Xiao He was a fellow townsman of Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty. Before Liu Bang rose to power, Xiao He served as a chief clerk in Pei County. Once, when Liu Bang was conscripted to lead poor laborers to Xianyang for corvée duty, the other county officials each gave him 300 coins as a farewell gift, but Xiao He gave him an extra 200 coins. Liu Bang was deeply grateful for this gesture.
After Liu Bang answered the call to rebel against the Qin dynasty and was titled the Duke of Pei, Xiao He became his indispensable aide, handling all affairs. When Liu Bang's forces captured the Qin capital Xianyang, while other generals scrambled for gold and treasures, Xiao He alone saw the value in the official archives and documents stored in the Qin chancellor's office and the imperial censor's bureau, carefully preserving them. Later, when Liu Bang was named King of Han, Xiao He served as his chancellor. After Xiang Yu entered Xianyang and burned the Qin palaces to the ground, Liu Bang—thanks to the documents Xiao He had saved—still had a clear picture of the empire's geography and the people's hardships. Xiao He also strongly recommended the military genius Han Xin to Liu Bang, who appointed him grand general, and Han Xin's campaigns proved crucial in Liu Bang's eventual conquest of the realm.
When Liu Bang led his army east to pacify the Three Qin and later contended with Xiang Yu for the empire, Xiao He remained behind to guard Guanzhong. Xiao He not only managed Guanzhong with perfect order but also continuously supplied Liu Bang's army with grain and fresh recruits, ensuring that after repeated military defeats, Liu Bang could always recover and ultimately defeat Xiang Yu.
In the fifth year of the Han Dynasty, after the realm was stabilized, Liu Bang rewarded his officials according to their merits. While his civil and military officers scrambled to claim credit, Liu Bang declared Xiao He the foremost contributor, enfeoffing him as Marquis of Zan with a larger fief than any other meritorious official.
Many of Liu Bang's ministers were deeply dissatisfied, grumbling, "We have fought a hundred battles, risking life and limb, capturing countless cities and territories. Xiao He, aside from some skill with words and documents, has never once joined a single fight. What great merit does he have? Yet when rewards are given, he receives more than we do—how can this be fair?"
After hearing this, Liu Bang grew angry and asked his ministers, "Have you all been hunting before?" The ministers replied, "Of course we have!"
Liu Bang continued, "In a hunt, it's the hounds that chase down the beasts and rabbits, but it's the hunter who gives the commands and directs the hounds. You men can only chase down beasts and rabbits, so you can only be called 'meritorious hounds.' Xiao He is different—he can track the signs and give directions, commanding the hounds, so he is a 'meritorious hunter.' You have followed me through countless campaigns, and at most, only two or three of your family members joined me. Xiao He, however, brought his entire family of several dozen to fight alongside me. His contributions should not be underestimated." After Liu Bang's explanation, the ministers had nothing more to say.
After the marquises were enfeoffed, their order of precedence had to be arranged. Many said, "Marquis of Pingyang, Cao Can, suffered over 70 wounds, captured cities and territories, and his contributions are the greatest; he naturally ranks first." Liu Bang still wanted Xiao He to rank first, but since he had already granted him extra households during the enfeoffment, he found it difficult to speak up for Xiao He when determining the order.
At this moment, Marquis E Qianqiu of Guanzhong stepped forward with a dissenting view: "Your arguments are mistaken. General Cao Can has indeed achieved military merits, but they are all temporary and situational. The struggle between Han and Chu lasted five years, and we suffered many defeats, losing entire armies. It was thanks to Chancellor Xiao He that new troops were repeatedly dispatched from Guanzhong, often tens of thousands at a time, arriving precisely when we needed them most, turning danger into safety and survival against all odds. This is a merit that will last ten thousand generations. If we had lacked a hundred Cao Cans, Han would have remained unharmed, for Han was not preserved because of Cao Can. But if we had lacked one Xiao He, Han might not have survived at all. Therefore, temporary and situational achievements cannot be placed above eternal ones. My verdict: Xiao He ranks first, Cao Can second."
After hearing this, Liu Bang praised him greatly, saying, "Well said! Excellently said!" He then reaffirmed Xiao He as the top contributor and granted him an additional 2,000 households as a reward for the 200 extra coins Xiao He had given him in the past.
Later, the idiom "Directing from Behind the Scenes" came to mean orchestrating and controlling from behind the curtain.
Source: *Records of the Grand Historian*, "Five Hereditary Houses: Xiao He"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "发踪指示" came to describe orchestrating and controlling from behind the curtain.