蕭相國世家

Chancellor Xiao He was a man of Feng in Pei. He served as Chief Clerk of Pei because of his skill in legal documents and his irreproachable character.

When the future Emperor Gaozu was still a commoner, Xiao He repeatedly used his official position to shield him. When Gaozu became a Pavilion Chief, He was constantly at his side. When Gaozu was sent as an official escort on corvee duty to Xianyang, every clerk gave him three cash as a farewell gift — He alone gave five.

The Qin Censor overseeing the commandery worked alongside He and was always impressed by his ability. He ranked first among the clerks of Sishui commandery. The Censor wished to recommend He for promotion to the capital, but He firmly declined and managed to stay.

When Gaozu rose as the Lord of Pei, He constantly served as his assistant overseeing administration. When the Lord of Pei entered Xianyang, all the other generals raced to the treasuries to divide up gold, silk, and valuables. He alone went first to the offices of the Qin chancellor and censor, seized the legal codes, ordinances, maps, and census records, and secured them. When the Lord of Pei became King of Han, he made He his chancellor. When the Hegemon-King and the other lords sacked and burned Xianyang and departed, the reason the King of Han was able to know in complete detail every strategic pass and chokepoint in the realm, the population of every district, the distribution of strength and weakness, and the grievances of the common people — this was because He had obtained the complete Qin archives. He recommended Han Xin, and the King of Han appointed Xin as Grand General. The details are in the account of the Marquis of Huaiyin.

The King of Han led his army east to pacify the Three Qin. He, as chancellor, remained behind to consolidate Ba and Shu, pacifying the people with assurances and proclamations, and ensuring a steady supply of provisions for the army. In the second year, the King of Han joined the other lords in attacking Chu. He guarded Guanzhong, attended the heir apparent, and administered from Liyang. He drafted laws and regulations, established ancestral temples, state altars, palaces, and administrative districts. In each case he submitted proposals for approval; if approved, he proceeded. If there was no time to submit for approval, he acted on his own authority and informed the king after the fact. In Guanzhong he registered households, organized grain transport by water, and supplied the army. When the King of Han repeatedly lost his forces and fled, He would raise fresh troops from Guanzhong to fill the gaps. For this reason, the king entrusted all Guanzhong affairs exclusively to He.

In the third year, the King of Han and Xiang Yu were locked in confrontation between Jing and Suo. The king repeatedly sent messengers to convey his regards to the chancellor. A man named Bao Sheng said to the chancellor: "The king is exposed to wind and rain in the field, yet he keeps sending messengers to inquire after you — this means he suspects you. My advice: send every one of your sons, brothers, and kinsmen capable of bearing arms to join the king's army. His trust in you will deepen." He followed this advice, and the King of Han was greatly pleased.

In the fifth year, after Xiang Yu was killed and All-Under-Heaven was settled, the emperor assessed merit and conferred fiefs. The ministers disputed each other's contributions for over a year without resolution. Gaozu judged Xiao He's merit the greatest and enfeoffed him as Marquis of Zan with the largest revenue estate. The other meritorious ministers protested: "We have personally worn armor and wielded weapons — the most battle-tested among us have fought over a hundred engagements, the least several dozen — storming cities and seizing territory, each with proportional achievement. Yet Xiao He has never broken a sweat on horseback. He merely held a brush and engaged in discussion, never fighting a battle. How is it that he ranks above us all?" Emperor Gaozu said: "Do you gentlemen know about hunting?" "We do." "Do you know about hunting dogs?" "We do." The Emperor said: "In a hunt, it is the dog that chases down and kills the prey, but it is the man who detects the trail and points out where the quarry lies. Now, you gentlemen can only catch the running game — you are the dogs of merit. As for Xiao He, he found the trail and pointed the way — he is the man of merit. Moreover, each of you followed me with at most two or three kinsmen. Xiao He sent his entire clan of several dozen people to join me. This must not be forgotten." None of the ministers dared speak further.

After all the marquises had received their fiefs, the question of precedence arose. Everyone said: "The Marquis of Pingyang, Cao Shen, sustained seventy wounds, and his record of storming cities and seizing territory is unmatched — he should be ranked first." The Emperor had already overridden the meritorious officials by giving Xiao He the largest fief, and now at the question of rank he had no further grounds to challenge them — yet in his heart he wanted He placed first. The Marquis Within the Passes, Lord E, stepped forward and said: "The ministers' judgment is entirely wrong. Cao Shen may have the merit of field battles and territorial conquest, but these are achievements of the moment. His Majesty fought Chu for five years, repeatedly losing his army and his followers, fleeing alone more than once. Yet Xiao He always sent reinforcements from Guanzhong to fill the gaps — tens of thousands of troops arriving at the point of exhaustion, without any imperial summons, time after time. When the Han and Chu were deadlocked at Xingyang for years and the army had no visible grain supply, Xiao He organized water transport from Guanzhong and the provisions never ran out. Though Your Majesty lost the east of the mountains time and again, Xiao He always held Guanzhong intact, waiting for Your Majesty. This is merit for ten thousand generations. Even if you lost a hundred Cao Shens, what would the Han lack? The Han could survive without them. How can you place the merit of a single day above the merit of ten thousand generations? Xiao He must be first, Cao Shen second." Gaozu said: "Excellent." He thereupon decreed that Xiao He be granted the privilege of wearing his sword and shoes into the audience hall, and of entering court without hurrying.

The Emperor said: "I have heard that he who recommends a worthy man deserves the highest reward. Xiao He's merit, though great, was made all the clearer thanks to Lord E." He therefore converted Lord E's existing Marquis Within the Passes estate to make him the Marquis of Anping. That same day, over ten members of He's family — sons and brothers — were all enfeoffed with revenue estates. He further increased He's fief by two thousand households, on the grounds that when the Emperor had once been escorted to Xianyang on corvee duty, He alone had given him two extra cash.

In the eleventh year, Chen Xi rebelled and Gaozu personally led the campaign, reaching Handan. Before the campaign was concluded, the Marquis of Huaiyin plotted rebellion in Guanzhong. Empress Lü used Xiao He's stratagem to lure and execute the Marquis of Huaiyin — the details are in the account of the Marquis of Huaiyin. When the Emperor heard that the Marquis of Huaiyin had been executed, he sent a messenger to promote Chancellor He to Chancellor of State, increase his fief by five thousand households, and assign five hundred soldiers under a commandant as his personal guard. All the ministers congratulated him. Zhao Ping alone offered condolences. Zhao Ping was the former Marquis of Dongling under Qin. After Qin fell, he became a commoner, poor, growing melons east of Chang'an. His melons were so fine that people called them "Dongling melons" after him. Zhao Ping said to the Chancellor of State: "Your disaster begins now. The Emperor is exposed to danger in the field while you guard the interior. You have faced no arrows or stones, yet he increases your fief and assigns you a guard — this is because the Marquis of Huaiyin has just rebelled from within, and he suspects your heart. The guard assigned to protect you is not meant to honor you. I urge you to decline the fief and donate your entire personal fortune to support the army. Then the Emperor's heart will be at ease." The Chancellor of State followed this advice, and Emperor Gaozu was greatly pleased.

In the autumn of the twelfth year, Qing Bu rebelled. The Emperor personally led the campaign, repeatedly sending messengers to ask what the Chancellor of State was doing. Since the Emperor was in the field, the Chancellor of State soothed and encouraged the people, devoting all his resources to supporting the army, just as during the Chen Xi rebellion. A retainer said to the Chancellor of State: "Your clan's extermination is not far off. You hold the highest office, ranked first in merit — how can anything more be added? Yet ever since you first entered Guanzhong, you have won the people's hearts. For over ten years they have all been devoted to you, and you ceaselessly cultivate their goodwill. The reason the Emperor keeps asking what you are doing is that he fears you could turn Guanzhong against him. Why not buy up large amounts of farmland at exploitative prices and on usurious terms, to soil your reputation? Then the Emperor's heart will be at peace." The Chancellor of State followed this advice, and the Emperor was greatly pleased.

When the Emperor returned from the campaign against Qing Bu, the people lined the road and submitted petitions accusing the Chancellor of State of buying their fields and houses by coercion for tens of millions in cash. When the Emperor arrived, the Chancellor of State came to greet him. The Emperor laughed: "So the Chancellor of State profits the people!" He handed all the petitions to the Chancellor of State, saying: "Settle this with the people yourself." The Chancellor of State then took the opportunity to petition on the people's behalf: "The land around Chang'an is cramped. There is much empty land in the Shanglin Park, lying fallow. I ask that the people be permitted to farm it, and that the harvest not be collected, leaving the straw for the park animals." The Emperor flew into a rage: "The Chancellor of State has taken money from merchants and now petitions for my hunting park!" He had the Chancellor of State sent to the Commandant of Justice and clapped in irons. After several days, the Commandant of the Guard, Wang, was in attendance and asked: "What great crime has the Chancellor of State committed that Your Majesty imprisons him so harshly?" The Emperor said: "I have heard that when Li Si served as chancellor to the First Emperor of Qin, he attributed all good to his master and took all blame upon himself. Now the Chancellor of State takes merchants' money and petitions for my park — to ingratiate himself with the people at my expense. That is why I have imprisoned him." The Commandant of the Guard replied: "If an official sees something that would benefit the people and petitions for it, that is precisely what a true chancellor should do. How can Your Majesty suspect him of taking merchants' money! Moreover, when Your Majesty fought Chu for years, and when Chen Xi and Qing Bu rebelled and Your Majesty personally led the campaigns, the Chancellor of State guarded Guanzhong. Had he merely tapped his foot, everything west of the passes would have ceased to be yours. He did not seize that opportunity for profit — would he now sell himself for merchants' gold? Furthermore, Qin lost All-Under-Heaven precisely because it never heard criticism of its faults. Li Si's practice of deflecting blame is hardly worth emulating. How can Your Majesty harbor such shallow suspicions of your chancellor?" Gaozu was displeased but that same day sent a messenger bearing the imperial staff to pardon and release the Chancellor of State. The Chancellor of State was old and had always been deferential. He entered barefoot to offer his apologies. Gaozu said: "Let the Chancellor of State be at ease! You petitioned for the park on the people's behalf. I refused. This makes me no better than a Jie or Zhou tyrant, and you a worthy chancellor. I deliberately imprisoned you so that the people would hear of my fault."

He and Cao Shen had never been on good terms. When He fell ill, Emperor Hui personally came to visit the Chancellor of State and asked: "When you are gone, who can take your place?" He replied: "No one knows his ministers better than the sovereign." Emperor Hui said: "What about Cao Shen?" He bowed his head to the ground: "Your Majesty has found the man! I can die without regret!"

Whenever He purchased land or houses, he always chose the poorest locations. He built his family residence without decorating the walls. He said: "If my descendants are worthy, they will emulate my frugality. If they are unworthy, at least the property will not be worth seizing by powerful families."

In the second year of Emperor Hui, Chancellor of State He died. He was given the posthumous title Marquis Wenzhong — "the Cultured and Complete."

In later generations, his heirs lost the marquisate four times through criminal offenses. Each time, the Son of Heaven sought out He's descendants and restored the succession of the Marquis of Zan. No other meritorious minister's line received comparable treatment.

The Grand Historian remarks: Xiao He, when he served under Qin, was a mere clerk of brush and knife — ordinary, with nothing remarkable about him. But when the Han rose, basking in the last rays of the sun and moon, He carefully guarded the keys of state, taking account of the people's resentment of the law, going with the current to give them a fresh start. Han Xin, Qing Bu, and the rest were all destroyed, yet He's glory blazes on. He ranked above all ministers, and his reputation has echoed through the ages, rivaling such ancients as Hong Yao and San Yisheng.

Xiao He as a clerk was cultured and blameless. When he helped found the dynasty, his whole clan followed from Pei. He guarded Guanzhong, and the army depended on his supply trains. When Han forces were exhausted, Qin-region troops would always arrive. His simplified laws were built to last; his seizure of the archives bore immeasurable fruit. Pointing out the quarry, tracking the trail — his merit was truly the greatest. His governance was uniform and consistent; his household was far from extravagant. Restoring the broken line, honoring diligence — a standard and sash for all to emulate.