History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 1027 National Father-in-law
【National Father-in-law】

Xiao Siwen is a legendary figure, and can be called the "national father-in-law" of the Liao Dynasty. His father is Hu Meili, and you may feel unfamiliar when you mention his father, but if you mention his uncle, Xiao Dilu, you may still feel familiar, so let's mention his aunt, the "broken-wrist empress dowager" Shulü Ping.

As a relative of the emperor, Xiao Siwen married Taizong's eldest daughter, becoming Taizong's son-in-law and Muzong's brother-in-law, further strengthening the relationship. He was called "the father-in-law of the nation" because he had three daughters: the eldest daughter married Taizong's second son Yelü Yansage; the second daughter married Li Hu's eldest son Yelü Xiyin; and the third daughter married Jingzong.

The three daughters gathered the "three branches of Taizu", and the Yelu Bei branch, Taizong branch, and Li Hu branch all benefited from it.

And it is obvious that there is no way to discuss the seniority of their family:

Xiao Siwen married Taizong's eldest daughter, but married his daughter to Taizong's second son; Jingzong was Yelu Bei's grandson, a generation younger than Yansa Ge and Xiyin... "I've made up my mind. We'll go our separate ways from now on. I'll call you brother, and you'll call me dad."

This is the result of the interlocking interests of political groups. The Yelu family and the Xiao family have been intermarried for generations, so among the Liao nobles, there are many who marry their cousins ​​and nieces. So it is not surprising that Yang Guo of the same period married his aunt. It was the general trend.

Xiao Siwen was both the son-in-law and relative of Emperor Taizong, so he entered officialdom during Emperor Taizong's reign and hovered on the edge of the core power circle (the chief of the herdsmen in Linya); he was also the brother-in-law of Emperor Muzong, so he went a step further during Emperor Muzong's reign and became the governor of Nanjing, stationed in Youzhou.

It is said that Xiao Siwen was well-versed in history and modern knowledge, and paid great attention to his appearance. He was dignified and handsome, a top student, but... he was not good at military affairs and was timid and cowardly. He had a very bad reputation in the Liao army system, and "his colleagues all said that he was not a good general." But Emperor Muzong let him stay in Youzhou.

Muzong had his own selfish motives in making this arrangement, because Youzhou was not only prosperous and wealthy, but also had high strategic value. It could be used for attack or defense, and was the golden position for improving one's political achievements and gilding one's political image.

At that time, Chai Rong launched the "Three Expeditions to Southern Tang" and moved the focus to the south. Muzong smelled an opportunity and ordered Xiao Siwen to take advantage of the opportunity to invade the south. Note that this is a small detail mentioned in the previous article. Muzong was not as foolish and lazy as described in history books.

However, Xiao Siwen "did not dare to advance due to the heat, and retreated to several cities along the border." He disliked the hot weather and harassed the border for a while, but that was it. He lost the best opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

After Chai Rong stabilized the battlefield in Yangzhou, he turned back and launched a retaliatory military strike against the Liao Kingdom. Xiao Siwen was immediately frightened and hurriedly sent an urgent request for troops to the rear, "Oh no, the Zhou people are coming!"

Emperor Muzong sent instructions: "What are you afraid of! If the enemy comes, resist them together with the generals; if the enemy does not come, cultivate the land and do farming. Don't let the enemy lead you by the nose and waste war resources in vain."

In fact, Muzong hinted very clearly that he knew Xiao Siwen could not fight, so he left professional matters to professionals. Youzhou had its own people in charge of fighting (the Military Command), and Youzhou city was tall and strong, so he just had to close the city and hold out for a protracted war.

Xiao Siwen did not seek merit but only wanted to avoid mistakes. He acted timidly in this military conflict and "retreatd his troops to march slowly", giving up the mobility of the Khitan cavalry. The lightning troops that had never left a trace became fixed positions that crawled at a snail's pace. When the Zhou soldiers retreated into the city, Xiao Siwen set up camp far away and also stationed there. Facing the doubts of the generals, Xiao Siwen said earnestly: "The enemy is numerous and elite. It is unwise to confront them head-on. We must play to our advantage of fighting at home and wait for them to tire themselves out. When their old soldiers are tired and retreat, we will pursue them and we will surely win a great victory."

The generals thought what he said made sense, so they started a sit-in war with the Zhou soldiers.

Soon after, the Liao reinforcements arrived and closed the gap in military strength, and the Zhou army also chose to retreat. However, Xiao Siwen "pretended to say something" and then "also retreated". I really don't know what tricks he had. In short, Xiao Siwen was cowardly and afraid of fighting, which made the Liao army miss the opportunity to fight.

The generals were indignant and submitted memorials to impeach Xiao Siwen, but Emperor Muzong was passive in government affairs and "did not attend court", thus saving Xiao Siwen. Soon, Chai Rong "conquered the three passes in the north". Previously, it was just a tentative attack by Chai Rong, but this time it was a real move.

Xiao Siwen was so panicked that he had no idea what to do. He just tried to appease the generals, saying that the emperor was about to lead the army in person and that they should not be afraid because the savior would be here soon. The generals signed up and asked to go to the battle, but Xiao Siwen refused them all. He squatted in the corner with his head in his hands. Xiao Siwen was well versed in the art of taking a beating.

Chai Rong attacked cities and strongholds one after another, while the Liao army, under the leadership of Xiao Siwen, adhered to the policy of "non-resistance". Youzhou's morale was low, the army was shaken, the soldiers surrendered one after another, and the people fled to the mountains and forests. Youzhou was on the verge of collapse. The pro-war generals were furious and impeached Xiao Siwen, accusing him of losing cities and territories and taking full responsibility for the loss of the three passes.

It was at this time that the "foolish" Emperor Muzong uttered the famous saying that the Three Passes were originally the land of the Han people, so let the Han people take them, it cannot be considered our loss.

The case was solved, and Muzong was actually making his last effort to protect Xiao Siwen.

Xiao Siwen, who was terrified in Youzhou City, kept submitting petitions, begging Emperor Muzong to lead the army in person.

Chai Rong suddenly became seriously ill and retreated hastily. Xiao Siwen then dared to lead his elite troops to symbolically pursue them. Before entering the battle zone, he lied that he had not found the main force of the enemy (pretending that he did not know where it was), and then hurriedly retreated to Youzhou City. When they heard that Chai Rong had passed away, "the people of Yan were at peace."

Xiao Siwen had low abilities and held a high position, but he was just a figurehead and not only "did nothing to help", he also committed serious mistakes and became the target of public criticism in the court.

On the day when Emperor Muzong was assassinated, it was Xiao Siwen who accompanied him to drink. There is a meaningful sentence left in the history books, "Siwen... and others offered wine to celebrate the emperor's birthday. The emperor returned to the palace drunk." In other words, Xiao Siwen and others got Emperor Muzong drunk, and then he was assassinated. Xiao Siwen was the first to inform Emperor Jingzong of the incident and brought him to the crime scene and coffin to ascend the throne. After Emperor Jingzong ascended the throne, he rewarded Xiao Siwen greatly.

Thinking hard.

We can also continue to let our imagination run wild and make wild guesses: Why did the drunk Emperor Muzong suddenly return to the palace in the middle of the night? Or to put it another way, was there something urgent that he had to deal with personally?

If it was "some people" who intended to rebel, all doubts would be solved. So far, we can connect the entire "Muzong was assassinated" or "Jingzong's rise to power":
Jingzong had long been plotting a rebellion, and its core members were Han Kuangsi, Gao Xun, and Nuli. As the power of the "Jingzong Party" grew, Xiao Siwen, who was regarded as a confidant by Muzong, also began to lean towards the emerging "Jingzong Party" and find a new home for himself. That day, Xiao Siwen and others got Muzong drunk, and then conspired for the next "big thing". Muzong finally learned of their conspiracy through some channel, so he returned to the palace overnight. It was over, the house was blocked, and the neighbor Lao Wang panicked. In a hurry, he had to send Muzong away in advance, and then put the blame on several cooks and waiters...

The above views are purely my personal speculation, and some details will be added later as indirect evidence.

As a key figure of the "Muzong Party", Xiao Siwen not only escaped the liquidation of the "Muzong Party" by the "Jingzong Party", but also rose in status and position, and was promoted to the father-in-law of the emperor. His glory reached its peak, and the dissatisfaction of the court towards him also reached its peak. So a year later, when Xiao Siwen accompanied Jingzong out hunting, he was assassinated. The official report at the time said that he died in an accident and was "killed by thieves".

It is said that Jingzong was very angry and ordered a thorough investigation. A few months later, the case was solved and it was confirmed to be a murder. The masterminds were the brothers Xiao Haizhi and Xiao Haili, the emperor's uncles, and Xiao Shendu, Xiao Siwen's younger brother. Haizhi and Haili were executed, and Shendu was first exiled and then executed a year later.

However, the "Xiao Siwen assassination case" is far from being so simple, and this case will be brought up again in the future. This is an important step for the "Jingzong Party" to redistribute power. It is foreseeable that the truth of this case will never be revealed. As the saying goes, there is no case that cannot be solved, only cases that cannot be solved.

(End of this chapter)