Anecdote of the Fifth Queen Mother

Chapter 25 Empress Dowager Xiao (3)
Let's say that Pan Mei and Yang Ye retreated to Langya Village [-] miles south of Daizhou that day, and they heard that Yelu Xiezhen had led [-] troops to attack Weizhou, fought against Feihu, captured Yingzhou, and then took advantage of the victory to enter Huanzhou.Huanzhou is in emergency, whether to send troops to rescue, Pan Mei hesitates to decide.Yang Ye thought that the morale of the Liao army was high and he could not fight against him, but the army supervisor Wang You flashed out from the side, obstructed Yang Ye, provoked Pan Mei to listen to her mistaken estimate of blindly advancing, and forced Yang Ye to lead the army to rescue.At this time, the queen mother had already ordered Yelu Xiezhen to choose a favorable terrain and set up an ambush halfway.Yang Ye and his two sons, Yan Zhao and Yan Yu, had just arrived when they heard the sound of a cannon, and Yelu Xiezhen's ambushes broke out everywhere, trapping Yang Ye and his son in a tight siege.They fought desperately, fighting from noon till dusk before making a bloody path, retreating to Langya Village, watching Pan Mei and Wang You's reinforcements, but Pan and Wang ignored Yang's father and son and just ran for their own lives went.At this point, Yang Ye looked up to the sky and sighed: "This encounter will surely lead to death!" As a last resort, he ordered Yanzhao to break out of the siege to ask for help.However, Yang Ye and Yanyu led their troops in a bloody battle. After all, they were outnumbered. Yanyu was the first to die with dozens of arrows in his body.Yang Ye mourned unceasingly and felt that it would be futile to fight again, so he ordered the remaining hundreds of soldiers to find their own way out. All the soldiers were moved by Yang Ye's sincerity, and they all refused to leave.At this time, Xie Zhen's soldiers became more and more encircled. When the sun set in the west and the moon rose in the east, Yang Ye took refuge in the small woods alone on his wounded horse.Khitan general Yelu Xida saw Yang Ye's robe shadow under the moonlight, and shot with a powerful crossbow, which hit the horse's belly, and the horse fell to the ground. Yang Ye also fell off the horse and was captured. He died of hunger strike for three days.So far, Yang Ye's entire army has been destroyed, and Liao has won a complete victory.

Capturing Yang Ye had a great impact on the morale of both sides. Yang Ye was a famous general in the Northern Song Dynasty who fought against the Liao Dynasty, known as "Yang Wudi".In the Song and Liao battles, he repeatedly made outstanding achievements.Yang Ye had seven sons: Yanyu, Yanlang (Yanzhao), Yanpu, Yanxun, Yanhuan, Yangui and Yanbin.They are all brave and good at fighting.Yang Ye's wife Zhe (She) is also a person with great military ability. She is good at riding and shooting, and often assists her husband to make great achievements. Therefore, Yang's family is called "Yang Family General".The generals of the Liao Dynasty were also afraid of the generals of the Yang family.In 980 AD, Song Taizong personally conquered the Northern Han Dynasty, and then took advantage of the victory to send his troops northward to recover Yanyun. As a result, the Liao army was defeated in the first battle of Gaolianghe, and the second year after stealing the donkey cart, Liao Jingzong sent [-] troops to attack Yanmen. .At that time Song General Yang Ye had only a few thousand cavalry, unable to fight head-on with [-] Liao soldiers. He led hundreds of light cavalry from the Yangchang trail on the west side of Yanmen Pass to the north of Yanmen Pass, and charged out from behind the Liao soldiers, killing them. Xiao Duoruo, the son-in-law of the Liao Dynasty, captured the general Li Chonghai alive, disrupted the offensive of the Liao army, and won the victory.Since "Khitan is afraid of (Yang) ye, every time he sees ye banners, he will lead them away" ("Song History · Yang Ye Biography").Greatly increased the morale of the Song army.This time the Queen Mother strategized and captured Yang Ye in Langya Village.Yang Ye died of a hunger strike, and the queen mother ordered Yang Ye's head to be passed on to the army to boost morale.But Song Fang Shouyun, Ying and other soldiers in the prefecture learned that Yang Ye was dead, so they all abandoned the city and fled.From then on, the war between Liao and Song began to benefit the changes in Liao.

[-]. Fortunately, Han Derang
When Jingzong died, the queen mother had just turned 30 years old.Although youth will never come again, it is also in the prime of life.Besides, Yanyan is a person with a lot of interest in life. According to Zhicheng records, during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, along the north or southwest of today's Beijing city, there are still many relics of Xiao Chuo's dressing, bathing, and flower arrangement. .Especially in flower arrangement, there are likely to be many kinds of withered flowers, which can be used as "Buddha costumes".The seven emotions and six desires are common to everyone. Xiao Chuo's wisdom is early, and he knows more about life's ups and downs.

Jingzong and Yanyan have been married for more than 13 years, and Xiao Chuo bore him three sons and three daughters. From this point of view, Jingzong's love for Yanyan is self-evident.However, in Jingzong's later years, because of Empress Yu Yanyan, the political commissar of the military and state affairs, her life became more and more unrestrained, and she was addicted to wine and sex.Once Jing Zong fell ill, Yanyan climbed to the pinnacle of power, but despite her prestige, there were always shortcomings, which made her feel sorry for herself in comparison.

Because of being able to share weal and woe in critical moments, Han Derang walked into the life circle of the newly widowed and young Queen Mother, and became an intimate couple who accompanied the Queen Mother through the lonely night.According to historical records: "The Xiao family had an affair with Han, sent someone to hang his wife to death, and then entered the tent, lying together like a husband and wife, and eating together. The residence of Longxu was a hundred steps away from the tent, and there were thousands of guards. , 300 cooks, mixed with Fan Han female slaves, all state affairs are decided by the Xiao family and Han."
The situation recorded in this passage is still the situation when the Empress Dowager was a widow.Soon, in September of the sixth year of Tonghe (AD 988), the relationship between them was made public, "Ding You, the Empress Dowager is fortunate that Hande gave up the account, and rewarded her generously, and ordered her ministers to share friends and friends in Shuanglu to have fun" ( "History of Liao Shengzong Ji").Apparently, this kind of behavior of letting the ministers share friends and enjoy themselves in both lands is essentially tantamount to announcing the remarriage of Han Derang.

If judged from the orthodox feudal morality of the Han nationality, it is undoubtedly inappropriate. There is no reason to remarry a minister in the respect of the mother of the country, so the old historians of the Han nationality called her lewd.In fact, as the mother of a country of the Khitan nationality, marrying off subjects, according to the ethics of the Khitan people, doing so is not considered a deviant act.Probably everyone still remembers that the ethnic groups active on the grasslands at that time or in an earlier period all practiced "adoption marriage", even concubines and grandchildren of the grandfather's generation can be adopted as wives, not to mention the empress dowager and the German emperor. Let them marry.

Han Derang's so-called luck of the Marquis of Yang has always been a good material to be exaggerated in romance novels.But as far as the history unfolded in "Beyond the Great Wall" at that time, it seems to be a romantic story.It is undeniable that the young widowed queen mother emotionally needs a man of flesh and blood as her spiritual and life support, but the important thing is the political significance behind this marriage.

From the queen mother's point of view, apart from the above mentioned, this marriage gave the queen mother a powerful confidant who holds military power. With the progress of history, the southern Yanyun sixteen states have become more and more The economic regions that influenced the national policy made the Liao Dynasty's political center of gravity gradually move closer from the grasslands to the Central Plains.In order to consolidate the rule of the Yanyun area, and to adapt to the needs of the feudalization process within the Khitan society, the Khitan rulers' reuse of Han officials has become a major issue on the agenda.And Han Derang has the quality of the traditional culture of the Central Plains, and has also been influenced by Yanzhao Xiongfeng for many years. He is a typical representative of the integration of the two nationalities.Han Derang gathered a group of Han officials around him. Starting from their own interests, they demanded various political and economic measures, which were conducive to the continuous and smooth development of the feudal mode of production in the areas ruled by the Liao Dynasty.This is exactly what Empress Dowager Xiao hoped for when she followed the historical trend of feudalization of Khitan society and carried out reforms.

From Han Derang's point of view, although the Derang family has been famous since their ancestors knew the ancient times, until the 23rd year of Tonghe (AD 1005), this family was still a slave who had not been rented from the palace.Their nobility was only obtained by capturing their master Abaoji who became a slave, and even the favor of the later monarch.So without this kind of favor, their wealth can only be empty talk.In the final analysis, they are the "hair" attached to the "skin" favored by the royal family of the Liao Dynasty. "If the skin does not exist, the hair will not be attached."The foundation of their wealth is not stable after all, and they cannot be compared with those noble Khitan nobles.This kind of social background of prominent status and humble origins determines that they must cling to the solid skin of the royal family in order to show the beauty of fluff.To be able to marry the Supreme Mother of the Dynasty is the best thing that virtue can only wish for.

Based on this background, the honor and power given by Empress Dowager Xiao to the Han landlord class group represented by Han Derang greatly surpassed that of any Liao monarch before her, forming a sharp contrast.Using Hanchen to serve the rule of the Khitan nobles has been a national policy since Taizu Ajibao.During the period of Taizu and Taizong, a dual-track system was established, that is, the so-called "Hu" and Han divisions that "govern Khitan with the national system and treat the Han people with the Han system".The specific method is that the officials who rule the Khitan people and other nomadic peoples outside the Great Wall are all Khitan nobles, and the office is located in the north of the emperor's tooth tent, which is called the north face official; The taller Han and Bohai officials are mixed with Han landlords and Khitan nobles.However, the power of Han officials is far inferior to that possessed by Khitan nobles, and important official positions can only be held by Khitan nobles, such as the prime minister of the Nanfu who "in charge of the military affairs of the country, and the four accounts of the royal family are pre-selected", and the "uncle of the country and the five accounts". Han people are not allowed to serve as the Prime Minister of Beifu who is pre-selected by the world.Therefore, the use and trust of Han officials was still very limited before Queen Mother Xiao.After Empress Dowager Xiao became regent, all the restrictions in the past were broken.During the regency of Empress Dowager Xiao, Han Derang's status and honor reached a level that even the Khitan nobles could not match.

There are several things to prove this: The first thing is that Han Derang owned a palace guard, namely Prince Wenzhong's mansion.Palace guards, in the Liao Dynasty, were the unique guards of the royal family, with 100 people on the left and right.In the more than two hundred years of the Liao Dynasty, there were only thirteen palace guards, twelve of which belonged to nine emperors, two empress dowagers (Empress Dowager Yingtian and Empress Dowager Chengtian, mothers of Emperor Taizong of Liao Dynasty), and one empress dowager (Liao Shengzong's younger brother Yelu Longqing), the other owner is Han Derang.The second thing is that in the 17th year of Tonghe (999 AD), Handerang's power reached its limit.Before that, Shifang and Yelu Xiezhen passed away one after another. This year, he served concurrently as the Privy Envoy of the North and South. Jin named Qi Wang.At this point, Han Derang "position and general" took over the military and political power of the Liao Dynasty.The third thing is that after the 19th year of Tonghe (AD 1001), the Liao court successively bestowed the names of Dechang, Longyun and Yelu.Therefore, Han Derang, also known as Han Dechang and Yelu Longyun, bestowed the royal family name on his ministers in the feudal era, which was a very honorable thing for his ministers.The fourth thing is that in the 23rd year of Tonghe (AD 1005), the Han family was granted a license to borrow from the palace and belonged to the royal family's horizontal account, ranking above the prince.

Of course, while Han Derang was favored by this, he also lived up to the high expectations of the Queen Mother. ("Liao History·Biography") It is said in history: "Derang was a general and general during the unified period. Prosperous." "Therefore, I have always been in love with each other, which is incomparable." ("The Chronicle of Liao History")
However, this unparalleled favor often made the Khitan nobles of the Liao court feel unhappy. As Han Derang's power expanded, his attitude towards the Khitan nobles became increasingly arrogant and confident.In the early years of Tonghe (983 A.D.), Yeluhu Guyin, the grandson of Yili Jin Jilie of the Sixth Academy, "disobeyed Han Derang, and Derang was angry. He took the military staff held by the guard and struck him in the head, and died." ("Liao Dynasty") History Yelu Hu Gu Zhuan) Hugu can be said to be a dignitary, but he was beaten to death by Han Derang at will, but Han was not punished. This is naturally related to the connivance of the Empress Dowager Chengtian.In the sixth year of Tonghe (988 A.D.), during an entertainment activity of riding a horse and playing ball, the Khitan nobleman Hu Lishi knocked De Rang off his horse. "" History of Liao Dynasty · Yelulong Yun Biography").Hu Lishi just committed Handerang by mistake in the game, and Derang didn't seem to be injured, but the queen mother killed him for it, which of course will make Handerang even more arrogant.However, this unparalleled favor also caused the confrontation between Derang and the Khitan nobles, and caused the Khitan dignitaries to hate him.Of course, during Derang's lifetime, these people were intimidated by the Queen Mother and his authority, and dared to be angry but did not dare to speak out.After death, it is very different. Bi Yuan's "Continued Zizhi Tongjian" said that after Han Derang's death, his clan Yelu Shilu. [("Ben Zhuan" as Shi Lu) acted as the secret envoy of the Northern Privy Council. He knew the North Academy since Longyun, and his posts were too many to be abandoned. The day of Shilu's worship was "celebrated by the government and the field" (see "Liao History · Yelushi Lu Biography") ] Judging from the information revealed in this paragraph, when Derang was in power, the Khitan dignitaries felt very depressed.

After the death of Shengzong, with the coming to power representing the powerful Khitan forces in the imperial court, Derang's aunt and niece, Empress Dowager Qi, was killed, and the Han family was also expelled.

[-]. Enlightened politics

Empress Dowager Xiao consolidated her dominance at a time of crisis through a series of measures, and thus began her 27-year regency career.However, the struggle between the old and the new forces in the Liao Dynasty, and the big waves at the beginning of the Empress Dowager's reign were only a prelude, or the first round, and more serious problems awaited her.

From the perspective of the development of Liao Dynasty history, the historical period in which Empress Dowager Xiao lived is in a new turning point.This is because the Liao Dynasty established by Yelu Abaoji in AD 907 was a slave-owner aristocratic country, but with the development of social economy and the improvement of productivity, especially the influence of the adjacent Central Plains culture, the slavery A new economic factor—the feudal mode of production—has begun to conceive in the womb.With the progress of history, this new economic factor is increasing day by day, and it constantly conflicts with the old production relationship of slavery.As a result, the contradiction between the old and the new has become more and more open from the latent state at the beginning. This contradiction is reflected in the political struggle as the struggle between conservative and innovative, Sinicization and anti-Sinicization forces.

Taizu and Taizong were aggressive, but left unfinished business to future generations.Sejong is mediocre and unable to resolve the increasingly public contradictions.When he came to Muzong, he tried his best to maintain slavery and implemented a brutal rule, which made the political decline of the Liao Dynasty go further, forming a situation where "the government was weak and the army was weak and could not respond". Finally, Muzong of Liao Dynasty was also defeated in the slave riots. kill.After Mu Zong's death, Jing Zong came to the throne, and the government and the public placed high hopes on him, which turned out to be "everyone hopes to rule" ("Liao History·Jing Zong Ji").But Jingzong didn't have time to solve a series of problems that should be solved, so he left all these to the young queen mother Xiao Chuo who was the regent.Therefore, when the Queen Mother was pushed to the "front line" of the Liao Dynasty, the Liao Dynasty was in a turning point.Either reform or stick to the old ways, at such a historical juncture, she resolutely chose the former.

She was able to face up to the social reality caused by the barbaric and cruel politics of "rewarding and punishing the innocent, ignoring the government, and killing endlessly" ("Liao History·Mu Zong Ji") since Sejong, especially Mu Zong.Conform to the historical trend of "popular revival", and take the promotion of enlightened politics characterized by "looseness" as the forerunner to completely reverse the moderate decline since Sejong and Muzong and the unstable political situation in the early years of Sejong.

Enlightened politics includes the following aspects:

1.Promulgated Han law.Before the Khitan people lived in Abaoji, the grassland ministries had no laws, and most of them followed the established conventions and traditions to maintain their relationship with each other.After the founding of Abaoji, laws were enacted in order to maintain the ruling order.However, under the conditions at that time, the enacted laws were a concentrated expression of the will of the slave-owner class, which was very strict and chaotic. "History of Liao Criminal Law" has the following record of Mu Zong's brutality: "The emperor was addicted to wine and hunting, and did not care about political affairs. Five squares, beasts in charge, close servants, food servants, wine handlers, etc., used deer, deer, wild boar, Falcons and pheasants whose relatives were killed, lost, wounded, killed, returned privately, or fled. They did not come when the call was overdue, or because they were unsatisfactory with the younger ones, or because of poor diet, or because the offenders were angry with innocent people, they would be fired and ironed. The punishment is even inconsequential. It may be done by hand, beheaded, shot, scorched, limbs and feet rotted, shoulders and thighs broken, waist and shin broken, mouth cut, teeth smashed, and the corpse left in the wild. And ordered to build a seal in a certain place , there were more than a hundred dead, and the capital set up a prison with hundreds of corpses. Not long after he came to the throne, he deceived the witch Xiao Gu's words, took people's gallbladder and combined life-prolonging medicine, so many people were killed..." Please see this kind of law How cruel!Under this tyrannical government, the common people had no place to appeal their grievances, so the class contradictions in the Liao Dynasty were extremely sharp.At the same time, ethnic discrimination is also clearly reflected in the law.For example, if a Khitan beat a Han to death, the Khitan would only pay for a cow or a horse, and the matter would be settled. If a Han accidentally injured a Khitan, they would not only kill the Han, but also demote the whole family into slaves.

After Empress Dowager Xiao became regent, she resolutely reformed the law and "listened carefully".Moreover, he often persuaded Liao Shengzong to judge the case according to the law, "the law should be lenient. At that time, more than a dozen decrees were made, which are more popular, and the punishment can be used carefully" ("Liao History · Criminal Law Records").In 1006, Gongwu issued an edict: Unless the master committed the crime of treason and exile, his servants (house slaves) were not allowed to sue;According to this revised law, domestic slaves are still in a state of slavery, but slave owners can no longer slaughter at will ("Liao History Shengzong Ji").Empress Dowager Xiao practiced leniency in law enforcement.For example, once Tajigan was drunk and talked about affairs in the palace. According to the old law, he should be executed by beheading, but Empress Dowager Xiao released Tajigan only with stick punishment.Another time, the people of the Fifth Academy accidentally caught fire and couldn't control the fire for a while. They competed with Muye Mountain, the holy place of the ancestors. According to the old law, they would also be beheaded, but the queen mother only let the person who caused the fire suffer some flesh and blood. Further investigation, and use this as the sentencing standard for similar cases.When you open the "History of Liao Shengzong Ji", you can often see the records that Empress Dowager Xiao personally dealt with unjust prisons and sent envoys to various places to try and judge injustices. With the efforts of Empress Dowager Xiao, "reigns" appeared in many places in the Liao Dynasty during the Tonghe period. empty prison” phenomenon. Although the record of "Prison Empty" is full of praise, it shows from the side that various contradictions in the society at that time were eased to a certain extent.

(End of this chapter)