How much do you know about Xiao Taihou in history?

Xiao Taihou, known as "Empress Dowager Chengtian" in history, was a famous female politician and strategist in Liao Dynasty. Xiao Taihou, whose real name is Xiao Yanyan, is the daughter of Tang emissary of Northern Liaoning Academy and the secretariat of Xiao in Northern Liaoning, the queen of Yeluxian in Liao, and the biological mother of Sheng Zong in Liao. During the reign of Jing Zong, Emperor of Liao Dynasty, Xiao Huanghou's political and military talents had emerged.

When Xiao Taihou changed "Da Liao" to "Da Qidan", it showed her determination to restore her ancestral business and revitalize the Liao country. Under the guidance of the thought of reforming the country, she implemented a series of reform measures and achieved remarkable results.

Due to the belligerence and successive years of fighting in the early Liao Dynasty, in the early days of Xiao Taihou's administration, people's livelihood was depressed and everything was in ruins. Xiao Taihou has adopted a rest and recuperation policy to encourage the development of agricultural production. The first is to open up wasteland. "Liao Shi Shi Ji" contains: In February of the seventh year of Tonghe, Ren Zishuo moved 300 households to Tan, Shun and Ji, and chose fertile land for cattle and grain. This measure of encouraging immigrants and helping livestock to cultivate greatly improved farmers' enthusiasm for production and directly promoted the economic development of Liao Dynasty. She also ordered many times to protect farmland, forbidding to miss the farming season, and personally "observed the crops" and sent envoys to persuade farmers, which further played a role in encouraging agricultural production.

The second is rent reduction and tax reduction. In June of the seventh year of Tonghe (989), Xu Min cultivated wasteland in Le Yan and Miyun counties for ten years. In the fourteenth year of reunification, Nanjing Road re-enacted the tax law, but Xiao Taihou thought that the new law was too heavy and the instructions were reduced. The following year, people were raised in Luanzhou to reclaim wasteland, and the tax was exempted for ten years.

In September 982 (four years of dry balance), Jing Zong died of illness. His eldest son, Lu Ye Longxu, aged 65,438+02, succeeded to the throne of the Liao Dynasty and was unified with the Yuan Dynasty the following year. When Shengzong was young, his mother was regent according to the testamentary edict, and the title was Empress Tian. From 969 (the first year of Baoning) to 1009 (the same as the 27th year), Xiao Chuo reigned for 40 years.

At the beginning of Sheng Zong's accession to the throne, his mother was weak and the country was in turmoil. Some royal families with ulterior motives are always staring at the throne and ready to move. Facing the grim situation, only by taking correct and decisive measures can Xiao Taihou gain a firm foothold and consolidate its dominant position.

Xiao Chuo knew that if he wanted to be in charge of the country, he had to master the relieving himself. She appointed a confidant minister (later named Long Yun) as the Tang envoy of the South Hospital and the North Hospital, commanded the body-guard, presided over the state affairs, and appointed Xiuge as the left-behind in Nanjing, responsible for the border defense military; She also tried to isolate the contact between the kings, which not only eliminated the hidden danger of collusion among the kings, but also stabilized the situation. Through a series of reform measures and careful arrangements, Xiao Chuo has gradually strengthened its military strength and consolidated its political power.

What needs to be emphasized here is that Xiao Chuo's reuse of Chen Han Han Derang also played a very important role in her success. It is said that he had an engagement with Xiao since he was a child, but the marriage broke down because of the royal request to Xiao's wife. Perhaps it is this fruitless fate that makes their relationship between the monarch and the minister particularly unusual. It is not surprising that Han Derang can devote himself to the fate and future of Liao Jia.

Xiao Chuo's "pro-imperial car refers to the headquarters of the three armed forces", but the attack was not very smooth. The siege pool of Liao army met with stubborn resistance from Song Jun. For example, when attacking Yingzhou (now Hejian, Hebei Province), Xiao Chuo personally took a stone, beat gongs and drums and bid. More than 30,000 people died under the city gate, but the city is still intact. Especially, shortly after the Liao army arrived in Zhazhou, the commander-in-chief Xiao Tuolan was shot and killed by Song Bing at the gate, and the morale of the Liao army was greatly reduced, which was a heavy blow.

In the face of the dilemma of the rest troops, judging the situation, it is considered that although Liao won many wars in Song and Liao, it was far behind Song in all aspects except military affairs, especially in economy. This long-term stalemate may not be beneficial to Liao. Under the guidance of this thought, Xiao Chuo made an important decision: Song Zhenzong, who conquered the enemy without fighting, surrendered on the premise that the army was under siege. Finally, the two sides signed the famous Yuan Dynasty Alliance in history.