Although it seems to be a big female drama, but the drama of Xiao Yanyan is always through a silly white sweet breath.
In fact, this Xiao Yanyan is not someone else, but the devil Empress Dowager Xiao, who is said to have caused the deaths of many Yang family generals in folklore.
In the story of the Yang Family Generals, Empress Dowager Xiao is a vicious woman who kills and decides, and is cold and ferocious. There is even a legend that she is the daughter of She Taijun who was exiled to Liao Kingdom and the twin sister of Yang Dalang.
So what kind of person is the historical Empress Dowager Xiao? Is she really related to the Yang family?
From the historical data, Empress Dowager Xiao is not related to the Yang family.
The Yang Dalang in the novel does not exist, and the eldest son of your father Yang Ye is Yang Yanzhao. And there is no account of Yang Ye's wife in the Song Dynasty historical materials, and only in the Qing Dynasty did some records of She appear, the credibility of which is doubtful. In addition, there is no record of the unusual life of Empress Dowager Xiao in the historical records. According to records, Yang Yanzhao was born in 958 AD, while Empress Dowager Xiao was born in 953 AD.
Empress Dowager Xiao, surnamed Xiao Xiao, Xiao Xiao, Xiao Yan Yan, is the third daughter of Xiao Siwen, the Chancellor of the North of Liao, and her mother is Princess Yan, the daughter of Emperor Taizong of Liao.
History books do not remember much about Xiao Yanyan's early years, except that she was very intelligent. Once her father asked the three sisters to clean up the house, and of the three, only Xiao Yanyan did it in a clean and tidy way, and she was praised by her father for that.
After Emperor Mu Zong of Liao was killed in a coup, Xiao Siwen and others installed Yelu Xian as Emperor, known as Emperor Jing Zong of Liao. When King King became king, he made Xiao Siwen the Privy Councillor of the Northern Court, and at the same time took his daughter, Xiao Yanyan, as a noble consort, who was later crowned Empress.
The year she entered the palace, Xiao Yanyan was only sixteen years old.
Xiao Yanyan was born into a family of officials and eunuchs, so she learned about politics at an early age. After entering the palace, Emperor Jingzong of Liao, because of his infirmity since childhood, his health has not been good, the need for the Empress Xiao Yanyan to help him deal with the government, and the late Emperor Jingzong even simply allowed the Empress to call herself "I", and will be handed over to her to deal with the affairs of the government, only to inform him of the results.
As a result, Xiao Yanyan was able to handle the government for many years and gained a lot of political experience.
The disease killed Emperor Jingzong at the age of thirty-five. On his deathbed, he installed his son, Yelu Longxu, who was born to Xiao Yanyan, as Emperor Shengzong of Liao.
From then on, Xiao Yanyan officially became the Empress Dowager of Liao.
When she became the Empress Dowager, her son was only twelve years old, and she herself was just thirty years old.
The sudden death of the old emperor, the young Empress Dowager, and the young emperor are very reminiscent of the Zhou Dynasty before the Chenqiao Mutiny. In that year, the latter Zhou Shizong Chai Rong also died of a sudden illness within a few days, and the reigning young emperor Chai Zongxun was only eight years old, and his mother, Empress Dowager Fu, was only in her twenties. Zhao Kuangyin, who was then the prefect of the palace, started a mutiny under the pretext of foreign invasion, and succeeded in acquiring the Chai family's kingdom from the hands of the orphans and widows, and established the Great Song Dynasty.
Faced with such similar conditions, there is no guarantee that someone will not play the same idea.
In fact, even Zhao Guangyi, the Song Emperor, who was far away in the south, was a bit tempted, not to mention the princes and nobles in the dynasty.
The Liao court was much more dangerous than the Middle Kingdom. From the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion of the Western Han Dynasty to the Eight Kings Rebellion of the Western Jin Dynasty, the rulers of the Central Plains Dynasty gradually realized the danger of the vassal kings, and therefore gradually cut down their power and suppressed them. But the northern steppe peoples did not have this realization, and almost all of their clansmen had their own private armies. Since the founding of the Liao dynasty by Emperor Yelu Abaoji, there have been many rebellions within the Liao dynasty, with Emperor Taizong and Emperor Muzong both dying as a result of rebellion, and Emperor Jingzong's reign being characterized by a number of rebellions that were suppressed.
At this point, his father, Xiao Siwen, has long since died, and Xiao Yanyan has no relatives to rely on, and no one to turn to. The newest addition to the family is the newest addition to the family, the newest addition to the family, the newest addition to the family, the newest addition to the family, the newest addition to the family, the newest addition to the family.
The situation that Xiao Yanyan faces is far more dangerous than that of Empress Dowager Fu.
But Xiao Yanyan is not Empress Fu.
She has presided over the government for almost all of these years, and she knows this court like the back of her hand. Although she was only thirty years old, she was quick-witted, decisive, and calm, and was an excellent politician. Soon, she came up with a response.
She first approached the reliable and important ministers, Yelu Xiezhuang and Han Dejian, and cried to them about her situation, and they immediately expressed their support for the emperor and the empress dowager. Since King Jingzong died outside the capital, Han Dezhang immediately sent his guards and soldiers to escort them and ensure their personal safety.
Then she first sent a decree in the emperor's voice that the lords of the capital should stay at home and not move around, then tried to take away their military power, and summoned all the wives of the lords to the palace in the name of accompanying the empress. After all the preparations were made, it was announced that the emperor had died and the new emperor was on the throne.
The Empress' tactics caught these princes and nobles off guard. With no troops and horses in their hands and their families under control, they had no choice but to support the new king.
After removing the internal threat, she put the southern military affairs bordering with the Song Dynasty under the charge of the famous general Yelu Huge to ensure the security of the border.
A major crisis was thus swiftly neutralized.
But the Song dynasty in the south knew nothing about it, and Zhao Guangyi, believing that Liao was in the midst of a mother's weakness, set out to prepare for the Northern Expedition. And their motive for the northern expedition, in addition to bullying orphans and widows, there is a more absurd and ridiculous reason.
After Yelu Longxu ascended to the throne, Zhao Guangyi received reports one after another that the Liao master was young, and the Empress Dowager controlled the court, appointing her favorite minister Han Dejian, which led to a great deal of discontent in the Liao country.
Zhao Guangyi was ready to plan a northern expedition at that time, but was dissuaded by a minister from doing so. But soon after, the minister was demoted.
It is clear that Emperor Taizong was determined to conquer Liao.
The reason why Zhao Guangyi thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of the situation was that, in addition to the fact that his mother was widowed and his son was weak, there was also the legendary extramarital affair of the Empress Dowager.
This is also the emotional line of Xiao Yanyan in Yan Yuntai, the relationship between her and Han Dejian.
Not only Yan Yuntai, but also Liaoning Film Studio made a movie called Empress Dowager of Liao with Xiao Yanyan as the protagonist, which was very well made, and the costumes and costumes were very well restored to history. In this movie, the love between Xiao Yanyan and Han Dejian is also narrated.
In fact, these episodes are not empty talk, and there is a great deal of information on the matter from the Song Dynasty.
According to these historical books and notes, Xiao Yanyan was betrothed to Han Dejian for life, but was unable to fulfill her wish because she was chosen to join the palace. After the death of Emperor Jingzong of Liao, Xiao Yanyan was left alone, and Han Dejian was in control of the army. In order to gain support, Xiao Yanyan had an affair with Han - or "public affair" - and they ate at the same table, slept in the same tent, and Xiao Yanyan let Emperor Shengzong of Liao serve her old lover like his father. The first time I saw this, it was a very good time for me to see you.
What's even more outrageous is that some sources say that the Empress Dowager Xiao killed Han Dejian's wife by poisoning or strangulation, and later gave birth to a son with him.
Even if you deny that he killed his wife and had a son, the fact that the two fornicated with each other is also a historical fact that is commonly recorded in history books.
But whether it's "The Long Compilation of the Records of the Grand Historian of Qing Dynasty" or "The Records of the State of Qidan" or some other notes, it's all from the hand of the Song people. The plot, like Wu Zetian and Li Junxian, Da Yu'er and Dorgon. And the empress dowager fornicated with the important minister, empress lv and审食其 also straight call the insider.
And the Liao history, there is no such record.
Perhaps some people will say that this is a dishonorable thing, so it will not be recorded. But this was by the standards of the Central Plains people at the time, and may not have been true for the steppe peoples.
The Qidan people, like other steppe peoples, practiced the system of succession marriage, where a son could marry his stepmother after the death of his father, and a brother could marry his sister-in-law after the death of his elder brother. Some of the Khitan people even carved this kind of thing on their tombstones, which shows that they are not ashamed of this kind of thing, on the contrary, they think it is very normal.
Therefore, even if the Empress Dowager really married Han Dejian, it may not be a shame in the eyes of the Khitan people.
The same can be illustrated is the Liao Shengzong's attitude towards Han Dejian. Even after the death of the Empress Dowager, the Emperor was very respectful to Han Dejean. Though the phrase "father's service to him" is also from a Song account, the fact that the Emperor and the Empress personally came to his bed to take care of him when he was seriously ill shows that the phrase is true.
If Emperor Shengzong of Liao had felt that it was a shame to have an affair between Han Dejian and his own mother, he would never have treated Han Dejian in such a way. If he treated him with such respect, then there are only two possibilities: one is that there was no affair between the two, and the other is that it didn't matter to him at all.
If it didn't matter, why erase it from the record?
And judging by the age of the two men, the affair is unlikely.
As mentioned earlier, Xiao Yanyan was born in 953 AD, while Han Dejian was born in 941 AD, twelve years older than her. Xiao Yanyan married that year sixteen years old, at this time, Han Dejean has twenty-eight years old, according to the age of the ancients, nearly thirty years old should have been married, even if Han Dejean did not get married, two people set the possibility of marriage is also unlikely.
But whether we believe it or not, Zhao Guangyi is convinced of this. It's not that he's as interested in royal gossip as the paparazzi, but he's convinced that as a Queen Mother doing something so unethical, it's something that's bound to draw opposition from the entire nation.
This was the perfect opportunity for him to launch a northern expedition against Liao.
So it's best to do a thorough investigation and research before doing anything, and to rely only on your own subjective imagination is often going to suffer.
In a few years after the personal expedition was stopped, Zhao Guangyi appointed Cao Bin, Tian Chongjin and Pan Mei as the commander-in-chief, and led 200,000 troops to the north in three directions, the Liao defenders were defeated in successive battles, and many places were captured, and the city of Youzhou was threatened.
In the face of the raging Song army, Xiao Yanyan responded calmly. First, she sent an envoy to order Yelu Huge, who was stationed in Youzhou, to defend the city, and at the same time, quickly mobilized troops to support Youzhou, and then sent Yelu Xiezhong to the west to block Pan Mei, and he took his son to the front to supervise the battle.
Yelu Xuege is a famous general, he is in the city to defend, on the other hand, sent troops to harass the Song army, and even cut off their food, so that the Song army is in a terrible situation. Due to Xiao Yan Yan deployed in time, the reinforcements quickly arrived in Youzhou, this time Yelu Huge decisive attack and the reinforcements to meet, in the refusal of the horse river battle routed the main force of the Song Dynasty East Road Army.
The defeat of the east road marked the bankruptcy of the Northern Expedition, and the rest of the two armies of the Song Dynasty had to retreat, while Yelu Xixingzhang fought with the Song army on the west road as it retreated, and captured the famous general Yang Ye, who died without giving in. This also made Xiao Yanyan become a generation of female devil in the later novels of the Yang Family Generals.
For more than a decade, Xiao Yanyan focused on dealing with domestic issues, making clear rewards and punishments on the one hand, and on the other hand, she also paid attention to enlisting the support of her ministers. In particular, she encouraged the vindication of wrongful convictions, and presided over many retrials of wrongful convictions. At the same time, she was also concerned about the rights and interests of the Han Chinese group, relying on Han Chinese ministers and improving the treatment of Han Chinese, which eased the ethnic conflicts in the Liao Dynasty.
When the country was stabilized and the military power was strengthened, this time it was her who raised the troops for the southern expedition.
Seven years after the death of Emperor Song Taizong, Xiao Yanyan led her son's army southward to reclaim the southern part of Guanan, which had been captured by the Later Zhou Dynasty.
Although the Liao Dynasty crushed the Song Dynasty's northern expedition several times, siege was not their strong point. Although the Liao soldiers roamed across the territory of the Song Dynasty, they lost many battles and gained very little.
Seeing that the Northern Song cities were strong, and most of the Song troops held out, Xiao Yanyan gave up his plan of gradually attacking the cities, and ordered his troops to cross these cities and go directly south, pushing straight for the Yellow River crossing at Stillwater.
If they capture the city, the Liao army will be able to cross the Yellow River and reach Kaifeng, the capital of the Song Dynasty.
Even the northern city is difficult to capture, want to capture the capital of the Song Dynasty is even more difficult. But Xiao Yanyan doesn't want to do that either. What she wants is to force the Song Dynasty to the negotiation table.
The purpose of the Northern Expedition of the Song Dynasty is not to destroy the Liao Kingdom, but to recover the Han and Tang Dynasty's homeland, the land of Yanyun; and the Liao side to raise troops to the south, in order to recover the lost territory of Guannan.
As early as the beginning of the south, Xiao Yanyan treated the captured Song minister Wang Jizhong well, in order to use him as a bridge to the Song side of the dialog. The first time he was in the country was when he was in the middle of the war, and the second time he was in the middle of the war, when he was in the middle of the war.
Therefore, the current military actions of the Liao army are to increase the bargaining chips for the negotiation.
But this attack has not increased the bargaining chips, but has made Xiao Yanyan lower his demands.
The capital was threatened, and the then reigning Song Zhenzong, Zhao Heng, but encouraged by his chancellor, Kou Zhun, led his troops on a personal expedition to 澶州. The defenders of Stillwater were encouraged and their morale was greatly boosted. They not only defeated the Liao soldiers who came to challenge the city, but also killed the Liao general Xiao Tatan with a bed crossbow. This made the tired Xiao Yanyan even more uninterested in the war, so in the negotiation reached a consensus, no longer demand Guannan territory, to collect 200,000 coins of the Song Dynasty every year as the condition to stop the war.
From then on, the two countries became brotherly states, and the truce lasted for more than a hundred years.
Five years after the truce with the Song Dynasty, Xiao Yanyan held the Chai Register Ceremony for her son, and Emperor Shengzong of Liao began to take charge of the country. At the end of the same year, she died in the palace at the age of 57.
The long period of regency did not bring her infamy or the resentment of her son, and after her death, Emperor Shengzong of Liao built a temple to honor his mother's memory, the Fengguo Temple, located in today's Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province.
This temple has experienced the destruction of Liao Jin, the destruction of gold in the Yuan Dynasty of the tragic battles and the Yuan Dynasty earthquake have been preserved, Liao-Shen Battle of an artillery shell pierced the Great Hall of Treasure, actually fell in the hands of Shakyamuni Buddha did not explode.
To this day, it has become one of the few relics left by the Khitans.