Empress Dowager Xiao's real name was Xiao Chuo. Xiao Chuo was born on the fifth day of May in the third year of the calendar year (June 18, 953) [1]. Xiao Chuo has been smart and agile since she was a child, and has a spirit of never giving up until the goal is achieved, including trivial matters. This behavior deeply won the favor of her father Xiao Siwen. Once, several of Xiao Chuo's sisters were doing housework together, and some of them ended it hastily. But she continued to wipe it carefully and kept the furniture neatly. Xiao Siwen often praised her with approval: " This girl is bound to become something big.
On February 22nd of the 19th year of Yingli (March 12th, 969), Yelujing, Muzong of the Liao Dynasty, took Xiao Siwen and other close ministers to Heishan (today's Ganggen Sumu Territory, Bahrain Right Banner, Inner Mongolia) for hunting. At night, the drunk Yelujing was assassinated by the waiter and others. Xiao Siwen, who was with Yelvjing at the time, blocked the news and assisted Yelvxian, who had close contacts with him, such as Gao Xun, the Privy Councilor of the South Academy, and Li, the Feilong Maid. Yelvxian rushed to Montenegro at dawn. Yelvxian cried bitterly in front of Mu Zong's spirit. Xiao Siwen, Gao Xun, Nuli and others jointly persuaded him to advance, and Yelvxian succeeded to the throne in front of Mu Zong's spirit.
After returning to Beijing on the ninth day of March in the first year of Baoning (March 29, 969), Yelvxian appointed Xiao Siwen as Privy Envoy of the North Courtyard, and recruited Xiao Chuo into the palace as a noble concubine. On March 17, Xiao Siwen was granted the title of Prime Minister of the Northern Palace, and on the second day of May, Xiao Chuo was made queen. On the second day of November, Xiao Siwen was granted the title of King of Wei. Because Yelvxian was ill, Xiao Chuo was in charge of state affairs.
In May of the second year of Baoning, Yelvxian went hunting in Lushan (now Fuxin, Liaoning), and Xiao Siwen also went with him. On May 13th, Xiao Siwen was assassinated on the way to Pandaoling (now Lushan, Liaoning). On the third day of September, it was discovered that only the uncles Xiao Hai and Xiao Haili were the chief culprits, and they were all executed. In Baoning's tenth year, it was discovered that Gao Xun and Nuli were also involved in the murder of Xiao Siwen, and they were both sentenced to death. Gao Xun's family property was confiscated and compensation was paid to the Xiao family.
On December 27, the third year of Baoning (January 16, 972), the prince Yelu Longxu was born. In order to appease Xiao Chuo and the Xiao descendants, Yelvxian named Xiao Chuo's mother Yelvulu Bugu as the eldest princess of the Yan Kingdom. On the first day of April in the fourth year of Baoning, Xiao Siwen was posthumously named King of Chu. On the first day of March in the fifth year of Baoning, Xiao Chuo's grandfather Hu Muli was posthumously named the King of Han.
In the center of the Khitan army, the Empress Dowager of Liao stood on her horse, looking at Yang Peng's stronghold two miles away, frowning and saying nothing.
On the fifth day of the second month of the eighth year of Baoning (March 8, 976), Yelvxian issued an imperial edict to collect the bachelor's degree from the History Museum. From then on, whenever the Queen's words were recorded, they were "also called 'I' and 'Yu'" and were "written as a final form". The status of his wife is raised to the level of his own. As time went by, with Yelvxian's acquiescence, all daily government affairs of the Liao Kingdom were independently adjudicated by Xiao Chuo. If there were any important military and national affairs, she would convene the ministers of Fan and Han to discuss it, and finally make a decision based on the opinions of all parties. The decision she made, Liao Jingzong would only listen to the briefing at most, saying that once he "knew it", it would count and he would not make any intervention. With Xiao Chuo's efforts, the Liao Kingdom's military became increasingly powerful, and its political and economic situation was also on the right track.
On the first day of the first lunar month in the second year of Qianheng (January 21, 980), Yelvxian named the prince Yelulongxu the King of Liang, and Yelulongqing the King of Heng.
On September 24, the fourth year of Qianheng (October 13, 982), the 35-year-old Yelu Xian died of illness in the Jiaoshan Palace in Yunzhou while on a hunting trip. When he was dying, he left a legacy and ordered Liang Wang Yelu Longxu to succeed to the throne, and to follow the queen's orders for military and state affairs [44]. At the same time, Yelv Xiezhen and Han Derang were appointed ministers of Gu Ming [45-46]. On the 25th, Yelu Longxu succeeded to the throne in front of Lingqian. He was only twelve years old. The first thing Xiao Chuo thought of was the suspicion of his young master. There were more than 200 people from the royal family and princes, and they were very powerful, so the situation was volatile. She shed tears in front of the ministers Yelv Xiezhen and Handerang and said: "My mother is widowed and her son is weak, my clan is strong, and the border defense is not stable. What can I do?" The important ministers came forward to comfort and swore a solemn oath: "I trust you, why worry about it?" There is!"
On the first day of October in the winter of the fourth year of Qianheng (October 20, 982), Yelu Longxu came to the court for the first time to oversee politics. On the third day of the lunar month, the ministers honored the emperor as Emperor Zhaosheng and the queen as the empress dowager. Xiao Chuo arranged for Brother Yelu Xiu to stay in Nanjing to take charge of the military in the south and strengthen border defense. He appointed Yelu Xiezhen, who was married to Xiao Chuo's niece, as the Privy Envoy of the North Court to manage internal affairs, especially the nobles. At the same time, Xiao Chuo adopted the suggestion of Han Derang, the privy envoy of the South Court, and issued an order to the princes of the clan: "The kings must return to their thrones and are not allowed to have private relations with Yanhui", causing them to lose their military power. At the same time, he summoned relatives of each clan to the palace as hostages. It solves a major concern of internal competition for the throne.
In the fourth year of Tonghe (986), He Lingtu, the magistrate of Xiongzhou (now Xiongxian County, Hebei Province) in the Northern Song Dynasty, and He Huaipu, the governor of Yuezhou, and others heard about Empress Dowager Xiao's romantic affair. Taizong Zhao Guangyi commented that in the Liao Dynasty, "the ruler was young, and state affairs depended on his mother. His general, Han Derang, favored him and used him in affairs, which made the people of the country ill." Zhao Guangyi launched the "Yongxi Northern Expedition" against Liao on the 21st of the first lunar month. The Song army dispatched troops in three groups, appointing Cao Bin, the military commander of the Tianping Army, as the commander of the army, horse, infantry, and water and land forces in front of the Youzhou Daoxing Camp. Cui Yanjin, the military commander of the Three Cities in Heyang, was appointed as deputy; the commander of the guard horse army, and the military commander of the Changhua Army. Mi Xin deployed for the northwest road capital, and Shazhou observation envoy Du Yangui served as deputy, leading the army out of Xiongzhou (today's Xiongxian County, Hebei Province); Tian Chongjin, commander of the guard infantry capital and Jingnan Army Jiedushi, deployed for the Dingzhou road capital and led the troops The soldiers came out of Feihu (now Yu County, Hebei Province). On February 13th (March 25th), Pan Mei, the Grand Master of the Inspectorate and the Military Envoy of the Zhongwu Army, was appointed to deploy to the capitals of Yun, Ying, Shuo and other prefectures. Yang Ye, the observation envoy of Yunzhou, was appointed as the deputy general and led his troops out of Yanmen. On the sixth day of March (April 17), Brother Yelvxiu reported that the Song Dynasty sent Cao Bin, Cui Yanjin, and Mi Xin out of Xiongzhou Road, Tian Zhong in and out of Feihu Road, Pan Mei and Yang Jiye out of Yanmen Road to attack, Qigou, Zhuozhou, and Gu'an , New City have all fallen [14]. On the seventh day of March (April 18), Xiao Chuo personally led Han Derang and Yelu Longxu to announce a personal expedition and cooperated with Brother Yelu Xiu. On March 19 (April 30), Xiao Chuo used Yelu Xiu Ge to resist the Song Army Cao Bin on the east route, and he used Yelv Xiezhen to resist the Song Army Yang Ye on the west route.
On the first day of April (May 12), Xiao Chuo and Yelu Longxu were stationed in the northern suburbs of Nanjing (now Beijing). On the third day of May (June 12th), Cao Bin's army was defeated at Qigou Pass, and he collected the defeated army and crossed the Juma River overnight. The Song army drowned countless people. The remaining troops fled to Gaoyang, and were attacked and attacked by the Liao army. Tens of thousands of them died, and discarded armor piled up like mountains [61] . On the ninth day of the seventh lunar month (August 17), Yelv Xiezhen sent his servants Nielidi and Qianqin Ge to report to the court that they had conquered Shuozhou and captured Song general Yang Ye alive. Yang Ye died for his country on a hunger strike. Xiao Chuo ordered Yang Ye's head to be cut off, put into a box, and sent to various border areas. The morale of the Liao army was greatly boosted, but the defenders of the Song Dynasty were severely hit. They lost confidence before even facing the enemy and were unable to hold on to the land they had won. Liao successfully recovered all its territory.
On the fifth day of April in the fifth year of Tonghe (May 5, 987), Yelu Longxu led hundreds of officials to confer the title of Ruide Shenlue to the Empress Dowager. The most virtuous, filial, and sage Emperor Tianfu. On the sixth day of the lunar month, an edict was issued and the commander was ordered to submit a list of the generals' merits and deeds, and to reward them according to their merits and favors.
On the first day of the first lunar month of the seventh year of Tonghe (February 9, 989), he became a teacher. On the sixth day of the first lunar month (February 14), Guo Rong, the defender of Jibi Village in Song Dynasty, led his troops to surrender and issued an edict ordering them to garrison in Nanjing. On the 21st (March 1), they attacked Yizhou. The Song soldiers came out of Suicheng to come to the rescue. They sent the Tielin Army to attack and captured the five commanders of the Song Army alive. On the 22nd (March 2), the army marched together to capture Yizhou. The governor Liu Chi surrendered, and the soldiers who defended the city fled south. He personally led the army to intercept, and the Song army did not dare to leave the city. At that time, Ma Zhi was appointed as the governor, and Zhao Zhi was appointed as the military supervisor. Moved Yizhou soldiers and civilians to Yanjing. Xia Xianshou, the son of Tokyo cavalry general Xia Zhenxian, was awarded the title of governor of Gaozhou because he was the first to ascend the city of Yizhou. On the 26th (March 6), he stayed in Laishui. Visit the Emperor Jingzong Temple. An edict was issued to order Yelu Shouxiong, the governor of Zhuozhou, to send 800 surrendered soldiers from Yizhou back to their hometown. On the 27th (March 7), he stationed at Qigou and shot ghost arrows. On the 29th (March 9), while stationed in Nanjing on the way back to the palace, the Sixth Army lifted martial law [72] . On the first day of May (June 6th), the Xuanhui envoy Pu Ling and others were sent to lead their troops to separate routes to guard against the invasion of Song Dynasty. On the second day of the Lunar New Year (June 7th), worshiping Feng Bo was held in Baima Village, Ruzhou. Brother Xiu led the army to the city and recruited more than 700 Song soldiers. He sent envoys to offer tribute and ordered them to be subordinate to Tokyo. On the 13th (June 18), Yanjing reported that the Song soldiers had arrived at the border: "When the Song soldiers arrived at the border, they did not dare to fight in the summer heat. They were stationed in Yizhou. If they move, they will attack and retreat." VII. On the 15th of the month (August 18), troops were sent to the south for an expedition. On the 19th (August 22), we expressed condolences to the soldiers of the Southern Expedition. On the same day, Xiao Chuo and Yelu Longxu paid a visit to Emperor Jingzong's temple.
On the tenth day of March in the eighth year of Tonghe (April 7, 990), a city was built in Xingcheng to allow Song prisoners to live. On May 14th (June 9th), the soldiers of the Song Dynasty were surrendered to various armies. On September 20 (October 11), Li Jiqian presented the captives of the Song Dynasty. On the fourth day of October (October 25), Li Jiqian sent an envoy to report because he defeated the Song army. On the second day of December (December 21), Li Jiqian captured Songlin and other prefectures and sent envoys to report. On the ninth day of the lunar month, an envoy was sent to confer Li Jiqian the title of King of Xia.
On the seventeenth day of the first month of the ninth year of Tonghe (February 4, 991), 500 Song surrender soldiers were selected to form the Xuanli Army. On the fifth day of February (February 22), Xixia sent envoys to report that the Song Dynasty had achieved great victory. On the sixth day of April (May 22), King Li Jiqian of Xixia sent Du Bai to thank Liao for canonizing him.
Because of his iron-fisted political methods and controversial murders of political opponents, evaluations of Xiao Chuo have been polarized in history. The Lord is young, and the affairs of the country are decided by his mother. His general Han Derang favors her and uses her to do things. However, the Xiao family was always afraid of its misfortune. Every first month of the year, they would not eat meat or meat, and would organize fasting meetings and build temples in the hope of regaining blessings. However, their nature was cruel, and they often killed and punished. If they had strategies, they would all obey.
The location of Yang Peng's stronghold was right in the middle of the Maligou Valley. A strong crossbow controlled the traffic on both sides, making it impossible for messengers and personnel on both sides of the Khitan army to communicate. Moreover, the fortress was arranged in an orderly manner, with several layers of various trenches. Behind the trenches there were earthen walls to protect the gunners, an awning, and an earthen fort under the awning. There was a lookout tower in the middle of the fortification. It was a strong fortification. All necessary facilities are available.
I heard that Yang Peng is only twenty years old? It is indeed not simple. This person has now become the close enemy of Daliao Kingdom. The messenger reported that Daliao had lost tens of thousands of horses and horses in Yang Peng's hands this time when they entered the pass to clear grass and valleys. The losses were heavy. Ye Qianxu looked at Empress Dowager Xiao's face and said, "Empress Dowager, the defenders at Qingshan Pass said that Xiao Tianzuo attacked Yang Peng's stronghold some time ago and suffered heavy casualties, probably tens of thousands of people died."
Empress Dowager Xiao sighed and said slowly: "Xiao Tianzuo is still too young. I repeatedly asked him not to attack the strong city. After all, he was too conceited and did not listen to me." After a pause, Empress Dowager Xiao said again: "This time , Xiao Tianyou also died in the battle, and we, Daliao, lost our troops and generals." Xiao Hunian asked: "Queen Mother, will we be able to enter the pass and plunder from now on?"
Queen Mother Xiao narrowed her eyes and was silent for a while. After a long while, Empress Dowager Xiao said: "We still have to enter the pass!" Xiao Hunian said: "But this Yang Peng is too strong, we can't defeat him when we enter the pass!" Empress Dowager Xiao said: "Yang Peng has only a lone army, and it is difficult to fight alone. As long as we enter the pass If the soldiers and horses in the pass strengthen sentries and avoid him, there will be no losses. Entering the pass to weaken the Song State is our national policy of the Liao State, and we cannot change our tune just because of a defeat."
After a pause, Empress Dowager Xiao added: "Cutting down the Song Dynasty is like cutting down a big tree. You need to cut it from both sides, and then the big tree will fall down on its own. Although the Song Dynasty emphasized culture and neglected military affairs, it has become decayed, but as a century-old tree, it has not yet reached its own level. "If we don't enter the pass, plunder, harass and weaken the Song State, it is possible for the Song State to regain its vitality and become strong again. Once the Song State becomes prosperous, we, the Liao State, will be in danger!" "
When Xiao Hunian heard what Empress Dowager Xiao said, she was very impressed. She bent down and stood aside and stopped talking. Empress Dowager Xiao looked at Yang Peng's stronghold and squinted her eyes again: "But this Yang Peng has become a climate and it is difficult to get rid of it!" Empress Dowager Xiao wanted to test Yang Peng's reaction with a crossbow, and Yang Peng also wanted to Seeing the level of crossbows in Queen Mother Xiao's army, she asked Queen Mother Xiao to shoot first. In this kind of mutual testing between the armies of both sides, there is no dispute over the shortcomings of the moment. If Yang Peng shot first, the Khitan army would probably collapse in one round.
The war between Yang Peng and the Liao Kingdom is still very long. Yang Peng needs to understand the level of the Khitan army's crossbows in order to make the right decision. There were no people standing on the north wall of the stronghold at this time, and there were various defensive facilities. It was not a big problem for the Khitan army to shoot first.
However, Yang Peng still underestimated the powerful crossbows of the Khitan army. He did not expect that the powerful crossbows of the Khitan army could hit the earth wall and kill two soldiers on guard. The death of two soldiers still made Yang Peng very distressed. After looking at the first round of shooting, Yang Peng found that the level of Queen Mother Xiao's crossbowmen was not bad, and the level was higher than he thought. Being able to hit the earth wall with one shot, it is obvious that the crossbowmen of the Khitan soldiers also have tools to assist in aiming. Compared with the Song army, which had a chaotic military system and often panicked when shooting, Empress Dowager Xiao's crossbowmen were considered elite.
In fact, the Khitan had already realized the importance of strong crossbows. In the early days of the Liao Dynasty, during the attack on the castles in western Liaoning, it was suppressed by the powerful crossbows of the Song army for a long time, so it racked its brains to obtain powerful crossbows through various means.
In the central formation of the Khitan Army, Queen Mother Xiao and Xiao Hunian looked a little pale as they watched the crossbows firing in front of the formation. This Yang Peng's artillery firepower was so fierce that it far exceeded Empress Dowager Xiao's imagination. Sixty powerful crossbows fired in one volley, accurately hitting the Khitan military machine crossbow position one mile away, destroying nine machine crossbows. After two volleys, seventeen machine crossbows were wiped out on the battlefield. As for Yang Peng's powerful crossbow, not a single one was lost.
Just imagine how much chaos the army would cause if they were bombarded by such powerful crossbows for several rounds when they attacked the city. Empress Dowager Xiao also wanted to test Yang Peng's firepower, but she unexpectedly destroyed seventeen powerful crossbows in one go. Empress Dowager Xiao also felt a little distressed. Queen Mother Xiao took a breath and said slowly: "This Yang Peng's wings have matured, and now it can no longer be cut off." Xiao Hunian looked at Xiao Yi's artillery that suffered heavy losses and said: "Queen Mother, this Yang Peng is too troublesome. "
Empress Dowager Xiao looked to the west and said, "It's time for us to leave. Yelu Longxu is at Huangyakou, so he should be successful." On February 28, Xiao Tianzuo sat worriedly in the Chinese army's tent, talking to The Khitan nobles discussed the military situation. ?Now the Queen Mother has arrived at Qingshan Pass and is stationed opposite the Yangpeng Stronghold. But the middle of the canyon in Maligou was occupied by Yang Peng. Yang Peng's cannon blocked the canyon, which was only two or three miles wide, making it impossible for the messengers of Empress Dowager Xiao and Xiao Tianzuo to communicate. Even at night, under the threat of artillery fire, Yang Pengjun lit pyres in the valley for lighting, abruptly cutting off the communication between the two sides.
The day before yesterday, Xiao Tian left a group of thirty dead soldiers to rush to the Queen Mother's side. As a result, as soon as they entered the range of Yang Peng's strong crossbows, they were blasted by ten strong crossbows. More than twenty of these dead soldiers died. They were defeated and did not dare to move forward again.
The Queen Mother was only a few miles away, but could not communicate, which made Xiao Tianzuo very worried. If this continues, even if the Queen Mother comes, she will not be able to lead Xiao Tianzuo's army out of the pass. Xiao Tianzuo began to think about how to climb over the cliffs on both sides of the valley, but the scouts went out to study for two days and found no results. This Yang Peng had obviously studied the terrain when setting up the stronghold, and specifically chose this tricky place to set up his stronghold.
Looking at the generals in the account, Xiao Tianzuo said: "Now the news is cut off, and the correspondence with the Queen Mother is blocked. The Queen Mother cannot help us. What can you do?" Yibai of the Xi tribe said: "General , here and now, we can only go out to attack other passes. Even without careful coordination and intelligence, we can only attack by force." Handerang shook his head and said: "I am afraid that if we attack Xiongguan and cannot attack it for a long time, Yang Peng will lead the main force of the Song army from Attack us from behind"
Everyone took a breath when they heard Han Derang's words. Yang Peng's troops and horses are so strong. If he gets the cooperation of hundreds of thousands more Song troops, he may really attack Xiao Tian's left army of more than 50,000 people. When the time comes, they will be attacked from both sides at the gate of the Song Dynasty, and it will definitely be a big defeat. Then is there no other way but to waste time in the ditch with Yang Peng? It took him half a year?
Generals, you look at me and I look at you, but I can't come up with an idea. Everyone was anxious when they saw a soldier running outside the tent. He ran to Xiao Tianzuo to say hello and said, "General, Prince Yelu Longxu's messenger is here!" Yelu Longxu is Xiao Tian. Zuo's brother-in-law, has a long history of military exploits.
Everyone was stunned and a little surprised when they heard what the soldiers said. Didn't Yelu Longxu follow the emperor to contain Song Junguan and Ning soldiers and horses in western Liaoning? The Queen Mother's messenger could not pass through the Mali ditch. How did Yelu Longxu's messenger get in? Did you sneak in by taking a detour through other passes? But now that Yelu Longxu's messenger has come in, the communication with the Queen Mother has been cleared, and everyone is happy when they hear this.
Xiao Tianzuo waved his hand and said, "Let the messenger come in quickly!" After a while, three Khitan soldiers wearing white paint scale armor walked into Xiao Tianzuo's tent. They were the elite guards of Yelu Longxu's army. The three Khitan soldiers came in and bowed their knees to Xiao Tianzuo to say hello. They stood up and said loudly: "General, my master Yelu Longxu has captured Huangyakou according to the arrangement of the Queen Mother. Please lead the army out from there."
Upon hearing the guard's words, the eyes of the Xi clan nobles in the big tent lit up and they all stood up excitedly. Xiao Tianzuo stood up and asked: "How did Yelu Longxu capture Huangyakou?" The guard said: "The Queen Mother had long since discovered that Huangyakou was undefended and bribed Xizuo to ambush inside. My master and Xizuo were inside and outside. I cooperated and asked the people in the city to open the door. As soon as the door opened, my Khitan soldiers swarmed in and occupied Huangyakou."
When the Xi clan nobles in the big tent heard this, they all breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Huangyakou had really been captured. The generals secretly thought that they could finally get out of seclusion smoothly and get rid of this devil-like Yang Peng. Xiao Tianzuo stood in the tent and thought about it, and he was also happy.
Huangyakou is in the west, four hundred miles away from Qingshankou. Xiao Tianzuo led his army all the way west and could reach it in ten days. Even if the Song army in Cangzhou got the news and caught up, they would not be able to catch up with him. I was finally able to exit the customs smoothly. Although the losses during this entry were heavy, more than 100,000 people were robbed after all. With these population additions, our country of Daliao still has room to do something.
Yibai said excitedly: "General, let's go to Huangyakou quickly and exit the customs from there!" Xiao Tianzuo nodded and said loudly: "Bring out the stronghold, and the whole army will go west and exit the customs at Huangyakou. "
Yang Peng stood on the observation deck and watched Xiao Tian's Zuo Army and Xiao Empress Dowager's army on the south and north sides break out of their strongholds at the same time and march toward the distance in a mighty manner. Yang Bamei asked in surprise: "Master, why did Xiao Tianzuo retreat? Are they going to attack other passes?" Yang Peng thought for a moment and said, "I'm afraid not. Since Queen Mother Xiao is here, the Khitan Army has spies. The Great Wall's ability to make false claims at all the passes. Maybe the Khitan army has already secured a pass somewhere and is ready to leave!"
Huyan Chijin said: "City Lord, do we want to follow him? Wait for the opportunity to hit him?" Yang Peng smiled and said: "In a field battle, ten thousand of us can't defeat Xiao Tianzuo's army, let them go, we The contribution made this time is great enough." Yang Bamei said leisurely: "The Khitan army has entered the fortress many times, but they always fled with great force. Is this the first time that they have escaped in such an embarrassing manner?" The officers of the Huben Division around him Hearing Yang Bamei's words, everyone burst into laughter, very happy.
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
