them. If there are criminals who feel that they have been wronged, they can implement an "appeal" system, which reduces many unjust, false and wrongly decided cases.
Empress Xiao was lenient and severe, showing no leniency toward those who had committed the most heinous crimes, and leniently dealing with those who had extenuating circumstances. She also personally handled some difficult and major cases, eased national and class antagonisms, and further stabilized the lives of the people.
The fourth is to attach importance to the resumption of agricultural production. During her reign, Empress Xiao issued twenty-three edicts to reduce taxes and reduce taxes, which shows the importance she attaches to agriculture. She provided farmers with all kinds of agricultural equipment, and did not allow bureaucrats to destroy agriculture because of hunting, let alone return the farmers for various reasons. The development of agriculture continued to progress under the administration of Empress Xiao, which also laid a good foundation for the strength and prosperity of the Liao state.
In fact, the Liao state under Empress Xiao has gradually become a great power under the Confucian cultural concept, and it is not as barbaric and backward as some ultra-nationalists imagine. On the contrary, her lax policies at that time even attracted the people on the border of the Northern Song Dynasty, and many poor people came to join. For example, in February of the first year of reunification (983), the people of more than 70 villages along the border between the Northern Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty crossed the border and defected to the Liao Dynasty; in May of the same year, more than a thousand households came to vote.
4. Policies are flexible and changeable to improve the relationship between Song and Liao
Many people feel that no matter how much merit Empress Xiao has achieved, it is only for the Khitan and for the Han people in the Central Plains, she is undoubtedly an executioner and an old demon! But rationally speaking, Empress Xiao also had a very positive significance for the improvement of Song-Liao relations!
Some people say that this is the shame of the Central Plains Dynasty and the initiator of those unequal treaties in modern times.
However, from the perspective of the relationship between Song and Liao at that time, the "Alliance of Liaoyuan" actually maintained the peace of Song and Liao for nearly a hundred years, which not only made the military and civilians on both sides shed a lot less blood, but also saved a lot of social wealth. In the case of the weak strength of the Song Dynasty at that time, it was extremely difficult to guarantee and strengthen the long-term peace of the Liao Dynasty! Although the Song Dynasty wanted to pay the Liao dynasty coins, the amount was not much. Through mutual market trade between the two countries, the Song Dynasty could even earn a little more. In this respect, it is actually a win-win covenant.
Before the fall of the Liao state, although there was occasional friction between the Song and the Liao, and once the Liao also had military oppression on the Song, there was never such a big armed conflict as the first three, which was undoubtedly a happy and peaceful time for the people of the two countries.
As for the sense of shame of the Han nation brought about by this incident, I think this is a psychological reaction of human beings, and the understanding is also different from person to person, and cannot be judged simply from the gains and losses of the "Alliance of the Yuanyuan".
"Empress Xiao" is a peculiar group in the history of the Liao Kingdom, she does not specifically refer to any one person, but it has a powerful spokesperson Xiao Yanyan, with the dramatic rendering of "Yan Yuntai", this group of Empress Xiao's talent, love, and power are all complete, making people have to praise from the bottom of their hearts: If you want to say that the real winner in life, who is Xiao Yanyan?